Category: Christians

Don’t Lockup The Holy Spirit!!

I was doing homework with one of my sons the other night.
We have four children, all in school and there are some days that my wife and I scramble to help them with their collective homework – which seems to be like our laundry: never ending.  homework

So there we were at the kitchen table, the contents of his backpack emptied and I am pouring through his homework folder trying to make sense of his disorganization (it too is a never ending task it seems).  As I am finally wading through the old papers and graded papers at last I come to the homework that needs to be done.  We both sit at the table and I begin reading it to him.  He has no idea how to fill in the answers – it’s history, one of his favorite subjects (proud Dad moments, History was mine as well).   So he doesn’t know the answers, and the questions are very specific…and then I read the very top of the page; “Use your text book from pages 265-282“.  I look over at my son, “Where’s your text book?”  He goes to his now empty backpack – it isn’t there.  “I think I left it in my locker“, he says.  “Well then, I really can’t help you with these questions, because without the text book we will probably get every one of these questions wrong.“I said this with frustration in my voice, knowing his homework would be late.  School is important and to forget some as pivotal as his text book was very unfortunate.

In that moment, homework was cancelled, or perhaps postponed until the next day…all because without the text book, the homework and its questions were beyond our reach.

It got me thinking…
holy-sThe Holy Spirit is a lot like that in our lives.
No, He’s not some text book that we stuff into our locker at school and forget about…but then again we kinda do leave him out of our lives from time to time.  We do forget about Him.  We know the story of Jesus, His love and grace and His gift to us on the cross and in the empty grave.  We believe that He is preparing a place for us, but there’s more to the story.  When He ascended the Holy Spirit came and never left God’s people.  The Holy Spirit is still real within us and can be felt in the still small voice or the gentle prodding in our lives.  Jesus even told His disciples:  “I have told you this while I’m still with you.  However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you.” John 14:25-26

But sometimes, we leave Him in the lockers of our lives.  We forget He’s even there, ready and able to help us.  We think we have to guess at all of life’s mysteries all by ourselves, and so we begin attempting to take the whole world upon our shoulders…in our own strength…and when we fail (which we will) we wonder where God is, when in fact, He never left us, we forgot or left Him.

My dear fellow ponderers, take God’s holy presence with you into the fray.
Don’t forget what great power He has for you and the hope and peace He will provide you in your day.  Don’t lock Him up or compartmentalize your “Church life” from your “Home life”.  Remember He can’t be contained, He doesn’t want to share space in your life with false gods and earthly “stuff”.  He is certainly jealous for you and me.  He longs for fellowship with us, and He desires moment by moment conversations and heart to hearts.
Don’t lock up that potential, because in reality you are only limiting the joy and peace you could experience with Him intricately involved in your life…He has the answers – seek Him out and He will be found.

Something more to ponder today!

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Holiness – The Only Prescription!

“…but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – John 4:14

The Doctor’s Visit:
Suppose I had an ailment that could only be cured by going to the doctor on a regular basis.  Now, suppose after my very first visit (which was fantastic and successful) I believed myself cured and instead of taking the doctor’s advice, I left and never came back…how foolish would I be?  I felt great for a short time, but soon enough, my symptoms returned and I was right back where I began.  You might say that I should have taken the doctor’s advice, and followed through with my treatment plan.  You might also say, that I was stubborn and foolish.

The RX Application:drugs
This is how Holiness should be to a Christ-follower!
God has prescribed to us the perfect example by which we should live – His Son Jesus Christ.

But you see, I don’t believe that Salvation is the end of this spiritual journey, instead it is only the beginning!  Once we accept Christ in our lives and believe He saved and redeemed us from sin and death, we are essentially at the very first appointment at the doctor’s office!  We still struggle.  We still need help.  We can still fall into temptation!

holyChrist’s prescription to us? A daily/moment by moment conversation with Him.  The more we visit with Him, the more we begin to reflect who He is in our lives.  Our goal (and the simple definition of Holiness) is to become like Him in every way day by day – by taking His prescription for life!  Without it, we will be like the patient (me…) leaving the doctor’s office the very first time and not following his treatment plan!

Salvation is just the first dose and Holiness is the cure!
Something more to ponder today!

