Transition Time

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Transition Time

Good Afternoon! Have you had a busy day? Have you had a busy week? It's hard to believe it's only 4 pm on Monday. Last night as I was riding in the car with my girlfriend we were talking about a nasty habit of mine: using my phone while I drive. I know, this habit is horrible, and don't worry I have taken the most sacred vow possible, a pinky promise, that I am cutting the habit. 

But you don't understand, I am juggling a lot of things right now. I am a seminary student, a resident manager at a university, and I also serve part time as a Middle School Associate at a church. That doesn't even include personal life outside of those three activities! I don't have time to waste by driving back and forth between places. If I don't capitalize on every moment, I don't think I can get everything done....at least this is how I justified my texting/emailing and driving. 

Now this is not a post to complain about being over committed or me griping about time management, hear me out. I love the stage of life that I am in and wouldn't have it any other way. The idea of transition time didn't hit me until this afternoon when I was walking to lunch. I know that a favorite topic for culture to bash is when everyone constantly has their head in their smart phones. This is not the point, because today I failed in transition with my phone still in my pocket. I was so consumed in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice people passing me on the sidewalk. My face was not buried in my phone, rather my mind was far from Samford.

In Exodus 3 we see an incredible story in the bible, Moses at the Burning Bush. (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+3) The key verses that I want to point out here are Exodus 3:3-4. Moses declares that he will turn aside to see the great sight of a bush that is not burning. His decision to turn aside leads him to an encounter with God that would change the rest of his life. So what does a burning bush have to do with us today?

You have a lot going on in your life. Moses did too, in fact in Exodus 3 Moses is having a pretty standard day. He was taking an ordinary walk, and because he was present he could see something extraordinary. I am not telling you to put your phone away, because it bothers me to hear this message preached everywhere you turn, in fact you may be reading this on your phone right now. There is one question that I want to ask you, what is so important that you can't take time to walk? 

There are 24 hours in a day and I thank God that He doesn't put anymore in. It's so incredibly easy to fill up a day with tasks, chores, and activities. Why is it that we can't even allow ourselves a chance to breathe between the tasks? Allow transition time to be exactly that: transition time. How much different would our Bible have been if Moses had his mind elsewhere on his walk that day? 

Have you missed a burning bush because you didn't simply walk?

Thanks for reading and God bless!

-rcrawford

Trust

Trust

Good afternoon all! It's a pleasure to be with you again, and for those of you reading for your first time, thanks for stopping by. I'm really excited for what we have this week, I couldn't wait to get off work to start writing it down, so let's get started!

This week we'll be in Judges 7:1-8 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%207&version=NIV) with one of my favorite judges Gideon. Gideon's story embodies one word to me and that is trust. Prior to this passage Gideon is called upon by God to save the nation of Israel from the Midianites. When selected Gideon asks God for a series of signs to 100% confirm that God is asking for him. I had the pleasure of going through this story in a previous blog post titled Signs if you want to check it out on the side of this page. 

In this week's story though Gideon is preparing for battle and it is shaping up to be a big one. Gideon has 32,000 men at his disposal ready to march in and defeat the enemy...and yet God throws a little twist in there. In verse 2 God tells Gideon he has too many men, it would look like a victory for man not God with that number. So after a small test 22,000 men leave Gideon's army. 

22,000. Now I'm no general but I feel fairly confident that it's much easier to win a battle with more people. This is where Gideon's trust in God is strained. Webster defines trust as belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective. Gideon must now stand in front of only 10,000 people and inspire them onto victory. If we are to begin trusting God we must first understand that we are not intended for the spotlight. We preach, sing, and say so often that we trust God with everything and yet we want to be the center of our story and success, not God. The Israelites had fallen away from God many times before this incident with Gideon, and God wants to ensure that they will know He saved them leaving them no doubts.

Gideon's lesson in trust does not stop here though, as God tells him in verse 4 that he still has too many men. He sends them to the river to drink and asks that Gideon only keeps those that lap bring the water with their hands to their mouth. Logically it makes sense, keep those who are smart enough to look ahead while getting their water. Any war general would tell you this is AWFUL advice because Gideon's numbers then drop from 10,000 to 300! If I'm Gideon I probably would ask again and say, "So you wanted me to get RID of those that lapped the water not keep them right??" Yet God tells Gideon that these 300 are who He will save the Israelite nation with. 

