Lord,
When did I get this idea that by giving up things I can get to you? What is it in me that continues to pursue you through my own means and not yours? Why is it that despite my acknowledgement of Your Spirit I continue to try and reach You through my own Babel? Lord, show me places in which I must obey and show me places in which Your Spirit lacks. Reveal to me those dead weight areas that are dragging me down and lead me to the cross. It is at the foot of the cross that there is room for my weights. Lord allow me to wait on You and to desire only the fruit of Your vine. Fill me Lord, apart from You I have nothing and am nothing. I am the problem with the equation to which the solution is You. Let me not depend on my own understanding and wisdom and please let me look to Yours. Don’t let this be another pretty little prayer nestled into the back of my mind to ease the pain of coming to grips with the fact that I am nothing more than a sinner clothes in righteous rags I call good works. Break the very core of me and allow me to experience the resurrection life. Lord, show me places where I am to involved and allow me to decrease so that You may step in. Cleanse my desires, cleanse my heart, and purify my every motive, until every thought, desire, idea and plan has been brought into full submission.
Amen.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Problem with a platform - John Acoff
I read this just now and I had to repost it. There is so much truth behind it and me being the person I am, always have me on my mind. Crazy when you start to admit that to yourself and even more when you realize the lengths God goes to to remove these problems from you, nevertheless, we still struggle. Any way, check out this blog from Jon Acoff, it is spot on with stuff I deal with, especially having this blog...enjoy!
[check out his site whenever you get a chance, the guy is awesome!]
^I felt like using brackets....they are way cooler than parentheses, that and the fact I had to look up how to spell parentheses upsets me...
Stuff Christians Like
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It only takes about three followers on twitter to become a punk. I know this, because I did.
When Stuff Christians Like took off three years ago I went off the deep end a bit with my ego. I got cocky. I got arrogant. I got extra handsome.
See? That just slipped out. Even in describing my narcissism I proved my narcissism. It’s a problem. I’m working on it.
But when you get a few followers on Twitter or start a blog or open a facebook account, something weird happens – you get a platform.
It’s true, you might just post photos of your cat water skiing or flowers you think look like former president Grover Cleveland, but the reality is that we all have platforms. They might be small, they might be large, but a platform is just a place where you share ideas from. That might mean speaking at main stage Catalyst to 13,000 people or beside your mailbox, speaking to your neighbor. They’re both platforms.
And I think one of the biggest reasons people don’t want to hear what’s being said from Christian platforms is that they think we’re hypocrites.
And I think hypocrisy is a form of arrogance.
The definition of arrogance is “having or showing an exaggerated opinion of one’s own importance, merit, ability, etc.” Arrogance is about pretending.
The definition of hypocrisy is, “a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.” Hypocrisy is about pretending.
Whether you label it arrogance or hypocrisy, it’s easy to pretend when you find yourself with a platform. The problem is that platforms are such great places to “perform” from. It’s easy to just be you when no one is watching but on a platform there’s a great temptation to manufacture the best version of you. For a while, I wasn’t that concerned about it until I saw something in a familiar verse that I’d never noticed before.
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about his famous “thorn in the flesh.” I say famous because it’s practically Christian law that you have to assume his thorn was also the exact same thing you struggle with personally. We’ve all read those verses, but what I missed was the reason Paul said he had the thorn in the flesh. Here’s what 2 Corinthians 12:7 says:
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”
That is terrifying.
Paul just said that in order to keep him from becoming conceited God allowed a messenger of Satan to torment him. Conceit is so high on the list of things God is against that would sooner have Paul tormented by a messenger of Satan. Of the two, judo chop by Satan’s minion or Paul becomes conceited, God went with the judo chop.
That’s crazy, right?
Of all the things we focus on, of all the sins we shine a critical light upon, I think arrogance sometimes gets a free pass. We talk about pride every now and then, but I personally haven’t looked at it like I think our God does.
I don’t have a neat wrap up. I wish I did because I think most blog posts should. And it’s more fun to write the ones that end with grace than it is the ones that end with a groan. But that’s where I’m at.
I want to be humble.
I want to be real.
Instead of people saying “Christians are so hypocritical” I want them to say, “Christians are so honest.” And I think that starts with you and I and the way we live on the platforms we’re given by a God whose heart breaks when we get swallowed up by conceit.
