Are you an on-the-go person and looking for a way to integrate God's Word into your day? I like to use little ways to augment my personal time with God that I have in the morning, as reminders for things.
While there are no substitutes for a time in my schedule daily to God's Word. Here are some tricks for people on the go, feel free to respond and share your tips. Most of the time, things like this I use while I'm waiting for files to render or copy or waiting for an appointment or when I'm filling the car with gas or whatever...in the cracks of the day.
***For the non tech person, I'll add some "Low tech solutions" for some of the ideas as well.
1) If you have a smart phone, look into youversion's bible app from Life Church. They have a daily verse of the day that can be delivered to your phone automatically...there are versions for Android and iPhone/iPad.
***Also, we put our sermon notes on this each week, so you can follow along with my sermons, send in a prayer request, share a bible verse or a thought on social media, take notes on the sermon, and email the notes to yourself to keep or a friend who couldn't make it today.
2) If you'd rather twitter than app, follow @daily_bible and the daily verse is posted there for you.
3) If you drive a lot, the Youversion app has an option where the Bible can be read to you. I have a blue tooth speaker that I hook up to my phone and listen to my Bible, while I'm in the shower, mowing the yard or while I play video games, instead of the radio.
Low (er) tech solution: By a CD player and buy the Bible on CD. There are all kinds, even ones for reading it through in a year. Check your local Christian bookstore (or Barnes and Nobles even) or search it on Amazon...here's a link
4) I use an Android app called "Remember Me" which helps me organize the verses that I'm memorizing each day. It's quick and I can review a couple of verses in about 2 minutes waiting on something or before a meeting.
Low tech solution: If you aren't a tech person, then carry an index card with a Scripture on it in your pocket (or two or three) and review them when you are are waiting
5) We all have breaks that happen in our day (lunch or right after appointments or meetings or the drive home), I use my Google calendar to set up prayer reminders for certain things (and you can set up reminders to recur for several days...these work great to read right before you are driving somewhere...NOT during the drive. ;)
Low tech solution: Write a prayer request on a card and place it to the left of the speedometer on your car or a sticky note on your bathroom mirror or in the book you are reading or on your day planner (when you open it the each day, just move it to the next day).
What's your favorite way to integrate spiritual disciplines into your day? Feel free to post below.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
What really is thankful…
Every year, we approach this season of “Thanksgiving”. We meet together with family, watch football, and avoid that relative that always has to bring up the controversial debate topic (or maybe that’s us). For some it’s a “family” time, for others it’s a time of remembrance for what God has done for us, for some it’s both. The theme of the season though is thankfulness.
For most of us, thankfulness is something that we do, which really fits in with the taking a day each year, but for the Christ follower, it should be a way of life. All over God’s Word, he speaks of thankfulness. Psalm 69:30 says that I will “glorify Him with thanksgiving”. In other words, the way I glorify God is to point out the work He’s doing (His glory) here and to thank Him for it. We sing to thank Him when we gather together (Psalm 147:7; Psalm 69:30) In 2 Corinthians 9, the writer tells us that God gives us everything we have so we can, out of thankfulness for what we do have (not bitterness for what we don’t) be generous with those things to others, and THAT very generosity will result in thankfulness to God. In every request of God, we should ask with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). If “in everything” missed anything, there’s one of my favorite verses in the Bible, Colossians 3:17 “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.” (emphasis added). The greatest thing to be thankful for is that Jesus who allows us to reconnect with God and to know what life is meant to be. The Bible, a collection of 66 books, written by 40 different writers over a period of 2000 years, without consultation between authors, simply inspired by God Himself, just drips with the message “Hey BE thankful.”
It’s amazing the pain that people can get used to, we adjust and adapt, as a God given ability to survive, but at the same time, we adjust the other way. It’s amazing the blessings that we can get used to and overlook. In fact, we don’t usually realize they are there until they are gone.
As you approach Thanksgiving, don’t just take a moment for thankfulness, but commit to live in thankfulness all throughout the next year. Get a post it note and write something you can be thankful for each day and stick it on your desk. I have a friend who starts each day posting on Facebook something he’s thankful for. Get creative, but resign to live a life that is thankful...you will find that a thankful life is better than a demanding one, and everyone might enjoy you better this Thanksgiving as well.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
My Dad is Better Than Your Dad
When I was young, we boys would periodically have a bout of “My Dad is better than your Dad”. We’d throw out some awesome feat...NEVER embellished or exaggerated.. that our Dads had done, that was obviously an achievement that clearly made him the “Dad over all”. While that was fun (even if it was more than a little bit of perjury if we’d have done it in a court of law), what is cute as kids, often becomes ugly as adults...especially with Christians.
More and more on social media, I see other Christians rolling out some blog or scathing video about “nationally-know pastor” or “those type of churches”. It always makes me cringe, because rarely is anyone ever pointing at themselves and their church in repentance. Mostly, it’s a finger pointing exercise at the “really bad” Christians over there...that aren’t me.
A defining statement like John 13:35 gets thrown away. Matthew 18, Galatians 6 and Proverbs 16:18 are ignored. It’s like trying to find the next “sinner” to expose has become the national distraction for what Christians should be doing. If that’s you, let me share something with you...you don’t have to search for sinners, because we all are and if someone says they aren’t, then they are lying...which is a sin.
As a fellow believer in Boston told me recently, “no one ever says that the problem with the church is that we’ve got TOO many people telling others about Jesus.” Like anything else, purpose gets lost in the wake of distraction. What’s sad is this rash of stuff rarely produces solution, only division. It is really just an indirect method of pointing to how YOU have it all together...leaving Jesus out of the equation. That type of stuff between Christians really just ends up looking like two second graders, fighting about whose Dad is better. and then you come to find out that they are siblings and the “Dads” they are comparing is the same guy.
Don’t seek out the “angry ones” who live to create conflict as your influences. If you see someone caught in a sin, resist the urge to run to Facebook, Twitter or Sunday School to nail them with your cool insult, no matter how famous or wrong they appear to be. I want to do that too, sometimes, but even though it’s hard, try praying for them instead. I really fail more than I’d like to admit, but it’s always better when I succeed. Spend 1000 times as many words as you ever say about someone in criticism, either in loving restorative (sometimes difficult) words to them directly or in talking to the only One who can ever make a real difference (See Gal 6, Matthew 18, etc..). You might find yourself more compassionate than contrary, or maybe even becoming more “Christlike”...and if that happens, maybe your Dad will, with lack of comparison, brag on you.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
How do you know if God is speaking to you?
I always say in messages that you should listen to God and do what He says, regardless of if it fits with what you think is in your path, He should be the one who directs your steps.
Someone asked me yesterday "How do I know if what I'm hearing is God speaking to me or if it's just my own idea that I want to do?" While I can't speak directly to everything that God says to you or anyone, I can give you some guidelines to test whether God is directing you are not.
