What are we doing??

We are studying 1 Corinthians on Wednesdays, and as I was preparing for the lesson last night I came across a verse that struck me, and struck me hard.  Its the kind of verse that you read and then you can't get it off your mind until you are sure you have the right answer....

"In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good" (1 Corinthians 11:17, NIV)

As a church we do a lot of "meetings" or "gatherings".  Are they doing more harm than good, or is that even possible?

Now of course when Paul wrote this to the church at Corinth they where doing some pretty corrupt things.  The big one was they where drinking the wine to get drunk at communion instead of commemorating what Christ did.  So we may not be doing that, but as a church and how we appear to the community, are we doing more harm than good.

Are my lessons doing more harm than good?  Are our worship times doing more harm than good?  Is my counseling doing more harm than good?  Is my discipleship doing more harm than good?  Is my representation of Christ doing more harm than good?  Is my ministry doing more harm than good?  Is my church doing more harm than good?  I don't like these questions, but they must be asked...

I love God, I love His people, and I love His gift of the church.  As a church is He happy with what we are doing and how we represent Him?  Are we showing grace?  Are we showing mercy?  Are we showing forgiveness?  Are we showing equality?  Are we showing Love? are we teaching the gospel

or

are we forcing our personal opinions?  are we teaching hate in the name of Love?  are we focused inwardly instead of outwardly?  are we becoming uncaring?  are we becoming fake?  are we becoming a social club?  are we becoming dogmatic? 

My head is overwhelmed with so many thoughts as I examine my own life.

In the end I have come to the conclusion that for the most part I believe that what God is doing in my ministry, in my church, and in my life is that God is indeed resiliently doing good and may He show me in the future if at anytime we (or I) begin to do more "harm than good".

Have a great day!! Chris

I cant hear you.....

Where is the power in the church today?
Why isn't God moving like He used to?
Why isn't God answering my prayer?
Why does it seem that God isn't listening to me?

Have you ever wondered this?

If it seems as though you are asking yourself these questions, the answer lies in Psalm 66:18.

"If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened"

This verse is not popular with Christians because it makes us look inward.  We are like everyone else, we like to blame others for our problems.  If we are honest, we almost never want to admit that the problem may lie in you or me.

This verse tells us that if we have kept sin, not acknowledged it, in our lives that the Lord will not hear our prayers.  You and I can pray all day long, but it would never reach higher than the roof of the room we are in.  Humbling thought isn't it.  Sin has that great of an affect on us and the line of communication that we have with our Heavenly Father.

If you find yourself feeling like this line of communication between yourself and God is blocked the answer lies in self-examination.  Ask yourself, "Is there something that I have not confessed", be honest with yourself.  You know if there is.

The promise you and I have is this:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us..." (1 John 1:9, NIV)

There is nothing you cannot tell God.  There is nothing you or I can do that will shock Him.  There is also nothing you and I can hide from Him.  God is always willing and waiting to hear and forgive, always.

confession + forgiveness = line of communication back open

"But God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.  Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" (Psalm 66:19-20, NIV)

Spend sometime today in prayer, and begin with confession.

Chris

press on

I have never been athletic, nor have I ever claimed to be.  So what I'm about to say is huge for me.  I am registering to run my First 5k race this November.  I have been trying to get healthy and walk/jog for the last several years, and had worked myself up to over three miles, but in all honesty have never built up my endurance to be able to run even half of it.  I became frustrated and took several months break. 


Four weeks ago I set a goal, to run the 5k race on Seabrook Island while I'm there on vacation in November.  That gave me approximately 10 weeks to get ready.  So you may ask, why?  what's my inspiration?  Well my inspiration are two people:  May pastor Ken Sausedo, who just ran a half-marathon and is 10 years older than me, and my friend Steve Conard who ran a full marathon the same day.  I figured if these guys can do it, there is no reason why I shouldn't.  So then the question is why?  Well, mainly for my health.  I want to improve my health both physically and emotionally.  Running is a release, it's gets me away from the stress.

So how am I going to reach my goal?  I found an app for it.  I'm not joking.  I found an app that is supposed to take you from 0-5k in 8 weeks.  Through the end of week three I felt confident that I could get this, last week the workout was 5 min warm up walking, jog 90 seconds walk 90 seconds, run 3 min, walk 3 min rotation for 31 minutes.  I did it no problem.  Then came this week:

My routine this week is 5 min warm up walking, jog 3 min, walk 90 seconds, jog 5 min, walk 2.5 min rotation for 31 min.  I was ok until the last 5 min, it was the toughest the workout had been.  My legs where screaming at me, my mind was telling me to just quit and walk "no one would know", and this was only 2 min into the last run.  I can say I made it all the way through the last 5 min run without stopping.  I have a goal.  I want to run the race.  I want to reach 5k.

