Tricked, Bamboozled, and Swindled

So it's been about a year and a half since my last blog post and i find myself in one of the most beautiful places i've ever encountered. Living in mainland Alaska 15 years ago (wow, has it been that long...), i saw some breathtaking sights, yet i don't remember such magnificence as I'm experiencing in the islands of southeast AK. (That's the abbreviation for Alaska, not Arkansas. Easy to confuse the two.)
The beauty doesn't take away from the fact that God is doing some very real and very welcome remodeling in my spiritual walk. The verses He's are 2 Peter 1:3-11: a passage i was privileged to preach to my church family this past Sunday. The passage opens with Peter sharing with us that God has provided everything we need to live the life that God has gifted us with.
i think so many times that i look at godliness and holiness as something of a curse, something that i can't escape, something that is always pursuing me. It's like godliness is the part of the contract that was in the fine print, something i unknowingly signed up for and that i feel cheated by. Had i known this is what i was signing for, i would have politely declined and walked out with a smug smile on my face: an expression of satisfaction that i had not been tricked, bamboozled, or swindled.
However, as i read this passage, it becomes readily apparent that i've been tricked, bamboozled, and swindled by ye olde deluder Satan: the greatest con artist of all time. All these years, Satan (with a great deal of assistance by my flesh) has tainted my perspective on the pursuit of holiness. It's not a curse-it's a privilege. It's not a bane-it's a tremendous gift. In verse four, i find that God has not only extended me birth into His family and citizenship in His kingdom, but He also wants me to be His partner in holiness.
The idea of "share" or "partake" in verse four has the idea of "partner.". God has given us the opportunity and ability to partner with Him in sharing His divine nature. What a privilege! Not only do we become His partner, we escape the corruption caused by the system that the master swindler has designed to crush me.
i was tricked, bamboozled, and swindled-but not by God. May you come to know what i'm discovering. Holiness is not a curse designed to sap us of the pleasures and thrills of life. Holy living is an offer from God to become His partner. Interested? More to come. Thanks for reading.

Do i Love This World Like God Loves me

Matt, one of my closest friends, made a statement the other day that initiated a train of thought for me that i'd like to share with you.  He said, "This world is designed to crush us [speaking of Christians]."  This of course was not anything i hadn't heard before and i'm sure you're very familiar with this truth as well.  Today, however, continued this vein of thought for me as our chapel speaker spoke about worldliness in the life of a believer (1Jn 2:15-17).
He made mention of the type of love that God has for each of us.  The type of love that is unconditional and everlasting no matter what.  That made me think of the passage that he dealt with in a completely different way: a perspective that i hadn't really considered before.
If you've been in church at all at some point in your life or watched the posters that fans have at televised football games, you're probably familiar with the verse John 3:16.  God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, the very best thing that He could offer.  He did this, not because He owed us something, but because of His unconditional, everlasting, no matter what kind of love.  The word used here for "love" (agape) is the same word used in 1John 2:15 for John's prohibition against loving the world.
The word for "world" is also the same in both verses, but the application is definitely different.  In John 3:16, John is talking about the inhabitants of the world.  God loved you and i and every other individual throughout the annals of time that He sent His Son to give His life for us.  However, in 1John 2:15 he is talking about the world system organized by Satan to draw us away from God.  This is the "world" that my friend Matt was talking about.  This system is designed by Satan to crush us as followers of Christ.
When the chapel speaker mentioned this passage it made me think, "How often do i love the world (the 1Jn. 2:15 world) like God loves us?"  How often do i sacrifice the very best i have for Satan's system?  How often do i give my unconditional, no matter what, no strings attached kind of love to a world that is designed to leave me empty, cost me everything, and ultimately destroy me?  No matter how often i suffer for my allegiance to this world, i'm willing to sacrifice my relationship with God in order to stay true to the world.  i know that in the end it will leave me wanting, yet i find myself always wanting more.  It seems at times that i'm hopelessly devoted to this world.  Identify?
One thing that i know and am confident of is that, though i may find myself loving this world far too often, God never stops loving me (Rom. 8:38-39).  His love bears all things, believes through all things, hopes in spite of all things, and endures through all things (1Cor. 13:7).  Though i may leave Him at home in order to pursue my illicit relationship with this world, He never leaves me.  i cannot let Him down, because i never was holding Him up to begin with (reference to "God's Chisel" by the Skit Guys).  i find that His love is slowly starting to consume me and i never want to go back again.  The world doesn't hold me anymore and it doesn't hold you if you are a follower of Christ.  Romans 6:7 tells us that those that are dead with Christ are freed from sin.
May God's love for us keep us from loving the world.  May we like Helen Lemmel find ourselves turning our eyes upon Jesus, looking full at His wonderful face, that the things of earth might grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.  Thanks for reading.

