Psalm 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
I, like David, tend to ask myself this a lot. I always like to wonder what is it about us that makes Him love us so much. If I'm not careful, I'll soon fall into a deep time of thought where I lose it all together, and rather than use the questions to fuel the passion, I can use the question to fuel a sense of despair almost. It is true though, when reading the sermon on the mount and listening to Jesus lay down His law, you come to the conclusion that there is no way you will ever be able to be that type of man. Depressing for some, a lot of us tend to fall into this sense of legalism as a result of it. We push ourselves so hard to earn this title of christian that we soon earn the title of pharisee instead.
Other times we read the law and we laugh. We say to ourselves, "No one in their right mind will ever be able to do this, not to mention it sucks all the fun out of living." Does it? I don't think so. In both cases, both people have missed the point. The combination of the two is where you begin to understand the true meaning of the law, and what Christ meant when He says He came to "fulfill the law."
Person one, forgets that when Christ fulfilled the law, He did it because we will never be able to, and we have to accept it. He is the only way to the Father. Nothing we can do will ever change that. We cannot earn it. God cannot look upon sin (Hab 1:13) which is to say He totally abhors and as result judges it. Our only hope is found in His Son Christ, our High Priest (Heb 4:14-15).
Person two forgets the freedom found in the law. The freedom in knowing we are no longer subject to the slavery of sin. Death has lost its sting as Paul put it. Sin lost its power. Jesus bridged the gap between us and the father. Their is a certain freedom in restrictions. Consider the doctor, you go in one day and are told you have to diet or you'll die. This requires restrictions in your life, however, these restrictions are for your benefit and if kept, lead to a life FREE of the worry of death by preventable causes. In the same fashion, Jesus removes from us the slavery of sin and gives us FREEDOM in knowing we can have a relationship with our Lord.
In the end, it all comes down one thing. Your heart. Your heart is by far the most important thing to God, because He wants it, but He wants you to choose to give it up. As you start going through the sermon on the mount, you come to realize you really aren't as good as you make yourself out to be. To lust is to commit adultery, to hate is to murder. While many of us have never murdered (I hope none!) we all at some point or another have hated. Jesus here reminds us of two things:
1. Sin begins in the heart
Of course we know that sin begins in the heart, however, sin, if left unchecked according to James can bring forth death (1:13-16). I can begin to hate my brother, and over time if I don't bring that hate before the throne, it could turn into something more. What started as hate, in a year could become complete disdain. What is disdain in a year could be a plot to kill. Extreme, maybe, but murder doesn't always start as murder, often times it starts with something like hate.
As Christians, we must always keep our hearts in check. After all, it is the heart that God looks at (1 Sam 16:7). God cares more about the heart of the worker than He does the work. Sure He will use the work to glorify Himself, however, He wants a pure heart, a devoted heart, a broken heart.
2. A sin is a sin is a sin is a sin
In today's world we tend to live by degrees. Lying isn't as bad as cheating, though one is a form of the other, and back talk is nowhere near as bad as murder. Or is it? According to James 2:11, you break one area of the law, you break the law. Scary when you think about it, there really is no hope for us outside of Christ. Our hearts are bent for sin unless we allow Christ to govern the throne room of our heart.
In God's eyes, there is no little sin or big sin, sure there are a slew of verses that list "A,B,C and D, will not inherit the kingdom of God" however, if you notice, those lists are loaded with nouns, not verbs. It is a heart thing. You and I will sin, no doubt, but what do we do after we sin. Do we continue or become contrite? There is the difference. Again, God is concerned with the heart.
In these past few months, I have continued asking God, "Lord, what is it about Chris Sierra that you are mindful of him. What is it You like so much! Why are you even paying attention to me, have you seen my past." He'll respond "Yes, but now I see my Son, because You have seen Him." God is so good to us. We often times forget it.
These next few blogs, I have something heavy on me that I want to share with you guys. It is something that years ago I knew I had an issue with and now as the days go by, God is just continuing to show me what an awesome work He has done. It all floats around one verse, and that's Ezekiel 36:26.
What is man, that You are mindful of Him Lord? He loves us, why? Because we are us. As C.S. Lewis put it, "Perhaps it makes it easier if we remember that is how He loves us. Not for any nice, attractive qualities we think we have, but just because we are the things called selves."
The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart
From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks
That which God will never deny
Just a few fun topics....oh! and not to worry, I am still going to be putting up stuff on Apologetics and I'll have my moments of randomness.....all by His Spirit, whatever He wants, I'll give. A friend of mine had an awesome blog that reminded me how it important it is to have a balance between the heart of the battlefield and the battlefield of the heart, if that makes any sense. Logic and reason are beautiful no doubt, but "I’ve seen way more people fall apart because of disappointment because of a girl than by the hand a clever Buddhist with a knack for arguing." (Chris Rodriguez, Intrepid Undertaking )
Friday, August 20, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
I Promise...
I promise....I promise....How many times as kids did we use those two words? How often was it we heard those words uttered to us when we were told something by a friend or by our parents. I remember I used to use these two words all the time, it was as if the use gave the person enough reassurance that whatever it was I was saying would come to pass. It's unfortunate that many of us, myself included, tend to not hold to what we say we'll do. We "forget" as we sometimes say.
When I was a kid, I remember being told we were going to Disney World. For weeks in advance I would be bouncing up and down, eager to go see the mouse and ride all the awesome rides. There was nothing you could do to me to get me to forget Disney, it was beyond important to me. I was eight years old, however, it's clear that when something is important to you, you don't forget it. Dare I say that the reason why many of us forget our promises is because sometimes we really don't mean them?
Think about the last thing you promised someone that you didn't see through. What was it that caused you to promise it in the first place? Was it some emotional response to a personal conviction? Was it the want to please them and in a sense give them a short-term reassurance of your commitment level, when in reality you never intended to follow through? Was it that everyone else is making promises, so hey why not you? We really need to consider our motives because it is a dangerous game making promises and not keeping them.
How much more horrible is it to make a promise to God and not keep it. This morning I woke up with very little time to think due to my waking up late, however, I can always find time to get my fill of the Word, even if it is just a verse. God tends to use anything and everything.
Psalm 61:5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. 8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.
Two things stick out to me about verse 5. First off, God hears our vows. He hears us when we cry out to Him and He hears what it is we are saying. The bible is clear that God hears the prayers of His people and He tends to respond. Even in Judges 10, when we witness a scary part of scripture, God in the end relents and still hears the cries of His people. Just a testament to how His mercies endure forever and are new every morning. Something strikes me though, just how merciful is God. Well consider this without getting to lost in thought. God knows which promises you are going to keep and which ones you are going to break, yet He is still willing to listen to us in either case and in either case He is still willing to provide for us what we need so that we might be able to see them through. Whether you want to think so or not, God has given us or will give us just what we need to be pleasing and honorable to Him.
