We have watched this in church before and they showed it again today. It never fails to convict me as I often find myself trying to take back the “decision seat.” Today, I challenge you to be still and examine your own life. Are you one cheeking it with God?
Category Archives: A Challenge
Thine Is The Kingdom
Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like everything is a fight? Nothing comes easily. You find yourself trudging along waiting for the minutes to pass so you can escape to a slumber that you only hope will eventually come? But the battle rages on and you find yourself in a minefield, exhausted, dodging explosions and putting out fires. What do you do? Where can you turn? Where is God? And WHY does He seem silent? I admit I don’t have all of the answers for you but God has whispered this message to my soul as I have pleaded those same questions. There is a saying that goes like this. “When you are going through something hard and wonder where God is, remember the teacher is always quiet during a test.” I don’t believe that. God is never silent if we are searching for Him, seeking His will. He isn’t going to leave us hanging out to dry, left to figure things out on our own. But He isn’t going to give us the answers that we want if it isn’t His will for us. He isn’t going to just placate us to keep us happy. In our limited capabilities, we discern this as silence and in our humanity we don’t like being told “No.” On these days, we need to examine if we are actually fighting a battle with the will of God; if we are exhausted from trying to push our own agenda in our own power; and if God seems silent, is it because we don’t like what He’s saying and we have stopped listening?
Have you prayed about this as much as you have talked (or complained) about it? We have a tendency to forget how important and powerful prayer is. Examine for a moment how much time you are spending in God’s presence. Is your prayer life suffering in complacency? Does it look like the picture Max Lucado paints? “We say our prayers as casually as we’d order a burger at the drive-through: ‘I’ll have one solved problem and two blessings, cut the hassles, please.’ ”
We are told to pray boldly for things. We can ask God for anything! His main objective though, is not our happiness but instead, shaping Christ-like character in us. So while we pray boldly, let us also pray, Lord, if this is not your will please change my heart. Align my wants with your plan. Lay down whatever it is you are fighting for at Jesus’ feet, through prayer. Confess to Him your hurt, disappointment, your anger and frustration at Him for not doing what you thought He should do, not showing up when you thought He should have come. You will find the battle dissolving and the pathway smoothing.
And this is the boldness we have in God’s presence; that if we ask God for anything that agrees with what he wants, he hears us. 1 John 5:14
Finally, I leave you with this thought today, “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:13, emphasis mine) Who’s kingdom? Not mine but thine.
P.S – You may be saying, I have prayed faithfully for this, I have listened, and I believe that I am walking in the will of God and yet I am STILL battling. There is another kind of battle that can rage, and that what happens when Satan gets involved in trying to thwart a blessing. You can read about that type of battle in an earlier post by clicking here.
Do Not Conform – Brought to you by Apple
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world…are the ones who do. -Apple Ad Campaign
Originally written as an advertising campaign for Apple, I read this and heard a personal call to boldness. A call to be transformed in Christ. Isn’t Apple’s message in line with Romans 12:2? “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
How do we do this boldly? By being a round peg in a square hole. That’s about as clear as mud, right? Here is what I mean. You will, even today, be given at least one opportunity to take a stand for Christ, in Christ. Not necessarily in a bold evangelical, accept-God’s-gift-of-salvation kind of way (although He does provide those on occasion.) Instead, we can be bold in showing, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. This is choosing the high road when it would be so easy to just go with the flow and follow the crowd. This is choosing what is right over what is painless. This is choosing acceptance over anger, forgiveness over bitterness. This is choosing truth over lies, no matter what the consequences. This often creates waves, draws attention, and always requires courage.
John Piper says, “The evidence of boldness is whether or not a person is making choices throughout the day that revolve around their desire to avoid conflict. If so, then that is a clear sign that cowardice is winning out over courage.”
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NLT)
Wherever you go, whatever you face the Lord is with you. So go boldly and with confidence knowing you are not alone. As the Apple ad said, if you are one of the “crazy” people who stand out from the crowd, be prepared because people will quote you, disagree with you, glorify or vilify you. Just don’t let them ignore you and never settle for status quo. And always believe that you can change things, one bold act at a time.
