by Josh Monda | Dec 12, 2013 | Uncategorized
One of my good friends used to tell me that if he did not know me he would think I made up all of my stories. If you know me then you know I have gone through many different experiences in life. Some of which have greatly tested my faith and others that are sometimes just silly. These last few day really have not been any different.
For me it started on 11/14/2013 a Thursday night. In conversation with by 13 and soon to be 14 year old daughter, she told me she was not feeling well. This really was not out of the ordinary for her as she would get a stomach bug off and on and just sometimes say she did not feel well. So we sent her to bed and she came out later saying she had vomited. Again no big deal just seemed to be a bug. So we got her fluids and thought we would see how the next day would go. Friday morning was like any other morning my daughter said she still was not feeling well and so because I knew she was ill I just told her to stay home from School as Friday is my day off anyway and figured I could keep an eye on her. Then she changed her mind and decided to go to school which was fine as well.
Around 10AM on Friday I received a call from the school saying my daughter was ill. Again not that unusual so I had her mom go and pick her up from school and she came home and went to her room to rest. She was in her room the entire day on Friday and came out Friday night and watched some television with us and later took a bath. This lead us to believe she would be feeling much better come Saturday. Well Saturday came and she still was not doing well. She was still nauseous and throwing up so we were somewhat concerned now. As my wife went to do a job she sent me a text message and said make sure I check our daughter. SO I did and quickly found my precious girl in a state that looked like severe dehydration. I let my wife know that we needed to get her to the ER. My wife hurried home and when we went to clean her up she passed out. We then called 911. As I lay in the hallway with my daughter waiting on an ambulance those sobering words rang out that she would say to me, “Daddy I don’t want to die”. Upon arrival the EMT’s could not get any vital signs. She was awake but kept wanting to go to sleep. No blood pressure, no pulse, no nothing. They loaded her in the ambulance and off they went.
I loaded my boys and headed to the ER. They had finally got an IV in her but she was still in trouble. She had very little blood when they pricked her finger they could not get any blood. After working on her for awhile the doctor came out and said she felt that she had Toxic Shock Syndrome. We are fortunate that she is still with us. Later the doctor would tell my wife if I had not gone in when I did we may have lost her. Now I sit in the ICU with my daughter still with no real answers to the cause and only knowing that my daughter has some bacteria that they still do not have the answers for.
But the story does not end there. Because this morning right before I walked into my church for Sunday services I received a tornado watch on my phone. Then right after the introduction to my sermon the tornado warning came through I moved our congregation to the basement and the sirens sounded. I decide to step outside to look things over and sure enough the tornado was forming. The tornado passed about a quarter mile from my church taking out at least 4 of our members homes. So like I said this is one crazy ride.
Please pray for us pray for my daughter, my community, my church. Interestingly enough today’s message was entitled the prayer of faith. Here is some footage I took Washington Illinois Tornado Devastation From Washington, Illinois Torando
by Josh Monda | Dec 12, 2013 | Job, Uncategorized
It has been along time since I have posted primarily
It has been a week since I have had a post so I thought I would get in gear. I have been watching some basketball games of the local High School here. The girls team is ranked numbers in the state for 3a ball and they are undefeated they have a good club I hope they do well. Well anyways I am not going write about basketball but continue my series from the book Why Guys Need God by Mike Erre. Today I want to share a couple of quotes from chapter 10 and talk about them a little bit.
When we come out of hiding in front of each other, relationship will take hard work and lots of grace. The church gets lots of criticism because of its imperfections.
So many times we hide who we really are. Sometimes it is like we have to put on some sort of facade so people do not see the real us. I am not sure what drives this perhaps it is fear of people seeing the real us or fear that we are not good enough. Rarely do we tell people our real struggles or the things that are keeping us from being all we want to be in Christ or all we can be in Christ. The truth is if we really do be ourselves then in fact it will take alot of hard work and lots of grace. Grace to forgive others even when we really do not want to and grace to ask for forgiveness even when we do not want to. But if we continue to pretend to be someone we are not then the church is just a place where we go to be fake. The church definitley is not perfect and we are indeed a bunch of reformed sinners going thorug the process of sanctification yet many times we act like we have already been fully sanctified and that we have no problems whatsoever.
I often wonder what would church be like if people were real. What if a man walked into Sunday school and said I am struggling with pornography and I need help, or what if a woman walked in and said I struggle with gossiping I need help, or how about I have bitterness in my heart I need help. The church is supposed to be a community loving each other and holding each other accountable but I am afraid we have become a community where everything is based on only what we want people to perceive us to be and not who we really are. We don’t want people to know our secret sins what will is take for us to stop being superficial and just be honest. It is so hard. Here us the second quote.
