First off, let me explain the title. In my small group there is someone that is teaching me how to communicate through sign language. I think it is so fascinating, however as a novice, I tend to make mistakes, some of which would be offensive to anyone that can understand me. So when you say "good" in sign language you touch your hand to your chin and then put it in your other hand with your palm up. If you put your palm down it means "bad." So as I was learning I kept doing good wrong, which was bad. It became a running joke in my small group, however it made me think of my Christian walk and the story of Saul. I will expound on that in a bit.
I am reading through the whole bible in 90 days as a part of this mentorship program called D90X and we have been going through the story of Saul and David in 1 Samuel. In 1 Samuel 13:1-15, we find Saul in a tough spot. The Philistines are gathering to fight Israel, but before Saul can fight he has to wait for Samuel to come and offer sacrifices to the Lord. The Israelites were getting restless and so Saul springs into action and offers the sacrifices since Samuel had not arrived yet. Just as he did that, Samuel showed up and rebuked Saul for disobeying the Lord.
I see myself in this same situation many times as well. Have you ever been impatient with the Lord and taken matters in your own hands? Even though offering sacrifices to the Lord is a good thing, Saul still sinned. The root of his sin is that didn't trust the Lord. Things were looking bad, Saul had to act because the Lord didn't. Maybe the Lord had forgotten about him, or He didn't see the how the situation was unfolding. Have you ever reacted in the same manner as Saul? I know that I have.
Fast forward two chapters, in 1 Samuel 15, Saul is given the command to wipe out the Amalekites for their sins against Israel. He is supposed to utterly destroy them, however he spares the king, all of the gold and silver, and all the good sheep and cattle. When Samuel confronts him about this, Saul makes excuses. He says that he was bringing all the treasure back to the Lord, and was bringing the animals back to sacrifice to the Lord. Good intentions, right? I mean, the Lord is going to be so pumped that He now has all of this gold and animals for sacrifice. Saul was doing a good thing, right? Samuel quickly corrects Saul, "But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fats of rams." (1 Sam 15:22)
Ok, I know that we don't make sacrifices to the Lord anymore through animals, however the truth behind it should not be overlooked. God doesn't need our acts of service, God doesn't need our money, and God is not lacking in anything. Before I go any further, we should serve and tithe, not because God needs it but because we get the opportunity to be a part of God's mission. Back to my point, God did not create us to give Him gifts out of need, He created us for a relationship for Him. The Christian walk is not about doing what is good, it is about a broken spirit and a humble heart. "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." (Psalms 51:16-17)
You can make excuses all you want. You can go through the laundry list of things that you do for the church or for those in need, but if deep down inside you do all of this for yourself or do it out of disobedience, it is all in vain. God sees the heart. He sees that the widow that gave only two pennies even though it was all she had, and said that she gave more than anyone else. (Luke 21:1-4) He sees the regular church goer that hates his brother the same as the priest and the Levite in the story of the good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37) He sees the man that can't forgive others even though he has been forgiven as the unforgiving debtor. (Matthew 18:21-35) He sees the church goer that judges others the same as the Pharisees about to stone the adulterous woman. (John 8:1-11)
Do you mask sin with good works? Are you doing good things out of disobedience as Saul did? Are you rejecting the needs of your family so you can serve? Are you dating a non christian because you want to witness to them? Are you giving for the sole reason that God will bless you? Are you justifying an addiction, because it prevents you from doing other sins? Are you being impatient with the Lord and taking matters in your own hands as Saul? Search your heart. Do you feel true remorse for your sin that you desire true heart change? Are overwhelmed by grace to the point that you want to serve, love, and give to the Lord and others, and forgive others because you have received all that from the Lord?
I say this out of true conviction, when you do good for the wrong reasons or in disobedience, it is bad.
Your brother in Christ,
Daniel
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Bless the Lord all my Soul
" Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I love this verse, and it especially rings true when God is blessing me and when I am experiencing wonderful things in the Lord. However, when I am beaten, battered, overwhelmed by trials and loss, does this verse still ring true? Can I truly say, "I thank you Father for this loss, or I rejoice in this sickness?" Can I praise God when someone is taken from me? Would I bless the Lord if I lost my job or my health? It is a sobering thought to think that I would find myself being angry at God or disappointed in Him during hard times rather than truly praising Him in all things.
I try to think of the story of Job in the midst of trials. Read Job 1:13-22. Talk about a bad day. Job had all of his wealth and all of his children taken from him in one day. Imagine experiencing that kind of collapse. Your life's work, your job, all of your time and effort spend to build your wealth up in order to provide for your family and live comfortably was taken at once. No time to save some of it from disappearing. No time to make a decision that would change the outcome. Then on top of that, all of his children are killed in one day. I can't imagine the pain that Job and some of you may have experienced. To lose a child, that you raised and that is so dear to you, that you had imagined them growing old and marrying someone someday and starting a family of their own, was gone in an instance. Job experienced such loss, and his response to it all is, "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground to WORSHIP and said: Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:20-21) I can say that I have never experienced that kind of loss or despair, but if I did I would hope I would be able to react like Job.
