wounded

We are at war.  Everyday we face the battle of good verses evil.  The battle we face is not a physical battle, though sometimes it may feel like it, but a spiritual one.  There is always a chance in battle that you will get wounded, and its not always by the enemy.  You can also get injured by friendly fire.  Regardless, if your wounded where will you get help from.

^30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ^31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ^32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ^33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ^34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ^35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’  (Lk 10:30-35., NIV)

Jesus tells a parable about a man that was beaten within an inch of his life, and he desperately needed help.  The first man to come along after he is laying there bloody, beaten, and wounded is a "Priest", a leader in the church.  He sees him and purposely walks to the other side and keeps going.  Why?  We have to assume many things here.  Maybe he was afraid of getting attacked himself, so he scurries on, maybe he was late and couldn't afford to be held up, maybe he knew the guy and thought he deserved it, or maybe he just couldn't stand the sight of blood.  Who really knows, reason doesn't matter, point is a church priest left a wounded hurting man without offering any kind of help.

So the guy continues to lay there, vision blurred and going in and out of consciousness he sees the priest leave.  Oh but wait along comes another... yes, a Levite, a church person, a religious person.  The man blinks and hope begins to build back up.  But yet, the Levite does the same as the priest, goes to the other side and keeps going.  Why this one?  Again, its all assumption.  We don't really know why..... but once again, the man watches him walk away.

Some time passes by and this man wounded is probably given up hope, and has crossed over to unconsciousness.  Along comes a Samaritan, a cross breed of peoples, who has compassion on this man.  He bandaged him, he put him on his donkey and took him to safety, and then paid an inn-keeper to watch over him.  What made this one different, why did he have compassion and the others didn't.  Jesus' whole point in this parable was about loving his neighbor.

Our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our schools, and even our churches are full of wounded people.  Sometimes we are wounded by our own troubles, sometimes it is by the enemy, and sometimes we wound our own in our churches with what I call "friendly fire".  Regardless, how long will we continue to walk by and ignore our wounded.  How long are we going to walk past the ones that are searching for hope and not offer any help.  How long are we going to keep doing this.

When we are wounded sometimes we expect to get help from our spiritual leaders, but yet that doesn't always happen.  We often times get the help we need with our wounds from unlikely sources.

We pass people everyday that are wounded and the choice is always ours, are we going to help the wounded are not.

I hate hurdles

I remember the first time I ever tried to run hurdles, it did not begin or end well.  I have a new found appreciation and admiration for hurdle runners.  Since I have become a runner myself, I cannot even begin to imagine running AND jumping hurdles AND keeping a race pace.

I was visiting a friend of mine's church this morning and he was giving a message out of Isaiah 57 talking about building roads and many of the road blocks we deal with.  The three road blocks he dealt with are self, sin, and situations.  Was a great message, but the one that stuck with me the most was self.

Well, you know me, I relate most all things to running, so as I left and have thought about this much today I was comparing in my mind road blocks to hurdles.  In this race called life we have to deal with these hurdles a lot:  self, sin, and situations.  The one that I find the hardest to jump, the one that trips me the most, and the one that keeps reoccurring the most in my life is self.

^ And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” ^15 For this is what the high and lofty One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.  (Is 57:14-15., NIV)

 

I cause most, well the majority, of my own hurdles.  I am my own worst critic.  I rarely believe in myself.  I am not my own cheerleader.  I have trouble convincing myself.  I am my biggest problem. 

 

Some would say that is a good place to be in because it makes you humble.  Maybe or maybe not.  If I am the one who keeps causing myself to stumble, what do I need to do to get me out of the way.  How do I stop tripping myself up.  What do I need to do to stop me from being a hindrance, to well, me. 

 

We spend a majority of our time blaming other people for our problems.  I accept full responsibility for mine.  I know its me.

 

I have no real answer to my hurdle.  All I know to do is keep getting back up every time I trip of the hurdle of me.  Maybe that is the answer.  I get back up, nurse my wounds, and begin again.  Maybe that is it.  Eventually after falling enough over myself I can stop tripping myself up.  I guess with enough training eventually you learn to run and jump higher to clear the hurdles.

 

Well, I guess I will keep the training up, but the problem is:

 

I hate hurdles....

