Several years ago I bought a black t-shirt with two simple words written in white across the front of the shirt. The two words said……”be God’s”. I purchased the shirt for different reasons, but mostly because it looked cool. And, it would make people take a second look at what it said. Over the years I haven’t thought too much about the shirt. I still will get it out and wear it from time to time. But, recently (as in yesterday) this simple phrase has resurfaced in my mind; not because it is cool, but because it tells us all something we need to remember and know.
I was reading in Ephesians the other day and I came across this passage in 2:8-10. As I read Ephesians 2:8-10, I saw a short phrase that defined the entire passage for me. That phrase is “For we are God’s”. This passage means that we have always been His. He has had a plan for us from the very beginning of time. His plan was to first, save us; and to save us by His grace …His Son …His sacrifice …His plan. This would have nothing to do with our abilities or skills, because if it had, we would brag about it. Pride would cause us to make something of ourselves, and not who God created us to be; His. This grace, this love that Christ has for us, was given freely; it is a gift. What allows us to receive this free gift is our faith; our faith that Christ has shown His grace to save us because we are God’s. We belong to Him and have always belonged to Him.
God has placed great value on us by saying that we are His workmanship, handiwork; masterpiece. He has created us to pattern the life of His Son. He has been preparing for us to do for others what His Son also did; to show grace, love, and mercy to everyone we meet and to tell them about our God who loves us so much. What better to know than the realization that God has always considered us valuable to Him; so valuable that He bought us with the sacrifice of His Son? He has prepared us by giving us the examples set by His Son to help us live for Him. And, we can do all that He has planned for us to do, “for we are God’s”.
So, as we walk out of the comforts of feeling safe and secure inside the church walls, and venture into the world that God has prepared us for; remember, that in all of our circumstances, whether good or bad, God is in control. He values us. He has plans for us. We are His own; sons and daughters. I believe that it is time we acted like His children. All we need to do is....
……be God’s.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
wash her feet
Are you familiar with the account in the scriptures where Jesus begins washing the feet of the disciples? Peter is appalled that Jesus would stoop to such a lowly position and he refuses to allow Jesus to wash his feet, until Jesus explains to him that unless he lets Jesus wash his feet, then he can have no part in following Jesus.
I've heard a lot of messages over the years on this event in the life of Jesus and his disciples. But, I would have to say that the one speaker that brought this into reality for me was Rev. Larry Jackson. You may not know that name, and neither did I until he spoke at a Promise Keeper's event in Knoxville, TN several years ago. What I learned that afternoon, along with 40,000 other men was, that to wash someone's feet.....you needed a servant heart much like the heat of Jesus. And as a husband, that servant heart would cause you to out serve your wife. Rev. Jackson challenged every man in attendance to ask God for His servant heart; to return home as a new man, and to out serve his wife. The first step would be to wash her feet.
I had made the trip to TN with several men from church, and we had a good time going and coming back from there, but you could sense that each one of us was anxious about what was going to happen when we got home. We had been instructed by Rev. Jackson not to tell our wives what we were doing. But, to sit her in a nice chair...... get a bowl of water and a towel.... then return and wash her feet. Only after washing her feet could we explain what we had done, and why.
The closer I got to the house, the more anxious I became. Could I do this? Would Karen understand? Will this really make me the man I need to be in her life and in the life of my kids? I had it all planned out. I walked her toward the living room to sit her in a nice chair, but she stopped me. She told me that she had listened to the entire event on the radio while I was away. Then she told me the most humbling thing that I have ever heard.
I didn't need to wash her feet............again.
I've heard a lot of messages over the years on this event in the life of Jesus and his disciples. But, I would have to say that the one speaker that brought this into reality for me was Rev. Larry Jackson. You may not know that name, and neither did I until he spoke at a Promise Keeper's event in Knoxville, TN several years ago. What I learned that afternoon, along with 40,000 other men was, that to wash someone's feet.....you needed a servant heart much like the heat of Jesus. And as a husband, that servant heart would cause you to out serve your wife. Rev. Jackson challenged every man in attendance to ask God for His servant heart; to return home as a new man, and to out serve his wife. The first step would be to wash her feet.
