Living vrs. Doing part deux

I really appreciate the honesty that was given in the last post/comment. It's easy for me to write that I need to stop living and start doing. It's easy to write because saying it is simple, it's the doing that's the hard part. Putting your faith into action is not easy, and I dare say if it is easy for you, then you had probably better look to see if you really are putting it into action.

In Matthew 5 verse 11, Christ said:
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Even Christ knew it would not be easy to put your faith in Him into action. To "do" in the midst of a world and culture that doesn't understand is hard. But Christ went onto to say that we should:
"12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

We have to remember that not only did Christ endure great temptation in the wilderness from Satan, He also endured all the temptations and ridicule we face today. He endured the jokes, the mockery, the insults, the pain and the suffering, the loneliness and the rejection. We can put our trust in a God and Savior that knows what we go through on a daily basis, because He went through it as well.

I want you to know, your not alone in your struggle with your co workers, I face it every day as do many others who are reading this. But this is one of the reasons I created this blog. When we share with one another our struggles and our pains, we can help each other through them. We can pray for each other and lift each other up. You are a child of God, created for such a time as this. He will give you strength and comfort. He will guide you and protect you.

In Hebrews 13: 5b-6 God gave us a promise that we can live by, and I'll end with this:

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

God Bless

Living vrs. Doing comment

I recieved a comment that I thought deserved it's own post, so here it is.

I've enjoyed reading your blogs. It's such a good idea, especially for the worship team members to have a place to voice opinions on different topics. However, usually I don't say anything... but this one struck a place deep. Lately life has seemed a little upside down for me... And I find myself asking God when I will get a moment to stop and take a breath. Obstacle after obstacle is thrown in my face... it's like I'm treading water and doing my best just to keep my face above the surface. I try not to let it show, I tend to hold my feelings inside, that's probably not the best thing to do - but for me sometimes it seems better that way.

Home Life:
Most of you probably know that my parents recently got separated. The whole going back and forth from home to dads hasn't been the easiest thing in the world. In fact I'm really struggling with it.

Work Life:
I've been working at Bob Evans since March and a coworker that I haven't had any trouble with has decided to shake things up a bit. He knows, most everyone at work knows that I follow Christ. I've wanted to make that known, and shown. This coworker of mine has always made little comments trying to offend me - and I've let them slide. I almost took it as a complement... for example I guess in his point of view "I'm wasting my time going to church." But lately, like I said he's decided to shake things up a bit, take it a step farther. He's been talking down to me at work to the point I leave crying... and it doesn't just stay at work, he calls me profane words in the hallways at school, and talks about me behind my back. Let's just say that it's been a little hard trying to keep my composure, not let it get to me.

With home life and work life kind of crazy and struggling with being a senior and figuring college out... I've felt very needy when it comes to Christ. My relationship with Him is on a level that’s very hard to describe. He is that person, that buddy you run to for comfort, or just talk to because no one else seems to be around. But what I've come to notice, like what you've said, is that Christ is soooo... much more than just a buddy, He is a God that I've learned to fear. I've learned to fear Him because I've realized through my recent situations that He is the ONLY ONE in control, and He's in control ALL THE TIME. Which has also been comforting. Realizing this has changed my whole view on things. Work has been getting so crazy I was thinking about applying at other places. But what I've come to see is that I do try my best to resemble Christ in whatever atmosphere I am in, whether home, school, or work and if by doing this it "shakes things up a bit" between myself and nonbelievers then I guess I'm "doing" what I was meant to do. Applying at other places is not an option for me right now. I think I was just seeing myself as I was "living" my life and now I've realized it's not about the living it's all about the doing. And when things do get a little bumpy... I'll just turn to the fact that I know my God is in control.

Living vrs. Doing

As of late, I have been reading a book called “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard. It took me a while to get into this book due to the nature of the writing, but now I cannot put it down. It has caused me to start thinking differently about my “Christian” life and how I live it. For sometime now, maybe a few years, I have desired a fresh look at this thing called Christianity, and I think I may have found it. I have had many conversations with friends and family about how it seems that Christian’s have somehow made Jesus into a buddy that can be called on when needed as we live our “Christian” life, as opposed to the awe inspiring genius teacher that He was and is. There seems to be a lack of wonder, trembling, curiosity, and respect for Christ, I’ve seen it in others and especially in myself. I was raised in the church, my father is a licensed minister, and I serve as the Director of Worship at our church. I read the bible, go to Sunday school, I pray, and try to live a good life serving others and living peaceably among mankind. Most would consider this to be the life of a “Christian”, and so have I for many years. Since I have started reading this book, I have started asking myself if that is true. Curious yet? If you look in the dictionary under the suffix “ian” as in Christian, you will find the following meaning or explanation.

“ian” :One relating to, belonging to, or resembling:

So the word Christian would be broken down to the following sentence. One relating to, belonging to, or resembling Christ.

Now the “belonging to” and the “relating to” I may have been able to emulate a few times in my life so far. It’s the “resembling” that I fall short. Christ told his disciples in Matthew 28, to go make disciples of all nations.

What is a disciple? The dictionary’s definition is “a convinced adherent of a school or individual”.

In Willard’s book, he uses the word apprentice. I like this term much better than disciple. Because it makes me think of someone that closely follows the one teaching him or her. Someone that would believe and pay close attention to the teacher with respect, admiration, and delight at the opportunity that they get to learn from such a person. I believe this to be fairly close to the definition of disciple. So when it comes to the “resembling” of Christ, have I been or have I not been. I believe that it is perfectly possible for someone to live his or her whole life, going to church, praying, living peaceably with others, even serving in the church, and still not resemble Christ in the way Christ intended us to. I don’t want that to be me. I “want to” resemble Christ, I “want to” be His apprentice, but can I truly? The answer is yes. John the Baptist was an apprentice of God, and he paid a high sacrifice for it. Unlike most other religious leaders of the time, he lived without all the modern comforts of the day. He was poor and had the tattered clothing to prove it. His diet consisted of locust and honey, just enough sustenance to live. He knew his place when it came to the coming Christ, he told us during his message in the river, when he said that there was one coming whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. (Something that the servants of that day didn’t even do.) When the religious leaders of the day showed up, John called them out and basically accused them of merely living a lifestyle that made them look as though they were righteous and holy.

