Life: A Horse of a Different Color.

If life doesn't look like what you expected it to look like, maybe its time to change your perspective

“Things aren’t always what they seem.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, read, or said that statement. The truth of the matter is that I haven’t fully grasped that concept. More truthfully I’ve refused to allow them to look any different than the way I’ve expected them to.

I liken this to me shutting myself inside of a jail cell and locking the door. Confining myself to the paradigm that is the cell. If I could just allow it to look differently than I had expected or desired a whole new world of possibilities could open up to me.

Here is a personal example. When God led Marla and I away from Texas I didn’t understand it. Truthfully I struggled with it. I struggled to know for sure it was God’s moving us, I struggled to know for sure we were going in the direction He was pointing us in. And I struggled with going to work at a school rather than a church.

When I was 14  I promised God I would serve Him in full time ministry (can you hear the iron door starting to shut?). So I automatically assumed that meant I was going to be a pastor, associate pastor, youth pastor, or missionary working in a church. But where are the rules written that those positions are the only full time ministry positions? I had locked myself into a way of thinking that was not, is not, conducive to God’s creativity. I realize now that full-time ministry isn’t a particular job. It’s a way of life.

If you lock yourself into a paradigm or expectation that isn’t necessarily true or beneficial you can completely miss out on what God desires to show you.

What paradigms do you have that are holding you back?

…For the fun of it!

Ecclesiastes 4:6 One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind. (NASB)

I love food.  I’m no connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, I just love to eat.  And when I can eat food I didn’t have to prepare its even better.  Snacks on the go?  Not even a question!  A Dunn Bro’s coffee in the morning and a Snickers and an AMP in the afternoon makes for a great sugar rushed day!  The reason I share all of this with you is because I want you to understand that I spent money like it was going out of style.  And not on anything important, yes you could argue food is important, but did I have to get my snacks and meals outside the house?

Recently with me not being employed, and looking like I won’t be until Marla and I get to Korea, we (meaning I) have had to scale back much of what we spend money on.  And when we do spend money we hit up the deals!  I bought groceries for the week yesterday at a place called ALDI if you don’t have one I’m sorry.  I spent 22 dollars and we’re set for the week for all of our meals.  I would spend more than that on dinner at Chilis!  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying eating out is evil or bad.  I still love it, even more so now that I’m making more meals and washing the dishes for them.  What I am suggesting is that you stop and ask yourself some questions before you just decided to “go out.”

What is my purpose for buying this meal or snack?

Do I have food at home I could eat?

Do I really have the money to be eating out?

Could this money go towards groceries, bills, or savings?

Could this money be better used for charitable work?

When Marla and I drove by the restaurants on 377 where we live, all the parking lots were packed.  At that moment this thought popped into my head, “Isn’t there a recession going on?”  Marla and I have turned our spending faucet down to a drip.  We don’t eat out, I don’t get snacks, and I make my coffee.  I’ve lost 10 pounds by cutting back what I eat and by working out and this is in less than a month! 

Frito-Lays slogan says, “food for the fun of it!”  As much fun as I did have eating out and buying snacks, I’m enjoying saving money more.  We went from spending over 400 dollars a month (groceries, snacks, and meals out) to spending around 175  a month on food.  Better is one handful with rest than two handfuls and trying to do it all.

IN YOUR OPINION… (Leave a comment and let me know what you think)

Why do you think it’s hard to cut back on entertainment and treating self?

What are some ways you’ve cut back your spending?

Why do we stretch ourselves financially?

There’s only 1 Heaven…

1 Pt. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (NASB)

Ok, first let me explain my absence.  To say there is a lot going on in my life right now would be an understatement.  Please know that I covet your prayers for Marla and I, and that I trust God to see us through this transitional period in our life.  I have constantly had this thought for a while now; so much so that this thought has occupied the blogging box in my mind, leaving no room for others.  The thought: THERE’S ONLY 1 HEAVEN!

Imagine this:  You are one of Jesus’ disciples, you’ve been following Him since the beginning of His ministry, since He stood in the boat and taught.  You knew there was something special, something different about this one.  He wasn’t like all the other Rabbis.  As time passes you come to realize that Jesus is the Messiah, your heart gets overwhelmed.  You are certain the Roman swine will soon get theirs.  Jerusalem will regain its glory and Jesus will set up shop in the temple.  Life will be lived as it was meant to be lived.  ONLY YOU FIND OUT YOUR THINKING WAS WAY OFF!  Jesus isn’t setting up shop, in fact He is leaving!  Worse yet, from the way He talks He won’t be back for a while!  You were certain Heaven was going to come down, now you’re just certain that you’re completely uncertain of what is going to happen next. 

THAT WAS PETER!

And some how a majority of us have missed this lesson.  The lesson that Peter learned that lesson that most Christians and churches often forget.  There is only one Heaven.  What I mean is that this Earth will never be what it was originally meant to be in our life time or anybody else’s.  There will always be sin, there will always be corruption, and there will always be death.  (Mind you, I’m talking before any post tribulation occurences.)  Yet we insist on rooting out sin in our culture and in our society as if we’ve been given a badge that has “Sin Stoppers” written across it. 

We act as if it is our personal mission as Christians to stop the world from sinning and to get them to Heaven.  We boycott Disney and a myriad of other companies that support stances which we do not.  To be honest I’d be surprised if they even knew we were protesting them.  I’m sure Disney didn’t know based on its income. 

