I love Romans 12:1-2! One of the things I notice about this verse is the fact it contains in it all three elements that make us human. Look what the verse says. I'll bold the three parts so you can see it too. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We are three in one; body, soul and spirit. In the verse it says "mind" and that is one of the aspects that make up our soul. Our soul encompasses our minds, will and emotions.
With that in mind let me ask you a question. "What is our most powerful daily spiritual act?"
As you go down the list of things it could be: prayer, reading the Bible, worship, listening to the Holy Spirit, etc. Let me say this, "you'd be correct with any one of those." BUT let me hone in on the one word in this question that we skip over that we need to look at to get a better answer.
Daily.
I'm human. I don't worship daily. Sorry if that offends you. But lets be real. Of the many Christians you know, including yourself, do they do everything they should?
Pray daily?
Read the Bible daily?
Hear God daily?
Walk in the fullness of Grace daily?
Live in the fruit of the Spirit daily?
I'm like you, I'm working towards it but I don't do it daily. I have good moments and not so good moments. Like you I'm working on shortening the distance between the good and bad ones.
Here is what I believe when I look at scripture and see the revelation of the fullness of who we are as humans following Christ.
"Our most powerful spiritual act is the daily ability to make choices."
With that in mind, that's why I can say the list you and I named about prayer and reading the bible and all those from above-- it's that important to do them. Because it renews our minds. With renewed minds our spirit and life is transformed.
Here's the issue. What you believe determines your choices which leads to a desired outcome.
How many times have you seen (or even been) someone who doesn't like a certain outcome; with a job, a date, a mate, a church? So what do they do? Different choice: change jobs, change churches, change spouse. A little time goes by and "oops! don't like this, time to make a different choice."
The problem will always continue on a "marry-go-round" lifestyle as long as the issue of "beliefs" is never dealt with.
What do you believe about your job? Spouse? Church? Family? Parents? Money? God?
Until those beliefs line up with what God says (and not what you or I think) we are confronted to live in the outcomes that are less than what God intended for us; because of our choices. And the sad truth is we many times we have to live in the consequences of someone else's choice.
Choices contain in them a level of spiritual responsibility.
My faith can affect your faith. Either for good or bad.
I'm the man today because of great Godly men and women faith. How many people have lost faith because of the fall of another?
Our choices matter. Everyday you and I have this awesome power to put our free will to the test and say, "am I going to do this my way or God's way? Am I going to trust in His methods or mans wisdom? Am I going to do what is right or what is Kingdom?
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.'" Deut. 30:18-20
Showing posts with label choice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choice. Show all posts
Friday, September 3, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Change This or That
"What you believe dictates your actions, and actions lead to the desired outcome." Many people who are frustrated or unhappy with their current outcome in life think the best thing to do is make a different choice.
New job.
Better church.
Different spouse.
Something different because the current situation is not what we thought it would be. Now sure there are times when making a switch can be a very good thing, (especially when it doesn't go against God's guidelines) but many times after the "newness" has lost it's sparkle, we start looking again for something different.
Why?
Possibly because it's easy to address actions or choices. Example, if I asked you "how" you spend your money, you could easily show me your debit card statement or check book or even credit card bill. The "outcome" of those items reflect what choices you made. But if I was to ask you, "what do you believe about money?" That may take some work in articulating properly. That's why it's especially important to address our "beliefs" and what we truly believe.
When it comes to changing your outcome, it's been well said; "wherever you go, there you are." The one factor that remains the same in every situation is "us."
Philippians 4:13 is the famous verse where Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." And when you look at it in the verses leading up to it you find that it's the strength in Christ that gives contentment in every situation.
Inevitably, our thinking leads to feelings. So the only effective way to move toward growth and fulfillment when we're feeling dissatisfied or inexplicably stagnant is to dig deeply into God's Word to find real answers that change our thinking and develop a Godly belief system.
New job.
Better church.
Different spouse.
Something different because the current situation is not what we thought it would be. Now sure there are times when making a switch can be a very good thing, (especially when it doesn't go against God's guidelines) but many times after the "newness" has lost it's sparkle, we start looking again for something different.
Why?
Possibly because it's easy to address actions or choices. Example, if I asked you "how" you spend your money, you could easily show me your debit card statement or check book or even credit card bill. The "outcome" of those items reflect what choices you made. But if I was to ask you, "what do you believe about money?" That may take some work in articulating properly. That's why it's especially important to address our "beliefs" and what we truly believe.
When it comes to changing your outcome, it's been well said; "wherever you go, there you are." The one factor that remains the same in every situation is "us."
Philippians 4:13 is the famous verse where Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." And when you look at it in the verses leading up to it you find that it's the strength in Christ that gives contentment in every situation.
