Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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It is so easy to believe we are victims when we expect God's hand to be what we exclusively see in our lives. I equate God's hand to the goodies we want from our God. Blessing, prosperity, health, a good life, these and other important things are absolutely something God provides. His hand is in our lives in some pretty significant ways.
It is when we don't get what we thought blessing would look like that God's hand seems to be absent. Those are the days victim thinking can take over in ways that might cause victims in our wake. Today's reading points out a different way to look at God. Let's look at our reading now.
Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us. Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. Psalm 4:6-7 (NIV)
I believe the psalmist is allowing us to see the comparison of God's hand to His face. The many who are asking about who will bring prosperity have settled for God's hand as being enough. They are the ones who are dealing with the challenges this world provides in ways that make it very easy to see God as being absent and maybe even a victimizer.
Contrast this to those who seek God's face. It is that light that radiates as we see God's face, that often times makes the darkness of this world tolerable. When God's hand seems to be missing, His light can be what makes it possible for us to take one more step into that light. The light of God so much more of what the victor needs in this life than is His hand. Trusting what we think God's hand looks like is a failed strategy. Leaning into the light that shines from God's face is a strategy that makes whatever comes our way in this life something that we are able to move though with power and purpose
Of course we still need God's provision. Our reading asks God to fill the psalmist's heart with joy when those asking for God's hand see Him move in mighty ways. We are to look to God for provision. What makes victim thinking a distinct possibility is when our expectation of what provision is to look like doesn't happen quite the way we thought it would. It is when we are trapped in that place of victim thinking that God can begin to take on a role in our lives that just doesn't match up with who He actually is. Those are also the times when who we are comes into question in troubling and debilitating ways.
I think it really comes down to this interesting fact. Our expectation is easy to describe. It is simple to quantify what we need and even what we want God to provide. In that sense, it gets easy to box God in when it comes to who He is. When we consider God for only the things He provides, it is easy to paint a picture of God's Hand that is simple for us to understand.
Problem is that God isn't all that easy to comprehend. He can't be reduced down to a single human's ability to describe with words based on personal wants and needs. At times, this fact brings me great comfort. When my wants and needs go unmet, this fact frustrates and scares me to no end.
The comfort comes as I realize I really don't want a God that I can easily describe and understand. I want a God that is big, certainly larger than what I might be able to comprehend. Why? Because, we live in a universe that is big. I need a being that is bigger than all I know in order for me to trust that there is a plan. This is especially the case when things don't go the way I thought they would. I need to know God's bigness is there directing all things to help me endure the challenges that might come my way.
Light takes on a very different meaning for me when I consider who God is. Light isn't all that easy to describe. Light can be a challenge to understand. Light has a power over darkness that is unmistakable. Light paints God in a view that allows room for His bigness to be experienced in a personal and intimate way.
It's really hard to live a life focused on being satisfied with the Light of God over the Hand of God. I am growing in the understanding that light trumps hand in the long haul of life. Of course I want the goodies God might be able to provide. However, the light of His presence is what promises to sustain us even when the goodies we expect don't come about quite like we thought they would.
How do we live a life that leaves room for the entirety of God to operate? In other words, how do we balance our need for God's Hand with our desire for God's light to be there? I think that comes as we allow God to be God in our lives. At any given moment, He might need us to call for and see happen powerful works of His hand. At other times, His light might be what He knows is needed for us to impact this world in world changing ways. We just aren't that good at knowing when His Hand or His Light is needed. It is when we allow God to be God in our lives that our victor status takes on the power we want and need.
Look for God's Hand in your life today. Celebrate it's presence when you know it is there by the blessings that come your way. But, don't let the seemingly absence of the goodies of life equate with the absence of God. He is there. His light is shining on you whether you receive what you want or not. His light is always more powerful than His goodies. Live in that place of power as God's light illuminates your victor status more an more in your life today,
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Monday, June 11, 2018
Day 350 - Not Mine, Yours
Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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I love it when totally independent events align in a way that reveal something really important. One Sunday morning a friend sent me a text with the following Bible verse.
But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me. Psalm 69:29 (NIV)
She said that she saw something that she never thought of before in this verse. It's in the last line of what we just read. She said that she had always seen salvation as being hers. It was a gift that God gave but it was given to her. Today, she thought something differently. Our reading today made her realize that salvation is God's. Though it is a gift from God, it is His. It is uniquely and unquestionably His. She really had my attention with this statement. I had to ask her to explain why that perspective was so important to her. The answer she gave made me realize how, even with salvation, the wrong focus can make it so easy to slip into victim thinking.
My friend told me that thinking of salvation as being hers mad her focus on the gift this amazing thing salvation is. That's not necessarily a bad thing, please note. She went on to point out that focusing on the gift isn't always the best thing for us in our lives. It was when my friend realized that salvation was God's that she started to focus more clearly on the giver of the gift. Now, that's a victor's perspective if I've ever heard one.
That's a pretty interesting piece of knowledge that would have kept me ruminating on what my friend learned for a while. It didn't stop there. I then went to church and, wouldn't you know it, the message tied in perfectly to this concept.
This particular Sunday service had Pastor Aaron Jayne speaking on how we are to walk in line with the truth of the gospel. He told us that Christianity isn't about behavior modification. Christianity is all about heart transformation. He went on to say that we are stuck in behaviors that aren't best for us because we aren't able to walk in line with the truth of the gospel. It is when we can't live a life of Jesus plus nothing that our behavior is something that the Bible might call sin. Stay with me a bit. I'm going to show you how this all connects in just a moment.
You see, our coping mechanisms are nothing more than our adding to the good news of Jesus. It is when the pain of this life causes us to lean on coping mechanisms to dull the pain we feel that we are living out the fact that Jesus isn't sufficient in our lives. Amazing thing is that God still loves us when we fall short in this way. He doesn't condemn us. He forgives us. That forgiveness comes with love that is unexplainable and often times not able to be duplicated in this world.
God has us on a process of transformation. That transformation happens as we let God do what He does in a process called sanctification. It isn't that God is working to change our behaviors. It is that our behaviors reveal the need to be completely transformed. That's a universal condition for human beings. Jesus is the only human that wasn't in need of transformation. We aren't falling short when we live a life of Jesus plus some coping mechanism. We are being loved as God works miracles in our lives to make Jesus be enough for us all.
This made me think of my friend's revelation this morning. It's God's salvation, not ours. If it were our salvation, we would be working harder and harder to make behavior modification a goal we might achieve. We don't have a behavior problem. We are being challenged by salvation.
