Why do we do what we do? Do we really want what's best for others, or do we want the glory?
I struggle with this. Jesus has clearly shown me what actions I should take. Many times, I complete these actions, but not for His reasons. Sure, I'll pray over you. But am I praying because I care for your deliverance, or am I praying because I want you to see my deep spirituality?
In Matthew, Jesus tells people to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. In many situations, the wolf may have started out with a bushy lamb tail. This one dishonest motive snowballs into a sense of pride, leading this wolf or teacher to teach for his own benefit. One by one, these motives add the sheep's ears, eyes, legs, and body until the costume completely covers the wolf. At first glance, you would never know that this "sheep" is not who he claims to be.
Recently God started bringing this issue to my attention. I went to an event with a discreet "wolf" teaching. Later on, I realized that I too struggle with pride and ulterior motives, even if I do not stuggle to the extent that this teacher struggles. But I do not have to let this disturbance take me over. I don't have to become the wolf in sheep's clothing just because I started with a little problem. I know what this problem is, and I know the deliverer. Now I have to trust Him. Once I give my entire life to Him, other people's views of my spirituality will no longer matter. They will no longer control my motives. I have the complete ability to live freely for Jesus. I can live out true and pure motives.
"People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives. Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed" (Proverbs 16: 2-3, NLT)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Frazzled Until the End
What happens inside of you when you walk into a job interview? What about when you step on stage to display your talents? People react in different ways. Sometimes people flip out. Everything they have worked at and rehearsed flushes down the drain because of extreme nervousness. Occasionally, they may be flustered but won’t let the nervousness affect his or her performance. However, on occasions, the person performs better because of the anxiety. But what makes the difference between the frazzled interviewee and the person who has everything under control?
Experience plays a key role in how a person deals with nerves. Let’s say that I have never applied for a job, and I decide to inquire about a position with a pizza parlor. When I walk into that office for my first interview, I do not know what to expect. Will the employer be nice? Mean? Harsh? On top of my worries about the employer, I may not be able to anticipate the questions that the boss will ask me. I could simply let the worry from all of these “unknowns” cause me to mess up.
However, if I have already worked three jobs, I have a better idea of what will happen in my interview. I may not know exactly what to expect, but I know that I can handle the situation.
Similarly, when your science teacher mentions faith, how do you feel? Do you feel awkward or like you cannot handle the situation? When someone confronts you about your beliefs, do you answer them, or does your anxiety get in the way? God gave us an amazing gift. If you read the Bible or any Christian magazine, you are bound to hear about it. He sent his only Son — the only one He ever had — just to die for the countless sins that we commit every single day. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. I know you’ve heard it a million times, but think about it.
This incredible gift needs to be shared with those around us. You may get nervous at times. So do I. But we can't let it stop us from sharing the love of Christ. They need to hear what you know— and after a few times, I promise you, it will get easier.
“Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us … let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:18-20,22-24, NKJV)
The next time you get an opportunity to share what Jesus has done in your life, push the anxiety to the side. Just remember that the Holy Spirit will guide you and your words and you'll find yourself growing more and more as you get out there.
Experience plays a key role in how a person deals with nerves. Let’s say that I have never applied for a job, and I decide to inquire about a position with a pizza parlor. When I walk into that office for my first interview, I do not know what to expect. Will the employer be nice? Mean? Harsh? On top of my worries about the employer, I may not be able to anticipate the questions that the boss will ask me. I could simply let the worry from all of these “unknowns” cause me to mess up.
However, if I have already worked three jobs, I have a better idea of what will happen in my interview. I may not know exactly what to expect, but I know that I can handle the situation.
Similarly, when your science teacher mentions faith, how do you feel? Do you feel awkward or like you cannot handle the situation? When someone confronts you about your beliefs, do you answer them, or does your anxiety get in the way? God gave us an amazing gift. If you read the Bible or any Christian magazine, you are bound to hear about it. He sent his only Son — the only one He ever had — just to die for the countless sins that we commit every single day. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. I know you’ve heard it a million times, but think about it.
This incredible gift needs to be shared with those around us. You may get nervous at times. So do I. But we can't let it stop us from sharing the love of Christ. They need to hear what you know— and after a few times, I promise you, it will get easier.
“Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us … let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:18-20,22-24, NKJV)
The next time you get an opportunity to share what Jesus has done in your life, push the anxiety to the side. Just remember that the Holy Spirit will guide you and your words and you'll find yourself growing more and more as you get out there.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Just Let It Go
"This is a giant leap of faith
Trusting and trying to embrace
The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go..."
—"Letting Go" from Francesca Battistelli's My Paper Heart album. Check it out at www.francescamusic.com.
Francesca Battistelli sings on letting go of her plans—the plans that she's made for herself in order to tune into God's direction. So often, we try to fix things and people the way we think they should be fixed. But what happens every time? The problem ends up bigger than when we started. Instead of taking matters into our own hands, perhaps we need to let it go. Maybe we even need to get past our fear of the unknown and trust God with all of the things, people and places that occupy our time. But how do we do that?
We get a great picture of how to "let go" from the prophet Ezekiel. His ability to release the day-in-day-out details was directly tied to his relationship with God—it was very tight-knit. He was so close to God that he saw a very descriptive vision of how he was to be led on his path. (See Ezekiel 1.) After the vision, God told Ezekiel, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you." (Ezekiel 2:1,NIV ) Although this doesn’t describe Ezekiel’s problems, it does paint a picture of what happens when we draw close to God.
When we share a deep relationship with our Creator, we can fulfill Mark 8:34, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and pick up his cross, and follow Me.” Even though we may still have junk in our lives, we follow God. We no longer strive to fix things by our own power; we will totally rely on God to carry everything (ourselves included). We don’t have to worry about tomorrow, because we have the daily renewal of confidence. We will know that no matter what's going down, God has got it covered. Peace and assurance will cover our lives. Through everything we will rest in God’s perfect will. What better place is there to be?
Trusting and trying to embrace
The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
Losing control
Of my destiny
Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go..."
—"Letting Go" from Francesca Battistelli's My Paper Heart album. Check it out at www.francescamusic.com.
Francesca Battistelli sings on letting go of her plans—the plans that she's made for herself in order to tune into God's direction. So often, we try to fix things and people the way we think they should be fixed. But what happens every time? The problem ends up bigger than when we started. Instead of taking matters into our own hands, perhaps we need to let it go. Maybe we even need to get past our fear of the unknown and trust God with all of the things, people and places that occupy our time. But how do we do that?
We get a great picture of how to "let go" from the prophet Ezekiel. His ability to release the day-in-day-out details was directly tied to his relationship with God—it was very tight-knit. He was so close to God that he saw a very descriptive vision of how he was to be led on his path. (See Ezekiel 1.) After the vision, God told Ezekiel, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you." (Ezekiel 2:1,NIV ) Although this doesn’t describe Ezekiel’s problems, it does paint a picture of what happens when we draw close to God.
When we share a deep relationship with our Creator, we can fulfill Mark 8:34, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and pick up his cross, and follow Me.” Even though we may still have junk in our lives, we follow God. We no longer strive to fix things by our own power; we will totally rely on God to carry everything (ourselves included). We don’t have to worry about tomorrow, because we have the daily renewal of confidence. We will know that no matter what's going down, God has got it covered. Peace and assurance will cover our lives. Through everything we will rest in God’s perfect will. What better place is there to be?
Friday, January 15, 2010
Seeing Red?
"Hey Sam, you look good today."
"What are you sayin'? You trying to dis me, punk?"
"No, I was ..."
"I won’t take this. You wanna fight?"
"No!"
"Oh I see. You think you’re better than me."
You can't escape them when you walk through the halls in school or out on the lawn during free period. You may hear them during drive time or while watching TV — those fighting words. It seems like everywhere you look there's always somebody angry - sometimes for no apparent reason whatsoever. Sometimes, I stop to think, What could possibly be going on in that person’s life that they would constantly throw out irritability and frustration? What is at the source?
You see, anger is never the root of the problem; it is the symptom of another issue. It can be a deep down illness — a build up from the stress of both internal and external sources — maybe a divorce, self-failure, broken friendship or simply from a lack of sleep. Whatever the case may be, the anger clouds over a person’s view of his or her environment and everyone around. It shows up as general frustration towards things and people and gradually can escalate to bully syndrome - cussing people out, beating people up, and generally having a bad attitude when dealing with relationships in general.
