Decisions Decisions

It's amazing to go back over the birth of our Savior. It's one or those things that I think I take for granted but it's amazing how the Lord is teaching me things even before He's born. In Matthew 1:18-25 the story about the conception of Jesus is told and I really for the first time reflected on the trial that Joseph had to go through.

We all know the story of Mary becoming pregnant from the Holy Spirit. This leaves Joseph with a huge bombshell and he has to decide whether to go with what he wants, divorce her quietly, or go with what God wants, stay with her. It's a trial Joseph didn't ask for but a decision had to made...obey God or listen to himself.

We see through the story of history that Joseph listen's to God and is blessed in being the "step father" of the Messiah.

Amazing story that encourages me so much.

See it got me thinking what if Joseph had said, "No God I'd rather not." He would have lost out on all the blessings that the Lord had for Him. God desires to bless His children, He truly loves it but He also loves out obedience. See Joseph's obedience led to this amazing blessing in his life that wouldn't have been there for him.

The same can be said in our lives, perhaps not to the extreme of Joseph's but still. When we decide to do what we want as believers rather than what God has told us He want's from us, we are robbed of the blessings He desires to give us.

When faced with the truth of God's word He desires obedience and whats awesome about our God is when we walk in obedience not only do we have unmatchable joy but also God is able to put the things in our lives He wants! He truly blesses us with the things that He desires for us to have and it shapes us to who He wants us to be. Man what an awesome God we serve!

Malachi

Pastor Randy always finds a way to use scripture to kinda beat you up a little bit not to intentionally bring us down but rather challenge us with what the Lord is saying which calls us to better our relationship with the Lord and ourselves. Thats exactly what this book was for me. It's what I needed and I loved every minute of it because it brought this book to life for me again in a powerful way.

The people had taken God's blessing for granted and even ask the question, "How have you loved us?" Israel is asking the Lord how He has loved them! That's mind blowing to me but as the same time....that is me! God is the loving parent and I'm the spoiled child focusing on the things he hasn't given me yet, ignorant to the amazing blessings he has!

Interestingly enough I think God's word is clear in the first 5 verses that God has always provided and blessed His people. Beyond that I think His word is clear that He LOVES to bless his people. When we walk with God, He loves to bless us, as his kids, because when we walk with Him. That's when God gives us what He wants us to have! Things that grow us and makes us more and more look like Him like in 1st John 3 because He knows us! He knows us because He created us! He knows the plans for our lives and when we walk with Him that's when we truly get the blessing He desires for us to have.

Wanted: A Blameless Man

"There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very any servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one of his day, and the would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; Job said perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts."Thus Job did continually."

Job 1:1-5

A great opening to this book if your name is Job don't ya think? This book opens up telling you about this guy named Job who apparently, at least according to the Word of God, is a heck of a guy. 3 things in particular stick out in these 5 verses that we should desire for our Christian lives to look like.

1.) Job was a Blameless man.

Now when we look in the first verse of the book the first thing said about Job (other than where he's from) is that he is a blameless man. It's not that Job is a perfect man by any means but blameless carries the idea of being a complete man. An upright man who fears the Lord. A guy who instead of treading on the fine line of sin and trying to get as close as possible to the line between sinning and not acknowledges the power of the Lord and instead turns away from evil. He runs from it as far in the other direction as possible instead of entertaining it. So it's not a shock to me that we have our next point......

2.) Job was a Blessed man.

Clearly the writer is showing that Job is a blessed man! He has many children which in his time was seen as a great blessing but even beyond that it goes on to describe the possessions he has. Oxen, servants, and donkeys. It even goes on to say that he was the greatest man of the east. God has blessed Job abundantly and with only the first verses at or disposal this story seems to make sense is a good one. Job is a good guy and God is being good to him. Everything is going according to plan so far and everyone in the story is benefiting from Job which leads to our next point...

3.) Job was a Blessing.

In verses 4-5 we see that Job's response to blessing in his life is an encouraging and great one. Job's response to blessing in his life is to bless others! We get this from him being a good dad!! The impact that his relationship with God had on his life carried over to his children's lives! Job choose to walk in a way that honored God! Job raised great kids that got along and that loved each other! He was the kind of Dad that was proactive! He would offer sacrifices for his children "just in case" they sinned and he did this continually! Job was a blessing to his children and as a result of his relationship with the Lord his children were blessed through Job! Not only in a financial way but also in having a great Dad.

The beginning of the book looks right. It has a Godly man being blessed by God! The man in turn shows what we are called to do with blessings from God and turn them into blessings for others! Job was blessed so he could be a blessing to those he loved! What a fantastically perfect picture of family and how the world would work in a perfect world!

Sadly, as we will discover through the rest of the book, the point of Job is to show us that not always when I do good do I get good! Sometimes in this life I'm going to do good and just get bad and in reverse their are others in this life that are going to do bad and get good!! How frustrating! It's almost like what's the point!?!?!

The point is this:

Our walk with God can not depend on how our life is going at the moment!

