Embracing Our Humble Callings

"You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other.  Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the world? When one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another says, "I follow Apollos," aren't you acting just like people of the world?  After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul?...I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering." (1 Cor. 3:3-7)

This verse really struck me today because as a younger Christian, I attended a locally famous church and I remember that some people who attended used to liken the pastor to Billy Graham and his gift for evangelism.

But as I've grown older in Christ and in wisdom, I realize that my Pastor that seemed so famous, pious and good is only a man.  In reality, he's not really that famous, although he is, as far as I can discern, pious and good (for which I am glad).

But even when it comes down to someone like Billy Graham, a man I completely admire and respect, who is Billy?  He is a man who is faithful to the call of Christ to water or plant the seed of faith in many worldwide.  Yet, can even Billy Graham take credit for anything?  As Paul says, "No, it was God who made it grow."

Being a former missionary, it is easy to compare accomplishments and to get into a numbers mindset.  We are not rating even ourselves in the church based on Paul's metric in this verse, but instead we are trying to measure success using boardroom metrics for success.  How big is our facility?, how many were "saved" this weekend?, How wide is our television net?

I am no longer a formal missionary -- I was called into business, and God has blessed my career.  What this verse really speaks to me is that I really need to run my own personal race and follow my own calling.  God has me in business for a purpose -- I really don't know all the ramifications of why He has placed me where I am, and it doesn't seem like I'm making a huge difference in His kingdom.  However, I simply try to live and conduct myself in the Lord's ways as much as I can.

I'm not a gregarious Christian who is trying to convince everyone around me to join my church...however, I try my best to identify myself as a Christian and to lend Christian viewpoints to daily conversation.  If I encounter moral challenges in my job, I try to example the Lord's ways and even attempt to convince those I report to as well as those I manage to make moral choices in our workplace decisions.

I know that I may never really truly convince someone I come across to make a choice for Christ.  But, does the numbers of those who pray the sinners prayer define who I am?  No -- nothing besides the truth that I am a new creation in Christ can define me from the day I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.  Nothing and no one.

God places each man into a certain role in life -- and few of them, even those that seem so famous to a young Christian, truly are glamorous. The job of "watering can in the business world" is actually very mundane and hidden.  But -- if I simply remain faithful to the job I've been given by the Lord, I know that I will be pleasing to Him.

Laying My Life Down Daily

Reading the June 16 entry from Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest" was pretty thought provoking for me.

It is easy to be like Peter and in a moment or phase of being "on fire" for the Lord we sacrifice our life for His cause. Most, if not all religions have examples where they have called on followers to die in the name of their religion. In today's world, the suicide bombers of radical Islam are the strongest example of that kind of thinking. If that person has a moment of courage to kill themselves while killing other innocents, they believe they will go to paradise.

How much more difficult is it to instead live in this fallen world and daily live in the way that Jesus has called us to live? The "Yes" that we give to Jesus is a challenge for our sin wracked souls to do - to lay aside our pridefulness and acknowledge the wretchedness within us. I can only speak for myself, but I ran from God for a long time because I didn't want to give up my sins and change my life. It wasn't until I took stock of my life and realized that it was headed to meaninglessness that I finally gave my life over to God.

Yet, how much more difficult is it to live our lives as a follower of God day in and day out? Everything and I mean ever-y-thing around us, even in the United States, is drenched in sin and distraction. While we may not have the animism of tribal Philippines or advanced Japan, we certainly have a pervasive materialism that has invaded our daily lives. With that materialism comes all types of sins as men sacrifice their lives in pursuit of obtaining worldly wealth.

And that is my personal challenge. Lord Jesus, help me to lay aside myself on a daily basis. Am I serving You in the things that I pursue? Have I cleared off my personal schedule enough to see the little ways that I can serve the people around me? Although it scares my flesh in the ways that You might redirect my life with this prayer, I pray for Your strength to do whatever You would have me do. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Tithing - An Act of Faith

"He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform." (Romans 4:20-21)

Why do we waver in faith? Why do we fail to uphold all of our beliefs at all times no matter the circumstance?

As I was reading this passage today, I tried to measure myself up against Abraham - who wasn't necessarily without his faults. However, Abraham's faith to leave his home in pursuit of God serves as the ultimate testament of faith.

I believe the perceived security of the place that we are at this moment is a big reason why we don't follow God fully or completely. When we are told to do a certain action or to leave our current comfortable situation and go elsewhere, it is a difficult thing for us to do. Currently, I'm in arrears on my tithes and I can certainly think of so many ways I can apply the funds to projects or charges that are coming up for our family.

