WOW It has been a while! It has been just over a month since I last posted.
A lot has happened since then. Life certainly takes you for twists and turns that you don't expect. Its not like it was one thing, rather a conglomeration of garbage that just kept piling up.
Last month Elissa was starting her transition to working with me full time and quitting her job. Her scheduled end date was right around Thanksgiving which was also the busy time of the month for my job. This coupled with Elissa's vehicle that broke down 2 hours from home at 4pm the night before Thanksgiving and the fact that we need two vehicles for work compounded the issues. A week later my car had to get fixed and we weren't planning on that. A few weeks later we ended up having to put winter tires on my car because my others were bald. Around 2 weeks ago we had a dog get sick, and had to send her to the vet to eventually put her down. Put that on top of sickness and various other Christmas activities, and it certainly would seem like the entire world is against you.
All in all, I think we spent around $4000 in unexpected expenses last month, so that bit into the savings and bummed us out quite a bit. Nothing seemed to go right at all. We just couldn't get ahead.
Last night as I was driving back from Michigan from a friends wedding, I had a dawning of realization. "Its not about you."
While the issues did focus around me, for some reason God had a plan and a purpose. The verse that kept coming to my mind was Isaiah 55:8 where it says, ""For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD."
How many times do we think that Gods way should be our way. We complain that God isn't working everything out for our good.
The fact is that God doesn't have to stoop to our whims. It is that simple. Life isn't about us. Its about Him.
I don't know why Elissa and I had such a financially and emotionally draining month, but I know that for some reason it is for God's glory.
Living the radical life is about waiting on God and allowing him to work and orchestrate life, and realizing that even the bad things happen for a purpose. Only when we embrace that thought can we truly live a Radical Life.
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Thought of the Day: How often do we take the Lord's name in vain?
This may seem like a silly question but I do not think it is.
Every day, if we are Christians, we are bombarded with worldly people and media who always seem to be taking the Lord's name in vain. I can't think of a sin that hurts me more. But as I said in a previous post, we can't expect the world to conform to Godly principles so we are left with the choice to either put up with it or not expose ourselves to it. Either option is a good option depending on the situation.
Think about this though. How often to YOU take the Lord's name in vain?
Using the Lord's name in vain is not just saying "Oh _____!" when something goes wrong or you get excited. That IS taking the Lords name in vain but you already knew that. Taking the Lords name in vain also means simply being irreverent or not placing the proper regard when saying that name.
I'm not sure about you, but I find that rather heavy. The ramifications of this mean that when we aren't consciously referring to the Lord we should not be saying His name. What do I mean by this?
Take the example of singing. Granted this may not be that most theologically sound but I can almost imagine God sitting in heaven listening to the millions of believers worshiping Him. He's hearing His name called over and over again describing how great He is. As He is intently listening, He hears me saying His name. He acknowledges me addressing him but I'm busy thinking about lunch.
How often do we stand in church singing, when our mind runs amuck and we are all of a sudden thinking about lunch. This song talks about God and mentions Him a few times. The issue is that we did not address Him with the reverence that He deserves. We seemed to think that the ham in the oven was more important than directly addressing God.
The same example can be seen from an earthly standpoint. If a child mindlessly calls out their fathers name but doesn't really want them how does that make him feel? We serve a God who is so much more deserving than our earthly parents.
We cannot just pointlessly utter the name of God. We must be aware every time we say it. We must recognize who we are addressing. Understanding the majesty and the wonder of who God really is, is a priority to living the Radical Life.
Every day, if we are Christians, we are bombarded with worldly people and media who always seem to be taking the Lord's name in vain. I can't think of a sin that hurts me more. But as I said in a previous post, we can't expect the world to conform to Godly principles so we are left with the choice to either put up with it or not expose ourselves to it. Either option is a good option depending on the situation.
Think about this though. How often to YOU take the Lord's name in vain?
Using the Lord's name in vain is not just saying "Oh _____!" when something goes wrong or you get excited. That IS taking the Lords name in vain but you already knew that. Taking the Lords name in vain also means simply being irreverent or not placing the proper regard when saying that name.
