Category: Faith

back together…

Adam MashniLeave a comment

last night was a great time.
not only did we have 80+ student ministry leaders all in the same room celebrating what God is doing at NorthRidge
not only did we eat a HUGE thanksgiving feast together…
but Scott Cunningham graced us with his presence at the end of the night
and the only appropriate thing to do was to play CRUD

scott leaves for Nicaragua on Friday (serving as a missionary for Food for the Hungry)
check out his blog here
scott was a member of the student ministries team here for a number of years
and we are proud to see all the great things God is doing in his family
pray for him, pray for his family
and pray for his ego…he lost the game of CRUD.

God is…

Adam Mashni2 Comments

in my B90X reading plan, i started reading psalms yesterday…just wanted to write down the phrases that were used when referencing who God is…

rock
shield
fortress
strength
stronghold
deliverer
support
rescuer
faithful
guide
King
hope
merciful
victorious
alive
avenger
savior
kind
creator
redeemer
help
mighty
holy
trustworthy
near
worthy
shepherd
provider
creator
good
instructor
gracious

i’m glad to be connected to a God like that.

Energizer Bunny & Mountain Dew

Adam Mashni1 Comment


there are definitely seasons in ministry where i feel like the energizer bunny
it’s go go go
i drink plenty of mountain dew and i, along with the student ministry guys, give it all we have for a certain period of time
that’s life.
that’s ministry.
no doubt Jesus experienced this during his time on earth
he would be in one city giving it all He had…and after a boat ride across a large lake he’d be expected to do it all again in a different city.
and often times He sucked it up and He ministered
He healed people
He spoke truth
He gave people hope.
but make no mistake…he took time to rest
he withdrew.
he stopped.
and so we do the same.
we take time to stop…to reflect…to refuel
i look forward to these times.
i usually head to a park, bring my Bible…
put my phone on “airplane” mode so no one bugs me
perhaps bring a pair of running shoes
all in all i make sure that there are no distractions
my goal? to reconnect with God
as a song so rightly puts it, to “flood this thirsty heart.”

we all need rest.
we all need to refuel.
no one can “go go go” and live to tell about it
there’s only so much mountain dew you can drink

Not about the guitar

Adam MashniLeave a comment

This week i tagged along for our junior high outreach trip to panther, West Virginia
It was a fantastic week
I also got to lead our students in worship during the night sessions
It was a great time
Only one problem.
I forgot my guitar.
Yup. Realized it a good bit into the trip.
There we were on the road, there my guitar was by my desk.
What did we do?
Wal Mart toy section
The guitar I bought was abnormally small.
It wouldn’t stay in tune
And by the end of the week it was hard to decipher any legitimate guitar sound from it

The ironic part?
Jesus was still worshipped
Voices were still lifted
Hearts were still focused
Which leads me to believe it’s not about the guitar.
At all.

God, give me wisdom

Adam MashniLeave a comment

have you ever found yourself saying “God, give me wisdom!”
i have.
i’ve said it alot lately.
then i remembered something (or rather, God reminded me)
it was almost like God was yelling…
“HEY! I wrote a book once. and in that book there’s another book. it’s ALL ABOUT WISDOM.”
you laugh.  but it’s true.
i wonder if we should stop asking for wisdom and start pursuing it.

or perhaps it’s one of those both/and things.

By Faith…

Adam Mashni5 Comments

was thinking today about all that we, as christians, believe.
conclusion:  we believe some pretty wacky stuff.

by faith we believe

that behind this created world is a loving creator
a virgin gave birth to God’s son, Jesus.
Jesus lived a perfect life (didn’t sin), died on a cross, and rose again.
that by rising again Jesus defeated death…so that we can live.
that anyone who calls on Jesus will be saved

that hell actually exists, and that it’s gonna suck
that Christians make up the Church.
that as the Church, we have access to the Holy Spirit.
that this is the same Holy Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead.
that through Jesus we are “adopted sons and daughters” into God’s family.

that the power we have (God in us) is greater than the power that’s in the world.
that Satan is really real and he’s really mean.
that the Bible is the only inspired word of God.
that one day the world as we know it will cease to exist.
that Jesus is coming to our world again…this time to reign forever.

that no matter what a person has done, Jesus loves them.
that he died for them.
that no one is beyond grace.
that anyone can be redeemed.

I believe all of that.

the theology of private ryan

Adam MashniLeave a comment


i watched Saving Private Ryan on Memorial Day.  great reminder of the sacrifice made for the freedom we enjoy.
i had seen the movie before, but had forgotten the power of the plotline.
to do an injustice to the movie i will now sum it up with this statement:
a team of soldiers mobilize to find another soldier, private ryan, in order to grant him his freedom (a trip home).
throughout the entire movie the discussion is had – how valuable is this one life (private ryan’s) that we would risk a team of 8 soldiers to bring him home safely?
that’s a great question.
most of the 8 soldiers end up dying to save private ryan…and one of the last words muttered from the captains mouth was:
earn it.
translation: live a life worthy of the sacrifice me and my team just made for you.

I couldn’t help but think of christianity.
ephesians 4:1 calls believers to “live a life worthy of the calling you’ve received.”
pause:  there is NO WAY we can earn salvation.  i’m not saying that.  we are not under the law anymore…we’re under grace
it’s not by our works that we are right with God…its by Jesus’ finished work on the cross.  amen.

every analogy breaks down somewhere…but the lesson is the same.
every day we have the opportunity to live our lives in such a way that it would be considered “worthy of our calling.”
all too often we use that “we’re-saved-by-grace” mentality as an excuse to do absolutely nothing about our faith
that’s not how its supposed to be
let’s pursue discipline
let’s pursue stronger faith
let’s pursue generosity
let’s pursue sacrifice

let’s pursue lives that are worthy of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

Get on with it

Adam Mashni1 Comment

Lazarus was dead 4 days before Jesus showed up.
it was common knowledge that at day 4, the body has already started the process of decay
so when Jesus said “roll the stone away,” you can imagine the looks on everyone’s faces
the people had every reason to not roll the stone away
it was over for Lazarus

so many times in our lives we think it’s over
but its not

the decay of sin has an effect on everyone
we all make stupid choices
choices that make us feel like “it’s over” for us
but Jesus is “the resurrection and the life”
it’s not over until He says its over
so go ahead, roll the stone away…get on with living