Where are you found?

Last Night at Lifegroup we were discussing pride, and it was great to listen to each person & hear their input. As I lay in bed last night after getting home, I thought about this a little more. I began to think of all the things that people invest themselves into, very good things sometimes too. I thought about family and how it can be so easy to sink your identity into what your kids are doing, or where you're from. I think about finances & savings and the stock market and how easy it is to sink your identity into what those things are doing. I think about a place of employment and how easy it is to sink your identity into a new promotion or finding your way to the top of the success ladder. I think about the opposite sex and how easy it is to sink your identity into doing whatever it takes to find someone to be with, no matter what they are like, as long as there is someone. I think about the pursuit of knowledge and how easy it is to sink your identity into how many degrees you can receive or how you can debate anyone into submission. I think about church and how easy it is to sink your identity into the work you do at church and a certain status within the church. It was a busy night inside my head as my wife drifted off to sleep! :) Then God reminded me, pride is anything we choose to sink our identity into that is not Jesus Christ. It is prideful to place anything in the position that can only be occupied by Jesus. The identity of man was always meant to be in Jesus Christ, and not anything of this world. Even unbelievers' identity is meant to be in Jesus Christ, it's just elusive since like many others they look elsewhere to find this.

Please consider today what you may be sinking your identity into that may seem harmless but is pointing away from the real core of who you are. There are many wonderful things God has blessed us with in life, but the identity our souls are longing for is only found in one place, Jesus Christ. When we accept this, pride is crushed and we do what we do for a much higher purpose.

Have a wonderful day friends.

Thanks

One of my favorite memories of Thanksgiving is each year watching "March of the Wooden Soldiers." Each year Laurel & hardy would start the day off right, along with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. With the smell of wonderful food cooking, and the anticipation of family coming over to celebrate, I felt secure and comfortable. There is something really great about Thanksgiving time, and this time of year alltogether. Here are a few things all of us would do well to remember this Thanksgiving.

1. Thank God. He is the ultimate provider.
2. Fellowship. We were designed to be with others.
3. Eat. We should eat to the glory of God! (Plus, Thanksgiving dinner is so good!)
4. Give. Find how we can give to those in need.
5. Bless. Be a walking blessing to those around you in word & action.
6. Love. Make sure your love is felt by your family & friends, not just heard.
7. Laugh. Getting together with others is best accompanied by laughter!

Just a few thoughts as we enter into such a wonderful season of the year. Have a blessed Thanksgiving friends!

"Good" or "God"?

I was reminded this morning of how great the cost of following Jesus really is (Luke 9:57-62). There are a lot of "good" things we desire to take care of sometimes before serving Jesus, but they are not "Gods" things. These things take on the appearance of being highly important, but they are avenues that lead us away from serving God wholeheartedly. I then thought of how lukewarm we can be as believers. We place a toe in to test the water, then a little more but don't dive in and become submerged in the service of our savior. Lukewarm isn't good however...the lukewarm are a bad taste in Jesus' mouth. The lukewarm get spit out (Rev.3:16). If we keep our eyes on what is behind us, like we are missing out on some great things we are leaving behind due to following Jesus, we are lukewarm...and lukewarm is a bad taste to the savior. Don't be a bad taste...I encourage you to let go of the "good" stuff and grab hold of the "God" stuff. It is the cost of following Jesus.

Overcoming the fear of fear

President Franklin Roosevelt said in His first inaugural address to the nation in 1933 that "...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." He of course was referring to the nation's future in coming out of the great depression and belief in itself that better days lay ahead. As I thought about this statement, a very spiritual truth seems hidden inside it as well.

As believers we are called to reach people with the good news of salvation from our sin and sure eternal death through the payment given by Jesus Christ himself. We are called to share the good news, wherever we are called by Him. Many times we are faced with decisions to go where we may not desire to go, but we follow (if we know what's good for us!). And sometimes the place that He leads may take us out of safety and into the unknown and uncertainty of the future. I can hear God speaking even now in my mind, saying to the believer, "the only thing you have to fear is fear itself my child". Truthfully, the only thing we have to be afraid of, is being afraid. If your life is about glorifying God and living in a oneness with Him (John 15), than what do you have to fear? What's the worst that can happen? Death? Jesus states in Matthew 10:28 that as disciples we are not to fear "those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul". We become so worried about harm & even death while Jesus says "Is that all your worried about?" Do not fear man, because all he can take is the life of the body, not the life of the eternal soul. We must come to the place where we overcome the fear of fear, and replace it with the joy of obedience to the creator. Not an easy task, but one we must get.