We all need goals.  God has a goal in mind for you in this life.

^14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  (Php 3:14., NIV)

The closer we get to reaching the goal of what God has in mind for us, the harder it will get.  Just like this morning when I hit that 2 min mark in the last run and I wanted to quit, when you hit the mark that makes you work a little harder to reach your goal you will want to quit.  You have to dig deep down inside and keep going.  We all reach points where we feel like we want to quit, where we want to take a break, or where we want to give in.  Dig deep.  Press on.  Jesus believes in you.

I can do this, and so can you.  Press on.

Have a great day, Chris

Hey, what are you looking at????

^7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sa 16:7, NIV)

I wish so hard that you and I could see people the way God does.  We judge before someone ever speaks a word, or before we even know them.  We judge them based upon nothing more than appearance.

The Lord had sent Samuel to Jesse's house because He said that the next king would come from there.  Jesse was excited thinking it was one of his older son's.  All of them passed by, and each one Samuel said this is not him.  He then asks Jesse if this was it.  Jesse responded no that there was one left, his youngest, but he was the runt and didn't seem to be "qualified" to be the next king.  To his (and everyone else's) surprise when David arrived, Samuel said this is the one and they anointed him as the next king.

Point being no matter how someone's appearance is, don't discount them.  They may look, act, or think differently than you or I, but that doesn't mean they are any less capable.  Start by getting to know them, make that change from judging from first look.

God took a look at my insides and saw who I could be, would you take that same time??

Chris

We the People...

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I remember having to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution in Elementary School (just don't remember which grade).  I don't think I really realized at that point in time the importance of such a document.  I am just now beginning to grasp the concept of the greatness of the vision of our forefathers as they penned and signed our great Constitution.

I'm quite sure that not everyone who signed the document agreed 100% on everything.  I'm quite sure that not EVERYONE who was on the second Continental Congress that voted to pass the Declaration of Independence was a follower of Jesus Christ, but that is what makes this country great.  We live in a country that is full of diversity, and diversity is what makes us great.

Sometimes I think we get too caught up in "me the people" instead of "we the people".  It's not just about what I think or what you think, Its not just about what Democrats think or Republicans think, and It's not about what Liberals think or Conservatives think.  It's about what this great document says and what it represents.  Freedom.

You and I are free to think and believe what we want, you and I are free to live as we want, and you and I are free to be the person you and I want to be, to the extent that we don't harm anyone else.  It's what makes this country beautiful.

We run into problems when you and I try to define what the constitution says based upon our perspective.  It has to be defined from the perspective of the ones who created it, not according to what we "think". 

I have the right, and my children have a right, to believe what we want.  We choose to believe that Jesus is the Christ, that He was crucified, He rose on the third day, and that because of His great sacrifice now I can have eternal life.  I believe that life begins at conception.  I believe that a biblical marriage is man and woman.  I believe my children have the right to pray when they want and how they want.  These are my rights, this is my freedom.  I'm not forcing what I believe on anyone, my children are not forcing what they believe on anyone.  We are expressing our right to be free.  Why can't liberal media, liberal politicians, and civil rights group grasp that.  You will never convince me that abortion is right, you will never convince me that marriage should be redefined, and you will never convince me that removing the name of God from government will accomplish something great.

I don't raise a ruckus if my children have a teacher that is homosexual, agnostic, atheist, or different religion.  So why do people raise a fuss if they or I choose to exercise our faith, it's our right. 

It's also your right to disagree with me, and you know what?  I'm OK with that. 

In the name of religious freedom, Christians are losing religious freedom....yes, it's happening.

We the people....

I am "we the people" and so are you...

Chris.

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life has a way of hitting us, and hitting us hard.  When things seem to begin to go right, that's when it all starts to go extremely wrong.  So what do we do?  How do we deal with it?  How do we stay strong?  How do we not give up hope?


^33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33, NIV)

Jesus has not held any news back from us.  In John here He forewarns us.  He doesn't say life is going to easy, in fact He tells us straight up that there WILL be trouble.  Just because you and I believe in the God that has everything under control, doesn't mean that you and I will live a trouble free life.  Now I'm with you, why can't it all just be good.  Why can't the troubles just disappear.  I can't count the number of times that I have prayed for them to "go away, and never come back".  There has been a lot of times over the last 17 years of being a Christian that things happened that I would have much rather not gone through.