1) You need to have a relationship with Christ. This is crucial. It means that you've accepted that you've been at odds with God and that can be as simple as not doing exactly what He wants from you (we've all been there) at some time in your life. Realizing that Romans 6:23 says that the wages or price of that sin is death or separation from God. God sent Jesus, His son, to live on Earth as a human and Jesus lived as no one has ever done before or since...He never did anything that God did not want from Him, He never sinned. Then he was killed for our sin, so that justice in Romans 6:23 could be satisfied, but we could have a way not to be eternally separated from Him. The way we accept this is to confess with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord (in other ways, we do what He says to do and live our lives for His purposes not our own) and believe in our heart (total belief) that He was God's Son. That's the first thing.
2) Begin to read God's Word daily and spend time praying (talking) with Him...and listening. Jesus said in John 10:23 that the people who follow Him know His voice. So, as we follow HIm, His voice is more evident...it's cumulative. Also, He will never tell you to do something against His Word. He'll never say "Hey, your wife is mean..leave her, you've put up with enough." Or "Your husband is an inconsiderate loser...leave him, that'll show him." That's contrary with the Bible's clear teaching on marriage, so better check that.. As you spend time with God following Him, you'll get to know him more and more. Also, during each day, I look for other ways for God to communicate or shape the direction that He wants me to go and it's amazing how things begin to line up.
3) Plug into a Bible teaching church that you can trust. You should be able to trust that the leadership seek God personally...that people in the church do the same. It should be a place where you connect with people and that's on you to try as well, not just on them to do all the work of relationship. Then you develop relationships with people who you know are following God and have your best interests at heart. Proverbs tells us that "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"...we are meant to learn in groups, sharing what we learn and building on it. Many times, I've sought others' viewpoints on what God is telling me and they've affirmed it or what's going on with them/what God is teaching them has helped shape the direction. It's giving God more avenues to speak to you.
If it's a life-altering decision, like a career change or a location change or something big, like say God was telling me to quit my job and start a ministry to help the homeless, I might meet with someone from "His Place Ministries" or from "Our Daily Bread" (ministries in Melbourne/Palm Bay area) and see how God inspired them to start these ministries and look for affirmation or shaping in those discussions.
Relationship with Christ -- testing what is said against God's Word and listening to Him -- looking for signs and messages around you -- plugging into a community of believers who give God more opportunities to speak to you...all these things are great for you. If you are married, your spouse will be a big player in this, because nothing you do is separate from them...so they have to be in with you to a degree. It might be in the "okay, we'll try that" or in the "alright!!! I'm in!!!" mode. God has directed the timing of moves in my life by the way He's spoken to my wife or the time that He's taken to speak to her and vice versa, her with me.
Hope that helps you to know if God is speaking to you on a certain issue.
Relationship with Christ -- testing what is said against God's Word and listening to Him -- looking for signs and messages around you -- plugging into a community of believers who give God more opportunities to speak to you...all these things are great for you. If you are married, your spouse will be a big player in this, because nothing you do is separate from them...so they have to be in with you to a degree. It might be in the "okay, we'll try that" or in the "alright!!! I'm in!!!" mode. God has directed the timing of moves in my life by the way He's spoken to my wife or the time that He's taken to speak to her and vice versa, her with me.
Hope that helps you to know if God is speaking to you on a certain issue.
I hope this helps...
Monday, September 23, 2013
Changes coming to KIDzone
Each week, Katye or I or both ask our kids what they learned each Sunday and I"m blessed to hear the Scriptural principles and lessons that they are learning in KIDzone each week. Still, I know that we don't develop for the moment, we develop with the future in mind. Over the last month or so, I've asked Raul to pray and think about our overall strategy in KIDzone, in light of preparing our kids to eject seamlessly into our church worship when they graduate from KIDzone one day.
In thinking and praying through that directive and having some valuable conversations with some of the KZ leadership, Raul came to me with some changes to propose for our KIDzone that not only continues to address the needs of our children, but also, begins to prepare them from the beginning for what they will experience when they leave KIDzone and begin to worship in our main worship center.
Currently, we basically have a children's church at 3 groups: Nursery/Toddlers, Pre-K (3 years- Kindergarten) and Elementary (Grades 1-6). In each area, we take that group and work with curriculum and activities that are age appropriate for that group. I believe that while I try to put the "peanut butter on the lowest shelf so everyone can reach it", so to speak, as a communicator, a 35 minute lecture style setting doesn't do the greatest job with our younger believers of getting across the tenants of Scripture. In our day and time, there are loads of materials and curriculum that created by Christians who have devoted their lives to teaching children about Jesus in ways that get the maximum impact in their lives. I totally believe in that. I grew up sitting in church services with large words and illustrations that I really didn't understand, geared to the majority of the room...adults. As a result, I remember to this day the look, feel and lesson of the only time I ever attended children's church at my great aunt's church at Ozark Baptist and learning in a setting and way that I understood...and that's been 30+ years ago. Still, when our kids leave KIDzone, they are put into our worship service at 7th grade and then it's a whole new ballgame...how do we make that transition more seamless? Well, there are two subtle changes that Raul is leading us toward.
1) Our Nursery will begin to add two elements, loosely structured. Music and the Word. In the past, we've focused on showing the love of Christ to our little ones, helping them to understand that church is a loving place and to represent God as a loving caring parent. We'll still focus on that, but we'll be looking to add reading to our kids from interesting story books of God's bible stories and playing music that has a message of Christ throughout the hour...maybe even challenging our workers to sing a song with the kids.
2) In our Elementary KIDzone, we'll begin this Sunday, September 29, 2013 to go a little bit "old school" and bring this age group into the service with us during the first portion of our adult service. At a point in the adult worship service, the leadership will clearly and seamlessly direct parents to let their kids leave with their KZ leaders en masse and we'll continue in our service as normal. This change allows our kids to witness/participate in things like singing to God together, video testimonies, and other elements of our services that works great for them, getting a taste of our worship service. It also allows those of our Elementary aged kids who have accepted Christ to participate in The Lord's Supper (or Communion) when we take that together as a body. It will be up to the parents to educate and guide their kids through these times, which further helps the family bond. At the same time, they will eject from the service to get the benefits of directed teaching, in a format that they can understand and benefit from the most.
Will that be a little more crazy that we are used to? Yep, some kids will have to adjust (probably mine - ;) ) and it will take time for them to learn their surroundings to be a part. Sometimes, they will be impatient and they will be fidgety and will probably do things that adults would NEVER do...that's cool. We are TEACHING them as much as participating with them and part of teaching is learning to have grace through innocent mistakes, as well as willful ones.
How can you help?
1) You participate in the service and put your attention on God. Be sensitive of the time of the service and what's going on and model engaging in what we are doing.
2) Don't be a distraction to the kids...they'll have plenty. Resist the urge when that cute 1st grader wants to peak over their shoulder at you to start the "pee-pie" game or something that seems innocuous...you know when to quit, many of them haven't learned that yet and their parents are trying to get them to participate...so don't be a sour guy that's gives them the "scowl", but just redirect them subtly, while leaving it to their parent to do the "heavy lifting"..it takes a village to raise and child and that's true in church as well.
