When I feel true joy, security, happiness, and community and then I encounter someone who does not have that. I want that for them. I want them to have Christ.
It's a perspective issue.
If our lives aren't different than non-Christians then we don't see the reason for them to follow Jesus. Because we don't feel its effect on us. At the same time, they don't see the difference either, and they in turn don't see the reason to follow.
Work out your faith and follow Christ.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Driving Mrs. Karen
Another analogy to think about.
Remember when you were young and your parents let you sit in their lap and drive the car down the road. Who was driving the car / who was really in control / who was responsible for the car? What if this taught children that they were independent enough to drive a car on their own. It would be disastrous!
When we begin to think that we are in control, and our skills are the main source of our doing good works, breathing, making money, or sharing Christ; that is when we could "go get in the car and drive it ourselves". That is dangerous.
We are not driving. So make sure you pray and ask God to keep the car on the road in all things. Acknowledging that he is really in control makes driving so much safer.
Remember when you were young and your parents let you sit in their lap and drive the car down the road. Who was driving the car / who was really in control / who was responsible for the car? What if this taught children that they were independent enough to drive a car on their own. It would be disastrous!
When we begin to think that we are in control, and our skills are the main source of our doing good works, breathing, making money, or sharing Christ; that is when we could "go get in the car and drive it ourselves". That is dangerous.
We are not driving. So make sure you pray and ask God to keep the car on the road in all things. Acknowledging that he is really in control makes driving so much safer.
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Treasure Principle
Quotes and thoughts from "The Treasure Principle".
Like Christ
"Gaze upon Christ long enough and you'll become more of a giver. Give long enough, and you'll become more like Christ."
Good point.
Gain
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain with he cannot lose."
"Giving doesn't strip me of vested interests; rather, it shifts my vested interests from earth to heaven - from self to God."
What we do is for gain. One gain can be for ourselves. A better gain is when that gain is in God's Kingdom and for Him and not me.
Pursuit of gain is not sinful. The gain must be for God's Kingdom.
Owner and Money Manager.
It is all God's. When we use our/his money it should be used in light of it being his that he has granted to us to use for him.
Practical Principles for thought
Don't buy anything you won't loan. If you are going to be too protective of something so much that you won't let someone else use it this is a problem. Comes back to thinking that it is yours. Not that it is yours on loan from God.
Don't buy anything that you would be upset if someone you had given money to used that money for. Don't buy a bedroom suit that if you gave someone else some money and they bought that bedroom set you would be made for their extravagant use of the money.
Kristen was great when she pointed out to me that if we did this we would have forgotten that we are doing the exact same thing with God. He has given us money and we would be using it to make extravagant and unnecessary purchases. I really like this principle.
Like Christ
"Gaze upon Christ long enough and you'll become more of a giver. Give long enough, and you'll become more like Christ."
Good point.
Gain
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain with he cannot lose."
"Giving doesn't strip me of vested interests; rather, it shifts my vested interests from earth to heaven - from self to God."
What we do is for gain. One gain can be for ourselves. A better gain is when that gain is in God's Kingdom and for Him and not me.
Pursuit of gain is not sinful. The gain must be for God's Kingdom.
Owner and Money Manager.
It is all God's. When we use our/his money it should be used in light of it being his that he has granted to us to use for him.
Practical Principles for thought
Don't buy anything you won't loan. If you are going to be too protective of something so much that you won't let someone else use it this is a problem. Comes back to thinking that it is yours. Not that it is yours on loan from God.
Don't buy anything that you would be upset if someone you had given money to used that money for. Don't buy a bedroom suit that if you gave someone else some money and they bought that bedroom set you would be made for their extravagant use of the money.
Kristen was great when she pointed out to me that if we did this we would have forgotten that we are doing the exact same thing with God. He has given us money and we would be using it to make extravagant and unnecessary purchases. I really like this principle.
Solid
Danny Franks was sharing at our most recent men's group meeting about the pharisees and followers of Jesus. They both studied Jesus, followed him, asked him questions.