It may not always be the giant letter in the sky, sometimes it is a subtle thing. Even the very breath coming forth from your mouth right now, is God giving you what you need to fulfill whatever promise you have made to Him. It is when we pay attention to the little things that we realize just how forgiven we are, just how merciful He is, and just how much we needs Him. Why do I say that? Because it's clear this is the mindset we ought have. In Luke 7 when the woman comes and anoints Christ with oil and the pharisees are appalled that He would allow her to even touch Him, He responds to them and says "47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” This woman knew just how much she needed forgiveness, she understood just how blessed she was, she understood that despite the fact she lived the life of a harlot, the mere fact she was even breathing was by His mercy, and that every day she stood was one more day to please her Lord. That's where we need to be. We need to make the first step in our lives that of becoming broken. Like the sermon on the mount (which starts with blessed are the poor in spirit, i.e. the broken [Matt 5:3]), it all starts with the broken admission of inadequacy. It begins with God, who pierces our hearts, we respond, then He floods us, then He rebuilds. (Psalm 51:16-19)
When He makes promises to us, He is always good to provide us exactly what we need to go about fulfilling them. How do I know that? Look at the second half of verse 5, the word heritage in the hebrew means "to possess" and it's root word comes from the hebrew word for "to inherit." As Christians, I am sure we all make plenty of promises to God. We vow to Him we'll do a thing, whether it be waking up in the morning to meet Him in our room for some alone time or it be vowing our lives to purity, vowing our lives to waiting, vowing our lives to a ministry, vowing our lives to a person whom God has given us, vowing our lives to a ministry, whatever the case may be, we make vows to the Lord. In fact upon salvation, we made a vow to die to self, so if nothing else you have, as a Christian, made a vow to the Lord. The part that blows my mind is that He knows there will be days we won't die to ourselves, there will be days we won't listen, there will be days we will forget, and yet His promises remain true. It's these promises He floods us with, it's these promises we inherit once we become His children. His promises are many, and I can't list them all, but here's a few of my fav that in these days have held me up:
Lam 3:22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Isaiah 44:21 “ Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! 22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 59:21 “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart — These, O God, You will not despise.
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
Numbers 14:8 If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Hebrews 13:5b For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “ The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
Micah 7:19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
So I may have gone over, however, I have always been the kind of person that needs those reminders. I tend to forget what He has shown me, what He has told me. Putting question marks where He puts periods, I tend forget His promises. How faithful is our Lord though, that despite our faithlessness, He remains faithful (2 Tim 2:13)
So now what? Well verse 8, now we praise His name, because I mean look at these promises, and given the fact that He is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow, we can rest assured while we may fail, He won't. We praise His name knowing just how much we have been forgiven, knowing He won't deny our broken hearts, knowing He will forget our sin, knowing He will draw near to us, knowing He will give us the desires of our hearts, knowing he works all things for our good, knowing He has major plans for us (yeah add Jer 29:11-13 and Romans 8:28 to the above list). We praise Him, and in our praise, in our acknowledgement of His awesomeness we see our promises through, from the promise of death to self, to the vow you may very well make today.
One last word from an old friend of mine, may it be a daily reminder to how we must be when it comes to our words, both in our vertical relationship and in our horizontal ones:
James 5:12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
Keep all eyes on the cross. It is this alone that will keep that state of brokenness in your heart. The cross will break us, redeem us, restore us, renew us, rebuild us, replenish us, and ultimately deliver us into His hands on that day.
He created us, we rebelled, He flooded our hearts, gave us a promise, brought us out of Egpyt, scorched the unnecessary in the wilderness, destroyed the walls, built us a sanctuary in our hearts, gave us a King, gave us the wisdom, gave us His Word, redeemed us as harlots and made us royal diadems, took our filthy garments, gave us his robes of righteousness, gave us our Savior, then called us to be living letters....don't ever forget it....
When I was a kid, I remember being told we were going to Disney World. For weeks in advance I would be bouncing up and down, eager to go see the mouse and ride all the awesome rides. There was nothing you could do to me to get me to forget Disney, it was beyond important to me. I was eight years old, however, it's clear that when something is important to you, you don't forget it. Dare I say that the reason why many of us forget our promises is because sometimes we really don't mean them?
Think about the last thing you promised someone that you didn't see through. What was it that caused you to promise it in the first place? Was it some emotional response to a personal conviction? Was it the want to please them and in a sense give them a short-term reassurance of your commitment level, when in reality you never intended to follow through? Was it that everyone else is making promises, so hey why not you? We really need to consider our motives because it is a dangerous game making promises and not keeping them.
How much more horrible is it to make a promise to God and not keep it. This morning I woke up with very little time to think due to my waking up late, however, I can always find time to get my fill of the Word, even if it is just a verse. God tends to use anything and everything.
Psalm 61:5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. 8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.
Two things stick out to me about verse 5. First off, God hears our vows. He hears us when we cry out to Him and He hears what it is we are saying. The bible is clear that God hears the prayers of His people and He tends to respond. Even in Judges 10, when we witness a scary part of scripture, God in the end relents and still hears the cries of His people. Just a testament to how His mercies endure forever and are new every morning. Something strikes me though, just how merciful is God. Well consider this without getting to lost in thought. God knows which promises you are going to keep and which ones you are going to break, yet He is still willing to listen to us in either case and in either case He is still willing to provide for us what we need so that we might be able to see them through. Whether you want to think so or not, God has given us or will give us just what we need to be pleasing and honorable to Him.
It may not always be the giant letter in the sky, sometimes it is a subtle thing. Even the very breath coming forth from your mouth right now, is God giving you what you need to fulfill whatever promise you have made to Him. It is when we pay attention to the little things that we realize just how forgiven we are, just how merciful He is, and just how much we needs Him. Why do I say that? Because it's clear this is the mindset we ought have. In Luke 7 when the woman comes and anoints Christ with oil and the pharisees are appalled that He would allow her to even touch Him, He responds to them and says "47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” This woman knew just how much she needed forgiveness, she understood just how blessed she was, she understood that despite the fact she lived the life of a harlot, the mere fact she was even breathing was by His mercy, and that every day she stood was one more day to please her Lord. That's where we need to be. We need to make the first step in our lives that of becoming broken. Like the sermon on the mount (which starts with blessed are the poor in spirit, i.e. the broken [Matt 5:3]), it all starts with the broken admission of inadequacy. It begins with God, who pierces our hearts, we respond, then He floods us, then He rebuilds. (Psalm 51:16-19)
When He makes promises to us, He is always good to provide us exactly what we need to go about fulfilling them. How do I know that? Look at the second half of verse 5, the word heritage in the hebrew means "to possess" and it's root word comes from the hebrew word for "to inherit." As Christians, I am sure we all make plenty of promises to God. We vow to Him we'll do a thing, whether it be waking up in the morning to meet Him in our room for some alone time or it be vowing our lives to purity, vowing our lives to waiting, vowing our lives to a ministry, vowing our lives to a person whom God has given us, vowing our lives to a ministry, whatever the case may be, we make vows to the Lord. In fact upon salvation, we made a vow to die to self, so if nothing else you have, as a Christian, made a vow to the Lord. The part that blows my mind is that He knows there will be days we won't die to ourselves, there will be days we won't listen, there will be days we will forget, and yet His promises remain true. It's these promises He floods us with, it's these promises we inherit once we become His children. His promises are many, and I can't list them all, but here's a few of my fav that in these days have held me up:
Lam 3:22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Isaiah 44:21 “ Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! 22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 59:21 “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart — These, O God, You will not despise.