I'm not sure about you, but I find that rather heavy. The ramifications of this mean that when we aren't consciously referring to the Lord we should not be saying His name. What do I mean by this?
Take the example of singing. Granted this may not be that most theologically sound but I can almost imagine God sitting in heaven listening to the millions of believers worshiping Him. He's hearing His name called over and over again describing how great He is. As He is intently listening, He hears me saying His name. He acknowledges me addressing him but I'm busy thinking about lunch.
How often do we stand in church singing, when our mind runs amuck and we are all of a sudden thinking about lunch. This song talks about God and mentions Him a few times. The issue is that we did not address Him with the reverence that He deserves. We seemed to think that the ham in the oven was more important than directly addressing God.
The same example can be seen from an earthly standpoint. If a child mindlessly calls out their fathers name but doesn't really want them how does that make him feel? We serve a God who is so much more deserving than our earthly parents.
We cannot just pointlessly utter the name of God. We must be aware every time we say it. We must recognize who we are addressing. Understanding the majesty and the wonder of who God really is, is a priority to living the Radical Life.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Urgent Update!
On Thursday Harold Camping (AKA the CEO of Family Radio and the Prophet of Doom) was rushed to the hospital with an illness. Doctors determined that he had a stroke in which his only lasting ailment would be trouble speaking.
Coincidence or a curse?
Some people have said this was justice delivered by God Himself. God smote the man with this ailment due to his sin. Numerous times in scripture we see where God enacted His holy justice against a person who was doing something contrary to the will of God. I have heard people today who were living Godless lives, that have had a physical ailment that drove them back into the Saviors arms.
Other people have said it was just old age combined with stress. These people may have a point. Being the Prophet of Doom is no easy task and it could be rather stressful if(when) you're wrong. It has been shown that stress can lead to strokes so this is certainly a plausible cause.
One view that I have not seen but would like to suggest is that perhaps God used the fact that Mr. Camping was old and was going to have a stroke to teach him a lesson. Sometimes we forget that despite man having free will, God orchestrates everything we see around us. While being a paradox in the extreme, it would show that this situation was not a coincidence, but rather a showing of what God had originally planned. God in his foreknowledge knew that Harold would attempt to speak for God Himself, so God enacted His justice.
Coincidence or a curse?
Some people have said this was justice delivered by God Himself. God smote the man with this ailment due to his sin. Numerous times in scripture we see where God enacted His holy justice against a person who was doing something contrary to the will of God. I have heard people today who were living Godless lives, that have had a physical ailment that drove them back into the Saviors arms.
Other people have said it was just old age combined with stress. These people may have a point. Being the Prophet of Doom is no easy task and it could be rather stressful if(when) you're wrong. It has been shown that stress can lead to strokes so this is certainly a plausible cause.
One view that I have not seen but would like to suggest is that perhaps God used the fact that Mr. Camping was old and was going to have a stroke to teach him a lesson. Sometimes we forget that despite man having free will, God orchestrates everything we see around us. While being a paradox in the extreme, it would show that this situation was not a coincidence, but rather a showing of what God had originally planned. God in his foreknowledge knew that Harold would attempt to speak for God Himself, so God enacted His justice.
I do not claim to know God's intention but based upon my study of Scripture and my feeble understanding of the way things work, I know that God somehow had a hand in this, as He does in all our lives. When we are late for work, there is a reason; when we forget to get milk at the grocery store, there is a reason. God has designed everything that happens in this world for His own honor and glory. We can never fully understand the ways of God. But as Francis Chan said in a recent message, maybe that's the point. If we could fit God into a box and we could fully understand Him, He would be no different than we are.
My God is so much bigger than that. My God is a God that can't be contained. He can't be persuaded by my craziness.
My God is Radical!
My God is so much bigger than that. My God is a God that can't be contained. He can't be persuaded by my craziness.
My God is Radical!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sanctification: Is just doing it enough?
Over the last few years I've been traveling a journey in my faith. This journey has modified my views on sanctification from what I had previously thought and what I had previously been taught.
