The Power of Contrast

Part of my career has been spent creating marketing collateral such as printed ads, websites, flyers, brochures, PowerPoint presentations and videos. One of the oft used goals in graphics is to have your image(s) "POP"! This frequently is accomplished through some type of stark contrast. You want your ad or brochure to stand out, so you create this contrast between the background and a particular image that you want the viewer to focus on! When the foreground image blends with the background or the image you want to pop looks too similar to the objects around it, the image gets lost and loses it's focus. Viewers are likely to ignore the main image or not even notice it exists. This is the same reason we use bright colors for warning signs...to catch people's attention, warning them from danger.

This past week, I was at a study group and we were talking about Adam and Eve and how it must have felt when they first sinned against God in The Garden of Eden. One of the comments brought up was that there must have been a drastic difference between having this direct, intimate relationship with God verses the separation that occurred (for the first time ever with man) as the result of their sin. This contrast (being close to God, then distant) was probably overwhelming for the first couple; it must have hit them hard. There is something crucial to learn from this!

In the past, I have been blind to the importance of developing, fostering and maintaining a closeness to Jesus and I think one huge benefit of intimacy with God is just this: If we don't, then the distance we experience when we sin will not feel much different than any other time. If we are close to Christ and get to know deeply the beauty of His Grace, then when we sin, WE FEEL IT! The separation hurts!

We already live in a loud, disruptive, hyper-active world that is used by the enemy to drown out God's still voice. Even as Christians we surround ourselves with technology that often hinders closeness. (Hebrews 12:1 "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.")

So, realize the value of intimacy with Christ! Place yourself in a position of sensitivity where the consequence of sin matters. Don't allow yourself to race through life feeling only the immediate "next thrill" or stress. We can end up here, even (and especially) in ministry. Rarely or never knowing/experiencing a closeness to God is dangerous! It's very easy to become desensitized to God's conviction. It's very easy to not even know when we are separated from God. The road sign is shouting to stop, but we are too busy or distracted to see the sign. The sign would stand out if we slowed down or removed our "hinderances".

Why Being Too Busy Matters

Today I wanted to touch on a subject that continues to rear its ugly head as I meet with people or talk to people and that is how “busy-ness” has become a huge factor in our lives. There are many reasons why we (as a society) have allowed our schedules to become packed to the point where our spiritual PEACE, JOY, ENERGY and GROWTH get trampled. For some of us, raising kids seem to be a huge factor. For some of us, it’s the demands of our occupation. Those seem to be the two primary factors. For some, it’s a combination. For decades, that was my life. So busy that I had no ability to see the sites or smell the flowers along the path of life! So busy that my time with God was rushed, short and fruitless. So busy that busy-ness became my go-to excuse for getting out of things. So busy that I found myself stressed often, tired more, impatient, angry and ineffective at most everything. Does this sound familiar?

As I continue to read through Colossians, I got stuck for days on chapter 3, verse 12. In this verse Paul gives a list of virtues we are to wear as Christians (he uses terms like “put on” or “clothe yourselves with”). One of the virtues is patience. I know, this is a tough one. One of those virtues we are all afraid to pray for!! It dawned on me that we often do not have patience (say, while driving or at work or at home with the kids) because we are often exhausted. We are often exhausted because of our excessively packed schedules.

Yet, it may go deeper than just being tired all the time because of how busy we are. It goes deeper than being impatient. I wonder if we are developing patterns in our lives that foster weakness in our walk with God by allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed? Do we ever say “no” to things that have little or no value? Do we ever intentionally cut out time (on a regular basis) for reading or praying? Or do we pray when we can? Read if we get the time?

My point is this: Some of our weakness / stress / impatience / tiredness is controllable. I contend that we have some control over our time. I could say we have total control over our time, but that’s not true, nor realistic. Additionally, time management is intentional. You have to make time for down time! If we wait for time to open up, it won’t happen!!!

WARNING: Taking time out…down time…time to meet God…quiet time opens you up to feeling. Sometimes, we subconsciously run, run, run to avoid what’s going on inside. So, be prepared to discover things about yourself, things about God’s Goodness and insights into His Word. It’s risky! It’s healthy!! It fosters growth and forces you to think!!!