[check out his site whenever you get a chance, the guy is awesome!]
^I felt like using brackets....they are way cooler than parentheses, that and the fact I had to look up how to spell parentheses upsets me...
Stuff Christians Like
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It only takes about three followers on twitter to become a punk. I know this, because I did.
When Stuff Christians Like took off three years ago I went off the deep end a bit with my ego. I got cocky. I got arrogant. I got extra handsome.
See? That just slipped out. Even in describing my narcissism I proved my narcissism. It’s a problem. I’m working on it.
But when you get a few followers on Twitter or start a blog or open a facebook account, something weird happens – you get a platform.
It’s true, you might just post photos of your cat water skiing or flowers you think look like former president Grover Cleveland, but the reality is that we all have platforms. They might be small, they might be large, but a platform is just a place where you share ideas from. That might mean speaking at main stage Catalyst to 13,000 people or beside your mailbox, speaking to your neighbor. They’re both platforms.
And I think one of the biggest reasons people don’t want to hear what’s being said from Christian platforms is that they think we’re hypocrites.
And I think hypocrisy is a form of arrogance.
The definition of arrogance is “having or showing an exaggerated opinion of one’s own importance, merit, ability, etc.” Arrogance is about pretending.
The definition of hypocrisy is, “a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.” Hypocrisy is about pretending.
Whether you label it arrogance or hypocrisy, it’s easy to pretend when you find yourself with a platform. The problem is that platforms are such great places to “perform” from. It’s easy to just be you when no one is watching but on a platform there’s a great temptation to manufacture the best version of you. For a while, I wasn’t that concerned about it until I saw something in a familiar verse that I’d never noticed before.
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about his famous “thorn in the flesh.” I say famous because it’s practically Christian law that you have to assume his thorn was also the exact same thing you struggle with personally. We’ve all read those verses, but what I missed was the reason Paul said he had the thorn in the flesh. Here’s what 2 Corinthians 12:7 says:
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”
That is terrifying.
Paul just said that in order to keep him from becoming conceited God allowed a messenger of Satan to torment him. Conceit is so high on the list of things God is against that would sooner have Paul tormented by a messenger of Satan. Of the two, judo chop by Satan’s minion or Paul becomes conceited, God went with the judo chop.
That’s crazy, right?
Of all the things we focus on, of all the sins we shine a critical light upon, I think arrogance sometimes gets a free pass. We talk about pride every now and then, but I personally haven’t looked at it like I think our God does.
I don’t have a neat wrap up. I wish I did because I think most blog posts should. And it’s more fun to write the ones that end with grace than it is the ones that end with a groan. But that’s where I’m at.
I want to be humble.
I want to be real.
Instead of people saying “Christians are so hypocritical” I want them to say, “Christians are so honest.” And I think that starts with you and I and the way we live on the platforms we’re given by a God whose heart breaks when we get swallowed up by conceit.
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Inner Being
We always fall short, thank God for His mercy. I want to do this proverbs thing every day for the month, however, I am finding it increasingly difficult to given all the things I have to do. So is that it? Is that the end of the road? Not quite. See if this was something that really meant a lot to me, then I would really be doing it regardless of the time, I would be waking up earlier and going to sleep earlier just to make time to do it. It is obvious, we aren't all we crack ourselves up to be. We make promises we can't keep, commitments we can't see through, statements we don't follow through on. I am being pretty transparent with you right now and with every good reason, there are things we all committ to that for one reason or another we don't do. So is that it? Or is there a purpose behind it all? There is...
This has once again shown me just how little I really am and I how much more work I really need. God can speak to me all He wants about a matter, but it isn't until I get up and decide to internalize it and begin believing it that it is going to make a different. I can be forgiven and not feel forgiven, I can be loved and not feel loved. So many of us get stuck in this idea of feeling. We look for this happy go lucky feeling. While those do exist and they do come, we shouldn't sit around waiting for them. We can't, it isn't part of the whole faith not sight deal from 2 Cor 5:7. Sometimes if God tells us something, we just have to see it through, regardless of how we might feel about it.