As I write this, I find myself struggling in this as much as the next person, but as long as we're taking steps in the right direction we are being obedient to Christ. Join me in continuing to die to self and live for Christ, because no one can take that from us. Take risks...share the gospel...go where called, and know that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain".

Amen!

A blast from the past!

Words or Heart?

This morning in church service I found myself, along with everyone else, singing the words "I live to worship You". I caught myself looking around at the hundreds singing these words and thinking "is this true of ALL of these people singing these words?" I thought "surely there must some in here that worship with their lips, but their hearts are far away from God". Then I began to think of my own heart and the words rolling off of my own tongue, "do I mean what I am saying?" I stopped and began to make sure I meant what I was saying. The Christian life is never merely about words rolling off of our tongues, but about hearts longing to know God deeper and more intimately. I must admit, some days I sense my heart farther from God than other days, maybe you can understand. Ultimately though, God is in the business of being worshiped, not out of duty, but because of greatness! He is great, and moods and circumstances must never stand in our way of honoring Him who deserves all praise. So if you, like me, have those days, remember the greatness of God and the words "I live to worship You" will be easy to mean wholeheartedly!
Jonathan Edwards resolved it best, "Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God' s glory..." Praise be to God!

Sam, a rock, and a Wild Goose!

Have you ever felt like letting go? Like things have just become more complicated than you wanted them to become? In these times it is easy to want to "tag out", as they say in tag team wrestling. "I've been in long enough", you may think to yourself, time to "tag out" and let someone else do the work. Tonight while watching Lord of The Rings, Return of The King, I watched as Frodo fought his own desire to keep the ring rather than throw it into the lava of Mordor. He finally ends up hanging from the side of the cliff as the ring falls into the lava, and as he is hanging, Sam says to him, "don't you give up Frodo" and he reaches down to help him. On Easter Sunday we were asked to select a rock from a pile of rocks that had been gathered for that day. "Select a rock & write a verse or encouraging word on it" the pastor told us. As I selected mine, it was a rough, tall, jagged rock. The first thing that kept coming to mind was "keep climbing with endurance", because the rock looked like a steep wall to be climbed. I read the bottom of that rock today, and was reminded of the need to continue to climb well, whatever the path looks like ahead. Finally, the book I finished up today (it took me FAR too long to finish!) is called Wild Goose Chase, by Mark Batterson. In the final paragraph he writes this:

"Two thousand years ago, Jesus issued a standing invitation:follow me. But it came with a warning, "foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay His head." "When you embark on your Wild Goose Chase(Pursuit of following the Holy Spirit) you never know where you're going to end up."

This post is for anyone who has become weary in the pursuit of following hard after the Holy Spirits leading. "Don't give up" Samwise gamgee would tell you, "keep climbing with endurance" my rock would read, and follow Jesus anywhere Mark Batterson would want you to read. Please know that you are in my prayers if you are reading this and feeling this way. Stay the course and know that Jesus will do do mighty things through those who refuse to give up!

The small things

"A group of American tourists walked through a quaint English village in wonderment. They were enamored by the town's winding cobblestone streets, the beauty of its courtyards and plazas, and the sense of history emanating from its ancient churches. While strolling through the local park, the tourists struck up conversation with an elderly gentleman and found out that he had lived in the town for his entire life. One of the Americans, eager to hear more about the town's history, asked, "Sir, have any great men been born in this village?" "Nope," said the old man, "only babies."

How often we look at the result instead of looking how to encounter that outcome. We want to know how to have the result without knowing the road that leads to it. We expect that "big" things are what matter most. We may even think that "big" things or great people were simply born that way. It's never "big" things that matter most, it's the small things along the way that matter most. All great people in history were born but infants and on a daily basis, through life decisions, and God's providence, became the people we know. These types of decisions will kick our butts sometimes, but we will gain much from them. Don't be afraid to walk the hard road and focus daily on the small stuff. Begin today, unless of course you are content dreaming about the "big" things.

Be blessed...