It's All In The Title

"It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ."

 - Martin Luther

I just saw this quote on Facebook, posted by, my good friend and former youth group member, Matt Vargo. Just wanted to say thanks to Matt for the quote! It reminded me that I want to share with you why I called my blog “Limitations meet Lofty Thoughts.” 

There are three parts to my title: "Limitations," "Lofty," and "Lofty Thoughts."

Part 1: The aforementioned quote gets at the heart of my meaning of “Limitations.” This is a reminder to me every time I read it of my own inability to comprehend God, my own sinfulness and my desperate need of a Savior. It is a reminder to me of Paul’s words “as such were some of you,” when he referenced the list of sins. It is a reminder to me to look back before looking forward. It’s admitting that I limited and need to look to Jesus for hope.

Part 2: Lofty is a play on words for me. My youth group is called Loft. It initially began as a reference to “The Room Upstairs Where the Youth Group Meets” or TRUSWTYGM as per David Keiper. Since TRUSWTYGM is too hard to say, we called it “Loft.” Recently Abby Reichenbach has recommended that it refer to “Living Our Faith Together,” which I really like. But Lofty is to remind me of my youth group. Putting part 1 and 2 together it’s a reminder to me that on my own I don’t deserve to be what I am, but that being the youth pastor of this group is a true gift from God!

Part 3: “Lofty Thoughts” is my reference to the Word of God. This blog is the results of my wrestling with my own limitations as I learn to conform to the Word of God. Many of the thoughts have been developed in working with my youth group and teaching them. Sometimes they will be the over flow of lesson prep and other times just the random things God lays on my heart.

So there you have it! I am deeply humbled that you would read my blog, but I hope you find it encouraging and helpful. As with my teaching and preaching, so to my blog will only be of value as it is submitted to the authority of the Word of God. May it ever point to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.