It's been quite awhile since I've written anything. I've been away from Yokosuka in Sasebo, Okinawa, Brisbane Australia, and Shimoda Japan. It looks like I'll finally be stationary for awhile which I'm really looking forward to.
God has continued to reveal Himself to me and work in and through me for His purpose. As I sail around the Far East, I'm reminded of the Scripture that says the Word of God is not bound. It's easy for me to become discouraged or lose my saltiness if I don't remember that God is bigger than my environment and current circumstances.
One of most significant things that God has been showing me in the past month is what the life of a follower of Christ actually looks like. Within this revelation, I've seen how foolish I have been in the past, experienced the unparalleled love of God, grown in knowledge of how much God requires of His children, and thought about what the remainder of my days on this earth may very well look like.
This growth has come from two primary sources: the Gospels and Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Of course, the Gospels cut out the middle man and we are able to learn directly from the Master. It's amazing to see what Jesus demanded of His followers and how loving and patient He was with them as they grew. In Francis Chan's book, which I cannot recommend highly enough, he presents God in His true light as an infinite, sovereign, just God who also loves us beyond measure and is unfairly gracious to the sinful human race.
When I think of just how gracious and merciful God has been towards me, it hurts knowing that I've spent so much of my short time on earth worried about myself and what I wanted out of life. Isn't this how we are all prone to think and live? How foolish of us to think that we are the stars and that we truly are most important. One can waste so much time by only thinking of him or herself. I know I can! The question we must ask is this: by thinking of ourselves in this way, what does that say about our view of God?
The only honest answer is that we don't view God as all that important when we focus on ourselves. The truth is that Jesus Christ is our most precious treasure. Nothing short of God is truth. Friends, if we choose anything above God, even righteous things like having a great family, helping those in need, or being generous with our money, we have missed the point of this life! The point of this life is to become united with Jesus Christ and know Him! Nothing else matters if its source is not Christ Himself!
Realizing this has made me think a lot about God, my relationship with Him, and where my priorities are versus where they should be. I want to look at a few Scripture verses that shed some light on the only appropriate response when we see God in His true image displayed in the Bible.
Luke 14:27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Luke14:33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."
Luke 16:15 And He said to them, 'You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.'
Earlier in chapter 9, Jesus says that whoever would come after Him must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Him. His message is consistent and unmistakably easy to understand. We must not miss the point of Christ's words here. Scripture is clear that we will suffer as followers of Christ (2 Timothy 3:12). Sometimes God asks us to give up our comforts, our lifestyle, our money, etc. If we are living in light of the Gospel, Jesus Himself tells us that the world will hate us.
We must deny ourselves. This is as clear as it gets. We are not important. I think of the Baptist's words when his disciples were telling him that his followers were leaving to go follow Jesus. The Baptist replied "He must increase, but I must decrease." When we acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the star, the center, the One in which everything else is subject to, we will live differently and our priorities will necessarily be changed.
Anyone who does not renounce all he has... Again Jesus makes this impossible to misinterpret. What in your life is battling for attention with Jesus Christ? What self image or character do you desire that doesn't align itself with Jesus? Who do you want to respect you, like you, and love you that takes focus from your Lord and Savior? We must never forget that where our treasure is, there our heart is also. We must never allow compromise! It is all about Jesus. We must become less! Don't miss the point! We don't have much time! Tonight God might come for your soul. Don't be found boasting about tomorrow as if you can surrender it all to God then. Now is the only time that is certain.
God is really showing me what it means to give me whole heart to Him. As I seek to do that, I know it is important to acknowledge that it is only by God's grace that I'm able to surrender my all to Him. John 6 says that it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no help at all. This is not just talking about initial life, but growth also. It's the powerful work of the Holy Spirit that brings about continued growth and change in the Christian's life. Where we come in is our willingness to let the Spirit work in us. Jesus said But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. Luke 11:41 Surrender your heart. Trust that God is good and faithful and will give you the desires of your heart when you surrender to Jesus Christ and submit to His will. That is what God has been showing me! Isn't it amazing?!
So as I ponder what this means for me. I see that it most certainly means continuing to be mindful of those things in my life that fight for my attention. These are the same type of things I've written about in the past like desiring to be married, looking at going to seminary, desiring more people to come to know Christ, and desiring my life to be entirely focused on Christ. None of these things are sinful desires, however they cannot take the place of Christ and should be kept in their proper place. Otherwise, I see myself beginning to make life about me again and more still taking my focus off of who is important.
Another growing desire that God has put on my heart is to abhor sin. If I desire to love God in the only way imaginable given His greatness, I must utterly detest and hate sin. God hates sin. He hates sin in the lives of those he loves and cherishes. If we ever expect to grow closer to God and experience more of Him, we must also hate sin passionately. There is no room for sin to coexist with Christ and we must take it deathly seriously! We can't be caught up in comparing ourselves with others who do worse things. Compare yourself with Christ and see how you stack up. That's who the true benchmark is! We must not fall into the lie that we aren't as bad as so-and-so and God made us with these flaws for a reason. The reason we are flawed is so that the power of God may be displayed in us as He transforms us!
Scripture is clear that there is no more suffering, sin, or sadness in Heaven. But, how blessed are those men and women that experience the Kingdom while still on earth! God's blessings are for us now. We just have to take hold of them. When you die, it will be obvious that it is all about God. There is no doubt in my mind. Why not acknowledge it now and experience even more of God's love while you can share it with others here! That's our calling. That's our privilege. That's God's will.
How are you doing at knowing God's love? How is it causing you to live? If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the most important treasure that we could ever possess, we must continue to seek to know God and live according to the Gospel.
