Sore. So, I had an ingrown toenail that had been bothering me for some time now. As I've been waiting for it to heal, it has caused me to walk different as well as take some ibuprofen from time to time. You see, in order to function properly, the rest of my body is dependent upon the health of the other parts of my body. So, if my toe is hurting, then the rest of my body suffers.
The church is the same way. In the kingdom of God, if one part of us suffers then we all hurt because we are not at full strength. This happens in our local church and even in our families as well.
If someone in our church body is hurting then we should surround them with love and help them where we can. If a coworker isn't performing up to par, then the whole crew or facility suffers, so we should offer any assistance possible in order to get things back to way it needs to be.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Peace
Peace. I have it. Maybe, sometimes, it is misinterpreted as passivity. Maybe you define it as doubt. Regardless, somehow in life I've found a way to find peace when things aren't very stable.
I'm not sure when it happened, but since my early twenties, I've just been able to handle hurt, disappointment, sickness and tragedy very well. Today for example, my dad was in Hawaii when the tsunami was coming towards the island. I was concerned for him, but had a peace that regardless of the outcome, good or bad, that it was all o.k. When my wife Sarah was in the hospital in Alabama having major surgery, circumstances dictated that I needed to be in North Carolina. That was by far the hardest decision either of us has ever made, and trust me, I wanted to be in Alabama with her, but in the midst of the unknown, I had peace.
I guess it all boils down to the fact that God says that His plan for us is good. Yes, tragedy will happen. Yes, we will hurt and maybe even suffer. It's not going to be easy, but there is a peace, that regardless of the outcome, there is opportunity for us to come out of it stronger. I can't count the opportunities that I've had to completely break down or to even give up. It's been tough, but somehow, there was a peace that literally went beyond all understanding. If we can tap into that, there is nothing that we can't handle. Perhaps, it was this same peace that Jesus had when He prayed right before the betrayal and arrest: "Father, if it be your will, take this cup from Me, if not, not My will be done, but Yours be done.
Matthew 26: 36-45
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
I'm not sure when it happened, but since my early twenties, I've just been able to handle hurt, disappointment, sickness and tragedy very well. Today for example, my dad was in Hawaii when the tsunami was coming towards the island. I was concerned for him, but had a peace that regardless of the outcome, good or bad, that it was all o.k. When my wife Sarah was in the hospital in Alabama having major surgery, circumstances dictated that I needed to be in North Carolina. That was by far the hardest decision either of us has ever made, and trust me, I wanted to be in Alabama with her, but in the midst of the unknown, I had peace.
I guess it all boils down to the fact that God says that His plan for us is good. Yes, tragedy will happen. Yes, we will hurt and maybe even suffer. It's not going to be easy, but there is a peace, that regardless of the outcome, there is opportunity for us to come out of it stronger. I can't count the opportunities that I've had to completely break down or to even give up. It's been tough, but somehow, there was a peace that literally went beyond all understanding. If we can tap into that, there is nothing that we can't handle. Perhaps, it was this same peace that Jesus had when He prayed right before the betrayal and arrest: "Father, if it be your will, take this cup from Me, if not, not My will be done, but Yours be done.
Matthew 26: 36-45
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Obey
Obey. Perhaps the most difficult to harness of all four-letter words. "Love" is another difficult one, but that could be filed under "Obey" since "Love" is a commandment from God.
To obey goes against human nature. Since the beginning of time, humans have been disobedient. We've disobeyed other humans and God. One particular area in my life that I have chosen to obey is God's plan for adoption.
Since childhood, Sarah has known that God called her to adopt. I on the other hand, have never had a desire to adopt. It honestly never crossed my mind. After three plus years of marriage, I've embraced the plan that God has for us. Tonight, while reading a couple of different blogs by some people I know, I fully realized the plan. The peace overwhelmed me and brought me to tears as I truly realized the hand of God in this. We are unsure of the timing of this, but know that we will obey when the time comes.
