A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones. -- Proverbs 12:4
It's been a pretty rough year financially at our house...and it seems to have been at most everyone else's house as well. We made the decision that one of us would go get a second job for a few months. My wife decided she should do it for a few good reasons that I couldn't really argue with, so that's what we're doing.
As the husband and father I feel like it's my responsibility to take care of my family. My initial reaction was that I need to be the one to work extra if it's needed. But my wife is a wife of noble character and her arguments made sense, so I conceded.
Men, hopefully you did a good job of picking a wife of noble character. If you did, you need to really appreciate her and let her know about it. The proverb above says such as wife is her husband's crown. The best. Treasure her and appreciate her. She makes you a better man, I promise!
Wives, take care when you guide us guys where we need to be. He's the spiritual leader of your family and needs your help. There is a fine distinction between constructive guidance and relentless nagging, and the Bible specifically warns against the nagging. Most men don't want to admit it but our egos are very fragile, especially where you are concerned. Treat it with care and watch as your man becomes something greater than you ever could have imagined.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Famous Last Words
On Tuesday night, Arizona executed a man who was convicted of murdering a Phoenix man during a 1989 robbery. He was 50 years old and by all accounts lived a very troubled life, including multiple encounters with law enforcement. His last words were:
"Well, I'd like to say thank you to my family for being here and all my friends, and Boomer Sooner."
The story of his execution has been maybe the most popular thing on the internet over the past 24+ hours, largely due to his choice of words. I can't really fathom myself being in a position to be executed like that, but if I were I think there would be a lot more going on in my mind than a school fight song. He did at least accomplish one thing...his last words are famous.
Contrast that with another convict's last words. I think these are a little more appropriate:
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." -- Luke 23:41-43 NIV
This man who spoke with Jesus right before dying may not have lived a life very dissimilar from Boomer Sooner Boy. Whatever the circumstances that led him to crucifixion, his mind was clearly on what was about to happen to him. For whatever reason, he knew who it was that was hanging on the cross next to him and his one simple request was to be forgiven and saved by Jesus.
This is a cool story for several reasons, but especially because it shows me that it's truly never too late for any of us to earnestly seek Jesus and find grace and because it also reminds me that there is no sin too small to be insignificant and no sin too large for forgiveness to be ours.
Praise Jesus that He would take the beating we all should have to take and make it possible for us to live forgiven and gain eternity!
"Well, I'd like to say thank you to my family for being here and all my friends, and Boomer Sooner."
The story of his execution has been maybe the most popular thing on the internet over the past 24+ hours, largely due to his choice of words. I can't really fathom myself being in a position to be executed like that, but if I were I think there would be a lot more going on in my mind than a school fight song. He did at least accomplish one thing...his last words are famous.
Contrast that with another convict's last words. I think these are a little more appropriate:
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." -- Luke 23:41-43 NIV
This man who spoke with Jesus right before dying may not have lived a life very dissimilar from Boomer Sooner Boy. Whatever the circumstances that led him to crucifixion, his mind was clearly on what was about to happen to him. For whatever reason, he knew who it was that was hanging on the cross next to him and his one simple request was to be forgiven and saved by Jesus.
This is a cool story for several reasons, but especially because it shows me that it's truly never too late for any of us to earnestly seek Jesus and find grace and because it also reminds me that there is no sin too small to be insignificant and no sin too large for forgiveness to be ours.
Praise Jesus that He would take the beating we all should have to take and make it possible for us to live forgiven and gain eternity!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friends
There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. -- Proverbs 18:24 NLT
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. -- Philippians 2:3-4 NLT
I want to preface this writing by letting you all know that I am a big proponent of technology. I believe that it's power is in how small the world becomes with it's use. I have been able to talk to long, lost friends I never thought I'd talk to again because of it. There are those who are half a world away from each other and yet they can look each other in the eye and have a conversation. Medical advances are staggering in their significance and effectiveness. It is truly amazing!
But I think it's also served to make some of us less sociable. It's served to lock us into our homes where we don't get out quite as much and greet people in person. Perhaps we don't always form the close, personal relationships we once did. For example, I polled my daughter today regarding her social life. She has over 400 "friends" on her list in Facebook. When I asked her how many of those 400, counting family members, that she would consider to be true friends her answer was maybe 20. Her boyfriend is someone she's never met in person. She met him via friends on Xbox Live. They talk every day and they've seen pictures of each other, but never met face to face (and as a Dad, I think I'm OK with that!).
We have at the same time become both more social on a global scale and less social on a personal scale. I would imagine a big percentage of you have a large number of people you might call friends but are really just acquaintances. But do you have people around you that you trust to be honest with you...even brutally honest when it's called for? Do you have people in your life for whom you would do anything that you know would also do the same for you?
I count myself blessed to be surrounded by men and women of God that I know I can count on and who know they can count on me. It hasn't always been that way. I don't make friends easily and I don't fully trust people easily either. Maybe that's a good thing...I don't know.
But I know that having true friends who will "stick closer than a brother" is wonderful. If you don't feel that you have that I urge you to seek it out and, when you find it, protect it with the Holy Spirit. Nurture it through prayer. Build on it continually and keep it for life.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. -- Philippians 2:3-4 NLT
I want to preface this writing by letting you all know that I am a big proponent of technology. I believe that it's power is in how small the world becomes with it's use. I have been able to talk to long, lost friends I never thought I'd talk to again because of it. There are those who are half a world away from each other and yet they can look each other in the eye and have a conversation. Medical advances are staggering in their significance and effectiveness. It is truly amazing!
But I think it's also served to make some of us less sociable. It's served to lock us into our homes where we don't get out quite as much and greet people in person. Perhaps we don't always form the close, personal relationships we once did. For example, I polled my daughter today regarding her social life. She has over 400 "friends" on her list in Facebook. When I asked her how many of those 400, counting family members, that she would consider to be true friends her answer was maybe 20. Her boyfriend is someone she's never met in person. She met him via friends on Xbox Live. They talk every day and they've seen pictures of each other, but never met face to face (and as a Dad, I think I'm OK with that!).
We have at the same time become both more social on a global scale and less social on a personal scale. I would imagine a big percentage of you have a large number of people you might call friends but are really just acquaintances. But do you have people around you that you trust to be honest with you...even brutally honest when it's called for? Do you have people in your life for whom you would do anything that you know would also do the same for you?
I count myself blessed to be surrounded by men and women of God that I know I can count on and who know they can count on me. It hasn't always been that way. I don't make friends easily and I don't fully trust people easily either. Maybe that's a good thing...I don't know.
But I know that having true friends who will "stick closer than a brother" is wonderful. If you don't feel that you have that I urge you to seek it out and, when you find it, protect it with the Holy Spirit. Nurture it through prayer. Build on it continually and keep it for life.
Monday, October 25, 2010
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Sing it Aretha!!! "R E S P E C T, find out what it means to me!"
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. -- Exodus 20:12 NIV
You may recognize this as one of the ten commandments. It happens to come right after the first group of the ten which all deal with God's commands for how we are to treat Him. God commands our respect by telling us to not put anyone or anything ahead of Him. The next thing we're told is to honor our parents.
We live in a world where it seems like a lot of people want to demand respect from others. Only God is capable of that. The best we can do is to hope people will respect us and to do everything we can do to make ourselves worthy of it, and that is not too easily done unless we're in a place where we respect God first. Everything else flows from that.
I see news articles and quotes from people often that it seems like they feel disrespected and they get really upset about it. There are parents who get really frustrated and think they can demand respect from their kids. There are kids who desperately want their parents to respect them. Clearly, respect is a big deal.
So how do get someone to respect you? Is there an eight-step program that results in you having their respect? I don't think so. Psalm 62:7 says:
My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Honor and respect being very closely related, this tells me that it all depends on us respecting and honoring God first. Not only is our salvation His doing, but the way we are viewed by the world does too!
