Overwhelmed

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

Do you ever feel overwhelmed?  I have a tendency to stay under control and not get too high or too low.  At times though, I can find myself carrying a heavy weight, a weight of unmet expectations, failures, and trying my hardest and not being good enough.  The burdens of life can very quickly press hard on us and begin to crush us.

The problem is that I begin to carry the weight and don't seek rest in the Lord.  When I labor and am heavy laden I must remember to find rest for my soul in Christ Jesus.  As hard as we try to succeed, as much as we try to please people and meet their expectations, we will always come up short.  We must remember to come to Jesus, to learn from Him and experience the rest that only He can give.

Eye Contact

"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." - Psalm 34:5

Eye contact is one of the most telling forms of non-verbal communication.  We communicate in non-verbal ways all the time throughout our day.  Positively or negatively our body language communicates a lot to people.  Sometimes we don't even notice how much it effects those around us.

Have you ever thought about your non-verbal communication with God?  What posture do you approach prayer, worship, & devotional time with?  Are you making eye contact with God and allowing Him to make eye contact with you?

The outward evidence is on the faces of those making eye contact with God.  They are radiant, they are in awe of the glory and majesty of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Our sinful flesh keeps deep hurts, pains, and lies trapped in our soul.  When we just stop and make eye contact with our God our soul is detoxed.  We understand that God sees into the depths of who we are; our fears, our worries, our pain, and the longings of our heart.

In relationships you know the fellowship between two people is good when they can look each other in the eye.  Many times our sin makes us look at the ground because of the feelings of shame and guilt.  Know the steadfast mercy and love of God, receive the forgiveness found at the cross of Christ and in turn look to Him and you will become radiant!

#uncomfortable

This past Saturday we had our men's discipleship conference.  I was blessed by the men who came out and their desire to follow Jesus.  Here are some of the notes from the conference...

Desire without discipline always leaves you wanting.
- Is your desire to follow Jesus greater than your desire for comfort?

Excuses are rooted in our desire to be comfortable.
- What excuses do you find yourself making that are rooted in the desire to be comfortable?

We must be intentional in our conversation if we want to be purposeful in our relationships.
- What relationships do you need to be more intentional in?

We make time for what we value most?
- How much do you value time with Jesus?

All Day, Everyday

"Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death.  Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live." - Mark 5:22-23

Implore: to beg, call, or pray earnestly or desperately

Comfort and ease often crowd out our understanding of the need for Christ.  We need to understand that our need for Jesus in our lives in all day, everyday!  Often times we don't think God cares about us so we don't implore Him, we don't talk with Him, and we don't walk with Him.  We don't believe that God can do something because in our minds we limit His power because of our lack of faith.

"When I look at your heavens, the word of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

- Psalm 8:3-4

We need God all day, everyday!  May we walk and talk with Him and let Him know how much we need Him.

You Shall...

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." - Deuteronomy 6:6-9

The word shall simply means a command.  God commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and might.  We are also commanded to keep God's words on our heart, to teach them to our children, to constantly talk about them, and to always keep them in our sight.

God gives a great recipe for how to love him.  When his word is on our heart our emotions are engaged.  We ponder the truths of Scripture and allow them to fight against the lies that have a domino effect on our emotions.  Greater responsibility comes when you have someone that is watching you.  When you are raising children or discipling people there is a responsibility to teach God's word.  Children and people watch your life closely and we need to be examples.  Finally we need to keep God's word constantly in our minds.  We need to see it, read it, and always be thinking about it.

Drifting

"In the Christian life, if you do not go forward, you go backward; there is no permanent standing still." - Warren Wiersbe

There is a deceptive drift that we as followers of Jesus Christ can fall victim to.  It starts with neglect, we stop spending time reading and meditating on the Scriptures.  Next comes entertaining lies which incites doubt in your life.  You begin to question God's character and your heart starts to harden. Bitterness, distrust, envy, and ungodly attributes start to take over your life.  The drifting continues as your life becomes sluggish, God's word tastes stale and feels dull.  Church or church people become hypocrites and you want nothing to do with them.  You start to isolate and become hard hearted to the things of God and the people of God.  In the end you become hardened by sin stop listening to God.

"But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." - Hebrews 3:13

It is important for us to examine our lives and examine our hearts.  We must help each other stay focused on loving God and one another while understanding His grace to radically change those of us who have hardened our hearts.

