Distractions to Worship

I have been dealing with distractions in my life.  Whether they are through work, school, kids, ministry, deer season…it really doesn’t matter what the distraction is, there always seem to be something that can change my focus.  There are always “things” that will compete for our attention.  Some are urgent, some are trivial.  However, the urgent can become trivial and the trivial can become urgent.  I wanted to share with you what I am learning.  I am learning that there are distractions to our relationship with God.  They are nothing new.  I am reading in 1 Timothy and he addresses those distractions.

Scripture:

1 Timothy 2:8-9

8 In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.  9 And I want women to be modest in their appearance.They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.

Timothy charges ALL churches, temples, synagogues with his opening phrase in verse 8.  He doesn’t exempt any house of worship or give special place to one place over another.  This instruction is for ALL places of worship.  It not only deals with the process of worship, but the attitude of worship as well.  Timothy addresses the problems of distractions when worshipping.  He instructs the men to lead the way in worship as they are addressed first.  He admonishes men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God.  Holy, meaning consecrated for worship and service.  Set apart for His worship.  He then goes on to add to the holiness about being free from anger and controversy.  These are things that can entangle the spirit of a man and cause attention to be misdirected from God to the controversy.

After addressing the men, the women are to follow their lead.  However, Timothy understands the nature of men and how they are distracted by the eye.  He admonishes women to dress modestly.  He instructs them to wear appropriate clothing as not to draw anyone’s attention to themselves by they way they fix their hair or the jewelry they wear or the price of their clothes.  He is making sure that they are not the focus of worship as was prevalent during this time.  Women can become distracted as well.  Insecurities creep in about appearance, feelings of inadequacy, and even competition with others.  This was evident back then as it is now.  It stems from goddess worship.  Goddess worship was something that was very real and was trying to make headway into the Church as there were many converts who were now following Christ and mixing the pagan religion with Christianity.  Timothy addresses this and points both men and women to the cross of Christ.  He is the one that is to be worshipped.

When I am confronted with this truth of the Word, I realize that my life is full of controversy and distractions. When my life is full of controversy, it usually breeds anger.  How can one worship God and have anger toward another in his heart?  I wrestle with this. Especially when I become passionate about something.  I begin to think, focus and really go overboard with “proving” my point in my personal need to become right.

In my trying to become right, I have a way that I can become like a rasp and score good people and my relationships with the file that I think will smooth the surface.  In reality, I am doing that opposite.  I am leaving scars on the lives of people I wanted to have friendships with, be close to, celebrate with and do life together.  I believe this is one aspect of what Timothy is speaking to in this verse.  Be free from controversy as to not have divided attention and your attention can be focused on God.

He then goes on to dealing with women.  I believe that this is a twofold meaning this writing.  Timothy knows and understands how men are wired.  They are visual.  Things that men see, stick in the DVR of their minds and can be recalled and played over and over again.  Here, the instruction to the women to not dress immodestly or expensively or with too much jewelry as to become a distraction to others.  This serves a double purpose.

1. It prevents people from being distracted in their worship before God.  This doesn’t just refer to men, but also women as well.
2. It also instructs women not to compete for attention of other people.  It teaches all people to have the attention of God rather than man.  It teaches us to not become distractions to others in their walk with Christ.

When we become a distraction to other people in their walk with Christ, we have elevated ourselves to demigod status and seek to have attention drawn to us rather than pointing it toward Christ.  This is sin!  This is idolatry!  This is pride!

I am thankful that God gives us grace and mercy!  Without His grace, there is no Good News of Christ dying for each of us.  Without His mercy, I am still held accountable for my past transgressions.  I am glad that I have placed my trust in Him and that He is still forming me into what He wants me to become.

Prayer:

Lord, forgive me of my sin of pride.  Take it from me.  Help me to point people to Your Son, Jesus.  Help me to tame my passions of this world and make me more passionate for You, Your Word, Your mission and Your Love.  Help me to not become a distraction and live a quiet, peaceable life that is pleasing to you.  I ask that you would help me and guide me by your Holy Spirit.  I ask that you would bless my family and give them favor.  Help my children grow closer to You and do well in their schooling.  I pray that you would bless my wife in her job and give her favor.  I ask that you would give me favor on my job and help me reach the goals that I have set.  I give you glory and honor.  Thank you for saving me.  Amen!

