All posts for the month May, 2013

Why Blog?

I was talking to someone today (I won’t mention any names) and have been trying to convince them to start a blog. They told me I needed to come up with a compelling list of reasons as to why they should blog, so I told this person I would turn it in to a blog and send them a link! So why do I blog?

  • I really like to write. Ten years ago writing was one of my least favorite things to do, but as I’ve grown and continued writing, it has continued to grow on me. It’s very helpful for me to get my thoughts written down in one centralized place.
  • I really like to read. I love reading a novel just as much as the next person, but I also read a good deal of theology and blogs on a daily basis. It’s helpful for me to have one place where I can look back and see some of the things I’ve been reading and some of the blogs I’ve enjoyed reading.
  • I really like to interact with people. In some of the ways I process, I need to have a stream of thought that I can trace and then finally get to a conclusion. This blog allows me to share some things other people have written and then process what they’re saying.
  • I enjoy interacting with culture. I listen to a lot of music and watch many movies. This blog is often a place I can process some of the things I’m hearing and watching, Lord willing, from a biblical perspective.
  • Finally, I hope this blog is helpful to the people that read it. I pray that I glorify God with the things I say on here as I continue to grow in Christ-likeness. I know there will be things that I look back at and regret saying in my immaturity, but I hope and pray that overall God is glorified through me as I try to discern his will and guiding in my life.

So hopefully this will help convince my friend to start blogging! I’ve really enjoyed this process and am looking forward to writing more in the future!

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by mikethestrand on May 16, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 16, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/16/why-blog/

Ministering in the Midst of Pain

I’ve been reflecting a lot this past month on the life of Job who, in the world’s, and even his friend’s eyes, seemed to get the raw end of the deal in life. For those of you who don’t know the story, Job was a man who was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1). Job was an incredibly rich man and God had blessed him because he feared God. Through the course of the story, Job loses everything except his wife who eventually told Job to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9), she doesn’t sound like a pleasant woman to be around. As Job is aching from sores covering his entire body, his three friends come to console him. However, instead of consoling they continually wage war against his mind in an attempt to discover some hidden sin and reason as to why God was punishing Job this way. Job continues to maintain his innocence until God finally speaks to Job and his friends and asks a series of questions that none of them (or us today) would be able to answer. This past week someone on twitter posted a link to Job 42:2 which is Job’s response to God. Job, who suffered far greater than anyone I know, was able to say:

I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel with knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

One of the biggest things I’ve been learning through some trials the past month is to put everything in perspective. God is a good, perfect and loving Father who continues to care for me and guides me when I don’t understand what’s going on in my life. James 4:8 says, “draw near to God, and he will draw near to you,” and I’ve slowly been discovering that over the past month. God has wonderful ways of getting ones attention, and most often it is through painful situations. Romans 8 is a wonderful chapter that guides us through the process of suffering well. In verse 18 Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” It’s not even worth taking the time to compare! What awaits us in glory will far exceed any trial we will need to face on this earth! Later on in verse 32 Paul says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give him all things.” God isn’t some far off being who doesn’t care about the intricacies of our lives as some people would suggest, rather he is continually involved in weaving together our lives for our good and his glory. And he understands suffering! Mankind would never be able to reach God on our own power, so God came down to us in Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins and now because of that, we can enter into God’s presence with confidence (Hebrews 4:16).

So how can we faithfully minister in the midst of suffering? By “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) Continue to keep your eyes on him, until we, with Job, can say, my eyes now see what my ears had once heard.

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by mikethestrand on May 13, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 13, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/13/ministering-in-the-midst-of-pain/

Rhythms of Grace – A Review

My dad suggested that I read a new book by Mike Cosper titled ‘Rhythms of Grace: How the Church’s Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel.’ My basic summary of it is that I loved it! The book starts off with a theology of music throughout the Bible. Mike starts off by saying, “The story of worship (like the story of the gospel) is all about God.” Mike traces worship from creation in the garden of Eden through Israel in the wilderness to Jesus.

