Mark 13:33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
Mark 13:35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
Mark 14:Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
I remember the days in high school when I used to invent ways of propping my head up so that I appeared to be awake, but was really fast a sleep. There were many hours where my desire to sleep overtook my NEED to learn. That could be the reason why comma splices and dangling modifiers fill my writings....because English class was the least interesting and where I caught most of my cat-naps.
Most everyone knows about Peter's denial of Christ. I have not heard a lot of talk about the lesson Peter sleeps through before His denial: Make war with your flesh! Jesus is in Gethsemane,and He knows the Spirit vs. Flesh battle that will take place, so He takes the "inner 3" disciples and says y'all come over here and watch. I am going to make war against the flesh. Jesus asks them 3 times to watch and they sleep through it all. All of this just after Jesus teaches them the importance of being on guard and awake bacause you never know when the Son of Man will come in His Glory. He wants them, and us, to be alert to the constant need for warfare against our flesh. Why? Our sin nature blinds our need of Him and overestimates our worthiness.
I hate to theorize, but I can not help but ask to myself what if Peter had been as intentional to Jesus's "warfare lesson" as Jesus was to inviting him? Could Peter have skipped the flat out denials of His Lord? I know Jesus gracefully has used many of my failures to enlarge my urgent need of Him, but even more so, He desires that I passionately desire Him without so many failures. That is where the Cross moves in to full view. The Cross is a symbol of our salvation indeed, but it also the instrument that God uses to put our flesh to death. The same instrument that literally put Jesus of Nazareth to death, is the instument that can surgically remove sin in our daily lives. When Jesus asks us to "pick up our cross and Follow Him", it is a death march of the sin flesh, and a life transforming march of the spirit as we are sanctified into His will and Love.
Peter, James and John might of skipped out on the lesson in Gethsemane, but by God's grace and their faith they learned their lesson like most of us, in the hard knock school of life. They learned to wage war against their flesh through the Cross of Jesus.
As we elevate Jesus in our Hearts and soul and see our greater depth of depravity, the Cross gets bigger and bigger. That will only happen as we follow Christ's lead in allowing the Cross to put our flesh to death.
Are you doing that?
Monday, April 5, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Roadsigns
Marks of the True Christian
Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, [7] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation,be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, n “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Ususally geography and directions are one of my stronger areas. I have rarely been lost, geographically speaking. About seven years ago, my wife, Cal and I were on a trip to go see her dad,Wink, in Northern Lousiana. From Birmingham it is pretty much a strait shot on I-20 West through Mississippi. Well, we were having a great time talking about things and enjoying a rare nap of Cal's, when something started feeling out of sorts. Something did not feel right. We passed a sign that said: Hattiesburg 27 miles. Uh-Oh! We were on I-59, not I -20 and we were headed in the wrong direction. What went wrong? In Meridian, there is a fork in the Interstate. I-20/59 splits into I-20 and I-59. I was off course, because I did not read the signs that should have been my guide.
When you look at what Paul is saying in Romans 12 above, he is giving us clear markers of a life walk with Christ. The markers of a true Christian if you will. Just as the road signs on a highway guide you, they identify where you are as well. The I-59 sign proved I was off course, because it is just a marker that stands beside I-59. So when we examine these markers, we should ask ourselves: Are these markers of my life? If not, am I on another road than the one with Christ or are there some sin issues that I need to deal with?
The markers are:
>Let your Love be God's genuine Love
>Hate evil
>Cling to God, for he alone is good
>Love others deeply and loudly
>constantly humble yourselves, be content in lowness
>Do not lazily approach your walk with God
>Serve God and others with unbridled passion
>Rejoice that you have hope in Christ
>Be patient
>Constantly pray
>Use money to help meet others needs JOYFULLY!
