I would really be happy to be able to post how great of a morning that I am having and how wonderful things are. Obviously they aren't great. The thing is that I realize that its not like I am physically hurting or really even in all that much discomfort. My body aches a little, but thats from moving boxes yesterday. I don't feel all that clean, but thats due to being unable to take a shower this morning. Those are little minor things. But, for some reason, we often let these things shape our day.
Yes, I was upset and still a little annoyed that our gas got cut off 4 days before it was supposed to due to a clerical error. It messed with my routine. I didn't get to wake up, jump in the shower and feel like starting the day. I felt like just jumping back into bed. I wanted to get a redo on the day. I called and now I have to leave work for some time and get the gas turned back on, again being an inconvenience that I am not all that happy about. And this is all something that I didn't do anything wrong to create. I did everything right. We paid our bill as it was due, we called and got it set to be turned off at a time when it wouldn't be a problem. But still its shaping my day. Why do I let it? I thought about this on the way in to work this morning. As I drove, I thought about how while I might think right now that this is so important, tomorrow I probably won't even think about it. I will get in the shower and do my normal routine. Next week, the thought of not getting to take a shower in the morning won't even cross my mind. So, really, how important is this?
I am probably one of the worst offenders of this, getting upset over such small things. But, I recognize that. It doesn't always keep my mouth in check, but it does make me stop and pray. I might never get to where I am immune to these little annoyances, but I can allow God's love rather than my reaction shape my day.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Here or Heaven?
I realize that it has been a pretty long time since I got on here. I would love to say that its been because that I have just been too busy. But, more honestly, its because I have been too lazy. I haven't really had anything hit me or anything that I felt led to talk about. But, I am back today with some thoughts on the current chapter that our small group is discussing tonight, chapter 7.
I will get to the thoughts on the book first and then I have something else I want to share. The really challenging part of this week's chapter is the idea of longing more for heaven than for our life that we have now. We have it good in America. There is pretty much anything that you could want within driving distance. And we all have abilities to get there. When Chan asks, are we living in a way that shows that our hope, our desire is not for this life but the next, we have to ask ourselves if that's true. In the video for this chapter, the question is posed this way. Do you long for Jesus to come back today? If you could have the choice, would that be what you want? I had to stop and think about it. Yes, I desire to love God and strive to show that love. I want to learn more about Jesus and hopefully in doing so model my life in a way that reflects His character. But, are there things in this life that I want to do before Jesus comes? Would I feel like I missed something if Jesus was to come today? I reluctantly answer yes to those questions. I guess that's part of our human nature, but its also something that we have to surrender to God. Its not something to be beat up over, but a need to bring before the Father and allow Him to minister to that lack of love.
I am not saying that I don't plan. I have to. I have to plan on things that will happen until Jesus comes back. However, I don't have to desire them more. I think that the line there is a very thin one to walk. Maybe its part of the reason that we HAVE to ask for God's guidance on a daily basis. Its impossible for us to try and tackle it ourselves. These are just me working through my thoughts on this chapter and I might not ever get it right. But, I am willing to share those with you.
Now, on to something I wanted to share about the last post that I wrote. I prayed with my wife over the areas that I have been feeling like I am disappointed with God. I didn't hold back either. If I felt scared, I said I was scared. If I felt hurt, I said I was hurt. I know that might sound like it just makes sense, but I definitely have been putting on a face of "ok-ness" before God for a long time. I don't know if I have ever felt so good about something that I have no control over in a long time. I know that nothing about the situation has changed but I have a little. Andy Stanley said this about prayer, "Prayer isn't about changing God, its about changing you." I can say that honest, open, prayer with God does change you. You feel like He really cares and is listening, or at least I did. So, if there is an area that you feel like God has been silent on in your life. Just tell Him how you are feeling there. Especially if you haven't ever prayed how you feel to God before. Let Him do what He longs to do, care and love on us. Its hard sometimes, but its so worth it.
I will get to the thoughts on the book first and then I have something else I want to share. The really challenging part of this week's chapter is the idea of longing more for heaven than for our life that we have now. We have it good in America. There is pretty much anything that you could want within driving distance. And we all have abilities to get there. When Chan asks, are we living in a way that shows that our hope, our desire is not for this life but the next, we have to ask ourselves if that's true. In the video for this chapter, the question is posed this way. Do you long for Jesus to come back today? If you could have the choice, would that be what you want? I had to stop and think about it. Yes, I desire to love God and strive to show that love. I want to learn more about Jesus and hopefully in doing so model my life in a way that reflects His character. But, are there things in this life that I want to do before Jesus comes? Would I feel like I missed something if Jesus was to come today? I reluctantly answer yes to those questions. I guess that's part of our human nature, but its also something that we have to surrender to God. Its not something to be beat up over, but a need to bring before the Father and allow Him to minister to that lack of love.
