Tips for Jesus

The other day I was listening to a secular radio station and the DJ shared a story that has been buzzing through the Midwest. Apparently, there is either a person or group of people frequenting restaurants and leaving enormous tips. Many range from $100-$500 but there was one tip for $10,000. And, if I recall the woman correctly, they write on the receipt "tips for Jesus." The DJ ended the story with, "So, waiters, be nice to your customers because you never know who you are waiting on." And this really got me thinking. Of course my first thought was that I was a waitress in the Midwest and it would've been nice if this happened a few years ago. Eventually my greed subsided and I thought about that beautiful verse in Hebrews: "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it" (13:2). 

Do you think about this ever? First, do you think of how amazing it is that angels hang out on this earth? Second, do you think about it when you speak to strangers? Look at Abraham. Because of his hospitality to three men, he spoke to the Lord, was promised a son and saved his nephew Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18, 19). Hospitality is a pretty big deal and it isn't something we see in our culture very often.

It is so easy to pass by strangers. It's easy to put on our blinders and walk on by, absorbed in our own lives. It's easy to go throughout our day, keeping the incredible joy of Christ to ourselves, while others go about their day without any understanding of that joy. Easy, yes, but wrong. Our joy is meant to be shared; the Gospel is meant to be shared. And more often than not, God calls us to share with the outsiders: to see the invisible and care for the forgotten. He calls us to speak to strangers. Strangers to our circles, strangers to our lifestyle, strangers to our worldview, political party, religious beliefs and moral values. Be kind to the people you meet, but take it further, usher them into your life regardless of your differences. Form relationships and open yourself to the opportunities to share all about that joy deep in your heart.

As Christians, our incentive for kindness is not the hope of a big tip, but the deep joy from the greatest gift we've ever received. So be kind to those you meet. In doing this, you may entertain some angels. How cool would it be to see that angel in heaven and have a chat? And how cool would it be to see those strangers who were simply ordinary, broken humans that you refused to treat as a stranger? Instead, you showed the love of Christ to that opened their heart to accept the gift of salvation. 

By the way, when you treat others, be they strangers or anything else, it isn't just about the possibility of entertaining angels. Check out Matthew 25:31-46. In that passage, Jesus tells those trying to enter the Kingdom of Heaven that whatever they did for the "least of these," the lowest of all people, they did for him-- Jesus himself! When you care for others, there is a chance you are caring for angels, but you are definitely caring for Jesus. These are the true tips for Jesus: caring for the broken, the lonely, the needy, and the lost. So show some hospitality today and leave a giant tip for Jesus. I bet you'll get to cash it on the other side.

The Midas Touch

Alright, so apparently biweekly posts with a newborn was a bit ambitious. I won't make any promises on when the next one will be, I will simply write when I can. Deal? Deal. So my favorite show is Jeopardy (don't judge me) and the other day the Final Jeopardy question dealt with King Midas. I thought back to the classic tale and of course remembered the Wishbone version (I hope you watched the show with the dog who explored all the classics). Anyway, I began to consider the idea of everything I touch turning to gold. During my thoughts, I decided that I don't really want my physical surroundings to turn to gold, but I often want my words to turn to gold.

I have this issue with worrying about what I say. I hate being misunderstood and I always want to present my thoughts and ideas clearly. Yet in person, this rarely happens. And I don't just mean I slip up now and then, we're talking bad. To a point where, during a Bible Study, I had someone react to one of my analogies with calling me blasphemous. Yeah, not really what I was going for. Because of this, I get a little shy in arguments over faith. I have all the thoughts in my head and all of my reasons for believing, but apparently I don't always express them well. If I know the person well enough, things usually turn out alright, but if it is a newer relationship, I get a lot of blank looks.

With that, it has become hard to know when to talk and when to remain quiet. It has taken a huge effort, but I am learning more and more to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit (but yikes I have a long way to go). One thing, though, that has helped me through the frustration of my words and ability to translate my love for God is a beautiful verse in Isaiah. God says through the prophet Isaiah: 

"As the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that comes out from my mouth: it will not return empty to me, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (55:10-11).

God can work through your jumbles and bumbles. He can take the words that you speak with imperfection and a little cloudiness and turn them to gold. By all means, don't try to confuse other people or purposely speak in analogies that others will find blasphemous, but know that when you mess up, God can still use your words. God is in the business of turning the ordinary into gold. Just look at what he does with us. I was nothing before him, but since having met him he has turned me into gold. I was broken and lost, but he called me loved and made me his child. In the Christmas spirit, he made my scarlet sins white as snow (Isaiah 1:18), or you could say he turned me into gold. And he can do the same for you and your words.

A Little Love for Your Day

You may have seen this post coming because, if you know me, you know I recently had a baby. Ellsey will be three weeks old on Thursday and since she has been born, God has taught me a little bit more about how much he loves me each day.  Don't get me wrong, I have always known that God loves me. But when this little girl entered my life, I reached a whole new level of understanding.

Before Ellsey, I had a hard time understanding how God can constantly forgive, constantly love, constantly show mercy. What is more, I struggled to understand how he could do this without any effort of my own. You see, I have always been the kind of person who feels the need to work for and earn what I'm given. I have a hard time accepting things that are freely given. Because of this, I have always struggled with trying to earn my salvation. I tried to earn it because, before Ellsey, I could not fully wrap my mind around the idea that God would truly want to give everything for me.

But almost three weeks ago, I reached a new level of understanding God's love. Suddenly, when I look at Ellsey, I know that there is nothing that she could do to lose my love. She didn't do anything to earn this love except open her beautiful eyes and breathe. And right now, this love is pretty one-sided. She knows my voice and can see me if I'm close enough, but that's about it. Yet on my end, I haven't had a decent night of sleep since she's been born (so excuse all grammatical and spelling errors), I have endured hours upon hours of screaming, and I have had to cater to her every whim. But in spite of all this, just holding her is worth it all.

And I think this is how God feels. We sin, we turn away, we take advantage of him, we run. We have done nothing to deserve his love, yet he gives it freely. And the most beautiful part of all this is that it cannot be removed. Nothing can take this love away from us. We learn this in Romans 8, one of my favorite passages, and one that got me through many nightmares as a child.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (8:35-39)

You see, nothing-- let that soak in-- nothing can separate us from his love. Nothing you can do will make him love you more and nothing you have done has made him love you less. God is love and that love is poured out on you and me. Soak it up. Let it surround you and engulf you. His love is full and complete. His love is perfect and it will never fail you-- no matter how many times you fail him. So take a second today to thank him for how much he loves you. And take time to realize just how special, important and loved you are because "are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:29-31). Take this, and love and be loved today.

Worship

November seems to be the month of award shows. All the celebrities get together and get awarded for being famous. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate celebrities or anything, I simply don't see what all the fuss is about. Our culture, however, tends to love celebrities. We focus on them and keep up on what is happening in their lives. We debate how they name their children and who deserves the most in a divorce. We get so wrapped up in their lives, we have this tendency to almost develop a sense of worship about them. Maybe you're like me and don't care much for celebrities, but I'll bet there is something on this earth you worship. Fill in the blank for yourself, but our worship is meant to be devoted to God alone.

Now before I get into this, I want to throw this out there: Worship is one of my biggest struggles in my walk with Christ. I've already pointed out in other posts that I have no rhythm or ability to sing, so I often struggle through the "worship portion" of church services. But worship is something we're all called to and it is so important in our walk with God. Please note that there are more ways than singing to worship God. You can worship him in all you do by doing it with the right heart. But in this post I just want to give you an excuse or a reminder to take time out of your day and just worship God in song. I'll throw some youtube videos up of different songs that simply praise God. So many times we approach him expecting answers or talking about ourselves, and yes, that has a time and a place. But even more so, we need to sit in awe of him. He has given us so much and he is so big that we need to dwell on this each day. When we do, our problems feel a lot smaller because we realize who is truly in control.