All that being said, I wanted to share with you a devo someone sent me this morning. It was pretty awesome and for me, definitely spoke to me plenty. I pray it blesses you as well...
The Inner Man
by Ray Stedman
A devotion for March 12th
...he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being... (Ephesians 3:16b).
What is your inner being? Many take this to mean the soul, with its faculties of reason and emotion and will. But I don't think this is what Paul means here, because in 2 Corinthians 4 he gives us a clue about what he does mean when he says “the inner being.” There he says that “our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (4:16 NKJV). That is, for Christians there is something about us that is getting old, decaying and deteriorating; but there is also something about us that is getting more vital, increasing and becoming richer and deeper and stronger every day we live. And that is what he calls “the inner being.”
“”
Your soul grows old as well as your body. It is clear that the soul is part of our life linked with the outer person, which is perishing day by day.
But that is not the inner being. The inner being is the human spirit. It is here that God begins the work of recovery. Not in the realm of our feelings, but in what psychologists would call the realm of the subconscious, the deep-seated part of our life, the fundamental element of our nature. When you are really discouraged, really brokenhearted and have given up, your condition is often described as dispirited. That is an accurate term. Your fundamental nature is dissatisfied. It is not merely a question of temporary boredom. That would be in the realm of the soul. But this is something that touches the spirit, right at the deepest level of human life, and you find yourself filled with despair and indifference.
This is where the recovery must begin. And what the apostle tells us about here is the capability of the Creator himself our loving Father, to give us a fresh infusion of strength by His Spirit into our spirit, the inner being. In 1 Corinthians 12, speaking of believers, Paul says, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, . . . and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (v. 13). That is what our human spirits are for—to drink of the Spirit of God so that we are refreshed and revitalized. Just as taking a drink refreshes your body, so drinking of the Spirit refreshes your spirit, at the deepest level of your life.
That is not the realm of feeling. We get so hung up in this process of spiritual recovery by always wanting an instantly good feeling. Relief will come, but it doesn't start there. It starts down at the level of the spirit and may be nothing more than some consciousness of reassurance that things are going to work out.
This beginning step is not your responsibility; it is God's. All that is necessary is that you ask Him for it. Paul prayed that these Ephesians might have this granted to them. When we ask on that level, God promises to give.
Thank You, Father, that I can come to You ask that You would strengthen me in the inner being, and that because of Your great love I trust that You will answer this cry of my heart.
This has once again shown me just how little I really am and I how much more work I really need. God can speak to me all He wants about a matter, but it isn't until I get up and decide to internalize it and begin believing it that it is going to make a different. I can be forgiven and not feel forgiven, I can be loved and not feel loved. So many of us get stuck in this idea of feeling. We look for this happy go lucky feeling. While those do exist and they do come, we shouldn't sit around waiting for them. We can't, it isn't part of the whole faith not sight deal from 2 Cor 5:7. Sometimes if God tells us something, we just have to see it through, regardless of how we might feel about it.
All that being said, I wanted to share with you a devo someone sent me this morning. It was pretty awesome and for me, definitely spoke to me plenty. I pray it blesses you as well...
The Inner Man
by Ray Stedman
A devotion for March 12th
...he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being... (Ephesians 3:16b).
What is your inner being? Many take this to mean the soul, with its faculties of reason and emotion and will. But I don't think this is what Paul means here, because in 2 Corinthians 4 he gives us a clue about what he does mean when he says “the inner being.” There he says that “our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (4:16 NKJV). That is, for Christians there is something about us that is getting old, decaying and deteriorating; but there is also something about us that is getting more vital, increasing and becoming richer and deeper and stronger every day we live. And that is what he calls “the inner being.”
“”
Your soul grows old as well as your body. It is clear that the soul is part of our life linked with the outer person, which is perishing day by day.
But that is not the inner being. The inner being is the human spirit. It is here that God begins the work of recovery. Not in the realm of our feelings, but in what psychologists would call the realm of the subconscious, the deep-seated part of our life, the fundamental element of our nature. When you are really discouraged, really brokenhearted and have given up, your condition is often described as dispirited. That is an accurate term. Your fundamental nature is dissatisfied. It is not merely a question of temporary boredom. That would be in the realm of the soul. But this is something that touches the spirit, right at the deepest level of human life, and you find yourself filled with despair and indifference.