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5 Indicators of a Rotting Church

“The Church right now has more fashion than passion, is more pathetic than prophetic, is more superficial than supernatural.”
― Leonard Ravenhill, Revival God’s Way

I believe that the Church is truly in trouble in the Western world.
It is not one organization or singular church but Christianity as a whole.
I do not want to sound like another alarmist or crackpot spewing lists to indicate an end of days, but I do want to cast some light into what many would deem the foundational crumbling of the Church.  What are some indicators?  What would some of the symptoms be of a dying and decaying church?

Here are a five indicators of a rotting church:

5.  Professional Preachersjoel
“You can have all the doctrines right, yet still not have the presence of God” -Leonard Ravenhill
We see the flashy, eloquent preacher on television and we demand that our churchs hire preachers like that…or we long to change how our “performance” at the pulpit is executed.  I wonder if Jesus encountered flashy pharisees in His day?  If He did Jesus certainly didn’t have many nice things to say about them.  Rather, Jesus called those religious people who prayed outloud in the streets “actors” and “hyprocites”.  We can have the most professional preachers in our pulpits, but if there is no substastantive message of conviction, salvation and holiness, it is all meaningless.

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3

Preachers, this is no excuse to go to the pulpit unprepared and unstudied, no!  Instead, we must prepare harder, study more intently and lead with self-conviction and prayer!  We dont’ need any more prosperity preachers.  No more fluff and phoney messages with very little substance of the spiritual journey that we are all called to walk.

A Strong indicator of rot comes directly from those we have in our pulpits and those we choose to listen to on a weekly basis.

4.  No Hunger For Scripture
bibleWith professional preachers, also comes a lack of hunger.  Mind you, these are not always connected.  I believe this is a stand-alone problem for many within our western world.  If one were to journey to some of the poorest countries in the world, you would find a see hunger for scriptural truths and churches memorizes whole chapters of scripture…where is this hunger in the more prominent and prosperous countries?  I believe there is a direct correlation between comfort and security and the shallowness of scriptural knowledge!  Why rely on the scripture if every want, and all of life’s comforts are met (roughly speaking)?

This may sound negative, but I fear our western culture has become so soft of faith and scriptural knowledge that we are bound to enter another dark age – this time devoid of any of the truths and life lessons found in Scripture.

Is your church rotting?  Ask yourself how much time is devoting throughout your week to the study and interpretation of scripture?

3.  A Church That Is Prayerless & Building Bound
“A true church lives and moves and has its being in prayer” -Leonard Ravenhill
With the comforts of a western culture comes prayerlessness.
A church that prays together stays together – or so I’ve been told.  How much emphasis is placed on prayer anymore?  I am sure there are still some deeply prayerful places in this world.  I know that I have experienced some of these moments, but I wonder if prayer has become an after thought in our services, in our weekly schedules, in our lives as congregants?  Do you remember the old prayer meetings?  Many of those have disappeared in our churches.  They’ve been distilled down to just a five minute inclusion in our services or bible study…but should they be more prominent, more substantive?  Do we still have worries and fears, sick and dying?  Do we still have things that require corporate prayer?
pray
Secondly, another indicator (a twofer for my Minnesotan friends) of a rotting church:
We become building bound – meaning that we expect our communities to come to us.  We put up amazingly designed billboards, posters, flags and we wave them at the community…it’s like we are scattering bird seed in a trail hoping that people will follow it right up to our front doors.  We have this grandeous idea that everything we do must be done in our buildings – what happened to evangelism?  What happened to getting out into the streets?  Do we still have a concern for the drunk down the street who is caught in a habitual addiction of stumbling out of the bar that they frequent?  Do we still feel compassion for the family down the street that is dirt poor and cannot find a meal to eat in their cupboards?  A Church who remains stuck in their building (no matter how beautiful it may be) is a dying church with little mission or outreach into the community they were birthed from.

2.  A Loveless Congregation
Dare I say that perhaps this is cog in the chain reaction of not being community driven and lacking mission & compassion for others.  Obviously no church ever desires to become loveless…but it can happen over time.  I honestly hope that this evidence of a rotting church is the dying gasp before the doors are closed for good, and all I hope to accomplish by saying that is – we (the Church) needs to love each other more!  This should be a siren call to the church to offer more compassion and selflessness amongst its congregants and its community.  love

If we lose the love of others, we have also lost the love of God – these two are inseparable! “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” 1 John 4:20
If this happens – we will have a rotting church on our hands!

