Why who and not where

Saturday, after worship with Epic Church, someone asked me what I was up to and what my plan was.  He asked me where I saw myself in the future and where I wanted to be in 5 years.  After botching my answer and in a round about way dodging the question I started to really think about what I said in response.  I said something to the effect that, "Well, hopefully in 5 years I hope to be more dependent and confident in God's provision.  I hope that I can learn to be faithful and patient in learning what God wants me to so that I stop running away from God's call for my life because I distrust God's ability to provide for my needs." 

As I drove away(in my Kia Sorento) and begun mulling over that conversation I recognized that the reason why my answer seemed so hollow was because I was answering the wrong question.  My response to the question didn't answer where I wanted to be in 5 years so much as it answered who I wanted to be. 

Somewhere in my reasoning I was telling myself, "I'm not so much concerned with where I will be as who I will be."  Logically the next question I had to answer was why?  Why am I more concerned with who I want to be and not as worried about where I will be?  The short answer is, I've tried making long term plans for my future and failed.  Either I've missed the mark I originally set out for due to unforseen life experiences.  Or I've made my material goal at the expense of relationships and character integrity.  I lose focus of what is truly important in life.  In my attempt to gain more for myself, I really end up losing more.  In addition, I've seen a number of young friends with long term goals die before they could accomplish them. Many of them had grand desires for their future and continued to live life with a distant future in mind.  Those friends, as well as most other people myself included, live life the way we want to now because we think that we have time later to become the people we want to be. The truth is we don't:

"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that."  But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.  therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin." 
 James 4:13-17

What I've found is that when my focus is on "where I will go,"  it is very easy to ignore God or rationalize decisions and behaviors for the sake of achieving my goals. I get so focused on achievement that everything else in life takes second place to accomplishing my goals.  The problem is that as a person who is identified with Christ and proclaims to be a follower of Christ, I can't live life that way because I surrendered my entire life to Jesus.

"If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the Earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."
Colossians 3:1-4

I'm not free to dictate where I will go, because Jesus, my Lord and Master has control of where I will go.  More importantly, Jesus dictates who I must be.  What I've found in seeking out the will of God through scripture is that focusing on who I am in Christ determines where I will go.  Moreover, whom I serve and who I'm with determines where I go and what I do.  Knowing that the I AM is with me gives me confidence to go and be who I was created to be. (Ephesians 2:10)

So how does all this play out in my approach to living life? Am I saying that you shouldn't set goals for yourself?  No!  In fact I set daily, weekly and monthly goals for myself.  However, each goal I set is less on where I want to be(self dictated) and more on who I need to be(Christ determined).  Because where I'm going has already been determined and instead of living life like this temporal and terrestrial existence is all I have to look forward to, I live life and set goals in view of eternity with Jesus.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21


The true and greatest treasure of this life is found in relationship with Christ.  All I hope is that my life reflects that desire, so that in all my pursuits Jesus Christ is shown to be my greatest desire.

Philippians 3:10-14
Matthew 6:33-34

The Lord speaks...

Tonight as I was getting in my car to leave I was getting a little stressed.  I was concerned with a relationship i have with someone and whether it was my place to speak up and step in to address some issues I witnessed.  I was a little scared, uncertain and confused.  In fact as I shut my car door I said, "Oh Lord, I'm scared and i dont know what to do!  Tell me what to do!"

As I started my car up my car radio came on and the audio bible i have said, "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, 'Don't be afraid!' 'Speak out!' 'Don't be silent!'  For I am with you, no one will attack and harm you for many people in this city belong to me."(Acts 18:9-10)

Now, since hearing that I've had the chance to read the passage in context and I know it doesnt necessarily apply/speak into my situation.  However, hearing that right after I asked was kind of cool.  It reminded me of Jeremiah 33:3 which says:

"Call to me and I will tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Another verse I was reminded of was James 1:5:

"If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it."

Those verses and the audio bible saying what it did right at that time remind me that I am in relationship with  the God of the universe.  The God I serve isn't some distant deity far removed from my life.  He works in my life and speaks to me.  My life is changed as a result of spending time knowing Him through His Word. 

What is your scent?

There's a student at Christian Challenge that I can always detect before she enters a room and after she leaves. She has this scent, a pleasant and fragrant aroma, that announces her presence. This morning after smelling her visit to Christian Challenge, I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 2:14-17:

"But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?  You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us."