I am not saying that I don't plan. I have to. I have to plan on things that will happen until Jesus comes back. However, I don't have to desire them more. I think that the line there is a very thin one to walk. Maybe its part of the reason that we HAVE to ask for God's guidance on a daily basis. Its impossible for us to try and tackle it ourselves. These are just me working through my thoughts on this chapter and I might not ever get it right. But, I am willing to share those with you.
Now, on to something I wanted to share about the last post that I wrote. I prayed with my wife over the areas that I have been feeling like I am disappointed with God. I didn't hold back either. If I felt scared, I said I was scared. If I felt hurt, I said I was hurt. I know that might sound like it just makes sense, but I definitely have been putting on a face of "ok-ness" before God for a long time. I don't know if I have ever felt so good about something that I have no control over in a long time. I know that nothing about the situation has changed but I have a little. Andy Stanley said this about prayer, "Prayer isn't about changing God, its about changing you." I can say that honest, open, prayer with God does change you. You feel like He really cares and is listening, or at least I did. So, if there is an area that you feel like God has been silent on in your life. Just tell Him how you are feeling there. Especially if you haven't ever prayed how you feel to God before. Let Him do what He longs to do, care and love on us. Its hard sometimes, but its so worth it.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Back from another weekend with some seriousness
I hope that you all had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. Things are on the path to getting back to normal for me for a few days. I am very thankful for just a couple days of a break where I get to leave work at a normal hour and spend more time with my wife. So, I get to get on here and type out a few posts this week (probably) and today is the first.
Yesterday at church we had the Lord's Supper for everyone. It was a great celebration focusing on God's grace. I loved every minute of it. The music was amazing and the worship was awesome. Singing about God's grace and love for us is never a dull thing and its the thing that we celebrate the most because its so unbelievable. I could go on and on about how wonderful God's grace and love are and how it might not make sense, but its so easy to accept it. But, that wasn't where my mind went that afternoon.
I started thinking about being disappointed with God. We all have desires and wants that we think are Godly or at the very least aren't sinful. So, we lift them up to God knowing that since that are selfish, they aren't hated by God, that eventually He will respond and you can praise Him for meeting your desire. But what about in the meantime? What about the times when you think that there is no reason that God shouldn't meet this request and He doesn't? What about the way that you feel about yourself and question what you have done? I realize that this could fall under the heading about our timing versus God's timing. I also realize that this is no different than any other prayer that is offered and seems to go unanswered. However, this week it was different. This week, I have a specific instance that I am just hammered by. I say that this is about being disappointed with God, but really isn't it more about being disappointed with myself. That I feel like I have done something wrong and that I have done something to keep God from granting this request. I question about if it was something in my past, or something that I am doing now. I know that God is a God of infinite love and grace, but I guess we all start thinking in terms of "punishment" when something we desire isn't given. I also know that when this need is met, that I will look back and wonder why I questioned His timing. I will see how He was there all along, but its hard to take comfort in the now. I guess that's a huge part of any one's personal relationship with God, the ability to give their fears, their worries to Him and allow Him to give you the peace and comfort that you need until either the need is met or the desire fulfilled or taken away.
I watched part 2 of Stanley's series "He still* has the whole world in His hands". In it, Stanley uses Philippians 4:4-7 in a way I hadn't heard before. I would encourage you to watch it or listen to it if you have the time. But, at the end he says that part of prayer when times are tough or any time really, is to reveal our hearts to God. He might know everything about us, but He desires us to give ourselves to Him. And if something is bothering you, to give the real reason why you want God to work in that area. He gives a model that goes like this:
"Heavenly Father, I need you to _______________.
If you don't, I am afraid that _______________."
I have been trying to use it. And with each step, you get closer to the root of the problem that you have when you feel like God hasn't met your need. As Stephen Johnson said during our study about healing, where there is fruit, there is a root. This even means, when you are showing signs of doubt or worry, there is a reason for that. Either there is a belief about yourself or about God. Either way, you need to find it and allow God to minister to that area. Like I said, I have been trying to allow God in these areas and while I have seen a lot of His peace, I am still surrounded by a lot of fears.
This isn't an easy or necessarily a fun thing to tackle. It is better for us. I think that if we were just honest about what we think or feel that we could experience God a lot more. We get so caught up in these sort of form prayers. We say the same thing over and over. We come to God not with awe and wonder but with words. He doesn't want just words, He wants our heart. I want to give Him my heart, but I have to be honest when I doubt Him being there and when I doubt myself.
I don't know if this even makes much sense to anyone else. But this is me right now.
Yesterday at church we had the Lord's Supper for everyone. It was a great celebration focusing on God's grace. I loved every minute of it. The music was amazing and the worship was awesome. Singing about God's grace and love for us is never a dull thing and its the thing that we celebrate the most because its so unbelievable. I could go on and on about how wonderful God's grace and love are and how it might not make sense, but its so easy to accept it. But, that wasn't where my mind went that afternoon.