Mike then goes on to explain the premise of his book, something he calls “Worship One, Two Three” That is: “one object and author, two contexts, and three audiences.” Obviously, the one object is God, the two contexts are scattered and gathered. “Worship scattered is the Spirit-filled life of the Christian in the world, and worship gathered is the meeting of God’s people to remember, encourage and bless each other. And finally, there are three audiences: God, the church and the world.

One of my favorite chapters was chapter 6, ‘Worship as Spiritual Formation.’ I have tried to emphasize this through my ministry, all worship, even singing, is spiritual formation. In this chapter Mike writes “Whoever dubbed the debate over musical style a “worship war” failed to realize that worship is always a war. The declaration that there is one God, that his name is Jesus, and that he has died, has risen and will come again is an all-out assault on the saviors extended at every level of culture around us.” We are always at war with our flesh as we attempt to submit ourselves to the will of God in our lives. This even ties in to music as we won’t always sing songs that every person in the congregation enjoys, but the two main points of our Sunday morning singing are to encourage one another and to give praise to the only God who is worthy of that praise. Mike goes on in chapter 9 titled, “Sing, Sing Sing,” to talk about some of the issues that we deal with in music. He says a couple things that get to the very heart of the matter. “We love what we love, and we think everyone who disagrees with us is ignorant.” This is so true, and something I feel when driving every day. If someone drives faster than me I assume they’re a maniac, and if they drive slower than me I assume they’re a grandpa. But then he goes on to say, “Today, when many worship services are reduced to preaching and music, it becomes very easy to equate music with worship-and that’s a dangerous slope to park your car on. If music is worship, then when you mess with someone’s musical preferences, you threaten their acces to God. No wonder the debates become so heated.” Finally, Mike says, “Worship is a broader thing than music, and music’s purpose in the church is bigger than my personal experience. It’s not merely my song, but our song. We sing together, uniting our voices and our words.” Amen!

I really appreciate Mike’s approach throughout the book as he continually brings the reader back to Scripture and to the history of the church. So often people live with, as C.S. Lewis called it, “chronological snobbery” where we think we know better than any other generation before us. It’s helpful to have a historical perspective in our theology in regard to our whole worship service. And his use of Scripture clearly permeates his whole being as everything comes back to the Word. I would encourage anyone in the church, both pastors and lay people who want to know how they can better use music in their church and worship of God.

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by mikethestrand on May 10, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Blog, Book Review, Theology
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 10, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/10/rhythms-of-grace-a-review/

After Graduation

May is upon us, which means I have started receiving invitations to graduations. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s already been 6 years since I graduated from high school and 2 and a half years since I graduate from college. The adjustment from college to being an “adult” is a very difficult transition, and sometimes it still like I’m still adjusting.

This is a great time to begin planning for life after graduation, and in that idea here’s an article on ‘12 Things to Do After Graduation.’ I’d add to this list reading Kevin DeYoung’s ‘Just Do Something.’ I hate to burst any recent graduate’s bubbles, but unfortunately, you will probably not get your dream job as soon as you graduate. So instead of sitting around waiting for that job, go do something. Find a job somewhere, make some new friends, do some fun trips, invest in your younger siblings and get a head start on your life! I met some fantastic friends right after I graduated that I continue to be incredibly grateful for. We did some crazy things together and had a blast living together.

So what should you do after graduating? Just do something.

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by mikethestrand on May 9, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 9, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/09/after-graduation/

Who Are You?

Who are you? This is a question that is often asked as one is just starting to get to know people. How do you identify yourself primarily? Are you a Christian? A college student? A Starbucks barista? How do you identify yourself?

I read an article today titled ‘Facing the Truth‘ that encourages one to view themselves as they truly are: fallen and in need of a Savior. It says:

But you see, the story we tell ourselves is skewed. There comes a time when we need to sit and take account of how we’re spending our lives, like at the doctor’s office or with the budget, and be reminded that we are not who we think we are. We need Jesus more than we allow ourselves to admit.

