Ready to QUIT?

A wide and deep streak of frustration runs through our lives these days. I had an appointment with a physician yesterday. His disposition is usually sunny, his outlook positive. Not this time. His words were cynical, his comments revealing a man whose basic foundations of life are shaken. Dr. Smith (not his name) is not at all unique, is he?  

 Now, mid-Summer, parents are wondering about schooling for their children – “Should I send them back? Home school? Is it safe? How will I go back to work if they are home? Which ‘expert’ do I believe?”  Business owners are struggling, too, as resources disappear and no full return is in sight. Individuals who live paycheck to paycheck are facing tough times – particularly in the area of housing if they cannot pay the rent. There are spiritual issues at stake, too.

Too many Christians are responding to the chaotic state of the world, not with faith, not with courage, but by turning inward and neglecting their spiritual health. Research shows that over the last three months, young families have disengaged from their church and personal spiritual disciplines at alarming rates.  Between 35 and 50% of families with children chose not to return to church when it opened and stopped connecting with online services. I know that I am ‘preaching to the choir’ here. If you’re connecting with this daily blog, you are most likely not in that statistical group but I want to raise the issue with us all. We need to PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER and encourage each other LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

Yes, we are tired. Many of us are discouraged, even overwhelmed.  We are tempted to turn it all off, numbing our minds with Netflix, buying things, escaping into diversions. I know, I really do understand. Would you believe me if I told you that sometimes we just do the right thing because it is the right thing, regardless of our feelings?  Serving the Lord, maintaining our spiritual health, is a lot like a long-term investment.  One of the worst financial strategies is one that chases quick returns. Wise investors think long-term. If the portfolio is diverse and includes solid companies, an investor must be willing to stick with market cycles, watching as their account goes through the up’s and down’s.

The Bible uses a farmer’s life as the model – there is time to plant, there is time to wait, there is time to harvest! Here is a passage of principle. This truth must be kept in the forefront of our thinking as we make our daily choices. "Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time." (Galatians 6:8-9, NLT)

We cannot fervently worship for a month and ask, “Ok, Lord, where is my blessing?” There is always a time that passes between planting and harvesting. In the intervening months, there is CULTIVATION, pulling the weeds, watering the ground, keeping away things that destroy the plants.  When we regularly worship (personally and corporately), regularly take in Scripture, meditate and listen for the Spirit, confess our sins, practice generosity of wallet and attitude, renew our eternal perspective – we give the Spirit the opportunity to develop and mature our faith.

There are real consequences in our choices. Initially, stepping away from discipleship might feel good, a kind of relief from something that feels like another obligation.  Over time, however, that decision to ignore the soul’s needs, that choice to neglect the things of God, will create spiritual decay effecting each of us, our families, our churches. If we prioritize godly things, Jesus points out that  “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." (Matthew 7:23-25, NIV)  Those who stay faithfully close to the Lord through it all are blessed with a security that reaches into eternity.

Disciple, love Jesus! Don’t fixate on the up’s and down’s of life.  Only God knows why the trials and joys of each day are allowed to come our way. Invest in Him for the long-term.

Here’s a word from the Word, a repeat of the passage quoted above, but this time from a modern language paraphase. 

May it be both a caution and encouragement for you today.

"Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest.

The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!— harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds!

But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith."

(Galatians 6:7-10, The Message)

Are you investing your life wisely, building true wealth that will survive life’s fires and find Heaven’s approval when you arrive finally at home?

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Build My Life

(A great song that points us to real faith in the Builder)

Worthy of ev’ry song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

Jesus the name above ev’ry other name

Jesus the only one who could ever save

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

We live for You

Holy there is no one like You

There is none besides You

Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are

And fill me with Your heart

And lead me in Your love to those around me

I will build my life upon Your love

It is a firm foundation

I will put my trust in You alone

And I will not be shaken

Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Elizabeth Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett

© 2016 Martin, Karl Andrew (Admin. by Arkyard Music Services Limited)

Kaple Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Livin’ the dream!

When we hear someone respond to a question about how life is going by saying, “I’m livin’ the dream,”  the tone is usually sarcasm. The meaning is exactly the opposite of the statement. That person is plowing through day after day in a life that is hard or disappointing.  I’d like to shift the meaning today, by taking away irony to point to the power of your dreams to a thing better referred to as a ‘vision.’ 
I recently talked with a younger man who has drifted with the current for years. He has been through multiple jobs, has struggled with relationships, and is frustrated with the state of his life. He had no vision, no compelling idea about his future that allowed him to make tough, self-denying choices today in pursuit of a better tomorrow.