However when something bad happens to me, which pales in comparison to Job's loss, my initial reaction is certainly not to worship. I look for someone to blame, I become angry, I despair, I will pray to God for a reason why, I will wonder if I had committed any sin that would have caused this, but rarely does it come to mind for me to worship the Lord.
The problem for me starts with perspective, I look at my trials and the bad things that happen to me as something that I don't deserve. "If there was any justice in the world, these things wouldn't happen to me!" The funny thing is that if I really wanted justice, I would be bound for hell and eternal separation from God because of the sins I have committed. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) We were created to be God's ambassadors of His glory on earth, but we have fallen so short of that calling. God is a holy God and he can not be in the presence of sin, which means us. God created us to be with Him, to commune with Him. Not only did we receive loss when Adam sinned, but the Lord did as well. His desire for us to show His glory and be reconciled to Him was so great, that He sent Christ. God came down to earth in the form of servant (human likeness, Phil 2:6-8) and experienced a broken world for 33 year and ultimately experienced all of our sins (something He had never experienced) when He died for us. "He who knew no sin, became sin for us." (2 Cor 5:21)
God and sin can not ultimately co-exist. Moses, who was sinful, wanted to see God's glory but was told that if he saw God's glory he would die. (Exodus 33:20) God describes Himself to Moses in verse 19 in Exodus 33, "And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." and then look at the verse when God actually passed by, "Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." (Exodus 34:5-7) God is abounding in love and faithfulness, slow to anger, gracious and compassionate, forgiving sin, and still maintaining and never compromising His holiness.
Seeing what are sin has done to us and who God is it is easy to explain why we have loss. How do we explain the unexplainable loss that happens to us? The death of thousands to an earthquake or some other natural disaster. It all goes back to our sin. We are not proper representations of God and as a result sin entered the world and now we live in a corrupted and fractured creation. Terrible things that can not be explained, such as earthquakes, famines, and destruction takes place because of sin; creation was never intended to experience this, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it (Adam, See Genesis 1:28), in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:18-23)
So what should our response be to loss, pain, and suffering, whether it can be explained or not? Rejoice in the Lord in all things! If I received justice, I would die for my sins, so every breath that I take in is truly a gift from a gracious God, that is slow in His righteous anger towards me. I need to stop thinking that the earth revolves around me and my happiness. "The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;" (Psalms 24:1) Look back to Exodus 33:19, He chooses whom to have mercy and compassion on. We are not entitled to anything. So when we think about what we deserve and who God really is, all trials and all hardships fall woefully short from His grace. So be thankful in all things. I pray for the perspective of Job, that in everything, I will worship the Lord!
Psalms 100
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Here is the song I was listening to while I was writing this:
http://youtu.be/9jYLTn4fKYQ
May the power of God be revealed to us all in His love, mercy, and grace.
Love in Christ,
Daniel
I love this verse, and it especially rings true when God is blessing me and when I am experiencing wonderful things in the Lord. However, when I am beaten, battered, overwhelmed by trials and loss, does this verse still ring true? Can I truly say, "I thank you Father for this loss, or I rejoice in this sickness?" Can I praise God when someone is taken from me? Would I bless the Lord if I lost my job or my health? It is a sobering thought to think that I would find myself being angry at God or disappointed in Him during hard times rather than truly praising Him in all things.
I try to think of the story of Job in the midst of trials. Read Job 1:13-22. Talk about a bad day. Job had all of his wealth and all of his children taken from him in one day. Imagine experiencing that kind of collapse. Your life's work, your job, all of your time and effort spend to build your wealth up in order to provide for your family and live comfortably was taken at once. No time to save some of it from disappearing. No time to make a decision that would change the outcome. Then on top of that, all of his children are killed in one day. I can't imagine the pain that Job and some of you may have experienced. To lose a child, that you raised and that is so dear to you, that you had imagined them growing old and marrying someone someday and starting a family of their own, was gone in an instance. Job experienced such loss, and his response to it all is, "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground to WORSHIP and said: Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:20-21) I can say that I have never experienced that kind of loss or despair, but if I did I would hope I would be able to react like Job.
However when something bad happens to me, which pales in comparison to Job's loss, my initial reaction is certainly not to worship. I look for someone to blame, I become angry, I despair, I will pray to God for a reason why, I will wonder if I had committed any sin that would have caused this, but rarely does it come to mind for me to worship the Lord.
