Faux Christmas

Caution: the truth is sometimes hard to take.

….Know what I like best about Christmas?

At this time of the year people seem to smile more and act a little nicer than they usually do. All the decorations and colored lights are so festive and beautiful to me. Every year I have to put up with a little persecution from those who love the clear lights only, but it's worth it because I am a colored light fanatic!

I also enjoy hot chocolate and a warm fire as my wife and I watch all the Christmas feel-good movies that are shown on TV year after year.

And, of course, I love Christmas music! ……well….most of it, anyway. I'm still trying to figure out where the little drummer boy came from, and if grandma really did get run over by a reindeer, but those things can be thought about later…….

 The old Christmas songs and hymns bring back nostalgic memories of Christmases past. I love Christmas music so much that I've been caught singing it in July while strolling down the aisle in a store!

I also enjoy lighting the candles on our Advent wreath (this is a Christian tradition handed down from the Middle Ages). My wife and I light the candles and read the Scriptures each week concerning the prophecies of the coming Messiah. It is such a beautiful thing to do.

What I love most about Christmas is that this is the time of the year when we celebrate our Savior's birthday! Reading the Bible stories and imagining the events taking place so long ago is tender, comforting, and exiciting! Can you imagine what it must have been like to be with the shepherds in the fields and hearing the angels’ voices?...... and then running to see Jesus as a newborn! That would have been  awesome off the scale!

And then, of course, I always love hearing Linus recite the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2 (from the animated film “A Charlie Brown Christmas”). The event of this seems to bring a stop to everything and gives us focus on what really is important. This is something I enjoy very much hearing…... Follow this link and you can, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKk9rv2hUfA

All of this introduces us to another step deeper into what I want to share with you. It is with caution that I approach my next statement unless I should be grossly misunderstood and sound like I am Mr. Scrooge, or at least his close cousin.

There are some things about the way that we celebrate Christmas today that I find confusing and like very little. Are you ready? ………..Here is what I like least about Christmas.

I……

like…….

least of all……

presents that take away my focus from the birth of Jesus………….

When attention to the presents take away the emphasis from us celebrating Jesus’ birth, I become sad , frustrated, and disappointed.

Something that I heard today will help me explain what I mean……….

On TV this morning

As I was getting ready for work today, I was listening to a popular news network as they were interviewing a prominent country/western singer who is also a movie star. This celebrity was asked this question, “Tell us, what does Christmas look like at your house? How do you and your family celebrate it?”

His reply included the story of when he was a young boy and his father could not afford any presents for them that Christmas. In his story, it just so happens that when Christmas morning finally came that year, the children were all amazed that there were presents under the tree. His father explained to them that there was always a way to give the gifts that mean a lot to you. The celebrity then proceeded to explain that Christmas is all about giving the gifts that mean so much to you regardless of whether they are big ones or little ones.

As he talked, I wondered, ”Where is Jesus’ birth to be found in anything that he is saying?” I was not trying to be judgmental….….it was just that I was so disappointed in his answer.

You see, a problem that many have helped to promote is that the celebration of “Christmas” is equal to “the giving of gifts”.

Here is an example.

Have you ever heard anyone talking about a needy family (around Christmas time) and they made a statement that included words similar to these,  “…. and their children are just not going to have any Christmas this year!” You probably have heard this and maybe even said this yourself. I know that I have and am saddened that I was totally missing the point of the Christmas season………..

The reference to Christmas, when used this way, equates it with gifts. I have heard this countless times used by Christians who really know better but have been caught up in putting the emphasis of Christmas on the wrong thing.

The main thought that this suggests to us is that no gifts equals no Christmas for a family.

What is up with that kind of thinking?

I know that when I grew up, the meaning of Christmas was all about me getting gifts. I had no idea that it really was about anything else.

Years ago I asked the question to someone about why we gave gifts to each other at Christmas. The answer that I received seemed to confuse me. It was this, “The giving of gifts reminds us of God's gift of Jesus at Christmas time.”

That answer did not make much sense when it was given to me, and today, it seems even more far-fetched.

Consider this scenario:

When is the last time a young boy woke up on a Christmas morning, looked at his new four wheeler, and said, “Oh, thank you Dad! This camouflaged four-wheeler with a double high-rise seat and extra carrying bins remind me so much of Jesus being born on this day and how that He is God's salvation sent to us!”

What about this one:

A teenage girl gets up on a Christmas morning and opens a beautifully wrapped package. ”Mom, I can't believe it! Thanks so much for my new iPhone 4s . This reminds me so much of how that God loved me enough to send Jesus to be born on earth. Thank you for teaching me this, Mom, through the gift of my new iPhone!”