3) If you see someone NEW that looks lost, step out and help graciously. We went to another church years back that did this and all of a sudden the kids started leaving the service and we didn't see it...a kind lady behind us tapped us on the shoulder with a smile and said "Hey would you like for your children to go to children's church?", then another lady offered to walk my kids to the workers with her kids...I'm not sure if we were having a meltdown and they were really trying to get us moving OR if they were just being welcoming (lol), but it didn't matter, they were loving people and that's how we accepted and appreciate it.
4) Be patient, kind and loving, not disapproving and elitist. Just because a kid is having a bad morning, it doesn't help to give the parents "the stare". I'm telling you, as a parent, we are well aware when our kids aren't behaving and our brains are working overtime to try to solve the situation somewhere between "bringing the hammer" and making it worse AND ignoring it and letting it grow...we know and the "stare" that tells us we are failing and you'd do it better, doesn't help at all.
Right now, there will be no changes to our Pre-K area, they are just fine. They already have elements of our worship service introduced to them in ways they can get right now. Overall, we feel that this represents a gradual, yet purposeful approach to developing our children to be a part of the body as adults, not just an age group, while STILL maximizing their experience and teaching, preparing them for a seamless transition into our services.
As a pastor, I'm very grateful to Raul for his work and passion in this area and the time he's been putting in to make things run smoothly, especially through the transition into his new role and into the new location at the same time...we really threw him into the fire. Good job, man!
As a pastor, I'm very grateful to Raul for his work and passion in this area and the time he's been putting in to make things run smoothly, especially through the transition into his new role and into the new location at the same time...we really threw him into the fire. Good job, man!
All our leaders (Randy and Nathan) really put their hearts into what they do and are doing a great job as well. Please continue to pray for and support your leaders.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Bay West Church is MOVING...to another church? What?????
Here's a pretty good sample conversation in my life these days.
Person: What's going on at Bay West Church?
Me: Well, we're about to start meeting in a new place in August for worship on Sundays.
Person: That's awesome! Where is it?
Person: What's going on at Bay West Church?
Me: Well, we're about to start meeting in a new place in August for worship on Sundays.
Person: That's awesome! Where is it?
Me: Up on the West end of Emerson in Palm Bay (100 Emerson Drive, 32907)...you know The Mission Church, there? That's where we'll be.
Person: What? Where is The Mission Church going?
lol. I figured it might be fun to share the explanation in one place...so here's what I say next.
The Mission Church isn't going anywhere. They'll be there and so will we, AND so will the Hispanic church that meets in the building as well. Since the 80s, when the Ostranders built the church, they have always had other churches meeting in their space. They see this as part of their ministry to Palm Bay to help other churches get off the ground. "This is God's building, not ours...nothing is off limits to you here...we want you guys to feel as if this is Bay West Church's home while you are here." That's the type of things we heard in our meetings with Pastor Mark, Pastor Jesse and Pastor John. They have a real kingdom mindset, because more healthy churches reaching people in Palm Bay is better for all...no church competition here.
lol. I figured it might be fun to share the explanation in one place...so here's what I say next.
The Mission Church isn't going anywhere. They'll be there and so will we, AND so will the Hispanic church that meets in the building as well. Since the 80s, when the Ostranders built the church, they have always had other churches meeting in their space. They see this as part of their ministry to Palm Bay to help other churches get off the ground. "This is God's building, not ours...nothing is off limits to you here...we want you guys to feel as if this is Bay West Church's home while you are here." That's the type of things we heard in our meetings with Pastor Mark, Pastor Jesse and Pastor John. They have a real kingdom mindset, because more healthy churches reaching people in Palm Bay is better for all...no church competition here.
Here's a good picture of their attitude...their offer. We'll move our services from 10:15 to 9am, so you guys can have a service on Sunday mornings in our worship center. You guys have all these cabinets and stuff...hey, we've got places you can store the stuff...don't spend money on storage, we want you to put as much as you can into ministry. We'll find places for you to store it here. If you've been in The Mission, you know it's not gigantic...that's generosity. You see the real test of someone's kingdom mindedness when it actually puts them out...when they have to sacrifice their capabilities to help God work through you. We should all take a lesson from them.
So at 8:00am on August 11th, they'll have their Sunday School, then at 9:00am their have their service and finish between 10:15 and 10:30...then we'll start our service at 11am. And we'll all have church.
Is Bay West Church going to merge with The Mission Church?
Nope...we are still a campus of FBC Melbourne, still a Southern Baptist Church. Meeting in the same building with two other churches... Although, Pastor Mark is trying to talk me into going to Haiti on a mission trip with him...I'll have to hook him up with our local Haiti "missionary" Bob Osterholm (lol).
That's how it works...it may sound different, maybe a little weird, but it's a God thing...just go with it.
Is Bay West Church going to merge with The Mission Church?
Nope...we are still a campus of FBC Melbourne, still a Southern Baptist Church. Meeting in the same building with two other churches... Although, Pastor Mark is trying to talk me into going to Haiti on a mission trip with him...I'll have to hook him up with our local Haiti "missionary" Bob Osterholm (lol).
That's how it works...it may sound different, maybe a little weird, but it's a God thing...just go with it.
REMEMBER...Football is in the Fall, right? Then remember 11 on 11...11am on the 11th of August is when Bay West will be in their new location.
***See how I resisted the normal tangent about how a church isn't a building...it's people. When you think about it that way...it's a lot easier.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
A thought about following God's will
Katye is reading this great book called Sifted by Wayne Cordeiro, founding pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii. It's about preparing church planters and church leaders to face the struggles of leading a church, especially in that type of situation. We heard him speak at the Exponential 2013 conference in Orlando that we attended recently together (first time in YEARS to go to a conference together). She read me this section the other day (good to have a wife that reads!) and it was really good.
It was about following God's direction in your life when you are presented with options. The basic gist was that if he is presented with a direction and he doesn't receive a clear "no" in seeking God for the direction, he proceeds ahead, trusting God to shut the door. The truth, he said, is either it's the right thing, God will shut the door or at worst, you made a mistake and God will make you wiser in the end from it. He's always going to take care of us.
That's backwards from the way we do things, we don't move ahead without the clear "YES!" sometimes, but that's not always how it is following God...one thing is sure, sometimes the process is meant to be the tool by which He communicates direction, not a pre-arranged contract that you sign before you ever start that spells out everything. Honestly, He might be just needing you to "move over" a little toward the direction to put you in position for the next thing that He wants you to do.
I plan on reading the book, and from all the things Katye has shared, I recommend it, especially for church leaders.
It was about following God's direction in your life when you are presented with options. The basic gist was that if he is presented with a direction and he doesn't receive a clear "no" in seeking God for the direction, he proceeds ahead, trusting God to shut the door. The truth, he said, is either it's the right thing, God will shut the door or at worst, you made a mistake and God will make you wiser in the end from it. He's always going to take care of us.