The problem for me starts with perspective, I look at my trials and the bad things that happen to me as something that I don't deserve. "If there was any justice in the world, these things wouldn't happen to me!" The funny thing is that if I really wanted justice, I would be bound for hell and eternal separation from God because of the sins I have committed. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) We were created to be God's ambassadors of His glory on earth, but we have fallen so short of that calling. God is a holy God and he can not be in the presence of sin, which means us. God created us to be with Him, to commune with Him. Not only did we receive loss when Adam sinned, but the Lord did as well. His desire for us to show His glory and be reconciled to Him was so great, that He sent Christ. God came down to earth in the form of servant (human likeness, Phil 2:6-8) and experienced a broken world for 33 year and ultimately experienced all of our sins (something He had never experienced) when He died for us. "He who knew no sin, became sin for us." (2 Cor 5:21)
God and sin can not ultimately co-exist. Moses, who was sinful, wanted to see God's glory but was told that if he saw God's glory he would die. (Exodus 33:20) God describes Himself to Moses in verse 19 in Exodus 33, "And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." and then look at the verse when God actually passed by, "Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." (Exodus 34:5-7) God is abounding in love and faithfulness, slow to anger, gracious and compassionate, forgiving sin, and still maintaining and never compromising His holiness.
Seeing what are sin has done to us and who God is it is easy to explain why we have loss. How do we explain the unexplainable loss that happens to us? The death of thousands to an earthquake or some other natural disaster. It all goes back to our sin. We are not proper representations of God and as a result sin entered the world and now we live in a corrupted and fractured creation. Terrible things that can not be explained, such as earthquakes, famines, and destruction takes place because of sin; creation was never intended to experience this, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it (Adam, See Genesis 1:28), in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:18-23)
So what should our response be to loss, pain, and suffering, whether it can be explained or not? Rejoice in the Lord in all things! If I received justice, I would die for my sins, so every breath that I take in is truly a gift from a gracious God, that is slow in His righteous anger towards me. I need to stop thinking that the earth revolves around me and my happiness. "The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;" (Psalms 24:1) Look back to Exodus 33:19, He chooses whom to have mercy and compassion on. We are not entitled to anything. So when we think about what we deserve and who God really is, all trials and all hardships fall woefully short from His grace. So be thankful in all things. I pray for the perspective of Job, that in everything, I will worship the Lord!
Psalms 100
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Here is the song I was listening to while I was writing this:
http://youtu.be/9jYLTn4fKYQ
May the power of God be revealed to us all in His love, mercy, and grace.
Love in Christ,
Daniel
Monday, February 13, 2012
How Can We Find Peace?
Peace seems like such an elusive goal. There is a restlessness in the hearts of all men, we are looking for rest, and we are looking for peace. Conflict is exhausting, it is messy, and it incurs loss. Since, the birth of sin in Adam, true peace hasn't existed. It didn't take long for it to boil over, see the famous story of Cain and Abel. The lack of peace is not rooted in the conflict between man and man however, it is based in the conflict between God and man. Sin is not something that we do to our fellow man, but to God and God alone. "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge."(Psalms 51:4) David wrote this Psalm after he had committed adultery and murder, however he is faced with the painful realization that he has truly sinned against God and not his fellow man. Sin at its root is against God, however when we sin against others, the consequences still effect our fellow man.
God is the true source and giver of peace. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13) When the Lord gave the priestly blessing to the Israelites, one of the blessings was peace. (Numbers 6:24-27) However, sin is the ultimate inhibitor of peace with God. Sin needs to be done away with in order to have access to the peace given by God. The only way to receive forgiveness of sin was the shedding of blood: "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22) The judgement for sin has to be dealt with and the consequence for sin is death. "For the wages of sin is death.." (Romans 6:23)
God is a gracious and loving God, but He is also a just and holy God, and He will not deny himself. So in order to have peace with God a sacrifice had to be made. Someone had to be the sin substitute for our sins, some one had to be the two goats in Leviticus 16 (Day of Atonement). Now imagine, that Jesus, the Son of God, came down from glory and honor and humbled Himself to die for all of us. Please read Philippians 2:5-11, so that the a true picture of humility and servitude can be seen in what Christ did for us. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:12) He that knew no death, became death for us! Don't you see Christ did what we could not, and through Him the righteous requirements of the law were met for us. "For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:3-4) "and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Col 1:20) It is through faith in Christ that we can receive this atonement for our sin. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph 2:8-9)
So through this faith in Christ, we can now have peace with God. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2)
So what is gained in peace with God? Read Ephesians 2:12-18 and I am going to highlight verse 18: "For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." The same thing is said in the above verse in Romans 5. So through Christ's sacrifice, along with salvation and all of the other amazing gifts we have in Him, (I will blog about that later) we have access to God because we are finally at peace with God because our sins no longer block us from Him. Think about that! We now have a direct link to the Father, the Creator of all things, God Almighty, because of the peace we receive through Christ. Here is also where it gets cool:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
We receive peace on both sides of our petition. So we have access to God with the peace found through Christ and now God graciously gives us peace to sooth our anxious hearts and minds as we offer our prayers to Him. God is the giver of good gifts, (James 1:17) His timing is perfect. However, most of the time, His timing is not our timing. So as we wait for our prayers and petitions to be answered, God gives us peace that transcends all understanding. Our ability to trust Him comes from the peace He gives us and is confirmed in the hope seen in His promises coming to fulfillment. So I implore you to allow this peace to reign in your life! "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." (Col 3:15) We are so quick to forget how good of a Father we truly have, and get caught up in the instant gratification of our culture and expect God to do the same. Rest in His peace that He freely offers through His Son, Jesus. Allow it to permeate you completely, so that when the unknown, or trials come your way that you can take solace in the peace spoken about in John 16:33. Also, boast only in the cross, because without it, we would have nothing, which includes peace.
