Have you ever had someone tell you what God's will is or try to manipulate God's calling on your life? Here's the fact: God sometimes uses people to help direct you in the way you should go or spark some kind of interest in your life but unless God reveals things to you, no one can tell you God's will for your life. If God says something to someone else, I'm sure He will let you know!
Or maybe you have someone discouraging you from doing what you feel God has called you to do. Don't be discouraged because it happens a lot. In fact, it happened in Acts 21. Starting in verse 10 it says, "A prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, 'The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.' When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, 'Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.' When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, 'The Lord's will be done.'"
The people tried to discourage Paul from doing what He felt God calling him to do. However, Paul was willing and ready to die for the name of Jesus Christ. Family and friends may try to persuade you to stay close to them when and if God calls you elsewhere. People will discourage you from selling everything and being bold in your faith, following Jesus wholeheartedly. People will claim you need to get educated, a good job, raise a solid family, etc. All those are great things and that may be what God wants you to do, but don't let those things distract you if you feel God is calling you to do missions or ministry elsewhere. Apostle Jamie Englehart says, "Unhealthy family ties resulted in Jonathan dying in battle next to Saul instead of dinning in royalty next to David. Loyalty to family comes second to loyalty to the Kingdom!" We should never discourage people from doing what they believe God has called them to do. "The Lord's will be done" should be our first response, not our last. God will lead you but you must be willing to follow where ever and whenever! Be bold and trust. God never forsakes those who seek Him (Psalm 9:10).
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Quick To Hear
I've experienced leadership in all kinds of aspects: the good, the bad; the humble, the proud; the hard working, the lazy...the list goes on. There are all kinds of character traits that make up a solid leader but for me, the most important are threefold. Someone I want to follow as they follow Christ is a leader who is humble, a leader who constantly learns, and a leader who listens! For me, listening is so important and I'm not just talking about being still and quiet while someone else is speaking. I'm talking about the genuine care, "I'm actually concerned with what you have to say" kind of listening. I find this huge working with students. I quickly have found out that most of the time the 'thing' that the student is sharing isn't really the 'thing' that needs to be addressed. Often times what they struggle with is much deeper, and if you actually listen to what they are saying you will be able to get to the root of the problem; which usually leads to how they view God, or a lie that they've believed.
In the movie Bowling for Columbine there is an interview between Michael Moore and Marilyn Manson right after the shootings at Columbine High School. Marilyn Manson was taking a lot of heat because of his musical style and lyrics and he was being blamed for the horrible incident. It was an interesting conversation that the two had. Moore asks Manson, "If you were to talk directly to the kids at Columbine or the people in the community, what would you say to them if they were here right now?" Manson simply responded, "I wouldn't say a single word to them, I would listen to what they have to say and that's what no one did!" That response threw me off big time. I think these types of people in history were never really given a chance, maybe because no one wanted to listen to them because they were 'different'. Or maybe it's because we like to act like we don't struggle with anything and have life all figured out.
The fact of the matter is we all have a voice but no one is willing to shut up and listen. Few are willing to let go of the busyness of life and build into relationships. James 1 says to be quick to hear and slow to speak but in today's society, we are wired to talk over each other and voice our every opinion. Many forget that for 30 years Jesus observed, learned, and listened before He started His ministry. Leaders might have some great things to say and they often cast great vision, resulting in followers. But the day the leader stops learning and listening is the day he or she stops leading!
In the movie Bowling for Columbine there is an interview between Michael Moore and Marilyn Manson right after the shootings at Columbine High School. Marilyn Manson was taking a lot of heat because of his musical style and lyrics and he was being blamed for the horrible incident. It was an interesting conversation that the two had. Moore asks Manson, "If you were to talk directly to the kids at Columbine or the people in the community, what would you say to them if they were here right now?" Manson simply responded, "I wouldn't say a single word to them, I would listen to what they have to say and that's what no one did!" That response threw me off big time. I think these types of people in history were never really given a chance, maybe because no one wanted to listen to them because they were 'different'. Or maybe it's because we like to act like we don't struggle with anything and have life all figured out.
The fact of the matter is we all have a voice but no one is willing to shut up and listen. Few are willing to let go of the busyness of life and build into relationships. James 1 says to be quick to hear and slow to speak but in today's society, we are wired to talk over each other and voice our every opinion. Many forget that for 30 years Jesus observed, learned, and listened before He started His ministry. Leaders might have some great things to say and they often cast great vision, resulting in followers. But the day the leader stops learning and listening is the day he or she stops leading!
