Have you Heard?

So many of us came to Christ with the impression, or maybe even the expectation, that ALL of our hardships will disappear. It amazes me that either in an effort to "win" souls, and (for some) boost attendance and pad their stats, pastors will preach Jesus and invite people to come to Him under the terms that life will cease to have troubles. Maybe its not entirely the pastor's fault though. Perhaps there are those that all they hear is the "ease" and cessation of trials in a message or presentation of Jesus. This is indeed an intriguing and fascinating phenomena. ALL, and I mean everybody, wants to avoid pain, trials, troubles, etc. (if not, we have medications and therapists for such people). Now the interesting and intriguing aspect under this reality of trouble avoidance is this: we are to expect troubles (Jesus told us so), AND we are promised an eternity void of troubles.

There is a desire for the eternal (in terms of trial avoidance) in EVERYBODY'S heart (regardless of religious disposition or faith), yet this desire is for the most part inevitably and entirely self-subservient.

The amazing reality is that if you have ever heard the word of the Lord you know that it is often a bitter sweet morsel. That is to say, when God speaks (through a pastor, friend, His word, or His Spirit to your heart) it is more than occasionally hard to handle and face honestly. If you have not had this experience of a "harsh" word, then it stands to question that maybe you have never in fact heard His word. Hearing His word is difficult for the fact, like our self-subservient trial avoidance eternal desire, we naturally desire things counter-culture to the eternal kingdom of which are called and presently sealed up in.

The miraculous sweetness comes as we hear though.

As we spend time under His wing, immersed in His word, listening, waiting, and anticipating His presence even though it may be hard and "unnatural," our "nature" changes. As we abide (spend time affixed to the Lord) our present and eternal disposition changes. And our aforementioned trial avoidance desire of our eternal trial absent promise takes on a whole new meaning and identity. Though we are promised troubles and trials, and by our nature we seek to avoid them (rightly so), as we immerse ourselves in Jesus we are not troubled by the troubles and trials when they arrive for we have the eternal in our midst in the very present here and now!

Move!

"We have put so much emphasis on avoiding evil that we have become virtually blind to the endless opportunities for doing good. We have defined holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to...[The] great tragedy is not the sins that we commit, but the life that we fail to live." ~ Erwin McManus "Chasing Daylight"

I'm not going to say much on this quote. I would hope that it would sink in, and that the Holy Spirit would speak to you. Nevertheless, as a challenge, spend the day (and if you can the week) paying attention to what you separate yourself from, or conversely, what you give yourself to.

Fear

I love "The Tale of Despereaux" because of the story it tells. An odd, ostracized, little mouse, who loves adventure, and courage, and honor. From the very beginning of the story there are so many truths laid out to set the stage, yet they are so easy to miss. Statements like, "Anyone who knows anything, knows there is a big difference between a mouse and a rat. First of all, rats hate the light... If you know anything about fairy tales, then you know that a hero doesn't appear until the world really needs one...Of course, destiny is a funny thing. We go out to meet it and we don't always know that we are."

A very liberating view of life is to see it as a movie, or novel. A great story unfolding, with you in the spotlight. This may sound narcissistic, but be honest, its natural for everyone to put their needs and desires before others. This is why it is so great in the eyes of God for selfless love and action to be taken. Viewing life as a story is very much within the heart of the gospel. We have scripture, and much of it is written and recorded in narrative form, telling stories that unfold and are extremely rich and dynamic. Jesus often spoke in parables to open the eyes and hearts of his audience. The point is, story speaks the to the inner fabric of our souls, so why not see life on a whole, as an elaborate story.

Now there is one thing that hinders all great characters in any story above all; FEAR. The characters of great stories overcome the odds, and often those odds at play bring fear(s) that greatly effect the character in immense ways. With this in mind, it is crucially important to realize that all characters are created, and have an author as their creator. So, it stands to reason then, that if we are to be wise characters in our stories then we will acknowledge that we too have a creator, our author, and let him write the best possible story for us.

