Repentance

Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (ESV)

I was just thinking that we don’t talk about repentance very much, do we? Why is that? Do we think it’s too offensive to tell someone that they need to repent? Do we not understand it?

The word repent literally means “to think differently.” So, it’s not just something we ‘do.’ It’s a whole new way of thinking. It means we think differently about sin, God, and how we should respond to both.

When Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son, He says that after a long stint of reckless living, the son finally “came to himself,” and then he came to his father and said, “I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” In other words, he realized that his lifestyle wasn’t just harmful to him, but it was an assault on God, Himself. Isn’t that really what sin is?

The prodigal son didn’t just feel sorry for his actions and their consequences, he completely changed his mind about them. Change - isn’t this what Jesus died for? I’m not talking about changing the way we feel or even what we do. Repentance is a change that goes much deeper than that.

Again, repentance isn’t just something we ‘do’ nor is it even feeling sorry for what we did. It’s a new way of thinking, which causes us to respond to God in a new way.

How To Get Out of A Pit

Psalm 40:1-2
“I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.”

It’s inevitable--sooner or later we all end up in a pit at some point in our lives. So, what do you do when you look around and all you see is dirt?

The first step in getting out of the pit of despair is to cry out to God.  Far too often when people get depressed, it is because they are in need of something, but they seek it in the wrong place, which only adds to their problems. Chasing after the wrong thing will always leave you disappointed, and disappointment opens the door to depression.

This is a heart issue, and God is the only one who has the power to heal your heart. So, cry out to Him, and He will hear your cry and bring you up and out.

The second step is to wait. Notice David said, “I waited patiently for the Lord.”  That means that the answer to his cry wasn’t apparent for a while.  Most of the pits that we end up in have taken us a long time to get into, so it may take some time for you to be delivered.

Take a few minutes and read Psalm 143, then pray that God would begin to heal your heart:

Incarnational Ministry

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
(2 Corinthians 5:20)

My passion is to see people get saved and grow in their walk with God. That’s not really too surprising to hear someone in the ministry say. But I don’t want to do it as a “pastor.” At least not if by “pastor” you’re thinking about the guy who puts off this vibe as if to say, “I’ve got it all together. And you want to know what I know.”

I’m talking about ministry that everyone should be doing. Ministry that invites people to be real, open, and honest by BEING real, open, and honest. I desperately want to position myself in others’ lives to where, like Paul, it’s “as though God were making His appeal through me.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) I have come to call it “incarnational ministry.” In other words, just like Jesus, you come along side someone and do life with them. And, just like Jesus, at times even enter into their suffering with them. Is there really any higher platform from which to preach the love and grace of God?

Lord, I pray that You will help me to minister to and love others the same way that You do. Help me to see others as better than myself. Thank You for entrusting me with others’ lives. I pray that I never take for granted the weight of that privilege.

The Gift of Grace

John 14:6
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.”

Jesus isn’t being intolerant, arrogant, or closed minded when He says, “No one comes to the Father but by Me.” He’s offering the greatest gift He can give, Himself. He’s offering grace and forgiveness. And He’s giving us the answer to the question that (on some level) every person who ever lived has asked, “What must I do to be saved?”

There are a lot of well-meaning people out there who sincerely struggle with the simplicity of the grace of God. They say, “Surely it can’t be that easy. There has to be more to it,” or “How could God exclude everyone who has lived a good, moral life like Muslims, Jews, etc. just because they don’t believe that Jesus is the only way to God?”

For every religion on earth, their only hope for salvation rests on their ability to follow certain rules and traditions, and in the end, they are banking it all in hopes that it will be enough to save them.

Where religion says, “I’ll do it.” The gospel says, “God did it.” You see, there is nothing in us that gives us the ability to save ourselves. But the Good News is that Christ did what we could not. Christ took our sin and in return gave us His righteousness (Romans 3:21-26).

As well-meaning as it may sound, to trust in our own ability to save ourselves is by default rejecting the gift of salvation that Christ sacrificed so much to purchase for us. When we try to fix ourselves, it's as if we hear Jesus saying on the cross, "It is finished," and we answer back, "Not quite." In Hebrews 10, the bible compares that to “trampling the Son of God underfoot, counting the blood of the covenant by which we were sanctified a common thing, and insulting the Spirit of grace.”

How amazing is it that God offers us a gift as great as salvation?! And He is pleading with you to receive it.

Where Does Your Hope Lie?

Isaiah 55:2
“Why spend your money on something that is not real food? Why work for something that doesn’t really satisfy you? Listen closely to Me, and you will eat what is good; your soul will enjoy the rich food that satisfies.”