I started thinking about being disappointed with God. We all have desires and wants that we think are Godly or at the very least aren't sinful. So, we lift them up to God knowing that since that are selfish, they aren't hated by God, that eventually He will respond and you can praise Him for meeting your desire. But what about in the meantime? What about the times when you think that there is no reason that God shouldn't meet this request and He doesn't? What about the way that you feel about yourself and question what you have done? I realize that this could fall under the heading about our timing versus God's timing. I also realize that this is no different than any other prayer that is offered and seems to go unanswered. However, this week it was different. This week, I have a specific instance that I am just hammered by. I say that this is about being disappointed with God, but really isn't it more about being disappointed with myself. That I feel like I have done something wrong and that I have done something to keep God from granting this request. I question about if it was something in my past, or something that I am doing now. I know that God is a God of infinite love and grace, but I guess we all start thinking in terms of "punishment" when something we desire isn't given. I also know that when this need is met, that I will look back and wonder why I questioned His timing. I will see how He was there all along, but its hard to take comfort in the now. I guess that's a huge part of any one's personal relationship with God, the ability to give their fears, their worries to Him and allow Him to give you the peace and comfort that you need until either the need is met or the desire fulfilled or taken away.
I watched part 2 of Stanley's series "He still* has the whole world in His hands". In it, Stanley uses Philippians 4:4-7 in a way I hadn't heard before. I would encourage you to watch it or listen to it if you have the time. But, at the end he says that part of prayer when times are tough or any time really, is to reveal our hearts to God. He might know everything about us, but He desires us to give ourselves to Him. And if something is bothering you, to give the real reason why you want God to work in that area. He gives a model that goes like this:
"Heavenly Father, I need you to _______________.
If you don't, I am afraid that _______________."
I have been trying to use it. And with each step, you get closer to the root of the problem that you have when you feel like God hasn't met your need. As Stephen Johnson said during our study about healing, where there is fruit, there is a root. This even means, when you are showing signs of doubt or worry, there is a reason for that. Either there is a belief about yourself or about God. Either way, you need to find it and allow God to minister to that area. Like I said, I have been trying to allow God in these areas and while I have seen a lot of His peace, I am still surrounded by a lot of fears.
This isn't an easy or necessarily a fun thing to tackle. It is better for us. I think that if we were just honest about what we think or feel that we could experience God a lot more. We get so caught up in these sort of form prayers. We say the same thing over and over. We come to God not with awe and wonder but with words. He doesn't want just words, He wants our heart. I want to give Him my heart, but I have to be honest when I doubt Him being there and when I doubt myself.
I don't know if this even makes much sense to anyone else. But this is me right now.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Another Collection of Funny
I am sure that anyone reading this blog might have found the topics this week pretty heavy. Its been good stuff. I have loved where God has taken my thoughts and led to focus on. I have some good things still in my head that I want to share, but I think that I am going to keep Fridays somewhat light-hearted.
If you haven't ever enjoyed news from the Onion, then you have missed some funny stuff. In this "news forum" they speak of the joy that the new giant crabs will be. My wife and I rented The Onion Movie and watched it, but found that enjoying the Onion in clips like these is much more enjoyable.
I was brought up to be a fan of Star Trek. Of course, TNG was the group that I watched the most, and most of the next couple series (DS9 and Voyager). This is one of Jandrew edit's pieces where Data gives a concert. Its just a bunch of edited footage from the original show, but its worth watching. If you enjoyed that, which how could you not?!, then you can head over here and see all his other works.
Along those same lines, I offer something that isn't a video clip, but rather a very good piece of satire. As a play on similar sounding words, here is Keeping up with the Cardassians. The stuff from McSweeny's can be quite funny. I recommend checking out more of their stuff as you have the time.
I think that gives you a few chuckles. Its important to laugh. I hope that your weekend is full of laughing and joy and worship of the creator of it all. Love you guys!
If you haven't ever enjoyed news from the Onion, then you have missed some funny stuff. In this "news forum" they speak of the joy that the new giant crabs will be. My wife and I rented The Onion Movie and watched it, but found that enjoying the Onion in clips like these is much more enjoyable.
I was brought up to be a fan of Star Trek. Of course, TNG was the group that I watched the most, and most of the next couple series (DS9 and Voyager). This is one of Jandrew edit's pieces where Data gives a concert. Its just a bunch of edited footage from the original show, but its worth watching. If you enjoyed that, which how could you not?!, then you can head over here and see all his other works.
Along those same lines, I offer something that isn't a video clip, but rather a very good piece of satire. As a play on similar sounding words, here is Keeping up with the Cardassians. The stuff from McSweeny's can be quite funny. I recommend checking out more of their stuff as you have the time.
