I remember in the late 90's when I was serving a church in Ohio. My Pastor there introduced me to the teachings of Dr. John C. Maxwell. Maxwell has written numerous best-selling books on the subject of leadership, with his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership being one of my favorites to this very day. Back then, Maxwell was Pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, CA, and did a monthly mentoring club via cassette/CD called The Injoy Life Club, appropriately named for his company, Injoy. This club sent leadership lessons to church leaders each month along with lesson notes for you to fill in the blanks.
In one of these lessons, John stated that he had not originally planned on being a pastor, but instead had a degree in counseling. His story goes that he was so excited to be able to help those in need of hope, that he went into his first few counseling sessions with great enthusiasm! But when they would report back to him the next week for the next session and he asked them how things were going, the response was mostly that things were going the same as they had been the week before! Didn't he give good advice? Of course, he did! Sound and Biblical advice. Was there follow-up? Yes. So you what was the issue?!? The same one that exists today. Those people didn't WANT to change! They either loved the drama, or wanted the magic pill that made everything better with one single dose!
You know the people I'm talking about! They're the people who always find themselves in the middle of some kind of situation. They're mad at someone or someone else is mad at them. They've been done wrong by a friend (usually former friend) or someone is causing a crisis type dilemma. One thing is for certain, it is almost NEVER their fault!!! Always quick to point out the faults in others while ignoring their own, they normally have some level of delusion of grandeur that has blinded them to the real truth of the circumstance. I was counted among these people! But thank God, I've been DELIVERED!!! :-) Seriously, about five minutes of conversation and the negativity starts to boil out, IF it takes that long! So you get the picture. Maybe you got a better picture when you looked in the mirror! Just sayin'.
So how do we overcome this?
1. Speak Biblical truth. This is where 99% of us will do EXACTLY...nothing. We will be the ones about whom Dr. Maxwell remembered. We may say that we're going to do it, but then it drops from the priority list quicker than last year's New Year Resolutions! But you have GOT to start speaking OUT LOUD the things you WANT to be, not the things you think you ARE! The Bible tells us who we are in Christ. You've heard me talk about how I say some Biblical truth each day that is taken straight from scripture. They are taped to my bathroom mirror at home so I see them every day to remind me. If you would like a copy, click here and you will be directed to my blog where I listed them. Print them off! Use them!
2. Speak practical truth. My pastor, Danny Chambers, recently spoke of a speaker he heard once who challenged the audience to put the phrase "and that's the way I WANT it!" right after everything they would say about themselves. It teaches you to pay attention to the way you speak!
"I'm sick...and that's the way I want it!"
"I had a bad day at work...and that's the way I want it!"
"I didn't get that contract at work...and that's the way I want it!"
If we start speaking the way God speaks about us and sings over us, we would start to see changes in our lives! I HAVE!!! Ask anyone that knows me and is close to me right now! There is POWER in words!!!!
3. Expect goodness. But when trouble comes, recognize it for what it is. Read by clicking here what scripture says in John 16:33. That's not an option. We should EXPECT goodness, but recognize trouble as just an attack to distract or discourage us. Your biggest breakthroughs are often preceded by your biggest breakdowns. Pastor Danny says, "The size of your challenge is usually an indication of the size of your future!"
4. Worship in your pain. David did. Click here. David had just had to pretend to be insane and Abimilech had sent him away. And he starts exalting the name of Christ. Worship does two things in our pain. First, it takes the focus OFF of our pain and puts it ON Christ. When we focus on other things, we can't focus on present trials. And second, it creates an attitude of hopeful expectation for God to step in and work. These are the ways He responds best!!! Write this down: "What you magnify will mess you up or lift you up!" Are you magnifying Christ, or do your words magnify your problem?
Most people win or lose their battles on the battlefield that's between their ears - their minds. What you entertain there will manifest into speech. What you speak manifests into your life and who you are. BE CAREFUL! BE WISE!!!
I could go on and on here with what God has taught me. But this is enough for now. I have a feeling you may need to start practicing putting "and I want it that way" after everything you say about yourself. Know that I'm praying for you as you get this and read it and hopefully start applying it.
Don't forget to use the social media just below here to share to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts directly. I welcome your comments! PLEASE leave one!!! Here's how:
1. Click on the words "No Comment" or " (#) Comment" (whichever is listed just to the right of the posting time directly below this paragraph)
2. Write your comment in the box provided.
3. You must also choose a selection from the COMMENT AS drop down list. If you have a Google+ ID, AIM, or other you wish to use, choose that. If not, simply choose NAME/URL and leave your name in the space provided. You do NOT need to leave a URL unless you wish.