I will close with this. "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." (2 Thes 3:16)
Peace be with you all through our Savior Jesus Christ,
Daniel
God is the true source and giver of peace. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13) When the Lord gave the priestly blessing to the Israelites, one of the blessings was peace. (Numbers 6:24-27) However, sin is the ultimate inhibitor of peace with God. Sin needs to be done away with in order to have access to the peace given by God. The only way to receive forgiveness of sin was the shedding of blood: "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22) The judgement for sin has to be dealt with and the consequence for sin is death. "For the wages of sin is death.." (Romans 6:23)
God is a gracious and loving God, but He is also a just and holy God, and He will not deny himself. So in order to have peace with God a sacrifice had to be made. Someone had to be the sin substitute for our sins, some one had to be the two goats in Leviticus 16 (Day of Atonement). Now imagine, that Jesus, the Son of God, came down from glory and honor and humbled Himself to die for all of us. Please read Philippians 2:5-11, so that the a true picture of humility and servitude can be seen in what Christ did for us. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:12) He that knew no death, became death for us! Don't you see Christ did what we could not, and through Him the righteous requirements of the law were met for us. "For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:3-4) "and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Col 1:20) It is through faith in Christ that we can receive this atonement for our sin. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph 2:8-9)
So through this faith in Christ, we can now have peace with God. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2)
So what is gained in peace with God? Read Ephesians 2:12-18 and I am going to highlight verse 18: "For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." The same thing is said in the above verse in Romans 5. So through Christ's sacrifice, along with salvation and all of the other amazing gifts we have in Him, (I will blog about that later) we have access to God because we are finally at peace with God because our sins no longer block us from Him. Think about that! We now have a direct link to the Father, the Creator of all things, God Almighty, because of the peace we receive through Christ. Here is also where it gets cool:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
We receive peace on both sides of our petition. So we have access to God with the peace found through Christ and now God graciously gives us peace to sooth our anxious hearts and minds as we offer our prayers to Him. God is the giver of good gifts, (James 1:17) His timing is perfect. However, most of the time, His timing is not our timing. So as we wait for our prayers and petitions to be answered, God gives us peace that transcends all understanding. Our ability to trust Him comes from the peace He gives us and is confirmed in the hope seen in His promises coming to fulfillment. So I implore you to allow this peace to reign in your life! "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." (Col 3:15) We are so quick to forget how good of a Father we truly have, and get caught up in the instant gratification of our culture and expect God to do the same. Rest in His peace that He freely offers through His Son, Jesus. Allow it to permeate you completely, so that when the unknown, or trials come your way that you can take solace in the peace spoken about in John 16:33. Also, boast only in the cross, because without it, we would have nothing, which includes peace.
I will close with this. "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." (2 Thes 3:16)
Peace be with you all through our Savior Jesus Christ,
Daniel
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Do What is Right and Persevere, God Will Reward You
Hi Guys!
Thank you for all the support and the love that you have showed me through this blog and I hope that I can return the favor with encouragement in Christ and through His word. I was reading in James today (A side note, I absolutely love that book) and through some of Paul's letters and I was encouraged in the promises of the gospel!
I struggle with waiting patiently for things to come, especially when the timing seems to just make sense. I selfishly want these done on my time and when I see fit. That is the case not only when I am good things, but in my trials as well. It is hard to press through when it just seems like you are getting no where or that your efforts are in vain. I want to encourage you to keep pressing though, keep fighting, and keep doing good works. Your reward will be great, in this life or the next. (Mark 10:29-31, Romans 8:18)
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4) This is crazy, if you think about it. Consider it pure joy that you face hardship, pain, and suffering? Take time to think back on your trials or difficult times, a death of someone close to you, a betrayal of someone that you cared about, the loss of something important to you, a deterioration of your health, or a time that was financially difficult. What did you receive after you got through that trial? Maybe you are still in the midst of this trial, if so take heart in God's promises. The test of your faith will produced perseverance. Your faith in God was put to the test and you needed to depend on Him more than you had before. Draw on those times when dependency on Him got you through your trial, because you will soon face another, so that you can reach a further level of reliance and hope in God. Here is a scripture that correlates with that, Romans 5:1-6.
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."
