I ask that you read the following from gods at war by Kyle Idleman, and think to yourself, "what if church really was like this"? Really, truly think about it.
People arrive hours early for church. On Sunday mornings, they don't just set a backup alarm clock to assure they wake up in time; they set a backup for the backup. They arrange their schedules to make sure they don't miss a gathering for worship. Throughout the week, they talk about what happened on the previous Sunday as excitement builds for the upcoming church service.
There are all-day talk shows on the radio devoted to reviewing last week's service and breaking down the next one. There's even a TV show called "ChurchCenter" that runs highlight clips of church activities that have happened across the nation that day.
When Sunday comes, the members start loading up their trucks, SUVs, and sedans hours before church starts...
The roads are congested on the way to church, no matter how early you leave. At church, there are vehicles parked as far as the eye can see, and folks are out tailgating. Some have elaborate spreads prepared, breaking out portable grills and lawn chairs in the church parking lot. Some have television monitors and satellite dishes so they can catch updates from other worship services while they wait for their own.
It's nice weather today, not that it matters. Even in the dead of winter, they'll be out here in the same numbers. The masses begin filing into the sanctuary, cheering with great passion and excitement.
Once the service starts, the people are all on their feet - not that they ever sit down. Of course, a bunch of young guys are in the front row. They've probably been here since Friday night...
Apparently the rumor has gotten out that the pastor is indeed going to teach on biblical stewardship and worshiping God with our money. Everyone is pumped for the giving sermon. It's one of the highlights of the year.
After several hours, people start looking at their watches. Everyone is thinking the same thing: "I hope the sermon goes into overtime!"
What if our services really were like this? What would happen if entire churches got up excited to worship the God who made all things? What if, even for just a month, we treated worshiping God and being with His people the same way we treated our favorite sport, or TV Show, or even the latest movie?
What if?
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Fighting with Lego Swords
When I was little a "friend" of mine and myself decided we would go to our respective homes and get swords to play with. Not having a sword of my own, I built one out of Constructs (kind of like erector legos), and went out to meet him.
When we met outside, he had brought his own real (plastic) sword. He then proceeded to tell me something along the line of how mine was useless before breaking it to pieces with his sword and walking away.
Needless to say, I was crushed. I picked up my sad, broken sword, went back inside, and played there until whenever it was I felt like going back out. I still remember that incident clear as day. I remember the weather, the sun, the excitement, and the soul-rending defeat of the moment. I even remember the old man next door shaking his head (no doubt muttering something to himself about mean kids) as he worked on his lawn, bent over probably pulling weeds.
Even now, 20+ years later, I still have this weird, sickly feeling whenever I think about it.
But this post isn't about that sickly feeling. This post is about the fact that I brought a useless weapon, and how we do the exact same thing all the time in our own lives. Instead of coming prepared with our best weaponry, we come to the battles in our lives with poorly made substitutes thinking that the other side will play by our rules so that our flimsy toys won't break and fall to pieces.
We need to realize one thing. The other side does not care if our toys break. In fact, it has a vested interest in making sure they do. Yet time and again we cobble together "defenses" for our beliefs that are not bound or upheld in Scripture. We even use arguments that are completely devoid of a Christian worldview for fear that we will be attacked as kooks or bigots or some other perverse smear.
So we go in our rooms, look at our legos, and build a toy thinking that everything will be fine because we're "on the right side of things". Thinking we will win simply because "we are right," is not only dangerous, but fatal.
Take the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage this week. The way the opinion was written has basically left the door open for the next useful case to declare gay marriage as a "right," guaranteed by the Constitution. When the opinion came out I saw people everywhere rejoicing at the decision. Facebook, Twitter, News, even YouTube has a marker next to its logo "celebrating LGBT pride." Taglines such as "all love is equal," are everywhere, as well.
Yet almost nowhere did I see wide scale denouncement of the decision. It was as though Christians and others got their toys broken, picked up the pieces, and went to go play in their rooms, thinking that they would be left alone if they went into hiding for a little bit.
As Erick Erickson put it, you will be made to care. One way or another, you will be required to take a stance on this issue one way or another. It's not only this issue either. Drug use, pornography, FCC decency regulations on primetime TV, the sexualization of girls and the demasculation of boys, and on and on and on. There are a lot (a lot) of things coming to a head in the next several years that you will have to take a stance on. There will be no hiding from it. "No opinion," will not be an option.
