Last week we took a slight, temporary break from the Your Life, Inc. series. it was something the Lord put on my heart. We talked about having stuff and feeling blessed.
We live in a society that gets so focused on the stuff that we forget just how blessed we truly are. almost 80% of the world doesn't have a car. Yet we complain that ours is too old or not cool enough. Compared to almost everyone else in the world, we in America are rich. If you have somewhere to live and you had at least one decent meal today, you would be considered rich.
I don't say this to condemn us for having nice stuff and being blessed. Instead I remind us of these things so that we can remember what we, the blessed, have been charged to do. That is to bless the rest of the world.
1 Timothy 6:17 says, "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy".
We should remember that we ARE blessed and that we should develop the attitude of "what can I give" instead of "what can I get." With Christ as the example who did not demand anything because of His position, but instead came to serve, we look to be led in how we can serve and give.
Giving is a lifestyle and, in the same way that little is big (see Wednesday blogs), we can develop this lifestyle with small changes. We could start by looking around at our excess and figure out how it might help someone else. For instance, many of us have that old "out-of-date" iPod in a drawer at home. It's not nearly as cool as the latest and greatest one we use now, but giving the old one to someone else would really bless them.
Sometimes giving just a little amount of money to someone can make a huge impact. Just buying someone a $5 lunch could make their day. Maybe that $5 wouldn't put you out at all, but it really helps someone else.
You can give your time to someone. Maybe a friend or a little brother or sister could use a tutor in a subject that's you're good at. You could volunteer at a local soup kitchen or convalescent home.
I also am encouraging us to get involved with the church's Cambodia village project. If 50 high schoolers could give $1 a week, we could buy a whole house for a family. Seriously - just a buck a week. That's not a lot and it would make a huge difference for someone else.
I am a firm believer that God does want us to be blessed and that He's OK with us having nice stuff. But, as the religious cliche says, don't let the stuff have you. The purpose of being blessed is to be able to be a blessing to others. Develop that lifestyle in your life and see how it will change you.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday Nights - Little Is Big 2
This week we continued on Little is Big. While last week we focused on the affects of accepting little sin, this week we talked about making small positive changes.
So often we avoid making necessary changes in our lives because they seem so big. For instance, maybe you want to lose some weight. The tight restrictions in diets are more than you are willing to accept so you just never do it. But making small changes can also make a major impact. If you just cut back from fast food 4 times a week to only 2 times you would probably see a change.
When I tried giving up my nightly ice cream habit I did it through making small changes. First I went from eating half a carton to a smaller bowl. Then I eventually analyzed what it was about ice cream that I was craving. It was the dairy and the sweet taste. So I replaced it with a bowl of cereal. Now, it wasn't a particularly healthy cereal, but it was definitely more healthy than the ice cream. So, instead of never giving up the ice cream because I thought I couldn't do it, I slowly removed it by making small changes.
We've been using Luke 16:10 as our core scripture which talks about being faithful with little. This week we looked at the rise of King David in 1 Samuel 17. When the prophet Samuel comes to his father's home to look for the next king, Jesse brings out all the older brothers who apparently weren't doing anything. I say this because only David is mentioned as being busy. He was out tending the sheep in the fields. He was working on something little.
The brothers were hanging out and playing on the Xbox or chatting with friends on MySpace. Samuel says that none of them are the "one". Then Jesse mentions there is David working out in the fields tending sheep and Samuel is like, "That's the one. The one that's working."
Then in the story of his confrontation with Goliath he points out that his experiences leading up to that point made him ready for this challenge. He had already defeated the lion and the bear. He didn't just decide on the spur of the moment that he could defeat a 10-foot giant. He had completed smaller things that led him to that point.
In our lives, we have a choice in where we will end up. That choice comes in the form of small choices every single day. We can make bad choices and wake up one day and wonder how we've gotten so far off. We can also make good choices and wake up one day and wonder how did we get so blessed. The choices are yours!
So often we avoid making necessary changes in our lives because they seem so big. For instance, maybe you want to lose some weight. The tight restrictions in diets are more than you are willing to accept so you just never do it. But making small changes can also make a major impact. If you just cut back from fast food 4 times a week to only 2 times you would probably see a change.