Not only are we not intended from the spotlight in trusting God, often trusting God will pull us out of comfort. My brother and sister-in-love are the best example I have seen of this in my life as of late. Jon and his wife, Marissa, will be planting a church alongside a team in Bloomington, Indiana for the next two years. Church planting is not the easiest thing to do and requires massive amounts of trust in God that He will put the right people in their path as well as the resources for the church to grow and prosper. NOT only will they be doing this, but to get started Jon and Marissa have to get funded. Jon is the man that will fight you to the last second if you try to give him anything for free, and yet here they are...reliant. Reliant on God to begin paving the way for him to become funded so that he and his wife can BEGIN the process of planting the church. Jon stayed in my apartment this last week while meeting with individuals here in town not asking for only support, but talking to people sharing their story as Jon and Marissa are not only reliant on others during this process, but God to provide. 

So where does this leave us today? God would use Gideon and those 300 men to defeat a Midianite army that numbered as many sands on the seashore according to the Bible. Maybe God isn't calling you to raise up an army and defeat a great nation, maybe He's just asking you to trust Him in some small daily decisions? Trust begins as a seed in the small things, and grows into Faith in the big things. 

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope God blesses you in some incredible ways this week. If you'd like to know more about Jon and Marissa's story or how you might be able to join them in their journey feel free to message me!

Core Memories

Core Memories

Greetings all, 

It's been a long time since I last posted here and this blog is a habit that I need to bring back. I've been struggling to think of a starting topic for you all but tonight, at dinner with a dear friend, everything fell into place.

This week's passage is found in Luke 2:41-52. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202&version=NIV<-- That link will take you to the passage if you don't happen to have a Bible on hand. 

If you haven't seen Pixar's newest film Inside Out, I'd suggest going to see it ASAP. Don't worry though, no real spoilers here. The film takes place inside the mind of an 11 year old girl. We see her emotions and how they control her actions. One important part of the film is the introduction of core memories, memories that are so important that they shape different parts of an individual's personality. 

I began to ask myself the question: What would some of my core memories be? What are some things that are so vivid in my life that it shaped who I am today?

This brings us to our passage of the week where we read about a twelve year old Jesus. In our passage he visits Jerusalem for Passover as He had been doing for years. This would not be an ordinary trip though, as eventually His parents would leave him there for 3 days! Some of us have lost children/been the lost child in the grocery store for 5 minutes, I can't imagine being forgotten for 3 days! 

What is interesting though is the interaction when Mary and Joseph return to Jerusalem to find Jesus. They don't find Jesus panicking or worrying, but rather He is listening and asking questions. Now it's easy to pass this story off as Jesus being perfect and knowing all because He is the Son of God, but sometimes I feel we forget to notice that Jesus was also 100% man. He is recognized here for being wise and admired by all who saw Him. This core memory begins that in His father's house He gains wisdom and understanding. 

Do you remember the first time you experienced wisdom? Whether that be from a parent, teacher, or even a preacher? What moment told you how little you actually knew? I like to think that there are two different paths for intelligence to take as it grows. The first is folly: This is when your intelligence is used to place yourself above others as a superior being. We all know that person who seems so intelligent and yet constantly makes terrible decisions. "How can they know so much and yet be so dumb?" The second path is wisdom: This is when your intelligence is used to place yourself in perspective of just how little you actually know. God created an enormous universe and we are just little dots in the grand scheme of it all. So who are we as dots to place ourselves above other dots on the grand scale?

Mary asks Jesus why He would do this to His father and mother? He must have known they would be worried? When Jesus poses a question back to them and they do not understand what He is trying to say. We don't see Jesus explain why He had to be in His father's house though, but rather He is obedient and returns home, growing in wisdom and stature. 

When I read the gospels I often wonder how much turmoil goes on inside Jesus's body as He was both 100% man and 100% God. How much did He actually know from the beginning of the plan for Him? In this core memory Jesus tastes the wisdom of those older than Him, and yet does not place Himself above His parents showing his intelligence over them. It is in this moment that wisdom appears to be brought into Jesus's life.