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
Numbers 14:8 If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Hebrews 13:5b For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “ The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
Micah 7:19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
So I may have gone over, however, I have always been the kind of person that needs those reminders. I tend to forget what He has shown me, what He has told me. Putting question marks where He puts periods, I tend forget His promises. How faithful is our Lord though, that despite our faithlessness, He remains faithful (2 Tim 2:13)
So now what? Well verse 8, now we praise His name, because I mean look at these promises, and given the fact that He is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow, we can rest assured while we may fail, He won't. We praise His name knowing just how much we have been forgiven, knowing He won't deny our broken hearts, knowing He will forget our sin, knowing He will draw near to us, knowing He will give us the desires of our hearts, knowing he works all things for our good, knowing He has major plans for us (yeah add Jer 29:11-13 and Romans 8:28 to the above list). We praise Him, and in our praise, in our acknowledgement of His awesomeness we see our promises through, from the promise of death to self, to the vow you may very well make today.
One last word from an old friend of mine, may it be a daily reminder to how we must be when it comes to our words, both in our vertical relationship and in our horizontal ones:
James 5:12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
Keep all eyes on the cross. It is this alone that will keep that state of brokenness in your heart. The cross will break us, redeem us, restore us, renew us, rebuild us, replenish us, and ultimately deliver us into His hands on that day.
He created us, we rebelled, He flooded our hearts, gave us a promise, brought us out of Egpyt, scorched the unnecessary in the wilderness, destroyed the walls, built us a sanctuary in our hearts, gave us a King, gave us the wisdom, gave us His Word, redeemed us as harlots and made us royal diadems, took our filthy garments, gave us his robes of righteousness, gave us our Savior, then called us to be living letters....don't ever forget it....
Monday, August 9, 2010
Cure the Cough...
1 Cor 15:12 " Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? "
For most of my life I have had asthma. In the past year it has gone away and is basically non-existent, aside from those moments where I get extremely sick. I remember when I was younger though my asthma was a major issue. There were days that I couldn't go without at least taking a puff of my medicine three times along with a pill every morning. There was a point though where I went for a while without the doctor. Not the wisest decision. I mean, I felt fine, I looked fine, I worked out fine, my breathing was fine, however, on the inside my lungs were just preparing for a breakdown.
One night after painting for a friend, I remember sitting down and having a nasty pain in my chest. Breathing became difficult. I was rushed to the hospital. The doctors gave me x-rays and medicine and for a while I was on a non-stop aerosol treatment. They gave me some medication and I walked out, only this time, I had the mind set of a person who wasn't going to toy with his asthma. I remember buying books on it and learning all I could about it so that I could make sure it didn't happen again.
When I sat down with a pulmonologist and really got into detail with asthma, it was then that I understood what the issue was, it was then that I really had a grip on where I was going wrong. What does all that have to do with the above verse, after all Paul wrote it as a question to the Corinthians because some of them doubted the resurrection. "Well Chris, I am not having an issue doubting the resurrection!" Are you now?
Paul uses the word say, however, these days we know that from our mouths come one thing, but our actions can speak something else. I think one of the diseases that plagues a lot of Christians these days, myself included, is that sometimes we tend to live our lives as if the resurrection never took place. Say What? Yeah, we live our lives lacking that zeal you would find from something as radical as the resurrection.
It is called being spiritually idle and if left untreated, you’ll end up spiritually dead. James warns us about this in James 2 when he tells us that faith without works is dead. Which is to say, faith should produce in us works, why? Well because when you come to realization of the resurrection that took place in your life when you were made new (2 Cor 5:17), that overwhelming joy should lead you to want to do good. Sometimes though, as Christians, we become idle, we lose focus. Why? We forget. But why do we forget?
I know for me, back when I forgot on an hourly basis, it had a lot to do with the microwave society we live in. These days there is something about patience that none of us seem to care to much for. We want stuff now. We forget “Be still and know that I am God”, we forget that God waited for us to come around, now it’s time we wait for His perfect plan to unfold (Isaiah 30:18). What’s interesting about impatience is that it goes hand in hand with weak faith. Patience comes from faith. How do I know? Because I lived it. I wanted the perfect life now. The perfect life comes later, right now it is all about living life for Him. Being patient. Patience is a sign of faith, because it means you are waiting on Him to do His work. You are waiting on Him to blow you up into what He wants you to be, and while you wait, you are to Prov 3:5-7 and Luke 10:27 it up. It is going to take patience, but it is worth it. 8 months have passed and I still don't understand how or why He has done what He has done. He is restoring my years (Joel 2:25). I love Him....
Ask James (James 1:2-4), patience makes us complete. Patience gives us a stronger faith. When we become impatient, it is a sign of a weak faith. We are like what James describes as a wave, tossed to and fro. What we need to realize is just how radical the resurrection is. We need to come to grips with just how awesome our God is. We need to let Him drop His God bomb and leave our hearts desolate of anything, so that He can take every last fragment and reconstruct the city He wants, the city on a hill, whose walls are solidified by the blood of His son.
So what does that have to do with asthma. Well, consider this: Imagine what would have happened had I only spent a few minutes with the doctor. Sure he would have given me some medication for my symptoms, however, he may not have figured out what the source of the issue is. A cough can easily be fixed, however, that still doesn't resolve the asthma issue, and like many drugs these days, over time that cough medication just would not have cut it. In the beginning I'm sure it would have sufficed, but eventually the asthma would have been severe enough that no amount of cough medication would have been able to stop it.
Now when I spent hours with the doctor, not only did he know I had a cough, but he got to the root of the issue. He got to my asthma. He then prescribed things to reduce my asthma and keep it at bay. Asthma isn't a curable disease at the moment, however, keeping it at bay is better than letting it run rampant. In the same way, we sometimes tend to treat the symptoms of our sin, rather than the root cause. What is at the root of it all? Why is it you curse so much? Why is it you lie so much? What is it causes you to be so insecure? Get to the root cause of the issue, don't just treat the symptoms. Spend time in the word AND prayer. You have to talk to the doctor about your issues. Sure God knows them, but He wants a relationship. Rules without relationship leads to rebellion.
Get honest with Him, it is the only way you can be broken to the point where He can fix it. It's like cutting weeds, eventually they'll grow back. Now, rip them from the root, and they're gone. Treat the soil with anti-weed agents, and you'll keep them at bay. We can't get rid of sin, it's impossible, only after we stand in the His presence will we then be without it. However, we can be students of His word and apply those principles to our lives. His word is the antidote to our issue. The resurrection is more than just words in a book, it's life, and life to the fullest. It is freedom.
In his book the Prodigal God, Timothy Keller poses what I think is an awesome description of the radical change that takes place in our lives.
It is only when you see the desire to be your own Savior and Lord -lying beneath both your sins and your moral goodness- that you are on the verge of understanding the gospel and becoming a Christian indeed. When you realize that the antidote to being bad is not just being good, you are on the brink. If you follow through, it will change everything: how you relate to God, self, others, the world, your work, your sins, your virtue. It’s called the new birth because it’s so radical. - Timothy Keller (The Prodigal God)
There is more to it than just living a good life. Don't just treat the symptoms, treat the cause, and be honest with yourself and Him, it's all He wants.....just admit it....you're bankrupt without Him. We need Him, not His blessings, just Him. His greatest promise to us is Himself, everything else is just bonus, and imagine, we have Him, yet we always want more...what more is there?
For most of my life I have had asthma. In the past year it has gone away and is basically non-existent, aside from those moments where I get extremely sick. I remember when I was younger though my asthma was a major issue. There were days that I couldn't go without at least taking a puff of my medicine three times along with a pill every morning. There was a point though where I went for a while without the doctor. Not the wisest decision. I mean, I felt fine, I looked fine, I worked out fine, my breathing was fine, however, on the inside my lungs were just preparing for a breakdown.
