Part 2: Breaking the "grace abuser" mold

Last night I continued my conversation about breaking the "grace abuser" mold with my 11th grade bible study here in Branson. We came up with a list of reasons to break the mold:

1. Obedience is Worship to God
2. God is a God of order
3. Walk in a manner worthy of the death of Christ
4. So that God my be Glorified in our lives
5. So that others may see the light and come to know Him
6. To honor Jesus
7. To illustrate our love for our King
8. We have died to sin and become alive in Christ: "Born Again"
9. To be free of Guilt, ie: Clear Conscious
10. Free from Addiction
11. Be a man of Character and Integrity
12. To be sanctified or "set apart"
13. Be a Good Leader
14. So that no one can call us a Hypocrite
15. Eternal Investment

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire."

Salvation is a free gift, but rewards, for those who are saved, are earned. One day we will all stand before the "Judgement Seat of Christ"and the quality and heart behind the good works we have done will be tested by fire. Those done out of love will be rewarded- another great reason to break the "grace abuser" mold!!

Breaking the "grace abuser" mold

A young man emailed me this question:

"Every time I get on a good streak, I break it within a week and keep on living my life. I sin, confess it, pray, and repeat. I realize that I'm a human and a sinner, and I always will be. Nobody's perfect but God. I think that's why I still have a lack of motivation, I think that's why I'm complacent. I think to myself, "If I'm always going to be a sinner, what's the point of really trying hard?" Even hearing good advice and stories of success from my youth group leaders, who struggled through the same stuff when they were younger, doesn't make a huge dent. Even that phrase "If I die today, where would I spend eternity?" doesn't work for more than a couple days. I'm not into drugs or sex or robbery or anything super bad like that, but I've done some pretty bad things. I guess it's not that bad when you compare my case to others, but still if I'm not living how God wants me to be living 100%, then I think again: "What's the point in trying hard?" Romans 10:9 and God's infinate mercy don't really help this situation either. As long as I'm truly sorry and confess my sins, God will forgive me, right? I'm just scared my bad habits will become my character, who I am. I'm scared that someday I might not be truly sorry for my sins. What then?"

First of all, you are right to be concerned about becoming hardened to the sin in your life. If we continue to sin our conscious will eventually be drowned out and the pleasure/addiction to sin will become a drug of sorts. The only way I know for a man to change his character is by immersing himself in the things of God. IE: listening to Christian music, bible study, accountability, youth group, DAILY quiet times, daily prayer for strength. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The thoughts circulating through your mind will eventually become the beliefs in your heart and the beliefs in your heart become your character.

You are right, you will always struggle with sin. However, God has given us the strength to break the chains of sin through his Son. 1 John 5:3 says this “For this is the love of God, that you obey His commandments and His commandments cease to be burdensome.” The more time you spend with God the more you will fall in love with Him and the more you love Him the more obedience becomes a joy.

Here are some scriptures that speak directly to this situation:
Romans 6
1 Corinthians 10:13
Ephesians 4:1

Kanakuk at the Missouri Discovery Center on Feb 28th

On February 28th, Kanakuk Kamps is sponsoring the Wire Bike at the Springfield, Missouri Discovery Center’s Kids Camp and Educational Fair. It’s FREE and open to the public from 10am to 5pm. I’m going to be there! It will be great to see all the Kanakuk kids and families there. If you come, wear your Kanakuk shirts and bring your friends. We are going to pass out some T-shirts and just have a great time hanging out and riding the wire bike. Hope to see you there!!

K2 Counselor on ER Tonight!! Introducing Kristolyn Lloyd!!

ATTENTION: K2 Counselors and Kampers, Kristolyn Lloyd, our very own K2 counselor, is going to be on ER this Thursday (Feb 19-yeah tonight) at 10 pm (or it might be 9 pm for you depending on where you live). All she will tell Ashley is that she plays Angela Bassett's daughter! Boomshakalaka! Here are some pics on the set of ER and of Kristolyn from K2 08.


Pictured Above: This is an actual, undigitalized/unenhanced/unimported/non copy and pasted picture of my wife, Ashley Robbins, touching her forehead to the forehead of Hollywood Starlet Kristolyn Lloyd!! Whoa.

This is a picture of Kristolyn getting touched up on the set of ER.

