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Friday, March 25, 2011

Walk By Faith

6/21/2010 - The Faith walk

“We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV


Why is it so scary to walk by faith? And I mean truly walk by faith. Walking down a path where you have never been and don’t know what lies ahead. That is scary. At least it is to me. In most things on life, we take journeys that at least have some familiarity to them. We can use our past experiences to base our decisions in the new experience. We have probably all experienced this when we shift from one job to the next. We can use our experiences to build on top of one another. We can confidently rest in the fact that although this is a new situation, we have had previous situations that have given us the experience to handle this new one. And so we do and we win. Yet the faith walk is not based on what we have done but what God has done.

It is our past experience in God that has to be the confidence builder in our lives. A faith walk means that regardless of what we have experienced in the past or what our accomplishments have meant, our trust is in God, not ourselves. It doesn’t matter what we have done, all that matters is what God has done and is able to do. When you find yourself in a place you have never been because God has lead you there, you have to trust in who He says He is and what He has done to get you through it.

This is why the faith walk is so scary. It is totally out of control. I don’t know too many of us who like to be out of control without choosing to be. Sure we ride roller-coasters and can become carried away by music or caught up in the rapture of love. Yet in a way, these are things that we have chosen to be out of control in and feel like we have the power to get in and out of it when we want.

But when we deal with people and addictions, these are people who are out of control and don’t like it. Something else has power over them and they are drawn to it and hate it at the same time. They don’t like feeling like that forever. You feel powerless. You feel hopeless. Something else is governing your life and you just want that power back. We don’t like not being in control.

When I walk by faith, I am choosing to blind myself to what I see in order to see what I don’t see. When I walk by faith I am giving up control and trusting in the one to who I have given control. When I walk by faith I don’t know exactly what is ahead of me, but I know that I am being guided by the good shepherd who has nothing but my best interest at heart. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I will lack no good thing. I will be maneuvered around harmful obstacles. I will be given instructions for where I am to go. I become addicted to God.

I don’t have to have control of my own way if I trust the one who is guiding. When I doubt the one who guides me, I may panic in the middle of my journey and not know how to get to where I am going because I don’t know how I got where I am. Once you decide for faith, stay decisive. Don’t give up in the middle of your faith walk. You won’t know where you are or how to get where you are going in the first place. We have to learn to make one decision in life. Decide for faith. Once we do, all other decisions come from knowing the one who guides.

We all have some measure of faith. We are all guided by something in life. Something helps us make decisions. Many times it may be the faith of what we have done. It could be the faith in what we think we are going to be. It could be faith in what we have accumulated. Or you can choose to have faith in God. All other things will prove to fail you. The past is a terrible guide without God to clarify that journey. The future is a terrible guide because it is not promised. Our possessions are a terrible guide because they are temporal. God is the only true guide that can be trusted. Walk by faith and not by sight.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The God In Me

3/23/2011
The God In Me?

Y’all know this song? (Singing) "It's The God In Me" . . . I like it. The beat is kinda nice. You can hear this song on both secular and gospel radio stations. “It’s the God in me!” And I can’t front. I have declared that it is the favor of God on me when people compliment me or notice things about me that I know only God has blessed me with materially. But one of the problems that I have theologically with this song is that it is not balanced. And in this world where materialism rules, the church needs to provide the truth as it pertains to God and His relation to His people.
We can get caught up in the message of prosperity and miss the truth of who God is. By that I mean that God is not just shining in you or giving you favor when you have money or prestige or all these good things. God is with you all the time. We don’t hear songs about people being blessed when they have no money and are staring at an eviction notice. You don’t see a vanity plate on a hooptie driving down the street. But maybe we should. Maybe the next time you fall on hard times you should testify that God is in you, too! Not just when you come out of it. Because God is with us even when it doesn’t look like things are going our way. And it can be that God is even closer to you when you don’t have than when you do. It is in those times that we learn to trust Him more. When we see His hand of provision in a different way. When we can say that we truly do love God not for what He can do for us, but for who He is.
If God is only in me when I’m financially secure or when I have no worries, then how do you explain Job, Joseph, David, and even Jesus! All of them were in positions when it may seem like God had forsaken them, yet God also was with them in those times. Can we see God in people when it looks like they don’t have anything close to the American Dream? Can you look at a homeless person and see God in them? Jesus said, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Can you see the God in someone who just lost their job? Can you see the God is someone who has failed at something? Can you see the God in yourself when you are in these positions? Or can we only see God when things look good? It probably wouldn’t sell a lot of record but it might give people who are in need of some encouragement the strength they need to keep going.
It is true that God gives good gifts to His children and takes pleasure in doing so. But I caution us all to keep ourselves from confusing the Kingdom of God with the American Dream. The two are not synonymous. God is in all of us at all times, not because of us, but because he promised to never leave us. If we only think that God is in us when we “deserve” to reflect His glory, then we would actually never have God with us. The only reason we are even called children of God has nothing to do with us. That price was paid long ago by a man named Jesus who reflected the Father’s love and glory even while hanging on a cross. The God in Him kept him nailed there in spite of what he could have done to get himself down. Can you see the God in that?