God's salvation is a gift that really only pays off when we keep our focus on Him. It's the same with our identity. Working to prove who we are is just as useless an endeavor as working to make salvation be proven by how good our behavior has become. Focusing on behavior modification makes it way to easy to live a Jesus plus something kind of life. That kind of salvation isn't God's salvation. That kind of identity isn't God's gift to us either.
Sanctification is what makes it possible for things to get weeded out of the Jesus plus nothing equation. The more we live in that place where Jesus is more and more sufficient in our lives, the more we see the giver of the gift of salvation. God's salvation is a perspective that takes the victor to new heights of heart transformation.
Behavior modification is a works based approach to the free gift of salvation. When we focus solely on our ability to live a godly life, we cheapen the gift of salvation. We make the focus be something other than the giver of the gift. Focus is shifted to us. Our efforts become the most important thing in our life. Isn't that place of prominence suppose to be reserved for God alone? I think shifting our view of salvation from something that is ours to a gift that belongs only to the giver of that gift helps us shift focus. God is the focus. We are the benefactor of that focus. Transformation is the result of having our eyes on the right thing when it comes to salvation.
This doesn't mean that a walk with God will be effort free. There is a lot of work to this thing called sanctification. There is a lot of change that will happen in our lives as our hearts are transformed. The thing is that we aren't to be the focus. When we make our effort the focus we feel victimized when our efforts don't result in the kinds of transformation salvation should make happen. Behavior modification objectives have the potential to let us slip into victim thinking. Heart transformation takes God's salvation and makes it so that we can be loved into change in ways our efforts just can't duplicate.
My friend made me think differently about this gift of salvation. It is God's. As I stay focused on the giver of the gift, I change in ways that make this life so much more powerful to live out. My victor status is made possible through the gift of salvation. My identity is completed in the process of sanctification. Allow who you are to be driven by the fact that God is your focus. Let that focus make it more and more possible to live a Jesus Plus Nothing kind of life. In doing so you will find that the less than godly things that use to have such impact in your life will begin to fade in importance. That's the freedom God promises. Live in that freedom as you enjoy the power of God's salvation in your life today.
**********
I love it when totally independent events align in a way that reveal something really important. One Sunday morning a friend sent me a text with the following Bible verse.
But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me. Psalm 69:29 (NIV)
She said that she saw something that she never thought of before in this verse. It's in the last line of what we just read. She said that she had always seen salvation as being hers. It was a gift that God gave but it was given to her. Today, she thought something differently. Our reading today made her realize that salvation is God's. Though it is a gift from God, it is His. It is uniquely and unquestionably His. She really had my attention with this statement. I had to ask her to explain why that perspective was so important to her. The answer she gave made me realize how, even with salvation, the wrong focus can make it so easy to slip into victim thinking.
My friend told me that thinking of salvation as being hers mad her focus on the gift this amazing thing salvation is. That's not necessarily a bad thing, please note. She went on to point out that focusing on the gift isn't always the best thing for us in our lives. It was when my friend realized that salvation was God's that she started to focus more clearly on the giver of the gift. Now, that's a victor's perspective if I've ever heard one.
That's a pretty interesting piece of knowledge that would have kept me ruminating on what my friend learned for a while. It didn't stop there. I then went to church and, wouldn't you know it, the message tied in perfectly to this concept.
This particular Sunday service had Pastor Aaron Jayne speaking on how we are to walk in line with the truth of the gospel. He told us that Christianity isn't about behavior modification. Christianity is all about heart transformation. He went on to say that we are stuck in behaviors that aren't best for us because we aren't able to walk in line with the truth of the gospel. It is when we can't live a life of Jesus plus nothing that our behavior is something that the Bible might call sin. Stay with me a bit. I'm going to show you how this all connects in just a moment.
You see, our coping mechanisms are nothing more than our adding to the good news of Jesus. It is when the pain of this life causes us to lean on coping mechanisms to dull the pain we feel that we are living out the fact that Jesus isn't sufficient in our lives. Amazing thing is that God still loves us when we fall short in this way. He doesn't condemn us. He forgives us. That forgiveness comes with love that is unexplainable and often times not able to be duplicated in this world.
God has us on a process of transformation. That transformation happens as we let God do what He does in a process called sanctification. It isn't that God is working to change our behaviors. It is that our behaviors reveal the need to be completely transformed. That's a universal condition for human beings. Jesus is the only human that wasn't in need of transformation. We aren't falling short when we live a life of Jesus plus some coping mechanism. We are being loved as God works miracles in our lives to make Jesus be enough for us all.
This made me think of my friend's revelation this morning. It's God's salvation, not ours. If it were our salvation, we would be working harder and harder to make behavior modification a goal we might achieve. We don't have a behavior problem. We are being challenged by salvation.
God's salvation is a gift that really only pays off when we keep our focus on Him. It's the same with our identity. Working to prove who we are is just as useless an endeavor as working to make salvation be proven by how good our behavior has become. Focusing on behavior modification makes it way to easy to live a Jesus plus something kind of life. That kind of salvation isn't God's salvation. That kind of identity isn't God's gift to us either.
Sanctification is what makes it possible for things to get weeded out of the Jesus plus nothing equation. The more we live in that place where Jesus is more and more sufficient in our lives, the more we see the giver of the gift of salvation. God's salvation is a perspective that takes the victor to new heights of heart transformation.
Behavior modification is a works based approach to the free gift of salvation. When we focus solely on our ability to live a godly life, we cheapen the gift of salvation. We make the focus be something other than the giver of the gift. Focus is shifted to us. Our efforts become the most important thing in our life. Isn't that place of prominence suppose to be reserved for God alone? I think shifting our view of salvation from something that is ours to a gift that belongs only to the giver of that gift helps us shift focus. God is the focus. We are the benefactor of that focus. Transformation is the result of having our eyes on the right thing when it comes to salvation.
This doesn't mean that a walk with God will be effort free. There is a lot of work to this thing called sanctification. There is a lot of change that will happen in our lives as our hearts are transformed. The thing is that we aren't to be the focus. When we make our effort the focus we feel victimized when our efforts don't result in the kinds of transformation salvation should make happen. Behavior modification objectives have the potential to let us slip into victim thinking. Heart transformation takes God's salvation and makes it so that we can be loved into change in ways our efforts just can't duplicate.