4. Click the PUBLISH button. THAT'S IT!!!
THANK YOU for stopping by! Till next time...
Showing posts with label choice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choice. Show all posts
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
An Idea
I've seen a couple of sci-fi movies recently. It got me thinking. What if when we were born, the doctor took us away from our parents and we never saw them again until after we died? It's quite the morbid thought, isn't it? What if during our lives, we got a letter from them once a week, but somebody else had to read it to us? And what if when they would read it, they'd only read it in small little parts, maybe even just single sentences? We would never know much about our parents! We would only hear parts of how they felt about us. They would be little more than figments of our imagination. We would read things about parenting in history books and the idea seemed like a good one, but it would never happen in OUR lives! Any similarity between us and the people who gave life to us would be the sum total of extreme distance and dumb luck. Parents would be nothing more than an IDEA.
Yet I've just painted a picture of the average Christian. How? Just think about it. By the time we make a decision to follow Christ, we are old enough to make decisions. Therefore, there have been learned self dependency patterns in many areas of our lives. It's hard to make the turn from a tangible parent or guardian, to that of an unseen being who has become our "Heavenly Father." Then we hear words describing Him like holy, righteous, supreme, omniscient, judge, and we wonder exactly how close we can get to someone like that!
So we treat our spiritual lives much like that sic-fi picture I painted in my head. We look at a relationship with Jesus as nothing more than an idea. We don't really try to get too close because first, we don't really know how, and second, what if He sees all the ugly parts that aren't cleaned up yet? It's the equivalent of your parents finding your diary already open to the page with your biggest secret! So we keep everything at arm's length. We go to church because we need that in our lives. It's why we made the choice to follow Christ in the first place. Sometimes it fills a curiosity, but mostly it's probably social. The pastor MUST live a much closer life to God than WE ever could, so we'll just go and hear what He has to say and let him "read the letter" from our Father.
See where I'm going with this? How can we expect to KNOW our Father, which is exactly what He desires, if we only let someone else read His letter to us? There's no relational heart to heart intimacy there! And when people ask us about Him, it becomes like telling them about our great, great grandfather. We know he existed. We know we're related to him. But we've only seen few pictures, if any, and might know something about his life. But as far as if we take after him, or apply any of his life lessons to our lives, or know much about his character, we couldn't even begin to speak to those things!
Oh but we have a "relationship" with Jesus, right? No. The majority of us have an IDEA about Jesus. We know who He was/is. We know what He did on the cross and that He came back to life three days later. We know what we were taught in Sunday School or what we've heard the pastor tell us on Sunday mornings, but that's about it. When you hear things about God, do you know His character well enough that you can discern truth from untruth based on your knowledge of who He is and has been to you in your life?
I know that I'm my parents' son. You know how? First, I am a spitting image of my mom, just in male form. I have expressions like my dad. My hands look like his and my index finger is slightly crooked at the first joint right below the nail, just like his. I cough and sound just like my mom. I walk with my palms facing backward instead of inward, just like my mom and her family. I have my paternal grandfather's hair line and big hands. I scrape ice cream from the bottom of a bowl just like my dad, which Michelle points out all the time! I know these things because I've spent time with them. I've seen their actions. And I've emulated them in many ways.
So I ask us ALL this question? Other than knowing you made a decision to follow Christ, how do you know you're a child of God? Have you caught yourself emulating Him in some way? Do you look on others differently than you ever did or thought you would? Do you see yourself smiling at things you know would make Him smile or does your heart break at things you know would break His? When you hear the name, Jesus, does it warm you? Have you ever caught Him smiling at you, saying He's proud of you, or thought that maybe you heard the song He sings over you? Scripture is only where it begins. It is the guideline. Nothing happens outside of the guidelines it sets, but there's so much MORE! There's the part that's meant for you and only you!
My eyes are tearing even as I type this, because I have seen His love, His protection, His grace in my life SO strong in the last two years in spite of who I am, not because of who I am! I still mess up. I'll never be the son that I'd have liked to have been, yet I still hear God say He's proud of me. I've felt him sit beside me as my mom used to do when I was little, and put His hand on my back and console me. I've heard Him warn me when I'm about to step out of line, and I've felt His discipline when I didn't listen. I know how He reacts to others because I know how He has reacted to me! This is how I know I'm a child of His!