I had made the trip to TN with several men from church, and we had a good time going and coming back from there, but you could sense that each one of us was anxious about what was going to happen when we got home. We had been instructed by Rev. Jackson not to tell our wives what we were doing. But, to sit her in a nice chair...... get a bowl of water and a towel.... then return and wash her feet. Only after washing her feet could we explain what we had done, and why.
The closer I got to the house, the more anxious I became. Could I do this? Would Karen understand? Will this really make me the man I need to be in her life and in the life of my kids? I had it all planned out. I walked her toward the living room to sit her in a nice chair, but she stopped me. She told me that she had listened to the entire event on the radio while I was away. Then she told me the most humbling thing that I have ever heard.
I didn't need to wash her feet............again.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
"connect the dots"
Do you remember "connect the dots"? I use to love playing that game in puzzle books. You would look at all these dots on the page and just know that if you connect them all in the right order, you have a finished picture. But, not until they are all connected.
I believe that in our churches we are challenged to connect the dots when we serve in a ministry. We look at what we feel God is leading us to do, but we can't fully make out what will be the end result. We ask ourselves over and over if what we decide to do will make any difference in any one's life. Then, we begin the journey. We usually start with some simple pictures that aren't too hard to figure out, and once we get comfortable with those, we step up to the more challenging "connect the dot" pictures. These take a little more time to finish....with a little more concentration.
We have all been called into a ministry of service for the Lord, and we are all at different levels of competence when it comes to connecting the dots. The more we try to follow the example of Jesus and His ministry of serving, the more the ministry requires of us. We are asked to turn the page to the hard picture puzzles; to step out of our comfort zones and step into a ministry that requires a servant-heart ability to connect the dots. When we do this we will see that we are being challenged to step outside the ordinary and seek to do the extra-ordinary that will require much of us.
Those dots will take us to the hurting, the lost, and the dying with a servant-heart filled with compassion and love to feed the hungry, care for the sick, and love the overlooked. We will begin to see a completed picture of what the church is suppose to be; a reflection of Christ.
I believe that in our churches we are challenged to connect the dots when we serve in a ministry. We look at what we feel God is leading us to do, but we can't fully make out what will be the end result. We ask ourselves over and over if what we decide to do will make any difference in any one's life. Then, we begin the journey. We usually start with some simple pictures that aren't too hard to figure out, and once we get comfortable with those, we step up to the more challenging "connect the dot" pictures. These take a little more time to finish....with a little more concentration.
We have all been called into a ministry of service for the Lord, and we are all at different levels of competence when it comes to connecting the dots. The more we try to follow the example of Jesus and His ministry of serving, the more the ministry requires of us. We are asked to turn the page to the hard picture puzzles; to step out of our comfort zones and step into a ministry that requires a servant-heart ability to connect the dots. When we do this we will see that we are being challenged to step outside the ordinary and seek to do the extra-ordinary that will require much of us.
Those dots will take us to the hurting, the lost, and the dying with a servant-heart filled with compassion and love to feed the hungry, care for the sick, and love the overlooked. We will begin to see a completed picture of what the church is suppose to be; a reflection of Christ.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
in the garden
I was doing one of my class assignments last week. We had been asked to select a song from a song list and answer questions about different things written within the song. I already was picking out a certain song that I was wanting to use, but when I clicked on the song list that was provided........they were all hymns. I won't use the word "old" because I don't like to hear that word so much myself. There were seven hymns to choose from. They were "Holy, holy, holy"; "When I Survey"; "Be Thou My Vision"; "Whiter Than Snow"; "Throw Out The Lifeline"; "Bringing In The Sheaves"; "In The Garden". Not your CCLI Top 25, but that last one.... "In The Garden" has always had a special place in my heart.
