An Invitation To Suffer

Doesn't the title mess you up a little? In 2 Timothy 2, that exactly what Paul extends to Timothy.

A couple posts back I mentioned the reason and motivation for our behavior as Christians: because of the promise of life. Here, at the beginning of the next chapter, Paul encourages Timothy with a greater invitation to do something all of us are afraid of happening to us.

Suffering isn't our idea of a "good time" in following Christ. But when there is nothing else in our life that we've allowed to compete with Jesus, suffering is inevitable. Suffering is the test of the depth of our commitment to God. A good soldier suffers.

This past weekend, I talked with some of those in our Worship Department who serve in the military. Paul used an analogy of a soldier in active service to being a Christian. I asked them about active service and what that looks like. They replied, "You're constantly training to be a better soldier. And it basically means that you're 'on call' all the time. Whenever something needs to be done, you do it. And in the military, it doesn't matter what kind of situation you're in; married, about to have your first child, on vacation, or anything. If they call, you go."

That's quite the metaphor! No wonder Paul used it. To be a good soldier means training, not getting involved in civilian affairs, and being ready to whatever is demanded of you by your commanding officer. As a Christian, the same things apply: training, not getting involved in worldly affairs, and being ready to respond to the call of the Master at any moment.

Paul used another metaphor about an athlete. Everyone hates a cheater and they don't get invited back to the game if they cheat. Seriously, how many of us were distraught to find out that those sluggers in baseball who set all kinds of home run records were using illegal stimulants to get them that good? Did they ever get hired to play on another team after being fired by the one they cheated on? The integrity of the athlete is extremely important. If they break the rules, they're fired or fined tremendously.

We're all in the "competition" of life. But God created the universe so the rules are what He's set in place. If we want to win the prize God has for us, we play according to the rules. Now, the competition is simply an analogy. The rules are simple: Love God with everything you are, and love your neighbor as yourself. If we follow those two things, the prize is eternal life with God in heaven. But you are the one who will decide how that looks like in your life. God spells out what He's looking for in the Bible, and training comes when we look into it for guidance.

Sometimes it's really hard to train. To get good at something takes a lot of work, hard work that later won't be regretted. Suffering is necessary in training. And sometimes suffering comes during the "soldiering" and "competition." But when our sights are set on Christ and the motivation of the promise of life, suffering isn't suffering at all. As a matter of fact, we could go so far as to say that our commitment to Him changes the suffering to joy.

The soldier I was talking with said something like this: "When you're in it, you're in it. There isn't anything else because there can't be. You're also doing what you love doing, and being a soldier isn't as much work as it is a joy when it's what you love doing." Maybe our attitude should be just like that. Maybe we should love Jesus like He's what we love "doing." Maybe our relationship with Him is what we should love the most. That changes the work that it can sometimes become at building our relationship with Him into the joy He longs for us to experience.

Mercy And Testing

1 Kings 21-22


This is an interesting account of Ahab, once king of Israel. Let's start with this:

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him. (1 Kings 16:29-33 NIV84)

Obviously Ahab did not have any type of good reputation with God or among His followers and prophets. It's repeated again toward the end of the 1 Kings. The author of the book makes sure we all know that from the very beginning of his reign to the end of it, Ahab was THE worst.

Take a moment and read the two chapters I listed at the top of this post. Read this interesting account.

There are so many things about this that also relate to me and my life. One of the biggest differences between Ahab and I is the fact that I have Jesus. Ahab was bent on doing evil. Now that my life has been changed by Christ, I'm doing my best to make sure I'm bent on pleasing the Lord.

Take a lesson from Ahab and his sin. When told of his destiny, he repented dramatically. God saw his repentance and took away the punishment from his lifetime, but would still carry out judgment upon his future generations as foretold in the prophecy. But God saw his repentance and showed mercy. There is nothing too great for God to have mercy on us. His grace knows no limits. A broken and contrite heart, He will not despise (Psalm 51:17).

Then we move on to a moment of truth in Ahab's life. And in this moment we see a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in a realm we don't understand. We see the sovereignty of God, His orchestrating events to the fruition of His will.

Ahab wants to go to war. First off, why in a time of peace (three years of peace) would that even cross his mind? I guess it's because he still surrounded himself with the sins of his past. A moment of repentance without complete replacement with the Lord and worship to Him remains short-lived. His wife was still Jezebel. His surroundings we still consumed with false gods. Even the remembrance of the visible hand of God working a miracle before his very eyes on a mountain complete with fire from heaven could not convert a heart bent on evil. The proverb is true: bad company corrupts good character. Flirting with sin committed in the past will never bring a good result in the end.

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joins him in the war (I'm going to call him "Jeho" because his name's so long to type out). But he's different from Ahab. He follows God to an extent and desires to be led by the truth rather than falsehood. Ahab, still surrounded by the falsehood, called in prophets to tell him what he wanted to hear. Jeho knew that these guys prophesying around them were a little fishy and asked for the real deal. Ahab responded the way most of us do to God's Word when convicted by it: "Yeah, but I hate him. He always says things that won't turn out good for me."

How often to do we ignore those truths God says in the Bible because it makes us uncomfortable? We'll spend time picking and choosing what we're going to follow as long as it's easy or makes us feel comfortable. Ahab's prophets were the ones who told him what he wanted to be told. The one true prophet who could actually relay God's message about the future gets ignored because it wasn't good for Ahab. Do we respond the same way? "I'll speak the truth in love, but I need to lie to get out of this one...I'll be faithful to my wife emotionally and physically, but with my eyes, it's different...No one hears me say those words...I know what God says about getting drunk, but what does it matter when I'm with friends who understand me...I only lose my temper in traffic..."

All our excuses in following Him completely doesn't matter and won't matter. What God says is what goes. That's the truth of it. And Ahab found that out after hearing it. You see, the prophet Micaiah knew God's voice over all the other prophets around. (I'm not sure who these other prophets were. Maybe they were advisors or preachers who would give advice to the king from what they believed God's perspective to be. If there were false prophets like mentioned earlier in 1 Kings, they most likely would have been named that in the account. But they were proven false in the end because their word never came true and Micaiah's did.) Those who are true followers of God can tell the difference between the voice of the Lord and the voice of a deceiving spirit. If Ahab, and I'm convinced he knew God's Word would really come from Micaiah, would have listened, he could have saved himself from his fate. But with his heart being bent on evil from the get-go, he wasn't looking for the truth as much as "good fortune" with his decision. He already made up his mind before he asked what the outcome would be.

We do the same thing. We make up our mind before we ask and then refuse to listen when God tells us otherwise, or when His Word gently corrects our path to a closer walk with Him.

We get to another interesting part of the account: the heavenly discussion between God and spirits.

