Why Blog?

¹⁹ Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, ²⁰ and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 


Acts 3:19 - 20.


Last Saturday our men were challenged to come to a place of repentance.  The point was not, as some might think, to focus on specific things we might have done in our lives for which we needed to repent -- although some of the men in our group felt lead to do so.  Rather, we were talking about turning toward God and away from sin as a lifestyle.  Repentance involves confession (acknowledging our sinful nature before coming to Christ and our continuing failings), contrition (a sincere and heartfelt remorse) and action (heart change must lead to life change).  


The point of repentance is not to shackle us with a spirit of guilt.  Instead, it is to put us in a place where we can truly leave our past sins in the past where they belong.  Repentance should take us to a place where we can fully embrace God's grace in our lives, and truly appreciate the incredible gift of the Cross -- our salvation.  It should also take us to a place of humility.


So, you might be asking, what does repentance have to do with the question "why blog?"  Well, I am glad you asked.


²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; 
   test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.


Psalm 139:23 - 24

On Saturday (in fact, a couple of days before then) I began to pray for God to search my own heart.  I began to ask what offensive things were in me that I might turn away from them -- that I might repent.  


And then, this Wednesday night, the point was made that one of the barriers that many of us have to true intimacy with God is our "quest for significance."  The desire to be significant is definitely something that God instills in us.  And, it can be a powerful thing when tempered by humility.


But the quest for significance can also be dangerous.  It is something that consumes our society.  Just ask anyone in advertising.  We Americans have a lust to be significant, and the underlying message in a great deal of advertising is that if we buy the product it will show the world that we are somebody -- that we are significant. 


And so, one of the questions I needed to ask myself, and that I needed God to answer, was whether my motives were pure in every aspect of my life -- and particularly in every aspect of my ministry.  That includes writing this blog.


The idea of starting a blog was not mine, so I can say with certainty that my motive at the beginning was pure.  I had no motive.


As time went on and I actually began to think about the purpose of the blog I could see that blogging was an opportunity to do many things -- to challenge, to inspire, to teach, to comfort, etc.  Good things.  And, I still very much believe that to be true.  In fact, I hope and pray that the blog does accomplish some of those things from time to time.  But, as I have been thinking about both repentance and the quest for significance, I have to ask myself the extent to which my ego -- my quest for significance -- motivates this blog.   


“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."


Matthew 5:3


After meditating on this, I decided to continue to write this blog.  But, I am going to be more vigilant about making sure that it is for the right reasons.  I want to do my best to write from a low place.  I want to do my best to make sure my motives are pure.  I want to do my best to make sure that writing is spirit lead and not ego driven.  I want to repent of my own quest for significance.  I want to do my best to advance the Gospel and to glorify God.


To me, being "poor in spirit" is the direct result of repentance.  It excludes ego, and it excludes ambition.  We have a God-given desire to be somebody, but too often find ourselves discontented with who God made us to be.  


Being "poor in spirit" can be a difficult place to be, and it is an extremely difficult place to stay.    But for those who are successful, "theirs is the kingdom of heaven!" 

Heaven 2

The past few days have been extremely difficult as our church family received, and has struggled to process, the news that Josh Hernandez went home to be with the Lord after an automobile accident last Saturday.  Our hearts and prayers go out to the Hernandez family, to our students in Elevate who have grown to love Josh so dearly, and to many others who have been close to Josh and his family over the last 18 years.   

A great deal has already been said and written about Josh -- about his character, his love for the Lord and his leadership both at Heartland Church and Byron Nelson High School.  At the bottom of this blog are a few links that will help you know a little about Josh, although words can never capture the true essence of a person -- particularly someone like Josh who impacted so many others.

As I have been reading some of the local press about Josh, and more so some of the Facebook posts by his friends and family, a couple of things have jumped out at me.  The first is the nearly universal mention of how much Josh loves God.  Josh lived a God-driven life.  And, it is clear from the Facebook postings that Josh's love for God was not reserved for his time at church.  There was no ambiguity at Byron Nelson High School about Josh's faith -- a faith that plainly was reflected in the kind of person, friend, brother and son he chose to be in life.  

The second thing that jumped out at me was a common thread in the social media postings about Josh -- which was a conviction that Josh is now in a better place.  A confidence that Josh is in heaven.

Not long ago I wrote a blog about heaven, which was inspired in part by the passing of my Uncle Bill.  Since that time my father also passed away.   

The other inspiration for that blog came during a family trip to Montana.  On the drive there, Pam, the kids and I listened to a book called "Heaven is for Real."  And, that really is what I want to talk about now.

"Heaven is for Real" is a pretty amazing story about a boy who, just shy of his fourth birthday, had an encounter with heaven and lived to tell about it.  I know -- I have read a number of these stories about near-death experiences and encounters with God and I often approach them with the same skepticism as many of you do.  This particular story is a little different though.

First, the things the little boy saw in heaven seemed to have striking biblical support.  Although the boy is a pastor's son, many of the things he spoke about in simple terms were far too complex and specific for a child that age to have learned in Sunday School -- or even in a pastor's home.

Even more compelling -- without giving away all of the details -- the little boy came back from heaven with knowledge of things (particularly about his family) that he simply could not have known.  For example, he was able to describe in detail where his parents were and what they were doing while he was in the operating room.  Perhaps his most compelling revelation though was about the composition of his family.

One day long after his brush with heaven this boy apparently announced to his mother in a matter-of-fact way that he had two sisters.  When the mother corrected him that he only had one, he insisted there were two.  He said he met a little girl in heaven who looked a lot like his older sister, but with different colored hair.  He said the little girl introduced herself as his sister, and told him she had died in his mother's tummy.  The little girl said she did not have a name because his parents had not given her one.

The mother immediately began to cry.  You see, she had miscarried years earlier and she and her husband had never told the boy.  The parents apparently had picked out a name for a boy, but at the time of the miscarriage were down to two choices in the event it was a girl.  So, the little girl never had a name.

Following the deaths of my uncle and my father, thinking about what heaven is really like suddenly had a lot more practical value than I had previously realized.  It became clear to me that being able to speak about heaven with some specificity and being able to speak about it in clear terms can be a powerful source of comfort and encouragement for people.  Pam wants to give a copy of "Heaven is for Real" to everyone who has recently lost a loved one for that reason.  I highly suggest you read it ... with an open mind.

Thank you for your continued prayers for the Hernandez family, and God bless.  

Oh, by the way, the little boy in the story met Jesus and described Him to his parents.  For some time after they showed him numerous paintings and drawings of Jesus.  But, he said none of them were quite right ... until he saw one painted by a little girl who is the subject of the link below.  You might want to check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MdJovn1hP0&feature=share





Memorial/Funeral Service Video
http://vimeo.com/40586996

News Media

http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-byron-nelson-student-leaves-and-inspiring-legacy-20120416,0,5283079.story; http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/04/15/community-remembers-dead-high-schooler/

Other

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4MlNGTpQbQ;  http://www.guerrerodean.com/content/obituaries/view.jsp?OID=117623;