So today, I challenge you to take time and worship God. Take time to sit in his presence and be amazed. Think on all he has done in the past-- in both your life and the lives of others. Sing him a song or just sit and imagine all he has done while one plays. And do as the Psalmist says: "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:1-3). 

You're Beautiful

I Can Only Imagine

10,000 Reasons

Hosanna

Breathe in his love and mercy. Breathe in his blessings and grace. Breathe in just how much you mean to him. So much that he would give his only Son for you. Then, take that attitude with you throughout the day and see what a difference it makes to take time and recognize just how awesome our God is.

Trick or Treat

I know, it's been a while. Having a baby will really change your life and schedule around! But here is hoping that this is the first of another consecutive string of bi-weekly posts! And, of course, now that it's November, this post doesn't really make sense, but I thought of it on Halloween and am finally getting around to putting words to it, so bear with me.

Trick or Treating never really made sense to me. Never once did I approach a house in a costume as a kid to get tricked. All I wanted was the candy, and thankfully, that's all I ever received. But maybe some of you grew up in strange neighborhoods and approached each house wondering whether you would be tricked or treated. And, if we're honest, I think that is how many people approach Christianity. Those who don't know Christ often assume it is either some great trick others have been fooled into or some treat they don't understand. Those who know Jesus, know it to be quite the treat, but this post is for those who think it is a great trick or a grand conspiracy.

As usual, I am going to take something from someone who is much smarter than me, and if you've ever read anything I've written, you'll guess that it is probably from C.S. Lewis. And congratulations, you've guessed right! Check out what he wrote in Mere Christianity:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 

Jesus didn't have all kinds of great moral teachings on the side and then lie and trick people into his main point that he was and is the Son of God. It is all or nothing. Either it is all a trick, or all a treat. And that is the choice we must make. When Jesus himself was challenged by the religious leaders of the day on how he came to be so knowledgeable, he responded: "My teaching is not my own, it comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own" (John 7:16-17). And so Jesus challenges them to choose to obey God. If they do and it aligns with Jesus and his teachings, then he truly is who he says he is. If not, then we must look somewhere else.

I challenge you to do the same thing. Sit down and really think about how God would want you to live your life. Ask him, if you don't know. And then begin to live it in that way. When you do, you will draw so much closer to God and learn more and more about his great love and sacrifice for you. And when you do that, you will see from the example Jesus set that he truly is the Son of God, sent to the earth to save mankind. And by understanding that, you will turn away from the fear of being tricked and learn what it means to be offered the treat of salvation from the God of all.

Simple Questions

Simple Questions 

If you can't get the link to work, feel free to copy and paste: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3R-rtWPyJY

By now, I'm sure you've all seen these commercials. They're quite hysterical and quite cute. The grown man asks a bunch of kids an easy question to illustrate just how simple a choice is. The implication being that, because the kids come up with all kinds of ways to explain their reasoning behind a simple choice, we should easily be able to reason why AT&T is the best choice for a phone service. The commercials are great because they're funny and they over-simplify a choice. And I think, if we're honest, we like simple choices.

Yet, most times in life choices aren't simple. Most times in life, choices come with a cost. And I promise you, the choice to follow Christ comes at a great cost. This cost, though clearly laid out in the Bible, is often overlooked in our churches today. We want to make it a simple choice, but Christ never said it would be easy. Life-saving, yes. Eternally rewarding, yes. But easy, no. Rather, he tells us to "deny [ourselves], take up our cross and follow [him]" (Mark 8:34). And this is no easy task. That's why he tells us to count the cost before we make the decision (Luke 14:25-33).

Through a Bible study I attend at my church I was faced with a question this week that was in no way simple. We are reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and he asked the question: What are you doing in life right now that requires faith? Ouch. I was dumb-founded. I couldn't think of one consistent action in my life that requires faith. I mean, sure, I step out of my comfort zone randomly or make sacrifices when I feel God asking, but I certainly don't do it daily. And by this question I was radically convicted. 

As I mulled over this question, I started to think of other hard questions that God has been asking me lately and I thought I would share. Please know I don't mean to have you question whether or not you are saved. I believe that it is through our faith and belief that God sent his Son to save us and pay a price we couldn't pay that we are saved. But once we take hold of that faith, we are meant to change. The change may not be instant, and it will take this lifetime of God continually molding and shaping us for us to become who he truly made us to be, but there will certainly be changes seen in our life. And as we grow, our actions need to line up with our beliefs. I'm like everyone else and don't like to have hard questions asked of me, but I think it is necessary for maturity and growth. 
 
So here are some of the questions I've been faced with lately that have been hard on me:

• What are you doing in life right now that requires faith? (2 Corinthians 5:7)
• "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46) 
• Can people tell you're a Christian by your lifestyle? (Romans 12:2)
• When is the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone for Christ? (Matthew 10)
• Is Christ your one and only? (Philippians 3:7-9)
• Do you listen to God when you pray, or only ask things of him? (Psalm 139:9-10, 23-24)
• When is the last time you fasted? (Matthew 6:16-18)
• Are you willing to surrender EVERYTHING to God? (Mark 8:34)

These are all things God calls us to and all things I fall radically short of. Don't feel alone or devastated by your inadequacy. God knew what he was getting into when he died for you and saved you. He knows we are flawed and broken. But don't use that as an excuse. He commands us to "work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). Yes, we are flawed and there is forgiveness when we fail, but let's start stepping up as Christians and looking radically different from the world. Let's start stepping out in faith and truly begin to see just how powerful our God is. Let's ask ourselves hard questions and examine where we are in our walk. And once we see a place where we can grow, let's chase after that growth relentlessly.

Thankless Service

I don't know about you, but I have this deep desire to be thanked. I like to be recognized for something I do to a point where it sometimes gets in the way of why I do things. For example, there is a chore that Jason does and he happened to forget about it this past weekend, so I ended up doing it. Now the chore was in no way hard, and I didn't have a problem or an attitude while doing it, but afterwards, I felt like I deserved to be thanked. Honestly, I don't think he even realized he forgot about it and here I was fighting myself and forcing myself not to bring it up, just so he could thank me. Silly, right? But I find this true in many areas of life. I love to serve God and to serve others, but if I don't feel appreciated afterwards, I tend to get frustrated.

I think a lot of this mindset comes down to pride. It's as though I have no trouble doing something for someone, but the pride inside of me wants them to know just how lucky they are that I would go out of my way to be kind to them. I know this is horrible and it is something God is desperately working on in me, but I have a lot of pride to chip away, and maybe you do too. Do you ever want to ignore a need a person has because you know that they won't appreciate any of the work you put into it? Do you ever not want to stop by a house because you know all the person will do is complain about how hard their life is and never once ask how you're doing? As humans, we like to be the center of attention and we like everyone to know the full extent of how we serve them, which is completely contrary to the teachings of Jesus.

Check out Matthew 23. Jesus is talking to a crowd of people and he calls out the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law (a very respected group back in the day). When he warns the people not to be like them he says: "Everything they do is for people to see: They make their phylacteries long and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace and to be called 'Rabbi' by others" (5-7). Then he goes on to say, "The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt them will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (11).

We see Jesus' heart for humility again in Luke when he observes guests at a dinner party.  

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” Luke 14:7-11.

Jesus realizes just how hard it is for us to be humble. For us to serve without any thought of recognition or reward. For us to consider others as better than ourselves. Thus he often reminds us that of a better way to live. When we serve, we need to serve as though we're serving Christ without any thought to who will notice. We are called to "work with all our hearts as though working for the Lord and not human masters" (Colossians 3:23). Sure this is meant for slaves and masters, but it applies to our service to others. 