If your kids hear you tell them to live one way and see you living another, they won't respect you. If you are a kid who behaves horribly, who acts like even having to look at their parents is a burden, your parents won't respect you. If your peers catch you talking about them behind their back or if you are the office suck-up to the boss, they are going to see you for what you are.
Respect and honor depend on our behavior and only on our behavior. We can't force it out of them. All we can do is love God and behave the way we were created to behave. We can put that on display and be genuine about it. After that, it's out of our hands.
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. -- Exodus 20:12 NIV
You may recognize this as one of the ten commandments. It happens to come right after the first group of the ten which all deal with God's commands for how we are to treat Him. God commands our respect by telling us to not put anyone or anything ahead of Him. The next thing we're told is to honor our parents.
We live in a world where it seems like a lot of people want to demand respect from others. Only God is capable of that. The best we can do is to hope people will respect us and to do everything we can do to make ourselves worthy of it, and that is not too easily done unless we're in a place where we respect God first. Everything else flows from that.
I see news articles and quotes from people often that it seems like they feel disrespected and they get really upset about it. There are parents who get really frustrated and think they can demand respect from their kids. There are kids who desperately want their parents to respect them. Clearly, respect is a big deal.
So how do get someone to respect you? Is there an eight-step program that results in you having their respect? I don't think so. Psalm 62:7 says:
My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Honor and respect being very closely related, this tells me that it all depends on us respecting and honoring God first. Not only is our salvation His doing, but the way we are viewed by the world does too!
If your kids hear you tell them to live one way and see you living another, they won't respect you. If you are a kid who behaves horribly, who acts like even having to look at their parents is a burden, your parents won't respect you. If your peers catch you talking about them behind their back or if you are the office suck-up to the boss, they are going to see you for what you are.
Respect and honor depend on our behavior and only on our behavior. We can't force it out of them. All we can do is love God and behave the way we were created to behave. We can put that on display and be genuine about it. After that, it's out of our hands.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
A Prayer For You!
Do you want to know one of the best things about prayer? A person doesn't even have to believe in Christ to be the beneficiary of a prayer. All over the world on any given day I promise you there are multitudes of prayers being delivered on behalf of those who don't yet know Christ. As parents, we pray for our young ones long before they are born again. As peers we pray for those in our lives who are going through difficult or trying times, or maybe those whom we know are struggling with any of a variety of ailments, addictions, or diseases.
Isn't it comforting to know that, in the darkest times of your life, there were very likely people praying to God on your behalf? People have prayed for you in good times and in bad times, when you were young and even today. People even prayed for you before you were born. In fact, Jesus himself said a prayer to God right before he was arrested, and part of that prayer was for you! Check it out:
"My prayer is not for them (the disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." -- John 17:20-26 NIV
I know you just read it, but come back and read it again and again. Jesus cared enough to pray for us, all of us, to come together "that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me". Let's pray together about all things in Jesus' name, just like He asked.
Isn't it comforting to know that, in the darkest times of your life, there were very likely people praying to God on your behalf? People have prayed for you in good times and in bad times, when you were young and even today. People even prayed for you before you were born. In fact, Jesus himself said a prayer to God right before he was arrested, and part of that prayer was for you! Check it out:
"My prayer is not for them (the disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." -- John 17:20-26 NIV
I know you just read it, but come back and read it again and again. Jesus cared enough to pray for us, all of us, to come together "that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me". Let's pray together about all things in Jesus' name, just like He asked.
Friday, October 22, 2010
What If...Grace Ruled?
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. -- John 1:14-17 NIV
Grace is defined in many ways, but theological grace (the grace of Christ) is defined as:
Grace is defined in many ways, but theological grace (the grace of Christ) is defined as:
- the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
- the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
- a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.
- Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.
There are two stories that absolutely fly in the face of grace that I want to share with you. I'll be very honest, I struggle with examples like this because it brings out in me feelings that I don't think I should have, but at the same time I feel like Jesus would have felt on some level had he come across situations like these when He walked the Earth. I feel very, very strongly about this. There is always an open seat at the table, always a plate of food to share, always a ready ear and a kind word to be shared. If we live under God's grace, then the best way we can put it on display is to always be ready to share it with others.
I hope these stories anger you, or that they at least cause you to resolve yourself never to repeat them or anything like them.
First, A young pastor had been given his first chance to preach the Sunday morning message at a small church. As he stood at the top of the steps and greeted the regulars (this wasn't a place who had visitors often), he watched as an unfamiliar car drove up and parked in the parking lot. It wasn't an expensive car and it might even have backfired a couple of times. A young woman wearing jeans and a faded T-shirt got out and opened the back door and started to pull two young children out of the back seat. She looked quite frazzled and anxious. The pastor noticed as she got out that one of the elder women of the church was headed out to greet the young woman. The elder woman walked right up to the younger woman and, in a voice audible to the pastor, proceeded to tell the younger woman, "I'm not sure this is the church for you. You see, we wear our best when we come to God's house." Without saying a word, the young woman put her child back in the car and left. We don't know what ever came of her and her children.
Second, there was a small group leader at a church I used to attend who had struggled to get people to come to his group. He thought about quitting, in fact, in his discouragement at having no one at his group to lead. But God blessed him and people started coming. That went well and then more people started coming. It got to a point where his living room was full each week. So when he got a call from a young couple looking for a group to join, he told them the group was full and he couldn't invite them to attend. I'm not really sure if that couple ever found a group or if they even still attend church or not.
There is a long section of the Gospels devoted to Jesus warning the religious leaders of the day against instances like these, and many others. He also warned everyone else that while it is good to follow the law, they should not follow the example of the teachers of the law when they didn't practice what they preached.
Grace is giving someone a chance because they need someone to give them a chance. It's welcoming the outcasts and feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. It's using our skills and our blessings to bless others in Jesus' name. Everything I've written about this week boils down to us being more connected to God and more willing to boldly display it for others to see. I'm not talking about standing on a street corner in a suit yelling at people in cars at the top of my lungs and calling that teaching. I'm talking about never missing an opportunity to be there for anyone God chooses to put in our path and appreciating every second that He's given us, and using our time here to allow God to work through us to make a difference in eternity.
Hang on to the things you've felt and the thoughts you've had this week. Let God have control of every part of your life. Love to live and live to love. Let grace rule.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
What If...We Lived In Awe?
He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. -- Deuteronomy 10:21 NIV
Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? -- Exodus 15:11 NIV
Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." -- Luke 5:26 NIV
Have you ever experienced things that bring you so close to God that you are speechless, breathless, or profoundly emotional...or maybe just noticed some part of you day or your life and known it for what it is which is God's hand at work?
Hopefully that happens all of the time!
Maybe it's a sunrise on your way to work or the way your child holds your hand when you walk together. It could be a nice evening on your back patio listening to the birds chirp and watching the squirrels play. Maybe it's a song that came on the radio and told you exactly what you needed to hear, or possibly even something bad that happened that ended up being the absolute best thing for you.
The point is, God is at work at all times and all around us. I wrote yesterday about the power we have in Christ to come together and make things happen in Jesus' name. Not only should we come together and ask God, we should also never let it grow old and stale to look on everything from the simplest pleasure to the grandest miracle and see God there.
What would our world be like if everyone who professes faith in Christ remembered that? What if we couldn't help but to daily be overflowing with the joy and peace that exists in us because of Jesus? It would be uncontainable and contagious, just like a smile! I have seen and experienced too much in my life for there to be any doubt that not only does God exist but He's every bit as much at work today as ever. I have achieved things that I know I couldn't have achieved by my own accord. I have loved more deeply than I thought possible. I have looked on and seen amazing things happen. Laugh if you want, but I still am regularly moved nearly to tears at certain worship songs. Sometimes I feel His presence so strongly that I can't even speak and I realize all at once how small but how critically important I am to Him. In fact, we all are!