We all experience hurt when someone lets us down. We feel dissatisfied when a situation doesn’t turn out like we’d hoped.

In those moments, ask yourself this question, “Is what I’m feeling right now the result (the fruit) of a heart whose hope is placed in God?”

If not, could it be that the reason why we hurt is because we are placing our hope in the wrong thing? We are relying on that person, even spouses, to satisfy us, complete us, and to meet our needs. We are trusting in our situation to change so that we will finally have peace of mind.

Could it be that we are demanding from that person or situation something that they were never created to provide for us?

So, what does it look like to place our hope in God alone? Does it mean that people will never hurt us again? No, but it means that we can now be free to love them and forgive them, knowing that only God alone can satisfy us and meet our deepest needs. Does it mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us? No, but it means that in spite of our circumstances, no matter how bad, we can have peace, because we know that God is our provider.

In all honesty, what are those things that we are placing our hope in, and why? Why are we trusting sinners to satisfy us in a way that only God can? Why are we allowing circumstances, which can and do constantly change, to hold the fate of our very happiness?

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. And it’s only when we learn to fully place our hope in God, who can change sinners and make all circumstances work together for our good, that we will finally find true joy.

Psalm 63: “God, You are my God. I search for You. I thirst for You like someone in a dry, empty land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and have seen Your strength and glory. Because Your love is better than life, I will praise You.”

Jesus Prays for You

"I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Your’s."  John 17:9

How would you feel right now if you knew that Jesus was in the next room praying for you? Would you have more peace? Would you have more confidence?

Well, according to scripture, Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, and He is praying for you right now.

Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” 

Just before that, 8:26-27 says, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (I love that) And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

When Peter started arrogantly boasting about how great he was, Jesus told him, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail…." (Luke 22:31-32).

Even though Peter denied Christ three times, his faith never failed. Ultimately, he found grace and restoration in Jesus and became the leader of the early Church.

Isn't it awesome to know that if Satan is out to get you, Jesus is praying for you?

That should give you tremendous peace and confidence in Him, knowing that He's mentioning your name in prayer before the Father at this very moment.

God Is Love - Part 2

Romans 8:38-39

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angles nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NKJV) 

“I love you, but I’m not in love with you.” That’s probably the worst thing a teenage boy could could hear from his crush. That’s right up there with, “Let’s just be friends.” Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t operate in that kind of love? For Him, that kind of love doesn’t even make sense. 

God does not love like we love. Think about it. If God could “fall in love” with us, doesn’t that mean He could also fall out of love with us? God cannot operate in our way of loving, because love isn’t just something God has, feels, or does….it’s something He is (1 John 4:8).

God is also infinite, which means that He has no limits, no boundaries, and no end. That means His love has no limits, no boundaries, and no end. That’s great news! If God’s love is limitless, that means that no person, no matter how wicked; no matter how sinful, is ever so far gone as to be exempt from the love of God! Absolutely nothing can separate us from it.

Spirit-filled Life

Acts 1:8

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Have you ever felt like you're missing out on something? When you look around it seems like others live and move in this anointing in their lives that is just out of your reach. They have an effective, growing ministry, and they are just thriving.

Think about this: what if instead of focusing on what we don’t have, we pursued what God has to give? Remember, on our own we are not fit to serve the Lord. On their own the disciples were uneducated, undertrained, and ineffective. But something happened once they submitted to God that transformed their lives. Just as Jesus had promised, He sent them the Holy Spirit… the gift of the Father… His own Spirit in their lives… the Helper.

And what happened next was supernatural. They were filled with fire, and the Gospel exploded into the first century. That fire ended up turning their world upside down! (Acts 17:6)

Think about it, what would it be like to have that kind of power in your life? What would you be doing with your life that’s different than what you’re doing now? Whatever your answer is, step out and do it! Ask the Holy Spirit to take control of your life, and yield to Him every step of the way. The Word says “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). That’s the Spirit-filled life!

Change Your Focus

Psalm 105:1-3

"Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord." (NLT)

Sometimes it seems like everywhere you look all you see are problems, strife, turmoil, hurt--all around the world, in our own country, in our community, in our homes...in us.

Why is it that our focus is naturally drawn to all these negative things? We start by worrying, then we get angry, frustrated, and if we leave our focus there, we end up losing hope.

I think we need to change our focus. We have a God who loves us unconditionally and cares about everything that concerns us. Jesus gave His life that we might have the hope of eternity with Him. And the Holy Spirit was given to comfort, guide, and teach us about God’s plan and His love towards us in every circumstance we face.

The bottom line--God is greater than any problem or circumstance.

