Mind Your Maker

Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. ~Luke 17:32-33 (NLT)

When Sodom was being destroyed and Lot and his family were fleeing God's wrath, Lot's wife disobeyed the order to not look back and was turned into salt. Now, some people would use this analogy to say we shouldn't be looking back at our old lives or our past sins--which is true--but it would also be a good way of explaining to someone that the things of this world will never satisfy our innermost desires, and that they often go against God's better judgment. When we even "look to" or "dwell on" those hidden desires to be a part of the worldly things other people do, we are heading down the path of disobeying God's will for us. We are beginning to look the other way, and when we look the other way, we are also beginning to turn our back on Him. (Not good).

Bloodlines & Lifelines

But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." ~Luke 8:21

In that passage, Jesus had been asked to see to his family when he was in the midst of a great crowd, preaching. He answered by reminding his disciples that as good as family can be, earthly ties and bloodlines will still forever underlie the importance of spiritual connections and growth with those who are our immediate neighbors. For us to be followers of Christ and brotherly or sisterly disciples, we must all share the same goal: do as Jesus told us, not simply share a common ground of belief. We need to be passing out lifelines to people so that they can choose to allow God to reel them in!

When we read the Bible and see what Jesus did and taught, we understand more about his character and purpose, but when we actually do as he did, when we reach out to others in love and understanding, we can truly begin to know and experience everything he came to earth to do. Similarly, the way people view Christians can become quite distorted, so instead of simply telling others about Christ, we must be Christ to them however we can. That way they will have a firm reference point to understanding what being a Christian really means.

At?...In?...Out the door.

Thus says the Lord:
 

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
    and makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the Lord. 

He is like a shrub in the desert,
    and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

    whose trust is the Lord. 

He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

The heart is deceitful above all things,

    and desperately sick;
    who can understand it? 

“I the Lord search the heart
    and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
    according to the fruit of his deeds.”

~Jeremiah 17:5-10 (ESV)

I pulled this passage out of my reading schedule, going through the prophets, and there's a few great things to be pointed out!

1) The flesh--our humanness--has been flawed since the beginning of time, essentially. We can never trust ourselves for things like touching other peoples' lives without prayerful support, being "good people" without having the right intentions and motivations, or fighting battles of temptation and spiritual attitude by trying to ignore them. When we live in this world without acknowledging our God, we are living in an uninhabited, barren desert land of salt, heat and depression. No good can come of it.
 

2) We are to trust in God with everything. If we can attain an attitude of righteous godliness, the even those we interact with will have a secure trust in God through us, knowing that everything we do and say is true and meaningful.

3) When we become wholly devoted to our faith and truly know the confidence given by the only one who can be truly firm and trustworthy, then we will be like trees that are not afraid of the heat or affected by the drought. When hard times come in life, we will always be able to retain the joy and peace of knowing and trusting in our savior.

4) Going back to point #1, never trust yourself and never trust what you think your heart tells you, because it is deceitful and will ever whisper the desires of this world. On another note however, when we fully commit ourselves and submit our beings to the Lord, we can know that He will guide our hearts' desires. When we are in a true connection to the King of our life, then we will not continue to long for the things that used to bring us satisfaction. He will constantly be changing us from the inside out.

5) Finally, we are held accountable to what we do in this life. God knows our everything, and He will reward us for the good we commit to whenever it is within His good and perfect plan for us. There will come a time when God will test our minds and nudge us to take the next step on our journey toward ultimate devotion and obedience to Him. Whenever those times arrive, knocking at our doors, the best thing we can ever do is to open up the door and, instead of simply meeting Him there or letting Him in, take His hand as He guides us outside into the light of the beautiful world He created!

Of Going with the (Hidden) Flow

This week's blog post is about putting off our worldliness, but with a new twist. Basically, the phrase "being in the world but not of it" is a widely understood term in its denotation--at least, in our own "Christian culture"--and rarely in its connotation, as was shown by Jesus' perfect example. It's called not going with the flow.

