You Want Us Why?

Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come. All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also. Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends. Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ's behalf: let God change you from enemies into his friends! 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (GNT)

One of the projects I was working on was supposed to end at the end of the month. I joined late and was working with the team to move it to completion. As time clicked by, the customer decided they wanted to extend the project. There were some complications that needed to be ironed out and they wanted to safely get to the roll out without a lot of disruption.

I talked to the head of the project (Project A) and told him I needed to roll off. I had another commitment (Project B) scheduled at the beginning of the next month and would not be able to focus my time on this particular adventure any more. He suggested I stay and attend some meetings to help out. I said I would as long as I could. 

As Project B ramped up, my schedule became more and more full. One day, I was sitting in on a meeting in Project A and there were some things said that made me pause. I really couldn’t speak into Project A anymore. I wasn’t around enough. As they had meetings and made decisions, I could not provide input, especially if I wasn’t there. Then I started thinking about my reputation. Folks knew I was added to the team to help course correct and while the team was doing an incredible job, I began to worry about what would happen if the project went south for some reason. Would people still respect my work if my name were inadvertently still tied to it?

I was explaining all this to my husband and suddenly it hit me....I’m so glad God doesn’t think this way. We are here, doing his work and sometimes we give him a say...sometimes we don’t. I know sometimes I don’t represent him well. I may want to say all the things I know God wants but my heart betrays me and I stumble and mis-represent him. 

The Bible is pretty clear that we are here to glorify God. And that God wants us to participate in sharing Jesus with folks. And he lets us....even though sometimes I wonder if he cringes when we say and do the stuff we say and do. What kind of God would love us so much that he allows us to mess up, involve him in our mess and still invite us to participate in the story? 

Recognizing all this makes my heart overwhelmed. It makes me want to figure out a way to do this job I have been given better.....but I can’t on my own. Jesus needs to be calling the shots. He needs to be guiding my footsteps and he certainly needs to be in charge of making my decisions. I can’t do what my heart desires on my own. Only through staying connected to Jesus can I give God the glory he deserves.

Dear Jesus, help me to live today, listening for your voice, following your lead as you lead us in this big Adventure! Amen

I Want A Double Portion Please

When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.”
And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”
“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.”
As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. 2 Kings 2:9-11 (NLT)

Elisha did get to see Elijah being carried away. And he went on to inherit a double portion of Elijah's spirit. But there is a part to this story that I didn't pick up on in the past.

As they were walking along, three times Elijah stopped in different towns and three times told Elisha to stay. Elisha said "No, thank you. I am in this til the end." And he kept on walking. Imagine if Elisha had stopped at any of those towns. He wouldn't have received the gift of God's Spirit that was waiting for him.

There were prophets at every town. None of them followed. They were content to stay where they were and do what they were doing. Elisha was not. Elisha wanted all of what God was offering to him. He wanted to experience all of his calling so he pressed on. He kept moving forward.

How many times do we stop before what God wants for us is realized? How many times to we wait for something huge to happen instead of following what we already know we should do?

What is God calling you to do today? Have you stopped short of the final destination?

Construction Time

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 (ESV)

I was watching an interview with Tim Allen.  He was talking about this life and the dark places he went through and how God is a big part of who he is. He calls God "The Builder." How appropriate.

Whether we have walked through something dark and life altering or we are just walking......God is always growing us. He started with forming us (Jeremiah 1:5) and continues with his plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) all the way to the end and he will not stop until Jesus comes (Philippians 1:6).

God is always working. He is growing us, building us to be his people. A people that will follow him no matter what the cost. We each have a specific role to play in his neighborhood. Each of us is designed, shaped and polished to be exactly the piece that is needed to fit in his plan.

I agree with Tim Allen. God is "The Builder." I am excited to see what I turn out to be.

A Minute In It - Does God Provide?

A little time in the Word every day changes you. Take a few minutes, put yourself in these verses and ask yourself a few questions.

One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”
“What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.
And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.
Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”
So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim!
“Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.
When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”
2 Kings 4:1-7 (NLT)

Have you ever been in the position that you could lose everything?
Was there any significance to Elisha using what she already had?
If you were the woman and you were told to do this, would you do it?
Why did the oil flow until there were no more jars?
When Elisha told her she could live on what was left, did that mean she could go out and buy a lot of new stuff? Is there a message here about God providing enough.
Finally, do you believe God will provide like this today?

The Great Adventure

Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” Acts 16:25-28 (NLT)

Paul and Silas were in prison, shackled with huge ankle chains. They had just been severely beaten. There are a couple of things that made me say "What?" as I read this. The first amazing thing was they were praying and singing. So I can kind of get that. You are in prison, shackled; it is conceivable that as a Christian you would go to God. What I find completely astounding is what happened after the earthquake. They stayed put! Here you are, singing and praying - I'm assuming they would be praying for their release right? There is an earthquake so violent the doors fly open and the shackles break free from your ankles. Wouldn't you see that as a sign from God that you should get out of there? I would think "Look! God answered our prayers. Let's go." But they didn't.

The next verse says that after the jailer realized they were still there he said "Tell me about this God you serve." I am sure he was thinking "You are different because of him." And he'd be right. What would motivate two men to risk death or at a minimum another beating just to save this man? Paul talks about it throughout the New Testament.

Paul met Jesus, he was convicted that he was the Messiah and he knew he was called to participate in this Great Adventure. In 2 Corinthians 5 he explains some things that give us a clue as to his mindset. In 2 Corinthian 5:13 he says "I know we may seem crazy but it is for God's glory." He knows that the things he does sounds nuts - like staying in a prison when you should be running - but he is living out his passion. He also says that since Jesus died for everyone and people who say yest to that invitation no longer live for themselves. Instead they live for Christ. And everyone is so important that we stop looking at each other from a human perspective but see people from a God perspective. (vs 15-16) He goes on to say that now our job is to show people who Jesus was and to reintroduce them to God. We are God's ambassadors. We are here to help people grow in their relationship with God. (v 18-20)

Paul very clearly knew what his mission in life was. It is the same mission we all share. Once we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, our calling is to share Jesus and love others so passionately that we will even be willing to sacrifice ourselves for it. I know that last statement ruffles some feathers. It is not our nature to put ourselves last and others first. But God says we should and Jesus did. It takes a relationship to be able to get there. The Great Adventure we are called to is not normal. It is not logical. But it is the Adventure of a lifetime. Nothing else will compare. And as Paul says "We may seem crazy but it is for God's glory." Let the Adventure begin!