Anything short of our entire being is an absurd gesture and foolish sacrifice towards our Lord and Savior who died so that we could live!
God has continued to reveal Himself to me and work in and through me for His purpose. As I sail around the Far East, I'm reminded of the Scripture that says the Word of God is not bound. It's easy for me to become discouraged or lose my saltiness if I don't remember that God is bigger than my environment and current circumstances.
One of most significant things that God has been showing me in the past month is what the life of a follower of Christ actually looks like. Within this revelation, I've seen how foolish I have been in the past, experienced the unparalleled love of God, grown in knowledge of how much God requires of His children, and thought about what the remainder of my days on this earth may very well look like.
This growth has come from two primary sources: the Gospels and Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Of course, the Gospels cut out the middle man and we are able to learn directly from the Master. It's amazing to see what Jesus demanded of His followers and how loving and patient He was with them as they grew. In Francis Chan's book, which I cannot recommend highly enough, he presents God in His true light as an infinite, sovereign, just God who also loves us beyond measure and is unfairly gracious to the sinful human race.
When I think of just how gracious and merciful God has been towards me, it hurts knowing that I've spent so much of my short time on earth worried about myself and what I wanted out of life. Isn't this how we are all prone to think and live? How foolish of us to think that we are the stars and that we truly are most important. One can waste so much time by only thinking of him or herself. I know I can! The question we must ask is this: by thinking of ourselves in this way, what does that say about our view of God?
The only honest answer is that we don't view God as all that important when we focus on ourselves. The truth is that Jesus Christ is our most precious treasure. Nothing short of God is truth. Friends, if we choose anything above God, even righteous things like having a great family, helping those in need, or being generous with our money, we have missed the point of this life! The point of this life is to become united with Jesus Christ and know Him! Nothing else matters if its source is not Christ Himself!
Realizing this has made me think a lot about God, my relationship with Him, and where my priorities are versus where they should be. I want to look at a few Scripture verses that shed some light on the only appropriate response when we see God in His true image displayed in the Bible.
Luke 14:27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Luke14:33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."
Luke 16:15 And He said to them, 'You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.'
Earlier in chapter 9, Jesus says that whoever would come after Him must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Him. His message is consistent and unmistakably easy to understand. We must not miss the point of Christ's words here. Scripture is clear that we will suffer as followers of Christ (2 Timothy 3:12). Sometimes God asks us to give up our comforts, our lifestyle, our money, etc. If we are living in light of the Gospel, Jesus Himself tells us that the world will hate us.
We must deny ourselves. This is as clear as it gets. We are not important. I think of the Baptist's words when his disciples were telling him that his followers were leaving to go follow Jesus. The Baptist replied "He must increase, but I must decrease." When we acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the star, the center, the One in which everything else is subject to, we will live differently and our priorities will necessarily be changed.
Anyone who does not renounce all he has... Again Jesus makes this impossible to misinterpret. What in your life is battling for attention with Jesus Christ? What self image or character do you desire that doesn't align itself with Jesus? Who do you want to respect you, like you, and love you that takes focus from your Lord and Savior? We must never forget that where our treasure is, there our heart is also. We must never allow compromise! It is all about Jesus. We must become less! Don't miss the point! We don't have much time! Tonight God might come for your soul. Don't be found boasting about tomorrow as if you can surrender it all to God then. Now is the only time that is certain.
God is really showing me what it means to give me whole heart to Him. As I seek to do that, I know it is important to acknowledge that it is only by God's grace that I'm able to surrender my all to Him. John 6 says that it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no help at all. This is not just talking about initial life, but growth also. It's the powerful work of the Holy Spirit that brings about continued growth and change in the Christian's life. Where we come in is our willingness to let the Spirit work in us. Jesus said But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. Luke 11:41 Surrender your heart. Trust that God is good and faithful and will give you the desires of your heart when you surrender to Jesus Christ and submit to His will. That is what God has been showing me! Isn't it amazing?!
So as I ponder what this means for me. I see that it most certainly means continuing to be mindful of those things in my life that fight for my attention. These are the same type of things I've written about in the past like desiring to be married, looking at going to seminary, desiring more people to come to know Christ, and desiring my life to be entirely focused on Christ. None of these things are sinful desires, however they cannot take the place of Christ and should be kept in their proper place. Otherwise, I see myself beginning to make life about me again and more still taking my focus off of who is important.
Another growing desire that God has put on my heart is to abhor sin. If I desire to love God in the only way imaginable given His greatness, I must utterly detest and hate sin. God hates sin. He hates sin in the lives of those he loves and cherishes. If we ever expect to grow closer to God and experience more of Him, we must also hate sin passionately. There is no room for sin to coexist with Christ and we must take it deathly seriously! We can't be caught up in comparing ourselves with others who do worse things. Compare yourself with Christ and see how you stack up. That's who the true benchmark is! We must not fall into the lie that we aren't as bad as so-and-so and God made us with these flaws for a reason. The reason we are flawed is so that the power of God may be displayed in us as He transforms us!
Scripture is clear that there is no more suffering, sin, or sadness in Heaven. But, how blessed are those men and women that experience the Kingdom while still on earth! God's blessings are for us now. We just have to take hold of them. When you die, it will be obvious that it is all about God. There is no doubt in my mind. Why not acknowledge it now and experience even more of God's love while you can share it with others here! That's our calling. That's our privilege. That's God's will.
How are you doing at knowing God's love? How is it causing you to live? If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the most important treasure that we could ever possess, we must continue to seek to know God and live according to the Gospel.
Anything short of our entire being is an absurd gesture and foolish sacrifice towards our Lord and Savior who died so that we could live!
all I have to say is amen
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