But is that really trust? Is it really trust to not do the things that God has given us to do in faith? Malachi 3:10 is a promise from God that we will be rewarded when we bring our tithes to the storehouse. It is a promise that if we trust Him, He will bring even more into our lives.

What can God do with a person that doesn't trust Him? If God were to ask us to do this or that thing, and we never do it because we don't want to leave our comfort zones...what would we accomplish for God? Nothing really.

It isn't about works, but it really is about faith. I'm not trying to justify myself through the tithe - but I'm evidencing the level of my faith.

Matthew 6:21 says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

If I can't give from my bank account in faith, then my heart is only for myself and not for God. I know it and feel the truth of that. And I don't want to be a man who is no longer able to follow God because I'm worried in the flesh about my security. Then I will not only be of no use to God, I would never be able to evidence my faith to my wife and children. And that would be the greatest tragedy of all. I would be failing in my primary dream to pass along my relationship with the Lord to my family.

The unique thing about my feeling today - and something that surprises me even at this moment - is that I don't feel any sense of guilt...and I think that is a very good thing. God doesn't lay guilt trips because He knows that following His ways is for my best interest...He doesn't need me to do anything, but He gives us the opportunity to partner with Him for the good of our souls. I know that in today's reading and meditation, I am really hearing from Him and it isn't from some misguided desire to prove something, or justify myself by works.

Lord Jesus, I'm really blessed by our time today. I needed a reminder about the meaning of the tithe and meaning of faith. I know that to trust in my bank account or my paycheck is a giant folly, but when we live in the flesh everyday, we can fear the future and not entrust ourselves fully to You. The tithe is really the ultimate symbol of our faith in You. You don't need our funds, but You want our hearts to be free from the slavery to money and things. In return, we can be responsible with any further blessings we may be given. I want to be more and more like You, not more and more like the world. Thank You for spending time with me today to remind me of that. In Your loving and holy name, AMEN.

The Bible Is Our Standard - Our Instruction Manual

"Then the disciples came and said to Him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. and if the blind leads the blind both will fall into a ditch." (Matt 15:14)

This one stuck out to me because we say "blind leading the blind" all the time in our daily lives, but lo and behold it came from Jesus as he was referring to the Pharisees.

Despite the fact that the Pharisees had a ton of head knowledge and devotion, they argued over minutiae while trying to twist scripture to fit their own desires to sin.

I have once heard it said very well that to RATIONALIZE = RATIONAL LIES. It has stuck with me over the last decade+ because it made all the sense in the world. If we were to sit and desire to do one sin or another, we can easily convince ourselves that there are enough good reasons to feed our sin. In the case of the Pharisees, Jesus exposed the fact that they would withhold aid to their parents who were in need based on the rationalization that their profession was dedicated to God and therefore any profits should be withheld from being given away to anyone, including their parents.

Of course, the end result of this tradition is that money was never given away to anyone but only fed their own desires and pursuits. Looking at the overall practice of the Pharisees, the rational lies are exposed -- but they were so entrenched in their rationalizations, that they had deluded themselves into thinking they had done righteousness.

Scripture was given to us as God's directions for life. He created us and knit us together in our mother's womb. The life that He breathed into Adam and Eve still flows through us from one generation to the next. Science has been able to move live DNA from one cell into another -- components of original life -- but have never ever been able to breathe life into something that was dead. God is the only one who has that spark of divinity to lend to us.

And so the Creator has given us an instruction manual - one that has many authors who were used to write down the Scriptures, but the messages are consistent from page to page...if we are to read them honestly, desiring to look at the context of the author rather than cherry picking a passage here or there that agrees with our desires to sin, we would have a standard by which to examine ourselves - a standard which could be used to repair ourselves to optimal health and vitality.

I've been a Christian for only 12 years now. Sometimes that seems like a long time, but in reality I feel like I am continually being shown new depths of the Lord in so many different ways. Still, the temptation to fall into the trap of rational lies is so easy in today's culture. It is so hard to get away from all the competing influences that vie to sway us away from the path of the Lord.

In fact, it goes back to the very origins of man, when the Lord gifted us the earth to have dominion over. Because we (man) have dominion over the earth, we have the free will to choose God or to choose Satan. And Satan, being jealous of God's affection for man, continually tries to thwart us and influence our behavior to sin. (It also explains why God will prompt man to pray for God's help rather than intervening continually without an opening from man)

Yet through all of the centuries, God's Word has stood the test of time. It continues to prove itself time and time again as the book which leads us to peace, lawfulness, and order. Jesus still provides many miracles through His Word from the completely supernatural (like stories of reviving the dead via prayer), to the more mundane but still miraculous (healing addictions, mending hurt souls, giving a clear purpose to those who are lost).

But it's only effective if we read it honestly. We can't try to find loose passages here or there in order to justify our sinful behaviors, but instead we need to read it plainly, in the context of the culture (since all writing is ultimately contextual with cultural allusions).

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word. You have completely transformed my life in so many ways that I cannot even count. I pray that I can be true to You and honor Your ways by letting Your Word minister to me and convict me in whatever way I need to be rebuked back to the standard by which You created us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Flesh Profits Nothing

"And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. he who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

"Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die." (John 6:49-50)

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing." (John 6:63)

We have many great men in this world. They are well-known and are powerful. The decisions they make affect a great many things, a ripple into the lives of others. At the end of their lives, I believe that their goal is to have affected as many people as possible. To have power and to have weld it, for good or bad, is what makes them important in this world.

For our children today as well, they are taught to "make a difference". By default this means affecting the lives of other people. That in itself is not a bad thing at all. If they can make a positive contribution to society, more power to them.

But as much as we are to go through life "making a difference", the source of our actions makes the real difference. Jesus teaches that He is the source of life - there is no other. Therefore, as Christians, we must source all of our actions in Him alone. The Word is our sole authority and we must read and interpret it with honesty and clarity, not taking little snippets which help support our personal fleshly desires.

For even the most powerful people on the earth, their lives will probably have some good and some bad mixed in. However, without the Lord, what will have been their profit? When standing in front of God steeping the sins we all have, yet not having the blood of Jesus as a propitiating sacrifice, what will they say in their final accounting? They can only say that they lived for their own fleshly desires, and disregarded any of God's leading. No matter what they did in their lives, having never known God, they will not enter the Lord's house.

For myself, this is a call to reorient once again to the Lord. It is so easy, living in the world to get focused on stuff - moving up in the world and obtaining more status symbols. These days, on Friday and Saturday nights, I even see the youths driving souped up used 3 series and Infiniti G coupes. Wow, nice cars for the young guys! We are so rich and brand conscious in the US that even our kids, who probably haven't worked much in their lives desire and are given expensive brand name status symbols to drive.

But no matter what house we live in, or what car we drive, that stuff isn't life. For the most part, within 5 years, all the possessions we have will no longer be hip, cool or fashionable. They are literally fading and rotting before our eyes.

We too have precious little time on the earth. Our lifetimes are fading second by second and minute by minute.

However, the Lord created us with a purpose and a plan. He knew what our lives would mean, and it is when we get close to our Creator that we live the way we were meant to. I need to spend more deliberate time with the Lord. I need to make time to get away and to pray. To ask the Lord about my actions and plans, to get His counsel and to stay on the path that He desires for my life.

Lord Jesus, I know that today's process was roundabout, but I don't want to fall into the cycle of the world and the ways of the flesh. In the end, there will be no profit in that in the final accounting. Instead, I know that there is a specific plan and process that You are leading me through. Help me to come back to the simplicity of a daily walk with You. Let me never be drawn off by the busyness and whims of the world. You will lead me and guide me in all things, and I will rest in You. In the life-giving name of Jesus, Amen.

Forgetting What Was Behind

"Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain." (Gen 19:17)

In Genesis, God saw the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah and planned their destruction. The only thing that He desired to do is to get the righteous Lot and his family out of the path of destruction. In this famous story, we know that Lot's wife looked back as they were fleeing and was turned into a pillar of salt.

I really don't judge Lot's wife harshly because she was leaving all that she had and knew. Lot was a rich and prosperous man and they must have lived a charmed life. However, all of that was nothing compared to the urging of the Lord to go.

We rarely know why God will call us to move from this place or that, and it can all seem very confusing and deflating emotionally. However, based on this example, we need to simply trust God and move according to His direction. And as we move, keep focused ahead on the path in front of us instead of dwelling on everything that is in the past.

It is easy to reminisce and glorify the things that have come in the past. Sometimes it can seem so very charming and easy, especially during times of intense trial and stress in our walk with God. However, the path that we are on is chosen by the Lord for our good, and we must not give Satan a foothold upon which to prey upon us and lead us astray. Once we open the door to discontent, Satan will twist that into a desire to seek after an easy way, a way that ultimately leads to eternal hell.

