1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of
Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us
Since about age three, my oldest son, Cal, has been afraid of the dark. To calm those fears my wife, Evie, purchased an "aquarium" night light. It is a pretty cool gadget, with a fluorescent lit background,that shows fish as they "swim" around the light. Of course, it is just a clear sheet of plastic being pulled around to create the appearance of moving fish, but I have to admit it does a fine job. Cal named it the "maquarium" at age three, and it has been a required element for him to fall asleep for the last five years. The light and distraction of the fish help Cal to overcome His fear of all the things that the darkness represents. We all have come to love the maqaurium, as Cal gets a light to overcome His fear of darkness and we get to sleep.
Throughout redemptive history, God has used light to describe His Holiness. He also uses darkness to define Evil. You do not have to have a seminary degree to sense that light is good and darkness is bad. Sayings like "nothing good happens after midnight" prove out to be quite true. Even when I think through the majority of my sin, it happened in physical darkness. Why? We think the darkness will hide our sins from God and others. Darkness may temporarily hide your sin from others, but it will not hide it from God or yourself. Darkness demands that more darkness is needed to keep the "little dark secrets" hid. That, my friends, is the much worn path to death, the broad road that Jesus says leads to destruction (Matt 7:13-14).
In the passage from first John above, 4 fundamental principles are stated:
1)God is Light (v.5)
2)If we claim to be a Christ follower (light bearer), our lives will be defined by Holiness not sin. Even though we will sin, the Holy Spirit moves us to repent and reject that sin and darkness so that a brighter light may shine in our souls. If we claim to follow Jesus, and are comfortable sinning we are flat out liars (v.6)
3) Jesus blood is the only enabler to walking in the light (v.7)
4) We are all sinners, in need of the Light of the World, Jesus (v.8)
I have a love for questions. Answering tough questions is a great way to discover deep truths as we examine ourselves. Here are a few that come to mind:
As God looks in to your soul right now, does He see light and a thirst for more light?
Do you hate sin and darkness? (yes I mean HATE it)
Are you able to see a clear spiritual path towards God, because he has enlightened the eyes of your soul? Does the bible make clearer sense to you that it once did?
Do you have a desire to share light with others?
At the core of our soles, we each know if we crave light or are satisfied in darkness. It really is that simple, light or dark, it is one or the other. I pray desperately that all four of my kids, my wife, and Myself would love and be drawn into the light (God) and Hate darkness (sin).
Like the soothing light that the Maquarium provides Cal, it is only when we allow Jesus to light up our souls, that we are able to have peace.
So let this be your song today:
This little light of mine,
I am going to let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Fever, False accusation, and My Jesus
Leviticus 13:44-46 "he is a leprous man, he is unclean. the priest must pronounce him unclean: his disease is on his head. 45 The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of the head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out "Unclean, Unclean". He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. he is unclean. he shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp"
This morning Alison, my six year old, woke up complaining that she felt bad. A quick check of the thermometer revealed a fever of just under a hundred. When our kids have fevers, we keep them out of school, for their own sake, but also that others might not be infected by whatever sickness that they have. In the Levitical laws, there are many regulations like the one above that are done for similar reasons. God wants His people sanctified and Holy, near Him, and disease must be quarantined among His people so that is does not spread. Leviticus 13:44-46 reveals a caring God laying down healthy laws for His people.
A further examination of this passage really reveals an even more loving God. As we fast forward roughly two thousands years from Leviticus 13, the Jewish rulers had falsely judged Jesus of being a blasphemer and driven by the power of Beelzebub, the chief of demons (Matt 12:24). Caiaphas, one of the ring leaders, advises and helps carry out this unjust verdict (John 18:14) in order to rid the Jews of this "unhealthy man named Jesus". As a result of this injustice, where does Jesus end up? In the same place as the leprous man of Leviticus 13:
Outside the camp
With bloody and torn clothes (some stolen away from him)
The hairs of his head where definitely hanging loose
Alone (Jesus faced separation from God on our behalf that day, and almost everyone else fled)
So here we have a picture of men, falsely judging God (in the flesh of Jesus) with a law that he established for their own good, as they pronounced Jesus unfit and sentenced him to a "quarantine of death". It is amazing to me how God uses even the sinful hearts of men to accomplish His Holy and Divine purposes. As that day on Calvary unfolded, Jesus first became, and then conquered that same sin that falsely judged Him once and for all.
