Those you don't know

Something that I learn over and over again is that God is pretty freaking cool. It's late right now, it's 11 o'clock and honestly I am ready for bed. I sat down, opened my bible and didn't anticipate on having anything to write about tonight, but God had different plans for me. The very first verse that I read I was hit with an idea and filled with something that I wanted to share.

I believe that a lot of us live lives that are too comfortable. We barely scratch the surface with most people that we know. There is definitely a reason for that because there is information about ourselves that not everybody needs to know. When I talk about this idea, I am not talking about how much we tell other people about ourselves. What I am talking about is how are we showing that we love others and care for others? It's way easier to see someone you know and show them love and that you care for them than it is a stranger. I mean, that makes sense right? Do you agree?

I don't know why that is, sure it might be a bit awkward and that is probably the reason we rarely do it, but who cares about how awkward something is. Unfortunately I care, you care, and most people care. I don't want to care but it just naturally happens and it's a hard seal to break. When you really think about it, to show someone love like Jesus would and to make them feel like they matter and that they are cared for, you really just have to be genuinely nice. We all know what fake nice is and that won't get the job done. We have to sincerely be nice from the bottom of our hearts. If I asked you to think of some people in your life who are genuinely nice people you could distinguish those people compared to those who are not nice pretty easily. The people who are loving and nice have something different about them. You can see it in their eyes, hear it in their tone of voice, and observe it from their body language. Most can probably pick up on these traits without specifically looking for them.

Why am I talking about going deeper with other people and showing them that they matter and that you love and care for them? I want you to think of this. Think of the people you know, the people you say you love and care for, and then think about all of the people who you don't know. There are billions of people of this earth that you and I don't know. Imagine reaching out more to the people you don't know and showing the love of Christ. If we only show Christ's love to the people that we know, think about all of the people that are missing out. If 100 people read this post and each person shows love and kindness to someone they don't know, that is 100 more people, plus the people the 100 shows love to on daily basis, and you could be around 300 people who are getting a small taste of what God's love is like.

By simply saying hi to someone, or asking them about their family or how their Christmas vacation was can affect their lives. One conversation can change a life. One conversation can show love. Think about being the giver in this situation. There is something about reaching out to someone and encouraging them that is so fulfilling. This isn't just a one way street.

The verse I read tonight that inspired me to write this came from Colossians 2:1.

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. (Colossians 2:1) 

I am greatly inspired by Paul here. He is writing about how hard he is trying for you and for all of those at Laodicea, and for all of those who have not met him personally. Paul was contending so hard for that people that have never even met him. Imagine having that perspective on things. We contend for those who know us, and Paul contends for those who know him and for all of those who have not met him. Like I talked about above, I believe that we get caught up in just the people that we are close with and we forget that there are more people we don't know than those we do know.

I challenge each and every one of you including myself to step out of our comfort zones and to start caring more for those who we don't even know.

Preeminence:False Powers

Preeminence: the fact of surpassing all others; superiority.

If I were to write a thesis to this post this would be it. The point I want to make is that Christ has preeminence over all and that we don't give Christ enough credit for his superiority. We have a tendency to give false powers to other things in our lives.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Check out some of the wording in these couple of verses. "By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible." Let's start with that. Everything was created by God. Everything that you can see and everything that you cannot see. I bet you never though about God creating things that were invisible. I know that I never have. "Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him." Kings, rulers, dictators, presidents, etc, were all crated by God. God created them through him and for him. "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Christ is before all things. Christ holds all things together. Christ just doesn't hold my life together, or my friends lives together, Christ holds all things together. I really love that. It's sometimes easy to look at someone else's life and seem like their life is held together and mine isn't. Well that scripture shows that Christ holds all things together so you better not think that your life is not held together because it is.

I hope that by taking a look at this you see the overwhelming and surpassing power that Christ has over all. It's something we take for granted. How often do we thank God for ruling over all and holding all things together? I think we just forget about it. I know I do. It's way easier to thank God for other things in this life besides his power. If I were to ask you before you read this post what you were thankful for today, one of your answers probably wouldn't have been God's power and authority over all.

