sometimes, it just takes one interaction

Our God is capable of anything and does unimaginably more than we could ever imagine, but today as believers, I believe that we expect everything to be fixed right away. I mean think about what has been going on the past 14 months, I believe there are tons of Christians hoping and praying for God to just get rid of the mess. 

That's not a bad prayer to pray by any means, we should be praying with confidence like that. But what happened to celebrating just one small interaction? 

In life, when we focus on all the things that haven't been done, we forget the work that is actually being done. 

As I reflect on a passage from John 4 that we read earlier this week in our bible study, the story about Jesus and the Samaritan Woman is something I can't get out of my head..

To sum up John chapter 4, Jesus was on a journey and he was on his way to Galilee. On his way to Galilee he made a pit stop in Samaria. In Samaria, Jesus knew that Jacob had a well there so he sat down wearily and exhausted from his walk. Soon a Samaritan woman approached him and he asked her to give him a drink from the well. This caught her off guard because Jews and Samaritans typically had nothing to do with each other. 

Then Jesus and the woman got into a pretty significant conversation, where Jesus ultimately explains to her that anyone who drinks the water that is from God will experience a living water and have eternal life. Then as their conversation was wrapping up, Jesus tells the woman everything he knows about her and she learned quickly that Jesus was the Messiah.

Excited as all get out, she ran back to her village and started telling everyone what had just happened to her and what she experienced. Because the woman told the Samaritans that Jesus told her everything that she ever did, many of them believed in Jesus.

What sticks out to me even more is this:

When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:40-42)

Many Samaritans believed because they saw and heard Jesus as well. All because the lady was bold enough to ask Jesus a lot of questions, and then she was so excited she told everyone. 

Many people believed because of the lady and Jesus' interaction. Not all people, scripture didn't say that all people believed, but many did.

So what is holding you back from sharing what God is doing in your life? One small interaction could change the lives of many people for all of eternity. Now I know it's easier said than done to talk about what God is doing in your life, but it's okay. If it makes you feel better, ask one of your friends... if it's alright that you share what God has been doing in your life. 

Be bold, share your story! 

Godly sorrow

I will start by asking a personal question. How do you feel when you sin? Do you feel sorrowful because of the fact that you sinned? Or do you feel bad about the the results of the sin?

To be complete honest, if you asked me this question when I woke up this morning, I would've had to think long and hard before I gave my answer. 

Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, what exactly does that even mean?

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leave no regret, bit worldly sorrow brings death." (2 Corinthians 7:10)

"Godly sorry brings repentance that leads to salvation" refers to the sorrow for our sins that results in changed behavior. Many people are sorry only for the effects of their sins or for being caught. ("worldly sorry") 

Compare Peter's remorse and repentance with Judas's bitterness and act of suicide. Both disowned Christ. One repented and was restored to faith and service; the other took his own life. 

Think about your life...Being completely honest with you, one of the ways I probably sin the most is just talking about other people. I really try hard sometimes not to do that, but when I am with a group of people, things just come out sometimes. For example, Godly sorrow would look like this, I recognize that I sinned, I ask for forgiveness and then will be restored to faith and service. Worldly sorrow on the other hand, would look like this, I realize I said things that I shouldn't have and I just feel bad about it all day. I can't get it out of my head, and I just feel awful.

Think about how many times a day that happens and how many times we just feel so bad about the mistakes we made. We are not perfect. We all sin everyday. Now instead of being sorrowful and feeling super bad about yourself, repent and be restored. 

I hope this encourages you all and helps you understand how to get rid of that feeling of worldly sorrow, I have been there, and it doesn't feel good. My prayer and hope is that your Godly sorrow leads to a change in behavior...I know it has for me, and I hope it can be for you as well. 

What will I be doing?

Recently, I have been a part of a small group of guy in my office who have spent time reading our Bibles over zoom together for the past three weeks. Every morning at 5:45 we are all logged on and ready to go! This has been an awesome experience because when there are a group of people studying the Word together, the Holy Spirit helps us all understand scripture in different ways.

I wanted to share something we talked about as a group the other day that really made me think, and I figured it might be a good thing to read before you all get your day going. 

....A question that we should be asking ourselves this: What will I be doing when Christ returns?

"And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight." (2 Peter 3:14)

Make every effort to be found living peaceful lives...do you do that right now?

I try, but I am not great. I am a pretty positive and optimistic guy, but I have may days where I am down...But I try. I have my days where I do a lot of good things, and there are days where I don't. We aren't all going to live these perfect lives waiting for Christ to return, but we can make every effort. 

I don't know about you but I don't want to get caught watching the paint dry. I don't want Christ to return and be shocked at what I am doing or even worse disappointed. 

When negativity, doubt, dark thoughts, sin, and pretty much things that wouldn't please God comes over you, I strongly encourage you to make every effort to be mindful of what you are doing all of the time. Don't get caught up in the wrong crowd at the wrong time.

Because I don't know about you, but I can think of no better feeling than to be doing something pleasing to God when Christ returns. I just picture the most genuine and happy smile I could ever imagine...

Make every effort my friends. 

bad circumstances

How do you react in the bad circumstances?

I know that one of the most impactful ways that we as believers can be a light is by how we act when we are in a bad/difficult situation. We have the ability to be a light no matter what we face and it's often one of our best ways to show Christ's love to unbelievers. 

"...in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger..." (2 Corinthians 6:5)

Being put in jail would cause many people to become bitter or to give up, but Paul saw jail time as one more opportunity to spread the gospel of Christ. Paul recognized that his current circumstances weren't as important as what he did with them.

What if we saw every bad situation as another possible opportunity?

He turned a bad situation into a good one. 