And that is the beauty of core memories. Certain moments have already had an impact on turning you into the person that you are now, and yet for some moments you didn't even realize that it was happening. Maybe the first time you read a book, or played a sport, or even met a future spouse? I will be starting my 5th year in Residence Life here at Samford University in the fall and as I discussed this with my friend we talked about how the job has shaped us into who we are today. It is crazy to think that almost one-fourth of my life has been spent working at this job! I know that I have had some core memories develop in my time here and I look forward to seeing those traits grow!

So here is the challenge: We all have core memories that turn us into who we are. Jesus used a core memory of being left behind for 3 days to grow in wisdom, how will you use yours?

Thanks for reading, and I pray that God blesses your week in incredible ways!

-rcrawford

Confliction

Confliction

I will start off by saying that this will be a different post than previous posts on this blog. This blog is not meant to inspired false faith, or to weaken the faith that is currently possessed by readers. Today we will be looking at two quotes and comparing them to see if they have validity alongside each other or to see if they have no relevance at all.

The first quote I heard at a disciple now conference at my home church. The quote is this:

"Your view of God determines everything about you."-A.W. Tozer

Now this is an interesting statement when we begin to place it into our Christian faith. As Christians we generally hold a high view of God using words such as omnipotent, omnipresent, perfect love, and redeemer. We sing songs in worship services such as "All I need is you Lord." Yet we can walk away from a church service and at times feel no different than when we left an intriguing class. So what does Tozer have to say about this? 

Now please hear me. I'm not calling you out for being a bad Christian if you have ever sang these songs or used these words to describe God. I'm right there with you, I have admittedly sang these songs in a service before and not felt behind what I was singing. The question that I feel this quote is really trying to get at though is this: How does your view of God present itself in your everyday life? 

Doubt is something that we do not embrace well in the church. We should be 100% confident in our beliefs with no questions asked, and if you do have questions...don't even think about asking those to people. Yet while sitting in class I came across a quote from a philosopher named Paul Tillich. When asked about faith pertaining to God he had this to say:

"If there is no doubt in faith then it is not faith, it is knowledge." -Paul Tillich 

Thus the conflict began in my mind. These two quotes seemed to oppose each other in a manner that I could not deal with. If my view of God is supposed to determine everything about me, then how can I have any doubts about Him? How can I question things about His character? In reality though, I don't know everything about God. When it comes to problems in the world, I don't always have a clear solution that comes from my bible.

Once again, please hear me out. I'm not saying that I am renouncing my faith. I'm not saying that it's complete certainty with a knowledge of God, or a life living in a void with no answers. What I would say is that there are key things one must be solid on. We are sinful people as man and God is perfection. This perfection required something or someone to close the gap between the broken man and perfect God. Cue...Jesus. He died for our sins and asks for a relationship so that we continue pursuing a Christ-like life. A man who lived a perfect life in a not-so-perfect world.

There are certain things that YOU can be certain on in your faith, and that is ok. There are MANY things that you may not be certain on, and that is ok too. If we knew everything about God...then we would be God, and I don't know about you but I definitely don't feel comfortable with that role. So how should our view translate into our daily lives? Thankfully God lays it out for us in James.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -James 1:27

Always remember that God didn't call us to have all the answers...that's His job. He called us to show His love.

Thanks for reading and God bless.
-rcrawford

Signs

Sign

Being a senior in college is a strange feeling. There is the usual thought of it only feels like yesterday when I was a freshman, and yet it feels like college has been such a long portion of my life as well. Although.. I might attribute that to all of those philosophy lectures... but anyways! There are many thoughts that have been crossing through my mind, as I am almost halfway done with my final semester, which takes us to the topic of the day: Signs.

Our passage is found in Judges 6:36-40

36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— 37 look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with the book of Judges, I'll give you a basic rundown. God's chosen people, the Israelites, go through a cycle where they fall away from God, get captured, God sends in a rescuer (called a judge), God's people repent, salvation occurs, and back to falling away. Judges 6 is no different, but our judge is named Gideon. Now Gideon is not very confident in his ability to lead and when told that he will be used for the rescue of Israel he begins to test God. This is where our passage takes place and our first point. He begins with doubt. 