That's exactly what we need to focus on every day but even more when we are overwhelmed or depressed. We need to change our focus. We need to thank the Lord and tell of His greatness. We need to let the whole world know what He has done. To sing praises to Him. To worship Him and rejoice. When you do this, your circumstances might not change...but you will.

Rhythm

This post is based on notes from a sermon by Matt Chandler:

Genesis 1 was written in Hebrew to read like a poem. It has rhythm to it:

“God created this, then He created this, and it was good….”

“God created this, then He created this, and it was good….”

“God created this, then He created this, and it was good….”

I believe it was written that way because it's describing how God has woven within the fabric of the universe this rhythm, this beat, this grove that is behind everything. It flows through everything. It is the rhythm that all of the universe operates in and under:

-every day turns into night
-every night turns into morning
-fall turns into winter
-the lifecycle of a plant
-the rotation of the earth
-it’s trip around the sun, etc.

So, there’s this rhythm (beat, grove, flow) going on all the time. In other words, God designed the universe and everything in it to work a certain way - including us.

Most people think that God is this cosmic killjoy who hates fun and wants to keep us from enjoying ourselves. But it’s the complete opposite! God created everything and said it was good, but He created it to work a certain way. And He created us to operate and live within it a certain way.

We’ve got to understand this, because all throughout the bible God is begging us to enter into this rhythm and design. In the book of Proverbs it's personified as wisdom in the form of a woman screaming in the streets saying something like, "How long are you going to keep trying to do this contrary to how this was designed to function. If you would just listen to me, I would show you how this is supposed to work in such a way that the joy that you are seeking would be found in it." (Proverbs 8; 16:25).

God is in no way glorified by our begrudging submission to Him. He doesn't want to snuff out our joy by forcing us to follow a bunch of rules. He wants to maximize our joy by leading us back in line with the way He created things to be.

Hunger for the Word of God

"I rejoice at Your Word." Psalm 119:162

Years ago I came across a passage of scripture that severely convicted me about reading the bible. Job 23:12 says, "I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” What do you do with a passage like that? I read that verse over and over and realized that no matter how I tried to spin it, it was one of those verses that I couldn’t claim. It just wasn’t true about me, but I wanted it to be more than anything. Think about it. What would your life look like when God's Word is as important to you as your physical food?

I knew what it felt like to be hungry from missing a meal or two, and I thought, “Oh, that I would hunger for the Word of God the same way!” If it’s been a while since you’ve felt physical hunger, I challenge you to do this: fast from one meal today. Get a glimpse of the hunger our hearts should have for the Word of God.

One of the hardest things about fasting is denying yourself of nourishment when it is so readily available right in front of you. And you can’t help but think about how crazy it is that we do the same thing spiritually every day! Even though God’s Word is free and easily accessible to us, we will starve ourselves daily without a second thought. Then, we wonder where God is in our life and why we don’t feel His presence like we used to.

Let’s set aside some time each day to nourish and rejuvenate our souls by reading God’s Word and praying. God wants to speak to us, and that’s the primary way He’s chosen to do so. Why wouldn’t we make that time as important as breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Complete Confidence

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

If we really want to walk the path that we know God has planned out for us, there must be complete confidence in the Lord to take care of us. We need to remember that we are merely passengers on the journey that God has mapped out. Imagine hailing a cab and then insisting that you drive because you know a better way.

Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us that we are to trust God with all our heart (not just part of it), and we're to acknowledge Him in all our ways (not just some of our ways).

One of the most powerful things that anyone has ever said to me is, “You can’t say, ‘No, Lord,’ and mean both words.” He’s either Lord, or He’s not. He’s either directing my paths, or I have once again taken up the reigns of my own life.

You can't say, "Lord, I want Your will in my social life, but I don't want Your will in my business life." Or, "I want Your will in my church life, but I don't want Your will in my relationships." God doesn’t want just part of your life. If He's worth part of it, isn’t He worth all of it?

What are you holding onto today? Why not give it all to Christ? Lay it all down, and you will find that instant obedience will bring incredible blessing.

Lord, whatever the question is, I say “Yes” to You today. Help me to lean on You only and not my own understanding. Help me to get myself out of the way so that You can work out Your perfect plan for my life. I give it all to You today.

Transformed Heart

Colossians 1:13-14

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

How is it that we have fooled ourselves into believing that if we make promises and behave a certain way, that we are living out God’s best for our lives? Usually it plays itself out with church attendance and comparing ourselves to others. “If I go to church all the time and I act better than I did a couple years ago, or if I’m better than other people who attend my church, then I must be good.” We love to compare our strengths to other’s weaknesses, and then we naturally grow confident in our goodness.