One night after painting for a friend, I remember sitting down and having a nasty pain in my chest. Breathing became difficult. I was rushed to the hospital. The doctors gave me x-rays and medicine and for a while I was on a non-stop aerosol treatment. They gave me some medication and I walked out, only this time, I had the mind set of a person who wasn't going to toy with his asthma. I remember buying books on it and learning all I could about it so that I could make sure it didn't happen again.
When I sat down with a pulmonologist and really got into detail with asthma, it was then that I understood what the issue was, it was then that I really had a grip on where I was going wrong. What does all that have to do with the above verse, after all Paul wrote it as a question to the Corinthians because some of them doubted the resurrection. "Well Chris, I am not having an issue doubting the resurrection!" Are you now?
Paul uses the word say, however, these days we know that from our mouths come one thing, but our actions can speak something else. I think one of the diseases that plagues a lot of Christians these days, myself included, is that sometimes we tend to live our lives as if the resurrection never took place. Say What? Yeah, we live our lives lacking that zeal you would find from something as radical as the resurrection.
It is called being spiritually idle and if left untreated, you’ll end up spiritually dead. James warns us about this in James 2 when he tells us that faith without works is dead. Which is to say, faith should produce in us works, why? Well because when you come to realization of the resurrection that took place in your life when you were made new (2 Cor 5:17), that overwhelming joy should lead you to want to do good. Sometimes though, as Christians, we become idle, we lose focus. Why? We forget. But why do we forget?
I know for me, back when I forgot on an hourly basis, it had a lot to do with the microwave society we live in. These days there is something about patience that none of us seem to care to much for. We want stuff now. We forget “Be still and know that I am God”, we forget that God waited for us to come around, now it’s time we wait for His perfect plan to unfold (Isaiah 30:18). What’s interesting about impatience is that it goes hand in hand with weak faith. Patience comes from faith. How do I know? Because I lived it. I wanted the perfect life now. The perfect life comes later, right now it is all about living life for Him. Being patient. Patience is a sign of faith, because it means you are waiting on Him to do His work. You are waiting on Him to blow you up into what He wants you to be, and while you wait, you are to Prov 3:5-7 and Luke 10:27 it up. It is going to take patience, but it is worth it. 8 months have passed and I still don't understand how or why He has done what He has done. He is restoring my years (Joel 2:25). I love Him....
Ask James (James 1:2-4), patience makes us complete. Patience gives us a stronger faith. When we become impatient, it is a sign of a weak faith. We are like what James describes as a wave, tossed to and fro. What we need to realize is just how radical the resurrection is. We need to come to grips with just how awesome our God is. We need to let Him drop His God bomb and leave our hearts desolate of anything, so that He can take every last fragment and reconstruct the city He wants, the city on a hill, whose walls are solidified by the blood of His son.
So what does that have to do with asthma. Well, consider this: Imagine what would have happened had I only spent a few minutes with the doctor. Sure he would have given me some medication for my symptoms, however, he may not have figured out what the source of the issue is. A cough can easily be fixed, however, that still doesn't resolve the asthma issue, and like many drugs these days, over time that cough medication just would not have cut it. In the beginning I'm sure it would have sufficed, but eventually the asthma would have been severe enough that no amount of cough medication would have been able to stop it.
Now when I spent hours with the doctor, not only did he know I had a cough, but he got to the root of the issue. He got to my asthma. He then prescribed things to reduce my asthma and keep it at bay. Asthma isn't a curable disease at the moment, however, keeping it at bay is better than letting it run rampant. In the same way, we sometimes tend to treat the symptoms of our sin, rather than the root cause. What is at the root of it all? Why is it you curse so much? Why is it you lie so much? What is it causes you to be so insecure? Get to the root cause of the issue, don't just treat the symptoms. Spend time in the word AND prayer. You have to talk to the doctor about your issues. Sure God knows them, but He wants a relationship. Rules without relationship leads to rebellion.
Get honest with Him, it is the only way you can be broken to the point where He can fix it. It's like cutting weeds, eventually they'll grow back. Now, rip them from the root, and they're gone. Treat the soil with anti-weed agents, and you'll keep them at bay. We can't get rid of sin, it's impossible, only after we stand in the His presence will we then be without it. However, we can be students of His word and apply those principles to our lives. His word is the antidote to our issue. The resurrection is more than just words in a book, it's life, and life to the fullest. It is freedom.
In his book the Prodigal God, Timothy Keller poses what I think is an awesome description of the radical change that takes place in our lives.
It is only when you see the desire to be your own Savior and Lord -lying beneath both your sins and your moral goodness- that you are on the verge of understanding the gospel and becoming a Christian indeed. When you realize that the antidote to being bad is not just being good, you are on the brink. If you follow through, it will change everything: how you relate to God, self, others, the world, your work, your sins, your virtue. It’s called the new birth because it’s so radical. - Timothy Keller (The Prodigal God)
There is more to it than just living a good life. Don't just treat the symptoms, treat the cause, and be honest with yourself and Him, it's all He wants.....just admit it....you're bankrupt without Him. We need Him, not His blessings, just Him. His greatest promise to us is Himself, everything else is just bonus, and imagine, we have Him, yet we always want more...what more is there?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Decisions, Decisions....
All morning I have had somewhere around 3 different blogs pop into my head, however, I can't seem to get them going. Writers block. How this is even coming together is beyond me, but then again, if I can't explain, then we know why it is.
Ever had writers block but in your own life? Ever been at a fork in the road? You know, where two paths are laid before you each going in a different direction? The kicker is when you don't know which way to go. I use the word kicker on purpose to downplay it, but in reality, it's rough. Having what seem to be two equally good paths before you and just not knowing which way to go.
On both roads you can see God's fingerprints mapping out your steps, however, you really have no clue which way to go? My advice to you, I don't know. I honestly don't know what to tell you and I say honestly because, seriously, I don't know. A lot of us have met the forks in the road on more than one occasion. Some of us have made decisions we initially thought were the best for us, only to find out they were anything but that. Others of us have made decisions thinking it was the pinnacle of what we wanted, only to find it was but a stepping stone that God used to get you where He wanted you.
Looking back at my life I am starting to see God's hand in places that at the time I never noticed. To think that God was so loving that even in my rebellion He was working in my favor, this blows my mind and just overwhelms me to point of tears. I look back to a year ago and how far away I was from God, I look to the kind of person I was and look at the things that mattered to me then. I can't explain it. He did it. (Coincidently, my iPhone is playing Glory to God right now... =])
A year ago I had just as many decisions to make as I have today. Most of them weren't the wisest, however, that doesn't mean He isn't going to use them. Do I wish I hadn't made those mistakes, let's be honest, who doesn't wish they could go back and alter their past. However, knowing what I know now, I'm not sure I would go back. As strange as it sounds, while those moments were painful, they were also necessary. Necessary because it was those broken moments, those dark, helpless moments, that God used to bring me to Him. The real question for me then is "Why were they necessary?"