That's backwards from the way we do things, we don't move ahead without the clear "YES!" sometimes, but that's not always how it is following God...one thing is sure, sometimes the process is meant to be the tool by which He communicates direction, not a pre-arranged contract that you sign before you ever start that spells out everything. Honestly, He might be just needing you to "move over" a little toward the direction to put you in position for the next thing that He wants you to do.
I plan on reading the book, and from all the things Katye has shared, I recommend it, especially for church leaders.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Let it Burn...or not
Ever look at a campfire after the flame has died down? You’re sitting there late at night and there’s a little glow emanating off the coals of the fire. You think the fire’s out… until you chunk a little piece of paper next to one of the embers… then the flame appears again.
Conflict can be like that also, it can burn like a fire. If we are smart, we go to the person who hurt us and we work it out…usually, forgiveness comes into play, and it’s extinguished….if we are lucky. Sometimes, we let it smolder, like an ember, and it waits to flame again later.
When Jesus was asked by one of His disciples about how many times to forgive someone, the disciple suggested 7 times. Jesus countered with 70 times 7. We tend to think that someone might have to commit an offense against us 490 times and then we forgive them 490 times…but I think we miss something.
Forgiveness is more of a process than a one-time event… we don’t just forget what happened. I think Jesus was saying that you might have to use 490 “forgives” on one occurrence of the wrong. Anything can remind me of pain…a TV program, a song, a conversation, etc… To forgive means, every time something reminds me of the hurt, I have to make the choice to forgive the person, every time…maybe 1000 times, just for that one thing.
If forgiveness doesn’t stick, pain can come back at any time, like that glowing ember. Most times, if the flame isn’t there, i.e. the conflict’s died down, we think everything’s okay because the fire is gone, but not hardly. Let some little piece of “paper”, a word or a look, get too near the glowing ember and you find out the flame burns strong…just like that. We think the “paper” is the problem, but it’s really not. If the “paper” just lies there, it never burns on its own. It needs the ignored ember to light it again. The hotter the fire/hurt, usually the longer the process of forgiveness… but it’s got to be done because usually the person that takes the most damage is the one nearest the fire, and that’s not the person who messed me over…that’s me or those close to me.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
For a bowl of soup...
29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)
31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”
32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”
33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
Genesis 25:29-34 (NLT)
Genesis 25:29-34 (NLT)
You might read this and think...that's flat stupid. The rights as the firstborn are pretty substantial, especially when your Dad is rich. Isaac, his Dad, was so blessed of God that the Philistines were jealous of him. As the firstborn son, Esau received twice the inheritance of the other sons, pretty much...and he gave this up because he was hungry, for a bowl of soup. I sincerely doubt that the guy was about to die, especially when you think back to the 80s and people on hunger strikes living for a month or 2 without food. Ghandi, at age 74, made it 21 days. So yeah, I doubt he was that hungry and yes...that's stupid.
Before you start throwing tomatoes and making "selling your birthright for soup" jokes, you might want to realize that you and I do this every day. How?
As Christ followers we sell our birthright as an adopted son of God all the time, in a sense, by sacrificing what our God has given us to meet a stupid need that wasn't really a need anyway...
...we throw away our witness because someone made us mad.
...we throw away our marriages because of a moment...
...we throw away our finances because we felt we needed more...
...we sin carelessly just because...
...we turn our backs on GREATNESS for God, because we are so afraid of being hungry for a minute...
Wow...don't give up on God today. The way we approach Him sometimes, it's almost as we are hoping He'll fail or quit or change His mind or get bored and go bother someone else with His grandiose ideas and plans...and when He does, we throw out comments like "well, I guess God wasn't in that." Well, He was, but, after a while, He took His plans to those that would follow Him, so you are right, NOW, He's not...
...but hey, you got a bowl of soup in your hand, meeting the tiny need of the moment, and it only cost you an unseen fortune.
...but hey, you got a bowl of soup in your hand, meeting the tiny need of the moment, and it only cost you an unseen fortune.
17 17 This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.
18 18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
19 19 Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore—
too many to count! There would have been no need for your destruction, or for cutting off your family name.”
Isaiah 48:17-19 (NLT)
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.
18 18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
19 19 Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore—
too many to count! There would have been no need for your destruction, or for cutting off your family name.”
Isaiah 48:17-19 (NLT)
Saturday, April 27, 2013
How to know if your should listen to that influence...
Ever wondered if you should actually be listening to a particular influence (writer, TV show, blog, etc...)? Was faced with this today and God called this to mind from James 3...
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
James 3:17
Is it...
...pure or tainted?
...ultimately peace-loving or divisive?
...considerate to others or rude to them? (not does it tell others they are wrong, that's not being rude, and sometimes it's the most considerate thing to do)
...submissive to authority (God) or demanding for itself?
...merciful or unforgiving?
...impartial or one-sided?
...sincere or manipulative?
What fruit seems to spring from it? (solution or separation, unity or useless conflict, insults or insight).
If it doesn't pass the test, then you can probably get along without it. Also, any wisdom that you feel led to give to others should follow that rule, too.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
James 3:17
Is it...
...pure or tainted?
...ultimately peace-loving or divisive?
...considerate to others or rude to them? (not does it tell others they are wrong, that's not being rude, and sometimes it's the most considerate thing to do)
...submissive to authority (God) or demanding for itself?
...merciful or unforgiving?
...impartial or one-sided?
...sincere or manipulative?
What fruit seems to spring from it? (solution or separation, unity or useless conflict, insults or insight).
If it doesn't pass the test, then you can probably get along without it. Also, any wisdom that you feel led to give to others should follow that rule, too.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
A realization
Today, I had a realization of how blessed I've been in my Christian life. When I was in college, I was a part of the Baptist Student Union as a freshman, but as it happens so much, my sophomore year I chose to head out and try some new things and I joined a popular fraternity on campus (we were #1...seriously, it was great!). While my plan was to kind of do my own thing, sort of flexing my rebellion a bit (well, it wasn't a conscious plan, I was just doing it), God had other plans and he took that opportunity to introduce me to being discipled.
Two guys, Chris Sanders and Sam Bowdoin, joined the fraternity in my pledge class, but they didn't join because my fraternity was so awesome, but because, get this...there weren't any Christians in it. It wasn't what you think...they didn't hate Christians, they were Christians and were taking the whole "missional" thing WAY too serious, about 20 years before missional was a mainstream Christian term. I guess I was doing a great job of not following Christ, because I guess Sam took my lifestyle, with some periodic conviction, because Christ was still trying to coach me through my stupidity, as a sign that I was "lost but questioning"...yeah, that's what I looked like. When I was ready, Sam invited me to come to his room and learn about Christ through that CO discipling tool the Blue Book. Anyway, God used that to right my ship and ended up with me going to Summer Beach Project, where I was discipled by a guy at my school for the summer named Patrick Sharp, who ended up discipling me when I got back to college. I sort of put discipling people on the backburner until I got to Seminary, where I poured my life into a lot of youth and college guys, mainly in a band or those dabbling in worship leading, then I met my wife, Katye.
