“Doing the will of God”

Jesus got up from the table. Isn’t that unusual for Master of ceremonies to do? He got up. He had been reclined, as they did in those days. There wasn’t a wooden table and chairs as we’re so traditionally used to. He had been enjoying a meal with His disciples. There had been some banter back and forth, some laughter over a good cooked meal. Isn’t that how bonds, throughout time, have been further deepened? Over a meal, together, they bonded, they shared, they loved. Then Jesus got up. What was He about to do? The room was slightly stuffy, and getting warmer. There was a humidity in the air which matched the body heat of those gathered there. As each disciple had eaten their share of the food and had drunken a share of the wine, Jesus did not rest. He didn’t find the nearest lazy boy chair to recline in. He didn’t make his disciples go and do the dishes. He didn’t rest. Instead, He got up and after wrapping a towel around His waist, He filled a basin full of water. The disciples were caught off guard. Some were still chewing the last bits of food and draining their cups of the last drops of wine. Glances were exchanged, expressions of bewilderment and surprise replaced the revelry of celebration.

Having wrapped the towel around His waist and poured the water into the basin, Jesus begins to display for His disciples what a true discipleship looks like: a servant of all. Kneeling down before them, Jesus places himself beneath their dirty, filthy, smelly feet and washes them. He becomes a servant before them. He takes on the very job of a household servant. The son of God stooping down to wiping the dirt from the feet of His people. Is there any better description or account of doing the will of God? The actual Messiah, Jesus kneeling down and cleansing those who needed cleansing the most? Such moments like this had to have left deep impressions upon His followers. Having the One who had been present at the beginning of creation wiping away dirt from their feeble human forms, what a lesson to learn! Master becoming servant. Jesus coming down to their level and preparing them for leadership and for eternity.

This is Discipleship:

In Jewish custom, a disciple was to do as the Rabbi did. A disciple went beyond just ‘doing’ what the Rabbi did though, the purpose of a disciple was to become the Rabbi. Literally taking on his mannerisms, his theological interpretations, his actions…everything to become just like the Rabbi. Jesus knelt at their feet and washed them. Jesus displayed for his disciples what they were to become to the world around them…servants of God, serving others. Jesus even told them this when He said; “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)

Discipleship is doing the will of God, not just as a part-time worker, but a full time servant. Many will commit to part-time work as a servant, but few, when faced with choices of comfort and personal gain will accept that full-time role. Yet isn’t that what Christ-followers are called to do? To be full-time disciples in our lives? Full-time disciples of Christ doesn’t mean we give up our professional vocations and don on ropes of white and live off of the land. God can and will use you as His disciples right where you are at. Sometimes He asks us to move and to switch vocations, but many times He can and will use you if you are available for His purposes. True discipleship though looks very much that Jesus with towel wrapped around His waist washing feet. True discipleship may take on roles we feel are beneath us, not befitting one from our status…yet Jesus knelt down and washed the disciples feet, are you prepared to do so as well to those around you? Are you prepared to be a full-time disciple?

William Law once wrote; “The devout, therefore, are people who do not live to their own will, or in the way and spirit of the world, but only to the will of God. Such people consider God in everything, serve God in everything, and make every aspect of their lives holy by doing everything in the name of God and in a way that conforms to God’s glory.” (William Law, A serious call to a devout and holy life)

Do you view your life in this way? Is everything God’s? Are you doing the will of God because you are His humble servant? This is the cost of discipleship, but it’s not drudgery or done with groaning but instead because of love we cannot help but to serve the One who has set us free. Are you prepared to wrap that towel around your waist? Are you prepared to kneel down before those around you and to wash their feet? God doesn’t need any more part-time workers, He wants full-time servants who are committed to do His will.

September 17, 2013 3

“From ‘Worst’ to Faithfully Appointed.”