I think sometimes we think that Christ needs something from us. We can easily get caught up in thinking that Christ needs us to do good things because He needs that. He doesn't need that. Why would the King of Kings need something from us when he created all things, is above all things and holds everything together? The King of Kings doesn't need a thing because he has victory. Christ defeated Satan and rules over all! We need to worship Christ because of his preeminence.

Are you giving false powers to things of the earth? Do you reply on money, possessions, or material things control how you feel and how you function. It's so easy to do. There are a lot of cool things on this earth that can bring about a lot of happiness! I mean that too. But are we putting those things above Christ and his power? Are we relying on those things to give us a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction before we allow Christ to do that? We tend to do that because things of this earth can you make you feel satisfied quicker and righter away. There are good things to do that and bad things and I pray it's the good things. Good! I am glad there are things that can do that but things of this earth will not cause eternally true fulfillment. Only Christ can do that.

I challenge you to worship God and to praise him because of his superiority over all. What happened in the bible when people saw Christ or angels come down? Those who were witnesses fell on their knees and worshipped. I challenge you to fall on your hands and knees and worship God before you see him face to face. Don't let that be your first time!

I am going to leave it at that. God is awesome and over all. Never forget that. Remember it daily!

You can look at this one of two ways

I want you to take a look at this poem that was written by a man who was really questioning God and then I am going to type it in reverse to show you that you can look at it one of two ways. I hope the second way is the way that you choose to look at it.

(Normal)

God does't love me

You can't force me to believe

God is good

This is the One Truth in life

This world is a product of chance

How can I believe that

God will use my life

Never again will I say that

Christ is risen from the dead

I know now more than ever in my life that

Man can save himself

We must realize that it is ignorant to think

God answers prayers

Christians declare that

Without God this world would fall into darkness

This world can and will meet my needs

It is a lie to say that

No matter what I do

The truth is

He doesn't love me

How can I presume that

God is good

(Reverse)

God is good

How can I presume that

He doesn't love me

The Truth is

No matter what I do

It is a lie to say that

This world can and will meet my needs

Without God this works would fall into darkness

Christians declare that

God answers prayers

We must realize that it is ignorant to think

Man can save himself

I know now more than ever in my life that 

Christ is risen from the dead

Never again will I say that

God will use my life

How can I believe that

This world is a product of chance

This is the One Truth in life

God is good

You can't force me to believe

God doesn't love me

I really don't have much to say other than I challenge you to really look at the second version and to believe God's promises even when it seems like there is no hope. There is always hope. 

God's perfect timing

Timing is everything. Time is something that you can never get back. Think about how significant timing is in your life. If you woke up 30 minutes earlier than you normally do, you're going to have more time to do things. You know when you are sitting at a stoplight and it turns green and you see somebody run the red light going the opposite direction, you were a spilt second away from being hit by the car. In the United States timing and living by a schedule strictly based on time is more significant than most other countries. Whenever I travel overseas, it seems like everybody runs on their own time. which is completely fine. It's usually pretty difficult to get used to because as Americans timing is everything.

I can tell you one thing for a fact; God's timing is perfect. God's perfect timing is often difficult for us imperfect humans to understand.

We have a tendency to want things to run on our own time right? When things run on our own perfect schedule, life seems to be easier.

Have you ever gone through a season of your life where it seems like God is silent? It happens when we are hit with adversity or crazy life circumstances. We have all been there. In those times, our hearts become prone to clinging to whatever gives us hope. That is why when you are going through something that is really difficult, you sit through a sermon at church and the sermon was the best one you've ever heard.

It's just what happens with timing.

Often times it seems like God remains silent for longer than what we want. In those times, that is when our true character is tested. There are two ways in which we can go about it. We can be patient and just wait for God to bring us out of our dormant that we are in, or we begin to listen to other people and then we begin to question God's timing. I am sure it is clear to you what we should do, and that is to continue to wait on God. God's perfect timing is for something else to come about in us.