This is where the recovery must begin. And what the apostle tells us about here is the capability of the Creator himself our loving Father, to give us a fresh infusion of strength by His Spirit into our spirit, the inner being. In 1 Corinthians 12, speaking of believers, Paul says, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, . . . and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (v. 13). That is what our human spirits are for—to drink of the Spirit of God so that we are refreshed and revitalized. Just as taking a drink refreshes your body, so drinking of the Spirit refreshes your spirit, at the deepest level of your life.
That is not the realm of feeling. We get so hung up in this process of spiritual recovery by always wanting an instantly good feeling. Relief will come, but it doesn't start there. It starts down at the level of the spirit and may be nothing more than some consciousness of reassurance that things are going to work out.
This beginning step is not your responsibility; it is God's. All that is necessary is that you ask Him for it. Paul prayed that these Ephesians might have this granted to them. When we ask on that level, God promises to give.
Thank You, Father, that I can come to You ask that You would strengthen me in the inner being, and that because of Your great love I trust that You will answer this cry of my heart.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Ashes, Chambers, and a lot of accounting....
Today I should be blogging on Proverbs 10 and I have some notes I took from Proverbs 9, but work has been insane...just wanted to post up something so you didn't think I was out of it...
The Lord loves me and you, and man is that awesome. Definitely thankful that He understands me....wanted to post this for you, just two things that have blessed me in the last 2 days. Pray for me, work is getting crazy!
Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to “set your words on fire” for His glory. - Chambers
Psalm 103
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children,
So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.[a]
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
18 To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
The Lord loves me and you, and man is that awesome. Definitely thankful that He understands me....wanted to post this for you, just two things that have blessed me in the last 2 days. Pray for me, work is getting crazy!
Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to “set your words on fire” for His glory. - Chambers
Psalm 103
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children,
So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.[a]
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
18 To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Living Wisdom
Proverbs 8:15 By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. 16 By me princes rule and nobles, all the judges of the earth. 17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
Sound like someone we know? I couldn't really decide on a verse from this section today, I loved the whole thing. The chapter is about wisdom, or is it? As you read it and begin paying close attention to the description Solomon is giving this thing called wisdom, quickly you realize that these verses, all of them, can apply to someone in the bible.
The chapter is about wisdom, but while wisdom is important in making every day decisions, we must realize what kind of wisdom is the kind that matters and really put that one to use.
In Eph 1:15-21, Paul prays for the church at Ephesus, specifically that they have wisdom, but not just any kind of wisdom, eternal wisdom:
I urge you to really read Proverbs 8 through and through. It really is a beautiful chapter. Understand something about this wisdom Solomon speaks of. It is the wisdom that transcends all other wisdom, it is the wisdom of Jesus Christ, the one who is before all things and through whom all things were created and have been created (Col 1:15-17, John 1:3).
Jesus is the spoken Word of God. He is the wisdom of God revealed to us, "the mystery revealed" as Paul calls it in Ephesians 3. By the wisdom of Christ we should see all things in life and realize as Col 1:15-17 tells us, everything was created for Him. All things were created to glorify the Father.
I take for granted this wisdom that has been revealed to me. I often live life defeated, as if the wisdom of Christ can do little for me. It is like spitting in the face of Christ, something the centurions did to Him and something we do every time we don't think He is able enough or sufficient enough and yet, like He did that day on Calvary, and He does everytime for us, He pours His love and forgives us and makes intercession for us daily just as He did on the cross when He cried out to His father and said "Forgive them."
Imagine this: If Solomon (who I truly believe was filled with the Spirit when he wrote this chapter because I can't help but think this is purposely paralleling Jesus) wrote this chapter about wisdom in general and shows how wisdom is what governs all things and is before all things, how much more than the wisdom of the revelation of Jesus Christ. He is the mystery of God revealed to man. The next time you say God doesn't speak to you, look up at the wisdom nailed on the cross (and this applies to me tenfold....how short I fall.)