“I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service.” -1 Timothy 1:12

The man once named Saul, persecutor and murderer of Christ-followers has been redeemed. Now, Christ’s ambassador, a humble servant renamed Paul writes to Timothy his protege and for all intense and purposes adopted son. Paul is nearing the end of his life. He knows that time is now running out for him. He isn’t bitter. He isn’t scorning and cursing his captors – Rome, instead he is making the most of his remaining time. He writes this encouraging letter to Timothy as a father would lovingly pen words on a page to a son. Paul considers himself the worst of sinners and even says son in his letter to Timothy.

Is there regret from his previous life, before Christ cast his light of salvation on him on a dusty Damascus road? Yes. But has this regret stopped Paul from living for Christ alone? No! Though Paul considered himself the worst of sinners, he indicates to Timothy that Christ had also deemed him worthy of calling.

What made Paul worthy? Was it his own hard work and effort to be ‘good’? No. How can a killer of Christians now be considered worthy & faithful? It becomes a matter of the heart. What lives inside our hearts only we and God know. What we feed on within out thought processes only we and God know. Paul was convinced, and the evidence of his ministry results are apparent, that Christ had judged him faithful and appointed him to serve.

What about us today?

Do you feel worthy of being called by God? Are you willing to serve Him wholeheartedly like Paul did? We don’t need to have a theological degree to serve Him. We don’t need to be highly educated to gather a towel around our waist and wash the feet of those around us for His glory. We don’t need to be preachers like Billy Graham to share this message of hope to the world around us. We just need to be faithful. Christ Jesus can and will strengthen you as well, just as He did with Paul. If we say ‘yes’ to His calling (whatever that calling looks like that enables us to serve Him) he will judge us faithful and then also appoint you as well to whatever task He needs you to serve Him in.

You may consider yourself in your own minds to be the worst of sinners also. You may think that God cannot forgive you for what you have done in your life…and you would be wrong! Christ is willing to forgive you if only you will let Him. When we open ourselves up to Him and His holy cleansing we will find love, grace and hope…we will find new life! And in this new life, we too will be judged as faithful servants of the Most High.

Are you willing today to trust Him? Are you willing to allow Him into your life? If you say yes to His calling on your life, watch out! You will never be the same again! Because the Apostle Paul said ‘yes’ to Christ many, many lives for changed including Timothy who did carry on in Paul’s footsteps. Because Paul said ‘yes’ to Christ the very world was changed because of His testimony. Today, this world needs more Pauls to boldly step up and say ‘yes’ to Christ…may you be a Paul today in your answer today!

-Just a thought.

September 13, 2013 0

Shine!

“He said to them, “Do you bring a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” -Mark 4:21-25

Okay, let’s get it over with…”this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

Jesus spoke to His disciples and to the crowd that had gathered there. He spoke wisdom and truth to them and in the midst of these parables He begins to speak about a lamp. What does a lamp do? It illuminates a room doesn’t it? When someone walks into a dark room the first thing most people do is switch on the light so that they might see. The same principle is applied any place that is dark. One would never venture into a deep dark cave unless a flashlight was lit. Does one go into places that are dark without prior preparation? Of course not because that would be dangerous and foolish!

Similarly the Light of Christ is never to be hidden from the world! To do so is dangerous and foolish. Fellow Christians who play church on Sunday yet keep the truth of the gospel to themselves like some sort of private VIP only club are foolish and narrow minded…but if I were truly honest with myself there are times that I have treat the light of Christ this way. I have been one of those ‘members only’ Christians.

Yet if we look at how God works, does He need us to shine the light? Yes and no. Yes God wants us to share His good news to the world and yes we are partakers of His kingdom but does He need us more than we need Him? Of course the obvious answer is ‘no’! So why are we called to be ‘Light bringers’ into this world of ours? The short answer is; so that we can be Christ’s faithful ambassadors to those still in the darkness! He could clearly call someone else, and if we’re not careful He will call someone else. But He wants us to be the torch bearer.

Exposed by the Light:

This world is a dangerous and dark place. Christ brought the light so that everyone might see. What is it that we see when His light is shone upon us? For starters we see how lost we truly are. It is easy to wander in the darkness and to ignore the filth that we have allowed to blemish us. But when His light is cast upon us we find ourselves wanting, dirty and guilty. The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of heaven and in the Light of God and all that he saw, he knew that he was unclean and marred by sin. The light of God does that to His people; exposes the sins. Nothing is hidden from God. Nothing is kept locked away and private. He light shines upon us so that we might finally be free from this life sucking filth which is sin.