I think that gives you a few chuckles. Its important to laugh. I hope that your weekend is full of laughing and joy and worship of the creator of it all. Love you guys!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Its a Crazy Wednesday
Gosh, that is really a cheesy title, but I will leave it. Its that day when I think about the current chapter in Crazy Love and then talk about it here.
In chapter 5, Chan talks about the difference between a struggling Christian and some one who lives a life that isn't about following Christ. I offer the link to this video by Driscoll as a very concise and good answer. He offers it within the first minute and then gives a good example. Sort of an aside, I love Driscoll's plain speaking nature and direct answers. I might not be totally sure on the whole elect vs free will thing, and that might be the only area that I really disagree with him, but I find a lot of truth in his words. However, as Chan mentions in the video, we are told to test and find out what is true in God. Either way, Driscoll will tackle a few things that other ministers seem to shy away from and I respect him for that. Aside over.
Chan asks if we invented the idea of the casual Christian. He even says that Jesus never asked us to go and make Christians of all men, but disciples, those who will follow His teachings. He didn't say, but if that's too hard, let's just get them saved so that they can get into heaven and not really ever change. But how often are we preaching such a gospel? I didn't mention it on here, but I have to others about the message when I went to my mom's church. The preacher mentioned how he will never preach the "do you know where you are going if you die today?" invitation anymore. He said he didn't want to scare people into a decision. I loved that. Its not just a "get out of hell" card when you surrender to His love.
I have mentioned the book unChristian and I was reading last night something that just completely fit in with this mindset. It said that of all 18-29 that were surveyed, 65 percent said that they had made a personal commitment to Jesus, just a little less than the Boomers whose percentage is 73. Thus, the majority of Americans say that they have ALREADY made a significant decision to follow Christ. However, when you get more specific about what that means, a biblical worldview (believing the Bible, God is all-powerful, all-knowing and still rules the world today, that salvation is a gift from God, Satan is real, a Christian has a responsibility to share his or her faith with others, the Bible is accurate in all it teaches, unchanging moral truths exist and such truths are defined by the Bible, Jesus lived a sinless life,), then the percent of 18-29 that believe that falls drastically to 3 percent (only 9 percent of Boomers). Then they put it in people numbers. They say that means out of 95 million Americans who are 18-41, about 60 million will say they have already made a commitment to Jesus, but only 3 million of them embrace the biblical worldview. That is astounding to me.
I think this fits in so well with what Chan was talking about. So many people claim to have a connection to Jesus, but we don't ever think about what that might mean if we are to live it out. It is a challenge but it also heart breaking. In the video that Chan does, he asks if this chapter made you question your salvation. Its ok if it does, which is why I posted the video of Driscoll to sort of quench any doubts Satan might attack you with. After watching the video last night and thinking about my life, I just prayed thanks to God for all that He has shown me in the past couple years. That I can, without doubt, know where I am with Him. I might sin or mess up and do something that doesn't please Him, but I don't doubt where my heart is. I was so moved to tears thinking about how blessed I am and how I am thankful that I can pass that along to children if God ever gives us them or just others.
I hate that there is a real chance I won't be at the small group tonight to discuss everything. I want to share these thoughts. Thankfully I can do it here. I give anyone who reads the same option if they want.
In chapter 5, Chan talks about the difference between a struggling Christian and some one who lives a life that isn't about following Christ. I offer the link to this video by Driscoll as a very concise and good answer. He offers it within the first minute and then gives a good example. Sort of an aside, I love Driscoll's plain speaking nature and direct answers. I might not be totally sure on the whole elect vs free will thing, and that might be the only area that I really disagree with him, but I find a lot of truth in his words. However, as Chan mentions in the video, we are told to test and find out what is true in God. Either way, Driscoll will tackle a few things that other ministers seem to shy away from and I respect him for that. Aside over.
Chan asks if we invented the idea of the casual Christian. He even says that Jesus never asked us to go and make Christians of all men, but disciples, those who will follow His teachings. He didn't say, but if that's too hard, let's just get them saved so that they can get into heaven and not really ever change. But how often are we preaching such a gospel? I didn't mention it on here, but I have to others about the message when I went to my mom's church. The preacher mentioned how he will never preach the "do you know where you are going if you die today?" invitation anymore. He said he didn't want to scare people into a decision. I loved that. Its not just a "get out of hell" card when you surrender to His love.