I wonder if you have experienced this before. I bet that you have. I know that I have over and over again. Something will happen in my life and I feel like it is the worst timing, then after trusting in God's perfect timing there is always something that I learn from those situations that I never thought that I would.

An example that comes to mind is relationships. Break ups usually suck, and the when break ups happen it seems like it's the worst timing ever. But as time goes on, the more you learn from those situations.

When it seems like God is silent, we need to pause for a moment. We need to settle down and really take our time to realize that we need Christ and that without Christ we are hopeless. When we get a sense of hopelessness the timing is right. That is when it's time for God to revel himself to us.

"For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the Lord your redeemer." (Isaiah 54:7-8)

I really enjoy those two verses. God is saying that for a moment he abandoned us and that will deep compassion he will bring us back. God's ultimate goal is to always show his grace and his almighty power over us so that we recognize that we NEED him.

I want you to think of the timing. This whole post has been about the timing of everything. God's timing leads us to a couple of verses in Galatians and it's perfect timing for the Christmas season.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Galatians 4:4-5)

When the timing was right, God sent his Son. In two days, Jesus Christ is born! When the time is right, God is going to reveal himself to you to show you that we all need him. Without God we are hopeless. When you feel like God is silent, I promise you the time is going to come and the Holy Spirit is going to show you things and teach you things you never thought you would be taught.

I challenge you to have an open and patient heart. Sometimes the silence we experience might last a long time. God was silent for 400 years so I am pretty sure we can endure a season of silence. Endure and see what happens! God's timing is perfect.

Upward Calling/Straining Forward

When I think of an upward calling, I think of a perfect pursuit. Meaning that someone sees something they want, or somebody is trying to live a certain way and they aren't going to let anything get in their way. This upward calling is from God. The only upward calling that there can be is from God. When you want something you aren't going to go back to your own ways or look back at how things used to be right? Also, you're not going to want to look to your right or left. When you start looking to your right or left you get side tracked. 

I hope that you can understand what I mean by an upward calling. I challenge you to think of you recognize God's calling in your own life. 

Another thing I want you to think about is this. How often in your life does something negative happen to you and you let it just eat you away? How do you react when you get a bad grade in a class? Do you worry about it like crazy and completely lose confidence in yourself? How do you react when somebody upsets you? Do you let it ruin the rest of your day or do you forget about? It's like the bible verse that talks about not being angry when the sun goes down. 

How do YOU handle those situations? Do you forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead? 

Paul has some encouraging words for us in Philippians chapter 3.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it by own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Philippians 3:13-15) 

I really love what Paul writes here. He is encouraging us to forget what lies behind and to strain forward to what lies ahead. I love his word choice here. Straining isn't an easy thing to do. Paul understands that it is a difficult thing to do but he knows that we can. To strain forward is one of the most difficult things we can do because it requires a lot of letting your guard down and accepting that things are not going to be easy. Paul writes that he is pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling of Christ Jesus. 

When we press on, we are pressing on toward the goal for the prize. We aren't living this life and straining forward for no reason. There is a purpose behind everything that we say and do. YOU have a purpose whether you think it or not. We all have a purpose and when you understand that you have a purpose your life can change. 

I also love the last sentence of that passage. Paul is saying that those who are mature need to think about what was written about above and if anyone else thinks otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. I love this so much because Paul is writing that God will reveal these things to you whether you are spiritually mature or not. Paul doesn't say that only those who are mature will understand this, he includes everybody and that is how it should be.

I hope this post was encouraging in some sort of way. If you can take anything away I hope that you can forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. When we begin to live our lives this way, just think about how much more positive everything can become. It's a matter of pushing on and straining forward every single day. 

An ample cause

You are where you are right now for a reason. I want you to believe that. Do you ever think that things will be easier when you are gone? Or for me, sometimes I think about how excited I am to get to heaven someday and that I wish I was there right now. 

