Tag: Distractions

In our need, by Your care, Thy Kingdom Come

In our need, by Your care, Thy Kingdom Come

As i wrote about last week, hope is a great motivator but what happens when we find ourselves in need? Desperate or otherwise. We must remember the hope that we have in Christ. We also must remember the Lords “will be done.” Sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances that are not of our doing. We suffer through times that have been brought on by others or natural disasters. In those times we can often lose sight of hope. Yet we mustn’t. It is easy to react, not so easy to relax and wait. Patience is a virtue for a reason. It is a skill that is learned, trained, honed.

Some people are born with patience. It seems their feathers never get ruffled. One such person in history might be the most patient of all and that would be Jesus. We understand that although Jesus was fully God He was also fully man. Hebrews 2:17-18 says:

“For this reason, He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for this sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” (NIV)

And in Philippians 2:5-7:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Chris Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (ESV)

i am sure i have written about His prayer in Gethsemane however, i want to look there again as all of human history. Salvation, reconciliation, love, hope, faith, promise, everything you can think of hinged on that moment in the garden. Jesus being fully man felt the weight of the world on His shoulders and He was in desperate need of the Father. Here is the account found in Matthew 26:36-46:

36 “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (NIV)

In the midst of the greatest struggle in human history. The temptation to seek another means of getting the job done. For sealing our fate in the hope of the cross. Jesus prayed three times, three times He asked, “If there is another way…” Yet, in the end, “Thy will be done” Let us pray in such a way. May it be our heart to pour out but in the end have the hope that God’s way is greater than ours and His will, far better than anything we could ever think or imagine. After all, it is God’s Kingdom now that we are seeking, praying for and can find in the power of the resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

In our need, by Your care, Thy Kingdom Come.

You are Loved,

cj

Heart and Life, Thy Kingdom Come

Heart and Life, Thy Kingdom Come

In my heart and in my life, Thy Kingdom Come. As we looked at in my last post, i made the statement, “In our homes and in our family, Thy Kingdom Come.” You might think this is backward going from family to individual rather than individual to family. You might even be thinking that one must make a personal commitment before one can really contribute to the whole family. You would be right on both accounts. However, hindsight is always 20/20, and therefore we are going to take a look back before we move forward.

In Jesus’ prayer that He taught the disciples (Matthew 6:9-13) the prayer itself is plural, “‘OUR’ Father in Heaven Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Gives us this day ‘OUR’ daily bread, and forgive us ‘OUR’ sins as we forgive those who have sinned against ‘US.’ Lead ‘US’ not into temptation but deliver ‘US’ from the evil one.” There is a reason Jesus teaches to pray in plurality. We are not meant to live this life in Christ, alone but in “Family.” However, we do not get adopted into the family on the backs of the family, but through our personal relationship with Jesus.

Romans 10:9-10
9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.“

Once one has made the personal choice to invite Jesus into their heart and life, they join a family. It is in that family that God works both individually and corporately (within the family). When Jesus had gone back to Heaven, the disciples followed His instruction and went into a time of prayer and waiting. It was then as they waited and prayed “TOGETHER” that God really showed up in power! Let’s look together at Acts 2:1-6:

2 “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. 5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.”

To seek “Thy Kingdom Come” in our hearts and lives we need to seek God in our prayer closets both personally or alone and corporately or as a family.

Matthew 6:33
33 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Matthew 6:6
6 “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.“

In our hearts and in our lives, Thy Kingdom Come.

Stay in Your Lane

Stay in Your Lane

i had a supervisor once that gave me some of the most excellent advice i had ever received. He said, “stay in your lane.” i was working at Mervyn’s, was hired on as Christmas help, part-time, seasonal. What that meant for me was that i was to be terminated or let go, following the Christmas rush. It was announced, however, that there would be a few held over, or hired on as either, full or part-time after Christmas. i wanted to be one of those and told my supervisor such, and his advice of “stay in your lane” was just what i needed to hear.

Sometimes when we want something bad enough we attempt to do more than we are capable. Or maybe we are capable, but because we spread ourselves so thin we do a lot of things, but none of them are done great. So we look mediocre at best. While at Mervyn’s i did my best to “stay in my lane.” What were my responsibilities and how could i most efficiently get those done? For instance, i recall on one particular Saturday i was tasked with the Levi wall and cash wrap or POS (point of sale) or the cash register to be clear. i was to stock the denim section while keeping an eye on the registers in the Men’s Department. And so i did. Others had other responsibilities, and i let those people do them…if i felt like the registers needed more than myself, i called for backup. i maintained a clean cash wrap; i would bring out stock each time i went to the stockroom, or the restroom, or back from break or lunch. i knew my place, and i stayed in my lane.

When the holidays were over, i was hired on because i was able to do my job efficiently. i looked good. It wasn’t long after being hired on that i was promoted to Coordinator and then Team Lead. Each time understanding my place in the organization. My place in the mission of the store. God has gifted each of us for specific areas within His Church. He wants us to be efficient and effective in using our gifts. In order for that to happen, we need to “stay in our lane.” We need each other to be successful in life; God doesn’t need us, He wants us, we don’t need to do everything just “stay in our lane.”