1. Comfort & Apathy 
Signs of a rotting church can be born out of the comforts that have become common place in the western world.  We have no need of want.  Our church buildings, many of them, are being built larger and larger.  The church, and its congregants, become apathetic to the needs of the community (again because all things “ministry” take place inside not outside of the church walls).   Apathy is a death knell to the church.  If/when we reach this point of not caring for people – we might has well lock the doors and burn the scriptures because it is useless to a dead church.
apathy
These are strong words – because I feel at times we are deaf to the warnings such as this!
We cannot allow apathy to take root in our hearts.  We cannot pretend all is well when suffering is taking place in our communities.  We cannot rest until mercy and compassion becomes our life blood again!  Sometimes our churches get so big that we start to treat it as a big corporate business and in so doing we unintentionally leave Christ out of our missional planning.

Ponder This: 
Are we striving to be or have professional preachers in our churches?
Is there still a deep hunger for Scripture in you and in your church?
What of Prayer?  Do we consider supplication to be vital and intrinsic in who we are?
Have you prayed for God to give you His vision for people around you?  If not begin to pray this prayer every day!  When you do, may your love increase for others and any residue of apathy – may it flee from you!

Something more for the Church to ponder today – to God be the glory!

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An Overwhelming Victory?

“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:37-39

No matter what the world throws at us, we can discover true victory in Christ Jesus, because this temporary realm in which we now live will one day pass away and the eternal will be everlasting!  This means that despite Satan’s best efforts, and the sufferings of the flesh, if we can overcome – He can not touch our souls, for that belongs to God!

Do you feel discouraged today?  
Are you, or have you experienced physical or emotional defeat?  Sometimes we face these battles in life, and the Christian experience was never guaranteed to be easy (in fact just the opposite).  Yet through all of this, we have promises like the passage listed above.  We will NOT be separated from God…He will never separate us from His love!  We will have overwhelming victory because of Christ!  pain

So no matter what you are going through today…
No matter what kinds of persecution or sufferings you may face…
Regardless of ridicule, scorn, malice, hate, violence, jealousy and rage – we can experience this overwhelming victory TODAY!!!

We do not have to wait until we see eternity and we are with the Lord, no – His presence, His love, His encouragement is available to us NOW!  Begin to see that despite the battle waging here within the world and upon our flesh, God already stands beside us with the victory over life and death!  Know that regardless of the physical outcome – we will overcome and have this overwhelming victory!  This is why we must share this fantastic news to all the world.  This is why God’s grace must be evident in our living.  This is why we must make His ministry Our ministry everyday, because God wants all people, from all walks of life to experience this overwhelming victory!

focusIn Focus
Perhaps, if we cannot see this overwhelming victory today it is because we are focusing on the wrong kinds of things.  Yes, life is often unfair.  Yes, the world is often unjust and evil seems to permeate and seep into every facet of life.  We see these, we know this to be true, and we cry foul and lament all of these atrocities and injustices – and rightly we should.  But, despite this fallen world and all of its sins, we need to refocus our vision.  We must begin to change our perspective (which doesn’t mean we simply accept that this world is beyond saving).  Our perspective begins to change when we ask God to give us His vision for the people we meet.  What I mean is, we must ask Him to allow us to see those around us the way God sees them.

Secondly, our perspective must change in the way we view the temporal.  Yes we livefocus2 through it, but there must be a way for us to live this overwhelming victory in the here and now…and we do that by understanding it.   In our understanding of what this life is all about – Whose we are and embracing the eternal here and now, we flip the script on what “living”is all about!  When we change our perspective, we change the narrative of our souls.  What I mean by that is – we no longer simply live for ourselves, we begin to live for Christ.  Many times this is a gradual denial of self as we surrender to the will of God.  It begins with the little things of life.  Soon, as we allow these little spiritual victories to occur, we will be more inclined to seek out the larger “denial of self” moments.

Is anyone there yet?  
victory2Some of may be.
I know that I am on this road…although I am not as far along as I would like to be…but again, this is gradual.  Admittedly, I still get sucked into life’s many troubles.  It is like a swift moving current at times which sweeps out my feet from right under me.  I recognize that I too must still change more of my perspective in order to experience this daily dose of overwhelming victory in my life.