Be Intentional
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. (Romans 14:12 NIV)
Joyce Meyer writes “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who wait for something to happen and those who make things happen. God has called you to do great things for His Kingdom, don’t shy away from it.
You need to be intentional. You need to live life ON purpose. Don’t just wait around to see what everyone else is going to do & then follow the crowd. Stir yourself up, make a decision, & get going!”
I ask you the same question as yesterday. What if God is waiting on you?
What if…
Martin Buber, in Tales of the Hasidim, tells the story of Rabbi Zussia. Rabbi Zussia said, “At the Last Judgement, I shall not be asked ‘Why were you not Abraham? Why were you not Moses?’ I shall be asked, ‘Why were you not Zussia?’ ” So, I ask you today, why are you trying so hard to be anything other than what God created you to be?
Galatians 5:25-26 says, “Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original (MSG, emphasis mine).
Be you! Stop comparing yourself to others. God created you uniquely. He created you with specific gifts and for a specific purpose. There are things that God has planned that without you, your gifts, your input, will not be fully developed. We can so easily get caught up comparing ourselves to others, where we excel, where we fall short. In our personal quest to “measure up” we can easily sideswipe opportunities that God has planned for us. This is what happens when our eyes are on others, not the God who created us. God will meets us, where we are, with remarkable opportunities specifically suited for our talent set. You must only make yourself available.
We are needed to be the light in a broken, dark world. God does not call the dark to be light, he calls the light to be light. The light, you and I, we all must do our part. There are so many corners and nooks and crannies that need lit up. It doesn’t matter how big or small our part may be. And I speak personally when I say sometimes that is hard. I want to do big things, see big changes, big results. But it is all important to God, the big and the small. They all play a necessary part. Mother Theresa writes, “God will not ask how many books you have read; how many miracles you have worked; He will ask you if you have done your best, for the love of Him. Can you in all sincerity say, “I have done my best”? Even if the best is failure, it must be our best, our utmost. ”
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NLT)
You can sit and complain about the way things are, in your church, in your school, or in your community, but there is another option. Today, linger on this question…What if the change is supposed to start with you? What if instead of complaining you are supposed to take action?
This world needs God
But it’s easier to stand and watch
I could say a prayer and just move on
Like nothing’s wrong
But I refuse
‘Cause I don’t want to live like I don’t care
I don’t want to say another empty prayer
I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
Oh, I could choose
Not to move, but I refuse
-Josh Wilson, “I Refuse”
What if God is waiting on you?
Inside Out
You want to be remarkable? Then here is the first question I have for you.
How far can your car go on empty?
No doubt we have pushed it to its limits sometimes. The low fuel light comes on in our vehicle and we either aren’t near a gas station or we think we can make it just a little ways further. Eventually, if we don’t stop to refuel, our car will come to a sputtering halt alongside the road. Like our vehicles, we need fuel. Obviously we have physical needs, rest and nourishment, but spiritually we also need to be refilled. How do we do this? By spending time with God.
Our relationship with God is based in our prayer life. Prayer is our way to communicate with God, and without communication how can we have a relationship? As Christians we often treat prayer as something to be checked off a list and we miss the part where we are building our relationship with the Creator of the universe. We miss out on the refueling that happens when we commune with God. Prayer is a stepping stone to worship, to devotional time spent in His Word, and then to outwardly reaching towards others. We have to start our road to a remarkable life internally. If our cup isn’t overflowing with the love and Spirit of Christ generated in our time spent with Him, how will we have enough to share? Maybe you don’t feel like you know how to start a conversation with God. It’s been so long or you don’t know what to say. Mother Teresa says “We want so much to pray properly and then we fail. We get discouraged and give up. If you want to pray better, you must pray more.” God is waiting and He just wants you, not a fancy prayer. Mother Teresa goes on to say “If we don’t pray, our presence will have no power, our words will have no power.” Without prayer we will not be remarkable.