Do me a favor, no matter where you are in life, no matter if you think I'm a little cooky about this stuff, even if you think it's kinda weird...keep you eyes, ears, and heart open in the coming days. Be alert to God's presence around you. Appreciate the smallest of signs of grace and peace and love. When you feel it (and you will feel it) embrace it with your entire being. Appreciate it. Long for more of it the way you would seek a cold glass of water on a burning hot day. Be absolutely awed by it!
Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? -- Exodus 15:11 NIV
Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." -- Luke 5:26 NIV
Have you ever experienced things that bring you so close to God that you are speechless, breathless, or profoundly emotional...or maybe just noticed some part of you day or your life and known it for what it is which is God's hand at work?
Hopefully that happens all of the time!
Maybe it's a sunrise on your way to work or the way your child holds your hand when you walk together. It could be a nice evening on your back patio listening to the birds chirp and watching the squirrels play. Maybe it's a song that came on the radio and told you exactly what you needed to hear, or possibly even something bad that happened that ended up being the absolute best thing for you.
The point is, God is at work at all times and all around us. I wrote yesterday about the power we have in Christ to come together and make things happen in Jesus' name. Not only should we come together and ask God, we should also never let it grow old and stale to look on everything from the simplest pleasure to the grandest miracle and see God there.
What would our world be like if everyone who professes faith in Christ remembered that? What if we couldn't help but to daily be overflowing with the joy and peace that exists in us because of Jesus? It would be uncontainable and contagious, just like a smile! I have seen and experienced too much in my life for there to be any doubt that not only does God exist but He's every bit as much at work today as ever. I have achieved things that I know I couldn't have achieved by my own accord. I have loved more deeply than I thought possible. I have looked on and seen amazing things happen. Laugh if you want, but I still am regularly moved nearly to tears at certain worship songs. Sometimes I feel His presence so strongly that I can't even speak and I realize all at once how small but how critically important I am to Him. In fact, we all are!
Do me a favor, no matter where you are in life, no matter if you think I'm a little cooky about this stuff, even if you think it's kinda weird...keep you eyes, ears, and heart open in the coming days. Be alert to God's presence around you. Appreciate the smallest of signs of grace and peace and love. When you feel it (and you will feel it) embrace it with your entire being. Appreciate it. Long for more of it the way you would seek a cold glass of water on a burning hot day. Be absolutely awed by it!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
What If...God's Children Became Unstoppable?
“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” -- Matthew 18:18-20 NLT
For the past three or four years, churches all over the world have gotten together once a year and all spent a few weeks teaching on the same topic. I'm talking hundreds of churches in countries all around the world who put aside their regular schedule and spend a month or so teaching and listening to other churches teach on the same thing. This past year the topic was Unstoppable. I wonder what would happen if God's children all around the world truly dedicated themselves to becoming one unstoppable force in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?
Jesus gave us tremendous amounts of power and responsibility in that passage I quoted, and I don't think we've spent nearly enough time examining that or taking it to heart. There is no guess-work in that passage. Jesus doesn't say that if we ask for something he'll think about it. He doesn't tell us that we need to perform any crazy rituals to get Heaven's attention. He says that anything we come together and ask in His name will be done! Not half of what we ask. Not only if we ask in tongues. No conditions at all other than we have to come together and we have to do it as followers of Christ. Are you kidding me??? Can you honestly look at that phrase in the context in which I've just described it and tell me why the church spends so much time worried about things that don't matter when there is so much work that can, and should, be completed?
I wonder how many of us who profess Christ with our lips truly believe with our hearts. If we did, we'd be urgently seeking out others like us and we would be banding together in His name. We would be asking to put in the path of those who need us, who need to be fed and clothed and told the greatest news there is to tell. We'd be focused solely on expanding and glorifying the Kingdom of God through our thoughts and actions and we'd be doing it together at all times. Think about how much we could accomplish!!!
Now, I know there is a lot of good being done in the world. I know there are scores of hungry children being fed and tons of Christ followers doing mission work. The rest of need to be inspired by that. We need come together as small groups and large congregations and we need to pray with everything in us that He would show us His will for us. We need to decide where we're being called to make a difference and then pray a prayer that is so big that only God can fulfill it. Look at your Bible...that's the way God works. He unbalances the odds until the situation is impossible and that, my friends, is when He shows up and does His thing!
It is our task to realize and understand that and to join together that we might make a difference. We need to quit being afraid to ask for the impossible and realize that is the only way to ask for the Godly. We need to figure out that He made us to work together. He made us to become unstoppable.
For the past three or four years, churches all over the world have gotten together once a year and all spent a few weeks teaching on the same topic. I'm talking hundreds of churches in countries all around the world who put aside their regular schedule and spend a month or so teaching and listening to other churches teach on the same thing. This past year the topic was Unstoppable. I wonder what would happen if God's children all around the world truly dedicated themselves to becoming one unstoppable force in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?
Jesus gave us tremendous amounts of power and responsibility in that passage I quoted, and I don't think we've spent nearly enough time examining that or taking it to heart. There is no guess-work in that passage. Jesus doesn't say that if we ask for something he'll think about it. He doesn't tell us that we need to perform any crazy rituals to get Heaven's attention. He says that anything we come together and ask in His name will be done! Not half of what we ask. Not only if we ask in tongues. No conditions at all other than we have to come together and we have to do it as followers of Christ. Are you kidding me??? Can you honestly look at that phrase in the context in which I've just described it and tell me why the church spends so much time worried about things that don't matter when there is so much work that can, and should, be completed?
I wonder how many of us who profess Christ with our lips truly believe with our hearts. If we did, we'd be urgently seeking out others like us and we would be banding together in His name. We would be asking to put in the path of those who need us, who need to be fed and clothed and told the greatest news there is to tell. We'd be focused solely on expanding and glorifying the Kingdom of God through our thoughts and actions and we'd be doing it together at all times. Think about how much we could accomplish!!!
Now, I know there is a lot of good being done in the world. I know there are scores of hungry children being fed and tons of Christ followers doing mission work. The rest of need to be inspired by that. We need come together as small groups and large congregations and we need to pray with everything in us that He would show us His will for us. We need to decide where we're being called to make a difference and then pray a prayer that is so big that only God can fulfill it. Look at your Bible...that's the way God works. He unbalances the odds until the situation is impossible and that, my friends, is when He shows up and does His thing!
It is our task to realize and understand that and to join together that we might make a difference. We need to quit being afraid to ask for the impossible and realize that is the only way to ask for the Godly. We need to figure out that He made us to work together. He made us to become unstoppable.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
What If...Each Morning Was Christmas Morning?
“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” -- Psalm 37:4 NIV
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. -- Matthew 7:7-11 NLT
Remember Christmas morning when you were a kid? It was hard to go to sleep the night before because we were so stricken with anticipation. Waking up the next morning and running in to see what lay under and around the tree, the excitement could barely be controlled...and forget about containing it. It honestly didn't matter what was waiting for us there, it was just exciting to know that some new and really great stuff awaited us. Sure, there were things I hoped to get each year...but it was the coolness to be getting something given with love that made it exciting. Even when times were tough and the presents weren't the coolest, most expensive ones it was still the greatest day of the year, and though I'm much older now I still feel that way. It's just really cool to be surrounded by the people I love getting cool stuff and, even better, getting to give good stuff.
So what if we treated every morning like it was Christmas morning? What if we went out of our way to make sure we had the blessing of giving to others and seeing their excitement? What if we went to God and made a list of the presents we'd like to receive? And to follow that up, what if we woke up each day being grateful for everything our Father give us?
Too many of us spend way too much time being jealous of the blessings bestowed on others. We tend to look at our blessings and feel like they weren't really meant for us. And I think there are times when we focus on ourselves and say things like, "I wish I could help out but I just don't have the time" or "If the economy wasn't so bad I would be able to give that charitable gift again this year".
My hope for each of us, myself included, is that the start of each day would be a time of excitement. That we might wake up with that same level of anticipation of a child on Christmas morning, looking forward to the blessings God has laid out before us. I want to take those blessings and make my joy and peace and faith so obvious that it's contagious. I want to take my blessings and bless others with them so that they can experience what it's like to wake up each morning as a redeemed child of God.