>Be hospitable and welcoming
>Bless and Love your enemies
>Meet people in their are of need in Christ, whether sad or joyous
>Be at peace, do not promote strife
>Associate with all people regardless of socio-economic status
>Do not overesteem your wisdom
>Leave vengeance for God alone, it is not our role, He is the judge
>Understand that as Christians, our actiosn should represent Christ as we rep his name
>Overcome evil with good
Wow! How does that strike you? Are you on the right road? Or a different one?
Hopefully there are some of these markers in your life. If not, please email me or call me at 205.837.2573 as soon as possible. Chances are there are some areas that these markers will identify as sin issues in all of our lives. Will we crucify those areas or stray off the road that leads through the narrow gate of Christ?
As we think about today, Good Friday, and towards Resurrection Sunday, we should all shout an Amen to the one marker that changed all of eternity for mankind: THE CROSS OF CHRIST!
Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, [7] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation,be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, n “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Ususally geography and directions are one of my stronger areas. I have rarely been lost, geographically speaking. About seven years ago, my wife, Cal and I were on a trip to go see her dad,Wink, in Northern Lousiana. From Birmingham it is pretty much a strait shot on I-20 West through Mississippi. Well, we were having a great time talking about things and enjoying a rare nap of Cal's, when something started feeling out of sorts. Something did not feel right. We passed a sign that said: Hattiesburg 27 miles. Uh-Oh! We were on I-59, not I -20 and we were headed in the wrong direction. What went wrong? In Meridian, there is a fork in the Interstate. I-20/59 splits into I-20 and I-59. I was off course, because I did not read the signs that should have been my guide.
When you look at what Paul is saying in Romans 12 above, he is giving us clear markers of a life walk with Christ. The markers of a true Christian if you will. Just as the road signs on a highway guide you, they identify where you are as well. The I-59 sign proved I was off course, because it is just a marker that stands beside I-59. So when we examine these markers, we should ask ourselves: Are these markers of my life? If not, am I on another road than the one with Christ or are there some sin issues that I need to deal with?
The markers are:
>Let your Love be God's genuine Love
>Hate evil
>Cling to God, for he alone is good
>Love others deeply and loudly
>constantly humble yourselves, be content in lowness
>Do not lazily approach your walk with God
>Serve God and others with unbridled passion
>Rejoice that you have hope in Christ
>Be patient
>Constantly pray
>Use money to help meet others needs JOYFULLY!
>Be hospitable and welcoming
>Bless and Love your enemies
>Meet people in their are of need in Christ, whether sad or joyous
>Be at peace, do not promote strife
>Associate with all people regardless of socio-economic status
>Do not overesteem your wisdom
>Leave vengeance for God alone, it is not our role, He is the judge
>Understand that as Christians, our actiosn should represent Christ as we rep his name
>Overcome evil with good
Wow! How does that strike you? Are you on the right road? Or a different one?
Hopefully there are some of these markers in your life. If not, please email me or call me at 205.837.2573 as soon as possible. Chances are there are some areas that these markers will identify as sin issues in all of our lives. Will we crucify those areas or stray off the road that leads through the narrow gate of Christ?
As we think about today, Good Friday, and towards Resurrection Sunday, we should all shout an Amen to the one marker that changed all of eternity for mankind: THE CROSS OF CHRIST!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Ascending to new heights ???
Tower of Babel Gen 11: 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.”
Romans 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Something about the May 10,1996 catastrophic summit attempt on Mount Everest captivates me in a large and lasting way. Best selling author John Krakauer chronicles the disaster that claimed the lives of eight people in his book Into Thin Air. The account grabbed me so hard that I literally read the book in one day. Afterward, I found myself asking why to a lot of things. Why was I fascinated with the story? Why would anyone want to try to kill themselves by climbing to 29,000feet? Why are people famous for doing something so dangerous and deadly?
Just like the tower of Babel, our lives will testify that there is an urge in our sin nature to elevate ourselves in the sight of our fellow man. History, and a quick look at our fashionable culture will quickly point to the fact that everyone wants to be noticed. People want power, respect and ultimately we want attention. There is one huge problem with this though. We were not made to call attention to ourselves, we were made to call attention to God by reflecting his glory. I am amazed at my own sin nature's ability to stealthily curtail the praise of men for Chad and not God.
