Tag Archives: faith

July 10, 2013 · 8:42 AM

What Are You Building?

I was looking at some old photo albums at church last week when I came across one from 1993. It was pictures of my first mission trip where we went to a small village in the heart of Mexico to build a church. Not only was I 20 years younger, I was 20 years skinnier! As I flipped through the pictures, I got excited all over again. I remembered the fun I had, the blessings I received, the people we touched and the work we did. I spent more time on that trip building relationships than building the church building.

That trip not only got me excited for a lifetime of doing missions work, but also taught me the value in building relationships. I believe that the best way to grow the church is through relationships. When you look at the ministry of Jesus, that’s what He did. He went place to place building relationships with the people He came into contact with. He focused His ministry on building the kingdom not buildings.

Paul is another great example of someone who built their ministry on relationships. All the books in the New Testament that he wrote were to people and churches he had relationships with. You can’t speak to people the way he did without having first built a relationship with them. He not only spent time ministering in places he went, he spent time working beside fellow believers. He wasn’t just trying to preach to a large crowd, get an offering and leave. He was investing in the people he was ministering to.

If it was good enough for Jesus and Paul, shouldn’t it be good enough for us today? How many of us truly spend quality time getting to know others we’re ministering to or with? In I Corinthians 3, Paul said that some plant seeds, some water and some harvest. Planting, watering and harvesting are all done through relationships. The harvest doesn’t come unless someone has invested time in a relationship planting seeds and watering them.

If God’s desire is to have a relationship with you and me, shouldn’t we desire to have relationships with others? The underlying story of the Bible is God trying desperately to find ways to connect with us so we can have that relationship with Him. Ministry isn’t only done behind the pulpit. Ministry is done on the streets, in people’s homes, at your job and at dinner tables. Each of us have been called to go and make disciples. Discipleship is done through relationships.

Preachers, evangelists and missionaries aren’t the only ones called to ministry. If you bear the name “Christian”, you are called to ministry. You are called to build relationships. You are called to plant seeds. You are called to water seeds. You are called to harvest. You are called to disciple. You may not think of yourself as a minister, but you are. It is the responsibility of each of us to share what God has done in our lives with others.

What relationships do you have in your life that need work? What relationships in your life have you neglected? Who do you have a relationship with now that needs Jesus? You don’t win them by forcing Him down their throat. You win them through relationship. You win them because you’ve earned the right to share what God has done for you personally. Don’t spend more time building a ministry than you do building relationships. If you build relationships, the ministry opportunities will come.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 9, 2013 · 8:06 AM

Knowing Without Believing

A friend of mine recently posted a quote from A. W. Tozer that resonated with me. He said, “Anything God has ever done, He can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, He can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, He can do for you.” To me, that’s powerful. It’s something I know, but don’t always believe. The Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. That’s the scripture which Tozer based this on.

Think of all the amazing things God has ever done. You’ve probably read about them in the Bible. He still has that same power and ability today. Think of the testimonies you’ve heard from all over the world of what God is doing. He can do those same things right where you and I are. He can make a way where there is no way. He can part the seas that stand in your way. It takes faith to believe it and to see it.

What God has done for any individual in the Bible, He can do for me and you. If you need healing, it’s there for you. Reach out and touch the hem of His garment. If you need a miracle, He wants to do it for you. What Jesus did in the Gospels was not limited to that time period. He has the same power and the same ability today as He did then. It’s our faith that’s lacking.

Somehow we’ve let our knowledge trump our faith. We’ve allowed our intellect to allow us to believe in God, but not in miracles anymore. Faith is beyond knowing. Its about trusting God to do what only He can do. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen.” We all hope that God will move in our lives, bring healing and intervene in our circumstances. We’re just not that confidant.

How do we get that confidence? I believe it starts with reading the stories of people in the Bible whom God intervened in their lives. I believe it continues with hearing stories of people today whom God is performing miracles for. Then I believe it continues with asking and believing God to do it for me. I have to trust and have confidence that He will do it and that He wants to. I have to act like I believe it. I can just know that He can do it.

What are you needing God to do for you today? Do you know He can do that for you? Or do you believe that He can do that for you? What He has done for anyone in history, He can do for you today. He has not changed and will not change. When Jesus left, He said we would do greater things than He did. Is that a scripture we read or is that something we believe and have confidence in? It’s time to move beyond our knowledge of what God can do and move into faith of what God will do.

