Are you waiting for a prersonal invitation?

I remember when I was a new Christian. I wanted to do something big for God. Evangelize the world. Let everyone know about the love of God, but it's easy to get overwhelmed. There's the feeling that you don't know everything. How could people ever listen to you? Pretty soon, doubt sets in.

After that, I would pray for God to touch me, like He did my heroes in the Bible. I wanted this personal invitation from God Himself, saying "I need you to go to the corner of 5th and Main Street where you will see a man with a dog..." It may sound silly, but a lot of times, those are the constraints that we put on God.

God tells Jeremiah:

 But the LORD said to me,
  “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
 for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
 and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
 Do not be afraid of them,
 for I am with you to deliver you,
 declares the LORD.”
(Jeremiah 1:7-8 ESV)

He takes all the excuses away. He says go, do what I command you, don't be afraid.

What does God say to us?

 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

See? It really isn't that different. So... there's your personal invitation. Let us struggle to not make excuses, but stick to God's plan. Go, speak, don't be afraid.

It's hard to realize when you should shut up and stop arguing...

The parent child dynamic always interests me. As the father of 3 sons there was always this element of respect that I required of them. I remember when Christopher was about 13 years old, he asked me if he could have a video game. I reviewed it, and decided that the answer was "no." In typical child rebuttal, he replied "Anthony's dad let him have it!" My answer was... "but I'm not his Dad, I'm yours."

That is the way life is for everyone that calls themselves Christians. We cannot look at others who live around us and want what they have. We have been chosen by God, adopted into His family, and as a result, must either choose to live by the rules... or choose to be disobedient.

There is a scripture that I've heard in church when I was growing up:

"But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." - Habakkuk 2:20

The interesting thing about this scripture is that it is written when the people were in exile. God had removed them from the promised land and to Babylon. The kingship of God was no longer in effect because the people wanted to live as though God was not their Father.

The prophet stars off the book by saying:

 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
    and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
    and you will not save?
3 Why do you make me see iniquity,
    and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    strife and contention arise.
4 So the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
    so justice goes forth perverted. (Titus 1:1-4)

God says "I am in my temple... I reign."

Today, let us struggle to remember that God loves us. There may be a desire for us to do some of the things that we see other do, but in the end... the world is not our father... God is.

Putting things in the proper perspective

I remember when we learned about drawing with "perspective" in school. Before we knew about the "vanishing point" our drawing were flat, warped, and you couldn't really tell the difference between what someone younger drew vs. what we drew except for the fact that the lines were a light more straight.

The drawings had depth. They mirrored life. It made me feel like I could really draw, when in reality I couldn't draw any better, I just had an understanding of the rules.

Christianity isn't that much different. There are a lot of people that try to live Christianity, but they don't have the right perspective. Their lives struggle to mirror the reality that God has for us, but it's slightly off.

Every once in a while it's nice to get a reminder... to draw things back into a sharp focus.

³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸ The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. Titus 3:3-8

The proper Christian perspective is to remember what life was like before we knew Christ, and that He saved us from a life of sin not because of who we are, but through His own love and mercy.

Let us struggle to remember that and have it reflected in our own lives.

Christianity is not task oriented.

A lot of times, Christians view themselves as these servants. Servants that are dispatched to do certain tasks and the only vested interest that they have in that task is getting it over as quickly as possible because it's too much like work. Examples of this are:

• going to church on a weekly basis
• serving once a week in the nursery or with the greeters or some other ministry
• contributing to an offering
• showing up early to set up for a program

It's all very task oriented.

The interesting is that God doesn't call us to be task oriented. In the Bible it says:
Now you are no longer servants, but God's own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. (Gal 4:7)

This opens up a whole new ball of wax.

When you sit at the Kings table, you're in on the planning. the King tells you what is on his mind. There is intimacy there. You are expected to participate - but with knowledge and with your resources. There will be times when you're asked to take a leadership role. You level and activity level takes on a whole new view point because of the realization that your wealth in the kingdom is tied into the wealth of the King. It's ownership and not just subservience.

When we think about Christianity, do we look at is as tasks supporting of distant God because it's what expected, or do we see our inheritance?

Believe me... that subtle change of view changes the way you work, live, act...

There's nothing more impressive than watching precision marching.

The first thing you learn when you join a marching band, go to a military academy, or join the military is march. When I arrived at New York State Merchant Marine Academy (SUNY Maritime College), they lines us up in the quad, and from the dorms on both side, our Indoctrination Training Officers marched to the center, meeting perfectly in the middle. I was impressed from the beginning.

Then... they had to teach us how to march. Always start with the left foot. Listen to the cadence. Even how you turn depends on which column you're in when you're marching.

The two things that you could count on were your guide-on, or the person carrying the flag, so you could tell your relative position, and someone calling cadence to make sure that you were in sync with everyone else.

As Christian, our guide-on should be the word of God, and our Pastors, brothers and sisters in the faith should be calling our cadence.

