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.

Walk With God

“Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” - Genesis 5:24

“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him.  Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.” - Hebrews 11:5

When it says Enoch walked with God it means that he pleased God.  There are many people in our lives that we try to please.  It could be a spouse, a boss, friend, customer, family members, etc.  Why do we try to please these people?  Are we looking for something in return?  Are we seeking favor?  Are we striving for them to act in a way that benefits us?

Enoch loved God, he walked with Him, he pleased Him.  Walking with God implies a moment by moment fellowship with the Lord.  A constant communion with our Father.  Imagine the depth and love in that type of relationship.  Would you like you walk with God as Enoch did?  What is slowing you down?  What priorities need shifted?

Enoch was not, for God took him.  He never experienced death.  Elijah and Enoch are the only two people we know of that we taken.  Enoch gives us an example of an intentional and passionate pursuit of God.  Be purposeful, be focused, seek God with every fiber of your being.  Know your need for Him, live out of your need for Him.

Who Are The Rechabites?

"Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the LORD..." 

- Jeremiah 35:2

Are you the rule breaker?  If not, more than likely you know "that guy."  The one who tries to defy every rule just because.  Who likes to do the opposite of what you are supposed to do.  Maybe your a parent who has a disobedient child.  We all have a streak of disobedience in us, an urge to not obey the rules, to be our own person.  Besides, no one can tell me what to do...right?  Or can they?  The people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem were God's chosen people, yet constantly refused to listen to the voice of the LORD.  In fact, God speaks to them saying,

"...I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me.  I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, "Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.  But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.""

- Jeremiah 35:14b-15

God uses the example of the Rechabites in Jeremiah 35 to show us a picture of obedience.  Because they feared and respected their father they obeyed him.  They did not drink wine all the days that they lived and did not build houses to dwell in because that is what their father commanded them not to do.  They spent their lives living in tents being obedient and listening to the instruction of their father.

You may not listen to the speed limit signs on the interstate, the "no trespassing" sign, or the cancer warnings on tobacco products but there is one person we must listen to.  You see, because of Judah's disobedience God brought disaster upon them.  He gave them every opportunity to listen to him.  He persistently sent prophets to speak to them but their hearts turned cold.

Don't let your heart grow cold.  Understand who God is, the creator, the author of life and death.  Understand who we are, his creation, created to bring glory to Him.  My prayer is that wherever you are at in your spiritual journey you would start to listen to God.  I don't care what you think about "Christians" or "Church" but I do care that you listen to what God says in Scripture.  I challenge you to open the Bible, seek Him, and he will be found by you.  He is the God of all hope, full of grace, mercy, truth.

Bad Day

So we have all had bad days before.  Some days are bad because of one really bad event that takes place while others can be bad because every little thing seems to go wrong.  Well today was one of those days.  I over slept my alarm by 2 hours which never happens.  I am not behind and trying to figure out how I am going to get everything done.  While I am quickly grabbing some breakfast our breaker for toaster goes out.  I then proceed to our dungeon basement to flip the breaker and notice a large amount of water and extreme dampness down there.  After careful inspection it seems that during the storms that happened here while we were in Alaska water seeped into our basement.  As I am inspecting the basement I hit my head a few times, find another spot that needs patched, and notice that the roof where our wood burning stove pipe goes up needs resealed.

At this point in time I am stressing about the new ministry website that needs done along with all the events of the morning.  I sat down to take a deep breathe and my wife walks up to me, hands me her Bible and says, "read this."

I opened the Bible to Psalm 44 and it says,

"O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the people,
but them you set free;
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them." v.1-3


God's word is such a great reminder.  We will face affliction, we will have bad days, hear bad news, make bad purchases, and at times make bad decisions.  In the midst of the "badness" we must never forget our position in Christ.  We are saved, redeemed, rescued, loved, secure, complete, whole, and much more because God loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus Christ to die in our place.  We can rest in the fact that its not about us, its about him and his glory.  So if you are having a bad day like me, pick up the Bible and read it.  Be reminded of how great and awesome God is and how much he cares about you, even in your bad day.