Remember when Ahab repented and God showed him mercy? This is a moment of God's righteous judgment and sovereignty unveiled to us. I believe that the whole time God was looking for any part of a repentant heart left in him. The test of true repentance is tested throughout our lives. Each moment we're faced with temptation is another moment to stand firm on God's grace and mercy. It builds and strengthens our relationship with our Savior. Obviously Ahab failed. But with Jesus, we will overcome! We can conquer through Him because He's conquered for us! And each moment viewed as an opportunity to remember His sacrifice, His love, and our repentance of those things which once held us captive, is one more moment to stand on the mercy of our God.

I'm convinced also, that if God didn't care about us as much as He does, we wouldn't have any hardships at all. Does God wish them upon us? No, but He desires for us to know Him more than do now. The question about those things changes to something like this: will God ever do anything to keep me from growing in my relationship with Him? He desires us so much!

So what will we be known for? Are we the people who provoke God more than any other in the history of the church? Or are the trials we face moments to strengthen our stand on God's grace?

Beginning Real Marriage

My wife and I are beginning Real Marriage together, by Mark and Grace Driscoll. Already we are beginning to see God working in our lives as we begin just the first chapter in the book. This is going to be a refining moment for us both. If you've read the book or haven't, please keep us in your prayers. The enemy will fight for whatever stronghold is left as we grow closer together and together with God. We don't want that to happen. Thank you all!

Prayer Is About Relationship

My wife went to a women's prayer seminar this past weekend at our church building. She came back with something that stuck with me. I've known for a long time but have just ignored it and needed a reminder of what God is looking for in prayer. She said, "Prayer isn't necessarily about asking God for stuff, or even about Him answering them. It's about relationship."

That kind of hit home with me as I agreed to it, remembering that taught to me a long time ago. She went on a little further. "I was asked what I call God in prayer, and in a pause before my answer, I say, 'Dad' and then pause afterward because it doesn't seem like I should be able to call Him that."

Even though we know that God has torn the veil through Christ, and now we have direct access to Him because of the cross, the privilege of calling Him "Father" is still scary. I know we can enter the throne room with confidence because of grace. I know those things. But it's still seems a little weird to call the Creator and Sustainer of all life, "Daddy" like Paul does in Romans.

The best illustration of grasping these thoughts that I can find has everything to do with being a parent. There's an element of my kids being able to call me father, but also an element of respect that comes with it. For example, I lay down the rules of the home and they'll be followed or suffer the consequences. It's not a mean way to live, but a real one. Every one of us faces the results of our decisions and actions. If our children aren't taught that in the home, they'll think the world owes them something when leave the home to go on their own. And that simply isn't the way things work.

Anyway, there's a respect factor that's grounded in humility. Arrogance can get in the way of the privilege if they get too comfortable. It's like this: we have fun playing, but the moment they argue with a rule I've set in place, there's a "reminder" of who's rule it is and what happens when we don't follow that rule. So humility is very important as well.

Last week I was working out with another pastor from Radiant Church in town. He was telling me about a lesson he gave to the youth group last Wednesday. He used a really neat example that I've never thought of, even though I've seen the movie a few times. He pointed that every time Thor introduced himself in the movie, he mentioned who his father was. He associated himself with his father. It gave him identity, power, and confidence. But the moment he became arrogant, his father did was necessary to teach him the importance of humility even though he had a very close relationship with his dad.

There's a lesson in there. Knowing our Father, being found in Him, gives us an identity, power to overcome, and confidence in this life and the next. But with our interaction with our heavenly Father, humility is of utmost importance. Remember what He's done to make a way for us to call Him our Father.

Prayer is about relationship.

Going back to parenting, I've also noticed how I treat my Father most of the time. My children do it too. A majority of the interaction with my children comes from them asking me for things. All day long sometimes, they come up with questions like, "Can I have a drink? Can I play the Wii? Is alright if I go outside? What are you making?" Then there's the other side of things, the tattling, "He hit me! He's not sharing! She took that from me! He won't play with me!" When I come home, these are some of the things that greet me.

What I long for is deeper than the asking for stuff and permission, more than the tattling. I want to know about their day, their school, what they've learned and the fun they've had with their friends. Rather than the tattling, I want to train them how handle situations where things aren't going the way they'd like. I want to be involved in more of their lives than just the "genie" who makes their trouble go away and give them what they want.

This hurts when I put it in comparison with my relationship with God. If prayer is about relationship, then I've failed at developing the relationship with Him as my Father. He wants to know about my day. He wants to train me to develop godliness. Maybe, instead of being nosy about God's plan for our lives, we're supposed to develop a relationship with Him that demonstrates trust that He knows what He's doing. I think He does want to know about our day. I don't think He's hiding things, but wants to show us what it will all end up turning out to be, something great for Him and us.

I want to challenge you think about what this looks like in your life. I'm not saying that asking God for things is wrong, but if our life is about worship to God and bringing Him glory, I think it's a better idea to begin by working on our relationship with Him as Father so we'll know what to ask for when we come to Him with a request.

Prayer is about relationship. How's it going?

"Hi! How are you?"

For what purpose do you greet others? When you shake their hands or say, "hello," what's the reason behind the greeting? Most of the time it's driven by politeness out of common courtesy toward the one you make eye contact with. But when we say, "How are you?" in that casual form, are we really ready to listen to what they're going to respond with? Secretly I'm always hoping that they say, "Great! Yourself?" It means I don't have to stand and ask, "Why? What's going on?" toward a negative or "so-so" response.


Right now I've begun 2 Timothy. For the first time ever a greeting at the beginning of a letter caught my attention. In order to understand the rest of the book it's necessary to understand Paul's greeting. I've found that he hides the overall scope and topic of the letter in his greetings to churches and individuals. 


First off, let me begin with a thought that has always bothered me. This could be considered a rant, but I prefer not to think of it that way. 


There have been many believers, including myself, who've begun relationships with an agenda of "winning" the other to Christ. Unfortunately, what might happen is that if we're unsuccessful, we'll leave them and move on to the next person who might say "yes" to Jesus. After they accept Him, we'll even leave them and move on to the next! This has undoubtedly left a bad taste in unbelievers' mouths being left with the thought that they are nothing more than a project. They truly are looking for relationship just like anyone else who desires to have a friend. Believers, we need to be bigger than this!


But the one thing that bothers me is what's happened in all this. Now we've been labeled as a people with a "hidden agenda." What's up with that? Why's is "hidden" in the first place? Why are we ashamed to bring it up from the very beginning? The fact that we've been saved by Christ is not something to be "hidden" in our lives but lived out. Freedom from sin and God's wrath because of the cross should give us reason to celebrate and tell the world of this awesome gift He's given us! "Hidden with Christ in God" doesn't mean that we are to hide, but to shine brightly the Light and Life we've been given! 

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus" ~2 Timothy 1:1 (NIV)

Did you catch it? This is exciting...Paul's whole reason for writing this letter to Timothy is because of the promise of life in Jesus! There is no hidden agenda, but it's labeled from the very beginning, proudly announcing and declaring in humility that he is not ashamed, not hiding the fact that his calling and his teaching is because of the promise of life! Such thankfulness!

