God gave free will for a purpose and intended it to be used.
So why does it surprise us when others choose to use that free will?
Is it the how and to what purpose?
Or is it because it’s not our will?
And to what end?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Not So Convenient Christianity
It’s not convenient to get up early every day to pray.
It’s not convenient to tithe consistently.
It’s not convenient to join with other Christians every week to worship.
It’s not convenient to watch what is honoring to God.
It’s not convenient to hold my tongue.
It’s not convenient to think the best of others, no matter what.
It’s not convenient to live with integrity when no one is looking.
It’s not convenient to let my “yes be yes and my no be no”.
It’s not convenient to take every thought captive.
It’s not convenient to live in truth when your kids aren’t.
It’s not convenient to love unconditionally when love hurts.
It’s not convenient to praise God when hope seems deferred.
It’s not convenient to live an authentic Christian life.
It’s not convenient to tithe consistently.
It’s not convenient to join with other Christians every week to worship.
It’s not convenient to watch what is honoring to God.
It’s not convenient to hold my tongue.
It’s not convenient to think the best of others, no matter what.
It’s not convenient to live with integrity when no one is looking.
It’s not convenient to let my “yes be yes and my no be no”.
It’s not convenient to take every thought captive.
It’s not convenient to live in truth when your kids aren’t.
It’s not convenient to love unconditionally when love hurts.
It’s not convenient to praise God when hope seems deferred.
It’s not convenient to live an authentic Christian life.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Convenient Christianity - Part II
What if the conversation between God and Jesus went something like this?
~ “Jesus when you have some free time on your hands I would like you to go down to earth and die for everyone, but only when you have time and it’s convenient for you. There’s no rush and I wouldn’t want you to inconvenience yourself. You can do it whenever you feel most comfortable and it doesn’t matter what my plan is you can do what makes you feel good.” ~
Why have we allowed the world to tells us that living our life for Christ is about us, what we feel comfortable with, what is convenient for us and what we think is truth more than what God’s word clearly says?
Eph. 4:29 - Do not let ANY unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but ONLY what is helpful for building others up according to THEIR needs that it may benefit those who listen.
Phil. 4:8 – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Col. 3:5 & 8– Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
But now you must rid yourselves of ALL such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from you lips.
As I read these verses I could not find anything in them or their context that indicates convenience or how we feel about it. They read very clear to me, yet we and I really mean me, continue to live convenient Christian lives. And we use our reasoning called “GRACE”.
There is a line in the song “Never Give Up On Me” by Josh Bates that says,
“Time after time I’ve used your grace as a way to do what I please”.
Ro 6:1 - What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
1Jo 3:9 - No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
To be continued………
~ “Jesus when you have some free time on your hands I would like you to go down to earth and die for everyone, but only when you have time and it’s convenient for you. There’s no rush and I wouldn’t want you to inconvenience yourself. You can do it whenever you feel most comfortable and it doesn’t matter what my plan is you can do what makes you feel good.” ~
Why have we allowed the world to tells us that living our life for Christ is about us, what we feel comfortable with, what is convenient for us and what we think is truth more than what God’s word clearly says?
Eph. 4:29 - Do not let ANY unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but ONLY what is helpful for building others up according to THEIR needs that it may benefit those who listen.
Phil. 4:8 – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Col. 3:5 & 8– Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
But now you must rid yourselves of ALL such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from you lips.
As I read these verses I could not find anything in them or their context that indicates convenience or how we feel about it. They read very clear to me, yet we and I really mean me, continue to live convenient Christian lives. And we use our reasoning called “GRACE”.
There is a line in the song “Never Give Up On Me” by Josh Bates that says,
“Time after time I’ve used your grace as a way to do what I please”.
Ro 6:1 - What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
1Jo 3:9 - No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
To be continued………
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Convenient Christianity - Part I
When did living a life for Christ become more about convenience than sacrifice? And when did our selfish need for convenience take on the form of compromise? Now the threatening appearance of compromise has grown into a lifestyle. A lifestyle of what I will call Convenient Christianity.