When Christ spoke of the light, He was talking not only about Himself but about the truth of God. Everything in this world both hidden and dirty will be exposed and known. We, as His ambassadors are to be faithful to Him. The good news is this world can be freed from the enslavement of sin and death! The good news is that darkness is just the absence of light. The good news is that God is the light that will shine upon all people here on earth. The amazing news is that Christ has come to set us free from these bonds that keep us in the darkness!

This good news must be shared to the world! This amazing light will deliver us all…and in so doing we are then called to pick up His light and share that good news to those still in the darkness.

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”

September 6, 2013 3

Apathy and the Wilderness

Luke 5:16 (ASV)
But he withdrew himself in the deserts, and prayed.

Apathy is the death of man’s spiritual relationship with God. It happens when we stop caring, or find ourselves at a point in our lives where we are unfeeling. Have you been there before? It can be both terrifying and silent because we are often very good at faking it. We are often quite good at acting the part even when the heart isn’t in it.

I don’t mean to cast any doubts your way today or cause you to feel down…because there is hope in all of this! Sometimes this pathway of apathy leads directly to the wilderness. What do I mean by the wilderness? I don’t mean an empty lonely place full of strife and pain. When I say wilderness I am implying that there are times in which God is longing for us to draw closer to Him. If we are aware of this apathetic pathway we can take steps in the right direction.

Why did God lead His people into the wilderness in the first place? Through this dry and thirsty place God showed His chosen ones how they could fully rely on Him. He was present for them. He was (and still is) in love with His people. When they were in this barren wilderness the total acknowledgement that they needed help became completely apparent. Stepping onto this pathway of apathy is dangerous, but it can also lead us back to the wilderness and back to a right relationship with God.

Are you unfeeling today? Are you simply going through the motions in life right now? Sure the routine is somewhat rewarding but somehow you’ve lost that passion you once had. Perhaps it’s time to take a step into the wilderness once again and get reconnected with the Almighty. Apathy might be the death of man’s spiritual relationship with God…but it doesn’t have to be!

Taking time to stand before God without distractions of all kinds is absolutely necessary! If Jesus had to get away and commune with the Father what makes us think that we can simply ‘go it alone’? The truth of the matter is we cannot! The wilderness is calling…will you go? Will you take the time that your spirit and heart crave? Will you sacrifice some of your schedule in this day and give it completely to God so that He has your undivided attention? It’s not so much for His benefit but rather completely for our benefit and His renewal that we do this.

Go into your wilderness and meet with The Father, and over time you will find that every motion your body makes, every schedule that you keep matters to Him as well. He wants to be included in it all, He wants you to bring glory to Him in all things. But it begins with our time in the wilderness before Him.

August 19, 2013 0

What Parents aren’t saying to their kids

Like it or not our culture and society is progressing. Progressing where, well that remains to be seen. But if the trends are any indicators where we’re going may not look so good. I don’t mean to sound all ‘doom and gloom’ here but what exactly are parents teaching their kids these day? And on the flip-side what are they not saying to their kids?

History Lesson:

How and who teaches our kids makes a world of difference. Don’t believe me? The Warlords in Africa understand this notion. Why do you think they abduct young boys and recruit them for their armies? He who controls the youth controls the next generation. Right or wrong (and that last example is most definitely wrong) the principle is still constant and true. Who is responsible for instructing the youth of our next generation? The Parents!!! But what are the parents not saying any longer?