Ephesians 4:11-13The Message (MSG)

7-13 But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is,

He climbed the high mountain,
He captured the enemy and seized the booty,
He handed it all out in gifts to the people.
Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:15-26The Message (MSG)

19-24 But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

25-26 The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

Find your part. Stay in your lane. Crossover when needed. But find ways to be effective and efficient in your lane. The mission of the Church, God has so graciously gifted you for, and do your very best at it.

You are Loved,

cj

13 Years and Counting

13 Years and Counting

i have been writing a book for 13 years, that’s right you heard me, 13 years. i guess you can say that i am persistent or lazy. i would say, i am self-conscience of ability. However, one day that book will be completed, and it will be read by at least two people, my mom, and my dad. Now imagine this, the Bible which many refer to as the “Good Book” is actually a collection of works, both books, and letters. There are 66 of them written by 40 different authors over a period of…well…thousands of years.

The influence that the Bible has had over the years is unfathomable. It has had both good and bad impacts on the world depending on who was doing the interpreting. It is an adventure story, love story, comedy, history, and wisdom. It is if read correctly, the answer to all of life’s questions…and by life’s questions i mean any and every question you might have ever in your life.

In 2 Timothy 3 we read in verses 16 and 17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” And again in 2 Peter 1:20-21 we read, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” There are a few other places that talk about this idea of the impactfulness and importance of Scripture, google it some time.

The book that i have been writing will not take thousands of years…at best i only have about 50ish years left to live. It will not even come close to impacting the world as the Bible has either. There have been countless books written, but none have claimed so much, promised so much, explained so much and been right so much ever! There is no book that has outsold or been stolen more than the Bible either…how’s that for distribution?

We have only our integrity…

We have only our integrity…

Well done, good and faithful servant…enter into the Master’s joy. In the end, all we have is our integrity. We will not have silver, or gold, not even sacks of copper coins. We will not have family, friends, property, nor will we have good works, we will have only our integrity.

Integrity:
1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.
3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.

That definition is from my Dictionary.com app on my phone. Integrity is a difficult thing to maintain. Actually, it is pretty near impossible in our own life unless we adhere to a stricter teaching. It is arguably universally recognized that Jesus was a man of integrity. i indeed believe it, of course, i also believe Him to be the manifested presence of God in human form…there’s a blog idea! Anyway, the reason now that i want to look at Jesus, there are so many reasons too, is His integrity.

When faced with temptation He met it not on His own merit or ability but by a strict teaching. Let us look together at His recorded early temptations found in Matthew 4. i encourage you to read the account found in the first 11 verses of Matthew 4. However, i will summarize it here.

Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. The devil tempted Him with the idea of food because Jesus had been fasting, Jesus’ response, “It’s written, people won’t live only by bread but by every word spoken by God.” Was it a sin to eat? No, absolutely not, could Jesus do what the devil asked of Him? Absolutely Yes! What about the second? Satan said to Jesus, throw yourself off this high place and angels will catch you. Jesus responded, “Again it’s written, don’t test the Lord Your God.”

Finally, the devil took Jesus to a point and told Him all would be His if He bowed and worshiped him. Jesus replied, “Go away, Satan, because it’s written, you will worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.” With the exception of the third temptation, these are not deal breakers…one could even argue the last one isn’t either. Many of us worship more than God daily, whether it is money, relationships, carriers, etc.

The point here is simply that in order to maintain integrity we must filter all things, good or bad, down to the intent of the heart, through Scripture in order to keep a disciplined life, built on integrity. The first, food, Jesus knew He would be taken care of, what mattered at that moment was His integrity not whether He ate. The second, Jesus knew angels would catch Him, but what mattered was His integrity not whether He proved a point. The third, Jesus knew the redemption road was going to be long and painful. The struggle was real and later revealed itself in the garden when Jesus prayed, “Let this cup pass from me…”

Yet, He (Jesus) knew what mattered at that moment wasn’t the quickest route to success but His integrity to God’s Word, His Law, His relationship with the Father. It is our integrity that lasts, and in a day and age where integrity is a lost art, my prayer for us is that we will return to a patterned life of integrity.

Integrity:
1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.
3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.

Distractions

Distractions

Distractions are all around us, always. They come in many forms, phones, games, apps, twitter, facebook, people, etc these distractions can be both good and bad. Either way, they must be taken care of in the moment or they will continue to distract you.  Why? Because what distracts you may be exactly what you need to be doing or paying attention to. Let me explain. i often sit to write or pray or study and find my mind wandering. That’s my cue to stop and figure out why or what is distracting me. If it is thoughts i begin writing them down, if its a game or an app i shut them off. If i am on Twitter or Facebook i check my notifications and then exit the app. i set things aside, move, turn off music, turn on music…i do what i can to remove the distraction and sometimes that means engaging it for a moment to be able to set it aside.

What happens if the distraction is a person? Just the other day i was sitting and trying to write when a student sat in the window. i was completely distracted. i desperately wanted to get some work done until it came to me, maybe, just maybe, this student was the “work” the Lord really wanted me to focus on in that moment. No one was going to die if i didn’t get my other work done in that moment, but the impact i could end up having on that “distraction” might change the world or at least a life.

Let me encourage you the next time you get frustrated because of a distraction that you stop and ask yourself, “is this a distraction or an opportunity?” If its a distraction, do what you need to set it aside if it’s an opportunity then set your work aside and make a difference.

1 Corinthians 7:35 “I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.”

Hebrews 12:2  “fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Proverbs 4:25 “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.”

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things and the God of peace will be with you”