Are you ready for that?
Are you ready to do the preparation and fighting it will take to battle these things? Are you willing to donate your time, your money, your expertise to those who are on the front lines fighting these wars in public? Will you take a stand before there is no ground from which to take a stand on?
Some will say, "you can't legislate morality." I disagree. We legislate murder, insider trading, cheating on your spouse, child support, what can be on TV before 9pm, and a thousand other "morality" issues based on what is right and what is wrong. Legislating morality is all that regulators do. The argument holds no water.
Others will say, "that's not showing love." Is it showing love, then, to not tell someone they are about to be hit by a train? Is it love to look at someone, knowing they are dying while holding the cure in your hands, and not tell them about it? How much love can we show if we do not fight for goodness and holiness? How much love are we showing if we are not showing a broken and fallen world the requirements from a loving God to live with Him forever?
Still others will say, "if you fight back against what is going on, you will run people away from the church." This, too, is a false argument. If we do not hold ourselves to God's standard, are we acting as His church? Are we proving ourselves as the body of Christ by our silence? Better a small church which follows God than an enormous clubhouse of people calling themselves christians who are such in name only.
We must be willing to act. We must be willing to fight. And we must be willing to do so using real arguments based in God's Word, Character, and Worldview. Lego swords will not work. Running away will not work. We must be willing to stand, now and forever, for what is right before God, and Him alone.
When we met outside, he had brought his own real (plastic) sword. He then proceeded to tell me something along the line of how mine was useless before breaking it to pieces with his sword and walking away.
Needless to say, I was crushed. I picked up my sad, broken sword, went back inside, and played there until whenever it was I felt like going back out. I still remember that incident clear as day. I remember the weather, the sun, the excitement, and the soul-rending defeat of the moment. I even remember the old man next door shaking his head (no doubt muttering something to himself about mean kids) as he worked on his lawn, bent over probably pulling weeds.
Even now, 20+ years later, I still have this weird, sickly feeling whenever I think about it.
But this post isn't about that sickly feeling. This post is about the fact that I brought a useless weapon, and how we do the exact same thing all the time in our own lives. Instead of coming prepared with our best weaponry, we come to the battles in our lives with poorly made substitutes thinking that the other side will play by our rules so that our flimsy toys won't break and fall to pieces.
We need to realize one thing. The other side does not care if our toys break. In fact, it has a vested interest in making sure they do. Yet time and again we cobble together "defenses" for our beliefs that are not bound or upheld in Scripture. We even use arguments that are completely devoid of a Christian worldview for fear that we will be attacked as kooks or bigots or some other perverse smear.
So we go in our rooms, look at our legos, and build a toy thinking that everything will be fine because we're "on the right side of things". Thinking we will win simply because "we are right," is not only dangerous, but fatal.
Take the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage this week. The way the opinion was written has basically left the door open for the next useful case to declare gay marriage as a "right," guaranteed by the Constitution. When the opinion came out I saw people everywhere rejoicing at the decision. Facebook, Twitter, News, even YouTube has a marker next to its logo "celebrating LGBT pride." Taglines such as "all love is equal," are everywhere, as well.
Yet almost nowhere did I see wide scale denouncement of the decision. It was as though Christians and others got their toys broken, picked up the pieces, and went to go play in their rooms, thinking that they would be left alone if they went into hiding for a little bit.
As Erick Erickson put it, you will be made to care. One way or another, you will be required to take a stance on this issue one way or another. It's not only this issue either. Drug use, pornography, FCC decency regulations on primetime TV, the sexualization of girls and the demasculation of boys, and on and on and on. There are a lot (a lot) of things coming to a head in the next several years that you will have to take a stance on. There will be no hiding from it. "No opinion," will not be an option.
Are you ready for that?
Are you ready to do the preparation and fighting it will take to battle these things? Are you willing to donate your time, your money, your expertise to those who are on the front lines fighting these wars in public? Will you take a stand before there is no ground from which to take a stand on?
Some will say, "you can't legislate morality." I disagree. We legislate murder, insider trading, cheating on your spouse, child support, what can be on TV before 9pm, and a thousand other "morality" issues based on what is right and what is wrong. Legislating morality is all that regulators do. The argument holds no water.