Why Is A Story Told?

Have you ever sat down and thought about why stories are told?  Stories have different purposes at different times.  Some are just for simple entertainment, some are meant to communicate a point, and others can be a way of recounting history.  This leads to another question, what makes a story a great story?  What are some of your favorite stories?

I would tend to think "great" stories, or our most favorite stories are the ones that move us in our hearts. They make us laugh hysterically, cry unceasingly, and to act with courage.  Have you ever told someone a true story but they didn't believe you?  The disciples know how you feel.  Check out John 20:24-25;

"Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord."  But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."

The disciples were telling Thomas a true story, a story that aligned with what Jesus taught them and a story all of his close friends were telling him was true.  Yet I wonder if Thomas was still grieving the loss of Christ, I wonder if this story seemed too good to be true.  Even though Thomas refused to believe their story at first he ultimately found it to be true and believed.  The fact that the story was true didn't change but Thomas's belief in the truth changed.

John 20:31 says, "but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

The Bible is God's words to us.  It is 66 books of pure truth at our fingertips yet we often don't believe the words on the page.  We are missing out, Thomas was on the verge of not recognizing and believing the greatest story ever told.  My prayer is that you wouldn't disbelieve that greatest story ever told.  Jesus came as a man, died on a cross, and rose 3 days and paid the due penalty for our sins.  By grace we are saved, through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen!

Quick to hear, slow to speak

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

- James 1:19-21

We love giving out opinions.  We love to hear our own voices.  Whether the subject is sports, politics, theology, or just practical life advice we tend to be slow to hear and quick to speak.  When we are slow to hear and quick to speak we often are more easily angered.  This can lead us to seek to be right rather than seek to understand.  A friend from Chicago always tells me, "seek first to understand and then be understood."  The point is that we often are ready to respond before we allow the other person to finish speaking.  We begin to generate our response and stop listening.

James not only is warning us not to do this relationally but more importantly in our ultimate relationship.  Many times we are not quick to hear from Scripture.  We formulate our response to a passage without ever carefully inspecting what it is actually saying.  Later on in James he talks about how the Bible is like a mirror.  We must carefully look into the mirror and examine our lives.  If you remember when you went on a date you starred into the mirror a little longer.  You made sure you searched all over for those zits and blemishes before you went out to meet that special someone.

How often do you look into the mirror of Scripture?  How intently do you look into it?  Is it a quick glance?  Or do you take you time and carefully examine, observing and listening to what the words of God have to say?

I encourage you to take a look in the mirror.  Look closely, take your time, and allow the word of God to show you the blemishes and bring healing and encouragement to you.

Coming to America

Tuesday evening my wife will arrive in the US for the first time since August.  This year long process is finally nearing an end.  Through it all we both have grown individually and together as we have seen God's faithfulness, provision, and hand in our lives.  There have been many tears, many laughs, and many memories.  In the past year I have gotten a small taste of what it should be like to long for heaven.  Just as I have been longing to be with Bek my longing to be with Christ has increased.  It has caused me to love him more, seek him more, and keep my eyes on him.

This evening my neighbor lady came over as a few of the guys and I were having dinner.  She is all alone and just wanted someone to talk to.  She cried and poured out a lot of hurt from her life.  Don shared the gospel with her and made sure that she understood Jesus's atoning work on the cross for salvation.  I couldn't imagine what it must be like to be all alone with no spouse, no friends, and no family.  Waking up each day just waiting to die.  I was thankful for my wife, my church, my family, and my friends.  My challenge for you today is just to ask yourself this question, "Who can I be a friend to today?"  My neighbor Ann just needed a friend today.  Someone to talk to, someone to pray for her and encourage her.  Will you be a friend to someone today?