happy v-day to all of you out there. love each other. enjoy each other. sex is for marriage.
good night.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
mission...leading...success.
mission...directions...following orders. sometimes the easiest of requests can be misunderstood. sometimes they are simply just not obeyed. when people fail to follow orders, the ranks break. when the ranks break, trust is breached. where there is no trust, there can be no success.
in gen. 24, abraham's servant uses the words 'mission,' 'leading' and 'success.' all this guy knew was that he was given vague instruction about where to go next. not really the specifics, more like ideas. he knew his mission was from his master who believed in God; therefore it was enough. he worships God over and over because it is obvious that He is the one leading the servant. the result of his journey was success.
notice, his success was not measured in riches or glory. rather he was there to set up another to have success. his role was to do his master's will, that's it. when he did it, he worshipped God - he knew that God was at work in his life and that He was leading him -- that was enough.
how ironic that sometimes we measure success without considering what God is leading us to do next. i find that God often paints with vague broad strokes to convey ideas, rather than specifics. i think that He will show us the specifics of the mission as we follow in His leading. i believe that when we do this, we will be successful.
the catch is that, when we fully obey, we are setting up Christ to have the glory and success, not ourselves. we need to remember, when we come to Christ, we become His servants. servants have no rights, their role is to serve and to do it as the master bids. what a strange perception on success.
how is God teaching you to be successful in your daily journey?
what have you found to be the current 'mission' that He's leading you on today?
in gen. 24, abraham's servant uses the words 'mission,' 'leading' and 'success.' all this guy knew was that he was given vague instruction about where to go next. not really the specifics, more like ideas. he knew his mission was from his master who believed in God; therefore it was enough. he worships God over and over because it is obvious that He is the one leading the servant. the result of his journey was success.
notice, his success was not measured in riches or glory. rather he was there to set up another to have success. his role was to do his master's will, that's it. when he did it, he worshipped God - he knew that God was at work in his life and that He was leading him -- that was enough.
how ironic that sometimes we measure success without considering what God is leading us to do next. i find that God often paints with vague broad strokes to convey ideas, rather than specifics. i think that He will show us the specifics of the mission as we follow in His leading. i believe that when we do this, we will be successful.
the catch is that, when we fully obey, we are setting up Christ to have the glory and success, not ourselves. we need to remember, when we come to Christ, we become His servants. servants have no rights, their role is to serve and to do it as the master bids. what a strange perception on success.
how is God teaching you to be successful in your daily journey?
what have you found to be the current 'mission' that He's leading you on today?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
aliens among us...
as immigration continues to grow in the US, it's becoming one of the buzz topics in this year's election. how will it be handled? can it be resolved? what's the best action to take regarding it? it's important to recognize that foreigners, aliens, immigrants, or whatever else you call it are not from here. then again, who truly is from 'here.'
as a Christ follower, i wrestle with this immigration issue. being His, i know that i am not my own. gen. 23, abraham uses the term alien and stranger to describe himself among a people that he has lived with for years. it's easy to say that we are from this place, but are we really of this place.
when a person from a foreign country is here, i know it. whether it's the voice, the accent, the language, the smell, the color, or the way of dress - you can tell that it's different. are we any different? are we seen as aliens or immigrants in a place that is not our own, because technically, we are citizens of a higher place that supersedes culture, language, or even affluence.
as we move on to where God calls, may we remember that our allegiance is not to a flag. Christ is not a white middle class american. our allegiance is to a King and His Kingdom.
what do you think it means to be a God-alien in this place?
how should this affect the way we think, live, and behave?
as a Christ follower, i wrestle with this immigration issue. being His, i know that i am not my own. gen. 23, abraham uses the term alien and stranger to describe himself among a people that he has lived with for years. it's easy to say that we are from this place, but are we really of this place.
when a person from a foreign country is here, i know it. whether it's the voice, the accent, the language, the smell, the color, or the way of dress - you can tell that it's different. are we any different? are we seen as aliens or immigrants in a place that is not our own, because technically, we are citizens of a higher place that supersedes culture, language, or even affluence.
as we move on to where God calls, may we remember that our allegiance is not to a flag. Christ is not a white middle class american. our allegiance is to a King and His Kingdom.
what do you think it means to be a God-alien in this place?
how should this affect the way we think, live, and behave?
Monday, February 11, 2008
too difficult to change...
what a difficult thing to give up what is most valuable or important to one in life. im not sure how i would respond if God were to ask me to give up that one thing which is most valuable in life. there is too much pain, hurt, and maybe even unforgiveness that comes with it. when things get taken away, it bothers me enough already. but when i m asked to give things up out of my own will, its pretty difficult. cutting out things that are invaluable seems to be a cinch. but it's those things that hold some kind of value to me, those are the things that i find trouble letting go of.
in gen.22, abraham is asked to let go of his son -- the one that God told him he was going to have, the one that he had been waiting nearly 20 years for, the one who would carry on his name and be a blessing to the rest of the world. God not only asks abraham to let go, but he actually tells him to cut him off of himself (sacrificing him). that's crazy.
what's even crazier is that abraham doesn't even argue with God. no conversation about the matter-- nothing. he gets up, takes his son out on a few days trip, sees the place, goes up, builds an alter, ties his son up, and gets ready to sacrifice him on the alter -- all because it's what God asked him to do.
for all of you who are not familiar, God intervenes and gives him mad props for not withholding even his son from God. abraham becomes known as the 'father of our faith.'
pretty cool name, but the title came at a cost. it nearly cost him the one thing that he cared about most.
can it be that there are things in life that God calls us to 'cut off' from ourselves? things that don't please him? things that He knows are not in our best interest? and maybe, just maybe, because He wants us to be obedient, no matter the cost.
how would you respond if God called you to get rid of the thing that you value most?
how do you obey God when it doesn't make sense or when it seems too difficult?
let me know.
in gen.22, abraham is asked to let go of his son -- the one that God told him he was going to have, the one that he had been waiting nearly 20 years for, the one who would carry on his name and be a blessing to the rest of the world. God not only asks abraham to let go, but he actually tells him to cut him off of himself (sacrificing him). that's crazy.
what's even crazier is that abraham doesn't even argue with God. no conversation about the matter-- nothing. he gets up, takes his son out on a few days trip, sees the place, goes up, builds an alter, ties his son up, and gets ready to sacrifice him on the alter -- all because it's what God asked him to do.
for all of you who are not familiar, God intervenes and gives him mad props for not withholding even his son from God. abraham becomes known as the 'father of our faith.'
pretty cool name, but the title came at a cost. it nearly cost him the one thing that he cared about most.
can it be that there are things in life that God calls us to 'cut off' from ourselves? things that don't please him? things that He knows are not in our best interest? and maybe, just maybe, because He wants us to be obedient, no matter the cost.
how would you respond if God called you to get rid of the thing that you value most?
how do you obey God when it doesn't make sense or when it seems too difficult?
let me know.
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