My friend made me think differently about this gift of salvation. It is God's. As I stay focused on the giver of the gift, I change in ways that make this life so much more powerful to live out. My victor status is made possible through the gift of salvation. My identity is completed in the process of sanctification. Allow who you are to be driven by the fact that God is your focus. Let that focus make it more and more possible to live a Jesus Plus Nothing kind of life. In doing so you will find that the less than godly things that use to have such impact in your life will begin to fade in importance. That's the freedom God promises. Live in that freedom as you enjoy the power of God's salvation in your life today.
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Day 349 - Who's Fool Are You?
Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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A friend of mine use to have a college professor that would always ask this question. He would say, "Who's fool are you?"
This wise man would often talk about the fact that we are always willing to be someone's fool. How many times have you done or said something to impress someone who you thought held a higher position in life? I have been in plenty of situations where foolish didn't even come close to how I acted because of who I was around. When I think back on those times, I realize how much I allowed victim thinking to drive my foolish actions because I really didn't have an appreciation for who I was.
Not only are we willing to act foolish for others, things can make us look the fool as well. Money, power, position, possessions and a whole host of other things in this world can drive us to do and say things that we might later be sorry of. It is when we let the things of this world work to bolster who we want the world to see us as being that foolishness springs out of victim thinking.
My friend's college professor was alluding to today's Bible reading when he asked, "Who's fool are you?" Take a look at our reading with me now.
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A friend of mine use to have a college professor that would always ask this question. He would say, "Who's fool are you?"
This wise man would often talk about the fact that we are always willing to be someone's fool. How many times have you done or said something to impress someone who you thought held a higher position in life? I have been in plenty of situations where foolish didn't even come close to how I acted because of who I was around. When I think back on those times, I realize how much I allowed victim thinking to drive my foolish actions because I really didn't have an appreciation for who I was.
Not only are we willing to act foolish for others, things can make us look the fool as well. Money, power, position, possessions and a whole host of other things in this world can drive us to do and say things that we might later be sorry of. It is when we let the things of this world work to bolster who we want the world to see us as being that foolishness springs out of victim thinking.
My friend's college professor was alluding to today's Bible reading when he asked, "Who's fool are you?" Take a look at our reading with me now.
We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 1 Corinthians 4:10 (NIV)
Do you see the sarcasm in Paul's writing today? He is contrasting what it looks like when we are settling for being a fool of the world. It is when we fight to feel wise and strong and honored that we embark on a fools errand. When we tie our identities to the need to be seen as wise, strong and honored, we have made it clear that we have chosen to be a fool for the world.
People will always think that your choice to follow Jesus is a foolish thing. If you think about it, they are absolutely right! We are following an invisible God, born of a virgin who raised Himself from the dead. That's about the most foolish thing I have ever heard! Yet, that sequence of foolish sounding events gives me a peace like nothing I have chosen to be foolish over that the world has ever been able to match.
I have tried to impress people in all stations of life. They have all failed me in one way or another. I have tried for all I'm worth to make money and power and impact be what defines me. There has never been enough to fill the bottomless pit of need when it comes to who I am. People and things just can't do for me what a foolish sounding savior has done. Jesus has made it so that my identity has a standing that can't be taken away by success or by failure.
My victor status is empowered by the fact that I am God's Child. I don't have to do a single thing to impress Him to have the power of that status. I don't have to jump through hoops to make that status be mine. He gives it to me and all He asks in return is for me to get to know Him. If that sounds foolish to you, I am proud to say, "I am a fool!"
If chasing people and things makes your identity be all it needs to be in your life, I can honestly say I'm happy for you. I wish that that strategy worked for me as well. For some reason it just doesn't work any more. My advise to you is work it for all you are worth. But, be honest with yourself. When the doubts come, don't sweep them under the carpet. There might come a day when people and things aren't enough anymore. When that day comes, think about who you are in God's eyes.
I plan on going after as much of a good life as I have the energy to pursue today. What I'm not going to do is step over the line into foolish antics to try and make that good life happen. I'm trusting God that what He says about me is enough for who I am. I'm going to let my victor status do the talking in my life, even if the rest of the world calls me a "Fool for Christ!"
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Day 348 - Believing Into
Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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I recently attended a memorial service for a friend of mine. The pastor gave a wonderfully passionate message about how this friend believed in Jesus as His Savior. The room was packed. This friend lived in a way that made his faith real to those of us who knew him. My friend didn't struggle with sharing his faith. In fact, I don't think he even thought much about the need to share. He simply lived his faith in a way that made words almost completely unnecessary. I think that's why so many people were at this man's memorial service.
My friend wasn't all that great of a communicator. He wasn't all that versed on the intricacies of Biblical interpretation. He wasn't all that polished and perfect. What he might have lacked in the skills we sometimes attribute to great evangelists, he more than made up for with his life. I've said it two times before. I'm going to say it again. This man lived his faith. The fact that he lived his faith turned out to be more powerful of a witness than any words one might use to describe his faith.
As the pastor spoke of my friend to the group that knew him so very well, he used one of the most recognizable verses in the Bible. This pastor quoted the following...
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)
The pastor went on to talk about how my friend lived this verse. He focused on two words that really struck me. The pastor said that my friend believed into Jesus. If you go back and check the verse we just read you won't see the word "into." Our reading says "believe in", not believe into. The pastor went on to teach that the original language should have been translated "believe into". He then went on to talk about how it is easy to believe in. Believing into is something totally different.
To explain what he meant by that, he pointed to the podium in front of him. He said that it is easy to believe in the podium. You can see it. You can touch it. We so often simply think the proof our senses is enough when it comes to belief. Trusting our senses so completely is such a failed strategy in life.
The pastor then did something really amazing. He climbed up on the podium and hung on. He pointed out that believing into is different than believing in. He needed a faith and understanding that that podium would hold his weight in order to believe into the podium. That faith and understanding allowed the pastor to shift from the goodness of believing in the podium to the greatness of believing into that same podium. The pastor told us that our friend believed into Jesus rather than just settling to believe in Him. That's why this simple man had such impact on the lives of so many of us in that room that amazing day. His faith came from believing into something, not just believing in that same thing.
My friend believed into Jesus. He trusted that Jesus could hold the weight of his life. He understood the love Christ has for Him is worth all the hell this world happened to throw at him and his family. His belief into Christ made it easy for him to share his faith by simply living his life.
My friend's identity as God's Child was something that he believed into. His job wasn't ever going to catapult this man to greatness. His accomplishments weren't never going to amount anything important enough to fill a room full of people weeping over this man's death. This friend did more than believe in who He was. He lived in the faith of believing into what Christ says about him. That kind of life changes the world. His life changed mine and a lot of other folks sitting in that room that day.