Most churches teach men how to pretend behind religious fig leaves. We learn to act in the right religious ways, look the right religious ways, sing the right religious ways, and so on. We usually are not encouraged to actually share how things really are. So even though we need to connect with other guys at a really deep level, the church actually often hinders this process.
Prayer isn’t a place to be good; it is a place to be honest.
I already spoke about this above. I do not think this is a problem for just men either. I think often we go to church to pretend. Pretend to be someone we are not and we rarely go just to be honest and admit our struggles.
Wow these last few days have been extremely crazy for me. It all started yesterday. My wife said she was having alot more contractions and our baby is at 32 weeks in addition she said she had not felt the baby move for awhile. So I told her it was better to be safe then sorry and to call the dr. She took my advice and the dr. sent us to hospital to get it checked out. This was our 5th trip to the hospital during this pregnancy. While there the nurse ran some tests and said that her water had broke and she was admitted. We both thought that id were water had broke then our child would be born that night. Â We were obviously wrong.
So I spent the night in an uncomfortable chair and got about 3 hours of sleep before coming home showering and heading back to the hospital. When I got back to the hospital we received good news. The nurse said that another test was negative and that her water may not have broke so if she got three negatives she would be allowed to come home tonight. However, you guessed it the next two showed signs that her water may have broke. Confused? Me too. So they decided to keep her.  Not sure how long maybe until the baby is born we do not know.
So in the middle of this I received a phone call from a Pastor who had been in contact with me about the possibility of becoming their Youth Pastor. The kicker is everything with this church at the moment is matching up perfectly. Â Well other then it will be 1,000 miles from our family still. But everything else is perfect it is almost too good. New building, in a place I have always wanted to live, more of a rural setting, Is this from the Lord? God please make it known to me.
In addition to all this my mom will be here next Friday and I have so much to get done for the move. The plan is to send everything back to Missouri but my wife may still be in the Hospital? This is crazy. If you got some advice give it.
Sorry for the rambling just needed to say something.
by Josh Monda | Dec 12, 2013 | bible, Uncategorized
I recently had a conversation with someone and they asked me what I though was the most popular verse among young people right now? My reply was I would think it would be Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye be judged.” His response was your right. So I began to wonder why that was and I felt that most people may take this verse out of context. By the way the Greek word here for judge here is (krinete) which means to criticize, condemn, judge, censor, etc. It is interesting that it means to criticize. It is speaking of fault finding; being picky.
Here is Matthew 7:1-6
1“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
So I thought maybe I would spend the next few days just doing some work with these verses. So today will be more of an introduction then tomorrow I will get more into detail I think.
When I read these verse one of the first things that I notice is the we are told right from the start “do not judge”. This is a command do not judge. (v. 1)
Secondly it is made very clear that we will be judged with the same judgement or criticism we use and we will be judged with the same measurement (v. 2)
The thirdly think I have noticed is that the person doing the judging spends time looking for faults in others but spends very little time looking at themselves (v. 3)
The fourth thing I notice is that the person doing the judging is deceived about themselves (v. 4)
The fifth thing we notice is that the person doing the judging is really a hypocrite the text even calls them a hypocrite because of their failure to look at their own sin first (v. 5)
The sixth and final thing I notice is that this person is undeserving of the gospel (reality we all are) but this person tramples it under their feet and tears people apart (v.6)
Christ is not holding back when talking about those who are judgmental and critical. So over the next few days I will take at least one of the above points at a time and break it down.
by Josh Monda | Dec 12, 2013 | Uncategorized
Invariably the question always gets asked of God. Why? Why would God allow children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown Connecticut to be gunned down. I will not pretend that this is somehow and easy question to answer in fact it is far from it. I do know this it is not a new question.
This question was asked long ago in the Old Testament book of Job. Job asked God why, David asked God why as well. In fact the world has been asking God why for a very long time. Throughout history the world has continued to grown with this question. Why God? Why are babies born only to die, why did I lose my father or mother, why did 9/11 happen. Today is no different: why did 26 people have to die? Where are you God?
I am a pastor and I have asked this very same question many times over again. Why God? Why did we lose our baby to a miscarriage? Why was my daughter born so early and had to suffer so much? Why did you allow this to happen to me? Immediately my mind goes to what Jesus said when he told the disciples they would suffer. I understand that in this world I too will suffer.
If you ask me why God allowed 26 people to be killed most of whom were children at Sandy Hook Elementary, honestly I would say I don’t know. I do not have the answers. I am not God nor can I pretend to be Hm. In addition I refuse in times like this to go into some sort of huge theological discussion on Why? I do know something and that is that this world needs Jesus.