How about you? 
Do you feel defeated right now?
Are you struggling to see any measure of victory at the moment?
Ask God to help you flip this script.
Ask Him to provide you with an added measure of His strength.
Also, ask Him to grant you His vision for those you encounter…I guarantee your perspective will change, and with it overwhelming victory!

Something more to ponder today!

 

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Imprisoned By Fear?

There is all sorts of types of fear.
Fear that propels you into action.
Fear that keeps those you love safe.
Fear that weighs the outcomes of decisions yet to be made.
Irrational Fear
Phobias…

When we say the word “fear” sometimes it evokes different interpretations and understandings of this little four letter word.  Some see it as a challenge, while others dread.

Fear, when used  right can be helpful, but when it is not it can imprison, immobilize and prevent all forms of progress in life.

Our Faith Walk:
The Apostle Paul, after taking those first step in following Christ, post his roadside theophany,  could have fear what others thought of him.  He could have been held captive by fear following the first time he was thrown in prison or flogged for his outspoken faith…but he didn’t.  He rejoiced while in prison.  He and Silas sang songs well into the night.  Although Paul was imprisoned, he certainly wasn’t imprisoned by fear.

How about us?
How is our faith walk?
Do we find ourselves shouting “Amen” during Sunday church service, meanwhile on Monday at work we whisper to a quivering fearful heart?  Does fear hold us back?  Are we afraid of how others might perceive us if we professed our faith out loud?  What about our attitudes and intentions toward others?  Isn’t it harder to remove self from situations than it is to be selfish?  So it is with overcoming fear and replacing it with faith.  It is not that the fear is removed completely, no, instead we learn to use that fear to our advantage.  We recognize when that fear is rising in us and we must consciously decide to step out in faith…or leap.  Harnessing fear places us “out on that limb”.  We say, yes, I am afraid, but I will trust in God to lead me and direct me.  I do not know where this path will lead me, but I will follow the Lord…I will put my trust in Him.

…“I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the congregation.”13And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” Hebrews 2:12-13

Make this your prayer today:
Lord, where you lead me I will follow.
I am afraid, I admit that…but I will not run from
your calling on my life.
I want to live for you in every moment of today.
Lord, take this fear of mine and use it
motivate me into action.
Let me love those around me.
I will become less and you, dear Lord become more.
I struggle with trusting you with all there is of me,
but I acknowledge this and I ask you to remind me of your presence with me
today.
Grant me your boldness, your courage, and your love
as I walk this path that I cannot see.
Lead me Lord.
-Amen.

No Longer Slaves

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Should Christians Be Outliers?

Jesus was popular, but He wasn’t mainstream…
The disciples that Jesus called were certainly not insiders…
Many times they did the unexpected, the unusual, the unprecedented, they were outliers.

Jesus even reinforces this when we says: “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:19)

As Christians we are called to be outliers in society…ones who are set apart, not blindly accepting of all things, but perhaps viewing everything through the lens of holiness, or the vantage point of Christ-in us.   Does this change things, perception of how we see theworld around us?  Absolutely!  This vantage point doesn’t make us “holier than though!” or better than others, instead it grants us the very compassion of Christ in us to love those around us.  In essence, true Christian outliers are completely humble to God and are willing to submit all for His holy purposes on this earth regardless of the outcome.  “He must become more and I must become less” should be our mantra, our aim, our goal.
feet
If our goal is to merely become an outsider or outlier and it is devoid of full submission to God, we are fooling ourselves and our purpose will be misaligned.  Being an outsider just to be different isn’t the purpose at all…the same can be said for merely becoming counter-cultural in practice – does not make one holy or even a Christian.  These things can exist apart of from God’s purpose for us…but if we approach this faith with the understanding that God will have all there is of us – we will be on the right path, a path marked with sacrifice, suffering and even death sometimes.  I do not say this to scare anyone, but we must acknowledge that granting God access to the entirety of who we are is a scary proposition.  For in that declaration we will be led to and from places we never would have dreamed or even wanted to go.  God desires an obedience that isn’t founded in part-time Christianity , but rather is rooted and formed in the servant heart which is sold-out and fully submitted.

followDare I say, many will call themselves outliers and Christ-followers, but few are truly willing to mean these words found in an old time song:
“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.”
Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907

Something more to ponder today!

