I am not a great man but there is something about greatness that draws me. I suspect I would know it when I see it. No doubt Jesus was great. But does He want me to be great? I think he does, but not in the same sense as this world might define “greatness”. A sports star might be “great” but if he uses steroids, cheats on his wife and beats his kids he loses his title in my eyes – just as an example.
My working definition of Greatness as I believe God would define it: “The highest level of excellence that you can personally achieve in all areas of your life at all times.” This must be stated with one caveat: no one could be “great” at everything possible in their lives, the Olympic athlete will not also be a concert pianist but these are not what I am talking about. God has not called me to be a Concert Pianist but to the things He HAS called me to, I can be great IN them.
And who is better enabled to do just that than a Christian? My eternal questions have all been answered: God has already said I am significant in HIS eyes, He has already told me that HE is my very great reward in this life and in the life to come. God has promised to watch over me and be my rear guard. He will neither slumber nor sleep. He also promised me I will have trouble but he has overcome the world.
I read something this week that stirred me and challenged me on my view of my own excellence and greatness. In the movie “300” the Spartans are in incredible shape. There are many opinions about how these men got to be this big and some of them are discussed on this link below. This is the gym that got them that way in a matter of 16 weeks in some cases. Their outlook on excellence is portable into many areas of life. There are some photos as well and the change can be seen in their eyes.
http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=36
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Careful what you ask for
1 Samuel 7:5, “Now give us a king, to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
1 Samues 7:7. [God said], “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”
I used to think the Israelites were so stupid. Why did they constantly reject God? Why did they always do the wrong thing? Then I realized I WAS the Israelites. Almost every time I look at them now, all I see is me. To me, they are a mirror of the human heart.
I can’t count how many times I have looked to the world around me to give me some “standard” of how to measure or conduct myself. “How does the world invest it’s money and it’s time?”, “How does that person define themselves?”, “How should I define myself?”, “What has value?”, “How valuable is that person?”, “What does it mean to contribute?” This is all exactly same as the above verses.
The Israelites were so busy trying to be like the people around them, they were rejecting the God who loved them and saved them. They wanted to look like the other nations because they were a little “weird” having no king. God WANTED them to look different so that HE could get the credit. God WANTED the rest of the world to look at and marvel at Israel – a nation who’s KING is GOD not whose king ACTS like he’s God.
From now on the question should be, “God, what do you think about this?” May God’s be the first opinion I look to.
1 Samues 7:7. [God said], “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”
I used to think the Israelites were so stupid. Why did they constantly reject God? Why did they always do the wrong thing? Then I realized I WAS the Israelites. Almost every time I look at them now, all I see is me. To me, they are a mirror of the human heart.
I can’t count how many times I have looked to the world around me to give me some “standard” of how to measure or conduct myself. “How does the world invest it’s money and it’s time?”, “How does that person define themselves?”, “How should I define myself?”, “What has value?”, “How valuable is that person?”, “What does it mean to contribute?” This is all exactly same as the above verses.
The Israelites were so busy trying to be like the people around them, they were rejecting the God who loved them and saved them. They wanted to look like the other nations because they were a little “weird” having no king. God WANTED them to look different so that HE could get the credit. God WANTED the rest of the world to look at and marvel at Israel – a nation who’s KING is GOD not whose king ACTS like he’s God.
From now on the question should be, “God, what do you think about this?” May God’s be the first opinion I look to.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
God Style Freedom
Galations 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”
What a great design and love is shown here. I am set free from sin for the express purpose of … being free! God’s love wants me to have spiritual freedom because that freedom is the best thing I could enjoy. I was made for it. This freedom was obtained for a heavy price – freedom always costs something. Freedom also comes with it certain obligations, in this case God wants me to live by the Spirit or I will not remain in this freedom.
A historical example: after the Civil Warm, may emancipated slaves still lived as slaves, the knew of nothing else they could do. They were FREE but they did not live that way.
I don’t want to live my live as a slave to this life.
I am warned not to use my freedom to indulge my flesh (all my wants, desires and feelings) but to always be listening for what God wants me to do, have a soft heart and DO IT.
Everyone is a slave to something, it’s just a question of who their master is.
What a great design and love is shown here. I am set free from sin for the express purpose of … being free! God’s love wants me to have spiritual freedom because that freedom is the best thing I could enjoy. I was made for it. This freedom was obtained for a heavy price – freedom always costs something. Freedom also comes with it certain obligations, in this case God wants me to live by the Spirit or I will not remain in this freedom.
A historical example: after the Civil Warm, may emancipated slaves still lived as slaves, the knew of nothing else they could do. They were FREE but they did not live that way.
I don’t want to live my live as a slave to this life.
I am warned not to use my freedom to indulge my flesh (all my wants, desires and feelings) but to always be listening for what God wants me to do, have a soft heart and DO IT.