Others try to behave and modify their behavior because they’re afraid of hell and God’s wrath. They believe that if they are good enough, they can earn their way out of hell. The problem is that heaven isn’t a place for those who fear hell; it’s a place for those who love God.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t war against sin in our lives. I’m simply saying that the weapons we have are inadequate to overcome it. Without God transforming our heart and moving us out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, we will simply pit sin against sin.

How many times have you seen people battling their fears and anxieties with control or manipulation; their lust with self-righteousness or apathy…no matter which one wins, sin still reigns.

Christ didn’t die to put us on a behavioral modification program, He died to transform us from the inside out. What if instead of focusing on changing our behavior, we focused on transforming our hearts? What if instead of trying to be better than someone else or better than we used to be, we tried to be like Jesus?

God, help us to trust in You alone to do in us what we cannot. Transform us from the inside out so that we can live the life that You created and redeemed us to live.

Seasons of Waiting

2 Peter 3:8-9

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness.” (ESV)

Do you ever feel like things aren’t happening within your timeframe? There have been certain times in my own life where I thought, “Shouldn’t I be further along than I am now? What are you waiting on, God?” There were many in the bible who might have asked those exact same questions.

-How many years from God’s promise to Abraham until the birth of Isaac?


-How many years from Joseph’s dream until he became second in command of all of Egypt?


-How many years did Moses spend tending sheep before delivering God’s people out of bondage?

-How many years between when David was anointed King of Israel and the moment he actually became King of Israel?

-How many years between the time Jesus first said “I must be about My Father’s business” and the beginning of His ministry?

-How many years from Paul’s conversion until he was sent out from Antioch?

I first responded to God’s call on my life at 13 years old. Now, 16 years later, I feel like I am just now stepping into some of what God spoke to me way back then. During that time I was often frustrated, anxious, and in a big hurry to get to what I knew God had planned for me...as if there were some kind of finish line I was racing toward.

Just like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Paul, and even Jesus, if you’re in a long season of waiting, a season of prisons, caves, wilderness, pits, and carpenter shops, just know that you’re in good company. And God is always on time.

Lord, help us to keep our eyes on You during the long, hot seasons in the desert. We know that You have great things planned for each and everyone of us, and You are working out that plan in us even now. Thank You for never leaving us without hope in any situation we face.

Forgiveness Is Healing

Colossians 3:13

“Forgive each other as the Lord has forgiven you.”

C.S. Lewis once said, “Forgiving does not mean excusing…if that were so, there would be nothing to forgive.” I think the reason why we have a hard time with forgiveness is because we tend to want to take the path of least resistance, especially in relationships. That may not make any sense at first. In fact, most people would say, “Isn’t forgiving someone the path of least resistance?”

No way. It’s the hardest thing to do, because it’s the only selfless option. Forgiveness is you giving up the right to hurt someone for hurting you. Besides being obedient, you get no satisfaction from forgiving someone...because it’s not about you. You are forfeiting the right for it to be about you.

Even if you’re goal isn’t to hurt the other person, when you refuse to forgive them, it’s still detrimental. I once heard someone call it the “battery acid in the soul.” It leads to anger, resentment, isolation, and even health problems. The funny thing is, more often than not, the other person usually doesn’t have a clue that they’ve hurt you. In the end, people who hang on to bitterness cause more pain to themselves than the person who hurt them.

We are broken people complaining about the fact that other people are broken. Isn’t that really what it boils down to? How silly is that? We need to change our perspective. Just like love, forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. I’m not saying there is not pain and very real hurt involved. When someone hurts us, we may not be able to control how we feel, but we can choose how we act and what we do with our pain. When you choose forgiveness, you are choosing to fix what is broken, you are choosing healing, and ultimately you are choosing freedom.

Lord, thank You for showing us how to forgive. Help us to choose forgiveness, even when we don’t feel like it. We trust in You to bring healing in our feelings, our memories, and our view of those who have hurt us. Make us more like You every day.

Strength Injection

Isaiah 40:29

“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.”

Today our culture is enamored with the powerful, the famous, and the accomplished. We call them celebrities. There are people out there who are willing to pay any price just to see some of them play their sport. Others wait in long lines to watch their movies or get their autograph. Most of us don’t know them personally or have even met them, but there is something that draws us to them. There is something that makes us want to connect with those who are well-known, talented, or beautiful.

While everyone else is clamoring for the powerful, God is pursuing the faint and the powerless. He gives strength to the exhausted. He seeks out the broken-hearted and the overlooked and gives them the greatest honor imaginable — His attention and His love.

