Genesis 11:1- 4 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
It is evident that God created us to work. Scripture points to the fact that before sin entered the world, man harvested the garden and "sherrifed" God's creation for Him. That was a God glorifying work as it cultivated God's creation and carried out His will for man and creation. Only eight chapters after the fall though, we see man's perversion of work starting to really spike up. What was the sin of the tower of Babel? Pride. Their work was not done for the will of God, to accomplish the purposes of God, but to make a name for themselves. Humm, is there any of that around today?
When you really peel back the purpose of your work, what do you see? Are you working unto the Lord or are you making a name for your self?
Even in our American church culture, we can easily slip into a trap of thinking that we can pour our entire energy focus and passion into our jobs, and as long as we give God a 10% tithe then we are serving God well with our work. While the tithe is a great starting place for giving, we are missing the point if we only talk about money made from our work, and not our actions while we work. If the only "spot" given to God is 10% of the fruit of your efforts, then what about the other 90% of your money and 100% of the time you spend at work? Is it yours or God's? Who allows it to exist? Who empowers it? Whose name does it glorify?
These are critical questions about our life's work. We must remember that God does not need our money, and His goal is heart change so that we can Love and Glorify Him through Christ. For most of my life, my work was about glorifying Chad with more stuff and praise from men. My purposes really looked like the tower of Babel except I gave God a 10% tithe of it. That was until God pointed me to the fact that Jesus did not just give 10% of His life and blood on the cross, He gave 100%. That changes things for us all, doesn't it?
So how do you glorify God at your job? Let him lead you to daily mirror compassion, mercy, restoration, service and all of the aspects of Christ to your coworkers, customers and vendors. How does that look for you? Why don't you spend time to ask Him?
As our model, He gave 100% of Himself to His work of redeeming mankind for God's glory and did not hold back anything.He is an "all in" God and our life's work should strive to Glorify His name.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Parrot or Power Cord
1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Last week while we were going door to door in the lovely Honduras town of Monte Redundo, we ran into a strange situation. Outside of their little shack, this sweet family we were visiting had a fully grown parrot. This parrot was huge and vibrantly arrayed in color. The sweet Donia (or lady of the house) had to show us the parrot's trick before we left. She could get the bird to say Hola very clearly after she had greeted the bird with the same Spanish words. Her faced beamed wide with a smile after her hard work of training the bird had paid off. The bird even had a great Spanish accent to its Hola. I thought it was a pretty neat deal, and we had a great time encouraging the family in Christ.
Have you ever thought that alot of what we try to do in Church mirrors this woman and her bird. We try to get people to repeat what we want them to say and when they do it perfectly in line with our denominational creed we are happy. I feel like this happened to me a lot in my youth. I ha dmany people telling me what I should say and think, I just do not recall an overabundance of Power, Faith and contagious love backing those words up. Paul's words are clear in the above verses. The Gospel of Christ is far more than understandings, beliefs and repetition. It is power. Amazing power that overcomes all challengers.
Obviously any analogy falls short of the man-God relationship, but doesn't it make sense for us as His disciples to think the walk of a disciple to be more of a "power cord" that plugs into the "power source" of life itself, Jesus the Messiah? If He and His power truly overcomes death, and it does, this power is an active living thing that is high voltage and awesome in design. It is acquired by communion as we plug into Him by His blood and Spirit. Power cords are worthless without the power source, and so are we. If they are not plugged into the power source, there is no power going through them, they are just empty pieces of wire and rubber. However , if they are plugged in, they can convey that power to the extent of there length to any body else that is "plugged in". Power cords are fulfilled with and transporters of Power. So are Christ followers.
So what is going on with you? Is your goal to memorize a bunch of stuff to say the right thing about Christ? Or are you plugged into Christ and feel His power coursing through your life as your faith is built by Him and for Him?
Don't get me wrong, memory verses are a great Holy Discipline that I practice. They are a means to an end though. They exist to point you to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are in communion with Him, you have His power even if it is in a fragile jar of your body.
Parroting information gets us no where. As Paul says in 1 Cor 1:18, the power of God saves us from our sins.
Would you best describe your walk as a Parrot or a Power Cord?
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Last week while we were going door to door in the lovely Honduras town of Monte Redundo, we ran into a strange situation. Outside of their little shack, this sweet family we were visiting had a fully grown parrot. This parrot was huge and vibrantly arrayed in color. The sweet Donia (or lady of the house) had to show us the parrot's trick before we left. She could get the bird to say Hola very clearly after she had greeted the bird with the same Spanish words. Her faced beamed wide with a smile after her hard work of training the bird had paid off. The bird even had a great Spanish accent to its Hola. I thought it was a pretty neat deal, and we had a great time encouraging the family in Christ.
