God on the Shelf

I've discovered that I can't relegate God to certain circumstances or big moments and expect to have a relationship that means something. While God promises to always be there for us when we call on Him, He is not content with being a once-in-a-while God either. Honestly, we don't have the power to limit God's ability to work in our lives, but we do get to choose our level of attention and devotion. We fool ourselves however, if we believe we have the power to keep God on a shelf to be used at our convenience. He isn't a magic genie that exists to help us in times of trouble. He will continue to see His will fulfilled through our on-and-off devotion while waiting for us to get serious about following Him. We might think we are keeping Him at a safe distance until we need Him, but He is intimately involved in our lives whether we recognize it or not. He wouldn't be fully God if it was any other way.

Follow Me

Jesus compacted his earthly ministry into three years. He was intentional with who He asked to travel with Him, knew exactly where He wanted go, and didn't waste opportunities to minister along the way. He was confident in who He was and the purpose of His mission on earth. Granted, He is God, so He is privy to information that we don't have in front of us, but His example is still worth examining. Following the model of Jesus tells us: 

• Don't waste efforts--know what you're trying to accomplish and work diligently towards that goal.
• Look for opportunities to make a difference in the the people we see along the journey.
• Keep a close band of brothers (and sisters) around you that encourage and help you.
• Take dedicated time to pray in the middle of busy schedules.
• Remember that no matter what we are doing, it's the Father's work.
• Conditions will not always be ideal, but you can still do what's right.
• Willingly submit to God's authority and plan even if you'd rather do something else. It's our obedience that matters more than what He's asking us to do.
• Be compassionate towards the people we pass on this journey. We aren't always able to see what's going on in their lives, but we can stop to let them know that they aren't alone.
• Stay focused on the mission that God has given you and don't forget that the steps of the journey are just as important as the destination.
• Move with intentional confidence-not in your own abilities, but in God's direction and plan. 
• When you're listening intently to God you'll know when a job is finished.

Who Jesus Came For

I read this as part of our decision time yesterday and wanted to share it here. It is not my own work, but is borrowed from something Rick Warren wrote a while back.

In my study of the Gospels, I made a list of the people Jesus came for:

Jesus came for the chewed up, crossed off, crying out
The dropped out, edged out, fizzled out, and freaked out
The have-nots, the held back, hung over, and knocked around
He came for the left out, the loaded down, and looked over
The locked up, led astray, laid off and let down
The messed up and the mixed up.

He came for the passed over, the picked on, put down, pinned down and pushed around
The ripped off, the run down and the run over.

Jesus came for people who are screwed up and the shrugged off
The shut in and shut out
The smashed up, the stacked against, and strung out.

Our Savior came for the torn up, thrown away, and the turned off
Those who used up and walked over
The washed out, the worn out, the wiped out, and the written off.

He came for you. And me.

Off Script

As someone who has always enjoyed the theater and was a theater major in college for a bit, I have seen and performed in numerous plays and musicals. I love to immerse myself in a role or a show and enjoy all that the characters have to offer. One of the keys to a successful dramatic production is to make sure that everyone knows their lines-it helps you to get into your character and provides a seamless and realistic experience for those that are watching. When the other actors improvise in this area it throws off timing and can cause uncertainty among the principal players.

When we make a commitment to Christ we are asking Him to step into our lives-our own dramatic production if you will. We talk about wanting to give Him control and asking Him to lead us, but when He starts improvising off the script that we had written for our lives we get upset.

You can't have it both ways. Either you want an entertaining god (intentionally lower case) to play along with your ambitions or you want the real God to set you towards the plan and purpose He has for you-regardless of how uncomfortable it might make you.

It's not easy to cede control, but it's necessary for something that is real.