“We are not who we think we are.” So many people refuse to admit that they are fallen and daily in need of a Savior. In the hours I’ve been awake today, I have sinned more times than I can count and am worthy of eternal damnation. But thanks be to God that I have a Savior who took the penalty for me and continues to extend grace to me.

Do you realize your need for a Savior on a daily basis? Are there things in your life that you need to let go in order to better realize that need? And if you’re not a believer, what is keeping you from putting your complete trust in Jesus? You will not realize how great your Savior is until you realize how great of a sinner you are.

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by mikethestrand on May 9, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 9, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/09/who-are-you/

Practicing for Heaven

Do you ever practice for anything? I have at least one practice every week for music on Sundays, and usually I have two practices. When I was growing up I practiced basketball for hours on end and my parents forced me to practice piano. These days my practice generally falls into two categories: reading and music. I read so I can grow in my knowledge of God and I practice music because I love it and because it’s part of my job.

Have you ever thought about anything on earth that we are practicing for heaven? My dad wrote a couple pieces recently on music (The Church’s Corporate Singing: Reflecting the Now and the Not-Yet-Ness of the Kingdom, and The Singing Church: Praise, Prayer and Proclamation). I also just recently finished reading ‘Rhythms of Grace‘ by Mike Cosper, a fantastic book I strongly recommend if you think through anything related to worship. Through my dialogue with my dad and reading that book I was reminded that singing songs together today is practicing for what we will one day do in heaven. 1 Corinthians 13, the famous love chapter says, “As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” So many things people on earth put so much stock in today will eventually pass away, and what will remain? God’s love.

Revelation also paints a picture of us singing praises to our God, starting in Revelation 4 with the four creatures and twenty-four elders, continuing in Revelation 15 singing the song of Moses, and finally the great multitude in heaven praising God in Revelation 19. We are a people who sing praises to our God, and we are a people who will be singing praises to God for all eternity. Preaching will someday be done, because we will be in the very presence of God! Teaching will someday cease because God will reveal himself to us! But singing is something we will get to do for all eternity. So do you regularly sing praises to God, or are you too worried about what those around you will think? Do you view singing as a way to practice for heaven?

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by mikethestrand on May 8, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 8, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/08/practicing-for-heaven/

Always Content

One thing that’s been on my mind a lot recently is that I’m turning 25 this year. Now I know in the big scheme of things and compared to many of the people that I spend a good deal of time with, that isn’t very old, but I sure do feel it. “I feel thin, stretched, sort of like butter scraped over too much bread,” in the wise words of Bilbo Baggins. This has led to the beginnings of a quarter-life crisis for me: what am I doing with my life and why? One of my reactions to that is to begin my seminary training, but the other thing I’m learning to do is to always be content. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I know so many people who complain about living in Cheyenne, Wyoming which isn’t the thriving metropolis of a Denver or Minneapolis. Yet as Mark Driscoll says, the boring seems to follow them wherever they live.

I found an article titled ‘40 and Content,’ that gets this exact point. The main thrust of the article is: “Question: Instead of obsessing about changing the world, what if we just gave ourselves to living in glad obedience to Jesus in the trenches of an ordinary life?” That is a great question! In Paul David Tripp’s book ‘What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage‘ he says that life isn’t made up of a number of big choices, but of thousands of daily little choices. Being healthy isn’t one big decision to work out once and be done, but a daily decision to work out and eat healthier. Can you be content with an “ordinary” life lived in complete surrender to God?

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by mikethestrand on May 8, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 8, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/08/always-content/

On Avoiding Christian Scholarship

On an incredibly exciting note for myself, I am planning to begin my seminary education this fall! Cue the obscene amounts of caffeine and late nights. One of the things I struggle with in my pursuit of higher education is how to apply a text to my life and not just allow it to be an academic pursuit. Throughout most of my undergraduate education (pretty much until my final year of school) I was simply trying to get a passing grade in my classes until it suddenly struck me that I need to be applying what I learned to my life! (See Luke 12:48)

I found a very interesting post titled ‘On Avoiding Kierkegaard’s Indictment of Christian Scholarship‘ that is worth reading. Kierkegaard begins by saying,

The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in this world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.

