As you know the past few weeks I have been seeking God's direction for my life, and I am finding that I am getting a lot more answers. When I get prayed over, I find that I generally get the same messages repeatedly. Last night (actually this morning, circa 1-2 am) I got prayed over by a man who never met me and knew nothing about my life. He reaffirmed that I was in a void point of my life and that I was not at peace with my situation, but reaffirmed that I would be out of that period of my life soon. This is the third or fourth time that I have received this message by someone who is not familiar with my situation, and though I find it comforting, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered.
I am generally good about being patient and waiting, but I can only hold out financially for so long; thus I am rather curious about the next stage of life. What I found to be helpful was that I was reminded that the situation is not about me... we often times think everything is about us, but what about the people at our appointed destination that need our blessing. The pieces may not be in place yet, or the person that I am to replace may still be occupying the position. These things take time, and I just need to remember that.
Though I set out to talk about something different, I wanted to include that in my message since it is related. The main message that I wanted to talk about today was why it seems that people who honestly try hard at life seem to get the short end of the stick while others seem to walk through life getting what they want even if they do it deviously. It can be frustrating to some, and one verse that really stuck out to me was looking at the story of Esau and Jacob in Genesis 27.
When we look at how Jacob deceived his brother by taking his birthright, many people think, "how unfair!" Rebekah deceived a dying Isaac by dressing up Jacob as Esau so that he may receive the blessing. Jacob also convinced Esau to exchange his inheritance for some lentil stew and bred when he was exhausted. It seems that this deception was unfair, and that Esau was getting robbed of what was rightfully his as the older twin. But there is reason to believe that Israel would have never come into existence without Jacob's schemes.
Esau married wives that worshipped other Gods. Many people today have no problem marrying people of other denominations or religions, but back then marrying someone of other religious beliefs was a dangerous practice and had further implications. In this case, Esau married Hittites who worshipped many Gods, none of which was the God of Abraham and Isaac. If Esau was to continue on this path and the nation of Israel were to be formed from him, it would have failed due to Hittite influence. It was crucial that the nation of Israel was formed with like minded people. Though he tried to marry one of Ishmael's daughters later, it was too little too late to regain his father's blessing.
The second detail worth noting is that the birthright was everything to these people. The fact that he sold his birthright for a meal speaks volumes for how little he viewed it's value. Either that, or he was so short sighted that he would rather have the immediate gratification of food when he wanted it than to have an eternal blessing.
The third detail worth noting is that Esau was not exactly a poster child for founding a nation. Him and his Hittite wives made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah (Gen 27:35, 46), so they created many issues inside the house of Isaac.
When all of these things are considered, it may have been good that God allowed Jacob to deceive Esau. If he did not, the house of Israel would have looked completely different, if it would have existed at all. I am not saying this today to condone devious or deceitful acts, but instead to bring new perspective to why some things happen the way that they do. There is a big picture, and sometimes we do not have a grasp of it because of where we stand.
So that brings me to today. I am still waiting for everything to line up and wondering when it will, but at least I know that God has the big picture in mind and I know that he is able to use whatever he wants to get his will to work properly. I just have to wait for the opportunity like Jacob rather than trying to force my own destiny like Esau.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Did you ever think that...
Yes, I should be wrapping up my final paper for my first semester of counseling school, but this won't take long! When I think about the world, I mean, the universe, it can be absolutely overwhelming. There is so much to it that it is hard to fathom in my finite mind. So I stop, and I think about what is right in front of me: earth. Did you ever stop to think about what it takes to create a livable planet? I stole this from my Apologetics Dictionary (pp. 26 & 27), but think about these ideas, for a moment:
If the atmosphere was 25 percent oxygen, the world would be on fire... if it was 15 percent, humans would suffocate. Our atmosphere is 21 percent oxygen.
If there was a slight increase in gravity, the sun would burn too rapidly and erratically to sustain life.
If the centrifugal force of the planetary movement did not precisely balance the gravitational forces, then nothing would orbit around the sun.
If the universe was expanding one millionth slower than it is, the temperature of the earth would be 10,000 degrees.
If the average distance between stars was not as far as they were, orbits would become erratic and the extreme temperature variations on earth would kill life.
If Jupiter's orbit was different, then the earth would be bombarded by asteroids and comments that would have otherwise been sucked in by Jupiter's gravitational pull.
If the earths crust was any thinner, volcanic activity would destroy life on earth. If it was thicker, too much oxygen would be transferred to the earth, thus life could not be supported.
If the rotation of the earth was anything other than 24 hours, the temperatures would be too erratic to support life.
If the axial tilt was any different, then surface temperatures would destroy life.
If lightening was any stronger, it would create too much fire destruction... if it was weaker, than there would be too little of nitrogen in the soil.
If there were more earthquakes, then too much life would be lost. If there were less earthquakes, certain nutrients needed for life would not cycle back into the continents as it should.
When I read these facts, I can not help but think about how God tailor made the earth for us. It gives me hope and it gives me faith knowing that God knows what he is doing. Anyway, I just wanted to share that because I found it to be extremely helpful!
If the atmosphere was 25 percent oxygen, the world would be on fire... if it was 15 percent, humans would suffocate. Our atmosphere is 21 percent oxygen.
If there was a slight increase in gravity, the sun would burn too rapidly and erratically to sustain life.
If the centrifugal force of the planetary movement did not precisely balance the gravitational forces, then nothing would orbit around the sun.
If the universe was expanding one millionth slower than it is, the temperature of the earth would be 10,000 degrees.
If the average distance between stars was not as far as they were, orbits would become erratic and the extreme temperature variations on earth would kill life.
If Jupiter's orbit was different, then the earth would be bombarded by asteroids and comments that would have otherwise been sucked in by Jupiter's gravitational pull.
If the earths crust was any thinner, volcanic activity would destroy life on earth. If it was thicker, too much oxygen would be transferred to the earth, thus life could not be supported.
If the rotation of the earth was anything other than 24 hours, the temperatures would be too erratic to support life.
If the axial tilt was any different, then surface temperatures would destroy life.
If lightening was any stronger, it would create too much fire destruction... if it was weaker, than there would be too little of nitrogen in the soil.
If there were more earthquakes, then too much life would be lost. If there were less earthquakes, certain nutrients needed for life would not cycle back into the continents as it should.
When I read these facts, I can not help but think about how God tailor made the earth for us. It gives me hope and it gives me faith knowing that God knows what he is doing. Anyway, I just wanted to share that because I found it to be extremely helpful!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Hurting people hurting people
A new friend of mine told me that I should get back into writing because I need to continue to work on my ability. I also realized that by me not sharing what I am going through, others can not learn from my mistakes, my incite, or what God is sharing with me. So I am hoping that this is not too rough, it is a bit personal, but I am not exactly a closed book.
My trip home to Cleveland was a huge help because I had a lot of time to think and pray (26 hours total after delays), and I was able to get perspective on work and school mainly. It looks like things are coming together with employment, even though I am not sure that I know where I will end up living in the next month. As for school, I may take a few weeks off and go back part time to get my counseling degree. So that was a few of the major concerns that I was able to have peace about, which leaves one big one.
I looked back on my life and I noticed a consistent relational pattern in my life. I found that in general I have a hard time finding people close to me who speak into my life positively. Whether it is friends, girlfriends, church leaders, or coworkers, I have a tendency to attract people who are negative or have unreal expectations. I have pretty healthy self-esteem, and I have always been comfortable with who I am, but it is never fun when you realize the person that you are associating with (friend, significant other, family, etc) takes you for granted, is careless with your feelings, or criticizes you when you are trying your best. In turn, when I am around this too much, it makes it harder for me to be positive. Thats why I took a break from writing, thats why I took a break from a lot of people: I did not want to spread that negativity.
I have learned that I can not control them or change them, but as an adult I can choose how much I am with them or how much they speak into my life. I can also tell someone when they are being rude, when they have unrealistic expectations, when I need a break from them, so on and so forth.
At certain stages of our lives, we can not control when we see someone or how much we see them, because you can not avoid classmates, coworkers, or sometimes family. What I have learned through my life is that I have to forgive them, and try be honest with them about what they did to me. The truth is that most hurting people do not know what they do, they just do it almost like a habit. They more than likely do not remember what they do, nor do they care, but you are the one left with damage. I can not change their actions, but I can make an effort to take the baggage that they placed in my trunk, and leave it behind so that it does not weigh me down. I also hope and pray that they heal, because they need it.
So I think the bottom line that I am trying to say is that when we think about Matthew 12:24 (from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks), are we allowing life-giving people into our lives rather than negative life-taking people? I know that we can not avoid all negative people, but we must be careful to have people who will love us and have realistic standards. If we do not, then we will become exhausted.
That is where I was, because I wanted to pick up and start school again, I wanted to get a job using my degree, I wanted to be in ministry again, I wanted to be around friends more, and I wanted to date again, but I realized that I was still exhausted from previous situations and I was trying to run at full speed while my body was beat up still. My heart was tired, and my words came out tired. I tend to do that, and I am doing my best to avoid that.
The good thing is that I figured out that I was dealing with hurting people hurting people. With that in mind, I am able to move forward and know that I am doing my best and I am overcoming my troubles, and not take ownership of their problems. It stinks sometimes, but it helps me and I hope it helps those going through the same thing that I am.
So when we think of the impact this has on our heart, I would like to challenge you today to do four things:
1. Be mindful of what people close to you are giving you. It can take years sometimes to undo what people do to you, if it can be avoided- avoid it.
2. Be willing to make the change need be, and don't let someone take your joy. This is one thing that the devil wants to take from us, so protect it fiercely.
3. Rest if you need to. Do not wear yourself out if you are tired... but remember that you need to eventually get back in the game because you are needed out there.
4. Get healing if you need to. If you have a broken leg, it won't fix itself and it will make things worse. Broken people have a higher risk of breaking others... as Christians we must be careful with each others hearts and avoid breaking others.
Thank you again for your patience with me, and I am glad to be back!
My trip home to Cleveland was a huge help because I had a lot of time to think and pray (26 hours total after delays), and I was able to get perspective on work and school mainly. It looks like things are coming together with employment, even though I am not sure that I know where I will end up living in the next month. As for school, I may take a few weeks off and go back part time to get my counseling degree. So that was a few of the major concerns that I was able to have peace about, which leaves one big one.
I looked back on my life and I noticed a consistent relational pattern in my life. I found that in general I have a hard time finding people close to me who speak into my life positively. Whether it is friends, girlfriends, church leaders, or coworkers, I have a tendency to attract people who are negative or have unreal expectations. I have pretty healthy self-esteem, and I have always been comfortable with who I am, but it is never fun when you realize the person that you are associating with (friend, significant other, family, etc) takes you for granted, is careless with your feelings, or criticizes you when you are trying your best. In turn, when I am around this too much, it makes it harder for me to be positive. Thats why I took a break from writing, thats why I took a break from a lot of people: I did not want to spread that negativity.
I have learned that I can not control them or change them, but as an adult I can choose how much I am with them or how much they speak into my life. I can also tell someone when they are being rude, when they have unrealistic expectations, when I need a break from them, so on and so forth.
At certain stages of our lives, we can not control when we see someone or how much we see them, because you can not avoid classmates, coworkers, or sometimes family. What I have learned through my life is that I have to forgive them, and try be honest with them about what they did to me. The truth is that most hurting people do not know what they do, they just do it almost like a habit. They more than likely do not remember what they do, nor do they care, but you are the one left with damage. I can not change their actions, but I can make an effort to take the baggage that they placed in my trunk, and leave it behind so that it does not weigh me down. I also hope and pray that they heal, because they need it.
So I think the bottom line that I am trying to say is that when we think about Matthew 12:24 (from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks), are we allowing life-giving people into our lives rather than negative life-taking people? I know that we can not avoid all negative people, but we must be careful to have people who will love us and have realistic standards. If we do not, then we will become exhausted.
That is where I was, because I wanted to pick up and start school again, I wanted to get a job using my degree, I wanted to be in ministry again, I wanted to be around friends more, and I wanted to date again, but I realized that I was still exhausted from previous situations and I was trying to run at full speed while my body was beat up still. My heart was tired, and my words came out tired. I tend to do that, and I am doing my best to avoid that.
The good thing is that I figured out that I was dealing with hurting people hurting people. With that in mind, I am able to move forward and know that I am doing my best and I am overcoming my troubles, and not take ownership of their problems. It stinks sometimes, but it helps me and I hope it helps those going through the same thing that I am.
So when we think of the impact this has on our heart, I would like to challenge you today to do four things:
1. Be mindful of what people close to you are giving you. It can take years sometimes to undo what people do to you, if it can be avoided- avoid it.
2. Be willing to make the change need be, and don't let someone take your joy. This is one thing that the devil wants to take from us, so protect it fiercely.
3. Rest if you need to. Do not wear yourself out if you are tired... but remember that you need to eventually get back in the game because you are needed out there.
4. Get healing if you need to. If you have a broken leg, it won't fix itself and it will make things worse. Broken people have a higher risk of breaking others... as Christians we must be careful with each others hearts and avoid breaking others.
Thank you again for your patience with me, and I am glad to be back!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Stopping for a While
To all who have kept up with me from time to time, thank you for reading. In light of a lot of things going on in my life, I am really starting to feel that it might be wise for me to step back for a while and not write. I have really enjoyed writing and talking with people about the different subjects, but I have started to notice that my messages are starting to get too painful and I do not want to be a wet blanket.
Nothing is life or death wrong, but I am dealing with a lot right now emotionally as I am trying to figure out the next stage of my life, work on my counseling degree, find a job, deal with ministry drama, health issues, try and fix the never ending problem with the Navy, and sort out my disillusionment towards something in my life.
Basically, I am trying to stay positive and struggling to do so. Matthew 12:24 says that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. I have always been the type that wants to give life giving words to people. Anyone that knows me knows thats my heart. I am exhausted and can't do that right now. Mainly it is because I have been surrounded by too many negative people or negative events, and it is burning me out.
I hope to write again soon, and if you can think to pray for me that would be greatly appreciated! You can always email me, call me, or facebook message me as well, and we can talk further. Good bye for now!
Nothing is life or death wrong, but I am dealing with a lot right now emotionally as I am trying to figure out the next stage of my life, work on my counseling degree, find a job, deal with ministry drama, health issues, try and fix the never ending problem with the Navy, and sort out my disillusionment towards something in my life.
Basically, I am trying to stay positive and struggling to do so. Matthew 12:24 says that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. I have always been the type that wants to give life giving words to people. Anyone that knows me knows thats my heart. I am exhausted and can't do that right now. Mainly it is because I have been surrounded by too many negative people or negative events, and it is burning me out.
I hope to write again soon, and if you can think to pray for me that would be greatly appreciated! You can always email me, call me, or facebook message me as well, and we can talk further. Good bye for now!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Do you understand the words comin outta my mouf?
I had to quote that line from Rush Hour, because it is pretty much what I am talking about today. I have been thinking a lot about how we communicate with different generations on multiple levels. I am going to keep it concise and note the subjects so you can skip ones that you may find lame...
Personal: If you were to compare Baby Boomers to GenX and GenY, you will see a huge communication problem. When I was on active duty with the Navy, I had a GenX boss (about 15 years older than me) talk with me to try and figure out how to motivate my age group (Gen Y). He was frustrated because all of the tactics he used on his own age group had very little impact on us, and he had no idea. This piqued my curiosity, and it is something that individuals need to figure out to effectively lead.
Church: This brings up a greater problem though, concerning the church. Whatever it is that motivates Gen X to go to church does not motivate Gen Y. One issue that I have found is that churches are often times started solely for evangelism purposes but they do not understand something that can appeal to all generations. You can also see a distinct personality difference between the pastors who represent the different age groups. If a pastor gets up there and makes cheesy jokes and talks about how God is going to give us prosperity, my age group will probably roll their eyes. Meanwhile, if the pastor is in my age group and if the church plays music geared towards my age group, a lot of older people will call it "too loud" and reject the "authentic and unpolished" message. These are actual discussions that I have had that capture common themes, and I think it is important to move towards a happier medium.
Work: Simply giving a promotion or a pay raise does not always work as motivation. After watching parents and older friends get laid off, retired with a swift kick out the door, or give their lives to companies that do not care about them, we can be sort of jaded towards big business that has little interest in anything but money. Notice the companies that my generation really gravitates towards and see how many of them support humanitarian causes. Also, what about the way in which they are appreciated by their employer? If the boss or coworkers are able to show appreciation to an individual and let them know that they are valued, they are more likely willing to stay... sounds basic, but not many places do that.
Family is another area, but being that I am a single guy... I have my ideas but I don't feel qualified to talk about that. But I just wanted to talk today about how we communicate with one another on a generational level. If we want to succeed as families, churches, and businesses, it is significant that we can relate with one another and understand where the other is coming from... as the old saying goes, communication is the key to success.