I know that this world was created perfectly. It was created without Sin. However, through one man sin entered the world. You see Adam made a selfish choice when he ate the forbidden fruit and ever since that time humanity continues to make selfish, arrogant, ignorant choices, that go against a Holy God. We have been infected by sin, and we are under the curse of sin. What happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School is a direct result of Sin. Humanity ever since the fall of Adam has groaned for a Savior and today is no different. There is only one solution to sin and that is to place your faith in Jesus Christ. To surrender your entire life to Jesus Christ and do things His way. Until Jesus returns or calls us home we will live in a sin filled, sin tainted world. But I know Jesus and I look forward to something great.
There will be a day when the suffering will end. There will be a day when no more will the question be asked of God why? There will come a day when there will be no more Sandy Hook shootings. In fact there will be a day when all of the suffering of this world all of the 9/11′s all of the school shootings, all of the terrible things in this world will pale in comparison to the Glory of God. One day I will step into heaven and I will realize that these troubles were only temporary and the glory of God is forever.
Ultimately when things like this happen we can either urn to God or allow it to drive us far from God. It will make us better or bitter. It will either cause one to surrender to Christ or stay away from Christ. We have seen where the same circumstance cause a different response in people. This world Cries out for a Savior and the only Savior that can take away the pain of sin, the curse of sin, the stain of sin, the shame of sin, is Jesus Christ.
by Josh Monda | Dec 12, 2013 | random thoughts, Uncategorized
I have been thinking alot about knowledge lately. Sometime it seems we try to use knowledge as a weapon or as something to hold over someone else. I know people that can’t seem to wait to get the inside scoop on a situation just so they can say they know about it. Or to act as if somehow they know more about it than anyone else. Some people even seek out to know more then others to the point of gossip because they have to know what is going on in a situation. Interestingly enough these people never gain complete knowledge of a situation they merely gain what they want to know and hurl and cast their judgments from ignorance rathe than knowledge which seems odd when knowledge was apparently what they were seeking in the first place. Not sure if this makes sense to anyone.
This has become especially true over my circumstances in the recent weeks. Though I have been through alot as well as my family I am amazed about what people think they know about my situation only because they heard something from someone else. In reality these people know very little because they are acting on limited knowledge or in many cases ignorance. Some even casting judgments or having preconceived thoughts without really knowing all of what has happened.
Tonight I read
1 Corinthians 8:1-3 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.
These verse are primarily dealing with christian liberty. The Corinthians were faced with a huge dilemma and in reality they needed help. Not much different then us they lived in the middle of a sinful and pleasure filled society so how were they to act.  The Corinthians needed guidance from the Apostle Paul could they eat meat offered to idol and what about social function what were they to do? What restraints were put on the Christians liberty or freedom? Could the Christian do whatever they wanted to do? Is there a difference between the Christians behavior and the worlds? It is with that backdrop that Paul is writing here in 1 Corinthians 8.  What I wan to talk about is this knowledge that Paul is talking about in the first 3 verses.
It seems to me what Paul is saying is to judge according to love not according to knowledge. This strikes me as different because we usually do the opposite. Paul states in the very first verse that “we all have knowledge”. I am sure that some of the Corinthian believers were stressing the importance of using the intellect to determine right from wrong. There are three very important points Paul gives us concerning knowledge in these verses.
1. Â Knowledge makes arrogant but love edifies.
I think the point is clear. Just because one can reason through the facts and clearly see something gives them no right to be arrogant about it. Yet our quest for knowledge about circumstances and the like often is done so we can know more than another believer or so we can set someone straight.  The root of this is arrogance. This is the very thing Paul is coming against.
Paul is making it clear that the rule of all Christians is to be love not knowledge. It is love that builds others up and helps them to grow not knowledge. The Christian is not to run around stressing their superiority because they know more than someone else. We are to love and control our lives from love.
2. Paul tells us that knowledge is only partial.
Here is the kicker no matter what someone thinks they know it is always incomplete. We are totally incapable of knowing anything in its fullness or its totality. Of course we like to think we know things but in reality we do not. We often like to try to think rationally but the truth of the matter is to be rational is often weak especially when compared to thinking through things with love instead of rationally. So the next time we think we know something or we think we know the whole story I would encourage you to stop and think again and react and be motivated from love rather than knowledge.
3. Love unites us to God.
If someone loves God then that person is known by Him. Did you notice that we are not known by God because we are always thinking rationally. It also does not say that we are known by God based on our knowledge. It is based on one thing and that is our love. God know us because we love Him. The person that decides to base their life on love rather than knowledge that person is loved by God.
“But if anyone loves God, he is known by Him” (1 Corinthians 8:3)
I give this challenge the next time you seek knowledge about a circumstance or a situation try to seek love instead. See if it makes a difference. To often our knowledge leads to arrogance. So much could be accomplished if we only sought love.