Here’s a list of a few things they aren’t saying:

1. NO!

Discipline has become inconsistent at best. Children are allowed to do more, stay up later, eat whatever they want and parents aren’t telling their children ‘NO’. Let me make a confession. As a parent of four children I think I know a little bit about kids. And if we as parents don’t tell them no when we know what is best for them they will begin to craft their own ideals and notions of right and wrong. I am the parent! You are the parent and we have to set boundaries for our children especially when they are young and in the formative stages of life! I’m not saying it’s too late for teenagers if you’ve never said ‘no’ to your child, but much of a child’s understanding of right and wrong begins when they are young. Say no, not just to say it, but when it applies to situations and circumstances that may endanger your child, when they act up or push the boundaries…have the guts to be consistent and say no. There are far too many lazy parents in our world today who just don’t have the time to tell their children no. Be a better parent than that!

2. Wait!

We live in a fast paced, fast food society. Everything is based on instant gratification. But what is that teaching our children? Good things don’t come to those who wait, no good things come to those who get it now! Whatever ‘it’ is get it, why wait? This applies to purchasing items that are beyond our financial means, eating foods in over indulgence, and even sexual pursuits. Parents, we have got to step up to the plate and tell our children to wait! Don’t let them make decisions based on what their friends are doing or what modern media is telling them is okay. Have ‘the talk’ with them. Get involved in their lives and remind them that God does have a plan for their lives…and some of it involves waiting.

3. I love you

Let me be clear on this point, many parents are saying the words ‘I love you’ but they’re not backing it up with action. If you love your child don’t just say it be involved in their lives, actually listen to them as they share with you their day. Be available to them so that they have someone to come and talk to. They say body language is sometimes more important than actual verbal language at times. So put the tablet, cell phone, or laptop down and actually make eye contact with your child! Let them know that you love them by paying attention to them! Parents we cannot afford to be selfish when it comes to sharing our love with our kids. We only have them for 18 years of their life and then they go out into the world on their own. Make it count, help them show love in the same respect by being there and being attentive to them.

4. Your choices matter!

Start young with this! Make sure they understand what consequences are for both good and poor choices! Instruct them properly and help them to weigh out their choices in this life. We are witnessing a whole generation of young people growing up in a world where no one is responsible for the consequences of poor decisions. How does that happen? It starts at home. If the parent can’t admit wrong doing or own up to bad choices, the child learns from this as well. The child has learn to blame others for their mistakes, to ignore the consequences and to just do what makes you happy. Parents we have to be adult enough to show our children how to admit wrong doing, and to help them make better choices in their lives. It’s not a weakness to admit that we were wrong at times. Doing so displays something that is lost in our society today: integrity and courage.

5. Love the Lord with all your heart and serve Him first!

I understand many do not live in Christian homes, but for any parent out there who attend Sunday School as a child or still goes to church today this is one of the most fundamental building blocks for any child’s development! Without knowledge of God’s love and our reciprocation in word and deep we stand to lose an entire generation to ignorance and faithlessness. Understanding that God is real and that His love saves us has to be at the forefront of our children’s development. I’ve heard it said that it’s not our job to get our kids saved, I offer an contrary view. It is our job to point our children in the right direction and to instruct them in the ways of God! If we feel ill-equipped then I think we’re doing it right. It won’t be easy but when our children see faith in action through us the Bible lessons about God and our relationship to Him will be that much clearer!

Parents I cannot stress it enough, we cannot omit these important instructions from our children’s development! The dangers in our society today are very real. We are facing the possibility of an entire generation blind to faith and lost in sin. We must instruct our children. We must take the time. We cannot afford to be selfish with our time and our knowledge of God. Don’t dismiss this as just another alarmist, get involved with your children, tell them no, tell them to wait, help them to learn to make better choices in life and that consequences do exist. Lead them and point them to God…make sure that you also display in word and deed these same principles and attributes in your life!

-Get on with it!

August 13, 2013 0

Blurred Lines

“In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

I am in no way endorsing or recommending a song of the same name by the singer Robin Thick. But for just a moment in our pop tart world with its cheap, catchy beats and lyrical lines filled with double entendre our messy morals are exposed in the light. Many people want instant gratification and pleasure without the consequences or guilt. Yet when confronted with their choices of immoral decisions and behaviors some simply deny any wrong doing or blame someone else.

