1.27.11
Luke 15:20
"...he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."
How important can an embrace of a father be to a child? Do you know how much it can mean to someone who needs it more than anything in the world. When I was a little boy my father would sometimes travel for business and nothing felt better than the day when he would come home and I would rush into his arms and give him a big hug. I remember one specific time when my mother took me to the airport to pick up my dad after a week away from home. When we got to the airport and to his gate I was so excited to see him I ran to the gate and grabbed his leg and started hugging. There was only one problem, when I looked up I noticed that it wasn't my father's face I was staring into, it was the face of someone I didn't recognize. Like any four year old would I yelled "Hey you're not my dad banana nose" and ran away screaming. My father quickly caught me and said gave me a big hug. At that moment I had never felt more comfortable, I had never felt safer in all my young life. My father's hug was the only thing that could calm me down at that moment.
Sometimes in our lives that is exactly what we need. We need to be safely secure in our heavenly Father's arms. We have to feel comfortable and sound in our Daddy's embrace. That is exactly where our Heavenly Father wants for us. He doesn't want us to be away from Him for a minute, but the truth of our lives is that we will leave him, we will turn away from Him. We are sinners, but how great is it that we can go back to our Father anytime we want. How ever greater is it that He will run out to meet us and embrace us as a loving Father no matter where we've been, no matter what we've done.
Your heavenly Father is waiting for you to come back to Him daily and spend time embraced in His arms. There is nothing more comforting that no matter what we deal with, no matter what hurts us, the Father's embrace can comfort us.
I love spending time with the Lord, but for some reason whether it be laziness or distractions, I go through stretches where I don't spend time with God for several days and even weeks. Every time I have one of these stretches I honestly feel like the son that Jesus spoke of in the parable of the prodigal son. I feel distant from God, I feel far away from Him. I feel, like the son, that I am trying to do things on my own, in my own way. But than I make the time to go back to the Father and I feel so amazing loved that I can spend time with Him again. I can feel His love embracing me. My encouragement is this, if you are far away from the Father, or you are feeling like you you can't feel His embrace get alone with Him. Spend time with Him and let His embrace fully engulf your heart. Let Him hug and kiss you like a Father, take the time out of your day to feel safe in His arms.
Thought question:
When you haven't been with the Father, what do you miss most about Him? Do you miss His embrace, do you miss the safeness of His arms?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, December 2, 2010
No yield necessary....
12.02.10
2 Timothy 1:7
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline."
Do these words ring true in the year 2010 or was this just for the first century church?
Have you ever felt the need to stop, slow down or yield when you should have just kept going? We all have. I can remember when I was about 24 years old and doing student ministry. I took a group of students up to West Virginia to do some camping and some rafting on the New River. It was an awesome trip and the students and I had a blast, well I did that was, until we got to the rock jump. The raft guide took us to a rock that was about 30 feet high off the water and one by one the students climbed to the top and jumped without a thought. When it was my turn I was the last one on the rock and I did the worst thing you can do when thinking of jumping of a high rock into water, or anytime your up high for that matter, I looked down. I began to see the water below as the end of me. I tensed up and had no idea what to do, I didn't want to jump, but I certainly didn't want to have to climb back down in front of everyone. I finally resolved myself to the idea that I was going to have to jump and trust that I would be okay. I closed my eyes and jumped, and to give you some perspective this truly was like jumping off the third story of a building. When I came up out of the water I remember thinking that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be and I wished I hadn't hesitated. Then we all ran back to the top of the rock and jumped for another hour or so. Once I realized that I just needed to not hesitate and just do it I realized I was in for the ride of a lifetime.
That is the kind of spirit that God wants us to have in our relationship with Jesus. That is how God wants us to be about sharing our faith with folks who do not know Him. The students I was with didn't think about the height of the jump or hitting the water they just jumped and enjoyed the ride. I hesitated and doubted and almost missed out on the ride of my life. God promises us life to the full if we trust in Him with faith like a child. God wants us to know that if we just jump and trust we will experience the ride of a lifetime.
We're told in the book of Acts that when the apostles of the first century church were out sharing the Gospel they were arrested and angel of the Lord freed them from their prison. The angel than commanded them to go and keep sharing Christ. When they did they were brought before the Sanhedrin even the Pharisees recognized that these men that preached in Jesus' name could not be matched as long as they were going in His name.
Acts 5:38-39
"...Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
These are the words of a Pharisee who knew that God was more powerful than anything they could possibly do to those men.
In Romans Paul tells us that if God is for us nothing and now one can stand against us. This should be all the encouragement we need to live with no fear, no timidity and a spirit of utter trust and faith that God is FOR US!!!!