It made me think about how I approach my life. Do I just believe in or am I also someone who believes into who I am? I'm not sure this man would have been able to see the difference in his life were he sitting in that room listening to this same sermon. I would be willing to bet that he thought himself falling short of believing into who he was just as profoundly as I feel at this moment.
Maybe God made it that way. Maybe we just can see the impact our identity is having in real time. Maybe it is through the lives of a room full of people who were changed by a life of one who believed into Jesus that this man could have seen the proof needed. Maybe that proof is best seen from heaven looking down.
**********
I recently attended a memorial service for a friend of mine. The pastor gave a wonderfully passionate message about how this friend believed in Jesus as His Savior. The room was packed. This friend lived in a way that made his faith real to those of us who knew him. My friend didn't struggle with sharing his faith. In fact, I don't think he even thought much about the need to share. He simply lived his faith in a way that made words almost completely unnecessary. I think that's why so many people were at this man's memorial service.
My friend wasn't all that great of a communicator. He wasn't all that versed on the intricacies of Biblical interpretation. He wasn't all that polished and perfect. What he might have lacked in the skills we sometimes attribute to great evangelists, he more than made up for with his life. I've said it two times before. I'm going to say it again. This man lived his faith. The fact that he lived his faith turned out to be more powerful of a witness than any words one might use to describe his faith.
As the pastor spoke of my friend to the group that knew him so very well, he used one of the most recognizable verses in the Bible. This pastor quoted the following...
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)
The pastor went on to talk about how my friend lived this verse. He focused on two words that really struck me. The pastor said that my friend believed into Jesus. If you go back and check the verse we just read you won't see the word "into." Our reading says "believe in", not believe into. The pastor went on to teach that the original language should have been translated "believe into". He then went on to talk about how it is easy to believe in. Believing into is something totally different.
To explain what he meant by that, he pointed to the podium in front of him. He said that it is easy to believe in the podium. You can see it. You can touch it. We so often simply think the proof our senses is enough when it comes to belief. Trusting our senses so completely is such a failed strategy in life.
The pastor then did something really amazing. He climbed up on the podium and hung on. He pointed out that believing into is different than believing in. He needed a faith and understanding that that podium would hold his weight in order to believe into the podium. That faith and understanding allowed the pastor to shift from the goodness of believing in the podium to the greatness of believing into that same podium. The pastor told us that our friend believed into Jesus rather than just settling to believe in Him. That's why this simple man had such impact on the lives of so many of us in that room that amazing day. His faith came from believing into something, not just believing in that same thing.
My friend believed into Jesus. He trusted that Jesus could hold the weight of his life. He understood the love Christ has for Him is worth all the hell this world happened to throw at him and his family. His belief into Christ made it easy for him to share his faith by simply living his life.
My friend's identity as God's Child was something that he believed into. His job wasn't ever going to catapult this man to greatness. His accomplishments weren't never going to amount anything important enough to fill a room full of people weeping over this man's death. This friend did more than believe in who He was. He lived in the faith of believing into what Christ says about him. That kind of life changes the world. His life changed mine and a lot of other folks sitting in that room that day.
It made me think about how I approach my life. Do I just believe in or am I also someone who believes into who I am? I'm not sure this man would have been able to see the difference in his life were he sitting in that room listening to this same sermon. I would be willing to bet that he thought himself falling short of believing into who he was just as profoundly as I feel at this moment.
Maybe God made it that way. Maybe we just can see the impact our identity is having in real time. Maybe it is through the lives of a room full of people who were changed by a life of one who believed into Jesus that this man could have seen the proof needed. Maybe that proof is best seen from heaven looking down.
All I know is something changed for me this day. I don't know if I will ever be able to prove I'm believing into who I am or not on this side of heaven. What I can do is to know that there is a difference between just believing in my victor status and believing into that same status. I want the best for my life. That best is when I choose to believe into who God says I am rather than just believing in the identity God has given me.
How do I do that? I think it is like tying to tie your shoe. You just do it. Somehow you learned how to tie your shoe. Now it is like a secondary function in your life. Trying to put into words how you do it is almost impossible. Though it is hard to describe how it is done, you just know how to do it.
Such is the way I think it is when it comes to believing into who we are. Today, I think I came into contact with the fact that I just know how to believe into. Whether I can describe it fully or be able to prove that I am doing so to the fullest might not be something all that easy for me to do. All I know is that I can believe into. Judging from this room full of people at this man's memorial service, I think that realizing that we can believe into has a power to change many, many lives.
I hope today's presentation opened your eyes to something different. I pray that you see how much power there is in letting your life rest in the belief into something bigger than yourself. It is when we believe into who we are as God's Child that I think this world becomes something completely different. Let who you are be founded and supported by the love God has for you. Then the challenges of this world might not be as impacting is they are when we choose to simply believe in who we are.
Friday, June 8, 2018
Day 347 - What's The Point?
Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you! 1 Corinthians 4:7-8 (MSG)
On the surface, it could seem like Paul is making a case that we are nothing more than misfits. It seems that he is arguing that all we have accomplished, even those things God has had His hand on, aren't all that much to take notice of. Knowing Paul as I do, this couldn't be further from the truth.
You see, Paul was quite an accomplished man. He was a hard driver. His type A personality got him into some amazing opportunities as well as in some deep trouble to boot. Not only is Paul heralded as the most prolific church planter of all times, he was also a very successful business man. This guy worked his tail off! Not only did he stay busy, he was pretty good at all he put his hand to.
With that kind of pedigree, why would Paul write words that seem to condemn all that we do? I think it is because Paul saw the damage that happens to each of us when we let our accomplishments be what bolsters our identity. It was when Paul compared his ministry, his work or his life to any one else that trouble started for this man of God. It was when Paul gave into the notion that he was in competition with others that his work drained the life out of him and those around him.
We can't help but to think badly or ourselves or others when we compare what we do with what others might be doing in their lives. Jealousy and all sorts of other ill feelings happen when we feel life is a competition. This is particularly the case when we approach our spiritual life with a strategy of comparison and competition.
After his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul settled into a mode of aggressively pursuing what was right before Him. He didn't worry about what others might be doing in the next town over. He let the Love of God flow through Him right were He was at. Though others might appear to be doing more, Paul settled into the rhythms of following what His God was doing. He didn't let others dictate his actions quite the way he use to before Jesus revealed Himself to this man of God.
Today's reading holds the secret to Paul's ability to let comparison and competition not take hold as badly as it use to in his life. I believe it was contentment that made Paul so effective in the tasks God gave him to do.