So the next time you are called to do something for Christ, the next time you do some menial task in order to serve someone, the next time you spend time with someone who takes and takes and never gives, do it as though you are doing it for Christ. It isn't easy and it goes against our very nature, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn humility in a society that loves pride and admiration. So when you serve or give, "be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will receive no reward from your Father in Heaven" (Matthew 6:1). And it's just a guess, but I bet that a reward from God is way better than a little gratitude from people.

Haaave You Met...

Perhaps you've seen the show How I Met Your Mother on CBS. I won't say it's the cleanest show or recommend it to you, but from it, I found an analogy to something God has truly been teaching me. On the show there is a character named Barney and he is quite the womanizer. Then, there is his friend Ted and they seem to serve as one another as "wingmen" in picking up women. From the show I saw, apparently Barney's favorite way of helping Ted to talk to women is by randomly walking up to a stranger and saying, "Haaave you met Ted?" and then walking away. Ted is left to do the work, but the ice has been broken.

Disclaimer: this analogy as it is extremely flawed, so bear with me. For me personally, I have a hard time introducing people to God. I think the reason I have such a difficult time is because I put the pressure on myself as to whether or not they will come to be saved. It's almost as if I expect that God has sent me out to tell the world about him, but has left me all on my own to do it. This makes for one pressure-filled experience. Because of this mindset, in all honesty, I have often shied away from telling people about Jesus or asking people to church. My excuse has been that if I don't use the perfect words or if the church service isn't exactly what they need to hear, then they will never come to Christ and I will have failed them and their soul. Am I the only one who does this? The only one who tries to make everything perfect for someone to come to Christ?

But the truth is, people aren't perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect situation to disrupt and completely change someone's life with the Gospel. And even more so, when we focus so much on having the perfect words, we will either never step out and speak for Christ or we will and it will sound rehearsed and ungenuine. As bad as those things are, I don't even know if that is the core issue. In the end, I think it comes down to a matter of personal pride and trying to take God's place. When I use this excuse it is often because, deep down, I am trying to take on the role of God. It is as though I assume that only through me can this person come to know him, and that, dear friends, is blasphemy. I am not the author of salvation, therefore I cannot determine whether the words I use or the church service I attend will convict someone and cause them to examine their life and hand it to God. Only God can do that.

Paul had this issue in reverse with the Corinthian church. As I sometimes think it is myself alone who determines whether or not someone will come to Christ, the Corinthians were giving Paul and Apollos the glory for leading them. And they were quickly corrected. Check it out:

"For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another 'I follow Apollos," are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe-- as the Lord has assigned each to his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God is making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building" 1 Corinthians 3:4-9.

You see, we and our work are nothing. Do we need to labor for Christ and do as we're called? Of course. We are his servants, meant to present the Gospel to the world according to our own gifts. But when we begin to think that it is us who makes the seed of salvation grow, we are taking on the role of God. Only he can grow the seed and work on the heart. Our job is to introduce him to others and plant seeds or to work alongside those who are new in the faith and water them.

When I realized this truth, it put so much more joy into sharing my faith. Suddenly it wasn't about me knowing all the answers or being perfect, it was about me pointing to the one who takes foolish, prideful, perfectionists like me and gives them new life. Suddenly sharing the gospel wasn't out of fear and pressure, but out of joy for the God who works in lives no matter how messed up they are. Without the pressure of saving souls, I was able to take joy in the fact that I could introduce them to the only one who can save us and grow us. And I could rest assured that when I work to plant or water a seed, it is not my job to make it grow, that belongs to the author of life. So... haaave you met Christ?

Disappointed

This is not what I would call a comfortable post. It's something I struggle with and will probably struggle even more to explain. The question on my mind lately is how do we continue on in our faith when it isn't going how we expected it to go. Stay with me and let me do the best I can to explain. I know the God is sovereign (Daniel 5:21). I know that his ways are not my ways (Isaiah 55:8). And I know that his plans endure forever (Psalm 33:11). Yet there is something inside of me that assumes how God will respond to certain situations in my life, and this is something I am working to overcome. God is not limited, nor does he need to fit into my cookie-cutter version of how I think he should respond in certain situations. And recently, I went through a situation where I was really frustrated with how it turned out. Allow me to explain.

I won't use the most recent story in order to spare names and all, but this has happened before so I will use a previous experience. Last year I was teaching a 7th and 8th grade Sunday School class. We were talking a lot about the early church and I felt this tug on my heart to have a class devoted to confession and taking communion together. Throughout the class, there was such a beautiful peace and the girls were really into it. One of the girls offered that she was struggling with patience with a friend and went on to list how difficult this friend had made her life. All the while I secretly patted myself on the back thinking, "Yes, this lesson will change everything." That thought lasted until after class when another girl came to me crying. You see, when the girl spoke about all these difficulties with her friend from school, she meant one of the girls in the class. All the while, everyone knew who she meant and what she was saying in about the most passive-aggressive way possible. I was devastated. 

Here I had obeyed God in what he wanted me to do, and here it was blowing up in my face, causing lots of problems and dividing our group. The situation this past week was nothing like that situation, except for that I knew God had asked me to do something, I did it, and essentially it went all wrong. And afterward, all I could think of is, "Why, God?" Not in an irreverent way, but from the depths of curiosity and lack of understanding. You see, deep inside there is this part of my head that says, "If I follow God's will, everything will turn out perfectly." 

Have you ever been there? Maybe you took a job you knew he called you to and the company went bankrupt a few years later. Maybe you moved to a new place follow God's will and now feel more isolated and alone than ever. Maybe you knew God called you to share his good news with a friend and all that happened was a lost friendship and the friend turning even further from God. You name the situation, but what do we do when we follow God's will and don't end up where we thought he was leading us?

I wonder if Moses sometimes felt like this. He obeyed God and brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to head to the Promised Land, only to be told he and his generation couldn't inherit it because they didn't follow God wholeheartedly (Numbers 32:11-12). Or what about David? He was anointed King over Israel, only to wind up running for his life from his crazed father-in-law (1 Samuel 19). I think John the Baptist also felt this way. He spent his life preparing the way for Jesus and when he was about to face death, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he really was the one he was meant to prepare a way for or if he needed to expect someone else (Luke 7:18-28). I think John expected a different Messiah than the one Jesus proved to be. Sometimes, God is not what we expect.

So how do we handle this? I would say first we need to reevaluate our expectations. Are we imposing upon God standards and expectations we have for people? Yes, he walked the earth as Jesus, but he was and still is fully God. We cannot compare him and how he works to how people would react. Second, we need to trust him. God and God alone sees the whole picture. Perhaps the situations don't make sense now, but maybe they will later. And some may never make sense, but still we must trust that he knows infinitely more than us. Finally, I think we need to realize that sometimes God asks us to step out of our comfort zone and obey him for our own growth, not necessarily the growth of others. You see, often when I step out of my comfort zone to reach out to another, I expect God to immediately move in the person's life, but many times he moves in mine. I think sometimes I place my entire focus on the other person's growth when really, God asks me to step out of my comfort zone to embolden me, grow me, and help me to trust him more fully with my every breath. Yes, I think we should pray, hope and trust that he will move through our obedience to impact the lives of others, but let us not forget that he is also moving and growing in us.

I suppose the bottom line is this: Sometimes God will not react in the way you expect him to. If he always did as we expect, what would make him any different from us? But through these times, don't lose faith or trust in him. Call out to him. Tell him your frustrations (he already knows anyway), but don't forget that we never see the whole picture. We don't see the seeds planted or how God will use the situation in the future. And never forget that he is also growing you, not just others. So be bold and be obedient. And thank God for giving you the strength to obey no matter how bleak or frustrating the outcome.