Are you asking God for a spirit of humility to show you how you have drifted?  Let us exhort and encourage one another EVERY day to not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Metamorphosis

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..."

- Romans 12:2a

To be conformed means to assume an outward expression that does not reflect what is really inside.  You could relate this word to a masquerade or a costume party.  Paul is urging his readers, who were already becoming conformed, to stop immediately.

To be transformed means to outwardly manifest our inner, redeemed natures, not only once but daily.  When a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly it doesn't look like a caterpillar anymore.  It has been totally transformed.

By the mercies of God we have hope and redemption in Jesus Christ.  True salvation is an internal change that manifests itself through how we live our lives.  As Galatians 5 states, our life should be controlled by the Spirit and producing the fruit of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit must change out thinking through the consistent study and meditation of Scripture.  The renewed mind is saturated with and controlled by the word of God.

Is life a costume party for you?  Is your outward appearance reflecting your inward change?  Are you being transformed by the renewal of your mind?  I encourage you to commit to the consistent study and mediation of Scripture and you will see transformation!

The Fruit of Joy

This Sunday we begin our evening service at Countryside Chapel.  We will be walking through the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5 and the armor from Ephesians 6.  Here are a few thoughts on joy, which I will be speaking about this Sunday.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him.  Though you do not now see him, you believe and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,” - 1 Peter 1:8

Joy is not reserved only for the future
Often times we are seeking that "thing" which will help us have joy.  We live life using phrases like, "if only" or "when this, then..."  Joy is only in our future which is always just out of reach.  If we are not living with joy, remembering and rejoicing constantly in Jesus Christ we are lacking belief.  When we love God, when we truly believe and know the love of God in Christ Jesus the only response is inexpressible joy.

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” - John 15:11

Joy comes in obedience
God is the potter and we are the clay.  We are the created and He is the Creator.  He has laid out His Word and instructed us how to follow.  When we are obedient our joy is full because we are doing what we were created for.  Lack of joy should be a red flag for us to take a look at our life and hold it to the mirror of Scripture.  Obedience to God leads to His fullness of joy which can't be found any other place.

Joy is an incredible gift of God.  Joy allows you to smile when your whole world is falling apart.  Joy is centered in the truth of the eternal God's love for us and trusting in Him to work everything out for our good and His glory.  My prayer is that your joy may be full!

Where is your focus?

Where is your focus?  Are you focused on earning God’s favor?  If you are “in Christ” you are a new creation and already have his favor.  The blood of Christ has earned it for you and there is nothing you can do, Jesus has already done it.  Our focus must shift from this conditional earning love mentality to a passionate relationship that worships the infinite wisdom and intimate love of the God of the universe.  We must long to be with our Savior.  He alone needs to be our God, He alone needs to be our focus, He alone needs to be our desire.

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

- Psalm 63:1

Jesus described himself as the “living water.”  This world will dry you up.  At times it can feel like you are walking through a spiritual desert.  We are constantly longing for water, to be nourished and filled.  We must put our hope in Jesus.  We must rest in his love, his truth, his mercy, and his grace.

In his book Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis says, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exist.”  He goes on to say,  “If I find in myself a desire in which no experience in this world can satisfy, the probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”  Do you realize you were made for another world?  An eternal world where you will be face to face with Jesus Christ.  I hope that excites you, I hope that ignites something inside of you.  We will continue to desire more than this world has to offer because we were made for the next.

Make The Most of Your Time

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." - Ephesians 5:15-16

I love to travel to the west coast but whenever I do, waking up comes really early.  With the three hour time change I find myself waking up between 4am - 5am and I am wide awake.  What do you do that early when you are at someones house or a hotel?  Nothing is open, its dark, and it is dead silent.  What a great opportunity!

The problem with opportunities is that they have to be taken advantage of.  Throughout our days we have opportunities, time we can use for the eternal.  Are you making the best use of your time?  Are you taking advantage of the opportunities before you?

The days we live in are evil.  Distractions surround us, discipline is difficult but we must work hard to make the best use of our time.  Where is your time going?  What is taking up your time that shouldn't be?  Spend some time seeking God for wisdom, ask to walk in wisdom so that you can make the best use of your time.