The beauty of this book however is that God see's how we live our lives! As we will see later in the book God takes just about everything from him even though Job is doing the right things! Job responds initially with worship and a great proverb. Wait a minute.... Job did good and got bad.....but God bragged about him to Satan afterward!! God was happy with Job but Job got a terrible result? See Job was a wise man and knew that God had given him everything and had the authority to take it! Job knew that he served a good God even though it didn't seem like it because his relationship with the Lord was good! Sometimes God brings pain in our lives for purpose! Sometimes by doing good we get what looks like pain at the time but results in beautiful joy! We find out through the rest of this book that Job's relationship with God was good and he hadn't sinned against him but yet he still got bad! In his first reaction Job hits it out of the park!

When our walk with God is being worked on daily it's easier to see God the way we should.....He's good no matter our circumstances!!

Job's perspective is where it needs to be at first! God's plan for my life is bigger than what I can see now and as I trusted him in the good times I am to trust him in the bad because the God we serve is good!No matter our circumstances God has not changed and is always good!

Mediocrity

This post is a long time coming, a burden the Lord has put on my heart concerning my own life and the lives of others that make a claim to belong to the Lord. It's a fire he's put in my soul that can't be quenched and it has finally bubbled over not out of anger but of anguish for my heart. This is a flowing of words that come straight from this anguished heart...

I'm so sick and tired of mediocrity. At the moment my life is simply amazing. I have a loving church family that I would not trade for anything. Amazing friends that are the best a guy could ask for. A job that I have dreamed of having, doing something I'm truly passionate about and something I love doing. I'm so incredibly blessed that it's overwhelming. Though all of this is true this world is screaming at me and every Christian in this world to do one thing. Compromise. The world desires for believers of Christ to compromise what they believe in. To accept being lukewarm mediocre Christians by compromising things we stand for and how we live our lives. The world is asking us to give up ground piece by piece and in exchange what is it offering???In Exchange we will receive in TEMPORARY HAPPINESS. Not ever lasting happiness but rather temporary happiness. It's an epic battle that pits two warriors on a dirt terrain hacking back and fourth at each other. Every step we give up we get closer and closer to the edge of a crater we can not see because we are focused on this "temporary happiness" promised in whatever the world can hook us onto. The words of Paul scream out in the background during this battle urging us to "STAND FIRM!" as he does in Eph. 6.

I have chosen "mediocrity" as a title because I think it's the word that describe this generation of Christian soldiers, myself included. It's a word that literally brings me to my knees and makes me sick to my stomach. It defines what compromise in our walk with God leads to. It defines me in my life more often then it does not. It's a word that I have come to accept as an inevitability and I allow it to define who I am in Christ! It's this word that leads me to a place I do not belong. It's this word that convinces me to take step after step backward until I reach the point where everything around me seems to stop...because I look up and realize that compromise after compromise has left me at the very edge of the cliff in this battle! I come to the sudden realization that these small compromises have led to bigger ones and bigger ones! Now rather than standing firm for the Savior I no longer have any footing at all.....

I have chosen MEDIOCRITY.....

I have become lukewarm....

I have become the very thing I was called to stand out from........

I have become part of the world......

MAY IT NEVER BE!!

I am a CHILD OF GOD!

I am of a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD!

I am a SAINT!

I am a SOLDIER OF THE CROSS!

I am a BOND-SERVANT OF CHRIST!

I am a CHRISTIAN!

None of this by MY doing but because what HE did for me!!!

I go through this life and I accept compromises in my life and I get focused on ME and what I want which leads to even more compromise!

We accept things in our lives that are not acceptable to the name the Lord has allowed us to have!

My salvation thankfully does not depend on my actions or else I'd be in more trouble then I care to dwell on but rather BECAUSE of my salvation my life it to be different than this world and as of this moment this world is filled with people like me who are accepting mediocrity in their walks with God.

I'm not talking about just messing up here and there the Disciples of the Lord messed up plenty but they also did not allow mediocrity to hold them prisoner and they changed this world!!

American Christians this message is for us!!

Mediocrity is not what my Lord has called me to!

The call in my life as a Christian is throw off the chains of mediocrity that bind us and for us to live with high fidelity in our walks!!

It's a call to get face to face with Love.

True Love that goes beyond understanding and comprehension.

This Love that we know because He laid down His life for us because his Love has the power to change us!

It's a call to be what God has called us to be!

To show with our lives what God has said we are!

BECAUSE!

"Therefore putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,"

1st Peter 2:1

When we become Christians not everything is the same. It's a huge moment in the life of a person...ya know only the biggest thing ever passing from death to life. Kinda a big deal :) . But seriously things need to change in our lives as well! Not to earn our salvation but BECAUSE of our salvation. Peter is telling us what marks a believer to the world is taking things in my life that that were in it before I was a Christian and taking them out. They no longer belong there BECAUSE of my salvation, BECAUSE of what Christ did for me and BECAUSE it's no longer me who lives but Christ who lives through me. Not only are we called to remove things but like David who had some mad Harp skills it's never bad to put disciplines in our lives that teach us self-control. Replacing the bad with the good BECAUSE of how good God is in our lives. It's Romans 12:1 living our lives as a living sacrifice. Meaning we analyze our lives like the priest's analyzed the sacrifices back in the day. Inspecting every part of my life to conform it to honor the God of the universe BECAUSE of what He did for me in spite of myself!

