by Josh Monda | Feb 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
Russell Moore’s sermon manuscript, Joseph Is a Single-Issue Evangelical: The Father of Jesus, the Cries of the Helpless, and Change You Can Believe In, is now online. Here’s how it closes:
The question for us, then, of whether we are truly pro-life or not, has very little to do with how many signs are in our yards or what bumper stickers we put on our cars. Indeed, it may be the case that after this election the abortion debate will be over in this country politically.Â
But even if that’s the case, it’s not over. Our churches are to follow in the walk of faith, which means that–like Joseph walking away from stability and comfort–our churches must be different, they must be counter-cultural, the kind of place where the teenage mother is welcomed and loved, where abandoned children are received, and where a culture that is in love with death can come and hear a message saying that life is better than death because there is a man, an ex-corpse, a former-fetus, who is standing as the ruler over all the nations and the universe. And he is not dead anymore.Â
 What we must have is a church in which the gospel we give is the kind of gospel that leads people out of death and despair and toward the kind of life that is found in confessing a name–a name that was first spoken by human lips by a day-laborer in Nazareth, “Jesus is Lord.”
 If we follow this kind of pure and undefiled religion, it doesn’t mean we will be shrill. It doesn’t mean we will be culture-warriors. It doesn’t mean we’ll be belligerent. It will mean that we will have churches that are so strikingly different, that maybe in ten or fifteen years the most odd and counter-cultural thing a lost person may hear in your church is not, “Amen,” but is instead the sounds of babies crying in the nursery.
 And hearing the oddness of that sound, when they look around at the place in which all of the Lord Jesus’ brothers and sisters are welcomed, protected, and loved, the place in which the lies of a murderous and appetite-driven dragon are denied, the lost person might say, “What is the sound of all these cries?” And maybe we’ll be able to say with our forefather Joseph, “that’s the sound of life. That’s the sound of hope. That’s the sound of change.”
 You might even say, it’s “change you can believe in.”
You can also listen to the MP3 online.
by Josh Monda | Feb 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
Jan 08
Posted by Josh
When I was just a boy I remember reading this poem by Helen Steiner Rice.
| Friendship is a priceless gift That can’t be bought or sold, But its value is far greater
Than a mountain made of gold.
For gold is cold and lifeless, It cannot see nor hear, And in your times of trouble,
It is powerless to cheer.
It has no ears to listen, No heart to understand. It cannot bring you comfort
Or reach out a helping hand.
So when you ask God for a gift, Be thankful that he sends, Not diamonds, pearls, or riches,
But the love of a real, true friend.
|
If my memory serves me correct I was at my aunts house and read those words and they have stuck with me ever since. I have found in my life that some people obviously value friendship far greater than others. I believe there are those that actually understand friendship and those that do not. I have been thinking about this alot lately and am not sure why God has placed this so heavily on my heart. I do know this I thankful for some great friends. Some I have had for a very long time and some are new friends that I have made.
You know actually the Bible has alot to say about friendship. For instance I love Proverbs 17:17 when it says “A Friend loves at all times” friends really do love no matter what. It does not matter your social statues, wealth, or anything else. A true friend stand beside you not matter the circumstances. I have found in my own life it is during those tough times that you find out who your true friends are.
Proverbs 17:9 reads “Whoever covers an offense seeks love,” This is a real friend. Some people are constantly looking for whats wrong. Continually trying to find fault in you they was to judge and criticize in fact that is the first place they often go. I believe that a true friend helps you be the best you can be. Friends that d0 not do this really are not friends at all. I know this is just aspects of friendship and God’s word has so much more to say but when I think of that poem from Helen Steiner Rice friendship really is a priceless gift.
A true friend is hard to find.
Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application
by Josh Monda | Feb 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
Yesterday was a busy day for me. Â I spent the day seeing patients for the first time and spent the day with several people. Â I had a good day it was fun to spend time with some people yet at the same time difficult knowing that these people are in the last days of their lives.Â
I enjoyed my time with one patient in particular. Â We took time to look at an old car magazine together and I read to him about some of the cars. Â We looked at the prices of some of the cars when they first came out and I shared with him what the horsepower was. Â Even though he could not speak well enough fro me to understand him I could see in his expression and in his eyes that he liked the fact that I took the time to be with him. Â It saddened me to know that perhaps this guy had a very little interaction with men now that he was in a nursing home and more then likely he was lonely and wanted a man to just show some interest in him and who he was. Â I knew he liked cars because he had a picture of an old car hanging on his board. Â My time with him was valuable.