Katye had had a lot of people pour into her life, from some great SS teachers (who are still discipling ladies today) and then being introduced by her sister to Jerry and Marilyn Fine, who have been voracious disciplers of men and women one on one for the last 40 years or longer (that's another history lesson from there). Jerry and Marilyn had discipled as regular church members for years, and after a while, their job was just getting in the way of their purpose, so they sold their business in the 80s and started just travelling around the world staying places with people for months at a time, discipling people to disciple others. Katye's sister was also greatly affected, a discipling great-great grandmother a few times over herself (Daphne married the Fines' son, Don, who's an awesome Christian minister as well).
Katye introduced me to the Fines and their discipleship system of "One on One with God" (http://www.1on1withgod.org/) I so loved the whole point, being to get you and God and the Word together...that's it, no devo material, you and God and the Bible...all you need to get wisdom from God.
Katye and I have always discipled people, informally and formally, pouring our lives into people everywhere we've been. My greatest thrill in ministry really isn't someone just accepting Christ and praying the prayer...for me, and I don't think I've ever shared this before, it's actually kind of a let-down in some way for me. Growing up with all the mass invitations of "close your eyes and raise your hand" and "easy-believism" of my youth, I've seen SOOOOOOO many people pray the prayer and then walk away from Christ...speaking at youth camps or as an evangelist, you go to the same camps or churches and the same kids keep walking forward at times. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that, but the thing that I began to understand that saved me from ridiculing myself, is that what really gets me going is seeing someone not only accept Christ, but then begin to live in the Word, to be around them as they share the first things they heard from God alone while they read...when they first prayed for something and saw God come through...when they started changing patterns/goals/rhythms of their lives, because what they were doing just wasn't consistent with God's Word/way. Those are the moments I live for... And today, I just realized why...that's what I was always made to live for, because Jesus never commanded me to make converts to get folks to pray the prayer. I think I finally realized that I don't have to feel guilty about that because what I get pumped about is someone becoming a disciple, a follower, not a member or an associate or an attender, but a disciple...all those things matter, but when I meet with someone and they go "yeah, I read John and here's what I just kept hearing all through that book: _______ "...and you know they aren't bs'ing you, because they are citing place after place, because you can't just fast talk your way out of that....then they say "I started to handle ______ this way, because Jesus said so." That's awesome.
Anyway, this week, at Exponential, I hit that realization, which was freeing and guilt-relieving, but on the other side, Exponential was both humbling and scary. The theme of the conference was "DiscipleShift" and it was all about changing the scorecard of our lives and churches by how we raise up disciples, not how big our offerings are or our attendance is, because disciples are the goal, the others are just things we sometimes pass on the way. As speaker after speaker laid out basically what I've been exposed to most of my Christian life, I had to "thank God" for all the blessing of the people who lived the mission and tried to get me to actually get that me being a disciple wasn't enough for Jesus in my life...I had to be about advancing others past just being a convert on an assocational report, but to actually walking with Jesus and teaching others to do the same. Any other finish line is a fake one that pulls up short, for me. It was humbling to think back past Sam to people like Chip Seagle, a high school football coach who took me and Craig Long to a conference in Montgomery, AL to learn about Christ and other things like that...people like Terry Hawkins, Woody Wood (who tried to teach me the Greek language as a 12 year old -- seriously), Bobby Long, Leslie Thompson and so many more that tried to challenge me in the faith...I'm so blessed, and I haven't done enough to justify the investment that God has exposed me to as a believer, it's really sad on my part and I'm kind of ashamed, even though I've been doing this, I haven't done enough.
At the same time, Exponential was scary....as I listened to those speakers basically say things I've been hearing since college as a way of life, I heard the crowds go "ooh" and "ahh" like they'd never thought of that before. I'm not trying to be backhandedly arrogant, because I'm a product of a system, not a prodigy or anything, but it's scary to think that people are on the edge of going to another state or city to plant churches and they are just now seem to be having their eyes opened to just pouring into the guy next to you...I'm glad the speakers spoke and I'm excited for the theme of the conference, because I was encouraged...it was like God was saying, "Yeah, that's what I want, keep doing that and do it harder...invest there.", but I'm also glad they talked because there were a lot of people who needed to be introduced to this, to change the scorecard, the way we measure success...not by simply attracting people who like to go to Bible studies, dinners and a weekend show, but by how are we actually doing on the last command of Christ before He left..."making disciples" and teaching them how to actually live following Christ.
Two guys, Chris Sanders and Sam Bowdoin, joined the fraternity in my pledge class, but they didn't join because my fraternity was so awesome, but because, get this...there weren't any Christians in it. It wasn't what you think...they didn't hate Christians, they were Christians and were taking the whole "missional" thing WAY too serious, about 20 years before missional was a mainstream Christian term. I guess I was doing a great job of not following Christ, because I guess Sam took my lifestyle, with some periodic conviction, because Christ was still trying to coach me through my stupidity, as a sign that I was "lost but questioning"...yeah, that's what I looked like. When I was ready, Sam invited me to come to his room and learn about Christ through that CO discipling tool the Blue Book. Anyway, God used that to right my ship and ended up with me going to Summer Beach Project, where I was discipled by a guy at my school for the summer named Patrick Sharp, who ended up discipling me when I got back to college. I sort of put discipling people on the backburner until I got to Seminary, where I poured my life into a lot of youth and college guys, mainly in a band or those dabbling in worship leading, then I met my wife, Katye.
Katye had had a lot of people pour into her life, from some great SS teachers (who are still discipling ladies today) and then being introduced by her sister to Jerry and Marilyn Fine, who have been voracious disciplers of men and women one on one for the last 40 years or longer (that's another history lesson from there). Jerry and Marilyn had discipled as regular church members for years, and after a while, their job was just getting in the way of their purpose, so they sold their business in the 80s and started just travelling around the world staying places with people for months at a time, discipling people to disciple others. Katye's sister was also greatly affected, a discipling great-great grandmother a few times over herself (Daphne married the Fines' son, Don, who's an awesome Christian minister as well).
Katye introduced me to the Fines and their discipleship system of "One on One with God" (http://www.1on1withgod.org/) I so loved the whole point, being to get you and God and the Word together...that's it, no devo material, you and God and the Bible...all you need to get wisdom from God.