My heart burns with compassion for the Christ who stood falsely condemned, and CHOSE to suffer the same fate reserved for sick lepers. My heart is amazed at what Jesus obediently endured that day to accomplish the will of His father. My heart jumps in praise,and my knees bend, when I fully understand that my sins were part of the Uncleanness cast upon Him that day as He was separated, beaten and torn hanging on a cross. Just as the infectious lepers were driven away by the will of God, to sustain the health of men to bring God glory; Jesus was separated by the will of God for the same reason. He was cast out and cut off to prevent sin from consuming us. As He cried "it is finished", death and sin were put to death.
It is at the very moment when Jesus' Gospel leads our hearts to cry out for His love and claim the lepers self testimony of ,"Unclean, Unclean", that Jesus' separation and punishment eliminates ours, and we can commune freely with God. God is baffling and amazing. 4,000 years ago lepers testified of their infectious sickness, "unclean, unclean" to warn people not to get near them to sustain the health of His people. Five and a half years ago I cried out "I am unworthy God, I am sorry, please forgive me", he permanently regenerated my spiritual health so that through my life he may accomplish His will and bring Health to his creation.
God's will is consistant, it never changes. He wants us to glorify Him, and that can only be done as our hearts are Holy and Healthy. If our hearts are not Holy and Healthy, we will bring glory to ourselves. (see Caiphas above)
This morning Alison, my six year old, woke up complaining that she felt bad. A quick check of the thermometer revealed a fever of just under a hundred. When our kids have fevers, we keep them out of school, for their own sake, but also that others might not be infected by whatever sickness that they have. In the Levitical laws, there are many regulations like the one above that are done for similar reasons. God wants His people sanctified and Holy, near Him, and disease must be quarantined among His people so that is does not spread. Leviticus 13:44-46 reveals a caring God laying down healthy laws for His people.
A further examination of this passage really reveals an even more loving God. As we fast forward roughly two thousands years from Leviticus 13, the Jewish rulers had falsely judged Jesus of being a blasphemer and driven by the power of Beelzebub, the chief of demons (Matt 12:24). Caiaphas, one of the ring leaders, advises and helps carry out this unjust verdict (John 18:14) in order to rid the Jews of this "unhealthy man named Jesus". As a result of this injustice, where does Jesus end up? In the same place as the leprous man of Leviticus 13:
Outside the camp
With bloody and torn clothes (some stolen away from him)
The hairs of his head where definitely hanging loose
Alone (Jesus faced separation from God on our behalf that day, and almost everyone else fled)
So here we have a picture of men, falsely judging God (in the flesh of Jesus) with a law that he established for their own good, as they pronounced Jesus unfit and sentenced him to a "quarantine of death". It is amazing to me how God uses even the sinful hearts of men to accomplish His Holy and Divine purposes. As that day on Calvary unfolded, Jesus first became, and then conquered that same sin that falsely judged Him once and for all.
My heart burns with compassion for the Christ who stood falsely condemned, and CHOSE to suffer the same fate reserved for sick lepers. My heart is amazed at what Jesus obediently endured that day to accomplish the will of His father. My heart jumps in praise,and my knees bend, when I fully understand that my sins were part of the Uncleanness cast upon Him that day as He was separated, beaten and torn hanging on a cross. Just as the infectious lepers were driven away by the will of God, to sustain the health of men to bring God glory; Jesus was separated by the will of God for the same reason. He was cast out and cut off to prevent sin from consuming us. As He cried "it is finished", death and sin were put to death.
It is at the very moment when Jesus' Gospel leads our hearts to cry out for His love and claim the lepers self testimony of ,"Unclean, Unclean", that Jesus' separation and punishment eliminates ours, and we can commune freely with God. God is baffling and amazing. 4,000 years ago lepers testified of their infectious sickness, "unclean, unclean" to warn people not to get near them to sustain the health of His people. Five and a half years ago I cried out "I am unworthy God, I am sorry, please forgive me", he permanently regenerated my spiritual health so that through my life he may accomplish His will and bring Health to his creation.