So, I write this with the full knowledge that I am currently on my own and do not have the regular time crunches many of you have. However, for months I was meeting with men and going to various meetings almost nightly, during the past few months. I finally realized that I was not able to keep up my spiritual disciplines (good disciplines) and was beginning to burn out. We have to see busy-ness as something to avoid, not justify! For some, being over-booked gives one a sense of importance. However, I would ask, “Who should be important in your life?” and “If someone is really important to us, how do we show that?”

OUR MESSAGE   If time really is a precious resource (not to be wasted), then value alone time. Value quiet time. Value good sleep! Value exercise (preaching to myself here)! Value a less stressed, less tired, less angry, more patient you! Value how you present yourself to the world! This one is huge. People look at you and put two things together: 1) Your talk and 2) your walk. If you say you have joy in the Lord, but are always worn out or stressed or impatient???? Not the message we want to send. This was me lately. For those with kids: Remember that our kids become a product of our lifestyles and are greatly influenced by the environment we provide. We influence by how we live mostly. Words have LITTLE meaning if our actions don’t match up.

There is no practical application I can give here. You know your schedule and life best. Just realize that so much of our fuel to enjoy Jesus comes out of time WITH Jesus and not “tired time” or “rushed time”.  May you be inspired to slow down!

Fear Based Trust

FEAR -  It’s a multi-faceted word, isn’t it? Words like anxiety and worry are associated with it. Anxiety could be described as “the fear of what we cannot control”. Think about it. The situations or outcomes we cannot control are usually the things we get anxious about or stress over. For some people, fear is crippling. Unhealthy fears can hold us back from relationships, growth and our enjoyment of God. It’s possible that we could identify fear as a root cause of struggles in many of us; we just don’t know it.

EXAMPLES – I have struggled with being a perfectionist. Some believe perfectionism is based on the fear of failure. A perfectionists sets unreasonable standards for themselves and others. Perfectionist can struggle with a critical spirit. I do.

There is a component of fear in pride. Some pride can be based on the fear of appearing inadequate. Have you ever known prideful people who you know to be insecure deep down?

Many are fearful of relationships. Maybe it began with some painful experiences in the past. Maybe the person has something to hide and cannot risk getting too close. Whatever the source of the fear, we feel incapable of close relationships.

Many fear what's ahead. They become paralyzed over the prospect of what is on their plate or changes in their lives, etc.

No matter what you fear, you should know we serve a Loving God who wants freedom for you. 

HEALTHY FEAR – Fear is not all bad! Some healthy fears inspire us to seek shelter from the hurricane or fasten our seat belts or inspect our scuba gear before a dive. However, there is another fear that God is after. Just like we respect the power of a hurricane or a raging river, we are to respect and fear a Holy God (”But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Luke 12:5).

FEAR BASED TRUST? – Have you ever noticed how God often operates in ways opposite to what we would consider common sense? “…but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,…”   (1 Cor 1:27). We read this verse and don’t always have a good grasp on examples, but here is one! The very God who has no beginning and no end, who has created everything and has the power to destroy it all…This Almighty God wants us to trust Him AND fear Him all at the same time. Think about that. It sounds confusing and here is one possible reason why.

WE'VE BEEN LIED TO – If God designed us to both Trust Him AND Fear Him, then that tells me that Fear has been counterfeited by the enemy and has been corrupted by our sinful nature. Fear was meant to direct our path from the beginning. Fear was meant to create a dependence on our All-Powerful, but All-Loving Creator! We have been created to “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways SUBMIT to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)  Instead, we have taken our eyes off of our Almighty Father and have believed the lie that WE are somehow in control of things. Let me repeat that…we have taken our eyes off of our Almighty Father and have believed the lie that WE are somehow in control of things. Isn't that the very thing that happened in the Garden of Eden? Isn't that what happened to the Israelites when they made an idol to worship? Isn't that how Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness? Isn't that why we have certain unhealthy fears now? Because we are looking at how WE can or cannot control things. Our trust has shifted from GOD to ourselves. In some cases, we have created our own idols and have put our trust in someone else or something else. Think about that. It’s not always what we have invested in ourselves, but rather putting too much stock in someone else (not God).