Katye and I have always discipled people, informally and formally, pouring our lives into people everywhere we've been. My greatest thrill in ministry really isn't someone just accepting Christ and praying the prayer...for me, and I don't think I've ever shared this before, it's actually kind of a let-down in some way for me. Growing up with all the mass invitations of "close your eyes and raise your hand" and "easy-believism" of my youth, I've seen SOOOOOOO many people pray the prayer and then walk away from Christ...speaking at youth camps or as an evangelist, you go to the same camps or churches and the same kids keep walking forward at times. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that, but the thing that I began to understand that saved me from ridiculing myself, is that what really gets me going is seeing someone not only accept Christ, but then begin to live in the Word, to be around them as they share the first things they heard from God alone while they read...when they first prayed for something and saw God come through...when they started changing patterns/goals/rhythms of their lives, because what they were doing just wasn't consistent with God's Word/way. Those are the moments I live for... And today, I just realized why...that's what I was always made to live for, because Jesus never commanded me to make converts to get folks to pray the prayer. I think I finally realized that I don't have to feel guilty about that because what I get pumped about is someone becoming a disciple, a follower, not a member or an associate or an attender, but a disciple...all those things matter, but when I meet with someone and they go "yeah, I read John and here's what I just kept hearing all through that book: _______ "...and you know they aren't bs'ing you, because they are citing place after place, because you can't just fast talk your way out of that....then they say "I started to handle ______ this way, because Jesus said so." That's awesome.
Anyway, this week, at Exponential, I hit that realization, which was freeing and guilt-relieving, but on the other side, Exponential was both humbling and scary. The theme of the conference was "DiscipleShift" and it was all about changing the scorecard of our lives and churches by how we raise up disciples, not how big our offerings are or our attendance is, because disciples are the goal, the others are just things we sometimes pass on the way. As speaker after speaker laid out basically what I've been exposed to most of my Christian life, I had to "thank God" for all the blessing of the people who lived the mission and tried to get me to actually get that me being a disciple wasn't enough for Jesus in my life...I had to be about advancing others past just being a convert on an assocational report, but to actually walking with Jesus and teaching others to do the same. Any other finish line is a fake one that pulls up short, for me. It was humbling to think back past Sam to people like Chip Seagle, a high school football coach who took me and Craig Long to a conference in Montgomery, AL to learn about Christ and other things like that...people like Terry Hawkins, Woody Wood (who tried to teach me the Greek language as a 12 year old -- seriously), Bobby Long, Leslie Thompson and so many more that tried to challenge me in the faith...I'm so blessed, and I haven't done enough to justify the investment that God has exposed me to as a believer, it's really sad on my part and I'm kind of ashamed, even though I've been doing this, I haven't done enough.
At the same time, Exponential was scary....as I listened to those speakers basically say things I've been hearing since college as a way of life, I heard the crowds go "ooh" and "ahh" like they'd never thought of that before. I'm not trying to be backhandedly arrogant, because I'm a product of a system, not a prodigy or anything, but it's scary to think that people are on the edge of going to another state or city to plant churches and they are just now seem to be having their eyes opened to just pouring into the guy next to you...I'm glad the speakers spoke and I'm excited for the theme of the conference, because I was encouraged...it was like God was saying, "Yeah, that's what I want, keep doing that and do it harder...invest there.", but I'm also glad they talked because there were a lot of people who needed to be introduced to this, to change the scorecard, the way we measure success...not by simply attracting people who like to go to Bible studies, dinners and a weekend show, but by how are we actually doing on the last command of Christ before He left..."making disciples" and teaching them how to actually live following Christ.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Prayer walking - The first experience that I can recall
My first experience of prayer walking that I can recall was in New York City. We were on a mission trip to help a church called "The Journey Church" that the church I was on staff at had helped launch shortly after 9/11 (I was up there a few years after.) As a "Law and Order" nut, it was cool to have one of the people point out a restaurant where the cast and crew frequented near where we were staying or to catch a glimpse of a location where they shot an episode...yeah, I'm that much of a geek.
I remember thinking that prayer walking was an interesting idea, but not really being sure of what I thought about it, but we'd see. I'd driven and prayed, I'd knelt and prayed (sometimes for an hour or hours, just with me and God unprompted or over prayer request cards at an official "prayer" night). I'd even prayed as I plowed my Dad's fields in Alabama...no radio, no iPods then, so there wasn't much else to do, but this was different. We actually also would do other things...like pick up trash or, believe it or not, take disinfectant wipes and wipe down payphones or railings where people put their hands....yeah, nuts, isn't it? But whatever it was or if we did nothing else, we were to walking among the people of the world, praying for what went on in this area we were in.
I remember walking along the streets and as I walked, asking God for what I should pray, all kinds of things came to mind. It was slow at first, but as I listened, the Holy Spirit really helped me out. As I looked at a business or a person, I just think through the things that might be going on in their day...decisions they had to make, whether they (or the people in the business) knew Christ, their families, their kids, their kids work at school, the relationships with their parents, sickness for them or in their family, conversations that they were going to have that day at work or at home, for any addictions that someone might be struggling with privately (or privately that was starting to become public), etc...
Those are the types of things you can pray for and God can help you with that as you walk. I prayed for their confidence, their insecurities, their fears, their hurts and hangups. I prayed for things that they might have experienced in church or with people who were Christians...that if it was positive, that God would use it to bring them closer to Christ and if the experiences were negative that God would bring someone into their life to befriend them and show them what they missed in Christ. I thought about their financial situation and prayed for them to learn to be generous and more importantly, if they already followed Christ, that God would encouraged and remind them that generosity is to be done as worship to God, not just done to those less fortunate. Every gift to the poor should be given as a gift to the King.
The experience was more like I was actually participating in some way, rather than just asking God to help "over there" with "that person" from the comfort of my home or a church. This activity was more like I was asking God to help "this person" and "this business" right in front of me...like I giving the best thing that I possess, influence from my relationship with the most powerful Being in existence, to their lives. It was a faith exercise to allow the Holy Spirit to direct me to things, things I didn't even fully understand that was going on in their lives, because it was really weird the way I'd pray one thing for some and something completely different for another...that was the Holy Spirit's leading, based on His knowledge, not mine.
The truth is that I don't know what good I did that day for people, and it wasn't my place to know in the story God had written for my life. I do know that I experienced a new kind of faith, just expecting Him to provide, in a way that wasn't that risky to me, but it built a greater understanding that He is there and what it meant to give Him the focus and wait on Him, because sometimes there was silence on His end. Sometimes, He wanted me to exercise focus and patience and not just eject from the situation because it was momentarily put on pause...it was increasing positive habits in my Christian walk, on a small scale, that He would stretch with other situations, using this activity as a catalyst to draw from to say "well, I waited there and He came through at the right time, so maybe He can do that on a bigger thing."
In a lot of ways, the greatest impact that I saw directly was my own life, but we also saw difference in God's work on the Upper East Side. The church experience growth just in the week we were there and actually that year, it surpassed the church I was working at in number (and my church wasn't small by any means)...but I know that God moved there in the lives of people and I believe that my prayers weren't in vain for me personally, for the area of New York or for the people who commuted/traveled/shopped/work in the area that I walked.