Later in chapter 1, Paul charges Timothy that he should not be ashamed of the testimony of Christ, although preaching that God came to earth as a man to die on a cross and then to rise from the dead to save us from our sins seems like a very unrealistic idea, but to take pride in the Message of Jesus! For those of us who believe, there is no reason to be ashamed because "God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love, and discipline."

And here's the humility side of it, the awesome truth of it all: God "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity" (2 Timothy 1:9). There's nothing about us in the whole thing other than we get to experience firsthand the grace and love of God!

So, when we greet people, when we develop relationships, is the "agenda" hidden? Or are the motives of our greeting grounded in the realization of the promise of life? Our purpose is because we've been saved! Our motive is because we've been smothered in God's grace and love, and we're thankful!

I'm convinced every relationship we have is another opportunity share God's love. Any relationship without the purpose of the promise of life is superficial and will only go as deep as the surface response: "Great! Yourself?" We need to come to grips with the fact that Christ is intrusive. He wants it all. He's given everything. And the connection we share because of Christ needs to draw us deeper, more together, and display truth brightly to the world. Can we do this all the time? Probably not. But the next time we greet someone, maybe we could be genuine about it. And if we're unwilling to go there, maybe we should revisit our commitment to following Christ. Remember, there was not one person He greeted that He didn't genuinely love.

Thanks be to God for His grace! May Your love and grace drive my motivation in relationship building and greeting new people! May the promise of life in the present and eternal reside in Christ in my life.

1 Timothy 6

Alright, take a moment and read 1 Timothy 6:3-21. I've been stuck on this for the past 5 days, trying to get a better understanding on it.

Serving as one of the pastors at a church, it's extremely important to me to be setting a good example to follow and to be teaching the truth of the Bible (there is no falsehood in it). This section had me for awhile because it seems as though Paul is telling Timothy to watch out for something, to keep pure in heart and understanding of the truth, to not allow it to be tainted by what some call knowledge.

Don't we all have some thought that God will bless us if we follow Him? I think He does, but not like we expect. These guys were teaching that you could tell you were following God by the gain you would receive, or success in your welfare. Immediately red flags shoot off in my mind about that kind of teaching. It doesn't matter where I hear it, health and wealth as being considered a reward for being a disciple of God isn't true.

But let's go a little deeper. There's a teaching out there now, a common misunderstanding of Christianity, that we all hold on to. It deceives us as to what being a Christ-follower is all about. Gain. Success. We may not hold tightly to a "health and wealth gospel" teaching, but we do believe that Christianity will make us a better person. For some, it's the only reason we go to church. We've been deceived.

Christianity doesn't make us a better person. If that's the way we think, we've been misled. It's not about us becoming better, but about God restoring a relationship with us through His Son's death and resurrection though we are very undeserving. Becoming a better person is a by-product of faith in God.

Godliness is only gain when accompanied by contentment. The moment we become aware and live as though the treasures of the world have no hold on us do we ever understand the "gain" in following Christ.

God isn't out to make us successful, but to conform us to the image of His Son. There's a transformation, a point of difference, a moment in our lives when we're faced with defining the word "success." God's definition involves our eternal destiny, while the world's involves our pleasure and happiness. God's term is deep, the world's is shallow. It's the difference between faith and the physical.

The man and woman of God is supposed to pursue something different than money and success. Look at the list in verse 11. Verse 12 tells us to hold on to eternal life...that means letting go of the temporary.

Now understand, this doesn't mean that being wealthy is bad. But those Christ-followers who are wealthy are to set an example of what true success looks like--a life lived under a submission to God's perspective: hope fixed on God, generosity, willingness to share to meet the needs of others in need, which produces the storing up of eternal treasures.

Now I want to take this to a place of worship. Romans 12:1-2 tells us that the true act of worship is offering ourselves as a holy living sacrifice to God, something pleasing to Him. If worship is a sacrifice, it should cost us something...maybe even to the point that it hurts. But for the Christ-follower, it won't hurt because of the devotion to Christ. For those of us who still hang on to worldly pleasures, it will undoubtedly hurt. But the gain is worth the sacrifice! The success is growth in relationship with God! And there's transformation in our minds to understand God's will and keep with sights set on the eternal!

We should not be asking ourselves, "What we can spare?" but "What will it take?" That's the transformation. That's the worship that's sacrificial. That's the essence of godly success in following Him. That's where the gain is to be found. With our eyes fixed on Him, our hope fixed on our Savior, we leave behind the treasure of the world and its successes to enter into a godly vision of eternal treasure founded in faith and worship to Him.

Now that we know, is this the cross we must pick up to follow Christ? Every time we read the Word, we have a decision to make on whether or not we'll pick up our cross and follow. What will it take? What will you give? Or is our sacrifice only what we can spare?

The Witness Of Us All

"All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them." --1 Timothy 6:1-2 (NIV 84)


This isn't a passage condoning slavery, but addressing attitudes. Paul says slavery is a "yoke," something not wanted to bear. So don't even get the idea that this is saying that slavery is okay, but rather that according to the custom of the time, this is how one should think.

We all have a witness that speaks volumes of our beliefs. Regardless of our condition or situation, it's something we must think about. I wonder if the witness we're giving about Christ is regarded as a collective whole, going beyond our own personal witness.

All believers carry with them the Name of Jesus. The Name of Jesus should be giving off the aroma of God, leaving a good taste in people's mouths of grace, love, forgiveness, patience, gentleness, compassion, faith, comfort, hope, and truth.

A good way of thinking about this is considering the message of Jesus, the gospel truth of His life on earth, the aroma and the taste of God He left with each person He came in contact with. If we consider His witness, we can better understand what kind of witness we need and should to present to others. I've always believed that carrying the name "Christian" upon myself is a great responsibility and privilege. The question that pops into my mind is this: What kind of name did I leave behind this time?

I hope that with God's "character building" within me, that more of Him will be seen daily. I don't want questions to come up on the consistency of my witness. I want it to be clear, honest, and true. If I rephrase this passage to something that works in today's language, I think it'd read something like this:

"All who work should consider their employers worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing employers are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them."

It's a whole new concept. Suddenly my work takes into account the witness I'm giving to those who see it. But not only that, my work here gives off a collective witness of Christ to the world. It should not give any way to be slandered or made less effective in its truth. Not only that, but the way I lead others is also taken into account. And just because they might be believers doesn't allow for any less respect because of the truth we have in common. Rather, it should mean even more is given!

People come in contact with believers every day. Each witness speaks volumes of how they'll perceive the message gospel and our faith. One bad witness affects all others, and correcting what should have been will take much longer than having the right witness done the first time.

This doesn't mean that we should be fake. It does mean that we should be true. Our value on our relationship with God will determine what kind of witness we'll give off. If it's not valued much but our witness is important to us, we can fool them to believe anything we want. But it isn't true and eventually they'll see through it. If we don't care but make the claim that we belong to God, would they ever get to a point where they think it's important enough to accept His grace? But if our relationship with God is the most important thing in our lives, our witness will be true and show them the need they have for His grace.