What are the “things” that are distracting you?

What are you competing for the attention of, God or someone else?

 

Spiritual Clothing

Scripture:

Colossians 3:12-15

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Observations:

God chose us to be holy people.  He loves us.  Because of this choosing and great love, there are attributes that He wants us to clothe our lives with that will speak volumes to our life changing experience in Christ.  These articles of spiritual clothing are:

• tenderhearted mercy
• kindness
• humility
• gentleness
• patience
• allowances for faults
• forgiveness
• love
• peace
• thankfulness

These articles of spiritual clothing are governed by one main piece.  That piece of clothing is love.  Love is the binding thing that produces harmony with other people.  Harmony, in music, complements the other notes being played or sung.  Paul is encouraging the believers to compliment other people by living in harmony with one another.

Application:

When a person has become a believer, spiritual growth is a process.  One cannot be “born again” and be expected to immediately be a “mature” Christian.  Christ wants us to grow in our relationship to Him.  Paul addresses this by giving mature and new Christians alike different spiritual clothing that brings each of us into a spiritual harmony of living with each other and those who are not yet believers in Christ.  When those people who are not followers of Christ see these things, a difference is seen.  It gives testimony not only to the unbeliever, but to the brother and sister in the Lord as well.

In Paul’s list of spiritual clothing, each of the different articles of the heart are the exact replica of what God had toward us.  You are created in God’s image and He wants you to reflect Him everywhere and everyday.   When a person puts on these attributes of God, this person is reflecting the image of God to the world.

What is it that I am reflecting?

What article of clothing am I lacking?

Do I have a wardrobe malfunction?

How do I show love for fellow man?

Prayer:

God, I thank you for this day.  I pray that you would be reflected in my life daily.  I pray that you would help me to clothe myself in the things you want me to reflect of you.  Help govern my life with love for others and remember that when I do govern by love, it produces harmony.  Help me to produce harmony with others.  Bless my family and help me to be a positive influence on the people around me and those who come into my life.  Amen.

1063 Degrees Farhenheit

I have been pleasantly surprised here in Texas this Summer.  We actually have had what I call a milder summer.  By this time of year, we are usually in a countdown to breaking the record of days over 100 degrees. However, this year, we are constantly in the 90s and even had a cold front come through that dropped us into the 80s.  It has been great!  However, the 100s are predicted to make a comeback tour in North Texas.

I love to watch the weather.  I love to see how people respond to weather in different parts of the country.  I saw just a few weeks ago how the Upper East Coast of the US were experiencing a heat wave…they had temps in the 90s!  We call that Summer down here in Texas and to be even more specific, we call that a cold front.  Now, don’t think I am just spouting off about how we can handle the heat.  On the other hand, when snow and ice come our way in the Winter, we shut down…yes, for 2 inches of snow/ice.  The entire area shuts down, schools are closed and if you want to see crazy drivers…come to North Texas in an ice storm.  I don’t even want to talk about how people can’t drive in the snow.

I started thinking about these weather changes and how the temperatures affect our lives.  Sometimes, we experience temperature changes in our lives that are more internal than that of the weather outside.  Sometimes, we can actually feel the “heat” being turned up in our lives.  It may be on the job, at home, with our spouse or children, neighbors, car troubles, etc.  You name it, life seems to have a way of turning it on when we don’t really need it or expect it.  Sometimes, we can even begin to crack under the heat that has been so unwelcome in our lives.  As I was thinking about this, I came across a passage of Scripture found in Proverbs 17:3,

Proverbs 17:3

3 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.

