Tag: grace

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Christmas Afterglow

Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

I have been binging on Christmas movies. I can’t help it. The characters make dumb decisions that could alleviate the problems, but those dumb decisions keep the storyline going until the happy ending. It’s infuriating the level of stupidity written into the scripts. What keeps me coming back is the happy ending.

I can’t get over the happy endings. Everyone wants a love story that ends in a crescendo. God created us to love and be loved. We want that sensation to be overwhelming. We want to be swept away with the emotion of never-ending love. We hold out for that magic moment no matter how callous we have become about life. Even when we don’t believe it exists, we can watch a Christmas movie and fanaticize it might be real. We want our hearts to burst.

I know a couple of friends of mine; they seem to have this idyllic marriage. She is gorgeous; he is handsome, both are successful. He constantly compliments her, and she idolizes him.  I find myself mesmerized by their relationship. Now don’t get me wrong, I know every relationship has its challenges. Not every day is a walk-in wonderland; some days, you try to survive.

My point is that I believe in true love. I believe that God wants us to experience the level of love He has for us. I believe that God knows what it is to love someone so much that it hurts. Yet, God tenaciously powers through the pain to experience the love. There is no other explanation for what He has done for us.

John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

The feeling of love can become an opiate, an addiction, and an obsession. We can elevate the desire to love and be loved to the point that it loses its original intention and becomes a distraction. However, love can also be the driving force of our lives. It can be the catalyst for change and growth.

1 Corinthians 13:13, “The three most important things to have are: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.”

The essence of most Christmas movies is a great lie. This fundamental element in Christmas movies is someone deceiving someone else and gets caught. It all starts as an innocent deception; as the story grows, so does the deception. In the end, it is forgiveness that creates a happy ending. Although meant for commercial consumption, Christmas movies mimic the true Christmas story. First, we deceive ourselves into believing it is an innocent lie. As our lives progress, the lie grows. It is God’s forgiveness that creates a happy ending.

We deceived our King. We became so comfortable in our deception that we allowed it to grow and grow. It is only the benevolence of our King that we receive a happy ending. It’s not a movies script; it is real life. We receive eternal life through the charity of the King of Kings.

Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

This thought leads me to think about true greatness. We all seek greatness in our lives. We all want to leave a legacy that stands the test of time. We want to mean something, to be something. For me, it is making an eternal difference in a single life. If I could be a person with such great love for humanity that I could humble myself to serve another to the extent that they see God in me, I would be successful. I will have achieved greatness.

Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

Spiritual greatness starts and ends with loving our fellow man. The yearning we have inside to be something greater than we are can only be relieved by learning to love those that do not love us. Loving those that do love us is easy. Turning the other cheek is complicated but still does not require love. Humbling oneself and truly submitting ourselves for the benefit of someone less deserving is the essence of love.

Matthew 5:46-48, “It is easy to love those who love you—even a tax collector can love those who love him. And it is easy to greet your friends—even outsiders do that! But you are called to something higher: “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Let us all bask in the afterglow of Christmas. Let us all understand that we live a life of deception, both big and small. But, let us also take heart that the King of Kings, in His unconditional love, has already written our happy ending.

2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

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Performance Based Faith

Today I was thinking about one of the major conundrums in life; we live in a performance-based world with grace-based salvation. It is tough for me to keep the two separate.

When I was young, I loved to help my dad; sometimes, he had something to teach me, and other times it was to learn to be more like him. When I got involved, the projects got done but a little slower and maybe not as neat, but done all the same. At other times, I seem to get in the way. The project still got done just after I have left. Every time, I grew closer to my dad by being involved.

The results were never mine to control; it was his project, not mine; I was “helping.” I didn’t get to control the process or the timing. If I, as a child, told my dad that I thought he should take on a given project and he needed to use a particular material or a specific process to achieve my goals, he would remind me that it was his house. He was the one who sacrificed to have a home in which I could live. He would enjoy my help finishing the projects he had prioritized, but that was my choice to help him, not the other way around.