Thought question:
What will it take for us to trust that Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever is for us and no one and nothing can stand against us? What will it take for you to just jump off the rock and not hesitate?
2 Timothy 1:7
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline."
Do these words ring true in the year 2010 or was this just for the first century church?
Have you ever felt the need to stop, slow down or yield when you should have just kept going? We all have. I can remember when I was about 24 years old and doing student ministry. I took a group of students up to West Virginia to do some camping and some rafting on the New River. It was an awesome trip and the students and I had a blast, well I did that was, until we got to the rock jump. The raft guide took us to a rock that was about 30 feet high off the water and one by one the students climbed to the top and jumped without a thought. When it was my turn I was the last one on the rock and I did the worst thing you can do when thinking of jumping of a high rock into water, or anytime your up high for that matter, I looked down. I began to see the water below as the end of me. I tensed up and had no idea what to do, I didn't want to jump, but I certainly didn't want to have to climb back down in front of everyone. I finally resolved myself to the idea that I was going to have to jump and trust that I would be okay. I closed my eyes and jumped, and to give you some perspective this truly was like jumping off the third story of a building. When I came up out of the water I remember thinking that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be and I wished I hadn't hesitated. Then we all ran back to the top of the rock and jumped for another hour or so. Once I realized that I just needed to not hesitate and just do it I realized I was in for the ride of a lifetime.
That is the kind of spirit that God wants us to have in our relationship with Jesus. That is how God wants us to be about sharing our faith with folks who do not know Him. The students I was with didn't think about the height of the jump or hitting the water they just jumped and enjoyed the ride. I hesitated and doubted and almost missed out on the ride of my life. God promises us life to the full if we trust in Him with faith like a child. God wants us to know that if we just jump and trust we will experience the ride of a lifetime.
We're told in the book of Acts that when the apostles of the first century church were out sharing the Gospel they were arrested and angel of the Lord freed them from their prison. The angel than commanded them to go and keep sharing Christ. When they did they were brought before the Sanhedrin even the Pharisees recognized that these men that preached in Jesus' name could not be matched as long as they were going in His name.
Acts 5:38-39
"...Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
These are the words of a Pharisee who knew that God was more powerful than anything they could possibly do to those men.
In Romans Paul tells us that if God is for us nothing and now one can stand against us. This should be all the encouragement we need to live with no fear, no timidity and a spirit of utter trust and faith that God is FOR US!!!!
Thought question:
What will it take for us to trust that Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever is for us and no one and nothing can stand against us? What will it take for you to just jump off the rock and not hesitate?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Lost in the mall....
4.22.10
"At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength..."
Have you ever felt like you were just all by yourself even among dozens of people. Do you think that is even possible?
When I was about eight years old or so, I went to the mall with my mom and held her hand tighter than I have ever held her hand. When I was little I hated to be lost, it was probably my biggest fear. I never wanted to be separated from people I knew, and the mall to an eight year old can be the biggest place on earth. That day I was going to do my best to stay near to my mom.
We had been in the mall for a while and I began to realize that my mom was right near me, so I let go of my death grip on her hand and began to hover around her. Like any eight year old my eyes began to wander all over the store but I still could sense the presence of my mom within a few feet. A few minutes later I looked up to ask my mom a question and realized the person that I had been keeping close to was not in fact my mom. It was someone I didn't recognize and to say that I was freaking out would be an understatement. If you had heard the screams and tears you would have thought I had just been shot from close distance.
For about twenty minutes I screamed and cried for my mother who came running up to me with a mall security guard. She asked me quickly "Why did you wander away from me?" I had no answer but I remember thinking I didn't wander away from you, you left me. As I look back I realize now that I had wandered away from her and she had not left me. I experienced my biggest fear, not because my mom left me, but because I had not paid her any attention and wandered away from her.
Our relationships with God are a lot like a child getting separated from their parents. We get distracted and see things that catch our attention and wander away from God. Our biggest fear is being separated from God, but we allow ourselves to get lost. Naturally our reaction to this is that God has left us and is ignoring us.
This is usually when we begin to blame God and point the finger. I wonder how many times we take a minute and realize that when we are not hearing God's voice or feeling Him at work in our lives is because of the distractions in our own lives. How many times do we think that if we just focused our eyes on God like a child clutching their parents hands in the mall that we would realize that He never leaves us, He never forsakes us?
In my own walk with the Lord I realize that the times when I can not see God or feel God moving in my heart is because I am not spending time with Him. I am distracted and focusing on things that are leading me away from Him. Oswald Chambers says that we should "allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine." Always seek to spend time with a God who desires a real and unique relationship with each one of His creations. God's heart for us is that we will seek His love and know that He has plans for us to prosper and never fail. Don't let distractions take you away from the perfect love, a love that wants desperately to speak into your heart specifically and uniquely.