The real meaning of Christmas has been so stolen from believers, and I fear that I have helped this devious plan to be so successful over the years. Thankfully, I now pay closer attention each year at keeping my focus right when I give and receive gifts at Christmas.

The Question Arises……..

Where are you and your family in all of this?

Are you brave enough to take a test?

Just to let you know, for the test to work, you have to be very honest about your answers.

Write down the names of each of your family members on a piece of paper. Now, pretend that you went to them and announced that they would not be receiving gifts for Christmas this year. Instead, all the money normally spent would be given as gifts to help various people or ministries in order to place the emphasis on Jesus giving Himself to us at Christmas time.

Now….. write down the reaction that you think each family member would have---what would they say or how would they react?

How do the results of the test look?

Of course, if you are still doubtful as to the outcome, you can go and actually do this with your family…….

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone might think, ”Well, Dan, this is a good way to help you get out of giving presents (you old Scrooge).”  And you might be right,......... except for the fact that you're wrong.

My wife and I love giving gifts at Christmas time and all year round…..especially those that draw attention to Jesus.

Please, let me reinforce to you that I love Christmas! It is one of the most favorite times of my year, but I just get really depressed and burned-out over the abuse of it.

The first Christmas was all about:

Ø The birth of Jesus

Ø Prophecies being fulfilled

Ø Salvation and redemption provided

Ø God's love expressed

Ø Joy -- from Mary, the shepherds, the Angels, and the two people in the Temple (Simeon and Anna)

Today's Christmas is mostly about:

Ø Gifts

Ø Decorations

Ø Parties and get-togethers

Ø Singing Christmas Trees

Ø Church Musicals

Ø Holiday time off from work and school

Ø Bonuses

Ø Black Friday sales

Ø Parades

Ø And last but not least, eating

I like all these things too!

But, my heart is broken when the emphasis is moved away from celebrating the birth of Jesus on to celebrating our own self-centeredness.

Personally, I like what the first Christmas was all about better than how we usually portray it today.

(I am afraid that I may be called a fanatic for teaching such things.)

Well, there you have it. I had no intention of messing up your Christmas celebration, but I do hope that this will help you re-examine the way that you celebrate the birth of Jesus and come up with your own way to make Him the most celebrated part of it all! Many Believers that I know already do so every year.

May God bless you so very much as we celebrate Him together!

My wife and I hope that you have the merriest Christmas you have ever had……..

In love and humbly submitted,

Dan

Read More

A Most Effective Prayer

Even after all these years I can still hear them.…..all those big promotions for the great sermon series soon to be preached concerning prayer and how to use it in life.

        “Learn how to pray in six easy steps”

        “Praying to get anything and everything you need”

        “Getting answers from God”

        “… bla, bla, bla, ….”

        (I think you get the idea.)

It seemed, that during each of the series, the speaker would produce a “cannot fail” checklist for me to use in order to get all my prayers answered and receive just about anything that I could want. All I had to do was everything exactly as instructed on his scholarly studied and eloquently produced list. The steps for anyone to meticulously carry out while attempting to pray were invariably impressive.

Like so many other people that I knew, my next steps were to get involved with the list of things to do (and not do) in prayer, and then launch into the asking, and asking, and asking phase of praying.

……. Since those early days, I believe that I've learned a lot more about prayer and how it relates to God's plan for it in my life. Oh, sure, I still ask when I pray, but before I get to the asking part of my prayer, I am beginning to spend more time becoming aware of His will and aligning mine with His. Now, when I pray, I want answers to my prayers for His glory, and not so much for my own selfish desires. Like I said, I have learned quite a bit more about prayer over the years.

Praying, of course, is always the right thing to do because Jesus told us to do it. This is one of the reasons that I am convinced that I should pray, but there is also another reason. Prayer is what keeps us in communication with the Father.

........How greatly needful that is for all of us…….

Over the years, my fascination and experiences with prayer have grown. It is comforting to be able to talk with my Father about everything. However, out of all the prayers that I have ever prayed, there is one that seems to get answered more often and more quickly than many of the others that I have labored intently over.

The prayer that I use is specific and to the point, but the way that the answer is expected to come is not. My prayer generally gets to the heart of the problem, but it leaves the solution open to the One who ”knows how to give good gifts to His children”

       Matthew 7:11

        11  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.

That prayer is three simple words…..

“Lord, change me.”