Precious metals, when refined, are put to the test of fire.  When those metals are heated up to a specific temperature, then impurities rise to the top of the liquified metal.  It is called dross.  The purity of silver and gold are measured by the amount of time on the refining fire and the amount of dross that is pulled out of the metal.  When testing the metal, the purity is determined by the amount of dross left in the metal.  Metal’s purity it tested by physical properties alone.  God tests humans by the heart test.  He searches and reveals impurities of the heart.  God unveils impurities or sin of the heart through His refining process.  He is more concerned with a person’s heart than their physical appearance.

Gold is refined at 1063 degrees Fahrenheit.  Purity of gold is determined by the refining process.  During the refining process, the refiner keeps a constant watch upon the fire and the gold that is being refined.  Like the refiner of gold, God refines our heart.  Sometimes the heat will be turned up in our lives and it is a process of God testing our hearts.  He is refining our lives.  He is keeping careful watch over what we can handle and won’t give us more than we can handle without providing a way for us to escape.  God wants our hearts to be pure before Him.  Just remember, when the heat is turned up and the impurities of your life are rising to the top, God is keeping a careful eye on you to remove those impurities so that you can be the priceless gold He designed you to be from the beginning.  He loves you!

What area of your life is the heat being turned up in now?

What impurities are you discovering about yourself?

How can you recognize the times of heat and know that they are God testing your heart?

3 Lessons from the MLB All Star Game

Last night, I watched, in amazement, the Major League All Star Game.  I learned some valuable lessons by watching Mariano Rivera enter into his office, the pitcher’s mound, in the 8th inning.  In fact, I rewound it and watched it a second time with my son.  Mariano Rivera is retiring from the game after 19 years in the major leagues.  I remember when he started playing.  He came into the New York Yankees organization as a set up man for their then closer, John Wetteland.  Now, when he enters a game, the song “Enter Sandman” blares from the stadium speakers as his job is to put the other team’s batters to sleep by getting them out and ending the game.  He has over 600 saves credited to his account in the major leagues.  Awesome!

Now I am not a New York Yankees fan by any means or stretch of the imagination.  I am a Boston Red Sox fan and of course, Texas Rangers fan.  But what I witnessed last night was a champion entering his last Major League All Star Game ever.  He will be a Hall of Fame inductee without question.  However, what I was able to teach my son last night through the game of baseball was even greater than his last game.  You see, Mariano Rivera is one of the most respected players in the major leagues.  In fact, the person that he is caused his peers to do and exemplify some amazing character traits that each of them have at a time when the world wants each of them to scream, “Hey, look at me!”  They screamed, “Hey!  Look at Him!”

You see, both the American League team and the National League team stayed in the dugout and it was just Mariano Rivera and the catcher out there to warm up.  Not even the position players took the field.  Those players taught a me some valuable lessons and gave me opportunity to teach my son.

3 Lessons that I Learned from the All Star Game.

1. Respect those Who have gone before you.
2. Honor those who deserve honor.
3. Humility is best worn when Pride is desired.

Those players paid tribute to a man who has gone before them and set a benchmark in the game.  They honored him by staying in the dugout to give him the big stage.  And in a day and age where humility is left for those who are usually never seen, they set aside their pride and wore the uniform of humility to show honor and respect.

Who has gone before you that is worthy of honor and respect?

What is stopping you from showing them?

How can you set aside your pride and wear the uniform of humility to show that person or persons respect and honor?

It is only fitting that I close this writing, in honor of Mariano Rivera by saying,

GO SOX!

He would appreciate it!

4 Ingredients of a Good Reputation

John Wooden, the great coach of the UCLA Bruins and greater man of character, would spend countless minutes in his practice sessions building his player’s character rather than working on basketball skills.  He would teach them and pour into the character of the individual by teaching his ‘pyramid of success’.  John Wooden felt that if he could build the man’s character, then basketball would take care of itself.  It worked…his teams won 10 National Championships in 12 years and in those 10 championships, they won 7 in a row.  He was the National Coach of the Year 6 times.

