Stay focused, Stay sharp

I sat down last night and just asked God to tell me where to read. Proverbs is where I felt led and went to Proverbs 24. A few sayings jumped off the page at me, the first two were, Proverbs 24:13-14 which tells us that wisdom is like honey to our soul. Then Proverbs 24:21-22 tells us to keep good company. But then verses 30-34 really stood out. "I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man." A little cause and effect if you will and a very serious effect at that. The cause is laziness as you can see you term "sluggard", which is a term for a habitually lazy person. The effect is the vineyard has become overgrown with thorns, and we know what thorn can do. Matthew 13:7, Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

This reference is so prevalent in our lives today and not just our spiritual lives. You see it everyday, but probably don't even think about it. It happens at work, at home, in our physical conditioning, and to our favorite sports teams. We get comfortable and get lazy. Once we get in a groove and things seem to be going smoothly, we put it on cruise control. And what happens when we put the car on cruise, we sit back and lose focus because the car is doing most of the work and all you have to do is keep it between the lines. At work, we are getting by, doing what needs to be done and nothing more. The next thing you know it you're being wrote up or replaced. Another prime example is the 2004 New York Yankees losing to the Boston Red Sox after being up 3 games to none. No team has ever come back from 3 down. The Yankees got comfortable and got beat.

You don't want to get comfortable in any of these situations, but more importantly we don't want to get lazy in our walk with the Lord. Every day we need to find a way to challenge ourselves and grow in our faith. Notice I said "grow", not stay the same. 2 Peter 3:18 tells us to, "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." You may be saying, how do I do this? Most importantly we need to be in the Word, deeply in the Word. Don't just skim through and mark it off the to-do-list. Really seek God, seek to know Him more. Another recommendation is to diversify yourself. Listen to good, Bible preaching pastors online or Podcast. Some examples, Matt Chandler, Todd Phillips, Lon Solomon, John Piper, just to name a few. Read books about God, not just self help books. Get involved in your community or share the Gospel with someone. Finally, get involved with a small group. It is vital to have a group of people that you can talk to and can challenge each other. Being in Biblical community is extremely important and should not be underestimated.

In summary, stay focused on advancing the Gospel. Stay sharp in your faith.

Fasting

Just wanted to drop a quick note on something that I feel God is challenging me and some others with. Last night my small group was talking about our vision and how we think God is working in us to do great things for His Kingdom. One of the guys referenced our spiritual battle like that of Normandy. As we start on our journey and strive for Holiness, the devil and his cronies are taking pop shots at us, trying to kill our will. So as we discussed how to push through this the ultimate answer was prayer. Being in constant prayer, constantly in the presence of God.

Well it just so happened that the same day I started listening to a sermon on fasting. I didn't seek it out, it was just the next one preached at McLean's Frontline service. So as I finished listening to it this morning I felt like God was challenging me and our group to fast. The challenge came when he spoke on Matthew 6:16. The key word there is "when". It's not a command given by Jesus, but it's thought to be a normal part of our Christian lives. So if I'm a Christian, then why don't I fast?

Many may be asking, what is fasting? Well there are many forms and many ways to do it. But ultimately it is eliminating something from your life, for a pre-determined amount of time, with the goal of spending that time with God. Basically, if you fast from TV then you spend the time you would normally be watching TV in communion with God. Whether that is in prayer, in the word, or just meditating. The most common fast is that of food and that is what our group has decided to do. We are going to fast every Wednesday. So starting Tuesday after dinner until dinner on Wednesday, we will fast. Please join me if you feel so inspired. If not, please pray for us that we will persevere through the challenge. That during this time we will rely on God's strength and not our own or that of food. Pray that we will be in prayer and in the Word.

Redefining Success

Redefining Success

How?

How can the church move forward when those who claim to be Christians don't act like Christians, especially those who are in leadership or serving roles?

Here are a few verses that instruct us on this issue.

Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Isaiah is saying that when Jesus returns to rule on earth we won't act like we do now, so why do we continue to do so.

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Just in these 4 passages we see how direct God is in dealing with this issue. He instructs us to walk in His light, leave our former passions, live as a sacrifice, and strive for purity. None of these passages are suggestions, but commands.

Just from my observations over the years, one of the most critical issues is our surroundings. What I mean by this is, who or what we surround ourselves with. Here are a few examples:

1) Television/Media- shows/movies with foul language, sex, crime
2) Music- rap, rock, country that talks about killing, drugs, sex
3) Social Scene- bars, clubs, parties
4) Friends- people who are stumbling blocks for us (don't abandon them, but you may have to not hang out with them). Remember Jesus didn't come for the healthy: Mark 2:17, but he also says, to keep good company, 1 Corinthians 5:9-12.

I don't want to come off as some legalistic saying, don't do this or that, but check yourself on these issues. Can you as a Christian, move forward with your faith if you are constantly being filled with these controllable temptations? So instead of watching Gray's Anatomy, read your Bible or a spiritual book; instead of listening to songs about killing someone, rock out to Chris Tomlin or Jeremy Camp; instead of going to a bar or party, go serve the homeless; instead of hanging out with your old friends who want to get wasted every night, get involved with a small group at church.

Please don't think I'm standing on my soapbox, judging anyone. Most of this comes from my own experiences. Only over the past two years have I started to grow in my faith and I can attribute this to checking myself and changing my surroundings. By no means is it easy, but it is necessary to further the Kingdom.

I leave you with this. Jesus said in Luke 8:21 "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."