God's will is consistant, it never changes. He wants us to glorify Him, and that can only be done as our hearts are Holy and Healthy. If our hearts are not Holy and Healthy, we will bring glory to ourselves. (see Caiphas above)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Toddler Rodeo this Sunday, 8 a.m. sharp
Acts 26:14b I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads"
I absolutely love Sundays. I love to worship and learn about My Jesus. I love to praise and to see others testify of Christ's grace, and see people being baptized. I love eating with my family and friends for lunch, and I love a cat nap afterwords to get my body ready for another week. The only thing I do not look forward to on Sundays is dressing my 16 month old, Luke. Luke is a great kid, but he is like the rest of us Stubbs, and is independent and strong willed. Dressing him is an adventure, especially as he is getting increasingly mobile and strong. What starts as a seemingly simple and casual task of changing diapers and dressing him for Church, usually ends up mirroring a calf roping event at a rodeo. As I start to make progress Luke starts to roll over, fight and kick with his own agenda of having fun and trying to get out of the outfit that I am trying to put on him. My voice, grip and creative attempts to distract his own agenda, allowing me to accomplish mine, intensify by the minute. I always end up getting Luke dressed, but many times I am sweating and really needing to worship, if you know what I mean.
I believe that is exactly what my life has looked like before My God, Yahweh. Him holding on to my ankle with one arm as I twist and turn struggling to do my own will, all the while His strength is set on me accomplishing His will in my life. Just like Jesus says to Paul in Acts 26:14 above, He desires for me to "stop kicking against the goads". Goads are the sharp pointed sticks used to spur animals along as they pulled plows,wagons or other items. If an animal disobediently decides to do its own will, and kicks against the goads, nothing really changes except the animal gets hurt and its masters tasks are delayed. That is a great thing to ponder on when we think of our disobedience. We can choose to rebel and not follow Christ as we "kick against the goads", but it only yields pain for us and a hindrance to God's will. Nothing good comes from it for anyone, it is one huge waste of effort.
Jesus says my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matt 11:25). A yoke is the wooden beam laid across two animals that harnesses the two animals together, and is fastened to the item they are pulling. The yoke synergizes the pulling effect of each animal so that maximum pulling force is achieved. A Christ follower, allows Jesus to have the load as He leads and we follow, that is why it is a light load for us. When we operate in this intended design, we see the foolishness of kicking against the goads, and the beauty of the common-yoked work of Christ through us, as we pull our loads while we follow Him. Those loads are plain and simply the will of God. The key phrase that must be the rallying cry to succesfully pulling His loads is: obedience by submisison to will of God. That is a phrase that the devil wants us to view as a horrid bondage, when in turn it is the only way out of that bondage.
So if you are bored this Sunday, around eight o'clock in the morning come on over and watch me try to beat my time calf roping, I mean, dressing Luke, bring it on. Yeehaw!
I absolutely love Sundays. I love to worship and learn about My Jesus. I love to praise and to see others testify of Christ's grace, and see people being baptized. I love eating with my family and friends for lunch, and I love a cat nap afterwords to get my body ready for another week. The only thing I do not look forward to on Sundays is dressing my 16 month old, Luke. Luke is a great kid, but he is like the rest of us Stubbs, and is independent and strong willed. Dressing him is an adventure, especially as he is getting increasingly mobile and strong. What starts as a seemingly simple and casual task of changing diapers and dressing him for Church, usually ends up mirroring a calf roping event at a rodeo. As I start to make progress Luke starts to roll over, fight and kick with his own agenda of having fun and trying to get out of the outfit that I am trying to put on him. My voice, grip and creative attempts to distract his own agenda, allowing me to accomplish mine, intensify by the minute. I always end up getting Luke dressed, but many times I am sweating and really needing to worship, if you know what I mean.
I believe that is exactly what my life has looked like before My God, Yahweh. Him holding on to my ankle with one arm as I twist and turn struggling to do my own will, all the while His strength is set on me accomplishing His will in my life. Just like Jesus says to Paul in Acts 26:14 above, He desires for me to "stop kicking against the goads". Goads are the sharp pointed sticks used to spur animals along as they pulled plows,wagons or other items. If an animal disobediently decides to do its own will, and kicks against the goads, nothing really changes except the animal gets hurt and its masters tasks are delayed. That is a great thing to ponder on when we think of our disobedience. We can choose to rebel and not follow Christ as we "kick against the goads", but it only yields pain for us and a hindrance to God's will. Nothing good comes from it for anyone, it is one huge waste of effort.