When we compare we are driven to be discontent. When we see life and others in this life as competition we can't help but to be discontent with what we have, who we are and what we do. The lack of contentment makes it possible for us to get on a treadmill in life that is so difficult to recognize and eliminate. What usually makes us get off the treadmill is a catastrophic event. A massive health scare, a family crisis, a series of troubled relationships, a total breakdown, these and other events make contentment something that we usually pay attention to when life takes turns we didn't expect.
I don't think contentment means that we don't have dreams and desires. I don't think contentment eliminates that natural drivenness some of us have been given. Paul continued to be one of the most driven men in the Bible right up to his death. We can be driven and still content. How? It is when we disconnect what we are driven to do from who we are that contentment plays the powerful role it is suppose to in our lives.
Think about the last thing you have been driven to achieve. Wasn't there a lot of comparison and competition wrapped up in what you were doing? Wasn't some of the drivenness coming from a place of wanting the success of whatever it was you were after to be part of bolstering the way the world would see you? That's the danger of drivenness when contentment is not in our lives. Drivenness leads to do and say things that can cause victims around us. Worse than that, when what we are driven to accomplish doesn't turn out like we want, victim thinking is quick to take over.
The world doesn't make it all that easy to be driven without out letting discontent control what we do. I have to believe that, just like Paul, it took a lot of practice in order to let contentment be what tempered his driven nature. Paul practiced living in that place of his true identity. Paul let the fact that He is God's Child be all he needed in this world. Everything else that he was driven to accomplish was nothing more than icing on the cake as far as Paul was concerned.
That's how we are to live our lives. If nothing more comes our way than the amazing gift of being God's Child, we are incredibly blessed. I guaranteed there is more for you to accomplish. What we need to be doing is letting our God-given identity as His Child be the fuel for the contentment that kills comparison and competition in our lives. That's the only way I have found that my victor status takes on the power needed to make things happen in the world around me.
What are you driven to get done today? How much of that drivenness is being directed by discontent? It is easy to judge this situation by looking at how much comparison you are doing in your life. You can also tell how much discontent is driving your live by how much you feel pressured by the competition in your life.
Live in the power of who you are. Let the fact that your victor status is guaranteed because God calles you His Child be all the force you need to drive you to get done what God wants for your life today.
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Comparing and competing. Do these actions ever do anything good for the individual? I'm beginning to see how comparison and competition in ways to one up others makes it so hard to keep out of victim thinking.
Today's Bible reading seems to confirm this notion. Check it out with me now.
On the surface, it could seem like Paul is making a case that we are nothing more than misfits. It seems that he is arguing that all we have accomplished, even those things God has had His hand on, aren't all that much to take notice of. Knowing Paul as I do, this couldn't be further from the truth.
You see, Paul was quite an accomplished man. He was a hard driver. His type A personality got him into some amazing opportunities as well as in some deep trouble to boot. Not only is Paul heralded as the most prolific church planter of all times, he was also a very successful business man. This guy worked his tail off! Not only did he stay busy, he was pretty good at all he put his hand to.
With that kind of pedigree, why would Paul write words that seem to condemn all that we do? I think it is because Paul saw the damage that happens to each of us when we let our accomplishments be what bolsters our identity. It was when Paul compared his ministry, his work or his life to any one else that trouble started for this man of God. It was when Paul gave into the notion that he was in competition with others that his work drained the life out of him and those around him.
We can't help but to think badly or ourselves or others when we compare what we do with what others might be doing in their lives. Jealousy and all sorts of other ill feelings happen when we feel life is a competition. This is particularly the case when we approach our spiritual life with a strategy of comparison and competition.
After his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul settled into a mode of aggressively pursuing what was right before Him. He didn't worry about what others might be doing in the next town over. He let the Love of God flow through Him right were He was at. Though others might appear to be doing more, Paul settled into the rhythms of following what His God was doing. He didn't let others dictate his actions quite the way he use to before Jesus revealed Himself to this man of God.
Today's reading holds the secret to Paul's ability to let comparison and competition not take hold as badly as it use to in his life. I believe it was contentment that made Paul so effective in the tasks God gave him to do.
When we compare we are driven to be discontent. When we see life and others in this life as competition we can't help but to be discontent with what we have, who we are and what we do. The lack of contentment makes it possible for us to get on a treadmill in life that is so difficult to recognize and eliminate. What usually makes us get off the treadmill is a catastrophic event. A massive health scare, a family crisis, a series of troubled relationships, a total breakdown, these and other events make contentment something that we usually pay attention to when life takes turns we didn't expect.
I don't think contentment means that we don't have dreams and desires. I don't think contentment eliminates that natural drivenness some of us have been given. Paul continued to be one of the most driven men in the Bible right up to his death. We can be driven and still content. How? It is when we disconnect what we are driven to do from who we are that contentment plays the powerful role it is suppose to in our lives.
Think about the last thing you have been driven to achieve. Wasn't there a lot of comparison and competition wrapped up in what you were doing? Wasn't some of the drivenness coming from a place of wanting the success of whatever it was you were after to be part of bolstering the way the world would see you? That's the danger of drivenness when contentment is not in our lives. Drivenness leads to do and say things that can cause victims around us. Worse than that, when what we are driven to accomplish doesn't turn out like we want, victim thinking is quick to take over.
The world doesn't make it all that easy to be driven without out letting discontent control what we do. I have to believe that, just like Paul, it took a lot of practice in order to let contentment be what tempered his driven nature. Paul practiced living in that place of his true identity. Paul let the fact that He is God's Child be all he needed in this world. Everything else that he was driven to accomplish was nothing more than icing on the cake as far as Paul was concerned.
That's how we are to live our lives. If nothing more comes our way than the amazing gift of being God's Child, we are incredibly blessed. I guaranteed there is more for you to accomplish. What we need to be doing is letting our God-given identity as His Child be the fuel for the contentment that kills comparison and competition in our lives. That's the only way I have found that my victor status takes on the power needed to make things happen in the world around me.
What are you driven to get done today? How much of that drivenness is being directed by discontent? It is easy to judge this situation by looking at how much comparison you are doing in your life. You can also tell how much discontent is driving your live by how much you feel pressured by the competition in your life.
Live in the power of who you are. Let the fact that your victor status is guaranteed because God calles you His Child be all the force you need to drive you to get done what God wants for your life today.
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Day 346 - Living In The Moment
Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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I was thinking about some friends today. I have a couple different families I'm close to that just can't seem to catch a break. If it wasn't for bad luck they wouldn't have any luck at all. When it comes health, finances, jobs, cars, home problems - you name it, it seems like these friends have a sign on their back that says, "Kick Me!"