In the book of Titus, Paul begins the letter by calling cadence to make sure that when Titus started marching, that he was going in the right direction. Let's read his words:

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. (Titus 1:1-4 New Living Translation)

To make sure that they start marching together and on the right foot, Paul makes a few important statements:

• I/we are servants of God
• called to further the faith of God's elect
• increase the knowledge of truth that leads to godliness
• in the hope of eternal life
• which God (who does not lie) promised
• He's entrusted this truth to us...
• by the command of God our savior
• MARCH

Sometimes, as Christians, we get out of sync as to what we are supposed to do. We get caught up in our own lives and our own struggles and forget that we are called to strengthen each other in the faith and to share salvation with those who do not know that there is a Savior that loves them.

Let us struggle to start of every day getting our marching orders and checking our guide on to make sure that we are in alignment with what God has called us to do!

Not all stains are permanent...

I once bought a white v-neck sweater. I LOVED this sweater. The first time I wore it, I snagged it on something and put a hole in the sweater. I was still able to wear the sweater, because as I walked, my arms would hide the hole. It was like my own annoying secret. People would see the sweater, comment on how they liked it... but I knew it was damaged.

A few months later, I spilled something on my sweater. I quickly ran to the bathroom, tried to scrub out the spot with a little cold water and soap... but there was still a faint stain there. From a distance, it was barely noticeable, but I still wore it.

About a year later, I was walking into the garage and a little bit of that heavy grease that lubricates the tracks that the door rides on got on my sweater. Regardless of what I tried, I could not removed the stain. From that point on, the sweater was useless.

A lot of times, when we sin, we treat ourselves as like this sweater. We try to hide our sin, we try to clean ourselves, and then when we think we've reached the point of no return, we think there's no help for us and we cease to seek God.

 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

Let us struggle to not try to hide or cover up our sins. God wants relationship with us. Jesus came here to die for our sins - past, present and future. Let's not let our own condemnation keep us from a clean relationship with God.

Selah

What's on your mind?

Quick... think of a song or a quote!

Now, be honest... did that song or quote glorify God? If we were to be totally honest, more times than less we would have jingles from television commercials, secular songs from the radio, or quotes from a book or magazine in the forefront of our minds.

Older translations, Like the American Standard Version and the King James Version, translate the first part of Proverbs 23:7 something like this: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he..." The proverb is about a stingy many who is inviting you to eat, he is asking you to eat, but in his heart he doesn't want you to.

Although we have been taught that actions speak louder than words, the Bible seems to be saying thoughts tell God who you are, not your actions!

4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:1-3)

The things we think about have a profound impact on our lives.

Blessed is the one    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take    or sit in the company of mockers,² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,    and who meditates on his law day and night.³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,    which yields its fruit in seasonand whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

This week, let us struggle to  meditate on the word of God and see how that impacts our lives.

Finding the Amen

I hate to admit it, but there are times when reading the Bible is like taking a multi-vitamin. Not something that I want to do, but something that I try to do daily. In all honesty, the Bible should be something that we meditate on, and think on and let it sink into our hearts. It should be something that we think about and reflect on throughout our day.

We "...shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:7-9

Yesterday, I was talking with some guys about the book of Ephesians, and Chuck said the "amen" lept out at him in the middle of a phrase, so he had to go back and was in awe at what led up to that.

Amen is an "expression of agreement or confirmation used in worship by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The word derives from a Semitic root meaning “fixed” or “sure.” The Greek Old Testament usually translates it as “so be it”; in the English Bible it is often translated as “verily” or “truly.” (The Concise Encyclopedia)

When was the last time you read the Bible and had your own Amen moment? This week, let us struggle to find the Amen moments when we read the Bible. Find that verse that speaks to your heart, and don't quickly move on leaving it as an ah-ha moment. Write it down. Carry it with you. Memorize it. Reflect on it.

Amen.

... then why do I fail?

If "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", why do I fail? I have asked myself that question at more times than I care to recall. There have been times where I wanted to learn things, or lose weight, write a book, reach out to others... and I fail miserably.

If you fail like this too many times, eventually you start doubting your faith. Thoughts like, "maybe it's something wrong with me," and "maybe I'm just called to be in the background" start creeping into your mind.

The truth is, we usually fail for one of 2 major reasons. 1) We are trying to do it out of our own strength. 2) We are not doing what God is asking us to do at the time.

Let's look at both of these, quickly. First, what does it mean to do it out of our own strength? It basically means that we have decided to do something and we are going to accomplish it out of our own will and our own power. However, when you read the Bible, and you see all the great men and women of God - the things that they accomplished could only be done by God. Noah building the Ark, Abraham and Sarah having a son in his old age, David killing Goliath, the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace and Peter walking on the water are only a few examples of people doing things that no ordinary person could do. The Bible is God's story... and he says:

I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:8

 God has a plan for us. Many times, God's plan is not our plan at the moment. God, who lives in eternity knows what He wants to accomplish. When Jesus is talking to Nicodemus He says, "the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) God's desire is to have us move according to His plan and in His timing.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

The thing that we forget about this verse is that it comes just after God tells His people that they are going to be in captivity for 70 years! The people wanted to go home, but God had a long term plan that they just couldn't see.

So, as we go into the weekend, let us struggle to put things into perspective, and understand that we are most successful when we let God be God, and we struggle to be obedient.