Our author has never called us into a safe life, in fact, he assures us of just the opposite and goes as far as to say, "if you love me, you will be hated." Once again, just as in the great stories we love to engage in, fear takes the stage. The disconnect rises within us due to the reality that we strive for safety in our story, while admiring the danger and overcoming of effectual fear in others' stories.

We are commanded "do not fear" over two-hundred times throughout scripture; yet we still do. If you read between the lines, it is explicitly obvious that Jesus greatly understands the we will be afraid. Yet, we are commanded not to fear. We are not encouraged to avoid it, we are commanded. Not only does Jesus understand that we will be afraid, He knows first hand, that the greatest stories are of those that do not give in to fear.

Donald Miller puts it this way, "I thought of fear as a subtle suggestion in our subconscious designed to keep us safe, or more important, keep us from getting humiliated. And i guess it serves that purpose. But fear isn't only a guide to keep us safe; its also a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life."

How great of a story are you living? Is it safe? Are you co-authoring with the creator, or are you going at it solo? Is your story boring?

The smallest of mice can become the greatest of men.

What's Your Story?

I read an interesting quote the other day...

"Your life is a blank page; you write on it."

There's a lot that jumps out to me about this statement, in many ways. The one thing that seems most beneficial to me is taking the approach to this statement the best way anyone can, and thats is a submissive approach.

How liberating, exciting, and adventurous is it to think of one's life as a blank page in which we write! Now, I love, and greatly encourage everyone, to look at life through the lens of a story. We are all narcissistic to one extent or another, some obviously more so than others. So the idea of viewing, thinking, and approaching life as a story (or movie) should not be to radical and counter intuitive for anyone. It is in our nature to default to the assumption that the world was made for, and revolves around us. But think of your life as a story as if you were writing it.

Some of us would concede that we are not very good story tellers or authors at all, and others come across movies and stories only to be frustrated and annoyed because they view themselves as master story tellers and authors. Regardless of your personal impression on your ability to tell a story the reality is this; their is someone far more capable of writing a better story than you!

When we approach the statement and belief that, "life is a blank page; you write on it," with a submissive attitude, fully accepting and believing that God is not only capable of, but desiring to write a better story, the effects are radically life-changing!

Everything that draws us into a movie or story, all those elements that entice and hold our attention are written into the very fabric of each individual's soul. So as some like the action-adventure genre, others the romantic comedies, the truth is, those inclinations were put their by our loving and creative father. Just think, when He created the world, it was literary! He spoke, and things began existing! He spoke, and you existed. Everything He has created, has distinct characteristics and purposes.

Don't you think that if He created you, He is the author of the character that is you; that He would know what you crave, desire, and are passionate about? And if this is in fact true, wouldn't it stand to reason that He knows the greatest possible means of which to write and create the most profound, adventurous, engaging story that your life could ever have?

There is a greater author than you...will you write your story with Him?

Faithfulness

There is a lot to be said about faithfulness. The fruits and evidences of faithfulness can be seen and appreciated in many different ways, however, the greatest results and rewards of faithfulness to an individual is that of the unseen. What I mean by that is this...

Think back to a time in which you invested so much of your self; your time, energy, and emotion into something, or someone? For some this might be a touchy and bitter subject as this project, or person, resulted in letdown and pain. However, for those that have the memory in mind of a time in which the project, or the person was seen through to its end result or even restoration, the satisfaction and assurance that greatness (whether others would see it that way or not) within yourself is overwhelming.

This is very much at the heart of the admonition scripture raises to "store up for yourselves treasure(s) in heaven." It is in the moments of faithfulness to your faith, to your God, your savior, to your fallen and dismayed friends that the greatest of treasure and eternal wealth is credited to you.

