The more I live and experience our world in the way God meant for us, from the beginning of time, I see and realize my own faults and errors. What I’m guilty of, what I’m constantly finding myself dealing with, are the lies and hopes of an evil one. The hopes that I will not continue to seek God to His fulness and in any way express His love for our world. The problem is, is that if I chose to turn a blind eye to the problems and sins that plague our world, and yes, my own life, I would go insane. Like most guys, I’m a fixer. When I see a problem, I want to fix it, and yes, at times, at any cost. I’m still learning the fine line between passion for God’s work and responsibility to the life that God have gifted me with. Namely, my family. My wife, my son. In the words of the band Casting Crowns, in their song, Somewhere in the Middle, "...reckless abandon, wrapped in common sense." Knowing that there is a world out there jam packed with hurting and dying people, wishing that at the drop of a hat, I could leave everything behind and go and just let God use me to heal our world. Before you read to much into that statement, I should inform you, I have no intention of leaving my family to do God’s work, because that would be extremely counter-productive. God called me to be a husband and a father, and to that, I am dedicated. To be His hands and arms of love to my family first.
We as believers are called to leave everything behind and to be Jesus to the world at whatever cost, even if it means persecution in the form of death. After all, we all know that Jesus died on the cross, not because He did anything wrong. The only thing He was ever guilty of, was loving too much. Loving a world that would otherwise be hopeless. My sins helped put Him there. The sins of the world, as a whole, put Him there.
All that being said, isn’t there something we are missing? For the past few decades, we believers in North America have been conducting our ‘Christian lives’ in the same manner, thinking that as long as we gather together on Sunday, or in a small group, or down at the homeless shelter, that we are doing all we can. I feed the hungry, I studied the Word with some close friends in the comfort of my house, with my Lennox furnace to keep me warm, I’ve done my part. But have we? Have we done it in the right spirit? I Peter 2 1-3 writes, "So get rid of all evil behaviour. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness." This evil behaviour is not just limited to ‘deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.’ It also includes so many other sins, such as lust, adultery, hatred, and that list just goes on. My question, do you lose sleep trying to figure out how your going to make your next mortgage payment? Do you lose sleep trying to figure out where tomorrow’s supper is going to come from? Do wonder what is going to happen to your pension? Are you going to have enough money stored up to take care of you and your family during this financially tough time? Or do you lose sleep trying to figure out how you can better serve the world, to better serve God? We are told not to worry about where our next meal is coming from. The Bible has many examples. I think it starts with the Israelites in the desert. God commands them to only collect the food they need for the day. Not for the week. Exodus 16:4. Philippians 4:19 clearly states, "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Jesus Christ." There are so many other examples in the Bible of God providing for His children, and as for myself, I know that God has provided for me and my family over and over again. I would dare say that if we all thought about the provision of God, we could all name a time or many times when He has been our fill. Our Provider. My question is, if He has done so much for us, then don’t you think we owe it to Him to seek His face in every part of our life? All this proof, and I not even mentioning the Cross right now! He did that for us and still we are to busy to say thanks! We do our ‘penance’ on Sundays, or before a meal, but that is were it stays.
I agree whole hearted that we need to be in church on Sundays, helping in the homeless shelters, and attending small groups, but have we limited God’s power to those events? Have we forgotten that He is the very God that brought Jesus back to life after the Cross? The very God that gave Jesus the power to heal the blind man, or the power to raise Lazarus. The God that gave Peter the power to heal the lame man at the temple gates.
In 2006, I had the privilege of going to Peru. An experience I will never forget. Seeing children so happy to have one soccer ball. There were over 20 kids. They ran and played around us as we helped construct their school/daycare center. Kids here in North America get crabby because they don’t have the right Ipod or the right clothing on. The need to fit in has completely overtaken the need to just have clothing on their backs and food on their plate. Clothing and food are just assumed. Completely taken advantage of. Take them to a mostly undeveloped country like Peru and they would never last. Even I, as a grown adult, I was challenged and extremely humbled by the adults in Peru. Here in North America, at least in my own family, it is normal to get all of my weeks groceries in one visit to the store. In Peru, they don’t have that opportunity. They don’t make enough to be able to afford that much food, not to mention to afford a fridge or freezer to store that food. They don’t have any choice but to trust that God will provide for them, day after day. I can see that happening here someday very soon in North America. In our current economic situation, there will be many believers who will be forced to look to God for help. There will also be many unbelievers who will ‘pray’ that God will help them.