Monday, March 21, 2011

Re-Thinking Retirement

Re-Thinking Retirement

For the past eleven years I have worked in the financial industry helping people to plan for their financial goals. Most commonly I find people who wish to plan for retirement. For some, they wish to retire when their Social Security payments begin. Others want to retire earlier. I even have some clients who have no desire to retire at all, but truly love what they do. More often than not, I find individuals who now do not just want to retire from something; they wish to retire to something. They retire from their 9 to 5 job and pursue their passions. It is amazing how so many of us put off the pursuit of our passions until we feel as though we have enough money to sustain our lifestyle. I challenge you to think differently.

I can only find one example in scripture that speaks of retirement. “And this the Lord spake unto Moses saying , ‘This is it that belongeth to the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof and shall serve no more.’ ” (Numbers 8:24-25 KJV). God gave the Levites twenty five years to serve in a specific capacity in the temple and then to slow down their duties. They didn’t stop working altogether, but ceased from the hard labor. To be a Levitical priest was their calling and God gave them instructions for their rest.

God has always intended for us to have work. In Genesis 2:15 God gives Adam work to do. He never says that there was a time when his work would cease. After Adam and Eve fell out of relationship with God, work became hard, laborious and un-purposeful. God says to Adam after the fall, “In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground: for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19 KJV). This type of labor also would never cease. However, Jesus came to put us back in relationship with God, and breaking the curse of this type of labor. If we choose to continue to work under these conditions, it is not because God intends for it to be so. It does not mean that you will always make a lot of money or even that you will have a prestigious position. It does mean that the work you are called and anointed to do will be purposeful and provision made. From that you will never retire. And that type of work does not have to wait for Social Security. You can begin a purposeful working existence at any time by trusting God to order your steps and give your life purpose and meaning in whatever you do. “Whatever you do, do your work heartily; as for the Lord rather than for men . . . it is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Colossians 3:23-24 NASB).

So many people found out in the last stock market crash that their retirement plans had to change. I have even had to deliver bad news to clients who were counting on having a certain amount of money available in order for them to retire and begin to do what they have always dreamed. Yet it is God who gives us these desires in the first place. God does not need to wait for your Social Security Income to begin. God is able to provide whatever is necessary for you to move out into the work HE called you to do. Why do we trust more in our 401(k) than we do our God? We have already seen that the stock market cannot be trusted exclusively for our retirement. We must stop putting off serving God until we have created what we feel is a comfortable financial cushion. In whom do you trust? The financial system, or Jehovah Jireh? We choose to continue to work at jobs we despise, in the hopes of a day when our money will save us. However, I would introduce you to another Savior. His name is Jesus. And he has already paid the price that you would have had to pay to live a life of liberty. The choice is yours. Trust God for your work and your rest. He has proven time and again not to disappoint. Retire from the curse today. Trust God for tomorrow.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Our Familial Connection