The difference was the pharisees were trying to take Jesus and put them in their mold of religion. They wanted to take what Jesus was saying and call it good or bad. If it fit their ideals and rules then they would except him. Of course it didn't fit. So they labored to oppose him. The disciples did the same things; studied, followed him, asked question. And the disciples even had some bad ideas about Jesus. They wanted him to be a military ruler, to conquer this world, and make them great.
The difference in the two is that the pharisees were trying understand Jesus and change him so they could put him in his appropriate place in their lives to make their lives better, put him in a box or throw him out of their box. The disciples wanted to be understood and changed by him.
This made me think about how much weight we currently place on people being "solid". I'm not saying that this is bad. Having strong, good, solid theology is not bad. It is good to understand and know God more. But that is not being a Christian. Rather than measuring a person's "Christian-ness" by their theology and understanding shouldn't we measure that by their willingness to follow Christ and be changed by him.
Being a Christian is not about how much correct knowledge you have it is about your posture before the Cross.
I am very guilty of this. When I read books, study scripture, go to church, listen to sermons, I am trying to learn so that I know and can be seen as one who understands. Rather than this, I should do these things with a heart desiring to be more like Jesus.
We should grow in knowledge of him, but let us support those who follow him and are changed by him, not just if they can quote piper.
(addendum; talked with a friend last night about this and he commented that when he says solid that he is referencing the person following Christ and not their theology. solid is not a bad word, I just hope we don't become pharisees in that we feel superior as Christians because of what we know. We all have some bad theology in there somewhere, Jesus asks that we follow and pursue him.)
The difference was the pharisees were trying to take Jesus and put them in their mold of religion. They wanted to take what Jesus was saying and call it good or bad. If it fit their ideals and rules then they would except him. Of course it didn't fit. So they labored to oppose him. The disciples did the same things; studied, followed him, asked question. And the disciples even had some bad ideas about Jesus. They wanted him to be a military ruler, to conquer this world, and make them great.
The difference in the two is that the pharisees were trying understand Jesus and change him so they could put him in his appropriate place in their lives to make their lives better, put him in a box or throw him out of their box. The disciples wanted to be understood and changed by him.
This made me think about how much weight we currently place on people being "solid". I'm not saying that this is bad. Having strong, good, solid theology is not bad. It is good to understand and know God more. But that is not being a Christian. Rather than measuring a person's "Christian-ness" by their theology and understanding shouldn't we measure that by their willingness to follow Christ and be changed by him.
Being a Christian is not about how much correct knowledge you have it is about your posture before the Cross.
I am very guilty of this. When I read books, study scripture, go to church, listen to sermons, I am trying to learn so that I know and can be seen as one who understands. Rather than this, I should do these things with a heart desiring to be more like Jesus.
We should grow in knowledge of him, but let us support those who follow him and are changed by him, not just if they can quote piper.
(addendum; talked with a friend last night about this and he commented that when he says solid that he is referencing the person following Christ and not their theology. solid is not a bad word, I just hope we don't become pharisees in that we feel superior as Christians because of what we know. We all have some bad theology in there somewhere, Jesus asks that we follow and pursue him.)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The wall or the lifeguard?
Had this pt say to me yesterday.
About pool therapy.
She was very scared to be in the water.
"You and the wall were my savior."
Sweet right.
She was saying that the wall and I made it more comfortable for her to be in the water. She felt safe and secure with the wall and with me there.
But wrong.
I was her savior. The wall wouldn't move to go get her. If she got detached from the wall she would have no hope but her self. She would die (she can't swim)
But me. I would dive in and go to her and get her.
This is the difference in a savior that is really no savior at all. An idol that we think is our security and life line that really will abandon us if we loose it, or disappoint it.
But Jesus is not that kind of savior. Jesus came into our existence (the pool in the analogy) and can, will, and did pull us out.
Men, Jesus is your savior because he came to get you. wow.