I believe that God changing me fits into the category of “good gifts” from the Father.

So many times we have difficulty knowing what the “good gifts” really are, and we walk around in our clouds of doubt trying desperately to convince others that we have it “all together”.

In some circumstances, a trial is the “good gift” needed from the Father, and at other times, a period of waiting is the “good gift” that the Lord gives to us. In just the same way, sometimes a period of abundance is the “good gift” needed and given to us.

It is difficult for us to figure these things out sometimes because our Father’s thoughts are so advanced of ours……..

Isaiah 55:8

8  "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

The “good gifts” that I receive all depend on what the Lord is attempting to accomplish inside of me!

Whenever I was under the greatest stress and aggravation because of others who did wrong or because of the situation that was driving me crazy, I used to think that I was not the one that needed changing…. It was those things and those people around me that did!

I was convinced that if everyone would just do things my way, everything would just be all right!

(I am sure that you have never had these thoughts.)

It is here I discovered a problem in my thinking while considering the “change me” idea of praying. I felt that if I was the one changed, then my mind would have to accept that maybe the other person’s wrongness, or the other situation’s hurtfulness, had some rightness to it, and I would be validating that wrongness as being okay.

Satan loves to play these mind games on me to divert me away from what God really wants to do in my life.

The truth is, when I really have been wronged, asking God to change me does not change the fact that these outside circumstances were really wrong, but it does give God the permission to do things in my heart, mind, and attitude that go way beyond my feeble attempts to cope with life.

This is God doing stuff inside me that we're talking about here!

When God does something supernatural in my heart, the result is something that I find always acceptable and very agreeable. The times that I have asked the Lord to “change me” have opened the door for Him to do some wonderful things within me. God gets to rearrange and change the decor of my heart and mind in a way that only He can do.

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I am angry, frustrated, hurt, confused, untrusting, and fearful, I want to pray, ”Lord, change this situation”, or ”change this person”, or, “change the whole world!”

(…. Sound familiar?)

However, when I pray “Lord, change me”, I seem to have a quicker response from God to that request. In fact, it is quite cool to sense the changes orchestrated by God within my heart.

        I begin to experience His peace--- even though the storm has not changed.

        I begin to experience His confidence and reassurance even when things are   unsettled and scary.

I love praying this prayer and am learning to pray it more often than in times past.

Watching what God is doing inside me is really becoming an awesome thing!

Every time God rearranges and fixes something inside of me, I always come out in a better way than I was because of His personal intervention in my heart and mind.

I’m not so sure about you, but I really do need God’s touch on the inside of me.

“Lord, change me.”

I suggest you consider praying this prayer occasionally and then trustingly expect the Lord to answer it. There is no doubt in my mind that you will like the results that God gives in answer to this request of Him.

Humbly submitted,

Dan

Read More

Dry Spots

Three……. count ‘em…. one, two, three. I have three blogs currently sitting in notebooks here and there (not including this one that I'm writing now) and I am not sure what to do with them.

As I was laying out the rough draft of each, I would get this feeling of unsettledness…. you know…. I would not have the peace of God that the one I was currently working on was the “right one” to post on Deeproots. Just so you know, I really do try to follow the Lord’s direction as to what I write about and post each time. This is a ministry for me.

Recently my spiritual walk has seemed a little disconnected. What used to be very clear has become a little fuzzy right now. Even when I pray, it feels that my communication with the Lord is working out as a less than productive experience. In the same way, my Bible reading has not felt very engaging and enlightening lately.

….. sigh……

Been here before – now I am again…..

After a very stressful period of time in my life over the last two months (two and one half weeks of that being sick), I feel emotionally stressed, physically drained, and spiritually….. well….. dry.

In some areas of my life, I'm not very comfortable at the moment. The part of my life that troubles me the most right now is in the spiritual area. Dry times in my spiritual walk usually are very annoying to me. When I get like this, I never think it a good or comfortable place to be. But the other day, the Lord caused me to stop and remember how that He is constantly working in my life in all sorts of ways. Maybe this was one of them……

There is a Bible verse that says that:

Philippians 1:6 NLT

6  And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

(There's a lot of comfort that comes from the Scripture in the difficult times of our lives. This is one that I go to a lot.)

It began to dawn on me that this verse was giving indication that the spiritual state that I am now in could be Christ working in me! If so, then where I am now is a great place to be!

Okay, it does not feel great, but what has that got to do with it?

The Christian life does not run by feeling; rather, it runs by faith.