Everyone is a slave to something, it’s just a question of who their master is.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
sweet
I just heard an add for this on Christian Radio
"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27)
www.notreligion.com
"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27)
www.notreligion.com
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Now, you can stand
Joshua 7:10-11, [God said to Joshua], “Get up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned, they have violated my covenant…they have stolen and they have lied…That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies.”
God can do anything, but he will not align himself with sin, it is against his nature. I want to be a man completely devoted to Him and his purposes. I must devote myself completely to the ways of God. When Israel was divided (some were for God and some were for themselves – and thus against God), God stopped blessing and protecting them. I don’t want to be a divided man. My desire is to live for him 100% thus more and more sin must be removed from my actions.
I cannot do this alone.
In Joshua 7, Joshua needed God’s divine revelation to search out the sin in the camp and then they purged themselves of the wickedness. There is no difference for me. I must ask God to search out my heart, reveal the sin and confess it so I can be freed of it. There may be much more to fully getting free but if I continue to seek him I too will be victorious over my enemies.
God can do anything, but he will not align himself with sin, it is against his nature. I want to be a man completely devoted to Him and his purposes. I must devote myself completely to the ways of God. When Israel was divided (some were for God and some were for themselves – and thus against God), God stopped blessing and protecting them. I don’t want to be a divided man. My desire is to live for him 100% thus more and more sin must be removed from my actions.
I cannot do this alone.
In Joshua 7, Joshua needed God’s divine revelation to search out the sin in the camp and then they purged themselves of the wickedness. There is no difference for me. I must ask God to search out my heart, reveal the sin and confess it so I can be freed of it. There may be much more to fully getting free but if I continue to seek him I too will be victorious over my enemies.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Get the Full Inheritance
Joshua 17:17-18, “But Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh-"You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out."”
The Israelites never really moved into their full inheritance, I don’t want that to be the same with me. In some cases they got it but didn’t completely drive out the people, in other cases they didn’t get the land at all, and in some cases they just settled for the small they had.
God has a plan and an inheritance for me. He has an inheritance for me on this earth and one in heaven. If I want ALL he has for me, I have to exercise my faith in my actions. I’m going to have to sacrifice to get it, I’m going to have to pray, fast, memorize scripture, work hard, labor, have quiet times of silence before God, live as a servant in my house and many other things.
I do not know of one time in Scripture when someone is just sitting around waiting for God to do his will. This is not including the times when ONLY GOD can bring about the answer (Example: when the Assyrian army had surrounded Jerusalem and was going to destroy it but Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and God wiped out the attacking army.).
I want to lay hold of God’s kingdom in every way possible.
Matthew 11:12, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”
The Israelites never really moved into their full inheritance, I don’t want that to be the same with me. In some cases they got it but didn’t completely drive out the people, in other cases they didn’t get the land at all, and in some cases they just settled for the small they had.
God has a plan and an inheritance for me. He has an inheritance for me on this earth and one in heaven. If I want ALL he has for me, I have to exercise my faith in my actions. I’m going to have to sacrifice to get it, I’m going to have to pray, fast, memorize scripture, work hard, labor, have quiet times of silence before God, live as a servant in my house and many other things.
I do not know of one time in Scripture when someone is just sitting around waiting for God to do his will. This is not including the times when ONLY GOD can bring about the answer (Example: when the Assyrian army had surrounded Jerusalem and was going to destroy it but Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and God wiped out the attacking army.).
I want to lay hold of God’s kingdom in every way possible.
Matthew 11:12, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”
Friday, March 2, 2007
He can be counted on
In Christian-speak this would be translated, “He is faithful”. Before I get into the story I want to talk about that word, faithful. Dictionary.com defines it as (I like definition #2) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faithful “true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.” and #3, “steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant”. I suppose until you actually EXPERIENCE his faithfulness you really don’t understand what it means. I used to hear people talk about it all the time in some esoteric sense… but now I get it.
Some common uses of faithful that help me grasp a better meaning of the word: faithful friends, faithful husband, and faithful worker/servant.
God is steady in his allegiance to me. He is always FOR me, even when bad things happen, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
He is true to his word, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Heb 13:4
He is loyal, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;” Isa 49:16
So the story begins. I call it a “God story”. I call lots of things “God stories” but they have one common thread to be given such a name: only God could do what was done.
Back in October, I found out my mother in law (who rents in town) was going to lose her place due to the owners selling it. My wife and I rent a two unit complex from the owners in Palo Alto, CA but have the benefit of living in the small unit and renting the large one, this saves us some money but about this time our 6 month old was making our one bedroom a bit cramped. My wife and I had been looking to move out of state (another story) but realized it was God’s best to stay here in SB so when this situation came up with April’s mom, it seemed a natural time to move into the big house. I prayed a lot about this decision (big decisions, no matter how “natural” take prayer) and felt confident it was the right choice so we made arrangements for the family in the main house to get another home. God quickly provided for them (they were Christians) and gave us an exit date. About that time my company told me my sales weren’t good enough and I was about to be out of a job.