6 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 8, 2013 · 8:13 AM

The Check Engine Light

20130708-081126.jpg

The check engine light has been on in my car for a while. Like most people, I’ve ignored it. The car has run well and has not given me any issues, so I’ve continued to drive it. This month, it’s time to get the annual inspection done and you can’t get it inspected with the check engine light on. I’ve spent a lot of time this weekend trying to figure out what the problem is. I’ve been able to clear all the problems except one. I’m continuing to try to solve that one so my car will be in perfect working order.

I started thinking how many of us have our spiritual check engine light on. We ignore warnings that there is something not right in our lives. We see the light, but we keep going because we either think we’re fine or that it’ll be too costly to fix. I know because I’ve done it. The Holy Spirit would let me know that there was an issue, but I’d counter Him by saying, “It’s all right. This is a one time thing. I’m not going to make a habit of this.”

After we continue to ignore His warnings, it becomes like that light in my car, we hardly even notice anymore. We continue on in our lives, knowing what is right and continuing to do something else. What we said was a “one time thing” becomes a root for something even bigger. Sin rarely starts off big. It starts as a small step and leads to another small step. We justify each step until something happens and we realize we’re a long way away from where we should be.

We should each perform inspections like we do for our cars. In I Corinthians 11:28, Paul tells us to examine (inspect) ourselves before we take communion. For some churches, that’s every week. For others, once a month. However long it is between for you, that’s a perfect time to see if your spiritual check engine light is on. It’s also the time you need to figure out why it’s on and to do what’s necessary to get it turned off. The good news is that the price has been paid, we just need to do our part to replace the things in our lives that are causing it to be on.

What I’ve found is that the longer I continue to go without examining or inspecting myself, the more I have to repair in my life. Typically, it’s relationships that I have to repair, and my relationship with God is the first one that needs to be repaired. After that, I go to others whom I’ve ignored or offended and seek forgiveness. It’s not easy and it requires time and effort. I have to put things in place that keep me from going back and doing the things that caused my spiritual check engine light to come on in the first place.

What about you? Is there something in your life that you’ve ignored that God has given you a warning over? Have you continued on in your life so much that you hardly even notice anymore? How long has it been since you’ve done an inspection of your life? Let me encourage you to do it today. Don’t go another day without fixing the issues in your life that are causing God to warn you that something is wrong. It starts with repentance and ends with a life running full throttle for God.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 5, 2013 · 9:41 AM

Are you a Backseat Driver?

My wife and I took a road trip this weekend. The two of us were in the front seat and our toddler was in the back seat. All throughout the trip she would talk to him, play with him and occupy him while I drove. There were a couple of times when she was playing with him when a car in front of me had braked. I too applied my break. When I did, she would look up or turn around to see a car in front of me with their brake lights on and she would let out a yelp and brace herself with the dashboard. We laughed because it was unusual for her to do that.

After doing this a couple of times, I told her, “I got this. Trust me. I knew he was going to brake and I was prepared.” I explained that I had taken defensive driving classes plenty of times (don’t ask why) and that they taught me to look 10-20 seconds ahead to where I was going. As a passenger though, she wasn’t occupied with what was ahead. She kept getting startled and scared by what kept popping up in our path because she wasn’t looking ahead. She was looking behind mostly or right in front of us.

I think a lot of us live life that way. We are either constantly looking back while our lives are moving forward or we are so concentrated on what is right ahead of us that we fail to look ahead. We get caught up when something pops up that we didn’t expect and let out a yelp. We see brake lights in our path and grab our dashboard in fear. We get preoccupied with everything around us without looking ahead to where we are going.

When we do that, I can hear God say, “I got this. Trust me. I knew this was going to happen.” Instead of trusting Him though, we become a backseat driver to Him. We tell Him He should have braked earlier. He should have warned us. We question why He’s taking this road instead of that one. We tell Him to slow down or to speed up. Our lack of trust in who He is and in the plan for our lives begins to show up when we do this.

It kind of reminds me of the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. The son who had left was returning home after he squandered all that was given to him. While he was walking, he was so concentrated on what he would say. He worried if he would be received and was practicing over and over what he would tell his dad when he got home. He was doing this so much, that he wasn’t even looking ahead. He didn’t know where he was, but his dad did. He was still a long way off when his father saw him and ran to him.