In view of this passage I couldn't help but ponder how I smell.  Am I a scent of life or death?  Do I even have a smell?  Are people able to smell the outworking power of the Holy Spirit in my life?  I sometimes forget the truth of verse 14 is this, "I was once a slave and captive to sin.  Now I am a captive of Christ.  My life is not my own because it belongs to Jesus.  Moreover, the purpose of my life is to bring glory to Jesus!."

The image that Paul is using in this passage is one of a great Roman general entering a city after returning home from a conquest.  It's a lot like that scene in "Gladiator" when Commodus (the bad guy) comes back to Rome after murdering Marcus Aurelius, his father. The whole city is in celebration and there is a gigantic procession with Commodus at the head of all the slaves/captives and other spoils of the wars in Gaul trailing behind.  The purpose was to magnify Commodus the new emperor.

In the same way Jesus Christ is the great general and returning emperor.  He conquered sin and death freeing the people who used to be under that heavy yoke.  Now Jesus, is at the head of a procession of all the saints, Jesus is the one who is magnified.  All who are saved are to proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ.  

Scent of Life or Death

In the passage Paul says that the captives are like the scent of death to the perishing and the scent of life to those being saved.  Think of it this way.  If you lived back in Ancient Rome and you weren't a Roman citizen but a subjugated enemy of Rome.  If you were to see a bunch of captives from another conquest being paraded around you'd be afraid.  You would think, "This sucks!  We're never going to be free from the power of Rome.  Look!  Here's more people that have been brought under the authority of Rome."  You would feel defeated and conquered.  On the other hand, if you were a citizen of Rome, if you were to see this same procession, you would feel pretty confident in your ruler and His power.  You would feel safe and secure, you'd probably also have reason to celebrate.  After all, the empire you belong to top dog, ain't no one gonna take ya down.  

Now take that image and transfer it over to spiritual life.  Those who are still enemies with God, the ones that have rejected God's gift of grace and do not recognize the authority of God over their lives are the subjugated enemies of Rome.  See the problem with our world today is that people have such short vision.  We see the things right in front of us and can't see the things behind the immediate.  The truth is that in the end Christ wins and whether you accept His authority or not doesn't matter, because He is ruler of all.  So when captives of Christ are put on display proclaiming the glory of Jesus, it's a terrifying sight, a reminder to all the enemies of God that, "Man! We are defeated and we won't ever escape the authority and power of Jesus."  

However, to all friends of God, all the ones who have accepted God's gift of grace and have now become adopted sons and daughters of the King, the captives of Christ become a reminder of abundant life found in Christ Jesus.  

Closing

So the question is, "Are you a fragrant reminder of abundant life found in Jesus Christ? Do you live your life in a way that shows you recognize the authority of Jesus over all creation foreshadowing His imminent return?"  I know I'm challenged by that passage and image.  And all it took was a little whiff of some Bath and Body Works body spray!  At least I'm pretty sure that's what she wears :)

Running for Completion

I recently started running again.  I've been using Vibrams Five Finger shoes and they take a little getting used to.  I've been taking it easy not really concerning myself with my pace or time, just running to run.  A by product of running for completion rather than to keep a pace or beat a time is that I actually like running.  I know it's crazy!  No one likes running!  But running for completion is so different from running to beat a time.  I think about my breathing differently and don't over think the mechanics of running!  I can just run and have fun doing it!  

As I was running this morning I couldn't help but notice the parallels between running for completion and the Christian life.  Moreover, I recognized how I had wrongly taken scripture out of its appropriate context and based the way I've been running the race of faith.  What is truly sad is that my arrogance and irresponsibility in rightly dividing the Word of Truth hasn't just affected me.  It's affected every relationship I've ever had and I know that in some cases have hurt people because of my laziness.  

I allowed my American mentality of more and bigger is better combined with the free market idea of competition and applied it wrongly to 1 Corinthians 9:24.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize."

I took that little bit of scripture and formed an unhealthy paradigm for my life.   I have been running the race of faith like an Olympic race where only one person wins.  I treated Christian life like a competition where I looked back to see how many people I'd surpassed and making sure no one was around to overtake me.  I looked forward in search of the next person I could overtake and step over to be first.  That was mistake number 1 because I forgot that I can't be first.  

Colossians 3:15-16

"He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.  He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first born from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything."