I never really thought about that being an issue at all until I read this passage in Philippians chapter 1. 

I mean seriously think about it. How much better would things be in heaven right now. You would feel no pain, you would not experience sadness. The only thing that would be on your mind all day every day is worshipping our Father. Things are going to be so much easier when that day comes so why can't it come already? 

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. (Philippians 1:21-26) 

Paul is saying that for him to die is gain. Much like what I talked about above. To die is gain because that means eternal life with our Father in heaven. Paul than writes that to live in the flesh, means more fruitful labor for him. He is saying that if he is still alive on earth, there is fruitful labor for him meaning that he can share Christ with thousands of people and he understands that. It's difficult for Paul to decide what to choose. He is hard pressed between the two. He has a desires to depart and to be with Christ because he knows that is better, but he also knows that if he remains in the flesh that is more necessary. If Paul was gone, who would share and spread the gospel like he does? Convinced that being in the flesh is more necessary, Paul knows that he will remain and continue to live the life he does so that others can have an ample cause of glory in Christ Jesus.

Did that all make sense to you? My encouragement to you is that you are where you are supposed to be right now. Nowhere else. When we don't live in the moment it is easy to get wrapped up in other things that aren't nearly as important. Laying in this hotel bed in Kentucky, is where I am supposed to be right now. Wherever you are sitting reading this is where you are supposed to be right now. 

Yeah, I would love to be in heaven right now, but there is still work to do on this earth. There are still people who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and for us, to live a life where we have the opportunity to share to give people that hope and joy I am happy about! What an incredible opportunity we have! 

Where you are right now, you have the opportunity to give people an ample cause to glory in Jesus Christ. 

Love is light

Have you ever heard anyone say that love is light? Well, I am telling you, love is light. When you do something nice for somebody that is a sign of love. If there were some people who saw what you did, you probably seemed like a light because you were doing something good. Its never about who sees the good things you're doing, but usually when you see a good deed done, a desire to do a good deed to someone else churns in your heart. 

My mom was just telling me a story today about her and a small group of people from our church back home did some hometown ministry things earlier in the week. She said that they gave the cashier $20 and told her to just use that for as many people as possible who came through the line. My mom sat and watched and enjoyed the reactions of the people who realized that their meals had been pain for. She said after a couple of people went through, there was an older man who wanted to pay for the people behind him. She was overjoyed by seeing how a random acts of kindness lead to even more random acts of kindness. 

Loving people like Jesus did is contagious! 

Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 5 that we need to be imitators of God, as his beloved children, and to walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Do you ever think about doing that? Being an imitator of Christ and walking in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us?

Christ gave himself for us as a way to love us. I think that there are things that we can give up in order to walk in love and to be that light. 

I am going to list some verses here and I want you to really dig into these. 

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as in proper among saints. (Ephesians 5:3)

This verse is pretty intense. Paul is saying that things these must not even be named. I think we have a belief that we shouldn't do these things, but that it's okay to name them and talk about them here and there. That is not true. We shouldn't even talk about these things. Imagine a world where sexual immortality and all impurity isn't even talked about...

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:4) 

Wow. Picture a world like that! As living breathing humans on this earth it is way to easy to get caught up in these things. Filthiness, foolish talk and crude joking are everywhere. There isn't really anything we can do about it besides be the best witnesses that we can be. I have really struggled being around that type of environment the past couple of days and I was encouraged with this verse. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12) Maybe that verse was just what you needed to hear. Makes me wonder, what if we replaced all of that foolish talk with thankfulness. That might be the next step for you. Next time you want to joke about something, try giving thanks for something else! Or for whatever you were about to make a joke about. 

Later on Paul writes about those who are sexually immoral or impure, and how they have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 

When we are put into these situations when we are around those people, or maybe we are those people, remember to not become partners with them; for at one time you were in darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. Paul instructs us to walk as children of the light. For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. We are to try and discern what is pleasing. That means that we need to try and figure out what is pleasing to the Lord and then that is how we need to live. When we figure out how to live in the light, everything changes. We figure out what is pure, noble, and trustworthy. We begin to figure things out because we are thinking about God more often and we are feeling God's presence more often as well. 

