Right Now..

I have been accused of being childish on more than one occasion. It was probably well deserved as I have often wished I had some of my childhood and childlike instincts back. It was good to be a kid. I didn't have to deal with all this yucky adult stuff that I am facing right now. Paying bills, finding the faith to hold on to the dreams and calling God has given. Finding the faith to believe that what seems impossible is indeed possible. At least when I was a kid I knew what I was going to be when I grew up. I find myself now at 31 asking myself what I am going to do with the rest of my life. Rather I find myself asking God what He is going to do with the rest of my life. When He speaks is usually when I need that childlike faith to believe that it will all come to pass. Being a kid was great. I knew I was going to eat but didn't have to worry about where the groceries were going to come from. I knew I had a place to sleep but didn't have to worry about the mortgage that had to be paid to make sure I could have that place to sleep. I flipped on the light switch and the lights came on, I didn't think about the light bill being paid. I had new clothes to wear but didn't have to wonder what was going to be sacrificed in the budget that month to be able to have the money to buy the clothes. I want that kind of faith and trust again. In a way this is a testament to my mother, the single woman that raised three kids alone in a middle class neighborhood and kept us in the lifestyle we were always accustomed to. We knew money was tight at times but I don't think we ever really knew just how tight it was or the sacrifices she made for us to have what we had. I want to be a child again. I need that faith. I know it will all be OK because it always is. But this time I want to feel it.

"Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 18:3

Idle Hands...

We have all heard it before..."idle hands are the devil's playground!" When we have nothing to do, or rather when we are doing nothing, then we are more susceptible to doing just anything. What I am trying to say is that we need to be focused on something. If we are not focused then we run the risk of doing anything to keep ourselves busy. When we are not grounded in the word of God or in finding His purpose for our lives then we are in danger in doing something that is not in His will for our lives. We need to strive to do the work that He has called us to and to live the lives that we are ordained by Him to live; otherwise we are just keeping busy and not accomplishing what we we are purposed for. The other way I read that old saying is this: "The devil loves idle hands." he loves them because if they are idle then they are not working against him. They are not furthering God's kingdom and therefore are not working against the kingdom of darkness.

2 Thessalonians 3:6
6And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and does not follow the tradition of hard work we gave you. 7For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you.

Paul tells this church to stay away from the Christians who have become idle and don't follow the tradition of work that they were taught. Being a christian should not be easy--in fact it should be the hardest thing that we have ever done in our lives. It requires us to make the hugest sacrifice we could ever make in our lives; we have been called to lay down our very lives in the advancement of the kingdom of God. Being a disciple of Christ is not something that can be done part time. It is not something that can be done passively or in a group. Being a disciple of Christ is not something that you are sucked into or a title that is automatically given. It is a very personal decision that we have to make on our own. Each of our discipleship walks with Christ is different as we are all called to accomplish different things for the kingdom of God.

The people who sit idle in the pews of the church today are a problem. The lack of activity they demonstrate is a hindrance to what the church has been called to do. Their lack of participation in the kingdom calling is more that the brothers and sisters on the front lines doing the work of God have to pick up. It only makes me wonder if they cannot hear Jesus calling "follow me!" or if they are simply ignoring it. Idleness is contagious. We can catch it by surrounding ourselves by infected people until we simply just become one of them. We can also catch it by working ourselves into weariness and burnout if we focus on those around us who are inflicted with idleness. Paul has it right when he instructs the church, those who are actively pursuing the calling that God has placed on their lives, to just steer clear of the idle.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

The Purpose

I am reading through 1 Timothy today. I have a lot of questions that have been going through my mind lately and it seems that God is answering them one by one. This morning these words popped of the page at me: "The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with a love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith." (1Timothy 1:5 NLT) This spoke volumes to my spirit. It confirmed in me a need to preach and teach discipleship. My heart hurts for the people that are saved and then allowed to fall by the wayside and fend for themselves in terms of spiritual development. I know that each person that comes to meet my savior is called to a specific purpose in His kingdom and they need some guidance and help find out exactly what that is. Sometimes people get so concerned with increasing the number on the souls-saved-board, that they allow these new converts to get lost in the new life they have just taken on. Our goal should be to help these new brothers and sisters in Christ "be filled with a love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith."

Father let me help advance Your kingdom with a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith in you.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

Put In My Place--Biblical Style

17You have wearied the LORD with your words.“Wearied him?” you ask. “How have we wearied him?”You have wearied him by suggesting that the LORD favors evildoers since he does not punish them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

I know we all have done it. We see the horrible things happening in the world around us and we wonder where God is. We wonder why He hasn't stopped those bad things from happening to the innocent people--the good people. I know I do. I often wonder where the justice is when I see people get away with horrible crimes and actions. That bothers me. Well actually it frustrates me. It seems sometimes like the evil in the world prospers more than the good does. I was thinking about this hard the other day and this was the verse that God led me to. It would seem that I am not the only one who gets frustrated and tired of seeing what I see, but God also gets tired of people questioning His ability to be sovereign and to the only Judge. Reading that the first time put me in my place. reading it the second time made me officially whooped and repentant. God is God and God alone. He is sovereign over all things to do with them as He wills when He wills. 'Nuff said!

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

The 100th Post...MOVE!