"The bible says in Hebrews 1:3 that all things are held together by the power of His word, His pinky if you will. Now is this someone who you think came into your life just to be your assistant?" - Tim Keller
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - C. S. Lewis
Sound like someone we know? I couldn't really decide on a verse from this section today, I loved the whole thing. The chapter is about wisdom, or is it? As you read it and begin paying close attention to the description Solomon is giving this thing called wisdom, quickly you realize that these verses, all of them, can apply to someone in the bible.
The chapter is about wisdom, but while wisdom is important in making every day decisions, we must realize what kind of wisdom is the kind that matters and really put that one to use.
In Eph 1:15-21, Paul prays for the church at Ephesus, specifically that they have wisdom, but not just any kind of wisdom, eternal wisdom:
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding[c] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
I urge you to really read Proverbs 8 through and through. It really is a beautiful chapter. Understand something about this wisdom Solomon speaks of. It is the wisdom that transcends all other wisdom, it is the wisdom of Jesus Christ, the one who is before all things and through whom all things were created and have been created (Col 1:15-17, John 1:3).
Jesus is the spoken Word of God. He is the wisdom of God revealed to us, "the mystery revealed" as Paul calls it in Ephesians 3. By the wisdom of Christ we should see all things in life and realize as Col 1:15-17 tells us, everything was created for Him. All things were created to glorify the Father.
I take for granted this wisdom that has been revealed to me. I often live life defeated, as if the wisdom of Christ can do little for me. It is like spitting in the face of Christ, something the centurions did to Him and something we do every time we don't think He is able enough or sufficient enough and yet, like He did that day on Calvary, and He does everytime for us, He pours His love and forgives us and makes intercession for us daily just as He did on the cross when He cried out to His father and said "Forgive them."
Imagine this: If Solomon (who I truly believe was filled with the Spirit when he wrote this chapter because I can't help but think this is purposely paralleling Jesus) wrote this chapter about wisdom in general and shows how wisdom is what governs all things and is before all things, how much more than the wisdom of the revelation of Jesus Christ. He is the mystery of God revealed to man. The next time you say God doesn't speak to you, look up at the wisdom nailed on the cross (and this applies to me tenfold....how short I fall.)
"The bible says in Hebrews 1:3 that all things are held together by the power of His word, His pinky if you will. Now is this someone who you think came into your life just to be your assistant?" - Tim Keller
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - C. S. Lewis
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Maybe Tomorrow...
Prov 6:9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep— 11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
(Sorry about yesterday, I don't think I had a minute to sit...I owe God Prov 5)
"I don't feel like it." Something I utter more than I really want to, or do I? See the man in me wants to basically do nothing all day. If it were up to me, I would sit in bed and sleep all day not doing a thing, but I can't. I can't just sit and let the day waste, not just because there are consequences with regard to my ability to live, but because when one reads the story in Matt 25 of the three men given their fair share of talents and how the master goes and deals with them, it becomes clear that God is not in the business of liking laziness.
Verse 10 spells out how it works with us. It all starts with a little sleep here, then it goes from sleep to slumber, then it goes to us just flat out folding out hands and refusing to do anything. It all starts with a little compromise here, a little compromise there, and before you know it, your life is wasting. When I lost my job that month and a half, I could have easily slipped into this. In fact I did for almost 2 weeks. I remember people asking me if I had applied, of course I would say I did, but in reality, no. I would lay in bed and sleep until my little heart desired to wake up. I really didn't care much for working.
God didn't make us to be lazy, He didn't make us to do nothing. I am often reminded of the story in Joshua 5-6, specifically where the Commander of the Armies of the Lord (aka Jesus in the Old Testament, also known as a Christophany) appears before Joshua and lets him know, "I am totally with you!" Now, could you imagine what would have happened if Joshua would have sat down and done nothing from there. Imagine if he had had the "God is going to do it, therefore I don't have to do much" attitude? The providence of God favors not the idle. God is not a fan of idleness, He wants us to use those things, those talents which He has given us for His glory. So often we all get lazy, and maybe in the sense of physical work, but in the area of spiritual work. I can work 60 hours a week for the next two months and still be the laziest person on the planet.
