Haven’t had much to say lately…hence the silence, but I’m back for at least one day! I read something this afternoon that just needed a comment…even if it’s a short one.

I’ve been walking through the Book of Acts for the past few weeks. There is so much going on in that book. Good stuff. Stuff I always seem to forget, so it’s a good reminder every time I read it. And once in awhile I pick up on something I missed the first few times. Today was one of those times as I read the story of Peter being called to go give the Gospel to Cornelius. Nothing major here except for one small detail: Cornelius is a Gentile. (Insert gasps here!!)

Up until this point, Peter has only been preaching to Jews. He doesn’t even consider any other option. Talking to a Gentile is out of the question…much less sharing the Gospel of Christ with them. But God has other plans. So He gives Peter a vision to soften him up a little. And God gives Cornelius a vision to send for Peter. Both of them are obedient (good lesson there, but not for today).

Long story short: Peter visits with Cornelius and shares everything he knows about Jesus. Cornelius and his entire household are baptized with the Holy Spirit and then baptized with water. The Gentiles are officially invited to the party!

But Peter has some ’splain’ to do when he gets back to Jerusalem. The other apostles and believers would like to know what Peter is doing preaching to Gentiles….hmmm?? So Peter tells them the whole story…and here’s where we get to my own personal light bulb for the day…

“As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:15-17, NLT)

Did you see it? It’s that last little phrase (which is now highlighted and underlined in my Bible): “…who was I to stand in God’s way?”

What a great question…and theology for life! Who am I to stand in God’s way? And let me tell you, I stand in His way far too often! There, I said it…it’s out in the open. I’m not proud of it, but it happens. I like getting my own way after all…and why can’t my way and God’s way be in synch more often?  ;o)  Why? Because I’m not God, that’s why.

So I’m going to work on this more. And it helps to know that even a spiritual giant like Peter needed a little help in this department (it took three visions and the prompting of the Holy Spirit more than once to get him to change his ways). That’s good company.

SO now I’m off to try and get out of God’s way…look out world!

The Men’s group I lead on Tuesday nights (I use the term lightly…they teach me way more than I do) has decided to study the minor prophets beginning now until the the middle of November. I am stoked about the study and got started this morning getting ready for tomorrow’s discussion by reading Hosea 1-4 and doing some background study. It’s good stuff! Hosea is a little odd to take in at first, but the lessons are incredible…and as relevant today as they where in c. 700 B.C.

As I was reading, one little sentence jumped off the page and I can’t get away from it. It’s a confirmation of what God has been teaching me over the past year or so. It’s at the foundation of His transformation in my own spiritual journey…as I’ve turned from religion to relationship. Here’s the sentence (this is God talking):

My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. (Hosea 4:6a, NLT)

That right there is some powerful stuff…packed into a short little sentence.

The principle here? Knowing God, having a personal relationship with Him, is key to our survival!

Wow. If we don’t know God then we are already in the process of being destroyed…of perishing. It’s that important. God built us this way and if we don’t follow His design for our lives we’re in serious trouble. If we don’t know Him we’re in “deep do-do” (deep theological term!).

But the opposite is also true: If we know Him…if we have a personal relationship with Him…then we’re growing and living. Good stuf instead of the bad stuff. Again, because that’s how God made us.

Off to chew on this more…your thoughts and reactions…??

Our church just started a new sermon series on the Spiritual Disciplines. Last week the topic was mediation and Ray challenged us to meditate on the following verse this week to practice this discipline:

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8, NLT)

So, that’s what I’ve been doing. We even talked about the verse and meditation during Monday’s Elder Meeting. It’s a short verse, but there’s a lot to consider here…plenty to mediate on. The first thing I noticed is that Paul is NOT asking us to take action, to do something (which is my natural inclination). He’s simply saying we should “fix our thoughts on” and “think about” these things. That’s it…nothing more (at least for now…perhaps the actions should only happen after the meditation and contemplation?).

Then I started thinking about these questions: What is true? What’s honorable? What’s right? You get the idea. What exactly am I supposed to be thinking and fixing my thoughts on? I struggled here. I prayed about it. I meditated on it (that was the point right?). And the answer became very clear…and something I would have missed had I not slowed down and mediated on this short little verse of Scripture…

What’s true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise?

Only one thing: GOD

He’s the source of all that we’re supposed to think about. He’s what we’re supposed to fix our thoughts on. Now, we may be thinking about His beautiful creation or some amazing piece of art or music, but HE is the ultimate source that we should be fixing our thoughts on.

So that’s what I’m working on now…fixing my thoughts!

Sometimes life is full of sorrow, regret, and pain. It sucks. We’ve all been through tough times…and there are certainly more coming down the road somewhere. Some of us are in tough times right now.

However, there is a difference between “worldly sorrow” and “Godly sorrow”. Here’s what Paul has to say on the subject…

I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. (2 Corinthians 7:8-10, NLT)

When I read this passage this morning it took me by surprise…can’t remember this teaching even though I’ve read it several times. And it’s timely based on some of the discussions I’ve had in the past week with some people who are going through some pain and sorrow in their lives. Here are a few things I take notice of in this passage:

• God allows pain and sorrow in our lives in order to change us…it has purpose…it leads to salvation.
• Worldly sorrow leads to our death…spiritual death.
• The difference? Our attitude and reaction. If we respond with repentance then it’s Godly sorrow…otherwise it’s worldly sorrow.
• God wants us to have some sorrow/pain in our lives because He wants to change us…to mold us into the image of Christ.