All this to say, our witness for Christ needs to also take into account the name it's giving the rest  of the believers. My witness affect yours, and your witness affects mine. What are they saying about us? More importantly, what are they saying about God?

Keeping In Check

There's a statement that I won't forget that Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:44, "Each tree is recognized by its own fruit." We can tell what kind of tree it is by the fruit it produces. So we can with people. If we want to know what someone is like, look at the fruit they produce. 1 Timothy 5:24-25 has something to say about this too. 

The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.

Here this past week, I've had a worship department meeting in which we asked what worship is and how to define it. The basis of our understanding of it comes from Romans 12:1-2. But we see worship in the Bible mostly being a response in appreciation to the character of God. It begins with devoted time and surrender to Him. It takes a transformed mind that is constantly renewed day by day to know the difference between the way of the world and The Way of God. Our lives can give worship to God at any time and any place.


1 Timothy 5 tells me that worship is also directional. I know this passage has to do with appointing elders, but it also defines the direction in which a potential elder is headed. I think it can be true and applicable to all of us as well. We can tell a tree by the fruit it produces. And in appointing people in leadership, it is extremely important to take time in making proper judgment on their character. But let it be a reminder to us, a wake-up call to keep our lives in check. 


Some things are obvious and others are not. But even the things that are hidden will be unveiled eventually. We cannot hide it forever. Whether it be our sins or good deeds, all will show themselves someday. Think about it. The good and bad things we do give us an atmosphere that defines us and builds a reputation of who we really are. Some of us have gotten really good at hiding things. But it won't matter someday. Its affect on our minds and thought process will show up in our interaction with others, especially with those most important to us. And it's why we need to pray every day for a renewed mind so we'll know what God's pleasing, perfect, and good will is. 


Our lives point to something. God pointed to us with His extravagant love through His only Son's death on the cross. Our response, both public and private, to His goodness and mercy and grace should be a life that now points directly to Him in all we think, say, and do. 


Where are you and I pointing? Who are you and I worshiping? Is it evident? Is it true? Does the fruit we produce clearly show a life that is constantly thankful toward God for His life He gave up for us?

The Worship Ministry Thing

This week I've been going through the book of 1 Timothy in my studies. Right now I'm in chapter 4. The things that keeps sticking out to me is the fact that Paul wrote this letter to a young minister, a preacher. When I read it, sometimes I think it's a letter to me, to Nate. I've been stuck in chapter 4 for a while now, trying to understand what Paul is talking about on a personal level. It's neat how God works. Let me tell you.

Chapter 4 talks about the importance of knowing what you believe, persevering in it, setting an example with it, and teaching it. Every minister, every believer should devote themselves to Scripture. But one thing that caught my attention was not neglecting my gift.

Today I got in the office flustered from yesterday. I didn't get a chance to spend time studying before I began work. I missed it deeply and it affected my day. I kept getting phone calls and online chats for help on things. I do enjoy being able to help people out and inform them on things they don't understand. It was abnormal yesterday though. I never get phone calls, and I got 4 yesterday and each call lasted about an hour. Weird. So I made sure to get in earlier so that would not happen again, so I wouldn't miss what desperately need: time with God. I meant to get the bulletin done and ready for print and to prepare for my Worship Department meeting tonight. Didn't happen. Was going to go fishing today with some of my gym buddies, but had to turn them down because of what didn't get done yesterday.

For some reason when I walked in the office, I had a strong urge to pick up the guitar and play. I realized why. Some of you might be thinking, "Don't you have a lot to do other than spend time playing the guitar?" Well, yeah, but I think the Spirit was moving within me to just stop everything and spend some time in worship, to not neglect the gift I've been given, but use it to begin the day with praise to God. I can honestly say I'm guilty of neglecting my gift. This morning I was able to pour out my heart to the Lord in song and music. It's affecting me deeply. There's a connection with God that grows stronger when our gift isn't neglected.

This also makes me think about my example. I may not be a preacher, but a worship pastor has an example to set for believers to help them understand what true worship to God looks like. Worship includes not neglecting your gift but using it to bring God praise.

Another part that sticks out to me is verses 15-16, to be diligent and give myself wholly to them so that everyone may see my progress; to watch my life and doctrine closely and persevere in them so save both myself and my hearers. It's such a big responsibility to have a spotlight shining on my life. So, again, who am I reflecting when that light is shining on me?

Those of you who are ministers as well, let's take a few moment and think about the doctrine we preach with our lives. Is it clear, obvious, done in love and purity, spoken well, devoted to God, thankful, and maximizing our gifts? What doctrine has slipped in to our thinking or way of life that isn't godly or considered neutral? Maybe it's not neutral. Maybe it's a myth or old wives' tale. Are we training ourselves by being diligent and giving ourselves wholly over to what is driving us in our ministry? This is what should drive us, and this is why worshiping this morning has opened my eyes to finally understand this chapter: 1 Timothy 4:10 "That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe."

Praying For Leaders

Alright, this is something that I hardly every do. And I think out country overlooks this verse quite a bit. How often do we pray for those in authority over us? 1 Timothy 2 tells us to pray, to intercede, and be thankful for our leaders. In some cases, that can seem pretty hard to do if we don't like their form of leadership. But even if we're not all that thankful for them, do we pray for them at all?

There are plenty of leaders absorbed with their power. It's their downfall. It's a curse and a hindrance to good leadership, to wholesome oversight. Our leaders have a responsibility that we've entrusted to them to protect us, to allow us to live in the freedom our country's constitution declares. Some have abused their power to force an agenda of their own ideology. Most politicians do. But a good leader looks out for the welfare of all their constituents, and provides avenues for success in their lives. A good leader gives people the freedom to become and do what they aspire to.

For those of us who are believers, a good leader grants us freedom to worship God the way we see fit, the way we understand the Bible to say. And I believe that it is our duty to be sure it remains that way. But I also believe that we're not praying enough about it. I know I don't. We're supposed to pray for them so we may "live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." If God wants us to know Him, He surely wants our leaders to as well. If we're not praying for them, their minds will be clouded and they'll abuse the authority they have. We'll lose our freedom. It won't be peaceful.

Imagine a government showered in prayer! Imagine a freedom to live peacefully without fear of persecution! Can you imagine the freedom going away? It's time to stop the arguing about who's leading what and begin action that brings us to our knees. Pray for their salvation! Pray for holiness! Pray for an overwhelming knowledge of the truth to overtake our government! Jesus died for them too.

Remember The Mercy

It's such a blessing to be called into ministry. We must not forget from where we've come and what we've experienced because of God's mercy that brings us to where we are today. It's a blessing, an entrustment of a stewardship, a high calling to serve in the Kingdom. And no one is outside this call within the church to contribute to the cause of Christ.

But the moment we begin to think we're something, our effectiveness for His kingdom depletes as we seek approval for ourselves. Willing praise to God becomes tainted with something that now is unworthy of God's name being on it. And the fall of us is even greater.