What a scathing review of the academic pursuit of a believer! Yes, it is incredibly convicting to be alone with the New Testament, but because of my academic training and some very godly teachers, I have a proper lens through which to view the Scripture I’m reading. I know so many people who have a wrong interpretation of Scripture that ends up dictating their life (God helps those who help themselves, don’t judge lest you be judged). Without a proper background and training it’s so easy to pick and choose the pieces of the Bible you want to apply.

So I’m going to enter into seminary with a different perspective than I entered my undergrad work: with my eyes wide open to see how God wants to further rule in my life as I attempt to apply Scripture to my life. May He alone get all the glory!

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by mikethestrand on May 8, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 8, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/08/on-avoiding-christian-scholarship/

How To Preach A Confusing Text

The Gospel Coalition has a great blog today on ‘How To Preach A Text When You Don’t Know What It Means.’ In it, Michael Patton (great first name!) shows the difference between preaching and teaching and lists the following examples:

  • Preaching is exhortation; teaching is education.
  • Preaching is the discharge of the gospel of hope; teaching is discipleship of the gospel of hope.
  • Preaching puts wind in the sails; teaching put an anchor in the ground.
  • Preaching raises our eyes to the things we know with great conviction; teaching helps us to understand what things we can have legitimate conviction about.
  • Preaching tells you which option is correct; teaching gives you all the options.

To me, it gets down to the basic question of why do we preach? We should preach to proclaim the Good News of what Christ has done in our lives, how Christ continues to work in our lives and what Christ will eventually do when he returns. He ends the article saying,

Sometimes we need to settle for good sermons with wrong texts. Sometimes we are going to be unsure of the exact interpretation of a passage of Scripture, but we don’t have to sacrifice giving our congregations something to believe due to the obscurity of our text. We can still preach the Word with full integrity by focusing on the principles that are universally true even if we end up being wrong about our interpretation. It is important that you let people know there is some legitimate debate and what you are about to preach could be wrong. But assure them that the principles that you preach are not wrong as they are found in other places in Scripture. That is how you preach a sermon when you are not sure what the passage means.

Give them something to believe.

Do you have something to believe? Do you have the conviction it takes to preach a sermon on a confusing text or do you simply give up?

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by mikethestrand on May 7, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 7, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/07/how-to-preach-a-confusing-text/

Dual Hard Drives in My Mac

With technology changing faster than I can keep up, there is one new piece of technology I recently installed in my computer to help clear up some space and give me a MUCH faster computer. I got a solid state drive.

For those of you who don’t really know how computers work, your hard drive is your most fragile piece of the computer, and generally the most prone to fail. The way standard hard drives work is by spinning and using magnets, but when you use a laptop you’re generally moving around which can bump parts of the hard drive and cause it to fail. Today, solid state drives get rid of those spinning parts and operate much faster than a regular hard drive. BUT those solid state drives are generally much more expensive than regular hard drives. So what is the answer for someone on a pastor’s budget? Dual hard drives! I found on lifehacker (a tech blog) an article about how to have 2 hard drives installed in a MacBook Pro and I thought I’d give it a shot and I am already blown away!

The basic premise of doing this is to put all your apps and operating system on the solid state disc and leave all your files that take up much more space on the regular drive so you get speed of the solid state drive without sacrificing the space of a regular drive. You do lose the use of your CD drive in the process, but for the 2 times a month I use it I thought it was worth it. My programs are opening faster, my computer starts faster and I cleared up almost 50 GB of space on my hard drive. I would strongly recommend this for anyone who uses their computer for more than word processing.

You can order the CD drive replacement here, and I would recommend getting the bay for the optical drive, which lets you plug your CD drive into a USB plug and still use it. The solid state drive I bought was a Samsung drive that I found on NewEgg for $80. Let me know if you have any questions about this!

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by mikethestrand on May 7, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Life, Technology
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Posted by mikethestrand on May 7, 2013

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2013/05/07/dual-hard-drives-in-my-mac/

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