If I had to label the generation I consider myself to be brought up in, it would be the Nintendo generation. Which means there is a special place in my heart for classic video games, such as The Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros, Contra, and the list goes on and on. Some games had the option to play in easy, medium, or hard mode which lead me to my little secret strategy of playing the games in easy mode, just so I can have bragging rights the next day at school. So come the next day, and just like clockwork, the moment I tell my friends about my victory in beating a game, they would immediately ask if I had beat it in hard mode,because that where it really counts, as if beating the game at all was not good enough. And why is it, that sometimes it feels like we have accomplished something, and there is someone right there reminding us that we took the easy way out, like since when is doing things the easy way such a bad thing?
After I confessed about my choice to beat the game in easy mode, my friends would then inform me about the many different outcomes, treasures, and cool bonus materials you get when choosing to tough it out through hard mode. As followers of Jesus Christ, we to have this easy or hard mode presented to us and our Lord already tells us upfront the blessing that comes from doing that which seems hard to do. Lets breathe in Luke 6:32-35 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
So you’re nice and helpful to those you know best, so you go out of your way for those who might give you praise, wonderful you’re right up there with the wicked that do the same. Loving those who don’t even know how to love you in return is living life in hard mode, but our Lord and Savior is telling us of the great reward we receive when living out and applying the hard choice. It’s that kind of sacrifice and living that leads us to look like Christ, for he is kind to the ungrateful. I know this to be true because my dear friends, I was one of those ungrateful people, and he showed me mercy, hope, and love. For that, I am truly grateful Christ defeated sin in hard mode, because the reward in the end, (living in eternity with you) in his eyes was worth it.
I know its hard to love those who are ungrateful, believe you and me I prefer my ways of the easy mode. But this world desperately needs brave Men and woman who will breathe in Luke 6:32, and select hard mode. The reward is always better.
Q: When was the last time you chose to select hard mode and love on those who didn’t deserve it?
Prayer: “Lord of Hosts, I come to you asking for the strength to make those hard choices in my life that truly allow me to shine your loving light towards those who need it. Show me why i am willing to choose the easy mode when it comes to putting others before myself, I thank you for loving me, and showing me mercy when i too was ungrateful -Amen"
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Week 2- The Blender
A little over a month ago my kitchen was introduced to new sets of appliances, which were gifts from friends and family through my recent wedding. I had never owned a blender, never really had a use for it, but after witnessing my wife blend a mango and banana together to make a tear-jerking amazing Banango shake, I instantly became hooked on blending (almost developing a secret desire to be a professional blender artist). The reason I bring this up is not because I want to give you a sales pitch for the latest seventeen speed turbo blast blender, soon to be in your nearest Wal-Mart, but to share with you what I began to notice about my walk with God as I saw the nature of what a blender really does.
Sometimes when you are finished blending two or more things together, you can’t tell what it was you even mixed. It all just becomes one, but you can still taste a hint of all the different fruits. I catch myself sometimes doing the same thing with God’s word, and His desire for our lives. I will sometimes blend and mix His desire with mine and convince myself it’s the same, but it is not. We sometimes mix one part God’s desire like 1 Peter 1:15 “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” and mix it with a dash of our own selfish desire such as, “Be holy only to certain people or when someone is looking” or even worse, “be my version of holy and not God’s.”
That kind of mixing is bad for our spiritual health. Its like holding a juice container that says 100% real juice on the front only to find out from reading the back label that it is filled with eighteen added ingredients, things that don’t even belong in the juice are present and it takes away from the full value of vitamins that the real juice has to offer. We sometimes add ingredients to God’s desire for us because maybe it would be a lot easier to swallow; maybe it will taste better; maybe it will help us not to recognize our sin and make us feel bad; maybe it makes living for Christ comfortable for us, but simply put, God’s will and His desire for us is the perfect mix. It is all we need to consume. Anything else is just fake juice, an imitation that won’t truly satisfy us at all.
So then how do we know if we are blending God’s desire with ours? Are we making everyday decisions based on what we truly desire, even though it conflicts with what God’s word says? Are we making choices that lead us to be more like Jesus Christ? Let’s pull the plug from the blender, take out everything we put in it, and drink directly from the source.
John 4:14 “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.”
Ask yourself: When was the last time God's word changed your plans?
*Prayer: “Lord Almighty, I am sorry for trying to hide sin. I need Your help. Please show me where I have mixed your desire for my life with mine. I decide today to return to you, the true source, so that I may replenish my soul by the consumption of Your word. -Amen
Sometimes when you are finished blending two or more things together, you can’t tell what it was you even mixed. It all just becomes one, but you can still taste a hint of all the different fruits. I catch myself sometimes doing the same thing with God’s word, and His desire for our lives. I will sometimes blend and mix His desire with mine and convince myself it’s the same, but it is not. We sometimes mix one part God’s desire like 1 Peter 1:15 “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” and mix it with a dash of our own selfish desire such as, “Be holy only to certain people or when someone is looking” or even worse, “be my version of holy and not God’s.”
That kind of mixing is bad for our spiritual health. Its like holding a juice container that says 100% real juice on the front only to find out from reading the back label that it is filled with eighteen added ingredients, things that don’t even belong in the juice are present and it takes away from the full value of vitamins that the real juice has to offer. We sometimes add ingredients to God’s desire for us because maybe it would be a lot easier to swallow; maybe it will taste better; maybe it will help us not to recognize our sin and make us feel bad; maybe it makes living for Christ comfortable for us, but simply put, God’s will and His desire for us is the perfect mix. It is all we need to consume. Anything else is just fake juice, an imitation that won’t truly satisfy us at all.
