I can't believe it has been nearly a month since I've posted out here. God has been working on me and I had several things that I thought I wanted to say. Tragic really. Some of them may have made sense. There's no telling now. I don't remember what had me so worked up, but obviously I didn't take time to write it down, so opportunity lost.
Not a huge Metallica fan, but still, it's a cool song. I doubt James Hetield was referring to Galatians 5:6b, but it says, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!
That boils it down pretty good. The only thing that counts is faith, and the faith has to be an active one that expresses itself through love.
So, if you're one of these natural score-keepers (like me) that tends to be up or down based on my performance, listen up.
I did or didn't read my Bible today. I watched a movie I shouldn't have. I stared at that billboard of whatever her name is for a second longer than I should have... blah blah blah. Oh wait, I'll throw some good in there, too. I gave a dollar once to this guy in McDonald's. I actually strung two weeks of giving to my church... IN A ROW, one time.
None of that matters. A completely faithless heathen could have accomplished everything I wrote above, and they often do, much to our shame.
What counts is faith expressed through love. So, don't keep score (it's depressing). However, if you are going to, at least keep the right score. How well did I love today? How well have I loved Kate? Annie? Avery? Josh? Katie? Kate's ex-husband? My ex-wife? My mother-in-law? My boss? My subordinates? The cop who stopped me? President Obama? The stinky guy at the corner of Una Antioch and Bell Road?
I hope you get it. Activity is meaningless. Love is everything. Theologically, the Beatles leave a lot to be desired, but simply put, "all we need is love."
So, tomorrow, look at every individual interaction as an opportunity to love, and it will change you.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
The slave who wants to be served
Luke 17:7-10 says, "Which one of you having a slave tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? Instead, will he not tell him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink'? Does he thank that slave because he did what was commanded? In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, 'We are good-for-nothing slaves; we've only done our duty.'"
I am a terrible slave. I keep forgetting my place. On the rare occasion when I do what God wants, I want a big pat on the head, for my house in Roanoke to sell, a new Hyundai Veloster (sweet, by the way) and other things that I think will make me comfortable. After all, God, I really put myself out by going to church this week and...wait for it...I tithed, well at least it was 10% of part of what one of us makes, so come on! Show me some love!
This blog has served as a place for me to beat myself up a little bit, and for the most part I deserve it, but these verses just cut me to the core. I'm the guy in these verses. I expect my master to make my dinner for me after I've done even a small piece of what was commanded. In reality, I should have the attitude that I've only done my duty, and I'm really good-for-nothing apart from the good works that God has set out for me to do in advance. I couldn't even come up with them, had he not done the leg-work beforehand.
Kate and I are at a crossroads...again...about what we are supposed to do next. Funny how often that coincides with circumstances that are difficult for us to see through. If life gets tough, the tough figure out a way to change their circumstances? I don't think that's what He wants. He who has begun a good work in me is totally able to complete it, and He will do it! What that means is He will do it even if I constantly get in the way by evading the circumstances He intends for my growth. I must be SO FRUSTRATING!
Lord, I'm a good-for-nothing slave and I have yet to even do what you've commanded me! Give me faith to believe that your plan is so much better than my stupid desires for comfort! Blech. I'm sick of my own mediocrity. Do SOMETHING with me!
I am a terrible slave. I keep forgetting my place. On the rare occasion when I do what God wants, I want a big pat on the head, for my house in Roanoke to sell, a new Hyundai Veloster (sweet, by the way) and other things that I think will make me comfortable. After all, God, I really put myself out by going to church this week and...wait for it...I tithed, well at least it was 10% of part of what one of us makes, so come on! Show me some love!
This blog has served as a place for me to beat myself up a little bit, and for the most part I deserve it, but these verses just cut me to the core. I'm the guy in these verses. I expect my master to make my dinner for me after I've done even a small piece of what was commanded. In reality, I should have the attitude that I've only done my duty, and I'm really good-for-nothing apart from the good works that God has set out for me to do in advance. I couldn't even come up with them, had he not done the leg-work beforehand.