Personal: If you were to compare Baby Boomers to GenX and GenY, you will see a huge communication problem. When I was on active duty with the Navy, I had a GenX boss (about 15 years older than me) talk with me to try and figure out how to motivate my age group (Gen Y). He was frustrated because all of the tactics he used on his own age group had very little impact on us, and he had no idea. This piqued my curiosity, and it is something that individuals need to figure out to effectively lead.
Church: This brings up a greater problem though, concerning the church. Whatever it is that motivates Gen X to go to church does not motivate Gen Y. One issue that I have found is that churches are often times started solely for evangelism purposes but they do not understand something that can appeal to all generations. You can also see a distinct personality difference between the pastors who represent the different age groups. If a pastor gets up there and makes cheesy jokes and talks about how God is going to give us prosperity, my age group will probably roll their eyes. Meanwhile, if the pastor is in my age group and if the church plays music geared towards my age group, a lot of older people will call it "too loud" and reject the "authentic and unpolished" message. These are actual discussions that I have had that capture common themes, and I think it is important to move towards a happier medium.
Work: Simply giving a promotion or a pay raise does not always work as motivation. After watching parents and older friends get laid off, retired with a swift kick out the door, or give their lives to companies that do not care about them, we can be sort of jaded towards big business that has little interest in anything but money. Notice the companies that my generation really gravitates towards and see how many of them support humanitarian causes. Also, what about the way in which they are appreciated by their employer? If the boss or coworkers are able to show appreciation to an individual and let them know that they are valued, they are more likely willing to stay... sounds basic, but not many places do that.
Family is another area, but being that I am a single guy... I have my ideas but I don't feel qualified to talk about that. But I just wanted to talk today about how we communicate with one another on a generational level. If we want to succeed as families, churches, and businesses, it is significant that we can relate with one another and understand where the other is coming from... as the old saying goes, communication is the key to success.
Friday, October 14, 2011
God's Timing is Key
I will admit, I am a 29 year old who is single and is not using my degree at the moment! Sadly enough, there are people who will hear that and automatically judge me. Whether it is that I just finished a masters degree and I am starting on a second one, or the fact that I am 29 and not married that people will give me labels such as "loser", "damaged goods", "incompetent", or "commitment-phobe". Strangely enough, I look around at my fellow 20-30 somethings that are in the same boat as myself and I can't help but wonder if these people are on to something. But then again, I laugh about it and realize that it is not a big deal.
"Not a big deal??? What do you mean?!" Most would respond. When thinking about my job situation, I will eventually get into a job that is in line with my calling, but it may not be quite yet. I am entering the worst job market in a very long time, and you cannot expect me to just get a job. Trust me, I have met many people who did not deserve the job that they have, but they are currently occupying that job and it does more harm than good. It has been frustrating watching it, especially when I realize that I could be getting a pay check to do their job and do a better job (no one you would know, don't worry!). But I realize that God may not want me in that negative situation. I have been offered jobs and I have turned those jobs down. Again, you probably think that I am crazy. But if you knew the details of the job and the track record of those who went before me in those jobs, you would see why I passed. I did not want to end up jaded while working a job that did not pay me and cut me off from my friends. So instead, I am applying across the US looking for a ministry position or somewhere God is calling me to.
Now, lets talk about that pesky biological clock thing. A lot of friends and relatives seem to wonder when I will get married. Thats when questions about my sanity, pickiness, or commitment issues come up (I am sane, I have healthy standards and am okay with commitment). I have talked at length about this back in February ( http://jasonchrista.blogspot.com/2011/02/love-differently.html ) if you want to read it, but I won't revisit it. In general though, I get a lot of flack for being on the wrong side of twenty and single. What I find frequently is that even though I may be getting older, it is not that I have any serious life altering problems. In fact, I am finding that most of the people that it did not work out with was for the best because it would have made me miserable. I would much rather be content and single than married and miserable. In general, I do not hear about too many happy marriages. So that is why I am content to wait.
In closing, I would like to encourage you if you are in the same boat as me. We don't always know what God is up to, but I find that sometimes not being in a situation is better than being in a horribly bad one. What I find is that even though Abraham was promised a nation, he never saw the nation. He just saw Isaac. He was able to see God's promise, just not in full bloom. So maybe God has us in a place where we are antsy and trying to be patient, but we are safe. Now is just the time to pray that his will comes sooner rather than later! =)
"Not a big deal??? What do you mean?!" Most would respond. When thinking about my job situation, I will eventually get into a job that is in line with my calling, but it may not be quite yet. I am entering the worst job market in a very long time, and you cannot expect me to just get a job. Trust me, I have met many people who did not deserve the job that they have, but they are currently occupying that job and it does more harm than good. It has been frustrating watching it, especially when I realize that I could be getting a pay check to do their job and do a better job (no one you would know, don't worry!). But I realize that God may not want me in that negative situation. I have been offered jobs and I have turned those jobs down. Again, you probably think that I am crazy. But if you knew the details of the job and the track record of those who went before me in those jobs, you would see why I passed. I did not want to end up jaded while working a job that did not pay me and cut me off from my friends. So instead, I am applying across the US looking for a ministry position or somewhere God is calling me to.
Now, lets talk about that pesky biological clock thing. A lot of friends and relatives seem to wonder when I will get married. Thats when questions about my sanity, pickiness, or commitment issues come up (I am sane, I have healthy standards and am okay with commitment). I have talked at length about this back in February ( http://jasonchrista.blogspot.com/2011/02/love-differently.html ) if you want to read it, but I won't revisit it. In general though, I get a lot of flack for being on the wrong side of twenty and single. What I find frequently is that even though I may be getting older, it is not that I have any serious life altering problems. In fact, I am finding that most of the people that it did not work out with was for the best because it would have made me miserable. I would much rather be content and single than married and miserable. In general, I do not hear about too many happy marriages. So that is why I am content to wait.
In closing, I would like to encourage you if you are in the same boat as me. We don't always know what God is up to, but I find that sometimes not being in a situation is better than being in a horribly bad one. What I find is that even though Abraham was promised a nation, he never saw the nation. He just saw Isaac. He was able to see God's promise, just not in full bloom. So maybe God has us in a place where we are antsy and trying to be patient, but we are safe. Now is just the time to pray that his will comes sooner rather than later! =)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
God Treats us Differently
So this is a truth that I have been thinking about lately. I know that people like to say that it is not good to treat people differently, but what if you treated your kids the same way? You know, the older one that thinks that he can get away with everything and is very disrespectful. Will you treat your more mild mannered and respectful daughter the same way? Probably not. Because if you lecture her about respecting people, chances are you will lose her respect since there is little if any dialogue there and she will feel slighted. If you treat the older one like the younger one, then you will ignore the issue and things will get worse.
I find that God treats us as people the same way. We often times forget that because we are often times taught in church that God judges the same way. The one thing that we have to remember is that Jesus did not talk to all the disciples the way he did to Peter. He was at times very harsh towards him because he had to address him that way. Jesus is not that way all of the time. Another example of this is the way you see Jesus reprimanding the Pharisees calling them hypocrites, whitewashed tombs, and children of vipers. But then you see him in John 3 talking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee, rationally and discussing with him rather than reprimanding him. So Jesus did not treat everyone the same, he was able to talk to and motivate people differently.
I am writing this today because I know that there are a lot of people out there who are thinking, "well I don't see this or that in my life, so God must have forgotten about me." God talks to people differently in different walks of their lives. I get into this discussion because I hear a lot of people that think that God has left the western Church. Just because we do not see overt miracles everyday or we do not see people getting excised everyday does not mean that God is not moving in his people. He has equally be blessing the man in Africa healing people as he did the woman who is encouraging people and helping create opportunities for people to succeed in life.
Neither one is greater than the next. It is just that God moves in different areas differently to reach specific audiences. Breathtaking miracles are of a greater need in religiously oppressive and poorer areas, where as an amazing teacher that moves people is better suited for an audience that has become irrelevant in their community. When we start thinking that God speaks the same way everywhere and start ranking the acts of the spirit, we get into a dangerous place much like the Corinthian church who favored "flashier" gifts such as speaking in tongues. Paul specifically spoke out against that. This is why there is a body, not just parts. We are needed that way, so lets try to avoid thinking that GOd has to act in specific ways.
Finally, one word on Love. When we read the Old Testament, you will see God showing his love numerous ways. When he led his people out of Egypt with the plagues and then parting the sea, that was his love in freeing the people. When he sent them into exile, that was his love disciplining them. Love takes on many forms, but it is doing what is best for the person.
So when you think of where you are with God, whether it is going through a silent period, a disciplinary period, a lavishing period, or a whatever, just know that he always loves you, it is just that there is not set rules for how he deals with us. Just the same way as you communicating with your children or coworkers differently, God talks to us differently at different times in our lives.
I find that God treats us as people the same way. We often times forget that because we are often times taught in church that God judges the same way. The one thing that we have to remember is that Jesus did not talk to all the disciples the way he did to Peter. He was at times very harsh towards him because he had to address him that way. Jesus is not that way all of the time. Another example of this is the way you see Jesus reprimanding the Pharisees calling them hypocrites, whitewashed tombs, and children of vipers. But then you see him in John 3 talking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee, rationally and discussing with him rather than reprimanding him. So Jesus did not treat everyone the same, he was able to talk to and motivate people differently.
I am writing this today because I know that there are a lot of people out there who are thinking, "well I don't see this or that in my life, so God must have forgotten about me." God talks to people differently in different walks of their lives. I get into this discussion because I hear a lot of people that think that God has left the western Church. Just because we do not see overt miracles everyday or we do not see people getting excised everyday does not mean that God is not moving in his people. He has equally be blessing the man in Africa healing people as he did the woman who is encouraging people and helping create opportunities for people to succeed in life.
Neither one is greater than the next. It is just that God moves in different areas differently to reach specific audiences. Breathtaking miracles are of a greater need in religiously oppressive and poorer areas, where as an amazing teacher that moves people is better suited for an audience that has become irrelevant in their community. When we start thinking that God speaks the same way everywhere and start ranking the acts of the spirit, we get into a dangerous place much like the Corinthian church who favored "flashier" gifts such as speaking in tongues. Paul specifically spoke out against that. This is why there is a body, not just parts. We are needed that way, so lets try to avoid thinking that GOd has to act in specific ways.
Finally, one word on Love. When we read the Old Testament, you will see God showing his love numerous ways. When he led his people out of Egypt with the plagues and then parting the sea, that was his love in freeing the people. When he sent them into exile, that was his love disciplining them. Love takes on many forms, but it is doing what is best for the person.
So when you think of where you are with God, whether it is going through a silent period, a disciplinary period, a lavishing period, or a whatever, just know that he always loves you, it is just that there is not set rules for how he deals with us. Just the same way as you communicating with your children or coworkers differently, God talks to us differently at different times in our lives.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Playing not to lose or playing to win?
When I was in church yesterday, I got prayed over and received an interesting word. I was told that this next season of my life will not be exactly what I want, but it will equip me for what God has for me in the future. It is something that I have heard before from people, but at the same time it is not exactly precise! Those that know me know that I have about four or five different plans organized so that something will work out. With loans to repay, I need to have a job lined up or find a way to stop the bleeding (monthly loan repayments). The pastor mentioned 1 Kings 7:3 and talked about the lepers at the gate... I could identify with their story and I think many others will as well.
In 1 Kings 7:3, there were four lepers at the gate. They knew that they could not stay at the gate or near the city since there was a famine in the city. Generally speaking, lepers were not allowed in due to their condition anyway. So being pinned between the dying city and camp of the enemy who was besieging them, the lepers had a hard choice to make... die at the gates or possibly live by being captured by the enemy. They chose to go to the unknown. In doing so, they found the camp abandoned with everything left behind. So they ate until they were full.
So where does that leave me (us) today? Are we willing to take the risk to succeed, or will we die knowing that we did not fail because we did not try? As I am sorting out my life and trying to figure out how I am going to get employed, that question remains. I could continue to stay at my church where I have been repeatedly told that I would not be employed, I could continue to not make enough money to make ends meet, and in the end chalk it up to bad luck. Or, I could try and step out and find a job else where knowing that it involves a huge amount of risk... and possibly moving to a new area.
This is why I am talking about how you are trying to play the game. For instance, in football, you can have a quarterback or a coach who plays not to lose. This means there is conservative play calling and often times they do not do anything noteworthy. They are trying not to lose. Meanwhile, if they play with more risks with the attempt to create a wider margin, they are playing to win.
I was always taught to not lose. In doing so, I was always cautious and scared of losing. I was never rewarded for trying to win, if I screwed up I was reprimanded for that one mistake. Ultimately, I never succeeded because I was so conscious of not losing. I now know that this is a mentality that needs to be broken. If you spend time fearing failure, you will never try to succeed because the fear of failing overshadows the excitement or the learning experience that goes with risking to be successful.
This leads me to my next point. I take risks when it makes sense and when I am familiar with what I am taking a risk for. The last few weeks, I have had a reoccurring theme of having to take a risk and go on faith. So either I can die standing at the gates, or I can die in the enemies camp, but their is a chance that I can survive. But I will never know unless I try. If you are like me today and are in the same position, my hope is that you will take the risk as well.
In 1 Kings 7:3, there were four lepers at the gate. They knew that they could not stay at the gate or near the city since there was a famine in the city. Generally speaking, lepers were not allowed in due to their condition anyway. So being pinned between the dying city and camp of the enemy who was besieging them, the lepers had a hard choice to make... die at the gates or possibly live by being captured by the enemy. They chose to go to the unknown. In doing so, they found the camp abandoned with everything left behind. So they ate until they were full.
So where does that leave me (us) today? Are we willing to take the risk to succeed, or will we die knowing that we did not fail because we did not try? As I am sorting out my life and trying to figure out how I am going to get employed, that question remains. I could continue to stay at my church where I have been repeatedly told that I would not be employed, I could continue to not make enough money to make ends meet, and in the end chalk it up to bad luck. Or, I could try and step out and find a job else where knowing that it involves a huge amount of risk... and possibly moving to a new area.
This is why I am talking about how you are trying to play the game. For instance, in football, you can have a quarterback or a coach who plays not to lose. This means there is conservative play calling and often times they do not do anything noteworthy. They are trying not to lose. Meanwhile, if they play with more risks with the attempt to create a wider margin, they are playing to win.
I was always taught to not lose. In doing so, I was always cautious and scared of losing. I was never rewarded for trying to win, if I screwed up I was reprimanded for that one mistake. Ultimately, I never succeeded because I was so conscious of not losing. I now know that this is a mentality that needs to be broken. If you spend time fearing failure, you will never try to succeed because the fear of failing overshadows the excitement or the learning experience that goes with risking to be successful.
This leads me to my next point. I take risks when it makes sense and when I am familiar with what I am taking a risk for. The last few weeks, I have had a reoccurring theme of having to take a risk and go on faith. So either I can die standing at the gates, or I can die in the enemies camp, but their is a chance that I can survive. But I will never know unless I try. If you are like me today and are in the same position, my hope is that you will take the risk as well.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Trust and Delight in the Lord
Psalm 37:3&4- Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
I am going to be honest with you and say that right now I am having a very hard time making that verse mine. As most of you know, when I write on this blog I talk about things that I am going through or have made it through. Usually I write about what I have made it through with the hope of encouraging people, but today I am writing about what I am struggling through.
It is hard because after four years of seminary and doing what I feel God led me to do, I have found nothing on the other side. Having loans that are due, I need employment fast and I have nothing to speak of except part time jobs.
As much as I want to trust in God, I am having a hard time hearing him. I try to listen to the quiet voice that I normally hear, but in the mix I hear very loud voices telling me to fix all of the situations in my life. Whether it is getting my Navy career straightened around, being a better employee, finding employment, being a better boyfriend, being a better friend to people, figuring out whether to go back to school or go after hospital chaplain training, whether to move or to stay, God's voice is lost in the mix.
So if you were to ask me what the desires of my heart are right now, I want peace. Hearing someone say, "trust in the Lord" does not make sense to me at times. What I have found is that I need to spend more time enjoying the presence of the Lord. I am beginning to realize that as a ministry person, sometimes God stops being enjoyable. I love God, don't get me wrong, but I do feel burned out after being pulled so many directions. Honestly, in ministry, people get pulled too many directions to the point where ministry becomes a chore rather than a joy.
So today I am going to try to be better at delighting in the Lord. I need to find ways that I connect with him better and that some sort of ministry task is not attached to it. I also need to be better at rejoicing and giving thanks when things are going well and when things are going bad (paraphrasing 1 Thes 5:16-18). I am not the type to get mad at God or expect too much from him, but I sometimes wish that he would give me a little bit more to work with.