So then how do we know if we are blending God’s desire with ours? Are we making everyday decisions based on what we truly desire, even though it conflicts with what God’s word says? Are we making choices that lead us to be more like Jesus Christ? Let’s pull the plug from the blender, take out everything we put in it, and drink directly from the source.
John 4:14 “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.”
Ask yourself: When was the last time God's word changed your plans?
*Prayer: “Lord Almighty, I am sorry for trying to hide sin. I need Your help. Please show me where I have mixed your desire for my life with mine. I decide today to return to you, the true source, so that I may replenish my soul by the consumption of Your word. -Amen
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Week 1 -Survival Man
There is a show on discovery channel that always gets my attention. The show is called survival man, and it is about a man who is left all alone in some remote place on the earth, and tries to survive using only what he can find in his near by surroundings. I don’t normally watch much television, but whenever I catch this show I am so fascinated by it that I continue to watch the whole episode. The beginning of his journey seems to go well, the man seems to know what he is doing and everything seems to be going just fine for him as he has everything under control. A couple of days into it, he begins to notice the effects of going through the journey alone. He begins to find it harder and harder to find food and begins to lose hope. Then he begins to count the seconds that go by until he finds civilization, just desperate to be back in community with others.
As Christians, we too sometimes feel like we can be well off on our own. We think we have it all under control, and are just fine dealing in the world by ourselves. We figure we can survive off of the spiritual snacks we have, or we tend to believe being alone in our walk with God will keep us safe, just like the man from the show: if he stays in one spot, maybe help will find him, but that’s not how the God of the Bible works. The bible is filled with reason for community, even at the very beginning of creation, Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone;” God made us to part of community. There can be many reasons for us to want to seek God on our own, but at the end of the day, God really wants us to grow more like his son Jesus Christ. One of the best ways this can get done is through community, fellowship and church.
Let’s think about it for a second…God wants you to be more like Jesus in being patient, showing compassion, putting others before yourself, pretty much loving your neighbor as yourself, Matthew 22:39. Without a community (i.e. a local church) we won’t have the opportunity to be patient with other believers, we miss out in encouraging others, we also miss out in showing humility when others rub us the wrong way. God wants to use us to encourage and build each other up, and that can’t really be accomplished when you’re seeking Him completely alone, that is simply stepping away from an opportunity that can allow true fellowship with a brother or sister. Maybe some of us are looking for the perfect church; maybe some of us have been hurt before by believers; maybe you have people around and still feel alone deep inside. These are bricks that get put on top of each other to build a wall that keeps God’s voice out from your life. It’s time to start knocking out some of those bricks. We must stop trying to make others in our own image. We must humble our hearts in order for God to transform us into the people he made us to be.
Let’s take that step today to commit to true fellowship with other believers. Let’s commit to a local church so we can serve God and bring others closer to Christ. Let’s commit to studying God’s word more so we don’t get lost in the wilderness and His word becomes a compass that shows us how to get home safely. The fruit of a close walk with God can be seen and committing to be in community will help us to bear good fruit.
“So stop trying to just survive, and live!” Matthew 12:33.
*Prayer: "Lord show me the reasons hidden deep within my heart, that keep me from bearing good fruit from being used by you in community. And may i simply humble myself to surrender whatever it is keeping me apart from being used by you"
As Christians, we too sometimes feel like we can be well off on our own. We think we have it all under control, and are just fine dealing in the world by ourselves. We figure we can survive off of the spiritual snacks we have, or we tend to believe being alone in our walk with God will keep us safe, just like the man from the show: if he stays in one spot, maybe help will find him, but that’s not how the God of the Bible works. The bible is filled with reason for community, even at the very beginning of creation, Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone;” God made us to part of community. There can be many reasons for us to want to seek God on our own, but at the end of the day, God really wants us to grow more like his son Jesus Christ. One of the best ways this can get done is through community, fellowship and church.
Let’s think about it for a second…God wants you to be more like Jesus in being patient, showing compassion, putting others before yourself, pretty much loving your neighbor as yourself, Matthew 22:39. Without a community (i.e. a local church) we won’t have the opportunity to be patient with other believers, we miss out in encouraging others, we also miss out in showing humility when others rub us the wrong way. God wants to use us to encourage and build each other up, and that can’t really be accomplished when you’re seeking Him completely alone, that is simply stepping away from an opportunity that can allow true fellowship with a brother or sister. Maybe some of us are looking for the perfect church; maybe some of us have been hurt before by believers; maybe you have people around and still feel alone deep inside. These are bricks that get put on top of each other to build a wall that keeps God’s voice out from your life. It’s time to start knocking out some of those bricks. We must stop trying to make others in our own image. We must humble our hearts in order for God to transform us into the people he made us to be.
Let’s take that step today to commit to true fellowship with other believers. Let’s commit to a local church so we can serve God and bring others closer to Christ. Let’s commit to studying God’s word more so we don’t get lost in the wilderness and His word becomes a compass that shows us how to get home safely. The fruit of a close walk with God can be seen and committing to be in community will help us to bear good fruit.
“So stop trying to just survive, and live!” Matthew 12:33.
*Prayer: "Lord show me the reasons hidden deep within my heart, that keep me from bearing good fruit from being used by you in community. And may i simply humble myself to surrender whatever it is keeping me apart from being used by you"
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