10/12 - Just My Daily Bread

Think about this scripture (Proverbs 30:7-9) & Francis Chan's comments. I'd really like to hear your comments.

10/11 - Just Stop and Think

Recently our Bible study went through a series called Crazy Love and it featured a video entitled Just Stop and Think. I revisited this video this morning because sometimes it's easy to lose perspective on just how awesome God is. When we lose sight of how big and how holy our Creator is, our acts of service for Him can become religion instead of acts of appreciation for who He is.

Take 15 minutes and watch this video. I know 15 minutes is a long time these days, but what you hear could have tremendous impact on your life.

10/7 - The Little Things

"His master replied, "Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master's happiness" (Matthew 25:23)

A little double feature today I suppose. I was reminded of this scripture this morning while comtemplating cheating a little on my fast. There are certain foods I said I wouldn't eat for a certain period of time and one of those items made itself readily available. And free at that! I rationalized that just a little bite wouldn't be a big deal, especially considering how far I had come. And maybe it wasn't a big deal. Then it hit me, if I can't be faithful in this small thing, how can I be trusted with the great work God has purposed me for? Needless to say, I didn't eat. Thank God for His word & the Holy Spirit for the remembrance of it. What little things can we be faithful in today?

10/7 - A. W. Tozer

We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone....[We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.

- A. W. Tozer

God is our only adquate measuring rod. We tend to compare ourselves to others and conclude that either "I need to do what they're doing" or, more likely, "At least I'm not doing what they're doing." With this moral standard not only do we rob ourselves of joy but we miss the mark for our purpose in life, which is totally unique from everyone else's purpose. We forfeit the pleasure of God for the pleasure of men. And in the end, despite our best efforts, we still fall short of the true mark, Jesus Christ.

My goal for today, and each day forward, is to live for and by the Holy Spirit, letting Him be my guide, Christ my model & God my judge. No longer worrying about the "foolishness" of the gospel and how many won't understand it, but pressing on for the One I aim to please.

10/5 - 2 Thessalonians 3

This chapter includes a familiar verse:

"But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good" (v. 13).

I thought this morning about how why I am so prone to doing this very thing - growing weary in good works. In my experience, its almost as if I get satisfied. I'll be pleased with the work I've done and maybe even convinced that God is just as pleased. Now I don't deny that God is pleased when we do what He asks us to, but this sort of thinking tends to lead me toward stagnation rather than growth. It leads me toward thinking that God wants more of the same (even if it's good) instead of a higher place in Him. And even when I do fall away, this sort of attempt at pleasing God can cause me to desire "the relationship I used to have with God" instead of "a much closer relationship I've never had with God before."

I think the bottom line is a attaining the right perspective of God, who He is and what He really wants. He doesn't want us setting our own standard (reflecting on when we thought we were "more spiritual") and then trying to live up to it. The danger there is that we can easily meet our own standard and in doing so no longer be required to grow. God wants our hearts, not our works. When we confuse this, it can become easy to grow weary in our good works because we've lost the purpose behind them. David confesses to God in Psalm 51: 16-17:

"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure
in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and
contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

10/3 - Lay Aside The Weight

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and
let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us." (Hebrews 12:1)

Ill be brief on this post this morning. All of us are carrying the weight of something with us, whether its our past, addictions, unforgiveness, sorrow or all of the above. The message today is to, with all diligence, lay the weight aside. Im not offering the simple advice of "just stop what youre doing." If it were that easy we would all do it. Laying aside the weight isnt even necessarily forgetting about the weight. It is a conscious decision not to allow the weight to hinder you. How can one run a race well when he carries extra weight? The process, as indicated by the scripture, is one of patience ("let us run with endurance"). One day may not provide true deliverance from the weight and the sin that ensnares us, but each day we can make the conscious decision not to let it inhibit us in our journey closer to God. And each day we grow stronger and the weight gets lighter.

10/1 - Cherish Each Moment

The Holy Spirit spoke these words to me this morning: Cherish each moment. There are some very good applications of this in my life now - our pregnancy, designing the nursery, dramatic changes in our family, employment, etc. I need to pause sometimes and just cherish the blessings I have because these moments don't last forever. With less than 2 months to go before Joshua comes, I'll cherish what I have because soon, there will be a whole new set of moments to cherish. In the case of employment, clearly there's no guarantees. It's easy to get caught up with my fellow employees in complaining about how our health care costs are increasing and job stability isn't what it used to be, but if we miss the fact that we're yet having these conversations at work, we miss the blessing God has for us.

When these words were given to me, it actually had nothing to do with any of that stuff. They came as I prayed for the lost souls in my circle of family & friends. I pray often that God would use me to present the gospel to them in a relevant manner that they may be moved toward a decision for Christ & no longer persist on their present path. However, when I'm with them, I can so easy become susceptible to that deceitful voice that says, "Now isn't a good time," "Everybodys happy now, just wait until later," or "It'd be awkward to bring that up now." So as I prayed the question became, when is the right time? The right time has to be anytime before that person leaves this earth. And since we can't guarantee that we or anyone else will live beyond any given moment, the obvious answer became that the time is now. Cherish each moment because there may not be a next.

Now I'm not saying that every moment of everyday is to be spent evangelizing. That would be ridiculous. The way this applies to me (and this maybe different for you) is that I no longer need to delay having conversations with people about Christ whom I know God has led me to talk to. Once the conversation has been had, maybe a decision is made, maybe it's not. Maybe I'll talk to that person about God again, maybe I wont. The key is that I become obedient to the Spirit of God and no longer sin in my procrastination.

Read Matthew 24:36-51, or even the whole chapter. It could really bless you today.