Sanctification is first of all NOT salvation. Salvation is what Christ did for us through his death on the cross, if we accept him as savior. Sanctification is the process that we travel through after salvation, as our lives are transformed to become more and more like Christ. Sanctification can be summed up in two categories: works based sanctification and Holy Spirit Based Sanctification.
Works based sanctification is the idea that the things that we do or the things that we do not do will lead us closer to becoming more like Christ. These things can range from you have to tithe to be close to Christ, or you can't go to movies or you will be farther away Christ.
I was once told by a teacher that even if I didn't like something taught at the school, I should still make it a practice in order to glorify God, and eventually I would come to like it. While I agree with the intent of that statement, I believe that is also what causes so many issues in modern Christianity. In Churches all around our nation we have Christians who are posers. They put on a good act, and we tend to think they are sold out for Christ, but the reality is that they are still acting. We have lost the heart by approaching things from this perspective. People who are taught this perspective often end up thinking all they have are a list of rules and lose respect for the leaders and mentors who give them a list of things they cannot do.
I tend to lean toward the perspective of Holy Spirit based sanctification. Scripture gives us clear principles of how to live and it is up to the Holy Spirit's influence to transform our lives to become more and more like Christ. Before I lose some of you, this is in no way a permission slip to sin. In fact it is quite the contrary. This view is a call for Christians to be more diligent as there is no oversight by another person but rather Christ alone. This principle applies to things like how involved in culture we should be, what music to listen to, how liturgical we should make our services, whether we should raise our hands in worship, and so on.
In Acts we are taught that the only "things" gentile believers are required to do, is to abstain from idolatry and abstain from sexual sins. This is the only list in scripture we are given. Everything else we do must conform to the expectations of an holy God as we see in the lists that Paul specifically addresses to churches who were straying.
As believers attend church and read the Bible they will naturally learn more and more about living the Christian life. This is when the Holy Spirit convicts and leads the believer away from the act that is leading them farther from Christ, and back to Him.
It comes down to a heart attitude. Are you allowing the Spirit to lead you? If you are leading others, are you leading them or allowing the Holy Spirit to transform them. As Mark Hall said, maybe we need to let God change the heart, before changing the shirt.
Sanctification is first of all NOT salvation. Salvation is what Christ did for us through his death on the cross, if we accept him as savior. Sanctification is the process that we travel through after salvation, as our lives are transformed to become more and more like Christ. Sanctification can be summed up in two categories: works based sanctification and Holy Spirit Based Sanctification.
Works based sanctification is the idea that the things that we do or the things that we do not do will lead us closer to becoming more like Christ. These things can range from you have to tithe to be close to Christ, or you can't go to movies or you will be farther away Christ.
I was once told by a teacher that even if I didn't like something taught at the school, I should still make it a practice in order to glorify God, and eventually I would come to like it. While I agree with the intent of that statement, I believe that is also what causes so many issues in modern Christianity. In Churches all around our nation we have Christians who are posers. They put on a good act, and we tend to think they are sold out for Christ, but the reality is that they are still acting. We have lost the heart by approaching things from this perspective. People who are taught this perspective often end up thinking all they have are a list of rules and lose respect for the leaders and mentors who give them a list of things they cannot do.
I tend to lean toward the perspective of Holy Spirit based sanctification. Scripture gives us clear principles of how to live and it is up to the Holy Spirit's influence to transform our lives to become more and more like Christ. Before I lose some of you, this is in no way a permission slip to sin. In fact it is quite the contrary. This view is a call for Christians to be more diligent as there is no oversight by another person but rather Christ alone. This principle applies to things like how involved in culture we should be, what music to listen to, how liturgical we should make our services, whether we should raise our hands in worship, and so on.
In Acts we are taught that the only "things" gentile believers are required to do, is to abstain from idolatry and abstain from sexual sins. This is the only list in scripture we are given. Everything else we do must conform to the expectations of an holy God as we see in the lists that Paul specifically addresses to churches who were straying.
As believers attend church and read the Bible they will naturally learn more and more about living the Christian life. This is when the Holy Spirit convicts and leads the believer away from the act that is leading them farther from Christ, and back to Him.