Kate and I are at a crossroads...again...about what we are supposed to do next. Funny how often that coincides with circumstances that are difficult for us to see through. If life gets tough, the tough figure out a way to change their circumstances? I don't think that's what He wants. He who has begun a good work in me is totally able to complete it, and He will do it! What that means is He will do it even if I constantly get in the way by evading the circumstances He intends for my growth. I must be SO FRUSTRATING!
Lord, I'm a good-for-nothing slave and I have yet to even do what you've commanded me! Give me faith to believe that your plan is so much better than my stupid desires for comfort! Blech. I'm sick of my own mediocrity. Do SOMETHING with me!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The light of day
Did you ever have one of those half-asleep/half-awake kind of ideas that just seems awesome in the moment, only to have it not hold up in the light of day? I'm in the middle of one of those right now. This morning, I genuinely feel like I was in the tug of the Holy Spirit and He wants me to get in front of willing churches and spout off my feelings about our comfort level and how He wants us to trade our comfort in for his blessings. Still in my half sleepy state, I prayed, "Only if you'll keep me humble.".
Well, in the light of day, that whole exchange just stinks! Do you know what, "Keep me humble" usually involves? Tragedy and loss! I feel like I've had a fair share of that already in my life, so maybe I'm humble enough? Fat chance.
I've got two followers on this blog, and maybe a third who's two chicken to admit it and already I check often to see if anyone has commented or if anyone agrees with what I'm saying. What I'm getting at is that it's so easy to get a big head that I've got to be serious about letting God keep me humble through whatever means necessary.
The sun is up and the birdies are chirping, so what I'm doing now is in the full wakey wakey state. Lord, keep me humble, and if it is your will that I should share the story you've written on my life with churches that are crazy enough to ask, then I'll go, wherever you want.
So, the two of you are my witnesses. Let's see what happens next.
Share your best/worst sleepy decision in the comments section!
Well, in the light of day, that whole exchange just stinks! Do you know what, "Keep me humble" usually involves? Tragedy and loss! I feel like I've had a fair share of that already in my life, so maybe I'm humble enough? Fat chance.
I've got two followers on this blog, and maybe a third who's two chicken to admit it and already I check often to see if anyone has commented or if anyone agrees with what I'm saying. What I'm getting at is that it's so easy to get a big head that I've got to be serious about letting God keep me humble through whatever means necessary.
The sun is up and the birdies are chirping, so what I'm doing now is in the full wakey wakey state. Lord, keep me humble, and if it is your will that I should share the story you've written on my life with churches that are crazy enough to ask, then I'll go, wherever you want.
So, the two of you are my witnesses. Let's see what happens next.
Share your best/worst sleepy decision in the comments section!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Be careful, you may be forming an opinion
A week ago, a friend of mine posted an interesting question on Facebook. She asked whether Judas Iscariot was in heaven or hell. I was down in Georgia at Six Flags. Since I was standing under an awning trying to get out of the rain and I had a few minutes I answered the question without much thought.
I said I thought he was in hell and I based it on Matthew 26:23 where Jesus states, "...woe to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." I figured that if he was going to be in heaven, that comment wouldn't have made sense. I didn't give it much thought after that.
However, after about an hour there were a string of comments on the thread and they all agreed (pretty much) that we couldn't say for certain where Judas was, God is the only judge, he may have had a last second change of heart (right before he killed himself, grief-stricken over the wrong he had done?), etc.
Well, now I've had a week to think on it, and I can't seem to let it go. I'm not calling anyone out or anything. I don't even remember who all the "commentors" were, but it has bothered me all week, so I'm going to speak up. The crux of the argument seemed to be "Judge not that ye be not judged" from Matthew 7:1 and that's where I have a problem. I think the attitude here is a little more insidious than it may seem on the surface. If we carry out the supposition that "God only knows" and that anyone may have a last second change of heart, it takes the sense of urgency out of sharing the Gospel. Merely by sharing, I'm assuming you need Christ. How is that any less judgmental in this context? First of all, if Judas is in hell, he's pretty sure why he's there. If he's in heaven, he's pretty happy God's grace extends that far. Either way, my opinion of him isn't going to change much. God is the only judge, but if we are to "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You'll recognize them by their fruit," we are going to have to use our heads and make value judgments about the people around us and the fruit they are producing. We are commanded to beware, but you can't be if you are unwilling or unable to form an opinion.
