Author Archives: Justin

Feb 29

CYC 2012

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Last weekend 43 of us from Karns attended Challenge Youth Conference in Gatlinburg. It was an extremely beneficial weekend for everyone. Personally, I think it was by far the best year overall that I have ever attended. I thought all the speakers did a tremendous job with their lessons and our group devotionals where some of the best time we spent all weekend. As I sit back and reflect on what I hope is a launching pad for a fantastic 2012, I want to share with you some of the quotes that stood out and challenged me over the course of the weekend.

“All the devils apples have worms.”

“We will have to give account for the things we know and for the things we should have known had we been listening.”

“You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.”

“Temptation is a proposal to fulfill a legitimate need in an illegitimate way.”

“The penalty of sin last longer than the pleasures of sin.”

“Not feeling shame doesn’t make something right!”

“Until we decided sin is something detestable, disgusting, something we hate, we are not protected from sin.”

“When we change our mind about what we love and about what we hate, then we can protect ourselves from sin.”

“We can’t have a flirtatious relationship with sin.”

“When what you want is greater than what you fear, you’ve lost the battle with sin.”

“There is nothing I can do to make God love me more; there is nothing I can do to make God love me less.”

“My actions are a measure of my love for God. Can people look at my life and tell I am into God?”

“Two reasons people don’t become Christians: 1) They don’t know any Christians; 2) They know some Christians.”

“Do people praise Jesus because of you?”

“If your friends followed you today, where would you lead them?”

As I said earlier, my life was richly blessed because of CYC ’12. Lord willing, I’m already looking forward to next year.

Now that’s Something to Think About!

 

Father, thank you for an incredible weekend at CYC. I pray all those who were in attendance will take to heart the challenge that was presented. Help us to be people who truly hate sin and are hooked on you. Lord, please forgive us when we fail you and give in to our desires. Help us become more like your son. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

 

Feb 15

The Blame Game

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I read a quote by Perry Noble the other day that caused me to stop and spend some time reflecting on it. The quote was, “The person who always has to blame is always lame.”  This got me to thinking; am I a person who spends a lot of my energy and time blaming others for my actions, my mistakes, my shortcomings, etc.?

Many of us today seem somewhat incapable of taking the blame for our mistakes and failures in life. Instead we want to look at the people around us and pass it off on them. Unfortunately, this is nothing new. The blame game has been going on since the beginning of time. Do you remember the account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3)? After they both had disobeyed God by eating of the forbidden fruit, neither one of them was willing to take responsibility for their sin. In fact, when God asked Adam if he’d eaten of the tree which he was commanded not to eat, Adam immediately blamed his disobedience on Eve: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12). As if that weren’t bad enough, Adam seemed to push the blame even further away from himself when he said: “The woman whom you gave to be with me.” Not only is Adam blaming Eve for his actions, but it appears he had the audacity to blame God. Are you kidding? Really Adam?

As for Eve, she didn’t do any better when she had the opportunity to take responsibility for her actions. When God asked her what she had done, she said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (13).  Eve followed in the steps of Adam and placed the blame on the serpent. Here we have two people who were clearly guilty of disobeying God and neither one wanted to take responsibility for their disobedience. Instead, they took the easy way out and placed the blame on someone else.

Friends, that’s just lame! If we are guilty (and we usually are) we need to take responsibility for what has happened. Paul wrote, “For each one will bear his own load” (Gal. 6:5). According to scripture each one of us is responsible before God for our actions, mistakes, struggles, etc. We better accept the blame and strive to make it right because we will eventually have to answer for it (Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). Don’t be lame, accept the blame and make things right!

Here are a few things to do when you are to blame (which is all the time) for your actions and disobedience.

  1. Pray and ask God to forgive you (I Jn. 1:9).
  2. If your actions have caused others pain, apologize to them and make things right (Matt. 5:23-24).
  3. Work on taking responsibility for your actions (Prov. 28:13).

Now that’s Something to Think About!

Prayer: Father, please help me to take responsibility for my actions, my mistakes, my struggles, my problems and every aspect of my life. When I am tempted to blame others for these things, please open my eyes to my personal responsibility. Help me to see that I have no one to blame but myself. Please forgive me for my need to blame others and help me to be more willing to accept responsibility for my actions and seek forgiveness. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Feb 06

Words Aren’t Enough

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The apostle Paul wrote, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).

Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39).

Peter wrote, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (I Pet. 4:10).

John reminds us, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (I Jn. 3:18).

Paul summed it up by saying, “Through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Gal. 5:13b-14).

The words above have been lived out by so many recently. Over the course of time Caden was in the hospital, I can’t count the number of calls, texts, Facebook comments/messages and visits we had. Miranda and I were overwhelmed by the amount of love and support we were shown by our church family as well as many others. We can’t even begin to thank you enough for your kindness. There aren’t enough words to truly express our gratitude so please accept our sincere and heartfelt thanks. We consider ourselves blessed to be a part of the Lord’s church. When Caden is old enough to understand, we will share with him your love and concern for him, as well as Miranda and me, during his time in the hospital. Again, from the bottom of our hearts, Thank You.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy” (Phil. 1:3-4).