Why God? Why would I have to go through that just to find You? At my desk at this very moment, I have the following verses written down, all taken from a sermon I heard about 5 months ago on God's plans and our plans:
Proverbs 16: 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits. 3 Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established. 4 The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. 9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
Gen 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
All this stuff wasn't necessary because it's how you come to salvation, no, I could have done that at any given moment with a simple prayer from my heart. These things were necessary because I made them necessary. See we tend to at times overcomplicate certain situations. Through massive amounts of overthinking and contemplation, we can easily take any simple decision and make it seem like that last question the SAT that will make or break your score.
God will always use our decisions at the end of the day for His glory. I am a walking testament of it. Every decision (mistake) I made in my life prior to coming to true repentence He used. How? Because it is my story, it is my Gomer moments that show the rest of the world how even a rebellious fool who mentally knew, yet rejected the cross, could be saved.
I don't normally do this until I finish, however, I am going to re-read this to see if it makes sense at all or if I'm completely crazy...makes some sense to me I guess lol. Let's continue.
Understand that sometimes, the decision isn't clear. Understand that sometimes God doesn't write it in the sky, because if He did, then there wouldn't be much faith to it. Sometimes He doesn't make it crystal clear because then we would be living by sight. What we have to remember is to seek His counsel and to seek the counsel of godly people (just a few, not the whole church) and then pray until we feel the tug, then go. And go knowing that no matter the outcome, He has you, no matter the result, He is going to use it to further His kingdom and to benefit you. Just keep in mind that sometimes His definition of benefit is different from ours, and sometimes we may see it initially as harmful, however, rest assured, it is for our benefit. He didn't promise we would understand His ways (Isa 55:8), but He did tell us He was about us (look to the cross for proof).
"God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain." C.S. Lewis
Do I wish I could go back and change the past, yes. I wish I could go back and make myself then who I am today. But I can't, and to sit and wish I could is a waste. Instead I'll use my past. It'll be a constant reminder to me of just how much God loves. In those moments I get puffed with pride, those moments will be what bring me back to earth. Ever felt like you were born on third base, some of us in these moments think we actually hit a triple. Don't ever think that the place your in you got in because of your knowledge, your way with words, your above average looks. Never forget that the only reason you are even awake today is because He sustained you the night before (Psalm 3:5).
I am not giving you a free ride to go out and make every decision known to man and abuse His grace, that isn't what this about. This is about helping us all understand that our Father is working our favor, and while sometimes we won't have the clear answer, we will always have our unchanging God with us.
The more we think about Him using our decisions for His glory, the more we should want to make double sure that the decision we make is the best decision we have to offer. So at the end of the day, I don't know what you should do, but I do know what my God will do, and that's work for our good (Rom 8:28), but only if we delight ourselves in Him (Psalm 37:4) and seek Him with our whole heart (Jer 29:13). Don't stop at "God works all things for the good" always remember to read "according to His purpose." What's His purpose.....I don't know, I just know it's a good one, and while I wait, I should be about His business...
Ever had writers block but in your own life? Ever been at a fork in the road? You know, where two paths are laid before you each going in a different direction? The kicker is when you don't know which way to go. I use the word kicker on purpose to downplay it, but in reality, it's rough. Having what seem to be two equally good paths before you and just not knowing which way to go.
On both roads you can see God's fingerprints mapping out your steps, however, you really have no clue which way to go? My advice to you, I don't know. I honestly don't know what to tell you and I say honestly because, seriously, I don't know. A lot of us have met the forks in the road on more than one occasion. Some of us have made decisions we initially thought were the best for us, only to find out they were anything but that. Others of us have made decisions thinking it was the pinnacle of what we wanted, only to find it was but a stepping stone that God used to get you where He wanted you.
Looking back at my life I am starting to see God's hand in places that at the time I never noticed. To think that God was so loving that even in my rebellion He was working in my favor, this blows my mind and just overwhelms me to point of tears. I look back to a year ago and how far away I was from God, I look to the kind of person I was and look at the things that mattered to me then. I can't explain it. He did it. (Coincidently, my iPhone is playing Glory to God right now... =])
A year ago I had just as many decisions to make as I have today. Most of them weren't the wisest, however, that doesn't mean He isn't going to use them. Do I wish I hadn't made those mistakes, let's be honest, who doesn't wish they could go back and alter their past. However, knowing what I know now, I'm not sure I would go back. As strange as it sounds, while those moments were painful, they were also necessary. Necessary because it was those broken moments, those dark, helpless moments, that God used to bring me to Him. The real question for me then is "Why were they necessary?"
Why God? Why would I have to go through that just to find You? At my desk at this very moment, I have the following verses written down, all taken from a sermon I heard about 5 months ago on God's plans and our plans:
Proverbs 16: 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits. 3 Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established. 4 The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. 9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
Gen 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
All this stuff wasn't necessary because it's how you come to salvation, no, I could have done that at any given moment with a simple prayer from my heart. These things were necessary because I made them necessary. See we tend to at times overcomplicate certain situations. Through massive amounts of overthinking and contemplation, we can easily take any simple decision and make it seem like that last question the SAT that will make or break your score.
God will always use our decisions at the end of the day for His glory. I am a walking testament of it. Every decision (mistake) I made in my life prior to coming to true repentence He used. How? Because it is my story, it is my Gomer moments that show the rest of the world how even a rebellious fool who mentally knew, yet rejected the cross, could be saved.
I don't normally do this until I finish, however, I am going to re-read this to see if it makes sense at all or if I'm completely crazy...makes some sense to me I guess lol. Let's continue.
Understand that sometimes, the decision isn't clear. Understand that sometimes God doesn't write it in the sky, because if He did, then there wouldn't be much faith to it. Sometimes He doesn't make it crystal clear because then we would be living by sight. What we have to remember is to seek His counsel and to seek the counsel of godly people (just a few, not the whole church) and then pray until we feel the tug, then go. And go knowing that no matter the outcome, He has you, no matter the result, He is going to use it to further His kingdom and to benefit you. Just keep in mind that sometimes His definition of benefit is different from ours, and sometimes we may see it initially as harmful, however, rest assured, it is for our benefit. He didn't promise we would understand His ways (Isa 55:8), but He did tell us He was about us (look to the cross for proof).
"God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain." C.S. Lewis
Do I wish I could go back and change the past, yes. I wish I could go back and make myself then who I am today. But I can't, and to sit and wish I could is a waste. Instead I'll use my past. It'll be a constant reminder to me of just how much God loves. In those moments I get puffed with pride, those moments will be what bring me back to earth. Ever felt like you were born on third base, some of us in these moments think we actually hit a triple. Don't ever think that the place your in you got in because of your knowledge, your way with words, your above average looks. Never forget that the only reason you are even awake today is because He sustained you the night before (Psalm 3:5).
I am not giving you a free ride to go out and make every decision known to man and abuse His grace, that isn't what this about. This is about helping us all understand that our Father is working our favor, and while sometimes we won't have the clear answer, we will always have our unchanging God with us.
The more we think about Him using our decisions for His glory, the more we should want to make double sure that the decision we make is the best decision we have to offer. So at the end of the day, I don't know what you should do, but I do know what my God will do, and that's work for our good (Rom 8:28), but only if we delight ourselves in Him (Psalm 37:4) and seek Him with our whole heart (Jer 29:13). Don't stop at "God works all things for the good" always remember to read "according to His purpose." What's His purpose.....I don't know, I just know it's a good one, and while I wait, I should be about His business...
Sunday, August 1, 2010
I really don't know what to say....