Thought question:
Do you ever find yourself not hearing God and than blaming Him when you feel distant from him? What distractions keep you from hearing God's voice?
2 Timothy 4:16-17
"At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength..."
Have you ever felt like you were just all by yourself even among dozens of people. Do you think that is even possible?
When I was about eight years old or so, I went to the mall with my mom and held her hand tighter than I have ever held her hand. When I was little I hated to be lost, it was probably my biggest fear. I never wanted to be separated from people I knew, and the mall to an eight year old can be the biggest place on earth. That day I was going to do my best to stay near to my mom.
We had been in the mall for a while and I began to realize that my mom was right near me, so I let go of my death grip on her hand and began to hover around her. Like any eight year old my eyes began to wander all over the store but I still could sense the presence of my mom within a few feet. A few minutes later I looked up to ask my mom a question and realized the person that I had been keeping close to was not in fact my mom. It was someone I didn't recognize and to say that I was freaking out would be an understatement. If you had heard the screams and tears you would have thought I had just been shot from close distance.
For about twenty minutes I screamed and cried for my mother who came running up to me with a mall security guard. She asked me quickly "Why did you wander away from me?" I had no answer but I remember thinking I didn't wander away from you, you left me. As I look back I realize now that I had wandered away from her and she had not left me. I experienced my biggest fear, not because my mom left me, but because I had not paid her any attention and wandered away from her.
Our relationships with God are a lot like a child getting separated from their parents. We get distracted and see things that catch our attention and wander away from God. Our biggest fear is being separated from God, but we allow ourselves to get lost. Naturally our reaction to this is that God has left us and is ignoring us.
This is usually when we begin to blame God and point the finger. I wonder how many times we take a minute and realize that when we are not hearing God's voice or feeling Him at work in our lives is because of the distractions in our own lives. How many times do we think that if we just focused our eyes on God like a child clutching their parents hands in the mall that we would realize that He never leaves us, He never forsakes us?
In my own walk with the Lord I realize that the times when I can not see God or feel God moving in my heart is because I am not spending time with Him. I am distracted and focusing on things that are leading me away from Him. Oswald Chambers says that we should "allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine." Always seek to spend time with a God who desires a real and unique relationship with each one of His creations. God's heart for us is that we will seek His love and know that He has plans for us to prosper and never fail. Don't let distractions take you away from the perfect love, a love that wants desperately to speak into your heart specifically and uniquely.
Thought question:
Do you ever find yourself not hearing God and than blaming Him when you feel distant from him? What distractions keep you from hearing God's voice?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The Edge
4.08.10
Mark 6:56
"They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed."
I was watching tv the other day and was completely enthralled with a show called "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader". This show matches adult contestants against elementary age students and ask them elementary aged questions. The goal is to see if they can remember the simplest of math or history or geography. It seems pretty easy right, but some of the questions were stuff that I couldn't remember to save my life. As soon as the host said the right answer I thought to myself "how did I not know that?". We forget sometimes that if we haven't been around something for a while we can forget even the most elementary of concepts.
Sometimes in life we forget the simplest of things. We are so busy with life and so focused on the "what we have to do's" that we forget about some of the most basic concepts of life. I am thankful to serve a God that reminds of the simplest of things.
In the Mark text above the folks that were coming to Jesus weren't looking for Jesus to hang out with them for hours on end or even for Jesus to give them anything. They simply wanted to touch just "the edge" of his cloak, the smallest bit of him that they could get their hands on. They begged and pleaded with Jesus just for a stitch of the fabric on his clothing, and the beauty of the text is that it goes onto say that those who did touch him were healed. Their trust that there was something special about this man Jesus healed them and it all started because they touched just the edge of his cloak. They left work and their "to do's" just to get in the presensce of the one they knew could heal them. Everything else around them seemed to disappear when they heard that Jesus was around.
When it comes to our own faith do we get too wrapped up in the do's and dont's of Christianity and forget to just reach out and touch the edge of the cloak of the healer? Are we trying too desperately to have the right things to say or be looked upon with such a title or with such prestige that we forget that we should just reach out for the edge of his cloak and let him heal us. Do we even remember what it means to be healed? Have we gotten so caught up in the pursuits of a certain lifestyle that we have forgotten what it means to be in the arms of a healer? In other words are we getting in the way of ourselves dropping everything and trusting that if we just reach out for the edge of His cloak we will be healed?
Don't forget the simplest part of the faith is that we have a healer, a Father who loves us so much that He wants for us to just reach out and grasp the edge of his cloak. Sometimes we have to drop the "stuff" that gets in between you and the edge of His cloak.