 

 

Chris

 

 

my desire

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

I don't want fame
I don't want riches
I don't want new car
I don't want a new home
It is not the desire of my heart.  Many read that, and automatically they assume I'm lying.  I mean who doesn't want that stuff.  Me, for one.

The last three months has been a learning curve for me.  It has helped me to discover, what I want.... I mean what I really want.  To all of a sudden not being able to do your hearts desire, now that my friend is extremely difficult.  To not have a church to call "home" now that is difficult.  To have life as you know it thrown in to turmoil now that is difficult.  To get to a point where all you can do is trust God because nothing else is working, or happening.  To get to a point where you realize faith is all you need because faith is all you have..... Sometimes you need to lose what you had to appreciate what you have.

Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desire of your heart....

I have such an appreciation for the local church now.  I thought I had before, but it has grown more now than I ever thought It could have.  The local church is the gift of God to His people.  The local body of believers is needed.  It's funny how it takes losing that for awhile before we realize it.  It's a place where we feel belong.  I have a realization now of what it is to not feel like you belong somewhere. 

Don't misunderstand me, you can serve and minister outside of the local body of believers, and some organizations do that very well.  However, the church is so much more than that.  The local body of believers is a place to learn, teach, vent, grow, serve, be served, worship, care, be cared for, build friendships, sympathize, help, pray, commune, play, laugh, cry, identify, give, receive, counsel, connect, and so much more....


The desire of my heart is to serve God in the local church, through the local church, and by the local church.  I can't see myself doing anything else, and I don't want to do anything else.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7, NIV)

I'm asking, seeking, and knocking.... waiting for the door to open.

 

the difference between what was and what is

^5 Then Joab went into the house to the king and said, “Today you have humiliated all your men, who have just saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. ^6 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. ^7 Now go out and encourage your men. I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall. This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come upon you from your youth till now.”  (2 Sa 19:5-7., NIV)

David was stuck in "what was" and not "what is".  There is a stark difference between the two.  Let me explain.  Sometimes we get so hung up on the past that we cant see the present, which blinds us to the future.  We sit around and talk about the good old days, the job we used to have, the way things used to be, and we remember it so well that it stops us from seeing today.

Absalom was David's son.  At one point I believe he was a good man.  In fact, Absalom defended his sister Tamar's honor, when their brother Amnon raped her.  Not only did he rape her, but after he did he kicked her out and was angry at her.  For two years Absalom waited on his father, David, to do justice, nothing happened.  So Absalom took vengeance into his own hands, and killed his brother.  This began the long spiral of evil that Absalom does.  He disappears for years, then turns back up and works behind the scene "politicking" and overthrows David as king.  David flees the kingdom and Absalom takes over.  David finds himself once again running for his life.

When we arrive at 2 Samuel 18, David and his men learn of Absalom approaching, so they decide it's time to fight back.  David is urged to stay behind for his own safety, and he reluctantly does.  As Absalom is riding a mule he goes underneath a thick large oak tree and his hair gets caught.  While he is hanging there, Joab plunges 3 javelins in him and kills him (2 Samuel 18:9-15).  When word comes back to David about Absalom's death, David is overcome with grief because he is stuck on the Absalom that was and not the Absalom that is.  There is a big difference between the Absalom who wanted to honor his sister and the Absalom who conspired against his father.  His men where shocked at David's response, they anticipated David to be pleased instead he is overcome with grief.

Was = past
is = future

It is hard for us to move forward when we are stuck on what was and not what is. 

There is nothing wrong with remembering the past with fondness.  We can remember things that where.  We can reflect in days gone by.  Relationships that where.  Friendships that happened.  The job that we had.  The neighborhood we lived in.

The problem happens when we are so caught up in the past that we can't live in the present.

Things change, and people change.  Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse.  We need to see it for what it is, what it can be, and not what it was.

live in the present, and not in the past.

Don't Judge Me

I just got through reading the book of Revelation, and in Revelation 20:11-15 you get a picture of the scene of the "great white throne judgment".  This is where God Judges those based upon what they did in life.  After I read this, I began to think a lot about what we call "judging others".  Very more often than not, we hear people say, "I don't know what Bible your reading, but mine says don't judge me", or something to that affect.  Many times people will say that to try and justify their actions, but at the same time there is truth to it.