I could never do justice to the extensive topic of prayer in this sitting, volumes and volumes are dedicated to it. So for today, let me bottom-line it for you. Prayer-just do it. Talk to God as you would a friend. Build your relationship with him and begin the journey towards remarkable. Enjoy the light-hearted look at prayer through the eyes of The Skit Guys below and see if you can identify with any of it. I know I did.
Have you taken the Challenge To Be Remarkable?
A Remarkable Challenge
Stop and think about something this morning. Here is what I am asking you to “Be Still” over this week. You leave your fingerprints everywhere. This isn’t a matter of hygiene but instead a matter of the heart. The people you work with, the stranger at the grocery store, your spouse, your children, your teammates, your friends, everyone of these groups of people are marked by your fingerprints. How are you marking them?
Jesus in is the everyday dealings in our lives. I believe this is where He lives. Yes, He is most certainly in the grand, big plans. He is in the mega-churches and the revival conventions. He resides in the Joyce Meyers, David Jeremiahs, and Billy Grahams of the world but no more so than he does in you or I. Stop and think about that for just a moment. If, you are a follower of Jesus, a disciple, He is as available to you as He is to each and every notable disciple that has come before you. More than that, you have every bit as much opportunity (and dare I say responsibility) to reach out to those people that He places in your path on any given day. There is a need for the “big-leagues” but never discount the “little league” games that you and I are involved in every single moment of every single day. These can be just as remarkable, sometimes even more so. Think for just a minute, how many people can one person reach, even if they have the platform of television and radio? (And that requires a the listener to be actively searching for something.) Now, how many people can you and I, and every other follower of Jesus reach in a single day, where they are, bringing a message that person may not have even realize they needed. I am not talking about preaching hellfire and brimstone, but reaching out instead in love, kindness, forgiveness. These, the fruits of the Spirit from Galations 5:22, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness are things of this world that are quickly disappearing. We are called to be different. We are called for something more. We have an opportunity, everyday, to plant these seeds and maybe, through God’s careful tending though everyday people like you and I, that seed will grow into something bigger. If that isn’t remarkable, I don’t know what is.
Today, you will have at least one opportunity to be remarkable and it doesn’t require a huge gesture, it just requires eyes that have been opened by Jesus to see people the way he sees them. Ears that are listening for the prompting of the still small voice of Jesus. A heart that has experienced the love of Jesus and in response is overflowing in gratitude. Feet that are following in Jesus’ footsteps. And hands, to leave the fingerprints of Jesus on someone else’s life. No matter how small and insignificant that gesture may seem to us we are part of a much larger plan and all of the pieces have to be present for the puzzle to be complete. Today, I am writing as much to myself as you. Don’t get caught up in the grand gesture, the desire for greatness. Be diligent in the small things, see and take every opportunity that God presents and you will gain an understanding of remarkable.
Lord and Savior, my Father and my Teacher, as I begin this week let me do so with a humble heart. Please release me from the desire to save the world and instead fill me with the desire to reflect You to the world. Help me to understand the true meaning of living a remarkable life, not in notoriety and fame, but in the quiet dealings of a life lived in your grace. Help me to leave your fingerprints, not mine, on everyone I touch today. When I forget please remind me. I will be tempted by all sorts of things, to distract and to detract, from the message that I live. In these moments Lord, help me to dwell in You to renew my spirit. Lord, help me to live remarkably by your standards.
Please join me this week as we continue on our search for a remarkable life.
What are you holding on to?
My son battles with stress-induced anxiety. When under pressure, he becomes hyper-sensitive. Everything is enhanced and he will become very aware of any ache, pain, or sound to the point of maddening distraction. He is on sensory overload. He becomes agitated, begins to shut down, and cannot see reason. He also avoids, at all costs, that which is causing him the stress. It literally slams on the brakes of his life and our family. In exasperation I have talked, I have pleaded, and I have yelled. (I am not proud.) I have prayed over him, prayed for him, and prayed with him. Yesterday we found ourselves in the middle of one of his firestorms and I finally looked at him and asked that one simple question…What are you holding on to?