It’s never been God’s method of operation to find those who are powerful and skilled and recruit them on to His team. All throughout the Bible God chooses those who have no merit, who are weak, and who would have ended up being a no body, and He empowers them to do something extraordinary.

It is God's grace, not our value, that draws Him to hurting, helpless people. He is constantly positioning us in such a way to where we receive the greatest amount of joy and He receives the greatest amount of glory. More often than not that means injecting His strength into those who are the weakest so that His power and His goodness can be displayed the loudest.

This is SO freeing because it means that we can let all of our failures and weaknesses (and good works and strength) fall around our feet and reach out to a God, who is the most powerful, famous, and beautiful of them all.

Lord, I realize that You are the only one who can mend the broken-hearted and give strength to the powerless. So, that is how I come before You now. I ask that You do in me what I cannot. Give me an infusion of Your strength, and position me in such a way to make Your name famous.

More Than Just Remembering

Luke 22:16-20

"'For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.' And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He said, 'Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.' And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.'"

This is a beautiful scene of Jesus having supper with His closest friends on the night before His death. It’s the first “Lord’s Supper,” which we still celebrate to this day. But it’s more than just a ceremonial event. It’s about remembering what Christ did for us.

In this passage, Jesus is saying, “What I want you to remember; the banner I want you to wave; the central focus of what you are to be about is My death.”

It’s an unpopular subject today, but the cross of Christ stands central to everything we believe as Christians and all we hope for. It’s a symbol of the price that was paid so that we can have freedom. But freedom and salvation isn’t just something we have, it’s who we are. We are free. We are saved.

Acts 17:28 says, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” So when Jesus says, “Take; eat. This is My body which was broken for you. Drink. This is My blood which is shed for you.” What He’s saying is, “Find your sustenance in Me.” He is a part of us.

It’s more than just remembering.

Next weekend millions of people across America will celebrate the freedom that was purchased for us by millions more who have died to secure it. We will honor and remember them by singing songs, pledging allegiance, and vowing that we too will fight to the death to defend that freedom.

I am very proud to be an American. It is my country, but it is not my kingdom. “God shed His grace on it. And crowned it’s good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea,” but this weekend let’s also remember that we belong to a greater kingdom.

God, The Artist

Ephesians 2:8-10

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (ESV)

The word “workmanship” here is the same word used when describing art. You see, the artist sees what nobody else can. He can take a blank canvas and start applying stroke after stroke of paint onto it, and before anything even begins to take shape, he is already in love with that canvas, because he can already see the final product.

But the artist doesn’t just get joy out of the final product. He gets joy out of the process. While we may just see some red and some blue on a blank background, the artist is passionately consumed in applying the framework for his masterpiece.

You are not a disappointment to God. Okay, so you blew it this week. That's going to be part of the process. There may be a dark broad stroke across your life that might represent the most embarrassing and horrific thing that's ever occurred, and it might just be the one thing that finally heals you. It’s the process, and God is in control.

Be encouraged that God is not just pleased with the final product, He is pleased with the process. It is not a future version of you that God is pleased with. It is you, now--struggling, stumbling, confused, trying to figure it all out.

Lord, work out your masterpiece in my life. I come to You blank, empty, and open-handed. Help me to keep my eyes on You during the most difficult seasons of my life, knowing that You are in control. Make me an example of Your goodness and grace.

Designed for a Purpose

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (ESV)

Any tool that is used for something other than what it was created for will not be effective, and it will most likely get damaged. One time I needed a hammer to pound in a nail, but I was too lazy to go out in the garage to get one. So, I ended up using whatever I had handy, like a flashlight. (you know you’ve done it too!)

You can guess what happened. It wasn’t very effective. I was able to get the nail in for the most part, but in the end, it was all bent and misshaped. The wall and the flashlight didn’t look much different.

Too many Christians today are not functioning or flowing in the thing they were created for, and consequently, they are not effective. And sometimes they get hurt and damaged...often taking others down with them.

You do have a purpose. In fact, the word “workmanship” in this verse translated literally means you are handcrafted by God. It’s also the same word we derive our English word “poem” from.

In other words, just like any great piece of art or poetry, your life is not without order and symmetry; rhyme or reason. God has some specific things mapped out for your life. You are not an accident. You have a purpose.

“God, I pray that today You would show me the purpose that You designed into my life. Help me to develop the gifts that You have given me in order to fulfill that purpose.”