Thought question: When was the last time you just reached out for the edge of the cloak of the healer and forgot about everything else? When did you put everything else of the faith aside and just gotten in the presensce of the ONE who says "I love you more than you can ever begin to know."?
Mark 6:56
"They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed."
I was watching tv the other day and was completely enthralled with a show called "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader". This show matches adult contestants against elementary age students and ask them elementary aged questions. The goal is to see if they can remember the simplest of math or history or geography. It seems pretty easy right, but some of the questions were stuff that I couldn't remember to save my life. As soon as the host said the right answer I thought to myself "how did I not know that?". We forget sometimes that if we haven't been around something for a while we can forget even the most elementary of concepts.
Sometimes in life we forget the simplest of things. We are so busy with life and so focused on the "what we have to do's" that we forget about some of the most basic concepts of life. I am thankful to serve a God that reminds of the simplest of things.
In the Mark text above the folks that were coming to Jesus weren't looking for Jesus to hang out with them for hours on end or even for Jesus to give them anything. They simply wanted to touch just "the edge" of his cloak, the smallest bit of him that they could get their hands on. They begged and pleaded with Jesus just for a stitch of the fabric on his clothing, and the beauty of the text is that it goes onto say that those who did touch him were healed. Their trust that there was something special about this man Jesus healed them and it all started because they touched just the edge of his cloak. They left work and their "to do's" just to get in the presensce of the one they knew could heal them. Everything else around them seemed to disappear when they heard that Jesus was around.
When it comes to our own faith do we get too wrapped up in the do's and dont's of Christianity and forget to just reach out and touch the edge of the cloak of the healer? Are we trying too desperately to have the right things to say or be looked upon with such a title or with such prestige that we forget that we should just reach out for the edge of his cloak and let him heal us. Do we even remember what it means to be healed? Have we gotten so caught up in the pursuits of a certain lifestyle that we have forgotten what it means to be in the arms of a healer? In other words are we getting in the way of ourselves dropping everything and trusting that if we just reach out for the edge of His cloak we will be healed?
Don't forget the simplest part of the faith is that we have a healer, a Father who loves us so much that He wants for us to just reach out and grasp the edge of his cloak. Sometimes we have to drop the "stuff" that gets in between you and the edge of His cloak.
Thought question: When was the last time you just reached out for the edge of the cloak of the healer and forgot about everything else? When did you put everything else of the faith aside and just gotten in the presensce of the ONE who says "I love you more than you can ever begin to know."?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Fish Story
10.07.09
Jonah 1:17
"But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights."
What does it take to get our attention sometimes? For some people noticing things comes easier than others. Some people really need to be smacked in the head before they will see what's best for them. When I was about ten years old I loved doing stuff that my parents would classify as not really well thought through. We had a space in our basement that only I could fit in and I would climb in there and hide and scare the garbage out of my mother. She used to tell me all the time not to hide where she couldn't find me, but I ignored her. I would also pop out from time to time and watch her jump in fear. I was a little bit of a devil as a kid.
Much like any other small kid I was also a bit of a daredevil. Mix this with the desire to go against what my parents told me to do and it made for some pretty amazingly stupid outcomes. I can remember one time being at the park where my friends and I all hung out and having all my friends egging me on to jump a ridge by the slides, with my bike. Now as an adult I can look back on this see how absolutely dumb it was, but back than there was nothing that was going to stop me, not even my mother driving by and warning me not to try it.
Well needless to say I ignored my own mother's warning and jumped the ridge. (If only I hadn't ignored the warning voice of a loving parent.) Well I should clarify that I didn't so much jump as much as I gained speed and plummeted six feet doing a complete flip and landing on the back of my neck with the weight of a Huffy mountain bike baring down on my shoulders. It was not my proudest moment. Not only was my pride hurt but my ego was torn, shattered and bruised by the fact that I just didn't pay attention to my mother's voice, trying it's best to keep me safe and far out of harm's reach.
I have been studying the book of Jonah a little bit lately and I have been intrigued by some of the way that the book is worded. If you don't know the story God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach to the folks there about Him. Jonah is reluctant to listen to God because of the type of people that live in Nineveh. The really surly type lived there and Jonah wanted no part in risking his life. So he tries to escape by taking passage on a boat. Well there was no hiding from God and the boat was hit with a major storm which led to the crew throwing Jonah overboard and than something cool happens. The NIV version says the Lord "provided a great fish" to swallow up Jonah and he than spends three days and nights on what was I'm sure a wonder cruisee inside the belly of the fish.
The word "provided" is interesting to me because we do not think that God would do something like that all the time. We expect Him to fix things with miracles and heal without thinking, but when He provides us time, like he did Jonah, it gives us time to realize what God truly wants for us. Sometimes we get caught in what refer to as ruts, where we think that God is not listening or God is angry at us. The question we have to ask ourselves, is it possible that God "provides" us with time to sit back and realize that He has a better plan for our lives? Is it possible that He wants us to come to the conclusion that His way is better than our way.