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Spiritual Growth – A Lawnmower Theology

What do you mean by “Lawnmower theology”?  you might be asking…let me first tell you a story.

I was mowing the grass the other day.
I greatly enjoy mowing, it’s cathartic for me and it gives me time to think.
We just got a new lawnmower and I had to put it together before using it.
So I begin by putting the arm onto the mower body and attaching the pull lever to the extended arm.  Then I put the nuts and bolts into the connector holes at the bottom of the arm that actually attaches to the base of the mower.  Long story short, I merely tightened them with my fingers and did not use the tool needed to tighten it fully – I’m impatient like that sometimes.

I was really anxious to start up the new mower and get to mowing our neglected backyard.  So I start it up for the first time, and it just purrs – it was wonderful (I know I’m lawnmower nerd).   I begin to make my way around the yard, meticulously ensuring I don’t miss any wayward grass as I pass with the new machine.  It was really starting to look good…and then it happened – the arm that I had attached with the nuts and bolts came loose.   I had not tightened it enough and through the constant jostling and vibration of the engine, one of the bolts had come loose and was no where to be seen.   I looked aroundbolts in the tall grass and in places I had already mowed, I couldn’t find it anywhere – it was gone, *poof* vanished.   I searched for another five minutes only to recognize that in my haste to get the job finished, I had lost a crucial component that held everything together.  I had to make a run to the hardware store and purchase a new bolt and nut – only this time I used the appropriate tool (not my fingers) to tighten the bolt into place.   Now, it’s not going anywhere!

Why do you I tell you this tale?
What’s the point?
I think our Spiritual Growth can be a lot like this lawnmower of mine; or rather, how we put this “Christian life” together.  We are often impatient with ourselves and with God.  We want to just get out there and live for him, and so we take shortcuts.  I took a shortcut wayin assembling my spanking new lawnmower – I thought I had tightened everything down good enough only to discover I had misjudged my strength and the terrain around me.  Perhaps in our lives this rings true too.  We get ahead of ourselves.  We cut corners and take shortcuts because we think we already know it all.  We don’t take the time as we should in our Spiritual lives and explore the spiritual disciplines necessary for long-term spiritual growth and success.  Instead we settle for the quick fix.  We go to a service here or there and we think it’s enough – yet the things that hold our “Christian” lives together isn’t enough, and it’s certainly not strong enough either.

Why do we think we know better than God knows us?
Why is it that we become impatient with God when He seems to take a long time?
Do you get impatient with Him?  I am embarrassed to say this, but I do sometimes.
I don’t always take the time I know I need with Him.
Sometimes I do all of the talking and I hardly ever hear what He has to say to me.
And so I get out there in life and I plod ahead full-steam only to realize I’m not as put together as I thought I was.  I find that I, all too easily fall apart – because I didn’t take the time to truly tighten things down in my prayer life, or my faith walk.  Sometimes I’m a mess…and it’s all my fault.

Have you been there?
Are you there right now?
I have to confess I’ve been there more times than I care to admit.
I’ve run so far ahead of God only to fall apart.
It’s in those moments that I realize just how much I need Him.
It’s also very humbling to know that I still have much work to be done within my life.
There are perhaps a few missing nuts and bolts that have to be replaced by God – but I have to be willing to let Him work on me.  It’s painful sometimes to admit this.
It’s embarrassing to recognize that although I’ve been a Christian most of my life – I still need help, I still need work, I still fall apart from time to time.

Have you been running ahead of God in your life?  hs
Perhaps you recognize right now that there are pieces missing in your life.  That somewhere along the way you have taken a shortcut and you really aren’t as “put together” as you want everyone to think you are.   The Holy Spirit still has work to do with us!  He longs for us to expose those missing pieces, those broken pieces, the dirty old life that still remains.  He wants us to surrender it all to Him.   It won’t be easy – but in the long run we will be made whole without any shortcuts or missing pieces.  He has something much better in store for us – if we allow Him complete access to us daily, even moment by moment.

So how about it?
Are you ready to put the lawnmower together the right way this time?

Something more to ponder today!
To God be the glory!