We protest with disdained looks on our faces as we say, “hate the sin love the sinner.”  Thinking about it, if I was the sinner and say my sin was lying.  I’d hear, hate the lie, love the liar.  To which my hypothetical response would be:  “Yes, yes I know I’m a liar, I struggle with it, thank you so very much for telling me you love me as you call me a liar.”  It’s interesting how we try to justify our sin sheriffing.  I’m not attacking protesting or boycotting.  I understand wanting to take a position that defends our beliefs and values.  There is nothing wrong with that.  But in the words of the Black Eyed Peas, “where is the love?”  If that is too bitter for your taste buds I’ll quote Paul as saying, “If I have not love I HAVE NOTHING!”

It seems to me our actions of boycotting, protesting, and exposing are more for the goal of making this world as close as God meant for it to be as we can.  Yet we will never achieve that goal, not because Christ’s power isn’t able, but because that’s not God’s goal for us.  Even if we made it 99% of how it was meant to be, it still wouldn’t be it.  We imagine if we fix culture, society, schools, and the government then we can fix the people.  However the opposite is true, if we fix the people we create a new culture and society.  One where the government mirrors the values of its people.  Even though the western world has dominated the Christian culture, Jesus himself was still eastern in His mind-set.  Meaning, when Christ healed somebody he didn’t just change and effect the selected area, He changed their entire life.  He was holistic, not meaning holy, but rather everything was connected.  When you encountered Christ’s love and He gave you grace and mercy you were completely changed, all aspects of your life were affected.  That is why Peter encourages us to be fervent in our love for one another.  It wasn’t Jesus’ protest and boycotts that changed the world, it was His love.  

I’m not saying that we ignore sin in our lives or in the lives of others.  Nor am I just saying that if we love everybody it will all just work itself out.  What I am saying is that if we through the power of Christ, which we have because of His love for us, allow our encounter with Christ to holistically change our lives we can be the tool He desires for us to be.  Encourage one another towards good works, take the time to correct when needed, and love others.  We aren’t going to experience Heaven on this earth; and those who don’t know Christ won’t ever experience Heaven if we don’t stop trying to control society and start living holistic lives for Christ!  Let the Holy Spirit do His job and let us do ours.  Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (NASB)

Leadership: ?

This is an atypical post compared to what has been posted on Fridays.  But I’m curious as to what you think.  I’m not going to ask you to comment, but rather I ask you to think to yourselves this question and its answer. (And if you feel like commenting your answer, feel free) 

What is Leadership to you?

It is a simple enough question.  But none-the-less it must be defined.  Now before you go and answer with some clichéd phrase about leadership or some definition you read in a book somewhere.  I want you to ask yourself, “If I was following me, and I gave this answer would it be enough for me to understand and apply?”  I’m not trying to knock tried and true phrases, but what I am trying to get you to do is to define what leadership is.  In my reading and studying I’m realizing leadership is many things not just some mobile memorable catch phrase.  Not just some theological thought. 

Your definition of leadership will determine the future of your group, program, or organization.  If your definition is found wanting so will everything else.  In the words of Voltaire, “Let us first define our terms, then proceeded.”

What is your definition of Leadership?

Is it difficult to define leadership? If so, why?

Why do you think we resort to simple phrases for major definitions?

Personal but not Private…

Ps. 147: 8-12 Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.  He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens which cry.  He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.  The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.  Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! (NASB)

I love podcasts!  In fact I would wear that if it were a t-shirt.  I have maybe a total of 5 albums on my iPod but I have close to 5 gbs of podcasts.  One of the podcast I subscribe to is the Catalyst podcast.  As I was listening to an interview with Matt Chandler of the Village Church he said this, “Our spiritual lives were never meant to be lived alone.  They are personal, but not private.”  Even as I write that statement, rehashing it for the 15 time, I feel the weight of its truth.

It was the cherry on top of what God has been challenging me with.  As I read through Psalms 146 to 150 something in 147 made me stop for a moment.  Verses 8 to 12 made me think: God does not need me or anybody else to accomplish His goal.  He is not impressed, stop trying to impress.  As I read on into Psalm 148, being encouraged by the psalmist to praise God, I have this thought: In order to truly praise God, you must first humble yourself.  This was only the bagillionth time I had read something or thought about humility that morning.  I realized God was telling me don’t be proud.  I can’t use you if you’re proud, I’m not impressed with you, because it is Me who is doing it through you, and if you’re really going to praise me you must first humble yourself. 

My pride has gotten the best of me more that I would care to admit.  Searching my heart I realized it got me in ways that I didn’t even realize it had.  And while this is personal, it is not private.  Most of you who read my blog know me or have known me personally so I ask you to pray for me in this.  It’s not that I have devised plans and schemed my way to attain some level of prominence or that I think I am more important than I am, it’s not that at all.  The reality is, there is a sense of pride and selfishness in us all and it is my desire to ride me of myself because I can’t praise God with pride in my life. 

Like Robert Robinson’s song Come, Thou Fount reads:

“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”

This is a personal struggle, but it is not a private one.  Don’t let your pride get in the way of you praising God, none of us are that impressive anyway.

How often do you share what you would consider “private” issues with other people?

Why are we so hesitant to share our sins, struggles, and failures with others?

Have any of you gotten over this inability to be transparent?  If so, how?