Trusting God ... but how much?

Let's put this in context:
Let's say that there was a chapter in one of Paul's Epistles where he tells us that God says to submerge ourselves in water completely ... it's a new commandment, let's say. And now let's say as believers we are all standing around a lake. Which type of believer would you be?

Would you be on the dock with your feet dipping into the water?

Would you be wading into the water up to the hip?

Or would you be - like me at times - up to the neck, but with your head still above water, because you don't fully trust?

This is how it seems I live my life. I want to be fully submerged. I sprint into the water only to get to shoulder depth without dunking my head beneath the surface. Why?

The answer is simple, and equally pitiful. I like my oxygen. I like the comfort of the world. While I say outwardly that I fully trust Him and that He will provide, I find myself not fully trusting, subconsciously, even though I want to.

God is asking us to plunge, not just beneath the surface, but deep down into the depths of His way.

What stops you? He promises blessings for those who trust and obey. Why do we have a doubt for even a moment?

Lord I ask for your strength. I ask for you to give me a full trust in you. That sounds crazy in my worldly mind to ask you to give me the trust in you that I need. But I find myself failing over and over and over again. I know that none of the comfort that I have matters. It is all just a chasing of the wind that will never fulfill. God, I ask that you shove me out of my comfort zone and onto your path for me. This scares me to death, but I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, in the name of God the Father, the Creator of all things, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, my counselor. Amen.

Don't go it alone! We were made for community!

It's better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there's no one to help, tough!

Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

By yourself your unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (The Message paraphrase)

This is especially tough Truth for men, who are filled with bravado. "I can do this by myself. I'm not weak!" But we all know that that's just pride talking. Ugly, egocentric pride. And pride is the foundation for almost all sin.

The truth is, all we're doing is hiding our weakness, putting up a face of strength. Pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps? This is simply not realistic. To even think this way is an insult to God.

God gave us everything that we have: our time, our talents (including strength, intelligence, perseverance, etc), and of course our treasure. He also gave us a community of fellow believers to be a part of.

We are not intended to be individual believers, going it alone. We were made to lean on one another ... to sharpen one another ... to rebuke, improve, and support one another.

We need our family on this journey toward Christlikeness. More importantly, our family needs us and our specific and unique talents. By going it alone, we are stealing from our brothers and sisters, and we are missing out on the beauty and abundance of what God has to offer through our family, the church.

Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps ...

Call to Action: Get involved with your local family of believers. And don't just "attend church". Become a functioning part of the body. You will be blessed.

Trusting God (and only God) to Provide

Can you trust God to provide for your needs, or is your impulse to try to provide for yourself?

In Proverbs 30:9, we read "Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. If I'm too full, I might get independent, saying, 'God? Who needs Him?' If I'm poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God."

I find myself in the former position many times. The abundance that I have distracts me from my desperate need for God. I don't think I feel the full weight of redemption and provision, because I always have enough food, my kids are healthy, I have work, I have love from my family, I have freedom by living where I live and in the time that I live.

This comfort puts me in the category of being too full, too independent. I find myself subconsciously saying, 'God? Who needs Him?' I would never say this out loud, or even consciously think it. But many times my actions speak louder than words.

While it scares me a bit to pray this prayer, I will pray it today:

Lord, give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. I know that if I have too much, I'll feel independent, thinking that I don't need you. And I know if I'm poor, I may do things that are not pleasing to you, that dishonor you. God, right now I acknowledge that I'm scared of being without. But that is just a reflection of my failed faith in you. I am weak, but you are strong. Give me your strength God to simply depend on you and nothing else. I asked this in the precious and holy name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Water to Wine: The Wedding at Cana

As I read John 2:1-11 for the first time in months, it strikes me as it always has ... a story I have heard many, many times.  So much so that it didn't move me as it should have this morning. It had become stale to me. So, in an effort to let God speak to me, I sat still following the reading only to have just that happen.

He spoke. 