Both these families are amazing examples of being followers of Jesus Christ. They are also perfect examples of what I have been talking about all these times with this podcast. These families are victors even though victory seems to be so far from their reality it isn't even funny.
I have to admit, I wouldn't trade places with either of these families for just about anything. I don't know how they do it. Well, maybe I do. That's what I want to focus on today. I want to explain what I think people who have decided to live like victors do when victory just isn't happening in their lives.
For both of these families, I have seen one trait that they exhibit in powerful and unmistakable ways. That trait is that they seem to be able to live in the moment in ways I admire. They don't look too far down the road when it comes to their situation. They are just able to focus on the here and now in ways that make what they are going through something they can do their best with at that given time.
I'm not saying that this strategy makes what they are going through OK. It isn't! I have been with members of both these families when they were at their wits ends. And, why wouldn't they be? If I had to deal with 1/10th what they do, I'd have checked out a long time ago.
I believe that's why these families are so good at dealing with life in the moment. It is simply impossible for them to look ahead because of the distinct possibility that their current condition will actually get worse. This isn't negative thinking. It is realistic thinking due to how things have gone in the past. They aren't dreading the future, they are just doing their best to thrive in the moment. The hardships in their lives make it so that they have no choice but to live for this moment. I want that kind of attitude without having to go through the pain of the craziness that they deal with each and every day.
It isn't victim thinking that is making them live in the moment. It is that they just don't have the mental or physical energy to worry about tomorrow. Today has enough worries for them to have to contend with. They don't have the luxury to think about tomorrow like you and I do.
Even though times are tough, there is a peace in the lives of these families that I want in mine as well. I believe that that peace comes as they simply be in the middle of living out what is in front of them at that moment. That's the epitome of victor living if you ask me.
So much of the mental anguish you and I suffer from comes as we try to project ahead when it comes to what our lives will be. This is a self imposed suffering that my friends with their plates full right now don't have the luxury of bringing into their lives like we do.
Anthony de Mello, Jesuit priest, author and speaker put it this way. "The present moment is never intolerable. What’s intolerable is what’s going to happen in the next four hours. To have your body here at 8 pm and your mind at 10:30 pm, that’s what causes us suffering."
It doesn't matter if times are good or bad, trying to live in the future, even one second in the future, is a torment that we just don't need to endure. Yet, victim thinking is the result as we try to ignore what it happening now and live for what we hope will come in the not so distant future. It is when what we hope will come next doesn't materialize that victim thinking threatens to take hold in victimizing ways.
So much of the mental anguish you and I suffer from comes as we try to project ahead when it comes to what our lives will be. This is a self imposed suffering that my friends with their plates full right now don't have the luxury of bringing into their lives like we do.
Anthony de Mello, Jesuit priest, author and speaker put it this way. "The present moment is never intolerable. What’s intolerable is what’s going to happen in the next four hours. To have your body here at 8 pm and your mind at 10:30 pm, that’s what causes us suffering."
It doesn't matter if times are good or bad, trying to live in the future, even one second in the future, is a torment that we just don't need to endure. Yet, victim thinking is the result as we try to ignore what it happening now and live for what we hope will come in the not so distant future. It is when what we hope will come next doesn't materialize that victim thinking threatens to take hold in victimizing ways.
My friends have been forced to deal with this reality in ways that has changed their lives. In spite of the horrific things they face, their ability to stay in the moment makes victor living happen without all the trappings of victory being in their lives. These friends are living with a different foundation. That foundation is summed up in today's reading. Check it out with me now.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2 (NIV)
These friends can't trust their lives to be the foundation for who they are. There has been so many challenging times in their lives that they have decided there has to be something more than a comfortable life from which to build off of. My friends can't rely on their tomorrow to bail them out. They need something more substantial from which to build their lives. That foundation is God Himself.
I use to pity these friends. In this light, I envy them in some pretty significant ways. I have the luxury to build my life on what I think I can do. I can let my identity be based on actions because my actions seem to turn out positively more often than not. I can look to the future with a longing that gets me off track in so many ways because tomorrow seems to always be better than today. What if all that changed? What if my tomorrow didn't turn out better than my today? My foundation would be rocked. When our foundations crumble, victim thinking can't help but to be there to take over.
Look, I'm not saying that we have to ruin our good life in order to live in the power of the victor status God has given us. What I'm saying is that this trait of living in the moment is a powerful way of letting the foundation of God take over more and more in our lives. It is when we live in the moment that we see things for what they are worth. The good times can be enjoyed even more and the bad times might not have such a negative impact on who we are as it does when tomorrow is all that we have.
If times are good, it is perfectly acceptable to do what you can to maintain that goodness in your life. It is when we come to expect that goodness be a proof that we mean something to this God that made us that troubles start to happen. Circumstances don't prove a single thing when it comes to who we are and who this God is that loves us. Enjoy the good times, but don't expect them to be the proof of anything about who you are or who this God is in your life.
If times are bad, it is perfectly acceptable to hope for a better day tomorrow. Just like the good times, don't let what happens tomorrow be proof of anything when it comes to identity. You are who God says you are. God is who He has always been in your life. Those two identity driven realities don't change based on whether what we expect comes to fruition or not.
What ever is happening in your life today, live in the moment. Even in the worst of times there is plenty to be thankful for. My friends are living testimonies of that fact. Live in the moment and let God's power of identity fuel your victor status in all that comes your way today.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2 (NIV)
These friends can't trust their lives to be the foundation for who they are. There has been so many challenging times in their lives that they have decided there has to be something more than a comfortable life from which to build off of. My friends can't rely on their tomorrow to bail them out. They need something more substantial from which to build their lives. That foundation is God Himself.
I use to pity these friends. In this light, I envy them in some pretty significant ways. I have the luxury to build my life on what I think I can do. I can let my identity be based on actions because my actions seem to turn out positively more often than not. I can look to the future with a longing that gets me off track in so many ways because tomorrow seems to always be better than today. What if all that changed? What if my tomorrow didn't turn out better than my today? My foundation would be rocked. When our foundations crumble, victim thinking can't help but to be there to take over.
Look, I'm not saying that we have to ruin our good life in order to live in the power of the victor status God has given us. What I'm saying is that this trait of living in the moment is a powerful way of letting the foundation of God take over more and more in our lives. It is when we live in the moment that we see things for what they are worth. The good times can be enjoyed even more and the bad times might not have such a negative impact on who we are as it does when tomorrow is all that we have.