I’m not sure when it all started, but I believe it was sometime around the “fall”. And so the mindset of “I know better than God” and “You know God these commandments are really not convenient for me” began.
Many of us read the word of God the way we want to rear it. It may sound something like this:
Matthew 19:16-22
16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." ( but only if it’s convenient for you) 18 "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, (only the convenient ones) "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery (unless it only in your mind), do not steal (unless it’s online music or movies), do not give false testimony (unless it makes you look better),
19 honor your father and mother (unless you don’t agree with them)' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' (unless it’s takes to much time)"
20 "All these I have kept (mostly, ok sometines, well when it was convenient)," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions (that you aren’t using) and give to the poor (but only if you can write it off taxes), and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me (when it's convenient for you)."
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth (and it really wasn’t a convenient time).
I’m not sure when it all started, but I believe it was sometime around the “fall”. And so the mindset of “I know better than God” and “You know God these commandments are really not convenient for me” began.
Many of us read the word of God the way we want to rear it. It may sound something like this:
Matthew 19:16-22
16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." ( but only if it’s convenient for you) 18 "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, (only the convenient ones) "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery (unless it only in your mind), do not steal (unless it’s online music or movies), do not give false testimony (unless it makes you look better),
19 honor your father and mother (unless you don’t agree with them)' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' (unless it’s takes to much time)"
20 "All these I have kept (mostly, ok sometines, well when it was convenient)," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions (that you aren’t using) and give to the poor (but only if you can write it off taxes), and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me (when it's convenient for you)."
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth (and it really wasn’t a convenient time).
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Truth -vs- Love
“Anthony and I are getting married next month”.
I sat stunned; a hurt blank stare was my only communication. This is not the way I dreamed it would be. The words racing through my mind would be hurtful and damaging, but I wanted to yell them out. “Lord guard my tongue” was my only prayer. All I knew was this was the same guy that three years ago we forbid our daughter from seeing, the same guy that was extradited back to California for robbery. And the same guy that spent two years for the crime and still has seven months on his parole. Before I could gain my composure I heard
“It’s just going to be a small out side wedding and we have a friend who said she would marry us.”
SHE? Wait, What? This goes against everything I believe and hold true. “Lord what’s next”? I asked. I had to turn every thought to a prayer in order to keep form lashing out.
“Is he a Christian?”
“He went to church as a kid”
“But is he a Christian?”
“I don’t know, he doesn’t like going to church”.
“ How can I give you away to someone who doesn’t love God?”
Tears started to flow and the “dad your just don’t get it” look came flying across the room.
Minutes seemed like hours. Time could not move fast enough for me. “I don’t want to talk about this” keep filling my mind. “Take me know Lord” actually flashed through once or twice. By the grace of God I held my tongue and listened. We shared our hearts and truth. She shared her feelings and uncertainty. Yet at the end of it all nothing had changed. They still plan on getting married and expect us to be onboard with it.
I can’t do it! I can’t give my daughter away to someone who does not love God.
Can I?
I sat stunned; a hurt blank stare was my only communication. This is not the way I dreamed it would be. The words racing through my mind would be hurtful and damaging, but I wanted to yell them out. “Lord guard my tongue” was my only prayer. All I knew was this was the same guy that three years ago we forbid our daughter from seeing, the same guy that was extradited back to California for robbery. And the same guy that spent two years for the crime and still has seven months on his parole. Before I could gain my composure I heard
“It’s just going to be a small out side wedding and we have a friend who said she would marry us.”
SHE? Wait, What? This goes against everything I believe and hold true. “Lord what’s next”? I asked. I had to turn every thought to a prayer in order to keep form lashing out.
“Is he a Christian?”
“He went to church as a kid”
“But is he a Christian?”
“I don’t know, he doesn’t like going to church”.
“ How can I give you away to someone who doesn’t love God?”
Tears started to flow and the “dad your just don’t get it” look came flying across the room.
Minutes seemed like hours. Time could not move fast enough for me. “I don’t want to talk about this” keep filling my mind. “Take me know Lord” actually flashed through once or twice. By the grace of God I held my tongue and listened. We shared our hearts and truth. She shared her feelings and uncertainty. Yet at the end of it all nothing had changed. They still plan on getting married and expect us to be onboard with it.