Have you ever thought that alot of what we try to do in Church mirrors this woman and her bird. We try to get people to repeat what we want them to say and when they do it perfectly in line with our denominational creed we are happy. I feel like this happened to me a lot in my youth. I ha dmany people telling me what I should say and think, I just do not recall an overabundance of Power, Faith and contagious love backing those words up. Paul's words are clear in the above verses. The Gospel of Christ is far more than understandings, beliefs and repetition. It is power. Amazing power that overcomes all challengers.
Obviously any analogy falls short of the man-God relationship, but doesn't it make sense for us as His disciples to think the walk of a disciple to be more of a "power cord" that plugs into the "power source" of life itself, Jesus the Messiah? If He and His power truly overcomes death, and it does, this power is an active living thing that is high voltage and awesome in design. It is acquired by communion as we plug into Him by His blood and Spirit. Power cords are worthless without the power source, and so are we. If they are not plugged into the power source, there is no power going through them, they are just empty pieces of wire and rubber. However , if they are plugged in, they can convey that power to the extent of there length to any body else that is "plugged in". Power cords are fulfilled with and transporters of Power. So are Christ followers.
So what is going on with you? Is your goal to memorize a bunch of stuff to say the right thing about Christ? Or are you plugged into Christ and feel His power coursing through your life as your faith is built by Him and for Him?
Don't get me wrong, memory verses are a great Holy Discipline that I practice. They are a means to an end though. They exist to point you to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are in communion with Him, you have His power even if it is in a fragile jar of your body.
Parroting information gets us no where. As Paul says in 1 Cor 1:18, the power of God saves us from our sins.
Would you best describe your walk as a Parrot or a Power Cord?
Saturday, June 26, 2010
What to do with good news
2 Kings 7:9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king's household.”
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to spread good news? I mean the really exciting news taht you love. Think about the times in your life when you got engaged, had a child, got a promotion, or even shot your biggest buck or lowest round of golf. And ladies how about the new clothes or how great the deal you got on a purse or shoes? Chances are you told someone about it. Chances are you told many people about it, because it was not only good news but it was exciting and you had a personal interest in the story.
The background to the verse above helps us see a better picture of the verse's meaning. The "they" in the verse refers to four lepers who sat in the gate of Samaria, as it was under heavy siege from a Syrian army. God had caused the Syrian army to flee by His majestic power and the Syrians who just the day before had total control and power over the city of Samaria had fled in haste and left their tents, food, money and supplies in a desperate flea for their lives. Since God did all of this over night, with the help of no man, the Israelites are not aware of what happened to the vast army that had so overcome Samaria that they were starving and eating their own children. The four lepers finally became so desperate that they decided to go and try to surrender to the Syrian army so at least they would not starve in broad daylight. As they timidly enter the Syrian camp, it is apparent that the Syrians have cut and run and the lepers begin to feast on the food and hoard and bury the wealth left behind by the huge army that fled before the Lord. As they are having their fill and feeling really good about their new found wealth, something inside them kicks in and they say the verse above about the need to share the good news of God's work.
Why was it so important to tell the good news? Because the whole city of Samaria was starving just down the road and people were in drastic need of the news, so they could act on it and be blessed by God's provision of food, riches and supplies. The lepers new that the good news must be shared or the God who provided this miraculous blessing would be angered at their lack of desire to pass the blessing on to others that were in great need of it. So what happens next is pretty cool. They go and tell the gate keepers what has happened and the king thinks it is a trap. His adviser's basically tell Him it does not matter if it is a tactical trick by the Syrians or not, they were all soon to die of starvation so he sends out a scouting party which reports the route is greater and extends all the way to the Jordan. The gates are raised and the people rush to feast on the blessing of the Lord and the city is saved. God's prepared blessing is consumed by His people.
There are many Gospel points to be shared in this story, but there are a couple that are glaringly large. There is a huge need to share the Good News of Jesus Christ because there are people dying all around us and they need the Good news that God has provided a redemptive salvation for their souls through Jesus. Secondly, this should be easy to do if we truly are convinced it is indeed good news. Thsi will only happen if we have tasted and seen that the Lord is indeed good and satisfying and we are in true communion with him. If Jesus and the gospel are merely things you know about, and have not feasted on and been filled with, you will have little desire or reason to spread the good news. Why? It really isn't that great of news to you, but only a theory in your mind that has not been acted upon. It will not be truly good news but rather a church thing that someone is making you do. Those are two extremely different things, as one is sharing the Life and Love of God by the blessing of God through Christ on us, and the other is a mere religious attempt to please God in our strength. Lastly, we must realize that there is a privileged responsibility upon us to share the blessing of Jesus. It should be good news, it should be fulfilling to you to the point of "broadcasting your excitement in Christ to the nations".