When I tried giving up my nightly ice cream habit I did it through making small changes. First I went from eating half a carton to a smaller bowl. Then I eventually analyzed what it was about ice cream that I was craving. It was the dairy and the sweet taste. So I replaced it with a bowl of cereal. Now, it wasn't a particularly healthy cereal, but it was definitely more healthy than the ice cream. So, instead of never giving up the ice cream because I thought I couldn't do it, I slowly removed it by making small changes.
We've been using Luke 16:10 as our core scripture which talks about being faithful with little. This week we looked at the rise of King David in 1 Samuel 17. When the prophet Samuel comes to his father's home to look for the next king, Jesse brings out all the older brothers who apparently weren't doing anything. I say this because only David is mentioned as being busy. He was out tending the sheep in the fields. He was working on something little.
The brothers were hanging out and playing on the Xbox or chatting with friends on MySpace. Samuel says that none of them are the "one". Then Jesse mentions there is David working out in the fields tending sheep and Samuel is like, "That's the one. The one that's working."
Then in the story of his confrontation with Goliath he points out that his experiences leading up to that point made him ready for this challenge. He had already defeated the lion and the bear. He didn't just decide on the spur of the moment that he could defeat a 10-foot giant. He had completed smaller things that led him to that point.
In our lives, we have a choice in where we will end up. That choice comes in the form of small choices every single day. We can make bad choices and wake up one day and wonder how we've gotten so far off. We can also make good choices and wake up one day and wonder how did we get so blessed. The choices are yours!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday Nights - Little Is Big
In the last few weeks we have been discussing "Little is Big" on Wednesday nights. Here is a quick review of what we've talked about so far:
God has told us in Luke 16:10 that those who are faithful in the very little are also faithful in much. It also tells us that he who is unfaithful in the very little is unrighteous in the great.
We want to avoid the trap of believing that the little sins in life don't matter because you think that when it comes down to it, in the important stuff you do the right thing.
We looked at polls that were taken and even did an informal poll in class and found that most of us had done things like illegally downloaded music (but it was Christian music, so it was OK, right?) or taken a couple bucks from Mom's purse or Dad's wallet.
Accepting the little sin will, over time, make us calloused and able to accept bigger and bigger sin. Most heinous acts are not done spur of the moment. There is usually a pattern of sin that starts and becomes bigger and bigger over time.
Just ask some major celebrities what they think now about what seemed like no big deal when they did it. Michael Vick was just hanging out with some friends who were into fighting dogs, got involved and went to jail. Kobe Bryant just had one little affair with a woman other than his wife and almost ended up going to prison for rape. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens decided to just give themselves a little extra advantage and then got out of control and destroyed their careers and their legacies. The list goes on.
Martha Stewart, who is a billionaire, went to jail for taking a little illegal stock tip that made her $51,000. That amount of money is like $50 to the average person. Because of it, she lost over $300 million in her own money invested in her company.
We talked about Luke 12:1-3 where we are warned about even letting a little sin in because it will destroy the whole lot.
Sin, when we really think about it, is about selfishness. We sin for our own self interest. Man steals to have what he wants without paying for it. He lies to protect himself. But Paul tells us in Philippians 2:5-7 that our attitude should be like Christ who didn't consider himself or his position. But instead he came to serve and to ultimately die for OUR sin.
This past week we talked about how sin affects our relationship with God. We talked about how so many people view God as someone who is looking to bless those who obey and punish those who do not. But that is not who God is. In Isaiah 54 he promises not to punish for sin anymore because of what Jesus did. We also know that nothing can separate us from the love of God. But doesn't sin separate us?
It does, but not on Gods end. We allow sin to bring us under condemnation and feel that we are not worthy of God. None of us are actually worthy, but because of what Christ did, when we accept him we are all worthy.
So, am I saying that it doesn't matter if we sin? No. Sin still has a lot of natural consequences. God established sowing and reaping. But as far as our relationship with God, it doesn't break that relationship.
Sin SHOULD provoke a feeling of guilt in us. That guilt should drive us TO God and and awway from Him. He is faithful and just to forgive. We have a hard time understanding the way God forgives because it is impossible for man to do it the way He does. We can forgive, but there is still hurt. When God forgives it is as if it never happened as far as He is concerned (we may still have our consequences in this life, though).