However, this got me to thinking.  What would it be like to talk to someone and to know that they can not understand you.  I know his mind works but it must be difficult to know you can not communicate in a way that people understand you.  For some reason my thoughts turned to forgiveness.  What would it be like to want to say to someone “I forgive you yet not be able to”.  How difficult that must be.
My thoughts have turned to my father.  My father was alcoholic and that is really all I knew him as.  In fact it was a rare moment that my father was sober.  I remember the yelling and the screaming I remember the violent way he behaved when he was drunk.  I could not stand it.  I wanted an escape a way out.  Eventually my mother and father were divorced and I rarely saw my dad.  It got to the point where I never say him and in fact did not even know where he was.  I remember when my dad first found where I was and I m in that first letter he wrote and asked if I would ever be able to forgive him.  My response was “dad I forgave you long ago”  It was barely a year later that my father was murdered on the street of Arizona for a measly 11 dollars.  But what if I had never had the opportunity to tell him I forgave him and what I he never had the opportunity to ask.
This has been on my mind. Â Forgiveness can be a powerful thing and I am so thankful that I have been forgiven by Jesus Christ. Â I am so thankful for the grace that is experienced through the blood of Jesus Christ. Â It took me a long time to get to the point where have forgiven some in my old congregation and how things were handled. Â In fact if I am honest bitterness began to take root in me. Â Do I agree with how things were handled? Â The answer is a resounding no. Â Do I forgive how things were handled the answer is yes. Â I did not want to forgive but God began to break me and I got to the point where I knew without forgiveness my life would eventually be useless in the hands of the potter. Â Now perhaps there are those that think they have done nothing wrong but regardless of the fact I forgive, and have forgiven those that have hurt me. Â I pray God’s grace may abound.
I also know that in my life I am not so naive to think that I do not need forgiveness.  I know I have screwed up many times and many times my errors have hurt others maybe those I have hurt will forgive me.  This I know without forgiveness we are not following Christ.  It would be a terrible thing to want to tell someone you forgive them and not be able to say a thing. Â
Tomorrow I will spend some time with a man that will most likely be dead very soon I am responsible for his spiritual care.  What would it be like to pass away without forgiving I pray I never know.
by Josh Monda | Feb 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
Last night our youth pastor spoke using Matthew 5:21-26 as his text. I wanted to write about this because not only have their been timed that I have not forgiven others but there have been times when others have not forgiven me. This will be along post but I hope you can benefit from it if you read it through. I have given several messages over this text to my memory although I believe the last time I preached on this text was way back in 2006 when I lived in PA. Anyway this passage just got me to thinking about how we often act and react as Christians. I wish I could say I have always acted and reacted perfectly but the truth is I have not. I have also witnessed others not acting or reacting appropriately to problems and situation. Some of these have been just regular church attenders all the way up to pastors in the church.
In Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus starts out by telling us that murder is against the law. This seems weird because it is kind of like duh. In addition we know that murder is wrong and against the law and in reality none of us are thinking about going out and murdering someone.
But the next thing you know Jesus starts talking about being angry. What we are reading when Christ starts talking about anger is that we have indeed misinterpreted the law. Which is really no surprise because we do this quite often when we don’t want to obey scripture we just misinterpret it so it does not apply to us. What we have done is taken the law and applied it to only murder to say well murder is really the sin but that is not what Christ teaches us.
You see murder runs so much deeper than the actual act of murder. Murder is often hidden within us and anger is murder. Have you ever thought that anger is a sin. I remember thinking I had righteous anger once and a young lady checked me on it. I of course at that time defended myself but later came to realize she was right how could I say I had a right to be angry. Anger and its components is sin bitterness, indignation, striking out against someone, slandering someone, saying things that hurt others, saying things that will cause someone to think negative of someone else, rage, desiring hurt for someone else, killing another person’s happiness these are all sin. and it does not matter how much we try to justify it they are all sin.