Every time that I hear it sung, I can't help but think of my mother-in-law. She loved this song. If there was a Sunday night with a "Hymn sing", she would always request it. Why? I was never really sure, but I think her mother loved the song as well. If I had to guess, I'd say that maybe the imagery of spending time in the garden with Jesus is a lot like spending time in the garden with a dear friend. You would talk, laugh, share stories and remember whens. It may be hard for some people to understand how special that time in the garden really is.
Both of my grandfathers had gardens, and they worked in them all the time. Growing up, I looked forward to be out in the garden with them. (It was a good excuse for coming home covered in dirt) Those days of planting corn, peas, okra..... My favorite was planting potatoes. I mean, you had to get down on your hands and knees to do this. Papaw would drop the sliced up potato in the row, and my job was to make sure that was turned the right way. Not sure if it really mattered to the potato, but I got to get down on my hands and knees and just crawl along and cover the sliced potato with the dirt. Good stuff. We'd get through and sit under a shade tree and drink a Coke. He'd give me 25 cents, help brush most of the dirt off of my jeans, and I'd head home.....a farmer. I learned a lot from my Papaw in the garden. Hard work doesn't kill ya'. The job isn't done until you finish.
Sometimes the work in the garden took quite a while, and as I got older I didn't look forward to it as much. It wasn't smething that I wanted to do. Now, I hear this song.....
"And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known"
Looking back...I wish I had "tarried" a little longer in my time with my Papaw. When it comes to our time with Jesus........in our garden........ how long have we tarried there?
Every time that I hear it sung, I can't help but think of my mother-in-law. She loved this song. If there was a Sunday night with a "Hymn sing", she would always request it. Why? I was never really sure, but I think her mother loved the song as well. If I had to guess, I'd say that maybe the imagery of spending time in the garden with Jesus is a lot like spending time in the garden with a dear friend. You would talk, laugh, share stories and remember whens. It may be hard for some people to understand how special that time in the garden really is.
Both of my grandfathers had gardens, and they worked in them all the time. Growing up, I looked forward to be out in the garden with them. (It was a good excuse for coming home covered in dirt) Those days of planting corn, peas, okra..... My favorite was planting potatoes. I mean, you had to get down on your hands and knees to do this. Papaw would drop the sliced up potato in the row, and my job was to make sure that was turned the right way. Not sure if it really mattered to the potato, but I got to get down on my hands and knees and just crawl along and cover the sliced potato with the dirt. Good stuff. We'd get through and sit under a shade tree and drink a Coke. He'd give me 25 cents, help brush most of the dirt off of my jeans, and I'd head home.....a farmer. I learned a lot from my Papaw in the garden. Hard work doesn't kill ya'. The job isn't done until you finish.
Sometimes the work in the garden took quite a while, and as I got older I didn't look forward to it as much. It wasn't smething that I wanted to do. Now, I hear this song.....
"And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known"
Looking back...I wish I had "tarried" a little longer in my time with my Papaw. When it comes to our time with Jesus........in our garden........ how long have we tarried there?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
soaked
Last week I went to Niagara Falls with Karen. We went to the Canadian side. Okay, there were 22 other people with us on this trip. But still.....to me, it was a trip to Niagara Falls with Karen.
I had heard people talk about going to Niagara Falls, and I had seen countless pictures, but I was overwhelmed by the shear power of seeing the Falls and listening to the majestic roar. This was incredible! Karen and I would just stand there and look at the Falls. Of course, we took pictures and videotaped the whole thing, but just to stand there and look and listen...we never tired of doing that. We spent a lot of time at the Falls. We went down an elevator and walked out on a platform at the base of the Falls. The sound was deafening and exciting. We even went down through some tunnels to get in behind the falls. You could get within feet of the rushing wall of water. As crazy as it may sound, we got on a boat (The Maid of the Mist) and rode it right up to the Falls. You couldn't hear the sound of the boat's engines.....just the roar of the Falls. The force of the water crashing down from about 200 feet made for a very bumpy ride. And yes, we were soaked. This was an amazing adventure. Would I go back? Oh, yes.
I happened to be thinking about that trip this evening and I was remembering how awestruck I was at the sight and sound of the Falls, and I couldn't help but wonder if I would react the same way in God's presence. Would I make an extra effort to get even closer to Him? Would I find a way to try and reach out to feel Him? Would the force and power of His majesty keep me back, or would I surge through the turbulent waters to get as close as I could, to be soaked by His love for me?
Everyday, we are given another opportunity to draw closer to God; another chance to reach out and take hold of His hand as He guides us through life; another chance to know His love when everything is crashing down around us. Do we just look at pictures, or listen to others talk about God? Or, do we make the effort to get to where we can feel His majesty and be soaked by His love for us?
I had heard people talk about going to Niagara Falls, and I had seen countless pictures, but I was overwhelmed by the shear power of seeing the Falls and listening to the majestic roar. This was incredible! Karen and I would just stand there and look at the Falls. Of course, we took pictures and videotaped the whole thing, but just to stand there and look and listen...we never tired of doing that. We spent a lot of time at the Falls. We went down an elevator and walked out on a platform at the base of the Falls. The sound was deafening and exciting. We even went down through some tunnels to get in behind the falls. You could get within feet of the rushing wall of water. As crazy as it may sound, we got on a boat (The Maid of the Mist) and rode it right up to the Falls. You couldn't hear the sound of the boat's engines.....just the roar of the Falls. The force of the water crashing down from about 200 feet made for a very bumpy ride. And yes, we were soaked. This was an amazing adventure. Would I go back? Oh, yes.
I happened to be thinking about that trip this evening and I was remembering how awestruck I was at the sight and sound of the Falls, and I couldn't help but wonder if I would react the same way in God's presence. Would I make an extra effort to get even closer to Him? Would I find a way to try and reach out to feel Him? Would the force and power of His majesty keep me back, or would I surge through the turbulent waters to get as close as I could, to be soaked by His love for me?
Everyday, we are given another opportunity to draw closer to God; another chance to reach out and take hold of His hand as He guides us through life; another chance to know His love when everything is crashing down around us. Do we just look at pictures, or listen to others talk about God? Or, do we make the effort to get to where we can feel His majesty and be soaked by His love for us?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
acceptable worship
I was in a conversation the other day that was centered around worship; go figure. Anyway, the discussion headed more toward what we thought was the most important element to worship. What makes our worship acceptable to God? Do we need the right songs for worship? the cleanest sound? the newest technology? a deeper understanding of what worship really is? dedicated musicians and singers? coffee? diet Dew?
I just finished reading a book by Louie Giglio, "The Air I Breathe", for a second time. And, in this book he writes that there is one thing that we need to make our worship acceptable; just this one thing, this one element that defines worship. It turns out that it could be simple to grasp, but very difficult to apply. It's not pretty, yet it's necessary. Without it, there is no worship. Without it, there is no audience with God. Without it, we can't even approach God. Without it, He doesn't know us. We can't play it, or sing it.
We can embrace it; bow down in it's shadow; remember the love shown there; the sacrifice that was made so that our worship would be acceptable to God. Without the cross, there is no worship. Without the cross, there is no audience with God. Of all the things that we think that we need to do, or have to have to be able to worship God; the one and only thing that makes our worship acceptable to Him............He already provided. Have we missed it? Did we cover it up with everything else that we think that we need? Did we misplace it? Or, did we just forget about it today........yesterday........last week? When was the last time that we thought about the Cross of Christ? Was it while we were worshiping?
Should've been.
It's all we need.