Running the race of faith like a competition, I became enamored with beating other people.  Being the best by doing more and doing better than everyone else.  The prize and goal for me was to beat everyone.  The problem with that is I was racing for the wrong prize.  The problem with trying to pass everyone is that eventually you end up alone.  As this reflection dawned on me I began questioning.  What is the prize?  Is it heaven?  What is the prize in heaven?  What is the goal?  Is it a mansion in a place free from sorrow and pain?  

Philippians 3:10-14

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

The problem with my answer to a lot of those questions was that I was still operating under the mentality of competition and "what can I get for me."  I viewed Christ and knowing Him as a means to an end.  Isn't that the kind of way most people approach Christian life?  I follow Jesus because I want to go to heaven and have all this stuff.  But I think that type of mentality misses the point of the Christian life.  A passage that really helps answer the question of what is the prize and reshaped my thinking is

Revelation 4:

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”  At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.  And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.  Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.  From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.  Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.  In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.  The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.  Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”  Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:  You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

In this passage I see the focus of all of heaven on Christ.  The prize isn’t heaven or any tangible thing that might be in heaven, the prize is Jesus Christ.  I think that a more accurate depiction of the race of faith is like a Fun Run Marathon.  Every runner that completes the race wins a t-shirt, a sense of accomplishment, and the joy of the run.  When you run this kind of race you don’t have to worry about trying to beat someone and finish first.  You can just run the race set before you and enjoy the run.  Your goal, the prize is at the end of the race.  You only get the prize by completing the race.  Sure you can enjoy the company of other runners while they are with you.  They can even encourage you to keep running or inspire you to run harder.  You aren’t in competition with each other.  All of you are running toward the same goal.  That goal is fellowship with Jesus Christ for all eternity. 

Hebrews 12:1-3

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

So now when I run, actual running and the race of faith, I’m running for completion.  I’m setting my sights on the end.  The prize, Jesus Christ. 

 

Spiritual Habits: Countermeasures in the War with Sin

Fall 2009 I went through one of the toughest periods of my life mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  On the outside, for people that didn’t know about external influences that I was dealing with privately, things might have appeared to be fine.  However, on the inside I felt lifeless and empty sometimes wishing for everything to end.  A big part that played into this feeling of dissatisfaction and malcontent was that I was going through a period of denial and rebellion.  I had half-heartedly turned to the Lord for help in my circumstances even though I knew deep down that most of the problems I found myself in were ones I had created.  I compounded this problem by refusing to accept responsibility for myself.  I also refused to turn scripture or come into accountability about my problems because at the time I felt justified in feeling angry at God demanding that He do what I ask while still refusing to submit to His will.  I felt like I deserved to get my way, like I was entitled to getting what I wanted because I had done this or done that.  Somewhere in November of 2009 I still didn’t really want to hear from God or obey Him but I figured that I should just keep reading the Word to say I did it.  I ended up reading through Job and somewhere in there things began to really click for me.  Not only was I able to relate to Job as I was reading it but God was setting up larger things at work in me that brought me to December 31 2009.  It was then that I had finished Job and come to realize how incredibly selfish I was.  I had forgotten who I was and more importantly who God is.  Suddenly remembering who and what the Lord has done for me and who I am snapped everything back into focus for me.

I then proceeded to systematically reflect on the past.  Spiritual markers, like the ones the Israelites set up when the crossed the Jordan, a sign of remembrance for the people to not forget what the Lord had done in their lives.  I went back through each one in my life and tried to encapsulate things that were characteristic of my life when I was submitted to the Lord and He was working in and through me.  This led me to create the Daily Question Template. (Joshua 4:1-9)

I recognized that this journey up out of the pit wasn’t going to be easy, nor would it be short.  I knew that I would face failure and discouragement.  Nevertheless, I was committed to real change.  I knew that the only way that this could be done was by living each day moment by moment with Jesus Christ.  I needed to just get through today.  Get through right now, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour because that’s all I have right now. (Matt 6:34) 

Three Basic Questions

If I were to illustrate how this whole process works the best one I can think of is a journey.  When you go on a journey you first need to know three things:

1.        Where you are

2.       Where you are going

3.       Why you’re going there

How Have I Sinned?