That's the bad news....

So here is some good news.....

It will get better.

Jesus follows telling us that "we will have trouble" to telling us to "take heart".  It's almost like He is saying "cheer up", or keep your "chin up".

Hold up, in troubled times Jesus is telling us to "cheer up".  Yes.

I know in troubled times we don't want to hear this, but the reality is there is someone out there that is a believer that is worse off than you and I are.  So yes, Jesus is saying we need to keep our chin up and keep marching forward.  The hope that we have is that Jesus has promised that He has already "overcome the world".  Any problem that has happened or will happened, Jesus has overcome it.  All things where created for Him and through Him, so there is nothing He can't handle.

You and I on the other hand, we don't handle things very well.

So here is some practical ideas on how I have dealt with some problem times in life (and no I don't have it perfected, these are just suggestions).

1. Don't blame God for your situation.  We spend a lot of time trying to blame God for all of our troubles, and then we get mad and walk away.  Make a decision to not blame Him, but instead draw closer to Him.
2. Reflect on what is going right.  Now I know this is EXTREMELY hard, because when things are going terribly wrong, it is hard to focus on what is going right.  However, if you and I will actually think about it we will find some things that are actually going good.
3. Find your John.  Jesus had that one "beloved" disciple.  You and I need someone that we can depend on during these times to vent and encourage us.  You need someone that will not sugar coat things, in other words if your wrong about something they should be able to tell you.
4. Surround yourself with "positive" people and not "negative" ones.  Negativity will suck the life right out of you and I.  If you are having trouble, having someone around that is always negative will not help you at the time.
5. Laugh.  Find ways to make yourself laugh.  Watch a totally off the wall ridiculous movie or show for the sole purpose of making you laugh.
6. Exercise.  We can work off a lot of trouble or stress in our lives by simply getting out and walking, jogging, or whatever just get off the couch and do something.  I prefer not to be indoors in a gym, so I go jog outside and deal with the elements.
7. watch your diet.  Fried fatty foods can make your mood worse.  Eat fresh fruits and veggies.
8. Read your Bible, when you read biblical stories it enables you to see that God has helped many through harder times than you or I have dealt with.
9. Spend ample time in prayer.  How much is ample?  Depends on the person and your relationship with God.  If your relationship is good with God then you won't be watching the time.
10. Worship.  Get involved in your church.  worship the one that created you.  It takes the focus off you and helps you to see the "bigger picture".

Hope these help, they have helped me in the hardest times in my life.

Chris

The open door

“This man receiveth sinners.”

— Luke 15:2

Does Jesus EVER draw a line as to whom He chooses to welcome in?  NO!!

I for one am extremely happy for that.  I was THAT guy.  The guy that everyone had given up one, the guy that ran with the wrong people, the guy you WOULD NOT want your daughter to hang out with, and the one you WOULD NOT them want to marry.  I was the one that was always doing the wrong thing.  The guy that thought "religion" was for someone else, the guy that thought "church" was a waste of time.  Yeah, I was that guy.  Was.  Then I met Jesus and He changed my life.  He "received" me, a sinner.  He welcomed me.  He opened the door for me.  He gave me a wonderful life that I now have.

"Received" means to not only welcome, but to also partner with.

In Luke 15, the "religious people" where furious with Jesus because He went after the "sinners", he went after the ones that where either not welcomed in the church, or not wanted in the church.  He went and sat down and ate a meal with them.  Can you imagine this.  The Son of God went and ate with the ones that had no interest in "religion" or "religious people".

The problem here was that the Pharisees "aka religious people" where worried that if Jesus was the Son of God and if these sinners came to know God there is a possibility they would enter the "religious people's" hangout (aka the church).  You simply CANT have "sinners" mixed in with "religious people" that's not going to work (said sarcastically). 

Jesus changes lives, never forget that.  I am living, breathing proof of it.  Don't give up on the ones that we look at and call "sinners", because God doesn't.

Three things:

1. Don't be a Pharisee, don't sit back and think you "deserve" God more than anyone else.  You don't and I don't.
2. Be like Jesus, love on those that society has given up on.  Their messed up for a reason, and you could be that glimmer of hope that God uses to change their life
3. Never forget that if it wasn't for grace you wouldn't be bound for heaven.

I'm going after the ones that need Him.


Have a great weekend, and invite someone to worship with you this weekend.

Chris