Blake Bouldin

Random Thoughts

I am sitting here watching Belmont University play Duke feeling exhausted.  We moved again today and even though "Two Men And A Truck" showed up to help us with the heavy stuff, it was still a long day.  Thank God for my wife Angie who showed up to help sort things out.  I don't know if it is because I am ADD to the max but when it comes to sorting out the minutia of where everything goes, I struggle.  Angie, on the other hand, can step in and get the job done.

A special thanks to Jody, Joey, Rob, Ron, and Locke.  These men showed up last night in a torrential downpour and helped move stuff.  All day long yesterday I thought no one would want to come help with the move if it rained and boy was I wrong.  These guys poured in (pardon the pun) like it was sunny and 80 degrees.  Thanks to my peeps for all the hard work.

Spring break started today for my kids.  I am glad that they get a break, but what I am really looking forward to is spending a week in Panama City, Florida at our favorite hangout.  I am planning on just vegging out for a solid week.  No shoes, no shirt, no problem.

Still praying that Easter will be a huge day for our church.  I hope everyone who reads this blog will pray that God will use WCC to help people far away from God come to know Him as their Savior. 

Belmont is playing Duke tonight.  I hope they win.  Gotta go watch.

What Did Jesus Say?

Photo by Asbo Jesus 

Is Your Load Too Heavy.....

                                                                                                

"Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls. For My way of carrying a load is easy and My load is not heavy."  Matthew 11:28-30

What Jesus Never Said

There is a website that I go to called Seeds For Thought (www.seedsforthought.org) that is provocative and stimulating.  Recently I read an article called "What Jesus Never Said." I wanted to share an excerpt from it that really hit home with me. Let me know what you think. Seriously....Let me know.

Here is the excerpt:

How does one effectively hold up a mirror to society so that we better understand who we are and what we really believe?  We need the kind of mirror that can reach into the depth of our souls and shake up the complacent hodgepodge of conflicting values.

The following represents such a mirror.  It presents the opposite of what the biblical record reports Jesus as saying.  What we find is that this opposite describes pretty accurately what we really hold to be true, despite religious loyalties.

"It is the successful and socially accepted people that I have come for: I have no interest in the rest, and neither should you.  Separate yourselves from them, and associate only with the hypocrites who pretend to be righteous. Learn what this means: I desire image, not purity, pretension, not authenticity, class distinction, not brotherhood: I come to call those who cannot possibly respond to me, for they have already justified their sins in their minds, and have no taste for being forgiven...."

Compare this passage with Matthew 9:12-13 below which is what Jesus really said.

"Jesus heard them and answered, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, `Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.' I didn't come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners."

Which one of these does your life represent.  Could it be that the opposite of what Jesus really said is a more accurate depiction of what we really hold to be true?  I think we all know the answer.

What Would Jesus Do?

I didn't hear or see it on the Emmy's, but I have since been informed about what Kathy Griffin said about Jesus when she accepted her emmy for My Life On The D-List.  Here is part of the quote:

"Lots of people come up here and they thank Jesus for this award.  I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.  So all I can say is s--k it Jesus.  This award is my god now."

Now obviously this is blasphemous!  And obviously I disagree.  I mean think about this, 94% of America's founding era documents mention the Bible. 34% quote the Bible directly.  How can any well educated person not understand that the freedoms we enjoy in America are directly related to Jesus Christ who died on a cross 2,000 years ago? Her words are illogical.  Even if she doesn't believe in Jesus, from a historical perspective, she surely must understand that the luxuries of being able to pursue her career and to obtain wealth, and to live like she does are all made possible by the very God that she chose to fulminate against.

But what should our response as Christ followers be?  What would Christ's response be?  I think His words in Matthew 5 give us some indication. Jesus says:

"You are familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.'  I'm challenging that.  I'm telling you to love your enemies.  Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.  When someone gives you a hard time, respond with energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves.  This is what God does.  He gives his best--the sun to warm and the rain to nourish--to everyone regardless: the good and bad, the nice and the nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus?  Anybody can do that."

And then He says:

"In a word what I'm saying is GROW UP.  You're kingdom subjects.  Now live like it.  Live out your God-created identity.  Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

I know what Kathy Griffin said was wrong and out of line.  But I have been wrong and out of line 1,000 times myself.  God's response to me has always been forgiveness.  He's always chosen to love me even when I was unlovable.  Isn't that what He has called us to do?  There is no excuse for what Kathy Griffin said.  But here's a question to consider: Do Christ followers stand a better chance of introducing her to our Savior by ripping her for her mistake or by loving her?  I think we all know the answer.  The question is will we do it? 

Jesus said: "Let me give you a new command: Love one another.  In the same way I have loved you, you love one another.  This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples--when they see the love you have for others."  John 13:31-35

What is your treasure?

Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-21

When I read this passage the question that penetrates my mind is What is my treasure? What's yours?  For Jesus, the thing he treasured most in the world were lost people.  People who did not have a relationship with him.  It's what drove him to tell the stories that he told and go the places that he went.  It's what drove him to argue with the religious "elites" about such sacred subjects as work on the Sabbath.  I love it when Jesus says to a group of men trying to make him out to be a bad guy because he is working on the Sabbath, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?  How much more valuable is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath!" In other words, Jesus was saying, "you guys are so steeped in your stupid traditions and your way of doing things, you have forgotten what the treasure is...the treasure is lost people!

So what's your treasure?  The quickest way to find out is to listen to your heart. Your heart dictates what you do and where you go.  It is what directs who you spend time with and who you don't. It directs where you spend your money and what you spend your money on. So do some introspection.  What's your treasure?  Let me end this blog with a principle that I learned from a guy by the name of Vince Antonucci.  Check out this quote.

"We find God’s heart for lost people by being around lost people, and we lose it when we’re not. So here’s the question I continually have to ask myself: What can I do to get myself around lost people? Because if I’m going to improve at reaching lost people, I need to understand and have God’s heart for them."