Compromising

I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. 1 Chronicles 29:17 (NLT)

I’ve mentioned recently that I have a big decision to make and I’ve been praying through it. God has been talking. I don’t have a definitive answer yet but I wanted to share something that really stood out to me.

As I look at what I think God is calling me to do, it seems impossible. Like, really humanly impossible. My initial reaction is to look at the all the reasons it won’t work. And then I remember that No Thing with God is impossible.

Then, my brain starts trying to figure out ways that I can make it work. Have you ever come up with ideas that you know are somewhat unethical? I did. My brain started thinking of ways I could do what seemed impossible by walking the very fine line between being unethical and not technically being unethical.

And then God said “What are you doing?”

You see, what I am trying to do is make this work in my head. I am trying to figure out how to be comfortable with what God is asking. I am trying to figure out something that is not mine to figure out. I am trying to not be scared.

If God is calling me to this thing, then God will work it out. That is his job. Not mine. When I begin to compromise the way God is calling me to live so that I can be in control, then I have made the wrong choice. That choice is to trust me and not God.

My job is to obey the call and trust that God will work it out even if it seems impossible to my limited human vision. God’s job is to do all the rest. And let’s face it. When I obey and God works it out, who will get the glory? Certainly not me! I am struggling to get past thinking it’s impossible. God will get the glory. And that is exactly as it should be.

The real question becomes “Do I trust him enough?”

It's All About Relationship

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

Then God gave the people all these instructions[:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
3 “You must not have any other god but me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those[b] who love me and obey my commands.
7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You must not murder.
14 “You must not commit adultery.
15 “You must not steal.
16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

What are the first four commandments about?
What are the last six about?
Given this, what do you think is important to God?
Is there another Bible text that sums these up?

He's Got This

I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it. Ezekiel 17:24 (ESV)

As I listened to these words, I suddenly realized how silly I can be.

Notice what the text doesn’t say. It doesn’t say:

You are amazing! You want it, you can do it.   Or….
Look at all you’ve accomplished! Keep going, you can do it.   Or….
You are so smart and resourceful. You can figure it out.

No. It says “I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

Sometimes, as we look at our full plates or the balls in the air we think everything is up to us. We stress ourselves out worrying about how it is going to work or we exhaust ourselves trying to make it work.

But God says, let me do it. I am the only one qualified and I’ve already got it covered.

Are you trying to make something work that is not yours to handle? Maybe, we need to just trust what God says.

Love Isn't Always Easy

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)

Our church is doing a merger. We are joining two congregations together into one church. Everyone has said this is really hard to do. And it’s different.

Two different cultures, two different sets of people who do not do things in the same way. You can imagine that this might not be a totally smooth process. Right?

But I’ve witnessed something amazing as we walk through this. And I believe it’s what the Bible talks about when it talks about unity. Unity doesn’t mean everyone looks the same, thinks the same or acts the same. It doesn’t mean that you get to the goal using the same methods. It means that you walk together toward the goal while loving each other.

And what is that goal? Jesus. We all want to be a church that is following the mission of Jesus, to go and make disciples.

Each of us is specifically created by God to be who we are. Each of us is different by God’s design. I was designed to love you with my heart (not my sister’s or my friend’s.) And hopefully, I am loving you in a way that reaches your heart. We don’t have to show love to each other in the same way but, we do need to love with Jesus’ heart.

When you are sitting in a room of 20 people, discussing the path the body should take, it’s not all going to look the same. There will be different opinions, different beliefs. But, with prayer and continued conversations, taking into account the mission you are on together and other people’s perspectives, eventually you get to the place where you agree.

It’s a process. Love is a process. Following God is a process. I love how God designed us so that during that process we all are different but walk together with the same focus. And when you see it, it is a beautiful thing!

Doing the Jesus Thing

Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 (NCV)

We had known each other a long time. We’d worked together and I believe, our work relationship had grown into a friendship. This couple that I considered friends were good people. I thought. A few years ago, they made a choice that hurt me financially and emotionally. During this process, they didn’t call to explain. We didn’t have any conversations. Immediately and abruptly, the relationship was severed as they made choices that would negatively impact my life - all in the name of business.

As I journeyed through those years, trying to get back on my feet, I prayed to forgive. It didn’t happen immediately but I eventually got to the point where I intellectually said I forgave them. I reasoned that God is in control of everything and truthfully, this journey grew my walk with God in ways nothing else could.

