"He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." - 2 Timothy 1: 9-10
"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." - 2 Timothy 2:1
I often think that everything in my life is a result of my own actions and my own ability to pull myself up by my bootstraps, persevere, and make the right choices.
I put the weight of my own salvation on myself. I put the weight of other's salvation on myself.
But very simply, whatever I may ever gain or possess or have given to me or see or do or accomplish, can never compare to the riches of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.
My strength cannot solely come from me if I am to continue running this race of life. I can no longer pretend like my weaknesses don't exist. I cannot detach from my own heart or from the heart of God.
I have to press into the heart of God and be strong in His grace. Because he has always been my Father and it's never been because of what I have or haven't done. He loves me because of his own purpose and grace, and it is in that grace I will find my true strength.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
7 Things I Have Learned About Loving the Poor.
A few things I'm processing today about caring for the poor:
1. A person's bank account does not define them. We are all created in the "Imago Dei" or "image of God." Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are God's workmanship.
2. Circumstances may help provide context for understanding what a person faces daily, but again, circumstances/bank account do not define.
3. Those we view as having "less" often have more to give than we could ever realize. It's just been buried under years of being in survival mode and being wounded by others. Or we simply just don't ask or care to hear their opinion.
4. We have a biblical mandate to "love mercy & act justly" (Micah 6:8), we know that true religion cares for the orphan and widow (James 1:27), and that Jesus himself came to proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted & set the captives free (Luke 4:18-19)
5. Our role in all this is:
- to be a catalyst for relational healing
- provide tangible expressions of love that affirm worth, value, and a persons role in community
- empower others to walk with Jesus & take steps to grow beyond their current circumstances.
6. God is doing it. He is our savior. He is the savior of the poor. He calls us to be on mission with Him. We are to "do with" and not "do for" the poor, the outcast, the broken. When we work together in community, it is far more effective and shows us a glimpse of heaven on Earth.
7. Unless our identity is found in God the Father and his streams of mercy for us, we will never be able to effectively walk with others through their healing process.
1. A person's bank account does not define them. We are all created in the "Imago Dei" or "image of God." Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are God's workmanship.
2. Circumstances may help provide context for understanding what a person faces daily, but again, circumstances/bank account do not define.
3. Those we view as having "less" often have more to give than we could ever realize. It's just been buried under years of being in survival mode and being wounded by others. Or we simply just don't ask or care to hear their opinion.
4. We have a biblical mandate to "love mercy & act justly" (Micah 6:8), we know that true religion cares for the orphan and widow (James 1:27), and that Jesus himself came to proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted & set the captives free (Luke 4:18-19)
5. Our role in all this is:
- to be a catalyst for relational healing
- provide tangible expressions of love that affirm worth, value, and a persons role in community
- empower others to walk with Jesus & take steps to grow beyond their current circumstances.
6. God is doing it. He is our savior. He is the savior of the poor. He calls us to be on mission with Him. We are to "do with" and not "do for" the poor, the outcast, the broken. When we work together in community, it is far more effective and shows us a glimpse of heaven on Earth.
7. Unless our identity is found in God the Father and his streams of mercy for us, we will never be able to effectively walk with others through their healing process.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
In Him.
To understand God as one who is able to fill in the gaps and heal the wounds created by our earthly relationships, is to understand the core of who our heavenly Father truly is. He is full of grace and truth, our God is love in its fullness.
Out of a pure understanding of who God is we can derive our identity, for we were created in His image and in Him we live and move and have our being.
May who we are not be informed by the things we produce, but may the things we produce be informed by who we are in Christ. For only He can make us whole.
Out of a pure understanding of who God is we can derive our identity, for we were created in His image and in Him we live and move and have our being.
May who we are not be informed by the things we produce, but may the things we produce be informed by who we are in Christ. For only He can make us whole.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
A Good Gift
I believe the point of our lives is to be a good gift to others, to use what we have been given in selfless ways that foster community and show us what it's like to lay down our lives so that others may live.
If we aren't careful, this selfless way of living is all too easy to disregard because we are by nature selfish beings. The irony is that the more of ourselves we give, the more we actually discover who we really are.
Jesus modeled this so perfectly not just in his death but in the way he lived. Scripture tells us that even Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve. How often do I want to be served instead of serving?