Whose Best Are You Striving to Be?

Something i've shared lately with some of my classes is that i struggle with acceptance of who i am. i constantly find myself comparing who i am with others and not measuring up to who they are. It's easy for me to become discouraged and to doubt God's plan in my life.

One of the students in our church recommended a video to me called "God's Chisel" by the Skit Guys. She had seen it at the Planet Wisdom conference this year and shared with me that it was very moving. As i watched it, i bawled, realizing that God had never been let down with who i was. i hadn't been holding Him up in the first place.

God's been reminding me lately that He doesn't produce junk. In fact, Psalm 139:14 tells us that God's work is marvelous and wonderfully complex. That includes you and i who bear the very image of God upon us. Each one of us is a unique creation with very specific role to play in God's kingdom.  He has a plan for us.  We have purpose.
The problem comes when we compare our role to that of someone else.  1 Corinthians 12:12-27 tells us specifically that each role that we play is important and that the body of Christ needs us to play OUR part and not the part of someone else.  God doesn't want another (insert name of someone you compare yourself to here), He wants one of YOU.  Otherwise, you wouldn't be here.
May you (and i) strive to be who our gracious God created you to be.  May you strive to be at your best.  Just don't compare your best to that of others.  Thanks for reading.

Our Gracious God

Wow! Looking at my blog, i can't believe it's been nearly two years since i've published something. i'm sure you know how it goes with the busyness that life brings.

Often when i lead in prayer during worship, i'll thank God for the breath that He gave us to return praise to His Name. This past Sunday as i reflected upon this, i thought about the fact that not only does God give us the breath to praise Him but He also gives us the breath to dishonor Him.

The very God Who, according to Paul in Acts 17, is the One in Whom we live and move and have our being, is the same God Who empowers us to do everything. The very energy He gives me to serve Him is the same energy He gives me to sin against Him. What a Gracious God that rules over all!

May you and i live each day remembering that it is a gift from God. May every breath that we take remind us of the One Who gave us that breath and may we always be amazed by His loving grace. Thanks for reading.

The Urgency of Community

Have you ever felt a moment of convergence in your life in which your entire existence seemed to come together and connect at that point in time? i'm sitting at lunch today eating taco boat with Kevin and we're talking about the vision that God has given him for the ministry here at Haven. We're discussing the vital link that connection in community has with growth when the question hits me: Is growth even possible without connection?
Ephesians 4:16 says, "He [Christ] makes the whole body [the church] fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (NLT) Without the rest of the body, growth is not possible.
John 15:4-5 says, "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing." (NLT) We cannot grow without being connected to Christ. How are we connected to Christ? According to the Ephesians passage mentioned above, we're connected to Christ through His body, the Church.
We have this idea that we can be "Lone Ranger" Christians, that we can make it on our own. We can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Yet this is the very thing that Christ tells us is impossible. We are connected to Him through His body, the Church. Therefore, failure to connect with others within the context of the Church is failure to connect to Christ making growth impossible.
God has gifted every believer in order to be an instrument in His hand to make an eternal impact on the lives of others. How then can we make that impact or be impacted ourselves if we are disconnected from the body?
What then is connection? Connection cannot be simply coming to Church and sitting in a pew. Connection is not coming to Church and teaching a class, passing an offering plate, leading in worship, caring for infants or directing children's ministry. Attendence and service opportunities are excellent, but they fall short of the connection with our brothers and sisters that we need as a body in order to grow.
Connection is "koinonia" or community. It's not just "fellowship", it's living life together. It's sharing the load of the burdens that we struggle with (sin, stress, grief, finances, devotions, marriage, family, purpose, difficulties...). It's sharing what God is doing in our lives and what the Holy Spirit is teaching us so that we can grow together. "Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) "A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need." (Proverbs 17:17) "God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ." (1Pet. 4:10-11)
Connection then is not just something that is useful--it is vital. Connection is not just something to "get around to"--it is urgent. Without the connection of community with our brothers and sisters within the body of Christ we are trapped in a shallow, spiritually impotent existence.
How about you? Are you part of a vital connection group within the body of Christ? If not, what's stopping you? Get connected so that you can take your place within the body of Christ and experience significance, purpose and growth like never before. Thanks for reading.