God is always looking far off ahead of us. He knows our path and His plan for our lives. While we are looking down or behind, He is looking ahead and preparing. When things happen suddenly, it may cause you to grab the dashboard and scream because you are unprepared for it, but He is not. Trust Him to do the driving His way. Just because where He is taking you doesn’t make sense at the moment, it doesn’t mean He has fallen asleep at the wheel. Trust Him with your life and try not to be a backseat driver.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 1, 2013 · 8:21 AM

When I Look at a Penny

20130701-081958.jpg

I never want to get to the point in my life that I’m too good or have too much that I won’t bend down to pick up a penny. I especially make sure that I pick them up when I’m going through a difficult time. There’s a lot to learn from a penny when you stop and look at it, but most of us toss them aside as worthless. When I look at a penny, I see things in it that help me through tough times.

One of the first things I recognize in a penny is that it costs more to make a penny than it’s worth. The government keeps producing them because they are an integral part of our monetary system in giving back exact change. There are times in my life when I don’t think I’m worth much. When I think of the cross and the price that was paid for me, I realize that it cost more to save me than I’m worth. I then realize that God sees me as worth it and as an integral part of His plan.

I also see on the penny the words “In God We Trust”. Those words are words of comfort in difficult times. They remind me where I need to place my trust when things are too hard to handle on my own. I try to face each trial in my own strength to prove to God that I can handle it. In reality, I feel the trials and tests are there not to test my strength, but my reliance on Him. In difficult times, I can trust in God.

The president that is on the front of the penny is Abraham Lincoln. There’s probably not another president who went through something as difficult as leading a nation divided by civil war. He relied on God to help him navigate that difficult period. One of the quotes I heard that was attributed to him was, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side.” He knew that God’s plan was more important than anything. I can learn a lot from that.

Another thing that stands out to me on the penny is the date. One of the things I like to do when I see the date on a penny is to think back and remember one thing that God did for me that year. When I recount the blessings of what God has done in my past, it gives me hope and strength that He’ll do it again. God has been faithful in my life. I just need to take the time to remember it. When I do that, my confidence in Him is bolstered and I know with Him I can face whatever comes my way.

I know there’s a lot more on a penny than what I mentioned here. You may not have looked at a penny the way I do. I see a lot of value in it beyond what it’s worth because of what it reminds me of. When God looks at you, He sees the same thing. He sees value beyond what you think you’re worth. He sees someone worth dying for. He sees someone worth spending eternity with. He sees what no one else sees, smiles and picks you up when others have discarded you. That’s what I see when I look at a penny. What do you see?

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 28, 2013 · 6:59 AM

Wearing a Suit at the Beach

Have you ever felt out of place? I did earlier this week. Some co-workers and I went to eat lunch at a place on the beach. After lunch, we decided to walk down a long fishing pier. The beach below was crowded with people swimming and sun tanning. The pier was full of people dressed similarly, but had fishing poles in their hands. The four of us walked down the pier in our dress shirts, ties, slacks and dress shoes. To say people took double takes would be an understatement.

It was hot. We were sweating. We kept walking all the way to the end of the pier though. As people stared, we politely smiled and acted as though we belonged. No matter how much we pretended, we just didn’t. We didn’t have the right attire on for the beach. We didn’t have the right mindset for the beach. We were business minded men in a crowd full of vacationers.

As a Christian, that’s how we’re supposed to be in this world. We are to stand out and to be different. I love how the Message phrases Romans 12:2. It says, “Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.” At the beach, the culture is dress down, relax and have a good time. We were not well adjusted to that culture. Our presence was noticed by everyone.

In this world, the culture is continuing to move away from God. As Christians, it is not our job to be so adjusted to that culture that we fit in. We are to stand out, stand up and be different. We are to follow Christ even when it’s not popular. In John 15, Jesus said, “If you lived on the worlds terms, the world would love you as one of its own. I chose you to come out of the world.” He chose us to live differently. He said the world would hate us.

If Jesus said the world is going to hate us because we’re different, why do we spend so much time and energy trying to get them to love us? Our human nature wants to be loved and accepted. God’s acceptance should be more important to us than the world’s acceptance. We are called to be salt and light. Salt changes the flavor of everything it touches. Light chases away the darkness all around it. Are people changed by having me in their lives? Are your friends changed by having you in their lives?

Living for Christ in this world is like wearing a suit at the beach. You’re going to stand out. You’re supposed to stand out. In the same passage in Matthew 5 where Jesus calls us to be salt and light, He says, “Let your good deeds shine for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father.” We’re not different just to be different. There’s a purpose to it. That purpose is to draw other to the cross. They should see a difference in our lives versus the lives that live according to the culture of the world so we can reach them.

9 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 26, 2013 · 7:11 AM

The Poor Kid at the Table

Yesterday, I went to lunch with several coworkers from different departments in the company. When they suggested an expensive place to eat, I hesitated at first. They said, “What’s the matter?” Then one remembered and said, “Oh yeah. Your department doesn’t budget for food like ours does.” I replied, “I have to think about dinner. I don’t want to spend my per diem on lunch.” Someone replied, “Come on, poor boy. We’ll figure something out.”