----Seriously-----

Consider what the apostle James writes:

James 1:2-3 NIV

2  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

3  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Pure joy – these are not the words that I usually think of when I am in a dry spot in my life. (I could think of a lot of words to describe it—but not these….)

Look also at how another translation says it:

James 1:2-3 NLT

2  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

3  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

In this verse, the words great joy  speak more of the pending great results that God has intended from the trial, rather than just the trial itself. Trials by themselves are just that….. trials; troublesome and frustrating.  If we begin to see the trials as vehicles being used of God to take us to new areas in our lives, then those trials can take on a different look and meaning.

These kinds of thoughts direct me to look beyond the “here and now” of the trials that are going on in my life. There must be more going on than just me being miserable….

God is working within all of us for eternal results.  The trials that He uses (like my dry spot), are just the temporary tools put in place to accomplish His plan for us. He will use His tools as often as He needs them to grow us and bring us to new levels of maturity in Him.

We all have these dry periods in our lives. Usually, during them, we feel spiritually disconnected and ineffective; as if God has suddenly and momentarily forgotten us. Every mature Christian has experienced times like these and usually dreads them when they come.

God has been teaching me something special about when I am experiencing a spiritually dry time in my life; I am beginning to understand that God is working to take me far beyond where I am now-- to a place where I need to be and, more importantly, where He wants me to be.

For me, the dry spots are never comfortable and are always challenging; however, the trial I'm going through currently has produced something special within me.

I will share it with you.

Yesterday, I found myself grumbling and doubting things that I believe the Lord has led me to do. After a while of this (longer than I would like to admit), I had an attack of sanity and re-examined several scriptures that I know. In addition, I revisited in my mind the times when God placed in my heart His directions and leadership concerning the ministry He has for me. It was then that I purposely chose to tell the Lord that I would believe His directions and leadership in my life no matter how things feel right now. In this statement, I was actively making a decision to live by faith--- regardless of what I could see or how I was presently feeling.

Whoa……….

Suddenly it dawned on me, isn't that the way we are supposed to act as believers anyway?

Because of this dry spot in my Christian life, I was given an opportunity to exercise and grow in my faith concerning God's work in my life. I kind‘a think that this might have been part of God's plan for the dry spot actively showing up in my life right now.

God knows the ways that I need to grow. If I believe that God really is working all things together for my good (Romans 8:28), then it would appear that the dry spots have some necessity for my growth in the Lord also--- and that they are good.

Why would I think any differently?

I'll tell you why, because Satan loves to play mind tricks on us during the dry spots.

There is nothing more pleasant for us than to sense the presence of God as we sing, pray, or speak for Him. Also, to feel His confidence and peace is so empowering as we make plans and decisions in our lives. But the times that we don't feel Him at all can be greater growing opportunities for our spiritual lives than when we do know His presence actively.

These are the times that stretch our faith and help us to examine our motives and goals. We can rediscover anew what we believe and why we believe it.

Understand this; the times of spiritual dryness that we experience are uncomfortable expressions of love from The Father who loves us more deeply than we fully understand.

(Go back, read that again, and think about it awhile.)

God loves us too much to just leave us the way that we are now. I, for one, am glad of this because I really don't want to stay the way that I am now either…. how about you?

Maturity, strength, peace, and faith, come from our positive reactions to the spiritual dry spots that we experience within our lives.

Consider what the scriptures say:

James 1:3-4 NLT

3  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

4  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Do you see where God wants to take us? My faith needs to be tested so that my endurance will grow….so that I can continue on toward maturity.

On the other hand, fear, doubt, mistrust, confusion, depression, anxiety, and anger come from responding negatively to the spiritually dry spots. When God does not speak to us and His direction is unclear, some people just give up and walk away. Others begin to rationalize God and form ideas that are untrue. Like, “God must not really care for me-- at least not right now”….or … “I guess God must be mad at me, and maybe He just does not really care.”

These are dangerous responses because they distort God's intent for his children and His deep love for them. Thoughts like these damage our relationship with the Lord, and bring us into Satan’s traps. He wants us to question God, not trust Him.

Are you in a dry spot right now?

We all get them at some time or other.

When we do have one, things in our lives feel listless and out of touch spiritually; the Lord seems far away and uninterested in us at the moment.

I know that the dry spot is uncomfortable, but there is great opportunity lurking in the dark corners of it! God is very actively growing your life--- ask Him for wisdom during the dry spot, then use that opportunity to grow and strengthen your faith. It is the right thing to do!