Jesus says my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matt 11:25). A yoke is the wooden beam laid across two animals that harnesses the two animals together, and is fastened to the item they are pulling. The yoke synergizes the pulling effect of each animal so that maximum pulling force is achieved. A Christ follower, allows Jesus to have the load as He leads and we follow, that is why it is a light load for us. When we operate in this intended design, we see the foolishness of kicking against the goads, and the beauty of the common-yoked work of Christ through us, as we pull our loads while we follow Him. Those loads are plain and simply the will of God. The key phrase that must be the rallying cry to succesfully pulling His loads is: obedience by submisison to will of God. That is a phrase that the devil wants us to view as a horrid bondage, when in turn it is the only way out of that bondage.
So if you are bored this Sunday, around eight o'clock in the morning come on over and watch me try to beat my time calf roping, I mean, dressing Luke, bring it on. Yeehaw!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Light Bearers
20 You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn.
One of the sweetest things my daughter Alison has ever done was giving me money to take with me to help feed the impoverished people of Honduras. As she presented the money to me one night before a trip, she said that she hoped someone would be fed and happy because of her gift. Now I am a numbers guy, and since were leaving the next morning, I had a full accounting of what the cost was for a team of 22 people to do evangelism , discipleship and buy and deliver 3 tons of beans and rice was, and it was pretty pricey. So when Alison gave me her $23, it initially did not really blow my socks off. What did effect me later on was the fact that she followed that up with "Dad, I would give more but that is all that I have". Man, I have a lot to learn.
I know the above passage speaks in terms of the Old Covenant to the Israelites, but it clearly shows the role of God's people to bring offerings of "pure beaten oil" to fuel the fire of the lamp of the tabernacle. God later clarifies Himself trough out the Old Testament that He is only worthy of the A#1, best, most precious offerings that people have. He will not accept anything else, and there are serious implications and ramifications for those that try to play God themselves and bring God their leftovers.
Fast forward to the New Testament. Jesus shows up declaring that He is the Light of the World. So what does that mean for us? We get the privilege of bringing Him our best, so that His Light may spread throughout the world. Do not miss this, we are the physical light bearers, but it is only when we bring an unattached fully open, fully bent on obedience heart to Him, that there is fuel for the Light to shine through us. God can move and shine anywhere He wants, but if you want to be a part of that, it starts with Christ's work on the Cross but continues as we worship Him spiritually and mentally and carry out His will by action.
If all of this is kind of confusing to you, I pray you will pick up the word of God for yourself and get to know Him. For many years, I thought church existed to do something for me. I thought I was the one who got to select my experience based on my personal preferences. I sought comfort and patronage of my religious activities. That now seems eerily upside down of what God designed me to do: Reflect His Light to others by worshipping Him with every thing I have,not because I have to, but because I get the luxury to do so!
Ask yourself this question: When the world looks at me do they see the Bright Glory of Jesus, the Morning Star or not?
If you are not sure that they do, go back to the top re-read this and pray for God to move in you...
One of the sweetest things my daughter Alison has ever done was giving me money to take with me to help feed the impoverished people of Honduras. As she presented the money to me one night before a trip, she said that she hoped someone would be fed and happy because of her gift. Now I am a numbers guy, and since were leaving the next morning, I had a full accounting of what the cost was for a team of 22 people to do evangelism , discipleship and buy and deliver 3 tons of beans and rice was, and it was pretty pricey. So when Alison gave me her $23, it initially did not really blow my socks off. What did effect me later on was the fact that she followed that up with "Dad, I would give more but that is all that I have". Man, I have a lot to learn.
I know the above passage speaks in terms of the Old Covenant to the Israelites, but it clearly shows the role of God's people to bring offerings of "pure beaten oil" to fuel the fire of the lamp of the tabernacle. God later clarifies Himself trough out the Old Testament that He is only worthy of the A#1, best, most precious offerings that people have. He will not accept anything else, and there are serious implications and ramifications for those that try to play God themselves and bring God their leftovers.