3/11/11

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21 NIV


This morning I woke up to the news of the 8.9 earthquake that hit Japan and is sending aftershocks and Tsunami’s to other areas including the United States West Coast. I prayed for the people of Japan and I prayed for all of those affected by all of it’s aftershocks and tidal waves and whatever else will come out of this disaster. My uncle and his friend are vacationing in Hawaii and I’m not sure if they have already come back or not but I’m sure if they are there they are experiencing this on a different level. My best friend lived in Japan for five years and has a lot of friends in the areas affected. One of the women in my church community grew up in Japan, as her parents were missionaries there, and still has friends and family in the area. Through six degrees of separation, we are probably all connected in some way to someone affected by this natural disaster.
As I prayed this morning, I realized that although these disasters are terrible and have so many tragic outcomes for many people, sometimes its the only thing that reminds us of how powerless we really are as humans. And it also reminds us of how connected to one another we really are. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have known anyone in Japan to my knowledge. Now, I have people there who I could visit if I choose. Three weeks ago, I didn’t know anyone vacationing in Hawaii, but now during this natural disaster, I thought of my family in the area who happened to decide to go there at this particular time. I am now praying for the people of Hawaii differently than I would have three weeks ago had this occurred. I am praying for the people in Japan differently than I would have five or ten years ago. The expansion of my network has caused an expansion in my heart towards the things of this world.
It’s a shame that sometimes it takes natural disasters to remind us to turn to God, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus prayed for his disciples that the world would know that they belong to him by the love they had for one another. He prayed for those who claim to belong to him to be one. He prayed for us to be united in love with one another just as he is connected to the Father. That would mean that in Christ we have all been united weather we know each other by face or name or not. That means that we have brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews all over the world in the body of Christ. Our family blood line in Christ extends worldwide. You may not have met your uncle in Japan yet, but he’s there and right now he needs your prayers. You may not know your mother in Hawaii, but right now she needs you to pray for her peace. You may not know your cousin in Guam, but right now you need to pray for them like you do. If we can all pray for one another as if we are all from the same bloodline, then maybe when we do meet, we can act more like family than strangers.
I pray for the members of my family and my friends in a certain way, because I know them. I may know what to pray, how to pray and what they are in need of. I have a relationship with them, so I can pray more specifically. Sometimes they ask me to pray for them in specific areas. But that doesn’t mean that those in the body of Christ around the world don’t share something in common with you. We all are bound not by our blood but by the blood of Jesus. That makes us family. And we know something about this family. We know that they take communion, talk to God through Jesus and not through another intermediary. We know the scriptures they read and we know that right now they are praying for one another, just as we should be praying for them. So if you don’t know anything else, you can pray for them specifically using this knowledge.
Well what about those who don’t know Christ? Jesus didn’t say that we were to pray only for other Christians. He died for the sins of the world, not just the sins of those who believe. And those people are in need of our prayers too. We know that they are afraid, some hurt, anxious, frustrated, lonely, confused, angry, grieving and may feel abandoned. We can pray for their peace, their healing, their comfort, their strength and their hope. And if they do not know God personally, we can pray that this disaster draws them closer to the God who gives all of these things. We pray that those who do know God become living examples of who He is, even in the midst of disaster. We can pray that there will be some who come to believe in the living God through this disaster. So no matter what we pray for those affected, we should pray like we are all affected. Because in truth we are. What affects one of us affects all of us in some way. No matter what, Jesus prayed for us to be one, and we know that the Father always heard Jesus’ prayers. So like it or not, we are connected. So today, I pray for my family in Japan, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Guam, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines, because today our family needs prayer.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Choose Rest

6/18/2010 Choose Rest

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-20 ESV

We work hard for our money on this planet. We spend at least 40 hours a week going to jobs that quite often we do not like to work with people we’d rather not see and to receive a paycheck that is just not enough. How much of our life is spent in this rigorous, monotonous pattern? If the average person works full time for 40 years of their life at 40 hours per week then at the end of their working life, assuming two weeks of vacation a year, they would have spent 80,000 hours working! That’s a lot of wasted time if you don’t enjoy what you are doing. There has got to be a better way.

God always intended for human beings to work. He gave Adam his instructions for the work God called him to do. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15 ESV). God created the earth and man in six days and rested on the seventh. Man was present for the day of rest. God did the hard stuff. Adam didn’t have to create the earth. Everything was already done. Adam was responsible to work the creation of God and keep it. To keep something means to guard or protect it. Adam was tasked with the protection of God’s creation. What on earth would try to harm God’s creation if everything was perfect? Well, man for one. We are the ones who destroy the earth. God knew beforehand that man would fall. The fall of the first man and woman was not a surprise to God. However, God also knew that in time, Jesus would come along and put us in position to get back to the state of rest where we could work on purpose and not for money. We can get back to ensuring that God’s creation is cared for properly in every way.

Jesus says that those who labor should come to Him and He will provide rest for their souls. How does He do that? Does it mean that we stop having to go to work? On the contrary. We still work, but we work on purpose. We work from a position of rest. We work in what God called us to instead of what we decide to do for money. That is a much different way to spend your 80,000 hours. You use your time wisely. You use your time on purpose. We don’t spend our time working for things that cause further damage to God’s creation just to make a dollar. We don’t spend our time working for a paycheck and forgetting about the condition of our souls. We don’t work to store up for ourselves a huge investment portfolio so that we can one day do nothing (See Luke 12:13-21). No, we work for our Father. We take care of what He has created. His land, His people, His animals, His earth. It is all His and if we are able to worship Him in spirit and in truth, then we are also get the privilege to work from a position of rest.

Remember, Adam’s consequence for disobedience was to work in toil. Work does not have to be this way. Jesus invites you to take rest in Him. Take time to learn of Him and make your yoke easy and light. What is God calling you to do for Him? What is your restful job?