We live in a blurred lined culture where right and wrongs are subjected to an individualistic and hedonistic world view. Do you remember the prophet Hosea? God told him to marry a prostitute named Gomer (Hosea 1:2). Reading this passage of scripture one might proclaim shockingly, “God did what?” God told one of his prophets, one of his faithful servants to go out and marry a woman who was a known ‘lady of the night’. God used Hosea and his marriage to an unfaithful harlot to illustrate how adulterous his chosen people Israel had become.

Israel had blurred the lines of moral, set-apart living. They had stepped out on God. Just think of it for a moment. God had given himself fully to his people Israel. His love had been poured out upon them. He blessed them with prosperity and riches and protected them from the dangers of other encroaching cultures. But Israel had been hell bent on their selfishness and their lusting after sin. They had broken God’s heart again. Just place yourself in their story for a moment. Imagine you were the faithful spouse. Imagine your soul mate, your beloved being in caught in unfaithful acts over and over again. Feel the shame and the embarrassment. Feel the hurt and gut wrenching anguish. “How could you do such a thing?” You might exclaim; “I trusted you!” God was fed up with Israel and their unfaithfulness. Hosea became a living testimony of God’s love and faithfulness to red light prostitute named Gomer who illustrated Israel’s adulterous ways.

‘How did Israel get to this point?’ one might ask. Blurred lines are the answer. When they ignored their moral compass and did what they wanted anyway it happened. When they rationalized their sinful persuasions as ‘okay with me’ it happened. When they settled for instant gratification that lasted for but a moment instead of an eternal kind of love it happened. They blurred the lines of right and wrong to fit their sinfulness and corroded moral compass. What started out as ‘innocent fun’ turned into a full blown heartless affair with other gods wrought with immoral choices and selfish acts. They started out as a ‘set-apart’ people of God but ended as a torn apart culture wrecked people.

The Danger Zone:

This danger zone doesn’t include fighter jets from an 80’s movie, but it does include us and our culture that we live in. We live in a very media saturated world where right and wrongs are based on an individual’s sense of morality. Where we are taught that to defend God’s word and his laws of living is considered intolerant in our society. If this is intolerance then so be it. I would rather have God find us faithful than find us acting like Gomer or Israel as we prostitute ourselves out in a lost and dying world. The danger zone is the blurred lines in our world today. Those who profess to be Christ followers ought to know better! Those who claim Christ with their lips yet live a life contrary to their claims WATCH OUT! God doesn’t want your ritual or your lip service…He wants you! He wants me! Don’t let blurred lines of loose living dilute your faith! Don’t give that slippery slope of immoral living a second glance. Be faithful to God. He has set us apart for a reason. He loves us so deeply and when we serve Him we not only display our love back to Him, but we display what a lasting love relationship with God looks like for the world to see.

Don’t allow these blurred lines to blur your faith or your love relationship to God. He wants us to live above reproach and above these influences. 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old (blurred lined life) has gone, the new life has come.”

August 12, 2013 1

Here’s to you PCUSA Committee!!

In Christ Alone

August 3, 2013 0

My Life = Christ’s Broken Bread

Think of it. A life completely devoted to the cause of Christ. Not a divided life, where half is devoted to Christ and half is devoted to self…but completely and utterly surrendered to the cause of Christ.

For some, dare I say most, being Christ’s broken bread sounds great on paper. It even sounds romantic to some degree, but truly living a broken life before God and man is an extremely daunting task indeed.

Galatians 2:20 the Apostle Paul tells us; “I have been Crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and have himself for me.”

There is a very disturbing image for us here. The suffering and death of Christ for the world becomes the very image we too take on as we become Christ’s broken bread to the world around us. It transforms us into what Christ said would happen to His disciples: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

Our borrowed time, our pooled financial resources, our hobbies and precious treasures…they mean nothing if they are not subjected to the filter of Christ on the cross. Everything will eventually pass away. Everything will eventually disappear from us. But one thing will remain: God’s love for us, His people.

In return, our duty, our purpose for living ought to transform our thoughts, our passions, our perceptions of the stuff we own…all of it in the spectrum of grace and redemption.