Paul also instructs us by telling us to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. He writes, But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." When we see people living a life that doesn't produce fruit we need to tell them. We can't just let them keep living the lives that they are living. As a Christian we need to love our neighbors as ourselves and if we are not correcting someone when they are wrong are we really loving on them? For when we expose them, God's light shines. It shines through us showing that we care about them. It's so simple! Do you understand that God's light shines when we confront, someone about the actions that they are making and the way they are living. When God's light shine, everything becomes visible. Christ will shine on them! 

Maybe there is somebody right now you can think of. Someone that needs to be exposed to the light. The light and the love of Christ is fiery and contagious. There is a lot of it to go around! Love, love, love. When we love, we are light. 

Life Rules/New ways

The title of this post has two meanings. Life rules because life is awesome and life rules as in rules to live by. These aren't rules I am giving you to live by, I would never give any of you rules to live by, that would not be fair. I have no place to give you all any sort of rules to live by.

What I am sharing with you tonight is a couple of verses, from Ephesians chapter 4 that encourage my on a daily basis. My hope is that once you see these verses is that you can be encouraged by them too.

In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul writes a letter about the new life that we get to experience with Christ. Paul writes that we need to put off our old self, which beings to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires. Pauls instructs us by saying that we need to put on our new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

The next part is what I love the most. There are 7 verses in Ephesians chapter 4 that have 7 topics that are very applicable to our daily lives...hence the title life rules.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of your speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:25-32)

I think the most distinguishable way to make these "life rules" know would be to make a list. Now that I think about it, calling them a new way to live might sound even better.

Life rules/New way to live

- let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another

- be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger

- give no opportunity to the devil

- let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need

- let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear

- let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice

- be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you

I hope this list is as encouraging to you as it is to me everyday. There are some amazing and encouraging things in there and my hope is that you can become aware of these things and try some of these things out.

Picture a world where everyone speaks truth to each other, imagine everyone not being angry when the sun goes down, think about if everyone was doing honest work with their own hands, so that we can share the good things that are done, picture a world where there is no corrupt talk, but only talk that is good for building up, and imagine all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and sander being put away from you, and lastly, imagine everyone being kind to one another, tenderhearted, and forgiving to one another, just as Christ forgave us.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

With my post for this afternoon, I hope that this prayer really encourages you where you might need it the most. This is a time of year where we really need spiritual strength, well any time of the year is, but right now you might need it more than ever. In my heart, I feel as if that is the case. There is someone out there who needs to read this prayer.

I was encouraged with it a two weeks ago and I hope that you can be as well.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hears through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

I pray that somebody out there was affected by the wonderful words of that prayer.

Grace through faith: how things once were

I want you to think of any movie that you have seen where there was a super sad part and everything seemed to be going wrong. I picture the main character walking somewhere in the pouring rain and the main character just looks like he/she has been defeated. Do you know what I mean? It's always the worst part of the movie! It's so hard to watch and it's very unsettling.

These sort of things are what I picture how things once were. Before we are in Christ, we are just in a place where we follow the course of the world. We live in the passions of our flesh, and carry out the desires of the body and the mind, and we are by nature, children of wrath. Just like the characters in movies having a tough time, that's how our lives are until we are saved.

When those scenes happen, it really seems like there is not hope right? When we face those tough times in our own lives, we sometimes feel like there is no hope. But good news, that is how things once were.

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised  us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:4-10)

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ." I really love that. When we were dead in our sins and our transgressions, Christ made us alive together. So when things were once bad, Christ, being rich in mercy, made us alive together.

By grace through faith we have been saved and raised up with him and started with him in the heavenly places of Christ Jesus, so that in the coming of ages he might show us the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us. Do you know what immeasurable means? Something that literally cannot be measured. When something is immeasurable we cannot wrap our minds around it. That motivates me. To know that someday we will be able to experience something immeasurably more.