Ineffable. It's all I have to say about this past week. I can't even get through this first paragraph without first crying. To think that God would show up in my own life and use me, filthy me, to do His work in others, it blows me away. I never deserved for a second to be in the position I was in this week, and yet, God set it up in such a way that clearly His hand has been moving in me and He has been doing everything in my life these past few months in order that I might be prepared for this week.
The question of the week for me was "So Chris, where were you this time last year?" "Lost" was my response. From here on I really don't know what else to say. I am still collecting my thoughts and trying to put them in a concise blog, however, I am finding it impossible at the moment. I can say this much. I am deeply moved by God. I can't even begin to describe, hence the use of the word ineffable. It is difficult to truly describe the overwhelming sense of awesomeness one feels when you ponder for a second how alive God is, when you ponder His forgiveness, something that I still have trouble accepting, when you ponder how the fact you even are awake in the morning is due to His mercy (Psalm 3:5)
Over the next few days I'll most likely be posting a whole mess of fun from what happened in camp to what God spoke to me.
What's interesting about camp was what God spoke to me on. It was something I didn't expect for a second, however, God got personal, and when He gets personal, it gets serious quick, and it is either listen and apply or get chastened. I chose the former.
To be short so that I don't ruin a future blog, God showed me how to be a real man and in that lesson includes how we as men must treat ladies, who, in His eyes, are His little girls.
That's all for today, sorry for the short blog....I know not like me at all, however, I am on a spiritual overload right now. God is just amazing.
It would do us all well to go through Matt 5-7 and just understand how it is God wants us to be.
The question of the week for me was "So Chris, where were you this time last year?" "Lost" was my response. From here on I really don't know what else to say. I am still collecting my thoughts and trying to put them in a concise blog, however, I am finding it impossible at the moment. I can say this much. I am deeply moved by God. I can't even begin to describe, hence the use of the word ineffable. It is difficult to truly describe the overwhelming sense of awesomeness one feels when you ponder for a second how alive God is, when you ponder His forgiveness, something that I still have trouble accepting, when you ponder how the fact you even are awake in the morning is due to His mercy (Psalm 3:5)
Over the next few days I'll most likely be posting a whole mess of fun from what happened in camp to what God spoke to me.
What's interesting about camp was what God spoke to me on. It was something I didn't expect for a second, however, God got personal, and when He gets personal, it gets serious quick, and it is either listen and apply or get chastened. I chose the former.
To be short so that I don't ruin a future blog, God showed me how to be a real man and in that lesson includes how we as men must treat ladies, who, in His eyes, are His little girls.
That's all for today, sorry for the short blog....I know not like me at all, however, I am on a spiritual overload right now. God is just amazing.
It would do us all well to go through Matt 5-7 and just understand how it is God wants us to be.
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Right Foundation
To be honest, I am not sure how many readers I have. I know for certain that at least three people read my blog. Thank you to everyone who reads the blog and I pray that God would continue to use my blog in whatever way He see's fit. That being said I have a request for all my readers:
Please pray for this next week. The Uth group at Calvary Kendall will be taking 140 kids up to central Florida to spend a week in Camp Gilead. I think this is an extremely important time if not the most important time for these kids. I am unsure of where many of the kids are in life, however, given that it wasn't to long ago that I was their age and I was surrounded by the pressures and pains that come with being young, I can only imagine that based on the way this world works, it has gotten progressively worse.
Everyday now it is consistent in the news, this world is loaded with evil. If I call myself a man of God and I claim to be a warrior then I must go and fight for the Lord in the place where He has called me. My place is with the youth. On a regular basis the enemy takes joy in poking and prodding their young minds, loading them with complete garbage and lies. In today's world the education system sells ideas like safe-sex before marriage and evolution as if they were products you would find in the healthy food section. This world is twisted.
I have received comments from some on my need to study apologetics and read so much, telling me I don't focus enough on the love of Christ. Clearly they don't understand why I do what I do. In fact they forget that it is His love for me that ignites in me a passion to learn all I can about that which has saved me and continually sanctifies me. The more I ponder His love and mercy on my life, the more I can't help but cry, the more I can't help but praise, the more I can't help but make it my lifelong goal to know everything I can in order to be used by Him to go wherever, whenever to answer whatever for whomever all in His name.
Aside from the fact that knowledge and reading are powerful and that the bible calls us all to be diligent in studying the truth (2 Tim 2:15), another huge reason why I study apologetics is for the kids. Have you ever sat and spoken with a kid and listened to some of the questions they have about God and the bible? In the book "Who Made God?" Norman Geisler begins his section of the book with a story. The story was about a day when his grandaughter approached him with a question his wife could not answer: "Grandpa, who made God?" He goes on to say that while the obvious answer was no one, He has always been, we as Christians need to do well in learning all we can about what we believe.
Imagine being used by God to answer that question holding one child back. Imagine leading a child to Christ! I don't think their is a more beautiful thing in this world. To take a young mind and through God be used to set it in the right direction. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs
In Matthew, Christ warns us of the consequences of causing one of His little ones to stumble.
As Christians, as men and women of valor, we who have seen and been poisoned in our pasts by the wells of this world should be quick to keep watch on those kids we come across. It is so important we get a hold of the foundations of their lives and gear them toward Christ. This world is filled with liars, apostates, deceivers and the like. Any one today can sell you a cynaide pill and make it look like M&Ms. Show them love, show them mercy, show them grace, show them all these things just as Christ showed you them when you fell on your face and came into His arms.
Our lives ought to be living letters for the youth. We need to shepherd them and lead them by example (1 Peter 5:2-4). We must be above reproach so that in seeing our good works, they might follow in our example.
In my daily reading of Isaiah the other day, God pulled the brakes of my heart and parked me in the center of a verse that to me is Him yelling at me:
Though many say that this verse is speaking of Christ, if I am to be Christ like, then I too must do my all to raise up the foundations of many generations. Those generations which will come after me. The last thing I want on my watch is for Judges 2:10 to come to pass, and if I can pass on that same passion to the youth, then it won't.
Paul calls us as those with knowledge to give aid to the weak in 1 Cor 8:10-12. We who have the knowledge need to do all we can to pass it on to others, just as Christ has passed it onto us. That we who know what is right ought do it and be lights in this world, especially to the young ones.
Please pray for us this upcoming week. Pray for our leaders, pray for our sessions, our devos, pray for the hearts of the kids, that this wouldn't be a recreational vacation from life to enjoy and have fun, but that this would be a retreat of the heart from the things of this world in order to build strong christian bonds, in order to link up to God and never let go. May it be about igniting a fire in their lives, that the Consuming Fire might burn away the chaff in their lives that only the heart would remain, a heart of flesh, ready and willing to receive all that God has to pour out. That God would break them and rebuild them. That He would invade the rooms of the temple of their hearts and turn over tables, leaving no room for anything except Christ. That they would not be discouraged by this world, but encouraged in Christ, because of the cross, to live boldy in His name, proclaiming His love and glory to everyone. May we all live to be this way, may we all long for a closer relationship with Christ.
May we all be as the man who found the treasure hidden in the field in Matt 13:44, willing to sell all we have for the field, to dwell in the field, live in the field, work in the field, worship Him day and night in the field.