WE JUMPED – I am not saying that getting past our fears is a snap of a finger, but I am saying that as we learn to re-align our dependence on His Power, His Strength and we learn to Fear God through complete dependence, reverence, humility and submission, we may find our unhealthy fears subside. We sometimes capsize our boat out in a mighty ocean (life) and we are doing everything to stay afloat and not be overcome by the waves (performance, raising kids, confrontations, security). We fear the water, the sharks, hypothermia and drowning. When the coast guard arrives to save us, all fear subsides. We are in good hands! Here is the difference: We jumped off God’s ship in the first place and it’s the very ship that protects us! He has had the lifeline within grasp, we have been too (fill in the blank) to grab it!

If you struggle with fear(s) in your life that you cannot seem to shake, I hope that you can begin a new journey of renouncing former lies that “it’s up to you” and can renew your mind with Jesus’ help as you learn to Fear only God and focus on your dependence on Him for EVERYTHING! Here is a crucial life verse for those of us struggling with unhealthy fears: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) It does not say I can do most things, it says “all”! Life is full of risks. Just remember that the results belong to The Lord!

*DO YOU BELIEVE? – Do you believe that God is in control? This is a big question to ponder. We see in the story of Job that God allowed satan to only go so far in his attacks against Job. We also know that God holds our life in his hands. If He wanted us to come home to Heaven right this second, He could take us. So, we may fear flying in planes because we are not in control of anything while in the air. Yet God is in control! If God could place all the stars in the sky and knows them all by name, I’m pretty sure he can protect your life if your time has not come! The point is, if it’s your time, He will take you home regardless of being 20,000 ft. in the air or walking down the street or sleeping in your bed. When you are able to place your security in Him, and only him, your fears that are control-based will eventually fade as you realize that He has a plan for your every moment in life! He has His best interest for you in mind. You are called to live a life that demonstrates to a lost and fearful world that you serve, love and worship a MIGHTY God who is worthy to be trusted with EVERYTHING! 

God's Daily Provision

Matthew 6:33-34. Such a familiar verse to most in The Faith. So familiar that we often pass by it with little consideration as to how it might help us in our day to day life. Verse 34 is the verse I want to look at in particular, as well as Lamentations 3:22-23. So, here they are:

Jesus said in Matthew 
"³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

(We think) Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 
"22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
      for his compassions never fail.
 23 They are new every morning;
     great is your faithfulness."

Scripture seems to demonstrate that God, full of Grace and Mercy, wants us to rely on Him for anything we are going through...at that moment! Yes, we look to Him for all of our future needs, but He seems to be telling us to rely on him based on what he provides for right now. So, in Matthew, Jesus connects the providence of God ("all these things will be given") to your need for Today, right now, by instructing us not to worry ahead! Then I want to connect the last part of verse 34, where Jesus says "Each day has enough trouble..." with Jeremiah's words about God's "compassions" (mercies) being new every morning. I get from these connections that God proportions (dispenses/provides) to each believer the exact Grace and Mercy needed for everything that God knows will happen to us each day! Stop here and think about what that means. It's huge!
Here is the problem: We don't often trust Him for that provided Grace at the time of need. We tend to be so independent that the concept of relying on God moment by moment is not natural and often forgotten. We get caught up worrying about what's ahead or even overwhelmed at the size of the storm. Here is some sort of illustration about how we worry: Let's say I were to walk a child down a path and in front of us was a lion. Unknown to the child is that the lion is chained up and has no teeth. Despite my knowledge of the truth, it is clear to the child that we are headed right for danger and as we get closer and closer, the child becomes more anxious and terrified and paralyzed at the prospect of the coming threat. Yet, we are not there and when we get there, the child will discover that I had "prepared the way". That child's fear about what is about to happen is worrying about tomorrow. Looking at all that is ahead and becoming overwhelmed with worry when God tells us not to worry because at the moment we "get there", He is there with us providing everything we need.
So, Matthew 6 has much more meaning than clothing, food and shelter. In Lamentations we see that without God's love and compassion (Grace), we would not make it. Think about this. Our EVERY second of life is sustained by God! When you wake up each morning, you did so through God's provision. John Piper in his teaching on Future Grace shows that even our ability to believe (minute-by-minute) is sustained by God Himself (The Author of our Faith)! This is to say that every morning we wake up a believer we are indebted to God's Grace!!
So, depending on your view of God's sovereignty, we can begin (hopefully) to see that the very God who controls EVERYTHING in EVERY WAY is the same God that promises to provide for us all that we need AT THE TIME that we need it! His Grace is measured out daily for exactly what we need and nothing less, nothing more! Take joy if you feel the pressures of life overwhelming you. You are stressing needlessly. God's promises are real, powerful and reliable! You just need to believe and ask. I even believe that our reliance on God for His moment-by-moment Grace is the answer to killing the sins that plague us.
As J Moss would say..."God's Got it!"