And it’s no surprise that Christians struggle with it, too. But what does the Bible say about anger?
“Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still,” — Psalms 4:4, NKJV.
At first glance, this verse makes no sense whatsoever. God tells us to be angry? Impossible. If you dig into the roots of this verse, you may become even more confused. In the King James (KJV), Psalms 4:4 reads, “Stand in awe and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.” The significance about this is that KJV uses “awe” instead of “anger.” Are they not opposites? The root says that one meaning of awe is “1) tremble, quake, rage, quiver, be agitated, be excited, be perturbed.” To “rage” and be “excited” are definitely two different words.
The verse says that we can be angry, agitated or stirred by a circumstance but we should not sin in our anger — we should “be still.” This phrase, “be still,” means:
1. To be silent
2. To be still, die
3. To be struck dumb
4. “Niphal”— to be silenced, be made silent, destroyed … among other definitions.
In our anger we should be “struck dumb” — so we don’t do anything about the circumstances until we’ve had time to regain our sensibilities. Perhaps this is God’s way of calming us down. By being still, silent, and “struck dumb,” we calm down and “meditate within our hearts.”
If we stop long enough and meditate simply on God, our anger will “Niphal” — be destroyed. Why? We can’t be calm and angry at the same time.
There will always be something coming at as in life that has potential to ignite anger. But in the process, we have control over the choices that we make — to react or be still. When you feel anger rising, be still. Be totally reliant on the Holy Spirit. God will bring calmness to the situation and our spirits and show us the way to respond when we submit to Him.
"What are you sayin'? You trying to dis me, punk?"
"No, I was ..."
"I won’t take this. You wanna fight?"
"No!"
"Oh I see. You think you’re better than me."
You can't escape them when you walk through the halls in school or out on the lawn during free period. You may hear them during drive time or while watching TV — those fighting words. It seems like everywhere you look there's always somebody angry - sometimes for no apparent reason whatsoever. Sometimes, I stop to think, What could possibly be going on in that person’s life that they would constantly throw out irritability and frustration? What is at the source?
You see, anger is never the root of the problem; it is the symptom of another issue. It can be a deep down illness — a build up from the stress of both internal and external sources — maybe a divorce, self-failure, broken friendship or simply from a lack of sleep. Whatever the case may be, the anger clouds over a person’s view of his or her environment and everyone around. It shows up as general frustration towards things and people and gradually can escalate to bully syndrome - cussing people out, beating people up, and generally having a bad attitude when dealing with relationships in general.
And it’s no surprise that Christians struggle with it, too. But what does the Bible say about anger?
“Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still,” — Psalms 4:4, NKJV.
At first glance, this verse makes no sense whatsoever. God tells us to be angry? Impossible. If you dig into the roots of this verse, you may become even more confused. In the King James (KJV), Psalms 4:4 reads, “Stand in awe and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.” The significance about this is that KJV uses “awe” instead of “anger.” Are they not opposites? The root says that one meaning of awe is “1) tremble, quake, rage, quiver, be agitated, be excited, be perturbed.” To “rage” and be “excited” are definitely two different words.
The verse says that we can be angry, agitated or stirred by a circumstance but we should not sin in our anger — we should “be still.” This phrase, “be still,” means:
1. To be silent
2. To be still, die
3. To be struck dumb
4. “Niphal”— to be silenced, be made silent, destroyed … among other definitions.
In our anger we should be “struck dumb” — so we don’t do anything about the circumstances until we’ve had time to regain our sensibilities. Perhaps this is God’s way of calming us down. By being still, silent, and “struck dumb,” we calm down and “meditate within our hearts.”
If we stop long enough and meditate simply on God, our anger will “Niphal” — be destroyed. Why? We can’t be calm and angry at the same time.
There will always be something coming at as in life that has potential to ignite anger. But in the process, we have control over the choices that we make — to react or be still. When you feel anger rising, be still. Be totally reliant on the Holy Spirit. God will bring calmness to the situation and our spirits and show us the way to respond when we submit to Him.
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