This is the “where you are” part of the journey.  I need to know where I am before I can plot a course from where I am to where I am going.  I need to identify things in my life that are hindrances to me getting to my final destination.  I need to spot out potential areas of danger and plot course around those things.  So the first question I ask is, “How have I sinned today?”  These are things that are derailing me on my journey.  Sins are distractions that keep me from pushing forward and in some cases turn me in the opposite direction.  They get me lost.  So a secondary question I ask is, “what will I do to prevent myself from repeating this sin tomorrow?”  Once I know what the dangers are the things that distract, derail, and turn me around I need to plot a course that keeps me away from these things.  I’m talking about the things I need to do to prevent myself from falling to sin.  These are practical proactive measures we take to fight against the destructive old sinful nature and continue walking in the light. (Galatians 6:7-8, Deuteronomy 30:11-20)  These are immediate measures that you can employ the very next day.  I do believe that you should set up longer term systems to aid you in the long term but we’ll get to that later.  Some examples would be if you sinned that day looking at porn here is a list of counter measures you can employ.

1.        Tell an accountability partner to call/text you throughout the next day and find out how you’re doing

2.       Memorize scripture/write it down and have it visible and available that talks about the long term consequences of sexual immorality

3.       Use the internet in a public place

4.       Only use your computer in a public area

5.       Give your computer to someone else at the end of the day so you can’t use it when your alone

6.       Pray through the scripture you’ve memorized

Three keys to effective strategies:

1.       Avoid-don’t bring yourself into a situation where you allow yourself to be tempted

2.       Replace-replace the sinful thoughts and desires you have with the Truth of God’s Word through meditation and prayer

3.       Confront-fight the deception of sin with the Truth of God’s Word by preaching it to yourself and bringing other people in to remind you of the Truth and to physically hold you accountable for your decisions

What has God been teaching me today?

Once you know where you are going we can now plot a course to where we want to go.  As a believer our destination is Jesus Christ.  He is ultimately our goal and standard for life.  In order to get to that ultimate destination to be made into the image of Jesus Christ, God requires our obedience to His will.  God knows our strengths and our weaknesses.  He knows what areas of our character, skills, and fruits of the Spirit that needs to be manifested in our life.  In my life when I sometimes felt like I was in a rut the reason was because I had failed to obey what God had last told me.  This was definitely the case when I came up with these questions.  So the first thing I wanted to know was, is God speaking to me?”  This might sound like a silly question, but what I’m really asking is, “Am I so callous to the Word of God that I can no longer hear Him?”(Romans 8:13)  So my first question is the answer to the second, “if I can hear God speaking to me then I know I haven’t grown callous to the Word of God."  A follow up question to the first is, “How is God teaching me the things I hear Him saying to me?”  Something I’ve neglected over the course of my life is to really live life with the recognition that I am at war with spiritual forces.  Therefore, I need to test the things that I think God is telling me.  Moreover, I recognize that sometimes I may be telling myself lies and trying to justify how I act with scripture. (James 1:13-14)  To guard against these two deviations from the straight and narrow I have three basic criteria that I use to screen all of the things that I think that God is saying to me and use them to determine if God is speaking to me.  Three ways that God has demonstrated He has spoken in scripture are:

1.        Through His Word

2.       Through His People

3.       Through His Creation

Another filter that I need to run is a matching test.  If what I think God is saying to me in one of the above 3 ways contradicts the commands of God as expressed in scripture then I can throw that out.  If something I think God is telling me runs contrary to the nature of God as expressed in the fullness of scripture then I throw that out too. (I say the “fullness of scripture for you proof texters)  If any of the things that I think God might be saying to me doesn’t meet the above criteria then I can chalk it up to deception from the enemy and wishful thinking which is a deception of self.  I try to be very specific when I answer this question.  There are a few categories that I put things because when God speaks there is a purpose to Him speaking.  Here are some examples of categories:

1.        Revelation about Himself

2.       Confirmation of His will

3.       Revelation of new direction/preparation

4.       Revelation of sin

Once I can identify what type of statement God is speaking to me I can adjust my life to come into line with what He is saying.  I say this because I believe that a word from the Lord requires a response.  It’s not enough to simply know God is speaking to me; I need to act in obedience to the things He reveals to me.  We’ll get more into that in a later section.  (Goals/Timeline)

Back to the secondary question:  “How is God teaching me the things I think He is saying to me?”  The reason I need to be specific in separating the types of things God is saying to me is so that I can test for internal consistency.  I check for internal consistency so that I can respond to God’s Word with confidence.  Here is an example of what I mean:

What is God teaching/saying to me?