Tone-Deaf and Confused

Alright, I have a confession to make: I have absolutely no musical talents. We're talking tone-deaf and total disregard for beat. So much so that my husband has already informed me that he will be holding our child during the worship at church so she has some chance of developing rhythm. That is, of course, if she hasn't already been scarred from nine months of my off-beat swaying. 

The saddest part is that I have come to the realization that I am worse than I previously thought. I used to think I at least had the words to songs down. Words make more sense to me than beats and I can typically remember the lyrics to any song. However, as Jason and I were watching Monday Night Football, they played the song by the Who that is apparently called "Who Are You?" You know the catchy jam. Well, I hadn't been paying attention, but suddenly looked up and said, "Are they saying 'who are you'?" Jason, confused by the question, gave a head tilt and a simple "Yeah." I busted out laughing and informed him I had always thought it said "Cool water, Oooh Oooh, Oooh, Oooh." And there went my credibility with lyrics. 

Now, I have heard this song a million times and apparently never once understood it. After I had decided in my head what the lyrics said, I never again listened to the words because I assumed I knew them. Instead, I just belted it out as only one who is tone-deaf can do. So when I took the time to truly listen to it, one, I understood the true lyrics, and two, the song made a lot more sense. I don't think this only applies to songs. But I think this is an approach we sometimes take when reading the Bible.

If you grew up in church or have read the Bible through countless times, it can become easier and easier to tell yourself you know and understand it. The excuse of "I already read that" becomes easier to accept and harder to fight. We develop this mindset that we already know what Exodus says about the use of porpoise hides (Exodus 35, NASB) and therefore determine that we don't need to read Exodus ever again. Okay, that might be an extreme example, but do you get what I'm saying? We fall into this trap where we convince ourselves the Bible has nothing new to teach us. And this, dear friends, is a lie. 

Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that "the word of God is alive and active." The Bible isn't some fiction book you can read once and, because you know the ending, it loses its appeal. But it moves and works no matter how many times you read it. Think of it in these terms: Maybe you determine to read through the Bible once a year. So for the sake of example, you read Genesis every January. But each year that you read Genesis, you will have another year of life under your belt. You will not be the same person who read Genesis last January, but one who has grown through God's teachings and life experience. Therefore, Genesis should become completely new each year. Your eyes will see different parts, your heart will be comforted in different ways, and hopefully, the wisdom you've gained from the past year will help you to see God's word in a whole new light. 

You see, every time you open the Bible, it should teach you something new or remind you more deeply of a truth you may have forgotten. So as you read your Bible today, do it with eager expectation. Do it with the knowledge that God has something to teach you in your quiet time with him. We will never be intelligent enough to know all of him, but our God is in the business of revealing himself to those who earnestly seek him. Look at God in a new light today. Read his Word as if you've never read it before and be amazed by what God teaches you. Don't be content with the lyrics you thought you understood, but listen with new ears and be open to a God who knows your intimately and wants to be known intimately by you. And when you learn something new or re-learn something, sing him a song of praise, no matter how tone-deaf you are.

Nesting

Maybe you are, have been, or have been around a pregnant woman near the time she is supposed to go into labor. Maybe you've smelled the intense aroma of bleach, seen the clothes cleaned and reorganized fourteen times and been forced to move furniture until it is just perfect. All because of the nesting instinct. Apparently nesting, though it doesn't happen to all, happens to women before labor. It is a natural instinct found throughout the animal kingdom in which a mother fully prepares herself (as much as possible) for the arrival of her baby. I went on a cleaning spree the other weekend and decked out my house in fall decorations. I never decorate and who likes to clean? But let me tell you, for about 72 hours all I could think about was cleaning and reorganizing. Think of OCD on steroids. It was certainly entertaining to behold.

But as I was cleaning and thinking about how there is so much to do to prepare for a baby, I grew somber. You see, there is so much to do to prepare for the coming of Jesus, but we rarely even consider it. First and foremost, we need to be saved. We need to take that step that recognizes God's love and saving grace through his son Jesus, who died for our sins so that we may be forever reconciled with God. We deserve death for any foul thought, harsh word or prideful notion. We deserve to pay for our sins. Yet, Jesus, the perfect man and son of God who never committed a single sin, died the death of a criminal and paid a price we could never pay. Once we acknowledge that, knowing he died for us and was resurrected on the third day so that we might have eternal life, we can ask him to move and work and change our lives. Once we invite him into our hearts and proclaim him as Master of our lives, we can have peace knowing that our eternity rests in him. However, it does not stop there.

What should come pouring out of our hearts is gratitude for the sacrifice of Christ. And that outpouring is often showcased by how we share and show the love of Christ to others. Our response to his love and grace is to live it out so that others may also come to know him. As we live our lives for him, we show him to others in hope that his Holy Spirit will work in their lives to help them prepare for eternity.

Basically, we need to prepare our hearts and then work to prepare others. It's kind of like that deal on the airplanes. First put your mask on your own face so that you will be better able to assist others in coming to safety. Then we must hold on to the faith we have claimed and, through the grace and help of God, grow in our relationship with him. Yet, when we think his coming is far off and extremely distant, we tend to get lazy in our growth. We begin to make excuses and think, "Oh, I'll obey him tomorrow." But Jesus has some very strong words for that thought process. Check out Luke 12:42-46:

The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

Ouch. Do you see how important it is for us to constantly be preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ? We cannot get lazy in our walk but we must hold on and continue to follow Christ in the way his law commands. Yes we will fail, but through God's grace and our repentance, we can turn back to him again and again when we stumble. But we must be prepared. So today, prepare your hearts, walk in his ways and teach others to do the same. Get your nest ready and then look forward, with anticipation, to the beautiful rewards God will bestow upon you.

Trash Can Reminders

Because Jason is in the Army, he randomly leaves for weeks on end to do training exercises, gun ranges and other things. All jobs require on-the-job training, Jason's is just overnight for extended periods of time. Because of this, something terrible often happens in our house: I have to remember to take out the trash. It becomes so habitual that Jason will see to this task that when he is gone, I almost always forget. I won't forget for just one week either, we're talking three weeks. That was a bad month. For his last field training, however, I became ferociously determined to remember to take out the trash. I had reminders everywhere. Alarms were set, sticky notes were stuck. I was going to take out the trash. And I did. Most nights I didn't remember until I had already gone to bed, but remember I did! Through this I found that if you write enough reminders, you're likely to stumble upon one.

I bring this all up because recently I gave myself a challenge. That challenge is to memorize the Sermon on the Mount. For now, I am working on Matthew's version which is only three chapters. This is the first time I have ever sat down and tried to memorize a large, continuous scripture. I have lots of memory verses, but I really have felt the need to study and memorize the actual words of Jesus. I figure, the better I know what he says, the better I can understand him and the better I can explain him to others. I was really inspired by the Psalms and how often they call us to know God's word. Check out Psalm 119:97-104

Oh how I love your law!

I meditate on it all day long.

Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,

for they are ever with me.

I have more insight than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your statutes.

I have more understanding than the elders,

for I obey your precepts.

I have kept my feet from every evil path

so that I might obey your word.

I have not departed from your laws,

for you yourself have taught me.

How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

I gain understanding from your precepts;

therefore I hate every wrong path.

Obviously, the better we know God's law, the better we can follow it and implement it into our lives.
That being said, memorization is hard. And in all honesty, I have often forgotten my goal to memorize. Yet, when I lay down at night and remember, I often mumble a small prayer of forgiveness (without feeling much guilt), roll over and fall fast asleep.

