The Overflow

 It's been a while since my last post in part, because I have been thinking about this for a while, but more so because I haven't had the time to get my thoughts out, but right now this topic has become very important to me. In college I was a Christian Education major. I was involved with praise teams, bible studies and fellowship groups about six days a week and in most of those situations I even held a leadership position. This means I was constantly being filled by God and by the Holy Spirit, right? Not exactly. Certainly the potential was there, but standing up in front of people and professing my faith, talking about the Bible, and singing some songs that led people to worship didn't make me a committed believer. It made me a busy man controlled by schedules and responsibilities.

I have not discovered the point where we are taught that our life in Christ is based on how much time we spend talking or singing about him with other people. Don't get me wrong, these are great opportunities to share the love of Christ with others and to be filled but if it's just another activity on our schedule, then we are missing a vital point. God desires our hearts. He desires time with us and he wants us to share that with other believers in the context of bible study, fellowship groups, and many other means of worship, but he also asks us to meet him in the quiet places. It is easy to show up at a place at a designated time and to talk about what everyone else is talking about, but do we let it affect our lives.

I don't believe that anyone can spend time in the presence of God with their focus on Him and not be changed. God challenges us to think and to live differently. Every song that we sing in worship to Him and every verse of scripture that we read is meant to make us think more about what it means to live a life completely surrendered to Him. Not simply because we owe it to Him, the One who created us, in whom we "live move and have our being" (Acts 17:28), but more so because he desires us. He wants to be in that relationship with us. He knows our hearts. He knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb (Psalm 139). He knows what will we pray and do before it even enters our thoughts. He knows us intimately and he loves us compassionately like no one on earth could love us. So...why is it so hard to listen.

I was a terrible student in high school and college. I rarely read the course material and spent many more classes than I should have doodling and trying to keep my head from hitting the desk when I fell asleep. I think most of us have similar feelings when we go to church, Sunday school or youth group. We have heard these stories all our lives and we know what it means to be a good person like Jesus told us to. We aren't captured by the words and emotions that come out in the gospels and here is my point. I believe each of us is responsible for how we respond to what we hear and are taught, but I believe a major issue is in the ministers of Christ's Kingdom (essentially all of us, but specifically our spiritual leaders). I speak this because I am convicted of it and I have been involved in the lives of people that God has put in my path to minister to and I have not ministered to them completely and as effectively as I could have. God's grace is sufficient, but that's not an excuse to quit moving forward.

Some of the advice that was given to me by other youth pastors and speakers at conferences was that ministry comes from the overflow of our personal relationship. When we draw near to God, we are so consumed by His presence that we can't help but have the desire in our hearts to share it with others. For most of us, here is what happens. We go to camp, church, a bible study, a retreat, a conference, etc. and we come back "on fire" for God. Whatever that speaker or pastor spoke to us, God used to really hit the spot. We are living in the overflow, and it's pouring out of us for...a couple months...a week...a day? What happened? We stopped being filled. We stopped seeking to know him more deeply on a daily basis. We relied on other people to speak His life into us and we lived on that, but once it's gone, we feel empty, like God picked us up and then left us hanging. We call these "spiritual highs" and "spiritual lows." I know this feeling very well, but it's not meant to be this way.

God wants to meet us consistently. He is a God who never changes. He never leaves our side. He is as close to us in the mountains as he is the valley but we can't bring ourselves to listen and to draw near. It's not enough to go to church and bible study and hope that God will pour into us through those people. We have to seek Him. He says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13). If we seek Him with all of our hearts, we will find him in the midst of joy and sorrow, happiness and pain, the mountains and the valleys. Why is this so important?

Part of the impetus for writing this was that I was upset with the advice that ministry must come from the overflow, because let's be honest, most of us aren't consistently overflowing. What happens when there is no overflow. First, I believe that God uses us in our weakness. It's not easy and may even feel burdensome at times, but God will use us because ministry is for his glory, not ours. His grace is enough. The point I think many of my colleagues were trying to get across is that the effectiveness of His ministry in our lives is directly correlated with our own spiritual walk with Him. When we consistently acknowledge the presence of God in our lives we can't help but praise him and lift him up in our lives and our conversations with others. They will see His life and His glory as he shines through us and be drawn to His heart.