As I am still in the midst of struggle and trial, this is a key verse for me. Obedience to the Lord hasn't been easy and I know that my career has suffered mightily because of it. But, the words of Paul ring true to me when I am tempted to look back and wish that things had been different: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ...but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3)

The moment I made a decision for Christ, I laid down my previous life, the world and its aspirations. It is no wonder that as a consequence, I am asked to do something different which would forego worldly gain, status and comfort. But in return, I will move ever closer in my goal to fulfilling the call of Christ on my life - a life that He will ultimately not waste, but will use to further His kingdom.

That is all that I dream. That when I stand before His throne at the end of my days here on earth, I will know that my calling was fulfilled and my duty as a soldier for the Lord was completed in full. All else will simply fade away into obscurity.

Lord Jesus, help me to keep my eyes and thoughts focused ahead on what You have called me to do. Thank You for saving me and my family that we may worship and walk with You always. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

A Personal Message from God

Today I have been awakened at 4am by the most startling metaphoric image of my life, and I believe that the Lord was speaking to my soul.

I was trying to push through a large pile of rubble, but it was as if I had to struggle through it behind a large wall. The wall itself needed to be used to push through the rubble (imagine a bulldozer, but with me as the machine pushing the big bucket in front), but because there was so much of it in front of me the going through was so tough.

Through this exercise, I realized that I felt a fear in the pit of my stomach. People were laughing at me, pointing and mocking. Everyone was, and I felt awful - nervous, unsettled to the point of a cold sweat - all because the world was mocking me.

Then I realized further that the rubble I was pushing through was the mockers of the world, but I couldn't gain any traction while I remained in this fearful state because I was paralyzed against them. And God showed me that more than anything in this world, greater than even the fear of death, I was living in fear of the world's judgment.

I didn't want to be judged, but instead I was living a life where I was afraid to do anything that would incur the mocking of the world - and they (the world) sat eagerly observing me with cynical affections, ready to attack with their judgment which scared me all the more into further paralysis.

I cannot explain the feeling that I felt: panic, desperation, hopelessness beyond hopelessness. In truth I would rather have died than to have to incur any more of this humiliating mocking.

Then God showed me my soul as being made up of various influences and that I was being led by one source who cared deeply about the judgments of the world around me. He is called Pride of Life. Pride of Life counseled continued restraint and complete inaction because he could not bear any negative thoughts from anyone. He wants to continually be favored by the world around him and in order to do that, he'll do anything - even crawl into his own personal shell to avoid engaging anything opposed to the world's opinion.

Having been recognized and outed, I ousted Pride of Life by praying to the Lord, and the Lord took him away from the soul (by grabbing him with a commando team and shoving him into a helicopter - I have been playing "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare"), but my soul still feared.

However, I began to do my duty to the push the wall through the rubble of life, so a smooth path was created behind it (imagine a bulldozer smoothing a rough road) though the effort it took was enormous and the soul still lived in fear of the mockers that it was pushing through.

God reminded my soul to don the armor of God, and after much struggle to remember what that was, I put on the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Belt of Truth, the Shoes of Peace, the Shield of Faith, and also the Sword - God's Word. The pains from the mockers lessened considerably with the donning of each item, and my pace in smoothing the rubble in front of me began to increase. It was then that I realized that Jesus Christ pushed with me and I was not alone.

The Lord reminded me that the world is ready to mock and judge me, but in order to walk his path, I must not fall into the trap of the Pride of Life where I seek to avoid offense. Rather, I must be ready to walk through any valley of humiliation as a Christian, for unless I'm ready to do that, no progress will be made because I will be too afraid to do anything for Christ. In fact, the message was even stronger - that I must always be willing to endure any humiliation no matter what that might be - that I must never mind the world's opinion, but instead rely completely on Faith.

For a Christian, Pride is the enemy of Faith because it seeks to kill any movement that isn't completely safe or easy. However, the Christian path isn't an easy one because it is singly reliant on Faith alone despite circumstances. If we let in the Pride of Life to even a small degree, we begin to weak our efforts to follow Christ. At that point, it is an inevitable process where the Pride of Life will increase his influences into our lives, having gained a foothold, and will kill our progress to nil.

So heavy was this burden in my soul that before re-entering sleep, I knew this needed to be recorded so that I will never forget.