“What’s your vision?”  Answering that can be much harder than you think.  Gaining a vision, seeing beyond the present, letting God plant a vision that we water with prayer, devotion, training, and work – creates a life of beauty and wholeness. I value steadiness, desire to be a man who sticks with things even when the going gets tough, and I am not suggesting that anyone allow themselves to get lost in fantastic dreams far distant from reality. HOWEVER, I am also dreamer. My life is shaped by a set of values, a desire to please God and love others, that is more powerful than my own desires. (Honestly, I fail in that department sometimes. I am glad for His grace and mercy.)
In my teenage years, God set a vision in me.  I am compelled to share hope with those who want a changed life. I pray for things that do not exist yet, for people who are broken to find wholeness, for those who are ‘dead’ to God to come to life. This is what I dream. Like anyone with a dream I must deal with human sin, the Devil’s opposition, and systems that are godless. These all conspire to keep my God-given dreams from taking shape.

God-given dreams (vision) demands God’s resources. When I get wrapped up in my own agenda, when I get focused on ‘making things happen’ instead of working with the Lord, fatigue and frustration result. When I remain faithful to Him, He leads, empowers, and makes dreams become reality. And I am, indeed, ‘livin’ the dream!’  (no irony or sarcasm intended)
Do you dream? Do you know that God has real purpose for you, dreams that He wants to pour into your life? In Ephesians 1, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, exults: "God thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, ... It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." (The Message)
Hebrews says that through Christ, it is God's plan to "bring many sons to glory!" His plans for us include making us whole, mature, people who live with meaning and purpose. No, He is not concerned with making us rich or famous. If that is the heart of your dream, you’re not hearing from the Spirit.  Many Christians confuse ‘soulish’ desires, dreams that are born of their reaction to life or their own longings, with Spirit-inspired vision! 

In your times of prayer and meditation, invite the Lord to inspire (the word literally means 'breathe into') you with vision! Pray that He will allow you to dream. People of the Spirit need two sets of eyes: one they are born with that sees the world as it is and another that are God-given that lets them see the world as God wants it to be. That, Believer, is vision! 

The prophet Joel spoke of the Lord's work in our lives with these wonderful words of promise. "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters. Your old men will dream, your young men will see visions. I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants, men and women both." (Joel 2:28-29, The Message)

In his book, Visioneering, Andy Stanley offers this insight about the development of vision:

    1. Define the Problem.

    2. Outline a Solution.

    3. Determine the Reason something must be done.

    4. Decide to do something now! 

In 2020, America is being torn apart. Competing visions are bidding for our souls.
Will we ‘see’ at God sees, made insightful by His wisdom, led by His Spirit to life eternal and filled with peace? 
OR, will we adopt the one of the philosophies of the age and be deluded by a dream that leads only to destruction?

Our Father in Heaven asks us to look higher, too. If we can catch glimpses of the glory He's planned for us, we will more readily say "yes, Lord" to the rigorous discipline that brings us to share in His purposes. Living to our full potential, becoming a child of glory, is not inevitable but, we can ‘live the dream’ if we will walk in faith, turn from evil, and open up to the Spirit of the Lord.

The word from the Word is full of promise. Oh may the Spirit let us hear His voice and led us to higher things, for God’s sake. Read this prayerfully. BELIEVE! RECEIVE! And, gain new vision. "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen." (Ephesians 3:19-21, NLT)

________

Be Enthroned

(worship lifts our sights from earth to Heaven where vision is born)

We've come to join the song

Sung long before our lives

To raise our voice along

Heaven and earth alike

We've seen Your faithful hand

Your mercy without end

The King who bled and died

A God who sacrificed

Be enthroned upon the praises

Of a thousand generations

You are worthy Lord of all

And unto You the slain and risen King

We lift our voice with heaven

Singing worthy Lord of all

(Lord of all)

All through this life we lead

And on to eternity

Our endless praise we cry

Jesus be glorified

(Jesus be glorified)

Highest praises Lord of all

(REPEAT)

Brian Johnson | Hunter Thompson | Jeremy Riddle | Kalley Heiligenthal

© 2015 Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Just not 'good enough'

Bill and Sue (pseudonyms) are good people. They are well-educated, productive, moral persons. They have well-developed social consciences, are sensitive to the issues of the day and are engaged with the world in which they live. They are a pleasant, engaging couple that I would welcome to be my next-door neighbors. I’ll throw this in - they are good-looking, too. Their lives would be the envy of many.  And, they are without any apparent relationship with God. Bill is an agnostic, Sue has no professed faith.

In days past, when Christians thought about sharing the Gospel of Christ with people like Bill and Sue, the approach immediately went to eternal destiny! 50 years ago, I was trained to find a way to put the question into the conversation – “If you died tonight, where would you spend eternity?” I did not like it then and I dislike even more now. Trying to frighten people to know God by talking about death, doom, and Hell’s destruction does not really work. The question is brushed off by most today as irrelevant anyway. The idea of living forever is not at the forefront of the minds of people who have learned to ignore and sanitize death.  The Good News of Jesus is much more than a ‘get of Hell’ card so why make it about that?

