Inward vs Outward?

As a child my family would go to the beach every year around the July 4th holiday.  Because my birthstone is chalk I  would burn just getting out of the car and walking into the hotel room.  I would then spend the daylight hours in the hotel room waiting for the night hours, because the I've never heard of anyone getting a moon-burn.  I stayed in the room unless I was covered from head to toe with sunscreen and had a long sleeve shirt, hat and socks (which I swam in).  I wanted to stay in because I was hurting.

Now because of the scars (emotionally not physically), I don't like the beach.  I don't like the sun.  I would rather head to the mountains than the beach.  Give me shade.  I'll go to the beach if there is significant shade for me to hide under, and I live in sunny Orlando, Florida - the sunshine state.  Don't tell me that God doesn't have a sense of humor.

Life is hard!  We all have been burned at some point.  You have been hurt by people to the point that you don't want to put yourself out there again.  It is easy to become overwhelmed with your hurt and then turn your focus and attention inward.  It is easy to put YOUR problems at the forefront of your mind and attention.

We used to sing a song, in jest, around our house when we would get like this.  "It's all about me, Jesus.  And all of this is for me, for my glory and my fame.  It's not about You, as if I should do things Your way."  This is a direct reflection of the struggle of life.  We say that we are Christians with our mouths and even our church attendance, but when it comes down to it, we are so wrapped up in our own thoughts and problems that we are not focused on those around us.

Check out this verse:

Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything?  does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?  For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend!  Be clothed in Christ!  Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup -- where does that get you?  Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?...Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove...The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse.  Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse. James 2.14-17, 18b, 26

  As Christians we are human as well.  We battle to keep the main thing the main thing.  We have issues and struggles.  We lose focus on what is really important.  We are here to be the witnesses of Christ - to be His hands and His feet - to be His ambassadors.  As Christ taught us to pray, "Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."  We are the instruments that God chooses to use to bring His will to earth.

My mind is wrapped and bogged down with the weight of life so many times that I miss the opportunities that God is putting in front of me every day to show others Him.  I get so consumed with my own life, that I am like that person that Paul just described.  I don't mean to, but I'm just giving lip service to people's needs.  Emotionally, spiritually, physically and/or mentally I don't have what it takes to help them at the moment.

I am self-absorbed.

It is time to break out of the inward focused life and start looking up.  It is time for us to open our eyes to people around us.  It is time for us break out of our shells and start recognizing the people around us need us and what we have - Jesus Christ, our hope and salvation.

Playing Pretend

As a little boy I remember using all of my mom aluminum foil to wrap plates and sticks so I had a sword and shield to fend off the dragons in our yard. Today, my daughters have an entire drawer dedicated to dress-up clothes. As a little girl, Abby did a dress up tea party that I came home for lunch to attend. It was amazing to wear a crown and pink feather boa and drink tea from little cups. We laughed and had a great time, but it was only pretend.

We like to pretend a lot. Many of us would like to stay in pretend mode because the reality of life is hard. But when it comes to being a Christian, we can't pretend that. It is time to stop pretending and start being.

Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. "The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit-and-polish veneer." Matthew 23:1-3

This is where many of are. We talk a good talk, but we don't live it out. It is either out of fear of rejection or embarrassment or something else that we don't live it out in front of people. Usually I want people to like me, and I don't want to offend them with my faith. But seriously, those are excuses that I tell myself to make myself feel better.

Check out this from James 1.22-25:

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear. Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God--the free life!--even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

We need to stop pretending to be what we are not. It is time to stand up for God and be His follower no matter what the cost to us. Let's quit playing pretend church and start being the church. Let's start living what we believe. Imagine how different life would be if we lived what we believed.

We are the answer

Growing up my parents would take me to my great, great aunt and uncle's house in Georgia. They lived on 20 acres outside of Atlanta. This was a huge thing for a city boy like myself to head to the country. It was definitely interesting. I remember eating big southern country breakfasts (toast, eggs, grits, molasses, honey, fig preserves, etc.). Then we would head out into the field to pick corn, okra, beans, watermelon, squash, snap peas - you get the idea. It was fun for this city boy to head to the field and harvest the food that would be cooked for supper.

The fields are where I still am - and where you are as well. Check out this passage from Matthew 9.35-38:

Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. "What a huge harvest!" he said to his disciples. "How few workers! On your knees and pray for the harvest hands!"

That is usually where we stop reading that story. It is convenient because that is where Chapter 9 stops. But we have to continue to Chapter 10, verse 1. It is a critical component in this story.

The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives.

What a great verse. The prayer was no sooner prayed and it was answered with the followers of Christ being sent out into the fields to kick out evil spirit and tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. So, this leads me to a question for myself and you,

"How are you doing in the fields? How are you doing at tenderly - yes tenderly - caring for the bruised and hurt lives of those around you?"

Many times I just walk through the mall, my neighborhood, my church, even my own home, and miss the bruised and hurt lives of those around me. Some times I add to the bruises and hurts. I am definitely not tender in my care of people. I definitely don't have a broken heart when I people watch at the mall, restaurant, or ball park. I have to admit that many times I'm so wrapped with my own bruises that I don't care to see others.

This is a huge problem. Because the call of the harvest is still going out today. Check out what Christ said as some of his final words on this earth:

Jesus, undeterred, when right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

You and I have all been commissioned to go into the fields. We have all been given the authority of the Father to drive out the evil spirits of this world and mend the bruised and hurting lives of those around us.

Think about this as you walk through the mall, halls of your work, or the living room of your home.