Others will say, "that's not showing love." Is it showing love, then, to not tell someone they are about to be hit by a train? Is it love to look at someone, knowing they are dying while holding the cure in your hands, and not tell them about it? How much love can we show if we do not fight for goodness and holiness? How much love are we showing if we are not showing a broken and fallen world the requirements from a loving God to live with Him forever?
Still others will say, "if you fight back against what is going on, you will run people away from the church." This, too, is a false argument. If we do not hold ourselves to God's standard, are we acting as His church? Are we proving ourselves as the body of Christ by our silence? Better a small church which follows God than an enormous clubhouse of people calling themselves christians who are such in name only.
We must be willing to act. We must be willing to fight. And we must be willing to do so using real arguments based in God's Word, Character, and Worldview. Lego swords will not work. Running away will not work. We must be willing to stand, now and forever, for what is right before God, and Him alone.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Retiring from God, or Faithful Till Death
"You see, it is so hard for these creatures to persevere. The routine of adversity, the gradual decay of youthful loves and youthful hopes, the quiet despair (hardly felt as pain) of ever overcoming the chronic temptations with which we have again and again defeated them, the drabness which we create in their lives, and the inarticulate resentment with which we teach them to respond to it - all this provides admirable opportunities of wearing out a soul by attrition.
If, on the other hand, the middle years prove prosperous, our position is even stronger. Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is 'finding his place in it,' when really it is finding its place in him. His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work, build up in him a sense of being really at home on Earth, which is just what we want."
C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
I try to make a habit of not starting posts with long quotes, and it is rare that I start with any quotes at all. However, I felt that for this topic, this quote was particularly appropriate. I thought it fit so well because it is true. Read it again if you don't quite believe it. Through and through these may be the most frightening lines I have ever read in a book.
Why are they so terrifying? Because even at age 31, I see them coming true. Not all the time, mind you, but in those moments of weakness or where I'm having a bad day, I see it. What is even more frightening is that I see it in the church today. I see it in the older people who believe that since they have retired from the working world they can retire from God's work as well. I see it in the teenagers who on one hand are so beaten down by the world that their hearts are barely stirred by the Gospel and on the other hand are so consumed with work and becoming well-off that God takes a back seat to anything that can help them "succeed" in the "real world."
Don't believe that you are immune from it. That is a mistake we cannot allow ourselves to make. When you believe that something cannot happen to you is when you are in the greatest danger of it happening. I have seen it happen to elders, men, women, teens, even church bodies. They either become so disillusioned or so comfortable in the world that they cease to be effective in the world around them. Satan doesn't care which one destroys us.
Satan just cares that we are destroyed.
In Matthew 24:13 Jesus says, "But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved." It comes in the middle of Jesus speaking about terrible things will happen soon after His ascension, but the message is timeless. We must be faithful until death.There is no other way to Him.
Satan knows this. In fact, he is counting on it. If he can wear down our faith so that we are no longer faithful, he wins. He may use riches, comfort, or pain. Indeed, he may use a combination of all three over a lifetime. Anything to make it so we are no longer effective in the service of the One True King.
We may retire from our earthly work, but we can never retire from what God would have us do. We cannot allow ourselves to get too comfortable, thinking that the world is our home. It is not. We also cannot choose to step away and let others do what we should be doing. It is not acceptable before God.
We must choose, every day, who we will serve. Will it be ourselves, will it be our comforts, will it be our pain, or will it be the One True God who loves us and wants us to be His?
As Joshua said, choose this day whom you will serve.
And choose it every day.
If, on the other hand, the middle years prove prosperous, our position is even stronger. Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is 'finding his place in it,' when really it is finding its place in him. His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work, build up in him a sense of being really at home on Earth, which is just what we want."
C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
I try to make a habit of not starting posts with long quotes, and it is rare that I start with any quotes at all. However, I felt that for this topic, this quote was particularly appropriate. I thought it fit so well because it is true. Read it again if you don't quite believe it. Through and through these may be the most frightening lines I have ever read in a book.
Why are they so terrifying? Because even at age 31, I see them coming true. Not all the time, mind you, but in those moments of weakness or where I'm having a bad day, I see it. What is even more frightening is that I see it in the church today. I see it in the older people who believe that since they have retired from the working world they can retire from God's work as well. I see it in the teenagers who on one hand are so beaten down by the world that their hearts are barely stirred by the Gospel and on the other hand are so consumed with work and becoming well-off that God takes a back seat to anything that can help them "succeed" in the "real world."