It goes on in the book of Jonah to say that Jonah eventually gets out of the "great fish" and agrees to go to Nineveh and do what God had originally intended for him to do, and that is preach to the folks of Nineveh about a great, awesome and powerful God. It took God "providing" a great fish for Jonah to sit and realize that God's desire was better than his own.
What do you thinkt he first day or so of that fish frenzy looked like for Jonah emotionally. Probably started with fear, and than moved to anger at God, than understanding and than praise. Does this look similar to your relationship with God? Do you ever experience a rainbow of emotion in your relationship with the Lord? Do you think it's possible that God "provides" us today with opportunity to sit and think about how His plan is bigger than ours?
Thought question: What is your "great fish"? What is God putting in your life to try and get you to see that His plan is bigger and better? Where do you have sit and think about for "three days and nights" before you realize that God wants to use everything for His glory?
Jonah 1:17
"But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights."
What does it take to get our attention sometimes? For some people noticing things comes easier than others. Some people really need to be smacked in the head before they will see what's best for them. When I was about ten years old I loved doing stuff that my parents would classify as not really well thought through. We had a space in our basement that only I could fit in and I would climb in there and hide and scare the garbage out of my mother. She used to tell me all the time not to hide where she couldn't find me, but I ignored her. I would also pop out from time to time and watch her jump in fear. I was a little bit of a devil as a kid.
Much like any other small kid I was also a bit of a daredevil. Mix this with the desire to go against what my parents told me to do and it made for some pretty amazingly stupid outcomes. I can remember one time being at the park where my friends and I all hung out and having all my friends egging me on to jump a ridge by the slides, with my bike. Now as an adult I can look back on this see how absolutely dumb it was, but back than there was nothing that was going to stop me, not even my mother driving by and warning me not to try it.
Well needless to say I ignored my own mother's warning and jumped the ridge. (If only I hadn't ignored the warning voice of a loving parent.) Well I should clarify that I didn't so much jump as much as I gained speed and plummeted six feet doing a complete flip and landing on the back of my neck with the weight of a Huffy mountain bike baring down on my shoulders. It was not my proudest moment. Not only was my pride hurt but my ego was torn, shattered and bruised by the fact that I just didn't pay attention to my mother's voice, trying it's best to keep me safe and far out of harm's reach.
I have been studying the book of Jonah a little bit lately and I have been intrigued by some of the way that the book is worded. If you don't know the story God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach to the folks there about Him. Jonah is reluctant to listen to God because of the type of people that live in Nineveh. The really surly type lived there and Jonah wanted no part in risking his life. So he tries to escape by taking passage on a boat. Well there was no hiding from God and the boat was hit with a major storm which led to the crew throwing Jonah overboard and than something cool happens. The NIV version says the Lord "provided a great fish" to swallow up Jonah and he than spends three days and nights on what was I'm sure a wonder cruisee inside the belly of the fish.
The word "provided" is interesting to me because we do not think that God would do something like that all the time. We expect Him to fix things with miracles and heal without thinking, but when He provides us time, like he did Jonah, it gives us time to realize what God truly wants for us. Sometimes we get caught in what refer to as ruts, where we think that God is not listening or God is angry at us. The question we have to ask ourselves, is it possible that God "provides" us with time to sit back and realize that He has a better plan for our lives? Is it possible that He wants us to come to the conclusion that His way is better than our way.
It goes on in the book of Jonah to say that Jonah eventually gets out of the "great fish" and agrees to go to Nineveh and do what God had originally intended for him to do, and that is preach to the folks of Nineveh about a great, awesome and powerful God. It took God "providing" a great fish for Jonah to sit and realize that God's desire was better than his own.
What do you thinkt he first day or so of that fish frenzy looked like for Jonah emotionally. Probably started with fear, and than moved to anger at God, than understanding and than praise. Does this look similar to your relationship with God? Do you ever experience a rainbow of emotion in your relationship with the Lord? Do you think it's possible that God "provides" us today with opportunity to sit and think about how His plan is bigger than ours?
Thought question: What is your "great fish"? What is God putting in your life to try and get you to see that His plan is bigger and better? Where do you have sit and think about for "three days and nights" before you realize that God wants to use everything for His glory?
Friday, September 4, 2009
My God the Prize Machine
9.04.09
Matthew 19:21-22
"Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' When the young man heard this, he went away sad..."
