A discussion
on the destructive affects of
pornography for men and women.
Friday, February 17, 2012
at the
Christian Campus Center
7:00- 8:00 pm
Food Provided
Facilitated by:
For the Men:
Feb
8
Carl Wilkinson
Jill Davis
Jan
26
How many people made New Year’s Resolutions this year? The promises of losing weight, having greater financial discipline, and spending more time with the family are among the typical resolutions that people express. I have expressed all three of these myself in times past. But, like you, I have also expressed a shrug of defeat and a sigh of frustration when those resolutions did not materialize in my life.
So, I spent some time thinking about it this time. I refuse to have any New Year’s resolutions! I refuse because I know myself, and I am tired of fooling myself. My chances of staying true to any New Year’s resolution are roughly the same as that of the next celebrity marriage lasting for life. It just isn’t going to happen. Why?…it’s the same reason that the celebrity marriages will fail. It’s based on the wrong foundation.
Why would I have a chance of maintaining a lifestyle change when I base it on something as frivolous as a date on a calendar?! It all makes sense to me now. I need to base my resolutions on something more substantial than a new year.
That’s why this year I am making a Christmas resolution instead. It makes more sense to me that Christmas – not New Years – would be the time when I look back on my life, reflect on what I have done and what He has done for me. It is because of what He did that I am reminded of who I’ve been, who I want to be, and by whose power I can achieve that! It even has an effect on what resolution I wish to make!
My prayer, my Christmas resolution, this year is that because of the cross you will find this year a more patient, less sarcastic, kinder, and more sincere man in me than you did the year prior. Perhaps you should consider having a Christmas resolution – instead of a New Year’s resolution – this year. What might yours be?
Sep
22
As I think through some of the more memorable moments in super-hero comic history (yes, I am one of those special super-hero nerds), I find myself drawn to one of the greatest. It was early in the Superman comics when Jonathan and Martha Kent were teaching him to use powers. He was learning to fly, but he resembled more a bird leaving the nest for the first time than he did a plane streaking through the sky. He first jumped. His jump soon became a leap, and finally…he soared.
This scene from the comic and the original movie are stuck in my head lately. I think it is because I have talked with several people lately who become frustrated with their personal life or discouraged with church life. They feel this way for different reasons: personal moral failure, church politics, etc., all of which are valid reasons. They see a cycle in their own lives and in the lives of the church that seemingly can’t be broken. I understand this discouragement. I have felt it before myself. It’s debilitating.
It’s also counter-productive to our mission of trusting the living God. Frustration gives birth to doubt, and doubt breeds distrust. We can’t let that happen! We must trust in who God created us to be. We must believe that God put his image inside of us, and that the Holy Spirit is uncovering that image one painful layer at a time so that the world can see more and more of that image daily. We have to trust that and feel confident and joyful because of it! Where would Spiderman be if he hadn’t begun to trust his Spider-sense? How many people would the Joker have hurt if Batman hadn’t put full trust in his utility belt? How many of Lex Luther’s plans would have come to fruition if Clark Kent be if he hadn’t began to trust his powers? Trust is that important.
It’s about learning to trust, and learning to grow spiritually. If you don’t soar through the air the first time out, you are not alone. None of us do. We jump, we trip, we fumble, and sometimes we do nothing at all. But eventually we learn our lessons. Sometimes those lessons are hard learned. They come with bumps and bruises. They come with broken hearts. But if we are OK with learning, the lessons will come. The growth will come. We must trust, truly trust, in the growth process God is taking us through. Where would Superman be if he hadn’t learned…yes learned…to fly? My guess is he would be just another kid jumping in a corn field. And honestly, wouldn’t you prefer to fall a few times if it means you eventually get to soar later?