What Matters Most

Jesus the Condemner?

I find it intriguing that God gave us John 3:17 right after John 3:16.  I mean, John 3:16 says it all doesn't it?  The most popular verse in the Bible reads "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will not die but live forever."  What else is needed?  

But for some reason God also gave us verse 17 which completes his thought.  Not that I claim to know what God thinks but it is as if he was thinking "They are going to get it backwards so I better remind them that I came to save (rescue from danger) and not to condemn (to judge unfit for something)."  Perhaps God knew that some 2000 years later we would be so much better at condemning and not saving.

How about you?  Do you find it easier to look at people and make a judgment call rather than see and love people as Jesus does?  Why are some people rejected by the church but loved by the world.  Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Who can you begin to love today instead of condemning?  Do this and you will understand what matters most!

I Shouldn't Be Alive

Last night I sat on my couch captivated by the show on the Discovery Channel called "I Shouldn't be Alive".  Four men were flying over the ocean when their plane crashed at sea.  They spent 18 hours at sea surviving sickness, sheer fatigue, stormy waves, squid, and jelly fish before they were rescued.  What amazed me most about this show was how it showed the men praying to God for help but when they were rescued, God wasn't given the credit.  The one man who swam to shore for 12 hours to get help was the hero.

I wonder how often you and I do that?  When God shows up to help us, we take the credit.  How often have we been guilty of using God as a magic 8 ball and when he delivers we fail to give him the credit.

Why don't you take some time right now and reflect on how God has helped you recently.  Take time to thank him and acknowledge that you cannot do anything without his intervention.  Find someone that you can share with so that you can credit God with the working and not bask in the glory which isn't yours.  In fact, why not respond to this blog and give God credit for what he is doing in your life.

For without the grace and mercy of all-mighty God in our lives, we shouldn't be alive.

Chuck

Successful Christ-followers?

Our society measures progress by more money, prestige, position and control. Unfortunately, God doesn’t measure success that way. So how are we to measure our spiritual progress? Are we successful Christ-followers?

Peter Scazzero, in his book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, gives us 4 characteristics to consider in measuring our progress spiritually. Below is an adaptation of his information sprinkled with my own thoughts.

1. A Greater Level of Brokenness. Instead of exercising the right to determine good and evil in others, we leave this to God. We become free from judging others. One way to measure this is to consider how often we are offended. When criticized, judged, or insulted our response should be “It is far worse than you think!” Our daily prayer ought to be “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)
2. A Greater Appreciation for Holy Unknowing (Mystery). We like to know what God is doing, where He is going and what He is up to. It is part of our controlling nature. However, God is beyond every concept we have of Him. He is incomprehensible. The more we know Him, the less we know Him. God is not ours to figure out nor is what we are going through. We can rest easy knowing that God is in charge and worthy of our trust. We must stop trying to figure our what is going on, why it is going on and what to do about it. Instead, enjoy the unknown and let God work it all out.
3. A Deeper Ability to Wait for God. An outgrowth of brokenness and holy unknowing is a great capacity to just wait on God. We must break that driving desire to make something happen and to get it done. We must embrace the notion that less is more. Abraham learned to wait. Moses learned to wait. David learned to wait. Hannah learned to wait. Jesus learned to wait. You and I must learn to wait.
4. A Greater Detachment. The real question we must ask is not “Am I happy?” but “Am I free? We must live as if the things of this world, our material possessions, our achievements, our relationships - these things in themselves are not our lives. We are to be marked by eternity, free from the dominating power of things. In fact, detachment is the great secret of true peace. We don’t need these things, we need God. To really detachment from things means to be able to believe these statements:
⁃ Life is hard
⁃ I am not that important
⁃ My life is not about me
⁃ I am not in control
⁃ I am going to die

I pray that you will ponder these thoughts and embrace them in your life. It is part of pursuing Christ-like living and will help us all be able to ”render the sinful nature powerless“. (Romans 6:6)

Winter Retreat '08

I just got back from a winter retreat with with 19 teenagers and 6 adults. This is nothing new. I have been taking teenagers to winter camp for 20 years. Each year, I would take a group of teenagers hoping to get a non-christian or two to attend. This year was different. This year 18 of our teens were unchurch, non-Christian teenagers. We take our teens to Camp Orchard Hill in Dallas, PA because COH understands what matters most and does an excellent job at accepting our teens where they are at and for who they are.

I gotta tell you what an awesome time we had. It was refreshing and draining all at once. It was refreshing to be around non-christian teenagers. After working with teenagers for 20 years I have found non-Christian teenagers to be more honest, more open, and more real than christian teens. It was draining because I had to be on my toes at all times. Their ideas, comments, language, desires, etc were not always comfortable to see, hear or experience. Nevertheless, I would not have missed any moment of the weekend.

There was one thing that disappointed me. It was apparent that our group was seen as the "different" group by some of the church youth groups. There was very little interaction from the church youth groups. Why did it come across like we were different? Perhaps it was our "Cig Mobile" (everyone had to make a cardboard sled and compete in a race. Ours had cigarettes on it and our mottos were 'we smoke the competition' and 'come take a drag with us'). Perhaps it was the comment from a youth leader who meant well but her comment that it was a good thing what we were doing came across more like were were saving whales then building relationships. Perhaps it was the youth leader who was afraid when one of our guys sat next to one of his girls at the session so he squished in between the two of them where they wasn't even a seat for him to sit in. Maybe it happened and I didnt see it but i was not aware of one group that was on their knees praying for our group and asking God to give them ways to reach out and minister to our teens.

Wasn't it Jesus who said he came not for the healthy but for the sick? Wasn't it Jesus was criticized for hanging out with the less fortunate? Wasn't it Jesus who came that everyone might have life - the downcast and the trodden too? Wasn't it Jesus who healed the leper by not just speaking to him but touching him too? Wasn't it Jesus who ate with the down and out of his day?

Have you ever noticed that many Christians feel more comfortable around fellow believers than they do the lost? Have you ever noticed it is easier to place money in an offering plate than into the hand of someone in need? Have you ever noticed that it is easier to pray "Thy will be done" than to just do His will? Have you ever noticed it is easier to memorize James 1:27 than to just do it?

As believers who have the hope of Jesus Christ, why are we so uncomfortable in letting our hope ring loud and clear?

Click below on the word comment and leave a comment for us all to chew on!!

Chuck