In closing, I hope that you are able to take a few things away from this Psalm. When I heard it at church yesterday it definitely hit home with me. It is hard to trust and delight in the Lord when there is so much uncertainty, but I need to do a better job in both circumstances. I hope that this verse inspires you too as you continue to live out God's calling in your life.
I am going to be honest with you and say that right now I am having a very hard time making that verse mine. As most of you know, when I write on this blog I talk about things that I am going through or have made it through. Usually I write about what I have made it through with the hope of encouraging people, but today I am writing about what I am struggling through.
It is hard because after four years of seminary and doing what I feel God led me to do, I have found nothing on the other side. Having loans that are due, I need employment fast and I have nothing to speak of except part time jobs.
As much as I want to trust in God, I am having a hard time hearing him. I try to listen to the quiet voice that I normally hear, but in the mix I hear very loud voices telling me to fix all of the situations in my life. Whether it is getting my Navy career straightened around, being a better employee, finding employment, being a better boyfriend, being a better friend to people, figuring out whether to go back to school or go after hospital chaplain training, whether to move or to stay, God's voice is lost in the mix.
So if you were to ask me what the desires of my heart are right now, I want peace. Hearing someone say, "trust in the Lord" does not make sense to me at times. What I have found is that I need to spend more time enjoying the presence of the Lord. I am beginning to realize that as a ministry person, sometimes God stops being enjoyable. I love God, don't get me wrong, but I do feel burned out after being pulled so many directions. Honestly, in ministry, people get pulled too many directions to the point where ministry becomes a chore rather than a joy.
So today I am going to try to be better at delighting in the Lord. I need to find ways that I connect with him better and that some sort of ministry task is not attached to it. I also need to be better at rejoicing and giving thanks when things are going well and when things are going bad (paraphrasing 1 Thes 5:16-18). I am not the type to get mad at God or expect too much from him, but I sometimes wish that he would give me a little bit more to work with.
In closing, I hope that you are able to take a few things away from this Psalm. When I heard it at church yesterday it definitely hit home with me. It is hard to trust and delight in the Lord when there is so much uncertainty, but I need to do a better job in both circumstances. I hope that this verse inspires you too as you continue to live out God's calling in your life.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Pendulum thinking gets us nowhere fast
So yet again, I was invited to another cult meeting when I was at work today. As I was helping a customer look for new clothes, I received a personal invite from this man to attend his classes. He wanted me to see parts of Christianity that the Bible does not tell me about and to further explore the metaphysical side. He told me to check them out online, and I did, and strangely enough when I typed in the title on yahoo search, the word "cult" was attached to it before I could finish the sentence. Hmm...
I can't help but think of my church history class in which I was introduced to stories of movements that started out with good intentions but somewhere they went off the beaten path. It is not a matter of deciding the age of baptism or view of charismatic gifts, these have to do with complete violations of scripture.
So where this brings me today is thinking about the church today. For instance, there was a movement in church history called the Montanist movement. I will give a brief outline, but you should read up on it if you are interested. In this movement, a charismatic man circumvented the church and its rigid rules to become a leader when he was roadblocked by the rules. He gave power to women by having prophetesses. He allowed for the practice of spiritual gifts, which were suppressed. All of these things sound good. Balance was needed, until you realize that all of these qualities were abused and the movement was very extreme.
How does this work today? People still go to the furthest extreme, whether they realize it or not. Recently, I have heard my peers talking about throwing out teaching from our services in favor of prophetic worship, wanting ordination requirements to be simplified to the point that unqualified people can lead freely if they feel led, and that Apologetics should not be practiced since we should not need to defend our faith and instead by more concerned with sharing the gospel. Yes, these views draw attention to needs in the church... the need for prophetic worship, more opportunities for people to lead, and the need for a stronger effort in evangelism. My word of caution is not to be reactionary and completely throw out concepts because they have flaws, instead, integrate them properly.
I think it is significant to understand that even though extreme measures are needed at times, we must remember that extreme measures are harder to recover from. This is why many sports teams fail to succeed. When I look at my home team, the Cleveland Browns, they have been bad since they change coaches too frequently, and they tend to go with complete opposites with their coaches. One guy is a dictator, the next is too buddy buddy, the next is arrogant and aloof, etc. They all are opposites. This sets the team back for years, especially when the roster gets purged by every new coach to bring in their guys. Churches are similar... if we drastically move back and forth from ideas emotionally, we can often times go so far the other direction that it turns to heresy.
Just because we may not agree 100% with something, we need to sit and find the good even if there is a lot of bad. From there, you can weed out the bad and create a better concept. If we continue to go to the furthest extreme instead of creating balance, we will attract extreme people who are either too passive or too destructive... thus creating issues. A church full of aggressive people will be far too combative and impatient, while a passive audience will languish if not properly motivated. This is why balance is needed, because it keeps us safe from extremists taking over.
I can't help but think of my church history class in which I was introduced to stories of movements that started out with good intentions but somewhere they went off the beaten path. It is not a matter of deciding the age of baptism or view of charismatic gifts, these have to do with complete violations of scripture.
So where this brings me today is thinking about the church today. For instance, there was a movement in church history called the Montanist movement. I will give a brief outline, but you should read up on it if you are interested. In this movement, a charismatic man circumvented the church and its rigid rules to become a leader when he was roadblocked by the rules. He gave power to women by having prophetesses. He allowed for the practice of spiritual gifts, which were suppressed. All of these things sound good. Balance was needed, until you realize that all of these qualities were abused and the movement was very extreme.
How does this work today? People still go to the furthest extreme, whether they realize it or not. Recently, I have heard my peers talking about throwing out teaching from our services in favor of prophetic worship, wanting ordination requirements to be simplified to the point that unqualified people can lead freely if they feel led, and that Apologetics should not be practiced since we should not need to defend our faith and instead by more concerned with sharing the gospel. Yes, these views draw attention to needs in the church... the need for prophetic worship, more opportunities for people to lead, and the need for a stronger effort in evangelism. My word of caution is not to be reactionary and completely throw out concepts because they have flaws, instead, integrate them properly.
I think it is significant to understand that even though extreme measures are needed at times, we must remember that extreme measures are harder to recover from. This is why many sports teams fail to succeed. When I look at my home team, the Cleveland Browns, they have been bad since they change coaches too frequently, and they tend to go with complete opposites with their coaches. One guy is a dictator, the next is too buddy buddy, the next is arrogant and aloof, etc. They all are opposites. This sets the team back for years, especially when the roster gets purged by every new coach to bring in their guys. Churches are similar... if we drastically move back and forth from ideas emotionally, we can often times go so far the other direction that it turns to heresy.
Just because we may not agree 100% with something, we need to sit and find the good even if there is a lot of bad. From there, you can weed out the bad and create a better concept. If we continue to go to the furthest extreme instead of creating balance, we will attract extreme people who are either too passive or too destructive... thus creating issues. A church full of aggressive people will be far too combative and impatient, while a passive audience will languish if not properly motivated. This is why balance is needed, because it keeps us safe from extremists taking over.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
When you get pounced on by evangelists...
Earlier this week, my girlfriend and I were walking around Town Center (area in Virginia Beach, for those not from the area) and we were flagged down by these two young people. At first I thought the girl was drunk because she flailed her arms at us like she was trying to flag down a car. Thinking they were drunk, we kept walking until they caught up to us and started talking about God with us... like we never read a Bible before. After we established that we were Christians, they still talked to us like we were ignorant. They were sharing the message about Mother God coming down soon and that she would gather the believers with her. Bottom line, it was a misinterpretation of scripture that was a message that pretty much said, "join our club, and you will get a ticket to heaven!" We declined their invitation to come to their church, and after some fruitless discussion we found that they were regurgitating Revelation as a sales pitch (their pastor probably had them memorize specific verses). Mind you, it is a dangerous business trying to interpret Revelation, and those that claim to know it should think long and hard before they talk about it because it is one of the most difficult books of the Bible to understand for various reasons.
This is not to criticize these two kids for doing what they believed God told them to do, but instead I am talking about this an example what not to do so that if you ever take a leadership role that you will know what not to do. It seems that they were trained by someone who did not have sound training in the Bible. So this is how I feel about people who feel led to teach...
1. Do your homework! They mentioned Revelation 21:9-10, but gave a literal interpretation... the New Jerusalem was a real city, and that it was the bride of the lamb. They mentioned that it made no sense that Jesus would be married to a city so it must be a real person. They also tried to explain Jewish marriage tradition, but not enough to make sense. When we think of successful characters in the Bible, such as Paul and Jesus, they knew the scriptures and were able to prove things to people. Much like that today, if you want to be influential, you must understand how to connect to the culture and not be abrasive about your knowledge.
2. Don't belittle people. People have different levels of conviction towards their beliefs, so you should never talk to them like they know nothing. Some of the most educated people on Christianity are not even Christians, which shows you never know what you are dealing with. This is why we should treat all people fairly. Unfortunately, these two evangelists talked to us like we didn't know anything and it was very off putting. I can only imagine what someone with a different religious preference would feel about Christians after such an encounter!
3. Have a sober respect for God. When I chose to go into the ministry, I memorized James 3:1. If you don't know it, it is worth your while to look it up. James was writing to an audience to let them know that there is a stricter judgment for teachers, because ultimately they are responsible for the disposition of the messages that they give. So if I lead people astray by telling them something that is not true, I will be held accountable for that. These two seemed to run around telling everyone that they saw to be aware of the coming of God... Well, that has been mentioned for years. There is a reason that he will come like a thief in the night, because if the thief notifies the house owner than the owner will be ready for the robber. Its common sense. Sometimes people just need to realize that being abrasive just pushes people away, and they need to have a little bit more reverence for the message that God gave them... if God gave it to them.
So I guess what I am saying today is if you feel called to teach (which in some capacity we teach others constantly through out our day), always remember James 3:1. I know that the context is a little more complicated, but it is a succinct way of remembering that we need to be careful with the messages that God gives us. We must also remember to give messages in love and work towards building people up rather than making them feel threatened or condemned. So that was my adventure with evangelists, and please remember if anything sounds funny to you, look it up in the Bible and ask other Christians. Don't let someone else tell you something that is strange and lead you astray. It never hurts to ask! And if you are a teacher, don't fear saying the wrong thing, but be as educated as possible so that your words will bring life and that you may live beyond reproach.
This is not to criticize these two kids for doing what they believed God told them to do, but instead I am talking about this an example what not to do so that if you ever take a leadership role that you will know what not to do. It seems that they were trained by someone who did not have sound training in the Bible. So this is how I feel about people who feel led to teach...
1. Do your homework! They mentioned Revelation 21:9-10, but gave a literal interpretation... the New Jerusalem was a real city, and that it was the bride of the lamb. They mentioned that it made no sense that Jesus would be married to a city so it must be a real person. They also tried to explain Jewish marriage tradition, but not enough to make sense. When we think of successful characters in the Bible, such as Paul and Jesus, they knew the scriptures and were able to prove things to people. Much like that today, if you want to be influential, you must understand how to connect to the culture and not be abrasive about your knowledge.
2. Don't belittle people. People have different levels of conviction towards their beliefs, so you should never talk to them like they know nothing. Some of the most educated people on Christianity are not even Christians, which shows you never know what you are dealing with. This is why we should treat all people fairly. Unfortunately, these two evangelists talked to us like we didn't know anything and it was very off putting. I can only imagine what someone with a different religious preference would feel about Christians after such an encounter!
3. Have a sober respect for God. When I chose to go into the ministry, I memorized James 3:1. If you don't know it, it is worth your while to look it up. James was writing to an audience to let them know that there is a stricter judgment for teachers, because ultimately they are responsible for the disposition of the messages that they give. So if I lead people astray by telling them something that is not true, I will be held accountable for that. These two seemed to run around telling everyone that they saw to be aware of the coming of God... Well, that has been mentioned for years. There is a reason that he will come like a thief in the night, because if the thief notifies the house owner than the owner will be ready for the robber. Its common sense. Sometimes people just need to realize that being abrasive just pushes people away, and they need to have a little bit more reverence for the message that God gave them... if God gave it to them.
So I guess what I am saying today is if you feel called to teach (which in some capacity we teach others constantly through out our day), always remember James 3:1. I know that the context is a little more complicated, but it is a succinct way of remembering that we need to be careful with the messages that God gives us. We must also remember to give messages in love and work towards building people up rather than making them feel threatened or condemned. So that was my adventure with evangelists, and please remember if anything sounds funny to you, look it up in the Bible and ask other Christians. Don't let someone else tell you something that is strange and lead you astray. It never hurts to ask! And if you are a teacher, don't fear saying the wrong thing, but be as educated as possible so that your words will bring life and that you may live beyond reproach.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Speaking your mind?
I am hoping that this post does not turn into a rant, because it could actually turn into one =) With that, I am going to start with a qualifier: this is something that has been bothering me for the past few years and I feel that I need to talk about it because I am not quite sure who else will. So if I come off as harsh or convicting, I apologize in advance, but I will do my best not to be condemning.
When Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, he was speaking to a group of people that would act holy and claim that they had it all together, but in reality they were broken inside. How did he know this? Their words. Read Matthew 12:33-37, Jesus is explains how he knows that they are evil inside.
-A good tree produces good fruit
-From the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks
-Good men bring good things out of the good stored up in him
What is the common denominator here? Words come forth from the heart. So what does this say to us? How are our words impacting others? Are the words we speaking coming from a place to give life to one another or are they taking life away from the person?
When I read this verse a few years ago it really motivated me to consider what I say to people and to be more deliberate about what I say. I found that it went a few different ways. I realized that some of my joking was a bit harsh at times. Not as bad as what I heard from people close to me growing up, but none the less it was not exactly life giving. I was used to being called slurs and other insulting terms that were not true, but when I reacted and tried to talk about it they would say, "It was a joke. Stop being so sensitive." It was not funny and I realized that even though it rubbed off on me a bit, I did not like it and did not want to do it to other people.
Fast forward to today, and I still hear people that think they can get away with it. It may not be a direct insult, but it could be someone telling an embarrassing story or criticizing/joking something that is trivial. Just the other day, I heard someone telling an embarrassing story about me to someone who did not really know me nor needed to know about my embarrassing moment. It did not hurt me, but I could not help but wonder what the heart motive was behind it.
When considering heart motives, another interesting phrase that I hear outside of "I was just joking" is "At least I am being honest." Honesty does not destroy another person, nor does it demean someone. Rude people just need to get that phrase out of their system. Honesty is meant to help guide someone to make better decisions, not make them feel stupid or inadequate. That is what rude honesty does. This is why I feel that sarcasm and rude words do not belong in the church, especially with church leadership.
Unfortunately, I have become less enchanted with the church because of the fruit that many pastors produce. When I hear their words, whether it is in their sermons, in their conversations with me, or watching them interact with their leaders, I have learned a lot about their hearts. I hope that you would take the time as well to consider the fruit that you are eating from your spiritual leaders.
I guess the question that I have to ask is why would you eat rotten fruit? If my "tree" is producing bad fruit, why would anyone want to go to me? I hope that you wouldn't. This is why I have limited the amount of people I spend time with. If we eat good fruit from each other, then everything is fine. But if i am spending my time with negative and condescending people who produce bad fruit, it will make me sick.
In closing, I want to share the last two verses and how they impacted me. Jesus tells the pharisees that they will have to give an account for every careless word they spoke, and it is by their words they will be acquitted or condemned. This stunned me, I know that Jesus was saying this to the Pharisees, but I think it is a sober reminder to me that I need to be careful of what I say.
This taught be two things...
1. This is why I have learned not to talk more than I have to. When I speak more than I have to, I start getting into territory that makes people the butt of my jokes or I say something stupid that gets me in trouble. I have learned to be comfortable with not saying anything and being quiet if I do not have anything meaningful to say.
2. As a Christian leader, what am I if my words bring judgement and death to people? I am no different than the pharisees, and
ultimately I am not doing my job.
That is why I have to spend time with God and spend time in the word to make sure that my heart is in sync with God's heart. I do it because I want to be closer to him and I want to understand him better. Through that, I am able to positively impact others and give words of life to others.
So today, my challenge to you is to take the time to see if your heart needs healing. If you need to change circumstances, do it. I would recommend it because I found that when I engaged life in a way to try and give life to others rather than speaking negatively of others, I found that i felt better about myself and others felt better around me. Lets be a community that builds others up, not tears them down.
When Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, he was speaking to a group of people that would act holy and claim that they had it all together, but in reality they were broken inside. How did he know this? Their words. Read Matthew 12:33-37, Jesus is explains how he knows that they are evil inside.
