I just started thinking…….How big is my Christ or how little.  I seem to sometimes make Christ small in my life.  I do not rely on him enough.  I do not give him enough credit for what he has done in my life.  I don’t pursue him with the constant passion he deserves.  I want to make Christ HUGE in my life.  I want to meet Him every where……

Driving

DT

At the end of the service today I was hit hard with this image in my mind.  This is not a big theological idea but just my impression.  Today Tommy Brown filled in for Dr. Brooks.  Tommy did a good job with his message on the doubt that many Christians will deal with in their walk with Christ.  Back to my image.  Today we had a someone come down the aisle to publicly profess their belief in Christ.  This is such a wonderful event when God allows our Church community to grow because of him. God has blessed our congregation!  But what is our response?  Of course we clap, then a few more words are spoken, and then what?  The majority of US, including me, get up turn our back to the stage and walk out?  Is that so bad? Today I was really convicted that it is the wrong picture.  In that moment I could not get past the image of all these people turning their back on a new Christian.  In reality we are all not turning our back on this new person in Christ. However, we should all be rejoicing that God has allowed us to experience this time with a new Christian and don’t you want to welcome them to Tallowood?  This image in my mind definitely got my attention and instead of turning my back I walked to the front to greet this person.  Hopefully in the future the longest line in the Gym will be greeting new Christians not the line waiting to exit.  Just take that extra moment to welcome them to our community.

I was out running this evening, and thought when is enough, enough. Not enough running, I don’t think that can happen, but enough of being fed, spiritually. It seems all I hear about is me, me, me. How can I be better equipped? How can I know more about Jesus? How can I feel better about my relationship with God?

Is it really about us? Jesus told us to make disciples of others, of the world, not out of our self. We already believe. Don’t we? If so, then why do we think it is about us? People are dying every day without ever hearing the word of God, and we sit here thinking. What about me? Why can’t I do what I want to do? Why doesn’t God work around my schedule? Why is that guy on the side of the street asking for money, and why should I have to help him? Doesn’t he know I had a bad day, too? Ultimately it is not about us and how we feel; it is about how others feel, and are they being served as Jesus would serve them.

Think about Paul when he is in prison writing to Timothy in First and Second Timothy. He has been in prison for about two years, and is more concerned about Timothy keeping the Way alive. Keeping the fire burning in Timothy’s heart and he pressed on against doubters, haters and new Christians who like to lean on their old pagan ways. With Paul we rarely see self-pity or “waiting to be fed”. It was about serving. He knew God would lead him in the right direction. I have found the best way to be fed is by serving others and helping others in Jesus’ name. Only then will we be truly fed.

When we think of an extravagant lifestyle, we tend to think about people in Hollywood who live in huge mansions and drive expensive cars.  Or people like Oprah Winfrey who rakes in about $260 million a year (which means she makes more in an hour than most people make all year!)  But I was thinking today about a different way of living an extravagant lifestyle.  What if I sought to be extravagant in what I gave to those around me who are in need?   What if I was extravagant in my forgiveness of others – even those who had been unfair or unkind to me?  What if I was extravagant with my trust in God’s faithfulness and continued to follow him even when my circumstances were uncertain or even painful?  What if I was extravagant in pouring out all of the fruits of the Spirit to people I come in contact with every day?  Showering love where people don’t expect it, expressing joy even in times of darkness, sharing peace that passes all understanding, exhibiting patience when I would rather have my way, showing kindness and goodness to those ignored by others, remaining faithful in the good and bad times, proving that gentleness is a sign of strength and maintaining self-control amidst all of the distractions that vie for my attention.  I strive to achieve an extravagant life.

I found out about the Buy Shoes. Save Lives. program from a friend’s blog. A group called Shevet Achim (Brothers Together), has joined up with an American couple in Iraq to save children of Iraq who have heart disease. By purchasing these shoes, which are handmade by craftsman in Iraq, you help each child get closer to having a life saving surgery.

I cannot give the effort justice in my explanation, soyou can learn more by watching their two short videos.

Sometimes we will not see the fruit of our labor. We may witness to someone and think that it did not work. Remember, God is in control. He has a purpose and plan. We should never stop trying to witness to those who do not know Christ.

Today I was reminded that I should always continue to reach out to those around me. I was back at work after being off a month and I was checking my email when I cam across an email that someone was responding to. What was so great was that they were responding to an email that I sent four years ago. Yes…I sent the email four years ago on July 1st 2003 and I got a response on the 10th. The email was a story that listed some great verses at the bottom. The response was also the most important. The person was letting me know that they were working on putting God first in their life.

I had nothing to do with this, it was completely a God thing. I never thought that I would get a response from a 4 year old email. What is 4 years on God’s time?….