Before I was saved, it was real obvious as I was in just as lost as could be and loudly and rebelliously drew attention to me. After I was saved, this desire to elevate myself cloaked itself a little bit as I wanted to gain positions of power in the Church. Even now as God blesses me so immensely, I have to battle the urge to ever so gently steal His glory as I teach and preach His word. Only through prayer and intentional confession am I able to see how huge a sin that glory grabbing is and how easy it can grab you. It is safe to assume that I spend more than a little time fighting my flesh and repenting in this area before God's throne.
When you put our sin nature on the operating table and shine the light on it, its desire is to master us by elevating ourselves instead of God. This is what Paul is addressing specifically in terms of salvation in Romans 10. He says that his fellow Jews were trying to establish a man made righteousness. They wanted to invent a way in which they were both the justifier and judge of their own moral eternity. They had falsely elevated themselves to a position of power in which they had no authority or right to do. There are striking similarities between the fate of those who try to elevate their own righteousness to the level of Jesus and those who try to stay on top of Mt. Everest too long.
They shrivel up and die. Why? God did not design them to be in that position in the first place. He did not design you our Me to elevate ourselves either. Are you?
Praise God for Jesus and His grace for those who repent and call on His name!
Romans 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Something about the May 10,1996 catastrophic summit attempt on Mount Everest captivates me in a large and lasting way. Best selling author John Krakauer chronicles the disaster that claimed the lives of eight people in his book Into Thin Air. The account grabbed me so hard that I literally read the book in one day. Afterward, I found myself asking why to a lot of things. Why was I fascinated with the story? Why would anyone want to try to kill themselves by climbing to 29,000feet? Why are people famous for doing something so dangerous and deadly?
Just like the tower of Babel, our lives will testify that there is an urge in our sin nature to elevate ourselves in the sight of our fellow man. History, and a quick look at our fashionable culture will quickly point to the fact that everyone wants to be noticed. People want power, respect and ultimately we want attention. There is one huge problem with this though. We were not made to call attention to ourselves, we were made to call attention to God by reflecting his glory. I am amazed at my own sin nature's ability to stealthily curtail the praise of men for Chad and not God.
Before I was saved, it was real obvious as I was in just as lost as could be and loudly and rebelliously drew attention to me. After I was saved, this desire to elevate myself cloaked itself a little bit as I wanted to gain positions of power in the Church. Even now as God blesses me so immensely, I have to battle the urge to ever so gently steal His glory as I teach and preach His word. Only through prayer and intentional confession am I able to see how huge a sin that glory grabbing is and how easy it can grab you. It is safe to assume that I spend more than a little time fighting my flesh and repenting in this area before God's throne.
When you put our sin nature on the operating table and shine the light on it, its desire is to master us by elevating ourselves instead of God. This is what Paul is addressing specifically in terms of salvation in Romans 10. He says that his fellow Jews were trying to establish a man made righteousness. They wanted to invent a way in which they were both the justifier and judge of their own moral eternity. They had falsely elevated themselves to a position of power in which they had no authority or right to do. There are striking similarities between the fate of those who try to elevate their own righteousness to the level of Jesus and those who try to stay on top of Mt. Everest too long.
They shrivel up and die. Why? God did not design them to be in that position in the first place. He did not design you our Me to elevate ourselves either. Are you?