By our faith in God we have been given access to His grace, we hope in His glory, and that hope will not put us to shame, despite our trials, because of God's great love that He was poured on us! We should not fear or cower from our trials, because through them, we gain an increasing hope and an increasing dependency in the God that richly loves us. This is a promise to stand on and to take refuge in! I went all the way to verse 6 because I love what it shows, God's timing is perfect. When it seems like the trial will overtake us, or that the good that we are doing is just in vain, hold fast and push through with the strength of the Lord and you will be rewarded! "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12)
Not only can we be encouraged in our trials, but also when we are doing what is right and it seems like it is going unnoticed or to not avail. Galatians 6:7-10:
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
I feel like this scripture is commonly used when we are doing things wrong and from this we get the famous colloquialism, "you will reap, what you sow." Meaning stop doing wrong, or you will get what is coming to you. The same takes place when you are doing right, you will get what is coming to you. I love the encouragement that verse 9 gives, do not become weary, because God's timing is perfect, (I feel like I saw that somewhere else), and you will reap a harvest, so don't give up! I have seen God work in this way, but you also may not be the one that reaps the harvest, it may be someone else. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9:
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been 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.
We have all be called to a purpose in our service to Christ, whether to water or to plant, it doesn't matter. God will make it grow, God will draw people to himself, and we are just co workers in His service. What a blessing that is and for our work we will be rewarded!! (see verse 8)
I want to encourage once again to push through your trials and suffering, to strive to do good and display the gospel to all people. You will reap joy beyond anything you have ever experienced. I pray that we all will gain a deeper dependency on God and His grace to His glory! What a blessing it is to be found in His love! I am praying for you all in your trials that you will persevere! God will always sustain us and strength us through any suffering. For we are more than conquerors through Him that has overcome the world! (Romans 8:37, John 16:33)
May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts,
Daniel
Thank you for all the support and the love that you have showed me through this blog and I hope that I can return the favor with encouragement in Christ and through His word. I was reading in James today (A side note, I absolutely love that book) and through some of Paul's letters and I was encouraged in the promises of the gospel!
I struggle with waiting patiently for things to come, especially when the timing seems to just make sense. I selfishly want these done on my time and when I see fit. That is the case not only when I am good things, but in my trials as well. It is hard to press through when it just seems like you are getting no where or that your efforts are in vain. I want to encourage you to keep pressing though, keep fighting, and keep doing good works. Your reward will be great, in this life or the next. (Mark 10:29-31, Romans 8:18)
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4) This is crazy, if you think about it. Consider it pure joy that you face hardship, pain, and suffering? Take time to think back on your trials or difficult times, a death of someone close to you, a betrayal of someone that you cared about, the loss of something important to you, a deterioration of your health, or a time that was financially difficult. What did you receive after you got through that trial? Maybe you are still in the midst of this trial, if so take heart in God's promises. The test of your faith will produced perseverance. Your faith in God was put to the test and you needed to depend on Him more than you had before. Draw on those times when dependency on Him got you through your trial, because you will soon face another, so that you can reach a further level of reliance and hope in God. Here is a scripture that correlates with that, Romans 5:1-6.
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."
By our faith in God we have been given access to His grace, we hope in His glory, and that hope will not put us to shame, despite our trials, because of God's great love that He was poured on us! We should not fear or cower from our trials, because through them, we gain an increasing hope and an increasing dependency in the God that richly loves us. This is a promise to stand on and to take refuge in! I went all the way to verse 6 because I love what it shows, God's timing is perfect. When it seems like the trial will overtake us, or that the good that we are doing is just in vain, hold fast and push through with the strength of the Lord and you will be rewarded! "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12)
Not only can we be encouraged in our trials, but also when we are doing what is right and it seems like it is going unnoticed or to not avail. Galatians 6:7-10:
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
I feel like this scripture is commonly used when we are doing things wrong and from this we get the famous colloquialism, "you will reap, what you sow." Meaning stop doing wrong, or you will get what is coming to you. The same takes place when you are doing right, you will get what is coming to you. I love the encouragement that verse 9 gives, do not become weary, because God's timing is perfect, (I feel like I saw that somewhere else), and you will reap a harvest, so don't give up! I have seen God work in this way, but you also may not be the one that reaps the harvest, it may be someone else. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9:
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been 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.
We have all be called to a purpose in our service to Christ, whether to water or to plant, it doesn't matter. God will make it grow, God will draw people to himself, and we are just co workers in His service. What a blessing that is and for our work we will be rewarded!! (see verse 8)
I want to encourage once again to push through your trials and suffering, to strive to do good and display the gospel to all people. You will reap joy beyond anything you have ever experienced. I pray that we all will gain a deeper dependency on God and His grace to His glory! What a blessing it is to be found in His love! I am praying for you all in your trials that you will persevere! God will always sustain us and strength us through any suffering. For we are more than conquerors through Him that has overcome the world! (Romans 8:37, John 16:33)
May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts,
Daniel
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Praying and Fasting to No Avail?
I am starting to read the book of Isaiah, and I got blown away in the first chapter. I was marinating in the Isaiah 1 and was very convicted about my sin and how it effects my prayers. I would encourage you to read the whole chapter, however here is a highlight in verses 15 through 17.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
You see this again in Isaiah 58 when it comes to true fasting. I would also encourage reading this chapter as a prerequisite before you fast. Here is a highlight from the chapter in verse 3 and 4.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
What good is it to sacrifice ourselves in prayer and fasting if we are living active lives in sin? In Joshua 7:7-11, Joshua is on his knees and earnestly praying to Lord, why have the suffered such a defeat and why are they routed by their enemies and God's response is quite simple.