It has been kind of rough for me lately emotionally and physically both. If I let it, I think depression could have gotten the best of me these past few days. It is hard sometimes to know you are following God's will for your life and sometimes not see the rewards for the work you are doing. It is hard sometimes to not be as active as you want to be and to feel like you are always in the holding pattern waiting to take off. As I was venting this morning to God, He reminded me of the first sermon that I ever preached.

Gen 13:14-18
"14After Lot was gone, the LORD said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction. 15I am going to give all this land to you and your offspring as a permanent possession. 16And I am going to give you so many descendants that, like dust, they cannot be counted! 17Take a walk in every direction and explore the new possessions I am giving you.” 18Then Abram moved..."

God has given me promises for my life. He has told me specifically what I will be doing. And turn by turn I have followed His directions. Sometimes though when things don't quite seem to be happening fast enough for me, I start to get stagnate and the waiting gets the best of me. I imagine the promises that He gave to Abraham were a little hard to believe at first as well. But God told Abraham to look as far as he could see in every direction and what he saw would be His. In one version Abraham is told to walk the length and breadth of his land. He is basically told to inspect it, to get to know it, to claim it. Abraham could have just waited till all of this was accomplished before he did anything about it. He could have waited to see if would come to pass before he put any effort into it. But he didn't do any of these things. the first part of verse 18 says that "Abram Moved..." He received his direction from God and he took action to receive the gift God had laid in front of him.

I think so many of us sit and hold on to promises God has given us when we should be out there moving. We should be inspecting, claiming and owning the gifts that He has placed in us. We need to walk the length and width of the promise God has given to us and claim ownership of the talents that He desires to use for His kingdom. When it is so easy to sit and wait, wondering where God is and when He is going to use us or move through us, I think we should consider the possibility that He is waiting for us to move. He is waiting for us to take ownership of what He has given to us.

There is a lot of opportunity in the kingdom of God to move. If you don't know your gift or calling or purpose in the Kingdom of God, still move. Move in prayer. Move in encouragement. Move in helps. Move in sharing the word of God. Move. Move. Move!

Wisdom From a Cup

"A person's pursuit of goodness leads to greatness, but the pursuit of greatness leads to ruin. Pursue goodness and you will achieve good things.--John E. Kramer

Singing....I think....

I am not a great singer. I am not one to criticize usually because it takes guts to get up and sing in front of people--even when you are a good singer. But I am a fan of embarrassment intervention--you know someone who steps in to make the blind and deaf aspiring stage performer aware by saying "hey maybe music is not your gift...." My question is where was this girls family or friend who should have intervened before her moment of fame was captured in perpetuity on You Tube? Can it really be that bad? Have a look for yourself:




It was that bad, huh?

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing--Stop a friend from doing this to themselves!
Mike

Love and Hate

I have heard over and over again the phrase of "Love the sinner and hate the sin." Most of the time it is used in the context of a group that the church has done its best to keep at its periphery for years and is now realizing that that mode of action has been wrong and now want to incorporate that group. Again most of the time I have seen it used specifically when a writer has been talking about the gay sector of society. For so long this group has been the outcasts of the church and not made to feel very welcome in the sanctuaries of God's House. Now many churches are "turning a blind eye" to the very the things that kept these people segregated from the fellowship of the house of God with the covering of saying that we need to love the sinner and hate the sin. I have looked and looked but I cannot find that approach or method of evangelizing in the Bible anywhere. Maybe I am not seeing it or am reading something out of context, but I cannot find that anywhere in the Bible. I do see the first part of that though. Love. Love was at the very foundation of what Jesus spent His time in ministry teaching. He actively loved the people in society that society itself had deemed unworthy of love. In fact the fact that Jesus was even here on earth walking with men is a sign of just how much He loved us. Nowhere can I find where He told someone I love you but hate what you do or hate the sin that has you tripped up. He went from town to town teaching and being moved by the love He felt for people and the compassion that He had on their condition of life (spiritual ans physical). Love. Its that simple. Its what He taught and its how He lived. Love the sinner, they don't have to know that you hate their actions. What they do is a part of them. You can't tell someone you love them, pass judgement on their actions and then expect them to believe you love them. Love, the real kind of love that we are shown in Jesus' teachings and actions will speak louder than any word we can ever speak and will show the ones we are loving the truth faster than any sermon we could ever preach.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike

10 (well 14) Rules That Should Be Posted In Every School

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses the phrase "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule No. 1.

Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as much as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4.)

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on. While we're at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead to self-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs. Your friends will not be as perky or pliable as Jennifer Aniston.

Rule No. 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.

Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.

Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.

Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now. You're welcome.

From Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add by Charles J. Sykes.

10 Things I Hate About You...

I have some things that really irk me--like people who chew ice, or pop their gum or chew with their mouths open. Pretty much any noise that you make with your mouth irritates me and just grates on my nerves. I heard an interesting way to deal with things that bother you tonight. It was actually geared towards people who are in realtionships. The advice was to go and make a list of all the things that bug you about a person or just bug you in general. Then instead of confronting the person with the list so they can work on it, you keep the list yourself and work on not being bothered by those things. Instead of starting a confrontation and asking a person to change themselves for your benefit, you look inward and change the only person you have control over--Yourself! Good bit of advice =)

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike