Change - Dreaded or Embraced?

He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” Luke 5:36-39 ESV

 

There has been a lot of discussion about “Change” lately, especially during the resent presidential campaign and upcoming presidency. A recent Twitterer asked the following  question – “What is your opinion about change?” and I quickly answered, “Change is a necessary element to fullness of life, without it we grow stagnant...”. As I was pondering my response I decided to see what God would have to say about this discussion.

 

Here is my conclusion:

Change is an absolute! With out it, we will in fact grow stagnant. But there is a difference between change simply for the sake of change and change for the sake of the Kingdom. I for one am geared for constant change for example; I can’t stand to rent or own a home that isn’t laid out in such a way as to allow for resituating of the living room furniture (I get a little stir crazy about every 6-8 months and need to change it up in the living room) another example is my hair (facial and head) I can go from bald and beardless to shoulder length and goatee all within the same year. This kind of change, just for change sake, is cool and doesn’t really matter in the big picture.

 

But what about change when God is asking for it? How well do we respond to His request? For that matter how well do we even perceive His will? In the story above, God was doing a great and marvelous thing—He was preparing the stage for the most awesome event in all of human history and yet, those who resist change, those who were comfortable in their environment, those who only changed when it suited them…missed out and caused others to miss out as well (that’s an important insight to change or lack-there-of as well, what we do always affects others!).

 

Clearly, the old wineskins represent the teachings and traditions of the past. The new wineskins represent the fresh, current move of God. God is 100% committed to those of this day who are His – yes, but He is also 100% committed to those who do not yet walk in relationship with Him! When we resist His course of direction (which is really what change is…the lining up of my agenda with His or coming into agreement with His plan), back to my point, when we resist His course of direction, we can then only be off course – there is no “close enough”. We are either walking with Him or walking contrary to Him and I sure hope that we don’t need to discuss how that is bad, very bad…

 

Change is to life as water is to farming – if the farmer has no water, he has no crop! If we don’t change, when He is clearly leading us to it, than we will not have the fullness of life which He intends for us to have. Jesus came to give us life and life abundant – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 ESV

 

Change… Its Good For Your Health!

 

Wag

Are You A Sojourner?

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 2Corinthians 5:1-4 ESV

 

How are you living? Is your focus only upon the tangible, the stuff that you can grab hold of or are you living with the absolute awareness of a promised future – one that begins in the here and now but goes on into eternity? Are you a sojourner?

 

Sojourner – 1. a temporary resident 2. a person who resides temporarily in a place –

“A TRAVELER”

 

Paul lived “in” the assurance of his hope… immortal glory. Many don’t like to discuss death; I get that the idea of dying can be scary but for the believer in Jesus Christ this shouldn’t be!

 

When those who don’t know the Lord share with me their fear of dying, they actually present an open door to the offer of hope – a life everlasting! But when those who know the Lord share this same fear, something is wrong…

 

I’ve heard it said that all Christians want to get to Heaven; they just don’t want to die to get there. Well…to put it bluntly, there ain’t no other way to pass from this earthly into the next! We all are going to die, this is fact. The challenge we face is – do we, with fear and trembling, do everything possible to hold on to our physical life, hoping to attain the maximum 120 yrs (read Genesis 6); hey let’s say you do reach birthday #120, at the absolute most you will only have 12 more months to live but you will not escape it -  death will come to all of us! Or do we embrace this temporary life in the same fashion as Paul, recognizing that life is in fact short, but in the physical end...the eternal begins. Paul was a traveler, he knew that his permanent address was not here on earth.

 

Death need not be something which is feared. Those who are “IN” Christ, should actually live towards that end – yes, I meant to structure it that way… Christians, must understand that man was created to be in eternal fellowship with the living God and that one day what is mortal WILL be swallowed up by life!!!! Paul also said this, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 ESV

 

Paul didn’t have any “special magic dust” making him into the perfect Christian, able to live in such a way that no one else could. No, he was just like you and me…human. The only difference may be that he embraced his cross and lived for one reason…to the glory of His King! He knew, that he knew, that he knew - when his physical life came to an end…true life would then begin!

 

Embrace this life, live it boldly, look to eternity!

 

Wag

Discipleship, "What Is It?"

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-19 ESV

In a nutshell, discipleship is...