Why does our culture celebrate the accumulation of stuff and not the one who gives it all away? Why do we celebrate fame and not the one who is quietly changing lives in their own neighborhood? Why do I fall prey to this selfish way of thinking so often?
Jesus, would you show us how to truly lay down our lives for others. How to not just be for people, but to physically be with them. Would you show us the significance of you becoming human and living among us so that we may become "one of" those we feel called to love.
Ultimately, give us neither poverty nor riches, simply give us our daily bread. In everything we have, may we use it to be the good gift to others that we were made to be.
If we aren't careful, this selfless way of living is all too easy to disregard because we are by nature selfish beings. The irony is that the more of ourselves we give, the more we actually discover who we really are.
Jesus modeled this so perfectly not just in his death but in the way he lived. Scripture tells us that even Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve. How often do I want to be served instead of serving?
Why does our culture celebrate the accumulation of stuff and not the one who gives it all away? Why do we celebrate fame and not the one who is quietly changing lives in their own neighborhood? Why do I fall prey to this selfish way of thinking so often?
Jesus, would you show us how to truly lay down our lives for others. How to not just be for people, but to physically be with them. Would you show us the significance of you becoming human and living among us so that we may become "one of" those we feel called to love.
Ultimately, give us neither poverty nor riches, simply give us our daily bread. In everything we have, may we use it to be the good gift to others that we were made to be.
Friday, June 21, 2013
At His Feet.
I want to give people Jesus in a genuine way.
To share with them everything he has given me and to practice dying to myself so that others may live and God be glorified.
This becomes a near impossible task when the focus narrows, and my vision goes no further than simply accomplishing all I must accomplish in a given day or week.
Rhythms matter in life, and when we are finding ourselves in unhealthy ones on a daily basis, they directly effect what we have to give to people and whether we even do it at all. We get selfish, overly task-oriented, and if we aren't careful can even lose the core vision of why we do what we do to begin with.
You see this occur all the time when father's are choosing career over family, single moms are having to work 40 hours a week just to provide and never see their kids, or in the lives of college students who bury themselves in books or over commit to too many things, just to name a few scenarios.
We even see this situation played out in scripture in Luke 10:38-42:
To share with them everything he has given me and to practice dying to myself so that others may live and God be glorified.
This becomes a near impossible task when the focus narrows, and my vision goes no further than simply accomplishing all I must accomplish in a given day or week.
Rhythms matter in life, and when we are finding ourselves in unhealthy ones on a daily basis, they directly effect what we have to give to people and whether we even do it at all. We get selfish, overly task-oriented, and if we aren't careful can even lose the core vision of why we do what we do to begin with.
You see this occur all the time when father's are choosing career over family, single moms are having to work 40 hours a week just to provide and never see their kids, or in the lives of college students who bury themselves in books or over commit to too many things, just to name a few scenarios.
We even see this situation played out in scripture in Luke 10:38-42:
"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
In the last few days I have had multiple people ask me, "What's your dream?" or "What's your goal?".
Truthfully, I didn't know how to answer them because I hadn't thought about it in a while. I got so caught up in the day to day stuff that long-term vision and dreams took a backseat.
Accomplishing things is not bad. Being faithful in what God has given us on a daily basis is key. However if we refuse to sit at the feet of Jesus and find contentment in being with the Lord, we are absolutely missing out.
Obedience to God is not burdensome, God is not a slave driver. He is an Abba, Father. A daddy. A father to the fatherless who loves us and who has hopes and dreams for our lives that would blow our mind. He wants to give us good gifts, he desires for us to take our burdens and give them to him.
Scripture speaks directly against this fearful and anxious living we so often practice.
To be healthy, we must put ourselves at the feet of Jesus. Always listening, allowing him to love us, to challenge us, to speak to us the next steps he has for us. This is not combative to faithfulness in the little things each day, but rather drives it.
In our wounded souls we tell ourselves we are not even worthy of a God who deeply and intimately cares about us and who has hopes and dreams for our future. We treat ourselves as his employees rather than his sons and daughters.
May God deeply and holistically love you today.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Though The Earth Give Way
"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea"
- Psalm 46: 1-2
Have you ever felt like you had the rug pulled out from under you?
Or experienced unforseen pain, heartache, and other chaotic situations that sent your head spinning and your heart down a dark road?