Now, go out there and show the world what that looks like!
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. -- Matthew 7:7-11 NLT
Remember Christmas morning when you were a kid? It was hard to go to sleep the night before because we were so stricken with anticipation. Waking up the next morning and running in to see what lay under and around the tree, the excitement could barely be controlled...and forget about containing it. It honestly didn't matter what was waiting for us there, it was just exciting to know that some new and really great stuff awaited us. Sure, there were things I hoped to get each year...but it was the coolness to be getting something given with love that made it exciting. Even when times were tough and the presents weren't the coolest, most expensive ones it was still the greatest day of the year, and though I'm much older now I still feel that way. It's just really cool to be surrounded by the people I love getting cool stuff and, even better, getting to give good stuff.
So what if we treated every morning like it was Christmas morning? What if we went out of our way to make sure we had the blessing of giving to others and seeing their excitement? What if we went to God and made a list of the presents we'd like to receive? And to follow that up, what if we woke up each day being grateful for everything our Father give us?
Too many of us spend way too much time being jealous of the blessings bestowed on others. We tend to look at our blessings and feel like they weren't really meant for us. And I think there are times when we focus on ourselves and say things like, "I wish I could help out but I just don't have the time" or "If the economy wasn't so bad I would be able to give that charitable gift again this year".
My hope for each of us, myself included, is that the start of each day would be a time of excitement. That we might wake up with that same level of anticipation of a child on Christmas morning, looking forward to the blessings God has laid out before us. I want to take those blessings and make my joy and peace and faith so obvious that it's contagious. I want to take my blessings and bless others with them so that they can experience what it's like to wake up each morning as a redeemed child of God.
Now, go out there and show the world what that looks like!
Monday, October 18, 2010
What If...Our Rhythms Matched God's Rhythms?
Have you ever known of a person who had no rhythm? Seems like at any gathering of people where music is involved there is at least one person there who is pretty sure they have rhythm...but they don't. Remember Elaine from Seinfeld? She had that crazy dance that looked like someone having a serious seizure. She was just positive that she had rhythm and could dance, but she was absolutely terrible! It's almost like she had more than one song in her head and was trying to dance to all of them at once.
Our lives get like that sometimes, don't they? It's like we're trying to juggle so many things at once that nothing ever really gets our focus and, before you know it, we're completely out of rhythm and looking a whole lot like Elaine's dancing. What if we could tune all of the rest of it out and just concentrate on one tune for a while? What if we could gain some perspective and, by doing so, gain some traction as well and get back to dancing to the only tune that matters? What might life look like at that point?
As often happens with God's rhythms, it isn't always intuitive or easy for us to get there. God says that we have to shift the focus away from ourselves and care for others first. God says we need to give freely and graciously in order to gain for ourselves. God says we don't need to bow up at the guy who has 37 things in the 25 or less line at the store or plot revenge on the guy at work who stole the promotion right out from under us...but instead we need to turn the other cheek. That stuff doesn't make sense!!! It just isn't fair! We need to make a scene about the guy at the store and get the manager to kick him out of line. We need to set the guy with our promotion up to fail. We need to keep more of what we earn so we have it to spend on ourselves later. We need to make sure we take care of ourselves because we know the world isn't going to hand us anything.
Right? Isn't that the way most of us approach parts, if not all, of our lives? If we try our hardest and always do our best for ourselves, we'll be OK. I mean, that's all we can really do, isn't it?
Ummmmm...not even close.
Tuning in to God's rhythm starts with an earnest heart. We have to truly want to know what it is to march to the beat of God's drum. When we change our hearts then it becomes possible to change everything else. So with an earnest heart we begin to communicate with God through prayer. We lay ourselves out before God and then listen to what God has to say. You will find that God speaks through pretty much anything. I've heard God speak through a song on the radio, commercials on TV, my wife and kids, my pastor, a total stranger, and many other ways too.
Pray with an earnest heart and listen for God's rhythm and then you are ready to act on it...to move to His beat instead of the world's or your own. God's rhythms aren't necessarily intuitive to us but they make perfect sense! We learn that part of faith, a big part of faith, is learning to hear God's rhythm for our lives. It's the repetitive process of eliminating the noise of the world through prayer and only tuning in to what God has to say to us.
The more of us that start doing that, the more the world changes around us. The more we seek to do that not only privately but also with others, the more momentum we gain and the more glory is brought to God. Ephesians 2:10 says it better than I ever could:
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Can you hear the beat yet?
Our lives get like that sometimes, don't they? It's like we're trying to juggle so many things at once that nothing ever really gets our focus and, before you know it, we're completely out of rhythm and looking a whole lot like Elaine's dancing. What if we could tune all of the rest of it out and just concentrate on one tune for a while? What if we could gain some perspective and, by doing so, gain some traction as well and get back to dancing to the only tune that matters? What might life look like at that point?
As often happens with God's rhythms, it isn't always intuitive or easy for us to get there. God says that we have to shift the focus away from ourselves and care for others first. God says we need to give freely and graciously in order to gain for ourselves. God says we don't need to bow up at the guy who has 37 things in the 25 or less line at the store or plot revenge on the guy at work who stole the promotion right out from under us...but instead we need to turn the other cheek. That stuff doesn't make sense!!! It just isn't fair! We need to make a scene about the guy at the store and get the manager to kick him out of line. We need to set the guy with our promotion up to fail. We need to keep more of what we earn so we have it to spend on ourselves later. We need to make sure we take care of ourselves because we know the world isn't going to hand us anything.
Right? Isn't that the way most of us approach parts, if not all, of our lives? If we try our hardest and always do our best for ourselves, we'll be OK. I mean, that's all we can really do, isn't it?
Ummmmm...not even close.
Tuning in to God's rhythm starts with an earnest heart. We have to truly want to know what it is to march to the beat of God's drum. When we change our hearts then it becomes possible to change everything else. So with an earnest heart we begin to communicate with God through prayer. We lay ourselves out before God and then listen to what God has to say. You will find that God speaks through pretty much anything. I've heard God speak through a song on the radio, commercials on TV, my wife and kids, my pastor, a total stranger, and many other ways too.
Pray with an earnest heart and listen for God's rhythm and then you are ready to act on it...to move to His beat instead of the world's or your own. God's rhythms aren't necessarily intuitive to us but they make perfect sense! We learn that part of faith, a big part of faith, is learning to hear God's rhythm for our lives. It's the repetitive process of eliminating the noise of the world through prayer and only tuning in to what God has to say to us.
The more of us that start doing that, the more the world changes around us. The more we seek to do that not only privately but also with others, the more momentum we gain and the more glory is brought to God. Ephesians 2:10 says it better than I ever could:
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Can you hear the beat yet?
Sunday, October 17, 2010
What If?
Over the past few weeks at All Things Fellowship, we've been taking a look at some fairly common questions that most of don't know how to answer and taking a look at what the Bible has to say on these various subjects. It has been an inspired look into some of the mysteries of life and of God, and it has caused me to start pondering the greatness of God.
If God is infinite then that makes us incredibly small and insignificant in the grand scheme, doesn't it? How can anything we're capable of thinking up or creating ourselves be anything of value? In Ecclesiastes 1:9, Solomon says, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." We tend to get really caught up in our daily lives and very narrowly focused on the world around us that it can seem like there truly is nothing new under the sun. We can get to feeling like this is it...this is all there is to it.
I want to take some time this week to imagine something greater than that. I want to explore the possibility that we really aren't the small, insignificant beings we sometimes appear to be. I want to spend some time wondering what our lives might be like if we figured out how to let go of our spiritual inhibitions. What might we be able to accomplish if we followed that sage advice we've read on countless church signs that says, "Let go and let God"?
Our pastor ended his sermon series last night with the end of Solomon's consideration of the meaning of life by quoting the last couple of verses from Ecclesiastes (12:13-14)...
