Putting the cart before the horse

Francis Chan recently wrote an article about the role of leaders, and missteps they can take along the way. You can read the whole article here... and you should.

I wonder if the inconsistency in my walk with God has anything to do with the fact that I can lead a “successful” church in America without being in love with Jesus. I’m sure I could blame American church culture, my position, or a busy schedule for my lack of reverent intimacy. The truth, however, is that my sin and hypocrisy is a result of me.

I've been working through this topic for a long time. How do I foster and grow an authentic love for Jesus that naturally leads to devotion in prayer, reading and ministry rather than shoe-horning my devotions to foster a love for Christ? I'm in essence, putting the cart before the horse it seems. However, its been so ingrained in me that I *must* spend time in prayer or I *must* read the scriptures daily or I *must* ______________ (fill in the blank). That this life united with Christ does not look the way that others seem to see it. In fact, it changes from a full life to a mediocre job.

God speaking to the church in Ephesus says:

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (Revelation 2:2-4)

God recognizes their good works, but that doesn't stop him from letting them know that they are forsaking him. He even calls them to repent or else!

My takeaway here is that Tim Bounds was right (he always is... the sooner you recognize that, the easier it will get). Tim, in reference to my driving, said I was "a bit oblivious to my surroundings." Now, I feel that DEFINITELY applies to my driving, but it also applies to my spirituality. Why don't I feel like I'm in love with God? Why do I feel like this is more of a chore than a pleasure? Looking at it through this lens seems to display that it's because I'm oblivious to the work that God is doing and has done in me. I'm oblivious to the fact that I am a unique creation, designed for a specific divine purpose. Though I'm reminded weekly of these truths, I forget. I forget to love God.

God, I pray now that you would awaken me to your movements. Ignite in me a desire for you that is reflective of what you have already done for me. God, may I never forget to love you. I pray that you would break down my feeble thoughts and attitudes and replace them with your thoughts and your attitudes. God, please fill me with an authentic love for you and your creation.

Meditation: Charles Spurgeon

‘Alas’ say you, ‘I have done wrong.’ I know you have; but HE has not.
If your confidence were in yourself, that wrong of yours might crush your hope; but since your confidence is in God, and He has not changed, why should you fear? ‘Oh, but I am so sinful’. Yes; I know you are, and so you were when He first looked upon you in love. If His love had sought to come to you by the way of merit it never would have reached you; but it comes to you by way of free, rich, sovereign grace and therefore it will come to you evermore.

Courtesy of C.H. Spurgeon

A Minister's Bible

O God of truth,
I thank Thee for the holy Scriptures,
their precepts, promises, directions, light.
In them may I learn more of Christ,
be enabled to retain His truth
and have grace to follow it.
Help me to lift up the gates of my soul
that He may come in
and show me Himself when I search the Scriptures,
for I have no lines to fathom its depths,
no wings to soar to its heights.
By His aid may I be enabled to explore all its truths,
love them with all my heart,
embrace them with all my power,
engraft them into my life.
Bless to my soul all grains of truth garnered from Thy Word;
may they take deep root,
be refreshed by heavenly dew,
be ripened by heavenly rays,
be harvested to my joy and Thy praise.
Help me to gain profit by what I read,
as a treasure beyond all treasure,
a fountain which can replenish my dry heart,
its waters flowing through me as a perennial river
on-drawn by Thy Holy Spirit.
Enable me to distill from its pages faithful prayer
that grasps the arm of Thy omnipotence,
achieves wonders, obtains blessings,
and draws down streams of mercy.
From it show me how my words have often been
unfaithful to Thee,
injurious to my fellow-men,
empty of grace, full of folly,
dishonoring to my calling.
Then write Thy own words upon my heart
and inscribe them on my lips;
So shall all glory be to Thee in my reading of Thy Word!

From The Valley of Vision

Meditation: Phillipians 3:15-16

Taken from here.

“Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” Philippians 3:15-16

How incredibly difficult it is to see ourselves as we really are. Though we see the strengths and shortcomings of others quite easily, to look honestly in the mirror at our own lives is not easy at all. Those who wrestle with addictions are very familiar with the power of denial. We all tend to deny to ourselves what we don’t want to admit. Though the people who love us the most keep warning us; though sermons and songs and words from scripture keep confirming those warnings; though deep in our hearts we know those warnings are probably on target; if we don’t like what we are hearing we will deny to ourselves what we know to be true. The promise the Apostle Paul makes to us in this passage is that God will reveal to His children those ways of thinking, patterns of behavior, attitudes, character flaws, etc., that need to change. What an awesome promise that is. God will break down the walls of denial we build around our hearts if we will let Him.