Don't believe that you are immune from it. That is a mistake we cannot allow ourselves to make. When you believe that something cannot happen to you is when you are in the greatest danger of it happening. I have seen it happen to elders, men, women, teens, even church bodies. They either become so disillusioned or so comfortable in the world that they cease to be effective in the world around them. Satan doesn't care which one destroys us.
Satan just cares that we are destroyed.
In Matthew 24:13 Jesus says, "But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved." It comes in the middle of Jesus speaking about terrible things will happen soon after His ascension, but the message is timeless. We must be faithful until death.There is no other way to Him.
Satan knows this. In fact, he is counting on it. If he can wear down our faith so that we are no longer faithful, he wins. He may use riches, comfort, or pain. Indeed, he may use a combination of all three over a lifetime. Anything to make it so we are no longer effective in the service of the One True King.
We may retire from our earthly work, but we can never retire from what God would have us do. We cannot allow ourselves to get too comfortable, thinking that the world is our home. It is not. We also cannot choose to step away and let others do what we should be doing. It is not acceptable before God.
We must choose, every day, who we will serve. Will it be ourselves, will it be our comforts, will it be our pain, or will it be the One True God who loves us and wants us to be His?
As Joshua said, choose this day whom you will serve.
And choose it every day.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
"Consume Me! ...later..."
Why is it so hard to say, "Consume me, God!," and mean it? Obviously I am not writing about being physically eaten, but I am writing about being devoured. Why is it so, so difficult to ask God to do that, and mean it?
Could it be that deep down, we don't really want to be consumed?
Could it be that really, we don't want to put in the work it takes to be devoured?
"After I finish this show, I'll give myself over," we say. "After I get home from work," we say. "I can't start this when I'm tired, after I wake up tomorrow," we say, "then I'll get to work on being consumed by God. I'll make sure I start fresh and give it all I've got!"
I wonder how many of us have made those statements.
Even more, I wonder how many of us have made good on those statements.
Don't allow Satan to tell you, "you can do it later." You can't. When you feel the urge to start giving yourself to God, do it! Don't wait until after class or after lunch or after you sleep. Do it right then!
It takes work. It takes sacrifice. It takes endurance.
It takes time
And it is not easy.
But don't let the fact that it is not easy or instant make you feel like it is not worth it.
Because it absolutely is.
There is no after, there is no later, there is no "in just a few minutes." Let yourself be consumed by Him now. Let your life, your mind, your heart, your soul be taken over, and push yourself to do the things it will take for God to devour everything you are and were and will be.
You'll be surprised by how much you gain when you give yourself up. It's hard to believe, even for me. But I want to. Not just a little bit either. I want to believe it as badly as I want to breathe. I want to want God as badly as I want air in my lungs. I want for people to see me and say "What in the world happened to that guy? Is that the same person we used to know?" Because that's how it should be.
So I'll work on it. Hard.
Will you join me?
Could it be that deep down, we don't really want to be consumed?
Could it be that really, we don't want to put in the work it takes to be devoured?
"After I finish this show, I'll give myself over," we say. "After I get home from work," we say. "I can't start this when I'm tired, after I wake up tomorrow," we say, "then I'll get to work on being consumed by God. I'll make sure I start fresh and give it all I've got!"
I wonder how many of us have made those statements.
Even more, I wonder how many of us have made good on those statements.
Don't allow Satan to tell you, "you can do it later." You can't. When you feel the urge to start giving yourself to God, do it! Don't wait until after class or after lunch or after you sleep. Do it right then!
It takes work. It takes sacrifice. It takes endurance.
It takes time
And it is not easy.
But don't let the fact that it is not easy or instant make you feel like it is not worth it.
Because it absolutely is.
There is no after, there is no later, there is no "in just a few minutes." Let yourself be consumed by Him now. Let your life, your mind, your heart, your soul be taken over, and push yourself to do the things it will take for God to devour everything you are and were and will be.
You'll be surprised by how much you gain when you give yourself up. It's hard to believe, even for me. But I want to. Not just a little bit either. I want to believe it as badly as I want to breathe. I want to want God as badly as I want air in my lungs. I want for people to see me and say "What in the world happened to that guy? Is that the same person we used to know?" Because that's how it should be.
