To Be

 

Sunday night our church family observed John Wesley's Covenant Renewal Service. Toward the end of the service I asked; "How do you want God to bless you, spiritually, in 2017?". This question led to great introspection.

Today, I considered - and prayed over - this question deeper and I was led to one word, "be"

My hope, spiritually, is that I learn to "be" in 2017. 

I want to learn to "be" in the presence of God, to enjoy the quiet - and sometimes unproductive - moments with Him. I want The Lord to show me how to "be" with Him without the desire to "do" for Him. 

However, to "be" is not only my hope spiritually. There is more. 

My hope, relationally, is that I learn to "be" in 2017. 

I was recently reminded of the "StrengthsFinder" personality assessment that I took four years ago. I was asked to take the assessment again and it revealed - just as it did four years ago - that my greatest "strength" is "Acheiver". 

According to StrengthsFinder creator, Don Clifton, Achievers "have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive." 

It is this very "strength" that drives me to "do" rather than to "be". This is why my wife tells - and often has to force - me to sit down so often. I miss out on quite a bit, relationally, because of this drive to "do" rather than "be". 

Author M. Robert Mulholland Jr., in his book, "Invitation to a Journey", writes; "We live in a culture that has reversed the biblical order of being in doing. Being and doing our integrally related, to be sure, but we have to have the order straight. Our doing flows out of our being."

My prayer in 2017; God, teach me to "be".

The Answer

Have you ever been wrecked by the very words that come out of your mouth?

Today - as I was preparing for the message tomorrow morning - I spoke words that cut me to the heart and wrecked me at the moment I spoke them. In the midst of preaching (to myself I proclaimed, "How can we claim that Jesus is the answer for our world when we don't depend on him as the answer for our churches - our homes - our relationships?"

As I proceeded to fall to the ground and to pray through this very phrase, I was more and more convicted by the Holy Spirit.

As believers we make the claim that Hesus is the answer for our world - that He and He alone is the source of hope, healing, and joy that the world needs so desperately. And yet, we often find ourselves in the midst of difficult situations - worried, fearful, or searching for answers within our own control - and we leave Jesus out. 

Relationships are broken, souls are lost, illness plagues us daily, and we struggle with our emotions and yet we fail to go to Jesus and trust in His power and provisions. 

Let us renew our faith in and faithfulness to Jesus as our Savior and Lord. 

Let us depend on Jesu as the answer and as our answer. 

Relational Break

I was reading in Genesis 3 this morning and I began to think of the effects of our sinful acts. Of course there are the effects of our sin that are far-reaching, but the immediate effect is a relational break.

Look at the immediate effect of Adam and Eve's sin (vs. 7-8);

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

this is the first relational break that our sin brings about - a relational break between us and God. This break is a wedge that has been driven between God and mankind since the first sin and it still exists today.

Yet, God in His grace, invites us into His presence (vs. 9-11);

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

We are invited to draw close to God, however sin drives us further and further away from His presence. And still, even in the midst of our sin, God calls us back to Himself. In love and grace, God gives us the opportunity to confess our sin to Him and to be reconciled.

However, what we see is more evidence of the relational break that sin brings about (vs. 12);

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

This relational break, this distance that sin puts between us and God - this distance that sin puts between us and the ones we love - it does not have to exist.

God, in His infinite love and grace sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay our sin debt and we no longer have to bear the shame, the guilt, and the pain of our sinful actions.

In the garden God shed blood to cover the shame of Adam and Eve in the Garden (vs. 21);

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

In much the same way Christ Jesus shed His blood on the cross to cover the shame of all of mankind (Isaiah 53:5);

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Let us no longer be separated from God and one another. Christ has paid the price and made communion available to all.

Connected To My Truck

Two weeks ago I got a new (used) Ford Ranger. It was a deal that I could not pass up! When my wife told me about this truck, she mentioned that it was a manual transmission and, knowing that I have driven automatic transmissions since she met me, she asked if I knew how to drive a manual. I don't, but I'm sure I'll pick it up, it can't be too difficult.

For the first day or so after we got the truck I skipped around in the parking lot and down some of the side streets throughout our neighborhood, I killed the engine a couple dozen times as I learned the delicate balance of shifting into first gear, and I jarred the kids heads into the headrests several times as I they rode along with me. Then, I began to get the hang of driving a manual transmission truck.