Set your mind on things above... Colossians 3:2

For years I have read Colossians 3:2 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." and thought very little of its application to real life. Well, I am beginning to see something significant about it. Paul had this incredible understanding wherein all that mattered in life were the "things above"! So, then the next logical question is, What constitutes 'things above'?

Probably safe to say that it starts with God himself! He is the primary and supreme focus. So without going into too much detail about why God should be our primary focus, let me touch on a less obvious "things above" category.

It's easy to just throw out things that we think are "things above", but I wonder if these things are elements of God's creation (or institution) that are here on earth, but are eternal in their future existence! We all know that marriage between a man and a woman is not eternal.  Yet the Church is eternal by virtue of the marriage supper of the Lamb! God's Word is eternal! Jesus, The Word, is eternal! 

So, if you consider just these element: God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), His Word, The Church (which is essentially any person chosen by God unto salvation), we narrow down some KEY elements representing "things above" that we experience while on earth. In other words, we are not talking about angels or streets of Gold that are invisible to us or purely futuristic...OK, we cannot physically see God, but we can experience His work and presence in our lives, even daily!

The reason I think I mention these elements is to make Colossians 3:2 have more practical application. If you are anything like me, you can read the same verse for years and certain simple truths never pop out. So, what I hear Paul saying is that if we want victory as Christians, we have to invest our resources in eternal things!! If we were created eternal beings, then why would we invest so much of our time, money and energy in the things of this "blink of an eye" world...and then wonder why we struggle so much? Struggles in sin, selfishness, idolatry, busy-ness.

Therefore, my encouragement to you is to invest your life in the things that focus you on eternity and become involved in eternal ventures of God's creation and plan! This gives new emphasis on The Church, new emphasis on others, new emphasis on Missions and Evangelism, and the list goes on! 

It also diminishes the value of temporal, earthly pursuits that bind us to the desires of the flesh. Let's face it, the lure of the world, spiritual warfare and our continual hunger to satisfy our flesh would have so much less power if we became...get this...too involved and desirous to do the things of God! Can you imagine being able to say, "Sorry satan, I have no time to give you today. Still preparing for tonight's Bible study!" or "Sorry TV show, I would love to spend my entire evening dumbing myself down, but I have someone in need I will be sharing life with!"

Aim towards a life with eternal purpose!

A Burden over The Wrong Focus

I am burdened by an ever increasing awareness that most of us will waste aspects of our lives, even while thinking we are on the right track as Christians. I know this is a strong statement, but it is powerfully true. Please read this knowing that I have (and still struggle with) the waste of my life. It’s not a concern over watching a meaningless TV show when I usually don’t watch TV. It’s not a focus on the things that have little pull on me. It’s an unhealthy focus rather on sin and my weaknesses. Let me explain...
One area of waste in our lives is our willingness to focus so much on our past, our weaknesses and our sin battles, that we forget about our real purpose in life; namely to Glorify God with our lives! We slowly slip into this deception that life as Christians is more about us than Christ; more about our needs than the needs of the hurting and lost.