Christ modeled our relationship with our parents after our relationship with Himself. He wants us to learn from Him and grow closer to Him through involvement with Him.

Ephesians 2:19, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.“

TRANSACTIONAL FAITH

In a performance-based world, we become obsessed with goal orientation. We, through constant reinforcement, fixate on achievement. From childhood, we are constantly reminded that results matter. When we take on a task, we want to know why. Is it the best use of our time? Is it within our calling, aptitude, and gifts? We somehow can’t take our hands off the wheel; if we can’t drive, we want to navigate; even when we don’t know the destination.   

Colossians 3: 23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

The key to this statement is “as working for the Lord.” God was very clear from the beginning that we needed to be active while we are here. That activity must have a purpose, and with purpose comes achievement. Our part is to be obedient in doing the task before us, not the outcome of the task. The outcome is the exclusive domain of God, not us. Whatever God puts before us is part of His plan for our lives. We must do it with peace and joy. God does not get His highest pleasure from our achievements; He gets it from our obedience.

Ephesians 3: 12-13, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.”

The implication here is not that we get satisfaction from what we accumulate or accomplish but from the tasks that God puts before us because it is a gift from God. Being the person God has made you be isn’t about creating something; it is about discovering something. The pursuit is progressed not by the honors that we accumulate but by our obedience to God’s plan for us.

BUT PERFORMANCE COUNTS

Work is one of the ways we demonstrate God to non-believers. If non-believers cannot trust us with the worldly endeavors one can see, how can we be trusted with spiritual endeavors that require faith?

1 Peter 2:12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

So we endeavor to meet a high level of performance not to please God but to glorify God to non-believers. In life, we are held responsible for our results; we need to take that seriously. We are created to work; setting and meeting goals is part of the responsibility. From a worldly perspective, it is this responsibility that produces the most anxiety in our lives. It not only affects the way we perceive the nature of our work, but it also affects other aspects of our worldly existence.  It affects our self-perception and self-image and our drive to have better material goods and standards of living.  One of our obligations as a Christian is to be a good employee, employer, parent, child, and spouse.

2 Thessalonians 3:12 “such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.”

BUT NOT TO GOD

Ephesians 2: 8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

For most of us, it is hard to turn that switch off. Somehow we still try to do good works as if they are the keys to salvation; they aren’t. That is not to say that we should not strive to do good works; it is just that those good works will not get us to heaven.

Matthew 7:16-20, ” By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

It is when we start to believe we can be good enough, fruitful enough, holy enough that we lose sight of the beautiful gift of God; eternal life with Him in heaven through grace. The balance we need to strike is to understand that while the world required performance as a means of measuring worth, God does not. Spiritual performance is a by-product of grace, not a goal.

Philippians 4:19,  “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

We need to get back to helping our Father with His business. We are to be obedient to His will. We cannot control the outcome or the timing; we can only enjoy working in His presence.

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Small Choices

Small choices build the foundation for more meaningful decisions in our lives. Big decisions are not so much a choice at the moment but the culmination of many small decisions made over time leading up to the moment.

“What is always true is that the decisions we make today determine the stories we tell about our lives tomorrow” – Craig Groeschel, Divine Direction

The decision to choose one job over another was started with smaller choices. Maybe it was the choice to look for a new job, or perhaps the decision to investigate a new profession. It could have been a decision to have coffee with an old workmate. The decision to ask someone to marry you might have started with a decision to attend a party. Our many small decisions craft the environment in which we make our big decisions. 

When we try to understand God’s purpose in our lives, what are some of the small decisions that directly or indirectly impact our understanding? Do we make small decisions that inadvertently eliminate opportunities to achieve His purpose?

1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

I’m sorry folks I can’t get over the waste of humanity. All of those people walking the face of the earth living substandard lives thinking they have made it. People whose greatness is shrouded by the perceptions of the world. We compromise and compromise and compromise; not knowing we are planting the seeds of an unfulfilled life. 