Praise God for Jesus and His grace for those who repent and call on His name!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Hopping down the bunny trail
Judges 8:27 And Gideon a made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
Last Christmas, my oldest son Cal was able to go with me on his first mission trip to Honduras. As part of the trip experience, Cal took some Christmas cards down from friends and classmates to share with our impoverished friends as we shared the Gospel, food and hugs. Watching your 8 year old interact with grace and share with anyone is wonderful, but watching Cal without hesitation, operate in a abject poverty environment was a Huge Christmas present. The downside to all this was what the cards said that his "Christian" friends had written. I had to translate these on the fly in my broken English which was hard enough, but I also had to add some words into my translation so that Christ was involved in Christmas. I will never forget kneeling down to read a card to two little 9 year old Honduran's that read:
(name's changed for obvious reasons)
My name is Mike
I have an elf named Will
I hope you get what you want for Christmas.
If that does not truly reflect our culture's view of Christmas, I am not sure what does. The iconic Santa isn't enough anymore, so we had to add elf's in the mix and of course the point of it all is that Christmas means you get what you want! It was a surreal moment for me as I processed the fact that this card was written to encourage people in Christ but eliminated Him and WHY he came totally and replaced Him with man made inventions.
When you look at what Gideon did in Judges 8:27, there is little difference in how big the mark gets missed. Gideon, who God uses mightily for His will, and only four verses earlier refuses the Israelites request to rule them in God's place (so that He does not steal God's glory) makes an idol. The idol is a snare that causes Israel to whore after it. A casual misstep, if you will, of a man who God used heroically, causes many to sin and derail their worship to God. A non God-intentional act producing a man made distraction that takes His place as the recipient of our worship. Tragic, but history does repeat itself.
Easter is this Sunday. Is it possible that we have unintentionally missed the point by creating something man made that distracts our affections from the Christ of the Cross? I would say that weaving a a celebration of the Persian god of fertility, Esther, in with a majestic bunny that hops through the house leaving candy might be a distraction. Don't turn me off, the bunny want send you to hell, but your sin will, and the bunny can not justify your sin, only Jesus can and Sunday is about HIM alone!
So ask yourself, ask your kids, what holds our attention as we look to Sunday?
Bunnies, egg hunts, chocolate, the perfect family lunch?
Or maybe it is which dress you will where or what hat looks the best?
What about the environment we will produce on Sunday in our homes for our kids? Does it fuel their desire for Christ or chocolate? Are they focused on their need of Justification or jelly beans?
Warning: if those are the answers, then we have followed the death spiral pattern laid out in Romans 1 of choosing to worship created things over the creator! If we are unable to set our entire affections on Him the day of His and our Victory, do we really think we will be able to on any other day?
We all probably have some repenting to do right about now. I am hitting my knees......Celebrating with gifts is one thing, celebrating the gifts and not the giver is another!
Last Christmas, my oldest son Cal was able to go with me on his first mission trip to Honduras. As part of the trip experience, Cal took some Christmas cards down from friends and classmates to share with our impoverished friends as we shared the Gospel, food and hugs. Watching your 8 year old interact with grace and share with anyone is wonderful, but watching Cal without hesitation, operate in a abject poverty environment was a Huge Christmas present. The downside to all this was what the cards said that his "Christian" friends had written. I had to translate these on the fly in my broken English which was hard enough, but I also had to add some words into my translation so that Christ was involved in Christmas. I will never forget kneeling down to read a card to two little 9 year old Honduran's that read:
(name's changed for obvious reasons)
My name is Mike
I have an elf named Will
I hope you get what you want for Christmas.
If that does not truly reflect our culture's view of Christmas, I am not sure what does. The iconic Santa isn't enough anymore, so we had to add elf's in the mix and of course the point of it all is that Christmas means you get what you want! It was a surreal moment for me as I processed the fact that this card was written to encourage people in Christ but eliminated Him and WHY he came totally and replaced Him with man made inventions.
When you look at what Gideon did in Judges 8:27, there is little difference in how big the mark gets missed. Gideon, who God uses mightily for His will, and only four verses earlier refuses the Israelites request to rule them in God's place (so that He does not steal God's glory) makes an idol. The idol is a snare that causes Israel to whore after it. A casual misstep, if you will, of a man who God used heroically, causes many to sin and derail their worship to God. A non God-intentional act producing a man made distraction that takes His place as the recipient of our worship. Tragic, but history does repeat itself.