Freedom from Sin Management

John 8:32

"Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." (ESV)

Freedom is the ability to respond to God fully out of who He made you and redeemed you to be. Freedom does not mean that you will stop getting angry, or lying, or overeating, etc. The pharisees stopped doing all of that, and yet they were still in more bondage than most people during New Testament times. When we believe that freedom is when we stop doing all of the bad stuff that seems to own us right now, then all of our energy, strength, and vitality will be spent trying to "manage our sin." Jesus didn't come and die so that you would behave better. He didn't suffer on the cross and raise to life again in order to put us on a sin management program.

Freedom is an act of God, not an act of man. It wasn't until the woman with the issue of blood finally stopped trying to heal herself and allowed Jesus to act on her behalf that she was truly healed. She had managed it for years, but she was not "set free" from the affliction until she "knew the Truth." When we make God and seeing His glory displayed on the earth ultimate in our lives, sin and it's power begins to diminish.

Freedom is not when I stop doing something, it's when I become someone. That's what Paul meant when he said, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." Paul's energy and strength was not spent on trying to be perfect but living out who God had made and redeemed him to be. And in doing so, he found out that he did not have to be a slave to sin any longer but he could truly be set free.

Shaped By God (Part 2)

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

Psalm 139 says that we have been wonderfully made and skillfully wrought by God. It goes on to say that He fashioned our days before we were even born. In other words, we have been shaped by God to be a unique creation; a vessel that He has crafted for a specific purpose.

I think even as Christians we believe this, yet we live our lives as if God did not know what He was doing. Sometimes I imagine myself as plate that God has made for a specific purpose, maybe to be used to serve others with, or maybe to carry the "Bread of Life" to those who are starving and on the verge of death. But then imagine that God has created me to be a plate, but I spend all of my life trying to re-form myself into a bowl or a vase. The obvious question is how can someone try to reshape a plate into a vase without breaking it into a hundred pieces? You can't, but sadly that's is exactly what happens when we take things into our own hands.

Lord, my desire is to be molded into Your image. Help me to submit to Your will daily, and give me the strength to live well within in the framework that You have fashioned for my life. Thank You for Your perfect will!

Shaped By God

"The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!" (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

About 2,600 years ago, during Jeremiah's time, every village had a potter's house. It was a staple in ever community. So when God came to Jeremiah one day and told him to go down to the potter's house, it would have been like God coming to us and saying, "Go down to the corner gas station."

Jeremiah would have already been to the potter's house many times before. He was already very familiar with what happened there. So, what God was saying was, "Go down to the potter's house, Jeremiah; I want to show you some ordinary things."

When Jeremiah got there, God showed him a very ordinary thing, a pot being made, but what God revealed to him was something extraordinary. He was showing him His power to change lives.

Like a painter with a blank canvas, God sees something beautiful in us even before a single brushstroke is applied. Even more, God sees our beauty, though we are marred and broken in His hands. He is intimately at work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

God wants to do something extraordinary in our ordinary, broken lives. He still pleads with us today saying, "Come to me, marred and broken, and let me mold you into the beautiful vessel that I have in mind for you to be."

"God help me to be moldable today. Like clay in Your hands, my desire is to be formed into a vessel, both beautiful and useable to You."

Affection Addiction

I've been doing a lot of searching lately. Over the last two days I must have listened to at least a dozen sermons. I've been searching, but I really don't know exactly what I'm looking for. The best way to put it, I guess, is I've just been searching for...more. I want to go to a deeper, more self-shattering level with God. And lately I've encountered Truth in a surprisingly fresh way. I've been thinking a lot about things I've never given much thought to in the past; things like true beauty and what it means to live out God's dream for His bride.

This all started when I recently prayed that God would give me an injection of wisdom. I'm talking the kind of wisdom that's deep and fierce. The kind that when it hits you, it knocks you off your spiritual feet. I've prayed for this several times over the last 15 years or so, and each time it's like God gets me outright addicted to His word. I'm like a crackhead trying to get a fix. Every injection both satisfies me, yet leaves me wanting more.

God has stirred my affection for Him, and I am addicted to it. When I am addicted to knowing and loving Christ well, my life is richer, my relationships are deeper, and I have a vitality that is altogether uncommon. I want to hold on to it and never let go. Now, I am jealous for the things that stir my affections for God. My hope is that I can flood my life with Christ-exalting, worship-creating things and avoid anything that would rob me of the joy and vitality that I have when God is at the center of my affections.

Heavy Grace

I don’t think people really get the grace of God. Mostly because we all accept it as one of those subjects that we can’t fully grasp this side of heaven, so we don’t put a whole lot of thought into it. It’s one of those subjects, though, that I knew if I really understood, it would shake my entire faith and perception of God.

I believe the impact of ignoring God’s grace is seen most clearly in the testimony of people who have either walked away from God or are convinced that God cannot change them. My testimony fits more into the “I can just not get it right, so why would God ever want to use me” category.