I leave you with something God dropped on my heart. My prayer for the youth of today
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8
Please pray for this next week. The Uth group at Calvary Kendall will be taking 140 kids up to central Florida to spend a week in Camp Gilead. I think this is an extremely important time if not the most important time for these kids. I am unsure of where many of the kids are in life, however, given that it wasn't to long ago that I was their age and I was surrounded by the pressures and pains that come with being young, I can only imagine that based on the way this world works, it has gotten progressively worse.
Everyday now it is consistent in the news, this world is loaded with evil. If I call myself a man of God and I claim to be a warrior then I must go and fight for the Lord in the place where He has called me. My place is with the youth. On a regular basis the enemy takes joy in poking and prodding their young minds, loading them with complete garbage and lies. In today's world the education system sells ideas like safe-sex before marriage and evolution as if they were products you would find in the healthy food section. This world is twisted.
I have received comments from some on my need to study apologetics and read so much, telling me I don't focus enough on the love of Christ. Clearly they don't understand why I do what I do. In fact they forget that it is His love for me that ignites in me a passion to learn all I can about that which has saved me and continually sanctifies me. The more I ponder His love and mercy on my life, the more I can't help but cry, the more I can't help but praise, the more I can't help but make it my lifelong goal to know everything I can in order to be used by Him to go wherever, whenever to answer whatever for whomever all in His name.
Aside from the fact that knowledge and reading are powerful and that the bible calls us all to be diligent in studying the truth (2 Tim 2:15), another huge reason why I study apologetics is for the kids. Have you ever sat and spoken with a kid and listened to some of the questions they have about God and the bible? In the book "Who Made God?" Norman Geisler begins his section of the book with a story. The story was about a day when his grandaughter approached him with a question his wife could not answer: "Grandpa, who made God?" He goes on to say that while the obvious answer was no one, He has always been, we as Christians need to do well in learning all we can about what we believe.
Imagine being used by God to answer that question holding one child back. Imagine leading a child to Christ! I don't think their is a more beautiful thing in this world. To take a young mind and through God be used to set it in the right direction. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs
22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
In Matthew, Christ warns us of the consequences of causing one of His little ones to stumble.
18:6 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
As Christians, as men and women of valor, we who have seen and been poisoned in our pasts by the wells of this world should be quick to keep watch on those kids we come across. It is so important we get a hold of the foundations of their lives and gear them toward Christ. This world is filled with liars, apostates, deceivers and the like. Any one today can sell you a cynaide pill and make it look like M&Ms. Show them love, show them mercy, show them grace, show them all these things just as Christ showed you them when you fell on your face and came into His arms.
Our lives ought to be living letters for the youth. We need to shepherd them and lead them by example (1 Peter 5:2-4). We must be above reproach so that in seeing our good works, they might follow in our example.
In my daily reading of Isaiah the other day, God pulled the brakes of my heart and parked me in the center of a verse that to me is Him yelling at me:
Isaiah 58:12 Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
Though many say that this verse is speaking of Christ, if I am to be Christ like, then I too must do my all to raise up the foundations of many generations. Those generations which will come after me. The last thing I want on my watch is for Judges 2:10 to come to pass, and if I can pass on that same passion to the youth, then it won't.
Paul calls us as those with knowledge to give aid to the weak in 1 Cor 8:10-12. We who have the knowledge need to do all we can to pass it on to others, just as Christ has passed it onto us. That we who know what is right ought do it and be lights in this world, especially to the young ones.
Please pray for us this upcoming week. Pray for our leaders, pray for our sessions, our devos, pray for the hearts of the kids, that this wouldn't be a recreational vacation from life to enjoy and have fun, but that this would be a retreat of the heart from the things of this world in order to build strong christian bonds, in order to link up to God and never let go. May it be about igniting a fire in their lives, that the Consuming Fire might burn away the chaff in their lives that only the heart would remain, a heart of flesh, ready and willing to receive all that God has to pour out. That God would break them and rebuild them. That He would invade the rooms of the temple of their hearts and turn over tables, leaving no room for anything except Christ. That they would not be discouraged by this world, but encouraged in Christ, because of the cross, to live boldy in His name, proclaiming His love and glory to everyone. May we all live to be this way, may we all long for a closer relationship with Christ.
May we all be as the man who found the treasure hidden in the field in Matt 13:44, willing to sell all we have for the field, to dwell in the field, live in the field, work in the field, worship Him day and night in the field.
I leave you with something God dropped on my heart. My prayer for the youth of today
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8
1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
“ I have no pleasure in them”:
2 While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all the daughters of music are brought low.
5 Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to his eternal home,
And the mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 “ Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“ All is vanity.”
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Two ears, one mouth...
It was 7 in the morning and I was wondering why I was even awake, then I realized my door was cracked open just wide enough to allow a dog to come in. It was then I knew why I woke up. I have a 4 year old yorky named Snickers (to me his name is Puppy, Mr. Puppy when I am upset) who for whatever reason has chosen me to be his best friend in the house. That dog loves me. Normally, his routine is to wait until my alarm clock goes off. Upon hearing it, he quickly rushes to my door and patiently waits for me to open it. If the door doesn't open quickly enough for him, he'll begin scratching at my door, whine and bark, begging me to come out so I can say hello.
This morning was different though. When he went to scratch the door, it opened. I was completely silent when he walked in. He didn't know I was in the room. I could hear him sitting in the center of my room panting, looking for a sign of life. I could hear his discouragement when he let out an almost silent whimper and began to walk out of my room. I smiled and just said "puppy" in an almost silent 7 in the morning voice (the kind of voice you can barely make out) and he quickly jumped for joy. Immediately he jumped onto my bed and began running around in circles just barking and licking. It was awesome.
Made me wonder though. Is that how we are? Like puppy, we too should have that someone whose voice makes us scream for joy. The voice that when heard, causes our hearts to melt and makes us want to run in circles just praising in love. Not knowing what to do or say, we are just all over the place, in pure awe that He would even talk to us. Is that how we respond?
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
As Christians, we should always know what His voice sounds like and if we don't then we ought to figure out why that is and get as near to Him as possible. The closer we draw to Him, the closer He draws to us (James 4:8). This is why it is so important that we get in His word and we pray. When we pray, we must always remember that it is dialogue with God, not a monologue. A lot of the times we get so caught up in asking asking asking that we fail to remember, "Prayer is about getting to God, not the answer." (Chambers) How else are you going to get to God if you don't listen to Him? How else are you going to know His voice if you don't listen for it. It is important because as John tells us in 1 John 2:23 we need to know the Son, else we don't have the father. John is exhorting us to have an intimate relationship with Christ.
A.W. Tozer put it well in his book Man's Pursuit of God (get it, it rocks!)(and sorry, the quote is long)
Whoever will listen will hear the speaking Heaven. This is definitely not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen, for listening is not today a part of popular religion. We are at the opposite end of the pole from there. Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God. But we may take heart. To a people caught in the tempest of the last great conflict God says, “Be still, and know that I am God,” and still He says it, as if He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not in noise but in silence.