I feel like most of the hurt we undergo in this lifetime comes from stuff we never expected. It's like we start out as children a giant boulder, but we get put under the waterfall of a fallen world that erodes us until we are nothing more than a pebble.
"The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
- Psalm 46:7
All of the sudden it hits us all at once, giving us a feeling like we are drowning and can barely keep our head above water.
The Earth gives way and we crumble, left as a shell of the person we were before. We call out for rescue, trying desperately to figure out how we ended up in this horrible place.
"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
- Psalm 46:10
In our heart rages a battle between confusion, hurt, love, joy, etc. It's a endless cycle of emotions.
We struggle to find the foundation under us.
"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
"The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
- Psalm 46: 10-11
That's the foundation. That's how we stop from crumbling when our world seems to fall apart. That's how we get through each day and all that it brings. That is the air we breathe, our rock, our fortress.
That's how you thrive in this life filled with chaos. Go ahead, try other stuff. However, take the word of a guy that has been through hell and back in multiple ways and who has experienced the faithfulness of God first hand.
God is our rock, and he never fails.
Stay the course. Don't give up. Don't lose heart.
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea"
- Psalm 46: 1-2
Have you ever felt like you had the rug pulled out from under you?
Or experienced unforseen pain, heartache, and other chaotic situations that sent your head spinning and your heart down a dark road?
I feel like most of the hurt we undergo in this lifetime comes from stuff we never expected. It's like we start out as children a giant boulder, but we get put under the waterfall of a fallen world that erodes us until we are nothing more than a pebble.
"The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
- Psalm 46:7
All of the sudden it hits us all at once, giving us a feeling like we are drowning and can barely keep our head above water.
The Earth gives way and we crumble, left as a shell of the person we were before. We call out for rescue, trying desperately to figure out how we ended up in this horrible place.
"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
- Psalm 46:10
In our heart rages a battle between confusion, hurt, love, joy, etc. It's a endless cycle of emotions.
We struggle to find the foundation under us.
"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
"The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
- Psalm 46: 10-11
That's the foundation. That's how we stop from crumbling when our world seems to fall apart. That's how we get through each day and all that it brings. That is the air we breathe, our rock, our fortress.
That's how you thrive in this life filled with chaos. Go ahead, try other stuff. However, take the word of a guy that has been through hell and back in multiple ways and who has experienced the faithfulness of God first hand.
God is our rock, and he never fails.
Stay the course. Don't give up. Don't lose heart.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
You Are Anything But Ordinary
Some days I find myself waking up and thinking "Wow, there are so many mundane tasks I have to accomplish today. Life just feels....ordinary."
I might even sit down for a few minutes and scroll through my news feed on Facebook or Twitter to see what others are up to. Chances are I will read about all kinds of folks who are doing a ton of other things that are really extraordinary.
Then that thought comes back, but in a different way: "I'm so.....ordinary".
Am I though? Is my existence on this Earth nothing more than a rhythm of work, rest, hang with friends, work again, get a haircut, work, friends....... etc?
Do you ever feel ordinary? Like, what's the point?
You see it's all about perspective. There is this lie out there in this global world, where every second of the day we have an outlet to compare ourselves to others, that what we are doing or who we are is just not good enough or cool enough.
It's a lie that tells us, not only as we not as good as the next person, but our lives carry no weight or influence in the places we go and with the people we see.
WRONG.
If you are a follower of Christ, then every single day you have a heavenly Father showering fatherly love on you just aching to have your heart become one with his. Not only that, but He also makes us whole in a way where we don't have to compare ourselves to others.
"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Because Christ died to restore our right relationship with the Father, we too now have a role to play in the way we love others in our everyday lives.
"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 16-21
Your life is consequently anything but ordinary. Every single day we live, we have been gifted with the opportunity to receive the love of the Father for ourselves, and then to be that love for others.
Life is a day by day process. There are no big things that don't contain lots of little steps to get there. Anyone who has achieved anything of worth will tell you that it took lots of day to day discipline and hard work.
As Mother Teresa once said: "There are no big things, only small things with great love."
Live today as the loved, reconciled, ambassador of peace that you are. Let God work in and through you to transform those seemingly ordinary places, into places where people experience the love of God.
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