This is much easier said than done, but I challenge you to try it.

Start with five or ten minutes in the word when you wake up in the morning or before you go to bed (make sure you are awake and not just reading the words...been there). Focus on what God is teaching you through your relationships and prayers. Allow yourself to be affected by the life that he lived. I am confident that He will reveal Himself to you. Pray for a deeper connection to Him. We are all ministers to those around us, so let it come from the overflow, but remember to keep being filled by His word with others and in your personal time. I'll encourage you with these verses from Luke and Matthew:

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Luke 5:16 

Jesus (sinless, perfect, One w/ God) needed to withdraw from the crowds and from his ministry to spend personal time with His father. It was necessary for Him. How much more is it necessary for us.

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matt. 6:6

 Remember our reward is in heaven. God wants to fill us with His love so that we can minister to others and share his love with the others. The reward in heaven will be great. We will see those he has used us to minister to standing with us in praise to the Almighty.

A Dying World

I was at a conference this past weekend for a local ministry. It was a training conference for student leaders from the local schools and I was invited to join them to get a better understanding of what their ministry was all about. Here is their purpose retrieved from their home page:

The EDGE is an on-campus evangelistic ministry of the local church, initiated and led by students.  The EDGE exists on a secondary school campus (middle schools & high schools) for the purpose of sharing the Gospel with every student on every campus.  Youth workers are crossing denominational lines and forming strategic youth ministry partnerships to more effectively support students as missionaries to their school.

For lack of a better word, this is awesome. Most of us can look at this and think that this is the goal of most ministries right, to spread the good news to all the world. However, few of us truly take the opportunity to evangelize (myself included) even to our closest friends. When I even hear the word evangelize, immediately I think of television or handing out pamphlets on the streets, you know something all those crazy people do. 

The closing speaker at the conference (I really wish I remembered his name, but let's call him John so I don't have to call him "that guy"), told a story that really knocked me down and I hope it at least makes you think about our role in the Kingdom.

John was a gifted soccer player and was given the opportunity to play for a team in Europe. The soccer team spent their time after every game at the local pubs regardless of what time of day it was, but John never went. The whole team knew he was a Christian and that was how he made his stand. One day he noticed one of his teammates hanging out in his room reading a Bible. John thought, great, another christian, but to his surprise the man was an atheist who thought he needed to know what he didn't believe. A couple weeks later, John is confronted by this man. The next part word for word as I remember but, he asked John if he believed that he was going to hell. John stepping up to be a brave Christian, said something like "Yes, I believe if you don't except Christ as your savior, you will go to hell." The man stood up and said to him "How dare you. If I knew the people around me were dying I would get down on my hands and knees and crawl over broken glass to make sure that they knew."John never spoke to one of his teammates about his faith, he didn't put himself in the atmospheres that challenged him.

I was in awe after hearing this story. During my sophomore year of college, a good friend and I started a Bible study, because we didn't feel we got into the scriptures enough and it was challenging. We realized at some point that we hadn't even shared our faith with our closest friends. We had no idea where their hearts were. Jesus says very clearly "...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Without the love of Christ within us we are bound to death, because there is no freedom or forgiveness for our sins (Romans 6:23). The life that Jesus gives is eternal and full of grace (John 3:16). Previously I have written about our judgment towards people who think differently than we do and the divisions in the church but I think the issue of evangelism is much deeper. Most of us are afraid to offend someone with our faith. We keep it in our hearts and in our churches and we stay away from the pubs after the games so people will look at us and know we are Christians, but Christ didn't just live as an example to those around them. He met them where they were by building relationships with them. God reaches people in so many ways. He may initiate that relationship through a tract, a fire and brimstone sermon, a friendship, sharing a meal, a smile, or a multitude of other ways, but we must be aware of God's work in the world and how we can consistently be working to further the Kingdom.