James 1:5 NLT

5  If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

The dry spot might be long, or it may be short-- but rest assured that it is from the Father's loving hand. Someday when you look back upon your life, the dry spots may actually define the periods during which you grew the most in your relationship with Christ. How interesting that would be….

Right now, I have been at a dry spot of what to write on this blog, but I'm moving forward as I see the Lord leading me.

I offer this to you so that God may use it to encourage you when you experience the spiritually dry spots in your life too.

Humbly submitted,

Dan

Read More

Walking Out Your Faith

We live in an age filled with a broad spectrum of information.

Stock markets rise and fall on economic information received every day. Political decisions are based on the information gathered by the people who have political goals and agendas, and even wars are won or lost on the information gained by reconnaissance and spying. All of us recognize the common truth that, even in our best effort, sometimes the information we learn is false and sometimes it is true, but usually we do our best by what we believe to be true.

There is more information about the vast universe and dark depths of the oceans than we have ever had available to us before. Most of us have marveled at the pictures of mankind’s footprints in the dust on the surface of the moon. We likewise, have been amazed at the discoveries found by the machines that have been sent to Mars and into deep outer space.

One of those machines parked above the earth in space is the Hubble Space Telescope. The images that this device has sent back to the earth over the years boggle the mind and imagination.

Another such machine that we have sent into space is Voyager 1 that was launched from earth around 34 years ago. As of right now, Voyager 1 is about 10.8 billion miles from the Sun and is traveling almost 38,000 miles per hour. Very soon Voyager 1 will leave our solar system and head into deep outer space. During its trip, it has sent thousands of pictures that we never could have had any other way, and we have received reams of information that give us new insight into our solar system!

In recent years, we have also developed the technology needed to send data and messages worldwide in seconds. Any way you look at this, it is fascinating that we could gather the knowledge needed to accomplish this feat.

Did you know that satellites circling the earth can take pictures of you grilling a steak in your own backyard? They can even gather information on a getaway car that crooks have used while leaving the scene of a crime.

We humans have taken this knowledge and information to do these achievements that were almost unthinkable for some of us born within the last few decades. And yet, because we have used what we have learned, amazingly wonderful things have been made available to us all!

I love all this technology, information, and learning. It seems to me to be so very cool when we consider it all.  Hey, as far as I am concerned, the more technology we use, the better I like it!

While most of us are happy about all the stuff we have from technology, there are a lot more areas of information and learning that are just as exciting!

One such area that has seen much growth in new information is Christianity. Because of our many advancements, new doors have been opened and we have extended our outreach far across the world to many formerly unknown tribes and cultures on the earth. In several of these tribes, the information has been gathered that has enabled missionaries to speak the language of the people, develop an alphabet and write it down, then print off the Bible in their own language so that the nationals  can read it themselves. What a powerful blessing this is!

Today there are Bible programs on computers that place information into our hands which, less than a generation ago, were available to only a few highly educated people who could afford the books and the education to use them. Now we can use IPads in the pulpit, and we commonly use the internet to spread the good news of Christ. As I said, I love technology!

…Here is even more to consider….

Commentaries, Bible studies, and “how to" books in Christianity have been made available to us in unprecedented numbers and ways. The helps that we have now are amazing!

Just think….You got a problem in ministry? ……there is information in a book about it…

If you want to know:

          how to have a discipleship ministry

          how to have a men's or women's support ministry

          how to build a youth ministry

          how to work a multimedia ministry

          how to promote stewardship in giving

          how to build a singles ministry

          how to create a ministry for teens

          how to build an elder’s team

          how to outreach to your community

          how to make a missions ministry

          how to develop a children's ministry

          how to organize a leadership team

          how to organize a Sunday school

          how to develop small groups

          how to serve the homeless

          how to make a deacon board

          how to become a leader

……..the information is out there in a paper book, magazine, eBook, or it is just a few clicks away on the Internet. The resources available to us have become very abundant in number and we have a large variety of ways to access them……….MP3s, E-readers, DVDs, iPads, iPods, tablets, notebooks, apps, etc., etc.

In light of all the knowledge and understanding that God has given the Christian community today,  I want to ask a very challenging question to every believer who is reading this.

I don't ask it accusingly.

I don't ask it pridefully.

I don't ask it judgingly.

I do ask this very humbly.

What good is the information that we receive from the Bible and all those other resources if we don't include it into designing our daily living?

You know what I mean…….If  we don’t allow that information to transform our lives so that we may minister to those living around us and allow Christ to actively live through us, then of what use is it to us?