Fast forward to the New Testament. Jesus shows up declaring that He is the Light of the World. So what does that mean for us? We get the privilege of bringing Him our best, so that His Light may spread throughout the world. Do not miss this, we are the physical light bearers, but it is only when we bring an unattached fully open, fully bent on obedience heart to Him, that there is fuel for the Light to shine through us. God can move and shine anywhere He wants, but if you want to be a part of that, it starts with Christ's work on the Cross but continues as we worship Him spiritually and mentally and carry out His will by action.
If all of this is kind of confusing to you, I pray you will pick up the word of God for yourself and get to know Him. For many years, I thought church existed to do something for me. I thought I was the one who got to select my experience based on my personal preferences. I sought comfort and patronage of my religious activities. That now seems eerily upside down of what God designed me to do: Reflect His Light to others by worshipping Him with every thing I have,not because I have to, but because I get the luxury to do so!
Ask yourself this question: When the world looks at me do they see the Bright Glory of Jesus, the Morning Star or not?
If you are not sure that they do, go back to the top re-read this and pray for God to move in you...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Who is shaping who?
Exodus 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.
When my brother and I were young, we used to love to try to dam up small creeks. There was one in particular, in Jackson that was pretty shallow and during the summer of 1983 we dammed that creek up a dozen or so times. It took a lot of work carrying clay and sticks and tactically forming the dam. It was a great challenge, but we always got a little bored once the dam was built and water started to collect as we hoped it would. As you might expect, eventually the dam would give way and the force of water would reestablish its original path. We would go back a couple of days later to find little to no trace of the work we had accomplished. Looking back it is easy for me to see that God designed that creek to flow and no matter how much we tinkered with that design, His design would always win out. Even though we had brief moments celebrating our success, they were temporary and days later that success evaporated.
In the passage above God is forbidding Moses (and man) to build an altar of stones that have been shaped by man. Why? The altar in the OT was were God and man met and He did not want us to defame that meeting by shaping our image of Him and His will to fit our life. Go look at it and pray through it and ask yourself what that looks like in your life.
Looking through my life, it is filled with my attempts to shape Jesus to fit my life until I finally allowed Him to be Lord over it. I still face that temptation but I pray that I dare not try to alter Him and His will to fit my life.
If your walk with God is a routine who is leading you or God? There is no neutral in our walk with God. We will shape Him to fit our will or He will shape us to fit His will. One of those two things is going on in everyone of our lives right now. If you are unable to sense Him changing your heart with His love that should be disturbing to you.
One question: Have you ever asked God to give you an assignment of His that is to big for you or does your conversations look like you begging Him to bless your plan?
One more question: does your life with Christ have striking similarities to our dams? Moments of apparent victory that quickly fade back in to God's original design? High points of sensitivity that only a few days later are evaporated?
When my brother and I were young, we used to love to try to dam up small creeks. There was one in particular, in Jackson that was pretty shallow and during the summer of 1983 we dammed that creek up a dozen or so times. It took a lot of work carrying clay and sticks and tactically forming the dam. It was a great challenge, but we always got a little bored once the dam was built and water started to collect as we hoped it would. As you might expect, eventually the dam would give way and the force of water would reestablish its original path. We would go back a couple of days later to find little to no trace of the work we had accomplished. Looking back it is easy for me to see that God designed that creek to flow and no matter how much we tinkered with that design, His design would always win out. Even though we had brief moments celebrating our success, they were temporary and days later that success evaporated.
In the passage above God is forbidding Moses (and man) to build an altar of stones that have been shaped by man. Why? The altar in the OT was were God and man met and He did not want us to defame that meeting by shaping our image of Him and His will to fit our life. Go look at it and pray through it and ask yourself what that looks like in your life.
Looking through my life, it is filled with my attempts to shape Jesus to fit my life until I finally allowed Him to be Lord over it. I still face that temptation but I pray that I dare not try to alter Him and His will to fit my life.
If your walk with God is a routine who is leading you or God? There is no neutral in our walk with God. We will shape Him to fit our will or He will shape us to fit His will. One of those two things is going on in everyone of our lives right now. If you are unable to sense Him changing your heart with His love that should be disturbing to you.