-A good tree produces good fruit
-From the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks
-Good men bring good things out of the good stored up in him
What is the common denominator here? Words come forth from the heart. So what does this say to us? How are our words impacting others? Are the words we speaking coming from a place to give life to one another or are they taking life away from the person?
When I read this verse a few years ago it really motivated me to consider what I say to people and to be more deliberate about what I say. I found that it went a few different ways. I realized that some of my joking was a bit harsh at times. Not as bad as what I heard from people close to me growing up, but none the less it was not exactly life giving. I was used to being called slurs and other insulting terms that were not true, but when I reacted and tried to talk about it they would say, "It was a joke. Stop being so sensitive." It was not funny and I realized that even though it rubbed off on me a bit, I did not like it and did not want to do it to other people.
Fast forward to today, and I still hear people that think they can get away with it. It may not be a direct insult, but it could be someone telling an embarrassing story or criticizing/joking something that is trivial. Just the other day, I heard someone telling an embarrassing story about me to someone who did not really know me nor needed to know about my embarrassing moment. It did not hurt me, but I could not help but wonder what the heart motive was behind it.
When considering heart motives, another interesting phrase that I hear outside of "I was just joking" is "At least I am being honest." Honesty does not destroy another person, nor does it demean someone. Rude people just need to get that phrase out of their system. Honesty is meant to help guide someone to make better decisions, not make them feel stupid or inadequate. That is what rude honesty does. This is why I feel that sarcasm and rude words do not belong in the church, especially with church leadership.
Unfortunately, I have become less enchanted with the church because of the fruit that many pastors produce. When I hear their words, whether it is in their sermons, in their conversations with me, or watching them interact with their leaders, I have learned a lot about their hearts. I hope that you would take the time as well to consider the fruit that you are eating from your spiritual leaders.
I guess the question that I have to ask is why would you eat rotten fruit? If my "tree" is producing bad fruit, why would anyone want to go to me? I hope that you wouldn't. This is why I have limited the amount of people I spend time with. If we eat good fruit from each other, then everything is fine. But if i am spending my time with negative and condescending people who produce bad fruit, it will make me sick.
In closing, I want to share the last two verses and how they impacted me. Jesus tells the pharisees that they will have to give an account for every careless word they spoke, and it is by their words they will be acquitted or condemned. This stunned me, I know that Jesus was saying this to the Pharisees, but I think it is a sober reminder to me that I need to be careful of what I say.
This taught be two things...
1. This is why I have learned not to talk more than I have to. When I speak more than I have to, I start getting into territory that makes people the butt of my jokes or I say something stupid that gets me in trouble. I have learned to be comfortable with not saying anything and being quiet if I do not have anything meaningful to say.
2. As a Christian leader, what am I if my words bring judgement and death to people? I am no different than the pharisees, and
ultimately I am not doing my job.
That is why I have to spend time with God and spend time in the word to make sure that my heart is in sync with God's heart. I do it because I want to be closer to him and I want to understand him better. Through that, I am able to positively impact others and give words of life to others.
So today, my challenge to you is to take the time to see if your heart needs healing. If you need to change circumstances, do it. I would recommend it because I found that when I engaged life in a way to try and give life to others rather than speaking negatively of others, I found that i felt better about myself and others felt better around me. Lets be a community that builds others up, not tears them down.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Heart of Joshua and Caleb
When I think about how I have come to be where I am today, I think about the story of Joshua and Caleb. When the twelve were sent to scout Canaan, only two of the twelve had the courage to go into Canaan. The rest were intimidated by the size of the men and the size of their fortresses. They felt that even though they were commanded to take the land, that they were not strong enough to take it. As punishment, the ten other scouts were slain and the Israelites had to wait 40 years before they could enter Canaan.
I know I paraphrased quite a bit, but the point that I want to make is that the story of Joshua and Caleb resonates with me today. As many of you know, I am at a cross roads right now in my life. I am trying to get a job, but paying ministry jobs are not always available. I have met some great pastors that are apologetic about their financial state and wish that they could give me money, while others expect free labor. That being said, I am looking at other options such as Clinical Pastoral Education (hospital chaplain) and going back to school to buy more time and gain experience while volunteering in the church.
It is tough to judge, because at times the people look too big, and the fortresses too tough to over take. But I generally do my best to give God an opportunity to show me what he wants me to do. I know my marching orders from here on out, but I know that others do not believe in me or believe in what God has told me. Here in lies the problem.
How many of you today feel that you may be a Joshua or Caleb hanging out with the faithless spies? I hear it all the time. "The economy is too weak", "you are too inexperienced", "you aren't pastor material", "Chaplains have an easy life, so make a career out of it", or "do what is easy and safe." Most of these people are ignorant do not really help, they just make you feel worse about trying to have faith when life gets tough. I know that I am not the only one that hears those people.
But God gives us dreams and goals for a reason... not to dash them away when life gets strenuous, but to give you something to shoot for when the pressure cooker gets turned on. It is what makes you get up every morning and fight when you feel that you have nothing left to give. This is because you believe in what God has for you, and you believe in what God can do through you.
Num 13:30 illustrates Caleb telling people that they must go and take possession of the land, and he showed great faith believing that they could conquer the land. The other ten claimed that they saw giants who made them the size of grasshoppers. This was not true, as it is later reported. The ten are struck down by the Lord for their cowardice.
Are you called to do something greater? Are you willing to silence the naysayers and pursue what you feel God gave you to accomplish? Or will you give in thinking that it is better to not do anything than to fail at doing something? Often times, not succeeding at something leads to the birth of another dream or goal. Don't forget that.
The other thing is that if Caleb and Joshua would have never followed through on their mission, Israel may have died. Just like the parable of the talents, God wants us to us what we have rather than sit on it and let it go to waste. The servant that buried his talent was punished because he was afraid of failing. The master probably would not have punished him if he attempted to do something with it, because it was only one talent (more on that another time). And just like the talent that was buried, God gave the task of going into Canaan to a generation that was more faithful with the goal.
So in closing, what is your talent/mission today? When the naysayers come and try to lead you away from that, what are you going to say? My hope is that you would be like Caleb and tell them that you can certainly conquer.
I know I paraphrased quite a bit, but the point that I want to make is that the story of Joshua and Caleb resonates with me today. As many of you know, I am at a cross roads right now in my life. I am trying to get a job, but paying ministry jobs are not always available. I have met some great pastors that are apologetic about their financial state and wish that they could give me money, while others expect free labor. That being said, I am looking at other options such as Clinical Pastoral Education (hospital chaplain) and going back to school to buy more time and gain experience while volunteering in the church.
It is tough to judge, because at times the people look too big, and the fortresses too tough to over take. But I generally do my best to give God an opportunity to show me what he wants me to do. I know my marching orders from here on out, but I know that others do not believe in me or believe in what God has told me. Here in lies the problem.
How many of you today feel that you may be a Joshua or Caleb hanging out with the faithless spies? I hear it all the time. "The economy is too weak", "you are too inexperienced", "you aren't pastor material", "Chaplains have an easy life, so make a career out of it", or "do what is easy and safe." Most of these people are ignorant do not really help, they just make you feel worse about trying to have faith when life gets tough. I know that I am not the only one that hears those people.
But God gives us dreams and goals for a reason... not to dash them away when life gets strenuous, but to give you something to shoot for when the pressure cooker gets turned on. It is what makes you get up every morning and fight when you feel that you have nothing left to give. This is because you believe in what God has for you, and you believe in what God can do through you.
Num 13:30 illustrates Caleb telling people that they must go and take possession of the land, and he showed great faith believing that they could conquer the land. The other ten claimed that they saw giants who made them the size of grasshoppers. This was not true, as it is later reported. The ten are struck down by the Lord for their cowardice.
Are you called to do something greater? Are you willing to silence the naysayers and pursue what you feel God gave you to accomplish? Or will you give in thinking that it is better to not do anything than to fail at doing something? Often times, not succeeding at something leads to the birth of another dream or goal. Don't forget that.
The other thing is that if Caleb and Joshua would have never followed through on their mission, Israel may have died. Just like the parable of the talents, God wants us to us what we have rather than sit on it and let it go to waste. The servant that buried his talent was punished because he was afraid of failing. The master probably would not have punished him if he attempted to do something with it, because it was only one talent (more on that another time). And just like the talent that was buried, God gave the task of going into Canaan to a generation that was more faithful with the goal.
So in closing, what is your talent/mission today? When the naysayers come and try to lead you away from that, what are you going to say? My hope is that you would be like Caleb and tell them that you can certainly conquer.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Love those that hate us?
"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." It is possibly one of the most confusing statements that a Christian can face. Jesus asks that God will forgive the men who are killing him. Let me repeat that, THEY WERE KILLING HIM! We have a hard enough time forgiving someone for calling us a name in a moment of distress, how can you expect us to forgive someone who wants us dead?
This is something that I have struggled with for a very long time. I have been betrayed a lot by people that I cared about, and it was not easy letting that go. I do okay with people who accidently do something hurtful, but when people calculate ways to hurt me the most and then do it, I find that very sick and evil. It is a process, but I forgive them.
There are two verses that I think a lot about when I consider trying to love people who hate me. The first is the verse mentioned in the opening. As Jesus was on the cross, he understood that they did not know what they were doing. It is almost as if there is a sense of pity there, as if they cannot control themselves or a sense of the are too dumb to realize what they are doing. Jesus understood that for some reason, they were beyond understanding what they could do.
So how does that relate with us? When you stop seeing the monster of a person who terrorized your life and see them through God's eyes, you can see them as a weak human being who is hopelessly chasing their tail.
For example, I had a boss that was absolutely crazy. He had fun picking on us lower end guys and would publically humiliate us and then hide behind his rank. Most people were terrified of him. Once i was able to get my bearing at the job and figure out what was going on, I got to see who he really was. He was extraordinarily insecure and had to put others down, had a God-complex so he micromanaged, was a perfectionist who feared failure (as most perfectionists are), sexually harassed women because he was unhappy in his marriage, and was a workaholic because he feared the day that he would have to retire.
Thats when I began to pity him. I then began to ask God to bless him and heal him of his hurts. I am sure that they ran deep. I realized, that he does not know what he does. I began doing that in my life, looking at the kids that treated me bad in grade school, the bosses that were jerks, those close to me that knowingly hurt me, and the religious leaders that hurt me. I asked for forgiveness for being resentful, and asked God to heal their hearts and their pasts, because they don't seem very happy.
What you learn about these people are that the Goliaths in our lives are not always so big (The Second verse I think of). You notice, that once David took down Goliath, the taunting stopped. The most advanced army of the time dropped everything and ran. They don't look so tough, now do they? Thats how our Goliaths are. They are weak and scared inside, and they need more. So pray for them. Know that they deserve healing as much as you do, and hope that God can grant them a more pleasent future, because so many of them are tormented inside.
This week, my hope is that you can remember someone who has wronged you, and in your prayer time remember Jesus' words. They do not know what they are doing. Pray for them, and remember that they should be pitied, not feared. That is why we must love them.
This is something that I have struggled with for a very long time. I have been betrayed a lot by people that I cared about, and it was not easy letting that go. I do okay with people who accidently do something hurtful, but when people calculate ways to hurt me the most and then do it, I find that very sick and evil. It is a process, but I forgive them.
There are two verses that I think a lot about when I consider trying to love people who hate me. The first is the verse mentioned in the opening. As Jesus was on the cross, he understood that they did not know what they were doing. It is almost as if there is a sense of pity there, as if they cannot control themselves or a sense of the are too dumb to realize what they are doing. Jesus understood that for some reason, they were beyond understanding what they could do.
So how does that relate with us? When you stop seeing the monster of a person who terrorized your life and see them through God's eyes, you can see them as a weak human being who is hopelessly chasing their tail.
For example, I had a boss that was absolutely crazy. He had fun picking on us lower end guys and would publically humiliate us and then hide behind his rank. Most people were terrified of him. Once i was able to get my bearing at the job and figure out what was going on, I got to see who he really was. He was extraordinarily insecure and had to put others down, had a God-complex so he micromanaged, was a perfectionist who feared failure (as most perfectionists are), sexually harassed women because he was unhappy in his marriage, and was a workaholic because he feared the day that he would have to retire.
Thats when I began to pity him. I then began to ask God to bless him and heal him of his hurts. I am sure that they ran deep. I realized, that he does not know what he does. I began doing that in my life, looking at the kids that treated me bad in grade school, the bosses that were jerks, those close to me that knowingly hurt me, and the religious leaders that hurt me. I asked for forgiveness for being resentful, and asked God to heal their hearts and their pasts, because they don't seem very happy.
What you learn about these people are that the Goliaths in our lives are not always so big (The Second verse I think of). You notice, that once David took down Goliath, the taunting stopped. The most advanced army of the time dropped everything and ran. They don't look so tough, now do they? Thats how our Goliaths are. They are weak and scared inside, and they need more. So pray for them. Know that they deserve healing as much as you do, and hope that God can grant them a more pleasent future, because so many of them are tormented inside.
This week, my hope is that you can remember someone who has wronged you, and in your prayer time remember Jesus' words. They do not know what they are doing. Pray for them, and remember that they should be pitied, not feared. That is why we must love them.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Hearing, Listening, Comprehending
One thing that I have noticed as of late is how bad that people can be at listening to someone. I am guilty of this to, when someone is talking for a while it is easy to tune out and make affirming sounds like, "uh huh", so that they feel that they are being listened to even though I may have no idea what they are saying. Why is that? I am hearing them but not listening.
It is easy to use listen and hear interchangably, but they mean two completely different things. Hearing is knowing that you are being talked at. You can hear a noise, a voice, etc. But listening is trying understand what that voice or noise is saying.
One of our biggest difficulties as Christians is trying to decypher the hearing and the listening to God aspect. People will tell me, "you know, I don't think God is out there. I ask him to tell me something and I do not hear him. He must not exist." My follow up question is usually to ask him what he is listening for. They usually do not know... which is okay, because if you don't know what to listen for, you will not know when God is talking to you.
If you are one of those people who are reading this and agreeing that you cannot hear God, I may not have the best answers, but I can do my best to help. Here are a few ways that I know that God is speaking to me...
1. Among all the chaotic noise in my life, there is a soft sobering message that comes to me. I struggle with ADHD, which means that there is a constant flow of traffic going through my brain at any given moment... imagine having a bunch of televisions and radios playing all the time... thats my mind. But among all of that, I can usually make out God's voice since it is not demanding or oppressive.
2. Have you ever had an "ahha" moment? A lot of the time that is God talking to you. If something is very out of the ordinary but makes complete sense to you, then it may be God. I am not saying go do something sinful, but instead, here is an example. I accidently bought the wrong strings for my bass, and I was going to return them. Instead, I felt like God told me to give them to a specific person. It was weird, but it made sense. When I offered him my strings, I found out that the guy that I gave them to did not change his strings in 2 years since he did not have the money for them. So I totally blessed this guy because I obeyed what God said.
There are more examples, but I am about to leave for church. I just wanted to encourage you to spend time trying to listen to God, and not just be happy with hearing him and knowing that he is out there.
Something that I tell all the people that I teach is that the only way to get to know the shepherds voice is to spend time near the shepherd. This is how sheep know their master, and this is how we know our God. We start by hearing him, and knowing that he is there. As we spend time with him, we listen to him because we know his voice and trust his words. When we trust his words, that is when we can comprehend him and what he does and we have a deeper understanding of who he is. As Christian leaders, we must do this with both God and others. It takes work, but I believe that you can do it!
It is easy to use listen and hear interchangably, but they mean two completely different things. Hearing is knowing that you are being talked at. You can hear a noise, a voice, etc. But listening is trying understand what that voice or noise is saying.
One of our biggest difficulties as Christians is trying to decypher the hearing and the listening to God aspect. People will tell me, "you know, I don't think God is out there. I ask him to tell me something and I do not hear him. He must not exist." My follow up question is usually to ask him what he is listening for. They usually do not know... which is okay, because if you don't know what to listen for, you will not know when God is talking to you.
If you are one of those people who are reading this and agreeing that you cannot hear God, I may not have the best answers, but I can do my best to help. Here are a few ways that I know that God is speaking to me...
1. Among all the chaotic noise in my life, there is a soft sobering message that comes to me. I struggle with ADHD, which means that there is a constant flow of traffic going through my brain at any given moment... imagine having a bunch of televisions and radios playing all the time... thats my mind. But among all of that, I can usually make out God's voice since it is not demanding or oppressive.
2. Have you ever had an "ahha" moment? A lot of the time that is God talking to you. If something is very out of the ordinary but makes complete sense to you, then it may be God. I am not saying go do something sinful, but instead, here is an example. I accidently bought the wrong strings for my bass, and I was going to return them. Instead, I felt like God told me to give them to a specific person. It was weird, but it made sense. When I offered him my strings, I found out that the guy that I gave them to did not change his strings in 2 years since he did not have the money for them. So I totally blessed this guy because I obeyed what God said.