With all that is and will happen in the near future, now more then ever, we believers will be called to help. We will have so many more opportunities to serve, to love, and to be Jesus to our world. My biggest concern, is that if right now, we are not seeking God and His fulness, and ways to be Jesus to the world, in a time that already is looking bleak, how will we be able to help the needy when the time really comes?
In various parts of the world, there are huge, major spiritual revivals happening. God is making His presence known in places we could never imagine. Fellow believers, brothers and sisters, are being persecuted and tested in ways that we in North America could not even imagine, and in those areas of the world the Word of God is growing. As a result of this persecution, more and more people, just like you and me are being converted, seeing the love that Jesus displayed. In China, there are hidden colonies, in Africa the Muslims are beings converted, and at a cost that is their life! Would you give your life for God? Would you give your families’ life for God? If we are to have the strength to do this, if we have any hope of being able to stand in the face of persecution and death, we need to be searching God. To figure out who He really is. To figure out what His true plan was and is. This is the only way we will survive the coming persecution. We have become so comfortable in our ‘free culture’ that is North America, that I fear we will not have what it takes to stand up to the persecution that we could face any day now. We have just grown to comfortable.
Somehow we need to figure out how to better equip ourselves. To know the Word, and to know God, and how Jesus would have lived. A friend and colleague of mine, Carl Lily, and I were talking this past week regarding the apathy of North American Christians. With love and fear, we talked about how comfortable people have become. Some believers who are generally good people, and generally have a good relationship with God, limit their view on God. Carl gave this analogy. It would be like a man going ice fishing. He goes out into the middle of this huge lake. He sets up his fishing hut, and drills his hole into the 12 inch thick ice. After completing this, he drops his line in the lake. Into that one hole. One after another, he gets one fish at a time. Thinking he is having a great fishing day, he continues on his challenge to catch as many fish as he can. The problem is, is that the lake, like God, is huge. How can he possibly have his best fishing experience with just one hole? Likewise, how can we have our best experience with God with just one venue to experience Him? Whether it’s church, or whether it’s our work with the homeless, as soon as we leave church or the shelter, we should be looking forward to another encounter in which we can demonstrate God’s love, to demonstrate Christ to the world.
With all this being said, in the spirit of revival, I truly believe that there is going to a be major revival in North America. In some parts of North America it has already started. In some places, we are just comfortable and happy with what we think God has given us as believers. The problem is that we let our experiences with God stay between us and God. We don’t share them with the lost. We don’t shared them with the hurting believers. When we figure out who Jesus really was, and what He was really trying to do here on earth, in our human form, then and only then, will we begin to see revival. The same revival and life that has been rising up all over the world, except for most of North America.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
REVIVAL
What does a revived heart look like? According to Webster’s New World Dictionary the word revive means, "to return to life or consciousness, or to come or bring back into use, attention, or popularity." As I look back at the moments in my own life, were I thought God had revived my heart, my spirit, I now begin to wonder if I was ever really ‘revived’. As I look at my own life, and wonder what God’s intentions for me are, I find it extremely difficult to not feel overwhelmed by the opportunities He places in my path. It may not be news for you, but when we talk about God’s will for our life, God’s will isn’t a physical place. It isn’t whether or not we should have a hamburger for lunch, or take a healthier route, and go for the salad. To find God’s will for our life we simply need to constantly pursue a greater understanding of His love.