How sad is it that I will jump out of bed to take out the trash, but will not even sit up and turn on a light to memorize God's word? The worst part is that it is so easy to tell myself, "Maybe tomorrow." I think this is so easy because I am taking advantage of God's grace. The trash men will not come around and pick up my trash if I call them, but God will always allow me to take out my trash, and that is how I rationalize it. This is so wrong and so sad. Rather than being humbled and moved by the sacrificial grace of Christ, I use it as an excuse to not do what he has called me to do. Please do not fall into this trap!

So if you have trouble remembering to read your Bible, remembering to pray or remembering to do something God has asked you to do, don't allow yourself to be distracted. I truly believe the Devil will work against you in this, as he has me, so we need to start fighting back. Ask God to help you remember, and then put up reminders. Put verses in your house, stick sticky notes in your car, write it on your calendar, put a reminder in your phone. Eventually, you will forge the habit and no longer require the reminders. But please, please take this seriously. Will God forgive you when you fail? Certainly. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything in our power to more effectively follow his will. So break out the reminders and alarms and refuse to give into the excuses. I promise you, your hard work, diligence and faithfulness will be rewarded.

When I Accidentally Poisoned My Dog

The other night I needed to give Lacey medicine to prevent heart worm, ticks and all the other joyful things the South has to offer dogs. Mind you, for those of you that don't know, Lacey is a Husky/German Shepherd mix. Lacey hates these pills (even with peanut butter) so I have to shove it down her throat and close her mouth and force her to swallow. Lacey, however, is quite smart. The other night, she fake swallowed and spit the stupid pill out. As I groped around for it in the dark (Jason was sick so he was sleeping and I figured if I snuck up on Lacey in the dark she would take the pill easier. Wrong.), I realized that Chloe had shot out from under the bed and eaten the pill. Chloe is not Lacey. Chloe weighs about thirty pounds, whereas Lacey is 60, requiring a much larger dose. Not to mention, Chloe had taken her own version of this medicine about 2 days prior. According to the labels, I had just poisoned Chloe.

I'm going to be honest, until this happened, I didn't even know I loved Chloe. I always thought she was just okay, but kind of annoying. And yet, there I was in tears, frantically waking up Jason and begging him to figure out how to make a dog throw up. Side note: if you ever find yourself in this situation, give them a teaspoon or two of hydrogen peroxide. So we did this and waited, all the while I was throwing a fit and questioning my aptitude at motherhood and Chloe was mortified. She looked at us like we had betrayed her when we made her feel that way. She dry-heaved for about fifteen minutes and finally spit up the pill. I was pretty relieved. But during the whole time and for a long time after, Chloe wouldn't come near us. She couldn't understand why we would let her get sick, even more, why we were the ones that made her sick. 

Have you ever felt this way about God? In most discussions I've had with people that don't follow Jesus, their reasons often revolve around "If God loves me, why did x happen to me?" And that is a fair question. Like Chloe, we want to know why we had to throw up. But what if God allowed us to be sick in order that we might avoid death? What if, like Chloe, we need something that will help get the poison out of us? What if God knows that we will never recognize our sin and our need for him if we never face troubles in life or consequences for our actions? And what if God loves us so much that he will watch us go through that in order to keep us from dying from the poison we have ingested called sin?

I would argue that this is precisely one way God uses the pain and the troubles of our lives to draw us close to him. I'm not saying he causes them (that is a whole different theological debate that I won't get into here), but I promise you he uses them. And please don't think God takes joy in our pain. Rather, I think it breaks God's heart to see us hurt. After all, he wept when Lazarus died and was troubled when he saw his friend Mary weeping (John 11). 

As silly as it may be, I think I understand a little more just how painful it is for God to watch us struggle after this situation with Chloe (I dread how realistic it will be when this baby of mine arrives). I think I understand it better because, though I suppose I do love Chloe, it is nothing compared to God's love for us. And still, in my tiny amount of affection for Chloe, I was devastated to know that we were going to allow her to drink something that would make her sick. Well, in her case, it was forced and I couldn't even do it, I made Jason do it. I know during this time Chloe didn't feel loved by what we did and yet, had we not made her sick, she would have died. I ask you: which outcome reflected a greater love from us? Sick for the night or dead forever? 

You see, sometimes our pains and troubles can act like antidotes for the sin in our lives. When things finally blow up, it is then that we often look to God. Does it taste good going down? Not a chance. But if, in the end, it saves our lives from the pits of Hell, I would say it's worth it. Wouldn't you?

Do You Blend In?

I don't know about you, but in the Bible and theological books, I am a highlighter, an underliner, a writer-inner, and a circler. I like to mark up pages. And the other day I was doing just that while checking out Colossians, but things were a little different. Jason was already asleep and I didn't want to wake him up, but I also really wanted to lie down as I read, so I broke out the flashlight. Now Jason has this super-military flashlight that I was using and it has a red lens. The lens was perfect for the least amount of disturbance to Jason, but terrible for me when I realized that my pen of choice that night had been red. Before I noticed the issue, I didn't know why I couldn't see my writing. I found myself going over everything I had written to embolden it, if you will, and then when I removed the red lens realized just how bold I had made my letters.

This is something that I think is paralleled in life. We have this tendency to shine our red light on red ink. We have these comfort zones in which it becomes much easier to be a Christian around other Christians. Therefore, many Christians steer clear of anyone who doesn't share their beliefs. We fear having friends that believe other religions as though they are contagious. We shun the people who love the nightlife and bar scene as though we would become guilty by association. Rather, we stick to our little circles where we meet little conflict and can always feel safe. I recognized this issue in myself the more people I met in the Army. The Army tends to draw a rough lifestyle and, in the beginning, I found myself really uncomfortable with the talk and the actions of the people. But then I began to develop relationships. Then I began to see the hurt that so desperately needed to see Jesus in someone. And it was then that I started to step out of my comfort zone and get a little "unsafe." All because I don't think Jesus was safe.

Jesus certainly didn't make it a point to hang out with the "church crowd." Certainly he went to their houses (Luke 7), and he spoke with them a lot, but take a look at his almost-constant crowd. He hung out with the roughest of rough. He touched a leper in Matthew 8 (which was about the worst thing he could do in that culture), chatted up a Samaritan woman alone at a well in John 4 (taboo for a Jew and inappropriate for a man), called a tax collector to follow him as a disciple in Matthew 9 (only the embodiment of the greatest evil in Jewish eyes: Rome), and acknowledged that because of the crowd he hung out with he was called "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:34). Jesus certainly knew how to get people talking about the crowd he ran with. Please know that this would have been so radical in that culture. He was called Rabbi. He was a teacher of the law and he walked around with what the culture saw as riff-raff. To our eyes he would have walked with hookers, anarchists, drunks and sick people. So why are we so slow to do the same?

I think most of the time we assume that if people see us with that crowd, they will believe we do what that crowd does and our reputation will be shot. Hey, that's what happened to Jesus, right? For outsiders, this will most likely be true. To outsiders and people who do not know us, they will probably assume that we do what our friends do. But I promise you, to those that are a part of that crowd, you will be a white light to a red pen. When we only hang out with people like us, everything starts to blend. But when we let our light shine on a crowd colored differently from Christianity, we illuminate so much more. Jesus himself said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Mark 2:17). So let's take our light to the sick.