There are more examples, but I am about to leave for church. I just wanted to encourage you to spend time trying to listen to God, and not just be happy with hearing him and knowing that he is out there.
Something that I tell all the people that I teach is that the only way to get to know the shepherds voice is to spend time near the shepherd. This is how sheep know their master, and this is how we know our God. We start by hearing him, and knowing that he is there. As we spend time with him, we listen to him because we know his voice and trust his words. When we trust his words, that is when we can comprehend him and what he does and we have a deeper understanding of who he is. As Christian leaders, we must do this with both God and others. It takes work, but I believe that you can do it!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Rules without Relationship
This weekend I heard a message that was inspiring from multiple standpoints. The pastor spoke about the story of Joseph, and how he won favor with his father. He had won favor to the point that his siblings wanted him done away with. What I thought was really cool about the message was the fact that the father supported the dreams of Joseph, and that he empowered him in the process. The truth is that we often times do not have empowering fathers in our lives, and we often times do not have church "fathers" to empower us either.
In light of fathers day, I thought this was a very powerful message for fathers. Are you empowering your children? Are you letting them know that their dreams are important? Are you helping enable those dreams? As a Christian leader, I have to ask myself am I doing that for those that do not have a Christian parent to do that? I can say that I try to do that, but I am not always the best at it.
Having been in the church for a few years now, I can say that I have met more discouragement than encouragement from pastors and respected leaders. The issue was that I had no relationship with them. So to me, I just disregarded them and moved on, and at times I was tempted into rebellion. I felt, "how dare they tell me this when they do not even know who I am?" This is what leads to the next part of the post.
Rules without Relationship= Rebellion. This goes for any sort of circumstance. Whether it is a ruler, a boss, a parent, or a mentor, if the person does not have an interest in those they are over, rebellion is bound to ensue. This is why strict parents lose the respect of their children at times. The kids see the rule book but they do not see the love or investment in their lives. They learn to fear the parents wrath or avoid their judgment, but they never love them because their is no connection.
One of the best bosses that I had in the Navy was a women who was very cantankerous. However, at the end of the day, we looked out for one another so I did not mind the fact that she was a bit angry at times. We usually laughed it off shortly after. But when I knew that I was going to get yelled at no matter what and that they really did not care about me as a person, I was either going to shut down or rebel. I usually did both.
I am never quite sure if Joseph's brothers were supported by their father, but it seemed that the creativity that they had went towards getting rid of Joseph. I think that the important thing to remember though is that Joseph dared to dream and dared to share things with his father. This is because he had a relationship with him and felt comfortable with sharing those dreams with him. This is the same way with God, our fathers, and our church fathers. If we never get close enough to them to share with them what we feel or what we hope to do, we will always fear their judgment or rebel against them.
So today, I hope that you feel as inspired as I did to want to empower those that are in our care. I also hope that if you do not have a father that you can be relational with, that you can be bold enough to step out and dream without fear of rejection and failure. Always remember, the rules that God has are their to keep you safe, not to be abusive. He gave you those dreams for a reason, but have you learned to believe in yourself? I hope you would, he gave you those dreams because he believes in you!
In light of fathers day, I thought this was a very powerful message for fathers. Are you empowering your children? Are you letting them know that their dreams are important? Are you helping enable those dreams? As a Christian leader, I have to ask myself am I doing that for those that do not have a Christian parent to do that? I can say that I try to do that, but I am not always the best at it.
Having been in the church for a few years now, I can say that I have met more discouragement than encouragement from pastors and respected leaders. The issue was that I had no relationship with them. So to me, I just disregarded them and moved on, and at times I was tempted into rebellion. I felt, "how dare they tell me this when they do not even know who I am?" This is what leads to the next part of the post.
Rules without Relationship= Rebellion. This goes for any sort of circumstance. Whether it is a ruler, a boss, a parent, or a mentor, if the person does not have an interest in those they are over, rebellion is bound to ensue. This is why strict parents lose the respect of their children at times. The kids see the rule book but they do not see the love or investment in their lives. They learn to fear the parents wrath or avoid their judgment, but they never love them because their is no connection.
One of the best bosses that I had in the Navy was a women who was very cantankerous. However, at the end of the day, we looked out for one another so I did not mind the fact that she was a bit angry at times. We usually laughed it off shortly after. But when I knew that I was going to get yelled at no matter what and that they really did not care about me as a person, I was either going to shut down or rebel. I usually did both.
I am never quite sure if Joseph's brothers were supported by their father, but it seemed that the creativity that they had went towards getting rid of Joseph. I think that the important thing to remember though is that Joseph dared to dream and dared to share things with his father. This is because he had a relationship with him and felt comfortable with sharing those dreams with him. This is the same way with God, our fathers, and our church fathers. If we never get close enough to them to share with them what we feel or what we hope to do, we will always fear their judgment or rebel against them.
So today, I hope that you feel as inspired as I did to want to empower those that are in our care. I also hope that if you do not have a father that you can be relational with, that you can be bold enough to step out and dream without fear of rejection and failure. Always remember, the rules that God has are their to keep you safe, not to be abusive. He gave you those dreams for a reason, but have you learned to believe in yourself? I hope you would, he gave you those dreams because he believes in you!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Act of Giving or Life of Giving?
I had this interesting run in when I was at wal-mart last week. I met a guy in a motorized wheelchair that apparently wanted money. He gave me a lot of information, including getting my military supervisor to write me a letter of commendation. So I gave him the dollar that I had in my wallet. He then asked me if I had an ATM card so that he could get money, to which I promptly said that I did not have any more money to give. With that, he took off quickly. Should I have given him the dollar? I am not sure, but at least I can say that I gave him something if he really needed it. If not, its between him and God. Was I being stingy? Thats all I had in my pocket. I was not about to give a lot of money to someone that I was not sure about.
This made me think a lot about how we view giving. I do not want to get into a discussion about tithing and the Biblical view on that, because I find that the discussion comes up the most when the church is in a financial pinch. I think it is important to tithe because the church needs to be taken care of. If the roof leaks, who is going to pay for it? But are we as Christians willing to give outside of our tithes? At times I think that sometimes I look at giving as an event rather than a life style.
This is a very touchy subject that I am moving into, and I do not want to sound preachy and I do not want to condemn people. I am writing about it because it is something that I think about and have been working through, and I think it is worth discussing. This incident made me wonder about giving to someone on the side of the road, because some of those people may not use their money for food. It also makes me think about boundaries that we have on giving and at what point does someone have to be responsible for their own actions. Also, should money be the only thing we give?
On the money subject, I think about not only how do we share with people, but what about things such as tipping waitresses? Most of them only make 2 something and hour before tips are considered. It made me really think about ways I could bless them. Instead of leaving a tract without tip, I would rather give a decent amount and know that I did my best to help them through the day. They have hard days often, and they often times view Christians as cheap and needy... so I try my best to dispel that stereotype.
Speaking of words, what about the words that we use? Giving someone a compliment goes over a heck of a lot better than an insult or a sarcastic joke. We constantly give words to people, are the words that we are giving giving life, or are they giving death? This is why I have tried to take sarcasm out of my language, because usually it does not give life to people.
What about the way in which we give our time? I have found that churches often times look at ministry as events, rather than a life style. It is time to go to that ministry, or do this good thing. What about just living life, and when you are able to meet someone's need, that you do your best to meet that need?
So one thing that I would like to encourage you to do this week is to find a way that you can give to someone without asking anything in return. But always remember, that when someone expects you to give to them, you really have to be careful because giving is not something that should be taken for granted. And when you give, do not say, "Okay, I will go to this ministry today." but instead, ask God to show you who really needs to be blessed today... whether it is with your time, money, words, or talents.
This made me think a lot about how we view giving. I do not want to get into a discussion about tithing and the Biblical view on that, because I find that the discussion comes up the most when the church is in a financial pinch. I think it is important to tithe because the church needs to be taken care of. If the roof leaks, who is going to pay for it? But are we as Christians willing to give outside of our tithes? At times I think that sometimes I look at giving as an event rather than a life style.
This is a very touchy subject that I am moving into, and I do not want to sound preachy and I do not want to condemn people. I am writing about it because it is something that I think about and have been working through, and I think it is worth discussing. This incident made me wonder about giving to someone on the side of the road, because some of those people may not use their money for food. It also makes me think about boundaries that we have on giving and at what point does someone have to be responsible for their own actions. Also, should money be the only thing we give?
On the money subject, I think about not only how do we share with people, but what about things such as tipping waitresses? Most of them only make 2 something and hour before tips are considered. It made me really think about ways I could bless them. Instead of leaving a tract without tip, I would rather give a decent amount and know that I did my best to help them through the day. They have hard days often, and they often times view Christians as cheap and needy... so I try my best to dispel that stereotype.
Speaking of words, what about the words that we use? Giving someone a compliment goes over a heck of a lot better than an insult or a sarcastic joke. We constantly give words to people, are the words that we are giving giving life, or are they giving death? This is why I have tried to take sarcasm out of my language, because usually it does not give life to people.
What about the way in which we give our time? I have found that churches often times look at ministry as events, rather than a life style. It is time to go to that ministry, or do this good thing. What about just living life, and when you are able to meet someone's need, that you do your best to meet that need?
So one thing that I would like to encourage you to do this week is to find a way that you can give to someone without asking anything in return. But always remember, that when someone expects you to give to them, you really have to be careful because giving is not something that should be taken for granted. And when you give, do not say, "Okay, I will go to this ministry today." but instead, ask God to show you who really needs to be blessed today... whether it is with your time, money, words, or talents.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
May 21, 2011: God's Timing and Testing the Spirits
A manager of mine came up to me on Saturday and said, "please tell me that the world is not going to end at 6 pm today!" I told her that it was not. I told her a few things, and I will explain it as I go. But mainly I wanted to address this issues because now not only did this man make Christians look fake, but his comments made us look crazy, uneducated and filled with doom and gloom.
So now that May 21st 6pm has passed us by, I have thought a little bit about the subject. For those who live in a cave (and probably would not be reading my blog), a man by the name of Harold Camping claimed the Rapture was going to occur at 6 pm on Saturday May 21st. To that, I responded to my manager, "Which time zone? Greenwich meantime is past 6pm already, so if he wanted an internationally recognized time zone to work with it would be that one. Otherwise, it looks pretentious to go with Pacific time (his time) or Eastern Standard time (showing American arrogance)." So right away, there is a time issue.
Lets think about the history or Mr. Camping. According to his latest prediction, we are currently in a six month period of judgment and that Jesus has descended to preside over the judgment. He also predicted that the end was to come in 1994, and that did not happen either. When reading information on him, some of it is really strange to me... such as saying that churches are apostate and that they should be abandoned and that one should be devoted to Bible Study and listening to Family Radio (ironically, his company). Another significant detail is that his education is in Civil Engineering, not Bible. The validity of the Biblical Calendar that he created is believed by some to be false, but I do not know enough about it to make a judgment.
What I do know is that there are Bible verses that support the idea that Jesus did not even know when the end would come. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus claims that neither the Angels or HImself know when the hour or the day. Only the Father. In verse 24:42-44 Jesus states that it will happen at an hour when someone does not expect it. He likens it to a thief, in that if the owner of the house knew when the thief was coming, he would keep watch. So that explains that God wants faithful servants, not those that will only be diligent when the boss is watching (so to speak).
Luke 24:5-11 shows Jesus explaining to his disciples that the End of the Age will come at an unknown time, so continue to live without fear of the end. This story in Luke also illustrates that there will be those that come claiming that they know the information and they come in the Name of Jesus, but they are misled. It is obvious that demonic people can do good and mislead people, which is why it is important to test the spirit of someone.
So you might wonder how we test the spirit of someone. John explains in 1 John 4:1 that it is important to test the spirits of the people who come to them. In his time, some teachers would not acknowledge Jesus as coming from God, and it was obvious that their view was skewed since they deny Jesus' divinity. But even now, a Christian can act under oppression of a demon. I have seen it many times. Whether it is pride, jealousy, wrath, or greed, I have seen teachers teach unsound doctrine or speak unsound words. The question you have to ask yourself is, "is what they are saying matching up with the Bible, and is it matching up with Christ's mission?" If you have doubts, than take the time to understand what is happening and if what they are saying is harmful to you and to others. As always, pray about it and ask for wisdom in what is being spoken.
With me, I never like accusing anyone of being misled or lying. But I tend to get the feeling that what we were told about May 21st was a misguided message. It seems that his track record and his research is not substantial enough to warrant serious consideration. Needless to say, scripture mentions that we will not know the time, it defeats the purpose of living a life for Christ and living a life of love. So until further notice, continue to live life as if there is no tomorrow.
So now that May 21st 6pm has passed us by, I have thought a little bit about the subject. For those who live in a cave (and probably would not be reading my blog), a man by the name of Harold Camping claimed the Rapture was going to occur at 6 pm on Saturday May 21st. To that, I responded to my manager, "Which time zone? Greenwich meantime is past 6pm already, so if he wanted an internationally recognized time zone to work with it would be that one. Otherwise, it looks pretentious to go with Pacific time (his time) or Eastern Standard time (showing American arrogance)." So right away, there is a time issue.
Lets think about the history or Mr. Camping. According to his latest prediction, we are currently in a six month period of judgment and that Jesus has descended to preside over the judgment. He also predicted that the end was to come in 1994, and that did not happen either. When reading information on him, some of it is really strange to me... such as saying that churches are apostate and that they should be abandoned and that one should be devoted to Bible Study and listening to Family Radio (ironically, his company). Another significant detail is that his education is in Civil Engineering, not Bible. The validity of the Biblical Calendar that he created is believed by some to be false, but I do not know enough about it to make a judgment.
What I do know is that there are Bible verses that support the idea that Jesus did not even know when the end would come. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus claims that neither the Angels or HImself know when the hour or the day. Only the Father. In verse 24:42-44 Jesus states that it will happen at an hour when someone does not expect it. He likens it to a thief, in that if the owner of the house knew when the thief was coming, he would keep watch. So that explains that God wants faithful servants, not those that will only be diligent when the boss is watching (so to speak).
Luke 24:5-11 shows Jesus explaining to his disciples that the End of the Age will come at an unknown time, so continue to live without fear of the end. This story in Luke also illustrates that there will be those that come claiming that they know the information and they come in the Name of Jesus, but they are misled. It is obvious that demonic people can do good and mislead people, which is why it is important to test the spirit of someone.
So you might wonder how we test the spirit of someone. John explains in 1 John 4:1 that it is important to test the spirits of the people who come to them. In his time, some teachers would not acknowledge Jesus as coming from God, and it was obvious that their view was skewed since they deny Jesus' divinity. But even now, a Christian can act under oppression of a demon. I have seen it many times. Whether it is pride, jealousy, wrath, or greed, I have seen teachers teach unsound doctrine or speak unsound words. The question you have to ask yourself is, "is what they are saying matching up with the Bible, and is it matching up with Christ's mission?" If you have doubts, than take the time to understand what is happening and if what they are saying is harmful to you and to others. As always, pray about it and ask for wisdom in what is being spoken.
With me, I never like accusing anyone of being misled or lying. But I tend to get the feeling that what we were told about May 21st was a misguided message. It seems that his track record and his research is not substantial enough to warrant serious consideration. Needless to say, scripture mentions that we will not know the time, it defeats the purpose of living a life for Christ and living a life of love. So until further notice, continue to live life as if there is no tomorrow.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Those in our care...
This week, I have had two separate thoughts about Christian leadership… one is how we treat those that we have an advantage over and how well we feed those in our care. I will tell both in time, and talk about something that God has been working in me.
As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the book of Matthew. I probably reference it more than any of the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) because I appreciate Matthew’s knowledge of Scripture and his focus on the teachings of Jesus. There is a lot of practical knowledge that can be gleaned from his works. The reading today illustrates Jesus claiming that a child is the greatest of those in heaven, and he talks about children in Matthew 18:1-6.
So lets look at what being like a child means. Jesus describes the child as humble in verse four. That is the one adjective that Jesus uses. When we expand on what it means to be a child, they are almost helpless without their parent. They need someone to protect them and to take care of them. They have no right to be arrogant, prideful, or demanding. They are dependent upon their caretakers. They hold no status, no qualifications, or title. This is no different than many Christians in the church.
The obvious sermon that stems from this verse is saying that we must be humble before God and before others. This is very true! However, I am going to look beyond that and read in verse 5. Verse 5 claims that those that welcome a child welcome Jesus as well, and verse 6 speaks of punishing those that corrupt the children. So this brings us to the two points, how do we talk and how do we take care of those in our care?
