Press On Toward Perfection

The NBA Finals just finished days ago. LeBron James and the overly talented Miami Heat promised their fans and the city of Miami a championship but they fell short of their promise when the Dallas Mavericks proved to be more than they could handle. A lot of players in professional and college sports make promises that they fail to deliver on, perfection seems to elude so many these days.

A few years ago I had the privilege of attending the final regular season Ball State University football game. Ball State went undefeated during the regular season, a great accomplishment among today’s college football teams. After the game I watched as thousands of individuals ran onto the field to congratulate the football team and the coaching staff and to celebrate a season in which their team was perfect. Although I have never been a Ball State fan, I found myself caught up in the excitement and felt pride for this team that I had just observed. This got me thinking about perfection.

The Bible has much to say about perfection;

• Deuteronomy 32:4; God’s works are perfect,
• Psalm 18:30; God’s ways are perfect,
• Job 36:4; God’s knowledge is perfect,
• Psalm 19:7; God’s law is perfect,
• Psalm 50:2; God’s beauty is perfect,
• Isaiah 25:1; God’s faithfulness is perfect,
• James 1:17; God’s gifts are perfect,

What an awesome, perfect God we have the opportunity to worship and serve. But what is encouraging is that in Matthew 5:48 Jesus calls us to be perfect as well. So how can we achieve perfection? Jesus gave two steps toward achieving perfection in Matthew 19:16-30, this is the story of the rich young ruler who asked about eternal life. Jesus lays out for him the laws that he must follow and the ruler claims that he is following all of them. Then Jesus says to him, in verse 21, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” It comes down to two distinct things. If you want to be perfect as God is perfect, if you want to achieve all that God has intended for you to be you must love God and love people. Jesus states it like this in Luke 10:27; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love God and love people!

Paul writes in Philippians 3:12-14; “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” So I urge you to “press on toward the goal” that God has called you to.

Some Questions

I love a good questions. Jesus taught a lot through well-constructed, well-timed questions.

Questions have the power to help us evaluate our behavior, motives, attitudes, and actions. Questions have the power to change lives and redirect futures. The other night I was up very late, unable to sleep, and I began writing pages of questions as they cam to my mind. Here are a few of those questions.

What is most important to you?

Where do you spend the majority of your time?

What do you spend most of your energy doing?

Who do you spend most of your time with?

What thoughts consume your mind?

What is your greatest talent or ability?

What do you hope to achieve with your life?

Why does God love you?

Who do you love?

Why do you love others?

What do others do that earns your love?

What Bible verse speaks to you the most?

What Bible verse comforts you the most?

What Bible verse encourages you the most?

What do you love about Jesus?

What does Jesus call you to do?

Who has God created you to be?

Who has God created you to love?

What does judgment mean?

How should God judge you?

How should others judge you?

How should you judge others?

What is your deepest secret?

Does God have secrets?

Should friends have secrets?

Should marriages have secrets?

What do you idolize?

What do you desire?

What inspires you?

What image are you keeping?

What keeps you from doing God’s work?

What is your stumbling block?

What breaks your heart?

Do you hate evil?

What are you addicted to?

Have you surpassed temptation?

Why are you tempted?

How are you tempted?

What is the process of temptation?

Who does your temptation hurt?

How are you overcoming temptation?

How are you fleeing from Satan?

How far is Satan from you?

What do your kids think of you?

What do you want your kids to think of you?

Do you want your kids to be just like you?

How can you better lead your kids?

Who do you want your kids to be?

What do you want your kids to become?

What are you tired of?

What are you tired from?

Why do you fall for the same trap time after time?

How can you overcome the trap before you?

What race are you running?

Who are you committed to?

Who are you aiming to please?

What influences are in your life?

Who do you surround yourself with?

What do you need to do away with in your life?

What do you need to do away with in your world?

Who do you need to do away with in your life?

Setting an Example

Our children are quite a blessing to my wife and I. There are several phrases that make it into our daily language, such as, "hurry up", "use your words", and many, many more. One phrase that our five-year-old daughter hears almost everyday is "act like a five year old". You see, she has two younger brothers and often finds herself struggling to fill the oldest child role that she was born into.

I have to say that both of our sons receive more positive attention than she does and it is common that we point out their cute antics and laugh at their childish behavior. Because of this additional attention to the younger two, our oldest commonly tries to act much like them in an attempt to receive attention.

Just the other day we were paying visits to the grandparents and, when it came time to leave, she began to act like a two-year-old. We reminded her of her actual age and yet she continued to act out, and was soon disciplined for her childish actions. Why do we discipline her? Because she knows better and  because she is smarter and more mature than her behavior was showing.

As we made our way to the car we began to talk with her about her actions and that, as the oldest. she is to act in a way that leads the younger two rather than allowing their actions to lead her. We pointed out that her younger brothers want to be just like her and often follow her around, doing the exact same things that she does. She is to act in such a way that her words, actions, and behavior makes them want to be like her.

This is true for each one of us, whether we are the old or the young, whether we are the boss or the worker, whether we are surrounded by people constantly or feel like we are alone most of the time. Each one of us are called to live a mature life and to lead others through our example, through our words and actions.

This applies to the follower of Christ as well. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."  (1 Tim. 4:12) Likewise, followers of Jesus Christ are called to be in the world but not of the world, they are called to set an example for the world but not to become like the world. Followers of Jesus Christ are called to act in such a way that their words, actions, and behavior makes others want to follow after them, and after Jesus.