The verse in question is as follows:

¹ Judge not, that ye be not judged. ² For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Mt 7:1., KJV)

Here is the truth of the matter of the verse:  "Judge" is Greek word κρίνω [krino /kree·no/], which means "to pick out, and to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong".  I think we can all agree that none of us likes to be picked out and have an opinion passed unfairly.

Here is what we do:

We sit beside a mom on an airplane that her child will not listen or sit still and we think "how can she let her child act like that", but yet we didn't know that she is at her wits end because the dad has left her and now she is a single mom trying to do it on her own.

We see a teenager walking down the road all dressed in black and smoking a cigarette and we think, "there is someone looking for trouble to get into", but yet we didn't know that their parents abandoned them as a kid and now they are being bounced from home to home in foster care.

We see a homeless man under a bridge and we think, "bum, get a job", but yet we didn't know that he cant sleep at night because of PTSD from all the bloodshed he saw from defending freedom and he can't find work because his life is spiraling out of control.

We see a young person that has a struggle with promiscuity and we think "whore", but yet we don't know of the years of sexual abuse that they had from every single person they ever trusted.

We see a person strung out on drugs and we think "crack head", but yet we don't know of the years they have had to live on their own because their parents abandoned them.

We see a person that commits suicide and we think "I can't believe they did that", but yet we don't know all the years they tried to get help but yet around every corner they could find no hope.

We see people lifestyles, decisions, and the affects and we wonder, "how could they be that way" or "how could they make that decision".  What we don't know, or understand, is the circumstances and events that led them to derive that the place they are.  I have often heard that we should walk a mile in some ones shoes before we place an opinion.  However, I believe it would take a whole lot longer than that.

People's lives and circumstances are usually not based upon one decision, it is usually a whole string of decisions that lead them to where they are.  People may not like who I am, they may not like my decisions, and they may not like my past.  If I am being honest, I personally don't agree with a lot of decisions I have made.  I know I don't always do the right thing in my life.  I know I don't always treat and discipline my children like I should.  I know I don't treat my wife like I should.  I know I don't always treat my friends like I should.  I know I don't always treat my family like I should.

I am honest enough with myself to know that I have far too often times "passed an opinion" on someone when I shouldn't have.  Haven't we all?

Non-believers look at believers and say they are all crazy Bible thumpers, but are they?
Believers look at non-believers and say they are all bad people, but are they?
people with tattoos are all bikers looking for trouble, but are they?
people without tattoos are all judging those with, but are they?
churches are all full of hypocrites, but are they?
non-traditional churches are full of crazy charismatics, but are they?

I could continue the list of the way we all (not just one or two, but all of us) pass our opinion on to someone else, but I believe you get the point.

I really dislike someone passing an opinion on me when they don't know the whole situation, don't you.  That is why the verse goes on to say the measure you judge someone by, you will be judged on as well.

This is not a matter of what is morally right or wrong, it is a matter of you and I thinking we have it all together in deciding what is right or wrong.

If you continue reading in Matthew the next verses tells us:


^3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ^4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ^5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Mt 7:3-5., NIV)

I have way too many things in my own life to deal with, don't you?  I am not perfect, but neither are you.  We like to reflect, because if we can point out someone else's problems we don't have to deal with our own.

Some people have some very real sin problems that you and I need to bring to light in a fellow believers life.  However It has to be based upon a core Biblical truth, and there is a difference.  Such as if a husband is physically abusive to spouse (or vice versa) it's not judging them to call them out for it.  There is a definitive line of right and wrong, and not an opinion.

The core of the matter is this:  You and I need to do a better job at not passing an opinion.  No matter how hard we try we are finite, sinful, imperfect people who are living with other finite, sinful, imperfect people.  Which means, we will still pass opinions on each other no matter how hard we try not too.

In closing, the point of the matter of passing a judgment of opinion is this:  don't be quick to pass an opinion of judgment and don't use "don't judge me" as a cop out, if you made a bad decision accept it, own it, and you will be a better person for it.  Remember above all things that God is the one who determines someone's eternal destiny not me or you (Revelation 20).