When we go to church on a Sunday morning, how can we sit there, sing a few songs, listen to the message, and then go home as if nothing happened? I realize we are ways in God’s presence, but on a Sunday morning or evening, when we sing, or when we listen to His word being spoken by our ministers, for some dumb reason, we feel closer to God. We feel as if some how we are doing our part by being in church. I am guilty of this as well. While the pastor is speaking, I will follow along with him as he reads from God’s word, and as I’m doing that, a different verse will catch my eye. I will then spend the next 10 minutes reading up on something that has nothing to do with what the pastor is speaking on, just because I am too lazy to do my devotions at home, by myself or in my own time. After the service is over, we stick around, have our little conversations with our closer friends, or in some bizarre circumstances, we might actually reach out to a new person, and then we get in the car, and go for a family dinner or out for lunch. Somewhere between the message and the door, we lose our focus. The focus that seemingly gets a boost that lasts only for a moment. It’s not that we’ve forgotten who we are, and that we are believers, but somehow we forget to show the world. Or maybe to take what we believe and forget to put it into action. Again, I am guilty of this as well. We might get behind the wheel of our car and become impatient with the 80 year old driver in front of us, and make ever attempt to get around him, no matter what. What we don’t realize is that he just saw us drive out of the church parking lot. Based on that little incident, no wonder the world thinks we’re hypocrites. I’m not even talking about everything else we do that the world sees. We get so caught up in our own lives that we totally miss God’s purpose for us in this short time we have on earth. After all, are we not God’s hands, feet, and arms?
Getting back to the revived heart. What should it look like? It can’t be as easy as just sitting in church on Sunday and being nice to a few people throughout the week can it? Does it actually go deeper then this? I would dare say yes. We may help out in a Sunday school class, or help with the offering, or the nursery, or even the worship service, and that is all great. I fully believe that we need to be involved in some aspect. But is merely giving a couple hours each week, to ‘further His cause’, enough? Or should we constantly be seeking ways in which we can further his cause. Maybe constantly be looking for situations to input ourselves, to make ourselves available.
This brings me to my first question. Where is your passion? I think on a large scale, we as ‘believers’ have lost our passion, as well as our longing to truly know God, and to be His body here on earth. Each of us has at least one or two gifts that God has given us to use; and I realize that a lot of us use them to some degree. But what gifts do we have that we aren’t using, because we are afraid of where they could take us? Or what they could do to us? One of the reasons I believe we are not using some of our gifts and have lost our passion, is because we have become so involved in the culture of the world, by putting our desires before God’s.
Right now I’m attempting to read a book written by Shane Claiborne titled The Irresistible Revolution. In one of the chapters, he talks about how "Jesus wrecked his life". That may sound a little out there. After all, God isn’t out to ruin our lives. What Shane is referring to is that if we would just allow God to truly run our lives and to actually believe and do everything the Bible commands, our lives would be turned upside down. We in North America have grown so accustom to having everything we want, and having it now. We put our materialistic desires before God’s desires. How is it that we put our evening television watching ahead of His Word? Maybe we spend 5 minutes reading at family devotions, or 5 minutes reading His word, and call that our personal devotions, but then, for the next hour or two, we put down the Word and turn on the TV, or the internet, or maybe pick up a different book, not related to God at all. If we say we are Believers, if we say we don’t have any idols, then why have the things of our world’s culture taken precedence over God? I am not saying that everything we view and read is bad for us, but is it really that good for us? Over the past few years I have become somewhat ‘addicted’ to certain television programs. Not that they are necessarily bad for me, but they certainly haven’t helped me to further God’s will for our world. In all the time I spend watching these shows, how much time could I have spent reading God’s Word and praying? There are so many resources out there for expanding our relationship with God, and yet I would rather watch a show on tv that will do absolutely nothing to further God’s work. It will do nothing to help me become more like Christ. A lot of these shows have a running story, so that each show is connected to each other. Maybe making us feel that if we miss a show we will be left behind. We grow so attached, and yes, in some cases addicted to those shows. That is what the television companies want. To keep up their ratings, so they can make lots of money. But further than that, that is what Satan wants too. He wants us to be so involved in the false reality of television, that we neglect the Word. That we neglect our relationships with God. That we neglect God. And then we say we have no idols.
This brings me to my second question. Where is your focus? What are you truly seeking from this life? Do we really want God’s will to be our will? Maybe we pray the Lord’s prayer, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one,’ Matthew 6: 9-13. (NLT) If we pray this, do we mean it? Do we really want to follow God’s will? If so, are we doing EVERYTHING we can to do that?
