Don't just sit there, Go!

 

Note to Self by Joe Thorn is a book that I now use as a daily devotional. Each day I will share the scripture passage and an expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts as part of my blog.

Scripture passage Matthew 28:19-20

Go 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.

Section from the book

If you want to be useful to God, you will need to be the person who moves first. You have to take the initiative to move toward the people God has put into your life and the people God has sent you to. Most will not come to your church’s worship gathering, most will not seek out your advice, and most will not strike up a conversation with you. You will have to go to them.

The opportunities are always there, but they are difficult to see if you are too focused on yourself. You must take the time to be truly present where God has put you

 Simple thoughts

Imagine yourself being the second car at a stop light, the light turns green and the car in front of you does not move. How long is it before you do something? Before throwing your arms up in disgust, or honking your horn? Probably not very long, you say to yourself why do they not just go! It’s not that hard! More than likely God says the same thing about you. In Matthew 28 Jesus says go, ask yourself are you just sitting there, not moving? In sharing your Christian faith you can’t stay put and wait for people to come to you, you have to go. Your reasons for not going could be many but the root of the problem is you’re too focused on yourself just like the person sitting at the green light in front of you is focused on something other than going.  So please take your foot off the brake, hit the gas and just go.

When it come to forgiveness, look in the mirror

Note to Self by Joe Thorn is a book that I now use as a daily devotional. Each day I will share the scripture passage and an expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts as part of my blog.

Scripture passage Colossian 3:12-13

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Section from the book
Your refusal to forgive one who has sinned against you is a manifestation of hypocrisy—a telltale sign that either you have not experienced God’s forgiving grace, or that you take such grace for granted. Why do you withhold what has been given so freely to you? Have your offenders done worse than you? Are their crimes against you more severe than your crimes against God and others? When you refuse to forgive, it can only mean that you have not yet come to understand forgiveness, or you have been taking it for granted and have not yet sufficiently learned from it.

 Simple thoughts

When Christians gather forgiveness is a topic that generates a lot of conversation. People have a hard time forgiving and if you’re honest with yourself the person you have trouble forgiving has probably done what, one or two things to you? Even if it was ten or twenty that is just a drop in the bucket for the sins you have committed against God yet he forgave you. So when you have trouble forgiving someone look in the mirror and ask yourself, do I even know what forgiveness or grace is or do I take it completely for granted? Scripture says you must forgive.

Resturant review: 801 Chophouse

801 Chophouse

 

Recently I got to experience 801 Chophouse in Des Moines. I’ll admit I am nervous going in to any place that is out of my league. But thanks to Stacy and Jared our family got enjoy a dining experience that we may never get again. Upon entering 801 I was immediately taken back by the aroma that filled the place. I was originally going to say smell, but that would not do it justice. I remember saying that this was the best smelling restaurant I had ever been to hands down. The aroma of grilled steaks filled the place. I could have just sat there for hours and been happy just taking in the fragrance of grilled prime beef. As for the place it’s self it was very nice lots of beautiful woodwork, adequate lighting and the like. Not as stuffy as I anticipated. ( if you see me ask me about the men’s restroom.) Besides being with my family the highlight of the evening after thinking about it was the level of the service. So refreshing to have someone wait on you who know what they are talking about. Our waitress explained everything very well and brought out and explained the cuts of steak. We had the porter house, the Delmonico and a New York strip all very good. For the sides we had some of the best scalloped potatoes I’ve ever had, the garlic mashed potatoes were exceptional, the steam broccoli was cooked well, and the gnocchi was good. The overall winner of the sides at the table was the fresh Iowa creamed corn.   We finished the evening with some cheese cake and a soufflé served with chocolate, raspberry, and a vanilla bean sauces that were amazing. The soufflé you have to order at the beginning of the meal because it takes almost an hour to create and is rumored to contain 16 eggs. The soufflé itself was worth the trip. The value score is the only thing for me that held 801 back. Overall a great experience.     

 Price range: (everyday, a night out, a special occasion only) Special occasion

Overall rankings all based 1 to 5

Atmosphere:  5

Service:         5

Food:            5

Value:           3

Overall          4.5

 

801 Grand Ave # 200 Des Moines, IA 50309
(515) 288-6000

Stop pretending

 

Note to Self by Joe Thorn is a book that I now use as a daily devotional. Each day I will share the scripture passage and an expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts as part of my blog.

