New year’s resolutions are about positive change, but they always seem to become broken. So are we kidding ourselves? NO! God wants us to change (into Christlikeness) and He will help us. But make no mistake – you cannot make fundamental changes by your own resolve or desire – you need to ask God to work in you to that desired end.
The promise of a fundamental change…
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor 5)
And an ongoing process…
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12)
Into God’s desired character for us…
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5)
Four Areas to Consider
1. Know and love God more deeply by practicing spiritual disciplines (prayer, meditation, scripture reading, scripture memory, fellowship/accountability/small group, etc.)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Eph 6)
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3)
2. Love and serve others, so glorifying God
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4)
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matt 5)
3. Be obedient – “just do it”
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1)
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6)
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14)
4. As a priest, seek God’s vision for you and leading for your ministry (He has a plan for you!)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. (1 Pet 2)
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2)
Four Ways to Stay on Track
1. Ask God’s help – continually!
2. Get spiritual encouragement – be intentional about being around people, activities, books, music, conferences, missionaries, worship times, teachers, etc. that give you spiritual motivation and joy.
3. Schedule it – make appointments and reminders in your calendar, just as you would for any other important activity.
4. Ask someone for help and/or accountability – ask them to ask you how you are doing in certain areas that you want to change. Get into a small group. Get a spiritual mentor.
May we all experience God's love in 2009!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Christmas Presents
Luke 12:48. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
Okay, I’ll get it right out there and say that I’m not much of a Christmas present guy, either giving or receiving. I guess I was snoozing when the Christmas present gene was handed out. Fortunately my terrific wife does a great job of making Christmas morning a dizzying spectacle of presents that makes our kids’ eyes pop.
I do, however, reflect a lot on what God has given me. It is stunning. It frequently leaves me in a state of awe. I put a list of things that scripture suggests we should thank God for in my November 26th post. There’s an old saying that states we should lead lives with an “attitude of gratitude.” I like this. We do need to be thanking God regularly.
God enjoys giving us gifts. He does this because he loves us. Further, there are no strings attached. God extends us grace, which is defined as unmerited favor. We don’t deserve these gifts. God desires a relationship with us, but he wants it to be volitional, not coerced. He has given us free will.
There is something else. As we enjoy God’s gifts and love, it should produce in us a heart like God’s – a heart that wants to love in return. The more we appreciate God’s goodness in our lives, the more we should want to participate in his global love extravaganza. So the scripture above, while it sounds like a warning, finds its basis in God’s love for us and his desire for us to extend love to others.
Most of us reading this are Americans. Very simply, that means we have been given much and entrusted with much. Someone has said that if you were born in America, you have already won the lottery. Let’s reflect on what God has given us, and ask him to show us how we can use our gifts to serve him and others.
Okay, I’ll get it right out there and say that I’m not much of a Christmas present guy, either giving or receiving. I guess I was snoozing when the Christmas present gene was handed out. Fortunately my terrific wife does a great job of making Christmas morning a dizzying spectacle of presents that makes our kids’ eyes pop.
I do, however, reflect a lot on what God has given me. It is stunning. It frequently leaves me in a state of awe. I put a list of things that scripture suggests we should thank God for in my November 26th post. There’s an old saying that states we should lead lives with an “attitude of gratitude.” I like this. We do need to be thanking God regularly.
God enjoys giving us gifts. He does this because he loves us. Further, there are no strings attached. God extends us grace, which is defined as unmerited favor. We don’t deserve these gifts. God desires a relationship with us, but he wants it to be volitional, not coerced. He has given us free will.
There is something else. As we enjoy God’s gifts and love, it should produce in us a heart like God’s – a heart that wants to love in return. The more we appreciate God’s goodness in our lives, the more we should want to participate in his global love extravaganza. So the scripture above, while it sounds like a warning, finds its basis in God’s love for us and his desire for us to extend love to others.
Most of us reading this are Americans. Very simply, that means we have been given much and entrusted with much. Someone has said that if you were born in America, you have already won the lottery. Let’s reflect on what God has given us, and ask him to show us how we can use our gifts to serve him and others.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Forgive and Be Set Free
Matthew 18:21-22. “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”
Forgiveness is a big topic. People understand the importance of forgiving those who have offended or harmed them in some way, but often they hold onto grudges or anger anyway. They believe that they are somehow justified in withholding forgiveness.
I won’t chase this big topic too far in a brief reflection. But I do want to communicate clearly that if you have not truly forgiven someone and are holding onto some anger, you are hurting yourself. Ongoing anger and bitterness against someone is a cancer that eats up your insides. It doesn’t matter if the offender is unrepentant or has not taken a step to apologize. Don’t wait, just forgive.
I am part of a men’s group that meets every Friday morning to share our lives with one another and to discuss good books. One of the best books we have read was Total Forgiveness by R.T. Kendall. He talks about how God can enable us to forgive even when we don’t think we can. So if you’re finding it difficult to forgive someone, start by praying about this. One of Kendall’s most powerful points is the challenge to pray that God would bless the offending person. I tried this and initially found that my prayers felt insincere. But I stayed with it and found that over time I could indeed pray God’s blessings for someone who offended me – and mean it!
Jesus forgave those who crucified him, even as he was giving his life for them and for us. Take a step of forgiveness today.
Forgiveness is a big topic. People understand the importance of forgiving those who have offended or harmed them in some way, but often they hold onto grudges or anger anyway. They believe that they are somehow justified in withholding forgiveness.