So I'll work on it. Hard.
Will you join me?
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Inside
Last night I signed up for a Spartan Beast Race in December. My younger brother and I had talked about it, and a grueling obstacle course that would nearly kill me sounded like a fun thing to do. Even better, he got a free ticket so we were able to split the price!
Then I started working out two nights ago.
Right now my entire body is sore and feels a little bit like jello. Now if you looked at me, you wouldn't think I was in bad shape. I'm thin without looking like a skeleton and I still eat pretty much whatever I want. Even my blood pressure is much lower than most people.
But inside I know that I am in nowhere near good enough shape to do that Spartan Race. This has been proven over the last two nights as I struggle through a basic body-weight exercise program to get myself ready for it. If the race were tomorrow, I would probably have to give up within the first two miles.
If you didn't click on the link, the Spartan Beast is a 12+ mile race with 25+ obstacles including rope climbing, wall climbing, and carrying buckets of rocks (or something similarly ridiculous). In short, I am not prepared, at all, for the kind of things I will be asked to do in this race.
But that's not until December.
I see the goal, I know what is coming, and I have a plan to be ready for it. You see while I look relatively fit on the outside, inside I am not. Furthermore, if I do not prepare myself for what is coming, I will be destroyed by the event when I get there. That does not make the event evil or bad, it would just make me someone who did not prepare for it.
Paul says in I Timothy 4:8, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."
So many times we focus on making ourselves appear and feel good on the outside of our spiritual life. We say the right words, don't do the worst things, and try to sing the right notes. We may even speak up in class occasionally. Those are all good things, but they are also all surface level things.
The question is are you spiritually fit on the inside?
Do you work out spiritually? It is a little bit trickier than working out physically. Physically we can feel weight and pressure and exertion. We can look at the muscles on our arms and stomachs, and feel stronger when we pick up heavy things. But spiritual strength is different. Not only is it different, but it is far, far more important than physical strength as well.
So how do you spiritually work out? We have prayer, Bible reading, thinking about spiritual topics, helping others, visiting the sick and in jail, being kind, practicing patience and goodness and self-control, and many other things. Doing these things strengthens us spiritually. It works out our souls and minds and allows us to take on bigger challenges over time. But where do you start?
When someone first starts working out they don't go straight to trying to lift 200 lb weights. They also don't start their running regimen at 10 miles. They start small. They start with what they are capable of, and push themselves to go a little bit further each time. It is not an instant process, but in the end that person can run 10 miles or lift those 200 lbs.
If they continue to work at it.
Working out spiritually is much the same. Start with 2-3 small prayers and reading a few Bible verses each day. As you get more comfortable and more in the groove of it make those prayers and readings longer. Work on helping others and having a mindset that is focused on goodness and kindness and self-control. Begin sending cards or visiting someone who is sick or needs help.
Start small, then push yourself to go just a little further each time. With God's help, you'll be doing 10-mile spiritual runs while carrying 200 lb spiritual weights sooner than you think. But you have to stick with it, and you have to be willing to push yourself just a little further each time.
Our spiritual lives are far more important than our physical lives. Let's make sure we are working at least as hard on that as we are with everything else. Because it's the inside that counts.
Paul's words again:
"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."
Then I started working out two nights ago.
Right now my entire body is sore and feels a little bit like jello. Now if you looked at me, you wouldn't think I was in bad shape. I'm thin without looking like a skeleton and I still eat pretty much whatever I want. Even my blood pressure is much lower than most people.
But inside I know that I am in nowhere near good enough shape to do that Spartan Race. This has been proven over the last two nights as I struggle through a basic body-weight exercise program to get myself ready for it. If the race were tomorrow, I would probably have to give up within the first two miles.
If you didn't click on the link, the Spartan Beast is a 12+ mile race with 25+ obstacles including rope climbing, wall climbing, and carrying buckets of rocks (or something similarly ridiculous). In short, I am not prepared, at all, for the kind of things I will be asked to do in this race.
But that's not until December.
I see the goal, I know what is coming, and I have a plan to be ready for it. You see while I look relatively fit on the outside, inside I am not. Furthermore, if I do not prepare myself for what is coming, I will be destroyed by the event when I get there. That does not make the event evil or bad, it would just make me someone who did not prepare for it.
Paul says in I Timothy 4:8, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."