In addition we see the progression of anger in these verses. When we do not deal with anger or the components as mentioned above it just sits in us and festers up. Soon we cant forget what someone has done to us and soon all we want is revenge. We want that person to pay.
Secondly the next thing we know is our has caused us to despise others. Now we begin to make fund of and belittle other people every chance we get. We are so filled with pride that we think we can get away with our sinful behavior. Now we are waling all over and trampling others and we literally begin to tell ourselves that the person we are angry with deserves any bad thing that may happen to them.
Finally when not dealt with he move to the point that our anger causes us to try to destroy another person and their reputation. We want to destroy them morally, intellectually, and spiritually.
All too often we try to justify our anger. We think somehow we have the right to be angry with someone because after all they hurt us or they did something to us. Yet how often Christ forgives us when we have continually turned our back on Him. Too often Christians have hurt feelings between each other or neighbors, or spouses, or friends and they refuse to deal with their feelings. Instead they have anger and in reality murder in their heart.
Here is the deal. God’s word makes it clear that our anger will be judged and yet we refuse to do anything about it. He even makes it clear that our anger is judged by danger of hell fire. Yet we justify our anger and excuse. We justify our unforgiveness and think it is ok. Now before you think I have done nothing wrong you need to bear with me.
Here is the deal if we have anger or unforgiveness then we need to be reconciled. In fact reconciliation must always precede worship. In fact even if we are waling into church to worship and realize there is a problem with a brother or sister we need to turn around from worship and be reconciled. Christ is saying that reconciliation is more important than worship. How often do we his our unforgiviness in worship. We go to church and we sing nice little worship songs that make us feel all nice and warm inside, we may even raise our hands and its all fake because deep down inside we have unfrogiveness in our heart and therefore our worship is in vain.
God does not accept the worship of a person that has anger or unforgiveness in their heart towards him or towards any of His people. If we have broken fellowship with others we have broken fellowship with God. If we are not right with another person then we are not right with God. If we have bad feelings towards another person that we have bad feelings towards God. This is strong. We cant just hope to be right with God when we are no right with others. If we want to be reconciled with God we must be reconciled with God.
Instead of thinking about the damage that we feel has been done to use we must be reconciled to others. If not we are merely wasting our time. I cant help but think how often I have come into worship God in vain all because of unfrogiveness. What is wrong with picking up a phone, or writing an email, or writing a letter.
I know what it is like to feel wronged and still ask forgiveness, and not have it recriprocated but that is what I love about about verse 23 is it does not tell us if we remember that we have a problem with out brother but it says we remember our brother has a problem with us. Man that blows me away. If we remember that our brother has a problem with us then we are supposed seek reconciliation.
I just want to challenge you if you have unforgiveness in your heart or you know someone is upset with you why not get make it right? Just some thoughts from a former Youth Pastor and a future Pastor.
by Josh Monda | Feb 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
Yesterday I started a little blogging series on judging so today I will continue with that series.  As stated yesterday the first thing I notice from Matthew 7:1-6 is that there is a definite command “do not judge” I also stated the greek word for judge used is (krinite) which also means to criticize.
Often times when a person has done what others feel is wrong and fallen the first reaction is to judge that person but judgment often times misses the point. Â
When someone has messed up as we all do shouldn’t this be a time for compassion towards that person. Â This should be a time of reaching out to the person and making an offer to love on that person and to pull them in even closer, not push them further and further away. Â This is a time to speak kind words of them not bite and tear them down with destructive talk. Â (Ephesians 4:30-32)
We should take time to show loving compassion for those who have come short why? Â Well we realize that we too have come short so many times and in many cases much worse then the one we are judging.
Then why is it that people so often and so quickly move to judging and criticizing? Â Not only that why is that so often these are the what we might call “Strong Christians”. Â There are several reason why this takes place and let me say as I state these this was me and probably still is to a certain extent. Â
1.  When we judge or criticize another person it boosts our self-image.  When we tear someone else down it makes us seem better at least that is how we see it, somehow we are better then that other person.  It inflates our pride, ego, and our own self image.