How many times do we feel called to do something, speak with someone, stand up for something, choose a different major, and yet we start out hesitant attitude. We immediately flood our mind with doubts and reasons that God must have gotten confused when He told us to do that. I'm not confident enough to go talk to them, why would God have me do that? I know nothing about that country, why would God call me to a mission trip there? Many of us do it, me included, and so we begin to ask God for signs.

Gideon's first request is a little weird, but God fulfills the sign to prove that He has chosen Gideon. Due to the already overwhelming doubt though, Gideon requests a second sign. Do we not do the same? How many signs does it take to get our attention? As I mentioned, I am a senior in college and with that comes a very real issue for lots of people, engagement. Is she the one? Is he the one? Are they interested in me? There is no way that someone like THAT could be interested in me. If there is an area of life that I myself and those around me have asked for signs in recently, this would be one of the largest ones. We ask God to guide us to that person, and sometimes when they are right in our laps we ask for even more signs just to make sure.

This doesn't pertain to you? Have you ever asked for multiple signs in the following areas:

• College Choice
• Career
• Major
• Friends
• Extracurricular Involvement

Gideon knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what God was calling him to do. He knew God was going to use him as the tool to save His people. Yet due to the doubts that Gideon began with it took two direct signs from God to convince him. Gideon's faith will even squander later on in chapter 7 as he prepares for battle.

So what do we take away from Gideon here? Well it appears to be simple. God has given you a call to something in your life, and I can't tell you what that is. IF you are confused on where to look, look no further than what you doubt. Often times the biggest tool that the devil can use to interrupt God's plan for you is self-doubt. YOU are a child of God who is loved and cherished and rest in the palm of His hand. God wouldn't call you to something that you weren't prepared for.

He doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. 

Thanks for reading and God bless.

-rcrawford

*If you'd like to follow to see when posts come out regularly, the right side of the page has my contact info as well as a space to fill in an email address for email updates!

Modern Parables-Say Something

Say Something

Hello again! So glad to have you all back here, it's been an amazing week, and I can't be more excited to share this with you guys. It is the final installment of the series, so next week we'll be back to normal. I heard our song for this week come on the radio though and instantly knew God had an awesome intention for this post.

So, as I post a link to the song, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVgixOjGhVU) I want you to ask yourself this question while you listen: Why do you have a reason to doubt?

There are many things in life that we come across that can shake our decision making processes. Whether it is an awkward moment, a fear of failure, or even disappointment to meet a desire we have all doubted something could/would happen before. The Bible shows us an example of someone who had a few doubts of their own...let's turn to John 11. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2011%20&version=NKJV) The passage we are looking at is 44 verses long, so please follow the link if you are currently unable to reach a bible.

There are two characters we want to look at in this passage to truly understand the meaning:

• Martha
• Mary

Martha, a sister to the man Lazarus who has died in this passage. A personal friend of Jesus, a mourning sister, a worker, and most importantly a believer in Christ. When we look at this passage we see Jesus arriving at the grave site of Lazarus, and Martha greets Him. She tells Him that had Jesus been there, her brother would not have died. When Jesus answers her saying her brother will rise again, she responds with even more knowledge of Jesus's teaching. He tells her a truth about Himself and she SAYS that she believes. 

Is this you? You believe in Jesus, you have seen Him perform miracles and yet you don't see why He hasn't solved this problem? Martha knew but did not truly believe. Our song opens with "Say something, I'm giving up on you. I'll be the one if you want me to, anywhere I would have followed you." Martha knew that Jesus could have done something, and so she feels the need to question Him here on WHY He didn't come in time to save Lazarus. She is giving up on His ability to save...

BUT WHAT ABOUT MARY?? She brings hope to us right? She too comes running and throws herself at the feet of Jesus, telling Him how she wishes He had come sooner for she knows that Jesus could have saved her brother. How does Jesus respond to this act of desperation? He sees her compassion, her pain, her belief, and He weeps. He asks Mary to take Him to the body. She had no expectations. You see when Martha shows up, she says that, "But even I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Mary is not concerned with this, in her pain all she wants is the comfort that Jesus brings. 

"And I will swallow my pride. You're the one that I love, and I'm saying goodbye." The song clues us into this image of someone who is walking away. Someone who has lost all hope, THE WRITER HAS GIVEN UP ON LOVE. And yet we have to ask....have we given up on love? Are we giving up on a Savior who loved us to the point of death?