10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.
Psalms 66:18 reiterates the same principle, "If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened."
God desires for us to petition Him with our concerns and our prayers. Matthew 7:9-11, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! God rewards those who earnestly seek Him as well. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Christ's sacrifice also gives the opportunity to bring our prays to the Father. He is our mediator to the Father and our high priest. "Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34) We even have the Holy Spirit interceding for us, when we don't know what to say, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27) How amazing is this!!! We can come before the Father through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and offer requests to the Creator of all things!! What a privilege that we have in Jesus! So why block this privilege and opportunity to with sin in your life? Stop cherishing sin, forsake evil, and approach the throne with confidence that God hears and answers prayers according to His will.
Don't delay when it comes to confessing our sins and your wrongs against others. "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24)
God answers prayers according to His will, and does everything for His glory, so this is not a remedy to having all your prayers answered. God hears prayers, but He knows what is best for us, so He will respond with a Yes, No, or Wait. However, it is very clear that sin disconnects our prayers from the Father. So if you are feeling frustrated that your prayers are not being answered, but you have sin prevalent in your life, confess and repent from those sins. God wants to answer prayers for His glory, but if you could care less about His commands and are blatantly being disobedient, stop deceiving yourselves, God is not pleased with your sacrifices of fasting and prayer.
Praying for you all! May God reign in your hearts and may you taste and see that He is good and He will always satisfy you! "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35)
May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts. Your brother in Christ,
Daniel
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
You see this again in Isaiah 58 when it comes to true fasting. I would also encourage reading this chapter as a prerequisite before you fast. Here is a highlight from the chapter in verse 3 and 4.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
What good is it to sacrifice ourselves in prayer and fasting if we are living active lives in sin? In Joshua 7:7-11, Joshua is on his knees and earnestly praying to Lord, why have the suffered such a defeat and why are they routed by their enemies and God's response is quite simple.
10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.
Psalms 66:18 reiterates the same principle, "If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened."
God desires for us to petition Him with our concerns and our prayers. Matthew 7:9-11, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! God rewards those who earnestly seek Him as well. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Christ's sacrifice also gives the opportunity to bring our prays to the Father. He is our mediator to the Father and our high priest. "Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34) We even have the Holy Spirit interceding for us, when we don't know what to say, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27) How amazing is this!!! We can come before the Father through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and offer requests to the Creator of all things!! What a privilege that we have in Jesus! So why block this privilege and opportunity to with sin in your life? Stop cherishing sin, forsake evil, and approach the throne with confidence that God hears and answers prayers according to His will.
Don't delay when it comes to confessing our sins and your wrongs against others. "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24)
God answers prayers according to His will, and does everything for His glory, so this is not a remedy to having all your prayers answered. God hears prayers, but He knows what is best for us, so He will respond with a Yes, No, or Wait. However, it is very clear that sin disconnects our prayers from the Father. So if you are feeling frustrated that your prayers are not being answered, but you have sin prevalent in your life, confess and repent from those sins. God wants to answer prayers for His glory, but if you could care less about His commands and are blatantly being disobedient, stop deceiving yourselves, God is not pleased with your sacrifices of fasting and prayer.
Praying for you all! May God reign in your hearts and may you taste and see that He is good and He will always satisfy you! "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35)
May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts. Your brother in Christ,
Daniel
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Life in Death
You may or may not have seen my post from last night. Coffee and the wee hours of the night produced a deadly combination of rabbit trails and a not so coherent posting. I believe that I got off track and tried to post two thoughts in one. So I decided to forgo the original post and focus on the principle of life through death. Lord willing, I will post about being Hidden in Christ at a later date.
The scriptures have been resonating in me about this concept of life through death, of losing your life in order to gain it. Mark 8:35 states that, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." So how is this possible and do I really believe it? Do I take the step of faith that my life will truly be saved if I lose it for the gospel? Let me assure you, God keeps His promises. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you." (Deut 31:6) Jesus reassures His disciples this same promise in Matthew 28:20 after the great commission, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." How can you trust that God truly has your best interests in heart? Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
God's glory and honor will always super cede our happiness and our desires. "For we are created by Him and for Him." (Col 1:16) However, it does brings Him glory when He blesses us, when He takes care of us, when He gives us life. So not only are His promises assured, they are also good. The reward is promised that we will gain life if we lose ours for the gospel, so what does that practically look like?
Put to death your sinful nature and your sinful desires and do it daily. Read Romans 6:1-14. It explains not only what the death of Christ meant, but also what the resurrection of Christ meant as well. Verse 3 and 4, we share in His death and in His life through the resurrection. Since we have been put to death in Christ and raised with Him in new life, we are no longer slaves to sin. We must throw off our sin nature and not let it reign in our mortal bodies. (verse 12) The command is reiterated in Colossians 3:5-10.