Keep on working for Him

In Exodus God tells the people of Israel that they are not to have any idols or Gods besides Him. This was a foreign concept to them, since they were coming from Egypt a land of many idols. They thought that they could have one more god to add to their list, and continue to be “blessed” by all of these gods. Well the God who delivered them was not too hot on that idea, and let them know that He is a jealous god, and will not allow his followers to have any other gods.

Well since then God has not changed his opinion of this commandment, or of Himself. If He hasn’t changed, why do we in many cases ignore this commandment. You are probably thinking I don’t have any gold cows around my house, or a shrine built to the god of things that grow. Look again. You may not have these idols, but there is more to an idol than a gold cow. Idols are more than your money, family, house or job. It can be anything that keeps you from serving God.

I recently identified one of those idols in my life. Running. Can you believe it? An activity as an idol. I am not even that fast, nor can I run that far, but I let it get in the way of doing what we as Christians are called to do. Serve God and serve and love others. Instead of scheduling my day around what God wanted me to do, I was scheduling everything around when my next run would be. Then it happened, a knee injury. Slowed me down, and I had to do something other than run. At that time it hit me, well after several days of feeling sorry for myself it hit me. God is more important than running. Obvious, eh? Is it really? Look at your priorities? Is God first? If not, then everything ahead of Him is an idol. It is more important than God.

Matthew 4:10 says, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Not a lot of loopholes there.

So, how do we remove these idols. Idols that many of us do not think we have? Slow down, and pray to God. Ask Him to show you your idols, and to help you remove those idols so that He is the only God in your life. It is not easy, but it will make an eternal difference.

Do you ever wonder why some Christians just can’t get along? Why is division created when it does not need to be there? As Christians we should be one community brought together by Christ. I was talking with some youth this weekend about the division that is obvious when their grade is together in large groups or at other church functions. The comments from the discussion were very typical responses. The main response was “we don’t have anything in common”. I had to stop the discussion and remind them that they had Christ and that was all the common ground they needed. As Christians we need to fellowship with other believers. We need to be in a community of people who are different but still walk with Christ. How boring would it be if we were all the same? Diversity is great and having Christ as our glue is even better.

I just started reading a book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer , Life Together The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community. He talks about being a community only through Jesus Christ. I think as Christians we need to spend more time building relationships on Christ and less time worrying about why some one may be different.

Don’t take me wrong. We should not just hole up in our Church and create our Christian utopia. As much as we need to be a part of a community of believers, we also need to be apart of peoples lives who are not Christians. A strong community will allow us to mature as Christians and go bring others back to our community in Christ.

I am currently reading Pope Benedict XVI’s, “Jesus of Nazareth“. I have found the book to be interesting and very thought provoking. I have only gone through the first few chapters, and it looks like it will be one of those books that take a long time to read. Not because of its length, but because of depth of the book. You can tell the Pope was in search of something when he wrote this, and had the intention of truly seeking and finding the true Jesus.

In the first part of the book he refers to the three temptations of Jesus by Satan, and adds a lot of theological study and history to the incident. The point that got me thinking was the third temptation when Jesus and Satan are on top of the mountain and Satan tells Jesus that all of the kingdoms of the world can be his, if he would just bow down and worship him. What does Jesus say? “Away from me, Satan! For it is written;’Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:10) Jesus could of have the whole world, and rule it if he would of just bowed down and worshiped Satan. Wouldn’t that be cool, to rule the whole world and have everything in it? No, not really. Why would Jesus want the world when it will soon pass and the only thing worth having is God?

Many people during Jesus’ time on earth as well as today, thought Jesus should have brought power, prosperity and might; destroyed kingdoms with a powerful army and took over the world. He instead brought the only thing we need. God. The one true God, the only thing we need. The God of faith, hope and love. The God of everything.

What does this have to do with Jesus not wanting the kingdoms of the world? He had God, and when you have God, you need nothing else and Jesus knew that. Unlike Jesus, I have tendencies to want to rule my own little “kingdom” here on earth. I like to be in control, and tell God what is good for me and what I need. I do not necessarily vocalize this to Him directly, but instead it is in my actions. How I work, how I treat others and my day-to-day activities. It is quite pitiful. I could be focused and seeking God, a God that is here with me, instead I try to rule my own kingdom. I pray someday I can turn from my kingdom here on earth, and focus completely on God. How rich I will be on that day.

As God’s Church we are called to Praise Him… We sing praise when we are in church every Sunday, but do we live praising God everyday? God is not only holy on Sunday’s, but everyday. Listen to this song, and live in praise to our God.

David Crowder - Oh Praise Him

David Crowder Web Site