One question: Have you ever asked God to give you an assignment of His that is to big for you or does your conversations look like you begging Him to bless your plan?
One more question: does your life with Christ have striking similarities to our dams? Moments of apparent victory that quickly fade back in to God's original design? High points of sensitivity that only a few days later are evaporated?
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
scattered, smothered and covered
Psalms 46:10 10 “Be still, and know that I am God.I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth!”
One of my favorite foods during college was hash browns scattered, smothered and covered. For all of you that have missed this delicacy, it means that the hash browns are scattered on the grill, smothered with onions and covered with cheese. Definitely not the healthiest meal, but as my dad says "It will keep your hair shiny".
When I look at my life and others around me I see one of a dizzying pace. Technology has enveloped us with its advancements. Many of these breakthroughs are helpful and allow us to be more productive children of the most high God. But like anything else, anything that man creates will have a strong possibility of keeping us from God if we are not in tune with the Spirit. What am I talking about and what does this have to do with scattered, smothered and covered hash browns? Here is what I see:
Scattered: Is there anyone besides me that battles every day to remain focused. Work, kids activities, quiet time, small group, church, kid's school events, work,missions and oh yeah I need to model Christ to all those and most importantly to my family.
Smothered: How about this occurrence? hundreds of emails a day, dozens of texts and calls, immediate news through thousands of web pages, hundreds of TV and radio channels all modeled out to make sure that there is always something that will hold your attention no matter your age and lifestyle.
Covered: Debt? The slavery to a job that you might not enjoy. Saying yes sir to the man who you might not enjoy working under. What about all of the sin that keeps you weighed down: hatred, greed, lust, pride, anxiety,covetousness, unforgiveness, gossip and on and on?
So what are we to do? Are we helpless? Yes..we are completely helpless.
Until we come to the end of ourselves, be still, cease striving and sit down at the foot of the cross and worship Jesus. That is our only hope, and I am not talking about fitting a two minute slot into the Berserker-like pace of 2010. I am talking about following and worshipping Christ who has conquered all and sat down on His throne. His work is done. He has conquered all. It is indeed finished! Until we realize that we can not do it ourselves, we will agonize as we try to mimic him in our weak flesh.
So if you have never done it. Stop and ponder the God of the universe bleeding for you in Love and allow you heart to marinate in that Grace. Then sit down, turn the world off and from the Heart praise Him. Until we truly do this, we are doomed to feel scattered smothered and covered. Only the power of the Cross can bring true joy and peace into our hearts. For years I struggled to do it on my own and tried to include God in my battle. The Gospel is allowing Christ to battle for you.
One of my favorite foods during college was hash browns scattered, smothered and covered. For all of you that have missed this delicacy, it means that the hash browns are scattered on the grill, smothered with onions and covered with cheese. Definitely not the healthiest meal, but as my dad says "It will keep your hair shiny".
When I look at my life and others around me I see one of a dizzying pace. Technology has enveloped us with its advancements. Many of these breakthroughs are helpful and allow us to be more productive children of the most high God. But like anything else, anything that man creates will have a strong possibility of keeping us from God if we are not in tune with the Spirit. What am I talking about and what does this have to do with scattered, smothered and covered hash browns? Here is what I see:
Scattered: Is there anyone besides me that battles every day to remain focused. Work, kids activities, quiet time, small group, church, kid's school events, work,missions and oh yeah I need to model Christ to all those and most importantly to my family.
Smothered: How about this occurrence? hundreds of emails a day, dozens of texts and calls, immediate news through thousands of web pages, hundreds of TV and radio channels all modeled out to make sure that there is always something that will hold your attention no matter your age and lifestyle.
Covered: Debt? The slavery to a job that you might not enjoy. Saying yes sir to the man who you might not enjoy working under. What about all of the sin that keeps you weighed down: hatred, greed, lust, pride, anxiety,covetousness, unforgiveness, gossip and on and on?
So what are we to do? Are we helpless? Yes..we are completely helpless.
Until we come to the end of ourselves, be still, cease striving and sit down at the foot of the cross and worship Jesus. That is our only hope, and I am not talking about fitting a two minute slot into the Berserker-like pace of 2010. I am talking about following and worshipping Christ who has conquered all and sat down on His throne. His work is done. He has conquered all. It is indeed finished! Until we realize that we can not do it ourselves, we will agonize as we try to mimic him in our weak flesh.