Not if I'm purposely not forming an opinion about anyone because I'm afraid I'll judge them. I think God isn't contradicting himself at all here. We are to be discerning and share the Gospel freely, but not live in judgment toward any man. A good example of the distinction may be sharing Christ in a prison ministry. Murder, rape, theft, etc., are not exactly fruits of the Spirit, so it's pretty safe to say that at least some of those people need Christ in their life. It's not judgmental to want to bring them the Gospel. However, if I see the person next to me in church throw a buck in the plate and make some internal value judgments based upon what I've seen, "Wow, can you believe they cheat God like that by only putting $1 in? That's pitiful." This is displeasing to God. I can't possibly know where they are coming from financially. God may be overjoyed at their sacrifice, but I'm pretty sure he's disappointed in me for judging them.
Anyway, the bottom line isn't about whether or not I'm right or wrong about Judas. The point is that people are going to hell all around me every day. They're probably not making last second decisions to receive Christ's sacrificial gift, and it doesn't bother me enough. "Only God knows for sure", while true, is a dangerous place to be. It allows us to relax and assume that maybe everybody's going to heaven. They're not, and it's our job to stop it.
I said I thought he was in hell and I based it on Matthew 26:23 where Jesus states, "...woe to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." I figured that if he was going to be in heaven, that comment wouldn't have made sense. I didn't give it much thought after that.
However, after about an hour there were a string of comments on the thread and they all agreed (pretty much) that we couldn't say for certain where Judas was, God is the only judge, he may have had a last second change of heart (right before he killed himself, grief-stricken over the wrong he had done?), etc.
Well, now I've had a week to think on it, and I can't seem to let it go. I'm not calling anyone out or anything. I don't even remember who all the "commentors" were, but it has bothered me all week, so I'm going to speak up. The crux of the argument seemed to be "Judge not that ye be not judged" from Matthew 7:1 and that's where I have a problem. I think the attitude here is a little more insidious than it may seem on the surface. If we carry out the supposition that "God only knows" and that anyone may have a last second change of heart, it takes the sense of urgency out of sharing the Gospel. Merely by sharing, I'm assuming you need Christ. How is that any less judgmental in this context? First of all, if Judas is in hell, he's pretty sure why he's there. If he's in heaven, he's pretty happy God's grace extends that far. Either way, my opinion of him isn't going to change much. God is the only judge, but if we are to "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You'll recognize them by their fruit," we are going to have to use our heads and make value judgments about the people around us and the fruit they are producing. We are commanded to beware, but you can't be if you are unwilling or unable to form an opinion.
Not if I'm purposely not forming an opinion about anyone because I'm afraid I'll judge them. I think God isn't contradicting himself at all here. We are to be discerning and share the Gospel freely, but not live in judgment toward any man. A good example of the distinction may be sharing Christ in a prison ministry. Murder, rape, theft, etc., are not exactly fruits of the Spirit, so it's pretty safe to say that at least some of those people need Christ in their life. It's not judgmental to want to bring them the Gospel. However, if I see the person next to me in church throw a buck in the plate and make some internal value judgments based upon what I've seen, "Wow, can you believe they cheat God like that by only putting $1 in? That's pitiful." This is displeasing to God. I can't possibly know where they are coming from financially. God may be overjoyed at their sacrifice, but I'm pretty sure he's disappointed in me for judging them.
Anyway, the bottom line isn't about whether or not I'm right or wrong about Judas. The point is that people are going to hell all around me every day. They're probably not making last second decisions to receive Christ's sacrificial gift, and it doesn't bother me enough. "Only God knows for sure", while true, is a dangerous place to be. It allows us to relax and assume that maybe everybody's going to heaven. They're not, and it's our job to stop it.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Jesus would have made a terrible dot com billionaire
Scope creep. The bane of every project manager. Apparently, Jesus didn't account for it, or else we'd all be in heaven by now.