I haven’t been the “poor boy” at the table since I was a kid. All these emotions came running back to me. I remembered what it was like to be at the mercy of whoever had invited me to eat. I had to see what they were thinking of ordering so I could order something less expensive. There were a lot of lessons I learned being the poor boy at the table. Lessons that helped shape who I am today.

One thing it taught me was humility. When you’re the one who is depending on someone else, you learn all about humility. You don’t get what you want, you get what they allow you to have. It’s when we can afford to get what we want that we forget about humility. We forget how to depend on someone else. We forget how to depend on God. We tell Him, “I can do this,” and we save Him for bigger things in our life. We start to treat Him like a genie.

God never wanted to be a genie and He doesn’t want us to save Him for the big things in our lives. He wants us to know what it’s like to trust Him for everything. He wants us to know what it truly means to walk by faith. The problem is that walking by faith is scary after you’ve adjusted to a life of walking by sight. It’s at that point that we only look to God in the dark hours of our life. He wants to be there with you in the light and the dark, the good and the bad.

Another thing being the poor kid at the table taught me was appreciation. I learned to appreciate what I had. I wasn’t going to get anything new for a while. I had to appreciate and take care of anything new that I got. My mom would say, “Those have to last you until Christmas. That’s when we can get you new ones.” Those words would ring in my ear as I had to make a decisions. Other kids got new stuff when theirs broke. They didn’t appreciate what they had. God wants us to be appreciative for everything He’s given us and not to be always wanting something we don’t have.

God gives each of us what we need. We don’t always get what we want. He said that when we’re faithful over the little things He’s given us, He’ll give us more. We have to learn to be humble enough to recognize that the little we have is enough. We also have to learn to appreciate it and take care of it by being faithful with it. When we learn to do those things, He knows we’re ready for more.

There’s always another level for Him to take us to. Have we learned to be happy being the poor kid at the table so He can take us there? Or are we resentful that we’re in this position and are constantly trying to get to that next level on our own strength? I’ve tried it both ways. Yesterday reminded me that it’s ok to be the poor kid at the table. All I have is from God anyway. When I learn to accept what He gives, I’m really the rich one.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 25, 2013 · 7:37 AM

Playing Chase with God

Each night when I get home, as soon as my son sees me, he smiles and yells, “Dada!” I squat down to give him a hug, but he doesn’t run to me. Instead, he runs away. With a big grin on his face, he yells, “Come get me, dada.” I chase him around the sofa in circles for several minutes. He giggles and looks back while he’s running. He laughs and says it again, “Come get me, dada!” When he gets tired, he falls down and let’s me catch him. I scoop him up in my arms then I hug and kiss him all over as he giggles.

That’s a perfect picture of what I so often do to God. He shows up ready to love me, but I take off running. I make Him chase me instead of running directly to Him. The funny thing is, He does. He chases me when I run. My heart calls out, “Come get me!” I try to keep an obstacle between us as I run. He continues to chase me until I run out of strength and fall down. He runs over, scoops me up in His arms, hugs me and tells me He loves me.

I don’t know if God loves to play chase, but I can tell you that He’s good at it. We can run and hide, but He always finds us. He knows just where we are and He continues down our path. He wants to pour out extravagant love on us. He wants to hold us in His arms and carry us away with Him. He wants to show us how much He cares for us, but we run. We try to get away. The good news is that we can’t get away to where He can’t find us!

In Psalm 139:7-12, David asked, “Is there anywhere I can go to avoid your Spirit? To be out of your sight?” He liked to run too. What he found was that no matter where He went, God was there waiting for him. When he wanted to hide in the dark, he said, “Darkness isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.” He knew that there is no place he could go to hide or get away from God. You and I know that too, but that doesn’t keep us from running.

I think there’s something in us that loves it when we’re pursued. We love having someone chase after us. It gives us a sense of worth. It lets us know in a strange way that someone thinks we’re worth wearing themselves out over. The good news is that God loves to show us how much He loves us and is willing to play chase with us if that’s what it takes to show us love. He will do whatever it takes to find you and scoop you up just so He can hear you say, “Dada!”