Easter is this Sunday. Is it possible that we have unintentionally missed the point by creating something man made that distracts our affections from the Christ of the Cross? I would say that weaving a a celebration of the Persian god of fertility, Esther, in with a majestic bunny that hops through the house leaving candy might be a distraction. Don't turn me off, the bunny want send you to hell, but your sin will, and the bunny can not justify your sin, only Jesus can and Sunday is about HIM alone!
So ask yourself, ask your kids, what holds our attention as we look to Sunday?
Bunnies, egg hunts, chocolate, the perfect family lunch?
Or maybe it is which dress you will where or what hat looks the best?
What about the environment we will produce on Sunday in our homes for our kids? Does it fuel their desire for Christ or chocolate? Are they focused on their need of Justification or jelly beans?
Warning: if those are the answers, then we have followed the death spiral pattern laid out in Romans 1 of choosing to worship created things over the creator! If we are unable to set our entire affections on Him the day of His and our Victory, do we really think we will be able to on any other day?
We all probably have some repenting to do right about now. I am hitting my knees......Celebrating with gifts is one thing, celebrating the gifts and not the giver is another!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
War against the remnants
Joshua 3:1 Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.
I was saved at the age of thirty four and there were many issues that God has freed me from. Even after my salvation and being freed from the bondage of the mastery of sin in various areas, the evidence of those sins still remained in my life. One of the biggest was financial debt. Years of partying, gambling, and fulfilling the things I lusted after left me and my wife in a terrible financial position. Struggling under the burden of debt can squeeze the life out of you. Credit card bills, a first and second mortgage, and two car notes loomed large in our lives.
I often wondered why He just would not remove the remnants and evidence of my mistakes. After all, I knew Him and His truths and had learned my lessons. So why couldn't he just magically fix everything? I was fighting to strive towards Him and so I guess I was wanting some sort of re-do. Well, God knows that he has to work in our salvation by having us work through the battles of the flesh. I can attest to the majesty and power of God in the area of finances. He has shown Himself mightily once I not only knew what to do, but actually was obedient to His word. Money was once ours to satisfy our desires. Now it is God’s to accomplish His purposes. The battle scars of the struggle to learn this key truth are firmly entrenched in our minds. His word and grace has been transcribed into the linings of our hearts. It will not be forgotten.
When you look at the passage in Judges 2 &3 that is exactly what God does to the nation of Israel. Their disobedience produced consequences and the generation that was living had not been tested by war, desert wanderings or a manna only menu. They were soft and God knew that the remnant that was their enemy would actually be a great asset to building their faith as they learned to wage war against the remnant of their own sin. To appreciate God, His Promises and blessings, war against their own sin was going to be a necessity for the Israelites.
As a Christian, this should hit home with all of us. God has set us free and made us into a new creation (2 cor. 5:17), yet even then he leaves the remnants of the old sin nature in our hearts,minds and souls to wage war against. This is not some huge mistake he made. Just like with the Israelites, it is to keep us attentive to His Holiness and our depravity. Just like the Sabbath, fasting, Passover, the Lord’s supper, baptism, testimonies and every other ordinance and sacrament, God uses the remnant of our sin nature to drive us toward Him on our Knees in need. It’s called victory, only in Jesus! Paul speaks to this clearly in Romans 8:13 “ for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if you live by the spirit you will put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” He charges us to make war! Abide in Christ and allow His the power in the Cross and blood to wage war on your flesh and you will live is Paul’s point.
Whether you know it or not, you are in a war. Your thoughts, actions and passion are shaping who you are at the core of your soul. Its either praise for Jesus and a war against sin,or a gradual slouching towards the depravity of sin itself. As God examines your heart from above right now, which side does he see you on?