I have mentioned the book unChristian and I was reading last night something that just completely fit in with this mindset. It said that of all 18-29 that were surveyed, 65 percent said that they had made a personal commitment to Jesus, just a little less than the Boomers whose percentage is 73. Thus, the majority of Americans say that they have ALREADY made a significant decision to follow Christ. However, when you get more specific about what that means, a biblical worldview (believing the Bible, God is all-powerful, all-knowing and still rules the world today, that salvation is a gift from God, Satan is real, a Christian has a responsibility to share his or her faith with others, the Bible is accurate in all it teaches, unchanging moral truths exist and such truths are defined by the Bible, Jesus lived a sinless life,), then the percent of 18-29 that believe that falls drastically to 3 percent (only 9 percent of Boomers). Then they put it in people numbers. They say that means out of 95 million Americans who are 18-41, about 60 million will say they have already made a commitment to Jesus, but only 3 million of them embrace the biblical worldview. That is astounding to me.
I think this fits in so well with what Chan was talking about. So many people claim to have a connection to Jesus, but we don't ever think about what that might mean if we are to live it out. It is a challenge but it also heart breaking. In the video that Chan does, he asks if this chapter made you question your salvation. Its ok if it does, which is why I posted the video of Driscoll to sort of quench any doubts Satan might attack you with. After watching the video last night and thinking about my life, I just prayed thanks to God for all that He has shown me in the past couple years. That I can, without doubt, know where I am with Him. I might sin or mess up and do something that doesn't please Him, but I don't doubt where my heart is. I was so moved to tears thinking about how blessed I am and how I am thankful that I can pass that along to children if God ever gives us them or just others.
I hate that there is a real chance I won't be at the small group tonight to discuss everything. I want to share these thoughts. Thankfully I can do it here. I give anyone who reads the same option if they want.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Catch Up
Sorry about the disruption to my little schedule. But, it was necessary. I felt it better to take the rest of the week off than to put something up half-heartened. Thursday was pretty busy, or at least seemed to be more busy than normal. By the time that I realized that I hadn't gotten around to saying anything on here, it was almost 4. Then of course, Friday I was similar to the walking dead with the lack of sleep. But, now I am back, with a bit of free time, and a rested self to give you some thoughts that I have been thinking about.
I have mentioned, I think, that I am currently making my way through unChristian. Well, there have been quite a few good points that have made me stop and just reflect on it. The first area of critique that they tackle is hypocrisy. This is one of the areas that they say that young people (18-29) tend to think about people who would label themselves as Christians. The most stunning revelation isn't that they see us as hypocrites, but rather that they don't see a difference between the way that we act and the way that everyone else in the world acts. Think about that. We are the same as those who claim to have no connection to Jesus Christ. Does that not just floor you? Now, of course, you might be saying that well, those aren't real Christians that they are seeing. The thing is that it doesn't really matter. Whether or not the people who are being labeled in this manner are completely sold out to Jesus or not doesn't seem to matter in this group's mind. As a whole, Christians haven't been transparent enough to show a difference between our life and the way the world lives. They (young people) think that people are just trying to make themselves look good and when we, as a group, don't show that while we want a better life, but are flawed people, they just lump us in with everyone else who has proven themselves as just trying to make themselves look good. That just breaks my heart.
Another thing that just made me broken was the surveyed born-again Christians and their view of what it means to be a Christian and lifestyle decisions. Now, this study focused on younger people (18-29). They also defined born-again Christians as some one who made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important to them and they believe they will go to heaven when they die because they confessed their sin and accepted Christ as savior. Now, obviously, they don't know the respondent's heart, but this was as best of a way as possible to weed out the differences. Of these people who claimed to be born-again Christians, 59% said they thought it was morally acceptable to co-habitat with a member of the opposite sex. That 44% thought is was morally acceptable to have sex outside of marriage. But, only 7% thought it was morally acceptable to use the f-word on broadcast television. How messed up are our priorities? How much of the world have we allowed to teach our kids? I can't say that I was ever perfect in these things, but I know that thought even when I did things that I shouldn't that I was doing something that was completely not morally acceptable. But, the problem isn't that we aren't following a rule, but that we are causing hurt for ourselves in the future. My heart breaks when I think of how completely we miss it sometimes when teaching the next generation.
I know that I just spouted off and said a bunch of things that might not really fit with anything else, but they just shocked me and I wanted to share with the chance that if they shock you, maybe we all can make a change. No, I am not quoting Rocky IV. I don't really have anything much going on other than that in my mind, but I felt it was important enough to talk about it for a little while.
I don't know if this week will keep up that schedule that I had set up, but that's ok. I am just trying to get on here and run through some thoughts that I have had. So, I will be back here sometime soon.