It is not enough just to know the Gospel, but what are we doing with that information?

It is also not enough just to know all about the scriptures that teach on prayer. The pressing question becomes, what am I doing with the knowledge that I have already learned about that subject? Am I walking out what I have learned, or am I just sitting on it?

In the Bible there is a concept that teaches us to apply all that we have received from the Lord to our daily life. This concept presents the idea of “walking out” that which we believe.

When we take what the Lord has taught us and couple that with what He has called us to do by putting it into action, then this is what is referred to in scripture as our “walk”.

Our “walk” is the platform and mindset from which we operate everything there is concerning our lives.

A few weeks ago, while I was talking with another Christian who is faithfully serving the Lord under some difficult circumstances, he made a statement that intrigued me. He said “Well, I guess we're going to walk out our faith wherever we are".

That is what Christ-like people do.

The Bible says a lot about walking out our faith.

The Greek word for walk means: to conduct oneself….. to be occupied with ……to walk at large.

Literally the word means to actively conduct everything about myself -- my life, my decisions, and my actions…… by what I know and believe in the scriptures.

In the Bible, Paul used this idea of walking out our faith a lot in his writings. Here are a few of the passages that the Holy Spirit had him record for us in order that we could learn and grow from them.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 NASB

1  Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.

Philippians 3: 17 NASB

17  Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

Ephesians 5:1-21 NASB

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

2  and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

8  for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light

     

15  Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,

16  making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

17  So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

18  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

The word Careful means --  to turn the thoughts or direct the mind to a thing, to consider, contemplate, to look at, to weigh carefully, examine.

How are you at walking out your faith? A person walking out their faith can know the will of God, and be filled with the Spirit just like the verses 17 & 18 written above indicate.

On the other hand, a person refusing to walk out their faith will miss out, for the most part, on these wonderful things from God.

On second thought, they will completely miss out on those wonderful things from God………

Can you imagine a believer not being filled with the Spirit and not understanding God’s will?

What’s up with that?   What are those believers thinking?

Selah   (that means to stop and think about this)

The act of me walking out my faith should always affect whatever I am doing in every phase of my life!   As I am filled with His Spirit and understand the will of God, the walking out of my faith becomes a natural mode of operation for me. There is no faking it or forcing of it that has to happen

.

Most of you believe verses 17 and 18 above, and if so, then what are you doing with that knowledge?

Remember these things:

          It is not enough just to have the knowledge that God’s kingdom is built by the winning of

          souls. What are we personally doing with that knowledge?

          It is not enough just to know the vital Bible teachings about our Christian faith. What are we           doing about walking out those concepts in our lives?

          It is not enough for me just to put on a good religious act based on my Bible knowledge. Am I           really letting Christ live through me?

….only the brave should read beyond here……

Some very challenging questions can be asked right now, but we must be brave enough to face and answer them if we are going to advance from where we are in our Christian lives right now.

This is a session of going much deeper…….. and these are not wimpy questions to answer.

1 --What are you doing in your life right now that a lost person couldn’t also do?

Think about it a moment……..

Some might would say:

“Well, I lead a small group at church.”  A lost person could do that.

“Yea, but I also play in a worship band!” A lost person could also do that.

“Well Dan, I preached last Sunday!”  Ok…... I’m sure that a few lost people filled some pulpits somewhere last Sunday…. and maybe even did a better job than you or I did at delivering a message of some kind. Lost people can do this without a hitch.

“I went on a mission’s trip this summer.”  Lost people can do that, too.

“You don’t understand, I gave a really good offering to a great ministry this month!” I’m really glad that you did, but that can also be done by a lost person who has plenty of money. They could even wind up giving a lot more money than you did……

And here is the classic: “I am not really doing anything one way or the other.”  Lost people can do this quite well, too.

Striking out? You are probably not alone………..

Take a break while I ask this question to the pastors out there.

2 --Pastor, what are you and your staff members doing that trained lost people couldn’t also do?

Lost people can run programs, do counseling, prepare budgets, work technology, answer phones, run sound and multimedia, head-up missions programs, and run exciting youth programs, etc.

But why do I need to go any further? These questions, honestly answered, cause a lot of tight-gut feelings and they may even expose a lot of what we try to keep safely covered up.

Ok. Now what?

Let me begin by humbly offering an answer for the main question: “What am I doing in my life right now that a lost person couldn’t also do?

I will give four answers here…..several more could be provided, but they would all revolve around the same concepts.

          I can be filled with the Spirit of God and worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Lost people cannot do 

          this.