The point of this blog entry is not adoption. It's obedience. What are you obediently doing? Who and what have you disobeyed? What passion lies in your heart? What have you ignored or thrown away? What are you going to do about it?James 1: 19-27 : Listening and Doing
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
To obey goes against human nature. Since the beginning of time, humans have been disobedient. We've disobeyed other humans and God. One particular area in my life that I have chosen to obey is God's plan for adoption.
Since childhood, Sarah has known that God called her to adopt. I on the other hand, have never had a desire to adopt. It honestly never crossed my mind. After three plus years of marriage, I've embraced the plan that God has for us. Tonight, while reading a couple of different blogs by some people I know, I fully realized the plan. The peace overwhelmed me and brought me to tears as I truly realized the hand of God in this. We are unsure of the timing of this, but know that we will obey when the time comes.
The point of this blog entry is not adoption. It's obedience. What are you obediently doing? Who and what have you disobeyed? What passion lies in your heart? What have you ignored or thrown away? What are you going to do about it?
James 1: 19-27 : Listening and Doing
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
It's not about us
I am amazed at how much we have made the church and Christianity about us. I don't think we intended it to be like that but in certain areas, that is what it has become.
Serving God could be compared to having a good job with awesome benefits. There are things that benefit you however those benefits are only a benefit of your relationship with your employer. The employer doesn't have to give you those benefits but they do. Catch my drift?
The troubling thing is that many times in our relationship with God is that we want to be intimate (benefits) without being married (committed). Our services begin with a pump-you-up speech about the awesome things God is going to do for us in that service. I guess I missed the verse that said going to church is about what God can do for us rather than us gathering together to worship and praise Him. Yes He does stuff for us but that's not the point. It's not about us.
What would happen if we modeled our lives and even our services to focus on passionately pursuing God without any thought of how it could benefit us? What if we stopped using Him and started adoring Him?
Serving God could be compared to having a good job with awesome benefits. There are things that benefit you however those benefits are only a benefit of your relationship with your employer. The employer doesn't have to give you those benefits but they do. Catch my drift?
The troubling thing is that many times in our relationship with God is that we want to be intimate (benefits) without being married (committed). Our services begin with a pump-you-up speech about the awesome things God is going to do for us in that service. I guess I missed the verse that said going to church is about what God can do for us rather than us gathering together to worship and praise Him. Yes He does stuff for us but that's not the point. It's not about us.
What would happen if we modeled our lives and even our services to focus on passionately pursuing God without any thought of how it could benefit us? What if we stopped using Him and started adoring Him?
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Will you lay it down?
Acts 4:32-37
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
It's official...
It's official, I will be blogging during the 40 days of Lent. I've never done anything for Lent, but felt like I should this year. I'm not looking to make this into a diary, but rather just some contemplative or reflective thoughts that come to mind. Some of it may be opinion, revelation, teaching, reflection, etc...
Most people that I see observing Lent typically are giving something up (food, media, TV, sports, etc...), rather than doing something, so I questioned myself about doing this blog for 40 days straight. However, in order to do this, it will take sacrifice. It will take time away from my day and force me to seek, reflect, write and post. I will have to get up early or stay up late. I may have to skip lunch or seek out an internet signal somewhere, who knows what obstacles may come my way.
Typically, these things sound like good ideas and normally just fizzle out, but I'm hoping to find the strength and courage to fight past that. Please pray for me, comment, discuss, etc... to help keep me encouraged.
Sometime tomorrow, I'll have day #1 posted
-Jonathan
Most people that I see observing Lent typically are giving something up (food, media, TV, sports, etc...), rather than doing something, so I questioned myself about doing this blog for 40 days straight. However, in order to do this, it will take sacrifice. It will take time away from my day and force me to seek, reflect, write and post. I will have to get up early or stay up late. I may have to skip lunch or seek out an internet signal somewhere, who knows what obstacles may come my way.
Typically, these things sound like good ideas and normally just fizzle out, but I'm hoping to find the strength and courage to fight past that. Please pray for me, comment, discuss, etc... to help keep me encouraged.
Sometime tomorrow, I'll have day #1 posted
-Jonathan
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