Sometimes we look to God to make Himself real to us. We just need Him to say something....anything. In the silence though we wonder if He is there. We decide like Martha in the story to give him one last chance, we roll away the stone and look into the darkness of the tomb, into the darkness of our pain, into the darkness of our doubt.....and we wait. Then Jesus, calls into the darkness with a voice of compassion, because it literally pains Him to see His loved ones, YOU, hurt.

So why are you doubting Jesus right now? What are you expecting? Are you wondering why Jesus didn't show up, why He let this pain go on? Are you thinking that Lazarus will come walking out of the tomb? I think there is one thing that this passage and this song teach us, so if you hear nothing else hear this:

• Sadly we all live in a broken and sinful world, in broken and sinful bodies, with broken and sinful expectations at times. When God shows up, and how God shows up, will ALWAYS shatter all expectations. Say something, so what could happen if we stop restricting what that something could be?

Thank you for reading and God bless.

-rcrawford

*If you'd like to follow to see when posts come out regularly, the right side of the page has my contact info as well as a space to fill in an email address for email updates!

Modern Parables-I'm in a Hurry

I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)

Good Afternoon! I hope all of you have had a marvelous week. I know it's not been a full week since the last post, but I'm trying to get back onto a consistent schedule so that these posts don't seem so randomly placed. This week I felt that it was necessary to step away from the pop feel that the songs seemed to lean towards, so a little country twang is what we'll be listening to this week. 

Our song is titled I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why) originally by Alabama. In 2013 a band called Florida Georgia Line released a cover and it can be found here for those unfamiliar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htr2-u64aMs

How many of you have had a busy weekend? A weekend of running from one place to another? I once met a business man who was absolutely opposed to vacation. I chuckled and asked him why, and he gave this response: Vacation is just ridiculous. Why would I want to take a week off so that I can work twice as hard the week before or after? 

In Mark 10:13-16 we find Jesus giving an interesting teaching. 

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

When I go to my church at home I love to sit in the balcony. You get to observe all kinds of people, today though I got to see one of my favorite things. There was a baby who appeared to be about a year old and she was as happy as could be. The speaker was not so important to her, but soft chairs for her to sink her teeth into? It was Christmas all over again for the little girl. 

The chorus to our song this week goes like this: I'm in a hurry to get things done, oh I rush and rush until life's no fun, All I really gotta do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why. This sounds like such a sad life right? The songwriter is openly saying how useless he feels life is. Like a prisoner he is bound to his actions everyday with no purpose behind them. Is this so far off from us though?

I asked at the beginning of the post how many of you have had a busy past few days? Why are you busy? The disciples try to keep the children from swarming to Jesus, but He tells them to let the children come. The children had no separate agenda, they more than likely didn't know what was to come after seeing Jesus. This is unimportant though, for now they just wanted to be with Jesus.

I like to think I am learning to grasp what busy means. Living in college there is always another club or organization that wants more of your time. Why are these important though? Relationships? Resumé Builders? Can't we fall into the same habits with our Christian lives though? The second verse of the song talks about being on time, but why are you on time for church? Is it respectful or is it because you want to chat with friends before service? Maybe it's because the living God is in that place and you just can't wait to get there? Don't worry, I am not pulling a holier than thou statement here because I too fall into the habit of rushing to church for those exact same reasons. 

Challenge the process. Take a break, do something to break the day-to-day schedule up. The disciples were trying to keep the children away from Jesus. Only the wise and learned should be around Jesus. Only those who are intelligent enough to comprehend His teachings. Jesus told them that this was not true. These children just wanted to be with Jesus. It wasn't another stop on their schedule. It wasn't a service they had to attend before they started homework. It wasn't the thing keeping them from lunch. It was Jesus. 

So why WOULD I want to take a week off of work so that I can work twice as hard the next? After bouncing and biting for nearly 45 minutes of the service this morning, the little girl in front of me rested. Because sometimes we all need to stop, break the monotony of schedule, and find Jesus. I promise it makes the schedule worth living. So that way when you look at why you live and die, I pray you can see Jesus is the reason why. 

Thank you for reading and God bless!