Let It Go & Feel Better

There are issues in the Church that have always troubled me. One of those issues has always been that of forgiveness and grace. You would think that having your life transformed by Christ would be so powerful that all who identify themselves as disciples or apprentices of Christ would have a spirit of submission to Him and His word. I know I use to think that way! Funny how spending time in a Church as a Pastor can change all of that. Don't get me wrong, I love the Church and think it is the greatest institution on the planet. I also think that is has the potential to be more real and sincere with a culture that is seeking answers and watching it. I think we are losing ground with outsiders because we have hardness on our hearts and at times a lack of love toward each other.

You might be wondering if something has happened to get me to be so straightforward. Yes and No! In the Church there is always an issue to deal with concerning people who refuse to forgive one another. Sometimes I experience it in my own life as well. That unfortunately is the nature of the Church. We are fallen individuals who are trying to conform to the image of Christ and we do that at times kicking and screaming. We like to justify our anger and our reasons for not granting forgiveness to others even when they have sincerely asked for it. I have to deal with this issue as a Pastor every couple of weeks. It has become frustrating. Part of the problem is what some have been taught about forgiveness through the years. Even if it was bad teaching that does not square up with the Bible they will still cling to it. When I was on my internship the Pastor I worked under for that time preached on forgiveness once. He said from the pulpit that you should forgive and never forget. Is that what the Bible teaches? One of my favorite areas of the Bible is the book of Psalms. Psalm 1o3 states "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. (NIV)" That is the ways that God treats us. Isn't that wonderful?

I am tired of us not having the same attitude toward others that God has toward us. We are representing Christ with all of our actions and all of our attitudes every day of our lives. I know the old phrase "you don't understand what they did to me!" Is it necessary for me to know? Will I be more willing do you think to take your side if I do? I probably would not. All I know is that I am commanded to have true forgiveness in my heart. Ephesians 4:32 says "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." It is not easy to live that verse out, but I am commanded to do so. When I learn to conform my life more to the standards of the Word than the world I begin to experience God in greater ways. Part of the problem that we have in the Church is that we are forgetting that obedience to the Word always comes with the promise of greater spiritual blessings. To live this out you will have to swallow your pride and prayerfully ask God to transform your feelings about your situation. He will transform you if you let him and spend time with Him in prayer. When you can grant complete forgiveness you will feel much better spiritually and you will have more grace upon your life.

Christian Education

I wonder to myself as a Pastor how much Christian literature any disciple of Jesus might read each year. I think if I knew I would probably cringe. Some people believe that just by going to Church that they can grow enough to get them by. Maybe someone else thinks that they are in a small group so they put more effort into the Christian life than most people and do not need to educate themselves. Every person who is a follower of Jesus needs to be educating themselves every week of their lives. The more educated you are the stronger your faith will be.

When I was a young Christian I would bother my first 2 Pastor's with question after question. I would go to their house and knock on their door if I had too. I realized one day that if I was to grow like I wanted to in this new lifestyle I was going to have to do 2 things. I would have to get through the entire bible and keep going through it and I would have to study secondary Christian literature so that I could understand this life that I was called into. At the time I was only a nominal reader and since I knew nothing of Christianity I had to choke down my first five books. I began to read about prayer, the Holy Spirit, and anything by Philip Yancey. I noticed after the first year that I began to grow in big ways and I began to be more focused in the Christian life. At Church people would say "how do you know this stuff?" My response was always the same; "I have been studying!"

At the time of my conversion I was a delivery driver and covered between 150-250 miles a day. Because of my occupation I had the privilege of listening to 4 sermons a day. I would listen to Hayford, Swindoll, and Tony Evans. So my Christian education was ongoing. I was making a choice to grow in the Lord. Today the technology is much greater than when I was saved. You can go online and listen to sermons or download them to your ipod like one guy I know does. The point is, you have every tool at your disposal to grow in the Lord. I would not recommend every book from any Christian bookstore to you, but I will leave you with a few that I would. If you want to educate yourself and grow in the Faith in greater ways then you must begin to read. Ask someone from your congregation who understands Christian literature for some recommendations. Beware of the fluff books that promise everything will be ok. Here are a few I would recommend.

1. The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard.

2. The Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

3. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala.

When You Want To Grow

It seems that the easiest part of deciding to move forward with God is the initial decision. You feel a deep and sincere conviction from God that there are changes in your life that must take place if you want to move forward with Him. You decide one day that you are going to submit to that conviction and you might even be a little excited. But sometimes that excitement or fire within can be extinguished quickly by the outward turmoil in our lives.

We call it attacks from the devil when we are trying to improve our spiritual lives, but is that what is always going on? In Hebrews 12 and Proverbs 3 we read that God disciplines those whom He loves. Sometimes when we get serious with the Lord it seems like we are experiencing some constant turmoil. It could be an attack from the devil or it could be that God is testing us in different ways to see how serious we are and to strengthen us for the future. In this lifetime we will never know with certainty what is going on. We can however know that some type of testing will come. It will be constant and when we try to move forward it could be a bit more intense.

