How good is good?

Jonathan, my 10 year old informed me when I got home today that if he was good he would get to go with a friend to a local amusement park next week.  His statement implies an understood expectation, standard, and reward.

This made me think of a verse in the Bibe.

“And a ruler asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good?  No one is good except God alone.’”   Luke 18:18-19

I hear people talk all the time about what or who they think are good.  When you ask some people about following Christ they point to the fact that “they are a good person.”  Whether they realize it or not, this statement implies a known standard that establishes their goodness - even if it is only known by them.  The question is, “Good compared to what?”  

“Of course we would not dare clasify ourselves or compare ourselves with those who rate themselves so highly.  How stupid they are!  They make up their own standards to measure themselves by, and they judge themselves by their own standards!”   II Corinthians 10:12  (GNB)

Jesus says something in Luke 18:18-19 that indicates what our standard of goodness is.  When asked “Good Teacher, what must I do?”, He gives a response that tell us what the standard of our goodness is and who it is we must look to for that standard - GOD alone.

We most often think of ourselves as good people, but by what standard.  What is the measuring stick?  What standard do we use to determine the goodness of others?  Do we measure ourselves on the same scale that we do other people?

The truth is, if we fall short of God’s goodness, then it’s not really goodness at all?  Jesus said there is only one who is good.

We normally complain about anything that is substandard.  Don’t settle for anything less.  Raise the bar.  Raise the standard.

“for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13

Great faith…

As is my custom, I tucked my two boys into bed an prayed with them.  My sons have gotten into a habbit of thanking God for all of our family and then one by one every animal we have ever had dead and alive.  No, this is not going to be a theological discussion on “prayers for the dead.”

I am always looking for teachable moments.  Jonathan (10yrs) begings his prayer and gets to the pets - “…and thank you Jesus for Charlie, Wishbone, Tucker, Sinbad, Waves 1, and Waves 2.”  At this point I stopped his prayer (maybe I’m going to hell for that one) and said “Jonathan we don’t need to pray for our dead pets.”  If your curious, we don’t have a petting zoo, most of the list above is deceased and Waves 1 and Waves 2 are fish that belonged to their sister which died due to the boys helping assist in their suicide via the toilet.

It was Nathan’s (8yrs) turn to pray.  Keep in mind the picture above of the baby shark in formaldehyde.  Nathan begins to pray in the same manner as his brother - “Jesus, thank you for Mom, Dad, Jordan, our two dead cats and…. the poor dead baby shark (as he stretches his hand forth toward the shark - maybe too much TBN - kidding) Lord please make him alive.”

Oh ye of little faith - that shark began to swim around.  OK, maybe not.  But, do we believed like children and do we have the audasity to step out on faith and ask for the ridiculous.

Jesus told his disciples “Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”   John 16:24

How BIG is your GOD?

Feed me…

For about 230 US dollars you don’t ever have to leave your high chair.  Theoretically, you’d never have to leave the chair - just keep adjusting it to fit you.

That sounds ridiculous doesn’t it.

My point is, there comes a time when you move from the high chair to the table.  And, there is a time when you move from being dependant on someone to feed you to being able to take responsibility for yourself and become a self-feeder.

Is the Church learning this lesson?  Are we as leaders and those in ministry being effective at teaching our people to take responsibility for their own spiritual lives?  Are we giving them the right tools?  Or are we caught up in building our churches and ministry trying to keep up with providing something new to be digested, while we miss the fact that they should be taking some of the responsibility for themselves?  Are we perpetuating the expectation of being fed?

I am finding that people will allow you to do for them what they can and should do for themselves as long as you will do it.  They will do for themselves when they have to.  The biggest issue we as ministers have caused by supplanting our peoples responsibility is the developed expectation that we should do for them.  Many ministers I talk to battle with this expectation placed on them and know it’s pressure or frustration. 

Everything seems fine and people are growing and seem to be maturing to fully devoted followers of Christ until you hear that all familiar phrase, “I’m not being fed.”  It’s difficult to watch people you love and serve move from church to church looking for what they expect and never permanently finding it. 

The truth is, they won’t find it and we do them and ourselves a disservice if we don’t teach them to feed themselves.  If they don’t learn this then they will become disillusioned by unmet expectation and blame those who are serving and feeding them. 