Since I have been a Christian, I have noticed that many pastors and leaders tend to overestimate their value to society. They like to think that they are too busy to meet with someone, or only give their time to people that matter in their eyes. I have noticed that consistently, and it bothers me because they become the children that are not welcomed. Jesus ties himself to that child. So when we take the time to acknowledge others and give them value, we are giving value to Jesus as well. This hit me this week as I thought about how “children” could be applied to other Christians as well, or those given authority to us. I am not trying to create new doctrine, I am just submitting this for your consideration!
The second thought that I had was concerning feeding the children. I spoke with a friend yesterday, and she told me that she stopped going to church because she did not like the new teacher at her church. She said that she was not getting anything from the messages, and felt that the new teacher was crass and inappropriate. I told her to keep looking for a church, and that it is much like going to a restaurant. If the chef keeps giving you bad food or food that is not good for you, you find a different chef. He is responsible for feeding you, and that you must find the chef that feeds you properly. I know that someone needs to do their own studying as well, but a pastor is the spiritual chef in which an individual guides their diet.
If an individual leads a younger Christian/child into a life of sin, the punishment is severe. This is why we must always remember that teachers are judged more harshly (James 3:1), and that we must never take our task lightly. Whether we like it or not, people watch us as Christians and judge us or mimic us. My goal is to give people no reason to judge me and be someone worth following. Not for my own glory, but for Christ’s glory and to try and establish a culture of peace and love. That being said, I hope that those that spend time in my life understand that I want to give them the best possible, rather than my left overs.
I have come to realize that after four years of seminary, that I am exhausted. I probably do not live up to the words that I write, but it is my goal to do my best to live up to these words. As I look for a job and a church to work for, I do my best to remember that often times children can still teach me things. In their simplicity, humility, and love, they can speak volumes more than the books in my personal library. It keeps me humble. The life that I signed up for is not a glamorous one being in the ministry, but at the end of the day, I hope that those in my care will know that they mattered to me and that I took care of them the best that I could.
As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the book of Matthew. I probably reference it more than any of the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) because I appreciate Matthew’s knowledge of Scripture and his focus on the teachings of Jesus. There is a lot of practical knowledge that can be gleaned from his works. The reading today illustrates Jesus claiming that a child is the greatest of those in heaven, and he talks about children in Matthew 18:1-6.
So lets look at what being like a child means. Jesus describes the child as humble in verse four. That is the one adjective that Jesus uses. When we expand on what it means to be a child, they are almost helpless without their parent. They need someone to protect them and to take care of them. They have no right to be arrogant, prideful, or demanding. They are dependent upon their caretakers. They hold no status, no qualifications, or title. This is no different than many Christians in the church.
The obvious sermon that stems from this verse is saying that we must be humble before God and before others. This is very true! However, I am going to look beyond that and read in verse 5. Verse 5 claims that those that welcome a child welcome Jesus as well, and verse 6 speaks of punishing those that corrupt the children. So this brings us to the two points, how do we talk and how do we take care of those in our care?
Since I have been a Christian, I have noticed that many pastors and leaders tend to overestimate their value to society. They like to think that they are too busy to meet with someone, or only give their time to people that matter in their eyes. I have noticed that consistently, and it bothers me because they become the children that are not welcomed. Jesus ties himself to that child. So when we take the time to acknowledge others and give them value, we are giving value to Jesus as well. This hit me this week as I thought about how “children” could be applied to other Christians as well, or those given authority to us. I am not trying to create new doctrine, I am just submitting this for your consideration!
The second thought that I had was concerning feeding the children. I spoke with a friend yesterday, and she told me that she stopped going to church because she did not like the new teacher at her church. She said that she was not getting anything from the messages, and felt that the new teacher was crass and inappropriate. I told her to keep looking for a church, and that it is much like going to a restaurant. If the chef keeps giving you bad food or food that is not good for you, you find a different chef. He is responsible for feeding you, and that you must find the chef that feeds you properly. I know that someone needs to do their own studying as well, but a pastor is the spiritual chef in which an individual guides their diet.
If an individual leads a younger Christian/child into a life of sin, the punishment is severe. This is why we must always remember that teachers are judged more harshly (James 3:1), and that we must never take our task lightly. Whether we like it or not, people watch us as Christians and judge us or mimic us. My goal is to give people no reason to judge me and be someone worth following. Not for my own glory, but for Christ’s glory and to try and establish a culture of peace and love. That being said, I hope that those that spend time in my life understand that I want to give them the best possible, rather than my left overs.
I have come to realize that after four years of seminary, that I am exhausted. I probably do not live up to the words that I write, but it is my goal to do my best to live up to these words. As I look for a job and a church to work for, I do my best to remember that often times children can still teach me things. In their simplicity, humility, and love, they can speak volumes more than the books in my personal library. It keeps me humble. The life that I signed up for is not a glamorous one being in the ministry, but at the end of the day, I hope that those in my care will know that they mattered to me and that I took care of them the best that I could.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Thank you and I love you.
Thank you and I love you. How often do you feel those two short phrases but forget to say them; or, do you wish that someone else said them to you? The truth is that we as people tend to feel thankful and loving, yet we often times forget to say that.
The Bible is full of references to giving thanks. David gives thanks 18 times in Psalms, the Gospels reference Jesus giving thanks multiple times, and Paul mentions it a bit in his letters. They thanked God when things went well and they gave thanks in the dark times. What stands out the most to me is how Paul continued to thanks God even when he under went persecution. I know in my life, when I am not doing too hot, I do not think to thank God. I am not bitter at him, but I forget to sit and appreciate the protection and the blessings that he has given me.
One thing that I always try to do is to say "thank you" and mean it. Often times that means that people do not hear me say that enough. I find that I think that they know that I appreciate it, but they sometimes do not realize that. So if you get annoyed with me honestly saying "thank you", then just know I do it because I want you to know that I do appreciate you and what you do. It is better to say it too much than to not say it at all!
When it comes to love, when is the last time that you heard someone tell you that they loved you in a way that was not routine or contrived? A lot of people will say that it is about as uncommon as a handwritten note. Love is one of those strange subjects because even though it is a decision, it is often times mistaken for a feeling. If we do not feel positively towards someone, we often times do not want to say "I love you" since we do not feel it. That, or we do not want to give someone the wrong impression by saying, "I love you." It is also a good way to freak people out, so it is not always the wisest choice of words! None the less, we must be careful about who we say that too, but family definitely need to hear it.
WHen I look at that, someone in my life once told me that I never say that I love them. I told that person that I did not want to cheapen the word, because it may lose meaning and that they know that I love them through my actions. That person responded to me, "It is nice to hear every now and then." That really stuck with me, and that is why I try to let people know.''
Recently I have thought a lot about this subject because I hear a lot of people saying that they do not feel appreciated or do not feel loved. You might be one of them, but I think it is important to understand that it is a team effort. I learned a long time ago that if I wanted someone to call me or email me, I had to call and email them first! It sounds weird, but you can not expect everyone to read your mind and do something for you. If you feel unappreciated or unloved, take the first step and let others know that you appreciate them and love them. Mind you, do not do it in a creepy way, but be thoughtful about it and remind them that they are important.
There is another reason that I talk about this, and that has to do with being counter-cultural. Jesus was counter-cultural, and we are very much the same way today. The life that we try to imitate is not the same life that our media and societal norms agree with. In a world that is so focused on individual achievement and selfish ambition, we must always remember to take care of those around us. If you are thankful and loving just as Christ was, you will be compelled to bless and empower others.
As you go through your week, find one person that you love and one person that you appreciate. If you have not told them recently, take the time to do that. Whether it is an email, a verbal thank you or a handwritten note, let them know what they are important to you and what qualities you appreciate about them. A simple "thank you, you are great" might be okay (though it is vague), but you will probably want to add details into it. Such as, "I always appreciate the way that you _______" That is more direct and they know that you actually took the time to think of something that they did. I hope that you take the time to do this, you will not regret it!
The Bible is full of references to giving thanks. David gives thanks 18 times in Psalms, the Gospels reference Jesus giving thanks multiple times, and Paul mentions it a bit in his letters. They thanked God when things went well and they gave thanks in the dark times. What stands out the most to me is how Paul continued to thanks God even when he under went persecution. I know in my life, when I am not doing too hot, I do not think to thank God. I am not bitter at him, but I forget to sit and appreciate the protection and the blessings that he has given me.
One thing that I always try to do is to say "thank you" and mean it. Often times that means that people do not hear me say that enough. I find that I think that they know that I appreciate it, but they sometimes do not realize that. So if you get annoyed with me honestly saying "thank you", then just know I do it because I want you to know that I do appreciate you and what you do. It is better to say it too much than to not say it at all!
When it comes to love, when is the last time that you heard someone tell you that they loved you in a way that was not routine or contrived? A lot of people will say that it is about as uncommon as a handwritten note. Love is one of those strange subjects because even though it is a decision, it is often times mistaken for a feeling. If we do not feel positively towards someone, we often times do not want to say "I love you" since we do not feel it. That, or we do not want to give someone the wrong impression by saying, "I love you." It is also a good way to freak people out, so it is not always the wisest choice of words! None the less, we must be careful about who we say that too, but family definitely need to hear it.
WHen I look at that, someone in my life once told me that I never say that I love them. I told that person that I did not want to cheapen the word, because it may lose meaning and that they know that I love them through my actions. That person responded to me, "It is nice to hear every now and then." That really stuck with me, and that is why I try to let people know.''
Recently I have thought a lot about this subject because I hear a lot of people saying that they do not feel appreciated or do not feel loved. You might be one of them, but I think it is important to understand that it is a team effort. I learned a long time ago that if I wanted someone to call me or email me, I had to call and email them first! It sounds weird, but you can not expect everyone to read your mind and do something for you. If you feel unappreciated or unloved, take the first step and let others know that you appreciate them and love them. Mind you, do not do it in a creepy way, but be thoughtful about it and remind them that they are important.
There is another reason that I talk about this, and that has to do with being counter-cultural. Jesus was counter-cultural, and we are very much the same way today. The life that we try to imitate is not the same life that our media and societal norms agree with. In a world that is so focused on individual achievement and selfish ambition, we must always remember to take care of those around us. If you are thankful and loving just as Christ was, you will be compelled to bless and empower others.
As you go through your week, find one person that you love and one person that you appreciate. If you have not told them recently, take the time to do that. Whether it is an email, a verbal thank you or a handwritten note, let them know what they are important to you and what qualities you appreciate about them. A simple "thank you, you are great" might be okay (though it is vague), but you will probably want to add details into it. Such as, "I always appreciate the way that you _______" That is more direct and they know that you actually took the time to think of something that they did. I hope that you take the time to do this, you will not regret it!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Ask and You Shall Receive?
I wanted to write about this two weeks ago, but for some reason I decided against it. Strangely enough, we got on this same subject in Sam's (a friend of mine) life group. To me this is an extremely controversial subject that definitely needs to be talked about, especially considering that there are so many prosperity gospel teachers out there that misinterpret this verse.
In 1 John 3:21 & 22, John is writing concerning how we ask for our heart's desires from God, and that we will receive what we ask for. This post is not to criticize any of those pastors that preach a prosperity gospel, instead, it is me trying to help people understand why they may not get EVERYTHING that they want.
I can remember being on a Cleveland Browns forum one day, and the discussion somehow turned into a religious one. One guy said, "There can not be a God. I prayed a few times for certain things to happen, but it never did. I had serious requests, and he did not answer them." Here in lies the problem, Christians in the west have become so accustomed to believing that God works for them, that they forget we work for God.
They also forget that in verse 22, John states "receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him." This is why we have the confidence, because our hearts do not condemn us since we want to do what pleases him. We want to seek his desires. Our hearts desires line up with his hearts desires.
I can remember as a little kid hearing about my Dad having all of these awesome cars before I was born. I can remember I really wanted a Corvette. It is not a sinful desire to want a nice car, but over time it became less important to the point where I really do not want one anymore. It would be great to have a really nice car, but it is not a huge desire of mine that I have to have. I say this because instead of saving for a car like that, I feel more inclined to have a car that it nice but more functional, and that I could invest that money in other needs and be able to give to others.
One thing that I started doing a few years back is to pray that I may see others the way that God sees them. This way I could pray more effectively for them. Another huge topic for me is that I pray for wisdom in everything. I want to try and think like God. Whether it is "do I really need to buy that soda when I could just pack a water bottle" or "should I spend time with this person today?", I learned that when I ask for God's wisdom on my everyday life decisions life tends to go smoother for me. Yes, there are bumps in the road (ref: my life a few weeks ago wrapping up the thesis), but when you seek God's perspective you decipher what is permanent and what is temporal, and you value the permanent.
Now you might ask, "I ask for Godly things, but they do not happen." Ultimately, we do not know why God does what he does. Yes, God can heal cancer, God can raise the dead, God can bring someone to a saving knowledge of himself, but it does not always happen. There are so many factors to why things happen, such as free will. When we seek God's heart, we may not understand why he does what he does, but we have peace in knowing that he wants what is best for us and best for others.
Imagine being a parent with your kid in the candy store, you would love to see your kid happy. But if Junior decides what makes him happy is buying a few meals worth of candy, you know the ramifications of such a decision. You reinforce bad dietary habits since the treat becomes the meal, promote tooth decay, teaches them that they can get whatever they want when they want, and that ultimately he is the center of attention.
God knows that often times our desires can be self destructive, so why would he give us "everything that we want"? This is how he is with us, and that is why John encourages his audience to be confident in asking from God when our will is aligned with his... because he has what is right in mind. So when you think about asking and receiving, remember that God knows what is best for us and for those around us, and that you are in good hands.
In 1 John 3:21 & 22, John is writing concerning how we ask for our heart's desires from God, and that we will receive what we ask for. This post is not to criticize any of those pastors that preach a prosperity gospel, instead, it is me trying to help people understand why they may not get EVERYTHING that they want.
I can remember being on a Cleveland Browns forum one day, and the discussion somehow turned into a religious one. One guy said, "There can not be a God. I prayed a few times for certain things to happen, but it never did. I had serious requests, and he did not answer them." Here in lies the problem, Christians in the west have become so accustomed to believing that God works for them, that they forget we work for God.
They also forget that in verse 22, John states "receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him." This is why we have the confidence, because our hearts do not condemn us since we want to do what pleases him. We want to seek his desires. Our hearts desires line up with his hearts desires.
I can remember as a little kid hearing about my Dad having all of these awesome cars before I was born. I can remember I really wanted a Corvette. It is not a sinful desire to want a nice car, but over time it became less important to the point where I really do not want one anymore. It would be great to have a really nice car, but it is not a huge desire of mine that I have to have. I say this because instead of saving for a car like that, I feel more inclined to have a car that it nice but more functional, and that I could invest that money in other needs and be able to give to others.
One thing that I started doing a few years back is to pray that I may see others the way that God sees them. This way I could pray more effectively for them. Another huge topic for me is that I pray for wisdom in everything. I want to try and think like God. Whether it is "do I really need to buy that soda when I could just pack a water bottle" or "should I spend time with this person today?", I learned that when I ask for God's wisdom on my everyday life decisions life tends to go smoother for me. Yes, there are bumps in the road (ref: my life a few weeks ago wrapping up the thesis), but when you seek God's perspective you decipher what is permanent and what is temporal, and you value the permanent.
Now you might ask, "I ask for Godly things, but they do not happen." Ultimately, we do not know why God does what he does. Yes, God can heal cancer, God can raise the dead, God can bring someone to a saving knowledge of himself, but it does not always happen. There are so many factors to why things happen, such as free will. When we seek God's heart, we may not understand why he does what he does, but we have peace in knowing that he wants what is best for us and best for others.
Imagine being a parent with your kid in the candy store, you would love to see your kid happy. But if Junior decides what makes him happy is buying a few meals worth of candy, you know the ramifications of such a decision. You reinforce bad dietary habits since the treat becomes the meal, promote tooth decay, teaches them that they can get whatever they want when they want, and that ultimately he is the center of attention.
God knows that often times our desires can be self destructive, so why would he give us "everything that we want"? This is how he is with us, and that is why John encourages his audience to be confident in asking from God when our will is aligned with his... because he has what is right in mind. So when you think about asking and receiving, remember that God knows what is best for us and for those around us, and that you are in good hands.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Respecting Gods Gift
There has been a reoccurring theme in the past few months of my life. I keep meeting people who ask me or talk to me about trying to figure out why God allowed certain events or relationships to happen, especially when things go really bad and people get damaged beyond repair.
Last week I talked about how Satan can play into controversies, but I never really explained why God allows things to happen. I think the bottom line answer is we will never know, but there are a few things that I have found in my life that have helped shape me and I am going to talk about that.