Things were not well at all, and through faith, we can be saved! This isn't anything that we do. God does't need us to do anything for him. God loves us and wants us. He wants me and he wants you. We don't have to do a bunch of fancy things in order to look good on this earth to get to heaven. God wants our hearts. He wants us to spend eternity with him someday.

Being saved by grace through faith is a gift from God. It's not a result of our works because works can easily cause us to boast. Jesus is the best gift that we could ever receive.

I challenge you to think about how things once were. Maybe how things once were for you. Were you dead in your transgressions and following the desires of the flesh? If so, what is your life look like now? Do you recognize that we have been saved by grace through faith?

Reap what you sow

You reap what you sow. What does that mean to you? To me, this is kind of like the golden rule. So how you treat others is how you want to be treated yourself. I also believe that it means you'll see a harvest from the things you do. You'll see fruit, you'll see a crop. Not just empty trees and fields.

In Galatians chapter 6, Paul talks about bearing one another's burdens. Paul writes in verse 1,  "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." I really like what he writes there. How often do we see those who are around us struggling with something? All of the time. When we see that, we should restore those people with a spirit of gentleness. A spirit of gentleness might look different to you than it does to me. For you it could be speaking to those who are struggling with something in way in which you know they will feel better. For me, I would do my best to encourage. When we struggle, we all react to things differently. Some people need kind and gentle words, others might need something a little more harsh to get them going. Some people might need a hug, others might have to be left alone. The fact is that we are all very different and we all struggle with something. We can't just leave people out to dry, we must love on them and help them through whatever they are struggling with.

Now think about reaping what you sow. If you are go out of your way to help someone who is struggling with something, they will most likely return the favor. When they return the favor, you are reaping what you sow. They might not even be the ones to return the favor. People are always watching. Somebody who you never expected might return the favor. That is why people are awesome!

Later on in Galatians 6, Paul writes this, "Let the one who is taught the word to share all the good things with the one who teaches." Nobody is higher than anyone else. I like to think about our bible professors here at Bethel. They teach and share with us things about the bible, and I guarantee that they want us to share the things that we are learning. That is how it is with anybody! If I come across a verse and share it with somebody, I love when I hear about how that verse affected someone else's life other than mine. It's never about me. When I use scripture when I write these posts and hear how somebody learned something or was encouraged I am overjoyed!

Check out Galatians 6:7-10, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are in the household of faith." 

God isn't mocked when it is written that we reap what we sow. What we sow, we will reap. When we sow into our own personal flesh and our own personal needs, from the flesh we will reap corruption. That makes perfect sense. We can't only sow to ourselves. Why would you plant a harvest for only yourself. You don't see a field with just one corn cob, or one bean, or one piece of wheat. You would starve and so would everyone else. When we focus on ourselves we are prone to corruption because we aren't aware of what is going on around us. The joy in life should never be about your success or just your love for God. The joy we should get should come from seeing people be successful, bringing people to Christ, and seeing the love of Christ transform their lives.

Paul writes that, "the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." We need to sow from the Spirit. Just want I talked about above. Inside, we long for relationships with people, we were created to be social human beings. Our Spirit longs for that. When we sow to the Spirit we reap eternal life.

If you look at the last two paragraphs, it seems as if there are two options. What we sow either leads to corruption or eternal life. I don't know about you but I am choosing eternal life every single time.

We can never get tired of doing good. When we get tired of doing good, we begin to focus on ourselves and when we focus on yourselves that is when we being to sow with our own flesh. Which only leads to corruption. I also wonder how we could ever get tired of doing good. How good does it make you feel when you do something good for someone else? It's one of the best feelings there is. This example exemplifies how easy it is to focus on ourselves. No matter how many good things we do for other people, there are always times where we will have something in us that makes us want to focus on us. It's like the battle I talked about in yesterdays post. There is a never ending between the flesh and the Spirit and that battle is always keeping us from doing what we want to do.