The key to learning to drive this truck was simply getting a sense for when I was about to stall the engine and applying more gas or more clutch. Once I was connected to the truck in this way I found that getting it into first gear was simple. Likewise, having an established connection, where I could feel when the engine was being strained gave me the knowledge needed to shift up or shift down when I would drive this truck around town. And, this connection could only be established through time spent driving the truck.

When I considered this new connection with my truck I also considered other connections in my life; my connection with my children, with my wife, and with Christ. Wouldn't it be amazing if I could establish a connection with people in my life in the same way I have created a connection with my truck? Wouldn't it be amazing if I could sense when I am drifting away or, even better, if I could sense a need in their life or in my life to draw closer? wouldn't it be amazing if I could establish a connection so great that when their is pain, hurt, or sorrow, that I could immediately make an adjustment to correct the situation before the relationship begins to strain or, much worse, stalls out.

I desire this type of connection with my children, my wife, and with Christ. And I desire this level of a connection, where I can sense a drift and a strain int he relationships that we share. However this level of a connection can only come through one thing. This level of connection comes through the same thing that I was willing to pour into my truck and into learning to sense its needs, time.

I wonder what relationships are important to you. I wonder if you have the same desire to see a connection to people in your life as I do - to sense a drift or a strain as it is happening. I wonder if you are willing to pour in the needed time to see the connections made in these relationships established. Let us begin today.

Saying YES to Jesus means...

Some thoughts on being a follower of Jesus from Luke 9:25-30;

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:  

Many would consider this as the mark of success in ministry, large crowds - great multitudes - of people traveling with them, hanging on every word that they spoke. Yet Jesus did not consider this success. At the moments that large crowds are traveling with Him, Jesus stops and begins to tell them of the many demands He has of them if they intend to be followers of His. 

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 

The word hate is used figuratively by Jesus to better illustrate the priority of the relationship. As a follower of Jesus, there can be no rival relationships. 

Saying "YES" to Jesus means saying "NO" to other relationships!

And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

The Roman cross had one purpose, it was a place to go and to die. As a follower of Jesus, a person must be willing to die to their selfish desires.

Saying "YES" to Jesus means saying "NO to yourself!

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 

“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 

Jesus pauses and tells two parables to bring up two distinct points about the same issue, being a follower of His. The first account of the unfinished tower tells the potential follower;

Consider the costs of your commitment to Jesus.

The second account of the king facing a potential war tells the potential follower; 

Consider the costs of opposing Jesus.  

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Being a follower of Jesus comes with great demands - on our time, on our resources, on our finances, on our families, and on us. As a follower of Jesus, a person must be willing to give up anything Jesus demands.

Saying "YES" to Jesus means saying "NO" to everything else!

Being a follower of Jesus requires total commitment.

So, here are a few questions to consider:

What relationships in your life come before Jesus?

What demands are too much for you to carry?

What costs are you not willing to pay?

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ

No one comes before You, Jesus.

Nothing comes before You, Jesus.

I am Your disciple.

You are my Master.

You are my Savior.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Leaving and Cleaving

There are two principles in marriage that I talk about to couples before their wedding day and before they are married; “leaving” and “cleaving”

In the book of Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve – the first husband and wife – God says; “a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife.” A husband is called to leave his old life – all of the things in which he used to find comfort and security in – to leave them behind.  A husband is called to be united with his wife – to cleave to her in the highs and lows of life, in richer and in poorer, in sickness and in health. Out of pure love and devotion, in faithfulness and commitment

In your relationship with Jesus Christ, which do you struggle with more – leaving or cleaving?

LEAVING: Do you struggle to leave behind the sin of your past? To leave behind the things in which you used to find comfort and security in? To leave behind the things that you have grown to love?

Some have really worked at leaving their sins and their sinful life behind. They have focused on these sins and said – never again! They have waged a war on these sins in your life. And, then they find that it hasn’t worked, and somehow this sin has grown even larger.

The only way to combat sin is to fall in love with something else!

Many struggle to leave behind the sin of your past because they also struggle to cleave to Jesus.

CLEAVING: Do you struggle to stay united with Jesus? To stick with Him through the highs and lows of life? To trust Him in richer and in poorer? To depend upon Him sickness and in health?

Some believers they know about Jesus but they don’t know Jesus. Some “followers” have no idea what they are following. Some Christians don’t even enjoy being with Christ.

There is so much more to a life in Jesus Christ than salvation. We are invited to follow Jesus out of pure love and devotion. We are urged to live in Jesus, being faithful and committed.