I was saved at the age of thirty four and there were many issues that God has freed me from. Even after my salvation and being freed from the bondage of the mastery of sin in various areas, the evidence of those sins still remained in my life. One of the biggest was financial debt. Years of partying, gambling, and fulfilling the things I lusted after left me and my wife in a terrible financial position. Struggling under the burden of debt can squeeze the life out of you. Credit card bills, a first and second mortgage, and two car notes loomed large in our lives.
I often wondered why He just would not remove the remnants and evidence of my mistakes. After all, I knew Him and His truths and had learned my lessons. So why couldn't he just magically fix everything? I was fighting to strive towards Him and so I guess I was wanting some sort of re-do. Well, God knows that he has to work in our salvation by having us work through the battles of the flesh. I can attest to the majesty and power of God in the area of finances. He has shown Himself mightily once I not only knew what to do, but actually was obedient to His word. Money was once ours to satisfy our desires. Now it is God’s to accomplish His purposes. The battle scars of the struggle to learn this key truth are firmly entrenched in our minds. His word and grace has been transcribed into the linings of our hearts. It will not be forgotten.
When you look at the passage in Judges 2 &3 that is exactly what God does to the nation of Israel. Their disobedience produced consequences and the generation that was living had not been tested by war, desert wanderings or a manna only menu. They were soft and God knew that the remnant that was their enemy would actually be a great asset to building their faith as they learned to wage war against the remnant of their own sin. To appreciate God, His Promises and blessings, war against their own sin was going to be a necessity for the Israelites.
As a Christian, this should hit home with all of us. God has set us free and made us into a new creation (2 cor. 5:17), yet even then he leaves the remnants of the old sin nature in our hearts,minds and souls to wage war against. This is not some huge mistake he made. Just like with the Israelites, it is to keep us attentive to His Holiness and our depravity. Just like the Sabbath, fasting, Passover, the Lord’s supper, baptism, testimonies and every other ordinance and sacrament, God uses the remnant of our sin nature to drive us toward Him on our Knees in need. It’s called victory, only in Jesus! Paul speaks to this clearly in Romans 8:13 “ for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if you live by the spirit you will put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” He charges us to make war! Abide in Christ and allow His the power in the Cross and blood to wage war on your flesh and you will live is Paul’s point.
Whether you know it or not, you are in a war. Your thoughts, actions and passion are shaping who you are at the core of your soul. Its either praise for Jesus and a war against sin,or a gradual slouching towards the depravity of sin itself. As God examines your heart from above right now, which side does he see you on?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Proactions, Reactions or Distractions
Luke 10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus [1] entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. [2] Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
For those of you who do not know my Wife Evie, you are missing out. She is an Angel and has one of the most graceful hearts around. Her biggest challenge as a stay at home mother of four kids under the age of eight is her feeling of adequacy. As a husband I do all that I can through words and through God's word to show her that her mothering and discipling four kids is one of the most important opportunities anyone could ever think to have. The fact that God has trusted four of His Kids to our care is a tremendous privilege and responsibility. There are many days when Evie's important to do list gets knocked for a loop when a request for goldfish, an ear infection or a dirty diaper demands immediate attention. So how can she have a Mary's heart in a Martha World so to say?
The text of Mary and Martha can be overly familiar to some of us, and I would like to try to boil down what God has shown me about His word. Put simply Jesus says to Martha, "God is in your house, stop working to please Him and just Love and Praise Him". He says that to all of us as well. The key word to me is in verse 40 where Martha is distracted. So how can we tell what is a distraction. It's Simple. Anything of this world that pulls you away from praising and loving Christ even (maybe especially) if it is your hard work to please Him. (Note to all of us : We can't please Him outside of His work in us).
That may be confusing so I want to take a stab at what proactions, reactions and distractions are:
Proactions: proactions are the things that are our most important and intentional things we must do. For a Christian, that would be topped by abiding in Him through things like praise, worship, reading the word, being on mission 24/7, intentional discipleship of our family and other God directed activities. Proaction for a Christian is when we follow Christ, yet stimulate His Holy change in others in the environment around us.