All of that being said, I do think I need to point out two things. One, people that know you should know where you stand. Outsiders may make assumptions of your reputation, but your friends should know the truth. As a Christian, you should certainly not act the same as your non-Christian friends. Be in the world, not of it. Two, this does not mean that men should go to strip clubs in order to reach strippers for Christ. Let a woman do that. By all means, use your common sense. If you're a recovering alcoholic, don't hang out at bars to tell people about Christ. Don't throw yourself into a situation where you'll be tempted to forsake what you know. But don't just sit in your comfort zone of Christian friends and miss out on all the great relationships you could have with people who do not yet know him. It is in these relationships your light will shine the brightest, and maybe, just maybe, your friends will come to know him through your words and example.

The Mask

Yesterday, I was blessed by some friends as they threw a baby shower for me. It was thrown by some of the people in Jason's company, so there were both men and women there. At the baby shower, there were football games on in the background and I knew the woman who hosted it to be a die-hard sports fan so I felt no qualms about wearing my Eagles jersey to the shower. It turns out, that isn't really standard. Don't get me wrong, most of the men there were rocking some for of a sports jersey, but most of the women were dressed up and looking extremely cute. Oops.

I felt bad and wondered aloud to Jason if I should've dressed up. Of course, his comment was that wearing an Eagles jersey is the fanciest clothing around, so he was little help. But I decided that it would've been sillier had I dressed up just for the sake of this party. I'm not a dressy person by any means and it truly wouldn't be me. So this all got me thinking about how often we try to make ourselves look a certain part in life. We have this tendency to dress ourselves up in different "costumes" for different people. With our church friends we tend to speak about Jesus a lot more. But with our coworkers, discussions range from reality TV to alcoholic beverages. We have so many different masks for different groups of friends, and this shouldn't be. The mask I want to talk about today is the mask of the religious.

Let me segway this in with a history lesson. Did you know that the origin for dressing up in church started because people wanted to "prove" to the world that they were elected by God? They wanted to prove that they were saved, and they figured one way to do that was to show off the ways that God had blessed them in their lives by providing them money for fancy clothes. To many people of the church, this became a way to say, "I am clean and put together, so God's hand must be in my life." And this is something I think the church still struggles with today.

Maybe we don't struggle with this in the way of what we wear (then again, maybe we do), but we certainly struggle with it in the way we present our lives. We want to offer up the squeaky clean, perfect version of ourselves so that others will know that God has saved us. Have you ever listened to people who have grown up in the church talk about their struggles? When testimonies are given, it is almost always stated, "I used to do this." Don't get me wrong, God changes us and does not leave us the same, all the while helping us to break away from our old sinful nature. But why do we always discuss struggles as if we had them once upon a time, but don't anymore? We have not been made perfect yet, but we want everyone to think we have.

This is so dangerous. It makes us completely unable to relate to people outside of the church when we give off the vibe that we have everything all together. Jesus knew it. That is why he called out the teachers of the law. They had all the rules down pat. They knew how to look the part and talk the talk, but inside they were dirty and sinful. Jesus said to them, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will be clean as well" (Matthew 23:25-26). You see, once God starts his work on our hearts, the rest will show in the evidence of our lives. But Jesus was always more concerned about the heart than the outward appearance.

I once had a pastor talk about how he used to have a drug problem because his parents drug him to church. After the congregation finished laughing he made a comment that broke my heart. He said, "Don't worry, no drug problem here, could you imagine if your pastor had ever had one of those?" I was devastated. Who are we to say that a pastor cannot have had a past that dealt with drugs? How much power is in the testimony of a pastor who can speak of the healing and redemptive work of God in his life to a point of where they turn from a drug addiction into an evangelist? If you're like me, those are the stories you love. The ones of a total turn around. The ones where God takes us in our greatest weaknesses and turns us into warriors for his cause. And he doesn't only do it once in your life. It is an ongoing process.

So let's have Bible studies in which we take off our masks. Let's meet with friends and be able to discuss what we're being tempted by on a daily basis, not just temptations God has helped us overcome. Let's share just how imperfect, yet completely loved we are by a God who knows us without our masks. Let's learn to respond like Paul and be proud of our own weaknesses. Jesus spoke to him and said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And what was Paul's response? "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). You see, when we take off our masks and realize that we are weak, we can truly depend on Christ and see his power work in us. Until we recognize our dependence on him, how can we tell others to depend on him? Let's set the example and be vulnerable. Let's show people how it is possible for broken, hurting, failing people to love and be loved by the Lord of all.

Being Prepared

So yesterday, I was cruising. Two days ago I essentially assumed control of planning and executing a family event for the soldiers and families in Jason's Company. The event is tomorrow. Yeah. So yesterday I was moving, grooving and getting things done. From 5 am until 10 pm I was working on this and I realized that, even though I was accomplishing a lot, I really wasn't prepared for just how much time it would take. I agreed to it, but still wasn't prepared when the time came.

I have found that this is something that happens a lot in Christianity. How often can we talk about how much we love Jesus or go to church, but when someone asks us why, we blank out? This used to happen to me a lot. People would ask me why I went to church and I had no real reason. It was something I had always done. Certainly I enjoyed it, but why did I actually do it? I think a huge problem in Christianity today is that many Christians don't know why they believe what they profess. It has become habitual to a point where when asked the honest question, Christians draw a blank.

You may not even be caught off guard because you don't have an answer. You could have all the reasons in the world, but the question can still stump you in the moment. Perhaps it has been this way since Christianity began, urging Peter to write, 

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander" (1 Peter 3:15-16). 

Note the always and everyone. Not sometimes to some people, but always to everyone.

So how do we do this? First of all, I would say that you need to always be building your testimony. Life experiences are a great teacher and it's something you know personally because it happened to you. So if you're confronted with the question of why you follow Jesus, talk about the impact he has made in your life. Talk about how you lived before you knew him and the change that has occurred in your life since. That can handle a lot of those questions and really make people think. However, maybe you're dealing with someone who knows all about Jesus but still doesn't buy into it. You may then be forced to turn to ethical arguments and theological truths. If I were you, I would start learning the art of Christian Apologetics. Learn to defend you faith on a personal level and also on an intellectual level and your argument will be strong.

As a side note, let me point something out. I think it is good to be prepared. It is something that has always been natural enough to me that I could've been a boy scout from a very young age. Prepare the best you can and know why you believe what you believe, but do not worry about your words. The disciples spent a lot of time with Jesus. They knew him and they had their reasons for following him down, yet Jesus still said to them, "'When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at the time what you should say'" (Luke 12:11-12). You see, we aren't left alone. 

Therefore, when someone asks you that question, say a little prayer for God to guide your words through his Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, our preparedness won't do us much good. Learn all you can, but in the moment, rest in the knowledge that God will not leave you on your own to defend him. Rather, he will send you his Holy Spirit to provide clarity and knowledge. So get out there and study up. Know with all your heart why you are a Christian and defend that belief by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do this, and watch how God moves in the questioner's life.

Your YAC Stat

This one is not an original idea, but the analogy was so perfect, I thought I would share it with you. Last night our church had a dedication ceremony for our new building and a man named Jerry Horvater spoke. He is from Texas so naturally he loves football. And since the NFL season kicked off this weekend, I thought I would expand on an analogy he made yesterday. He talked about the YAC stat. For you non-football fans, that means Yards After Contact. The stat is used to show how capable the athlete is of making further yardage when contact by the defense has already been made. It basically shows how long the athlete can stay up when people are trying to bring him down. As Christians, I think we should be concerned about our YAC stat.

In 2 Corinthians 11:22-29, Paul gives his YAC stat. He tells the Corinthian church all of the struggles he has been through in his effort to spread the gospel. He was whipped, imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned and the list goes on. He was hit with more struggles than most of us could imagine, but he carried on. He gained a whole lot of yards after contact.

