Weight & Words: Wanting it more than anything else

To my Readers;

One show I have always enjoyed watching is NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” Since the show first aired in 2004, it has quickly become one the TV’s most loved shows. People all over America have found this show heart warming and inspiring. One thing I absolutely love about this show is these very different people’s incredible determination to beat their battle with obesity.

One particular cast member that I completely enjoyed was Season 9’s winner Michael Ventrella. Michael started the show as the Biggest Loser’s heaviest contestant, having a starting weight of 526 lbs. When asking how He felt, Michael said, “At 526 pounds, nobody at that weight can ever feel any sense of hope.” However, by the end of the show; Michael had lost 50.19%, weighing out at 262lbs. He had lost a grand total of 264 lbs. Michael broke every record the show had, including losing over 30 lbs in his first week on the show and being the quickest to lose 100lbs. When asked what got Michael through the show, he responded saying:

“I realized, ‘You know what? I’m going to give it everything I got to battle this and tackle this because I’m done with being like this."

I found this to be such a true statement. Essentially Michael won this battle because he wanted it more than anything else in the world. I know there are many times where I’ve allowed my relationship with God to suffer simply because I wasn’t giving it everything I had. When it comes to our faith, we must have the same determination Michael had.

In the scriptures there is a man named Joshua. He had lead the Israelites for a number a years and towards the end of his life he called all the Israelites together. It was here Joshua says the last thing recorded of him speaking to the nation of Israel. After reminding them of all the miracles God has already done for them, He says:

“So honor the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15, NLT)

He challenged the Israelites to choose whom they will worship. They wouldn’t be allowed to sit on the fence any longer. Once they had chosen, they were to do it wholeheartedly, no turning back. Like Michael Ventrella and his battle with obesity, they were choosing to serve God above anything else in the world. When we truly chose to follow God with everything we have are we actually beginning our journey. Going only half-hearted is no different than someone who is trying to half-heartedly lose weight: they will just end up back where they started if not worst off. If we choose the other things we desire over God, essentially we wont go anywhere spiritually.

So I challenge you: choose today who you will serve wholeheartedly. Will you choose to serve God above everything else in the world? And when you mess up, get back up and continue with your commitment, remembering a race isn’t run in a day, but all the days up until that day.

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule

"I command you- be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9, NLT

P.S. Here is a before and after picture of Michael Ventrella:

Bookshelves & unread books

To my Readers,
Thursday’s can be a rather busy day for me. The pentacle of the day is our college/young adult ministry called two42 at 7 P.M. It is quite an amazing ministry based around Acts 2:42, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” (NLT). Once my morning classes are finished, I travel across San Antonio to the north side where CBC is. Here, my awesome coworker Tori and I start setting things up for two42. On most days, Tori and I finish early enough to where she can then go get ready while I normally relax in Stuart’s office.

Stuart has quite a nice office His office doesn’t have the usual cramped and overflow of paperwork most pastors have. In fact, his office is quite simple. He has a small simple desk. Across the room sits two very comfortable chairs that are in front of open windows overlooking the parking lot. What is the point of describing Stuart’s office? Well the point is my favorite part of Stuart’s office: his bookshelf. You see, His bookshelf is about 7 feet high with two columns filled with books. Being the bookworm I am, I constantly look at it and observe the books Stuart has read (or owns). I have looked over this bookshelf many times over, and yet it amazes me every time I observe it, a different book pops out to me that hadn’t been there before. Its my favorite part of looking at Stuart’s bookshelf : finding something new that was there the whole time.

The interesting thing is how much the Bible is exactly like this. Hebrews 4:12, (NLT) puts it this way, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” As a Biblical Studies major, I read the Bible quite often. In fact, it is nearly always one of my textbooks in all of my courses. I say this NOT to toot my own horn, but to say that despite, how many times I have read through the scriptures, something always illuminates itself that I hadn’t noticed before.