Paul's first letter to Timothy puts Paul's view of his ministry in perspective. He remembers where he's come from and the mercy he's been shown. Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17. We think of Paul and how awful of a human being he was. Paul was a terrorist. But for some reason God chose to show him mercy because of his great sin. The lesson for me is there is no one too far gone to be reached with the message of God's grace. Paul's story is one that should encourage us not to give up on anyone, that each person has a chance.

The trustworthy statement still applies today. It needs full acceptance because we've forgotten Jesus came to save sinners. And maybe we've even forgotten that we are sinners sometimes. I admit, as we all should, Jesus has unfortunately been made into a good luck charm, something to call on when we're in trouble, to keep us safe from harm, and to make us look good in front of our friends and neighbors. But do we remember that He came into the world to save sinners--and I'm the worst? Maybe our comparison to the next person on our goodness or greatness should instead be something toward the affect of our desperate need for mercy from God!

Remembering what Christ saved us from is something we shouldn't forget, but remember. We should remember what we were, know what we are now, and forever be found in a state of thankfulness toward God for His mercy toward us.

Not to discredit Paul, but each story of salvation is another example of God's patience. Paul's story declares the message of the need for salvation to the rest of us. If God can save a terrorist like Paul, surely He can save those who are not and others who are! What sinner is found with a great enough sin to be kept from God's grace if a converted terrorist wrote half the New Testament?! Oh, the amazing patience and grace and love of God! His mercy is great. And glory only does belong to Him!

Now the application. I'm not worthy of this. But God has considered me trustworthy enough to carry this ministry. He gives me strength. God's mercy is great and He has shown it to me firsthand. I may not have literally killed anyone or blasphemed, but my actions and thoughts have done something similar. I've hated. I thought things. But God uses my failures to display His great strength and patience with me so as an example "for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life." May I never forget God's mercy toward me. May I always remember that each person, no matter how great the sin, has just as much need for the message of grace as I do. God be praised!

Promoting

There are many different kinds of teachings of the gospel out there. We all have come to our own way of thinking and believing, holding a "my faith is my own" approach in conversation. We've all allowed some form of "post-modern" thinking to creep into the faith. We live in a post-modern era, or later, and it has had a huge effect on our thought process. It's very self-absorbed. "You have your way of thinking, I have mine. It's relative. Maybe that's the way you believe or understand it, but I believe differently. All roads lead to the same destination. Truth is up to the interpreter." No solid foundations found on beliefs because there is supposedly no solid foundation. Nothing is sound. And all of this is done so we can learn to coexist. It's more important to be politically correct in our terminology than to address the absolute, obvious reality.

I'm tired of being politically correct. I don't think it's necessary. I think that instead of being on guard and afraid to offend all the time, I must act out of love. There's a deeper issue that lies at the root of all this craziness and all of us know what true differences are. Maybe the issue is we've left sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel of Jesus for myths. Or maybe we devote ourselves to a saying, believing it's gospel truth. Maybe we've lost the meaning of what things are supposed to be because we've enforced them on things where they have no relevance. Maybe, in all this, we've promoted controversial speculation instead of advancing God's work--which is by faith.

I'm reading Timothy now. Paul's letter to his "true son in the faith" is so intriguing. It's a letter that charges Timothy to keep to what is sound amidst a culture that runs after the next great philosophy. Paul tells Timothy to stay in Ephesus, to command those who are teaching false doctrine to stop it. Then he gives him clues as to who they are. They teach and devote themselves to the wrong thing, desiring to become something that they don't understand or know anything about.

A common debate in the early church was the use of the commandments in the Old Testament. But the apostles taught that Jesus fulfilled the Law and thus we've been shown grace and don't need to follow the rituals any longer. But the Jews who would convert had a tough time getting to a place where they could walk away from that heritage, the form of worship they were so used to. And sometimes those who didn't practice things taught in the law were viewed with contempt. These works would bring an attitude of self-righteousness.

So a majority of Paul's letters would mention, and do, that we are saved by grace through faith, not through works. Jesus did the work. The work is over. Our acceptance of God's grace should now bring us to a place where we live out His love in response to it. Let's face it, finding righteousness through comparison with others is easy when everything is based on works. But when grace is involved, works just don't matter because we're not earning anything. It's grace. Forgiveness. A second chance. We're made right with God through Jesus. It has everything to do with God now. So what matters is our response to that grace.

I think about our doctrine and the things taught in church. Believe me, I think there are many of us who feel unqualified for this calling and would tell you the same thing: I'm really not sure I'm supposed to be doing this. Unqualified is a good term. Then there are those who believe they are qualified. Isn't it weird how we generally prefer listening to teachers who think they aren't qualified to the people who think they are? There's a way to tell the difference: it's motivation.

Motivation has everything to do with who teaches and who doesn't. Those people Paul told Timothy to command to stop were motivated by something other than love. Paul specifically mentions that the goal of the command to stop is love. It comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. There's no deeper motivation. This love is focused on the other rather than self. There's no hidden agenda, no guilt after confrontation, and a genuine love for God is displayed.

I would assume these guys are in the church or claim to be believers of some kind. It's obvious they didn't get it. Paul gives Timothy a great script for addressing them. The law is good, but isn't for righteous people. It's for unrighteous people; people who don't know Jesus to get them on the right track.

Now we get to what I was mentioning earlier. Again, I'm not sure how to put this in words very well because it's still being digested. It seems that there are a lot of myths that have entered lifestyle of a Christian. They may not be bad things, but they are meaningless in comparison with the gospel. What I mean by that is God doesn't hold the value on them like we do. There's a status quo, a belief system based on American thought that has infiltrated the church in a subtle way. Maybe there's lots of them that we don't realize. I'm not sure of what they all are or even of what one would be. I have ideas, but each one is up for debate, and I'm not going to "promote controversial speculations" or turn to "meaningless talk" right now. These are things you're going to have to take up with God. But I do want to promote something else: love.

Are the things we're doing, the conversations we're having, the thoughts we're thinking peppered with love? Are we advancing God's work (which is by faith) and promoting love, or are we advancing our work and promoting ourselves? Are our motives based our self-fulfillment instead of love for God, love which stems from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith? Are those three things something that we're known for? Are we committing to trash what is meant to be for holiness? How much of our talk is meaningless? How much of our lifestyle does God value? (notice I didn't say "life" because God values your life more than His Son) How is our response to a grace we didn't deserve? Are we still trying to earn it? The question that will haunt me today is this one: Is our faith in God or ourself?

Falter or Rescue

"If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?" --Proverbs 24:10-12 (NIV)

Wow. How many times have I fell in a time of trouble? What kind of "time of trouble" is Solomon talking about?

I'm reminded of the account of Jesus and His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is sleeping through a storm and the disciples wake Him saying, "Don't you care about us? We're all going to down!" (Mark 4:35-41) After calming the storm Jesus asks them, "Where is your faith?"