Reactions: Reactions are when we respond to a stimulus. As a Christian some of these can be the Holiest moments we will ever experience. A random encounter with a Godly person that spurs you on, someone that God has prepped and you are able to share Christ with or a Mom who lovingly changes a diaper and feeds her child. Reactions should be every bit as intentional as our proactions, and for that to occur, our walk with Christ must be tight.
Distractions: Distractions can be proactions or reactions that are of this world and satisfy the flesh. Put simply, distractions are the things that separate and blind us to How great Christ is and they are everywhere.
So before we try to classify things on our terms, let's look at it through God's. Does your intentional list today reflect God and bring Him Glory, is it led by Christ? Have your reactions reflected the Love of Christ? If you have answered no to both of those, it is because you are distracted from the only one who can make us Holy.
We have a choice to make. We can let the world (even religious) stimulate us and suck us dry, or we can Follow Christ and intentionally love Him and others.
For those of you who do not know my Wife Evie, you are missing out. She is an Angel and has one of the most graceful hearts around. Her biggest challenge as a stay at home mother of four kids under the age of eight is her feeling of adequacy. As a husband I do all that I can through words and through God's word to show her that her mothering and discipling four kids is one of the most important opportunities anyone could ever think to have. The fact that God has trusted four of His Kids to our care is a tremendous privilege and responsibility. There are many days when Evie's important to do list gets knocked for a loop when a request for goldfish, an ear infection or a dirty diaper demands immediate attention. So how can she have a Mary's heart in a Martha World so to say?
The text of Mary and Martha can be overly familiar to some of us, and I would like to try to boil down what God has shown me about His word. Put simply Jesus says to Martha, "God is in your house, stop working to please Him and just Love and Praise Him". He says that to all of us as well. The key word to me is in verse 40 where Martha is distracted. So how can we tell what is a distraction. It's Simple. Anything of this world that pulls you away from praising and loving Christ even (maybe especially) if it is your hard work to please Him. (Note to all of us : We can't please Him outside of His work in us).
That may be confusing so I want to take a stab at what proactions, reactions and distractions are:
Proactions: proactions are the things that are our most important and intentional things we must do. For a Christian, that would be topped by abiding in Him through things like praise, worship, reading the word, being on mission 24/7, intentional discipleship of our family and other God directed activities. Proaction for a Christian is when we follow Christ, yet stimulate His Holy change in others in the environment around us.
Reactions: Reactions are when we respond to a stimulus. As a Christian some of these can be the Holiest moments we will ever experience. A random encounter with a Godly person that spurs you on, someone that God has prepped and you are able to share Christ with or a Mom who lovingly changes a diaper and feeds her child. Reactions should be every bit as intentional as our proactions, and for that to occur, our walk with Christ must be tight.
Distractions: Distractions can be proactions or reactions that are of this world and satisfy the flesh. Put simply, distractions are the things that separate and blind us to How great Christ is and they are everywhere.
So before we try to classify things on our terms, let's look at it through God's. Does your intentional list today reflect God and bring Him Glory, is it led by Christ? Have your reactions reflected the Love of Christ? If you have answered no to both of those, it is because you are distracted from the only one who can make us Holy.
We have a choice to make. We can let the world (even religious) stimulate us and suck us dry, or we can Follow Christ and intentionally love Him and others.
Monday, March 22, 2010
the big picture
Romans 2:4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Have you ever missed the big picture because you were so busied by details? My biggest "miss the big picture moment" was the first two years of my oldest son Cal's life. I had just started a business, we were in debt, and life seemed like a blur. I knew that I needed to provide for Cal, change some diapers and give Evie a break when she asked for one, and I did those things(begrudgingly at times). What I missed was the beauty of being a dad. How great is it that someone has to trust totally in me and Evie to survive. I now see that my busyness and future dreams of success clouded the big picture of being Cal's father: love Him, enjoy Him and prepare Him for a relationship with Jesus by modeling how good it is to trust and obey a loving father. I am thankful that God was patient with me, and showed me the error of my ways as a father. Cal is a great kid who any father would be proud to have. (Cal when you get old enough to read and understand this, give your mom a hug for those first years when I was not there and she was).