I have mentioned, I think, that I am currently making my way through unChristian. Well, there have been quite a few good points that have made me stop and just reflect on it. The first area of critique that they tackle is hypocrisy. This is one of the areas that they say that young people (18-29) tend to think about people who would label themselves as Christians. The most stunning revelation isn't that they see us as hypocrites, but rather that they don't see a difference between the way that we act and the way that everyone else in the world acts. Think about that. We are the same as those who claim to have no connection to Jesus Christ. Does that not just floor you? Now, of course, you might be saying that well, those aren't real Christians that they are seeing. The thing is that it doesn't really matter. Whether or not the people who are being labeled in this manner are completely sold out to Jesus or not doesn't seem to matter in this group's mind. As a whole, Christians haven't been transparent enough to show a difference between our life and the way the world lives. They (young people) think that people are just trying to make themselves look good and when we, as a group, don't show that while we want a better life, but are flawed people, they just lump us in with everyone else who has proven themselves as just trying to make themselves look good. That just breaks my heart.
Another thing that just made me broken was the surveyed born-again Christians and their view of what it means to be a Christian and lifestyle decisions. Now, this study focused on younger people (18-29). They also defined born-again Christians as some one who made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important to them and they believe they will go to heaven when they die because they confessed their sin and accepted Christ as savior. Now, obviously, they don't know the respondent's heart, but this was as best of a way as possible to weed out the differences. Of these people who claimed to be born-again Christians, 59% said they thought it was morally acceptable to co-habitat with a member of the opposite sex. That 44% thought is was morally acceptable to have sex outside of marriage. But, only 7% thought it was morally acceptable to use the f-word on broadcast television. How messed up are our priorities? How much of the world have we allowed to teach our kids? I can't say that I was ever perfect in these things, but I know that thought even when I did things that I shouldn't that I was doing something that was completely not morally acceptable. But, the problem isn't that we aren't following a rule, but that we are causing hurt for ourselves in the future. My heart breaks when I think of how completely we miss it sometimes when teaching the next generation.
I know that I just spouted off and said a bunch of things that might not really fit with anything else, but they just shocked me and I wanted to share with the chance that if they shock you, maybe we all can make a change. No, I am not quoting Rocky IV. I don't really have anything much going on other than that in my mind, but I felt it was important enough to talk about it for a little while.
I don't know if this week will keep up that schedule that I had set up, but that's ok. I am just trying to get on here and run through some thoughts that I have had. So, I will be back here sometime soon.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Brief interruptuion
I am not making excuses, just giving facts. I am tired. I wish I had something funny or insightful to share, but I don't. I am at work right now and I have had a total of about 2 hours sleep since I woke up yesterday morning. I understand that this was my own personal decision to go and watch a movie at midnight (yes it was Watchmen). I also understand that I knew that I had to be at work by 645 this morning thus limiting the amount of sleep I could have. So, I don't want or expect any sympathy. I just write to tell you that I have nothing today.
So, I will just say that I hope that God blesses you and gives you the strength to be examples of His love this day. I also pray that God will work in hearts this weekend, whenever people are gathered to worship Him.
I will be back on Monday with more substantive words. For now, I am not sure if I am making any sense. Have a great weekend!
So, I will just say that I hope that God blesses you and gives you the strength to be examples of His love this day. I also pray that God will work in hearts this weekend, whenever people are gathered to worship Him.
I will be back on Monday with more substantive words. For now, I am not sure if I am making any sense. Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Lukewarm People
Chapter 4 from Crazy Love is probably the most challenging. It puts forth some standard events or thoughts in the minds of most of the church-going population today. We are having our small group tonight, so my wife and I decided to type them up and hand them out on a sheet of paper. We did this for convenience for all of us. But what it did is have me take a look at the statements once more. Before I get into any specific statement, I wanted to say something about my looking at these.
When I read these the first time, it took a while. This chapter probably took more out of me and took me more time to really think about than any other. I guess that is sort of the goal with it though. When I read these statements, I would think about my life and the times when I might not have spoke or even said the words, but my life spoke exactly what they said. This past week, I have taken a few moments to read the statement and then I would pray for forgiveness from the times that it was true in my past and ask for God to help me to keep it from being true in the future. I don't think that I allowed it to beat me up, but just took the time to recognize my dependence on God for His strength when I want to take an easier way.
Now, to sort of look at a couple that I both struggle with and just sort of smacked me.
"Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give."
As a group of believers, we are so willing to give our leftovers. That's next weeks chapter and I am sure that I will have lots to talk about this, but for today, I think that the statement should serve as a challenge to us and see if we are just giving things that cost us nothing. This came up this week to me. I talked about it yesterday, about teaching Financial Peace. My first thoughts were about how I don't want to give up a night during the week to lead the group. Then I thought about how I was already giving this semester and I should just wait till next semester. Is that the type of life that God called us to? NO! I had to confess my willingness to put my personal comfort in front of anything that God wanted for me.
"Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven...Regarding this, CS Lewis writes, 'If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."
How often do we think about what our day will hold rather than what our eternity will hold? Even while in church, our minds wander off to where we eat at or what we are going to do for the rest of the day. Our days are filled with schedules and lists but seldom do we focus on things that not for this world. I love the quote from CS Lewis. I think that more than ever that it is applicable today.
"Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don't depend on God on a daily basis....The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God."
This made me stop and ask, would my life be different, really, if I wasn't a Christian? The hard truth is that for too many of us that life wouldn't be a big difference. I want to say that my life would be drastically changed. The truth is that I don't know if that's true. Yes, I know that I would think differently and that I probably would act differently. I still think that I would be a "nice guy" though. I don't say this to berate anyone. I say all this to make myself be challenged for something more than just a label and more of the close personal relationship that changes lives that Jesus called us into.
I want to link to SCL today because I think its a great post. I will be trying to "give the gift of going second" tonight at our group. I don't want just superficial talk, I want to show them that we can be open and honest with each other even when its not pretty.
When I read these the first time, it took a while. This chapter probably took more out of me and took me more time to really think about than any other. I guess that is sort of the goal with it though. When I read these statements, I would think about my life and the times when I might not have spoke or even said the words, but my life spoke exactly what they said. This past week, I have taken a few moments to read the statement and then I would pray for forgiveness from the times that it was true in my past and ask for God to help me to keep it from being true in the future. I don't think that I allowed it to beat me up, but just took the time to recognize my dependence on God for His strength when I want to take an easier way.
Now, to sort of look at a couple that I both struggle with and just sort of smacked me.
"Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give."
As a group of believers, we are so willing to give our leftovers. That's next weeks chapter and I am sure that I will have lots to talk about this, but for today, I think that the statement should serve as a challenge to us and see if we are just giving things that cost us nothing. This came up this week to me. I talked about it yesterday, about teaching Financial Peace. My first thoughts were about how I don't want to give up a night during the week to lead the group. Then I thought about how I was already giving this semester and I should just wait till next semester. Is that the type of life that God called us to? NO! I had to confess my willingness to put my personal comfort in front of anything that God wanted for me.
"Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven...Regarding this, CS Lewis writes, 'If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."
How often do we think about what our day will hold rather than what our eternity will hold? Even while in church, our minds wander off to where we eat at or what we are going to do for the rest of the day. Our days are filled with schedules and lists but seldom do we focus on things that not for this world. I love the quote from CS Lewis. I think that more than ever that it is applicable today.
"Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don't depend on God on a daily basis....The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God."
This made me stop and ask, would my life be different, really, if I wasn't a Christian? The hard truth is that for too many of us that life wouldn't be a big difference. I want to say that my life would be drastically changed. The truth is that I don't know if that's true. Yes, I know that I would think differently and that I probably would act differently. I still think that I would be a "nice guy" though. I don't say this to berate anyone. I say all this to make myself be challenged for something more than just a label and more of the close personal relationship that changes lives that Jesus called us into.
I want to link to SCL today because I think its a great post. I will be trying to "give the gift of going second" tonight at our group. I don't want just superficial talk, I want to show them that we can be open and honest with each other even when its not pretty.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
It's my perogative
I have decided that I don't like the way that my post about my journey till here sounded. I might work on it for a future post, but I won't be doing it for right now. I wanted to talk about a few things that are more actively going on.
I finally got around to watching Andy Stanley's first sermon from the current series "He still* has the whole world in His hands". I think that its a perfectly apt series with all the worries that we are bombarded with on a daily basis. I had started it once before, but due to work or other distractions, I didn't focus enough on it to really get anything out of it. So, I watched it again today. There were a couple things that just really spoke to me. One was where Stanley was talking about how our favorite bible stories are times when the people involved weren't sure how things would work out, but still held onto the belief that God would come through. While that might not completely address our situations today, it gives us the hope that we need. This led to the phrase or sentence that Stanley said that just resonated was this: When the world is uncertain, God is certain.
God is always there, always working and always meeting the needs of His plan. He knows what we need, He knows what we desire, and He can meet or provide as we need. How often do we forget about these simple truths? We want God to show up on OUR time and with OUR way of dealing with the situation. We aren't God though. We aren't in any more control of anything than we ever were.
Now, I am personally thinking about some stuff. My wife and I have been asked to lead a Financial Peace class for another church. Its a little scary. I am honored because I have seen how God can work when you are willing to let Him in your financial life. But then I think about how we still aren't debt free. We have just one more debt. Granted, God has helped us or should I say, led us, to pay off almost 13,000 dollars in debt in about 14 months, but does that in any way qualify us to teach a class that we are still learning about? I guess the real answer is that we are never qualified to do anything for God, but we can be willing and let Him use us. I don't want to be stubborn and hold back from something that God could use, but I guess I doubt myself. That really is what it comes down to when we are dealing with something that we think God wants us to do. We think of a million different reasons that God would do better to pick some one else or if it was just a little later, when we are a bit more ready. Seldom do we just think, well, if God has asked me, I can do it.