          I can be enabled to do any of the things in ministry as the Spirit of God produces the work

          through me……..again, a lost person cannot do that.

          I can also allow Christ to live through me…..a lost person cannot do that.

          The Fruit of the Spirit can be produced in me through the Holy Spirit’s free work in me….a

           lost person cannot experience this being done through them.

I can hear someone say, “Well, duh, we all know these things!”  …..and well we do, but what are you doing with the knowledge and information that you have right now? Are you walking them out in your life? If you are, then God bless you as you do! If you are not, then what good is your knowledge and information doing you?

I ask each of us this question, are we walking out our faith, or are we just comfortable with the fact that we know some great spiritual truths?

Let me share the defining characteristic between those who make a difference in the kingdom of God and those who just hang around living for themselves and waiting for heaven.

Those who make a difference in the Kingdom of God are walking out their faith!

Sometimes I get a mental picture of the Christians who just gather knowledge and never walk it out as looking like those humans, in the Disney movie “WALL-E”, who just hovered around in their chairs. They were totally consumed with themselves and everyone was very fat and lazy. Some Christians act like this when they do nothing with their faith but simply go to church, eat a fine Bible knowledge/worship meal, then just hover back home (fat and lazy) ready to do it all over again next week.

…..fat, lazy, Christians……so sad….so disappointing…..

If we are not doing it already, now is the time for us to walk out our faith, and refuse to just do the religious thing.  Repent of just lazily faking it, and ask Him for spiritual power to genuinely walk out our faith……

Humbly Submitted,

Dan

Read More

Nuclear Cookies

It was early afternoon when I arrived back in the office planning on accomplishing some paperwork. As I was setting up my place to work, the urge for a fresh, warm cookie hit me. Part of the marketing strategy of our company is to provide freshly baked cookies for our referral sources, so, we have an oven in the kitchen and tons of frozen cookie batter in the freezer. A recipe for bliss….if you want a great cookie.

Hey, I'm a rational guy and I usually can come up with a workable plan to accomplish my goals in mind. I knew that our frozen cookies required heat to cook, and I also knew that our microwave produced heat for cooking. So, equipped with my deductive reasoning and ample ability to place frozen cookies on a plate, I placed two of them in the microwave and pushed the appropriate button to produce the much needed heat. I carefully watched the process as the microwave came alive with energy and lazily turned the plate in a circular motion. Waiting hungrily for the desired results, my eyes stayed focused on the cookies as they traveled their appointed path.

Unexpectedly, a spiral of smoke began to rise from one of the cookies, and I sprang into action while the other cookie began to follow the first one’s example. I immediately pushed the button to stop the cooking process of the microwave and to open its door. When I did that, what was now a lot of smoke and bad smell poured generously out of the microwave. The cookie dough had a glazed-over-plastic-goo-sort-of-look as it had apparently tried to morph into something other than what it was created to be.

I quickly grabbed the paper plate of smoking, charred goo and ran to the back door looking to get it outside as quickly as possible.

The smell was expressing itself impressively. I would have rated it at about 8 out of 10 easily.  It really was awful….. and it quickly spread everywhere as bad smells often do. Part of its agenda was to broadcast my grossly mis-led journey in cookie baking.

While I was busily opening the doors to air out the office, I was receiving a lot of lighthearted grief from the staff about my adventure with the cookies. Our office manager was slightly shocked and stunned beyond words. She came by my office and just said, "Really? Really?” I took it that she was not impressed with my cooking skills.

At this particular moment my brain went on the blink as I offered up the best excuse that presented itself. “Hey, apparently there is a reason that I am field staff and usually kept away from the office!”  I think that in the universe of lame excuses, something of a new record was reached right then. I may someday even get a “lame excuse” award for that one……

Later that day, I received a text from our office manager that read something like this, “Maybe U can get some cooking lessons from your wife this evening!”  When my wife saw the text and heard my story later, she just shook her head and laughed……

My ego was not having a good day.

As I thought about this short, failed adventure in my life, I envisioned many parallels as to how we all sometimes approach living. We think of some really great ideas and then pursue them using all of our reasoning, reckoning, and experience in order to accomplish those good goals. We take all of the skills and decision making processes within us and bring them online as we approach the many challenges we all face daily. However, our troubles really begin when we ignore the directions already laid out for us in the Bible. It is then that we are just planning for failure.

Sadly, way too many times, the results we come up with resemble my nuclear cookies; smoldering, smoking, and toxic looking. We generate a mess and smell that screws up our lives and is awfully embarrassing to us, and, way too often, people who wind up this way already know the right way to do things….by the Bible…..but they choose to ignore it.