If you’ve been running, I encourage you today to stop and let Him catch you. Let Him pick you up and love on you. We all need it. In Psalm 33:22, David says, “Love us, God, with all you’ve got – that’s what we’re depending on (MSG).” We’re all depending on Him to love us no matter what it is we’ve done or why we’re running away. The good news is that He will love you with all He’s got, no matter what you’ve done. It’s time to come out from hiding and let Him love you.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 20, 2013 · 8:46 AM

The Blueprints of Faith

In our small group last night, we were reading from Genesis 6 where God gave Noah the blueprints for the ark. He told him it was to be 450 feet long, 45 feet high and 75 feet wide. He told him what kind of wood to use, how many levels to have, how to waterproof the wood, to build stalls and even told him why he was to do it and how it would happen. I got a little jealous of Noah as I read all of that because he got a blueprint of exactly what God wanted from him with each step.

I’d love for God to do that for me. Instead, I feel more like Abraham who God told, “Leave your native land and go to the land that I will show you.” There were no blueprints, no reasons or navigational directions. He was simply told to pack his stuff, leave his relatives and everything he’d known for a land that he would be shown without being given a reason. I don’t know if he felt the doubt, frustration and fear that I do from being in those shoes.

At first, I started to think that Abraham was the one who really acted in faith. After all, he didn’t get a step by step guide like Noah. The more I think about it, the more I see how much faith it took from Noah to accomplish his task even with a blueprint. When God shows you something you’ve never seen or heard of and asks you to do it, that requires a lot of faith. Even with a blueprint, you are venturing into the unknown, the uncomfortable. It requires faith to start building.

Another thing I see with Noah is the sheer enormity of the project God asked of him. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with how much God asks of us, but just like with Noah, it starts with one board and one nail. It took him a hundred years to complete what God asked of him. As our group leader pointed out last night, imagine Noah on year 33. After all those years, he was only a third of the way done. He’s worked night and day every day for over 39 years and only has a little of the project to show for it. Most of us would have quit. By faith, Noah got up the next day and kept following the blueprints.

Whether God has given you a set of blueprints or has asked you to follow Him with blind trust, it requires faith on your part. Faith to pick up that first board or faith to pack your bags and take that first step. Which of these two do you identify with? Has God asked for endurance from you to see His plan through in the face of ridicule and a seemingly lack of progress? Has He asked you to leave everything you’ve known to do something He’ll show you later? Either way, it requires faith and He has faith in you to accomplish it or He wouldn’t have asked you. Take courage and do something today that moves you in the direction of what He asked you to do.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 18, 2013 · 7:47 AM

Coach Jesus

I ran into my junior high basketball coach this weekend. We were talking about the good old days and how things change. He was mentioning how much coaching has changed in the past few years. One of the ways it has changed is that kids don’t ask to be put in. I was shocked. I can remember being pulled out of a game to rest and arguing with him. “Coach, I’m fine! Let me stay in a little longer,” I’d say. When I was on the bench for a few minutes, I’d look down the bench at him trying to catch his eye.

I wanted to be back in the action. I wasn’t content to sit on the side lines and watch. Not much has changed I guess. I’m not content to watch things happen. I want to be a part of things, especially good things. I want to help out in ministries. I want to go to other countries and be the hands and feet of Jesus. I want to stand in front of people and tell them what a difference Jesus made in my life.

I think Peter was a lot like that. He was the first to volunteer and the last one who wanted to be sat down. When Jesus asked, “Who do men say I am,” it was Peter who answered. When the guards came to take Jesus, it was Peter who grabbed his sword and swung it. When they were in a boat and the storm was raging, it was Peter who asked to walk on water. When the Holy Spirit came down and the people gathered around the upper room, it was Peter who stood up and preached.

Was he perfect? No. Did he often have to be corrected? Yes. He wasn’t afraid to go out and do something for Jesus, even if he made a mistake. He’d rather make a mistake in ministry than to make the mistake of sitting on the side lines. It was the other eleven who stayed in the boat sitting on the side lines. Every one of them had the opportunity to get out of the boat and join Peter. They could have known what it felt like to have water under their feet.

I don’t want to be one of the eleven who sat around a campfire asking Peter what it was like. I want to be the one telling the stories. I want to be the one experiencing the miraculous. It all starts with a desire to do something for Christ. It starts with not being content to sit in a pew Sunday after Sunday watching as others experience a move of God. It starts with me saying, “Put me in, Jesus.”

Where are you? Are you content to sit in a pew with the other eleven? Are you willing to step out of the boat and to walk on water? Are you looking at the other end of the bench, staring Jesus down, trying to get His attention? I am! I want nothing more than for Him to look down the row at the members of His team, give me a head nod and say, “Chris, go check in. I need you on the court.”

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,