So if you have never done it. Stop and ponder the God of the universe bleeding for you in Love and allow you heart to marinate in that Grace. Then sit down, turn the world off and from the Heart praise Him. Until we truly do this, we are doomed to feel scattered smothered and covered. Only the power of the Cross can bring true joy and peace into our hearts. For years I struggled to do it on my own and tried to include God in my battle. The Gospel is allowing Christ to battle for you.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Wandering?
Exodus 13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”
Do you ever reach those seasons in life when you wonder why God just doesn't make it easier on you and give you some shortcuts? I am in one of those right now as I type. I know he loves me and I am eager to serve Him. There seems to be more a lot more questions than answers though when it comes to where and how he wants me to follow Him. And all of this when I sense His covering on my life more intimately than ever....it does not logically add up, does it?
God used the verse in Exodus 13:17 above to help me understand why I must wander in these desert times. He knows that he must prepare me for the ministries that lie ahead for me in my life. He says in the above passage that he has to prepare the Israelites by building up their intestinal fortitude of faith by allowing them to wander.......if their faith is untested and immature it will fail when the drums of war sound. I think it is safe to assume that there will be times in our life where we can see a shortcut to the ministry calling we feel God pointing us to and he leaves us wandering because we are not ready yet. He allows us to frustrate ourselves in our own toiling until we come to the end of ourselves and sit and rest in His Glory.That is when He can have affective ministry through us...once we have heard Him, Follow Him and give Him the reigns of our lives.
Scholars use a big word called sanctification to describe this process...how about we call it God's staging ground for effective ministry! Go and make war as we are called, but do not run ahead of God's plans and preparation.
Do you ever reach those seasons in life when you wonder why God just doesn't make it easier on you and give you some shortcuts? I am in one of those right now as I type. I know he loves me and I am eager to serve Him. There seems to be more a lot more questions than answers though when it comes to where and how he wants me to follow Him. And all of this when I sense His covering on my life more intimately than ever....it does not logically add up, does it?
God used the verse in Exodus 13:17 above to help me understand why I must wander in these desert times. He knows that he must prepare me for the ministries that lie ahead for me in my life. He says in the above passage that he has to prepare the Israelites by building up their intestinal fortitude of faith by allowing them to wander.......if their faith is untested and immature it will fail when the drums of war sound. I think it is safe to assume that there will be times in our life where we can see a shortcut to the ministry calling we feel God pointing us to and he leaves us wandering because we are not ready yet. He allows us to frustrate ourselves in our own toiling until we come to the end of ourselves and sit and rest in His Glory.That is when He can have affective ministry through us...once we have heard Him, Follow Him and give Him the reigns of our lives.
Scholars use a big word called sanctification to describe this process...how about we call it God's staging ground for effective ministry! Go and make war as we are called, but do not run ahead of God's plans and preparation.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Your purpose in life
1 Timothy 1:16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
My oldest two kids are six and eight and it is fun to watch Cal and Alison's answers change when you ask the question "what are you going to do when you grow up?" Two years ago they had their hearts set on being cooks at Moe's. Last year it was a policeman for Cal and a business person for Alison. Cal is now convinced he is worthy of the NFL after one year of tackle football and Alison is so self confident, that currently she wants to keep her options open so that she can excel at the profession which needs her the most when the time comes for her to enter the work force (sounds like her old man's plans).
Have you ever noticed that we all need a purpose to live? No matter if anyone believes in Jesus or not, we all have a deep longing to be defined as something, even if that is being an Atheist, Agnostic, Artistic, Entrepreneur, Pretty, Powerful, Helpful, Nice, Republican, Democrat, Religious or whatever, we all want a tag that expresses our life's purpose. We want to be defined by something that gives us reason to breathe, live for the day and strive towards. If you take a minute and stop, you will see that everyone wears this purpose visually. Those adornments range from the track marks and blood shot eyes of an addict to Gucci sunglasses and Mercedes keys in the hand of an upper crust elitist. Whatever it maybe, the purpose of your life is apparent to the world as you broadcast that message in your actions, words, clothes and thought life.