I need to be faithful and patient in the tasks I have now because they prepare me for future tasks God will give me.  God doesn’t need for my skill to grow so much as He needs my character to grow through submission before entrusting me with more responsibility.  If I want to be used by the Lord I need to prepare myself now so that when the opportunity comes I’ll be ready to serve.

How is God teaching/saying these things to me?

a.       Exodus 2:11-4:20:  Moses tried to shortcut God’s plan by taking matters into his own hands wanting to be a liberator for his people before he was ready.  Moses had to go through a period of character development before he would be ready to lead God’s people.  Moses needed to learn humility and submission.  He also was given time to develop essential skills of leading God’s people through the wilderness.

b.      Luke 12:35-48:  No one knows when the Lord will return; therefore it is imperative that I live my life as if each minute were my last.  This way I will have nothing to be ashamed of and be found a good and faithful servant of the Lord.  If I know the masters will I must do it.

c.       Conversation/Testimony of Bob:  talking about journey he and his family had to go through before he was ready to accept the call to pastor the church he’s at now.

d.      Pastor John’s Sermon: Matthew 25:14-30  I need to be ready for the opportunities God gives me to join Him in His work and that means that I need to be a good steward of the time and resources He has given me now.

e.       Song “Ready Now” by Desperation Band(look it up on youtube)

So the above is what I mean by having internal consistency and confidence.  I don’t know if you’re like me but I have difficulty identifying the things God is saying to me sometimes.  But when I keep a record of all the things that I’m learning about Him and things that might be said to me I can identify themes.  I’m a pretty dense guy so often times God has to tell me the same thing over and over again.  Keeping a record helps me catch things I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise except through maybe screwing up and learning through my mistakes.  Keeping track this way helps me avoid having to go through a screw up experience.  I’ll make note that this is something you can also keep track of the things God teaches you daily helps you identify what and where God is moving you in the longer term. (Weekly and Monthly Questions)  I can also have a lot more confidence to act on what God is saying to me when I have repetitive confirmation in multiple forms.  In the example above I have 2 sources of personal bible study, 1 conversation with a believer that speaks to the situation I find myself, 1 sermon from a believer that reinforces the same idea, and 1 song that repeats the idea of preparation, submission, and responsibility.  Something to note about the confirmations that came from God’s people, the conversation and sermon, is that both used scripture to define what they were saying.  The things we think God is saying to us should always be biblically based.  Remember the above criteria about aligning with God’s commands and God’s character?  Those two things should be present in the things we think God is saying to us through His people.  We shouldn’t accept the advice of people if it runs contrary to God’s Word and common sense.  Advice we take into consideration should always be objective and free of emotion.  If we allow our emotions to guide our decisions then we fall prey to the second deviation from truth. (James 1:13-14) 

What Can I thank God for today?

The previous question, “What has God been teaching me,” leads to a series of check points along the path to our final destination which is to the foot of the throne of God in fellowship and communion with our Glorified Risen Savior.  The last question, “What can I thank God for today, is birthed out of a natural progression logic, which is, “why do I want to go to Heaven/be in fellowship with God?”  In the terms of our illustration of the journey, the question is:”Why do I want to get to my destination?”  You might ask, “what does having to be thankful have to do with wanting to be in fellowship with God?”  Well, in my own journey through life I’ve found that a characteristic of my life when I was submitted to the Lord was thankfulness.  I have to revisit the word submitted, because herein lies the key.  When I was in rebellion towards God and avoiding His Word I was not submitted to God.  I was in REBELLION!  Why?  Because I didn’t have a clear understanding of whom God is and who I am.  As a believer we acknowledge that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, became the atonement for our sins.  For the wages of ^asin is death, but the free gift of God is ^beternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ^[1]  I am sinner and what I deserve is death.  In and of myself I don’t deserve anything good.  It is only by the grace of God that anything good happens to me.  In fact, every good thing that happens to me is a gift of God. (James 1:15-18)  When I begin to reexamine the events of my life through this lens I have a lot to be thankful for.  This brings about a whole new attitude and spirit within me that helps me submit to God.  So the why of this question is simply this:

I want to be in fellowship with God because He loves me and has shown me kindness despite my sinful nature.  He came and gave His life for me freeing me from the penalty I deserved as a result of my sin.  I want to live my life to please the One who saved it. 

This is better stated in God’s Word, Colossians 1:10-29, it also leads to the next section of the Daily Question Template. 