Yes, I made a decision when I was 11 years old to follow Christ. But it is the RELATIONSHIP that's made the difference, not so much the choice. The choice was my recognition of the need of a Savior, the relationship is my recognition of the need of a Friend, a Guide, a Counselor, and a Father, among so many other things. The choice was a change in direction, the relationship is a companion along the journey. See the difference?
I'm not speaking to you as someone who has it all figured out! Actually, the deeper you go in the relationship, the more amazed you are at the depth of its potential! In my experience, I've seen that God has so much more for me than what I'd ever imagined!!! I've seen Him work in ways that are completely outside the realm of my own understanding. In my life, it's pretty much been the equivalent of Elijah calling down fire from heaven!
So where do you begin if you want this kind of relationship with the Father? Well, as I said before, scripture is the guideline. The Bible is where it starts. Find a version that is easy for you to read and understand. Then talk to Him. Yes, out loud. Talk as you're driving. Nobody is there to look at you weird. :-) But after you talk, LISTEN. He'll speak in your thoughts, in things you see, in what you hear. He will amaze you! He's only waiting on you to ask Him. He responds to the voice of His children, just like He expects us to respond to His voice.
Today, right now, move past an idea. Get to know your Father. See if one day, you don't feel the warmth of His smile, or the comfort of His still, small voice. See if you don't have someone who follows Christ too recognize in you the "family resemblance." I only wish I could explain the difference it's made in me!!! And I've not even scratched the surface!!!
Don't forget to use the social media just below here to share to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts directly. I welcome your comments! PLEASE leave one!!! Here's how:
1. Click on the words "No Comment" or " (#) Comment" (whichever is listed just to the right of the posting time directly below this paragraph)
2. Write your comment in the box provided.
3. You must also choose a selection from the COMMENT AS drop down list. If you have a Google+ ID, AIM, or other you wish to use, choose that. If not, simply choose NAME/URL and leave your name in the space provided. You do NOT need to leave a URL unless you wish.
4. Click the PUBLISH button. THAT'S IT!!!
THANK YOU for stopping by! Till next time...
Yet I've just painted a picture of the average Christian. How? Just think about it. By the time we make a decision to follow Christ, we are old enough to make decisions. Therefore, there have been learned self dependency patterns in many areas of our lives. It's hard to make the turn from a tangible parent or guardian, to that of an unseen being who has become our "Heavenly Father." Then we hear words describing Him like holy, righteous, supreme, omniscient, judge, and we wonder exactly how close we can get to someone like that!
So we treat our spiritual lives much like that sic-fi picture I painted in my head. We look at a relationship with Jesus as nothing more than an idea. We don't really try to get too close because first, we don't really know how, and second, what if He sees all the ugly parts that aren't cleaned up yet? It's the equivalent of your parents finding your diary already open to the page with your biggest secret! So we keep everything at arm's length. We go to church because we need that in our lives. It's why we made the choice to follow Christ in the first place. Sometimes it fills a curiosity, but mostly it's probably social. The pastor MUST live a much closer life to God than WE ever could, so we'll just go and hear what He has to say and let him "read the letter" from our Father.
See where I'm going with this? How can we expect to KNOW our Father, which is exactly what He desires, if we only let someone else read His letter to us? There's no relational heart to heart intimacy there! And when people ask us about Him, it becomes like telling them about our great, great grandfather. We know he existed. We know we're related to him. But we've only seen few pictures, if any, and might know something about his life. But as far as if we take after him, or apply any of his life lessons to our lives, or know much about his character, we couldn't even begin to speak to those things!
Oh but we have a "relationship" with Jesus, right? No. The majority of us have an IDEA about Jesus. We know who He was/is. We know what He did on the cross and that He came back to life three days later. We know what we were taught in Sunday School or what we've heard the pastor tell us on Sunday mornings, but that's about it. When you hear things about God, do you know His character well enough that you can discern truth from untruth based on your knowledge of who He is and has been to you in your life?
I know that I'm my parents' son. You know how? First, I am a spitting image of my mom, just in male form. I have expressions like my dad. My hands look like his and my index finger is slightly crooked at the first joint right below the nail, just like his. I cough and sound just like my mom. I walk with my palms facing backward instead of inward, just like my mom and her family. I have my paternal grandfather's hair line and big hands. I scrape ice cream from the bottom of a bowl just like my dad, which Michelle points out all the time! I know these things because I've spent time with them. I've seen their actions. And I've emulated them in many ways.