Here is Kristolyn's trailor door. She had a trailor...awesome. Anywho, check it out my freinds. Just another Kanakuk Kamps star being born. Now we have an American Idol: Jordin Sparks, American Gladiator: Tim Oliphant, Jimmy Kimmel sidewalk star: Geoff Todd, Heisman winner: Sam Bradford and ER Star: Kristolyn Lloyd to add to the list of Kanakuk heros in recent years.

Carter Hulsey Concert!!

Ashley and I went to see Carter Hulsey in concert for Valentines Day on Saturday. As many of you know Carter led worship this summer with Brady and Jennifer White. He is so talented and we absolutely loved seeing him in his element!!

Many of you have asked, "Is Carter coming back this summer?" And officially, as of Saturday night the awnser is YES!!
You can check out Carter's music and concert schedule at his Myspace page below!!
http://www.myspace.com/carterhulsey

Tutorial: How to ride a wild donkey. By Shay Robbins- Donkey Rider

Step 1: Find yourself a wild donkey, like the beast pictured above.

Step 2: Become the Donkey Whisperer. In a soothing voice reassure the beast that, "everything is going to be ok", "i am a your friend, donkey" and "i have some corn for you to munch on...it's delicious."

Step 3: Look into the Donkey's eyes...into his soul.

Step 4: Make contact with the beast. Give him the thumbs up to calm his donkey nerves.

Step 5: Every so gently position yourself to the side of the beast. Note: do not get behind the beast as he will use the most lethal of defense mechanisms in all the Animal Kingdom: the deadly...DONKEY KICK. Now, swiftly perform a left legged chuck norris roundhouse kick to the spine of the beast. This will temporarily paralyze the monster.

Step 6: Muster all the tenacity of the Legendary Donkey Riders that have gone before you and sink in a Kung Fu grip into the mane of the beast. At this point expect the donkey to come out of the paralysis delivered from the Chuck Norris roundhouse to the lumbar spine you delivered moments ago. With the swiftness of a black shadow ninja assassin slide into the full mount position and hold on for dear life. Upon completion of your mission you will have earned the highly coveted title of "Donkey Rider".

Chinks in My Armor

I was having coffee, about a year ago, with my friend and mentor Bernard. We were sharing the highs and lows of life. Thankfully our conversations always lead to the lows. I know that sounds depressing but there is great value in sharing the hard parts of life. This particular morning we were discussing the spiritual battle we are in.
Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Understanding that we, as Christians, are going to war day in and day out gives weight to every step we take. In fact, it is wise for Satan to disguise this truth. With this shift in perspective everything we do has greater urgency and importance. Instead of dreaming up ways to minister we develop strategies for War. Instead of scheduling our day we lay out Battle plans. This is the way of life for a Mighty Man of God. I am getting all jacked up just writing about it!!

If we are heading to war there are some checks and balances that we must administer. This particular day Bernard and I talked about the "chinks in our armor". A chink in the armor is a point of weakness, an area of vulnerability that the enemy can target and attack. If one weakness is exposed and exploited in can change the course of the battle.

As men of God we must step back and take a hard look at ourselves. It is easy to see the chinks in our neighbors armor yet incredibly difficult to see our own. This is because we don't want to recognize our own weaknesses. Pride thwarts this check and balance more often than not.

For the next week or so I examined my life. The obvious weaknesses surfaced immediately: lust of the eyes, pride, thought life, etc. But I am aware of these issues. The enemy is sly, he uses those areas to distract us so that he can work subtly and without detection. I knew there had to be more. With much prayer and contemplation I discovered my chink. Honestly, I did not like what I uncovered. The chink in my armor is self glorification, the desire to build myself up. The scary thing is that I can use God's ministry to do this.

Since then I have began a campaign in my own life to fortify this chink in my armor. I am making some strides but it is still a battle. I am learning. One of my stategies of war is to pass on the lessons I am learning to others. Today I want to ask you, "What are the chinks in your armor?"

Give me 4 seconds to brighten your day.

Men at the Cross Charlotte

I attended Men at the Cross Charlotte this weekend. Joe and I ran in to our 6th term Cherokee chief, Collin Ball, at the event. It is always fun to run into K2 kampers as we travel across the states with various Kanakuk Ministries. Seeing Colin got me so excited for the upcoming summer. We have been brainstorming and planning non-stop since kamp concluded August 12th. Kanakuk is the most exciting Christian Sports Camp (we spell it with a K!) in the WORLD!! Admittedly, I am very biased:)

Check out our new Kanakuk Website to see what's in store for summer 2009!!