Inevitably, our thinking leads to feelings. So the only effective way to move toward growth and fulfillment when we're feeling dissatisfied or inexplicably stagnant is to dig deeply into God's Word to find real answers that change our thinking and develop a Godly belief system.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Break Free Recap
Last weekend I had the honor and privilege of speaking to First Assembly of God youth ministry, Elevate, at their fall retreat in Pickwick, TN.
This was such an awesome time with some quality teens whom I really enjoyed getting to spend the weekend with. I found it so easy to talk to them---mainly because of their open attitude towards this stranger. It was just so nice to be around teens who truly seem to enjoy being around an old guy like me (yes, I know I'm not really old, but to some teens 32 is old) who they have no relationship with.
I've been really thinking about this trip and asking God if I'm really done with youth ministry. Honestly, I've felt like my youth pastoring days were behind me, and maybe they are....maybe.
I thought I'd share just a few thoughts from the message I spoke. Again this is just a taste of the over-an-hour message I delievered Saturday night. It was an awesome night, truly God showed up and many teens lives were touched.
Break Free.
Life has a way of shuffling us all down the same path and moving us into the same pattern.
Patterns have a way of making us fit into a standard that God rather not have us conform to.
Romans 12:1-2 says, "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around-life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Tucked in this scripture is the basic understanding that the "outcome" of our lives is produced by the "choices" we make, which are driven by the "beliefs" we trust.
Many times we don't like the outcome of our life so we think if we make a different choice then that will make us happy. Rarely do we go back to the foundation of what we think and "renovate" what we believe.
This type of pattern is what causes frustration in our lives. Whether it's an addiction, bad habit, relationship, job or church....breaking free from the issue at hand starts with an inside adjustment. It's true what is said, "wherever you go, there you are." Many times it's not the outside circumstances that need to be tweaked, it's the inside condition our hearts.
Paul said in Philippians 4:11-12, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
Then Paul unlocks the key to being able to handle the outcomes of life, in verse 13, "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength."
Breaking free happens when you spend time in building a relationship with Jesus, you transform your thoughts to think like Jesus and you renovate your beliefs to line up with God's beliefs.
This was such an awesome time with some quality teens whom I really enjoyed getting to spend the weekend with. I found it so easy to talk to them---mainly because of their open attitude towards this stranger. It was just so nice to be around teens who truly seem to enjoy being around an old guy like me (yes, I know I'm not really old, but to some teens 32 is old) who they have no relationship with.
I've been really thinking about this trip and asking God if I'm really done with youth ministry. Honestly, I've felt like my youth pastoring days were behind me, and maybe they are....maybe.
I thought I'd share just a few thoughts from the message I spoke. Again this is just a taste of the over-an-hour message I delievered Saturday night. It was an awesome night, truly God showed up and many teens lives were touched.
Break Free.
Life has a way of shuffling us all down the same path and moving us into the same pattern.
Patterns have a way of making us fit into a standard that God rather not have us conform to.
Romans 12:1-2 says, "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around-life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Tucked in this scripture is the basic understanding that the "outcome" of our lives is produced by the "choices" we make, which are driven by the "beliefs" we trust.
Many times we don't like the outcome of our life so we think if we make a different choice then that will make us happy. Rarely do we go back to the foundation of what we think and "renovate" what we believe.
This type of pattern is what causes frustration in our lives. Whether it's an addiction, bad habit, relationship, job or church....breaking free from the issue at hand starts with an inside adjustment. It's true what is said, "wherever you go, there you are." Many times it's not the outside circumstances that need to be tweaked, it's the inside condition our hearts.
Paul said in Philippians 4:11-12, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
Then Paul unlocks the key to being able to handle the outcomes of life, in verse 13, "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength."
Breaking free happens when you spend time in building a relationship with Jesus, you transform your thoughts to think like Jesus and you renovate your beliefs to line up with God's beliefs.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
How does Jesus think?
One of my favorite books is Think Like Jesus by George Barna.
If you like numbers and surveys, then you definitely want to pick this up.
You may remember some time ago the WWJD (what would Jesus do?) movement came out and hit the ground running. Every Christian I knew had either a shirt or a hat or a bracelet with those four magical letters on them.
WWJD
Youth pastoring at the time I noticed something unbelievable. Teens would put on the WWJD gear and all the sudden start making really good choices, treating others in love, disciplining each other in the ways of God. "To good to be true," you say.....well ,yes, it was. None of that happened. In fact it was quickly replaced with the "Live Strong" Lance Armstrong movement.
But something did happen.
For a brief moment in time, WWJD did cause (at least the teens I saw) some to stop and pause for a second and sincerely ask, just for a second, what would Jesus do?
Being able to stop and hit pause is very important.