And here's what He said:

• This was not yet His time, but his mother, Mary, knew who He was. It also struck me that even after He said, "What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.", she went ahead, seemingly ignoring Him. Moms. 
• They used ceremonial purification jars. As usual, Jesus uses the Old Law to show that HE is the way to be purified. 
• The water transforms to wine.  From something created by God into something that is even greater.
• The last shall be first and the first shall be last.  Once again, Jesus teaches us that God's ways are different - many times opposite - than the way the world thinks.  Good wine first, then the lesser wine? No, good wine then better, then best. It reflects our temporal life here on earth versus the life to come in eternity with Him.
• This story begins with "On the third day ..." This speaks for itself and is a foreshadowing.
• The miracle happens at a wedding. When we enter a relationship with Christ, a miracle happens. We are born again into a life eternal. The marriage is a reflection of the relationship we have with Christ, our bridegroom.
• Jesus is capable of anything in any situation ... if we simply trust Him.

Not so stale, eh? God is good.

John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

The tithe is a test ... and the only question on that test is, "who owns it?"

I've heard people say, "We're under grace now. The Old Testament law doesn't apply to me anymore. So, I don't need to tithe."

Let's apply that logic to something else. "We are under grace now. The Old Testament law doesn't apply to me anymore. So I'm free to kill anyone I wish."

Sounds pretty silly when you say it, but you're effectively saying the same thing when you apply that logic to giving God the first of the first fruits of the blessings HE provided you.

It's a test. And the only question on that test is, "who owns what you have?" This test started long before the laws delivered by Moses came about. We can stretch it all the way back to Adam and Eve. He said, 'you may enjoy the fruits of every tree in the garden except for the one in the center'. And what did they do? Even non-christians know the answer to that question. And by eating the fruit from the tree in the center of the garden, the first humans effectively said to God, "we aren't just stewards of the garden, God. We own this Garden. We earned it through our own efforts. No acknowledgement if anything YOU've done is necessary."

And we're saying the same thing to God when we don't tithe. "I own this God. I am not merely a steward of the gifts you've given to me. I own them. I earned them."

Tithing is life, not law. The concept of acknowledging God's provision is throughout the Bible. It precedes the laws of Moses.

And, to take it further, Jesus said "you have heard, Thou shalt not kill. But I say, holding anger in your heart for your brother is as good has killing him." I'm paraphrasing of course, but apply this to the tithe, what do you believe Jesus is telling us here? That, based on the New Covenant, we are to give less than a Tithe or, rather, more?

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Romans 6:15

The Gap: How do we fill the gap between who we are and who we were created to be?

Being Christian requires proactive intentionality. It doesn’t just happen. It requires us to actively seek out God and his will in the situations of daily life, and to work each day to close the gap between the person we are and the person he created us to be. It is striving to be the-very-best-version-of-ourselves, and it animates us.

So how do we work on closing the gap? We do it by getting close to Jesus.

There are a hundred ways to rediscover Jesus, but I chose these four because I knew even the busiest person could do them. This is a path for busy people:

1. Read the four Gospels, over and over again, for fifteen minutes each day.
2. Practice The Prayer Process. This is a simple process designed to help you enter into a daily conversation with Jesus. 
3. Deny yourself. Find a handful of small ways to deny yourself each day.
4. Practice spontaneous prayer. Talk to Jesus about the events of your day as they are unfolding.

Our lives change when our habits change. God uses new habits to transform us. These four habits will have a beautiful and radical impact on your life if you allow them to sink their roots deep into your life.

(Taken from Matthew Kelly's "Best Lent Ever" series on Dynamic Catholic)

“Profile of the Lukewarm”, by Francis Chan

Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words halfhearted, lukewarm, and partially-committed fit better?

The Bible says to test ourselves, so I am going to offer you a description of what lukewarm people can look like. As you read these examples, I encourage you to take a searching, honest look at who you are now, and how you are living today.

Lukewarm people:

• Attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go.
• Give money to charity and to the church… as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so.
• Desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.
• Don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.
• Are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers.
• Rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion.
• Gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street.
• Say they love Jesus, and He is a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, money, thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives.
• Love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength.
• Love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves.

* How many of these “lukewarm traits” resonated with how you’re living your own life? Pray for God to work on softening your heart, then choose one specific trait to work on (and pray on) throughout this week.