So what type of good news has your life produced? Do the people around you know more about the grace of Christ in you or about your achievements, children's accomplishments, and the other things in life that are defining you as a person?
What is the focal point of your life that you can not stop sharing? If it isn't Jesus, something else has you fulfilled.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to spread good news? I mean the really exciting news taht you love. Think about the times in your life when you got engaged, had a child, got a promotion, or even shot your biggest buck or lowest round of golf. And ladies how about the new clothes or how great the deal you got on a purse or shoes? Chances are you told someone about it. Chances are you told many people about it, because it was not only good news but it was exciting and you had a personal interest in the story.
The background to the verse above helps us see a better picture of the verse's meaning. The "they" in the verse refers to four lepers who sat in the gate of Samaria, as it was under heavy siege from a Syrian army. God had caused the Syrian army to flee by His majestic power and the Syrians who just the day before had total control and power over the city of Samaria had fled in haste and left their tents, food, money and supplies in a desperate flea for their lives. Since God did all of this over night, with the help of no man, the Israelites are not aware of what happened to the vast army that had so overcome Samaria that they were starving and eating their own children. The four lepers finally became so desperate that they decided to go and try to surrender to the Syrian army so at least they would not starve in broad daylight. As they timidly enter the Syrian camp, it is apparent that the Syrians have cut and run and the lepers begin to feast on the food and hoard and bury the wealth left behind by the huge army that fled before the Lord. As they are having their fill and feeling really good about their new found wealth, something inside them kicks in and they say the verse above about the need to share the good news of God's work.
Why was it so important to tell the good news? Because the whole city of Samaria was starving just down the road and people were in drastic need of the news, so they could act on it and be blessed by God's provision of food, riches and supplies. The lepers new that the good news must be shared or the God who provided this miraculous blessing would be angered at their lack of desire to pass the blessing on to others that were in great need of it. So what happens next is pretty cool. They go and tell the gate keepers what has happened and the king thinks it is a trap. His adviser's basically tell Him it does not matter if it is a tactical trick by the Syrians or not, they were all soon to die of starvation so he sends out a scouting party which reports the route is greater and extends all the way to the Jordan. The gates are raised and the people rush to feast on the blessing of the Lord and the city is saved. God's prepared blessing is consumed by His people.
There are many Gospel points to be shared in this story, but there are a couple that are glaringly large. There is a huge need to share the Good News of Jesus Christ because there are people dying all around us and they need the Good news that God has provided a redemptive salvation for their souls through Jesus. Secondly, this should be easy to do if we truly are convinced it is indeed good news. Thsi will only happen if we have tasted and seen that the Lord is indeed good and satisfying and we are in true communion with him. If Jesus and the gospel are merely things you know about, and have not feasted on and been filled with, you will have little desire or reason to spread the good news. Why? It really isn't that great of news to you, but only a theory in your mind that has not been acted upon. It will not be truly good news but rather a church thing that someone is making you do. Those are two extremely different things, as one is sharing the Life and Love of God by the blessing of God through Christ on us, and the other is a mere religious attempt to please God in our strength. Lastly, we must realize that there is a privileged responsibility upon us to share the blessing of Jesus. It should be good news, it should be fulfilling to you to the point of "broadcasting your excitement in Christ to the nations".
So what type of good news has your life produced? Do the people around you know more about the grace of Christ in you or about your achievements, children's accomplishments, and the other things in life that are defining you as a person?
What is the focal point of your life that you can not stop sharing? If it isn't Jesus, something else has you fulfilled.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Do It Slow!
Proverbs 19:2 Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with His feet misses His way.
Desire without knowledge is definitely not good....how many times have we gone running after a person, place or thing without having the full picture. I can honestly say that I have a lot. Understanding something with a comprehensive knowledge is a must when making good decisions. When it comes to people, that is a long and diligent discovery process as we walk through life together and we see each other's blind spots and sin. We all need to keep that in our mind as we seek relationships of all kinds. Why? When our desires for quick satisfaction get ahead of our understanding of the long term implication of a relationship, it ain't good.
Solomon follows that up with "whoever makes haste with His feet misses His way"......he builds his case for discernment and provides a clear picture of a person rushing ahead to quickly and getting lost. f you want a real life picture of what that looks like, just ask the millions of mortgage holders that are left holding the bag on "quick flip" properties. At the time, everyone was doing it and getting rich in the process. The only stipulation was you just had to get in quick when a window opened up on a property, and now there are many people paying mortgages on properties they have no means to sustain long term.
Whether it is property flipping, millions of affairs,the Nasdaq bubble or one night stands, there is financial, physical, mental and spiritual evidence of the destructive nature of a rash pursuit of filling our desires all over the place.
