Yesterday

This weekend I started a line of thought and was planning to conclude it over the weekend.  After thinking on it quite a bit more I've decided to expand the idea and spread it out over a few more days.

How often have you gotten bent out of shape about something that happened yesterday?  Yeah, I know.  What people say and do sometimes can crush us.  What we say or do has just as much power to devastate as well, others or ourselves.  Are you still paying for past mistakes?  Does someone you know regularly throw those mistakes in your face?

Yesterdays are incredibly important, but maybe not for the reasons some of us would like to think.  Mistakes we make can serve a purpose by offering opportunities to learn more about ourselves.  If we have been wronged that becomes a teaching tool for us to become wise and wary, not weary, but we must take great care not to cross over into bitterness or wholesale skepticism in regards to others.  The past can be something for us to draw inspiration from because of the good things that happened as well.

 

Triumph is a catalyst for encouragement. 

 

What could be more triumphant than rescue by a loving God that can be neither touched by mortality, influenced by space, nor swallowed by eternity... but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

Change

Sit incredibly still for the next 4.3 seconds. Try it. Do your dead-level-best to stay exactly the same as you are for the next week. Impossible. You can't even stay just as you are or even where you are for the next 0.0001 second.

Our bodies are finite physical beings. We exist within the confines of this physical space around us.

Try as we might to sit still, the reality is that our bodies are resting upon a planet that is in constant motion traveling through a solar system and galaxy that are in continual state of flux. We are not still.

We may persist in our foolish stubbornness trying to remain the same for months, days, or moments; but our flesh is dying, building, producing, and processing. It is changing...always.

We throw ourselves into so many things out of a vain sense of legacy, wishing to be remembered for some daring deed as a lofty legend of some sort. But as concerns this mortal coil there is an end. There can be no mortality without end.

I'll conclude this line of thought tommorrow.

Politicians and Providence

Have you ever griped about a politician?  I know have.  Often.  It’s hard not to when things seem to be going haywire on a regular basis.  Griping and complaining about the things we don’t like or agree with is a healthy part of our American political process, but it shouldn’t end there.  If all we ever do is bicker about it, then we aren’t actually engaging in the process, we are only highlighting the problems… or adding to them.

As responsible citizens we should engage in the solution process by carrying out our civic duty and voting.  Communicating our frustrations and desires to our elected officials through healthy channels is key.  However, as believers we should take it a step further and actually lift our leaders up in prayer on a regular basis.

For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. – Romans 13:6

God is sovereign.  If a ruler is in power it is for a reason.  We may not agree with their decision making process, and it might be contrary to everything we believe in; but we must continue to hold to the truth that God is sovereign.

Yes, I will probably continue to grumble and complain when I see elected officials do something ridiculous.  I will also do my part by pointing those complaints to politically receptive parties, and I will continue to vote; but I will also lift up those leaders in prayer, even as I disagree with them.

*For a great study on the sovereignty of God check out the Book of Daniel.

Need?

During my study time yesterday I was reading Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer. In one of the chapters he talks a bit about the dangers of the secularization of the Church due to people's changing perceptions of God. The following are some thoughts I typed up on my phone while mulling it all over.

As our perception of self increased, our perception of God decreased. Where once men worshipped , wept, and trembled before the Awesomeness of The Almighty they now malign and mock the mere mention of His name. And the Church? We, His bride, purchased with the immeasurable bride-price of sacrificed Deity...we beg and plead people to take Him and accept Him, as if He is the one in need of us.

God needs none of us. Indeed, even, God does not need. As Tozer puts it, "need is a creature word" and can never describe the Creator.

However, we often vex ourselves, most unnecessarily, by thinking we're doing God some great favor by begging people to "accept" Him. The plain truth is that we are the ones in desperate need of acceptance. We need His sovereign love and grace to repair the damage our sin caused to the God-man-relationship.

Lord, help us not to think You need us. Help us to show others how desperately we all need You.

Text It

Matt Kennon is a terrible singer. He sings with that kind of phony country twang that is worse than irritating, but his song The Call hits on a truth that is absolutely exceptional. The song tells several stories about people poised to make some life altering, or ending, decisions whose situations are drastically changed by the influence of a friendly phone call.

There is a great truth to be discerned from this simple idea; honest encouragement is powerful.

In the past when I would send out my monthly newsletter I would attach small post-it notes to a number of the outgoing letters. It was never anything overly profound or lengthy. Usually it was more along the lines of "I just wanted to say thanks" or "thinking about you today." Even so, I heard back from several people about how those little personal notes brightened their day.

Fast forward about eight years and here we all are in a world where world wide communication borders on instantaneous and the socialization of media and information is the norm. How might that former snippet of encouragement look in a world where a phone is barely used for talking and paper mail is old-hat? Text messages.

Several times lately I've had stray thoughts of dear friends cross my mind, seemingly out of the blue. It had become my regular practice to lift them up in prayer when this happens, but also, to text them, let them know they're on my mind, and try to offer some sincere encouragement.

I like how Hebrews 3:13 puts it, "but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today..."

Encouragement is powerful, and in this modern age of communication it is just a few key stokes away.

Greatest Expectations

Just nine short weeks ago I had a birthday.  It was a fun day spent with people I love doing some of the things that I really enjoy.  This morning I was thinking about how much my life has changed in these last two months.

When September began I was firmly entrenched in all the awesomeness that goes with the hectic activity of fall semester startup as a campus missionary.  I was building great relationships, meeting awesome people, planning exciting activities, and awash in all the social buzz surrounding each of these things.  I had just returned to school to continue my education by pursuing a master’s degree in multi-media journalism.  In the realm of entertaining hobbies, things were looking more than chipper as several of my favorite stories were due to make big screen appearances or hit DVD; and the holiday season for video game enthusiasts was poised to blow the mind of every digital junky that owns a controller.

And then…

Three days after my birthday Jamie walked into the room with a little white bag and handed it to me.  Inside was a pregnancy test.  Results? Positive. 

In the days since she handed me that little bag a lot of stuff has gone through my mind.  This morning as I was reflecting on these things I was drawn continually to just how my expectations for this next year, and life in general, were forever changed by a simple little white bag.  It reminded me of the verse I put in my block in our high school annual my senior year.

However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" – 1 Corinthians 2:9

When September began my mind, my heart, and my soul were engaged in all the great things that I have come to treasure, love, and expect about my blessed life.  As November dawns I see that my expectations were great, but God’s expectations are the greatest.

Everyone. Everywhere. Everyday.

I once heard a pastor that I have a tremendous amount of respect for give a lecture on his thoughts concerning evangelism. If you read the title of this entry, then you already have the gist of what the pastor I speak of had to say that day.

Everyone. Everywhere. Everyday. This means that anyone you cross paths with, at any location, or at any moment, could be depending on you to share the Gospel with them.

I do a lot of teaching about how to talk to people about Christ. Not all people you share the Gospel with will require, or need, to hear words from you. In fact, some will be impacted much more if you just live it out authentically in front of them. There are, however, those that need to hear someone put into words their reasons and results from living a life with Christ. Because of this, we need to be willing to share the Gospel with everyone, everywhere, everyday.