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Come along with me this week and we'll attempt to discover the "What Ifs" of a life spent fearing God and keeping his commandments.
If God is infinite then that makes us incredibly small and insignificant in the grand scheme, doesn't it? How can anything we're capable of thinking up or creating ourselves be anything of value? In Ecclesiastes 1:9, Solomon says, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." We tend to get really caught up in our daily lives and very narrowly focused on the world around us that it can seem like there truly is nothing new under the sun. We can get to feeling like this is it...this is all there is to it.
I want to take some time this week to imagine something greater than that. I want to explore the possibility that we really aren't the small, insignificant beings we sometimes appear to be. I want to spend some time wondering what our lives might be like if we figured out how to let go of our spiritual inhibitions. What might we be able to accomplish if we followed that sage advice we've read on countless church signs that says, "Let go and let God"?
Our pastor ended his sermon series last night with the end of Solomon's consideration of the meaning of life by quoting the last couple of verses from Ecclesiastes (12:13-14)...
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Come along with me this week and we'll attempt to discover the "What Ifs" of a life spent fearing God and keeping his commandments.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Happy Anniversary!
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." -- Matthew 19:4-6 NIV
Seventy years ago, my grandfather talked my grandmother into marrying him. Seventy years! Most of us can't imagine living to be seventy, much less being married for that long. It's special to me for two reasons. First, you just don't hear about folks being married that long much. Most of us are pretty proud of making it five years...so it gives me faith to see two people actually stick to God's will for them. Second, I feel tremendously luck and blessed to have such a great example of what a successful marriage looks like.
My grandparents have two kids, a small horde of grandkids, and an even better number of great-grandkids. They've poured countless numbers of prayers out for all of us. I'm convinced there have been times in my life when their prayers might very well have sustained me! They argue and fuss like any couple, but I can't remember a time when they went to bed mad at each other and my earliest memories are of their smiles and their affection for one another.
I don't think we hold couples like my grandparents up in a place of honor nearly as much as we should. They have so much to teach us, by their words and even more importantly by their example. If you are blessed enough to have parents, grandparents, or other couples in your life that have stood the test of time and have the kind of marriage God intended when he said we would 'become one flesh', make sure you tell them how much you love them and appreciate them. Don't by shy about letting them know they are an inspiration to you to do just as well with your marriage! Thank God that these people have been made a part of your life and know that your life is better because of them. Who knows? Maybe you will have the blessing of celebrating your seventieth anniversary with your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids one of these days.
Seventy years ago, my grandfather talked my grandmother into marrying him. Seventy years! Most of us can't imagine living to be seventy, much less being married for that long. It's special to me for two reasons. First, you just don't hear about folks being married that long much. Most of us are pretty proud of making it five years...so it gives me faith to see two people actually stick to God's will for them. Second, I feel tremendously luck and blessed to have such a great example of what a successful marriage looks like.
My grandparents have two kids, a small horde of grandkids, and an even better number of great-grandkids. They've poured countless numbers of prayers out for all of us. I'm convinced there have been times in my life when their prayers might very well have sustained me! They argue and fuss like any couple, but I can't remember a time when they went to bed mad at each other and my earliest memories are of their smiles and their affection for one another.
I don't think we hold couples like my grandparents up in a place of honor nearly as much as we should. They have so much to teach us, by their words and even more importantly by their example. If you are blessed enough to have parents, grandparents, or other couples in your life that have stood the test of time and have the kind of marriage God intended when he said we would 'become one flesh', make sure you tell them how much you love them and appreciate them. Don't by shy about letting them know they are an inspiration to you to do just as well with your marriage! Thank God that these people have been made a part of your life and know that your life is better because of them. Who knows? Maybe you will have the blessing of celebrating your seventieth anniversary with your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids one of these days.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Seeing Patterns
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” -- Romans 12:2 NIV
I've come to a conclusion. God is a very detail oriented being. He likes patterns, order. He's more organized than anyone at Staples ever could be. I think God's will for us is ultimately order, but we have to go through chaos to get to it.
Think about it. It is very difficult to ever do something flawlessly without multiple failed attempts. Even our bodies have to learn. We teach our bodies how to walk by failing. We teach ourselves to swing a golf club (though with varying amounts of skill!) by doing it over and over and over. It's called muscle memory.
Our brains are no different. We learn by doing...and failing. There is a process involved, a pattern for us to follow to develop success at anything we're doing. We learn, which is to say we renew our minds. If we must fail to learn then doesn't it also follow that to find God's good, pleasing, perfect will for us requires us to learn how to look for it, and therefore, that we must try and fail?
The pattern of the world tells us who we are and that we need to just stay put. God tells us who we really are and that the way to realizing what He wants for us is to look! It's like a spiritual game of hide and go seek where the best place to hide is right in plain sight. We look at the patterns of the world and there is no chance we find God. But we renew our mind and actively seek Him and there is no way to miss him.
I've come to a conclusion. God is a very detail oriented being. He likes patterns, order. He's more organized than anyone at Staples ever could be. I think God's will for us is ultimately order, but we have to go through chaos to get to it.
Think about it. It is very difficult to ever do something flawlessly without multiple failed attempts. Even our bodies have to learn. We teach our bodies how to walk by failing. We teach ourselves to swing a golf club (though with varying amounts of skill!) by doing it over and over and over. It's called muscle memory.
Our brains are no different. We learn by doing...and failing. There is a process involved, a pattern for us to follow to develop success at anything we're doing. We learn, which is to say we renew our minds. If we must fail to learn then doesn't it also follow that to find God's good, pleasing, perfect will for us requires us to learn how to look for it, and therefore, that we must try and fail?
The pattern of the world tells us who we are and that we need to just stay put. God tells us who we really are and that the way to realizing what He wants for us is to look! It's like a spiritual game of hide and go seek where the best place to hide is right in plain sight. We look at the patterns of the world and there is no chance we find God. But we renew our mind and actively seek Him and there is no way to miss him.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
When It's Love
In the words of Van Halen (or Van Hagar if you prefer...):
Everybody's lookin' for somethin',
Somethin' to fill in the holes.
We think a lot but don't talk much about it
'Til things get out of control.
How do I know when it's love?
I can't tell you but it lasts forever.
How does it feel when it's love?
It's just somethin' you feel together,
When it's love!
The word 'love' appears in the NIV version of the Bible 697 times...so you know it's a critical subject! By contrast, the word 'hate' appears only 74 times. Clearly, our focus is supposed to be on love. We spend our early adulthood consumed by the search for the one God has provided for us. We want to have someone to love and someone who loves us just as much. The question in the song asks how we know when it really is love. The singer admits that he doesn't have any other answer than to say that it lasts forever.
How true!
To find our earthly love, I believe we need to be tuned in to God's love first. How can we possibly know who our person is if we haven't asked God to show them to us? Deuteronomy 6:5 says, Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 7:13 goes on to say, He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you.
Clearly, we need to first love God with every fiber of our being. Love God first and then watch as God reveals your person to you, and the Bible says that God will bless you. How do you know when it's love? You know when God is front and center in your life because God's love lasts forever, and anything God blesses you with is the right thing because He has blessed you with it. It fills in the holes, it lasts forever, and we are meant to feel it together.
Everybody's lookin' for somethin',
Somethin' to fill in the holes.
We think a lot but don't talk much about it
'Til things get out of control.
How do I know when it's love?
I can't tell you but it lasts forever.
How does it feel when it's love?
It's just somethin' you feel together,
When it's love!
The word 'love' appears in the NIV version of the Bible 697 times...so you know it's a critical subject! By contrast, the word 'hate' appears only 74 times. Clearly, our focus is supposed to be on love. We spend our early adulthood consumed by the search for the one God has provided for us. We want to have someone to love and someone who loves us just as much. The question in the song asks how we know when it really is love. The singer admits that he doesn't have any other answer than to say that it lasts forever.