I can’t do it! I can’t give my daughter away to someone who does not love God.
Can I?
Monday, September 10, 2007
Another Rock in the Box
I’ve always liked rocks; the vast assortment continues to fascinate me. I’ve been collecting and studying them for almost 40 years now. I am in NO way even close to being and expert on them. One thing I do know, without any uncertainty, is that they really hurt when they hit you or when you stumble over one. If you pick up one that is too large for you to carry by yourself, you will most likely injure yourself.
So stretch with me for a minute and compare rocks to events in our lives. Some things happen that are a little like pebbles, they can really sting when they hit, not a lot of lasting damage but they can smart.
Then there are times when money is tight and you’re not sure how to make ends meet. A lot like a small stone, it hurts a lot more than the pebbles but you still heal well over time.
The rocks can get bigger and hurt a lot more. They do serious damage; leaving open wounds, deep bruises and long-healing scars.
Many times those we hold dear are the ones throwing the rocks. And yet other times they come from the unknown. Even now there are times when we pick up rocks and carry them when we don’t need to.
So what do we do with rocks? Well as Dee Duke says, “Put another rock in the box!”
You see he compares rocks to our prayers. Picture your life as board, like a teeter-totter. On one end is our box of “life” and on the other is our box of “prayers”. When we have the rocks of life filling up one box we need to put another rock in the box on the other side. If you don’t see your life moving, “PUT ANOTHER ROCK IN THE BOX”.
“But nothing is happening”. Put in a bigger rock. Still nothing. Put in another rock.
Get the picture? Only prayer can lift the rocks of life.
So stretch with me for a minute and compare rocks to events in our lives. Some things happen that are a little like pebbles, they can really sting when they hit, not a lot of lasting damage but they can smart.
Then there are times when money is tight and you’re not sure how to make ends meet. A lot like a small stone, it hurts a lot more than the pebbles but you still heal well over time.
The rocks can get bigger and hurt a lot more. They do serious damage; leaving open wounds, deep bruises and long-healing scars.
Many times those we hold dear are the ones throwing the rocks. And yet other times they come from the unknown. Even now there are times when we pick up rocks and carry them when we don’t need to.
So what do we do with rocks? Well as Dee Duke says, “Put another rock in the box!”
You see he compares rocks to our prayers. Picture your life as board, like a teeter-totter. On one end is our box of “life” and on the other is our box of “prayers”. When we have the rocks of life filling up one box we need to put another rock in the box on the other side. If you don’t see your life moving, “PUT ANOTHER ROCK IN THE BOX”.
“But nothing is happening”. Put in a bigger rock. Still nothing. Put in another rock.
Get the picture? Only prayer can lift the rocks of life.
Wholeness
Wholeness
Hope for the future, for wholeness complete.
Hope in our Father to heal the deep.
To trust in our Lord with all not in part,
With surety of truth and pureness of heart.
For into our dark our Father will send,
His Spirit, a counselor, redeemer and friend.
We’re never alone, His truth is so real.
It’s not based on our life or how we may feel.
Full life He has promised, written words from the past.
They dwell in our hearts, His true light they do cast.
When all is reveled our transgressions we see.
Confession, forgiveness, acceptance, we’re free.
Wholeness, full life, our future is clear.
We were never alone our Savior was here.
He has healed my heart and restored my soul.
The pain in not gone but now I am whole.
Dave
Hope for the future, for wholeness complete.
Hope in our Father to heal the deep.
To trust in our Lord with all not in part,
With surety of truth and pureness of heart.
For into our dark our Father will send,
His Spirit, a counselor, redeemer and friend.
We’re never alone, His truth is so real.
It’s not based on our life or how we may feel.
Full life He has promised, written words from the past.
They dwell in our hearts, His true light they do cast.
When all is reveled our transgressions we see.
Confession, forgiveness, acceptance, we’re free.
Wholeness, full life, our future is clear.
We were never alone our Savior was here.
He has healed my heart and restored my soul.
The pain in not gone but now I am whole.
Dave
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)