When we stick to doing good we will reap what we sow if we do not give up. We can never ever give up. You never want to give up in a battle right? Right! You want to keep on fighting and fighting. When we fight this battle, in due season we will reap.

What I want you to look at is the incredible opportunity that we have here. It's an amazing opportunity we have every single day. An opportunity to do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. That is my challenge and encouragement to you. Seize the opportunity to do good to everyone and we will reap what we sow. I have no doubt.

In step with the Spirit

I am going to start off by saying this: The battle between flesh and Spirit keeps us from doing the things that we want to do.

Throughout this post, I want you to have that thought in your mind. It's an interesting thing to think about. There is a battle going on everyday between our flesh and the Spirit. That battle keeps us from doing the things we want to do. How many battles have that outcome. Usually in a battle, there is an outcome that you really want to happen. But with this battle, the outcome usually isn't what we want.
Whether by flesh or by Spirit.

I will list out the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit so these two things make more sense.

Works of the flesh:
- sexual immorality
- impurity
- sensuality
- idolatry
- sorcery
- enmity
- strife
- jealously 
- fits of anger
- rivalries
- dissensions
- divisons
- envy
- drunkenness
- orgies

Fruit of the Spirit
- love
- joy
- peace
- patience
- kindness
- goodness
- faithfulness
- gentleness
- self-control

Now that you have a better understanding of what the works of the flesh are verses the fruit of the Spirit, I hope things begin to make more sense during this post.

I titled this post in step with the Spirit because the fruits of the Spirit are the way in which we should live. Not the ways of the flesh. By looking at the two lists, you can clearly see a difference in the words that are listed. If I didn't have them labeled I bet you could look at the two lists and point out which list you would rather live by/which list we should live by.

One of the interesting things about this battle is that the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other, to keep us from doing the things we want to do. Just like what I talked about above.

It seems like no matter what, our flesh wants to do one thing, and the Spirit another. That's just how it is. The desires of the flesh trick us into thinking that we need those worldly things that are involved with the flesh. Whereas the Spirit knows what we want as well. We have desires from both, that is why it's hard to keep in step with the Spirit. Sometimes the desires of the flesh get the best of us.

In Galatians chapter 5 verse 21, Paul says: "I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." 

Paul is saying that those who commit to the works of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now you and be both know that we are all guilty of some of those things, and thankfully we serve a God who loves us and forgives us, as long as we ask for forgiveness.

Later on, in verse 24, Paul says, "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" 

I love what Paul says here. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. When we belong to Christ Jesus, we crucify those fleshly desires that we have. I find it very encouraging that Paul said that.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirt. It's not about just living by the Spirit. On a daily basis we have to make steps in the right path that keeps us in step with the Spirit. We can't just live by the Spirit. That is simply not enough. We have to live every possible second of our lives in step with the Spirit.

I encourage you to be conscious about this from here on out. Really ask yourself if you are living by the desires of the flesh or in step with the Spirit. My prayer is that we can all live in step with the Spirit.

Perplexed Paul

Taking a look at Galatians 4 this morning, Paul was very perplexed with the Galatian people. He was all sorts of confused and baffled with what they were thinking and the way that they were doing things.

There are three examples I can think of that Paul must have felt like. The first is parents. How often do your parents teach you things and we just shrug those things off. I did that all that time with my parents. It wasn't like I was trying to purposefully disobey them, I just thought I was right. Which is where I was wrong. Parents seem to have a sixth sense and they are always right. The second is a coach. I think of when we mess up plays during practice or games. The same plays that we have been running since September we will mess up sometimes. I know this drives our coaches crazy. How do we forget these simple things? The third and final example is teachers. I wonder how elementary school teachers would feel when they realize there are still very elementary things that we still mess up.

The common factor here is that with all of these examples I used, the simple things were forgotten about. That is exactly why Paul was perplexed.