This Saturday at 10am, we'll be meeting at Palm Bay Regional Park to Prayer Walk some of the neighborhoods around Heritage High School. It will only take about an hour to an hour 15. We'll meet at the first soccer parking lot...look for the FBC Melbourne Bus there. We'll break into teams and then we'll drop you off at your neighborhood to prayer walk. We'll also pick everyone back up at an appointed time. Come on out and learn to just "walk by faith" in a very small way...praying for people in our community, and learning to allow God to guide you in a tangible way, as you walk. I hope that this will not only benefit the people in the neighborhoods, but also let you practice being guided by God in a tangible way. Don't miss it.
I remember thinking that prayer walking was an interesting idea, but not really being sure of what I thought about it, but we'd see. I'd driven and prayed, I'd knelt and prayed (sometimes for an hour or hours, just with me and God unprompted or over prayer request cards at an official "prayer" night). I'd even prayed as I plowed my Dad's fields in Alabama...no radio, no iPods then, so there wasn't much else to do, but this was different. We actually also would do other things...like pick up trash or, believe it or not, take disinfectant wipes and wipe down payphones or railings where people put their hands....yeah, nuts, isn't it? But whatever it was or if we did nothing else, we were to walking among the people of the world, praying for what went on in this area we were in.
I remember walking along the streets and as I walked, asking God for what I should pray, all kinds of things came to mind. It was slow at first, but as I listened, the Holy Spirit really helped me out. As I looked at a business or a person, I just think through the things that might be going on in their day...decisions they had to make, whether they (or the people in the business) knew Christ, their families, their kids, their kids work at school, the relationships with their parents, sickness for them or in their family, conversations that they were going to have that day at work or at home, for any addictions that someone might be struggling with privately (or privately that was starting to become public), etc...
Those are the types of things you can pray for and God can help you with that as you walk. I prayed for their confidence, their insecurities, their fears, their hurts and hangups. I prayed for things that they might have experienced in church or with people who were Christians...that if it was positive, that God would use it to bring them closer to Christ and if the experiences were negative that God would bring someone into their life to befriend them and show them what they missed in Christ. I thought about their financial situation and prayed for them to learn to be generous and more importantly, if they already followed Christ, that God would encouraged and remind them that generosity is to be done as worship to God, not just done to those less fortunate. Every gift to the poor should be given as a gift to the King.
The experience was more like I was actually participating in some way, rather than just asking God to help "over there" with "that person" from the comfort of my home or a church. This activity was more like I was asking God to help "this person" and "this business" right in front of me...like I giving the best thing that I possess, influence from my relationship with the most powerful Being in existence, to their lives. It was a faith exercise to allow the Holy Spirit to direct me to things, things I didn't even fully understand that was going on in their lives, because it was really weird the way I'd pray one thing for some and something completely different for another...that was the Holy Spirit's leading, based on His knowledge, not mine.
The truth is that I don't know what good I did that day for people, and it wasn't my place to know in the story God had written for my life. I do know that I experienced a new kind of faith, just expecting Him to provide, in a way that wasn't that risky to me, but it built a greater understanding that He is there and what it meant to give Him the focus and wait on Him, because sometimes there was silence on His end. Sometimes, He wanted me to exercise focus and patience and not just eject from the situation because it was momentarily put on pause...it was increasing positive habits in my Christian walk, on a small scale, that He would stretch with other situations, using this activity as a catalyst to draw from to say "well, I waited there and He came through at the right time, so maybe He can do that on a bigger thing."
In a lot of ways, the greatest impact that I saw directly was my own life, but we also saw difference in God's work on the Upper East Side. The church experience growth just in the week we were there and actually that year, it surpassed the church I was working at in number (and my church wasn't small by any means)...but I know that God moved there in the lives of people and I believe that my prayers weren't in vain for me personally, for the area of New York or for the people who commuted/traveled/shopped/work in the area that I walked.
This Saturday at 10am, we'll be meeting at Palm Bay Regional Park to Prayer Walk some of the neighborhoods around Heritage High School. It will only take about an hour to an hour 15. We'll meet at the first soccer parking lot...look for the FBC Melbourne Bus there. We'll break into teams and then we'll drop you off at your neighborhood to prayer walk. We'll also pick everyone back up at an appointed time. Come on out and learn to just "walk by faith" in a very small way...praying for people in our community, and learning to allow God to guide you in a tangible way, as you walk. I hope that this will not only benefit the people in the neighborhoods, but also let you practice being guided by God in a tangible way. Don't miss it.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Reflection...a way of life
2 Corinthians 3:18
18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
Glory...a church word. What does it mean? You can get a good understanding from looking at the two words that are translated "glory" in the OT and NT... Hebrew is kabod which means "heaviness" or "weightiness" and then the Greek word is doxa which means a light that shines from something brilliant. Basically, the glory of God is the evidence that He is at work in the world. James MacDonald, a Christian pastor/writer, said in his work Vertical Church, that as "wet is to water, so glory is to God" or as "heat is to fire, so glory is to God." or as "light is to bulb, so glory is to God."
So what does that look like? The promise in 2 Corinthians is clear...when Christ reveals Himself to us and we accept the reality of Him as Savior and Lord, we can stop "trying" to recreate ourselves. We reflect what God is doing in the World, in/outside/around ourselves and as we do that, God does the work to perfect and remake us more and more into evidence that He's at work on the earth ("glory"- the evidence that God has been at work).
What does that mean for us?
It means that my job is to reflect what God is doing like a mirror...the language is literally that of a reflective surface reflecting God's doxa or light that comes from something brilliant. Here's some implications for us that we can learn from the mirror analogy.
A mirror only reflects what it focuses on. If I focus on my fears, I reflect them. If I focus on my inadequacies, I reflect them. If I focus on problems, I reflect them and to be a God glorifying person, I can't do that. I must focus on the work all around me that God is doing...there is no shortage of evidence. Ever seen that person who is always hopeful, no matter how bad things are. They aren't ignoring the bad, they are trusting in God's work behind the scenes because they've already seen it too many times to know that it's there.
If the mirror is dirty, then it doesn't reflect so well. For Christians, dirt happens when we stop following God's plan and choose to follow our own desires instead or when we sin. Isaiah 59:2 tells us that sin hinders the connection with God. That's a double duty metaphor because then we are dirty, but we also are not pointed toward Christ and therefore aren't able to reflect God's glory, we are reflecting something else. That's why God gives us access to "cleaner" so to speak 24/7, because He knows we'll get dirty...inevitable...so 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins to Him, He's faithful and just to forgive our sins and CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.
Here's our normal plan for when we aren't up to snuff, we think we need to hide and bargain with God...like He doesn't know or He didn't plan for that...like we are putting Him out. We try to "make up" for stuff by going to church more or being "better" or sacrificing something to punish ourselves...whatever. We are all about trying to make the mirror "look" better, thinking that this squares things with God. Really all that does is clutter up the mirror with things that make it harder to reflect God's work, because if you are going to reflect God's work, you can't look perfect, because God's work and the evidence of that requires being honest about your imperfections...not ignoring them or you doing some Herculean task to correct them yourself. As you reflect God, He reshapes you and you become the "evidence that God has been at work" in your own life. Because here's the thing...