By now you may be asking so what’s the point? Where are you going with this? Well, this is something that effects us all, because far to many of us, including myself “live” our Christian lives instead of “doing” them. If you scroll back up the post to about 5 lines down from the top, you will notice that I wrote “my Christian life and how I live it.” I realized just a minute ago that my thinking process is messed up. If I merely “live” my Christian life and “do” nothing, than what kind of life is it really? It is a life of “meets my needs” Christianity. It is a life that is comfortable and one that requires little to no sacrifice. It is a life that we control, instead of giving up and dying to. It’s a life that is spent trying to make myself feel better about me. What can I get out of church today, How can Christ serve me today. I hope worship is good today. AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
When did it become about us or me? It is suppose to be about CHRIST. HE’S the one who died on the cross. HE’S the one who is the genius teacher. HE’S the one that we should worship, HE’S the one that defeated death and won the final victory.

(Time to settle down)

Christ said.
“GO” – move, seek, search, find
“MAKE” – do something, transform, teach
“DISCIPLES” – apprentices that will believe me, respect me, learn from me,
follow me.
“OF ALL NATIONS” – everywhere, everyone, do not pick and choose

I have made a commitment to myself that I will become an “apprentice of Jesus”. I am going to stop “living” my Christian life, and I am going to start ”doing” my Christian life. I want to challenge you to think about your Christian life, are you merely “living” or are you “doing”? Are you an apprentice of Jesus? Do you use Christ as a buddy when you need Him? Or do you respect Him for the genius teacher He was and is? Think about it.

In The Blink Of An eye

Today we took the kids to school then came back to enjoy a nice day of quite reading and catching up on things around the house. We enjoyed the weather which was fantastic, and a nice lunch sitting outside just soaking up the sun. We picked the kids up from school and we were heading over to the park when all of the sudden our day took a turn. Literally in the blink of an eye things went from great to scary as cars started slamming on brakes and screeching tires warned of danger. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a Jimmy, in oncoming traffic, get jacked up in the rear and a man tumbling through space head over heals. A Jimmy had slammed on the brakes due to traffic ahead, and a motorcycle behind her wasn't as quick to respond and ended up laying the bike down just as it hit the back of the truck. The impact threw the rider off and through the air like a rag doll for about 30 feet. I slammed on the brakes yelled for my wife to grab the cell and call 911 while we jumped out of the van and ran over to the scene. For a short moment, chaos erupted as we tried to figure out who was hurt, only to see the rider stand up, take his helmet off and throw it to the ground in disgust. I was amazed to see that he only had a few burns to his arms and a few bloody knuckles. The woman he hit was frantic and crying in fear that he was hurt badly. The medics showed up rather quickly and took car of the man and woman involved. As we drove away and I guess up to this point as I write this I'm still shaken by what I saw. I've never seen a human thrown through the air like that (not on accident anyway) It was a terrible site. I'm glad that he was relatively unhurt and was able to walk away from it.

It got me to thinking about how fragile life really is and that danger and death can strike in the blink of an eye. It made the trip to the park all the more meaningful as I watched my kids play without fear and without stress. I will undoubtedly be more aware of the danger that lurks everyday, even in the simple things. I will pray for that man tonight as I'm sure his day didn't turn out the way he planned it to.

But...But...But....

My 4 year old son is going through this stage where he wants to be heard and he wants his chance to plead his case. It's become almost a daily routine for us to have conversations that go something like this:

Dad: I want you to go up stairs and get your teeth brushed please.

Son: But I was playing with this puzzle.

Dad: I want you to go up stairs and get your teeth brushed right now please.

Son: But I was playing with this puzzle dad.

Dad: Go up stairs right now before you get yourself into trouble, and brush your teeth.

Son: But.... But

Dad: GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

This happens almost every day with various topics from washing hands to helping pick up toys to going to bed. It is very annoying and there are days I just want to pull my hair out and scream, or grunt as manly men do.

I was thinking about this the other day and I started to wonder how many times I've caused God to feel like this. I always have a "but" when He tells me to do something.

God: I want you to do this......

Son: But, I'm not strong enough, or smart enough, or skilled enough.

God: I want you to go do this........

Son: But, I don't have time right now can I finish this....

God: My people are dying, I want you to go do this.........

Son: But, I'm too wrapped up in my own world right now.

How many times have I ignored the voice of God? I'm not sure. I am sure of one thing, it has been far too many. We have always done this. Moses did it when God told him to go to Pharaoh. "Who am I to go to Pharaoh?" Moses said.
Jonah did it when he ran away from God after God told him to go to Nineveh.
Throughout history, men have pushed aside, ignored, ran from, tried to argue with, and tried to reason with God so their case might be heard. I don't know about God, but when I instruct my son to do something, it is for a good reason. I don't do it to ruin his fun, I don't do it because I'm mean, I don't do it because I dislike him and want him to suffer. I do it because I love him and I want the best for him, even if he doesn't see it.

Matthew 7:11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

I don't believe God asks us to change just because. I believe He asks us to change because He knows what's best for us. And I believe that when He asks us to change, move, speak, pray, be silent and wait, it is for a good reason. And it should be done without question's or but's. Who am I to argue with God?