The difference in a Christian's life should be how long we can stay up after we've been blindsided. I could probably be an NFL running back if no one was ever going to touch me, and in all honesty, my efforts wouldn't be that impressive. But if I had someone like Clay Matthews coming after me to eat me alive, that would be the true test of my football skills. (A test I would fail miserably). The same is true with our faith. Our struggles can either trip us up and make us fall, or we can refuse to be tackled by them and allow them to strengthen us. It is the very reason Paul says to the Romans, "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know the suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit whom he has given us" (Romans 5:3-5).

In this world you will face troubles and conflict. Difficulties will try to trip you up and tackle you, but with God's help, you will not fall. David got it right when he said, "If the Lord delights in a man, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his righteous right hand" (Psalm 37:23-24). So be encouraged that you aren't facing the struggles of this life alone, you have a God that holds you steady. Remember that, and you will begin to develop perseverance through your struggles that will eventually lead to hope. Remember that, and you will have a pretty fantastic YAC stat.

When Your Brakes Go Out

Well, yesterday, I spent the day attempting to tow Jason's car to a shop while he was at work. Turns out, while he was in the field for the last three weeks, one of his brake lines rusted and snapped. Thankfully we figured this out before driving it. But there was a time when my brake lines snapped on me while I was driving. Back in high school I was heading to coach a softball practice and pulling into the parking lot. When I tried to park, I kept on going and slammed right into the concrete barrier. I wasn't even on the road or really in danger and it was terrifying. Have you ever had that experience? One where you couldn't stop? You knew the danger but you didn't know what you could do to fix the situation? 

I think these situations come up in life more often than we like to admit. Sure, there were warnings, just as there are warnings when your brakes are going bad. Maybe you start hanging out with the wrong crowd. Maybe a steamy love scene in a movie lodges in your head. Maybe you start with a little lie, not meaning to do harm. But as with all sin that goes unchecked and unrepented, it turns into a dangerous slippery slope. When driving, I notice having to push the pedal a little harder for the full stop, but if I don't do anything about it, it only worsens. The same is true with the sin in our lives. And then, before we realize just how weak our resistance has become, we are sliding into danger without any idea of how to stop.

Please realize how deceptive sin is. You won't see flashing billboards that scream out where you're headed, you'll simply continue on with what you're doing, finding it easier and easier to make excuses until you're too far blinded by the sin to see the light. So how do we stop it? Well, first and foremost, the better you know God's voice, the easier it is to avoid all those other voices that counter it. Get to know him through prayer and his word. Those are big helps. But there is another way to help stop the slippery slope of sin, and it's a little scary because it leads to an intense vulnerability. Find a friend, and tell them of your struggles.

Terrifying, right? Because all the sudden you will have to lose the mask that you have your life under control and admit to being flawed to another human being. But please know that in this step there is so much freedom. When you can admit your faults and struggles to another trusted individual, you take a huge step in overcoming the sinful habit you just couldn't seem to break. And usually, once you confess your struggles to a friend, you will find that they have them as well. You suddenly become a team that is willing to work to overcome the temptations of this world. 

This is in no way a new idea. Look at the people of the Bible. Moses had Aaron. David had Johnathon. Naomi had Ruth. Esther had Mordecai.  Caleb had Joshua. Mary had Martha. Paul had Barnabas for a while. And look at Jesus. In Mark 6:7 when he first sent out his disciples, he sent them out two by two. It's clear that this life was not meant to be lived alone, nor is our walk with God. We need help. We need someone to lean on, someone to talk to, someone to gain advice from. 

So if you're struggling with a sin that you can't seem to overcome, look to a spiritual mentor to help you on your journey. Sit down with someone you trust and tell them so they can hold you accountable. Usually the knowledge alone that someone is going to ask you if you have fallen back into sin will be enough of a reminder in the moment to not give into the temptation. And, if you do fall, they will be there to encourage you and show you the mercy and love of Christ. I think some of the greatest lies the devil tells us are that "no one will understand" and "I can do this on my own." We all need someone to speak honesty into our lives; to hold us when we crumble and celebrate with us in our victories. We were not meant to walk this road alone. So talk to someone. Face down your habitual sin once and for all, with a battle buddy standing beside you, ready to fight for your cause. Move past the shame of confession and find strength in numbers.

Looking Back

Last week marked the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington. Fifty years ago, MLK Jr. gave probably one of the most well-known speeches about a dream he had for this nation. To honor MLK Jr.'s and those who marched with him, people gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and many speeches were given. Of those speeches, most of them seemed to look back to where we were as a nation fifty years ago and where we are today. In a way, this anniversary was a chance to judge the progress we as a nation have made in reaching MLK Jr.'s dream.

When is the last time you took a look at your life and reflected on the progress you've made? I don't mean progress in your career or schooling, I mean progress in the maturity of your faith. During day to day life, we often forget to pause and evaluate ourselves. It usually doesn't strike us until we face a situation similar to one we faced in the past and realize the difference in the way we handled it. But if you looked back over the past five years, have you changed as a person for the better? Certainly you've made some mistakes and stumbled along the way, but is your general projection one of growth? This is something so important, but often overlooked.

The author of Hebrews talks pretty plainly about growth. He says,

"In fact we have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" Hebrews 5:11-14

We aren't meant to stay the same. We are meant to grow, develop, and learn to recognize good from evil. Once we come face to face with the Creator and understand his love for us, we are not meant to walk away unchanged. Once we recognize him as Master and Savior, we should never be the same again. From that point on, through study, prayer, and incorporating him into every minute of our lives, he will begin to mold and shape us into who he truly intended us to be. He will start to kill off everything bad in us and begin to replace it with his goodness and his light.

So how is your faith? Has it grown over the past few years, weeks, days? Are you better at trusting him than you used to be? Do you have more compassion, more grace, more thankfulness in your life? Look into it. Maybe make a list if you need to see it in front of you. On the areas you've grown, thank God. Only he can turn our wretched selves into anything worthwhile. And on the areas you haven't grown or have fallen behind, ask for God's help and begin to consciously work on them. Then, when you look back over your list in a week or month, you can see if you've made progress. Please do not take God out of the equation-- when we try to do things on our own, we end up failing. But with his guidance, direction, and grace, we have the beautiful ability to grow into better people each day.

The Notebook

I was chatting with God the other day when I asked him, "What do you want from me?" It wasn't in a whiney way, but it was an honest question because I really was looking for some guidance in a tough situation. His answer surprised me. Not because it was something I have never heard of, but because, apparently, God has seen the Notebook. After I asked, I immediately thought of the scene in the Notebook where Noah is trying to determine if Allie will stay with him or go back to her fiance and give the speech that every love-sap probably knows by heart. (Don't worry, I had to look up the actual quote).

"So it's not going to be easy. It's going to be really hard. And we're going to have to work at this every day but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, every day, you and me."

I think people love this quote because he didn't just tell her it would be sunshine and rainbows. Yet, in spite of the difficulties, this love would be worth it. 

The same is true of our relationship with God. God wants all of me. And he wants all of you too. He did the work on the cross and now we need to work at it every day in order to follow him. I just finished a book called Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman, and it is a book that is devoted to figuring out what it means to be a truly committed follower of Jesus. Often times when Jesus was speaking to a crowd, he didn't give them a commercial. Jesus' message wasn't all about how great following him would be, but how hard. He didn't sugarcoat it to gain followers, he laid it all on the line and basically told them to take it or leave it. And many left it. After one of his harder teachings, John 6:66 says, "From this time on many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."

Following Jesus isn't a walk in the park because he does in fact want all of us. This is one of my greatest struggles. In some parts of my life, I have no trouble realizing just how much I need God, but there are areas where I think, "Why don't you just take a seat on the sideline, God, I've got this one." I enjoy control and I always have, but I cannot have control and have God. I cannot have both my will and his because they contradict one another. That is why Paul made it so clear to the early churches that they must die to themselves (1 Corinthians 5:15).