If we do not truly believe we are forgiven we will allow our guilt to drive us AWAY from God and into condemnation. And that is not where we want to live.
Next week we will continue disscusing other little things that have a big impact on our lives.
God has told us in Luke 16:10 that those who are faithful in the very little are also faithful in much. It also tells us that he who is unfaithful in the very little is unrighteous in the great.
We want to avoid the trap of believing that the little sins in life don't matter because you think that when it comes down to it, in the important stuff you do the right thing.
We looked at polls that were taken and even did an informal poll in class and found that most of us had done things like illegally downloaded music (but it was Christian music, so it was OK, right?) or taken a couple bucks from Mom's purse or Dad's wallet.
Accepting the little sin will, over time, make us calloused and able to accept bigger and bigger sin. Most heinous acts are not done spur of the moment. There is usually a pattern of sin that starts and becomes bigger and bigger over time.
Just ask some major celebrities what they think now about what seemed like no big deal when they did it. Michael Vick was just hanging out with some friends who were into fighting dogs, got involved and went to jail. Kobe Bryant just had one little affair with a woman other than his wife and almost ended up going to prison for rape. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens decided to just give themselves a little extra advantage and then got out of control and destroyed their careers and their legacies. The list goes on.
Martha Stewart, who is a billionaire, went to jail for taking a little illegal stock tip that made her $51,000. That amount of money is like $50 to the average person. Because of it, she lost over $300 million in her own money invested in her company.
We talked about Luke 12:1-3 where we are warned about even letting a little sin in because it will destroy the whole lot.
Sin, when we really think about it, is about selfishness. We sin for our own self interest. Man steals to have what he wants without paying for it. He lies to protect himself. But Paul tells us in Philippians 2:5-7 that our attitude should be like Christ who didn't consider himself or his position. But instead he came to serve and to ultimately die for OUR sin.
This past week we talked about how sin affects our relationship with God. We talked about how so many people view God as someone who is looking to bless those who obey and punish those who do not. But that is not who God is. In Isaiah 54 he promises not to punish for sin anymore because of what Jesus did. We also know that nothing can separate us from the love of God. But doesn't sin separate us?
It does, but not on Gods end. We allow sin to bring us under condemnation and feel that we are not worthy of God. None of us are actually worthy, but because of what Christ did, when we accept him we are all worthy.
So, am I saying that it doesn't matter if we sin? No. Sin still has a lot of natural consequences. God established sowing and reaping. But as far as our relationship with God, it doesn't break that relationship.
Sin SHOULD provoke a feeling of guilt in us. That guilt should drive us TO God and and awway from Him. He is faithful and just to forgive. We have a hard time understanding the way God forgives because it is impossible for man to do it the way He does. We can forgive, but there is still hurt. When God forgives it is as if it never happened as far as He is concerned (we may still have our consequences in this life, though).
If we do not truly believe we are forgiven we will allow our guilt to drive us AWAY from God and into condemnation. And that is not where we want to live.
Next week we will continue disscusing other little things that have a big impact on our lives.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sat PM and Sun AM - Your Life, Inc.
Right now, in our Saturday night at 5pm and Sunday at 11am services I am teaching Pastor Jason's series, Your Life Incorporated. Here's what we've learned about so far:
Overview
We are looking at our lives using the example of a company's structure. For a company to be successful it must have the right CEO. As we have seen in the news, having the wrong CEO in charge of your company may bring destruction.
God desires for our spirit or, more accurately, the Spirit of Christ in us to be the CEO of our company. According to Genesis 1:26, we were created as a spirit being in the image and likenes of God.
We have tended to define ourselves by what we can physically see or our physical body. If you asked someone to describe themselves they would most likely describe what they see in the mirror. We have to learn to define ourselves by the Spirit of Christ that dwells in us, allow that Spirit to run our company and see the success that God has us destined for.
Employee #1 - The Mind
In the first two weeks we discussed the first employee in our company. The mind is overemphasized by worldly intellectuals. The mind cannot run the company because, like all things other than God, it is going to fail us. it has weaknesses.
However, the mind is a tool given to us by God. We cannot neglect it. We must not only allow it to do its job, but continually develop it to be a better employee. Pick up a book instead of the video game controller. It is a tool that will be with you for your whole life. So you better make it a useful tool.
You must also remind the mind who is in charge of this company. You might need to call it in for a meeting and tell it that you don't like the negative junk it's been thinking about. It needs to think about the things that are true -- that is think about what the Word says about this company and what it is capable of.
Employee #2 - The Body
Lets face it, no matter how strong the spirit may be in you, without a body to carry it around it can do nothing. We need our body and we need to treat it well if we want it to be a productive employee. The body, or flesh, has a lot of desires that in and of themselves are not bad. In fact the desires come from God.
The desire to eat is good. If you don't have it, the body will not survive very long. But allowing that desire to do what the body wants to do with it will be self-destructive. We should eat to live, not live to eat.
The desire to sleep is also important. However there are some who have too strong of a desire to sleep and end up sleeping life away. I had a friend in high school that would sleep well into the afternoon every weekend and all summer. Or try not sleeping. I know Jack Bauer on "24" can go without sleep, get shot half a dozen times and get infected with a bioweapon nerve agent and keep humming along. But our bodies are not designed for that. If you go just a couple days straight without adequate sleep you see a significant performance breakdown.
Yes, there is the desire for sex. God also gave us that, but He has very specific instructions for how it is to be enjoyed. Giving in to the flesh's desire for sex in the wrong situations (any one where you are not married, just to clear that up) will always have negative consequences whether you realize them now or not. It will have an impact on future relationships and marriage, trust and of course things like unplanned pregnancy or even sickness and disease. The desire itself is not what is bad. It is a matter of whether you make this employee submit to the CEO or allow it to take over the company that determines what happens.
We talked about the importance of looking good. We used the example of Esther from the Bible. We understand that God doesn't care one bit about how we look physically. And we should not judge one another's value based on looks either. But the world does and the world is who we need to reach.
Esther was able to save an entire nation because she was beautiful and well-kept. Why do you think we dress up for interviews for jobs or college entrance? How we look communicates something to the world. The world judges whether what you have to say is important or of value based on how you look.
Employee #3 - Emotions
Last week we stated discussing another of our employees -- our emotions. Most of us, when evaluating how we end up in bad situations, can point to make an emotional decision. In the heat of emotion we do something that, if we stopped and thought it through, we would not have done. Sometimes it is an impulsive purchase that puts us in debt or keeps us from having the money to do something important to our future. It can be a reaction of anger that destroys a relationship or results in violence.
Like all of the other employees in our company, our emotions came from God. They are designed to be a useful tool but they cannot be allowed to rule the company. They also cannot be ignored. There are some that think they are exercising self-control by not showing any emotion. But repressed emotion will eventually become more dangerous than the original desired emotional response.
For example, grief is a normal emotion when we lose someone close to us. If we suppress it we may go down a path to depression, worthlessness and maybe even suicide. If we allow ourselves to let the grief emotion take the company over it can be just as dangerous.
God desires for our lives to be a walk on a path of joy and peace. There are situations that happen in our lives where our emotions take us off of that path. That's OK. It is the way God programmed us. His plan is that, with His help, when we leave that path that there is a plan for getting back on. But is either we allow the emotions to rule us or we suppress them we will continue to veer further and further from the path of joy and peace.
We looked at the story of how Jesus handled the loss of a close friend, Lazarus, in John Chapter 11. We also looked at Peter in Matthew 26 when he denied Christ. He experienced strong emotion (he wept bitterly) but did get back onto the path of joy and peace.
This week we will be talking about how to make that plan; how to make sure when we leave that path that we have a plan to get back on.
Overview
We are looking at our lives using the example of a company's structure. For a company to be successful it must have the right CEO. As we have seen in the news, having the wrong CEO in charge of your company may bring destruction.
God desires for our spirit or, more accurately, the Spirit of Christ in us to be the CEO of our company. According to Genesis 1:26, we were created as a spirit being in the image and likenes of God.