For my ninth birthday I asked my parents to buy me a mountain bike. At the time they were the hottest thing out there, and I wanted to make sure that I had one. For weeks I scoured the newspaper adds for pictures of mountain bikes and I spent hours upon hours circling bikes in the Toys R' Us catalog. A few weeks before my actual birthday I found the bike that could not be topped. I circled it four times, cut it out of the catalog and left in plain sight for my parents to find. I was so excited because I thought I had picked the perfect bike. The color was perfect the hand brakes were awesome. It was exactly what I had always dreamed a mountain bike could be, and I made sure my parents knew exactly what I wanted.
The weeks passed and my birthday arrived and I watched as my father pulled into the driveway with the trunk of his car propped open and a tire sticking out. I ran out of the house and was on my father like white on rice. I was absolutely beaming with excitement. I was hopping up and down like a rabbit on Red Bull.
My father opened up his trunk and slowly pulled the bike from the trunk of his car and I remember the thoughts in my head went from pure excitement to utter disappointment. The bike they had gotten me was not the one I had asked for and circled from the catalog. In fact it was a little too big for me and I remember my parents saying that they bought it big because they wanted me to be able to use it as I grew. I had asked for a blue bike and this one was gray and green. The fact of the matter is that this bike was nicer than the one I had asked for, but because I was nine and this wasn't what I had asked for, I got upset and relunctantly said thank you and rode it over to my friends house in silent protest.
What I had failed to recognize was that my parents had given me something nicer than I had asked for and the fact of the matter is that I didn't even deserve what I had gotten because I had acted like a brat when I did not get what I wanted. I pouted and sulked for days, and at points even got angry at my parents for not listening to what I had asked for. My parents had gone above and beyond what I had asked for but in my selfishness all I saw was that I didn't get what I wanted.
Have you ever felt like your prayer life resembles me as a nine year old child? You ask for things over and over, build up expectations of God and when He chooses to answer prayers differently than you expected you get angry at Him. The rich young ruler was sad when he left Jesus because he didn't get the answer that he wanted to hear. He was upset because he asked for something expecting a certain response and when he didn't get what he wanted he sulked and pouted.
We tend to treat God like he is a prize machine we stick in a prayer and out comes exactly what we want and when it doesn't work out it's His fault and He's to blame. The reality is that God does not ignore prayer, He does dismiss any prayer request. The thing that we have to remember is that sometimes God chooses to answer things differently than we had hoped for. The problem with this is that we build up our expectations. We spend hours upon hours asking for things and spend seconds looking for the way God wants to answer it. The fact of the matter is that God wants to build us into His vessel and He is going use circumstances and situations for His glory.
We have to learn to stop looking at God as a slot machine, we have to stop expecting God to do something just because we pray a certain way. Our prayers should be an opportunity for us to spend time with our Heavenly Father, if God does not answer your prayers the way you had hoped for the question is, is it possible the answer He gave you was for His glory and will turn out to be better than even your expectations had imagined?
Thought question: Do you tend to see how God is answering prayers or do you just expect Him to answer them the way you want Him to? When you pray are you asking for God's desires to be met or are you asking for your own to be met?
Matthew 19:21-22
"Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' When the young man heard this, he went away sad..."
For my ninth birthday I asked my parents to buy me a mountain bike. At the time they were the hottest thing out there, and I wanted to make sure that I had one. For weeks I scoured the newspaper adds for pictures of mountain bikes and I spent hours upon hours circling bikes in the Toys R' Us catalog. A few weeks before my actual birthday I found the bike that could not be topped. I circled it four times, cut it out of the catalog and left in plain sight for my parents to find. I was so excited because I thought I had picked the perfect bike. The color was perfect the hand brakes were awesome. It was exactly what I had always dreamed a mountain bike could be, and I made sure my parents knew exactly what I wanted.
The weeks passed and my birthday arrived and I watched as my father pulled into the driveway with the trunk of his car propped open and a tire sticking out. I ran out of the house and was on my father like white on rice. I was absolutely beaming with excitement. I was hopping up and down like a rabbit on Red Bull.
My father opened up his trunk and slowly pulled the bike from the trunk of his car and I remember the thoughts in my head went from pure excitement to utter disappointment. The bike they had gotten me was not the one I had asked for and circled from the catalog. In fact it was a little too big for me and I remember my parents saying that they bought it big because they wanted me to be able to use it as I grew. I had asked for a blue bike and this one was gray and green. The fact of the matter is that this bike was nicer than the one I had asked for, but because I was nine and this wasn't what I had asked for, I got upset and relunctantly said thank you and rode it over to my friends house in silent protest.
What I had failed to recognize was that my parents had given me something nicer than I had asked for and the fact of the matter is that I didn't even deserve what I had gotten because I had acted like a brat when I did not get what I wanted. I pouted and sulked for days, and at points even got angry at my parents for not listening to what I had asked for. My parents had gone above and beyond what I had asked for but in my selfishness all I saw was that I didn't get what I wanted.