The mirror can't add anything to what it reflects, because it's not about the mirror, it's about the reflection.
Picasso doesn't want me to honor him by giving my best at a painting and then run around and tell everyone that Picasso did that...he'd roll over in his grave screaming "no, no,no". I can't add to God's glory by dressing myself up OR by just doing what I do and if it turns out well, just passing credit to God.
We see athletes all the time that hit a home run and point to the sky or someone receive an award and say "to God be the glory"...like giving God glory means I do something cool and generously hand God the credit for that and isn't He lucky to have me. That's ridiculous...Isaiah tells us that anything good that we could do...ANYTHING...is as filthy rags next to God's work...so the evidence of our work isn't in the same league as the evidence of God's work. We can't add to what God does...we can only point to it or reflect it...and that's all we have to do.
If we think it's about the mirror and we begin to compare mirrors among us and those with more attractive, cooler or more talented mirrors may think or be thought of as better, when that's a fail, because there is one standard...Jesus...and one job...reflection.
The athletes that really get it aren't the ones that in one instance they thank God, but the ones that reflect Christ at all times, not just on the big stage, because that verb literally means that at each moment this action is happening and true and there is no end in sight.
What we see is the truth of 1 Peter 5:6 that if you "humble yourself under the Mighty Hand of God" -- you submit to His ways, His direction, reflecting His character and direction in what you do -- that "He will raise you up in due time". Just like if I covered a small object with my hand completely, if you tried to see it, you would only see my hand....when we humble ourselves under the Mighty Hand of God, when people look at us, they only see God's hand at work in us, around us or through us...and God keeps reshaping us. Then, as that happens, I'm not trying to pretty up my mirror, God does that in a way that is permanent and lasting, not my quick fix or duct tape engineering...in fact, the mirror doesn't get fixed, it gets remade and the improvements are things I stuck in my schedule or a new habit learned, but I'm literally different in a way that I couldn't have made myself if I tried.
And that's the beauty of understanding this part of following Jesus...it's not on me, it's on Him and He does the work. It's hard at times, but it's not my performance that God wants, but my reflective surface...and He does the rest.
18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
Glory...a church word. What does it mean? You can get a good understanding from looking at the two words that are translated "glory" in the OT and NT... Hebrew is kabod which means "heaviness" or "weightiness" and then the Greek word is doxa which means a light that shines from something brilliant. Basically, the glory of God is the evidence that He is at work in the world. James MacDonald, a Christian pastor/writer, said in his work Vertical Church, that as "wet is to water, so glory is to God" or as "heat is to fire, so glory is to God." or as "light is to bulb, so glory is to God."
So what does that look like? The promise in 2 Corinthians is clear...when Christ reveals Himself to us and we accept the reality of Him as Savior and Lord, we can stop "trying" to recreate ourselves. We reflect what God is doing in the World, in/outside/around ourselves and as we do that, God does the work to perfect and remake us more and more into evidence that He's at work on the earth ("glory"- the evidence that God has been at work).
What does that mean for us?
It means that my job is to reflect what God is doing like a mirror...the language is literally that of a reflective surface reflecting God's doxa or light that comes from something brilliant. Here's some implications for us that we can learn from the mirror analogy.
A mirror only reflects what it focuses on. If I focus on my fears, I reflect them. If I focus on my inadequacies, I reflect them. If I focus on problems, I reflect them and to be a God glorifying person, I can't do that. I must focus on the work all around me that God is doing...there is no shortage of evidence. Ever seen that person who is always hopeful, no matter how bad things are. They aren't ignoring the bad, they are trusting in God's work behind the scenes because they've already seen it too many times to know that it's there.
If the mirror is dirty, then it doesn't reflect so well. For Christians, dirt happens when we stop following God's plan and choose to follow our own desires instead or when we sin. Isaiah 59:2 tells us that sin hinders the connection with God. That's a double duty metaphor because then we are dirty, but we also are not pointed toward Christ and therefore aren't able to reflect God's glory, we are reflecting something else. That's why God gives us access to "cleaner" so to speak 24/7, because He knows we'll get dirty...inevitable...so 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins to Him, He's faithful and just to forgive our sins and CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.
Here's our normal plan for when we aren't up to snuff, we think we need to hide and bargain with God...like He doesn't know or He didn't plan for that...like we are putting Him out. We try to "make up" for stuff by going to church more or being "better" or sacrificing something to punish ourselves...whatever. We are all about trying to make the mirror "look" better, thinking that this squares things with God. Really all that does is clutter up the mirror with things that make it harder to reflect God's work, because if you are going to reflect God's work, you can't look perfect, because God's work and the evidence of that requires being honest about your imperfections...not ignoring them or you doing some Herculean task to correct them yourself. As you reflect God, He reshapes you and you become the "evidence that God has been at work" in your own life. Because here's the thing...
The mirror can't add anything to what it reflects, because it's not about the mirror, it's about the reflection.
Picasso doesn't want me to honor him by giving my best at a painting and then run around and tell everyone that Picasso did that...he'd roll over in his grave screaming "no, no,no". I can't add to God's glory by dressing myself up OR by just doing what I do and if it turns out well, just passing credit to God.
We see athletes all the time that hit a home run and point to the sky or someone receive an award and say "to God be the glory"...like giving God glory means I do something cool and generously hand God the credit for that and isn't He lucky to have me. That's ridiculous...Isaiah tells us that anything good that we could do...ANYTHING...is as filthy rags next to God's work...so the evidence of our work isn't in the same league as the evidence of God's work. We can't add to what God does...we can only point to it or reflect it...and that's all we have to do.
If we think it's about the mirror and we begin to compare mirrors among us and those with more attractive, cooler or more talented mirrors may think or be thought of as better, when that's a fail, because there is one standard...Jesus...and one job...reflection.
The athletes that really get it aren't the ones that in one instance they thank God, but the ones that reflect Christ at all times, not just on the big stage, because that verb literally means that at each moment this action is happening and true and there is no end in sight.
What we see is the truth of 1 Peter 5:6 that if you "humble yourself under the Mighty Hand of God" -- you submit to His ways, His direction, reflecting His character and direction in what you do -- that "He will raise you up in due time". Just like if I covered a small object with my hand completely, if you tried to see it, you would only see my hand....when we humble ourselves under the Mighty Hand of God, when people look at us, they only see God's hand at work in us, around us or through us...and God keeps reshaping us. Then, as that happens, I'm not trying to pretty up my mirror, God does that in a way that is permanent and lasting, not my quick fix or duct tape engineering...in fact, the mirror doesn't get fixed, it gets remade and the improvements are things I stuck in my schedule or a new habit learned, but I'm literally different in a way that I couldn't have made myself if I tried.
And that's the beauty of understanding this part of following Jesus...it's not on me, it's on Him and He does the work. It's hard at times, but it's not my performance that God wants, but my reflective surface...and He does the rest.
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