So many times we focus on making ourselves appear and feel good on the outside of our spiritual life. We say the right words, don't do the worst things, and try to sing the right notes. We may even speak up in class occasionally. Those are all good things, but they are also all surface level things.
The question is are you spiritually fit on the inside?
Do you work out spiritually? It is a little bit trickier than working out physically. Physically we can feel weight and pressure and exertion. We can look at the muscles on our arms and stomachs, and feel stronger when we pick up heavy things. But spiritual strength is different. Not only is it different, but it is far, far more important than physical strength as well.
So how do you spiritually work out? We have prayer, Bible reading, thinking about spiritual topics, helping others, visiting the sick and in jail, being kind, practicing patience and goodness and self-control, and many other things. Doing these things strengthens us spiritually. It works out our souls and minds and allows us to take on bigger challenges over time. But where do you start?
When someone first starts working out they don't go straight to trying to lift 200 lb weights. They also don't start their running regimen at 10 miles. They start small. They start with what they are capable of, and push themselves to go a little bit further each time. It is not an instant process, but in the end that person can run 10 miles or lift those 200 lbs.
If they continue to work at it.
Working out spiritually is much the same. Start with 2-3 small prayers and reading a few Bible verses each day. As you get more comfortable and more in the groove of it make those prayers and readings longer. Work on helping others and having a mindset that is focused on goodness and kindness and self-control. Begin sending cards or visiting someone who is sick or needs help.
Start small, then push yourself to go just a little further each time. With God's help, you'll be doing 10-mile spiritual runs while carrying 200 lb spiritual weights sooner than you think. But you have to stick with it, and you have to be willing to push yourself just a little further each time.
Our spiritual lives are far more important than our physical lives. Let's make sure we are working at least as hard on that as we are with everything else. Because it's the inside that counts.
Paul's words again:
"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Modern Idols
"Idol." Does anyone really know what this is anymore? We see the word all the time in things like "American Idol," and many Japanese pop stars are called "idols." But do we really know what that word means? Dictionary.com lists it as, "an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed."
We don't have a lot of experience with that kind of idol today. Most of us will never go to India, where there are 330 million gods (along with countless idols everywhere from on street corners to car dashes), and most of us will never physically bow down to a statue, rock, or tree to worship it.
But for Christians, that is not where the definition ends. It cannot end at a physical object that is physically worshiped because God calls us to an internal devotion to Him as well. It is not, nor has it ever been enough to worship Him physically and have a heart that is not His. Even in the Old Testament, where so much emphasis is on ritual and doing things correctly, Israel landed themselves in serious trouble because their hearts weren't in it. It was just a physical thing.
Christianity is no different.
It is not enough for us to sit in church. It is not enough for us to give. It is not enough for us to pray or read or be nice. In fact, nothing we could ever do will ever be enough to gain the promises of God. God wants our hearts. The question is...do we really give it?
Because if we really give our hearts over to Him, our lives will change. If we really give our hearts over to Him, not only will we give and pray and read and sit in church but we will do it because we want to and it will be more important than anything else.
Anything.
I recently came to a realization that I had an idol in my life. It was video games. I love games. All kinds. I played a lot of games. I kept up on the latest news, I thought about them when I wasn't playing them, and I searched for any deals on them I could find. My personal, private actions showed that video games were more important to me than God. Video games were my idol.
I did not like that answer. For a long time I justified it. "It's on my own time...it's not affecting anybody...I still do my job well and spend time with my family." I thought of every reason to not consider what I was considering. I looked for any way that I could say to myself "this is not an idol."
But it was.
So I made a choice. Last night I took all of my games and put them in a box in the back of a room. For at least one month I will not play any games or read about them. The only exceptions to that rule are 1) I am with the youth group or at a friend's house and they want to play and 2) my little boy is playing and wants some help with something. I will spend none of my personal time entrenched in it. It may sound silly to some, but when it has been your main source of personal entertainment for over 10 years it is difficult to break away from.
The reason I chose at least one month was so that I could break out of the fever I was in and realign myself better with God. At the end of the month I will reassess, and if necessary, continue the self ban on them.
Everyone's idol will be different. For some it is work, for some it is school, for some it is sports and for some it is shopping. Still others may have an idol that does not fall into any of these categories.
It is not OK to have an idol in your life.
Extreme measures may need to be taken. Take them. Align yourself with God and with what He wants from your life. If there is something, anything that takes away from that, it is time for a change.