Faith in times of trouble. Seems like a new lesson to be learned daily. Maybe God doesn't give us enough strength in times of trouble so we will learn to rely on His. That's what develops our faith and our strength to hang on through it. We all will falter in a time of trouble if we're only relying on our own strength, but those who rely on the Lord have greater strength to stand.

Another thing that jumps at me is verse 11. We're to rescue those who don't have the strength. I think if we realize the "time of trouble" as a moment to stand for Christ instead of a moment to falter, our eyes will open to see what Jesus sees: There are many of us being led away to death! There are many people who need rescuing!

Again, another illustration comes to mind. I've been on a camping trip in which we had to hold back someone from falling into the fire pit. He was headed for pain and didn't realize how close he was. We rescued him. Think of all the people headed for something they don't realize or understand! So many people drunk with sin so that they don't see what they're headed toward! The don't know! Sin leads to death. Sin earns death (Romans 6:23). And if we saw someone headed toward disaster, it's our responsibility to save them! Just as we stop people from walking in the middle of a busy street if they're not paying attention, we need to stop people from walking down the wide path to destruction because they're not paying attention. Rescue.

Verse 12 gets louder. Those of us who believe in God have Him living within us. And if God perceives our heart and guards us, do we have any excuse to stop our ears and put on a blindfold so we won't notice the world heading for death? We know. Now, will we do?

It reminds me of the parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. The people are divided to His right and to His left. The right receives the kingdom because of faith lived out. The left did not receive it because of a faith held back to simple belief with no action. God redeems our hearts to live out our lives for Him. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17).

The last question of the passage is the accountability question. It's not meant to bring fear into our hearts, but to wake us up! We're asleep! Our strength is small, our reliance is on ourselves, and death is all around us but we refuse to see it! I'm guilty. Come awake, church! Pray for open eyes and a trusting heart! And maybe, when Jesus asks us, "Where is your faith?" we can point in confidence directly to Him.

Tough Steps

A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way? --Proverbs 20:24 (NIV)


What a great question. I ask that of myself all the time. Sometimes I simply don't understand. Do you ever feel lost as you follow Christ? If we truly believe God to be true to His Word, the steps we take are directed by Him. At least half the time I'm not sure I understand them. I mean, why this step? 


Remember, God will never ask us to do something that would conflict with His character and nature. I also believe God allows tests of our devotion to Him in order to develop the discipline of trust. But sometimes it doesn't seem to make any sense. I wonder, have we gotten used to questioning the steps we take instead of the simple trust He desires? 


My kids give me a great example. Sometimes the things I ask them to do don't make sense to them. But my response tends to be the same: "Trust me." They'll fuss a little, maybe pout some. But they end up obeying and trusting me, and later see the reward from it because I remind them of what I said. 


I've experienced it through financial shortcomings. Depending on God to come through as we purpose not to go into debt is tough. But the long term reward from delaying immediate satisfaction brings peace in the end. And keeping a meaningless monthly payment off the books brings comfort, and extra cash when we need it.


Then there's family issues. They come up too. Trusting God with my family or events within the family is very hard. There's an obligation toward them because of blood and love. This is the hardest thing for anyone. When it comes to someone we love, our trust in God is tested harder than many other aspects. I believe the financial things are hard enough, but this is much harder. And when the financial thing and the family thing are combined, the trust and patience test can become unbearable. This is when the step "directed by the LORD" causes us to cry out to God just like my children do. "I don't understand! How could this happen? Why did You let this happen like this, God? Are you going to come through for me? Why can't I see it now? How come I don't feel comforted, God of comfort? How come I feel abandoned?" 


This is the toughest post I've ever written. And I can't say I have the answers. This is the paradigm that brings up the core of who we are, the depth of our faith in God, and the trust we really have in Him. How devoted are we? 


Proverbs tells me something here. Solomon, in all his wisdom, being the wisest man to ever walk the face of the earth didn't understand his own way either. He said it here. And to conclude his other book of the description of meaningless things with this:

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. --Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NIV)

Maybe it's not our job to know or understand. Maybe it's our duty or responsibility to only trust God. Maybe after we've questioned the Father we should conclude with obedience, just like my kids. And maybe God will remind us after we've obeyed, "See? Do you see why now?"

Planning

Ever heard the statement, "Want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans"? I think that's terrible. I don't think it's true at all. If God laughs at your plans, why is He so concerned for you?

I found something in Proverbs that really opened my eyes to show me just how much God cares about our plans and wants to work in them with you. Of course His will is going to be accomplished regardless of us, but He doesn't laugh at our plans. Let me show you something:

1 To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue. 2 All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD. 3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. 4 The LORD works out everything to its proper end--even the wicked for a day of disaster. 5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. 6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD evil is avoided. 7 When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone's way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them. 8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. 9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. --Proverbs 16:1-9 (NIV) 

Let me preface what I'm about to say with this: those who seek the Lord in all they do will see a change in heart and a change in plans. It all comes from complete submission to His will. Plans do belong to the us. God has His plan and has clearly shared it with us as well. But when we communicate our plans and put them into action, our response to those who question us comes directly from the Lord.

Plans can change as God gently directs us in alignment with His will. If we're alert enough, we can watch Him work in our lives.

God sees our hearts and knows what motivates us to work toward these plans. And this is where we get that statement I mentioned earlier. I think we need to change our vision and see things through the lenses of God's eyes. We can see from the context of these verses that committing our plans to the Lord allows Him to bring them to fruition. And the fruit of those plans committed to Him brings Him glory, which is exactly what He's looking for.

This is how God can work in our plans. We need some changes of heart to see what He has in store for us.

1. Pure motives (vs 2)
2. Surrender and commit to His will (vs 3)
3. Trust and faithfulness toward God (vs 4)
4. Humility (vs 5)
5. Love and respect (vs 6)
6. Pursuit of peace (vs 7)
7. Integrity (vs 8)

Our objective must begin and end with God. Our focus must be on the reason why He made us: to bring Him glory. Our mindset is based on our response to His love and faithfulness toward us. Our attitude toward others should demonstrate our devotion to Him. Our response is confidently founded on our faith in God. Our actions display our deep conviction. Our result is establishment from God and peace with our enemies. 

We can see that God is invested in our plans. But a heart that pursues Him brings a change in course. The more we seek Him, the more we are made to be like Him. His plans become our plans. And those plans we have stem from a different kind of motivation; a motivation to bring honor and glory to God alone. 

Seasoned Well

Steak. Make a nice good marinade, let it set for a few minutes and slap that on the grill. Sear and grill to a nice medium and I'm lost in the flavor. There are good marinades and bad ones. But you don't know until you try. I've been to some restaurants where they could really use some help in the kitchen. It was obvious they didn't know what they were doing to ruin such a good cut. I've also been to another steakhouse where the menu would tell me all their different cuts and styles of steaks, but no matter which one I would order they would all taste the same. Talk about epic fail! But then there's that great steakhouse, perfect amount of seasoning, grilled to perfection, can be cut with a fork, and melts in your mouth. Hungry for steak? But not just any steak, the one with the right seasoning?