2. Â We enjoy criticism. Â Think of all the successful talk shows, movies, and so forth that are based primarily on this issue we love to hear and share bad news and others shortcomings.
3. Â When we judge and criticize it makes us feel as if somehow our own life is better than the person that failed.
4. Â When we judge and criticize it helps us justify ourselves and all the shortcomings that we have. Â We begin to rationalize our own failures because we can point out failures in other people.
5. Â Judgment and criticism we think is a sign of strength. Â When we criticize someone else we believe it just once again proves our narrow minded beliefs by the other persons failure to live up to that standard.
6. Â Judgment and Criticism gives us a chance for hurt and revenge. Â We feel that somehow that person that we are judging and being critical of deserves it. Â Our reasoning go’s like this “if he hurt me, he deserves to be hurt.” Â So we look for ways to hurt them.
I am going to close with reasons why we should not be so fast to judge and criticize.
1. Â We never know all of the circumstance and all of the facts. Â What happened and why it happened are never really known. Â So often there are all kinds of things that have taken place behind the scenes that are not seen by others. Â Think about just these relationships Children and parents, wives and husbands, employer and employee, friend and friend, in all these relationships things happen behind closed doors so often. Â In addition to that things are seldom remembered and when they are remembered the facts are messed up. Â Usually the person that does the talking does not reveal the true fact but many times reveals only the fact that make them look good. Â The one that is in a hurry to tell others the problem is the one that seeks self-justification. Â The one that desires to be silent is the one who is caring and compassionate. Â The spirit of silence is silent because it does not desire hurt for others.
2. Â The second reason we should not be so quick to criticize and judge is that all people it does not matter who you are or what your position is come short, all fall, and all fail. Â In addition to that we all sin (1 John 1:8, 10). Â No one at any time is ever exempt from sin. Â When we are quick to bring out the whip of judgment and criticism we have a big problem; we have forgotten that we are also sinners. Â It is only when we acknowledge our own condition that we act with care and compassion to those that fall short. Â We must realize though they may be failing now we failed before and we will fail again. Â Sin is a cycle that is continuous and no one is exempt it started in the beginning when Adam and Eve ate of the tree and it will not end until Jesus returns. Â Those that believe in Christ have His righteousness imputed upon them and we are dependent upon that (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:8-16). Â We must always be seeking after God’s forgiveness and forgetting those things that are behind us.
I want to make it clear that I am not saying that we have a license to go out and sin all we want neither is our sin just excused.  We are not to continue in sin, not by being quick to judge and criticize nor by doing evil.  We all have weaknesses and shortcomings the person that really knows God is the one who is constantly seeking God.  ”And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
3. Â Everything that there is to know about a person is never known. Â How then can we judge and criticize? Â Think about all the things that mold us into who we are. Â Think about our parents what are they like, how were we treated for the 18 years we lived at home. Â What did our fathers or mothers teach us? Â What kid of friends did we have or do we have? Â There are many factors that influence the person that may be failing. Â Do we know what it is influencing them? Â What kind of genes has this person inherited? Â Are the loving, shy, strict, arrogant, strong, fiery? Â There is so much that influences the human life that only Go can know a person well enough to judge him. Â We can really never know someone well enough to pass judgment on them.
4. Â Judging others usurps God’s authority. Â When someone is critical and judges of another they are saying they have the right and are worthy to be the judge over other lives. Â They are in essence claiming the right to be God, which is absolutely ridiculous. Â Yet I believe most people including myself have laid claim to the right at one time or another, and some claim the right o exercise a judgmental critical spirit all the time.Â
Lets not forget what the Scripture says “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master [God] he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (brackets added by me) (Romans 14:4, James 4:11-12)
Tomorrow I will look at verse 2 and how 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.
Let me also make it clear that this series is not talking about specific occasions when value judgments must be made, nor is it speaking of the careful discrimination that has to be made at times, finally it is not speaking of the moral judgment that we at times have to make either. Â It is speaking of the harsh judgmental, and often critical spirit that has invaded our churches and our lives at times.