Monday, September 10, 2012
When Grief Strikes
Today, our family had to put down the dog that we have loved for 12 years. Her breed, the Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier is one of the best kept secrets among dog owners. She was a great dog and well loved and will leave us with many fond memories! I think the hardest part for me is seeing the affects that it has on my family as a whole. I say that because this has been the year from hell for our family. We have all been attacked and gone through the emotional stages that life often brings us but rarely is my first response to give God the glory. Here's a thought...When tragedy or hardships strike, do we immediately worship the Creator?
We all know the story of Job and the affliction he faced but I noticed something for the first time recently. In the first chapter, he is informed four times by four surviving servants of the loss to his oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, servants, sons, and daughters. Then verse 20 says: At this, he fell to the ground and worshipped! Wait, what?! The very first thing he did after he received the horrible news of the tragedy that literally took everything from him was he worshipped God. I read that and think about the trails and hardships I have faced and rarely do I worship immediately. There are countless stories throughout the Bible that show men and women worshipping God immediately after tragedy. Jeremiah worshipped after God used the Babylonians to judge Judah, Habakkuk worshipped at the reality of his abandonment, David worshipped following the death of his child, and Jesus worshipped in the Garden right before he was crucified. The point is, our first response should be worship in the face of tragedy. Unfortunately for me, it hasn't been.
Grief however, is something we all will experience. Grief is normal and apart of the recovery process but our attitude in our moments of grief determine our worship. After a conversation with my friend Reggi, he explained that there are three responses when life hits rock bottom and I wanted to expand on them. Our first response is we either question God with why He allowed this to happen or blame Him and turn from our 'faith'. Sometimes things happen and we don't understand why, nor will we ever receive an explanation but know this: God is more concerned with your development as a believer than He is with delivering you from your circumstances. Our second response may be that we begin to understand that God knows what we are going through. He knows how we feel and therefore we see God as sympathizing with us. We are comforted by His grace and are able to persevere through our moments of grief. The third response towards grief is being able to sympathize with God. We often times forget of what Christ actually went through. We forget how bad it was for Him! We forget that the religious people didn't like him, that His message was ignored, and that He constantly was mocked. We forget that He experienced the betrayal of one of his disciples, a man that He loved and had experienced life with. We forget that He paid our penalty on the cross and suffered more than any of us ever will. Our response to the grief we experience and the hardships we endure should be that we now have an idea of what Christ went through. God, I thank you for the hard moments because it gives me a glimpse of what you actually endured! "Our grief should cause us to sympathize with Christ!"
We all know the story of Job and the affliction he faced but I noticed something for the first time recently. In the first chapter, he is informed four times by four surviving servants of the loss to his oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, servants, sons, and daughters. Then verse 20 says: At this, he fell to the ground and worshipped! Wait, what?! The very first thing he did after he received the horrible news of the tragedy that literally took everything from him was he worshipped God. I read that and think about the trails and hardships I have faced and rarely do I worship immediately. There are countless stories throughout the Bible that show men and women worshipping God immediately after tragedy. Jeremiah worshipped after God used the Babylonians to judge Judah, Habakkuk worshipped at the reality of his abandonment, David worshipped following the death of his child, and Jesus worshipped in the Garden right before he was crucified. The point is, our first response should be worship in the face of tragedy. Unfortunately for me, it hasn't been.
Grief however, is something we all will experience. Grief is normal and apart of the recovery process but our attitude in our moments of grief determine our worship. After a conversation with my friend Reggi, he explained that there are three responses when life hits rock bottom and I wanted to expand on them. Our first response is we either question God with why He allowed this to happen or blame Him and turn from our 'faith'. Sometimes things happen and we don't understand why, nor will we ever receive an explanation but know this: God is more concerned with your development as a believer than He is with delivering you from your circumstances. Our second response may be that we begin to understand that God knows what we are going through. He knows how we feel and therefore we see God as sympathizing with us. We are comforted by His grace and are able to persevere through our moments of grief. The third response towards grief is being able to sympathize with God. We often times forget of what Christ actually went through. We forget how bad it was for Him! We forget that the religious people didn't like him, that His message was ignored, and that He constantly was mocked. We forget that He experienced the betrayal of one of his disciples, a man that He loved and had experienced life with. We forget that He paid our penalty on the cross and suffered more than any of us ever will. Our response to the grief we experience and the hardships we endure should be that we now have an idea of what Christ went through. God, I thank you for the hard moments because it gives me a glimpse of what you actually endured! "Our grief should cause us to sympathize with Christ!"
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