We have tended to define ourselves by what we can physically see or our physical body. If you asked someone to describe themselves they would most likely describe what they see in the mirror. We have to learn to define ourselves by the Spirit of Christ that dwells in us, allow that Spirit to run our company and see the success that God has us destined for.
Employee #1 - The Mind
In the first two weeks we discussed the first employee in our company. The mind is overemphasized by worldly intellectuals. The mind cannot run the company because, like all things other than God, it is going to fail us. it has weaknesses.
However, the mind is a tool given to us by God. We cannot neglect it. We must not only allow it to do its job, but continually develop it to be a better employee. Pick up a book instead of the video game controller. It is a tool that will be with you for your whole life. So you better make it a useful tool.
You must also remind the mind who is in charge of this company. You might need to call it in for a meeting and tell it that you don't like the negative junk it's been thinking about. It needs to think about the things that are true -- that is think about what the Word says about this company and what it is capable of.
Employee #2 - The Body
Lets face it, no matter how strong the spirit may be in you, without a body to carry it around it can do nothing. We need our body and we need to treat it well if we want it to be a productive employee. The body, or flesh, has a lot of desires that in and of themselves are not bad. In fact the desires come from God.
The desire to eat is good. If you don't have it, the body will not survive very long. But allowing that desire to do what the body wants to do with it will be self-destructive. We should eat to live, not live to eat.
The desire to sleep is also important. However there are some who have too strong of a desire to sleep and end up sleeping life away. I had a friend in high school that would sleep well into the afternoon every weekend and all summer. Or try not sleeping. I know Jack Bauer on "24" can go without sleep, get shot half a dozen times and get infected with a bioweapon nerve agent and keep humming along. But our bodies are not designed for that. If you go just a couple days straight without adequate sleep you see a significant performance breakdown.
Yes, there is the desire for sex. God also gave us that, but He has very specific instructions for how it is to be enjoyed. Giving in to the flesh's desire for sex in the wrong situations (any one where you are not married, just to clear that up) will always have negative consequences whether you realize them now or not. It will have an impact on future relationships and marriage, trust and of course things like unplanned pregnancy or even sickness and disease. The desire itself is not what is bad. It is a matter of whether you make this employee submit to the CEO or allow it to take over the company that determines what happens.
We talked about the importance of looking good. We used the example of Esther from the Bible. We understand that God doesn't care one bit about how we look physically. And we should not judge one another's value based on looks either. But the world does and the world is who we need to reach.
Esther was able to save an entire nation because she was beautiful and well-kept. Why do you think we dress up for interviews for jobs or college entrance? How we look communicates something to the world. The world judges whether what you have to say is important or of value based on how you look.
Employee #3 - Emotions
Last week we stated discussing another of our employees -- our emotions. Most of us, when evaluating how we end up in bad situations, can point to make an emotional decision. In the heat of emotion we do something that, if we stopped and thought it through, we would not have done. Sometimes it is an impulsive purchase that puts us in debt or keeps us from having the money to do something important to our future. It can be a reaction of anger that destroys a relationship or results in violence.
Like all of the other employees in our company, our emotions came from God. They are designed to be a useful tool but they cannot be allowed to rule the company. They also cannot be ignored. There are some that think they are exercising self-control by not showing any emotion. But repressed emotion will eventually become more dangerous than the original desired emotional response.
For example, grief is a normal emotion when we lose someone close to us. If we suppress it we may go down a path to depression, worthlessness and maybe even suicide. If we allow ourselves to let the grief emotion take the company over it can be just as dangerous.
God desires for our lives to be a walk on a path of joy and peace. There are situations that happen in our lives where our emotions take us off of that path. That's OK. It is the way God programmed us. His plan is that, with His help, when we leave that path that there is a plan for getting back on. But is either we allow the emotions to rule us or we suppress them we will continue to veer further and further from the path of joy and peace.
We looked at the story of how Jesus handled the loss of a close friend, Lazarus, in John Chapter 11. We also looked at Peter in Matthew 26 when he denied Christ. He experienced strong emotion (he wept bitterly) but did get back onto the path of joy and peace.
This week we will be talking about how to make that plan; how to make sure when we leave that path that we have a plan to get back on.
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