Testimony in Terms of Sin

I recently finished reading D. Michael Henderson's "Making Disciples One Conversation at a Time" and very much appreciated the insight and knowledge that he brought to the subject of evangelism and discipleship. But it was one particular quote that caused me to stop and contemplate my walk with Christ;

“I groan when I hear Christians give their testimonies in terms of sin. It’s like a man speaking at his own 25^th wedding anniversary talking about all the girls he gave up to marry his wife. ‘Yes, I remember the day when I forsook all others and took only to her.’ Get over it, man. Tell me about the quality of your relationship, the family you’ve reared the things you’ve accomplished as a team.”  (pg. 178)

The point is, being a follower of Jesus Christ is no more a system to manage sin than marriage is a system to control adultery. But so many are living this way, rather than expecting a constant, daily victory over sin, rather than experiencing the relationship with Christ, the joy of walking with Him, and the triumphs of accomplishing His will, they muddle through as if this is what Christ intended when He said in John 10:10, “I have come that you may have life,  and have it to the fullest.”

We, as followers of Christ, have to move past this idea that following Christ is just about overcoming sin and we have got to start walking with Him and experiencing Him fully.

What are you going to do?

These past few weeks this question has been running through my mind. As we approach Resurrection Sunday, or as some call it, Easter, we have been hitting the subject of evangelism head on at our church. I think that all too often we make it far too difficult.
Jesus has left us with the mission of sharing His message with the lost and the hurting. We are obligated by our Master to tell those who do not know and those that need to know about the hope and grace that He, and He alone brings.

Jesus has left us with the promise that He has gone to prepare a place for us to come and be with Him for all of eternity. As believers, this is where we find our hope, our drive, and our passion, to keep on keeping on.

Jesus has blessed us with gifts which we are to use to share the message of love and restoration with everyone that we come in contact with. Further, He has made these blessings known to us through the power of His Spirit and revelation.

Jesus has blessed us with relationships; people that we love and people and have a deep desire to help and offer assistance to.

Jesus has left us with the promise of His ever present guidance, assistance, and support, also known as

So, given all of these things; the obligation by Christ, the opportunity through Christ, and the omnipresence of Christ.....

...what are you going to do?

Let me give you some reasons to get up, get out, and get moving...

Do it for your sake; But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20)

Do it for your loved one's sake; For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (2 Corinthians 15:4)

Do it for Jesus' sake; eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body. (Philippians 1:20)

Remembering and Rekindling the Relationship

For Valentine's Day my wife asked me not to buy her flowers. Due to the cost of cards these days we decided that we were not going to spend money on them when we can just as easily tell each other how we feel and the cards usually end up in the garbage within a couple of days. And due to our schedules and the inability to find a sitter for the kids (due a bit to laziness on my part) on Valentine's Day we were not able to enjoy a date or even dinner alone.

But, something needed to be done for my wife on Valentine's Day so I made some last minute preparations, put the kids to bed and presented my wife with a box of scrapbooks, pictures notes, letters, and cards from our dating years and early married life. Along with this box I gathered up some music from our past and we enjoyed sitting together and walking down memory lane and remembering our journey up to this point. It was quite nice and is something that we have not taken the time to do for some time.

As we looked through this box of memories and talked I came to several conclusions; (1) I love my wife, (2) I used to be much more romantic than I am today, (3) I used to take time to do the little and special things, and (4) I need to start honoring my wife the way I honored her while we were dating and during the "honey moon" stage.

These last few days this continues to run through my mind as I look to find ways to honor her more and show her just how much I do love her and I have found that it is a lot more difficult than it used to be and that I am out of practice in this area.

A gentleman came to me today and we got to talking about the way he used to feel when he came to Christ, the way he was "on fire" to learn about Christ, develop a relationship with Him, tell other people about Christ, and serve in the church. And he asked; "What happened?" He said that anymore he just doesn't have the drive to do any of these things and finds that it is difficult to even make it to church anymore. As we talked more I came to understand that; (1) this man still loves Christ, nothing has changed that, (2) he used to be more passionate and "on fire" in his relationship with Christ, (3) the time and energy he used to spend serving Christ was not thought of as a sacrifice, and (4) he desperately needs to get back to the habits that he used to have for loving Christ and serving Him.

 There is great danger when we neglect to be romantic and show the love for our spouses, the chemistry within a marriage decreases, our spouse begins to wonder if the love still exists, and soon we find that the marriage is hanging by a thin string. In the same way, when we neglect to love Christ and push through the wall that Satan and the world is constantly putting in front of us, we soon find that we that our relationship with Christ is hanging by a thin string.