Please don't forget this. Jesus does not simply ask for a piece of your heart. He wants the whole thing. You cannot allow him into part of your life and keep other parts for yourself. You cannot live for yourself and live for him. By no means is this easy. It goes against our sinful nature. It goes against our pride and love for control. It goes against our desire for independence and our selfishness. But if we look to Christ as our example, we know just how difficult it is. He died a gruesome death on a cross and told his disciples to do the same. He said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

It will go against every fiber of your being to deny yourself. And trust me, you cannot do it without the work of the Holy Spirit. Without the help of God, you cannot deny yourself. But with his grace and his guidance, you can. He wants all of you and will settle for nothing less. So how can you die to yourself today? It is going to be really hard, but the prize is worth it. Because I promise you, once you die to yourself and live for Christ, you will wonder how you ever thought you were alive before.

Feel the Love Today

Maybe you've read the book "The Five Love Languages." I think I only read bits and pieces of it, but I did read enough to know that in the book, Gary Chapman, claims there are five different ways people give and receive love. The way a person most experiences love is what Chapman calls their "love language." If you haven't read it, check it out, it will really help you to understand your relationships with people. Anyway, the five languages Chapman lists are these: words of affirmation, giving gifts, acts of service, quality time and touch. Most people I've met who have read this book find it to be quite true and revolutionary in helping them to better love their spouses and to feel more loved in return.

The other day I was dwelling on God being the embodiment of love and I thought of this book. My line of thinking then took me to wonder this: if God is love, and assuming these five love languages are true, did God express them through his son Jesus and, if so, how? I started to look into it and the answer was pretty cool. So today, I want to take you on the journey of God showing his love in ways that all personalities will understand it. The best part is that Jesus expressed all five forms of love during the Last Supper. It was the last chance he would have with his disciples before his death, and how amazing that he took the time to show his love to them in five different languages? So we're going to look at each "language" and find where in the Last Supper Christ shows this.

Words of Affirmation
In John 14:31-38, Jesus tries to tell his disciples that he will only be with them a while longer. In his speech he states: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (vs. 34). Jesus doesn't beat around the bush, he states openly his love for his friends. It doesn't stop there, look at the Bible, it is his love letter to you. For those who feel loved by words of affirmation, look to all the times God speaks of his love for us. He calls us his children (Romans 8:16) and his chosen people (1 Peter 2:9).

Gifts
If you grew up in church, you have probably heard this verse quoted lots of times. It is when Jesus breaks the bread and hands it to his disciples to eat that he says, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). If you feel loved by receiving gifts, please know that the God of all creation gave you the greatest gift that could ever be offered. He gave himself. Maybe this is why John 3:16 is so popular, because it is a reminder of just how loved we are by God that he would offer his only son. Dwell on that and drink that in today. You are so loved that the very God who made you would give you the gift of his Son.

Acts of Service
We are back to the Gospel of John for this one and in John 13, just before the Passover Feast, we see perhaps the greatest example of an act of service by Jesus. John 13:3 says that Jesus, "having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love" and he did that by taking on the role of a slave. Jesus took off his outer garments knelt before the feet of his disciples and washed them (John 13:4,5). This was the job for the lowest slave in the house, yet the Master of all things took it upon himself to serve his people. Please don't miss this: he washed the feet of Judas Iscariot, the man who would hand him over to be killed within 24 hours. He served his betrayer along with his other disciples. What kind of love is this, but one that serves?

Quality Time
This one isn't too hard to figure out. Jesus offered quality time to the disciples simply by eating with them. Look at how he puts it when he tells the disciples how to ask for a place to eat. He says, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house'" (Matthew 26:18). Did you catch the word celebrate? Jesus wanted to spend time enjoying an evening with his disciples and close friends. How beautiful? Not only that, but he has given us the beautiful gift of prayer in which we can constantly and intimately spend time with him. He loves you enough to give you his time and I honestly believe he enjoys the time you spend with him.

Touch
This one is probably the most difficult to describe now, but first, let's look to the Passover. In John, Jesus makes it a point to say that one of the disciples is going to betray him. After this declaration look at what John does: "Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, 'Lord, who is it?" (John 13:25). Can you imagine casually leaning back against Jesus? How incredible is it that we are allowed to touch God? This may seem far off now, but God still touches us. The Psalmist often talks about resting in the "shadow of [his] wings" (Psalm 17:8). He presents a picture of a mother bird closing her wings around her young in an act of both protection and love. Not only this, but God touches us through people. It may be a little more abstract than the other love languages, but can't you hardly contain your excitement for when you reach heaven and Christ has his arms open for you to run into a big hug?
 
Whatever form of love speaks to you the most, please realize that God will use it. He is the embodiment of love, how could he not? So please, feel loved today. Be reassured of the depth of love your Maker has for you and thank him for it. Then, show it back in whatever way you do best and live your life in love today.

Life Dieting

So I've been put on this really intense diet for the remainder of my pregnancy and it has certainly given me a new respect for your dieters out there. Until now, thanks to great genes and a whole lot of sports, I have never had to go on a diet or, in all honesty, even pay attention to what I eat. Until now, I have laughed to myself at dieters who complain. No longer; I get it now. Because, even though I know how important it is for my health and the health of my child, sometimes a piece of candy or a cupcake sounds too good to pass up. It's obviously absurd if you think about it. I have less than ten weeks left in my pregnancy and if I keep to this diet I will have way better chances of delivering a healthy baby and being healthy myself. Yet I still want the chocolate. I trade health for chocolate; a life for ten weeks. Sound silly? Or does it sound like your lifestyle?

I saw a video of a speech (or sermon, or something like that) where Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love, explained why he had given up much of his time and life savings to working with the homeless. His reason came with an illustration that went something like this: 

Imagine a rope that extends from this stage to the back of the sanctuary and imagine it represents your eternal life. On the rope is a highlighted part about six inches in length, and this part, in comparison to the rest of the rope, illustrates your life on earth. Many people think it's crazy to give up something within the highlighted part in order to make a difference in the rest of the rope. But doesn't that seem twisted? They have focused on the small highlighted portion and missed the rest of the rope. They have focused on this life and missed out on living for the eternal life.

Yikes. This is something that is so easy to do. We forget about eternity and focus only on building up our future. If we lived in the moment, all the while remembering the impact our choices have on the eternal, we would become so much more effective in the world. 

The Israelites had this problem of nearsightedness. After Moses led them out of Egypt and they were traipsing their way through the desert, they complained, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death!" (Exodus 16:3). Please notice their anger! They had just been delivered from slavery by miracle upon miracle. Not only that, but they were actually heading to the "Promised Land" to live in safety and establish their people. Yet at the first sign of trouble, the Promised land suddenly seemed far off while the memories of Egypt didn't seem so bad.

Jesus understood how difficult this would be and he gave hard instructions to point out just how important it is to live for the eternal. He said, "If your hand or foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into eternal fire" (Matthew 18:8). Then in John, Jesus says, "Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25). I wouldn't say this means you need to hate your life in the way we think of it. Rather, in comparison to your love for God and following his will, your life should mean nothing. Do you love God that much? Or is there something in your life that you would refuse to give up to follow his call?

So what takes your eyes off the promised land? Sin seems so appealing when we forget the reason for which we should resist temptation. In our culture of instant gratification, eternity seems a long way off. But we are told to run from anything that causes us to forget about God and eternity. Are you having a hard time giving up something for your figurative ten weeks while health and life stand in the balance? Cut it out and surrender it and turn your focus back to God and the eternal. Only when you do that can you truly live.