·         REPRODUCTION!! – “LIFE giving LIFE”

·         learning and teaching “Life Principles of the Kingdom”

·         the empowering of others as God has empowered us

The disciple is a learner, open and teachable. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”. Proverbs 9:9-10 The disciple seeks to be proficient* in his walk with the Lord, it’s not at all about perfection—for we are made perfect only in Christ but a disciple does need to strive to do his best for the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:22-24

* Proficiency comes from trying to do everything well through commitment to excellence. God has equipped each of us with skills and He gives us gifts for the complete accomplishment of His will, in us and in the world. The only hindrance to proficiency is ones level of commitment to excellence—we MUST find out what God’s will is for us and be about His business! For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:8-11

A great deal of what discipleship is… is learning to view life through the eyes of God. A disciple will find it extremely hard to be successful in the walk of faith without proper “Perspective & Vision”.

-         perspective - the aspect in which things or circumstances are mentally or naturally viewed

-         vision - the aspect in which things or circumstances are viewed otherwise than by ordinary sight

For the disciple of Jesus Christ, it’s not a matter of either/or but a healthy blend of the two aspects for viewing life—God created us with the capacity to see in the natural, but He wants us to come and gain His perspective, “God-vision”, for walking through what we see in the natural (the stuff & circumstances of life). Unfortunately, good clear perspective mixed with “God-vision” are rare commodities among Christians, we tend to get stuck in the here and now—our immediate circumstances and situations…we must decide to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” Proverbs 3:5

Wag

For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free!

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 ESV

 

To give a little backdrop to this post… Yesterday during our gathering, the question was asked – “If we are free in Christ, does that mean we can do whatever we want…won’t people take advantage of this?” Well let me tell you, this opened up a conversation that lasted the rest of service, it was great! I pondered this topic the rest of the day and on into the evening. In fact, I woke up this morning with the subject still fresh in my thoughts. So I figured it would make a good post…

 

To you, what does it mean to be free in Christ? We use this term constantly but is using the term enough? Are we living in “freedom” as the Bible means or are we living as we want? There is a difference.

 

The world would define freedom something like this; to be really free and able to do exactly what ever you want, when ever you want, how ever you want and with who ever you want… sound familiar?

 

The dictionary defines freedom as a state of exemption from the power or control of another; exemption from slavery, servitude or confinement. But what does the Bible mean when the word freedom is used? Are we really allowed to just run amuck with no care in the world; all-the-while claiming praise God I’m saved! Or, is there something bigger behind the meaning of this word? YES!

 

Freedom according to the Bible has more to do with the word emancipation which means - the act of setting free from slavery, servitude, subjection or dependence; deliverance from bondage or controlling influence; liberation; as the emancipation of slaves by their proprietors. The law is the covenant of bondage. This is at the heart of Paul’s pleading that we cling to our freedom found only in Christ. His burden was that followers of Christ would not to be subjected again to the burden of Jewish law, being made slaves again to rites, customs and habits. The heart of the book of Galatians is FREEDOM; freedom from the pursuit of righteousness through works, which is wearisome and empty in the end. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. Galatians 5:2-4

 

As the infomercials would boldly state…But wait! That’s not all – with this freedom you also receive a life-long, even eternal relationship with the living God of the universe, absolutely FREE! Wait! There’s more – act now and you will also receive a guilt free conscience!

 

This entire package is yours to be had right now because Jesus Christ has paid, in full, the price required and this is known as GRACE…

 

Wag

Reconciliation

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2Corinthians 5:18-19 NIV

An evangelist is one who recognizes how great it is to be reconciled to God and to be in fellowship with Him. He understands that God provided the way for this relationship to exist by making His own Son pay the debt we each owed. He also understands the awesome and privileged responsibility we have of getting this message out to the entire world!

Reconciliation restores the fellowship we were created to have with the living, loving God of the universe! Fellowship with God is…
companionship - mutual association on equal and friendly terms
partnership - joint interest
company - a state of being together
communion - intimate familiarity

God doesn’t need us—He wants to share Himself and His eternity with us! Beloved, we need to get this; God WANTS to share all of who He is with us! He so wants this that even the “cost” to acquire this relationship would not deter Him form creating man. Revelation 13:8 makes clear that even before He began creating, the cost was understood—His only Son would have to die! All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. (NIV) Would you or I have gone through with a plan that would cost this much? NO.

Reconciliation brings deliverance and FREEDOM! Let me ask a question, “Why do some believe and not others?”. I think part of the reason the world doesn’t see God as the answer life, is because His own people often walk around as bound up as they are, all-the-while claiming “God is good”. If we would walk as the delivered and free people we are in Christ, you can bet that the world would be as attracted to us (ultimately, the Christ in us) and we would be able to freely proclaim that our hope is found nowhere but in Jesus Christ!