I just finished reading a book by Louie Giglio, "The Air I Breathe", for a second time. And, in this book he writes that there is one thing that we need to make our worship acceptable; just this one thing, this one element that defines worship. It turns out that it could be simple to grasp, but very difficult to apply. It's not pretty, yet it's necessary. Without it, there is no worship. Without it, there is no audience with God. Without it, we can't even approach God. Without it, He doesn't know us. We can't play it, or sing it.
We can embrace it; bow down in it's shadow; remember the love shown there; the sacrifice that was made so that our worship would be acceptable to God. Without the cross, there is no worship. Without the cross, there is no audience with God. Of all the things that we think that we need to do, or have to have to be able to worship God; the one and only thing that makes our worship acceptable to Him............He already provided. Have we missed it? Did we cover it up with everything else that we think that we need? Did we misplace it? Or, did we just forget about it today........yesterday........last week? When was the last time that we thought about the Cross of Christ? Was it while we were worshiping?
Should've been.
It's all we need.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
"just" worship
“I just want to worship…..that’s all”
I heard that in a conversation recently. At first I thought, this person must really want to spend time in worship. But, when I wrote these words on paper......this type of worship seems so limited. How is it possible to be called a follower of Christ and "just" do anything? When I hear someone say that they "just" want to do this, or that; what I hear is that they don't want to do anything else. Is their life so busy that they can't experience the fullness of what God has to offer? He is not limited to "just" one area of our lives. He is all encompassing. He is in every part of our lives. When a person says that they only want to do "just"; they limit their relationship with God and they limit their involvement in church. There is so much to knowing who God is, and there is so much to discovering what He wants to accomplish in our lives, that the word.."just"..doesn't fit.
In Luke, Chapter 10, we read about Jesus visiting with Martha and Mary, and how Martha was rushing around the house doing this and that while Mary was at the feet of Jesus. Martha complained about Mary's choice, but Jesus said that Mary had made the right choice, and it wouldn't be taken away from her. Mary did make the "right" choice, but she didn't "just" sit at Jesus' feet. She listened to Jesus speak, and He had her undivided attention. She would have done anything He asked of her. I believe that when a person only wants to do "just" what they want to do, then their attention is divided among a lot of other things that make them more like Martha. I'm afraid that they may "just" miss out.
If we "just" want to worship, then we will miss out on all that God has planned for us. Worship is all about knowing who God is and what He has done, but knowing who God is and what He has done in our lives is not limited to "just" worship.
Worship is the start.
I heard that in a conversation recently. At first I thought, this person must really want to spend time in worship. But, when I wrote these words on paper......this type of worship seems so limited. How is it possible to be called a follower of Christ and "just" do anything? When I hear someone say that they "just" want to do this, or that; what I hear is that they don't want to do anything else. Is their life so busy that they can't experience the fullness of what God has to offer? He is not limited to "just" one area of our lives. He is all encompassing. He is in every part of our lives. When a person says that they only want to do "just"; they limit their relationship with God and they limit their involvement in church. There is so much to knowing who God is, and there is so much to discovering what He wants to accomplish in our lives, that the word.."just"..doesn't fit.
In Luke, Chapter 10, we read about Jesus visiting with Martha and Mary, and how Martha was rushing around the house doing this and that while Mary was at the feet of Jesus. Martha complained about Mary's choice, but Jesus said that Mary had made the right choice, and it wouldn't be taken away from her. Mary did make the "right" choice, but she didn't "just" sit at Jesus' feet. She listened to Jesus speak, and He had her undivided attention. She would have done anything He asked of her. I believe that when a person only wants to do "just" what they want to do, then their attention is divided among a lot of other things that make them more like Martha. I'm afraid that they may "just" miss out.
If we "just" want to worship, then we will miss out on all that God has planned for us. Worship is all about knowing who God is and what He has done, but knowing who God is and what He has done in our lives is not limited to "just" worship.
Worship is the start.
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