He is reaching out for help with one hand but the other hand refuses to let go of the frustration and agitation. Have you ever found yourself in a pit like that and it seems that no matter how much you climb and struggle you only get deeper? What are you holding on to? It is only dragging you back down, slowing your progress. God is not going to pry it out of your hand. You must open your hand and let it go.
I love the story of the mountain climber who, when stranded, hanging by a single rope with nowhere to go but down, he finally yells in desperation, “If there is a God up there, help me.” To his ultimate surprise and astonishment an immediate reply was forthcoming. “Yes, ” said a thundering but kind voice, “I will help you. All you have to do is let go of the rope.” The startled mountain climber thought about this for a moment, and again raised his eyes to heaven and asked, “Is there anyone else up there?” Author, Gerry Boylan puts it this way. “I am seeking God without seeking God’s help.”
Stop fighting. Stop struggling. Wave the white flag. Release the death grip of control. Surrender. The actual act of surrendering is the easiest thing you will ever have to do. Getting to the place where you are ready to surrender may, in fact, be the hardest. Your victory comes through surrender.
Father, you know what is on my heart today. You know what I have my fingers clamped around, what I am unable or unwilling to let go of. You know what my heart is holding hostage. Please change my heart Lord. Help me to loosen my grip and let go. Help me to forgive, to move on, and most importantly open my eyes so that I can see the freedom that surrender brings through your salvation. Through You Lord, and only through You, I know that I can claim victory. Lord, save me!
Troubled Waters, Part B
“So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.” (Matthew 14:29)
PETER GOT OUT OF THE BOAT! Yesterday (Troubled Waters, Part A) we looked at how Jesus rescued Peter from drowning after Peter took his eyes off of Jesus during his walk across the water. But how did Peter get there in the first place. Did he fall overboard? Was he pushed? Peter choose to get out of the boat.
“PETER GOT OUT OF THE BOAT!” I can see the chaotic scene in my head, hear the disciples screaming for Peter as the storm rages around their boat. It is 3am and they are exhausted from fighting against the wind and waves for hours. Then they look out into the storm and can add terror to their list of ailments as they think they see a ghost, because who, or what, could be walking across the water towards them in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm?! It is an impossibility! Then, Peter, realizing that it is Jesus, gathers his robes around him and steps over the edge of the safety of the boat (what little it was providing at the time) and jumps right into the wind stirred waters. They had to be looking at him like he was crazy! What was he thinking?! Was he suicidal? Not in the least. Peter was going to where Jesus was, in the middle of the storm. Peter was following what Jesus had commanded him to do.
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come.” (Matthew 14:28-29)
The disciples had no control over the weather that night and they were fearing for their lives. In the same vain, we don’t get to choose our circumstances. No matter how hard we may try to manipulate things there will be days when we are huddled in our boats riding out the storm. When we find ourselves there we have two choices. We can choose to be like Peter, follow the Lord’s command and “come” which means stepping out of the boat right into the middle of the storm or we can take the safe route and huddle in the boat like the rest of the disciples. God wants us to choose Him. He can’t make us get out of the boat, but He is there among the thunder and lightning and driving rain bidding you to “come on in.” Jesus saved all of them that night, but in the process Peter sought out Jesus and was the only one who got to walk on the water.
Some will say that Peter failed because as he “saw the wind” he began to sink. But it was Peter’s willingness to risk failure that helped him to grow. His faith and trust in Jesus and His power and promises grew exponentially that night as Peter had an intimate, personal encounter with Jesus right in the middle of the storm. Theodore Roosevelt says “It’s not the critic who counts;” (the disciples sitting in the boat saying “Is he nuts?”) “not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.” (“Peter sank, if I would have gone out there I would have kept my eyes on Jesus and run over there to him in half the time.”) “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that his place will never be with those cold timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”
Ignore your critics. Making the choice to follow Jesus out where the sea is high and you lose your footing is a hard and scary choice. It goes against every fiber of your being but it’s where Jesus is and he has commanded us to “Come.” So I will go, out into the crashing waves, out into the deep to meet Jesus. If that means trying and failing, at least I have failed while trying.
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
-Oceans (Where Feet May Fail,) Hillsong United
Run and Be Still 