There are many times when we all can miss the big picture because we are too busy, ignorant or just not interested. Romans 2:4 above lays down a big picture painted by God that seems to be not only missed but dismissed. His grace and patience with us in our sin has one intention: Get us to repent, turn form sin and follow Christ. When we repent, we agree with God that we are sinners and we are saying in effect "God we turn from sin towards you and lovingly submit to your authority, because we acknowledge that we are evil and uncapable of good, so we need you to shape us into the image of Christ". Some where that has been missed. Millions of Americans believe that Jesus saves them from Hell after death becasue they did a certain act, yet rebel against God, His word and refuse to submit to His authority.
It is true that we will never be perfectly sinless....but if we are Christ followers we will learn to hate sin as God has defined it, and put our flesh and its desires to death (Romans 8:13) as we follow the one who was sinless. The spirit convicts us away from sin and moves us towards Christ. To me that seems really simple. God hates sin and has defined it clearly. Jesus Christ was sent to give us a chance to be regenerated to new life in which he pays for our sins and His intercession and the Holy Spirit's ministry works to seperate us from our sins.
If it is that simple, then the big picture has been clearly missed when we have churches that declare clear sinful acts "ok". Be careful of following anyone who tells you that sin is ok and to ignore what God has to say. It is your life and your soul, but it is God's Big Picture and he has spoken His will in the Bible. Go read it for yourself.
Have you ever missed the big picture because you were so busied by details? My biggest "miss the big picture moment" was the first two years of my oldest son Cal's life. I had just started a business, we were in debt, and life seemed like a blur. I knew that I needed to provide for Cal, change some diapers and give Evie a break when she asked for one, and I did those things(begrudgingly at times). What I missed was the beauty of being a dad. How great is it that someone has to trust totally in me and Evie to survive. I now see that my busyness and future dreams of success clouded the big picture of being Cal's father: love Him, enjoy Him and prepare Him for a relationship with Jesus by modeling how good it is to trust and obey a loving father. I am thankful that God was patient with me, and showed me the error of my ways as a father. Cal is a great kid who any father would be proud to have. (Cal when you get old enough to read and understand this, give your mom a hug for those first years when I was not there and she was).
There are many times when we all can miss the big picture because we are too busy, ignorant or just not interested. Romans 2:4 above lays down a big picture painted by God that seems to be not only missed but dismissed. His grace and patience with us in our sin has one intention: Get us to repent, turn form sin and follow Christ. When we repent, we agree with God that we are sinners and we are saying in effect "God we turn from sin towards you and lovingly submit to your authority, because we acknowledge that we are evil and uncapable of good, so we need you to shape us into the image of Christ". Some where that has been missed. Millions of Americans believe that Jesus saves them from Hell after death becasue they did a certain act, yet rebel against God, His word and refuse to submit to His authority.
It is true that we will never be perfectly sinless....but if we are Christ followers we will learn to hate sin as God has defined it, and put our flesh and its desires to death (Romans 8:13) as we follow the one who was sinless. The spirit convicts us away from sin and moves us towards Christ. To me that seems really simple. God hates sin and has defined it clearly. Jesus Christ was sent to give us a chance to be regenerated to new life in which he pays for our sins and His intercession and the Holy Spirit's ministry works to seperate us from our sins.
If it is that simple, then the big picture has been clearly missed when we have churches that declare clear sinful acts "ok". Be careful of following anyone who tells you that sin is ok and to ignore what God has to say. It is your life and your soul, but it is God's Big Picture and he has spoken His will in the Bible. Go read it for yourself.
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