Now that’s Something to Think About!

Feb 04

What More Can We Accomplish?

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Last Sunday night I gave our State of the Student Ministry Address to our students and parents. I started out with what a fantastic year 2011 was for the Karns student ministry. We accomplished so much more than I had even hoped to accomplish in our first full year together. Looking back on it, I’m not surprised at all. The Karns congregation, and especially the young people we have here, are some of the best I have ever encountered. I would put this group of students up with the best of them. However, I wanted to remind them that 2011 is in the past and we are now one month into 2012. The question I wanted our students and parents to consider was this, “What more can we accomplish?” “What more can we do through our student ministry to aid in our student’s faith development?”

The answer to that question is very simple. With the help of God, we can accomplish much more than any one of us could ever dream. Do you remember the words of Jesus when telling His disciples how hard it was for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? He said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mk. 10:27). As long as we are following after God and His will, anything is possible. It is my hope and prayer that this year the Karns student ministry can help our student become true disciples of Jesus. I don’t want to just have a group of students who are devoted to activities and youth gatherings, but rather I want a group of students who are hungry for knowing God more intimately and whole-heartedly devoted to following after their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Baptizing them is not enough; let’s move toward teaching them what a true relationship with the Lord really results in, one who is willing to follow Jesus wherever He leads. The Bible refers to this as a disciple.

And Jesus said unto them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. God therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18-20).

Now that’s Something to Think About!

Jan 30

It’s Been Awhile…Welcome 2012!

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It has been a little over a month since my last post. I took an extended break from the blog world to enjoy the newest addition to our family. Caden Lee was born on January 6th @ 8:19 a.m. Miranda and I are extremely excited to have Caden in our lives. Since his birth it has been important to me to spend every waking minute with my son and less time writing or doing some of the other hobbies I enjoy. I’m going to be honest with you… I didn’t miss my hobbies at all. I enjoyed every minute I had with my boy! However, now that  Miranda and I are somewhat adjusted to this new life of ours, I am picking back up my hobbies of writing, reading and running, all the while spending every free moment I have with Caden.

With that being said, let me tell you about some of the things I have been thinking about lately. As 2011 came to a close, I did a lot of thinking and praying. Here are some of the things I prayed for and am continuing to pray for in this New Year.

  1. I prayed/pray that I will be the kind of husband Miranda deserves, the kind of husband God desires me to be (Eph. 5:25, 28).
  2. I prayed/pray that I will be the kind of Father that God desires me to be to Caden (Eph. 6:4). I want to take my responsibility as a dad to heart and love my son unconditionally and set an example for him of what a relationship with God is suppose to look like.
  3. I prayed/pray that God will help me to be more effective in reaching out to those who are hurting, both physically and spiritually (Eph. 4:32), and  also to look for more opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are lost and dying in their sins (Matt. 9:37-38).
  4. I prayed/pray that I will help, along with their parents, to develop the students God has blessed me the opportunity to work with into true disciples of Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20). I don’t want to have kids who just participate in youth group activities; I want to have students who are whole heartedly devoted to Jesus. If their heart is devoted to Jesus, no matter where they go or what they do, I know the Lord and His church will be in the forefront of their mind and actions.
  5. I prayed/pray that I will spend even more time devoted to studying and meditating upon God’s holy and divine word (Psa. 119:97).  I want to know God in a way that I have never known Him before.
  6. I prayed/pray that I will make it a point to spend a significant amount of time each day talking to my heavenly Father about my life, my hopes, my dreams, my struggles, my trials, my temptations, etc. (Phil. 4:6-7; I Thess. 5:16-18).
  7. I prayed/pray that God will help me make the best use of my time. I’m tired of allowing sports and television to take so much of my time. Time is a commodity that is precious. I want to use it wisely (Eph. 5:15-16).
  8. I prayed/pray that God will help me to make better choices when it comes to my overall health. As a student minister, I’m always on the go which means I eat a lot of fast food, especially with the students. It’s so easy to think that because I’m at Burger King I might as well go with the loaded Double Whopper and fries. Our bodies are a temple that are not our own. I want to glorify God in my body (I Cor. 6:19-20).
  9. I prayed/pray that I will use this blog to God’s glory (2 Thess. 1:11-12; Col. 3:17). In spite of what some might think, I want my post to help/challenge the readers in their walk with the Lord. I am hopeful that I will do a more efficient job of that this year. Yes, I know…that probably means posting more often than I’m accustom too.
  10. I prayed/pray that I will use my life as a living testimony/sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1-2; Matt. 5:16). When people see my life, my actions, and hear the words I speak, I want them to see Christ living in me.

It is my hope and prayer that 2012 will be the best and most productive year of my life. I know that with God’s help, anything is possible (Mark 10:27).  May all of us use this year to bring glory and honor to our great and awesome God!

Now that’s Something to Think About!