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Should Christians Share Their Political Views?

godI’ve been pondering long and hard on this topic of politics and what it means to be a Christian during a presidential election year.  One thing I will say before starting in on this pondering is that it’s going to get worse – the slander, the malicious attacks, the hateful dialogue and mud-slinging.

The amazing ability of social media is that you can share almost anything and within minutes, even hours thousands of people will view it.  This opens the doors to all sorts of possibilities: e.g. – evangelism, supporting a cause, raising awareness for something important, getting started on your craft business, book writing, radio/podcast…etc.  The sky is the limit to this platform.

boxThere are negatives though to social media.
Trolls actually exist…(not the green ugly type, just ugly to other humans)
Bully pulpits.
Slander.
Inconsistencies in faith – words / action…

We literally are putting our lives under the microscope and in full view of the world around us – both friend…and not friend.

Putting this aside, let me tackle the elephant…er donkey…er large object neither politically aligned that is in the room right now….(at least in mine, maybe not yours).
politics
I am not sure how we can be Christians who are to show love for others around us and yet descend into brutal knock-down, drag out fights with other so called “Christians” and even non-Christians over which candidate they may or may not be supporting for the upcoming presidential election.  It is truly disparaging to see people of proclaimed faith engaging in such low displays – whether it’s slamming or smearing a candidate they can’t stand or disagree with or slamming and calling people studid or fools if they don’t agree. AND I DON’T CARE WHICH SIDE OF THE ISLE YOU ALIGN YOURSELF WITH!!!
post
I might upset a few of you today, I’m sorry – that is not my purpose.
I am NOT saying don’t have a political opinion or view, I’m just saying either temper it with forethought or don’t share with others that you know will incite a fight…and I sit back and quickly click past your post because it just exploded into another prime example of Christians engaging in some very questionable disagreements.

My personal opinion – 
God is on the throne and He is Lord and holds ultimate authority over this earth.
I choose to keep my political opinions and views to exactly that – MY personal and private opinion.   Someone might argue “well, if you don’t stand for something…” or “well, you have to take a side...”   I would answer, just because I don’t publicly share my views doesn’t mean I don’t have them…but for the sake of my sanity and harmony of my friendships, I will keep them private.  After all, I don’t bring my friends into the voting booth…that might seem a little odd if I did (and probably illegal).

cards

I look at the political posts sometimes out there on Facebook and Twitter, and it’s sarcastic, it’s mean a meme or opinion, and I wonder (no matter if they are posted with humor in mind or not) how God-honoring these social activities and posts truly are ?   Because I wonder what non-Christians, who are looking at these kinds of posts – posted by “Christians” think about it.  I would just like to peer into the window of that exchange for a moment.  Because I don’t see acceptance – I see rejection.  I don’t see compassion – I see divisiveness, bitterness, rage, envy, malice, harmful dialogue…I see spite and hatred…and I just cringe when I think of the damage it might be doing to our reputation and that of Christ, who we’ve aligned ourselves with by name.

I’m really not in a place to judge – I am certainly not any better than anyone else, and I still make mistakes.  I just wonder if we as Christians are still so invested in our political parties that we have lost sight of the bigger picture?  Because no matter who is elected president this year, I recognize that all authority comes from God (good or bad) – He has the power to appoint and He alone has the power to take away.

So dear Christian, be mindful & be careful how and what you post…perhaps this will fall on deaf ears today…then again, perhaps not.

Something more to ponder today.

 

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The Gift Of Giving (Gary’s Story)

Perhaps you have stopped at a fast food restaurant and  gone through the drive thru, or you have stopped at a toll booth only to discover someone has “paid it forward” as the clerk cheerfully tells you “The car ahead of you paid for yours”.   It’s a surprising feeling isn’t it; experiencing someone else’s generosity?  Perhaps for some of us, it’s a little humbling.  For others it reinforces the need to give back.

bucket3The gift of giving truly is the meaning of Christmas.
We stop to recognize the ultimate gift that was given to humanity – Christ Jesus.  Perhaps in some small way we can give back to our communities and to specific people.  Giving isn’t always natural…sometimes it needs to be forced, sometimes we need a little convincing.

