It Has To Be Personal

In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. Romans 8:3 (MSG)

One of the things I know is that life is messy. Everywhere you look, in most people you meet there is something that is not as it should be. We struggle with sin; sometimes choosing it over what we know is better. We live in the middle of the ripple effect of people that have chosen sin and deal with the damage it does to all those associated even in the slightest way. We see the horror on the news every day that results from those decisions.

In light of all this, I stand in amazement that Jesus would come, place himself smack in the middle of it. In the Message it says that he entered into the disordered mess of struggling humanity. Why? Because he loves us. Because living in this mess with us was better than living in heaven without us.  That thought gives a small glimpse into the power of his love.

It also gives us a glimpse of what our life is supposed to look like. When we love the way Jesus does, we will pour ourselves into the lives of the people God puts in our path. We will come alongside the messy and point to Jesus. Why do we get to do this? Because we showed up. Just like Jesus did.

Nana's Legacy

Therefore, go and make disciples....Matthew 28:19 (NLT)

When I was growing up, my grandmother was the first disciple maker I ever knew. She would come faithfully every weekend, pile all of us into her car and take us to church. Lest we misunderstand what a disciple-maker is, let's talk about what it is not.

Being a disciple maker is not about getting someone to church. As a matter of fact, that is the last thing it's about. Being a disciple maker is about pouring yourself into someone's life so they begin a relationship with Jesus. Of course, you can't pour out what you don't have so it also is about you being discipled as well. Who disciples you?  God. It's about listening to the Holy Spirit and following the leading of the Voice.

Back to my grandmother. Every day she spent time in prayer and with Jesus. I knew until the day she died that I was prayed over daily. She would call the house on a regular basis and talk to us. She was involved in what we were doing and every weekend she'd come pick us up and take us to church.

She was a disciple maker. She invested in the lives of those around her. She lifted  them up to the Lord daily, she was involved in the day-to-day and she reflected the love of Christ that was in her heart.

As I walk this journey of being a disciple of Jesus and discipling others, it had not occurred to me until just this weekend that I had witnessed this in action. Today, I am praising God for the folks who spoke Jesus into my life. Now, I have to go and do that for others.

Completely Illogical

So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’  Luke 15:3-6 ( NLT)

As I tried to figure out a modern-day scenario to this parable, all of the examples that presented themselves made me kind of cringe. One would be a mother with lots of kids leaving the majority to find the one that got lost. That's a scary thought. One would be a person in charge of a group of people in a somewhat dangerous situation leaving all of them to find the one that wondered off. Who would do that?  It's irresponsible.

But isn't that exactly the point of this parable?  God's love for us is irresponsible. It's reckless. It defies logic. No matter what else is happening, he will come find us. His love is not dependent on other circumstances or responsibilities. It is truly incomprehensible.

We can't imagine this kind of love. We can't fit it into our boxes because it is not of this world. And that is exactly the point of this parable. God's love doesn't make sense. It's not something we can ever really understand. But, that doesn't make it any less real.

Do You Hear The Whisper?

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.
Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)

Science tells us that a baby in utero can recognize and respond to his mother's voice by 7 months. The baby has been imprinted with her voice and responds neurologically when he/she hears their mother speak.

We are also imprinted with God's voice. He begins speaking to us before we are even born and continues that conversation until we die. He is whispering to our hearts and our minds. The message he is saying over and over again?  I love you. No matter what you do, I love you. No matter where you go, I love you. I will always love you.

Sometimes we drown out that whisper by our choices and our distractions. That's when life doesn't seem right.  That's when there is a big, empty hole in our soul. But remember this. No matter where you go, what you do or what you've done, God is still whispering to you.

He's saying "I love you." Turn around....come fill your soul.

Did You Leave Your Mark Today?

A cheerful heart is good medicine,  but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Proverbs 17:22 (NLT)

I am traveling this week. There is a group of us so I am sharing a room with someone.  I get up really early. So as not to wake up my roommate, I leave the hotel and go to a restaurant to have my coffee and my worship (not necessarily in that order).

