Seeking God

    It strikes me as funny that we constantly expect God to be some great genie in the sky who is there for us to do our bidding. We read in Scripture that God loves us and seeks a relationship with us through His Son, Jesus the Christ, and that He wants us to give our lives over to Him fully. Yet, we prefer to do what we want with our lives and treat God like a favorite grandfather who we go to for special favors or when we need help getting out of a bad situation. Why?

    I certainly don't have the answers for that yet other than that we are still just sinful people. But if you truly want to seek after God, I have a couple of suggestions to help you on your way. The second is to read "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer. It's a small book, but absolutely packed with life-changing Scriptural ideas and concepts. I think my copy is 120 pages of large print, so I could make it through the whole book in 2 hours if I could read for that long straight. But I definitely recommend reading Christian authors, but here's the real kicker. The older the Christian author the better. And I don't just mean over 45 years old makes them a good author. The best books, that will challenge you in your faith and devotion to God are those written hundreds of years ago. Believe it or not, the Puritans are GREAT! Jonathan Edwards, who wrote much more than "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", is another great source of inspiration and strength that you can turn to. But seek out the sages of old and see their insights into God and the Christian life and you will be amazed.

    Firstly, seek God through Scripture and prayer. I highly recommend reading through the Bible every few years. The M'Cheyne Bible reading plan is one of the best ones out there in my estimation. Don A. Carson has gone over it and broken it into both a 1 year plan and a 2 year plan and it takes your through the Bible in a simple way that balances a lot of the difficult passages with easier passages. For the two year plan, it requires reading about 2 chapters per day. You can find out more about it by going to: http://www.edginet.org/mcheyne/calendar.php. Don't expect God to come bail you out when you need Him and then you never do anything to grow closer to Him. Start pursuing God today! I also highly recommend reading Scripture together as a family. With only reading 2 chapters a day, your family can easily make it through in 10-15 minutes a night with even slow readers. What a great way to get your entire family growing together and built upon the only foundation that will last, Jesus Christ. I hope you are encouraged and challenged by these articles and that you have the courage to follow up on decisions that you make. Grace and Peace!

Is God really important?

Colossians 3:1-17

    That may seem like a strange enough question, but really, how important is God? Think about the other most important things in your life... family, job, money, friends, technology, recreation, wanting to feel loved, television, internet, MySpace, Facebook, etc. How much time do you spend thinking about those things or working on them? Now, take a look at how much time you spend with God. If you've got Sunday morning (2 hours w/ Sunday School and worship service), Sunday night, and Wednesday night covered that gives you 4 hours with God each week. And that is way too much for a lot of people. That's without spending time in prayer and reading His Word throughout the week. Three hours a week, that's it. How much time do you spend on the internet each week or in front of the TV? Yes, actually take a minute and think through that one. Are you up to 3 hours yet? How many of you are up to almost 30 hours? Now, let's ask the question again. How important really is God?

    Do your actions seem to yield a different answer than what you say? As Christians, we are supposed to pray to God and read His Word daily, not just when we come into the church. But so often we relegate God to last place in our lives, putting everything else above Him. We have 168 hours to live each week that God graciously gives us. If we get 8 hours of sleep each night, that leaves us at 112 hours. Assuming that we're at either work or school for 40 hours a week, that brings us down to 72 hours left every week. Where does all of that time go if God is really important to you? All of us are awful at managing our time, I know I am, but we need to spend more time than 3 hours focused on God. Yes, we all have things that we have to do, like eating, spending time with family, and yes, even relaxation and recreation. So how do we increase the amount of time that we spend pursuing God? Let me give a few suggestions.

    First and foremost, set aside time every day for both Bible study and prayer. It's hard, but you can easily set aside 15 minutes each day to search the Scriptures and talk with your Heavenly Father. Early in the morning or late at night are often popular times, but what ever you are able to do regularly. That gives us an extra 2 hours each week with God, but make sure that it's free from distraction. Don't have your instant messenger popping up messages at you every few seconds distracting you. Second, bring God into the rest of your life. I highly recommend doing devotions together as a family and praying together. But you can also bring Him into your life in other ways. Talk about Scripture and what God is doing in your life with your friends and family. If you have a question about Scripture or some other topic, go to them and ask them. Yes, you'll get shot down sometimes and a lot of times they won't know the answer, but it gets both your mind and theirs focused on God.

    It may seem like alot, but spending time with God is one of the most useful things you can do with your time. It is there that God changes us so that we can interact with our family and friends so that they can see Christ in our lives. Look at your life this week and make it obvious that Christ Jesus, who accepted death on a cross to forgive your sins, is important in your life. "And whatever you d, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17

Worldview - one of the most important things

  It seems strange to me that so many people "believe" things, but what they believe doesn't influence how they live or think. I have a hard time believing people who say they believe one thing but they never do anything that reflects it. What we truly believe directly influences what we do. This is called our worldview; the lens through which we view the world and the tool we use to make decisions based upon what we see. The right worldview allows us to look at the world so that it "makes sense." (See Ron Nash's book, Life's Ultimate Questions - An Introduction to Philosophy (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999) for a great look at worldviews.) So many people think that what you believe religiously should be separated from how we live. It isn't, doesn't, and can't be. So many people want to jump all over people for making their religious views part of their political party. What is wrong with that? If you believe that God said that we should not murder, lie, or commit adultery, then that will definitely affect how we live our lives as opposed to someone who doesn't believe in God and whose only moral compass is "what can I get away with." Your worldview should GREATLY affect your life and how it's lived.