We may not be in prison, but we have plenty of opportunities to be discouraged - times of indecision, financial burdens, family conflict, political unrest, or even the loss of our jobs. 

How we act in such situations will reflect what we believe in.

Recently, I have had some difficult passing some pretty difficult exams, and it's been so easy to get down on myself and be negative. But I have had to learn that won't get me anywhere. If I get down on myself, pout, and am super negative, how will that come across to others? I know that won't represent Christ very well.

I've had to take some time to myself, but most importantly get back to it. I have had to trust God's plan for me and trust that I am learning something through this exam taking journey that he has taken me on. 

I am choosing to react to this in a way where I won't give up.  Paul never gave up when he was in prison, hungry, sleepless, and beaten. Why should I? Why should you? 

My encouragement for you, like Paul, is to look for ways to demonstrate your faith even in bad situations. Whether or not the situation improves, your faith will grow stronger. 

4.3

I am back! Just for a short time though. For the 30-35 people who usually read my posts, you might have noticed I have only written twice in the last two weeks..A couple of guys in my office started a small group at 5:45 in the mornings and that has been replacing my time I usually have on my own. I have missed writing, but the intentional time with our group has been really big for my personal growth.

4.3 is something that has been on my mind the past couple weeks. 4.3? Yes, it probably doesn't make any sense to you.

4.3 is the average of how many miles I run every morning. Well, now that I think about it, 4.3 is how many miles I have ran nearly every day since August when I moved into our apartment. 

When I first started running more consistently, 4 was always the goal. But the path I like to run, I made it just a little longer than 4. 

184 days is how long I have lived here and have been doing that. 

184 (days) x 4 (miles) = 736 miles 

184 (days) x 4.3 (miles) = 791 miles

7 (days) x 4 (miles) = 28 miles

7 (days) x 4.3 (miles) = 30 miles

By pushing yourself just a little bit more than what you think you are capable can go an extremely long way. Think about some of the things in your life that you do because they're what you need to do in order to get by. Whether it's how many hours you work a day, how many phone calls you make, how many miles you drive, etc. Imagine just doing a little more than what you have to, and what that will do over time. 

Just by doing a little more than what my goal is, I am running 2 whole extra miles a week. A year ago, I would be thrilled if I ran 2 miles the entire week! 

What are you going to start implementing in your life? Just do one more. Imagine living a life where you always did one more than what you thought was capable. 

Now imagine what this looks like in regards to our relationship with Christ. Rather than praying just before meals, try praying before bed. Rather than Sunday's being your only time in the Word, start reading your Bible two days a week. The little things add up, I promise.

Doing more than what you are used to might feel uncomfortable at first, but that uncomfortable feeling is growth and something we should all embrace. 

transcendence and longing

Human beings have in innate sense of transcendence and longing for ultimate reality experienced only in the eternal presence of God.  

"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." (2 Corinthians 5:1)

We are all just living in our temporary homes right now. Paul refers to our bodies at 'tents.' For those who believe, we can live in anticipation knowing that we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven. 

You see, there is a pretty significant difference between a tent, and an eternal house in heaven. No wonder life seems so hard for us sometimes. Think about a tent...have you ever been tent camping before? I have a couple times, it's fun, but it's not great. The conditions have to be perfect for a successful trip when you camp in a tent. If it rains, or if it's windy, it's not going to be a whole lot of fun. 

Same with our lives right? They're hectic. Things can be going really well or not well at all. 

I can guarantee that every person walking the earth longs for something greater, something that is transcendent, and greater than we could ever imagine. 

My favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes, and the writer of Ecclesiastes writes that God "has also set eternity in the human heart." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Remember the first sentence of this post? Human beings have in innate sense of transcendence and longing for ultimate reality experienced only in the eternal presence of God.  

This spiritual desire is addressed by every world religion and cult and (at least secretly) desired by every person. 

What excites me is that I know we all feel this! We all long for something eternal and that hope is found in Jesus Christ. I would encourage you if you feel like you are feeling like you are stuck in the tent and don't want to be there forever, to really talk to someone you know who would encourage you and could talk to you about how you can find eternal, everlasting hope. 

I know that's what I am after. There are many blessings in this life, things I cannot even put into words, but nothing will compare to the everlasting life we will live in our heavenly buildings, built by God. 

Never lay down the tools

It is easy to lose heart and quit.

We have all faced problems in our relationships or in our work that have caused us to want to think about laying down the tools and walking away. Rather than giving up when persecution wore him down. Paul concentrated on experiencing the inner strength from the Holy Spirit. Don’t let fatigue, pain, or criticism force you off the job. 

I haven’t always enjoyed writing this blog. It hasn’t always been easy. My prayer and hope when I started this back when I was in college was to encourage people. I know that there were a small number of people who felt that way, and also a small number of people who thought what I was doing was fake. What stung the most was the small group that would make fun of me for it. You see, I can’t tell you how many times it was hard for me to continue to write because all I could picture were the two groups of people who clearly didn’t care about how I was trying to encourage others. But each time I sat down to get into the Word, I still had a desire to write. Writing is my way of growing closer to God and if I would’ve quit because of a little persecution, pain, or criticism, my walk with Christ might look completely different. Heck, my life might look completely different. 

Whatever difficult thing you are facing today, please don’t walk away from it. Trust God and fight what you are doing and what you believe in. If God has other plans for you, that is completely fine, but my encouragement is for you to not quit. Anything that is worth it won’t be easy.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

I hope this post encourages you to renew your commitment to serving Christ. Don’t forsake your eternal reward because of the intensity of today’s pain. Your very weakness allows the resurrection power of Christ to strengthen you moment by moment.