Our speech is seasoned with something. Notice tonality and body language in delivery. There are many ways we communicate to people. This is what I'm getting at. Let's read this:

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let you speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. --Colossians 4:5-6 (NASB)

Conduct ourselves. What a neat word to describe "a way of life." Our conduct tells people who we are, who we belong to, and develops a reputation of what we're known for.

If we think back to an earlier post, My Prayer This Year, I explained what I believe wisdom is. At its core, wisdom is fearing and knowing God, believing in Him, and His affect on our lives. It's revealed through the Holy Spirit as we seek to know God more through His Word. So in context, since this text is in the same letter, I believe the wisdom Paul is talking about is the same thing: Godly wisdom. Wisdom is displayed in our lives from the depth of our relationship with God. Understanding that every moment is a moment to please Him in every way, our conduct presents God's grace to those who don't know Him.

A life devoted to knowing God more and pleasing Him in every way, stemming from a habitual search for a closer relationship with God, naturally makes the most of every opportunity regardless of the circumstance. With this "seeking God" mentality, our entire lifestyle is affected and is seen in our conduct and heard in our speech. Just like the seasoning in the steak left to marinade so the flavor permeates every bit, so the seasoning of Christ, the flavor of His grace and love toward us, permeates our speech, our thought process, and conduct.

Everything is seasoned with something. We have to decide what kind of seasoning we're going to use before we act, think, and talk.

If we keep that grateful spirit mentioned throughout the letter to the Colossians toward the cross and God's love for us, Christ is allowed to season our lives with more of Him. Keep that attitude! Don't forget the price paid for you! And allow the seasoning of grace that was given you through the cross to flow through your speech, conduct, and how you respond to each person.

A Battle Field

"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;" Colossians 4:2 (NASB)


Over the course of the letter to the Colossians, Paul doesn't hide our need for God and salvation through the cross. Our connection to God and His guidance is through studying and knowing His word and prayer (chapter 1). In this particular text God showed me something I haven't really taken to heart fully and don't completely understand. But here it goes.


I've been told growing up that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 6:12 NIV) And it's true. I'm not in a battle against those I have conflict with, but the disagreement comes from an attack the enemy is trying to use to cause division and destruction. Let's be honest with ourselves. A majority of the time we don't see what's really going on beyond the surface of things. And we all know that giving in to the surface issues causes grief for all those involved and affects more relationships than the one we have the conflict with. 


But what about prayer? Do we notice the conflict going in it? Why does Paul say to be alert in it?

I've read the other translations I normally use to get a better picture of what he's talking about, but none of them could get to clarity. I wondered why the New American Standard Bible said, "alert in it (prayer)." I've also pulled out the Greek and went through each word to see who was more literal. That's why I've chosen this translation for this passage. Paul doesn't say to simply be watchful or alert in life as a whole. He's talking specifically about prayer. Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't be alert in other areas of our life. By all means we should be very alert. But what we must be alert in is prayer.

Check this out. When we begin communicating with God through prayer, we are leaving a physical realm to enter into the spiritual. This is where faith comes in. If we don't believe in God, we have no reason to pray. So faith is a spiritual weapon. There's a much deeper battle going on beyond the surface of things, like I mentioned earlier. When we begin to pray, we enter into the thick of the battle we don't typically see or understand.

We're communicating with our Commander and Chief. And the first thing the enemy tries to do is cut the lines of communication. Ever notice how often we easily get distracted while praying? We hear coughing, a child act up, our minds wander and don't focus (did I turn off the iron?), our throats get dry and we need a drink, suddenly our bladder can't hold it any longer, there's an itch and I can't reach it, their shoelaces are untied, and the wind is really strong today. Lines get cut. Did we notice it? Now we do. The enemy has a pretty good idea of when we're praying. He notices when he begins to lose and he'll raise hell to do everything he can to start winning again.

We receive our instruction from God's Word, the manual for a life that pleases Him and a letter that expresses the most needed, faithful, and gracious love. The weapons the enemy uses and works the best is busyness. It's easy to put things off. And because our priorities are messed up in life, the most important thing given to us on this earth collects dust on the sofa table. We keep it out so we remember. But it can easily become a decoration instead of our Life Blood. This is why an attitude of thanksgiving is so important. The more we realize with extreme gratitude the depth of love that brought Jesus to the cross for us, the stronger the lines of communication become with our Commander and the more alert we become to the things that try to cut those lines.

So devotion to prayer is necessary. It's a must in our life. Keeping the lines open with God give us more of the life He freely gives to the faithful. The signal gets stronger, the message gets clearer the closer we move in the direction of Him. Prayer is the force that moves the powerful hand of God. Paul knew it and that's why he asked the Colossians for prayerin the next few verses that God would open a door for the word, to speak our boldly and clearly for the cause of Christ, to proclaim the message of the gospel. Yes, the battle is much fiercer than we realize and those on the front lines must be lifted up for protection and courage.

The cause is great and the battle is hard. But there's something else I learned that brings more comfort and courage. The battle belongs to the Lord (1 Samuel 17:47). When we realize, like David, that it's all in His hands, our faith can take a leap because God is on our side! If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) The war is already won! We have battles throughout where the enemy tries to take us down with him. But we must be devoted and ever alert in prayer, continually thankful to the God who saves us.

Obedient Children

The title says it all. Any parent longs for this more than most other things. And if obedience comes with joy, it's much sweeter to the parent's soul. It gets even better when the child takes responsibility and initiative to obey without being asked. 


My children are getting of the age when they begin to ask questions as to why they have to do what they've been asked. It takes time to explain my reasons, but I'd prefer they'd simply trust and obey. After all, isn't that kind of what we're supposed to do with God? Just trust Him and obey? But an issue arises within our children when an explanation is avoided. They get discouraged and fail to understand our parenting.


One of the most important things to me is making sure my children know and love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Sometimes it's hard to take the time to teach them how to do it. And most of the time I feel I fail at the job of being a father. My intentions are good and the motivation on my end is clear, but it's not always that clear to them. I tell them to wait on me, but when they tell me to wait on them, I get frustrated. My idea of a level balance of judgment seems like daddy makes the rules and their opinion doesn't count. Well, if they're taught that their opinion doesn't count in some of these issues, are they going to look to me for love and advice later on when they're teenagers?


I'm reading a few books along with my individual Bible study I'd like to recommend to you. They've already changed my perspective in relationships with my family, friends, and acquaintances. 

"The Resolution For Men" book is something I'm very excited about. It's written by Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick, Randy C. Alcorn. I've only just begun reading and already it has captured my attention and challenged me to become the father and husband God has always intended me to be, to fulfill my role as leader in the home. I'm hoping to eventually lead this or suggest this book as a Summer Bible Study for the men in our church. The lack of a father figure in the home can lead the children in the home to a dangerous and destructive way of life. Understanding what my role and God's purpose for me is crucial in knowing how to train my children in the way they should go so that when they're old they won't depart from it. 