Our minds are often stuck in the temporal that we often miss out on the eternal reality going on around us. There are always two sides to the same coin, there is of course the present consequence, but there is always an eternal consequence to a thing as well. Though we may not see it or believe it, there is. It isn't just about working for a paycheck, it could be about working to show a boss what God can do in the life of a person. It isn't just about obeying your parents because they are your parents, it could be the only witness they have to what Christ has done in the life of their child. It isn't just about cleaning your room, it could be your sibling seeing how responsible you have become and wondering what is it that has changed.
Look for the eternal in everything and don't be so lazy. Laziness comes from many avenues of which disqualification, despair, discouragement are a few. Look for the eternal in what you do, it may be what keeps you going in those moments when even that paycheck doesn't look for appealing.
"We should pray as though everything depends on God and work as though everything depends on us. Praying for the Lord to guide your footsteps will be ineffective unless you are willing to move your feet!" - St. Augustine
(Sorry about yesterday, I don't think I had a minute to sit...I owe God Prov 5)
"I don't feel like it." Something I utter more than I really want to, or do I? See the man in me wants to basically do nothing all day. If it were up to me, I would sit in bed and sleep all day not doing a thing, but I can't. I can't just sit and let the day waste, not just because there are consequences with regard to my ability to live, but because when one reads the story in Matt 25 of the three men given their fair share of talents and how the master goes and deals with them, it becomes clear that God is not in the business of liking laziness.
Verse 10 spells out how it works with us. It all starts with a little sleep here, then it goes from sleep to slumber, then it goes to us just flat out folding out hands and refusing to do anything. It all starts with a little compromise here, a little compromise there, and before you know it, your life is wasting. When I lost my job that month and a half, I could have easily slipped into this. In fact I did for almost 2 weeks. I remember people asking me if I had applied, of course I would say I did, but in reality, no. I would lay in bed and sleep until my little heart desired to wake up. I really didn't care much for working.
God didn't make us to be lazy, He didn't make us to do nothing. I am often reminded of the story in Joshua 5-6, specifically where the Commander of the Armies of the Lord (aka Jesus in the Old Testament, also known as a Christophany) appears before Joshua and lets him know, "I am totally with you!" Now, could you imagine what would have happened if Joshua would have sat down and done nothing from there. Imagine if he had had the "God is going to do it, therefore I don't have to do much" attitude? The providence of God favors not the idle. God is not a fan of idleness, He wants us to use those things, those talents which He has given us for His glory. So often we all get lazy, and maybe in the sense of physical work, but in the area of spiritual work. I can work 60 hours a week for the next two months and still be the laziest person on the planet.
Our minds are often stuck in the temporal that we often miss out on the eternal reality going on around us. There are always two sides to the same coin, there is of course the present consequence, but there is always an eternal consequence to a thing as well. Though we may not see it or believe it, there is. It isn't just about working for a paycheck, it could be about working to show a boss what God can do in the life of a person. It isn't just about obeying your parents because they are your parents, it could be the only witness they have to what Christ has done in the life of their child. It isn't just about cleaning your room, it could be your sibling seeing how responsible you have become and wondering what is it that has changed.
Look for the eternal in everything and don't be so lazy. Laziness comes from many avenues of which disqualification, despair, discouragement are a few. Look for the eternal in what you do, it may be what keeps you going in those moments when even that paycheck doesn't look for appealing.
"We should pray as though everything depends on God and work as though everything depends on us. Praying for the Lord to guide your footsteps will be ineffective unless you are willing to move your feet!" - St. Augustine
Friday, March 4, 2011
Easy as 1, 2, 3...
Proverb 4:20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
We all have struggles. Our struggles can sometimes weigh us down and if left unkept can take over. We can often be paralyzed by the things going on around us or the things going on inside of us. How do we defend? How can we possibly get past this thing, this thought, this sin? I know that by myself I'll never be able to stop. Sure I may stop for a season, but eventually, I'll fall right back in if I don't give it over to Him and let Him speak to me instruction.
So what do you do when you fall right back into stuff like doubt, worry, worhtlessness, fear, anxiety? Well I'm sure in all of this God has at some point given you some words, some instruction, some comfort and now your job is to continue based on those words. No you may not feel like moving, but since when did this walk have anything to do with feelings? Around this time last year, a friend of mine gave me the above verses and with them a three step process to helping me overcome garbage. It may sound simple and some people may think it is so beyond them, but try it and see what happens.