There is a world out there that is dying because we are either too consumed by our own troubles or too afraid of what the other person will think instead of being concerned for someone else's life beyond this world. I know there are people in all of our lives that need ministered to and we have been afraid to do so. I write as one guilty of this myself, but take that step because the reward is eternal. If you have ever lost a friend or anyone who has died that you were close to, you know that feeling of emptiness and hurt when they are gone, so don't stand and watch the world around you die. You will be left wondering if there was something more you could have done or said. You may not even have to start the conversation right away. Pray for them diligently first. Ask God to open up their hearts, but do something. It's not enough to walk around with your head held high because you know where you will be on the day of Judgment. Bring your friends, acquaintances, enemies, and people you may only see once with you to worship the one true King.

O, For the Sake of Love

I talked a few entries back about how sometimes it is so easy to get angry when we feel the the church is failing its people, and I've found myself in that place once again. I don't have cable so I don't catch the daily news, but many of the big issues come up online as I'm working throughout the week and a few headlines lately have really troubled me. I would like to mention two of them "Should New York forbid Mosque near Ground Zero?" and "Church Plans Quran Burning."

The first article was released in mid-July of this year and the conversation has continued on since. I'm not normally into politics, but as followers of Christ we certainly can't ignore them. 9/11 was a terrible tragedy and the result of terrorism by Muslim extremists who make up a small portion of Muslims worldwide. After the tragedy, many Americans developed a hate for every Muslim that walked the planet. They made us uncomfortable in airports or on the streets and we began to stereotype them into a small category and we hated them. We were angry at them with a "justified" anger. Jesus told his people in the sermon on the mount that if anyone is angry with his brother they have committed murder (Matt. 5:21-26). I am not saying that there was no reason to be angry at the men in those planes, or at the situation, but our anger should not be directed towards an entire people who lost their brothers and sisters in the same tragedy and continue to lose their family members as the war continues just like we are. If we continue to direct our hate towards these people there will never be peace for anyone. Ten years later we are still holding on.

 If that isn't enough, the people who should be filled with a love that is above this world are the ones that are lashing out against their enemies. Let me clarify some points before I go on. I believe that there is only one way to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ. Our scriptures make that clear. I believe anyone who denies the love that Christ has to offer will suffer consequences, but how in the world can anyone know the love of Christ if they haven't experienced it.

Jesus told us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44). The love that Jesus has is unconditional. He doesn't require us to love Him back. He gave his life, his time, and everything he had to make sure that his disciples and the everyone that he interacted with knew his love fully and deeply so that they would understand when he was raised from the dead what their eternal reward would be. He calls us to offer this same love to the people we want to hate.

The burning of the Quran is a disgrace to the scriptures. It's a an unrighteous human judgment placed on a religion that most of us have never tried to understand. We are not the judge of this world. We are called to embrace the love of Christ and to share it with others. If they deny it, they will answer to God, not us. I don't agree with everything that happens in this world or in the lives of other people, but if I look on them with judgment I create a wall that can't be broken and have shut the door for Christ's love to enter in through me.

The love that Christ gave others required relationship. Why were you first attracted the the love of God? What really drew you in? Was it condemnation, shouting, and fire? It may have been, but I doubt that was most of our experiences. Most of us were introduced to the love of God by true and unconditional love in the context of a relationship with people who were really living it out, in the moments where the scriptures were alive and meaningful, because they talked of love and purity even when we fail, or completely miss the point. There was grace enough to cover the mess we have made of our lives and our relationships. We were shown compassion.

What if we loved other people? Not just Muslims, but everyone, regardless of how they have wronged us or hurt us or if they loved us back. I don't want every Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Atheist, Christian, or any other human being to have to spend their life in eternal judgment. Christ offers eternal life and he has called on me and you to share that love with the world so they won't have to die. We have murdered them with our hate. I want to stand next to the brothers and sisters in Christ before the heavenly throne worshiping the God who has saved us by his grace. I want all my brothers and sisters there. I believe there will be much more joy in Heaven if we seek to love our enemies and pray for their hearts to be drawn towards Him so we can stand next to them instead of being the reason they never wanted to listen.

I admit I only took a couple of classes on the world religions and I have a misunderstanding of them as well, but I'm open to starting the conversations and building the relationships without motives and regardless of our differences. My God has called me to love the world without judgment or hate,unconditionally, just as he has loved me. I am deeply sorry for failing all my brothers and sisters and treating them poorly through my thoughts and actions and I ask for your forgiveness. Let's love each other.