Does any of this make our pain and sorrow easier when we are in the middle of it? Not likely. But it is an important reminder that our attitude and response in the midst of our pain will determine the end result. Will we allow God to shape us and grow spiritually? Or will we be stubborn and unrepentant and end up dying spiritually?

The choice is ours…

You’ve probably asked this question yourself. I can almost guarantee you’ve heard someone ask it. I’ve done both…asked it and heard it just this week in fact. It’s one of those “questions for the ages”…it has been asked ever since mankind got thrown out of The Garden on our ear…

Why does God allow bad stuff to happen to people?

We know deep down that God could stop all of the bad stuff…the stuff happening in our lives, to the people we know, around the world. He has the power, but why doesn’t He do it?

People come to different conclusions. Some think it’s because He’s mean. Some say it’s because He doesn’t care. Some that He doesn’t even exist.

There are “deep” theological answers (think “free will”), but I’m not getting into that today. This whole topic came up while I was reading a passage out of Hebrews this morning. The answer given there is specifically for those who are following Him. Why does God allow stuff to happen to those who are trying there best to follow Him?

Why?

Because we’re His children, and that’s what a good Dad does…

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children.
Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?
If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children,
it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.
Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us,
shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
Hebrews 12:7-9, NLT

When I read that this morning I wanted to know more about the word “discipline” used here. It made me think of how I discipline my own children (a common occurrence…just ask Kyle), punishing them to change their behavior. And it’s close…but it goes beyond how I typically think of discipline. God is using what goes on in our daily lives…the good and the bad…to shape and mold us. He lets the stuff happen because He wants it to train us…to change us. The word is more akin to the idea of instruction and training—not just punishment.

And God’s does this all throw His perfect filter of love and grace. He isn’t allowing these things to happen because He’s mean or doesn’t care. Quite the opposite…He allows it because He knows it’s good for us…it will develop our character and draw us to Himself (if we let it). I don’t know about you, but I want to be a legitimate child of God. And He’s been using plenty of “stuff” in my life to discipline/train me. I just wish it wasn’t so painful sometimes (as does Kyle), and I wish I would realize what’s happening when I’m going through the battle.

Teaching is both by gifting and my passion. But I understand that it’s not everyone’s gifting (1 Corinthians 12:28).

However, we need to be careful not to use that as an excuse in our spiritual lives. We are supposed to be teaching others about spiritual things…

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others.
Hebrews 5:12, NLT

As I read this passage,a couple of thoughts come to mind:

1. There is an expectation of growth in our spiritual lives. We are supposed to learn and graduate from “spiritual milk” to “spiritual meat”. It’s natural…and it’s unnatural not to grow.
2. There is an expectation that we will take others on the journey with us…we are supposed to be teaching others the spiritual truths we learn as we grow. You don’t have to be some Biblical scholar, but you need to be sharing your experiences…how God has been teaching you and how you have grown.

I’ve been praying this week about who God wants me to pour my life into. Who should I be taking on the journey with me? Who can I teach…and learn from at the same time?

I got my answer…how about you?

This post is for me this morning. God has been challenging me hard for the past couple of weeks. He is slowly changing my attitudes and thoughts in a couple of areas of my spiritual life. It hasn’t been easy. He has been examining my motives and intentions…digging below the surface and showing me things I’d rather just leave alone.

But it has been a good journey too. I am becoming more like Him…but I have a loooooong way to go! I trust His heart. I trust His intentions. I know He has the best in mind for me. So I listen and learn…too slowly, but it is happening.

Just this weekend Go gave me this passage to wrestle with:

If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—
your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life.
Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple…
So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
Luke 14:26-27, 33

Take a second and read that again…take it all in.

It’s a steep price to pay…being His disciple, following Him. Have I counted the cost? Am I willing to pay this price? Is this where my heart really is? Are His priorities my priorities? They easy answer is “yes”, but is that the honest answer?

That’s my challenge this week. He and I are working through the questions and the answers. It’s a process. It’s a journey.

I am reading this book again for the second time. I’m not going to go into a bunch of details or review the book or try and convince you. Trust me…get the book (click here or on the image above)…and read it. You won’t be disappointed.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been challenged to mix things up in my morning time/routine with God. I’m not doing anything wrong, but anything gets stale if you leave it sit long enough. And over the weekend God has impressed on my to spend the next 5 days listening to Him instead of my normal routine.

It will just be me, my Bible, and a journal. And I’m just going to listen…hopefully hear His heart and His direction. It’s always hard for me to shut up and listen (in general and with God), but that’s what I’m going to work at for the next 5 days. And I will blog about it a few times along the way too.

So…I’m off for morning #1…always anticipation about what God might say when I actually take the time to stop and listen for awhile…

I got a good reminder this morning about living in community. It isn’t a new earth-shattering, light-bulb moment…just a good reminder that we need community. We need other people. And none of us is perfect. Here’s how McManus put it (better than I can)…

“Love always grows, not just deeper, but wider. Love always loves people more and always loves more people. Love calls us to community; love calls us to humanity; love calls us to each other.

A healthy community is not a place of perfect people. That place does not exist. We are all flawed. If there is a perfect community, it would be ruined the moment I joined it…strangely enough, the best opportunity for building meaningful relationships is admitting up front that you’re not perfect and that you’ve got issues. Honesty is the only context in which intimacy can develop.” (Soul Cravings, Erwin McManus, Entry 16).

So here goes…

I’m not perfect.

I’ve got issues.

There…I said it…I admit it.

I need other people in m life pushing me to grow closer to Christ. I need to be pushing others too. Thankfully, I am part of a community that does just that. They love me anyway. I love them anyway. It works.