You see, I had it all rationally figured out, but in reality, I was wrong about how to bake cookies. I'm afraid that this concept is also what goes on when we rely on our own intelligence to make it in life. Many times I have counseled with people who thought they had it all figured out. Sadly, they were trying to exist in the middle of a toxic mess in their lives that was brought about by following their own ways.

 Understand this, there are no “undo” buttons in life so that we can restart our marriages or raise our kids again. There are no “delete” buttons in order to erase hurtful words or acts that we have done. And yet, even while in the middle of our messes, the Lord still gives us instructions as to how to deal with our situations when we do find ourselves in trouble.

Read these Bible verses and understand the Lord’s heart toward you:

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

11  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

13  You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.

When we find ourselves dealing with a mess, we need to seek Him with all our hearts…….so that we can find Him and His plans for us.

Another one of my favorite scriptures challenges me to not rely on my own intelligence to run my life. The idea here is, if I do rely on myself and my resources, then I would be settling for something much less that what I could have had.

Look at this:

Proverbs 3:5-6 GNB

5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.

6  Remember the LORD in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

The implication here is that my own understanding brings about a result that is much less desirable than what I would really like or want……. We might refer to it as what is viewed as “the wrong way”. However, in this verse the Lord’s intent appears to be to show us “the right way”.  What could be better than that?

 In my cookie adventure, I still had cookies at the end, but they were burned, scary looking, and not fit to be eaten.

Who wants to settle for less?

Who wants to settle for failure?

Who really wants to settle for toxic waste cookies?

Consider these other verses also:

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

8  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

9  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God has such a wonderful plan for our lives for now and in the future, but we have to adjust our thinking to His ideas. We cannot expect God to change His thinking to our ways……not gonna happen.

About right here most of us think of an obvious question: “If God’s plan is so good, then why am I still so miserable?

Maybe examining where your decisions come from might provide an answer……

However, I think we should go even deeper. What about when you have followed the Lord the best way that you can, made all the right decisions, and things still are all screwed up feeling? What then?

This is when we have the opportunity to approach things by trusting God. (That is what faith is, by the way.) Through faith we can claim His peace. When Jesus was approaching leaving the earth to go back to the Father, He said that He would leave His peace with His children on the earth.

I have to believe this and “mentally own it” for myself. Giving up my expectations, plans, desires, and self will……..

I need to become willing to trust the plan that He has in His will for me, even if it all continues to be screwed up for a while. He never said that those plans would all be comfortable or all go easily.

Some of our biggest challenges come in all this as we face the choices of being willing to ask Him for His plan and then for us being willing to genuinely follow it. When we are really honest with ourselves, we have to acknowledge the fact that we don't always know all that there is to being successful in life.  The truth is, most of the time we don’t.

Of course the thought pops up in our mind, “Well then, all I need to do is just make all the right decisions in my life, then I won’t have to worry about making a mistake!” This is a great concept and goal, but how am I to know which decisions are the right ones? Only the Lord knows, and He wants very much to let us in on the knowledge of it. The Lord definitely wants to share with us His best for us, but we have to at least talk with Him and listen to Him.

It is interesting that someone would say, “Hey, I know all this stuff you are talking about!” I'm sure they that they know these things very well, but then they still go ahead and try to do it their own intelligent, figured out way. How wacked is that?

I guess that I should stop right here and reluctantly confess something to you. I really have baked cookies properly at the office in the past. I used the proper oven, followed the instructions and had them turn out very well. It is just that this time I decided to ignore what I knew to be right and try it my newly devised way. The result was not a pretty sight, and I was not the only one affected by my poor choice. Everyone in the office suffered in some way because of my ill conceived, selfish plan.

My decision that day may not have been too bad just to destroy two lumps of cookie dough, but what about when it involves negatively affecting your children, or church, or friends, or your spouse?

A nuclear mess you don't want in any of these cases.

In The Old Testament, the Lord gave some assurances to His children that I believe we can also apply to His children now.  Listen to what the Lord says to us:

Isaiah 30:18 & 21 NIV

18  Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

…………………

21  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

This is a sweet, metaphorical way of the Lord telling us that He will guide us as we listen to Him.

Let me encourage you; have a good talk with the Lord about what it will take for your life to be a great success in all areas of it. He really does want you to be successful and He loves you so much.

Avoid the nuclear mess in your life……….. It's the only one you have on this earth.

Love,

Dan

Read More