Have a blessed day, Chris
 

What's my purpose?

What's my purpose?  What is the purpose in what is happening in life?  What is the meaning of all this?  I have questions.... Many of them.... don't you?

We wrap our purpose up in so many different things.  Let me explain.  Sometimes we believe our purpose is found in our career, our family, our spouse, or our children.  When we wrap ourselves in thinking that our purpose is found in one of those two things happen.  One we will find ourselves let down, and two our thinking is way too small.  These two things cause huge problems in our lives.

First of all, is being let down.  If we define our purpose in career, family, spouse, or children all of them can be lost or gained.  This in turn can cause us to feel either devastated in a loss, or too prideful in a gain.  Please don't misunderstand me, I love my career, family, spouse, and children.  They are all an essential part of my life.  However, as I have discovered if we define ourselves simply based upon our purpose in life being one of them when we lose one, we lose our sense of purpose.  When we lose our sense of purpose it begins to put our life in a downward spiraling motion.

Secondly, is our thinking is narrowed entirely too small.  Everything becomes all about me and my little world.  It causes us to be self-sustained and only concerned about things that affect us directly.

There is a much bigger picture than that.  God has much bigger plans.  God has a much bigger purpose in mind.

^9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
 (2 Ti 1:9., NIV)

Our purpose is not my own.  My purpose, your purpose, is based upon what God created you for.  God created you and me to a "holy life", a different life than everyone else.  Not because He feels that you and I are better than anyone else, not because He feels you can do it better than anyone else, and not because you think you are better than anyone else.  Jesus died so that you and I could have eternal life, but also so you and I could have a holy life. God called us, has given us a purpose that is so much bigger than what you and I can ever imagine.  His purpose is eternal, my purpose is eternal, and your purpose is eternal.  Think about that. 

Your purpose is so much bigger than what you immediately see.  To think that your purpose is only found in career, family, spouse, and children limits your purpose.  There are no limits to your purpose.  God's purpose for you is eternal, it has no bounds.  Eternity has no beginning, and has no ending, therefore neither does your purpose.

God is painting a much larger picture than you and I can see.  He invites you and I to take part in His grand masterpiece.  When God created you, He created you with an eternal purpose in mind.  This life is discovering what that eternal purpose is.

Take time on this journey of life to discover what your eternal purpose is.  The only limit to your purpose is the one you put on it.

love story

Most everyone loves a love story.  We want to know that love will always find a way.  We want to know that the guy gets the girl, good prevails over evil, and that it all works out in the end.  There have been so many classic love stories told:

• Wuthering Heights
• Romeo and Juliet
• Casablanca
• Midsummer Nights Dream
• Doctor Zhivago
• Sense and Sensibility
• Pride and Prejudice
• Hunchback of Nortre Dame
• Pillow Talk (my wife's favorite)

Or newer one's like:

• Sleepless in Seattle
• You've Got Mail
• Sweet Home Alabama
• An officer and a Gentleman
• When Harry met Sally
• The Notebook

Most stories seem to good to be true, but in the end they give us hope.  They give us a reason to not give up.  They make us want to go one more day, one more month, and another year. 

The greatest love story ever told, isn't about the boy getting the girl.  It's about God getting you.

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  (1 John 3:16, NIV)

For most people their greatest love story is yet to be told.  Your greatest love story has nothing to do with your fiancé, spouse, or children.  Your greatest love story has to be about the extent of love God has for you.  It is a love that is unconditional, uncontainable, and for most it's untold.  God loves you so much that He was willing to send His son, and His son loves you so much that we was (and is) willing to lay down His very own life over 2000 years ago so that you can have eternal life.

The greatest love story ever told is found in the greatest love story ever written.  The Bible.  Sixty six books and letters written to tell you and I how much God loves you and I, the great effort He has taken to show it, and the history of mankind's relationship with his Creator.  All you and I have to do is say "yes" to Him and that we believe in who He is and what He has done.

"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9, NIV)


As we celebrate Easter this Sunday, remember it's not just about Christ's death but it's about His resurrection.  He not only laid down His life for us, but He proved who He was by the empty tomb.

"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow"

Happy Easter, Chris