Recently, God revealed to me that I had not completely forgiven them. In my head I could say I did but my heart was not 100% following along. When I heard there names, my head would understand where it needed to be but my deep down self was not as compliant.

There was still a root in there that I have not addressed. There is still hurt and some anger leftover. And God says this cannot be. God tells us (many times) in the Bible to forgive. We need to forgive because we have been forgiven for so very much. But mostly, I think, we need to forgive to be free of that weight that holds us down.

Do you know how I know I have not totally surrendered this to Jesus? I know because when I think of them I don’t see two children of God who Jesus loves so desperately. My heart doesn’t ache for them to know Jesus. Instead, I see two people who are on the wrong path. Sure. I pray for them but mostly I pray for me. I pray that God will help me forgive.

When I have forgiven someone, the negative burden I feel lifts. I begin to see them as someone Jesus heart aches for and I want nothing more than for them to know him. And my prayers follow that with pleas to God that he will reach their hearts.

So, I am back to the beginning. I am facing this thing that happened but with a different goal. I don’t want to get to the place where as a Christian I can say I did what God asks. I want to get to the place where I actually am doing what God asks. Only the transforming power of Jesus can do this in me. I just need to surrender and stop trying to do it on my own.

Wait Well

I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guard post.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he will answer my complaint. Habakkuk 2:1 (NLT)

Habakkuk was being honest with God. In his conversation he says “Don’t you see what is happening here? Why aren’t you doing something!? Your people are a mess. We need help.” God says, “I am helping. I’m sending your enemies to destroy your land.” Habakkuk’s response was “Excuse me? Why would you do that? They are worse than we are!”

After Habakkuk tells God he thinks this is a bad idea, he waits. He basically says “I don’t know what you are doing but I’m going to stand here and wait for your response.”

When what God is doing doesn’t make sense, when it seems like he is leading you in the wrong direction, what is your response? Do you decide that he’s taking too long to do something? Do you make your own plans and move out without him? Or do you wait to see what he says?

As Habakkuk waited, God responded and his response produced praise. Habakkuk basically says, I’ve heard about you. And I remember all that you can do and I remember who you are. At the end he says this:

Fig trees may not grow figs,
and there may be no grapes on the vines.
There may be no olives growing
and no food growing in the fields.
There may be no sheep in the pens
and no cattle in the barns.
But I will still be glad in the Lord;
I will rejoice in God my Savior.
The Lord God is my strength.
He makes me like a deer that does not stumble
so I can walk on the steep mountains. v 17-19 (NCV)

In summary, no matter what happens, no matter how bad it looks, you are my strength. In you I will be glad.

As you face this week, I pray you, like Habakkuk, do the same.

A Good Inconvenience

This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. John 15:12-13 (MSG)

What do you think that means? “Put your life on the line for your friends.”

Does it mean take a minute away from what you are doing to do something for someone else? Does it mean to take time? To stop, to linger, to be present?

In our fast paced society with a to-do list longer than we can possibly accomplish, we regularly push through what needs to get done never touching anyone in a meaningful way. And, when we do think we need to help, we schedule it in. God forbid we just stop, in the middle of the chaos and touch.

As I write these words, I know I am a huge offender in this department. My schedule gets really full. I do schedule time to see people not because I feel like I have to but because I want to. I truly want to spend time and catch up.

But there are times in the middle of the circus where God says “Call.” And I think “When am I going to do that?” The answer should be now. Always now. If I stop and call and listen, truly listen without focusing on my agenda or my schedule that is when the Holy Spirit moves. That is when the bonding happens and not only have I loved on someone, I too have been filled with love.

This text in other versions says “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” We read that and think we have to physically die to fulfill it, like Jesus did. But Jesus also laid down his life every single day. He stopped to talk to people. He listened and interacted. He was present.

Maybe, just maybe laying down our life simply means to be inconvenienced so we can love. Taking myself out of the center and someone else in is exactly what Jesus did. We should die like that…..often.

A Minute In It - Fruit and Love

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other. John 15:1-17 (NIV)

What does it mean to abide in Jesus?
What can you do if you are not abiding in Jesus?
What is the fruit that Jesus wants you to grow?
What does love have to do with it?