Monday, March 7, 2011

Like A Tree

7/3/2010 - Like a Tree

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:3 ESV

Have you ever looked at a tree that has grown near water? Trees near water are tall, strong and healthy. They become great structures of the earth that people come from miles and miles to see. These trees look much healthier and provide more than those who are far apart from their water source. Trees cannot survive very long without water. And we cannot survive very long without being connected to our source either.

Our connection to God is our key to a fruitful life. Connection to God means that we obtain all that we need from Him and only Him. The source of all of our existence should come from Him, since He is the source of all existence. In those areas of our life we feel unfruitful, perhaps it is a good idea to evaluate what we are using as a source in those areas.

I know many people who feel that in their finances, they are unfruitful. What is the source of your financial fruit? Is it your job? Is it your talent? Is it your inheritance? Is it your investment portfolio? What makes you financially fruitful? Only God provides your income. He simply uses your job, your portfolio, your inheritance, your skills, your talents, your gifts to do it. If you are stuck with only one of these other sources as your source, you may be in trouble. What happens to professional ball players who get injured? If God is not their source, they may fall into a deep depression having had their source disappoint them. What happens when you are laid off from your job? Your source is limited if you do not trust God to be your source continually.

Some people are not feeling fruitful in their relationships. Is God the source of what you seek from these relationships, or are you seeking it in another person? Is God who you turn to for the proper perspective on what a healthy relationship looks like, or are you trusting the media and your own experience to guide you? We are not to look to another limited human being to provide what God has already promised He would provide. He is our source for all things.

When we do trust God to provide for us all that we need and all that we desire, then in due season, we can be assured that we will have our fruit. Fruit does not grow all year round. Fruit only grows seasonally. There is a time to plant the seed and a time to harvest the seed. But given the right amount of nutrition, when it is time, that seed shall grow into what it was created to become. And it will not be delayed in its process. It is up to us to ensure that we are being properly fed by our God in every area of our life. Let’s not trust in anything or anyone but Him.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Press For A Change

3/2/2011 - Press For A Change

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:14

Have you ever heard a word from God? I have. And a lot of times I don’t believe what I hear. Words from God quite often are different than the circumstances that you find yourself in presently. Words from God point towards something that you feel is the future, but often God says, it is so right now. But in time, we don’t always believe Him. We don’t always believe that things are going to be the way God says they will. It’s hard to see past the present reality.
And yet faith requires that we first believe. If we don’t believe then we will not have faith. When we have faith in something, we believe what God says and then line up our actions with what we believe. You cannot have faith without some type of action. Even if it is just a change of mindset.
God’s desire for us is that we all walk in the truth. We must walk in the truth of who God is, the truth of who He made us to be and the truth of who He created others to be. But it is so difficult to walk in truth when all around us is evidence of the lies. Whatever God said would happen, more than likely, you are not living in it now. And yet it is true, it was true and it will be true. In time we have to learn how to walk it out. And that does take time. You might believe overnight, but to learn how to walk that belief out in faith takes time. And this is where your press comes into play.
We all have something that we have to press in order to believe. There is a lie that we have been living and believing that God is trying to get us to replace with the truth. And you will have to press in order to obtain it. You will have to press beyond what you feel. Press beyond what you think. Press beyond what you even want to do sometimes. It is going to take a press in order to change your mind and convert your belief to faith.
Sometimes, it is just too familiar to believe the lie. It’s something we have lived with all of our life. We get used to it. But it was never the truth. You are just used to the lie. You will have to press beyond what you have experienced in order to get a different outcome. If you thought that all relationships were bound for failure, you will have to press beyond that in order to enjoy a good relationship. If you thought that you were meant to be broke forever, you will have to press in order to hold onto any increase in finances that you do receive. If you thought that you were never going to get that promotion, then you have to press in order to take advantage of opportunities that do arise. If you thought that you were destined to be alone, then you will have to press in order to hold onto relationships that do enter your life. If you think that you are too far gone for God to ever want to deal with you then you have to press in order to receive His love. Whatever the lie you have believed, there will be a test. And if there is a test, your job is to press beyond it. And if God said it, believe it and press towards the faith. The faith says that it is yours. The faith says that you can be different. The faith says that you don’t have to live the lie anymore. The faith says that what God has promised will come to pass.
Every time you press, you dismantle more and more of the lie and its power over you. Every time you press you come closer and closer to becoming who God called you to be. Every time you press you get lighter and lighter because lies are heavy. Your change is in your press. Eventually, you look up and you are living in the reality of what you believed in faith before. But it takes one press at a time. Celebrate your victories. Don't live in your mistakes. Just keep pressing.