Goals

The thankfulness that I have for the mercy and grace of God sets me about the path of pleasing Him.  Before I move on I must make it very clear that salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and that no amount of good deeds or observance of religious traditions or commands is going to earn you a spot in God’s good graces.  God already loves you and has given you the ability to accept His grace only through His Son Jesus Christ. (John 14:6)

That being said, our entire perspective and view of life should be radically altered when we realize who we once were before Christ and what He has done for us.  We owe our lives to Jesus Christ.  We are His bond servants.  That Is we have surrendered our freedom to Jesus Christ because of the debt that we owe Him and that He paid.  This means that our time is not our own.  Our possessions, relationships, really everything we have the joy of experiencing in life all belongs to God.  (Romans 12)

The purpose of the Goal section of the template is to make sure that our goals conform to the ultimate will of God.  We need to constantly be evaluating the purposes of our life in view of the mission of Jesus, which is to make His glory known in all Creation.  In the goal section there are 4 sections:

Physical:  1 Corinthians 6:19-20  Are you bringing glory to God in your body?  For me this question typically revolves around my physical health, fitness goals.  However, this can be expanded to whatever it is that you struggle within your body and know that you need to improve.  Once again be specific.  Here are a few examples of goals you might put down:

a.        Run 2 miles in 14 minutes

b.      Bring my blood pressure down

c.       Drink 64 ounces of water

d.      Gain 12 lbs

e.      Do 40 push ups in 1 minute

Mental:  As I said earlier one of the ways to keep us from sinful behavior is to replace the sinful thoughts with thoughts pleasing to God.  (Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8)  How are you pleasing God with your mind?  What are the things you are filling your mind with?  For me goals that go under mental have to do with reading Christian books.  But again this category encompasses a variety of things.  Here are some examples:

a.        Read 1 Chapter from Radical: Taking Back Your Faith

b.      Spend 30 minutes reading the bible

c.       Limit watching T.V. to 1 hour a day

You know the saying, “You are you eat?”  Well this is true in what we consume with our eyes and ears too.  If we continually fill our heads with the filth of this world then eventually those things are going to affect how we behave.  Actions are borne out of thoughts and our thoughts are influenced by the things that we see and hear.  Therefore, guard your mind! (Matthew 6:22-23)

Professional/Work:  If we truly are to live our lives as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) we need to approach everything we do in life with the attitude of presenting our best.  In every project or assignment we do we should be giving our all.  After all Jesus Christ literally gave His all, the least we can do is give our best.  The way we conduct ourselves at work/school should point to one whom we represent which is Christ Jesus.  (1 Corinthians 10:31, Philippians 2:14-16, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 3:10)  That being said the goals we set should be goals aimed at producing our best and not goals that help us skim by.  However, we shouldn’t have vague or grandiose goals.  The goals we set should be achievable and specific.  The following are examples:

1.        Write research paper(due Mar 10)

-find 3 sources(Feb 9)

-write outline by Feb 16

2.       Prepare for group presentation(April 10)

-delegate sections(March 5)

-research material(March 10)

-Write slides(March 20)

-rehearse presentation(April 1)

3.       Upload event plans to Google Documents

4.       Create Excel contact sheet

The goal section of all the templates essentially functions as a to do sheet.  So goals you list for daily are to be completed by the end of that day, goals under weekly by the end of the week, etc... 

Relational:  We are made to be in community.  God created us to be in relationship with Him and with others.  An essential part of Christian life is living life with other Christians.  We have to remember that we are in a war and none of us can be like Rambo, a one man army.  We need one another to fight in this spiritual war.  (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:1-27, 14:26; 1 Peter 5:8-9, Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Thessalonians 5:11)  We need to be intentional in our relationships with fellow believers.  If we are gifted to aid a believer then we should be exercising our gifts to build up other believers.  As a believer we also have to remember that we are not of this world but ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.  A danger that all Christians face is getting sucked into a comfortability with Christian community.  In fact some Christians become so comfortable being around other Christians that they refuse to leave the community of believers and fulfill the mission given by Jesus which is to bear testimony of God’s grace to the all people bringing glory unto Jesus.  Therefore, we need to be intentional in pursuing our relationships with unsaved friends. 

Above all in both relationships with believers and unsaved we should bear in mind that the goal of our relationships is to show love mirroring the love God has freely bestowed upon us.  (John 13:34-35, 15:8-17; 1 John 3:11-24)

Timeline

This section of the template is an accountability and reality measure.  Sometimes we simply don’t have enough time to accomplish all of the goals we write down.  We have to remember that each of us is only given 1440 minutes each day.  So we need to prioritize our goals according to the time we have.  Measuring things out in timeline also helps us get the ball rolling on each of our goals.  It’s not enough to simply have a goal, you need to spell out the specifics and take the first steps to accomplishing the goal.  In other words make a plan then execute the plan. 