It comes down to a heart attitude. Are you allowing the Spirit to lead you? If you are leading others, are you leading them or allowing the Holy Spirit to transform them. As Mark Hall said, maybe we need to let God change the heart, before changing the shirt.
Monday, May 16, 2011
May 21, 2011 Judgement Day
Folks, May 21, 2011 is Judgement Day. Just four days from now Jesus will judge the entire world and the apocalypse will begin.
At least that is what the crazies would have you believe. Allegedly, we have been living in the tribulation period for the last 23 years and Friday is the day it ends.
Harold Camping is the man behind this "revelation." Ironically this is not his first go around with end of the world prophecies. He originally predicted the apocalypse will begin in 1994. While the 90's were bad, it certainly wasn't the apocalypse. Mr. Camping had to go back to the drawing boards and come up with a new date.
As I said before that date is 4 days from now. I see the timer ticking away on one of the websites: 4 days - 10 hours - 11 minutes and 30 seconds until the world as we know it comes to an end.
The last time I knew, Matthew was still in the Bible, and will be until at least Friday. Its funny because it reads "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
Perhaps I am reading it wrong but by my best analysis and the analysis of many Godly commentators, this passage is referring to the second coming of Christ. Mr. Camping must have a serious "in" with God because only God and Mr Camping are in the know.
As we study scripture it is interesting to see the number of believers who thought Christ was coming back immediately after He ascended into heaven. Numerous rebukes were given to the Christians who were just chilling out waiting for the second coming.
We are told in scripture that while yes, Christ is returning, we do not know when, so we must be busy evangelizing the lost until then. That is our command directly from the Word of God, not some date that an old guy in an office chair came up with.
It is interesting how the Parable of the 10 Virgins is a beautiful picture of Christ collecting His bride. We must be prepared. We must be ready. We also must not be lazy like the women who didn't bring enough oil for their lamps.
Often we don't live like the second coming is a reality. We don't share the gospel with the lost or even live like we are saved. Shame on us. We are not living our our scriptural mandate.
Guys, we don't know when Christ will return. We haven't been given a date. Christ may not return for another 1000 years but until then live your faith, devote everything you do to Christ, and live a radical life!
PS: For those of you leaving us on the May 21, so long! Its been good and its been real. You can email me with your address and I will attend to the disposal of your earthly property.
At least that is what the crazies would have you believe. Allegedly, we have been living in the tribulation period for the last 23 years and Friday is the day it ends.
Harold Camping is the man behind this "revelation." Ironically this is not his first go around with end of the world prophecies. He originally predicted the apocalypse will begin in 1994. While the 90's were bad, it certainly wasn't the apocalypse. Mr. Camping had to go back to the drawing boards and come up with a new date.
As I said before that date is 4 days from now. I see the timer ticking away on one of the websites: 4 days - 10 hours - 11 minutes and 30 seconds until the world as we know it comes to an end.
The last time I knew, Matthew was still in the Bible, and will be until at least Friday. Its funny because it reads "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
Perhaps I am reading it wrong but by my best analysis and the analysis of many Godly commentators, this passage is referring to the second coming of Christ. Mr. Camping must have a serious "in" with God because only God and Mr Camping are in the know.
As we study scripture it is interesting to see the number of believers who thought Christ was coming back immediately after He ascended into heaven. Numerous rebukes were given to the Christians who were just chilling out waiting for the second coming.
We are told in scripture that while yes, Christ is returning, we do not know when, so we must be busy evangelizing the lost until then. That is our command directly from the Word of God, not some date that an old guy in an office chair came up with.
It is interesting how the Parable of the 10 Virgins is a beautiful picture of Christ collecting His bride. We must be prepared. We must be ready. We also must not be lazy like the women who didn't bring enough oil for their lamps.
Often we don't live like the second coming is a reality. We don't share the gospel with the lost or even live like we are saved. Shame on us. We are not living our our scriptural mandate.
Guys, we don't know when Christ will return. We haven't been given a date. Christ may not return for another 1000 years but until then live your faith, devote everything you do to Christ, and live a radical life!
PS: For those of you leaving us on the May 21, so long! Its been good and its been real. You can email me with your address and I will attend to the disposal of your earthly property.
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