Another approach is to try to get Bill and Sue to ‘go to church.’  “You’ll love the people.”  “It’s a great community.” “We have a great kid’s ministry.” “Our pastor is really caring and gives good sermons.” Hopefully all that is true, but we all know that the Church is not a perfect place. Flawed people go there, too. Like every other institution, the Church has been plagued with scandal for the last 40 years, too.  Getting Bill and Sue to church will be difficult and isn’t the answer either. Millions of people sit in church buildings every Sunday but they are unchanged and untouched by the life of the Spirit. There must be more than ‘going to a church’ that bears a holy Name.

The Gospel of Christ Jesus speaks to our deepest human needs. Those needs are not more things, bigger bank accounts, or even a safer world. When we are alone with our thoughts, when we have reached the limits of satisfaction that can be found in another ‘thing,’ an experience that gives us pleasure, or even the love of another person – we long for more. Those questions that we manage to ignore in our youth surface more often as mid-life approaches. “Why do I exist?”  “Am I just a conglomerate of carbon-based atoms that is deteriorating slowly?”

The Good News of Jesus speaks directly to those questions. Hopefully, those of us who claim to be His followers demonstrate the reality of the faith by living differently as a result of knowing Him. If we are not authentic about who we are and who He is in us, if we are merely religious without a meaningful sense of worshipful relationship, whatever words we attempt to share with Bill and Sue will be, to use the Bible’s language, “meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Christ addresses the needs that are part of everyone’s life – even those who are affluent, who are living well, who enjoy health, wealth, and security. What are those needs?

Know God.

God placed eternity in the hearts of mankind. When we pause to think, when we shut off the noisy world,  we know that there is ‘more there.’ The cry of a baby, the majesty of the mountain, the roar of the ocean, the whisper of a summer breeze, the beauty of a flower, the exquisite joy of love, are all declarations that we are more than just a highly evolved natural organism.  Though Bill and Sue may not use the word, they seek to worship;  be it admiration of beauty or devotion to some cause. Christ satisfies that longing by opening the way to know God.

Find Freedom.

Nobody wants to feel that they are out of control, that something owns them.  But, we know innately that we are not completely free. We sense that forces bigger than ourselves hold sway over us. Christ Jesus offers freedom – the freedom of truth, freedom from habits that control, freedom from shame and guilt. The Christian community should be the most liberating place on earth, a people of God who are free to live ‘life to the full,’ as Jesus promised.

Discover Purpose.

Human beings want to live ‘on purpose.’  Christ teaches us that we are made to know, to love, and to serve God. When our efforts are formed by the desire to know Him and to make Him known, we become better people, better in our work, better in our love, better parents, spouses, citizens. As Christians let’s not allow our amazing purpose “to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever”  {Westminster Confession) to be turned into lesser things – like being political activists, or trying to advance the agenda of some party, or to elect a President. We have a high, holy calling to bring God’s Presence into the visible world with bold love. How that calling finds expression is amazingly different as the Spirit leads us and equips us to do the will of God.

Make a Difference.

People want more than a legacy, more than to be remembered as a ‘good person.’ And, through Christ, as He is invited to live in us, to change us into eternal beings of beauty and wonder, we find those opportunities. The awful tragedy of so much of our modern Christianity is that it is made into something far too small.  We settle for symbolism and tokenism, unwilling to make the personal sacrifice that allows God to use us to really make a difference in this world. But, where we abandon our love of Self to embrace Christ’s call we become people whose lives “spread everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.  For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.”  (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Baseline, we can never, on our own, be good enough for God’s approval.
But, we can know the One who makes us whole, Who leads us to life – now and forever. His Name? Jesus.

Here is the word from the Word. IF you are a Bill or Sue (and you’re still reading, thank you) consider the offer made by God through His Son. If you are Christian (and you’re still reading, thank you!) do not live a lesser life than is offered us in Him.  These are wonderful words of life. 

"So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you."  (Colossians 3:1-4, The Message)

__________

Reckless Love

(worship with this song about His love)

Before I spoke a word
You were singing over me

You have been so so good to me

Before I took a breath
You breathed Your life in me

You have been so so kind to me

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

O it chases me down fights 'til I'm found

Leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it I don't deserve

Still You give Yourself away

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

When I was Your foe still Your love fought for me

You have been so so good to me

When I felt no worth You paid it all for me

You have been so so kind to me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Caleb Culver | Cory Asbury | Ran Jackson

© Watershed Publishing Group (Admin. by Watershed Music Group)

Bethel Music Publishing

Richmond Park Publishing

CCLI License # 810055