The reason why I’ve thought this way is the same reason why people end up walking away from God; they have lost their understanding of the “heaviness” of the grace of God. I use the word “heaviness,” because when you think about it, it makes you feel like you’ve pulled a mental muscle or something. It’s almost as if you think about it long enough, you have to stop, take a break, and regain your mental bearings before proceeding. It reminds me of Psalm 139 where David says, “You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.”

To understand grace, we need to step outside of ourselves and see things from God’s perspective. A clear understanding of God’s grace demands an understanding of the price He paid on our behalf. We need to understand first and foremost that God is the offended party when it comes to this whole sin-forgiveness-reconciliation thing, not us. Keep in mind that we are the ones who have broken our end of the deal over and over, and God has every right to employ the full fury of His wrath against us....but He doesn’t.

God’s love is so deep, and He desires us so much that He recognized Man’s inability to do our part to restore our relationship with Him, and He took it upon Himself to become a man and do what’s necessary to restore it for us.

Imagine that a man brutally murders your family. All the evidence is stacked against him, and a grand jury finds him guilty of first degree murder. Now, imagine taking justice in your own hands - not by vengeance - but by fully satisfying the demands of justice by offering the only son you have left to be executed in that man’s place.

I know it doesn’t fit perfectly in every way with what God did for us (or our current legal system), but if you are just looking at it in terms of satisfying the demands of justice, there is absolutely no difference. Especially from the perspective of the innocent son who knows he’s about to die for crimes that he did not commit - crimes against his own family. I think about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane begging His Father for another way, knowing full well that this is the only way to make things right. That’s heavy grace.

The Extra Mile

Everyone has heard the phrase , "Go the extra mile," but there is an interesting history behind that phrase that most people don't know. 

Because of the Roman rule in Palestine at the time of the gospels, there was a strong Roman military presence in Jerusalem. Since 63 B.C. Rome exercised ultimate authority over all of Palestine, and as a result there were many laws that were suppressive to the Jews. One law stated that if a Roman soldier were to ask a Jewish citizen to carry his gear, the Jew was obligated to carry it without question. But the law stated that that the solider could only hold the Jew to one mile of service and no more.

Throughout His ministry Jesus used situations like this that were common knowledge to the people at that time to help them better understand His teachings. In Matthew 5:41 Jesus says, "And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two." It seems that He is referring to a solider, because He uses the word "compel." Obviously He means anyone who asks.

One thing that no one present at that Sermon on the Mount could have guessed was that this teaching would eventually play a part in His death. Although unlikely, it's interesting to think that Simon of Cyrene could have been there to hear Jesus talk about going the extra mile. (Mark 15:21)

How far are you willing to go with Jesus? And what are you willing to bear? (Luke 9:23; Matt. 10:38) 

Someone to Think for Me

I have come to believe that you are in life exactly where you want to be. Contrary to popular belief, a person who chooses to live a mediocre life for the most part did not come to that decision as a reaction to something terrible that happened to him. It's a mindset that was developed out of a series of failures. When the going got tough, he wasn’t, so he quit.

"Besides, that’s what everyone else is doing. "

Why is everyone else doing it? Because it’s much easier to maintain than it is to excel. Unfortunately, because of this, the picture of the American Dream has faded into earning a “good salary” at a “good job” for 40 years, have a couple of hobbies, and keep your nose clean (whatever that means). This thought process is the same kind of thought process it takes to hang someone….let me explain.

Hardly anyone would have the guts to take a person out by themselves and hang them from a tree, but put a mob together, (someplace you can lose your identity; a community where no one points the finger at anyone else, because there is no one to blame), and you’ll hang people all day simply because:

“That’s just the way it is around here.”

“Everybody’s doing it.”

And by the way:
“You can’t judge me. I’m no different that anyone else here.”

or:
“I’m just here watching. I don’t have anything to do with this, so it’s not my fault.”

By the way, how do you get away with doing something you know is wrong without feeling guilty? Get around enough people who want to do the same thing. Herein lies the answer to the age-old questions, “Why do bad things happen?” & "What went wrong with the world?" It’s not because bad people are doing too many bad things, it’s because good people aren’t doing enough good things, therefore the consensus has become whatever was bad (but everyone secretly wanted to do. They just didn’t have enough guts to do it until everyone else did) has now become acceptable.

How could we have let it get that way? Because it’s easier to do nothing. If you don’t think about it, it’s like it never happened, right? And because so many good people had turned their minds off, the mob became the brain, therefore, the one’s with all of the answers, therefore, the final authority on all truth and morality.