So before we make any rush and hasty commitments or decisions, slow down and ask God for discernment and remember that the pressures of today do not apply to Him.
Desire without knowledge is definitely not good....how many times have we gone running after a person, place or thing without having the full picture. I can honestly say that I have a lot. Understanding something with a comprehensive knowledge is a must when making good decisions. When it comes to people, that is a long and diligent discovery process as we walk through life together and we see each other's blind spots and sin. We all need to keep that in our mind as we seek relationships of all kinds. Why? When our desires for quick satisfaction get ahead of our understanding of the long term implication of a relationship, it ain't good.
Solomon follows that up with "whoever makes haste with His feet misses His way"......he builds his case for discernment and provides a clear picture of a person rushing ahead to quickly and getting lost. f you want a real life picture of what that looks like, just ask the millions of mortgage holders that are left holding the bag on "quick flip" properties. At the time, everyone was doing it and getting rich in the process. The only stipulation was you just had to get in quick when a window opened up on a property, and now there are many people paying mortgages on properties they have no means to sustain long term.
Whether it is property flipping, millions of affairs,the Nasdaq bubble or one night stands, there is financial, physical, mental and spiritual evidence of the destructive nature of a rash pursuit of filling our desires all over the place.
So before we make any rush and hasty commitments or decisions, slow down and ask God for discernment and remember that the pressures of today do not apply to Him.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Is Anybody Listening?
Proverbs 28:9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer is an abomination.
God is showing me something in a large way. No one listens anymore. It is a battle that I face as well. Think through how many times you have to repeat simple instructions, and how many times you get frustrated with people not listening to you and chances are, you will have much to recount. I think there are many reasons why no one is listening. As a general rule, our society is a tired, distracted, multi tasking society that has very short attention and commitment spans. Perhaps the bigger problem is that we don't see the need to listen to others as most of us think we have it all figured out. When you combine all of that with the false belief that we are not under authority you have a perfect mix of "no need to hear-ism".
Imagine for a second how God feels. Read the proverb above and think through the point that the proverb is trying to make. At the time the proverb was made, the law was the only written revelation from God to His creation (that would be people). He says if you ignore God's word, then even your prayer is an abomination. Whoa! Read it again. If you are ignoring God, then your prayers to Him are wickedness.
That kind of seems a little cold hearted at first glance, until you think it through. The major point is this: God has incurred much pain and sacrifice including His Son Jesus, the other heroes of the faith in the bible, and the heroes of the Faith that have risked their lives to preserve the word as evil men tried to destroy it and them. The Bible you have might have only cost you 15 bucks, but it has cost God a lot of grief. It cost many men their lives. It is therefore not a cheap read that should collect dust while we read "more entertaining and relevant things". What could be more entertaining and relevant than the God of the universe communicating with you?
Analytically, you should ask yourself why would God go through all of that so that the bible is available to me? The answer is so that we are able to get glimpses of the Greatness of God and the intense Love displayed in the Gospel, and choose to walk away from the enticements of a sinful world, and follow Him. We must realize that if we are not being changed by Him, then our prayers are prayers that are not in line with His will, but our own. When we pray for God to do our will, we are in effect attempting to "Tell God what He should do". It should work the other way, don't you think? God should be telling us what to do.
Well he has done that. Are you reading and listening?
even his prayer is an abomination.
God is showing me something in a large way. No one listens anymore. It is a battle that I face as well. Think through how many times you have to repeat simple instructions, and how many times you get frustrated with people not listening to you and chances are, you will have much to recount. I think there are many reasons why no one is listening. As a general rule, our society is a tired, distracted, multi tasking society that has very short attention and commitment spans. Perhaps the bigger problem is that we don't see the need to listen to others as most of us think we have it all figured out. When you combine all of that with the false belief that we are not under authority you have a perfect mix of "no need to hear-ism".
Imagine for a second how God feels. Read the proverb above and think through the point that the proverb is trying to make. At the time the proverb was made, the law was the only written revelation from God to His creation (that would be people). He says if you ignore God's word, then even your prayer is an abomination. Whoa! Read it again. If you are ignoring God, then your prayers to Him are wickedness.
That kind of seems a little cold hearted at first glance, until you think it through. The major point is this: God has incurred much pain and sacrifice including His Son Jesus, the other heroes of the faith in the bible, and the heroes of the Faith that have risked their lives to preserve the word as evil men tried to destroy it and them. The Bible you have might have only cost you 15 bucks, but it has cost God a lot of grief. It cost many men their lives. It is therefore not a cheap read that should collect dust while we read "more entertaining and relevant things". What could be more entertaining and relevant than the God of the universe communicating with you?