Have you ever felt like your prayer life resembles me as a nine year old child? You ask for things over and over, build up expectations of God and when He chooses to answer prayers differently than you expected you get angry at Him. The rich young ruler was sad when he left Jesus because he didn't get the answer that he wanted to hear. He was upset because he asked for something expecting a certain response and when he didn't get what he wanted he sulked and pouted.
We tend to treat God like he is a prize machine we stick in a prayer and out comes exactly what we want and when it doesn't work out it's His fault and He's to blame. The reality is that God does not ignore prayer, He does dismiss any prayer request. The thing that we have to remember is that sometimes God chooses to answer things differently than we had hoped for. The problem with this is that we build up our expectations. We spend hours upon hours asking for things and spend seconds looking for the way God wants to answer it. The fact of the matter is that God wants to build us into His vessel and He is going use circumstances and situations for His glory.
We have to learn to stop looking at God as a slot machine, we have to stop expecting God to do something just because we pray a certain way. Our prayers should be an opportunity for us to spend time with our Heavenly Father, if God does not answer your prayers the way you had hoped for the question is, is it possible the answer He gave you was for His glory and will turn out to be better than even your expectations had imagined?
Thought question: Do you tend to see how God is answering prayers or do you just expect Him to answer them the way you want Him to? When you pray are you asking for God's desires to be met or are you asking for your own to be met?
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sin Assumption
8.28.09
Romans 5:8
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
When I was ten years old my sister and I did a pretty good job of getting along with one another, but the fact of the matter is that as the summer months of youth go along, days get longer and longer and hours seem to drag on for eons. As I sit and write about this period of time in my life I want to take a minute to thank my mother for being a saint, and putting up with us, but I digress. I remember one particular summer when I first moved to Richmond and it was a hot day and nobody wanted to be outside. It was the kind of hot that made you not even want to go to the pool and cool off because the walk or bike ride to the pool would cause too much anguish.
On this particular day my sister and I both stayed in the house and did not move all morning. Needless to say we began to bicker back and forth about anything and everything. This in turn led to an all out nuclear blast of a fight that culminated with me attempting to practice maturity and walking away. I went upstairs and turned on the TV to calm down. Not five minutes later she walked upstairs and did something that would push me from angry to volcanic. She walked right up to me and took the remote out of my hand and changed the channel. As any little kid would I lost it and I don't remember if I hit her or pushed her, but the next thing I knew she was in tears and I was running for dear life out of the house before my mother could get a hold of me.
Hours later I returned home, notice I said hours. I waited patiently outside of my house (more like across the street out of sight) for my father's car to pull into the driveway. Than I waited another hour or so before I finally went in the house. I thought I would give him time to cool off before I took on the yelling that I was for sure doomed to receive. When your little you assume the worst is bound to happen, but I never would could have assumed what would take place next. I slowly walked into the house where I found my father, mother and sister (who mustered up the courage to start crying again) sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me.
Here it was the moment of truth, or the worst yelling or whooping anyone ever deserved, I thought I would ever receive. That was in fact not the case, my father took me calmly and sat me down and spent an hour talking to me about how I shouldn't have left the house and I shouldn't have done what I had done, but it was even worse that I left my mother feeling sick not knowing where I was or what had happened to me. The fact of the matter is that my father was upset that I had hurt my sister, but both of my parents concern fell to the fact that their child was missing.
Had I done something wrong, absolutely. Did I owe my sister the biggest apology ever, without a doubt, but I did learn that day that my parents care about ME their son than what I did. Their love was not gauged by what I did or say but more so the fact that I am their son. I was so afraid of what they were going to do to me that I stayed away from them. I ran, when in fact I should have found comfort in the love of my parents and I should have given them the chance to forgive me and teach me.
In our spiritual lives we have a tendency to run from God when we think that He will be disappointed with what we've done or what we've said. We think that what we do is too ugly for God to love through. We think that what we do is too sinful or weighs more than other people's sin, so we avoid church, or spending time with God. We avoid fellowship with people that God puts in our lives to be an encouragement. We think it better to avoid "God things" than to have our sin continually put in our face. We assume that God throw our sin back in our face and call us sinners. The people in Christ's time ran to Him for healing, yet today we have a tendency to run away and hide from Jesus because we think He will condemn us.
The hope that we need to learn to cling to is the fact that God demonstrates His love for us in the fact that while we are sinners and will continue to sin CHRIST STILL DIED. Jesus does not want us to avoid a relationship with Him because we think we're too dirty for Him. He does not want to run from, He desires us to run to Him when we are at our weakest. He wants us to find comfort and shelter in Him and the other believers that He puts in our lives.