Why do we need to become Christ’s broken bread?

Because there are countless souls in our world who need salvation! There are many lives who are still lost in the darkness of sin and certain death! Without willing servants of Christ giving their all in His services, they will perish! Some might utter the excuses like “the Holy Spirit can save them”, and rightly so but Christ has sent US to be His ambassadors into this world. The Holy Spirit is with us in this venture! Without the willing hands and feet of Christ, who have been broken and humbles before His love and grace, the great commission cannot be fulfilled.

We are called people. Set apart for His holy purpose in this world wrought with sin! People in our own neighborhoods are lost and in need of anyone who is willing to love them and show them this amazing Christ whom we serve! There are countless souls caught up in addictions of all kinds who are in need of the extension of grace that Christ has given to us.

Who will be Christ’s broken bread to them? Will you? Will I? This isn’t some part-time calling. It’s full-time within our occupations and our passions! We are called to be His broken bread to the world, and that starts with our family’s, neighbors, friends and even enemies. It will not be easy! There will be days in which we will utterly fail along the way. Other days when we will be scorned and mocked. Yet this humbled state of servants of Christ brings upon our lives such a richness of mercy, grace and love!

-Just a thought.

“My life must be Christ’s broken bread,

My love his outpoured wine,

A cup o’erfilled, a table spread

beneath his name and sign,

that other souls, refreshed and fed,

may share his life through mine.“

(Albert Orsborn SASB 512)

July 30, 2013 1

Finding Encouragement:

Let’s face it, we are all accustomed to disappointment and discouragement. Some days we might even ask ourselves ‘why did I even get up this morning?’ Yet I do know that there is comfort in the knowledge that we aren’t alone in our disappointments and troubles. Though these times come to us all, we can recognize that we don’t have to endure these difficult moments alone.

Are you facing trouble today? Are you downcast, disillusioned, weary? Allow me an opportunity here to share with you an encouraging passage of scripture:

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Did you catch that? Let me break it down for you:

1. The Lord God is here in your midst:

He’s not far away, or distant. He is with you in your good days, your bad days, your indifferent days. God is near! How encouraging is that?! We serve a mighty, all knowing God that isn’t distant but personal with each of us. He care for you. He wants to be involved intimately in your life! And despite our struggles, God is here in your midst.

2. He saves us!

He doesn’t wear a red cape like superman, but He saves us! His love doesn’t end with being near, He desire fellowship with us and for our deliverance from sin and death! In Christ’s suffering and death, God provides salvation! Our redemption comes through Christ, and now we not only long for Eternity but we have the Kingdom of God here on Earth with us! We have been redeemed! We have been saved! Hallelujah!

3. He will quiet us with His love!

Have you ever gotten bent out of shape? Have you ever found yourself panic stricken, stress laden and crying out for relief from it all? In your despair God is there and He, with His loving arms, will quiet our manic lives. How amazing is that? I can’t tell you how often stress gets the better of me. Or how often my mind won’t turn itself off at bed time because I’m so consumed with worry or fear. Yet when I allow God access to these emotions and these situations, I am not only comforted but I am reminded that His strength is enough! There is nothing, absolutely nothing too difficult for Him to handle! He will quiet us and our distress…if we allow Him access to our lives!

4. He will exult over you with loud singing…

um, ok that sounds kind of funny doesn’t it? Yet think about it? And don’t envision God with a megaphone singing loudly in your ear either! But think of it like this: God spoke the world into being with just mere words. He will comfort us with these same audible words that formed the very stars that we look at! How encouraging is that? God will remind us of His might through this as well! If He could do all of these marvelous deeds, how tiny our problems must seem to Him. He will bring to us His songs of peace and deliverance. He will declare His majesty through the music of Eternity.

-Put it all together-

Think of it again…in every season God is there! He wants to be involved in our lives and He will be there in our discouragements and in times of despair. Take comfort in this verse, though it was originally intended for Israel at a time of exile, this verse is for all those who are called children of God through faith in Jesus Christ!

Discouraged? Find Encouragement today!

-Just a thought.

July 23, 2013 0