Ahh, I see… new baby, more rent, and about to lose a good job in Santa Barbara. The God story was brewing. I knew that God knew my situation. He would have to provide. This is all nice on paper but at the time, I went though quite a crisis of faith. What did I really believe? Who was my real provider?
By Jan 1 my job was gone. I took the first week of the year to pray and fast and the hunt was on. It took me 2 more weeks to even get a temp job. Yikes, not to mention the temp job was paying about ¼ the amount of cash I needed to stay afloat. Wow, this was getting bad. On top of this, I felt God was leading away from sales (which pays the most money) and I was wondering how I was going to earn anything good in this town if I wasn’t doing sales!
Feb 5th I got a call from a company I never heard of asking me to interview for a job I’d not applied for. A friend referred me to a coworker who referred me to a sister company and one of the VP’s had called me. On the 7th, the day of my interview, I got a job offer from a different company which was much too low, but it was more than I was making doing temp work. I was stuck in a conundrum: do the best for my family and take the higher paying job (which was a type of sales position) or do the honorable thing and not take a job I would have to quit as soon as possible. I on the morning of the 8th, I called the company (not sure what would really happen with the interview on the 7th) and told them it wouldn’t be right for me to take the job since all I would be doing was wanting something else that paid more. They thanked me and 5 seconds after I hung up got the offer from my current employer: it was all the money I needed, and an offer of a big raise in 6 months (Which I did not ask for!).
Now that I’m working there, I love it. It’s a good company and just what I need to be doing right now: a good challenge.
The thing I kept clinging to was this: the story of when Jesus PUT the disciples in the boat and sent them across the sea of Galilee. In Mark it says he “saw them straining at the oars.” Jesus knew what was happening when he put them in the boat without him. He saw them in their situation and it was then he performed a miracle, he walked on the water to them. I needed that miracle in the midst of my storm and I needed him to walk on the water for me. And he did, he was faithful.
Some common uses of faithful that help me grasp a better meaning of the word: faithful friends, faithful husband, and faithful worker/servant.
God is steady in his allegiance to me. He is always FOR me, even when bad things happen, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
He is true to his word, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Heb 13:4
He is loyal, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;” Isa 49:16
So the story begins. I call it a “God story”. I call lots of things “God stories” but they have one common thread to be given such a name: only God could do what was done.
Back in October, I found out my mother in law (who rents in town) was going to lose her place due to the owners selling it. My wife and I rent a two unit complex from the owners in Palo Alto, CA but have the benefit of living in the small unit and renting the large one, this saves us some money but about this time our 6 month old was making our one bedroom a bit cramped. My wife and I had been looking to move out of state (another story) but realized it was God’s best to stay here in SB so when this situation came up with April’s mom, it seemed a natural time to move into the big house. I prayed a lot about this decision (big decisions, no matter how “natural” take prayer) and felt confident it was the right choice so we made arrangements for the family in the main house to get another home. God quickly provided for them (they were Christians) and gave us an exit date. About that time my company told me my sales weren’t good enough and I was about to be out of a job.
Ahh, I see… new baby, more rent, and about to lose a good job in Santa Barbara. The God story was brewing. I knew that God knew my situation. He would have to provide. This is all nice on paper but at the time, I went though quite a crisis of faith. What did I really believe? Who was my real provider?
By Jan 1 my job was gone. I took the first week of the year to pray and fast and the hunt was on. It took me 2 more weeks to even get a temp job. Yikes, not to mention the temp job was paying about ¼ the amount of cash I needed to stay afloat. Wow, this was getting bad. On top of this, I felt God was leading away from sales (which pays the most money) and I was wondering how I was going to earn anything good in this town if I wasn’t doing sales!
Feb 5th I got a call from a company I never heard of asking me to interview for a job I’d not applied for. A friend referred me to a coworker who referred me to a sister company and one of the VP’s had called me. On the 7th, the day of my interview, I got a job offer from a different company which was much too low, but it was more than I was making doing temp work. I was stuck in a conundrum: do the best for my family and take the higher paying job (which was a type of sales position) or do the honorable thing and not take a job I would have to quit as soon as possible. I on the morning of the 8th, I called the company (not sure what would really happen with the interview on the 7th) and told them it wouldn’t be right for me to take the job since all I would be doing was wanting something else that paid more. They thanked me and 5 seconds after I hung up got the offer from my current employer: it was all the money I needed, and an offer of a big raise in 6 months (Which I did not ask for!).
Now that I’m working there, I love it. It’s a good company and just what I need to be doing right now: a good challenge.
The thing I kept clinging to was this: the story of when Jesus PUT the disciples in the boat and sent them across the sea of Galilee. In Mark it says he “saw them straining at the oars.” Jesus knew what was happening when he put them in the boat without him. He saw them in their situation and it was then he performed a miracle, he walked on the water to them. I needed that miracle in the midst of my storm and I needed him to walk on the water for me. And he did, he was faithful.
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