I have recently read Ephesians 2:8, NLT saying, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” I very often have read this verse over the years, however it never spoke to me as powerful as it has now, especially the first part of the verse. Many times I’ve read, heard, or even quoted this verse but the Holy Spirit has given me a different or new illumination of the verse.

What I’ve learned is how no matter how much I think I know or study, I never have it mastered. I do not know it all. In fact, the more I’ve studied I’ve found the more there is that I do not know. How often do we think we have it all figured out? I cannot tell you how many times I’ve reread a passage and found myself asking, “Why didn’t I read this sooner? How did I not see this before?” So continue to read and find that God’s Word is alive and powerful. It is not just an old book that has nothing to teach us anymore. The more we study, the more will learn and see that there is so much more to learn. Continue to study, continue to search, continue.

Simply,
Tex g.m. Rule
“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” Philippians 3:7-11

Car Keys & Angry Babies

To My Readers:

One thing you should know about my boss Stuart, is that his daughter is the most joyful baby I have ever seen. She is always smiling and super funny. Savannah is precious and if you asked anyone at two42 at CBC, they would agree she is always cheerful. Recently, CBC had their volunteer banquet where the staff serves the volunteers, which truly have done so much for the church over the last year. CBC brought in Christian comedian, John Acuff, to speak to our volunteers and while he was speaking we had the occasional baby scream and parent walking out. At one point, I did what every person fights not to do. As I heard the baby scream, I turned and looked to see what baby was making such a ruckus. As I did this I noticed that Stuart was walking out of the sanctuary, Savannah in hand.

Today I was talking with Stuart and asked about Savannah, having heard she hadn’t been feeling well lately. He laughed and responded, “No. What actually happened was that she was playing with car keys and I took them away. She got angry. Its amazing that at ten months they already have an attitude.”

I laughed it over, but it continued to lull over in my mind. I couldn’t get this realization out of my head. The keys belonged to Stuart. They were his keys. He just allowed for her to play with them for a time and that time was up. Savannah only knowing, she had keys to play with and now she doesn’t because of Dad, got upset. I’m sure she thought something along the lines of, “Hey! What do you think you’re doing? I was playing with those. Those are my keys!” Ultimately, the keys belong to her father. He could choose what to do with them, as he wanted. Then it hit me. I am just like Savannah.

How many times has God given me something for a time and I instantly thought of it as mine? How many times when the time God decided to take that, did I get upset and throw a temper tantrum? Don’t we all do this with things on a daily basis? We can read in the Scriptures God saying, “…for all the world is mine and everything in it.” (Psalm 50:12, NLT). It all belongs to Him, ultimately the decision what to do with it is His. Yet, when He gives us something we thank Him. However, when He takes it away, we get angry.

In the scriptures there is a man named Job. This guy had it all, a large home, great wealth, huge family. However, when the world comes tumbling down and he loses everything from his children to his health, Job’s first reaction isn’t anger. It’s praise. Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave.
 The Lord gave me what I had,
 and the Lord has taken it away.
 Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.” (Job 1:20-22, NLT). When was the last time we fell in worship while mourning? Being authentic enough to not hide our shame and distress. There was no hiding the shaved head and torn clothes. People knew Job was mourning and yet, Job still praised God.

What have we been holding onto too tightly? What do we need to let go of? How can we remind ourselves ultimately everything belongs to God?

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule

"If I was hungry or thirsty I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it." Psalm 50:12, NLT