So I ask us ALL this question? Other than knowing you made a decision to follow Christ, how do you know you're a child of God? Have you caught yourself emulating Him in some way? Do you look on others differently than you ever did or thought you would? Do you see yourself smiling at things you know would make Him smile or does your heart break at things you know would break His? When you hear the name, Jesus, does it warm you? Have you ever caught Him smiling at you, saying He's proud of you, or thought that maybe you heard the song He sings over you? Scripture is only where it begins. It is the guideline. Nothing happens outside of the guidelines it sets, but there's so much MORE! There's the part that's meant for you and only you!
My eyes are tearing even as I type this, because I have seen His love, His protection, His grace in my life SO strong in the last two years in spite of who I am, not because of who I am! I still mess up. I'll never be the son that I'd have liked to have been, yet I still hear God say He's proud of me. I've felt him sit beside me as my mom used to do when I was little, and put His hand on my back and console me. I've heard Him warn me when I'm about to step out of line, and I've felt His discipline when I didn't listen. I know how He reacts to others because I know how He has reacted to me! This is how I know I'm a child of His!
Yes, I made a decision when I was 11 years old to follow Christ. But it is the RELATIONSHIP that's made the difference, not so much the choice. The choice was my recognition of the need of a Savior, the relationship is my recognition of the need of a Friend, a Guide, a Counselor, and a Father, among so many other things. The choice was a change in direction, the relationship is a companion along the journey. See the difference?
I'm not speaking to you as someone who has it all figured out! Actually, the deeper you go in the relationship, the more amazed you are at the depth of its potential! In my experience, I've seen that God has so much more for me than what I'd ever imagined!!! I've seen Him work in ways that are completely outside the realm of my own understanding. In my life, it's pretty much been the equivalent of Elijah calling down fire from heaven!
So where do you begin if you want this kind of relationship with the Father? Well, as I said before, scripture is the guideline. The Bible is where it starts. Find a version that is easy for you to read and understand. Then talk to Him. Yes, out loud. Talk as you're driving. Nobody is there to look at you weird. :-) But after you talk, LISTEN. He'll speak in your thoughts, in things you see, in what you hear. He will amaze you! He's only waiting on you to ask Him. He responds to the voice of His children, just like He expects us to respond to His voice.
Today, right now, move past an idea. Get to know your Father. See if one day, you don't feel the warmth of His smile, or the comfort of His still, small voice. See if you don't have someone who follows Christ too recognize in you the "family resemblance." I only wish I could explain the difference it's made in me!!! And I've not even scratched the surface!!!
Don't forget to use the social media just below here to share to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts directly. I welcome your comments! PLEASE leave one!!! Here's how:
1. Click on the words "No Comment" or " (#) Comment" (whichever is listed just to the right of the posting time directly below this paragraph)
2. Write your comment in the box provided.
3. You must also choose a selection from the COMMENT AS drop down list. If you have a Google+ ID, AIM, or other you wish to use, choose that. If not, simply choose NAME/URL and leave your name in the space provided. You do NOT need to leave a URL unless you wish.
4. Click the PUBLISH button. THAT'S IT!!!
THANK YOU for stopping by! Till next time...
Monday, September 16, 2013
BIBLE: Love Is A Choice
First, read Luke 10:25-37.
As a Worship Pastor, I have sat down with many of the artists I've had the privilege of pastoring, and I've heard them say something like this, "You can't help who you love." Or, "It just happened! I didn't WANT to love that person!" If you're like me, you've probably even said something like that YOURSELF! It's on television, in the movies, printed in books and magazines, and all across social media. We're told that we need to find our own truth. That our purpose depends on what is best for us.
I will agree that each of us are made as individuals. We are made uniquely with diversity in mind. That was always the intent. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" according to Luke 139:13-14. We have a purpose and a calling that we are each supposed to fulfill. BUT! There is a commonality that binds us all. There is a foundation on which our diversity and uniqueness is to be built. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that any purpose, and calling, any "righteousness" is like a filthy rag without Christ. So in order for anything we do, our works, to make any difference at all to God, there must first be the common foundation of a relationship with Christ.
In the scripture I asked you to read, the expert in religious law asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Look again here at verse 27 as the expert recounts what we now call the Old Testament law. And he was right, according to Jesus! In order for everything to make sense, for all our works to be counted, we must FIRST love God, then love others!!!
But now let's stop right there! How is that possible? If we are to find our own truth, according to the media and what's popular, and if we can't help who we love, then how can we CHOOSE to love God and love others?!? AND, that last part actually says to love neighbors as MYSELF, so I have to love ME too!!!
