Simple Questions

Simple Questions 

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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.