Web strategist Mario Alexandrou defines it as:
Scope creep refers to the change in a project's scope after the project work has started. Typically, the scope expands by the addition of new features to an already approved feature list. As a result, the project drifts away from its original purpose, timeline, and budget.
This change in scope often comes about from small, seemingly insignificant change requests that the project team accepts to keep the project sponsor happy. Eventually, the change requests become numerous enough that they are significant or one of the requests turns out to require much more work than expected.
Scope creep can come about from:
Jesus was the ultimate entrepreneur. Wikipedia says so:
Jean-Baptiste Say, a French economist, is believed to have coined the word "entrepreneur" in the 19th century - he defined an entrepreneur as "one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediatory between capital and labour".
The Bible calls Jesus our mediator:
5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Jesus is literally the entrepreneur between God the Father's capital and us (the labor). So, as entrepreneur, it was up to him to train the first generation of managers in the scope, project parameters and time line of the project, namely, the winning of the world to Christ's salvation.
Scope: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you."
I think it's important to note that nowhere does Jesus say, "Wait until you feel led of the Spirit" or "Wait until you get a specific calling to go to a particular place" or "Wait until God decides in his time to display his 'will' for your life". He says "Go". It's the first word of his project scope.
Then he says to make disciples and a little further down to teach them to observe everything (emphasis mine) that He had commanded them. It's also crucial to see that Jesus didn't tell his newly minted project managers to teach some of what He commanded and then to add some other stuff as it came up. Like "Success Doctrine", or "Putting children first" or other such nonsense. It's just not in there folks. Nowhere in the gospels does Jesus say that we are to be wealthy or successful on earth. Our treasure is in heaven. He repeatedly warns of the difficulties that earthly possessions bring on.
Mark 6:7-9 "He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a walking stick: no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts. They were to wear sandals, but not put on an extra shirt."
The twelve were supposed to teach in like manner, and I bet they did, but it didn't take long before someone said, "This is hard. Can't I take a thermos with some soup or something? How about an apple?" The disciples may have thought that sounded perfectly reasonable. In fact, they could probably remember being somewhat hungry along the way, and the creep started.
The bottom line is that God wants us totally dependent upon Him. That's where He is at His best. We say we want His best for our lives, but we keep cluttering it up with stuff.
His will is not distant or unknowable. It's right there in the Bible. It's just hard, so most people make up something else that sounds better.
Scope creep. Kills every project. The church we have now has almost nothing in common with the early church. People thought that group was nuts because they gave everything up to gain something that no one could see. We make sure that we have the nicest stuff and then justify it by claiming that God wants me to be rich so that other people will see my life and want it for themselves.
You may be doing it wrong.
Web strategist Mario Alexandrou defines it as:
Scope creep refers to the change in a project's scope after the project work has started. Typically, the scope expands by the addition of new features to an already approved feature list. As a result, the project drifts away from its original purpose, timeline, and budget.
This change in scope often comes about from small, seemingly insignificant change requests that the project team accepts to keep the project sponsor happy. Eventually, the change requests become numerous enough that they are significant or one of the requests turns out to require much more work than expected.
Scope creep can come about from:
- Poor change control.
- Lack of proper identification of the features that are required to bring about the achievement of project objectives in the first place.
- Weak project manager or executive sponsor
Jesus was the ultimate entrepreneur. Wikipedia says so:
Jean-Baptiste Say, a French economist, is believed to have coined the word "entrepreneur" in the 19th century - he defined an entrepreneur as "one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediatory between capital and labour".
The Bible calls Jesus our mediator:
1 Timothy 2:5
King James Version (KJV)
5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Jesus is literally the entrepreneur between God the Father's capital and us (the labor). So, as entrepreneur, it was up to him to train the first generation of managers in the scope, project parameters and time line of the project, namely, the winning of the world to Christ's salvation.
Scope: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you."