In my life, I have found that part of the reason that I want to become a pastor is because I have had horrible experiences in the past. Instead of choosing to wallow in self-pity, I decided to be the change and do my best to be the leader that Christians deserve. I learned that it is not acceptable to demand perfection out of those under me, I learned that sound doctrine and sound teaching is so crucial, it is not acceptable to judge people or stereotype people, and I learned that it is so important to understand people as individuals. If I was at healthy churches my entire life, I would have taken all that for granted. But instead, I learned first hand what is important. Also, if I was naturally gifted with speech and knowledge and did not struggle with the disorders that I did, I think that I would not respect the ability to get up and give sermons or teach people.
The second part of this concept is why God allows bad relationships to happen. This can be work, personal, leadership, or any other time in which people relate. I have heard people talk with me about this a lot recently. Unfortunately, the Bible tends to do a horrible job concerning relationships, so we kind of have to figure this stuff out for ourselves. People will ask, "why did God allow me to date/marry this person if he knew that we were not going to make it?" I came to realize that often times we get ourselves into relationships that are not healthy, or the person is not necessarily healthy. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way. Other times relationships just end, but we feel like we just wasted months of our lives figuring that one out.
What I have to say to that is, no, you did not waste your time. When you finally meet that person that you are supposed to marry, I think you will have a heck of a lot more respect for the awesome person that you end up with. I have been in some pretty bad situations in the past, but I can not tell you enough how appreciative I feel when I am with someone who is emotionally healthy. I do not take that for granted. Yes, relationships can be hard and there will be tension, but there is a difference between going through life with someone who truly loves you and keeps your heart in check verses someone who is self-centered in times of crisis. You learn a lot about people in times of crisis, and if they care about you they will make sure that your heart is safe.
So as I close, I want you to remember that even though you are going through trials, try to understand that what you are going through today maybe something to prepare you for tomorrow. Whether it is a bigger obstacle to overcome or if it is someone or something that will be greater than you imagined, we sometimes go through things in life so that we may have a better respect for God's gift.
Last week I talked about how Satan can play into controversies, but I never really explained why God allows things to happen. I think the bottom line answer is we will never know, but there are a few things that I have found in my life that have helped shape me and I am going to talk about that.
In my life, I have found that part of the reason that I want to become a pastor is because I have had horrible experiences in the past. Instead of choosing to wallow in self-pity, I decided to be the change and do my best to be the leader that Christians deserve. I learned that it is not acceptable to demand perfection out of those under me, I learned that sound doctrine and sound teaching is so crucial, it is not acceptable to judge people or stereotype people, and I learned that it is so important to understand people as individuals. If I was at healthy churches my entire life, I would have taken all that for granted. But instead, I learned first hand what is important. Also, if I was naturally gifted with speech and knowledge and did not struggle with the disorders that I did, I think that I would not respect the ability to get up and give sermons or teach people.
The second part of this concept is why God allows bad relationships to happen. This can be work, personal, leadership, or any other time in which people relate. I have heard people talk with me about this a lot recently. Unfortunately, the Bible tends to do a horrible job concerning relationships, so we kind of have to figure this stuff out for ourselves. People will ask, "why did God allow me to date/marry this person if he knew that we were not going to make it?" I came to realize that often times we get ourselves into relationships that are not healthy, or the person is not necessarily healthy. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way. Other times relationships just end, but we feel like we just wasted months of our lives figuring that one out.
What I have to say to that is, no, you did not waste your time. When you finally meet that person that you are supposed to marry, I think you will have a heck of a lot more respect for the awesome person that you end up with. I have been in some pretty bad situations in the past, but I can not tell you enough how appreciative I feel when I am with someone who is emotionally healthy. I do not take that for granted. Yes, relationships can be hard and there will be tension, but there is a difference between going through life with someone who truly loves you and keeps your heart in check verses someone who is self-centered in times of crisis. You learn a lot about people in times of crisis, and if they care about you they will make sure that your heart is safe.
So as I close, I want you to remember that even though you are going through trials, try to understand that what you are going through today maybe something to prepare you for tomorrow. Whether it is a bigger obstacle to overcome or if it is someone or something that will be greater than you imagined, we sometimes go through things in life so that we may have a better respect for God's gift.
Monday, April 25, 2011
What Causes Trials?
Before we get started... I AM DONE WITH DIVINITY SCHOOL!!!!!!! Okay, I had to get that out of my system. But it is actually a pretty good segue for what I am talking about today. In the midst of wrapping up my divinity school career and in light of the easter season, I have been thinking a lot about the trials that we go through... and no. I am not trying to liken myself to Jesus, no worries =)
This final semester in school has been horribly tough for me. Between getting sick, injured, my computer crashing, my car breaking, identity theft, and trying to do two jobs, ministry, and three classes, I about crashed a few times. Especially last week when my thesis was due. I could have done my job, ministry and school no problem, but everything else seemed to come out of no where and it happened in a freakishly weird fashion.
This makes me wonder: What is it that causes trials in our lives? Is it God testing us? Is it Satan testing us? Is it a natural course of events? Is it a result of our own sin? Is it all of the above? It is difficult to answer.
So when I look at the life of Jesus, he HAD to die for us. Yes, he willingly took it upon himself, but as he prayed in Matthew 26:39 in the garden of Gethsemane it was obvious that he did not like the idea. I also think of how his disciples (with exception to John) were executed for their faith. It was not like they were doing anything truly heinous, they were helping the hurting, healing the sick, casting out demons, etc. So why did they face trials if they were righteous? The truth is, that often times it is doing God's will that draws the wrath of Hell.
A professor shared with our class a few weeks ago that often times you can tell the magnitude of an event by the amount of spiritual warfare involved with the circumstance. I am paraphrasing what she said, but it gets the point across. In my life, I have had a significant amount of spiritual warfare lately. The reason why I received it is because I was doing what was right. I realized these past few years it has been the same way. When I became a chaplain candidate, it took 13 months when it should have been a two month process... and yes, I received a lot of negativity for my pursuit.
I also had to think back to Easter eight years ago. It was probably the darkest year of my life. I had a lot of things go wrong (enough to overwhelm a normal human) and I about gave up on my faith. The next year, everything crystalized for me and I found my calling. So what I realized was that Satan was trying to come against me and destroy me before I could reach my potential.
So this is what I want to leave you with this week, when you receive trials that seem out of the ordinary, know that someone is trying to stop you. Someone who fears what you may become. And never forget Psalm 91.
This final semester in school has been horribly tough for me. Between getting sick, injured, my computer crashing, my car breaking, identity theft, and trying to do two jobs, ministry, and three classes, I about crashed a few times. Especially last week when my thesis was due. I could have done my job, ministry and school no problem, but everything else seemed to come out of no where and it happened in a freakishly weird fashion.
This makes me wonder: What is it that causes trials in our lives? Is it God testing us? Is it Satan testing us? Is it a natural course of events? Is it a result of our own sin? Is it all of the above? It is difficult to answer.
So when I look at the life of Jesus, he HAD to die for us. Yes, he willingly took it upon himself, but as he prayed in Matthew 26:39 in the garden of Gethsemane it was obvious that he did not like the idea. I also think of how his disciples (with exception to John) were executed for their faith. It was not like they were doing anything truly heinous, they were helping the hurting, healing the sick, casting out demons, etc. So why did they face trials if they were righteous? The truth is, that often times it is doing God's will that draws the wrath of Hell.
A professor shared with our class a few weeks ago that often times you can tell the magnitude of an event by the amount of spiritual warfare involved with the circumstance. I am paraphrasing what she said, but it gets the point across. In my life, I have had a significant amount of spiritual warfare lately. The reason why I received it is because I was doing what was right. I realized these past few years it has been the same way. When I became a chaplain candidate, it took 13 months when it should have been a two month process... and yes, I received a lot of negativity for my pursuit.
I also had to think back to Easter eight years ago. It was probably the darkest year of my life. I had a lot of things go wrong (enough to overwhelm a normal human) and I about gave up on my faith. The next year, everything crystalized for me and I found my calling. So what I realized was that Satan was trying to come against me and destroy me before I could reach my potential.
So this is what I want to leave you with this week, when you receive trials that seem out of the ordinary, know that someone is trying to stop you. Someone who fears what you may become. And never forget Psalm 91.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
What Sports Taught Me About Religion
It is not often that I get ideas that combine two of my favorite things to talk about, but I think I hit the jackpot today! As March Madness winds down and football approaches draft time, I get excited because the sports world is abuzz with all sorts young guys who are finishing their college careers and have aspirations of going pro. This is one of the two most important times for General Managers (GM) in sports.
Being a long suffering Clevelander I am, I get especially excited as we mutter phrases such as “wait for next year” and “this coaching staff will be different.” More often than not, the regimes are very much the same.
When I look back at the past few years of the Cleveland Browns, I find that they always hire bad GMs. One major role of the GM is to find the right players to fit the system of the coach, who they trust will be successful in said system. The past few people with the Browns did not do that, which is why they are not very successful. One of them had a tendency and get talented players irregardless of the system that they are familiar with, which did not work since they were not good in the Cleveland system. The other one brought in an excessive number of guys that he was familiar with, even though they were mediocre. In the process, he retarded the growth or got rid of guys who could have helped the team, but he did not know them. So you now understand why the Browns are not so good.
I find that the church is similar. If we as leaders do not make a concerted effort to bring up people under us who could be successful in a system that they are good at, then we will be hurting the efforts of the church.
In my Spiritual Formation class, we have been learning about living in your strengths rather than your weakness. One illustration that I really liked from class last week was the idea of writing with your weaker hand. If I spent my life writing with my left hand all the time, yes, you would know what I am writing, but it is not as natural as my right hand. Living in your strength is much the same.
This is why I have always been committed to helping someone figure out who they are. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pastors out there who should not be pastors. Even in the church, there are people who want to be doing something but it is not their strength. When I become a pastor, my hope is that I will be able to see what individuals are capable of and be able to provide them with the leadership they need to become the best at what they are good at.
When I think of this, I think about how Jesus’ ministry worked. The twelve disciples that he picked were not the elite religious leaders of the day, but they had their purposes with in the group. They did not need to be elite for that time, because God was bringing “fools” to humble the “wise”. They also had Jesus to immitate, so that was extremely helpful. They also used his teachings and the Old Testament to keep them on track.
This is why I want to encourage leaders to be careful about who you bring in to ministry. The collateral damage can be severe, I know because I have been on the receiving end of misplaced leaders. Meanwhile, if you are reading this today and have no intention of being a leader in the church, do two things for me. Take the time to understand your unique abilities, and make sure that whoever is over you knows what they are doing so that you may grow properly.
Just like my team that starts out with great hope but always falls short, churches that are not have wise leadership will not get very far. Lets be concerted about helping those around us reach their full potential at what they are good at.
Being a long suffering Clevelander I am, I get especially excited as we mutter phrases such as “wait for next year” and “this coaching staff will be different.” More often than not, the regimes are very much the same.
When I look back at the past few years of the Cleveland Browns, I find that they always hire bad GMs. One major role of the GM is to find the right players to fit the system of the coach, who they trust will be successful in said system. The past few people with the Browns did not do that, which is why they are not very successful. One of them had a tendency and get talented players irregardless of the system that they are familiar with, which did not work since they were not good in the Cleveland system. The other one brought in an excessive number of guys that he was familiar with, even though they were mediocre. In the process, he retarded the growth or got rid of guys who could have helped the team, but he did not know them. So you now understand why the Browns are not so good.
I find that the church is similar. If we as leaders do not make a concerted effort to bring up people under us who could be successful in a system that they are good at, then we will be hurting the efforts of the church.
In my Spiritual Formation class, we have been learning about living in your strengths rather than your weakness. One illustration that I really liked from class last week was the idea of writing with your weaker hand. If I spent my life writing with my left hand all the time, yes, you would know what I am writing, but it is not as natural as my right hand. Living in your strength is much the same.
This is why I have always been committed to helping someone figure out who they are. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pastors out there who should not be pastors. Even in the church, there are people who want to be doing something but it is not their strength. When I become a pastor, my hope is that I will be able to see what individuals are capable of and be able to provide them with the leadership they need to become the best at what they are good at.
When I think of this, I think about how Jesus’ ministry worked. The twelve disciples that he picked were not the elite religious leaders of the day, but they had their purposes with in the group. They did not need to be elite for that time, because God was bringing “fools” to humble the “wise”. They also had Jesus to immitate, so that was extremely helpful. They also used his teachings and the Old Testament to keep them on track.
This is why I want to encourage leaders to be careful about who you bring in to ministry. The collateral damage can be severe, I know because I have been on the receiving end of misplaced leaders. Meanwhile, if you are reading this today and have no intention of being a leader in the church, do two things for me. Take the time to understand your unique abilities, and make sure that whoever is over you knows what they are doing so that you may grow properly.
Just like my team that starts out with great hope but always falls short, churches that are not have wise leadership will not get very far. Lets be concerted about helping those around us reach their full potential at what they are good at.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Am I Worth Reading?
Let me start out by asking this… if you had to read your life as a story to someone, would it be worth reading?
If all of our lives were told as stories and we were characters in our stories, I think it would be interesting. Would you be the character that lives to provide for the good of others or will you be the character that does not want to do anything uncomfortable? Will you be a character filled with travels and adventures that most dream about or will you be the one dreaming that you wish you could have done that? Will you be able recount some of the awesome people that you have met and helped shape your life and that you helped shape them, or will you just talk about celebrity gossip?
I thought about this a while ago. If Jesus just stayed where he was and just sacrificed himself on the cross without healing, teaching, and doing miracles, that would have been a boring story. But instead, we have four different accounts of his life that highlight four different perspectives. He did some pretty awesome things, and if it was never written, we would not have known about it. We are the same way. If we do not talk about the amazing things that God is doing in our lives and we do try and engage the world that we live in, our lives will be bland. People will fall asleep reading our books!
So what I want to encourage you to do today is to step out and live your life like it is a book worth reading. People love stories. They love to hear how God impacted you, how you met your spouse, what foreign places you have seen, etc. But you can never have those stories if all you do is sit at home and watch TV and let the rest of the world pass you by. Now is the time to take a job you always wanted. Now is the time to do something you never thought you would do. Now is the time to get to know someone you always thought was interesting (not always relational). The point is, you have to get out and do something.
In order to include people into your life, you have to have a life to speak of. So let me ask you again, if you had to read your life as a story to someone, would it be worth reading?
If all of our lives were told as stories and we were characters in our stories, I think it would be interesting. Would you be the character that lives to provide for the good of others or will you be the character that does not want to do anything uncomfortable? Will you be a character filled with travels and adventures that most dream about or will you be the one dreaming that you wish you could have done that? Will you be able recount some of the awesome people that you have met and helped shape your life and that you helped shape them, or will you just talk about celebrity gossip?
I thought about this a while ago. If Jesus just stayed where he was and just sacrificed himself on the cross without healing, teaching, and doing miracles, that would have been a boring story. But instead, we have four different accounts of his life that highlight four different perspectives. He did some pretty awesome things, and if it was never written, we would not have known about it. We are the same way. If we do not talk about the amazing things that God is doing in our lives and we do try and engage the world that we live in, our lives will be bland. People will fall asleep reading our books!
So what I want to encourage you to do today is to step out and live your life like it is a book worth reading. People love stories. They love to hear how God impacted you, how you met your spouse, what foreign places you have seen, etc. But you can never have those stories if all you do is sit at home and watch TV and let the rest of the world pass you by. Now is the time to take a job you always wanted. Now is the time to do something you never thought you would do. Now is the time to get to know someone you always thought was interesting (not always relational). The point is, you have to get out and do something.
In order to include people into your life, you have to have a life to speak of. So let me ask you again, if you had to read your life as a story to someone, would it be worth reading?
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Can I Take Care of What I Have Already?
This idea just came to my head about ten minutes ago. I was thinking about buying something, and then I thought “have I even been a good steward of what I have already?” This stopped me in my tracks, and I realized that I could be quite a bit better than I already am.
When we look at scriptures, one of the most prominent stories is the one about the faithful servants in Matthew. In this story, the master rewards the faithful servants for what they have done with their talents (money unit, not actual talents, but it works well for correlation). Meanwhile, the servant that buries his money gets punished for not trying to utilize the talent (mind you, he had just one talent, compared to 5 and 10 like the other two).
I think about my life in the same way. I have been given a certain amount of resources, and God wants me to utilize those. When we prove to ourselves that we are good keepers of those resources, we will have the confidence to use more resources wisely.
When I look at this parable, know that the two with more talents were given the amount that they were probably because they were reliable in the past. The way the master blasts the one talent servant is telling for a few reasons…
-he was given one talent for a reason, because it was low risk, meaning that he did not want to risk too much on that servant.