It's just one of those things....

"A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You. Answering them, He said, "Who are My mother and My brothers? Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!"
Mark 3:32-34

I should not have looked at the Israel photos from GCBI. Maybe it was Beauty and the Beast that I watched or who knows but man after looking at those photos my heart hurt. The family that we had at GCBI was one of the greatest things that has ever happened in my life. Maggie, Erin, Chelsea, Doug and Tommy(even though Doug and Tommy were from the past) Are seriously my brothers and sisters. The love that I have for these people is in fact overwhelming to me. I'm not a very "emotional" guy but thinking about those guys brings me to tears. Funnier even is the something that Pastor Randy said to me on graduation which was "to soften". It's something that I have been working on but it's more obvious now than ever than I have become a baby concerning these people! It was sparked by seeing Erin last night in the GCBI building. It was just one of those things that was awesome. I can't even put it in words how much these people mean to me, it's kinda scary. I haven't seen Elijah who was basically my roomate all year since him and Doug left for NC and it sucks. Those two people are my brothers. Relationships that are overwhelming. Our family has been separated for the summer and then some and it's crazy to look back on all the fun we had. It was the Greatest year of my life hands down. Maggie and Erin are in town but Chelsea, Lige, Dougy, Tommy are all gone. Yes temporarily but still.....them being gone sucks. To not be able to walk down the hall and talk to Doug or roll over and make fun of Lige's sheets sucks. Not being woken up by Tommy attacking me in my bed or being made fun of by Erin stinks. Not getting to talk thug to Maggie or having Chelsea's ending comment "Dear So and So........words.....Love Chelsea" is nuts! In retrospect these are some of the things that I took for granted all the time and now that my family isn't here it's sad. Maybe I suck at processing things....I am still trying to process Israel but man....I miss GCBI a lot. Everyone is doing great and I understand that it was just a time in life but still.....I'm not the greatest with words that's pretty obvious but it hit my like a ton of bricks looking through photos how much those people mean to me. How much not having them in my life everyday sucks even though I love everything God is doing in my life.

I don't know what this is about other then trying to adequately put into the words how these people have effected my life how great the year was that I got to spend with them. It was an honor to live with them, an honor to enjoy life together, an honor to get to know some of best people I've ever met and an honor to call them brothers and sisters. My life is better for having known them, my walk with the Lord is better because of them and my heart is better for being able to love them. Thank you guys, you mean the world to me and I can't even use the right words to describe how much I love and appreciate you!

P.s.- I feel it's safe to say you would have never heard me say this out loud. lol Softening is a work in process though!

H-E-L-P, we all need it.

"As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened." Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him."

Matthew 20:29-34

In Matthew there is this small story that really resonated with me on a level it never had before. It's a powerful image of the power and love of Christ and the courage of these two men. In Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43 it's recorded as one man named Bartimaues receiving his sight though Matthews job was to remember the words of Jesus so it's one person's account all in all it's story resonates the same.

It says in the verse 29-31 a large crowd was following him but it seems clear with their actions that they were not necessarily following Him with their hearts. They show up everywhere in every walk of life we are in. It's the people that want the perks of being a Christian but none of the responsibility of being a surrendered follower. They look good but in their heart they are empty and cold. The amazing piece of this story is these followers needed to cry out too! we all need to be like these blind men at one point in our lives! We need to come to a point in our lives and realize that WE can't do anything to help ourselves but HE can!

I admire these men crying out for Jesus as I think in our lives as Christian we listen to others too much in how we worship or reach for God. These men were told to shut up basically and sometimes as a Christian when I confronted with something in my life that basically tells me to shut up regarding Christ, I do just that. Not these men! When the world is telling them to shut their face the cry out EVEN MORE! Their desire for God went beyond other peoples opinion and what the world was telling them to do.

As a Christian I have to realize that when the world is talking, and it always is as loud as it can, if I start listening to it I can't here what Christ is saying. As a Christian my focus and all Christian's focus need to be on the one whose voice saved me from this world. I need to ignore the worlds voice in what I should do, what success looks like, and what the world wants me to be just as these men did!

These men desired for their eyes to be opened and thats what happened. Not only in a mere physical sense but more importantly in a spiritual sense. I know that these men were not just talking about their vision but also their heart's because Jesus was moved with compassion by them. Jesus saw the brokenness of these men and their surrendered hearts. These men knew that they needed Jesus and they couldn't fix their eyes or their seperation from God but that "The Son of David" could! They got their sight and followed Him. They put on the right glasses, saw the right path to follow and followed the One who knew the way. These men put on the eyes of God and took the path that Jesus took.

God fixed these men's hearts and eyes and he can do that in my life as well but first I need to be willing to forget what the world says and be willing to cry our whole heartedly to Him.