The first day I went to a restaurant to the right of the hotel.  I walked in to an almost empty restaurant with another couple sitting at a table.  Keep in mind, it's early so this is the end of the shift for the folks working. The hostess/waitress seated me and the entire time was complaining about how busy she was. She told me she wasn't going to get to leave on time and how much she had to do. I told her I was sorry and sat down.

With each person that came in, she did the same thing and she was also complaining to the people in the back. At one point, the man sitting in the table next to me said "It's a little chaotic in here isn't it?"

The next day, I went to the restaurant to the left. I walked in to three tables of people and a host/waiter who greeted me, talked with me and the other customers and laughed with us. I came back to the restaurant on the left every day since.

It is really plausible that the lady at the first restaurant was having a really bad day and that she is not normally so negative but today's Bible text kept popping into my head along with the question "Do I ever do this? Are there days when your challenges keep you from being good medicine?"

Whether we are a hostess, waiter, manager, parent, co-worker or CEO, how we treat people matters. It has a ripple effect on other people's days. The thing to ponder is we leave our mark and often don't see the effect we have on people.

This experience made me more aware of my attitude and how I respond to people. I want to walk away from every situation having left a positive, happy experience in someone's life. I bet Jesus did that.

Pain and Worship

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. Job 1:20 (NLT)

Job just found out that he had lost everything, most importantly his family. What was his response? To grieve and worship. That doesn't sound synonymous does it? How can you grieve and worship at the same time?

One of the problems we have is that we see worship as something we do only when we are happy. We only think of doing it when we are happy or when things are going well. Often, I think we misunderstand why we worship.  We shouldn't worship because everything is going well.  We should worship because of who God is and because of how he loves us.

It's hard to do that. Sometimes, it's really hard. Maybe because when things are going badly, we focus on the bad and forget to look up and remember who we are.

We are children of the King! Chased after by a God who would give anything to make sure we spend eternity with him. We are loved by Jesus so completely that he endured unthinkable things so we could choose eternity. The Holy Spirit whispers love songs into our hearts. We are never forgotten. We are always the center of their attention.

So on days when your problems are overwhelming, on days when you need to grieve, remember, you are not in this alone. Take a little time to focus on Jesus. Worship who he is in the middle of all that you are going through. Know you are loved and being held.

Let's Fight

I will contend with those who contend with you. Isaiah 49:25 (ESV)

The definition of contend is to compete, vie, contest, fight, battle, tussle, go head to head. In Isaiah God says he will contend for us. He will get involved, stand in the gap and battle for us. He will go before us and battle our battles. He will fight for what we are fighting for.

And I think he expects the same from us.  I think he wants us to fight for what's important to him. Primarily, his kids. What does that look like? Maybe it looks like coming along side someone who is struggling, placing an arm around their shoulders and giving them a hug. Maybe it will be showing up on moving day or during a time when someone feels overwhelmed and alone. Maybe it's going to your knees and battling in prayer. It is never watching from the side-lines and doing nothing. It means following that prompting to be in the middle of a sometimes messy life.

There are so many ways that we can come along side God to "contend" for each other. One of the things I've discovered in this discipleship journey, people are the most important thing to God. He puts them in your path for a reason. He's inviting you to join the battle - to go head to head for his kids. Join in! You have an army of angels all around and the power of God at your front.

Will it be hard sometimes?  Yes! Will it be worth everything you pour into it? Most definitely! One thing you can be sure of....the reward is huge. When you bow before Jesus and hear him say, "Well done good and faithful servant!" you will know it was all worth it.

A Minute In It - Stop And Make A Difference

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Reach the passage below and answer the questions after the post.

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”   Luke 10:30-37 (NLT)

Which person are you in the story?
Have you ever crossed the road to avoid helping someone?
Have you ever looked at a person's situation and said "Nope, too messy. I'm out."?
Who is God calling you to help today?