Whoever or whatever gives you purpose is your God. Whoever or Whatever defines who you are is the God you serve.
Paul's answer to why he received grace and mercy should make us stop and evaluate our true purpose. He received grace so that His life would be an example of Christ's love and regeneration and forgiveness. Paul wanted his life to be a monument to Christ. Christ's words, Christ's actions, Christ's hugs, Christ's truths that sometimes cause confrontation or whatever else, he knew he had been saved only to reflect that grace to others.
Can you say that? Does your life reflect that? Your grace was allotted to you so that your life can be an example of that grace to a lost and cold world, so that God could be glorified in the worship of others? I know I was never taught this Gospel truth until my mid thirties through my friend Tim Dilbeck. Until then, I just thought that I was supposed to kind of blend Jesus into my earthly purposes and He was going to make me a nicer and better Entrepreneur, Conservative Auburn fan. The line between these two schools of thought is razor thin and perhaps leaves you confused. Well here is the test you can take to help you see what your purpose in life is: Go find someone that you casually know and ask them to tell you what they see as your passions. Then draw it in a little closer and ask your spouse, kids and family that same question. Tell them to be honest. Take it to heart and realize that no matter what or who we may think we are worshipping, our life is leaving a trail of proof as to who or what our God is............. If there answer is any thing other than someone who loves Jesus then I would ask you to consider getting honest with God maybe even on your knees. (Even if there answer is "churchy", we are called to reflect God's glory by pointing to Christ, not our local building and activity schedule)
My oldest two kids are six and eight and it is fun to watch Cal and Alison's answers change when you ask the question "what are you going to do when you grow up?" Two years ago they had their hearts set on being cooks at Moe's. Last year it was a policeman for Cal and a business person for Alison. Cal is now convinced he is worthy of the NFL after one year of tackle football and Alison is so self confident, that currently she wants to keep her options open so that she can excel at the profession which needs her the most when the time comes for her to enter the work force (sounds like her old man's plans).
Have you ever noticed that we all need a purpose to live? No matter if anyone believes in Jesus or not, we all have a deep longing to be defined as something, even if that is being an Atheist, Agnostic, Artistic, Entrepreneur, Pretty, Powerful, Helpful, Nice, Republican, Democrat, Religious or whatever, we all want a tag that expresses our life's purpose. We want to be defined by something that gives us reason to breathe, live for the day and strive towards. If you take a minute and stop, you will see that everyone wears this purpose visually. Those adornments range from the track marks and blood shot eyes of an addict to Gucci sunglasses and Mercedes keys in the hand of an upper crust elitist. Whatever it maybe, the purpose of your life is apparent to the world as you broadcast that message in your actions, words, clothes and thought life.
Whoever or whatever gives you purpose is your God. Whoever or Whatever defines who you are is the God you serve.
Paul's answer to why he received grace and mercy should make us stop and evaluate our true purpose. He received grace so that His life would be an example of Christ's love and regeneration and forgiveness. Paul wanted his life to be a monument to Christ. Christ's words, Christ's actions, Christ's hugs, Christ's truths that sometimes cause confrontation or whatever else, he knew he had been saved only to reflect that grace to others.
Can you say that? Does your life reflect that? Your grace was allotted to you so that your life can be an example of that grace to a lost and cold world, so that God could be glorified in the worship of others? I know I was never taught this Gospel truth until my mid thirties through my friend Tim Dilbeck. Until then, I just thought that I was supposed to kind of blend Jesus into my earthly purposes and He was going to make me a nicer and better Entrepreneur, Conservative Auburn fan. The line between these two schools of thought is razor thin and perhaps leaves you confused. Well here is the test you can take to help you see what your purpose in life is: Go find someone that you casually know and ask them to tell you what they see as your passions. Then draw it in a little closer and ask your spouse, kids and family that same question. Tell them to be honest. Take it to heart and realize that no matter what or who we may think we are worshipping, our life is leaving a trail of proof as to who or what our God is............. If there answer is any thing other than someone who loves Jesus then I would ask you to consider getting honest with God maybe even on your knees. (Even if there answer is "churchy", we are called to reflect God's glory by pointing to Christ, not our local building and activity schedule)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