Scripture passage Romans 1:12

¹² When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours

Section from the book

When you pretend, you lose gospel influence in two ways—inwardly and outwardly. You lose the inward influence of the gospel in that you are not honest with others and deny them the opportunity to speak into your life.
You lose outward influence of the gospel in the lives of others because you can’t offer them anything that is real. Your best resource for speaking into others’ lives is from what God is doing in you, the fruit that God is producing in you. But the fruit you want others to see is plastic. It is believable from a distance, but it nourishes no one. It is not real.

 Simple thoughts

A lot of people pretend that everything is okay even when it’s not. I think it becomes a pride thing that you don’t want anyone to know that there is something wrong in your life. Did you ever stop to think that by always being okay when someone asks may lead to three different outcomes? One may be a missed opportunity for you to share the Gospel by how God is working in your life. Another may be the missed opportunity that the person you are talking to could have possibly helped you. Or last and most likely that you come off as plastic fruit, just plain fake and when you do this you do no one any good. So don’t pretend when you interact with people especially God’s people be real.  

Tipping for poor service

Note to Self by Joe Thorn is a book that I now use as a daily devotional. Each day I will share the scripture passage and an expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts as part of my blog.

Scripture passage Matthew 7:1-2

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged

Section from the book

Are you merciful, compassionate, and forgiving, or do you gravitate toward giving people what you believe they deserve? How do you receive people who are hostile to the gospel? How do you speak to or of people who are your social/political opposite? Here’s a good test for yourself—how do you tip servers at a restaurant? Not just the good servers but even the bad ones. Have you considered that tipping generously, even if the service is bad, is a demonstration of grace that is not likely to be lost on the server? Stop judging. Let the gospel compel you to live by grace and demonstrate it to those around you.

 Simple thoughts

This one hurt, I’ll be honest I never thought about tipping poor service as grace, but that is exactly what it is. I think of the poor service I gave Christ before becoming a Christian, and yet after; yet he chose and chooses to love me anyway, it humbles me. I still to this day struggle with wanting to give people what they deserve especially when it’s not good, like less of a tip for poor service. I even become self-righteous when people do something wrong or do not live up to my standards. Sometimes it makes me feel good or even superior to them. But yet again when I look at the example of Jesus and how he was perfect and sinless and how I am a sinner and don’t even come close to His standards and He still loves me anyway. That is what grace is and how I should think about it. Does a poor waitress deserver a bad tip, you bet! Do I deserve Hell, I do! Thankfully God is a great tipper. I’ll never look at tipping the same again.  

What do you want?

Note to Self by Joe Thorn is a book that I now use as a daily devotional. Each day I will share the scripture passage and an expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts as part of my blog.

Scripture passage 1 Peter 1:13
⁵Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Section from the book

What is your greatest hope? Your deepest longing? Is it for Christ to return? Be honest. That’s not always at the top of your list. The reason you are not eagerly waiting for Jesus is because you either misunderstand his second coming and/or love the world more than your King and his kingdom.

 Simple thoughts

Truthfully, there is nothing I can say about the section of the book today, truly sobering if you stop and think about it. Something to ponder today.

 

Who found who?

Note to Self by Joe Thorn is a book that I now use as a daily devotional. Each day I will share the scripture passage and an expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts as part of my blog.

Scripture passage Psalm 73: 1-3, 17

⁵ In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”

Section from the book

The more robust, the more detailed your theology, the more humble you should become. Why? Because you did not figure God out; he revealed himself to you.

The proud theologian has somehow convinced himself, or at least acts as if, he discovered God. But you understand that you did not uncover the truth of God like some kind of rock star archeologist. He sought you, caught you, and gave you sight, knowledge, and life.

 Simple thoughts

What is the one thing that is everywhere and that no one has ever found? The answer God. I get a kick out of it when someone says they have found God. My gut reaction is to say I didn’t know he was lost.  The truth is the person who really has God in their life will be the first to acknowledge the fact that they had absolutely nothing to do with it. The person who has God knows they were not looking for Him but in fact they were running from Him. They know that it was God who sought and caught them. For those who tend to think they had something to do with it or even those who think by their own intellect have figured God out they are the ones who run the risk of becoming prideful and arrogant.  I have actually seen some who really, really knew the Bible and theology crash and burn because of their pride and it wasn’t pretty. The more a person knows God the more humble they should be because they realize His glory and their sinfulness. When it come to God just remember who found who.