Take a 5 minute break right now, and ask God to speak to you. Pick a Psalm right now (Psalm 43, 44, 50, 51, 81, 84, 37, 100 pick one!)and just read it and keep silent and listen. Did He rock you? Alright let's keep going! (Praise God)
A lot of the time, we get caught up in like I said, asking asking asking, that we don't consider the other side of a conversation: listening. James tells us that we need to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Quick to listen to His word, slow to speak back, and slow to becoming angry if we don't like what we hear. But if it is God speaking, and we know His voice, why should we be angry? Ever stopped to wonder? I know I have. How can we get mad at God. If you haven't read Micah, check it out, sweet little book. In it, in chapter 6 verses 1-8, we see God contending with Israel. He is asking them "Why?" In verse 4 He reminds them of their captivity in Egypt and how God rescued them. Now this isn't the first time God does this in the bible. There are countless verses in which God has to remind the people that He is God and that He has rescued them. Why is that?
What is it about ourselves that gives us the right to second guess God? As Christians, when we hear God's voice, we should be just as excited as my puppy was this morning. "Yeah well sometimes God isn't exactly the nicest guy, sometimes the trials hurt!" Yeah, well consider this: Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Imagine that, even in chastening, there is love.
We aren't always going to like what we hear from God, that is a given. He tells us time and time again that we aren't going to understand His ways, however, that in no way gives us the right to question Him. Job learned that when God answered him in Job 38. Beautiful chapter of the bible. God has to remind Job who laid the foundations, who controls the ocean, who feeds the animals, who provides shelter, who causes rain, who guides lightning, who makes ice, who causes it to melt, who guides the sun.
If God is control of everything, and through Him all things are made. If it His God who holds the universe together by the power of His word, if it is God who does all things (and all things He does are good James 1:17) and works out all things for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28) why don't we listen to Him. He should be the first person we go to, He should be the first voice we look out for.
God speaks through a variety of ways. Sometimes it is through His word, sometimes through a person, and sometimes, in silence.
There are plenty of times in life, I know at least for me, where we feel as though the voice of God is silent. "He isn't speaking to me" we say with a discouraged faint and as a result we waiver and in some cases we fall. What if God keeps silent on purpose? What if His silence is His answer? Every stopped to wonder that sometimes God keeps silent to teach us something. What if we have become so dependent on His blessings that we have forgotten that it has nothing to do with His blessings and everything to do with Him, the Giver of the blessings. So God is being silent, that doesn't mean He isn't working. This is where faith steps in. Perhaps our faith is being tested, and in this test, we'll come out with a stronger more immovable faith.
We have to go through valleys to gain perspective. You won't know just how high the highest mountain top is, until you have first seen the lowest valley. Remember this,
Matt 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Whether in good times or in troubling periods, God is speaking, listen for His voice and remember, it's God, who cares if we don't like what we hear, quit focusing on the your feelings toward the message and start focusing on God's feelings toward you. Listen for His voice and learn it well. Once you know it's Him speaking....you'll melt...
Job 2:10b "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”
This morning was different though. When he went to scratch the door, it opened. I was completely silent when he walked in. He didn't know I was in the room. I could hear him sitting in the center of my room panting, looking for a sign of life. I could hear his discouragement when he let out an almost silent whimper and began to walk out of my room. I smiled and just said "puppy" in an almost silent 7 in the morning voice (the kind of voice you can barely make out) and he quickly jumped for joy. Immediately he jumped onto my bed and began running around in circles just barking and licking. It was awesome.
Made me wonder though. Is that how we are? Like puppy, we too should have that someone whose voice makes us scream for joy. The voice that when heard, causes our hearts to melt and makes us want to run in circles just praising in love. Not knowing what to do or say, we are just all over the place, in pure awe that He would even talk to us. Is that how we respond?
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
As Christians, we should always know what His voice sounds like and if we don't then we ought to figure out why that is and get as near to Him as possible. The closer we draw to Him, the closer He draws to us (James 4:8). This is why it is so important that we get in His word and we pray. When we pray, we must always remember that it is dialogue with God, not a monologue. A lot of the times we get so caught up in asking asking asking that we fail to remember, "Prayer is about getting to God, not the answer." (Chambers) How else are you going to get to God if you don't listen to Him? How else are you going to know His voice if you don't listen for it. It is important because as John tells us in 1 John 2:23 we need to know the Son, else we don't have the father. John is exhorting us to have an intimate relationship with Christ.
A.W. Tozer put it well in his book Man's Pursuit of God (get it, it rocks!)(and sorry, the quote is long)
Whoever will listen will hear the speaking Heaven. This is definitely not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen, for listening is not today a part of popular religion. We are at the opposite end of the pole from there. Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God. But we may take heart. To a people caught in the tempest of the last great conflict God says, “Be still, and know that I am God,” and still He says it, as if He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not in noise but in silence.
Take a 5 minute break right now, and ask God to speak to you. Pick a Psalm right now (Psalm 43, 44, 50, 51, 81, 84, 37, 100 pick one!)and just read it and keep silent and listen. Did He rock you? Alright let's keep going! (Praise God)
A lot of the time, we get caught up in like I said, asking asking asking, that we don't consider the other side of a conversation: listening. James tells us that we need to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Quick to listen to His word, slow to speak back, and slow to becoming angry if we don't like what we hear. But if it is God speaking, and we know His voice, why should we be angry? Ever stopped to wonder? I know I have. How can we get mad at God. If you haven't read Micah, check it out, sweet little book. In it, in chapter 6 verses 1-8, we see God contending with Israel. He is asking them "Why?" In verse 4 He reminds them of their captivity in Egypt and how God rescued them. Now this isn't the first time God does this in the bible. There are countless verses in which God has to remind the people that He is God and that He has rescued them. Why is that?
What is it about ourselves that gives us the right to second guess God? As Christians, when we hear God's voice, we should be just as excited as my puppy was this morning. "Yeah well sometimes God isn't exactly the nicest guy, sometimes the trials hurt!" Yeah, well consider this: Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Imagine that, even in chastening, there is love.
We aren't always going to like what we hear from God, that is a given. He tells us time and time again that we aren't going to understand His ways, however, that in no way gives us the right to question Him. Job learned that when God answered him in Job 38. Beautiful chapter of the bible. God has to remind Job who laid the foundations, who controls the ocean, who feeds the animals, who provides shelter, who causes rain, who guides lightning, who makes ice, who causes it to melt, who guides the sun.
If God is control of everything, and through Him all things are made. If it His God who holds the universe together by the power of His word, if it is God who does all things (and all things He does are good James 1:17) and works out all things for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28) why don't we listen to Him. He should be the first person we go to, He should be the first voice we look out for.
God speaks through a variety of ways. Sometimes it is through His word, sometimes through a person, and sometimes, in silence.
There are plenty of times in life, I know at least for me, where we feel as though the voice of God is silent. "He isn't speaking to me" we say with a discouraged faint and as a result we waiver and in some cases we fall. What if God keeps silent on purpose? What if His silence is His answer? Every stopped to wonder that sometimes God keeps silent to teach us something. What if we have become so dependent on His blessings that we have forgotten that it has nothing to do with His blessings and everything to do with Him, the Giver of the blessings. So God is being silent, that doesn't mean He isn't working. This is where faith steps in. Perhaps our faith is being tested, and in this test, we'll come out with a stronger more immovable faith.
We have to go through valleys to gain perspective. You won't know just how high the highest mountain top is, until you have first seen the lowest valley. Remember this,
Matt 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Whether in good times or in troubling periods, God is speaking, listen for His voice and remember, it's God, who cares if we don't like what we hear, quit focusing on the your feelings toward the message and start focusing on God's feelings toward you. Listen for His voice and learn it well. Once you know it's Him speaking....you'll melt...
Job 2:10b "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”
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