There is no need to convince Gary though, he has been giving to our Red Campaign this Christmas season in a manner of his time and talent.   Gary has been bell ringing for The Salvation Army of Evansville for as much time as he can give this year.  Some days, it is a whole day’s shift from 10 am in the morning, until it gets dark outside. He has been vigilant, dependable and a constant feature at one of our Walmart locations.   Every evening when the red kettle driver picks up Gary’s bucket, you can rest assured it is a full bucket of much needed funds.  bucket2

There is something else about Gary you should know, other than his generosity of time and talent.   For those two vital assets alone are truly commendable and honorable.  But there’s something more about Gary – something that would shake the very fabric of our lives and quake us to the core and make us evaluate everything that we hold dear and consider important in life – Gary has terminal Leukemia.

His doctors have given him roughly nine months to live.  He could be doing anything with his precious time that he has left.  He could be crossing off things on his bucket list, and perhaps he is.  He could have gone home and wallowed in self-pity – no one would have blamed him.  Yet, Gary is paying it forward in such a way that lives will be touched and changed.  Gary is so much more than just a bell ringer at yet another red kettle campaign.  Gary is giving more than just another few hours at a random kettle location.  Gary is giving of himself.  This is his gift.  This is his moment to shine.
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I wonder if we’re all capable of giving as Gary is giving today?
I wonder if we could simply give without terms or conditions, and just give of ourselves regardless of the circumstances of our lives?  I recognize that life isn’t always perfect, I’m also pretty sure there has never been any promises that life is fair and perfect from the start.  Many of us have bruises and scars to prove just how unfair and imperfect life can truly be.
BUT the gift of giving truly MUST transcend our circumstances and conditions.  We shouldn’t ever say “well I couldn’t give because the moment just wasn’t right…” well, let me ask you when will the moment ever be right?    (and I’m speaking to myself right now) We can’t continue to make excuses in life – it doesn’t matter where we’ve been or the hurts we’ve endured – how we come out of those moments truly will define us.

Gary is testament to a defying circumstances.
He has touched my heart in a way that I am forever changed.
His gift is so much more than eight hours out at a Salvation Army kettle stand.  Despite his circumstances, Gary is displaying what living life should look like.

Do you have time to give?   Then give it.
Do you have talents to give?  Then give it.
Do you have treasure to give?  Then give it.
Don’t make excuses, don’t hold back, don’t squander it or hoard it.
Our gifts come in many shapes and sizes…what we do with these gifts matters!

Something more to ponder today.

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If You See This Kind of Post, Keep Scrolling…

We’ve all seen those Facebook posts that go something like this: “Type amen if you believe Jesus is Lord and Savior, Ignore if you want to go to hell”…okay, maybe I made that last part up, maybe not.   For those who have but a handful of brain cells left (myself included) can hopefully recognize how manipulative and dumb these posts really are.
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Stop sharing these posts…really, I honestly think these posts are doing more harm than good.  It’s not a witnessing tool, it’s a guilt trip at best and perhaps worse, it’s a condemning slap in the face.

I mean is this really what Jesus was all about?
Did He go around saying, “You better click amen and believe in me or you’ll burn in hell!”  um…no I’m pretty sure He didn’t.  Instead, I believe He was more concerned with loving our neighbors and even our enemies; He was more concerned with introducing God’s kingdom to the whosoever, and He did it all without guilting people or manipulating them.
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So, Perhaps the next time you see one of THOSE posts, why not skip the “share” button.  Perhaps instead just keep scrolling.  I’m pretty sure even if you “liked” the post or you shared it – that $1,000,000 isn’t really coming your way.  I just don’t think our faith in Christ works that way…do you?  I mean really?!  Maybe instead of trying to feed the “Bless Me” crowd, why not seek ways in which you can ACTUALLY help others who live in your real neighborhoods or go to your school, your work place, your church.  Who knows, perhaps if we  took our eyes away from the narcissism that seems to be prevalent in social media long enough, we might again recognize there are far more pressing needs in our communities than a “click and share” post that speaks of our blessing and our riches.

Okay, rant over.
Something more to ponder today.
Get outside, go for a prayer walk around your neighborhood, ask for the Lord to show you needs in your own community that you can help with.  As Christ’s ambassadors it’s less about us and more about Him – let’s help others seem Him through our expressions of kindness, love and grace.

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