How do we let Him? Three words: faith, courage, willingness. Faith leads to courage, courage leads to willingness, willingness leads to God. Here’s how it works. To have FAITH in the love of Jesus means that you know that no matter what you have done or haven’t done, no matter how you have failed or succeeded, no matter how good or bad you have been; God loves you with an incredible love. Romans 5:20 tells us, “…where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more or love you less. Jesus’ death on the cross has shown us once and for all the depth of God’s amazing love for us all. When you have faith in that love it gives you COURAGE. When you know how loved you are you have the courage to look honestly at yourself because you know that no matter how good, bad, or ugly you are, still you are loved!!! You don’t have to be afraid of what you will see if you let go of your denial. Have you really messed up? Still you are loved. Have you hurt someone terribly? Still you are loved. Are you selfish, prideful, greedy, judgmental, etc.? Still you are loved. When you have faith in Jesus, that faith gives you the courage to see what you haven’t wanted to see, and that courage leads to WILLINGNESS. With courage you can find the willingness to let God break your denial. With courage you can find the willingness to hear whatever God is saying to you. With courage you can find the willingness to let God speak to you through your spouse, your parent, your friend, your preacher, or even your own conscience. With courage you can find the willingness even to make changes you haven’t wanted to make, knowing that God’s love will be with you as you make those changes.

Denial is a terrible thing. Willingness to listen and to change is an awesome thing.

Prayer: Dear God, please strengthen my faith in Jesus so that I may have courage. I want to be brave enough to hear what You are really saying to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Being observant

I recently started a new part-time job, which requires that I keep an eye on everything that is going on around me. This really started to hit home to me as DJ (a co-worker) was training me on the things he does during his shift. I was beginning to realize that I don't really pay attention to my surroundings that much, take stock of the world around me, or notice small changes. I'm usually driving towards a goal, seeking after a result that is still far away. Big changes, that's what I seem to do well with.

Hopefully, I'm not as un-observant (is that even a word?) as this guy:



But, I do feel that this is an area that I need to improve in. When was the last time you noticed something new about a place you walk by everyday? Or perhaps a new hairstyle of a friend?

I think this even carries over into our reading of scripture. "Oh this is the Christmas story, I know what happens here!" And we skip right over a truth that is sitting right there waiting for us that maybe we didn't see the first 5000 times we read the story. That's the beauty of scripture-- regardless of how long you've studied it, something new can always be brought to light. As long as you are humble enough to be taught.

I think good observance is directly connected to humility. Without being humble enough to realize that more is going on than we already know or can see, we can never truly observe and learn from our surroundings. If you aren't able to say "What is the new thing am I going to see today?", you will never find anything new in life to get excited about.

Change is a wonderful thing. It destroys monotony and reminds us of our temporary existence by reaffirming what is truly important in life. Don't get caught in the trap that things need to settle down. Seek new things every day of your life!

Humility is also a wonderful thing. It destroys the pride and self-worth that comes from the invader and reminds us of our finite minds by knocking us down a peg or two when we need it. Don't get caught in the trap that you know it all. Seek to always be a student every day of your life!

I hope I never quit learning and observing from my surroundings. If I do, someone kick me in the face.

Meditation: Philippians 3:1

“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not irksome to me, and is safe for you.” Philippians 3:1

The story is told of a tourist in New York City who had a ticket to attend a symphony concert at the storied Carnegie Hall. Running out of time and unable to find the concert hall, the tourist spotted a musician carrying a violin case, and asked him, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice, practice, practice,” replied the musician.

So it is with becoming the people God sent us here to be. You don’t learn how to love, how to forgive, how to be kind, patient, or compassionate in one or two easy lessons. These are the goals of a lifetime, and repetition is the key. You read the Bible again and again. You worship again and again. You pray again and again. You try, you fail, you get up and start over; again and again and again. The point is, you never give up. You keep on going, no matter what. In I Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul writes, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

The question is, are you humble enough to keep on working at these lessons God is seeking to teach you even when it seems like you’ve already been there and done that? It is a humble thing, after all, to admit to yourself that you need to keep worshiping, you need to keep listening to sermons, you need to keep praying, you need to keep reading the Bible because, like everyone else, you’re not that fast of a learner when it comes to the things of God. It might not have taken you long to learn chemistry or algebra, but nobody learns quickly how to truly love. In an ADD, hyper-speed, digital, media-blitzed culture; it’s hard not to get bored doing these simple things of worship, prayer and Bible reading over and over again; but the end result is more than worth the effort.

Make the effort…over and over again.

Prayer: Father, please give me the discipline and determination to keep working at godliness all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A good reminder to me and to you. Taken from here.