How true!
To find our earthly love, I believe we need to be tuned in to God's love first. How can we possibly know who our person is if we haven't asked God to show them to us? Deuteronomy 6:5 says, Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 7:13 goes on to say, He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you.
Clearly, we need to first love God with every fiber of our being. Love God first and then watch as God reveals your person to you, and the Bible says that God will bless you. How do you know when it's love? You know when God is front and center in your life because God's love lasts forever, and anything God blesses you with is the right thing because He has blessed you with it. It fills in the holes, it lasts forever, and we are meant to feel it together.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Here Comes The Sun
Continuing to look at some of my favorite secular songs and putting a faith-based spin to them, I figure there is no way I can do something like this and not include my favorite Beatles song...EVA!!!
It can be tough to make sense of some of their music, but one thing you can always count on is there will be a catchy tune to go along with the lyrics. This particular song is my favorite of theirs because I love being out in nature and this song just screams nature to me. I think about a beautiful spring or fall morning after a really cool night. There is a little fog on the ground that burns away to reveal rolling hills filled with wildflowers. The coolness gives away to the sun's warmth and a hint of a breeze makes it a gorgeous day. The kind of morning you'd like to see sitting next to your spouse on a big, wrap-around porch with a warm cup of tea in hand. I could do that every morning and never get bored of it, I promise!
But the lyrics also bring to mind a message of hope...
Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter.
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it's alright.
Little darling, the smile's returning to their faces.
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it's alright.
There is a lot of suffering that goes on in the world, and it's pretty easy to focus on the bad things that are happening to us and also to the world around us. Listen to the nightly news for 10 minutes and prepare to be depressed about the sorry state of the world. I think that's why some people find it really hard to believe in God. They can't reconcile a God who loves them more than anything and yet allows so much bad to go on...or that He would be willing to allow any of us to end up in Hell.
But I promise you that through all of that pain and all of that suffering that happens in the world, so much more good gets done and I believe that more good than we can realize comes from even one single instant of suffering. Some scripture that speaks to hope...
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -- Romans 15:13 NIV
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -- Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. -- Job 11:18 NIV
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -- Isaiah 40:30-31
I believe in God's message of hope, that He loves us enough to give us the freedom to choose for ourselves, and that at the end of any long, cold night or any trying and stormy season in our lives comes a time when the sun shines so brilliantly that it is almost impossible to look into it. That's the hope I get from the Beatles song...the sun is coming back out, the smiles are returning to our faces, and it's going to be alright.
It can be tough to make sense of some of their music, but one thing you can always count on is there will be a catchy tune to go along with the lyrics. This particular song is my favorite of theirs because I love being out in nature and this song just screams nature to me. I think about a beautiful spring or fall morning after a really cool night. There is a little fog on the ground that burns away to reveal rolling hills filled with wildflowers. The coolness gives away to the sun's warmth and a hint of a breeze makes it a gorgeous day. The kind of morning you'd like to see sitting next to your spouse on a big, wrap-around porch with a warm cup of tea in hand. I could do that every morning and never get bored of it, I promise!
But the lyrics also bring to mind a message of hope...
Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter.
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it's alright.
Little darling, the smile's returning to their faces.
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it's alright.
There is a lot of suffering that goes on in the world, and it's pretty easy to focus on the bad things that are happening to us and also to the world around us. Listen to the nightly news for 10 minutes and prepare to be depressed about the sorry state of the world. I think that's why some people find it really hard to believe in God. They can't reconcile a God who loves them more than anything and yet allows so much bad to go on...or that He would be willing to allow any of us to end up in Hell.
But I promise you that through all of that pain and all of that suffering that happens in the world, so much more good gets done and I believe that more good than we can realize comes from even one single instant of suffering. Some scripture that speaks to hope...
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -- Romans 15:13 NIV
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -- Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. -- Job 11:18 NIV
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -- Isaiah 40:30-31
I believe in God's message of hope, that He loves us enough to give us the freedom to choose for ourselves, and that at the end of any long, cold night or any trying and stormy season in our lives comes a time when the sun shines so brilliantly that it is almost impossible to look into it. That's the hope I get from the Beatles song...the sun is coming back out, the smiles are returning to our faces, and it's going to be alright.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Heart Of The Matter
The really great thing about songs, I think, is that no matter what the original intent of the song might have been a little piece of it can take on a life all it's own for me at different times.
Don Henley's song, Heart Of The Matter, is about a guy who's lost the love of his life. He doesn't know what to do and he's really been trying to figure it out. But the chorus in particular is speaking to me in a very different way. At it's core, the song is about forgiveness.
I've been trying to get down
to the heart of the matter.
But my will gets weak,
and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness...
The Bible has a lot to say about forgiveness. In Matthew chapter 18:21-35 Jesus tells the parable of the unmerciful servant. In the story a king wanted to settle accounts with his servants but had mercy on one servant who owed much but couldn't pay. The servant promised to pay it in full so the king had mercy on him and just canceled the debt. But the servant turns around and demands payment on a debt from another servant and when the second servant promises to pay in full, the first servant refuses and his the second thrown in jail! When the king heard what happened, he called the first servant in and threw him in jail and had him tortured until he could repay his debt since he wouldn't show another the same mercy shown to him.
Through Jesus, God has agreed to cancel the debt we owe for our sin. What he asks in return is that we show that same love and mercy to others. I know I've had times in my life when I didn't want to have mercy on someone...when I wanted to see them punished to the fullest. I'm not proud of it, but I have to be honest and there are times when that's been my heart. Forgiveness requires us to remember exactly what we deserve, exactly why we deserve it, and exactly how we're going to escape that fate. We can't help but have forgiveness in our hearts for anyone else when we remember that.
Don Henley's song, Heart Of The Matter, is about a guy who's lost the love of his life. He doesn't know what to do and he's really been trying to figure it out. But the chorus in particular is speaking to me in a very different way. At it's core, the song is about forgiveness.
I've been trying to get down
to the heart of the matter.
But my will gets weak,
and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness...
The Bible has a lot to say about forgiveness. In Matthew chapter 18:21-35 Jesus tells the parable of the unmerciful servant. In the story a king wanted to settle accounts with his servants but had mercy on one servant who owed much but couldn't pay. The servant promised to pay it in full so the king had mercy on him and just canceled the debt. But the servant turns around and demands payment on a debt from another servant and when the second servant promises to pay in full, the first servant refuses and his the second thrown in jail! When the king heard what happened, he called the first servant in and threw him in jail and had him tortured until he could repay his debt since he wouldn't show another the same mercy shown to him.
Through Jesus, God has agreed to cancel the debt we owe for our sin. What he asks in return is that we show that same love and mercy to others. I know I've had times in my life when I didn't want to have mercy on someone...when I wanted to see them punished to the fullest. I'm not proud of it, but I have to be honest and there are times when that's been my heart. Forgiveness requires us to remember exactly what we deserve, exactly why we deserve it, and exactly how we're going to escape that fate. We can't help but have forgiveness in our hearts for anyone else when we remember that.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
I Believed, Therefore I Have Spoken
I have to give a big shout-out to my good friend Mike. He is an inspiration to me and constant source of faith through scripture reminders. He sent this to me yesterday, and it has inspired what you are about to read today.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. -- 2 Corinthians 4:8-18 NIV
Do you often find yourself hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, or struck-down? Do things sometimes seem to unravel before you very eyes and you feel helpless to do anything about it?
I find myself in a position where I have quite possibly lost a friend, and I really have no idea what I did to cause it. I'm definitely perplexed. Knowing what the problem is and identifying where things went wrong are two different things. It's confusing and I think that is exactly what Satan wants to get out of these situations. He finds a crack and then drives a wedge and the next thing you know things have blown up in your face and you feel pretty helpless to do anything about it. I've tried reaching my friend and I've apologized the only way I know how. I wish he'd talk to me, but I'm doing the only thing I know to do to try and fix it.