Michelle and I were watching a Podcast of Bishop TD Jakes tonight on TV. He said something that just HIT me!!! He said, "Love is controllable. God could not be considered to be a just God were He to command us to do something we can not do." Oh WOW!!! Bishop Jakes woke up a whole new thing within me as God used him to speak into my own heart. Do you understand what God is implying here by His command to us to love?!? He is saying that we CHOOSE who we love!!! If we choose to love Him, we choose to love others. We choose who our mates will be. We choose our friends. Love is a CHOICE!!!
And did you see how cool Jesus answers the question in our main scripture passage? When the expert recounted to love God and love our neighbor, the lawyer wanted to know who was classified as our "neighbor?" That's when Jesus delivers the story of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews didn't talk to each other! Ancestors of the Hatfields and McCoy's, these two nations!!! Yet Jesus showed a CHOICE by the Samaritan to have compassion on this hurt Jew and care for him. This was the kind of choice on whose shoulders could ride the reconciliation of two peoples. Remember at the end of ROCKY IV when Rocky was being interviewed by the Russian announcer after just knocking out Ivan Drago? He said, "If I can change, and you can change, then maybe we ALL can change!" It's a choice.
And the part that I only touched on earlier isn't by any means the lesser of the lessons here. We are to choose to love ourselves. According to this scripture, we can't love others until we love ourselves first! Otherwise, who are we going to love our neighbors AS? Just to get you thinking.
I'm reminded of ol' Joshua in the Old Testament telling his people to choose that day who they would serve, but, he said, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." So who you gonna love today? Choose now. :-)
As a Worship Pastor, I have sat down with many of the artists I've had the privilege of pastoring, and I've heard them say something like this, "You can't help who you love." Or, "It just happened! I didn't WANT to love that person!" If you're like me, you've probably even said something like that YOURSELF! It's on television, in the movies, printed in books and magazines, and all across social media. We're told that we need to find our own truth. That our purpose depends on what is best for us.
I will agree that each of us are made as individuals. We are made uniquely with diversity in mind. That was always the intent. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" according to Luke 139:13-14. We have a purpose and a calling that we are each supposed to fulfill. BUT! There is a commonality that binds us all. There is a foundation on which our diversity and uniqueness is to be built. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that any purpose, and calling, any "righteousness" is like a filthy rag without Christ. So in order for anything we do, our works, to make any difference at all to God, there must first be the common foundation of a relationship with Christ.
In the scripture I asked you to read, the expert in religious law asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Look again here at verse 27 as the expert recounts what we now call the Old Testament law. And he was right, according to Jesus! In order for everything to make sense, for all our works to be counted, we must FIRST love God, then love others!!!
But now let's stop right there! How is that possible? If we are to find our own truth, according to the media and what's popular, and if we can't help who we love, then how can we CHOOSE to love God and love others?!? AND, that last part actually says to love neighbors as MYSELF, so I have to love ME too!!!
Michelle and I were watching a Podcast of Bishop TD Jakes tonight on TV. He said something that just HIT me!!! He said, "Love is controllable. God could not be considered to be a just God were He to command us to do something we can not do." Oh WOW!!! Bishop Jakes woke up a whole new thing within me as God used him to speak into my own heart. Do you understand what God is implying here by His command to us to love?!? He is saying that we CHOOSE who we love!!! If we choose to love Him, we choose to love others. We choose who our mates will be. We choose our friends. Love is a CHOICE!!!
And did you see how cool Jesus answers the question in our main scripture passage? When the expert recounted to love God and love our neighbor, the lawyer wanted to know who was classified as our "neighbor?" That's when Jesus delivers the story of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews didn't talk to each other! Ancestors of the Hatfields and McCoy's, these two nations!!! Yet Jesus showed a CHOICE by the Samaritan to have compassion on this hurt Jew and care for him. This was the kind of choice on whose shoulders could ride the reconciliation of two peoples. Remember at the end of ROCKY IV when Rocky was being interviewed by the Russian announcer after just knocking out Ivan Drago? He said, "If I can change, and you can change, then maybe we ALL can change!" It's a choice.
And the part that I only touched on earlier isn't by any means the lesser of the lessons here. We are to choose to love ourselves. According to this scripture, we can't love others until we love ourselves first! Otherwise, who are we going to love our neighbors AS? Just to get you thinking.
I'm reminded of ol' Joshua in the Old Testament telling his people to choose that day who they would serve, but, he said, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." So who you gonna love today? Choose now. :-)
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