Now we’ve come full circle. It all comes back to the fact that people do not know how to think. So, what do they do? They let other people think for them: the media, their family, their teachers and professors, the government, scientists, etc.

“I’m not the expert on anything. That’s what those guys are for. If they say that’s the way it is, who am I to argue with them?”

Most people don't choose to think this way, they just eventually come to the conclusion that it's easier than "open[ing your]...mouth [to] speak boldly, as [you] ought to speak, " (Eph. 6:20) or taking one more risk, which in their mind is destined to fail...again.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Cor. 5:17)

Absolute Truth

I was recently speaking with a co-worker (who is actually sitting right behind me as I’m typing this). He is one of those guys, like most of the guys that I work with, who says he is a “Christian,” yet for some reason disagrees with most of what the bible says about morality. Again, like most people, he will never say that out loud, but it’s simply how it is with him.

The other day we were arguing about whether or not homosexuals were born that way. In the end, I said to him, “Listen, it boils down to this. There are only two possible ways to look at morality:

1.) “There is an absolute Truth that at one point or another we deviated from, and everyone started making up their own sense of what’s right and wrong.”

2.) “There is no truth, therefore, no meaning or purpose whatsoever, and we are all just wandering around aimlessly trying to eek out an existence until we die.”

I told him, “This goes way deeper than you think.” That’s exactly what Francis Bacon was talking about when he wrote, "A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion" (see post below). People refuse to go deep in there thinking, because they know that as soon as they do, they are going to come face to face with the fact that there is an Absolute Truth, which if you go deep enough, is completely undeniable. At that point people know that they will have to be accountable for the sin in their lives. They avoid going down that road, so they branch off to take more scenic routes. Roads that are prettier, non threatening………and easy to get lost on. They know that their conscience lies deeply recessed in their mind behind all of the junk that they’ve shoved in front of it (so that they wouldn’t have to acknowledge it anymore).

Zeal Without Knowledge

Francis Bacon wrote, "Knowledge is the rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate. A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."

It’s funny how the mind works. If you think too much without the right attitude, rationale, or common sense, you will end up with an array of outlandish ideas about yourself, your circumstances, the world, and God. On the other hand, if you approach each issue, whether it means ill or prosperity to you or is contrary to the way you have always believed, with the right attitude, rationale, and with a little common sense, you will find a whole new world open up to you.

The touchstones in my life have been marked by the revelations that I have gotten along the way. As I look back, each turning point in my life has been solely because of a radical change in the way I think and view the world. Each time it happens, I am filled with such passion and boldness that I can hardly contain myself. I have to admit, part of the excitement comes from a bloated pride with my new knowledge. You know the kind of pride that you see in the super-spiritual person? The kind of pride that says, “I know the perfect way to live, and anyone who thinks differently is brainwashed by the world.”

This is the philosophy that Bacon talks about that leads to atheism. Most atheists that I know came through the tabernacle of God only to deny him just before their knee could touch the ground in worship. The problem is that they came to God with the wrong intentions and expectations, and they ended up blaming God for not fulfilling those expectations.

MAN THOUGHTS by Sid Falco (a participant of the G8 Men's Meetings at the Gateway Church NRH Campus)

"There were many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream—whatever that dream might be." -Pearl S. Buck

"I’m not perfect. I screw up every day. I sin. I cry. I fail. I repent. And then I do it again. I tell you all that to let you know that I’m writing to you out of a heart of humility, not a "here’s the answer" kind of mindset. Because I know I’m not alone and because I love my brothers, from time to time, I share what the Lord gives me. Lately, God’s really been talking to me about living out what He has put in my heart.

Our inner passions, desires and dreams are God-given. They are the fuel which makes us burn. We burn with desire to be, to conquer, to change our part of the world and, even possibly, the whole world for Him. We dream, therefore we are. If there’s nothing burning in us, something has died. Our fire has been quenched.

Exodus 15:3 says, "The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is His name!" Because we are created in God’s image, we, too, are warriors. A warrior is a fighter; a soldier; an obedient, passionate protector; a dreamer; one who not only defends the weak, but also fights to see God’s plans for his life carried out.

When the enemy gets us to forget our mission and who we are, we become ineffective. We wake up, "do" our day, go to bed and then repeat it all again the next day. All the while, our God-given dreams get lost in the sea of living life. And when our passion dies, when we get busy in life and lose our desire, we stop engaging. We no longer are effective. We can still be good people, but I don’t look at many warriors and say, "Oh, they’re good people." No, I look at warriors in awe and think, "They are dangerous!"

My challenge to you today is, "Let’s be dangerous my brothers!!!"