Here is how Willow Creek Association is addressing this issue in their Churches.

Do you recognize a dependency on others where you should be doing for yourself?

If you are a leader, How are you addressing these issues in ministry? 

 

Leadership (pt.2) Will you go the distance?

What makes for longevity in ministry?  I read a figure yesterday, that 1500 ministers a month drop out of ministry.  Why?

If you are a minister thinking about quiting, please listen.  If you are in ministry, listen.  If you are in a church and are being ministered to, please listen.  I want to share the secret with you.

Ministry cannot be founded on a love for people no more than a marriage can last on a couples love for each other alone.  Ministry cannot last on talent, giftedness, or drivenness - unless you are Superman, and we know the answer to that.

I won’t drag you on with a long devotional today.  Here it is:

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;  and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”   2 Corinthians 5:14-15

The Apostle Paul tell us that the key is the love of God.  It was the love of God that controlled what He did.  The word controlled is also translated constrains.  I know the force of that word.  It is a word that pushes from the inside out.  It’s not contolled by the love for people, though you need to love people.  But, people will fail you.  If you are in ministry, you know how you can be ministering and serving people who at the same time expect you to while abusing you, hurting you, not listening to you and turning on you.  Sounds like being a shepherd to sheep.  Shepherds tend and care while the sheep bite them, bite each other, go the other way and all the while expecting to be fed and cared for.

I know what it’s like to not want to and then the love of God pushes from deep within me, constraining me to press on for His sake and the sake of those He loves, died and rose for. 

If you are in ministry you must put your focus on Christ and His love.  Let His love drive you and direct you.  Let His love energize you, sustain you, and hold your focus.  If you don’t, you can find yourself one amongst the 1500 or so casualties of ministry.

“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.”   2 Corinthians 4:5

If you are one being ministered to and served, have grace and mercy on us.

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.  Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”  Hebrews 13:17-18

What you look’n at?

In processing my thought from Sunday’s message, I began to think about God’s glory.  What is God’s glory?  I heard one of the best descriptions of Glory this past week by Jeff kapusta in his message “Why Questions?”

Psalm 19:1 (NIV) says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”

Glory is adoration, affection and bigness.  It is the awesomeness of God.  I want to see the glory of God in my life just like you can see  His glory in creation.  I want someone to look at my life and say, “I don’t understand it, but that is awesome; that is so incredible it must be God.”  Isn’t that what the Apostle Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 4:7.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

We are to reflect God’s glory through our lives.  When people examine your life they should see Jesus!

Glory comes from magnifying God.  We magnify God when we look at Him as Moses did when he drew near to God on Mt Sinai to talk to Him.  Drawing close to God caused Moses to reflect the radiance of God’s glory.  Others saw it on him.

When we look to God instead of placing our focus on all our problems, God is magnified instead of our circumstance.  The closer we are to Him the small our problems seem.  Many people focus so much on their circumstances, it steals their faith and they can’t see that God is bigger than their issues.  Their problems seem insurmountable.  When we truly see God as He really is, then we will see our problems for what they really are - small in comparison to a Big God.

When we look to God, He is magnified.  When He is magnified, we behold His glory.  When we behold His glory, others see God in us.

What the CRAP…..

 Most of you who know me, know that I have been plagued with plumbing problems.  Our house was flooded twice from plumbing issues.  As a result, the down stair ceiling fell in and flooded our den, garage and laundry room. (Read Count it all Joy….)

We finally got everything repaired and….. last night I discovered that one of my boys flushed something, lets just say, that should not and cannot go down the pipes.  I have spent most of today trying to snake our drain lines. What happened to me is to nasty to describe.  Let’s just say my day was CRAP!  If this word offends you then you have no idea what I’ve experienced today.

Last Sunday I talked about the kind of life that Jesus offers to us.  It’s a life that rises above the issues of this world.  It’s not a life without issues.  It’s a life not ruled, controlled or defined by our issues.

The Apostle Paul described his life in Christ and the issues he faced. 

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.”   2 Corinthians 4:8-11 (KJV)

How do we do this?  How do we rise above the CRAP in our lives?

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory;  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:  for the things which are seen are temporal;  but the things which are not seen are eternal.”   2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (KJV)

Paul says our afflictions are light and momentary.  You may say at this point “Paul, has no idea what I’m going through.”  You may feel like it has been a lifetime of difficulty. 

However, this is Paul’s point.  It’s about perspective.  Meaning, your perspective through the eyes of the flesh or God’s through eye of faith.  Every difficulty is heavy to us, but to God it’s light.  Our afflictions can seem to never end, but to God they are temporary in view of eternal life with Him.  It’s all about where you are looking.

Verse 18 gives us the key to living the life of Christ that rises above the CRAP.  It says look at the things which are not seen, the eternal things.  When our eyes are in the right place the rest of us will follow: our mind, our mouth (words), and our actions.  When we focus on the CRAP, it is magnified.  When we look at Jesus and the things of the Kingdom of God, He is magnified and faith increases.  When we focus on our difficulties we cause them to seem insurmountable and all encompassing.  When we do this we rob God of glory through us. (look at v.15)

So are you going to wallow in your CRAP or rise above it where you experience the kingdom of God and the life of Jesus?

You gotta have faith…

 

It is killing me that I have to wait til next season for another episode of Eli Stone.  I sat and watched the season finale last night and then Amy and I sat up and watched three more episodes online that we has missed.

If you have no idea who Eli Stone is then you need to go online to ABC.com and watch.  Short - Eli is a lawyer who begins to have visions, like George Micheal singing to him.  These visions seem to be leading him to the cases that need him.  The cases he takes seem to be for the greater good, which is against his money grubbing firms ideals.

This show is about faith, fighting for something good, and making a difference in the lives of people - even when it will seem to cost you everything.  It’s about taking some things on faith.

I you have been watching and saw the last show, you know why I’m chomping at the bit for the next one.

As George would say, “You gotta have faith, faith, faith…..”

Are you a Christian?

So if by definition Christian means “Christ follower” and the Bible tells us to put on Christ and to have the likeness of Christ…..How does your life line up with this definition?  If you were Jesus what would you be doing right now?  How would you be living right now?  What should change about your life in order to be what you really claim to be?  Do we really believe if we do not live like what we say?  James said “You say you have faith, I’ll show you my faith by what I do.” (James 2:18 my paraphrase)

You may not like this statement.  I believe being saved and being a Christian are two different things.  Being saved depends on me believing in the finished work of Christ in His death and resurrection.  However, being a Christian has to do with me cooperating with the Holy Spirit’s work in and through me.  Notice my job or work.  I must work to cooperate with Him.  My job is to obey His leading in following Him and daily conforming to Him and acting like Him.

I have witnessed lately in my own life, people who are saved but not Christian.  They believe in the saving work of Christ but look and act like they don’t know Him.

Are you a Christian?

BIG or small?

We must believe in a BIG GOD or we will live small lives.

Qualities of people you entrust leadership to (pt.1)…

I want my leaders to do great things for God.  I want them to have an impact in the lives of people.  The Bible describles where this greatness comes from in Matthew 20:26b. (msg) “Whoever wants to become great must become a servant.”

The Apostle Peter said we each have received a special gift from the Lord and that we should use it in serving one another as those who have received God’s grace. (1 Peter 4:10)

When I am looking for leaders, I first look for those who have a heart to serve.  These are the ones who don’t have to be asked.  They are eager to do whatever you need.  They just want to serve.  Their joy is in giving to others as Jesus has given to them.  They don’t shy away for lack of experience or because it may cost them something.  They trust God and are thankful for the privilege to serve.  They serve God, not man.  They know God will reward them in due season.

Our churches today are full of those who are eager to receive.  They show up every week with their hands out and their mouths open for the next serving being dished up.  There is a fatness in the body of Christ that is unhealthy.  When all we do is receive and take and never give and pour out, we become like those whose bodies have become overweight and unable to do the things they used to do.  We become led by our appetites.  We find ourselves eating alot and doing little. 

However, when we are active serving, it increases our apetite and brings a healthy balance to our spiritual life.  There must be an inflow and outflow of the Spirit in our life.

Servant leaders are not always the most gifted or mature.  However, they mature quickly and are used greatly by the Lord.  God blesses those who serve and these are the ones I am looking for.