Analytically, you should ask yourself why would God go through all of that so that the bible is available to me? The answer is so that we are able to get glimpses of the Greatness of God and the intense Love displayed in the Gospel, and choose to walk away from the enticements of a sinful world, and follow Him. We must realize that if we are not being changed by Him, then our prayers are prayers that are not in line with His will, but our own. When we pray for God to do our will, we are in effect attempting to "Tell God what He should do". It should work the other way, don't you think? God should be telling us what to do.
Well he has done that. Are you reading and listening?
Monday, June 21, 2010
Messy
Proverbs 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
It is amazing how your perception can change. Last week while playing soccer with our boys from the orphanage, I stepped in a huge pile of cow manure. For those of you who have never been, it really isn't that uncommon, as the cows graze in and through the soccer "field" we have on the farm. It really didn't phase me a whole lot as I just tried to clean it off in the grass, and kept on taking my woopin' on the soccer field. Later on God used that nastiness to show me a greater truth about effective ministry. He called to mind the first few days of my first trip in which I was more concerned with "staying clean" than ministering to the boys. On that first trip, I had it all figured out as to what to say and how to "help" these boys get through life. I was not going to get messy in the process though....that is until He broke me.
Proverbs 14 speaks directly to the truth of effective work and for a Christian that means ministering to God and others as we serve. If there is no ox at work, then the manger is nice and tidy and white. If the manger is messy than you can bet that the ox is busy and productive as he literally plows through life. We must also see that the abundant harvest does not come without work and the mess it brings.
How that speaks to the heart of our work as well. Have you ever noticed how our flesh wants to avoid the mess at all cost? Have you noticed how much easier it is to just ignore a problem, person or challenge than it is to actual walk through that challenge by faith in the power of God alone? Have you noticed how much easier it is to discredit a sermon or pastor than to actually look at the truth in God's word that he might be proclaiming? To turn a blind eye to the drunk or beggar than to engage Him?
When you look through the bible you see a whole lot of messiness. Look at Peter and Paul and you see tremendous amounts of mess. God used that messiness to move their perceived strength from themselves to Himself. It really is the primary way that God draws us to His grace and purity. Look at Moses, the Prophets, the disciples and look at Jesus's ministry. Jesus was certainly not a mess, but the people and followers sure were. Just pick your page in the bible and look what God is doing: He is at work in us trying to clean us up and redeem us. Why? We my friends are all a mess. We desperately need God to clean us up.
For many years I thought that church was a place you went were everything was perfect and nice and sterile. There were no problems and there was no mess. Every one dressed nice, smiled, and had the right Sunday school answer to repeat at exactly the right time,so that everyone could feel good about their collective knowledge of the bible. I now believe what the bible says about the messiness of God's work through His sinful creation, and it is indeed a mess that takes time, humility and transparency to work through. I thank God for staying in the messy "manger" in my soul until I yielded. I pray that God would give me His patience and perseverance so that I could truly minister to others as well.
It is amazing how your perception can change. Last week while playing soccer with our boys from the orphanage, I stepped in a huge pile of cow manure. For those of you who have never been, it really isn't that uncommon, as the cows graze in and through the soccer "field" we have on the farm. It really didn't phase me a whole lot as I just tried to clean it off in the grass, and kept on taking my woopin' on the soccer field. Later on God used that nastiness to show me a greater truth about effective ministry. He called to mind the first few days of my first trip in which I was more concerned with "staying clean" than ministering to the boys. On that first trip, I had it all figured out as to what to say and how to "help" these boys get through life. I was not going to get messy in the process though....that is until He broke me.
Proverbs 14 speaks directly to the truth of effective work and for a Christian that means ministering to God and others as we serve. If there is no ox at work, then the manger is nice and tidy and white. If the manger is messy than you can bet that the ox is busy and productive as he literally plows through life. We must also see that the abundant harvest does not come without work and the mess it brings.
How that speaks to the heart of our work as well. Have you ever noticed how our flesh wants to avoid the mess at all cost? Have you noticed how much easier it is to just ignore a problem, person or challenge than it is to actual walk through that challenge by faith in the power of God alone? Have you noticed how much easier it is to discredit a sermon or pastor than to actually look at the truth in God's word that he might be proclaiming? To turn a blind eye to the drunk or beggar than to engage Him?
When you look through the bible you see a whole lot of messiness. Look at Peter and Paul and you see tremendous amounts of mess. God used that messiness to move their perceived strength from themselves to Himself. It really is the primary way that God draws us to His grace and purity. Look at Moses, the Prophets, the disciples and look at Jesus's ministry. Jesus was certainly not a mess, but the people and followers sure were. Just pick your page in the bible and look what God is doing: He is at work in us trying to clean us up and redeem us. Why? We my friends are all a mess. We desperately need God to clean us up.
