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?

Maybe, Maybe Not

I had the privilege of serving my country during Operation Desert Storm with the 82ND Airborne. This past week or so I had been feeling a bit nostalgic as our 16 year anniversary rolled around of our return home. One of my best friends and I from my former unit began to talk about a 20 year reunion so I decided to see if I could find guys through the Internet with virtual ease. It worked much better than I ever anticipated. One number did cost me $7.99, but it was well worth it. Getting in contact with my former friends from the old unit brought back a lot of forgotten memories. Some things that I let go of since becoming a Christian were pointed out to me with laughter from some of the guys. One was shocked that I was in full time ministry.

Since becoming a Christian there has always been something that had troubled me about my time in Desert Storm. As we were leaving the country a group of us who were extremely close did something that made our commanding officer look bad. I never gave it a second thought until I came to know Jesus. Since that time the thought of our war time mishap would rear its ugly head in my mind. I had even had several dreams about it. I kept telling myself that if I could ever find my former commander that I would approach him and ask for forgiveness since I was under his command and it reflected greatly upon his leadership. During my Internet nostalgic frenzy I decided that I would try to locate my former commander and through 3 days of clicking and cross checking I located him. It took another day or so to get the nerve to call his house.

Today I left a message for him and within 10 minutes he returned my call. We talked for a while and then I reminded him of the famous "incident" but prefaced it with "I am now in full time ministry" with the hope for a little compassion and leverage. He remembered it once I mentioned it and let me get years of regret off of my chest. He granted me grace and reminded me that during that time I was just a kid even though they trained me how to kill effectively. After being gracious to me we began to talk about our lives and shared a few stories. We finished the conversation with him giving me his cell phone number and promising to talk more with one another. For years I had presumed that he would not be as gracious as he was when and if I had the chance to seek forgiveness, but that was proved wrong this morning. Had I not called and tried I would never have known.

Receiving forgiveness is not always so simple. I wrote an article on this blog once titled HEALED in reference to my former ministry. One of the guys from the Church became outraged by it and even though he commented anonymously I knew who it was. I sent him an email to try to work through the problem, but never heard back from him. I freely admitted where I as wrong and talked about my frustrations in that ministry. Some of what when on he probably did not know about. As Christians we will not always have those we seek forgiveness from ready to be as gracious to us as my former commander. We must seek the forgiveness where we have wronged others and trust that no matter what the outcome is we have done what is expected of us by God. How will you know unless you make an attempt? One thing is for certain you will have greater peace with God for trying!

DECISIONS

About a week ago I received a phone call that my brother was arrested. The charges against him are severe and it will be months before we know what the outcome of all of this will be. Going down this road is difficult for my family and it is something that is heavy upon my heart. Looking at my brothers life I realize that most people who get into his position did not get there overnight. There is a progression in every persons life that leads them to where they are currently. Its all about DECISIONS! I love my brother and would do not want him in the position he made, but his own DECISIONS have put him in his current position.

No matter who we are in this life we are making a multitude of DECISIONS each day that will affect our lives for the coming months and years. In a culture that does not seem to slow down we need to remember to make the wisest DECISIONS that we can for every facet of our lives. Everyone wants to have their lives changed in certain ways, but most of the time they do not want to put in the effort to change them. Change means making some new DECISIONS about how you are living and then putting in the effort to turn it around. If there is one phrase that I despise in our culture it is "Well that's just they way I am!" Really? Is that working for you? Is that working for your family and friends? Have you attained some higher level of enlightenment by remaining the same? A person who wants people to accept them for who they are regardless of the negativity in their lives is a person who is DECIDING that DECISIONS don't really matter.

Galatians 6:7-9 states "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." That is a promise from God to those who are willing to make good DECISIONS and constantly strive to live by a greater standard than the worlds.

Make a DECISION every day that you are going to live in such a way right now that you will reap good benefits in your future. Every DECISION in your life everyday will determine what you will be reaping tomorrow and beyond.