About pool therapy.
She was very scared to be in the water.
"You and the wall were my savior."
Sweet right.
She was saying that the wall and I made it more comfortable for her to be in the water. She felt safe and secure with the wall and with me there.
But wrong.
I was her savior. The wall wouldn't move to go get her. If she got detached from the wall she would have no hope but her self. She would die (she can't swim)
But me. I would dive in and go to her and get her.
This is the difference in a savior that is really no savior at all. An idol that we think is our security and life line that really will abandon us if we loose it, or disappoint it.
But Jesus is not that kind of savior. Jesus came into our existence (the pool in the analogy) and can, will, and did pull us out.
Men, Jesus is your savior because he came to get you. wow.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Teaching Christ to our wives.
I have been thinking a lot lately about how we demonstrate Christ to our wives.
My thoughts came out of my own mistake last night. I don't think Kristen even saw it as a mistake but I was truly convicted. Probably partially because I have been called out by others throughout my life as being a person who gets ingrained and focused on work, my computer, tv, a book, or my phone. Kristen got home after me yesterday and I was working on the Carolina 365 video which I am very excited about. I was in the office, she came upstairs, changed clothes, went back down stairs and was ready to go the Thirdcamp and I never looked up. When I realized what I had done I got my stuff together ran downstairs and embraced her and kissed her and told her I loved her.
Was my original reaction the reaction that Christ will have when his bride returns home???
Let me put this in order of my current thoughts.
Ephesians 5:25 says we are to love our wives just as Christ loved the church and give himself up for her.
We very often use this verse to explain how our interactions with our spouces are to be teaching others about Christ and his love for us. But what we miss in that application to each other is that our interactions with our wives is also teaching OUR WIVES about Christ love for them.
In Luke 15:20 we see the parable of the lost son(s). When the son returns home we see the father run to his son and embrace him, give him a ring, a robe, some sandals, , kill the fatted calf and they celebrated. But yesterday I did not act this way towards Kristen.
Men, love your wives and Christ loves the church. I challenge you all, when your wife gets home/comes in a room; look up at her, look her in the face, kiss her, tell her the place she holds in your heart. I believe when we do this for them their love for us will grow out of a response of their loved heart.
We are not only teaching others about Christ by our interactions with our wives we are also teaching ourselves and our wives the gospel with our daily interactions.
Be more like Christ.
Take heart, he has overcome the world.
My thoughts came out of my own mistake last night. I don't think Kristen even saw it as a mistake but I was truly convicted. Probably partially because I have been called out by others throughout my life as being a person who gets ingrained and focused on work, my computer, tv, a book, or my phone. Kristen got home after me yesterday and I was working on the Carolina 365 video which I am very excited about. I was in the office, she came upstairs, changed clothes, went back down stairs and was ready to go the Thirdcamp and I never looked up. When I realized what I had done I got my stuff together ran downstairs and embraced her and kissed her and told her I loved her.
Was my original reaction the reaction that Christ will have when his bride returns home???
Let me put this in order of my current thoughts.
Ephesians 5:25 says we are to love our wives just as Christ loved the church and give himself up for her.
We very often use this verse to explain how our interactions with our spouces are to be teaching others about Christ and his love for us. But what we miss in that application to each other is that our interactions with our wives is also teaching OUR WIVES about Christ love for them.
In Luke 15:20 we see the parable of the lost son(s). When the son returns home we see the father run to his son and embrace him, give him a ring, a robe, some sandals, , kill the fatted calf and they celebrated. But yesterday I did not act this way towards Kristen.
Men, love your wives and Christ loves the church. I challenge you all, when your wife gets home/comes in a room; look up at her, look her in the face, kiss her, tell her the place she holds in your heart. I believe when we do this for them their love for us will grow out of a response of their loved heart.
We are not only teaching others about Christ by our interactions with our wives we are also teaching ourselves and our wives the gospel with our daily interactions.
Be more like Christ.
Take heart, he has overcome the world.
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