Starting a New Habit

One of the most straightforward small choices we can make that will immensely impact how we make big decisions is to create a new habit that changes our worldview. We are inundated every day with an overwhelming amount of new information. All of this information is like dripping water on a stone. If the drip continues long enough, it will eventually wear down the stone.

Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We need to create a new habit that counteracts the damage of our old habits. We need to consciously ingest good, positive, and Godly information to replace much of the anxious, negative, and worldly information force-feed to us daily. The idea is not to radically change our environment; some people are capable of this, most are not. The objective is to slowly shift our attention away from those inputs that dominate us today.

The new habit might be a quiet time to contemplate God’s blessing, time in the scriptures, or journaling about answered prayer. I would suggest early in the morning before your day begins or late at night as your day is winding down. Don’t think revolution; think revelation. Try to create a new habit that you can maintain for the rest of your life. If you think of something, ask yourself; can I do this every day for the next ten years? If you can answer that yes, you are on the right track to do it the rest of your life.

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Stopping an Old Habit

Many of the habits we have in life we don’t view as habits. We have done them so long that they have become part of us. Many of those habits, if not unhealthy, are at least unproductive. Here is a habit I am still trying to break. It is the habit of negative thought. I get into arcane mind games where I debate with myself over controversies that will never happen in real life. I don’t know when this started in my life. It seems it has always been there. I used to think of it as preparing to overcome an objection before anyone objected. It was a good thing to think through my position and internally discussed its weaknesses. Nice rationalization. The reality is that it is just negative thinking.

1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Each of us has something that stands in the way of our hearing God speak. Trust me; God was not involved in my internal debates; it was all me. They caused me to think negatively about people without giving them a chance to do something about which to feel pessimistic.

Maybe you start the day listening to the news or reading the latest political column. Perhaps you spend too much time with the wrong people, watching the bad movies, or reading the wrong books. There is always something.

Pick just one thing that you want to stop doing, then commit to yourself to stop doing it. If you need an accountability person or group to be successful, get them.

Staying When We Want to Leave

If you have not run into this by today, you will eventually. You find yourself at a crossroads. There is a decision to make. Should I keep doing what I am doing, or should I change? There are so many times when what I am doing does not seem to produce fruit. I feel that I am doing it out of obedience, but I start to question even that. It might be a job or a relationship, or a calling.

1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

This post is one for me. I’m an engineer, a computer geek, a high type “A,” and highly goal-oriented; these are not the character traits of someone who writes. Although there are times when what I write speaks to me so loudly, I know it is right. There are also times when I wonder why I am doing this? If God is not inspiring my words, they just don’t come. It is like staring into a vast black void waiting to hear an echo. My commitment to myself is to stand firm. I have no idea what the fruit of this labor is; I only know that God wants me to continue.

It takes tenacity, perseverance, and faith to stand when every fiber of your body says to run. There will be times in your life when staying may seem like the most painful thing ever ask of you. It is in these times when you have to lean on God to give you the strength. He will never give you a burden that you cannot endure. He will never test you to see your reaction.

It is hard to see the sun in the middle of a storm, but it is always there just above the clouds. When you find yourself at a crossroads, seek God, He is always there just above the clouds.

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Going When it is More Comfortable to Stay

The other crazy dilemma is when to leave. I was sitting in the garden of our residence in Kyrgyzstan early one morning, relaxed, having my morning coffee, when suddenly I asked myself, how did you get here? I hadn’t thought about it. The trip here is 17 hours in a plane over ten time zones. It is not cheap, it is certainly not convenient, and The State Department says it is not advisable. But the question wasn’t really about the travel arrangements or the comfort; it was about the intent. What was my intention in being here?

Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

My home is very comfortable. My life has a nice cadence to it. The food is good, my friends are great, and fellowship with other Christians is easy and numerous. I can be useful at home. But, that is not God’s plan for my life.