Be careful little lips what you say

I remember this little song when I was a kid, "Oh be careful little eyes what you see..." What a great song. It should serve today as a reminder to me, but like many things from my childhood, I've moved on and gotten too busy to remember them. I have learned that lesson but it doesn't apply to me today, or so I think many times.

Ephesians 4.29-32 is a great set of verses that I forget many times. Check this out, "Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you."

WOW! I know 4.29, but to think that in the middle of all of that Paul tells me not to grieve, or break the heart of, God - to not take the most intimate gift of God's presence in my life through the Holy Spirit for granted. Then he follows that up with my words again. There must be a connection between my words and God's heart.

Many times it isn't what I say, but how I say it. Notice that Paul asks us to make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk - to be gentle with one another, sensitive. This is no easy task. You talk about a New Year's Resolution...watch what you say and how you say it. Especially with those that you love the most. We think that we talk however we want to with them because they will always love us. We treat them many times with less care than we do a complete stranger. I am tired of this in my life. I want my family to know that I love them because they hear it in my voice and my words.

Think about making this your New Year's Resolution.

O be careful little mouth what you say
O be careful little mouth what you say
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little mouth what you say

Journey or Destination?

"The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of the bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn't burn up. Moses said, 'What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?' God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, 'Moses! Moses!' He said, 'Yes? I'm right here!' God said, 'Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground.' Then he said, 'I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.' Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God." Exodus 3.2-6 (MSG)

As a kid I always loved getting to where we were going. As a father, I now know why my dad never wanted to stop and see the snow in Kentucky when we were going further north, "And there will be snow in Columbus." I want to get there and get there quickly. I don't want to mess around with the details of the journey. I want to get there as soon as possible, with as few stops and detours as possible.

Ever felt this way? Hurry up and get there? I want to have arrived.

It makes me think about a guy named Moses who had a taken a lot of steps with God. I'm sure that when he was tending the sheep of his father-in-law on the back side of nowhere he was thinking, "How did I get here? Where did I go wrong?" He was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh. He was destined for greatness. He had a good heart toward his people, the Israelites. But something happened that caused him to end up in the middle of nowhere.

His journey didn't begin at the burning bush with God, but rather at his birth. But the burning bush is where we see that he finally acknowledges God on the journey. The steps that Moses took toward God were humble, tentative, fearful. He removed his sandals in the presence of God. He removed the hindrances and blockages between his feet and his Master. He showed reverence for the holiness of God.

Walking with God requires both a familiarity and a reverence. It requires humility and boldness - curiosity and fear.

What is the destination? Where are when we have finally arrived? Heaven. And the whole point of Heaven is God. So the journey is the destination. God is the point of this journey. The beautiful thing is that we have Him with us every day. I am reminded this season of His name, Emmanuel - God WITH us. We miss Him so many times. We get wrapped up in our plans and the final destination of arriving that we miss the whole point - walking with God.

Take some time today to just walk with God. Get outside, enjoy the cool air or the warm sunshine, and walk with God. Take some time and tell Him that you are sorry for allowing your priorities to get so messed up. Make time today to be with God. Remove the sandals from your feet and the hindrances from heart so that you can hear God talk with you.

Where are you?

Genesis 3.8 "When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. God called to the Man, 'Where are you?'"

We were created to walk with God in the cool of the day, at the end of the day. Walking with God. Can you imagine? What would it be like to walk with God at the end of your day, in the cool of the evening, talking about your day and your life. Let Him know of your struggles and triumphs. This is what Adam and Eve did every day. They ened each day with God.

There is something to learn from this. We were created to walk with God. God longs to be with us, just like He was with Adam and Eve. But many times things get in the way. I'm too busy. It's raining outside. I have too much on my mind. I can't feel God. What is the use, He isn't really there anyway. There is a good show on TV tonight. I just want to relax.

These don't remove the fact that we were created to walk with God. The journey with God is the destination. The relationship is the point of it all. Stepping with God is the point. Walking with God is what we were created for. God wants to hear about your day, every day. He has been waiting for you and I to tell Him all about it. He has been waiting to hear the good, the bad and the ugly of it all.

Take some time today to spend with God, telling Him all...ALL...about your day. God is asking us the same question as He did Adam, "Where are you?"

Fear from a child's eyes

Joshua 1.5, 9 "In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you, I won't leave you...Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't be discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."

"Daddy, I'm just scared because I've never had stitches before," Hannah says with tear rolling down her cheeks and fear filling her eyes. She is lying on a hospital bed at the Care Clinic. She is here because of a bike riding accident and her split chin.

As a dad, what do you do? Jen and I had our hearts being ripped out. How do you comfort her? How do you strengthen her? How do you reassure her?

Jen then asked me to step up by her head and just keep lookin in her eyes. The fear was overwhelming. It broke my heart. But this seemed to calm her. She went from histeria to calm, an almost eary calm. She just closed her eyes and relaxed. It was amazing.

What do you do when you are scared? Where do you turn when your life has taken a tumble? Where do you go when life is messed up and you are scared?

Through this experience God showed me some amazing things about Himself. When I'm going crazy and life is upside down, when fear has flooded my eyes and invaded my heart, I can look into my Father's eyes and find comfort and strength. I'll be able to face any uncertainity because of the courage that is transfered from the initmate presence of my Father. From His strong, reassuring gaze I can find hope that I am going to be okay - that everything will be alright.

Just so you know, Hannah received 3 stitches and is doing much better (this was only 4 days ago). She isn't ready for a bike ride any time soon, but we will try it this weekend again.

God, thank you for your strength and hope. Thank you for calming my heart and reassuring me that You have me when life is going crazy around me.