For many years I thought that church was a place you went were everything was perfect and nice and sterile. There were no problems and there was no mess. Every one dressed nice, smiled, and had the right Sunday school answer to repeat at exactly the right time,so that everyone could feel good about their collective knowledge of the bible. I now believe what the bible says about the messiness of God's work through His sinful creation, and it is indeed a mess that takes time, humility and transparency to work through. I thank God for staying in the messy "manger" in my soul until I yielded. I pray that God would give me His patience and perseverance so that I could truly minister to others as well.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Heart Width
2 Corinthians 6:11-13 We have spoken freely to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 13 In return ( I speak as to children) widen your hearts.
"This changes everything". " I have some changes to make when I get home".
These are frequent comments made by people on their first mission trip ministering in third world poverty. I heard this comment just last week as we were doing some shanty to shanty evangelism in Honduras and working with our orphaned boys. When God opens our eyes to the realities of the World's spiritual and physical poverty, our hearts are widened. When our hearts are widened, our prayers and financial support flow freely and generously. When our hearts are widened we are able to be more effective ministers of mercy and Love.
When I pray through what Paul is saying in the verses above, many things come to mind. The first would be barriers to a widened heart. Racism, Pride, Materialism and Insulating oneself from the needs of the world, are four culprits that will narrow your heart's ability to serve, as they all erect barriers that inhibit sharing the Gospel and Physical supplies that meet the needs of the widowed, orphaned and impoverished. Paul says to the Corinthians, "You are restricted by your own affections". That means that the people Paul was writing to were dialed in on what they wanted and not the needs of the people that God was trying to point them towards. I think that is a good word for the church today.
How wide is your Heart? Do you want to serve your family? Your community? The world?
Our do you want to serve your affections? Proverbs 18:1 is pretty clear," Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks all sound judgment."
Mark 10:45 says " For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." His heart was wide as can be. If you are a Christ follower, His blood serves you so that your heart can be opened as well. Let Him have His way with you.
"This changes everything". " I have some changes to make when I get home".
These are frequent comments made by people on their first mission trip ministering in third world poverty. I heard this comment just last week as we were doing some shanty to shanty evangelism in Honduras and working with our orphaned boys. When God opens our eyes to the realities of the World's spiritual and physical poverty, our hearts are widened. When our hearts are widened, our prayers and financial support flow freely and generously. When our hearts are widened we are able to be more effective ministers of mercy and Love.
When I pray through what Paul is saying in the verses above, many things come to mind. The first would be barriers to a widened heart. Racism, Pride, Materialism and Insulating oneself from the needs of the world, are four culprits that will narrow your heart's ability to serve, as they all erect barriers that inhibit sharing the Gospel and Physical supplies that meet the needs of the widowed, orphaned and impoverished. Paul says to the Corinthians, "You are restricted by your own affections". That means that the people Paul was writing to were dialed in on what they wanted and not the needs of the people that God was trying to point them towards. I think that is a good word for the church today.
How wide is your Heart? Do you want to serve your family? Your community? The world?
Our do you want to serve your affections? Proverbs 18:1 is pretty clear," Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks all sound judgment."
Mark 10:45 says " For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." His heart was wide as can be. If you are a Christ follower, His blood serves you so that your heart can be opened as well. Let Him have His way with you.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Standing before the Lord
Psalms 130: 3-4 If you O Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
Psalms 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the almighty.
There are points in your life when God clearly spells out your sins to you by contrasting His scripture with your life in real time. This happened to me one day while sitting in a shanty in Honduras. We were going door to door and bumped into a beautiful woman with two small kids whose husband had split. She knew the Lord. When I asked her what her favorite scripture was she said, "Psalms 91, I read it over my family every night as we go to sleep". I picked up her Spanish bible and begin to read it, and we prayed over them and moved on to the next shanty. God was tugging at my heart to go back and read Psalms 91.
Later that day, I was able to read Psalms 91 and was struck with my pride. I honestly had to confess that I was not all that excited about dwelling in any one's shadow - even God's. Even in His grace, my pride had quietly raised up my own self independence. That is a really,really bad thing. I was in a spot that I am convinced that many of us who have been blessed by God get stuck in. A spot where we seek God to some extent, yet we are truly relying on our stuff and gifts on a daily basis and not Him. God showed me that my "self confidence" was a Huge barrier to a closer walk with Him and must be destroyed. He did bring that stronghold down as we worked through that prayerfully together.
Go back and read Psalms 91 and ask yourself how excited you are to dwell in God's shelter and shadow and I am not talking about when you die. I am talking about today! Read Psalms 130:3-4 and let that shape you. If you are honest many of you who are not in crisis, will be thinking "I really don't need a shelter I am doing alright". That is the hole that I was in and it is one of the scariest place to be.