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” ― John A. Shedd

At some point in your life, God will ask you to move. It can be as simple as changing seats to interact with a stranger or travel 7,000 miles to a country where you have never been. It can be changing jobs, changing cities, or changing relationships.

1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”’

Small Decisions Big Consequences

In every case, you will find that God gave you several small decisions that led to the big decision. Life isn’t a pop quiz; life is an essay exam. It is paying attention to the details and writing the story. If we make the small correct decisions, the bigger ones make more sense. God will never abandon you; He will never forsake you. He will never test you beyond your endurance. There is no wasted effort or bunny trails. And in all of this, He wraps it in love. His love for you is unimaginable. His desire to have a deep, meaningful, and joy-filled relationship with you is without bounds.

Matthew 25:23, “‘Good work,’ his master said. ‘You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over this small amount, so now I will give you much more.’

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Forgiveness

Psalm 25:6-7, “Lord, remember your great mercy and love. You have shown them to your people for a long time. Don’t remember the sins I committed when I was young. Don’t remember how often I refused to obey you. Remember me because you love me.”

WE HAVE ALL BEEN WOUNDED

When you run into people who create negativity in your life, you can take direct action; you can unfriend them, cancel them, block them, and ignore them. However, you can not run away from yourself; that voice in your head goes everywhere you go. If you allow it, the negativity they created hangs around long after they are gone.

Matthew 18:21-22, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

As hard as it is for me to forgive others for their transgression, it is almost impossible for me to forgive my transgression. Somehow I think mine is worse. I can walk away from others, but I can’t walk away from myself.

Why do I stress this? I let other people’s transgression highjack my life. There comes this tipping point where their offense becomes my obsession. Long after the event, I play it over and over in my mind. I try to figure out why it happened, what was my role? I try to understand where it will lead, how do I handle the next interaction?  And the big one, how do I get it across to them how they made me feel? When I am anxious or angry I can not bear God’s fruit in my life.

HEALING STARTS AT HOME

Before I can truly forgive others, I have to understand and accept my forgiveness. I may not have started the transgression; I may not have contributed in any way, but I have my sin. Offenses happen, and they cause real pain that sometimes takes a long time to go away, sometimes a lifetime.  Although I am not a proponent of today’s victim culture, I do understand that we are all victims at one point or another. Forgiveness isn’t about pretending bad things never happened; it is not about forgetting. It is how do we get through the things that do occur.

Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

“What consumes your mind is what controls your life.” Anonymous

I wish I knew who said this. It is one of those pearls of wisdom that echo over and over throughout my life. It is one of the go-to thoughts that creep into my head when I let others take control of my thoughts. What consumes your mind controls your life. The more you play that record of transgression over and over, the more control it exercises over your life. We need to find a way of playing a different song. I believe the start of that transition is to understand who I am and what God did for me. A friend of mine refers to himself as a scoundrel; that is the perfect description of myself.

Ephesians 4:31-32, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.

When I first start absorbing the incredible gift God gave me through His forgiveness of my sin, and I take the time to acknowledge the scoundrel in me, it makes it easier to have compassion for the scoundrel in others. I can’t imagine what my life would look like if God held me accountable for all of my sins. I need God’s forgiveness.

EXTENDING GRACE

Matthew 6: 14-15, “Forgive other people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive the sins of other people, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Forgiveness is not just something that happens to us; forgiveness flows through us. We forgive so that we may be forgiven. I know this is extremely hard at times. Remember, forgiveness is not forgetting; it is not accepting, it is not acquiescing; it releases us to feel compassion and love again. Forgiveness is putting transgressions behind us and moving forward.

Mark 11:25, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Forgiveness is not about them; it is about us. It is about us showing God how much His forgiveness means to us; it means so much we will put other people’s transgressions behind us. What consumes our mind will be the love of Christ; what controls our life will be the love of Christ. 

Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

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