Consider Jonathan and David. Their friendship was life saving, and for Jonathan, in many regards, life taking. The bible says that these two men's souls were knit together. That is a faithful friendship. Jonathan saved Davids life, despite the ostracizing it meant within his fathers own courts. And in some respect, Jonathan's faithfulness to David cost him his own life; within the royal courts (he yielded his rightful throne to God's anointed) and in the fields where he lost his physical life. As a result of this faithful friendship David was able to take the throne and become Israel's greatest king. As a result of this faithful friendship David was able to show his nation the mercy and kindness of the true king they served, if you don't agree, ask Mephibosheth.

Then there is Paul. Upon his conversion he was so zealous to preach the very man that he once persecuted yet his ministry was a complete disaster! It wasn't the fact that the good'ol boys were skeptical of his conversion, his ministry was just a flop. Paul wanted so badly to preach Jesus to his fellow Jews and the life and liberty that is found with Christ, but they couldn't see past the once vicious Christian killer. Paul was literally ostracized and spent some three years in the dessert only to return and attempt ministry again that would end in yet another outcast of obscurity taking him to Damascus for another period lasting seven to ten years! That's ten to thirteen years of unbridled, unfruitful, unproductive fervor for Jesus! To be fair, and more importantly honest, which one of us would not have been like Peter and returned to our former occupation, or just given up all together and forgotten this whole "Christian" thing? It was Paul's unwavering faithfulness to Jesus Christ that yielded to the Spirit and it was by the Spirit that Paul would become the greatest preacher this world has known! And yet, his ministry, as great as it was, was still not what he had hoped. In his letter to the Romans, he penned the cry that he himself would rather be cast out and lose his salvation for his fellow Jews to be saved. That is faithfulness--SELFLESSNESS!

Jesus was faithful to His father, crying for "any other way." His faithfulness was marked and defined by His selflessness which was and is to the benefit of all those who do and are to call on His name. The gospel is not a self-help manual. The gospel is not meant to cause warm fuzzy feelings for an individual to float through life. The gospel is not about thinking about yourself at all. The gospel is defined by faith.

There is a lot to say about faithfulness!

Insecurity

A few weeks back it occurred to me that our idea of insecurity may not be so accurate, or rather, its existence and acceptance in our lives must be addressed. Insecurity is defined as: lack of confidence, or assurance; self-doubt. It's synonyms are: shakiness and vulnerability.
And there in lies the problem. As a child of God, called to be re-born, re-generated, ever growing and deepening in faith and the promises from the throne; where is there room and reasonable clause for a lack of confidence or assurance. Are we not promised that God will work ALL things for good for those He has called and whom love him (Rom.8:28)? Or is that just another scriptural cliche we throw the way of some bummed out friend?
We have grown accustomed to and accepted insecurity in not only in our personal lives, but in the cooperate life of the church. It's no wonder any individual and even the church sit around and wonder in dismay why the same struggles persistently circulate and cycle in our lives--both as individuals and as a cooperate body.
As this occurred to me, a revelation came with it.

What if insecurities are not so much insecurities as we understand them, but in fact the evidential fruit(s) of lack of faith

and downright disobedience?

Insecurity takes on a whole other face when you see it that way, when you look at it as the fruit and manifestation of short-changed faith and utter disobedience!
Think about it for a minute. We are not called to faith in ourselves, but in Christ. Therefor, why would we allow "self-doubt" to govern or have any authority in our hearts and thoughts? Yet we do. Furthermore, working with the synonym of vulnerability in relation to insecurity is a terribly perplexing thing. Being vulnerable, arguably, might be one of the most demanding calls for any individual. To be seen as we really are is a terrifying notion, let alone reality. Everyday, via Facebook, Twitter, fashion, gaming, and any other form of media or expression people strive to create a persona that is acceptable, appealing, and transcendent. However, in most cases this "persona" is a white-walled tomb and a facade of any authentic representation of whom the individual truly is. This is a topic in itself for another day, however.
If we are to be caught up, defined by, and In Jesus Christ himself, where is there grounds for insecurity and vulnerability? As a child of God we should be the most secure, grounded, confident, and courageous people to walk His creation. After-all, the victory is won, and it is ours through our inheritance in Christ Jesus!