I've only just started, but I will not be stopping there. Join me in creating a life without idols. A life devoted to the One True God.
We don't have a lot of experience with that kind of idol today. Most of us will never go to India, where there are 330 million gods (along with countless idols everywhere from on street corners to car dashes), and most of us will never physically bow down to a statue, rock, or tree to worship it.
But for Christians, that is not where the definition ends. It cannot end at a physical object that is physically worshiped because God calls us to an internal devotion to Him as well. It is not, nor has it ever been enough to worship Him physically and have a heart that is not His. Even in the Old Testament, where so much emphasis is on ritual and doing things correctly, Israel landed themselves in serious trouble because their hearts weren't in it. It was just a physical thing.
Christianity is no different.
It is not enough for us to sit in church. It is not enough for us to give. It is not enough for us to pray or read or be nice. In fact, nothing we could ever do will ever be enough to gain the promises of God. God wants our hearts. The question is...do we really give it?
Because if we really give our hearts over to Him, our lives will change. If we really give our hearts over to Him, not only will we give and pray and read and sit in church but we will do it because we want to and it will be more important than anything else.
Anything.
I recently came to a realization that I had an idol in my life. It was video games. I love games. All kinds. I played a lot of games. I kept up on the latest news, I thought about them when I wasn't playing them, and I searched for any deals on them I could find. My personal, private actions showed that video games were more important to me than God. Video games were my idol.
I did not like that answer. For a long time I justified it. "It's on my own time...it's not affecting anybody...I still do my job well and spend time with my family." I thought of every reason to not consider what I was considering. I looked for any way that I could say to myself "this is not an idol."
But it was.
So I made a choice. Last night I took all of my games and put them in a box in the back of a room. For at least one month I will not play any games or read about them. The only exceptions to that rule are 1) I am with the youth group or at a friend's house and they want to play and 2) my little boy is playing and wants some help with something. I will spend none of my personal time entrenched in it. It may sound silly to some, but when it has been your main source of personal entertainment for over 10 years it is difficult to break away from.
The reason I chose at least one month was so that I could break out of the fever I was in and realign myself better with God. At the end of the month I will reassess, and if necessary, continue the self ban on them.
Everyone's idol will be different. For some it is work, for some it is school, for some it is sports and for some it is shopping. Still others may have an idol that does not fall into any of these categories.
It is not OK to have an idol in your life.
Extreme measures may need to be taken. Take them. Align yourself with God and with what He wants from your life. If there is something, anything that takes away from that, it is time for a change.
I've only just started, but I will not be stopping there. Join me in creating a life without idols. A life devoted to the One True God.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Free Stuff
"I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing."
It was only recently that this verse came into my mind. I don't know if I read it somewhere, or if it just popped in. It's one of those weird things that just showed up floating around in my head.
And I cannot get it out.
You see, I have recognized a problem with the gifts I have been giving to God.
I have been giving Him free stuff.
Sometimes I wonder why I don't feel particularly good about my faith. I sit and wonder why I don't always seem to be growing and I question why things don't seem to be moving very well at times. I am convinced it is because I insist on giving God that which costs me nothing.
And that is not good enough.
King David realized this. He said so in that quote above. Here's the backstory:
David had done a census of the people, which God did not want him to do. It was a decision made out of a lack of faith. So God told him he could pick one of three things - a famine, being chased by his enemies, or a 3-day plague. David chose the plague, saying that unlike evil men, God is merciful.
So the plague came and went, and David went to make a sacrifice where he was told to do so. When he got there, the man who owned the place told him to take whatever he wanted. Everything he needed was being given to him by this man.
"I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God that which costs me nothing." (2 Samuel 24)
How often do our "gifts" to God come out of our convenience? And do they really count as gifts? If we only give that which is easy for us to give, that which costs us nothing, what does that say about how we view God and His great gifts to us?
Let's get more specific with some examples of people I have known over the years. I know a couple who have health problems. It is a struggle for them to be at the Sunday morning service. They often sleep through most of it and rarely go to any "extracurricular" activities. But they sacrifice to attend anything they can. It costs them a great deal of struggle just to be in the building on those Sunday mornings. A worthy sacrifice.