So, are you leading by example or are you following the example of others? Are you looking to Jesus and following His example for the way you should live your life or are you following the example set forth by the world and those who are in this world. Remember, focus on Jesus and the things that shouldn't matter won't matter any longer.

Prayer of a Child

This past Wednesday evening we hosted a couple missionaries at our church for the evening. Prior to going to the church my wife and I invited them to come to our home for dinner. It was quite a blessing and encouragement to have them share with the church family and to spend time visiting with them. But, as much of a blessing as that was, it was not the most meaningful thing to me that evening.

On Wednesday evening storms raged in our community that caused many to take refuge in our basement and almost caused our evening to come to an early end due to tornado warnings. After the missionaries had left the church we sent them on their way from our home and then began to prepare our two oldest children for bed. As I knelt down with Addison, our five-year-old she began to pray;

"God is good, God is great, I thank you for the sleep we will get. Thank you God that we have a house, thank you God that we have a basement, thank you God that we have missionaries, thank you God that missionaries are our friends, thank you God that the big kids are our friends, thank you God for our beds, thank you God for storms, thank you God for keeping us safe through the storms, thank you God for letting us get sleep during the storms."

After our prayer time with the kids on Wednesday, I went back to the church to clean up. The storms came closer, the wind grew stronger, the thunder grew louder, and the lighting grew brighter. And as my wife sat in the living room she heard our daughter praying again, praying softly and then a bit louder, praying prayers of thanksgiving and prayers requesting safety. How wonderful it is when children pray. How pure it is when children pray. How we can all learn from children.

I make a lot of mistakes, but I thank God that my kids are learning to pray, that they are learning to thank Him for the little and big things in their lives, and that they are learning that they can trust Him. May God grant us the ability, the knowledge and wisdom to continue to teach and train our children in his ways so they grow in their admiration and trust of Him.

Change Your Life

It seems like almost every day we hear of a product that will change our lives forever. It seems in our culture today that technological advances have really changed our lives, in both the private and public sector (Internet, cell phones, computers, etc.). Years ago we were introduced to a product called the Snuggie and told that it would change our lives.

This morning the following video came on the TV about Tony Little and his success. Tony Little is the infomercial king, he continues to roll out exercise equipment that will "change your life". The odd thing is that, when you watch his infomercials, every product he comes up with will "change your life forever"

Let me say, we own a Snuggie and it did not change our lives. I know quite a number of people that have purchased some of this stuff that has been designed and marketed by Tony Little and, while it seems to change their life for a few weeks or months, the excitement soon passes and it becomes just another material possession in their house, and soon their garage.

Yet, there is one thing that can truly change your life forever. This is not a new thing which is proof that it is not a fad and that it has stood the test of time. It is not a "quick fix", nor is it an easy fix, in fact it has some rather demanding requirements for all those that accept it. Jesus Christ came from God the Father full of grace (to save) and truth (to teach) and stated that He did not come to abolish the law (of the past) but to fulfill it. As we follow Him our lives with be changed as we live our days on this earth (through increased love, hope, and joy) and also after we pass away from this earth (through eternal life and glory with Him).

Ten Commandments in Ten Weeks

Exodus 20 gives a list of ten commands given to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. Throughout the Scriptures, followers of Christ are told to obey these commandments of God, here are just a few places:

• "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13
• "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19
• "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” Matthew 19:17

And although many followers of Jesus Christ know that we are to obey these commandments of God, that we are to live by them and follow them, many followers don't even know what they are. Do you know what the Ten Commandments are? Are you able to share them with others when asked?

If you would like to learn the commandments for yourself, this is one of the most effective videos I have found. It is a bit dated and cheesy, but it is effective and only takes a few minutes.

 Although I am able to recite them when asked, I have come to realize that I fail to think of them on a daily basis and to consistently evaluate my behavior based on these simple Ten Commands given from God Himself. In Matthew 19 Jesus was asked about which commands needed to be kept in order to inherit eternal life. Not only did He list each one of these commandments as mandatory, He called for further action and further commitment, the same can be seen in Jesus' sermon on the mount.

Given this basis of Scripture and the desire of Jesus' heart, I see it as imperative not only to know the commandments, but to obey them, to contemplate them, and to constantly evaluate my behavior based on them. It is my aim to simply focus on one commandment each week for the next ten weeks and to meditate on the reasoning of the command, the true meaning of the command, and what a life following the command will look like. If you are up for a challenge, I invite you to join me on this journey through the commandments of God.  

God Is Good

This past Sunday I had the wonderful honor of baptizing nine individuals into the body of Christ. This was a high point for me for a number of reasons; (1) it was the first time I have gotten to baptize anyone, (2) it was the first time a baptism had been done within the walls of our church, (3) it was the most youth that have ever been baptised at any one time in our church, (4) it hit a record attendance of 120 this past Sunday morning.

Around Easter our youth directors began to speak to the students about the importance of establishing a relationship with Jesus and the importance of following Him with their lives. Over a ten day period, between April 15th and April 24th (Easter Sunday) we saw 24 people recommit or commit for the first time to serving Jesus Christ with their lives, eight of which were youth. Our youth directors and I began to talk about the importance of baptism and when the students were asked they responded in a big way.

I had the privilege of speaking with them the Wednesday prior to the service, explaining baptism and hearing their stories of dedication, commitment, and journey with Jesus and I was overwhelmed.

Sunday was a wonderful day for those that were baptised, for our church family, and for myself. Praise God, He is great and greatly to be praised.