We talk a lot about trials in the Church and have become familiar with the texts that surround the word, but have we become good at embracing it as a part of the Christian life? We kick and scream at times because we do not want the trial and maybe that is because we forget what they are for. They are a spiritual tool to help us draw closer to God and conform to His will in greater ways. I want to learn to embrace my trials to some degree each year in greater ways. I am living in a way at this point where I expect them to come at unexpected times. I do so because it always seems to work out that way. Romans 5:1-5 and James 2:2-4 gives us some insight about our trials. Every Christian should learn what the New Testament says about them and how they are to conduct themselves through them. Whether you want to hear it or not you are getting ready to go through a trial, in the middle of a trial, or coming out of a trial. There is rarely any middle ground. Just remember they are in place for a reason.

Dark Seasons Part 2

How do you feel when you approach God? Have you every thought about how you approach Him and what your attitude is like during that time? I think everyone needs to think about how they approach God in prayer because I am seeing in the Bible that our approach matters to God. Sometimes I will admit I approach God like a timid child who is begging for candy! I don't know why I get this way, but sometimes I forget how important I am to Him. I think many Christians are like this. I don't know where it started, but it permeates the Church like Small Pox.

I am seeing in the Bible that God wants me to be strong and bold. I know just saying that sounds Charismatic or Pentecostal, but its true. There is something powerful that happens when any person becomes bold in prayer and truly seeks God. My grandfather was a Pentecostal Preacher and the one thing that I learned from him about the Christian life is to learn to be bold in prayer. His boldness did not help him to gain riches in this life, but his boldness helped him to be rich in faith and to experience God in greater ways. Sometimes I would go over to his house as a young Christian to listen to his stories of prayer. These stories have been motivators for me lately and a good reminder of the power of God in the life of a diligent Christian.

Maybe you even think that being bold before God can seem a little arrogant. That is not so! Think about how you would feel as a parent if your own child came to you in a timid way for everything they wanted. You would probably think that it was very odd. Timidity can hold us back from approaching God with boldness and experiencing Him at greater and deeper levels. Psalm 86:1-2 in the NIV says "Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you." That is what boldness looks like. Those who learn to be bold will move forward with God.

One of the greatest rewards I have seen with those who have learned to be bold with God is that they truly have a peace that surpasses understanding. In the last few years of his life my grandfather had a peace like that. I believe all of us want to have a peace and contentment with God that we talk about, but do not have. It starts with prayer. It starts by making a decision that you are tired of feeling like you are in the darkness. It is taking that decision and following through with set times of prayer everyday. We are losing too much ground in our Churches, homes, families, and spiritual lives and it is time to be bold. If you remain in the darkness as a Christian it will not be because God willed it to be, it will be because you did not decide to take action.

Dark Seasons Part 1

Right now as I look at the sliding glass door I see a windy and hot summer day. I like this time of year, but I prefer the colder weather. This is the time that my wife and I usually spend more time in our hometowns and more time in the yard with the neighbors. In the great land of Illinois the sun shines through most of the summer and the weather is usually very warm. Even though I love colder weather I do cherish the summer months. It is a great time to get out and do different things.

Even though the sun is shining right now I feel as though internally I am in a different season. I have sensed for some time God calling me to a deeper prayer life than I currently have. One of the links that I have on this site is for Christian Church Today which is a forum that many Preachers and Church Leaders frequent to discus the Christian life and the condition of the Church. Someone recently started a prayer thread that I had been following. Like most of the threads that have to do with prayer they never seem to get a great response or a good conversation going. As I read through this time I had a deeper conviction about prayer and faith than I have ever had before. I realized that I am not where I should be in this area. I realized that I go through ups and downs concerning my time with God. I do not feel ashamed to admit this because I am a Pastor, but I do feel ashamed because I am a child of God with a privilege that I take for granted.

So within myself I feel that I am in a dark season because I am lacking in the continuous flow of God's power in my life. Someone might say "well, that's the Christian life!" Is it? Sure, there are valleys, but I have witnessed many Christians who had a deep prayer life and seemed to conquer those valley's with a greater ease than most of us do. There is something profoundly life changing about a person who spends a good amount of time in prayer. As I read about the Spiritual Disciplines this always comes in at the top. The reason it does I believe is because many have discovered that true power for the spiritual life lies within a dedicated prayer life.

Those who choose to go down a road of connecting with God in greater ways can find themselves a little frustrated because trials and tests seem to follow us as we pursue God in greater ways. Knowing that should help us because before they come we can begin to prepare mentally and spiritually. The only other option for any of us is a Christian Life of going through the motions. I refuse to accept that! Reading through the New Testament I see a faith that was vibrant and dynamic by the Apostles and disciples alike. That is the type of relationship I want with God. That is the type of relationship that God has promised me as his child. Prayer begets a stronger faith and a stronger faith begets a greater desire to pray.

Psalm 34:8 states "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. (NIV)"

I am willing to stand on this verse all summer long. I invite all who read this blog to stand on that verse with me and to learn what a dedicated life of prayer is about and what it can produce. What have you got to lose?