Squeaky

It's often said that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Organizationally speaking, this often means that the person who is willing to express their displeasure the loudest is going to not only be heard, but to receive the response they are looking for.

The problem with providing "oil" for this squeaky wheel is that it doesn't actually solve the problem. Especially when what you are really dealing with is a squeak toy. You can keep applying oil to it, but it isn't going to change the true nature of what it is. That squeak just isn't going to stop.

Get Violent

Too often I forget that we are engaging in a high stakes battle everyday. I attribute difficulties and struggles to the fact that when you work in the public arena that sometimes things just aren't easy (which they aren't). What I should remember more often is that many of the hardships we go through and resistance that we face comes straight from the enemy. He is actively working against us ('The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy..." John 10:10) and won't hesitate to use everything he has to undermine and discourage us.

What we also need to remember is that we too can fight with intensity. God has given us the weapon of prayer-not to use against each other (as some churches & Christians do), but to use as an unstoppable weapon against satan. For us to see true success the way God has it planned we need to ramp up the intensity. We need to start praying with a passionate fervor for the souls of our friends and families. We need to pray hard for God to bring favor to our missionaries. We need to pray to the point of exhaustion for the Holy Spirit to be unleashed on God's church in such a mighty way that the world has no doubt that the King is still on His throne.

When we aggressively seek God and His power we find ourselves propped up by His power and ready to fight for His people and to follow His will.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Ephesians 6:12-13

Status Quo

Maintaining the status quo. Too often this is a life goal-to just keep things the same without causing too much upheaval, without being disrupted, without causing our own lives to be any different.

As a Christ follower this really isn't an option. We can rationalize as if it were a viable choice for us, but the simple truth is that each day is a decision to live in one direction or another. Our thoughts, words, actions and attitudes reflect which path we have chosen to follow.

Each day we are either moving closer to Christ or farther away, we are either building God's church or breaking it down, we are working for the King or against Him. There is no middle ground when it comes to following God. It certainly makes me think more carefully about how I will spend today and how my energies will be focused.

Primary Concern

I've been thinking about a lot of things as 2010 has wrapped up and 2011 has now begun. I'm not a huge fan of the resolution format of starting a New Year. I do like the idea of growing as each year passes and hopefully moving even a little bit closer to Christ in the process though. As a way to kickoff a return to blogging after the holidays and stimulate some of my own thoughts for this year, I ask the following question. "What is your primary concern in life?"

I've actually been thinking about this question since I read it early this week and I decided that the correct answer is "me." I am my primary concern in life. I do what pleases me, I listen to the music that I want to listen to, I engage with people that make me feel good, I eat the foods that I enjoy, read the books that I want to read, watch the shows that entertain me and go the places that I truly want to be. If you (dear reader) are honest with yourself, you will admit the same thing.

None of us likes to admit this selfishness (I can assure you that I take no pleasure in confessing this narcissistic attitude), but I think that I must realize it if I am to work towards a different motivator for 2011. As cliche as it might sound, my primary concern must shift from my desires for family, hobbies, church and career to what God wants. My biggest motivator should be to live a life that has God as the central focus and then to let Him work through the rest of my life.

What a difference there will be a year from now if we could all agree to set aside our egotistical agendas and simply be concerned with pleasing God in thought, speech, action, habits and character.

Delivered

Our God has a history of delivering His people:

He delivered Adam & Eve from immediate death
He delivered Noah and his family from the flood
He delivered Rahab from destruction
He delivered David from King Saul
He delivered Samson from his foolish pride
He delivered Esther from poverty and brought her to royalty
He delivered Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego from the fire
He delivered Daniel from the mouth of the lions
He delivered Luke from life as a mere doctor
He delivered Paul from a life of misguided murder
He delivered Peter from a career that wouldn't save anyone

He has delivered you and me from bondage, depression, addiction, the choices of our pasts, our sin and a future without hope. He is our Deliverer!

It started here on earth in a stable, but led to a cross that provided the ultimate deliverance for us-will you accept it? Will you throw off the chains of captivity and let the King of Kings set you free to follow Him?

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.

On Your Mark

In Galatians 6:17, Paul states that he bears on his body the marks of Jesus. In this context, he is acknowledging the physical beatings that he has endured for the cause of Christ. If we were to see Paul in this time the evidence of his conviction to follow Christ would be visible to us.

I read this and wonder where my "marks of Jesus" are. Can I even see what they are? We don't suffer physically here in America for our beliefs as our brothers & sisters around the world do, so our marks must show up in different ways. Is it through our finances? The time we spend with our families seeking God's will for us? The sources of media that we allow to either pollute or enrich our minds each day? The enmity or true forgiveness that we feel towards those that have wronged us? The unconditional love that we share with our children, spouse and family members? Our desire (and corresponding actions) to help a world without Christ find deliverance and salvation?

I have to stop and ask myself the personal question. Is God truly leaving on impact on my life that is evident to other people? I desire to have those "marks" in my life-for it to be plainly known and seen that my life belongs to Christ. I may not have them yet, but I pray that my passionate desire for them may be the beginning.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21