So, instead of hearing where I was, you are hearing where I am today. It will be good to look back at my past and give you a bit more information about me, but that will have to wait. Instead, I am thankful to have a reminder that when we are uncertain about a situation, God is still in control.
I finally got around to watching Andy Stanley's first sermon from the current series "He still* has the whole world in His hands". I think that its a perfectly apt series with all the worries that we are bombarded with on a daily basis. I had started it once before, but due to work or other distractions, I didn't focus enough on it to really get anything out of it. So, I watched it again today. There were a couple things that just really spoke to me. One was where Stanley was talking about how our favorite bible stories are times when the people involved weren't sure how things would work out, but still held onto the belief that God would come through. While that might not completely address our situations today, it gives us the hope that we need. This led to the phrase or sentence that Stanley said that just resonated was this: When the world is uncertain, God is certain.
God is always there, always working and always meeting the needs of His plan. He knows what we need, He knows what we desire, and He can meet or provide as we need. How often do we forget about these simple truths? We want God to show up on OUR time and with OUR way of dealing with the situation. We aren't God though. We aren't in any more control of anything than we ever were.
Now, I am personally thinking about some stuff. My wife and I have been asked to lead a Financial Peace class for another church. Its a little scary. I am honored because I have seen how God can work when you are willing to let Him in your financial life. But then I think about how we still aren't debt free. We have just one more debt. Granted, God has helped us or should I say, led us, to pay off almost 13,000 dollars in debt in about 14 months, but does that in any way qualify us to teach a class that we are still learning about? I guess the real answer is that we are never qualified to do anything for God, but we can be willing and let Him use us. I don't want to be stubborn and hold back from something that God could use, but I guess I doubt myself. That really is what it comes down to when we are dealing with something that we think God wants us to do. We think of a million different reasons that God would do better to pick some one else or if it was just a little later, when we are a bit more ready. Seldom do we just think, well, if God has asked me, I can do it.
So, instead of hearing where I was, you are hearing where I am today. It will be good to look back at my past and give you a bit more information about me, but that will have to wait. Instead, I am thankful to have a reminder that when we are uncertain about a situation, God is still in control.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Weekend Thoughts
I sat with my wife on Sunday morning listening to Mike Birbiglia on Comedy Central talk about his parents and just laughed. I love my family, but sometimes I am not so sure if I want to be around them. But I guess that is the way that most people feel about their parents. Its ok, because I am more than thankful for all they have done and they continue to do for being an example and being a source of support.
This weekend was good. My wife gets to be fawned over by others when she sings at my parent's church. I don't think that anyone would dispute how talented she is, but at my parent's church, its a treat. I am glad that she gets that from some one other than me from time to time. Its easy for her to think that I have to say those things, even when each compliment doesn't come close to giving her the praise she deserves in my eyes. Also, this time around, the message on Sunday was just amazing. There were insights that spoke both to my wife and myself. We are thankful for that.
The hardest part of the weekend was visiting my grandfather. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago, but within the last year, he has gotten exponentially worse. He has trouble recognizing my mother, let alone me. He is so much smaller than any other time that I have seen him. Its hard to see a man who was so big and strong be wrecked by such a disease. I worked for a few years in a nursing home caring for others loved ones, but this was the first time in a long time that I saw one of my loved ones there.
As for talking about what God is teaching me, I am taking chapter 4 of Crazy Love and use it to examine myself. It has been challenging but also so worth it. I hope that everyone else in the group is getting something good out of Chan's words. I will get more into that on Wednesday.
Nothing really all that earth-shattering going on in my life. Just am thankful for family a little bit more. More in the life of James tomorrow.
This weekend was good. My wife gets to be fawned over by others when she sings at my parent's church. I don't think that anyone would dispute how talented she is, but at my parent's church, its a treat. I am glad that she gets that from some one other than me from time to time. Its easy for her to think that I have to say those things, even when each compliment doesn't come close to giving her the praise she deserves in my eyes. Also, this time around, the message on Sunday was just amazing. There were insights that spoke both to my wife and myself. We are thankful for that.
The hardest part of the weekend was visiting my grandfather. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago, but within the last year, he has gotten exponentially worse. He has trouble recognizing my mother, let alone me. He is so much smaller than any other time that I have seen him. Its hard to see a man who was so big and strong be wrecked by such a disease. I worked for a few years in a nursing home caring for others loved ones, but this was the first time in a long time that I saw one of my loved ones there.
As for talking about what God is teaching me, I am taking chapter 4 of Crazy Love and use it to examine myself. It has been challenging but also so worth it. I hope that everyone else in the group is getting something good out of Chan's words. I will get more into that on Wednesday.
Nothing really all that earth-shattering going on in my life. Just am thankful for family a little bit more. More in the life of James tomorrow.
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