In his book, Think Like Jesus, George Barna points out the differences and similarities between three types of people. They are; The Christian with a Biblical Worldview, The Christian without a Biblical Worldview and The Lost (people who do not profess Jesus as Lord)
By definition, Biblical Worldview simply means looking at the Bible and living by the principles found in it. It's much like the "Benjamin Franklin glasses" in the movie "National Treasure"--you know, look through one series of lenses and see one thing, put another lens on and see something totally different while looking at the same thing.
Now hang with me, don't glaze over....I've got to explain so you know where I'm going.
Each group of people were asked a series of questions that reflected three areas. They were:
1.) Behavior-last 7 days. (things like; volunteer time to help the needy, smoked, viewed porn, prayed for the President)
2.) Religious activity-last 7 days. (things like; read the Bible, participated in a small group meeting, attended a church service, volunteering at church, etc.)
3.) Religious beliefs (things like, while on Earth Jesus didn't sin, the Bible is totally accurate, the Bible condemns homosexuality, the devil is real and not just a symbol of evil, etc)
Without going over every stat, let me give you the gist of the research.
Out of 30 questions between those three categories, Christians without a Biblical Worldview consistently (24 out of 30 questions) sided with the "Lost" person. In other words there was little difference in the way someone who didn't know Jesus as their Lord thought and someone who confessed Jesus as their Lord.
I bring this up because here in just a couple of days we will elect a new President. I've been shocked to find out how many people who are Christians are casting their support for someone who goes against so much of God's Word. I'm not at all questioning their salvation, that's not my point. I'm just sending out these thoughts to hopefully cause all of us to stop and hit pause for a moment.
Stop and hit pause.
What guides your view? TV? Talk radio? Internet? Gas prices? Economic issues? War?
We all have a worldview, a set of lenses that we look through and decide how to act or what to do. "What would Jesus do?" is a nice thought, but it doesn't address the issue of "why" he would do it. "How does Jesus think?" is best found out by looking at things through a Biblical lens.
If you like numbers and surveys, then you definitely want to pick this up.
You may remember some time ago the WWJD (what would Jesus do?) movement came out and hit the ground running. Every Christian I knew had either a shirt or a hat or a bracelet with those four magical letters on them.
WWJD
Youth pastoring at the time I noticed something unbelievable. Teens would put on the WWJD gear and all the sudden start making really good choices, treating others in love, disciplining each other in the ways of God. "To good to be true," you say.....well ,yes, it was. None of that happened. In fact it was quickly replaced with the "Live Strong" Lance Armstrong movement.
But something did happen.
For a brief moment in time, WWJD did cause (at least the teens I saw) some to stop and pause for a second and sincerely ask, just for a second, what would Jesus do?
Being able to stop and hit pause is very important.
In his book, Think Like Jesus, George Barna points out the differences and similarities between three types of people. They are; The Christian with a Biblical Worldview, The Christian without a Biblical Worldview and The Lost (people who do not profess Jesus as Lord)
By definition, Biblical Worldview simply means looking at the Bible and living by the principles found in it. It's much like the "Benjamin Franklin glasses" in the movie "National Treasure"--you know, look through one series of lenses and see one thing, put another lens on and see something totally different while looking at the same thing.
Now hang with me, don't glaze over....I've got to explain so you know where I'm going.
Each group of people were asked a series of questions that reflected three areas. They were:
1.) Behavior-last 7 days. (things like; volunteer time to help the needy, smoked, viewed porn, prayed for the President)
2.) Religious activity-last 7 days. (things like; read the Bible, participated in a small group meeting, attended a church service, volunteering at church, etc.)
3.) Religious beliefs (things like, while on Earth Jesus didn't sin, the Bible is totally accurate, the Bible condemns homosexuality, the devil is real and not just a symbol of evil, etc)
Without going over every stat, let me give you the gist of the research.
Out of 30 questions between those three categories, Christians without a Biblical Worldview consistently (24 out of 30 questions) sided with the "Lost" person. In other words there was little difference in the way someone who didn't know Jesus as their Lord thought and someone who confessed Jesus as their Lord.
I bring this up because here in just a couple of days we will elect a new President. I've been shocked to find out how many people who are Christians are casting their support for someone who goes against so much of God's Word. I'm not at all questioning their salvation, that's not my point. I'm just sending out these thoughts to hopefully cause all of us to stop and hit pause for a moment.
Stop and hit pause.
What guides your view? TV? Talk radio? Internet? Gas prices? Economic issues? War?
We all have a worldview, a set of lenses that we look through and decide how to act or what to do. "What would Jesus do?" is a nice thought, but it doesn't address the issue of "why" he would do it. "How does Jesus think?" is best found out by looking at things through a Biblical lens.
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