If this is where you are I urge you to sit down with Christ, walk down memory lane, and remember your journey with Him up to this point. He will reveal memories to you and will rekindle the passion and the relationship that you have with Him.

Honeymoon Phase

This week Addison, our four-year-old started preschool. I would have to say that this was more of an adjustment for the rest of our family than it was for her. Zion, our two-year old wondered aimlessly around the house all afternoon asking for Addison and saying "school" in such a sad tone.

In addition to being an adjustment, it brought a lot of anxiety to Kim and I throughout the day and especially as we waiting for her to come home on the school bus. The first day we waited around for over an hour, not sure of the exact time that the bus would arrive and countless times Kim was itching to call transportation to check on the bus.

Yet, when Addison arrived home that afternoon, the smile on her face, the sprint up the driveway, and the stories about her day calmed our minds and  gave us security, knowing that this was a good school for her.

This weekend we received a call and a letter from her teacher, bringing us even more comfort. In the letter she stated that this past week was the "honeymoon phase". And although the kids were very excited to come to school, meet new friends, and learn new things, that may soon change. She said that soon the kids may begin to get homesick, miss their parents, and not like school. She said this is normal.

Addison loves us very much, we know this because she says it every day, she gives us hugs and kisses, has the desire to play games and spend time with us, and because she (generally) likes to listen to us and please us with her actions. Yet we know that this may someday change, that she may soon have no real desire to spend time with spend much time with us and that the word "hate" may be hurled from her mouth toward us. I'm not sure if I am ready for that yet!

Which led me to thinking; are we in the honeymoon phase with our children? I know that both Kim and I have changed a great deal since we were married seven years ago. This may be due to maturing in both of us, the joy of life, the stress of life, and so many other aspects. Yet one thing is certain, we have both changed and so has our relationship. We are no longer in the honeymoon phase! But we are okay with that, no one can live in the honeymoon phase, not only is it not possible, it is not healthy. But it sure is fun to think of the times of our honeymoon and the memories made up to that point and even after that. And, when this life and so many outside forces are chipping away at us and at our relationship, it is good to remember our honeymoon phase and to strive to get back some of the feelings, the joy, and the happiness that we experienced at that stage in our relationship. 

In the same way, we cannot live in the honeymoon phase of our relationship with Jesus Christ. But, it is essential for us to remember the joy that we experienced when we first found the one thing that made life worth living, the only thing that gives our life value. We must strive, daily, to achieve all that Christ has called us to, that is, His purpose for our lives. This is so much easier during the honeymoon phase, but God did not call us to the honeymoon phase, he called us to this life.

John had this to say about remembering you honeymoon phase with Christ, or as he called it, your "first love".

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.  (Revelation 2:4-5)

I encourage you to read and reread the above, pray over it, asking God to speak to you through it today.

Blessed are...

“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is risen!” (Luke 16:6, NIV) To me, these are some of the most powerful words recorded in the Bible. These words tell us that we serve a God that was crucified for our imperfections, our sins, that He died this horrible death so that we did not have to and that He conquered death. He lives, even today, He lives! We serve a living God! Think about that for a moment…..then take a couple minutes thanking Him for all that He has been through for you.

As believers, Easter is one of the most joyous holidays because, through it, we get to celebrate everything that sets our faith and our Savior apart from this world. Now that the Easter holiday is through I encourage you to stay focused on Christ, on everything that He has done and everything that He continues to do in, through, and around you.

After Jesus’ resurrection he appeared to many people before his ascension into heaven. The other day I was reading about Jesus’ appearance to Thomas, one of His disciples (John 20:24-31). One verse caught me more so than the others that morning, verse 29. Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those that have not seen and yet have believed.” Was Jesus talking about us in this verse? Was Jesus saying that we are to be blessed, to be happy, to be envied because we have not seen Him and yet we have believed? I have read this passage in the past and for some time now I have believed that Jesus was, in fact, speaking about you and I. But more recently I was reminded of Jesus’ healing of the man who was born blind (John 9). Later, when this man was questioned by the Pharisees, he replies “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.” (John 9:25)

Whatever your view on this passage is, whether Jesus was speaking about you and I, because we have not seen Jesus in the physical sense or not. The truth is, it doesn’t matter! For if you have seen Jesus in the Spiritual sense, you have been blessed immeasurably. Your challenge, then, is to evaluate the relationship you have with The Creator of the heavens and the earth, to come to know Him for who He is in, around, and through you! And then, live this blessing out and share it with everyone around you, today, tomorrow, and forever.