When we go to church on a Sunday morning, how can we sit there, sing a few songs, listen to the message, and then go home as if nothing happened? I realize we are ways in God’s presence, but on a Sunday morning or evening, when we sing, or when we listen to His word being spoken by our ministers, for some dumb reason, we feel closer to God. We feel as if some how we are doing our part by being in church. I am guilty of this as well. While the pastor is speaking, I will follow along with him as he reads from God’s word, and as I’m doing that, a different verse will catch my eye. I will then spend the next 10 minutes reading up on something that has nothing to do with what the pastor is speaking on, just because I am too lazy to do my devotions at home, by myself or in my own time. After the service is over, we stick around, have our little conversations with our closer friends, or in some bizarre circumstances, we might actually reach out to a new person, and then we get in the car, and go for a family dinner or out for lunch. Somewhere between the message and the door, we lose our focus. The focus that seemingly gets a boost that lasts only for a moment. It’s not that we’ve forgotten who we are, and that we are believers, but somehow we forget to show the world. Or maybe to take what we believe and forget to put it into action. Again, I am guilty of this as well. We might get behind the wheel of our car and become impatient with the 80 year old driver in front of us, and make ever attempt to get around him, no matter what. What we don’t realize is that he just saw us drive out of the church parking lot. Based on that little incident, no wonder the world thinks we’re hypocrites. I’m not even talking about everything else we do that the world sees. We get so caught up in our own lives that we totally miss God’s purpose for us in this short time we have on earth. After all, are we not God’s hands, feet, and arms?
Getting back to the revived heart. What should it look like? It can’t be as easy as just sitting in church on Sunday and being nice to a few people throughout the week can it? Does it actually go deeper then this? I would dare say yes. We may help out in a Sunday school class, or help with the offering, or the nursery, or even the worship service, and that is all great. I fully believe that we need to be involved in some aspect. But is merely giving a couple hours each week, to ‘further His cause’, enough? Or should we constantly be seeking ways in which we can further his cause. Maybe constantly be looking for situations to input ourselves, to make ourselves available.
This brings me to my first question. Where is your passion? I think on a large scale, we as ‘believers’ have lost our passion, as well as our longing to truly know God, and to be His body here on earth. Each of us has at least one or two gifts that God has given us to use; and I realize that a lot of us use them to some degree. But what gifts do we have that we aren’t using, because we are afraid of where they could take us? Or what they could do to us? One of the reasons I believe we are not using some of our gifts and have lost our passion, is because we have become so involved in the culture of the world, by putting our desires before God’s.
Right now I’m attempting to read a book written by Shane Claiborne titled The Irresistible Revolution. In one of the chapters, he talks about how "Jesus wrecked his life". That may sound a little out there. After all, God isn’t out to ruin our lives. What Shane is referring to is that if we would just allow God to truly run our lives and to actually believe and do everything the Bible commands, our lives would be turned upside down. We in North America have grown so accustom to having everything we want, and having it now. We put our materialistic desires before God’s desires. How is it that we put our evening television watching ahead of His Word? Maybe we spend 5 minutes reading at family devotions, or 5 minutes reading His word, and call that our personal devotions, but then, for the next hour or two, we put down the Word and turn on the TV, or the internet, or maybe pick up a different book, not related to God at all. If we say we are Believers, if we say we don’t have any idols, then why have the things of our world’s culture taken precedence over God? I am not saying that everything we view and read is bad for us, but is it really that good for us? Over the past few years I have become somewhat ‘addicted’ to certain television programs. Not that they are necessarily bad for me, but they certainly haven’t helped me to further God’s will for our world. In all the time I spend watching these shows, how much time could I have spent reading God’s Word and praying? There are so many resources out there for expanding our relationship with God, and yet I would rather watch a show on tv that will do absolutely nothing to further God’s work. It will do nothing to help me become more like Christ. A lot of these shows have a running story, so that each show is connected to each other. Maybe making us feel that if we miss a show we will be left behind. We grow so attached, and yes, in some cases addicted to those shows. That is what the television companies want. To keep up their ratings, so they can make lots of money. But further than that, that is what Satan wants too. He wants us to be so involved in the false reality of television, that we neglect the Word. That we neglect our relationships with God. That we neglect God. And then we say we have no idols.
This brings me to my second question. Where is your focus? What are you truly seeking from this life? Do we really want God’s will to be our will? Maybe we pray the Lord’s prayer, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one,’ Matthew 6: 9-13. (NLT) If we pray this, do we mean it? Do we really want to follow God’s will? If so, are we doing EVERYTHING we can to do that?
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