As believers we must remember that we yielded control of our time to Jesus.  Time is a resource that we need to manage wisely.  We need to be intentional in using our time because the truth is that our time is limited.  We can’t afford to waste time on frivolous pursuits.  There’s a ton of scripture that talks about planning and time management here are a few:

·         Ephesians 5:15-16

·         Matthew 6:33

·         Proverbs 16:3

·         1 Corinthians 9

·         Psalm 39:4-5

·         Proverbs 13:4

·         James 4:13-17

·         Proverbs 19:21

·         Proverbs 21:5

Everyone is prey to two dangers with time, both are budgeting issues.  Some people overspend their time.  They commit to doing more events than they have time to do.  In the templates there are sections that divide time into scheduled events and unscheduled events.  It’s helpful to write down things you know that you have to do so you can arrange to make time for all of your unscheduled events.  In the Daily Questions an example would be times you need to go to work, wake up, and meal times.  Examples of Monthly and Weekly scheduled events are regular appointments like church, small group, doctor’s appointments.  Keeping track of all these scheduled events helps to prevent us from over extending ourselves by planning too much.  It also helps to prevent making commitments to things we later have to cancel.  The second budgeting issue is wasting time.  The problem with time is that unlike money you can’t save it up and use it later.  The time is going to get spent whether you use it or not, however if you invest your time you will reap a benefit instead of wasting the time you have.  Some people have the problem of never planning anything and throwing away the time they have.  For “time wasters” writing down their scheduled events makes them face the reality of how little they actually do and keeps them accountable for how(in their case) waste time.

Prayer

The final section of each template is prayer.  The two major categories in this division are Answered Prayers and Continued Concerns.  I put Answered Prayers first to remind me of God’s faithfulness, goodness, and Sovereignty.  It also helps to refresh an attitude of thanksgiving in my life keeping me receptive to God’s Word.  The second section Continuing Concerns is essentially the ministry of intercession.  Intercessions first on the level of praying for the kingdom of God to be manifested on earth as people surrender their lives to Christ (salvation).  And the second would be praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to be working in the lives of believers as they submit to the Lord to do His work.  Again through this section be specific about who and what you pray for. 

Conclusion

Over the course of this past year I have been battling back daily struggling against pride, anger and apathy.  It hasn’t been an easy road and I wasn’t always faithful to completely fill out the templates.  Really the point of these templates isn’t to make anyone feel bad about not filling them out every day or make someone feel good about themselves for filling it out.  The point is to renew the mind and change the attitude of the heart by bringing into focus our identity in Christ and reminding us of the love, grace and Sovereignty of God.  It’s about making a decision everyday to pursue Christ.  To trust in the promises of God and really throw every hindrance aside to whole-heartedly, with reckless abandon seek to be conformed to the image of our glorious and loving King Jesus.

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^a Rom 1:32; 5:12; 6:16, 21; 8:6, 13; Gal 6:8

^b Matt 25:46; Rom 5:21; 8:38, 39

^[1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 6:23.

Also See:

Daily Questions

Weekly Questions

Monthly Questions
Yearly Questions

Book Review:  Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

Book Reviews

Book Reviews
*The following is a description of the intention of the posts under the label Book Review.
As I read through books I try to take book notes for my future reference. However, I doubt that anyone would want to scroll through all the notes for really long books. Moreover, I wouldn’t want to deprive you of the joy of reading the book. And even though I try to be objective as possible in extracting the content of each book, hey! It’s me! I’m sure that if you were to read the book you might extract something I will probably miss. That’s why I’ve decided to do book reviews for myself and others.
So the goal of the book review section is to provide:
1. Brief description of the Author
2. Identification of the thesis
3. Brief summary of arguments used to build thesis
4. Relevance of the book to Christian life

For books and articles under 100 pages the post will be 500 words or less. For books over 100 pages the post will be capped at 1500 words.
This obviously isn’t a whole lot of room to go into much detail about the specifics of each book so should you like a little more info leave a comment on the book posting you’re interested in. I’ll email you a pdf of the outline I made.