If times are good, it is perfectly acceptable to do what you can to maintain that goodness in your life. It is when we come to expect that goodness be a proof that we mean something to this God that made us that troubles start to happen. Circumstances don't prove a single thing when it comes to who we are and who this God is that loves us. Enjoy the good times, but don't expect them to be the proof of anything about who you are or who this God is in your life.
If times are bad, it is perfectly acceptable to hope for a better day tomorrow. Just like the good times, don't let what happens tomorrow be proof of anything when it comes to identity. You are who God says you are. God is who He has always been in your life. Those two identity driven realities don't change based on whether what we expect comes to fruition or not.
What ever is happening in your life today, live in the moment. Even in the worst of times there is plenty to be thankful for. My friends are living testimonies of that fact. Live in the moment and let God's power of identity fuel your victor status in all that comes your way today.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Day 345 - Safe People #4
Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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I hope this isn't coming off as beating a dead horse, but I want to spend one more day on being a safe person. We have taken the past three days to talk about what a safe person is to look like. We have seen that it takes a willingness to dwell with another, show grace to that person and be able to give the entire truth to those we are honored to be part of offering counsel to. It is when we fail in any or all of these areas that we become unsafe and I believe ineffective at having impact in this world.
Today I wanted to spend some time going over a couple situations where I have seen my safety go away quickly. Please don't take today's talk as gospel when it comes to being safe in another person's life. These examples are nothing more than experiences I have be a part of where the results I think God had in mind fell short because I was quick to act in what I now see as being unsafe ways. Let's take a look at a couple situations and see what we can learn.
Did you know that prayer can actually be unsafe! I know you prayer warriors out there are ready to burn me at the stake for such a heretical statement as that. Hang with me a second and let me explain what I mean.
Prayer is a powerful weapon we have been given. But just like weapon, we have to know when it is time to bring out the big guns. Have you ever heard the expression - "Don't take a gun to a knife fight?" Just like any tool, weapons of war were meant for certain circumstances. Using the wrong tool at the wrong time can actually cause more damage than good.
Prayer can be used incorrectly when we simply jump to prayer rather than letting God do what He wants to do in that person's life. We should be praying all the time. Even when a person is explaining their situation to us, prayer should be happening in as unobtrusive and non-conscious way as possible. It can be very damaging to offer up prayer before prayer is meant to be the weapon of choice. Here's such an example.
Let's say you are new to a Bible study group. Let's go on to say you are known as a real prayer warrior. Maybe in this particular study group someone is there who has been dealing with a really serious issue in their lives. That issue might have been something that has plagued them for years and years. Maybe for the first time tonight, they feel the courage to open up and discuss what has been going on.
This is a crucial moment for the person opening up their heart. They are actually testing the waters. They want to know if they are going to be loved and accepted in their current state or if religion is going to rule the day. Jumping right to prayer short changes this precious moment. You are already praying, or you should be. Do we really need to stop this highly relational time of bonding to get into some standardized posture of prayer?
Like I said before, you should already be praying in the spirit. What is God saying? What questions are coming to mind? What is the story of this person's soul that has lead them to this point this particular evening? This is what God wants to happen. It rarely does when we convert this time to a conventional prayer experience. There will be plenty of time to pray. Now's the time to listen. Listen to God. Listen to your brother or sister sharing their heart. Listen and learn. The safety you establish now will make it so much easier to go down some pretty difficult roads later in this person's life.
I have ruined many moments by going to prayer too quickly. I have basically told total strangers that I don't have time for them by taking their situation to God before I took time to get to know what is really going on in their lives. Plus, my words in prayer can sound so condemning.
"Please help this person" - sounds like they are helpless and without power when coming from someone they don't know is safe. "Please heal their condition" - sounds like there is something wrong with them in ways that create a them and us kind of atmosphere. "Please show them your love" - sounds like the person doesn't know the love of God - that they are somehow on the outside of our little club when these words come from an unsafe place. Satan loves to take our prayers and use them to shame and condemn those we pray for. He can't do so when we have earned the right to be safe with the person we are praying for. That happens as we take time to know them and their situation and show them how much God loves them just where they are at.
If praying for someone can be an unsafe strategy, hang on to your hats because my next example will blow your mint. Sharing Jesus before it is time is one of the most unsafe things we can ever do. That's right we even have to be extremely aware of our words when we are in a position where we might be tempted to share who Jesus is in our lives.
I was at a Church event one evening. The teacher had just finished one of the best talks on the love of God I had ever heard. Up comes a young woman friend of a friend of mine. My friend was someone I have known a quite a while. He struggles with drug addiction, so did his lady friend. I noticed this young woman was undone by the message given that night. She talked to the speaker and sobbed over what she had heard. As she pulled herself together, my friend brought her over and introduced her to me.
I felt like God was wanting me to ask about what it was that so touched her about that evening's message. She said that she had never thought that anyone could lover her in her current condition. She shared with me her struggles with drugs. She told me how sad she was that her earthly father had died before she was able to kick her habit and live a normal life. The thought that anyone could love her in her mess was more than she could comprehend. Here's where trouble began.
Standing there, I thought to myself, what a perfect opportunity to bring Jesus into the conversation. Before I asked God is that was the right thing to do, I turned our talk to Jesus. It was like someone turned off a light switch in her eyes. She simply went dead. One moment she was alive in the love of God - the next was like the lights were off and no one was home. One mention of the name of Jesus and, boom, it was all over.
I don't remember what she was saying from that point on. I was too busy praying in the spirit. I was asking God what just happened? I felt Him respond with the question, "Did I say that you were to mention Jesus right now?" Of course He didn't. I didn't give Him the chance to guide me. I just seemed like the logical thing to do to mention Jesus at a Church event about God's great love for us. When it comes to conventional wisdom, God's just isn't. He isn't conventional at all, and His wisdom isn't the same as ours.
Fortunately God gave me a means to get back on course. He showed me how to turn the conversation back to the father's love in a way that switched the lights back on in this young woman's soul. Her eyes came alive again. I never saw this woman again. Imagine if I we had parted company with the lights turned off in her life? I became an unsafe person by making Jesus the point when God's love was all this woman needed at that moment.
I'm in no way saying that you aren't to pray or that you should not mention the name of Jesus. What I am saying is that you need God to be in control of every moment that you are in contact with another person. That's what makes you safe. If He isn't guiding you, you will be unsafe. It is when we are unsafe towards one another that damage occurs. When we are being safe people, things happen. The power of our identities come out in ways that make impact something we can experience time and time again.