The scriptures have been resonating in me about this concept of life through death, of losing your life in order to gain it. Mark 8:35 states that, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." So how is this possible and do I really believe it? Do I take the step of faith that my life will truly be saved if I lose it for the gospel? Let me assure you, God keeps His promises. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you." (Deut 31:6) Jesus reassures His disciples this same promise in Matthew 28:20 after the great commission, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." How can you trust that God truly has your best interests in heart? Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
God's glory and honor will always super cede our happiness and our desires. "For we are created by Him and for Him." (Col 1:16) However, it does brings Him glory when He blesses us, when He takes care of us, when He gives us life. So not only are His promises assured, they are also good. The reward is promised that we will gain life if we lose ours for the gospel, so what does that practically look like?
Put to death your sinful nature and your sinful desires and do it daily. Read Romans 6:1-14. It explains not only what the death of Christ meant, but also what the resurrection of Christ meant as well. Verse 3 and 4, we share in His death and in His life through the resurrection. Since we have been put to death in Christ and raised with Him in new life, we are no longer slaves to sin. We must throw off our sin nature and not let it reign in our mortal bodies. (verse 12) The command is reiterated in Colossians 3:5-10.
He is an opportunity to save your life and for me to save my own! I must lose these desires, I must release my desires that corrupt me and that destroy me. Think about it, if you want to save your life, you will lose it. Don't hold on to anything will a clutched fist. Don't say to God, I will serve you in all of these other areas like reading my Bible everyday and tithing, and in return let me continue to sleep with my girlfriend of boyfriend. There is nothing done half way here. True surrender is your whole life. It doesn't say lose some of your life, you know the easy stuff to give up, but not your desires or goals, hold on to them and you will gain your life. No, it says lose your life in its entirety. The things you are unwilling to give up will ultimately destroy you. So what is holding you back from experience the goodness of the Lord? What are you unwilling to give up? I can testify to that, the things that God is calling me to be sanctified from this year, have always destroyed me. Video games and laziness single handily destroyed my efforts to graduate college on time. My unwillingness to submit my relationships to Lord in purity has caused disaster, heart ache and regret.
I implore you to see this. Your selfish desires will destroy you, they will lead to a unfulfilled life mired with regret, pain, and scars. Find life in your own death. Die to yourself and submit those dreams and desires to Lord and let Him fulfill them. He is a good father and a giver of good gifts (Matt 7:11). He will give us the desires of our heart, however it requires one thing, to delight in Him. (Psalms 37:4) Find your satisfaction in Him and you will not be disappointed, in fact you will be never be satisfied like that elsewhere. (John 6:35) Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalms 34:8)
I am praying for you all, that you see that God has a good work to be carried out in you until Christ's return! (Phil 1:6)
I implore you to see this. Your selfish desires will destroy you, they will lead to a unfulfilled life mired with regret, pain, and scars. Find life in your own death. Die to yourself and submit those dreams and desires to Lord and let Him fulfill them. He is a good father and a giver of good gifts (Matt 7:11). He will give us the desires of our heart, however it requires one thing, to delight in Him. (Psalms 37:4) Find your satisfaction in Him and you will not be disappointed, in fact you will be never be satisfied like that elsewhere. (John 6:35) Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalms 34:8)
I am praying for you all, that you see that God has a good work to be carried out in you until Christ's return! (Phil 1:6)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Finally obedient!
I am trying to not put a lot of pressure on myself to make an inspiring and profound first post of my blog ever, so if it is terrible I am asking for forgiveness in advance.
Ok, with that caveat out of the way, let me give you a story about how all of this came about. I know that I will give parts of my testimony through out the blog, but we will start on January 1st, 2012.
After celebrating with my small group on New Years Eve, I came into church like I did most every other day, longing to spend time in worship, receiving a message from my pastor, serving in the children's ministry, and socializing and catching up with friends that I did or didn't see the night before. The setup was different, more like a coffee shop kinda feel, and Pastor Jimmy challenged everyone to consecrate themselves before the Lord, put the Lord in the right perspective, repent of sin, and allow God to speak to us about what He had in store for us in 2012. Man, did I get hit with a body shot from the Holy Spirit. It was made very clear to me through the Holy Spirit that I was supposed to consecrate myself for the entirety of 2012, and to give up all of the vices that had plagued me through out my life and especially in my walk with the Lord. One by one, they were rattled off...No alcohol for a year, No video games for a year, No laziness, No relationships, and remain pure for a year. (I will go into detail about why these are my vices later.)
I am glad those chairs are linked together because I probably would have fallen over backwards. Overwhelmed, I had to get up and find a corner to pray. I wrestled with the Holy Spirit and the Lord for the whole service, most of the time in tears. "I couldn't do this. There is no way that God is asking me to do this all at once. Do I really have to give all of this up?" The more a prayed the more it was confirmed in my Spirit that this is what I needed to do.