Don't go with the flow if the flow is heading down the drain.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE:

The most common tripping hazard for Christians in the US is the need to relate to what others are doing. Things like always talking about sports, cars, finances, having or losing significant others, latest movies, and everything else that can be categorized as a temporary worldly satisfaction are what make you an "outsider" or and "insider". As Christians, everything we are not should make up everything we are. In Jesus' time (...on earth...in physical form), there were many things he and his disciples did not do that set them apart, which is why he is the perfect example. They went against the flow. "The flow" is the tendency everyone has to jump into the stream of things that are generally accepted as "cool" and "right." Not riding the current and denying yourself the things other people do is not comfortable. You will feel like an outsider and it won't feel good, it's hard. The good news is that if you truly believe that the things of this world are empty and will pass away (believe everything Jesus taught us) and that true satisfaction comes not in "the flow" but in the company of the heavenly deities and your fellow "insiders", then you will begin feeling natural at being an outsider and you'll realize you're actually an insider too!

"The things that we are not, or the things that we refuse to be, are often just as crucial to our character as those things that we aspire to be. In an age of zero boundaries and endless personal gratification, it's the things that we deny that truly set us apart. We're sold the idea that practically anything is acceptable, and we subscribe to a 'no regrets' way of life. The truth is that honest regret builds integrity. Opposing the flow of a nihilistic, self-absorbed culture is something to take pride in.

~Ryan Clark (from the band Demon Hunter)

I Am No Scatter-Plot.

Which of these 4 images would you say represent our lives best? I'm guessing most people could relate with the graph. Which of these images represents our Christian walk best? Hopefully none of them, and here's why:

Sometimes as Christians we get in low places where things aren't going very well or we continue to fail in our sense of duty toward God, and it just keeps pulling us down into a hole, a low point on the graph where we don't even feel like getting back up.

The thing about getting up though, is just accepting that Jesus dies for each sin you commit and forgives you every time, allowing you to move on. If we try to wallow in our sin and self pity then we are only digging the hole deeper, but when we get back up, we can always make each new peak a little higher on the graph. In that way, I think life should look like a graph that has it's ups and downs (because without the ups and downs of life, as with a heart monitor, we are simply dead) but the graph should also be on a continual rise, never restrained to one level of stumbling.

As we mature as Christians, it is my hope and prayer that we all will become better at getting back up before we reach the same depth of the last ditch we dug so that eventually our future self will not look anything like who we are now (in a great way, of course)!

 

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from their toil?

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-9

Misological Lies

"Misology" is the distrust or hatred of reason or reasoning. This is one of the most common weapons used against us by Satan when we are faced with difficult decisions. When we speak to others about Christ and his purpose, the deceiver uses everything he can conjure up in order to twist their minds beyond logic and reason. This is why we can never save a person through reasoning, debate or even through the Bible. Unless we carry with us a prayer and blessing from on high for the safety of our fellows' souls and the opening of the ears of their hearts, the devil will succeed. Remember: God must be the one to do the work in them, not us; we are but vessels in His grand ocean!

Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. ~Psalm 120:2

God is a Destination

PART ONE

If we want to lead people into the presence of our God, into His Holy Spirit, we often find methods in which to make that transition easier. In this analogy, the transition piece is the vehicle and God is the place we're are directing them to. As Christians, and as evangelists, we must not forget where we should be spiritually before we go around using the wrong vehicle or focusing on the wrong destination. Sometimes we forget that God is the true destination, and so we lead people to the bible (for example), which should actually be the vehicle. If we are truly in the Spirit, we will understand that leading someone to church or to the bible is only part of the journey, we must also lead them to a relationship.

PART TWO

1) We must understand, as a foundational truth, where we are going:

"The valley is solemn at their departure, but I see no signs of passionate grief. They do not doubt their immortality, and friends of the same generation are not torn apart. You leave the world as you entered it, with the 'men of your own year.' Death is not preceded by dread nor followed by corruption." ~C.S. Lewis, "Out of the Silent Planet" (pg. 157)

That passage is about another planet and how the inhabitants there have a different view of death, perhaps even a more correct and appreciative view of death than we do.

2) We must understand where we are coming from:

"Never forget where you came from. Aspire to inspire before you expire." ~Lecrae (Rapper)

3) And where we should be going:

 
"To trust is to obey, to trust is to obey." ~From "Above the Desert Sea" by Project 86

IN CONCLUSION

 

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ~Romans 10:10-17