Sailors, Saints, & Sinners

My Prayers for Rock Bridge: August 2010

I’ve been saddened by how my prayers lack persistence which probably shows I lack the “desire” or the passion for what I am asking.  God promises to give us what we ask when our desires are real and for His glory.  So help me pray persistently for things that glorify God. Here are my current (not comprehensive) prayers for our church:

• For the spirit of mammon (“more” stuff) to be broken and a spirit of generosity unleashed
  • For an unprecedented special offering in December
  • Doubling our missions giving in 2011.
• For our people to take a risk in God’s direction
• For the # of adults small groups in our church to double (~200)
• For several people in our church to become missionaries in another country
• For us to have an incredible baptism celebration with lots of changed lives and eternities on Sept. 19th
• For our church to make disciples (=people who follow Jesus; standby for next message series!) who make disciples.

Obey God No Matter What

Obeying God no matter what is one of the principles that I would love to be the basis for my life and am seeking to model & teach to my boys.

As I seek to “obey God no matter what”, I’ve discovered that obedience is not limited to what we don’t do (the thou shalt not’s), nor is obeying God is not always black & white or as simple as the 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule.  There are perhaps four types of obedience we must be aware of to actually “obey God no matter what” –

OBVIOUS OBEDIENCE: this probably gets the bulk of our attention & most of us know if we are obeying or disobeying God in this category because it is obvious.  Either we feel good about ourselves (“I don’t drink or smoke or chew, or hang with guys who do!”) or we feel guilty because we don’t measure up.  Obvious obedience includes things like the Ten Commandments and treating people right.

OPPORTUNISTIC OBEDIENCE … this is when a door opens and we have an opportunity to live for God that we did not have before.  Things like inviting a friend to church, praying for someone in need, being generous (more than the tithe, the tithe is obvious) with extra money, and taking the initiative to do the right thing (see James 4:17).  This type of obedience requires being alert, being prepared, and being bold.

We must look for God to open doors (see Colossians 4:2-4), be ready to go through them (i.e. When God opens the door for a single to begin dating, is their character ready? When God opens the door for you to share Jesus with someone, do you have the knowledge to explain why your hope is in Christ?), and we must have courage because opportunistic obedience requires us to seize the moment for God.

LIGHT YOU HAVE OBEDIENCE– Often times we will never have all the facts, all the information, or the level of certainty we would like.  But God always gives us enough light to take the next step of obedience.  Sometimes God works like a flashlight does on a dark trail.  We have enough light to take two, maybe three steps but as we take those steps the light moves ahead of us and so we keep moving.  This means we don’t need to worry about all the things we don’t know, just respond to the light we have.  This keeps us moving and keeps us from regret.  The underlying principle here is that the amount of light we have at any given moment is not nearly as important as what we are doing with that light.  (Psalm 89:15)

ENDURING OBEDIENCE is being consistent in your walk.  We can’t be hot and then cold.  We can’t seize opportunities and walk in the light today and tomorrow be afraid to obey and drawn to darkness. We can’t love our neighbor (obvious obedience) on Monday and curse him on Tuesday (obvious disobedience).  Enduring obedience is obeying God in “all of the above” categories which ultimately leads us closer and closer to God, God’s best, and God’s blessings.

Too Easily Satisfied

One of Satan’s most effective tactics is to get us to settle for the good instead of God’s best.  The forbidden fruit was “good … pleasing … and desirable” (see Genesis 3:6) yet it cost Adam & Eve God’s best.  This is true for all sin.  Initially, sin seems good and pleasurable, but ultimately it proves very costly.

The Bible teaches us that the highest satisfaction we can discover is in Christ alone, the greatest pleasure we can experience comes from God, and that the greatest desire we can have is for God.

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. [Psalm 16:11]

Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight. [Psalm 119:35]

For most of us “joy”, “pleasures”, and “delight” are not something we typically associate with God.  So we look for those things in money, sex, food, other people, careers, hobbies, and entertainment choices.  And those things may be good or at least seem okay, but we’ll never enjoy God’s best if those are what we “settle for”.  We become too easily satisfied while our senses are deadened and our ability to enjoy God is dulled.

I was thinking through some of the highest and greatest satisfactions my life … and to be honest I have at times been satisfied with sin.  However, the highest and greatest pleasures for me have come from God.

• Marrying my wife, Beth.  She is God’s gift to me.
• Starting Rock Bridge Community Church. Hard, challenging … but WOW!!!
• Times in worship when I have literally sensed God’s manifest presence … I could have done it forever if my knees, feet, back, and voice could have endured! (Most recently for me this happened at the last Disciple Now 2010 service.)
• The times when I preach and absolutely know that it is not I who speak, but God.
• Moments in prayer when the still, small voice of God comes through loud and clear and God’s presence is tangible in my heart.
• When I read the Bible and have an “AHA!” moment of clarity and insight.

What about you? In what ways are you too easily satisfied, settling for the good at the expense of God’s best?  When have you been completely satisfied by God?

I Get Into Trouble When …

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” –Proverbs 14:12

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” –Proverbs 27:12

I did a little self-evaluation today, trying to be prudent and see how and when I get myself into trouble.  Very humbling exercise but hopefully it will prevent some suffering.

Here’s what I came up with … I get into trouble (mental, spiritual, relational, etc.) when …

• I forget God’s Word is powerful, sufficient, and true.
• I try to impress people.
• I try to prove myself to people.
• I let my emotions overrule my beliefs.
• I act like it all depends on me.
• I talk too much.
• I try to do important things or have meaningful conversations when I am hungry, angry, or tired.
• I am not still before God.

What God is Teaching Me: Striving or Yielding?

I think my favorite thing to do is to “try harder”.  I’m always striving to get better and constantly looking for ways to improve … so I work harder, pray longer, try and try again.  However, God is teaching me that this strategy is flawed and leads to frustration and failure.  Why?

Because God works by faith, not by works.  When I work, I compete with His work and negate faith.  God is honored and glorified by my faith, not my efforts.

The biblical strategy is to stop striving and start yielding to God.  Let God be God and respond to His work.  Here’s how this seems to be working itself out in my life:

• Instead of “working for” God, I “work with” God.  Big difference. When I work for God, He is like a boss that I can disappoint.  When I work with God, He is a partner and I seek to cooperate with His work in me and around me.
• I can busy or I can be in touch with God, never both.  God is not busy, He is God.  When I am in step with Him and yielding to His still, small voice, I am not rushed, busy, or anxious … I am fruitful, peaceful, and blessed.
• This does not mean I don’t put forth an effort or try or work.  It means my effort is in a direction He gives, in a cause He initiates, and in a plan He develops.

At least for me, the problem is rarely a lack of effort; it is normally a problem of failing to yield myself to God.