-he did not understand the master, because the master looked for effort, results were secondary.
-fear clouded his vision, as he mentioned the master as being harsh.
With this in mind, am I a good steward of what I have? I have been thinking a lot about this subject, and how it plays into my life. If I can not take care of the money that I have right now and if I blow it on stupid things, why should I be trusted with more money? I am fairly low maintenance, but I know that I could be more frugal.
What about marriage? People talk about it all the time, but I often wonder why they want it so bad. If they feel that entitled that they deserve a particular person and are that impatient about it, what makes you think that they will be selfless and patient with another person? Can we take care of our own hearts, let alone the heart of another person’s entrusted to us? Needless to say, being a steward of another person/family is a heck of a lot different than being single. Right now, I have shown that I am mature enough but I am not sure that I have the time with school or a job that can support my family. When I demonstrate that I can take care of myself, then I will feel confident that I can take care of others.
What about where I live? Yes, it would be nice to have a big new house, but do I really need it? Can I afford it? Isn’t a used house just as good? Am I able to take care of the apartment/room that I am living at currently? This goes the same for churches. Do you really need a brand new huge building, or is it more of a want? As a friend of mine said, “God must only be in new buildings, because so many churches are trying to build new ones.” There is a lot of danger in this idea, as I have seen first hand with a church almost lost its building since the congregation shrunk to the point they could not sustain their payments. Houses and churches are very similar in that case, and the best way to avoid foreclosure is to live within your means. With me, I hope to buy a used church (ie, The Catholic church is closing buildings left and right) to run my church out of. As for a home, if I ever owned a big house it would be so that I could run ministry out of it. Then again, I grew up in a small home and have lived in dorm rooms or other people’s houses for the past 11 years, so “big” might actually be small for all I know! But right now, I have to be a good steward of my education so that I may get a job so that I may afford the luxury of a house.
What about my education? Yes, I get good grades. But am I am able to translate it from book smarts to practical smarts? Am I dedicated to learning even if a grade is not on the line? Honestly, I do not have any guarantees that I can get a job when I get out of Divinity school. I am confident that I will be able to, even if it does not pay. But If I am faithful with a small job, that will lead to a bigger job.
I just included a few topics above, but I think it is great food for thought. If we can not take care of a few trees in the orchard, why do we expect that he will let us have the entire orchard? I definitely do not want that responsibility. Some people might feel that I am not leaving room for the Holy Spirit to do great things, but I plan so that if the miraculous does not happen, that I can still execute what I feel is God’s plan. But at the end of the day, when calls on me to give account for what he has entrusted me with, I hope he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
When we look at scriptures, one of the most prominent stories is the one about the faithful servants in Matthew. In this story, the master rewards the faithful servants for what they have done with their talents (money unit, not actual talents, but it works well for correlation). Meanwhile, the servant that buries his money gets punished for not trying to utilize the talent (mind you, he had just one talent, compared to 5 and 10 like the other two).
I think about my life in the same way. I have been given a certain amount of resources, and God wants me to utilize those. When we prove to ourselves that we are good keepers of those resources, we will have the confidence to use more resources wisely.
When I look at this parable, know that the two with more talents were given the amount that they were probably because they were reliable in the past. The way the master blasts the one talent servant is telling for a few reasons…
-he was given one talent for a reason, because it was low risk, meaning that he did not want to risk too much on that servant.
-he did not understand the master, because the master looked for effort, results were secondary.
-fear clouded his vision, as he mentioned the master as being harsh.
With this in mind, am I a good steward of what I have? I have been thinking a lot about this subject, and how it plays into my life. If I can not take care of the money that I have right now and if I blow it on stupid things, why should I be trusted with more money? I am fairly low maintenance, but I know that I could be more frugal.
What about marriage? People talk about it all the time, but I often wonder why they want it so bad. If they feel that entitled that they deserve a particular person and are that impatient about it, what makes you think that they will be selfless and patient with another person? Can we take care of our own hearts, let alone the heart of another person’s entrusted to us? Needless to say, being a steward of another person/family is a heck of a lot different than being single. Right now, I have shown that I am mature enough but I am not sure that I have the time with school or a job that can support my family. When I demonstrate that I can take care of myself, then I will feel confident that I can take care of others.
What about where I live? Yes, it would be nice to have a big new house, but do I really need it? Can I afford it? Isn’t a used house just as good? Am I able to take care of the apartment/room that I am living at currently? This goes the same for churches. Do you really need a brand new huge building, or is it more of a want? As a friend of mine said, “God must only be in new buildings, because so many churches are trying to build new ones.” There is a lot of danger in this idea, as I have seen first hand with a church almost lost its building since the congregation shrunk to the point they could not sustain their payments. Houses and churches are very similar in that case, and the best way to avoid foreclosure is to live within your means. With me, I hope to buy a used church (ie, The Catholic church is closing buildings left and right) to run my church out of. As for a home, if I ever owned a big house it would be so that I could run ministry out of it. Then again, I grew up in a small home and have lived in dorm rooms or other people’s houses for the past 11 years, so “big” might actually be small for all I know! But right now, I have to be a good steward of my education so that I may get a job so that I may afford the luxury of a house.
What about my education? Yes, I get good grades. But am I am able to translate it from book smarts to practical smarts? Am I dedicated to learning even if a grade is not on the line? Honestly, I do not have any guarantees that I can get a job when I get out of Divinity school. I am confident that I will be able to, even if it does not pay. But If I am faithful with a small job, that will lead to a bigger job.
I just included a few topics above, but I think it is great food for thought. If we can not take care of a few trees in the orchard, why do we expect that he will let us have the entire orchard? I definitely do not want that responsibility. Some people might feel that I am not leaving room for the Holy Spirit to do great things, but I plan so that if the miraculous does not happen, that I can still execute what I feel is God’s plan. But at the end of the day, when calls on me to give account for what he has entrusted me with, I hope he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Condemnation or Conviction?
So one day I was standing outside of my house, and my neighbor walks up to me. Mind you, she did not know me very well, but she thought that she was doing me the biggest favor in the world.
“I do not know where you stand with Jesus, but you should have this.” She commented to me, as she handed me a small booklet with what appeared to be people walking into hell. A bible tract! Not sure how to respond, I looked at her quizzically and then handed it back.
“Thank you very much, but I am a Christian. I actually go to school at Regent and am studying theology. You could probably give this to someone else.” I replied, trying to be as polite as possible. But the short Latino lady wanted nothing to do with my excuses.
“That means that you should take this! It would not hurt as a refresher.” Dumbfounded, I took her doom and gloom tract, wished her well and promptly placed it in my car. Her resolve grew stronger knowing that I was a student at Regent.
I got into my car, and thought about how we are perceived as Christians. In general, I can understand why people would not want to come to church. My mind begins to shift to the way in which the evangelists at the Virginia Beach oceanfront operate. I remember a time in which I witnessed them up on boxes telling homosexuals that they are going to hell. I was very torn in the moment as I watched the crowd heckling the men who were condemning them. They were teaching from the Bible, but there was no love or grace in the message, just condemnation.
So now I wonder, if this is all that a homosexual knew of Christians, why would he or she want to go to any church? The answer is they wouldn’t, because they figure that they would get yelled at about their lifestyle. There are few things that feel worse than putting yourself out there to meet new people and getting rejected before they even get to know you. Logically, it makes sense that they would be preemptive and avoid getting rejected and feeling condemned before it starts.
I also think of people who have had hardships or made bad choices. Someone who has had an abortion will probably keep her choice a secret if she went to church, or she would just avoid church all together to avoid any situations. I am glad that churches are now trying to help these people, instead of simply protesting and making the person feel worthless. They have worth, but they just made a bad choice.
As the church becomes increasingly aligned with the Republican Party, how would a Democrat feel in a church that is very pro-republican? I have heard too many people claim that Democrats can not be Christian, and I find that assumption to be insulting. I have known many Christians who were democrats, and they did not support every idea. Having grown up in a swing state, I understand how it would be a dangerous move to endorse one side fully and risk ostracizing the other. From another perspective, if an anti-Democrat message were spoken in Chicago, where the Democrats have dominated for years, that pastor would ostracize a lot of people.
I guess what this comes down to is whether we are condemning people or convicting them. Jesus convicted people, through his actions they were compelled to leave their self-destructive life styles behind. Matthew/Levi was practically a thief, Simon the Zealot was a religious extremist, and chances are Simon would have wanted to kill Matthew due to his affiliation with the Roman government. That is the power of Christ convicting them.
Condemnation, on the other hand takes someone’s hope and makes them feel as if they are not good enough. If someone feels as if they can not add up, they will try to get as far away as possible.
One of the greatest indicators is how we feel when we walk away from someone. If you feel drained and worthless, chances are you were not convicted. If you feel hopeful, then more than likely you were convicted. Conviction is not always pleasant, because sometimes the pruning that happens in our lives is not always the best. But in the end, it is for our growth and our health. I have learned that from experience. So in closing, can we remain committed to helping give people life, instead of giving them death?
“I do not know where you stand with Jesus, but you should have this.” She commented to me, as she handed me a small booklet with what appeared to be people walking into hell. A bible tract! Not sure how to respond, I looked at her quizzically and then handed it back.
“Thank you very much, but I am a Christian. I actually go to school at Regent and am studying theology. You could probably give this to someone else.” I replied, trying to be as polite as possible. But the short Latino lady wanted nothing to do with my excuses.
“That means that you should take this! It would not hurt as a refresher.” Dumbfounded, I took her doom and gloom tract, wished her well and promptly placed it in my car. Her resolve grew stronger knowing that I was a student at Regent.
I got into my car, and thought about how we are perceived as Christians. In general, I can understand why people would not want to come to church. My mind begins to shift to the way in which the evangelists at the Virginia Beach oceanfront operate. I remember a time in which I witnessed them up on boxes telling homosexuals that they are going to hell. I was very torn in the moment as I watched the crowd heckling the men who were condemning them. They were teaching from the Bible, but there was no love or grace in the message, just condemnation.
So now I wonder, if this is all that a homosexual knew of Christians, why would he or she want to go to any church? The answer is they wouldn’t, because they figure that they would get yelled at about their lifestyle. There are few things that feel worse than putting yourself out there to meet new people and getting rejected before they even get to know you. Logically, it makes sense that they would be preemptive and avoid getting rejected and feeling condemned before it starts.
I also think of people who have had hardships or made bad choices. Someone who has had an abortion will probably keep her choice a secret if she went to church, or she would just avoid church all together to avoid any situations. I am glad that churches are now trying to help these people, instead of simply protesting and making the person feel worthless. They have worth, but they just made a bad choice.
As the church becomes increasingly aligned with the Republican Party, how would a Democrat feel in a church that is very pro-republican? I have heard too many people claim that Democrats can not be Christian, and I find that assumption to be insulting. I have known many Christians who were democrats, and they did not support every idea. Having grown up in a swing state, I understand how it would be a dangerous move to endorse one side fully and risk ostracizing the other. From another perspective, if an anti-Democrat message were spoken in Chicago, where the Democrats have dominated for years, that pastor would ostracize a lot of people.
I guess what this comes down to is whether we are condemning people or convicting them. Jesus convicted people, through his actions they were compelled to leave their self-destructive life styles behind. Matthew/Levi was practically a thief, Simon the Zealot was a religious extremist, and chances are Simon would have wanted to kill Matthew due to his affiliation with the Roman government. That is the power of Christ convicting them.
Condemnation, on the other hand takes someone’s hope and makes them feel as if they are not good enough. If someone feels as if they can not add up, they will try to get as far away as possible.
One of the greatest indicators is how we feel when we walk away from someone. If you feel drained and worthless, chances are you were not convicted. If you feel hopeful, then more than likely you were convicted. Conviction is not always pleasant, because sometimes the pruning that happens in our lives is not always the best. But in the end, it is for our growth and our health. I have learned that from experience. So in closing, can we remain committed to helping give people life, instead of giving them death?
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Junk in the Trunk
One thing that I have always tried to do is meet the practical needs of my friends. It is something that I genuinely take pleasure in doing. The basis of this story involves me helping a friend who had a practical need. She did not have a car, so I asked her if she would like to borrow mine to get groceries. She agreed, and I let her borrow my car for a few hours so she could run to Wal-Mart.
As I met her at her apartment, we began to unload my car. Much to my dismay, I saw her pop open my trunk. “NO!” I thought to myself, as I saw her groceries neatly tucked in around all the random junk in my trunk. I immediately became apologetic and said that I was sorry that she had to see that mess.
“Whatever, dude. It’s your trunk.” She said to me, probably confused at my reaction to her seeing my messy trunk. We went inside and loaded everything into her refrigerator and then went to meet our friends. I eventually calmed down about her seeing my trunk, and I began to think about how ridiculous my thought was.
Looking back, I can now see how our lives are sort of that way. I tend to put my stuff that I do not want people to see in my trunk, and keep the main part of my car clean. Out of sight, out of mind. But if someone were to open up my trunk, they would see what I really have. It can be scary at times, and I felt vulnerable when I realized that she could see my mess. She did not care that I had junk in there, she was just happy that I loaned her my car and she was grateful for that.
I have to think about my own trunk now, and realize that I accumulate a lot of “stuff” in there. Some of it is mine and I bring it in there, but a lot of it are things that others put in there and I have to remove. The first question that I have to ask is, “can we sort out what is not our from what is ours?” When I begin to look at my trunk, I find that a lot of the garbage was placed there by other people.
What I have done over the past few years is find ways to leave behind that stuff when I find it. I identify whose baggage it really is, and then give it back to them or dispose of it. Our cars do not run as efficiently when they are loaded up.
The other detail is that I had a friend who reacted kindly to my mess. Do we have people in our lives that can look at our mess, and still hang around? More so, if you need them, can they help you sort out the mess and send it back to the rightful owner? Often times, we feel like we have to have everything together and in order or else people will look down on us. The truth is, that some people will do it. But they are not true friends. They have their own junk that they have to get rid of! We all have stuff back there, so no one is above another person. It might look different, but it is all junk.
Finally, do you have the courage to go to the back and sort out what is back there? It is easy to pop the trunk, and throw something in there without looking. But we all know what happens to something in dark areas, it begins to get worse. That is why it is important to be careful of what you put into your trunk, and to keep it clean. It can be embarrassing or painful at times to do it, but remember that you will feel a lot better about yourself after it is done.
So if you have free time this week, my hope is that you can do an inventory of your trunk, and try to identify what needs to be there and what does not need to be there. It is always interesting to see!
As I met her at her apartment, we began to unload my car. Much to my dismay, I saw her pop open my trunk. “NO!” I thought to myself, as I saw her groceries neatly tucked in around all the random junk in my trunk. I immediately became apologetic and said that I was sorry that she had to see that mess.
“Whatever, dude. It’s your trunk.” She said to me, probably confused at my reaction to her seeing my messy trunk. We went inside and loaded everything into her refrigerator and then went to meet our friends. I eventually calmed down about her seeing my trunk, and I began to think about how ridiculous my thought was.
Looking back, I can now see how our lives are sort of that way. I tend to put my stuff that I do not want people to see in my trunk, and keep the main part of my car clean. Out of sight, out of mind. But if someone were to open up my trunk, they would see what I really have. It can be scary at times, and I felt vulnerable when I realized that she could see my mess. She did not care that I had junk in there, she was just happy that I loaned her my car and she was grateful for that.
I have to think about my own trunk now, and realize that I accumulate a lot of “stuff” in there. Some of it is mine and I bring it in there, but a lot of it are things that others put in there and I have to remove. The first question that I have to ask is, “can we sort out what is not our from what is ours?” When I begin to look at my trunk, I find that a lot of the garbage was placed there by other people.
What I have done over the past few years is find ways to leave behind that stuff when I find it. I identify whose baggage it really is, and then give it back to them or dispose of it. Our cars do not run as efficiently when they are loaded up.
The other detail is that I had a friend who reacted kindly to my mess. Do we have people in our lives that can look at our mess, and still hang around? More so, if you need them, can they help you sort out the mess and send it back to the rightful owner? Often times, we feel like we have to have everything together and in order or else people will look down on us. The truth is, that some people will do it. But they are not true friends. They have their own junk that they have to get rid of! We all have stuff back there, so no one is above another person. It might look different, but it is all junk.
Finally, do you have the courage to go to the back and sort out what is back there? It is easy to pop the trunk, and throw something in there without looking. But we all know what happens to something in dark areas, it begins to get worse. That is why it is important to be careful of what you put into your trunk, and to keep it clean. It can be embarrassing or painful at times to do it, but remember that you will feel a lot better about yourself after it is done.
So if you have free time this week, my hope is that you can do an inventory of your trunk, and try to identify what needs to be there and what does not need to be there. It is always interesting to see!
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