So to me a wasted life is one that is spent doing all the spiritual exercising (going to church, praying, memorizing scripture, gaining knowledge, attending bible studies, listening to sermons online, reading books, going to seminars and conferences, etc.), YET there is little to no fruit for Christ! That is the key. 
Fruit in our lives is the evidence of our Faith in Christ. James puts it perfectly when he says, 'I will show you my faith by my works'. It’s not doing all the right things to satisfy our consciences or religiously/legalistically following a list of "to-do's" to ensure salvation; it’s getting past the feeding of ourselves and utilizing our knowledge! It's not becoming so stuck in the past that we never move forward. We are here for a purpose far beyond ourselves!!

So, here is what I believe is one major deterrent to direct impact (ministry) and it’s nothing new, but it hit me this morning during my time in Colossians: THE WRONG FOCUS!  When Christ says that we are to abandon everyone in our lives, including ourselves; when Paul talks repeatedly about dying to oneself; when John Piper talks about treasuring Christ above all else; these are the messages instructing us that there is a massive calling to Christians to not only avoid the quicksand of our past, but to live for a larger purpose than ourselves!

When I consider how much of my focus in life is spent on avoiding sin, preventing sin, resisting sin…I am realizing that it is consuming my time and energy and keeping me from effective ministry because my eyes are on the choppy water and not Christ standing on the waves. I am also realizing how much I am still attached and in love with satisfying my flesh and it’s desires. Having said that, I need Holiness! It's not JUST something God wants for me, it's something I need to experience God more fully. 
The Un-Wasted life is one that looks not only forward, but looks outward! It does not forget where we have come from, but it also is not living in fear and obsession concerning the past. The un-wasted life focuses on Christ and the things concerning His Glory and Beauty!!

So, let Paul speak to this now in Colossians as you spend some time with The Lord today! Notice where our focus ought to be!

Colossians 3:1-17

Purpose of This Blog

As the blog title suggests, the reason I have begun this blog is to hopefully encourage others to examine their lives in view of how they treasure Christ in their hearts and how treasuring Christ affects our entire minute-by-minute perspective and behavior as Christians! I believe so much of our behavior is influenced by our beliefs and perspective. When you value something and consider it to be worth doing anything for (think young love), this "valuing" changes your behavior! So, it stands to reason that if Christ is our greatest treasure, this changes a lot of things:
1) How we fight sin
2) How we deal with our weaknesses
3) How we deal with our wounds
4) How we recover from setbacks
5) How we spend our time
6) How we use our other resources (money, energy, talents, skills, knowledge)
7) How we treat others (the lost, the hurting, parents, siblings, spouses, children, friends, in-laws, co-workers, neighbors, strangers, enemies)
8) How we die to ourselves
9) How we live for and in Christ
10) Our motivation towards Christ-likeness and Holiness

If you think you can be a Christian and NOT treasure Christ, you are wrong. Being a Christian is not summed up in being saved and being a good person. Being a Christian is identifying yourself with Christ and it's an "all-in" life!
Being a Christian is not easy because your natural self loves the darkness and even as a Christian you have to resist the urges to satisfy the flesh...sometimes on an hour by hour basis. 
The good news is that God sustains our faith! It's not all up to us to fight this battle alone. In fact, we are powerless to do what is right! My point is this: If Christ is not your motivation, then your flesh and our enemy (satan) wins. This is a huge factor why so many Christians are defeated. Instead of focusing on eternal treasure, we stare at what the world offers and dwell on what our flesh demands. We are deceived.

So, if you are reading this and what I am saying resonates with your current struggle(s), my prayer is that this blog has meaning and purpose in your life! My prayer is that God, in His great Mercy and Grace, uses these writings to encourage you that there is hope and I can witness to the fact that if Christ becomes your most treasured obsession (yes obsession!), your life will transform (through the working of God's Spirit and The Word) to become the Christian who experiences Jesus in fullness, not shame. There is hope!