Tips for Event Planning-draft 1

Event Planning

A leader must be prepared to address several elements when planning an event to promote good attendance and ensure smooth execution. There are four preliminary questions that a leader must ask prior to planning an event.

1. What/Vision

2. Purpose/Goal

3. Organization’s purpose

4. Desired outcome

What/Vision

The what answers the question of what the leader intends to do. This is just an idea expressed in very rough form. When you seek to answer this question don’t begin to limit your idea to locations, financial or personnel restrictions. The what is a vision. When you ask this question you need to think about how your what would look like in an ideal world.

Purpose/Goal

Purpose defines the reason for your what. Purpose is a lens that focuses vision and forms the boundaries of the event. Vision/What are often times vague, unclear, and broad. Purpose narrows the scope of vision into a singular event. Purpose shapes achievable standards and goals that the event is designed to accomplish in accordance with the vision.

Organization’s purpose

Our vision and purpose might be good ideas and goals, however as a leader we represent a group of people and an organization. We need to make sure that the purpose and goals of our event are in line with the purpose and goals of the organization we serve. If the purpose and goals of our event do not match up with the purpose and goals of our organization then the event is not something we should waste time planning. However, if you feel very passionate about your what then look for another organization whose purposes line up with the purpose of your vision.

Desired Outcome/Measure of Success

When we plan an event our measure of success is usually contingent on numbers. Numbers are hard cold facts that are easily measurable. However, we must remember that we work with people not numbers. The human aspect should be a defining guideline throughout the planning process. It is fine to measure numbers when it comes to attendance and finances, but if this is our only measure of success we set ourselves up for disappointment. Moreover, measuring in finite and concrete terms is a one dimensional measure of success. Defining success in these terms limits the scope of achievement to a singular event. The purpose of answering this question is to re-expand the scope of the event into vision. You need to frame the event within the context of long-term goals defined by the Organization’s purpose.

Additional Considerations

If you can answer all of the preliminary questions and the event is still a go then now is the time to start thinking about the who. The who is usually predetermined by the organizational goals and the composition of the organization itself. Things to consider when defining the who would be target age group, special interest group, skills, financial standing. Essentially you want to know why these people will be attracted to your event. Who and why are you doing the event. If you are doing a fundraiser then you want to target people that have a lot of money. If you are doing an evangelistic event you are targeting people without relationships with Jesus. If you are doing a community service event then all the people helping are united by the common desire to serve people. And the people being served are united by having a common specific need that must be met. As stated before, most of this will be determined by the goals of the organization.

Every event needs a place to be held. Determining where an event will be held is linked to the who. You want the place to be accessible to your who. The where also needs to match the mood or atmosphere of the what. All locations have a character about them and set the attitude and mood of the event so it is important to make sure that the location contributes to the goals of the what. For example, if you were to plan a memorial service for a fallen soldier then you probably wouldn’t want to hold the service in an amusement park that has a bunch of anti-military posters hanging around. I know it’s an extreme example but it underscores the importance of where you hold an event. Other things you may need to think about would be cost. If you can find a venue that is cheap or free and contributes to the type of atmosphere you need for your event then that’s awesome. However, this is rarely the case. You will need to make concessions to fit your budget. You have to decide which things you are willing to concede in order to put the event on. In all your planning you need to constantly be evaluating the decisions you make in view of the purpose of the event and the purpose of the organization. There will be several things you think about that are great ideas but aren’t necessary to accomplish the purpose of the event.

Take an instance in which an evangelistic event is planned and the purpose is to preach the gospel and bring people to make a decision to follow Christ. You have to choose between two venues. One location is a softball field, it has the ability to house a lot of people, but is really expensive. Moreover, there is no privacy or place for people that do make decisions to congregate privately and meet with a counselor to talk them through their decision. The other location is a church with an auditorium that doesn’t have the seating capacity of the softball field, but it does have several rooms people that make decisions can go to and meet with counselors for follow up.

In this example there are several things the planner must consider. The goal of the event is to preach the gospel and bring people to a point of decision. This will happen in both venues. Which one is better? If the organization values large numbers then the softball field maybe a better location. If the goal and value of the organization is to do discipleship and follow-up then perhaps the church is the better venue. All of this to say that you need to always base all decisions your event planning in view of the goals of the event and of the organization.

Event Planning Outline

What:

Who:

Where:

When:

Purpose:

Organization’s Purpose:

Desired Outcome/Measure of Success:

Timeline: