Better Late than Never

I'm about 8 hours late on the blog today but I made it!
This has been a week. I'm sure many of you can relate but this one for me has been really, really different. For starters, it seems like everything (exageration) is breaking in my home. The dishwasher disposal is fried, the washing machine is broken, the car needs about $1,000 in repairs... it's like come on! But you know what, it's OK. Really, it is because God is providing for us. Turns out, my dad can do the repairs on the car, a friend is giving us a washer and a plumber told me how to replace the disposal. WOW! (backwards) WOW! (upside down) MOM!

Honestly, I was mad at the beginning of the week but instead of getting mad at God, I got mad at, well, the devil. The Bible says that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy and I think stuff breaking down all at once qualifies under that heading!

Remember, when stuff goes down like that, don't blame God. Yes, he is sovereign and it's easy to blame him and to think he's the one "causing" all of the stuff to happen in our lives. It's not in his "job description" to do that to his kids; he loves us and wants to take care of us. Even when it "seems" he's not there, he is; HE REALLY IS! Don't let the lies of the devil fool you. God will allow a certain amount of adversity in our lives to build us up and, the stronger we get, the tougher the adversity sometimes but God is ALWAYS in control.

Mean It

The blog is going mobile today. Internet is down so the blackjack will have to do.
I read this today by AW Tozer:
"We settle for words in religion because deeds are too costly. It's easier to pray "Lord help me take up my cross" than to pick it up."
He goes on to say that just by praying for help to do something we don't intend to do seems to have a level of "religious comfort" attached to it. The remedy? Let's actually do what we say we're going to do.


sent from my nifty Samsung Blackjack II.

The Unknown Sin

Ok, so nobody yelled at me for calling Paul a hypocrite yesterday, PHEW! ;0) No, I don' think he is a hypocrite; my point is that we all struggle (as Christians, specifically) with our walk matching our talk and Paul accurately describes that struggle in Romans 7.

Anyways, I ran across an interesting story in Genesis. Incidentally, I've started a new Bible reading program and it has me in Genesis and Romans at the same time thus the Genesis and Romans stuff I'm blogging on. Anyways...

God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."
But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she, even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this."
And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 20:3-6

What's interesting to note here is that sin is sin regardless of whether or not we we think it is. Abimelech had no idea that Sarah was Abraham's wife. He, in the integrity of his heart took her for his own honestly thinking she was available. To make matters worse, both Abraham and Sarah had lied about their relationship. So now, you've got lies, deceit leading to potential adultery all rolled into one situation. Even though Abimelech's conscience was clear, God still holds him accountable to the sin he was about to commit. However, God was merciful because look what happened; God kept Abimelech from following through and consummating the relationship.

There are 2 key points here; first, Abimelech was sensitive enough to God's voice. We need to be close enough to God to sense his speaking to us in our lives. Jesus says that his sheep hear and know his voice. Do you know God's voice? There are a bunch of voices in my head at any given time. I need to be able to distinguish my father's voice from among the others. I do that by spending time in his word and being quiet. We are too easily distracted; we have ipods in one ear, phones in the other, computers and TVs on... it's insane. We need to be quiet.
Secondly, God stepped in and somehow kept him from following through with his desire for her. God knew Sarah was Abraham's wife and he protected that covenant and he kept Abimelech from certain death by intervening.

The Christian Struggle (aka the hypocrite)

If anyone ever tells you that living the Christian life is easy, turn and run. They are either flat out lying to you or just don't know what they're talking about. Paul in Romans 7 reveals his personal struggle of doing the very things that he knows he shouldn't be doing. He writes,

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ... For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing...Wretched man that I am!

Now I don't know what Paul's personal struggles were but they were real. Paul distinguishes between knowing what he is supposed to do in his heart but what he actually does contradicts that. Wow, today, we would call that a hypocrite! Paul admits to being a hypocrite! Not my words... Read it for yourself. Now, I can't tell you how many people tell me that it is because of "the hypocrites" that they don't go to church and yet God chose a hypocrite to write the majority of the New Testament as well as plant several churches! Lesson? Get your eyes off of the people and onto Jesus but that's not my point here. As Christians, we all struggle (whether we choose to admit it or not) because we do know the difference between right and wrong in God's eyes and we have the ability to choose to do right or wrong. I've said this before (though it's not my quote) that "everyday we must decide to live as a Christian." Let's be real, every minute we have to make the decision to respond to circumstances in a Christ-like manner. A non-Christian does whatever he/she wants or whatever is suitable to them at that moment.

That is the struggle that Paul and all Christian's alike face daily. The Christian walk is not an easy walk but we can rest in the fact that we are not alone. God gives us the strength and ability to do what is right; we just need to chose to do so.

We're all slaves....

We're all slaves to something. While many in this world think that they are "free to do whatever they want" and live as "free spirits" the bible is pretty clear; we are slaves. Romans 6 says that we are either slaves to God or slaves to our own sinful nature. The King James Version uses the word servant which is easier to read than the word slave but the definition is pretty much the same in the Greek; we are either bound and under obligation to our own sinful desires or we can be bound to God; it really is our choice. We can decide to live a life that is shackled to our sinful, selfish desires and live only for ourselves or we can choose to live for God. What are the benefits to living for God? Glad you asked. that's a great question and Paul answers it. The answer is life; real life not that fake substitute the world and it's ways offered you. A life lived for God is a life of real fruit and real results; a life that sets you apart for a real purpose and a real destiny. The choice is yours, it really is. Choose wisely...

Do over

The story of Noah is a pretty sobering story. We tend to focus on the ark and the animals going on two by two (incidentally, there were many that were in sevens as well) but what gets me is that God who earlier in Genesis said everything he created was good, wants a do over. He starts over from scratch with Noah and his family by wiping clean the slate, literally, of everything that he created. What happened? Sin happened. At one point in Genesis the bible says that God actually wondered how long he must contend with man! That's bad. God was so frustrated with his creation because of the sin that been unleashed as a result of Adam and Eve's decision that he wiped the earth clean. Now there's no candy coating this. One could read this and say that God is cruel and mean and evil. Rest assured, he is not. God is good, merciful and just and as such has a responsibility to deal with sin. Paul is Romans 3 asks the question "Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?" Mankind brought this upon himself and in our lives, sometimes the decisions we make and the life we live brings about consequences. God promised Noah that he would never wipe out mankind again with a flood.

We can avoid the righteous judgment of God by living according to his principles set forth in the bible. If we live by them, we will be blessed; it's really that simple. If we choose not to then we subject ourselves to the consequences that result. Live well then!

Going mobile

360 goes mobile!



sent from my nifty Samsung Blackjack II.

Keep the faith

Abraham, in the bible is a picture of faith for us. Do you have a dream or a goal or a desire that God has placed within you so deep that you can't shake it? It's a craving that just can't be satisfied. Are you so sure about a calling on your life that it invades your thoughts hourly? Are you still waiting for it to come to pass? I am. I know how that feels, at least for me. I'm encouraged by what Paul writes in Romans about Abraham.

"He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."

Are you FULLY CONVINCED that what God has promised YOU, HE will do it? He did it for Abraham. It took decades but God fulfilled his promise to him. Keep the faith.

Desire

Tucked away in Genesis 3 is a little verse;

"And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

The context is God speaking to Cain after he had given an offering to God that was unacceptable. His brother's offering however, was acceptable. So what did Cain do? What every other person would do, right? He killed him. "Your brother's blood cries out to me" God said.

We need to realize; there was no law. God had not given the commandments yet. This was unbridled, sinful, human nature at it's worst. Jealousy and envy led right to murder. That's why Jesus said if you even hate someone you may as well have murdered him. It's the same motive. I don't care how "holy" or "good" you think you are (or I think I am) we are one decision away from ruining our lives. For Cain, it was unbridled jealousy that led him to kill his brother. God knew Cain's heart that's why he warned him prior to "rule over" sin and it's desire for him. In the same way, we need to check ourselves and make sure we rule over sin and not the other way around. The results could be disasterous. Thankfully though, Jesus provides a way out. He is the source of strength to overcome.

Talking snakes

Be careful of talking snakes. That's the moral of Genesis 3.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"...Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Now, I wasn't there so I just don't know but, did ALL the animals talk back then? I mean, if a snake slithered up to me and started talking to me about God (or any other topic for that matter) I'd be heading the other way. Maybe talking animals was cool back then. I mean, we've got talking lizards that will save you 15% on car insurance so, I just don't know.

Now, I don't want to discredit the thought of a talking snake. For whatever reason either literal or illustration, it's in the Bible and we need to address it but I want to focus on the message rather than the messenger. I find it intriguing that the serpent entices Eve with "the knowledge of good and evil". What did she know prior to that? I imagine only good. Remember, God created this perfect place for Adam and Eve to live in and God said "it was good". Why then, did Eve want to know evil as well? She already knew good; she was living in the midst of it! Wasn't that "good" enough? What was it about evil that was so enticing? So, fast forward to today and the same question still exists for us. We know good; his name is God and he offers us a life that is good. Why then, do we continue to choose evil? It's not like a snake is taunting us and tempting us on...or is there??

Friday morning rambling...

So, it’s Friday morning (early) I’m sitting here in a Starbucks, incidentally, not my coffeehouse of choice but since my mechanic of choice is across the street, here I am, watching an overweight person order a skinny latte. I love to people watch. It’s really all I can do b/c Starbucks charges for their Internet access; as if the coffee wasn’t expensive enough, but, I digress. I’m people watching. Some might call it staring. Since I’ve gotten back from Guatemala, things have been different. No, I don’t preach at people about how great we have it in this country or how great they have it there. The reality is, there is no comparison. If I’m quite content driving an old Honda Civic, how can you convince me that a brand new _________ is better? I mean really, even if it’s faster, I’m still constrained by the traffic and lights. Or, it’s got automatic climate control; great, one more thing to go down if/when the computer poops out. The only thing that would make the difference between your new car and mine is if mine completely stops running; then and only then does your new car really appeal to me. So what’s my point? I’m not sure really. I guess I could delve deeper and find some spiritual application but remember, it’s Friday morning (early) I’m in Starbucks people watching waiting for the mechanic to fix my car….

Guate!

I think, no, I know, the thing that impacted me most on this trip were the kids. Each of these kids both young and older has a story. These kids have dreams, they have desires they have aspirations that God has placed in their heart. It doesn't matter if they're poor or rich, from the U.S. or in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. My Pastor made a great statement; borders do not exist in God's eyes. Borders are a man made phenomenon. We are simply his creation and so it's no wonder that, at the heart, we are very similar because we were made in his image.

I had the opportunity of sharing with the older kids at a high school (yes, imagine that, an open opportunity to talk about God in a public school and we had to go to Guatemala to do it!). That's what I shared with them that God loves them and wants them to fulfill the destiny and calling that he has for them. It was amazing to see God working in these students lives as one by one they came forward. We had the privilege of speaking into their lives, praying for them and loving them.

Guatemala Pictures

Here's a link to a sampling of my Guatemala photos. Enjoy!

Back in the USA

I've been back a little over 24 hours at the time of writing this. Let me just say, it would take weeks of blogging to try to express what I experienced on my trip to Guatemala. How do I describe sights, smells, emotions and experiences? It was a tremendous experience! I'll be downloading bits and pieces over the next few weeks and will upload a link to pictures as well.

Driving out of the main city of Guatemala City into the countryside and eventually up the mountain, one thing that really jumped out at me is the simplicity of life. One of the themes we've been talking about at The Well is Simplify. The life of these people, particularly those out of the city is very simple; there are no frills, no billboards selling frivolous ideas and products; it's really about day to day survival in some cases. They don't care about the latest anti-aging product or the latest model car or what have you. Yes, the observation can be made that they are a developing country and have yet to "catch up" to the U.S. but in reality, I kind of envy the simplicity. It was great not being bombarded by junk emails and pesky sales calls. Don't get me wrong, life is hard for some of these people; it's about survival in some cases but it just goes to show that with excess comes distraction and distractions can often times cause us to take our eyes off of the realization that our very existence is still entirely dependant on God. I read a great quote this morning that said,

"it will require a determined heart and more than a little courage to wrench ourselves loose from the grip of our times and return to biblical ways".

The amazing thing about that quote is that it was stated in the 1950's. How even more applicable is this today!

You're going where??

By the time you read this I'll be on my way or have already arrived in Quetzaltenango. Quetza te what o?? No, Quetz-al-te-nan-go; hooked on phonics baby! Guatemala. We'll be there for a week working in some pretty amazing places; a battered women and childrens center, a men's alcohol rehab "center", some churches and whereever else God may lead us. Needless to say, internet will be scarce at best so, I'll leave you with this post for the week. Next week, I'll let you know what we did and how God worked. Keep us in your prayers!

Mighty to Save, from what?

"My God is mighty to save" the song goes. "Saviour, he can move mountains, author of salvation, my God is mighty to save!"

But he can't help me with my bills. He can't help me with my relationships or the loss of a job or a difficult pregnancy or some illness. How is it I can trust him with my salvation; my eternal future but I sometimes struggle trusting him with the day to day "stuff" of life? If God is truly mighty enough to save than he is able to rescue me and you from any and all circumstances and trials life may bring us; nothing is too big for him! He truly is mighty to save! The book of Psalms paints a portrait of a God that spread the stars out like a curtain and holds the oceans in his hands! His footstool is the earth! God is mighty! We must remember that God is in control and nothing is bigger that him. I know that can be hard to fathom when faced squarely with a crisis but we need to have faith. I love what A.W. Tozer wrote about faith. He said, "the natural man must know in order to believe; the spiritual man must believe in order to know."