Waiting

"O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I will never pray to anyone but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly (Psalm 5:1-3, NLT)."

Faith is having hope in God's movement in our lives. Faith is a trust that goes beyond the limits of my mind and transcends to an eternal expectation of movement from the hand of our Creator. We talk about faith because we are in a faith relationship through Jesus Christ with God. We use the word faith with regularity that sometimes we forget that with faith comes waiting.

I believe that when I give a situation over to God that He has begun to move in that situation the moment that I handed it over to Him. Faith is trust! The problem we have with faith is that we want God to move within a time frame that we feel would be most beneficial to us, others, or our situation. This is the most difficult part of our life of faith with God. We forget that God is infinite (unlimited) and we are finite (limited). Since God sees the big picture I have a trust in Him that He will answer my prayer and move in my situation in a way that He deems to be the very best. Knowing that should bring me more comfort, but it does not always work like that. I become frustrated and wonder what God is doing while I am still in my discomfort or turmoil. I begin to question if my faith is really big enough. I start to wonder if there is something amiss in my life that is holding God's blessing back from my life pertaining to the request that I keep making everyday.

Through much reflection and more time in prayer I begin to realize that I am a servant of God. I start to realize that He is not waiting to meet my every demand, request, or concern. I begin to realize that He loves me and is concerned for every aspect of my life and I remind myself that He is moving, but in a way that I cannot always understand and sometimes do not always appreciate. He is LORD! He knows what is needed and His timing is always perfect. I realize that I will never fully understand prayer and faith this side of Heaven and I accept that what I want for the moment is only relief, desire, or comfort.

As a Christian I have learned that I must resolve within myself to live a life by faith as Christ has called me to. That means that I trust God for the outcome of everything that I put in His hand regardless of what happens. I am praying with tears sometimes for a situation that is frustrating for some people I know, but I believe God is moving in His way and in His time. To continue to pray for this situation and not see the results that everyone is praying for is frustrating, but I believe by faith that God's purpose is much bigger than my personal desires. Waiting is one of the most difficult aspects of the Christian life, but it is a normal process that we all go through.

FAITH

Faith is an interesting word in Christianity. It is used 270 times in the NIV translation alone. The New Testament Greek word for faith is PISTIS which can simply mean faith, trust, and belief. It is a word with power and great potential, but because we toss it around so frequently in the Church I think sometimes it loses the power that God intended it to have for His people. God desires that we have a greater faith than what I see in the Church of the 21st Century. Our faith has been deduced to attending Church instead of believing in God for His movement in our lives and in our circumstances.

We have sinned with our lack of faith perhaps. We do not believe in God for big things or for movement in our lives like He desires. Hebrews 11:6 in the NIV says "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." A famous verse that we have learned to quote, but have forgotten its power. Faith is expectation and it is action. It is giving all situations to the Lord concerning our Church and our families. It is being detailed in seeking him with regularity and an expectation that He will move in those situations. It is a boldness that comes through believing that He is going to move in the situations that we lift up to Him. Our problem is that we sometimes become discouraged because God answers differently than what we envisioned in our finite minds. The Church and its people need to admit this an need to move beyond this type of thinking.

I have come to believe through my study in the Word of God lately that God indeed wants His people to trust and believe in Him for great movements in their lives and in their Churches. We have become timid and comfortable with our packaged Christianity that we have left little room for God's movement and have supplemented that with a great amount of knowledge. Where is the great revival of our day? Where are those being set free from things that hold them in bondage as Christians? Where is the emotional healing in families right inside the walls of the Church? Is God waiting for something from His people? I believe He is! I believe that He is waiting for a faith that seeks Him continually and is bold in that seeking. I believe that God is looking for those who trust in Him and are willing to wait upon his movement with a belief that He is going to move in the situation that they give over to Him continually. It is time for the Church to have a greater trust in the Lord and a greater sense of seeking their God. I believe that faith matters! What do you believe?