An Instrument in God's Hands

This past Sunday, we started a video series in our teen Sunday School class called "Your Divine Design." It's a study of how God has gifted each person to serve in a different capacity with the same purpose: God's glory. For me, i see it as yet another thread God is weaving into the grand design of my life.
He has been teaching me that each day has purpose and meaning because of the connection that i have with those He has placed in my path. How often do i simply let each day pass by without ever pondering this important truth? i am meant for greatness--but not as the world sees it.
i've heard numerous times about the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet and then teaching, "The greatest among you will be the servant." It is as I am writing this that the Holy Spirit is revealing to me His truth that the reason for the servant's greatness is the fact that he is an instrument in God's hands.
The servant realizes that he's nothing great in and of himself. He's no one special. However, he realizes that his value, his worth and his greatness come from the fact that he is an instrument in God's hands. God is using him to make an impact on the lives of others that would be otherwise impossible.
Every good and perfect gift comes from God. Even the unbelieving philanthropist can only donate funds that God has entrusted him with. Therefore, in a sense, no matter who you are or what your motivation might be, God is in control. You are an instrument in God's hands.
So thinking this through, God is teaching me that He is in control and ultimately He will be glorified. Yet for me, my life can only have true meaning, my life can only be complete, my joy can only be full when I yield to God's hand. What's more, my life does have meaning and purpose. I'm here for a reason. My life is significant--but only as an instrument in God's hands.
This again is another universal truth applicable to all of humanity. Michael Jordan's significance worldwide was only a result of the grace of God: the talents, abilities and passions placed by his Creator. Andrew Carnegie's grand philanthropy was only the result of the resources he was granted to utilize by the very God who created them. "In Him we live and move and exist...We are His offspring." (Acts 17:28 NLT)
So what am i learning? Each day has purpose, meaning and significance because God makes it so. I am an instrument in God's hands for the purpose of impacting the lives of those around me...and so are you. Thanks for reading.

i Am Nothing. HE is EVERYTHING.

For my personal devotions i've recently been reading the book of Ezra. Although i'm certain i've read the book before, never have i allowed God to speak to me through its pages. It's easy for me to forget the admonition of Paul in 2Tim. 3:16 when he says that ALL Scripture is inspired (literally, breathed out) by God.
Within Ezra, i've been able to see God at work fulfilling the promises He made to Israel's forefathers that the nation would always exist and that He would always preserve a remnant to return to the land.
What God especially showed me this past week is that HE changes the heart, NOT me. Ezra recounts the exciting ways in which God uses Persia to restore and rebuild the nation of Israel but then relates how Israel had turned from God and broke His law by marrying the people of the land. Even some of the Levites (priests) had taken wives from among the surrounding unbelieving nations and broken the very law of God they had been entrusted with upholding and maintaining.
What follows is Ezra's brokenness for what the people have done. He weeps and tears his garnment in a vivid display of his deep seated contrition over the sin of his people. Certainly, this type of penitance is very moving and in a sense admirable. Would to God i had such a perspective of sin. Yet the thing that God impressed upon me was not his display of grief and distress, it was his prayer that followed.
His godly sorrow led him to an emotional outburst, but Ezra's prayer led to national revival. Ezra says absolutely nothing to the people following their admission of guilt in breaking God's law. He passionately and desperately cries out to His God and God moves the hearts of the people to respond and to repent.
i often fall susceptible to the self-deceiving notion that ministry depends upon me. i think that somehow i've got to say the right thing or come up with a clever anecdote or show some kind of video clip in order to connect with those whom God has entrusted to me. Yet here i see one man on his face crying out to God on behalf of the people and THAT is what makes the difference.
Were i in Ezra's shoes, i would have undoubtedly been relying on my intellect to recall different passages of Scripture that might deal with repentance. i would make certain that i used multiple verses to create a compelling arguement and then cunningly try to wrap everything in a nice, neat, logical package so that God would use what i had proclaimed to change the hearts of the wayward.
Though certainly somewhere in the process prayer would have been cursory, it would not have been primary and that is where i fall so short. i depend upon the abilities and gifts God has given me instead of depending upon the God Who enables and gifts people for service. Planning, though important, is not what moves hearts--God does when we depend upon Him. It's only when i remember and practice that i am nothing and that HE is EVERYTHING that God can take this imperfect vessel and use it for something great. Otherwise, it's my glory and not God's.
What about you? Are you guilty of neglecting God and relying upon yourself? How much and how earnestly do you pray? Remember, we are nothing, but HE is EVERYTHING. Thanks for reading.