Both of those Psalms, and all of scripture for that matter, should send us to our knees praising Christ. He is the only one who can stand before God as he marks iniquities as He was sinless. His sacrifice is our covering daily and eternally. We have a tendency to want to decouple those and "use" God when we need Him at death, yet spend our lives doing what we please. A Christ follower understands that He uses us to do His work doing what pleases Him. We will only be doing His work when we are walking in a healthy fear of the Lord,in a humble dependency on Him.
It is a good thing to be Following Christ. As God looks at Chad today He sees Christ and not my sins. It is a divine gift that I am able to dwell in the shelter that Christ provides!
Psalms 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the almighty.
There are points in your life when God clearly spells out your sins to you by contrasting His scripture with your life in real time. This happened to me one day while sitting in a shanty in Honduras. We were going door to door and bumped into a beautiful woman with two small kids whose husband had split. She knew the Lord. When I asked her what her favorite scripture was she said, "Psalms 91, I read it over my family every night as we go to sleep". I picked up her Spanish bible and begin to read it, and we prayed over them and moved on to the next shanty. God was tugging at my heart to go back and read Psalms 91.
Later that day, I was able to read Psalms 91 and was struck with my pride. I honestly had to confess that I was not all that excited about dwelling in any one's shadow - even God's. Even in His grace, my pride had quietly raised up my own self independence. That is a really,really bad thing. I was in a spot that I am convinced that many of us who have been blessed by God get stuck in. A spot where we seek God to some extent, yet we are truly relying on our stuff and gifts on a daily basis and not Him. God showed me that my "self confidence" was a Huge barrier to a closer walk with Him and must be destroyed. He did bring that stronghold down as we worked through that prayerfully together.
Go back and read Psalms 91 and ask yourself how excited you are to dwell in God's shelter and shadow and I am not talking about when you die. I am talking about today! Read Psalms 130:3-4 and let that shape you. If you are honest many of you who are not in crisis, will be thinking "I really don't need a shelter I am doing alright". That is the hole that I was in and it is one of the scariest place to be.
Both of those Psalms, and all of scripture for that matter, should send us to our knees praising Christ. He is the only one who can stand before God as he marks iniquities as He was sinless. His sacrifice is our covering daily and eternally. We have a tendency to want to decouple those and "use" God when we need Him at death, yet spend our lives doing what we please. A Christ follower understands that He uses us to do His work doing what pleases Him. We will only be doing His work when we are walking in a healthy fear of the Lord,in a humble dependency on Him.
It is a good thing to be Following Christ. As God looks at Chad today He sees Christ and not my sins. It is a divine gift that I am able to dwell in the shelter that Christ provides!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Evidence
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 3:10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Anyone who has lived in America long can surely remember Monica Lewinski's blue dress. It was the material evidence that ultimately nailed Bill Clinton's coffin shut as an adulterer. To have just verdicts and certainty in making judgements material evidence is a requirement. The evidence provides a clear trail of logic that cements the intangible theories together firmly. Once this occurs, judgement with clarity and conviction is quite simple.
When you look at the two verses above, Paul is writing to the Church at Ephesus telling them that their lives are to be evidence of a Holy God. Both individually and corporately, the life of a Christian and a purpose of a Church is supposed to be crystal clear evidence that there is a Holy God who has Mercy and defines love. Just as a hot smoking gun at a murder scene with definite finger prints all over it, my life and yours, if you are in Christ, should be material proof that Christ is 100% real.
That is a good one to ponder on when examining your soul. I am in the middle of that process currently. Do people see me and immediately have a curiosity of the Love, Justice and Mercy that dominates my life? Sometimes.
How about you? Is your life clear evidence that Christ is real? Do people see proof of Holiness, Justice, Mercy and a desire to serve others when they are in your presence?
How about your church? Do people visit and see, hear and taste Christ becasue He has saturated the place or do they see a routine?
These things are great to ponder over and think through prayerfully.
Ephesians 3:10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Anyone who has lived in America long can surely remember Monica Lewinski's blue dress. It was the material evidence that ultimately nailed Bill Clinton's coffin shut as an adulterer. To have just verdicts and certainty in making judgements material evidence is a requirement. The evidence provides a clear trail of logic that cements the intangible theories together firmly. Once this occurs, judgement with clarity and conviction is quite simple.
When you look at the two verses above, Paul is writing to the Church at Ephesus telling them that their lives are to be evidence of a Holy God. Both individually and corporately, the life of a Christian and a purpose of a Church is supposed to be crystal clear evidence that there is a Holy God who has Mercy and defines love. Just as a hot smoking gun at a murder scene with definite finger prints all over it, my life and yours, if you are in Christ, should be material proof that Christ is 100% real.
