Paul said in Ephesians 5 that a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the church. How did Christ love the church?
He sacrificed his very life for her! He was willing to die for her best--for the need she had the most--salvation. Husband, are you willing to do whatever it takes so your wife can grow in her relationship with Christ? So she can be presented spotless, without sin, before the Lord when He returns?
He also lived for her! Jesus lived His life on earth for the best of others. He wanted the best for them, even above His own interests and needs. He was a model of how to live a life for God. Husband, do you live your life before your wife (and others) as a model of how to live a life for God? Are you a model to your children, to your wife, to your friends and even unbelievers of what Christ's life would look like if it were lived on earth today. As one song years ago said, "You're the only Jesus that some will ever see." How does Jesus in you show forth the "real Jesus" to those watching you, living beside you and with you?
Would your wife say you always consider her needs in making decisions? Would she say you always look to God for decisions you make? Would she say you sacrifice for her and point her to God? Would she say you love her in the same way Christ loved the church?
I have a long way to go in doing this. What about you?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
VISION
My vision is so often too small. As I have read from Neil Cole, Organic Church, and other missional thinkers, we need to think bigger when we think of how the gospel spreads. Instead of praying for one person to come to know Christ (a very good prayer), why not think of whole households coming to know Christ (and praying that way as well).
Sometimes we look at an acorn and see it as one nut. God looks at the acorns and sees many trees produced from that one acorn, as it grows, matures, and bears fruit.
We should also look at our vision that way. Don't look just for our church to grow, but look for God to use us to birth many churches that will reach others we are not and probably will not reach otherwise.
Pray bigger prayers--God is a very big God!
Sometimes we look at an acorn and see it as one nut. God looks at the acorns and sees many trees produced from that one acorn, as it grows, matures, and bears fruit.
We should also look at our vision that way. Don't look just for our church to grow, but look for God to use us to birth many churches that will reach others we are not and probably will not reach otherwise.
Pray bigger prayers--God is a very big God!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Only You
Nobody else in the world does what you do like you do! That is God's plan for making each of us unique--one of a kind--His creation.
While reading Stephen Covey's, 8th Habit, recently, I came across these statements from Jim Collins book, Good to Great:
1) What are you really good at--maybe even, what can you be best in the world at?
2) What are you deeply passionate about?
3) What will people pay for--what are human needs and wants being met that would drive your economic engine.
4) Covey then says, "What does your conscience counsel?" (Covey, 8th Habit, Fig. 11.3, p. 221)
So often, we do not peg into who we are and who we were created to be. We just settle for what will pay the bills. What if a person centered in on his/her passions, on his/her interests, on the ways we are wired? How would life be different if we did this?
I'm trying to grow and become who I was made to be. Are you?
While reading Stephen Covey's, 8th Habit, recently, I came across these statements from Jim Collins book, Good to Great:
1) What are you really good at--maybe even, what can you be best in the world at?
2) What are you deeply passionate about?
3) What will people pay for--what are human needs and wants being met that would drive your economic engine.
4) Covey then says, "What does your conscience counsel?" (Covey, 8th Habit, Fig. 11.3, p. 221)
So often, we do not peg into who we are and who we were created to be. We just settle for what will pay the bills. What if a person centered in on his/her passions, on his/her interests, on the ways we are wired? How would life be different if we did this?
I'm trying to grow and become who I was made to be. Are you?
Monday, August 2, 2010
Life is experiences. I have noticed that when I don't have much to say to my wife or to others, it is because I don't have new experiences to share. When my mother was alive, she would say at times, "I don't really get out so I don't really have much interesting happening to talk about now."
One reason for the success of Henry Blackaby's, Experiencing God, was probably the fact that we want to not just hear about God, but actually to "experience" Him for ourselves. That seems to be much of our culture's need today--to experience life, not just to hear about it.
One neat thing is that we can experience God even when we can't gain a new experience in life by a trip or work or a new peak experience. God can always be experienced everywhere we are.
I went to a church recently which had a coffee shop as atmosphere in part of their building. They were trying to create the "coffeehouse" atmosphere, where people love to "hang out" and "chill" with their friends. They wanted to make their church a place for experiences of fellowship and closeness.
Experiences--that seems to be why we travel (vacation), read, talk to others, seek outside ourselves--a way of growing, learning, thinking.
When we seek nothing new, we're ready to die. At that point there is no meaning left for us in life--only in death, and for the believer in Christ, only in heaven and life beyond the grave.
Life is experiences--I want more here, and later, there.
What do you think? Is life a series of experiences?
One reason for the success of Henry Blackaby's, Experiencing God, was probably the fact that we want to not just hear about God, but actually to "experience" Him for ourselves. That seems to be much of our culture's need today--to experience life, not just to hear about it.
One neat thing is that we can experience God even when we can't gain a new experience in life by a trip or work or a new peak experience. God can always be experienced everywhere we are.
I went to a church recently which had a coffee shop as atmosphere in part of their building. They were trying to create the "coffeehouse" atmosphere, where people love to "hang out" and "chill" with their friends. They wanted to make their church a place for experiences of fellowship and closeness.
Experiences--that seems to be why we travel (vacation), read, talk to others, seek outside ourselves--a way of growing, learning, thinking.
When we seek nothing new, we're ready to die. At that point there is no meaning left for us in life--only in death, and for the believer in Christ, only in heaven and life beyond the grave.
Life is experiences--I want more here, and later, there.
What do you think? Is life a series of experiences?