I hope these last few days have helped to point out the importance of being safe when it comes to our interactions with one another. It doesn't matter if you are taking with a believer or a non-believer, being a safe person is what endears you to another. Being safe is what opens up another person to you. Being safe makes you a valuable asset to another human being. Being safe takes practice. Being safe starts with the desire to make a difference. Let God work through you today in ways that turn your counsel into the power packed thing is was destined to be.
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I hope this isn't coming off as beating a dead horse, but I want to spend one more day on being a safe person. We have taken the past three days to talk about what a safe person is to look like. We have seen that it takes a willingness to dwell with another, show grace to that person and be able to give the entire truth to those we are honored to be part of offering counsel to. It is when we fail in any or all of these areas that we become unsafe and I believe ineffective at having impact in this world.
Today I wanted to spend some time going over a couple situations where I have seen my safety go away quickly. Please don't take today's talk as gospel when it comes to being safe in another person's life. These examples are nothing more than experiences I have be a part of where the results I think God had in mind fell short because I was quick to act in what I now see as being unsafe ways. Let's take a look at a couple situations and see what we can learn.
Did you know that prayer can actually be unsafe! I know you prayer warriors out there are ready to burn me at the stake for such a heretical statement as that. Hang with me a second and let me explain what I mean.
Prayer is a powerful weapon we have been given. But just like weapon, we have to know when it is time to bring out the big guns. Have you ever heard the expression - "Don't take a gun to a knife fight?" Just like any tool, weapons of war were meant for certain circumstances. Using the wrong tool at the wrong time can actually cause more damage than good.
Prayer can be used incorrectly when we simply jump to prayer rather than letting God do what He wants to do in that person's life. We should be praying all the time. Even when a person is explaining their situation to us, prayer should be happening in as unobtrusive and non-conscious way as possible. It can be very damaging to offer up prayer before prayer is meant to be the weapon of choice. Here's such an example.
Let's say you are new to a Bible study group. Let's go on to say you are known as a real prayer warrior. Maybe in this particular study group someone is there who has been dealing with a really serious issue in their lives. That issue might have been something that has plagued them for years and years. Maybe for the first time tonight, they feel the courage to open up and discuss what has been going on.
This is a crucial moment for the person opening up their heart. They are actually testing the waters. They want to know if they are going to be loved and accepted in their current state or if religion is going to rule the day. Jumping right to prayer short changes this precious moment. You are already praying, or you should be. Do we really need to stop this highly relational time of bonding to get into some standardized posture of prayer?
Like I said before, you should already be praying in the spirit. What is God saying? What questions are coming to mind? What is the story of this person's soul that has lead them to this point this particular evening? This is what God wants to happen. It rarely does when we convert this time to a conventional prayer experience. There will be plenty of time to pray. Now's the time to listen. Listen to God. Listen to your brother or sister sharing their heart. Listen and learn. The safety you establish now will make it so much easier to go down some pretty difficult roads later in this person's life.
I have ruined many moments by going to prayer too quickly. I have basically told total strangers that I don't have time for them by taking their situation to God before I took time to get to know what is really going on in their lives. Plus, my words in prayer can sound so condemning.
"Please help this person" - sounds like they are helpless and without power when coming from someone they don't know is safe. "Please heal their condition" - sounds like there is something wrong with them in ways that create a them and us kind of atmosphere. "Please show them your love" - sounds like the person doesn't know the love of God - that they are somehow on the outside of our little club when these words come from an unsafe place. Satan loves to take our prayers and use them to shame and condemn those we pray for. He can't do so when we have earned the right to be safe with the person we are praying for. That happens as we take time to know them and their situation and show them how much God loves them just where they are at.
If praying for someone can be an unsafe strategy, hang on to your hats because my next example will blow your mint. Sharing Jesus before it is time is one of the most unsafe things we can ever do. That's right we even have to be extremely aware of our words when we are in a position where we might be tempted to share who Jesus is in our lives.
I was at a Church event one evening. The teacher had just finished one of the best talks on the love of God I had ever heard. Up comes a young woman friend of a friend of mine. My friend was someone I have known a quite a while. He struggles with drug addiction, so did his lady friend. I noticed this young woman was undone by the message given that night. She talked to the speaker and sobbed over what she had heard. As she pulled herself together, my friend brought her over and introduced her to me.
I felt like God was wanting me to ask about what it was that so touched her about that evening's message. She said that she had never thought that anyone could lover her in her current condition. She shared with me her struggles with drugs. She told me how sad she was that her earthly father had died before she was able to kick her habit and live a normal life. The thought that anyone could love her in her mess was more than she could comprehend. Here's where trouble began.
Standing there, I thought to myself, what a perfect opportunity to bring Jesus into the conversation. Before I asked God is that was the right thing to do, I turned our talk to Jesus. It was like someone turned off a light switch in her eyes. She simply went dead. One moment she was alive in the love of God - the next was like the lights were off and no one was home. One mention of the name of Jesus and, boom, it was all over.
I don't remember what she was saying from that point on. I was too busy praying in the spirit. I was asking God what just happened? I felt Him respond with the question, "Did I say that you were to mention Jesus right now?" Of course He didn't. I didn't give Him the chance to guide me. I just seemed like the logical thing to do to mention Jesus at a Church event about God's great love for us. When it comes to conventional wisdom, God's just isn't. He isn't conventional at all, and His wisdom isn't the same as ours.
Fortunately God gave me a means to get back on course. He showed me how to turn the conversation back to the father's love in a way that switched the lights back on in this young woman's soul. Her eyes came alive again. I never saw this woman again. Imagine if I we had parted company with the lights turned off in her life? I became an unsafe person by making Jesus the point when God's love was all this woman needed at that moment.
I'm in no way saying that you aren't to pray or that you should not mention the name of Jesus. What I am saying is that you need God to be in control of every moment that you are in contact with another person. That's what makes you safe. If He isn't guiding you, you will be unsafe. It is when we are unsafe towards one another that damage occurs. When we are being safe people, things happen. The power of our identities come out in ways that make impact something we can experience time and time again.
I hope these last few days have helped to point out the importance of being safe when it comes to our interactions with one another. It doesn't matter if you are taking with a believer or a non-believer, being a safe person is what endears you to another. Being safe is what opens up another person to you. Being safe makes you a valuable asset to another human being. Being safe takes practice. Being safe starts with the desire to make a difference. Let God work through you today in ways that turn your counsel into the power packed thing is was destined to be.
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