Are we going to sin, yes. Are we always going to have a burden of human nature, yes, but that does not mean that Jesus is any less of a savior. That does not mean that we should turn our backs on Him. He will never turn His back on you, no matter how dirty or bad you think you are. There is nothing too gross for Christ. As you think of a loving God think of one who hung on a cross and thought about your name specifically as He paid the price for the sin you think is too dirty. While we were sinners Christ died.
Thought question: What are you holding onto that makes you run from Jesus? What keeps you from having the loving relationship that He desires to have with you? Maybe it's that you think He will be mad at you, or maybe you think it's that you just are too sinful or dirty. Be secure in the fact that you are not "too dirty" for Jesus. He just wants YOU!!!!
Romans 5:8
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
When I was ten years old my sister and I did a pretty good job of getting along with one another, but the fact of the matter is that as the summer months of youth go along, days get longer and longer and hours seem to drag on for eons. As I sit and write about this period of time in my life I want to take a minute to thank my mother for being a saint, and putting up with us, but I digress. I remember one particular summer when I first moved to Richmond and it was a hot day and nobody wanted to be outside. It was the kind of hot that made you not even want to go to the pool and cool off because the walk or bike ride to the pool would cause too much anguish.
On this particular day my sister and I both stayed in the house and did not move all morning. Needless to say we began to bicker back and forth about anything and everything. This in turn led to an all out nuclear blast of a fight that culminated with me attempting to practice maturity and walking away. I went upstairs and turned on the TV to calm down. Not five minutes later she walked upstairs and did something that would push me from angry to volcanic. She walked right up to me and took the remote out of my hand and changed the channel. As any little kid would I lost it and I don't remember if I hit her or pushed her, but the next thing I knew she was in tears and I was running for dear life out of the house before my mother could get a hold of me.
Hours later I returned home, notice I said hours. I waited patiently outside of my house (more like across the street out of sight) for my father's car to pull into the driveway. Than I waited another hour or so before I finally went in the house. I thought I would give him time to cool off before I took on the yelling that I was for sure doomed to receive. When your little you assume the worst is bound to happen, but I never would could have assumed what would take place next. I slowly walked into the house where I found my father, mother and sister (who mustered up the courage to start crying again) sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me.
Here it was the moment of truth, or the worst yelling or whooping anyone ever deserved, I thought I would ever receive. That was in fact not the case, my father took me calmly and sat me down and spent an hour talking to me about how I shouldn't have left the house and I shouldn't have done what I had done, but it was even worse that I left my mother feeling sick not knowing where I was or what had happened to me. The fact of the matter is that my father was upset that I had hurt my sister, but both of my parents concern fell to the fact that their child was missing.
Had I done something wrong, absolutely. Did I owe my sister the biggest apology ever, without a doubt, but I did learn that day that my parents care about ME their son than what I did. Their love was not gauged by what I did or say but more so the fact that I am their son. I was so afraid of what they were going to do to me that I stayed away from them. I ran, when in fact I should have found comfort in the love of my parents and I should have given them the chance to forgive me and teach me.
In our spiritual lives we have a tendency to run from God when we think that He will be disappointed with what we've done or what we've said. We think that what we do is too ugly for God to love through. We think that what we do is too sinful or weighs more than other people's sin, so we avoid church, or spending time with God. We avoid fellowship with people that God puts in our lives to be an encouragement. We think it better to avoid "God things" than to have our sin continually put in our face. We assume that God throw our sin back in our face and call us sinners. The people in Christ's time ran to Him for healing, yet today we have a tendency to run away and hide from Jesus because we think He will condemn us.
The hope that we need to learn to cling to is the fact that God demonstrates His love for us in the fact that while we are sinners and will continue to sin CHRIST STILL DIED. Jesus does not want us to avoid a relationship with Him because we think we're too dirty for Him. He does not want to run from, He desires us to run to Him when we are at our weakest. He wants us to find comfort and shelter in Him and the other believers that He puts in our lives.
Are we going to sin, yes. Are we always going to have a burden of human nature, yes, but that does not mean that Jesus is any less of a savior. That does not mean that we should turn our backs on Him. He will never turn His back on you, no matter how dirty or bad you think you are. There is nothing too gross for Christ. As you think of a loving God think of one who hung on a cross and thought about your name specifically as He paid the price for the sin you think is too dirty. While we were sinners Christ died.
Thought question: What are you holding onto that makes you run from Jesus? What keeps you from having the loving relationship that He desires to have with you? Maybe it's that you think He will be mad at you, or maybe you think it's that you just are too sinful or dirty. Be secure in the fact that you are not "too dirty" for Jesus. He just wants YOU!!!!
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