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A FB friend, and former student that I worked with in collegiate ministry, quoted Proverbs 3:5-6 the other day. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
Good advice for us. Trust in God--place your hope, your future, your plans, your life in His hands. Do it with all you are and all you have. Lean not on your own understanding--instead of trusting your own self, trust God. Realize how limited you and I are in relation to an unlimited God. God sees the big picture--I see a very small part of the puzzle. In all your ways acknowledge Him--Give God His rightful place, recognize Him in all the situations of life, and seek to 'know' Him personally. When He has His rightful place in your life, then other things will fall into place where they should be. And coming to know God better and better is a life impacting series of events. He will make your paths straight--I remember the tangled way we used to drive from my home to my grandmother's house--curves, turns, stops--no direct route. But when they put interstate 57 in, the road was very straight and the trip took considerably less time. What an easy and wonderful trip it became. God tries to make the curves and turns and twists of our life into a straight path, if we would just trust Him above our own insights and give Him His rightful place in our lives.
So which do you want--twists and getting sidetracked or the shortest and easiest path? Trust God.
Good advice for us. Trust in God--place your hope, your future, your plans, your life in His hands. Do it with all you are and all you have. Lean not on your own understanding--instead of trusting your own self, trust God. Realize how limited you and I are in relation to an unlimited God. God sees the big picture--I see a very small part of the puzzle. In all your ways acknowledge Him--Give God His rightful place, recognize Him in all the situations of life, and seek to 'know' Him personally. When He has His rightful place in your life, then other things will fall into place where they should be. And coming to know God better and better is a life impacting series of events. He will make your paths straight--I remember the tangled way we used to drive from my home to my grandmother's house--curves, turns, stops--no direct route. But when they put interstate 57 in, the road was very straight and the trip took considerably less time. What an easy and wonderful trip it became. God tries to make the curves and turns and twists of our life into a straight path, if we would just trust Him above our own insights and give Him His rightful place in our lives.
So which do you want--twists and getting sidetracked or the shortest and easiest path? Trust God.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
spiritual gifts
What if the church really operated from spiritual gifts? Those that do today are growing. When one is not only gifted (as every Christian is) but also using his/her gifts out of the passion that God has given them, what great things can be accomplished.
There are nights when I've used my gift of teaching or facilitating a small group, and I come home pumped. God makes it a joy to use what He has put into us for His glory and to build up the body of Christ.
Why do we settle for less? So often we don't want to serve. So often we don't know what our spiritual gift is. So often our churches have not taught about spiritual gifts because we have seen abuses, like in the Corinthian letter, and overcorrected by being in control rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to be in control. So out of our fear, we have set up nominating committees to fill slots rather than God's people coming to the forefront to use their gifts for God. When we fill slots instead of having people utilizing their spiritual gifts, we get committees and believers that are not effective nor enjoying the Christian life and service like they could and should. Hence we fight more and cause the kingdom of Christ to be hurt more than helped.
Where are believers who serve God out of not duty but out of love for Christ and God? When we see that, what a difference is made in the Kingdom of God!
There are nights when I've used my gift of teaching or facilitating a small group, and I come home pumped. God makes it a joy to use what He has put into us for His glory and to build up the body of Christ.
Why do we settle for less? So often we don't want to serve. So often we don't know what our spiritual gift is. So often our churches have not taught about spiritual gifts because we have seen abuses, like in the Corinthian letter, and overcorrected by being in control rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to be in control. So out of our fear, we have set up nominating committees to fill slots rather than God's people coming to the forefront to use their gifts for God. When we fill slots instead of having people utilizing their spiritual gifts, we get committees and believers that are not effective nor enjoying the Christian life and service like they could and should. Hence we fight more and cause the kingdom of Christ to be hurt more than helped.
Where are believers who serve God out of not duty but out of love for Christ and God? When we see that, what a difference is made in the Kingdom of God!
Master of my fate
Watched Invictus with Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as captain of the South African rugby team. Very inspiring movie as Mandela didn't attempt retribution toward those who kept him in prison for 27 years but tried to pull his country together when he was elected president. He stood up against those black and white who felt he was leading in the wrong way, including his own wife.
Good on leadership as we see him leading by serving and being a model for others to follow. I didn't appreciate the language--either the bad language nor the fact that their South African accents were hard to understand and follow for me, at times. But the movie was worth watching because of Mandela's leadership and the inspiration he brought to others. He inspired the captain of the rugby team to get the team to excel above their expectations.
Some people demand others to respect them; others command respect by their modeling and respect and humility they show to others. It also shows the need for forgiveness and working toward reconciliation. Often what we do should be for the good of others, not just ourselves.
Another feel-good story similar to The Blind Side. Christian values are present in the movie and the value of one person working to do what he can to make things happen. God is the Master of our fate, but he wants us to allow His values to change us as we cooperate with Him in mastering the world.
Good on leadership as we see him leading by serving and being a model for others to follow. I didn't appreciate the language--either the bad language nor the fact that their South African accents were hard to understand and follow for me, at times. But the movie was worth watching because of Mandela's leadership and the inspiration he brought to others. He inspired the captain of the rugby team to get the team to excel above their expectations.
Some people demand others to respect them; others command respect by their modeling and respect and humility they show to others. It also shows the need for forgiveness and working toward reconciliation. Often what we do should be for the good of others, not just ourselves.
Another feel-good story similar to The Blind Side. Christian values are present in the movie and the value of one person working to do what he can to make things happen. God is the Master of our fate, but he wants us to allow His values to change us as we cooperate with Him in mastering the world.
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