I think it's important to note that nowhere does Jesus say, "Wait until you feel led of the Spirit" or "Wait until you get a specific calling to go to a particular place" or "Wait until God decides in his time to display his 'will' for your life". He says "Go". It's the first word of his project scope.
Then he says to make disciples and a little further down to teach them to observe everything (emphasis mine) that He had commanded them. It's also crucial to see that Jesus didn't tell his newly minted project managers to teach some of what He commanded and then to add some other stuff as it came up. Like "Success Doctrine", or "Putting children first" or other such nonsense. It's just not in there folks. Nowhere in the gospels does Jesus say that we are to be wealthy or successful on earth. Our treasure is in heaven. He repeatedly warns of the difficulties that earthly possessions bring on.
Mark 6:7-9 "He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a walking stick: no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts. They were to wear sandals, but not put on an extra shirt."
The twelve were supposed to teach in like manner, and I bet they did, but it didn't take long before someone said, "This is hard. Can't I take a thermos with some soup or something? How about an apple?" The disciples may have thought that sounded perfectly reasonable. In fact, they could probably remember being somewhat hungry along the way, and the creep started.
The bottom line is that God wants us totally dependent upon Him. That's where He is at His best. We say we want His best for our lives, but we keep cluttering it up with stuff.
His will is not distant or unknowable. It's right there in the Bible. It's just hard, so most people make up something else that sounds better.
Scope creep. Kills every project. The church we have now has almost nothing in common with the early church. People thought that group was nuts because they gave everything up to gain something that no one could see. We make sure that we have the nicest stuff and then justify it by claiming that God wants me to be rich so that other people will see my life and want it for themselves.
You may be doing it wrong.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Jesus was impressed, so you should be, too
It came to me that maybe I should look at who Jesus was impressed by. Who on earth made the cut such that the few words of Christ that we have, contain praise for contemporaries of his. He was pretty stingy with praise, so it's instructive to see the character qualities of the people that he chose to lift up.
In my "study" such as it was, I figured I would read only the words of Christ and see who came up in conversation and what he said about them.
In Matthew 8:5-10 we are introduced to a Roman centurion (commander of 100 men).
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony!"
"I will come and heal him," He told him.
"Lord," the centurion replied, "I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But only say the word, and my servant will be cured. For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes; and to another, 'Come!' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."
Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following Him, "I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith!"
OK, so what's the big deal that Jesus says, "Here's the guy with the most faith in Israel?"
I think it's because he recognized the true scope of Jesus' authority and placed himself under it. He said, "I am not worthy to even have someone so great as you in my house." In military terms, he had just met the Commander-in-Chief of the whole universe, and he instinctively knew that whatever Jesus wanted to happen was as good as done, and it was. It was this man's faith, not his impressive military service or resume' that impressed Jesus.
In verse 13, Jesus told the centurion, "Go. As you have believed, let it be done for you." And his servant was cured that very moment.
Later on in Matthew 11:11 Jesus says, "I assure you: Among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
So, we are introduced to the man that Jesus says is the greatest man born to date. Let's look at his lifestyle:
John lived in the desert, eating locusts and wild honey. He had a camel-hair garment and a leather belt...and apparently that was about it. The leaders of the day considered him to be a demon possessed wacko, but Jesus singled him out as the greatest ever because all he did with his time was proclaim the truth. It was his level of commitment and not his station in life that impressed Jesus.
Jesus saved up some of his most venomous assessments for the wealthy, powerful religious leaders of His day. The beautifully dressed teachers of the law. They always arrived for church in their freshly washed BMWs and Cadillacs. They always had a freshly pressed shirt with just the right crease in their pant leg. They sang the loudest, knew all the scripture, and took copious notes, I'm sure.
"Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. They worship Me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commands of men."
I'm afraid we're doing it wrong. I think I'm a Pharisee. Maybe tomorrow, I'll write about Jesus' business acumen. Haven't decided yet.
In my "study" such as it was, I figured I would read only the words of Christ and see who came up in conversation and what he said about them.
In Matthew 8:5-10 we are introduced to a Roman centurion (commander of 100 men).
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony!"
"I will come and heal him," He told him.