Wag

God Is Excited About You And Your Future!

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

We have all read or heard stories about those who have chosen to die for the glory of God and we think to ourselves “Wow! I wonder if I could stand even in the face of death”.

But what about “continuing on” in the face of tragedy or out-of-our-control circumstances?

What about trusting God in all things - even when they make not one bit of sense to us?

I believe it is easier to choose immediate death for the glory of God than to keep the faith in the wake of life’s turmoil. Remember Todd Beamer, the hero who helped over-through the hijackers during the 9/11 attacks?

Many have marveled at his wife Lisa, whose strength and ability to carry on after the tragic loss of her husband, was quite inspiring to say the least. Through it all she has adamantly given all the credit to God for her strength and peace. Several years ago - Lisa was interviewed by Larry King. During the interview she was asked several questions about her faith, about her church and about keeping her faith. He asked her if during the previous months she had ever doubted in God. Here is a little piece of this interview.

Lisa: My church is a Christian Missionary Alliance Church, but we just try to follow what the Bible says and try to find out how it applies to our lives every day in the 21st century. A lot of people think the Bible is irrelevant to our lives here now, but we found that by studying it and looking at the examples in it, especially the example of Jesus, we are able to determine how to live our lives through tough times and easy times and certainly no time is more relevant to me than now about how to do that. 

Larry: Did you not at all, Lisa, question your faith when this happened?

Lisa: I didn’t. I referred before to when my father passed away 17 years ago and I think as a 15-year-old I did question my faith at that time and say, “God, why would You let this happen?” You know, this isn’t in the plan that I had and I don’t think a God who loves you would have let this happen to me, but I spent quite a few years trying to think through that question and getting the right answer to it. And I think God led me to a place where I understand that just because I have faith in God doesn’t mean that He is going prevent every horrible thing from happening to me or take me away from the difficulties that this world brings to us, but that He is going to screen those difficulties and only allow those in that He wants to allow in and then through the difficulties certainly continue to show His love for me and the promise that I’m going to spend eternity with Him in heaven and that is the perspective that I was able to get after a few years of grappling with my father’s death and that perspective came to me obviously immediately on September 11 and has stuck like glue since then. So even looking back on the tragedy of my father’s death, there is a reason for that, even if it was for nothing else but to prepare me for September 11. It was certainly a valuable piece of my life that I know that God orchestrated in advance for me. So I look to this tragedy along the same lines and say, I don’t know what it means for the big picture of my life right now, but I do trust that God was in control that day and that He is taking care of me and loving me through this now.

How is it that some can survive incredible challenges with such energy, with such joy and with such confidence? Answer - Because they have come to a place of extreme confidence in their relationship with the living God!

They have come to understand that He has a plan and that He is well aware and acquainted with our sufferings…their confidence is in Him not in this temporal existence. God has a plan for each and every one of us! That’s His promise to us in Jeremiah. A “plan” is a method for accomplishing an objective. 

God’s objective is that you prosper - 1. to make steady progress 2. to succeed 3. to thrive 4. to increase 5. to become strong 6. to flourish

God wants you to live a life filled with hope - desire with expectation of fulfillment

Whatever the circumstance, God will not leave us hanging. He is always about the business of accomplishing His plan and it INCLUDES YOU!

He is excited about you and your future!

Wag

What Is Righteousness?

Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so that Christ could make us acceptable to God. 2Corinthians 5:21 CEV

…so that Christ could make us ACCEPTABLE to God! WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW! Those of us, who have given our life to Christ, making Him Lord, now (right now) stand before Him in a state of acceptance.

We don’t have to work for it – Christ did it; Hallelujah!

Righteousness entitles us – yes, “entitles” – to Kingdom stuff. I know, “entitles” sounds arrogant but it is the truth, Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him. Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children---this was his pleasure and purpose. Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! Ephesians 1:3-6 GNB It would be FALSE humility to say it any other way.

Unfortunately, much of the Church believes the lie of our enemy who says it is wrong to grab hold of our inheritance.

Our acceptance is not simply that we are just “barely lucky enough” to squeak by… NO! we have the privilege to stand before Him in the state of “sonship”, free from guilt and fear! Sonship also entitles us (there’s that word again) to the Kingdom and all that is within.

This is the “Good News” which we are called to spread throughout the land.

Abba, thank You for Your free gift of salvation, for making me and all who will come unto You through Your Son, Jesus Christ, able to stand before You guilt-free. I thank You for Your sweet fellowship and for peace that surpasses all understanding. You are good and worthy of all glory, honor and praise! Amen and amen!

Wag