1. Give attention to my words, incline your ear to my sayings
As Jesus said, "He who has ears, let Him hear." Listen to what God is telling you, look for His voice. As God said in Mark 9:7 to the disciples, "This is my Son, hear Him!" Before you even start go find that verse that the Lord gave you that morning you cried out and prayed, that night you went to bed feeling defeated. Find those words of life that your Father gave you. Notice it says give attention to and incline your ear. This means you can't just read them and keep going. You have to give them attention and by attention, I would say undivided.
2. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart
Plenty of people do this with verses at work or at home. Take those words and write them out. Put them in places your eyes will see. Places where you can constantly be reminded of them. The second half of the verse is key. Remember that Christianity isn't a religion. When people those self-help courses, they often think that repetition will fix their issues. This goes beyond repition, keep them in the midst of your heart. Pray that the Lord opens the eyes of your heart and makes it reality in you.
3. For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
Don't take lightly to the fact that God spoke to You. The God of the universe, the Creator of everything, spoke to you. Despite our tendency to doubt His words, understand it is God speaking to you. The result of the above two steps with time will yield life and health to you.
Again, this probably sounds very friendly like one of those make yourself feel good devos, however, I don't mean for it to be that way. Remember in Joshua 4, when God commanded the children to set up stones as a remembrance of what He did for them at the Jordan river. So often we act like the man in James 1:23-24. We see what God has shown us, and we walk away and forget, don't let it be the case. Never forget what God has spoken. Hear His words and respond. Don't let fear or worry grip you. Don't be like the children of Israel in Numbers 14 who were afraid to enter into the land. I bet if they had really remembered what God has done for them that lead to that point, they would have stormed Canaan and wrecked everyone.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
We all have struggles. Our struggles can sometimes weigh us down and if left unkept can take over. We can often be paralyzed by the things going on around us or the things going on inside of us. How do we defend? How can we possibly get past this thing, this thought, this sin? I know that by myself I'll never be able to stop. Sure I may stop for a season, but eventually, I'll fall right back in if I don't give it over to Him and let Him speak to me instruction.
So what do you do when you fall right back into stuff like doubt, worry, worhtlessness, fear, anxiety? Well I'm sure in all of this God has at some point given you some words, some instruction, some comfort and now your job is to continue based on those words. No you may not feel like moving, but since when did this walk have anything to do with feelings? Around this time last year, a friend of mine gave me the above verses and with them a three step process to helping me overcome garbage. It may sound simple and some people may think it is so beyond them, but try it and see what happens.
1. Give attention to my words, incline your ear to my sayings
As Jesus said, "He who has ears, let Him hear." Listen to what God is telling you, look for His voice. As God said in Mark 9:7 to the disciples, "This is my Son, hear Him!" Before you even start go find that verse that the Lord gave you that morning you cried out and prayed, that night you went to bed feeling defeated. Find those words of life that your Father gave you. Notice it says give attention to and incline your ear. This means you can't just read them and keep going. You have to give them attention and by attention, I would say undivided.
2. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart
Plenty of people do this with verses at work or at home. Take those words and write them out. Put them in places your eyes will see. Places where you can constantly be reminded of them. The second half of the verse is key. Remember that Christianity isn't a religion. When people those self-help courses, they often think that repetition will fix their issues. This goes beyond repition, keep them in the midst of your heart. Pray that the Lord opens the eyes of your heart and makes it reality in you.
3. For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
Don't take lightly to the fact that God spoke to You. The God of the universe, the Creator of everything, spoke to you. Despite our tendency to doubt His words, understand it is God speaking to you. The result of the above two steps with time will yield life and health to you.
Again, this probably sounds very friendly like one of those make yourself feel good devos, however, I don't mean for it to be that way. Remember in Joshua 4, when God commanded the children to set up stones as a remembrance of what He did for them at the Jordan river. So often we act like the man in James 1:23-24. We see what God has shown us, and we walk away and forget, don't let it be the case. Never forget what God has spoken. Hear His words and respond. Don't let fear or worry grip you. Don't be like the children of Israel in Numbers 14 who were afraid to enter into the land. I bet if they had really remembered what God has done for them that lead to that point, they would have stormed Canaan and wrecked everyone.
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