That is a good one to ponder on when examining your soul. I am in the middle of that process currently. Do people see me and immediately have a curiosity of the Love, Justice and Mercy that dominates my life? Sometimes.
How about you? Is your life clear evidence that Christ is real? Do people see proof of Holiness, Justice, Mercy and a desire to serve others when they are in your presence?
How about your church? Do people visit and see, hear and taste Christ becasue He has saturated the place or do they see a routine?
These things are great to ponder over and think through prayerfully.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Legalism vs. Holy Habits
Psalm 119:164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.
If you have never seen and heard the Muslim call to prayer it is a pretty erie deal. It is loud, daunting and bold as the speakers dominate the surrounding environent. My recent trip to india put me in a spot in which we, the Christians, where the vast minority and there were many Muslims in select areas. As I listened and observed what was going on I could not help but process that I had seen Legalism at its highest. Mindless repititions at cued up intervals five times a day and a "do your best" attitude in life. All of these people bowing down and chanting things denying any divinity other than Allah. Obviously, they denounce the divinity of Christ five times a day as part of this routine, which is the main differetaitor between Christianity and Islam.
The one thing that I will give the Muslims is that there legalism is devout and impossible to miss if you are around. You absolutely know where they stand and what they believe and there is no shame in blaring it out. I was left comparing that to the Church in America where you can get accused of being legalistic for simply reading your bible every day or not drinking alcohol. I hear many people use the "I don't want to offend anybody" line for their reasoning for sharing Christ.
After processing this for a couple of weeeks and hearing some sermons that helped round out my understanding, I think I can express what God has shown me.
>Legalism is the believe that a set of actions will bring you Salvation
>A Holy Habit is an expression of Joy that arises out of your Love for Jesus who saved you.
There is a huge vast difference in the two. I see many people that have no discipline in their Christian walk because they "Don't want to become legalistic". Well if you are saved by Grace and know it fully, your acts of worship towards God are not legalistic. they are free will offerings of Love and no matter how many times you do it, free willed, heart driven worship and praise is the only anti-legalistic option we have.
Do not let the Devil convince you that your discipline is legalism. Have you ever stopped to compare the words disciple and discipline?
When you look at David's heart in the Psalm above he took great Joy in giving God praise over and over. Many church goers would tag that legalism. I think God would tag that "what I created you for".
Think it through. There are no actions that can save you, but your actions speak from your salvation. Holy habits are one of God's gifts to us to keep us looking at Him. That is why He gives us ordinances like Communion, Sabbath and Baptism. He know our hearts are prone to stray, and Holy Habits keep us in His will.
If you have never seen and heard the Muslim call to prayer it is a pretty erie deal. It is loud, daunting and bold as the speakers dominate the surrounding environent. My recent trip to india put me in a spot in which we, the Christians, where the vast minority and there were many Muslims in select areas. As I listened and observed what was going on I could not help but process that I had seen Legalism at its highest. Mindless repititions at cued up intervals five times a day and a "do your best" attitude in life. All of these people bowing down and chanting things denying any divinity other than Allah. Obviously, they denounce the divinity of Christ five times a day as part of this routine, which is the main differetaitor between Christianity and Islam.
The one thing that I will give the Muslims is that there legalism is devout and impossible to miss if you are around. You absolutely know where they stand and what they believe and there is no shame in blaring it out. I was left comparing that to the Church in America where you can get accused of being legalistic for simply reading your bible every day or not drinking alcohol. I hear many people use the "I don't want to offend anybody" line for their reasoning for sharing Christ.
After processing this for a couple of weeeks and hearing some sermons that helped round out my understanding, I think I can express what God has shown me.
>Legalism is the believe that a set of actions will bring you Salvation
>A Holy Habit is an expression of Joy that arises out of your Love for Jesus who saved you.
There is a huge vast difference in the two. I see many people that have no discipline in their Christian walk because they "Don't want to become legalistic". Well if you are saved by Grace and know it fully, your acts of worship towards God are not legalistic. they are free will offerings of Love and no matter how many times you do it, free willed, heart driven worship and praise is the only anti-legalistic option we have.
Do not let the Devil convince you that your discipline is legalism. Have you ever stopped to compare the words disciple and discipline?
When you look at David's heart in the Psalm above he took great Joy in giving God praise over and over. Many church goers would tag that legalism. I think God would tag that "what I created you for".
Think it through. There are no actions that can save you, but your actions speak from your salvation. Holy habits are one of God's gifts to us to keep us looking at Him. That is why He gives us ordinances like Communion, Sabbath and Baptism. He know our hearts are prone to stray, and Holy Habits keep us in His will.
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