I actually think there is a bunch of this going on around me right now. I can think of other relationships, and not necessarily my relationships, that are strained at best. People are hurting, feeling persecuted and struck-down...looking for answers. That's why I love Mike so much. It never fails that when something is really pressing on me and I struggle to find the right path through it, he is there with just the right verse to get my mind switched on. He is truly an answered prayer, and on more than one occasion.
The answer is right there, in that passage. It's an answer for a great number of things. It's the way to heal strained relationships. It's the sure-fire way to get yourself back on track. The answer, as it always is and which should come as absolutely no surprise, is to first seek God's truth through prayer and through scripture and then to speak the truth throughout our lives. We believe in Jesus, therefore we have the power and the duty to speak His truth. It is both a privilege and a responsibility to do so.
Our relationships suffer because we allow our pride and our fears to step in and take over. We don't want to say something because we're afraid things are going to blow up even worse so we just sit on our hands, bite our tongues, and hope it will go away. We let pride blind us so that it's always someone else's fault instead of humbling ourselves before both God and our fellow man (or woman). We refuse to admit our own mistakes but insist on it from others.
The truth is a real bugger. It can seem awfully condemning at times, but it's really the opposite. The Bible says in John 8:32, Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. The truth frees us because it's Jesus' truth and it sharpens us just like I wrote yesterday. It shaves away the dull edges where deception, pride, and fear are constantly lurking. It sharpens us to God's love and to the truth of Jesus in our lives. It empowers us to speak that truth freely and without reservation. It allows us to mend the broken and to heal the sick.
I don't write this lightly, but I do write it truthfully. It's time to examine every one of your relationships, beginning with your relationship with God. Are you being completely honest in all of them? Is your heart really focused on God in every area of your life so that you know you walk in Truth? Is there air that needs clearing? Apologies to make? Tears to shed?
I believe there is, therefore I have spoken. It's time to come together as God's children, in love and in truth, not as prideful siblings who can't help but bicker over every little thing. It's time to tell Satan he isn't welcome and to butt out in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Remember, without those three nothing is possible and with them nothing can stop us.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. -- 2 Corinthians 4:8-18 NIV
Do you often find yourself hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, or struck-down? Do things sometimes seem to unravel before you very eyes and you feel helpless to do anything about it?
I find myself in a position where I have quite possibly lost a friend, and I really have no idea what I did to cause it. I'm definitely perplexed. Knowing what the problem is and identifying where things went wrong are two different things. It's confusing and I think that is exactly what Satan wants to get out of these situations. He finds a crack and then drives a wedge and the next thing you know things have blown up in your face and you feel pretty helpless to do anything about it. I've tried reaching my friend and I've apologized the only way I know how. I wish he'd talk to me, but I'm doing the only thing I know to do to try and fix it.
I actually think there is a bunch of this going on around me right now. I can think of other relationships, and not necessarily my relationships, that are strained at best. People are hurting, feeling persecuted and struck-down...looking for answers. That's why I love Mike so much. It never fails that when something is really pressing on me and I struggle to find the right path through it, he is there with just the right verse to get my mind switched on. He is truly an answered prayer, and on more than one occasion.
The answer is right there, in that passage. It's an answer for a great number of things. It's the way to heal strained relationships. It's the sure-fire way to get yourself back on track. The answer, as it always is and which should come as absolutely no surprise, is to first seek God's truth through prayer and through scripture and then to speak the truth throughout our lives. We believe in Jesus, therefore we have the power and the duty to speak His truth. It is both a privilege and a responsibility to do so.
Our relationships suffer because we allow our pride and our fears to step in and take over. We don't want to say something because we're afraid things are going to blow up even worse so we just sit on our hands, bite our tongues, and hope it will go away. We let pride blind us so that it's always someone else's fault instead of humbling ourselves before both God and our fellow man (or woman). We refuse to admit our own mistakes but insist on it from others.
The truth is a real bugger. It can seem awfully condemning at times, but it's really the opposite. The Bible says in John 8:32, Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. The truth frees us because it's Jesus' truth and it sharpens us just like I wrote yesterday. It shaves away the dull edges where deception, pride, and fear are constantly lurking. It sharpens us to God's love and to the truth of Jesus in our lives. It empowers us to speak that truth freely and without reservation. It allows us to mend the broken and to heal the sick.
I don't write this lightly, but I do write it truthfully. It's time to examine every one of your relationships, beginning with your relationship with God. Are you being completely honest in all of them? Is your heart really focused on God in every area of your life so that you know you walk in Truth? Is there air that needs clearing? Apologies to make? Tears to shed?
I believe there is, therefore I have spoken. It's time to come together as God's children, in love and in truth, not as prideful siblings who can't help but bicker over every little thing. It's time to tell Satan he isn't welcome and to butt out in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Remember, without those three nothing is possible and with them nothing can stop us.
Monday, October 04, 2010
The Sharpener
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. -- Proverbs 27:17 NIV
Does something seem a little funny to you about this verse? Is it just me? I've read it plenty of times and heard it plenty more. Slam dunk, right? We're here to be each other's sharpener.
Except I don't think that's what it is saying. I started to question my thinking on this verse today because of that first part...as iron sharpens iron. I may be wrong of course, but my thinking is that won't work. You wouldn't use any type of iron implement to sharpen another iron implement. As far as I know things that need sharpening are sharpened by putting their edge up against something harder so that the excess edge can be stripped away leaving a smooth, sharp surface...and that something harder is usually stone. We'll come back to this in a moment.
I ended up doing some research because I was curious. What I found is most people are just like me and when they really think about it that verse doesn't really make sense to them either. After some more research and some more thought, I'm of the opinion that what the Bible is really telling us here is that we need to recognize that when we receive truth, accountability, and counsel from our loved ones that it is God working to sharpen us through them. You see, I believe that Jesus is the sharpener. Jesus is the one to cut away our dull edges so that we can do the cutting that He needs done. Jesus is the stone (or The Rock) that does that work in us.
I can't sharpen you and you can't sharpen me. When we've gotten off course and lost our way, it isn't the counsel of man that bring us back to God, it's God who beckons us back. It's the Holy Spirit working through those that God has put in our lives to lead us back where we belong.
I say this today so that you will understand when things go wrong. Don't try to fix it yourself and don't ignore what the people who love you are saying to you...even if they are the very people who contributed to things going badly! Submerse yourself in prayer and remember to be forgiving and kind. Look for God speaking to you through the world around you. You are never as alone as you think you are, and the way for things to get better is to let Jesus sharpen you where you've dulled, because iron can't sharpen iron, but The Rock sure can.
Does something seem a little funny to you about this verse? Is it just me? I've read it plenty of times and heard it plenty more. Slam dunk, right? We're here to be each other's sharpener.
Except I don't think that's what it is saying. I started to question my thinking on this verse today because of that first part...as iron sharpens iron. I may be wrong of course, but my thinking is that won't work. You wouldn't use any type of iron implement to sharpen another iron implement. As far as I know things that need sharpening are sharpened by putting their edge up against something harder so that the excess edge can be stripped away leaving a smooth, sharp surface...and that something harder is usually stone. We'll come back to this in a moment.
I ended up doing some research because I was curious. What I found is most people are just like me and when they really think about it that verse doesn't really make sense to them either. After some more research and some more thought, I'm of the opinion that what the Bible is really telling us here is that we need to recognize that when we receive truth, accountability, and counsel from our loved ones that it is God working to sharpen us through them. You see, I believe that Jesus is the sharpener. Jesus is the one to cut away our dull edges so that we can do the cutting that He needs done. Jesus is the stone (or The Rock) that does that work in us.
I can't sharpen you and you can't sharpen me. When we've gotten off course and lost our way, it isn't the counsel of man that bring us back to God, it's God who beckons us back. It's the Holy Spirit working through those that God has put in our lives to lead us back where we belong.