I won’t chase this big topic too far in a brief reflection. But I do want to communicate clearly that if you have not truly forgiven someone and are holding onto some anger, you are hurting yourself. Ongoing anger and bitterness against someone is a cancer that eats up your insides. It doesn’t matter if the offender is unrepentant or has not taken a step to apologize. Don’t wait, just forgive.
I am part of a men’s group that meets every Friday morning to share our lives with one another and to discuss good books. One of the best books we have read was Total Forgiveness by R.T. Kendall. He talks about how God can enable us to forgive even when we don’t think we can. So if you’re finding it difficult to forgive someone, start by praying about this. One of Kendall’s most powerful points is the challenge to pray that God would bless the offending person. I tried this and initially found that my prayers felt insincere. But I stayed with it and found that over time I could indeed pray God’s blessings for someone who offended me – and mean it!
Jesus forgave those who crucified him, even as he was giving his life for them and for us. Take a step of forgiveness today.
Friday, December 5, 2008
You Are the Light of the World
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
In this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his audience that they are to be different and they are to make a difference. This follows the beatitudes, in which Jesus talks about how attributes and circumstances that people commonly consider negative (such as meekness, persecution, poverty in spirit, and mourning) actually become blessings!
Almost 7 years ago we helped start a ministry in our church for young adults, which adopted the name Hill Climbers. Psalm 24:3-4 became our theme verse: “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” As young adults, they liked the idea of climbing up to something desirable – God’s holy place. Tonight we will gather the with the leadership team and celebrate God’s faithfulness to the ministry over these years.
While this marks the end of a season and has some sadness associated with it, we also recognize that God has fulfilled our vision of attracting and connecting young adults into the mainstream of our church. In essence, these young adults (now mostly married, with kids and in their thirties!) have reached the top of the hill that they had set out to climb.
As I was thinking about our time of sharing tonight, I was wondering what it looks like to have arrived at the top of the hill. Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, the temple in Jerusalem – which was the holy hill – was the place where God dwelt (now God indwells every believer). To be on the hill and in the temple meant to be near to God. But we need to go further. Jesus says that our nearness to God should change us – causing us to be a light to a dark world. People ought to observe our character and behavior and notice (like a big light on a hill!) a difference. And that difference is summed up in one word: love. Let your light shine!
In this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his audience that they are to be different and they are to make a difference. This follows the beatitudes, in which Jesus talks about how attributes and circumstances that people commonly consider negative (such as meekness, persecution, poverty in spirit, and mourning) actually become blessings!
Almost 7 years ago we helped start a ministry in our church for young adults, which adopted the name Hill Climbers. Psalm 24:3-4 became our theme verse: “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” As young adults, they liked the idea of climbing up to something desirable – God’s holy place. Tonight we will gather the with the leadership team and celebrate God’s faithfulness to the ministry over these years.
While this marks the end of a season and has some sadness associated with it, we also recognize that God has fulfilled our vision of attracting and connecting young adults into the mainstream of our church. In essence, these young adults (now mostly married, with kids and in their thirties!) have reached the top of the hill that they had set out to climb.
As I was thinking about our time of sharing tonight, I was wondering what it looks like to have arrived at the top of the hill. Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, the temple in Jerusalem – which was the holy hill – was the place where God dwelt (now God indwells every believer). To be on the hill and in the temple meant to be near to God. But we need to go further. Jesus says that our nearness to God should change us – causing us to be a light to a dark world. People ought to observe our character and behavior and notice (like a big light on a hill!) a difference. And that difference is summed up in one word: love. Let your light shine!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Jesus, the Great Unifier and Peacemaker
Ephesians 2:15-16. “His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”
Recent events in Mumbai, on top of other situations of conflict around the world, leave serious doubts about the likelihood of lasting peace in the world. It can be hard for us to be optimistic.
In the scripture above, Paul is writing to the local Christian church in Ephesus which is comprised of a very diverse group, including Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). He says that these two groups are antagonistic toward one another (divided by a “wall of hostility” in verse 14). It is easy for us to picture this kind of conflict in various parts of our world today.
Jesus’ purpose is to unify people who are in conflict, making one “new man” out of the two (Jews and non-Jews). The result of people living in unity is peace. The approach to unifying disparate people is to reconcile them to God; that is, restoring a right relationship between each person and God. Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished this, by paying the price for our wrongdoings.
There are a host of man-made solutions for resolving conflict, some good, some not so good. But I believe that lives lived in submission to a loving, grace-giving God whose two primary commandments are to love him (defined as obedience) and to love others as we love ourselves is the ultimate path to lasting peace.
Recent events in Mumbai, on top of other situations of conflict around the world, leave serious doubts about the likelihood of lasting peace in the world. It can be hard for us to be optimistic.
In the scripture above, Paul is writing to the local Christian church in Ephesus which is comprised of a very diverse group, including Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). He says that these two groups are antagonistic toward one another (divided by a “wall of hostility” in verse 14). It is easy for us to picture this kind of conflict in various parts of our world today.
Jesus’ purpose is to unify people who are in conflict, making one “new man” out of the two (Jews and non-Jews). The result of people living in unity is peace. The approach to unifying disparate people is to reconcile them to God; that is, restoring a right relationship between each person and God. Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished this, by paying the price for our wrongdoings.
There are a host of man-made solutions for resolving conflict, some good, some not so good. But I believe that lives lived in submission to a loving, grace-giving God whose two primary commandments are to love him (defined as obedience) and to love others as we love ourselves is the ultimate path to lasting peace.
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