   So what does Scripture tell us about the world and how we should view it? First, it tells us that all of mankind are sinners and that we are constantly rebelling against God. Why do bad things happen in this world if God is loving? Because man is inherently selfish and sinful. That fits, we see a world around us that is fallen and fully depraved (completely sinful). But what about the good that we see in the world? Scripture tells us, secondly, that God is the Sovereign Lord (ultimate ruler w/ ultimate power) and that He desires a relationship with us and that His very nature is love. Romans 2:4 tells us that "God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance." (Check out these lyrics by Flame - Goodness to Repentance.) We so often look at the world and ask, "How can this be a loving God?" when we should look at the fallen world and say, "How can God love us sinners?". That is the greater factor.

  Take Scripture and let it influence your lives. When it says something about relationships, alcohol, homosexuality, mind-altering substances (drugs), lying, cheating, gossiping, obeying the law, etc... pay attention to it. Don't let how you want to view the world change how you view Scripture. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness." 2 Timothy 3:16 The Bible is God's voice to us telling us how we should live and act in today's world and also explaining a great deal about why things are the way they are. Let it speak through your life; let your worldview be dominated by God's Word.

The Valley of Vision

There is a great book of Puritan prayers called "The Valley of Vision" (Banner of Truth Trust)and I thought for today I would share one with you. Today's prayer is called "Living by Prayer."

O God of the Open Ear
Teach me to live by prayer as well as by providence,
     for myself, soul, body, children, family, church;
Give me a heart frameable to thy will;
     so might I live in prayer,
     and honour thee,
     being kept from evil, known and unknown.
Help me to see the sin that accompanies all I do,
     and the good I can distil from everything.
Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring my will to thine,
     and that without this it is folly to pray;
When I try to bring thy will to mine it is to command Christ,
     to be above him, and wiser than he:
     this is my sin and my pride.
I can only succeed when I pray
     according to thy precept and promise,
     and to be done with as it pleases thee,
     according to thy sovereign will.
When thou commandest me to pray for pardon, peace, brokenness,
     it is because thou wilt give me the thing promised,
     for thy glory, as well as for my good.
Help me not only to desire small things
     but with holy boldness to desire great things
     for thy people, for myself,
     that they and I might live to show they glory.
Teach me that it is wisdom to pray for all I have,
          out of love, willingly, not of necessity;
     that I may come to thee at any time,
          to lay open my needs acceptably to thee;
     that my great sin lies in my not keeping the savour of thy ways;
     that the remembrance of this truth is one way
          to the sens of they presence;
     that there is no wrath like the wrath of being governed
          by my own lusts for my own ends.

Prayers are not about big words and sounding impressive to others. We are to pray in private and speak to God as our Father. But how wonderful it is that God hears the cries of our heart. We should pay attention to how He has said that we should pray according to Scripture. Let this be your prayer today, that God will teach us how to live by prayer.

Need glasses?

What exactly does a disciple look like? In this world where everyone has their own ideas of what a Christian is actually supposed to be and do, what exactly are we to model our lives after. Well, of course the obvious answer is Christ. But that doesn't mean that we should all go and try to pick up fisherman down by the local pond and ask them to follow us. Although, if anyone tries that approach, PLEASE let me know how it turns out. In Luke 3:10-13, John the Baptist gave very specific directions for how to live a godly life in the professions that God has called us to. First, we need to understand that God calls us to certain places at certain times. In Dr. Albert Mohler's blog (of Southern Seminary), he talks about the revolutionary fact that we are called to do certain things. This is not just about pastors and ministers, but about waiters, secretaries, CEO's, students, and farmers. God has given each of us skills to do something in life and he equips us so that we can better do that job to His glory. Sometimes, God calls us to certain places for a time to help us grow and sometimes He puts us where we should be right from the beginning. But it is there that we are to be disciples, not just in the church.

So what does a disciple look like? They love God, therefore they study His Word and they help others because God loves them. Remember the greatest commandment? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself." ~Matthew 22:37-40 Take a minute to think about it. How do you show your love to God? By giving Him your Sunday mornings and saying a quick prayer over your meals when no one is watching? Or do you seek Him every day, trying to learn more about Him as He has revealed Himself through Scripture? Also, how do you show love to others? Not just your spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, parents, children, family, and friends, but those around you that you often ignore. In this self-centered culture, it is difficult to fight off the temptation to focus on ourselves. We make money to be able to take care of ourselves and buy things that we want, while Scripture clearly says that God gives to us so that we can take care of those who have needs and in turn, when we have needs others can help take care of us. It kind of goes against the American Dream doesn't it? But being a disciple goes against this world in many ways. If you don't feel uncomfortable in this world, then I strongly encourage you to examine your life through Scripture and make sure that your life lines up with God's guidelines.

Discipleship

A question has really been on my heart for the past month. What is discipleship and how do you do it? Ok, so technically that's two questions, but regardless they both come down to the same idea, one from a ontological perspective (what it is) and the other from a practical one(how it is). The best definition of discipleship that I've been able to come up with is "displaying Christ in life to those around you." At least that particular part of it is at the forefront of my mind right now. It's such a big concept that I would be hard pressed to come up with a simple definition that encompassed everything. So what does it take to make a disciple? Dedication, patience, grace, maturity, prayer, meditation, and time. How else are you going to show someone how Christ is at work in your life and teach them how to have Christ in their everyday life as well?

I'll be honest, it is so difficult to pour so much into someone. You get so excited when they grow and you feel their every heart ache and failure as if it were your own. Discipleship is probably the most rewarding and the most frustrating task that a person can undertake. With all of this world's demands on our time, it seems so difficult to get someone to give more time to God. Sunday's and Wednesday nights stretch most people thin and no one has enough time to do what they want... even the discipler. But for those reading this, I hope that you will take this challenge to heart. I aim to show you ways that Christ has changed my life and share my struggles, victories, and insights. Hopefully, this will encourage you to follow Christ closer and more intimately than you have in a long time.
Grace and Peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.