The Cost

I've been thinking frequently about what it means to follow Christ, to have a true relationship with him. I spoke a little about this last week in Sunday School with the High School youth and they all expressed similar frustrations. The love that I have for my fiancee, my family, and my friends is tangible in many ways. I can talk to them whenever I want. I can hug them and tell them that I love and care about them and they can immediately respond in a was that is clear to me. Although sometimes it does happen, it is difficult to forget about these relationships. I've spent my entire life in relationship with some of them and long periods of time with others and my heart is drawn to them. All of these relationships and the love that I am able to show towards them are a gift from God. I know love only because he first loved me (John 4:19). He loves without condition, full of compassion, and completely. This love that God offers shines through these relationships, but He also reaches us in means that aren't so tangible.

God has taught us to love him. Jesus says "if you love me, you will obey my commands," (John 14:15) and that the entire law can be summed up in two commandments "...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:37-39). What does it mean to love God with ALL our hearts, with ALL our minds, and with ALL our strength. I think we take the scriptures that we have heard so often too lightly. All isn't a very light word. To love God is to give him everything, all that we have and can give, not all that we want to give and this is important for more than just our own well being.

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-33)

 This is, or at least should be a challenging passage. Why is the God who is love, telling us to hate our family? God isn't telling us to despise our families or to ignore them. He is telling us that, He must be first. When Jesus called the first disciples, He simply said "follow me" (Matt. 4:19, 8:22. 9:9 to name a few). They were called to leave their homes, jobs, and families at the drop of a hat because what Jesus was offering was worth more than all those things. At least with his disciples, it didn't take much convincing from what we can gather from the scriptures.

It takes a lot more convincing for even Christians today to desire to follow Jesus. There is so much available to us at the tips of our fingers that the thought of having to read scripture, to work towards face-to-face relationships that are deeper than a facebook message, and to have to spend our lives seeking one thing just isn't feasible and Jesus isn't make it any easier by telling us we have to if we want to be His disciple and to live out His purposes in our lives. Some would argue that you can be a Christian and not a disciple. The disciples are the preachers and teachers. They are the ones called to spread the good news. The rest of us just listen, but James tells us we are "deceived" if we only listen to the word, we are called to action (James 1:22). Why is this so important?

God loves each and every one of His people. Nothing can change that (Romans 8:38-39), but if we want to follow Jesus, if we want to know his love completely and to live in the fullness of life that is offered through his sacrifice, we must respond to the love we are given. Our forgiveness and our eternal life came at a cost and it requires sacrifice on our part. In the passage in Luke (above), Jesus is saying that we absolutely have to count the cost. Is this venture really worth getting into? Is it worth going to church, putting a little more in the offering plate, giving my free time to volunteer, reading the scriptures, allowing myself to be pushed way out of my comfort zone and looking at the world differently?

An experience with Jesus should change your life whether you have been a believer for 100 years or not at all. When we draw close to Him he shifts our world view. We begin to see the world through the eyes of God and what we see requires a change in us.We will begin to hurt for what he hurts for and to find joy in what he delights in. These emotions and attitudes will draw a response, but are we have to be willing to embrace it. We have to count the cost. It's not about being ready to make the decision. When we make that decision God will guide us, but are you willing to be changed? Are you willing to be convicted and are you willing to respond? Is it worth it?

I can't answer that for anyone reading, but I can say that nothing in this world will ever satisfy like the love of Jesus Christ and having a personal relationship with him. I will not be able to convince anyone of this with my own strength or agenda, it has to be experienced. God provides us with opportunities to share the joy that he has given us. As I mentioned above, Christ gives us two commandments, to love Him with all we have and to love others. In loving Him, we must be willing to make the sacrifice, to pay the cost, whatever it takes. In loving Him, we will be drawn to His heart and we won't be able to help but love others because we will see them as he sees them with love and compassion. It's not always going to be an easy road and it may not ever seem easy, but the reward is eternal. It's beyond our life on this earth. It's perfect and pure and holy. Take a step in faith, believe Christ is who he says he is and fall into His embrace. Delight yourself in His presence. Pray that He would meet you and brace yourself for the adventure.