I say this today so that you will understand when things go wrong. Don't try to fix it yourself and don't ignore what the people who love you are saying to you...even if they are the very people who contributed to things going badly! Submerse yourself in prayer and remember to be forgiving and kind. Look for God speaking to you through the world around you. You are never as alone as you think you are, and the way for things to get better is to let Jesus sharpen you where you've dulled, because iron can't sharpen iron, but The Rock sure can.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
N-Ought-Y
I don't really like that word...ought. I'm being completely serious. It's a naughty word. It's about good intentions and good intentions really aren't worth the time it takes to utter one. In Star Wars Yoda says "Do or do not. There is no try." He's right.
We all have things we ought to do. All that means is we realize we should be doing it and are consciously avoiding it! We ought to clean out the garage. We ought to call our grandparents more often. We ought to spend more time praying. The only thing "ought to" is ever going to buy you is regret as you look back on the opportunity that is long gone and realize there was a blessing there that you missed.
I try to add some humor when I write most of these as long as it doesn't get in the way of what I feel God is giving me to write about. I think it's a good idea and that it keeps the reader interested. But there are also times when the blunt truth is all that's called for and this is one of those times. That thing you've been saying you ought to do that you haven't done? Unless that thing is a direct act of disobedience to God, you are bound by your faith to do it. In fact, it's disobedience to NOT do what you feel you ought to be doing. Don't believe me? See what the Bible has to say on the subject:
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. -- James 4:17 NIV
I've neglected some people I shouldn't neglect and I've not said some things that needed saying. I ought to have done those things just like I ought to have done a billion other things. It's very clear that it is sin to avoid doing what God has put in front of us to do. Whatever it is, I'm urging you to not let it sit any longer. If God has put it on your heart that you need to do something, don't let yourself get caught up saying you ought to have done it as you look back at the aftermath of your inaction.
We commit sins by doing and we commit sins by not doing. The Bible is very clear on that. Everyone makes mistakes. We all do or say things that wind up having unintended impacts on others. That's understandable. But to absolutely know we should do something, that God is calling us to something, and not do it...well, that's just out and out sinning and unacceptable. I know I'm asking forgiveness for all the things I ought to have done and didn't do, and I'm going to continue to ask for accountability from others when I fail in the future.
How will you handle the "ought to" situations in your life?
We all have things we ought to do. All that means is we realize we should be doing it and are consciously avoiding it! We ought to clean out the garage. We ought to call our grandparents more often. We ought to spend more time praying. The only thing "ought to" is ever going to buy you is regret as you look back on the opportunity that is long gone and realize there was a blessing there that you missed.
I try to add some humor when I write most of these as long as it doesn't get in the way of what I feel God is giving me to write about. I think it's a good idea and that it keeps the reader interested. But there are also times when the blunt truth is all that's called for and this is one of those times. That thing you've been saying you ought to do that you haven't done? Unless that thing is a direct act of disobedience to God, you are bound by your faith to do it. In fact, it's disobedience to NOT do what you feel you ought to be doing. Don't believe me? See what the Bible has to say on the subject:
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. -- James 4:17 NIV
I've neglected some people I shouldn't neglect and I've not said some things that needed saying. I ought to have done those things just like I ought to have done a billion other things. It's very clear that it is sin to avoid doing what God has put in front of us to do. Whatever it is, I'm urging you to not let it sit any longer. If God has put it on your heart that you need to do something, don't let yourself get caught up saying you ought to have done it as you look back at the aftermath of your inaction.
We commit sins by doing and we commit sins by not doing. The Bible is very clear on that. Everyone makes mistakes. We all do or say things that wind up having unintended impacts on others. That's understandable. But to absolutely know we should do something, that God is calling us to something, and not do it...well, that's just out and out sinning and unacceptable. I know I'm asking forgiveness for all the things I ought to have done and didn't do, and I'm going to continue to ask for accountability from others when I fail in the future.
How will you handle the "ought to" situations in your life?
Friday, October 01, 2010
The Big Game
Today Oklahoma and Texas will meet on the field of battle. Surrounded by a crowd split right down the middle, 50/50, the two university football teams will clash to decide the winner of The Red River Rivalry and unofficial leader of the Big 12 South.
It's an annual rite of fall and one of the best rivalries in college sports. The players have dreamed about playing in this game for quite a while. They've toiled through burning hot summer workouts and played through pain just to have an opportunity to take the field and contribute to their team's victory in this very game. The coaches have prepared for this game from back before the season began, knowing the results will help them recruit the best players and bring continued success. The fans are fired up and ready to root for their boys. You probably don't have to ask anyone which side they root for because they probably are wearing something bearing their team's logo and colors.
It's funny how easily and to what extremes we get fired up for a school many of probably never attended. There was even a report a few years back of a Longhorn and a Sooner fan getting into it in a bar that resulted in the Longhorn being injured in a very uncomfortable place. Amazing that people can get wrapped up so far into something like a college team that they are willing to do harm to another.
Why do you think it is that we don't get that riled up about God? Sure, there are those out there that claim just about any faith that are willing to do horrible things in the name of religion. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about those of us who don't consider ourselves a radical of any kind. Why don't we get as fired up for Jesus as we do for a football team? Where is the passion when it comes to our faith? Why don't we prepare ourselves as diligently to do God's work as the players and coaches of our favorite teams do to prepare for their games? It just seems like a lot of times we let God take a back seat to whatever else is going on in our lives when He should be the only thing going on!
The big game when it comes to faith is eternity. No matter what religion a person follows, they do so because they believe their faith will bring them some sort of eternity. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is God in human form and that He died as a sacrifice for every single sin any of us has ever committed. Because we believe in Him, we're told we will receive eternal life together with God in Heaven. If that isn't the best reason to make sure we are prepared and ready to succeed then I don't know what would be.
We need to study to Bible so that we are spiritually ready to hear from God. We need to talk to God continually so that His love shines through our words and actions. We need to worship God with reckless abandon and show our thankfulness for what He's done for us. Those are all traits of someone who fully follows Christ. Those are the people who are prepared to do God's work and to receive the spoils of victory that wait for us in Heaven.
It's an annual rite of fall and one of the best rivalries in college sports. The players have dreamed about playing in this game for quite a while. They've toiled through burning hot summer workouts and played through pain just to have an opportunity to take the field and contribute to their team's victory in this very game. The coaches have prepared for this game from back before the season began, knowing the results will help them recruit the best players and bring continued success. The fans are fired up and ready to root for their boys. You probably don't have to ask anyone which side they root for because they probably are wearing something bearing their team's logo and colors.
It's funny how easily and to what extremes we get fired up for a school many of probably never attended. There was even a report a few years back of a Longhorn and a Sooner fan getting into it in a bar that resulted in the Longhorn being injured in a very uncomfortable place. Amazing that people can get wrapped up so far into something like a college team that they are willing to do harm to another.
Why do you think it is that we don't get that riled up about God? Sure, there are those out there that claim just about any faith that are willing to do horrible things in the name of religion. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about those of us who don't consider ourselves a radical of any kind. Why don't we get as fired up for Jesus as we do for a football team? Where is the passion when it comes to our faith? Why don't we prepare ourselves as diligently to do God's work as the players and coaches of our favorite teams do to prepare for their games? It just seems like a lot of times we let God take a back seat to whatever else is going on in our lives when He should be the only thing going on!
The big game when it comes to faith is eternity. No matter what religion a person follows, they do so because they believe their faith will bring them some sort of eternity. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is God in human form and that He died as a sacrifice for every single sin any of us has ever committed. Because we believe in Him, we're told we will receive eternal life together with God in Heaven. If that isn't the best reason to make sure we are prepared and ready to succeed then I don't know what would be.
We need to study to Bible so that we are spiritually ready to hear from God. We need to talk to God continually so that His love shines through our words and actions. We need to worship God with reckless abandon and show our thankfulness for what He's done for us. Those are all traits of someone who fully follows Christ. Those are the people who are prepared to do God's work and to receive the spoils of victory that wait for us in Heaven.
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