"Lord," the centurion replied, "I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But only say the word, and my servant will be cured. For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes; and to another, 'Come!' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."
Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following Him, "I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith!"
OK, so what's the big deal that Jesus says, "Here's the guy with the most faith in Israel?"
I think it's because he recognized the true scope of Jesus' authority and placed himself under it. He said, "I am not worthy to even have someone so great as you in my house." In military terms, he had just met the Commander-in-Chief of the whole universe, and he instinctively knew that whatever Jesus wanted to happen was as good as done, and it was. It was this man's faith, not his impressive military service or resume' that impressed Jesus.
In verse 13, Jesus told the centurion, "Go. As you have believed, let it be done for you." And his servant was cured that very moment.
Later on in Matthew 11:11 Jesus says, "I assure you: Among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
So, we are introduced to the man that Jesus says is the greatest man born to date. Let's look at his lifestyle:
John lived in the desert, eating locusts and wild honey. He had a camel-hair garment and a leather belt...and apparently that was about it. The leaders of the day considered him to be a demon possessed wacko, but Jesus singled him out as the greatest ever because all he did with his time was proclaim the truth. It was his level of commitment and not his station in life that impressed Jesus.
Jesus saved up some of his most venomous assessments for the wealthy, powerful religious leaders of His day. The beautifully dressed teachers of the law. They always arrived for church in their freshly washed BMWs and Cadillacs. They always had a freshly pressed shirt with just the right crease in their pant leg. They sang the loudest, knew all the scripture, and took copious notes, I'm sure.
"Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. They worship Me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commands of men."
I'm afraid we're doing it wrong. I think I'm a Pharisee. Maybe tomorrow, I'll write about Jesus' business acumen. Haven't decided yet.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
The creative force behind this blog
First and foremost, it's Jesus. More specifically, it's a book by Frances Chan called "Crazy Love". I strongly suggest that you pick it up. At least on the surface, I can blame him if you disagree with me, and he has far more Biblical training than I do.
What if Jesus came up behind you while you were putting together your little DIY birdhouse kit from Home Depot and gently suggested that, "You may be doing it wrong?" He has 18-20 years experience in earthly carpentry, besides the 2000 or so years of preparing a place for us. (Hope they have compressors in heaven and pneumatic nailers.) Besides, there's the whole holding the universe together by the power of His word thing. That's impressive enough to at least warrant a listen, don't you think? I would. Maybe He would give me some advice on how to keep two sides square while face nailing the third or some such thing that would make the whole thing go faster and look prettier when I was done.
Bottom line is that He knows what He's talking about better than I do, and if I knew how to do it better, I'd rather, right?
Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love, has shown me that I may be doing it wrong when it comes to Christian living, and I'm afraid I'm no different than MILLIONS of others. We are missing the boat, both from the perspective of pleasing our Heavenly Father, but also from the view that our lives were meant to be so much more rewarding than we usually let them be.
I'll lay out my case here over the next few days and weeks. Let me know what you think. It won't kill me if you disagree. Please just be civil and I'll try to do the same.
What if Jesus came up behind you while you were putting together your little DIY birdhouse kit from Home Depot and gently suggested that, "You may be doing it wrong?" He has 18-20 years experience in earthly carpentry, besides the 2000 or so years of preparing a place for us. (Hope they have compressors in heaven and pneumatic nailers.) Besides, there's the whole holding the universe together by the power of His word thing. That's impressive enough to at least warrant a listen, don't you think? I would. Maybe He would give me some advice on how to keep two sides square while face nailing the third or some such thing that would make the whole thing go faster and look prettier when I was done.
Bottom line is that He knows what He's talking about better than I do, and if I knew how to do it better, I'd rather, right?
Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love, has shown me that I may be doing it wrong when it comes to Christian living, and I'm afraid I'm no different than MILLIONS of others. We are missing the boat, both from the perspective of pleasing our Heavenly Father, but also from the view that our lives were meant to be so much more rewarding than we usually let them be.
I'll lay out my case here over the next few days and weeks. Let me know what you think. It won't kill me if you disagree. Please just be civil and I'll try to do the same.
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