In this letter, Paul address the fact that he understand that before the Galatians knew God, they were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that the Galatians have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, he wondered how they could turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose salves they seemed to want to be once more. Paul tells them that they have observed for days and months and seasons and years. At this point, Paul feels that he may have labored to the Galatians in vain. Paul tells the Galatians that he became as they were  and that they never did him any wrong. The Galatians did not scorn him or despise him, but received him as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. Paul is beginning to feel that he had become an enemy because he was telling the truth. At this point Paul feels as if the Galatians are little children. Paul says, "It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! Paul finishes his thoughts by saying that he wishes he could be present with the Galatians and that he wants to change his tone because he is perplexed.

Do you understand where Paul is coming from now? Paul understands that before they knew who God was, they didn't know any better. But once they learned who God was, why did they go back to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world? I wonder why we do that. Many of us know God and have a relationship with him but why do we go back to worldly principles? It's the battle that we fight everyday. The battle between flesh and spirit.

What amazes me is that Paul compares the way he was feeling to childbirth. I obviously don't what that feels like, but I guess it's about the worst pain you can feel. Paul felt that way because the people of Galatia were turning back to worldly ways and away from God. I wonder how God feels when we turn out backs on him. Is God just as perplexed? Honestly, probably not. God's grace saves us over and over again. He knows we are not perfect and knows that we sin and make mistakes everyday.

My challenge and encouragement for you is to stick to God. Once you know God, don't turn your back. No matter how appealing the things of this world may seem, the things of this world cannot fill you the way that the Holy Spirit fills you.  Let's not cause anyone to be perplexed.

Look into my eyes: a thought for you

If you are not in the mood to read much this evening, then this is the post for you! My goal with what I want to share with you is a different perspective to the way that you spend your time in the word. This idea wasn't mine, the pastor at church this morning shared it and brought it up. The context was a little different than what I am sharing, but when I really thought about it, I figured that it would be great thought to share, in a little bit of a different context.

When you spend time in the word do you ever just spend time in it just to spend time in it? Or do you try to get something out of it? Do you try to get something out of it, but seem not too? I think those problems might be fairly common. For those who try to spend time in the word everyday, sometimes it's easy to just glance at the scripture you are reading and not really study it. I know that I used to be so guilty of that. The way I used to look at it was that I was still reading my bible, even if I wasn't learning anything. Even when you open up the word to sit down and really study it, sometimes it is just really hard. It's hard because some of the stories don't make sense and sometimes half of the cities and the peoples names you can't pronounce!

Picture this: You are sitting by a totally random person in a coffee shop. You are sitting side by side. (Might be weird, but bare with me) Both of you are instructed that you have to turn and look into each others eyes. So, you turn and look really quick, but not too long because it is so awkward. Now do you think the two people noticed anything during the quick eye contact that they made? Probably not. Next, you are instructed to turn and look at the person beside you again. This time, you need to figure out what color eyes the person has. So you turn, you look, and this time it is a little longer because you have the intention of figuring out something. This encounter was still a little awkward, but you learned something. Now, you're hoping you don't have to make any more eye contact because you are tired of the awkwardness...but there is one more step. The last thing you are instructed to do is to look into the person's eyes beside you and see if you can see your reflection from their eyes. This requires some deep eye contact into the persons eyes beside you. (Introvert's nightmare) You do it. You see your reflection and pray you don't have to do it again. What you most likely think after you did this, while you're probably sitting there will a cold sweat, was that this may have been really awkward for you, but when you had a specific intention and a goal, you learned something about the person beside you. Which can be a lesson for all. To learn and to grow requires those awkward moments and requires obedience to the things that you really don't want to do.

What you just pictured is how we should view the word of God. We can't just open it up and glance over it. We have to open it up and really take a deeper look into it. It's not enough to love God, you have to learn about God also.

My challenge to you is that next time you open the word of God that you remember this post! Read with the intention of learning, not just to read and to say you read your bible today. Once you begin doing this, your life will change. I promise! This may be out of your comfort zone, but nothing ever worth it is easy.