A small rock

I memorized this verse when I was a kid and it stuck:

“His divine power has given us everything we need for lifeand godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

The other day, someone told me that my life was like a smallrock that was chipped off a bigger one. They said that the smaller rock contained everything that the bigger onedid.  They said that the smaller rock mayseem insignificant or small on its own, but it isn’t, because of what it is apart of. 

Did you ever feel like a small rock?

When we feel insignificant or weak, we need to realize thatGod grafted us into his family and has given us everything we need to succeedin our spiritual lives.  He’s given useverything we need for life and godliness! By his grace we are not destined to fail, we are destined to succeed!

How to level up in your spiritual life

Sometimes I wish my spiritual life were more like a video game. If you accomplished certain goals each day, you would receive points. They would be called “goodies,” of course, and if you got enough goodies, you would level up. Each level would put you one step closer to God and would allow you to be spiritually stronger and thus have a more fulfilling life. Throughout the day you would still encounter various challenges or “baddies.” When baddies were overcome, you would end up with more power-ups and XP, and would level up much more easily. Occasionally you would end up having to defeat a boss, which (like any good video game) inevitably turn up at the end of important levels. Beating a boss would give you massive XP, making your character stronger than ever.

So today might look like this (Saturday):
• Playing with the kids in the snow = +20XP
• Playing a game on my new phone = -5XP
• Writing this post = +10
• Not helping my wife prepare dinner = -20
• Shoveling snow off the walkway for trick or treaters = +10 (Wait, what?)

So, not exactly a level up day, but not going backwards either.

Although this kind of thinking seems appealing, of course a works system would break down to something ugly. God’s system of grace is a whole lot better:

Good day = Loved by God.
Bad day = Still loved by God.

I think i'll stick with grace.

What Andy Stanley said

Besides tripping over an old lady in a wheel chair, the Catalyst conference last week had plenty to offer. One of the speakers, Andy Stanley, challenged us to “do for one, what you wish you could do for many.” (Of course, it may have been RANDY Stanley, as he apparently has a doppelganger.)

He said that the reason many of us don’t act on someone’s behalf is because we are overwhelmed by all the needs. He also said we may suffer from a fear of “fairness.” We feel that we can’t help one person out because then we will have to help out everyone. It’s only fair. You know this line. If you have kids, you probably use it all the time. “If I give you a car, I have to give your baby sister one too.” Or maybe at work, “If I make your copies, I’ll have to make them for everyone.” The problem with fairness, he said, is that it ended in the garden of Eden.

After my wife and I decided to adopt our son Matthew from Ethiopia, we found out he had two older sisters. It never really crossed my mind that if we adopted him, we would have to adopt them too. That is, until we were sitting in a meeting talking to our case worker and my wife asked about them. She wanted to know if we could find out if they were ever put up for adoption. And then came the direct question from our case worker: would you want to adopt them too? Humanly, I did not feel that we were capable in that moment of saying yes. But as soon as she asked the question, I found my eyes welling up with tears. In my heart I was saying, yes, yes we would. But we actually said that we didn’t know what we would do.

Andy Stanley had a good point. We can’t worry about fairness when making a decision to help somebody. We just need to help them. We shouldn’t play the “what if” game. We shouldn’t feel bad if we can’t help everyone. We should just roll up our sleeves, and do what we can in the moment.

Is there anything you’ve been putting off?

Joy: the neglected fruit

As a Christ-follower, we struggle to follow God’s commands. We are sinful people who tend to go our own direction at times. And yet, by the Holy Spirit’s power, we are able to prevail and produce “fruit” in our lives. The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience…and so on. We rightfully place much importance on Love, thanks to the teachings of Jesus and Paul. But what about #2 on the list? What about joy?

The Bible actually commands us to have joy. 1 Thess. 5:16 (NLT) says: “Always be joyful.” Wow! Really!?? Always be joyful? Joy does not come naturally to me. But according to this passage it doesn’t matter, since joy is a command of God.

But it’s Monday. I’m tired. I didn’t have any coffee. I just don’t want to be joyful. So how do I even start?

Even in the English language, the link between the words Joy, joyful and rejoicing is obvious. Joy starts with worship. If you want to be joyful, you have to remind yourself each day of the object of your joy, namely God himself. Worshiping God is a way of turning our inward perspective outward. It is a way of realizing the many good things we have in this life. It is a way of casting our cares on Him and forgetting our many stressors. Worship begins to break down our sadness, fears and doubts. In their place comes a deep-seated contentment centered around the person of Christ.

So how will you approach this Monday? Will it be rejoicing? Since joy is a decision, it will take some work, but it is possible! Choose this better way of living, and you will be amazed at the difference.

(Check my fiend Jess's blog who writes on the topic of joy.)

Baptism...How embarassing!

My two oldest (10, 13) are getting baptized in a couple of weeks. It’s pretty exciting. My youngest isn’t ready yet. I knew that because the other day she asked what a baptism was, and I explained it. After a lengthy adult discourse and definition of baptism, she looked at me and said she was sure she could do it. I said, “how do you know?” She said, it was easy, “I can hold my breath for 10 seconds under water.”

If you are a Christ follower, but have not yet responded in obedience to being baptized, you should! It’s not only a way to obey God’s command, but it is a huge encouragement to those who participate to see what God has done in your life! Plus, I believe there are huge spiritual benefits for taking this step of obedience. One of the problems for people who have been Christians a while is that it can be embarrassing to get baptized later in life. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Consequently, a person may put it off even longer.

It’s kind of like my stinking wisdom teeth that just now my dentist is telling me he wants to take out. I kind of feel silly for not having them out earlier, but it’s too late.

It’s also how Peter must have felt when Jesus said he was going to wash his feet. “You’re not going to wash my feet Lord!” Peter barked. It was embarrassing. But really, this kind of embarrassment is just misguided pride. Peter was too prideful to allow Jesus to wash his feet. Because if Jesus had humbled himself before Peter, then Peter would have had to humble himself below others he saw himself above. But fortunately Peter did allow it. It was because Jesus said, “unless you let me wash your feet, you will have no part in me.” Ouch. And baptism is similar according to the Scriptures. It is something that we need to allow God to do for us in order for us to better serve others.

I’m so glad my kids have decided they want to get baptized. How about you?