After reading the first chapter, which was a little hard to get into, my life changed. This book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" has helped me understand people, why I don't like some and like others, and even the topic of this post. I want desperately to communicate effectively with my children, to inspire and challenge them to go farther and grow in maturity and what they're passionate about. The examples he gives in business is important too, but the illustrations on parenting impacts me even more. I'm not done with it yet, but if there was another helpful book (besides the Bible) I'd recommend to anyone on how to truly interact with volunteers, co-workers, bosses, and family, this is the book.

All in all, these are supplements to help with the understand of the Scriptures I've read today. They'll never take the place of the wisdom of God directly from His Word, but they do help me understand it in a very practical way. This is the passage for today:

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. --Colossians 3:20-21

The truth is obedience begins with us. My children will not respect me if I don't respect them. I could easily force them to do anything I want them to. I'm bigger, stronger, and have the final say anyway. But what I long from them is love and respect, not fear. So I must lead by example.

I remember in my childhood wanting to know the "why." Is it any different for my children? Enforcing my rules or ideology upon them in an authoritative way such as, "It's my way or the highway" won't encourage them to love me. It will discourage them, embitter them toward me, and will eventually encourage them to respond negatively toward me in the future.

Please understand, I'm not suggesting discipline isn't important. What I am saying is that if I'm disciplining because their behavior is an inconvenience for me, it's the wrong reason. Children are precious and must be nurtured. It takes time. So raising them should never be an inconvenience.

Ultimately, the reality sets in that their view of God comes from how they view me. If I'm harsh toward them, hearing that God is their Father isn't going to bring comfort. If I'm patient with them, it will.

Let me encourage you to consider how you are raising your children and how you can change to show them the love you really have for them. Pick up one of these books and grow. Nothing comes natural other than selfishness and change takes work. Be revolutionary in your life and take initiative to overcome the past and intentionally direct the future toward all that God has in store for you.

Finding Community

Diving right in, Colossians 3:15-17 (NIV):

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish on another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 I read this and thought, "What's with all the thankfulness and gratitude? Why does it play such a big part in this portion of the letter?"

We've been going over such a neat section here about the fullness of God, understanding His will for us, and being hidden with Christ in God that this section bring a climactic understanding. I'm reminded of an actor that asks the director, "I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do. What's my motivation here?" This is the motivation, the application, what it looks like to be part of this community of God.

A thankful heart understands what peace looks like in the area of community. We all suffer from conflict with others and sometimes try and do all we can to avoid confrontation. But there's no peace that comes with avoidance, only the possibility of bitterness and envy. Our excuses to find a way to compromise or solve the issue comes from a hidden falsehood that drives our rational against peace: we have nothing in common so we don't get along. Whatever! We have Christ! We've been redeemed by the same love! If we get back understanding and being thankful to God for what He's done for us, His sacrifice to stretch out the hand of peace in reconciliation toward us, peace with others comes naturally! Conflict can be resolved. We're striving for the same thing.

Showing gratitude to God helps us understand our place in teaching and training others in following Him. Our focus remains on the One who has given us a message of salvation, a message of hope and a future because of grace. With our focus on Him, our teaching is done in complete love. The wisdom refers to what we mentioned earlier in the post, My Prayer for This Year; knowing what God wants for us in our life, what life pleasing to Him looks like having been revealed to us by the Spirit through His word. Pride in our knowledge of God has no place in our hearts when we remain grateful for what God has done for us.

Giving thanks to God brings purpose to our work. Praise through work can be given to God through an attitude of gratefulness. Remembering His work on the cross should bring us to a place of unworthiness and a desire to praise Him in everything we do. It's why we strive for excellence. It can also give us a better understanding of being Hidden in Him.

To get to a place of community, it begins personal and individual gratitude to God and spreads through the rest of the church. Have you noticed that a grateful heart is contagious? Imagine the church constantly living in a state of gratitude toward God's faithfulness! This is what the community of believers is supposed to look like. Our collective witness to the world comes from a grateful heart to God for His Love for us!

I'm convinced that community has a difficult time forming when aren't truly grateful for God's gift, His grace and mercy toward us through His Son's sacrifice, and hope because of His raising from the dead. We must ask ourselves if the conflict within the church, the bitterness toward others in our family of believers, and our defiance of following Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is because of a lack of gratitude for His love. Purpose with me to change our attitudes and regain a thankful heart, a grateful spirit toward God and His love for us so we may find and truly experience this community God has in mind for us. Maybe the church will shine so brightly in this world that the dark shroud of doubt and falsehood will fall with the big bang they say it came with.

Hidden

When something is hidden from you, what do you see? Think about it. The gift hidden in a box with wrapping around it conceals something precious. The object in the box then receives a new name: "present" or "gift." It doesn't matter the size or the weight, it has a new definition and a new form of being. It's still whatever it is inside the box, but the term of its existence has been defined by its concealer. Interesting thought.

I've been stuck on a passage in Colossians 3 for a few days now. This is the whole passage in context:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  --Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

 The sentences that sandwich this concept of being "hidden with Christ in God" give clear picture as to what our new life should look like and the results in the end.

Now, as a believer, think about that gift and insert your name. It doesn't matter what size you are, what weight, what you look like, you've been gift-wrapped completely with Christ as something special to God. The present He sees when opened or revealed is Jesus! If our lives are hidden in Christ, the power and influence of His life should be all that everyone else around us sees. All there is is the present, the gift, the Christ. But that's not all.

The beginning of the sentence is most important in being hidden in Christ. Something has to have taken place to allow our lives hide in Him. We must die. Ourselves, our desires, our goals and ambitions, our decided futures have to die in order to be hidden in Him. A few verses back, in chapter 2:20, it says that we've died with Christ to the elementary principles or spiritual forces of this world when we've chosen to believe in Him. If that be the case, the question is valid: why would we submit to the rules of the world as if we still belonged to it? If I'm not hidden with Christ in God, what difference does the world and it's rules mean to me in my life? The rules no longer apply. I've been redefined, renovated, transformed, re-born, redeemed, and what once was no longer is. I have a new name and my identity is defined by what conceals me: Christ.

So, since I've been changed and my old self, or old way of life doesn't apply any longer, this is what I do: my pursuits, my goals, my mind, all of my heart must be set on what's most valuable to Christ. And I should live a life consistent with the "gift" I've become. My "earthly nature" must die, must get starved to death and no longer live (v 5-11). All the things that once gave me a definition consistent with the world must be removed and replaced. The character of Christ takes over: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and, most importantly, love (v 12-14).

Now I have to ask myself, and ask you the same thing. When people look at us, what do they see? Are we hidden with Christ? Have we been wrapped up in Him or in the things of the world? What defines us now? What do we need to change in order to keep our minds and hearts set on the things above? What character of Christ must be developed within us?