After lunch with some friends, I went away to a coffee shop, and put on some worship music and opened my Bible to look for insight, or maybe an excuse. The Lord put several scriptures on my heart. Luke 14:25-35, what was the cost of being a disciple? I really had to evaluate this decision, just like the builder and the king in this passage, was I really willing to give all of this up for a year? I know the importance of a vow and that it is better to not make one at all then to make one and break it. (Ecclesiastes 5:5)
As I was evaluating the cost, I thought about Mark 8:35-38, specifically verse 35, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." I know that I am not really losing my life, like I don't believe giving up any of these things will actually kill me, and I know that people in the past and even now have sacrificed way more than I could possibly imagine for Christ and for the gospel. However, I saw this passage in a different light than I had before. I was TRYING to save my life. I was having some of Jesus and then some of the things that I wanted. I would commit myself to ministering to singles and kindergartners at my church, but then I would use those deeds as leverage for the things that I wanted to do. Essentially, God and I had a barter system, I would do some good things for Him and then I could, in turn, do things that I wanted. What an illusion!! I was just like the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 2:13, "My people have committed two sins: They have FORSAKEN me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." I was trying to find satisfaction apart from the Lord, and I was content with the dust that I was drinking, when I could have found all of that in the Lord.
BAM!! It hit me again. Instead of approaching this task that the Lord had given me with fear, I suddenly became excited!! I want to drink from the wellspring of life and only the wellspring of life! Oh man, how great is that going to taste! Then entered the thought that I needed to offer myself as a living sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1). To come completely, not with a divided heart, mind, body, or soul, but with everything. Matthew 22:37 is so true, we are commanded to, "..Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." There is no half measures in there, no additions, no different portions other than all, and in the Greek, all means all. Luke 14:33, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." That is pretty black and white. There is no bait and switch that Christ is pulling here.
With assurance in His promises, I said on January 1st, 2012 that I would consecrate myself to the Lord and this is the story.
Ok, with that caveat out of the way, let me give you a story about how all of this came about. I know that I will give parts of my testimony through out the blog, but we will start on January 1st, 2012.
After celebrating with my small group on New Years Eve, I came into church like I did most every other day, longing to spend time in worship, receiving a message from my pastor, serving in the children's ministry, and socializing and catching up with friends that I did or didn't see the night before. The setup was different, more like a coffee shop kinda feel, and Pastor Jimmy challenged everyone to consecrate themselves before the Lord, put the Lord in the right perspective, repent of sin, and allow God to speak to us about what He had in store for us in 2012. Man, did I get hit with a body shot from the Holy Spirit. It was made very clear to me through the Holy Spirit that I was supposed to consecrate myself for the entirety of 2012, and to give up all of the vices that had plagued me through out my life and especially in my walk with the Lord. One by one, they were rattled off...No alcohol for a year, No video games for a year, No laziness, No relationships, and remain pure for a year. (I will go into detail about why these are my vices later.)
I am glad those chairs are linked together because I probably would have fallen over backwards. Overwhelmed, I had to get up and find a corner to pray. I wrestled with the Holy Spirit and the Lord for the whole service, most of the time in tears. "I couldn't do this. There is no way that God is asking me to do this all at once. Do I really have to give all of this up?" The more a prayed the more it was confirmed in my Spirit that this is what I needed to do.
After lunch with some friends, I went away to a coffee shop, and put on some worship music and opened my Bible to look for insight, or maybe an excuse. The Lord put several scriptures on my heart. Luke 14:25-35, what was the cost of being a disciple? I really had to evaluate this decision, just like the builder and the king in this passage, was I really willing to give all of this up for a year? I know the importance of a vow and that it is better to not make one at all then to make one and break it. (Ecclesiastes 5:5)
As I was evaluating the cost, I thought about Mark 8:35-38, specifically verse 35, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." I know that I am not really losing my life, like I don't believe giving up any of these things will actually kill me, and I know that people in the past and even now have sacrificed way more than I could possibly imagine for Christ and for the gospel. However, I saw this passage in a different light than I had before. I was TRYING to save my life. I was having some of Jesus and then some of the things that I wanted. I would commit myself to ministering to singles and kindergartners at my church, but then I would use those deeds as leverage for the things that I wanted to do. Essentially, God and I had a barter system, I would do some good things for Him and then I could, in turn, do things that I wanted. What an illusion!! I was just like the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 2:13, "My people have committed two sins: They have FORSAKEN me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." I was trying to find satisfaction apart from the Lord, and I was content with the dust that I was drinking, when I could have found all of that in the Lord.
BAM!! It hit me again. Instead of approaching this task that the Lord had given me with fear, I suddenly became excited!! I want to drink from the wellspring of life and only the wellspring of life! Oh man, how great is that going to taste! Then entered the thought that I needed to offer myself as a living sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1). To come completely, not with a divided heart, mind, body, or soul, but with everything. Matthew 22:37 is so true, we are commanded to, "..Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." There is no half measures in there, no additions, no different portions other than all, and in the Greek, all means all. Luke 14:33, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." That is pretty black and white. There is no bait and switch that Christ is pulling here.
With assurance in His promises, I said on January 1st, 2012 that I would consecrate myself to the Lord and this is the story.
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