All that Jazz

To My Reader,
The other day I was driving home from work when I saw a sign for the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. It brought back a flood of memories of performances, tours, and the many late long practices. Any musician will tell you that practice isn't a part of music, it is the way of music. A few years back, I arrived at Colorado Christian University as a Music Major. It was a wonderful time of my life. I learned so much while I was there. My absolute favorite part of CCU's music program was Mainstream, their Jazz Band. When I came in I remember knowing that in music existed Major and Minor scales. This is important because in Jazz music there is a ton of solo sections and during them, a musician improvs a solo over what the band continues to play. These sections usually had their chords structures labeled out so by chords so the musician can know what to play during these solos. In order to know what notes fit well here, you must know your scales and which ones fit during this time. However, As i would find out, sometimes playing these scales I knew didn't sound right as I played them. They didn't fit well. Because of that when it came time for me to solo, I was usually rushed, flustered, and in a constant state of distressed worried that someone would figure out I really had no idea what I was doing. After a gig I would desperately wait for someone to tell me I had played well or that it sounded good. I later found out that the two different set of scales I had known, were not all there was. There was many many scales to learn. More so, they had confusing names and required a great amount of diligence to master by memory. For a while after finding this information, I just continued in what I had been doing, struggling to get through my solo, knowing that wasn't the best it could be. I remember watching our guitarist, David Vanderham solo. He could play so well and seemed to know perfectly what notes to play when. When David played, everyone knew David knew what he was doing. I wanted to be able to play like he did. I knew that I could have actually played like David if I had figured out these scales and practiced them diligently.

I have found that this is really similar in my relationship with Jesus. I have learned so much about the different spiritual disciples and yet sometimes I don't practice them. Being in the Word and prayer daily sometimes eluding my priorities. Spending time talking and listening to what God has to tell me isn't always my focus. Though, if I want to be more than I am. To truly be a follower of Christ full heartedly, completely I must practice these things daily. I must practice and read the scriptures because when the times comes to do that 'improve solo' I will play like David did, beautifully and with understanding, rather than like myself, who desperately grabbed at any note that I could play. Everyday we face times where life requires us to improve, and yet we are not practicing. Living "the way" isn't the easiest thing to do. It requires discipline which many of us do not enjoy doing. Music is truly made when a musician knows what they are playing. In this life, we can shine when those times come by enduring the days where it seems as though nothing is happening, where we have 'better' things to do, when we want to give up. There is always hope. Lets hope for the day when we all make music when the time comes.

simply,
tex g.m. rule

Another Year has passed...

To My Readers:
Well it seems that I really have given up on blogging for awhile. As you can or have already realized, I haven't blogged in nearly a year. Tonight it would appear that my mind is racing and in need of a vessel to communicate. Now here I am, with a a cup of tea in hand, ready to type.

Recently I've done some soul digging and I've hit some rather large boulders that needed dynamite to shatter. I've found diamond and gold minds full of treasures and good fortunes. I've also at times gotten lost and found deep dark places I didn't to revisit. Yet, despite the strange metaphors, this recent soul searching brought out some specific questions I wanted to leave with you and possibly allow you to mull over as much as I have lately. I just recently started a job at Community Bible Church as an intern. Being there has certainly stretched me and has me working really deep into relationships. I have worked hard to really be authentic and try to learn to love people better. Its taken me deeper outside of my comfort zone than I am used to. Trying to find better ways to authentically get community with folks brought about these questions. I'd ask that you do not become offended by them, they are speculations I have made for myself that I want to deepen and continue to grow and work through. I thought since they have helped me they may help someone else as well. Good luck with them.

Q1. How often do I (you), spend more time "worshiping" God by only listening [or reading] to the great knowledge, wisdom, or music of pastors and scholars; whether via book, podcast, or attendance on Sunday and say that is enough?

Q2: Shouldn't Christians be known not by our podcasts, messages, or books but rather by our actions of love? (Romans 12:1-2, John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:6)

Q3: If that is true, how often do I (you) do acts of love? When people look at me, do they see an impersonal 'rambling, preachy' guy or a man who really loves people and wants to change the community into a fellowship of love?

Q4: If not, what is stopping me? What is so much more enticing about being impersonal and fake and shallow? What is so enticing about not sharing in community with people? Why would I not want to share in love and community with them?

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule

"I have told you this so you may have peace in Me, there will be tribulation in the world; but take heart. I've overcome the world." John 16:33