I know of another family who are healthy, happy, and generally helpful. However they tend to only attend services when it is convenient. Instead, if they are tired, or have sports or chores or anything else going on during that time, they almost invariably choose whatever it is that is not church. They give gifts of convenience.
Lest you think I am leaving myself out of this equation, I will tell you right now that I do both. There are many days where I have thought, "I've been doing ministry all day, I can take a break at night." However, my job is as a minister. Doing ministry during the day costs me nothing. In fact, I get paid to do it. My daytime ministry is no gift to God, but God's gift to me. It is those times when I give to God that which costs me my outside time and outside effort that is a gift to God. Not gifts of convenience, not that which costs me nothing, but a true, sacrificial effort.
So which do you do? Which will you do?
Be honest with yourself. I have found this to be one of the most difficult things to be honest with myself about. It is so much easier to say "look at this example, I've sacrificed before," and leave it at that. But what is the norm? What do you do the most? And can you become better? (hint: the answer is yes) :-)
When everything ends, when this world burns away, and when you meet Christ on the Judgement Day, what will matter? That you got that promotion by being a workaholic? That you made that special team in baseball? If you spent all your time in school so that you could make it into a certain college?
Or will it matter that you were fully God's? That you were totally and utterly sold out to Him. That you sacrificed whatever was needed at any given time in order to do His will.
I know what I want to matter to me the most, and it's a struggle. I will be working and moving to do whatever I can to improve my relationship with Him.
What will you do?
It was only recently that this verse came into my mind. I don't know if I read it somewhere, or if it just popped in. It's one of those weird things that just showed up floating around in my head.
And I cannot get it out.
You see, I have recognized a problem with the gifts I have been giving to God.
I have been giving Him free stuff.
Sometimes I wonder why I don't feel particularly good about my faith. I sit and wonder why I don't always seem to be growing and I question why things don't seem to be moving very well at times. I am convinced it is because I insist on giving God that which costs me nothing.
And that is not good enough.
King David realized this. He said so in that quote above. Here's the backstory:
David had done a census of the people, which God did not want him to do. It was a decision made out of a lack of faith. So God told him he could pick one of three things - a famine, being chased by his enemies, or a 3-day plague. David chose the plague, saying that unlike evil men, God is merciful.
So the plague came and went, and David went to make a sacrifice where he was told to do so. When he got there, the man who owned the place told him to take whatever he wanted. Everything he needed was being given to him by this man.
"I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God that which costs me nothing." (2 Samuel 24)
How often do our "gifts" to God come out of our convenience? And do they really count as gifts? If we only give that which is easy for us to give, that which costs us nothing, what does that say about how we view God and His great gifts to us?
Let's get more specific with some examples of people I have known over the years. I know a couple who have health problems. It is a struggle for them to be at the Sunday morning service. They often sleep through most of it and rarely go to any "extracurricular" activities. But they sacrifice to attend anything they can. It costs them a great deal of struggle just to be in the building on those Sunday mornings. A worthy sacrifice.
I know of another family who are healthy, happy, and generally helpful. However they tend to only attend services when it is convenient. Instead, if they are tired, or have sports or chores or anything else going on during that time, they almost invariably choose whatever it is that is not church. They give gifts of convenience.
Lest you think I am leaving myself out of this equation, I will tell you right now that I do both. There are many days where I have thought, "I've been doing ministry all day, I can take a break at night." However, my job is as a minister. Doing ministry during the day costs me nothing. In fact, I get paid to do it. My daytime ministry is no gift to God, but God's gift to me. It is those times when I give to God that which costs me my outside time and outside effort that is a gift to God. Not gifts of convenience, not that which costs me nothing, but a true, sacrificial effort.
So which do you do? Which will you do?
Be honest with yourself. I have found this to be one of the most difficult things to be honest with myself about. It is so much easier to say "look at this example, I've sacrificed before," and leave it at that. But what is the norm? What do you do the most? And can you become better? (hint: the answer is yes) :-)
When everything ends, when this world burns away, and when you meet Christ on the Judgement Day, what will matter? That you got that promotion by being a workaholic? That you made that special team in baseball? If you spent all your time in school so that you could make it into a certain college?
Or will it matter that you were fully God's? That you were totally and utterly sold out to Him. That you sacrificed whatever was needed at any given time in order to do His will.
I know what I want to matter to me the most, and it's a struggle. I will be working and moving to do whatever I can to improve my relationship with Him.
What will you do?
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