His teams always had a reputation for playing hard the entire game.  They had a reputation for winning.  Their reputation, or what others believed to be truth about them, was an outflow of the character traits that Coach Wooden spent countless hours instilling into their lives.  Coach Wooden said it best when he said,

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Character and reputation go hand in hand.  In fact, your reputation is forged by your character.  You can spend 20 years building your reputation and lose what you built with one misstep.  Now that may seem like a lot of pressure that one is putting on themselves to constantly live a life that lives up to their standards they have set for themselves.  I would argue that if you are the one that set your standard bar, then there is no pressure to live up to it.  I also believe that a person will try to achieve their expectations no matter how high they may set them.  In this day and age, I believe that the greatest tragedy and disservice that we can do for the younger generation is to allow their standards to be set too low.  Without lofty expectations, the results experienced are low.  It has been said that the greatest enemy of great is good.

As a parent, it is my responsibility to instill in my children the necessary character traits that will help them to succeed in life.  I don’t want them to have the necessary skills to ‘just get by’.  I want them to excel.  I want them to set their standards high.  I want to inspire them to greatness!  I want them to dream and have the character to reach for their dreams.  I also want them to have a good reputation.  Your reputation is important!  In fact, Luke the Physician wrote in the Acts of the Apostles concerning Timothy, in Acts 16:2-3,

2 Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, 3 so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.

This stemmed from his character that was handed down from his parents.  I believe that there are 4 ingredients of a Good Reputation.  This is what I hope to instill into my children and I want to share them with you today.

• Love– Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as your self.
• Truth– Always be truthful even and especially if you are wrong.  When you tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said that was a lie.
• Honor– Live a life that will honor God and make His name known.  Live a life that brings honor to God, your parents, grandparents, your family and your children.  You represent more than just yourself when you are alone or in a crowd, you represent all of the above.
• Serve– Dedicate your life to serving God and always listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.  Serve at places like your church, community, family, neighbors and friends.  Take the initiative and serve others when you see something that needs to be done, do it without being asked.

When these ingredients are thrown into the mix of a person’s life, your character will become the strong foundation that your reputation is built upon. With this recipe, I leave you with this statement and 3 questions.  Some people change jobs, mates and friends, but never think of changing themselves.

• What are the ingredients that you are putting into the character mix of your life?  Your Family?  Your Children?
• What are your goals and dreams as an individual?  A family?  
• Are you striving for great or settling for good?

The Plan for Success

Ah yes…the ever elusive word that drives millions of people to rise from their sleep every day and try to attain goals that are somewhat out of reach at the moment, but then find themselves only moving those goals to take them to higher places than were previously desired and thought of as the pinnacle of life…that word…SUCCESS!

Let’s face it…no one wants to be labeled a failure or loser.  That is evident in our Youth Sports Programs where everyone gets a medal.  I mean, when I was a kid, I was S-L-O-W!  In fact, my coaches didn’t use a stopwatch to time me, they used a calendar!  I remember field day at school…I always seemed to come home with a 1st place ribbon for tug of war, but I hated races!  Why?  I wasn’t successful at them.  It almost seemed like our field days had one strength related event vs. 10 speed events.  Don’t feel sorry for me, for the first 10 yards I was as fast as anyone else, but it always seemed that me and at least one girl would always duke it out for…ummm…last. That was usually the one who recovered from the trampling of the speedy kids.  I get a picture in my mind like this…

So, what did I come home with?  A handful of “Thanks for participating” ribbons.  You know, the dreaded purple ribbon.

I had been force-fed a definition of success that gave value to me as a human being through a piece of nylon with a rope!  I bought in to it too!  While competition and athletics have been a part of my life since I was a kid, as I have grown, I have seen those ribbons replaced with many different things.  Titles, positions, promotions, raises, corner offices, you name it.  There are ways that people today find value in themselves through the awards they attain or credentials bestowed upon them.  They mistakenly cheapen success by defining it by getting to do what THEY want, when THEY want, how THEY want.  In fact, it sounds a lot like a bad infomercial like this…

I am sure that Tony Robbins has helped a lot of people get back on track, but I am more confident in God from whom all blessings come from.  I am not knocking those things, I am simply pointing out that what took place on field day certainly prepared us for later on in life…except…there are no more participation ribbons!  Thank you Jesus!!

One of the wisest men that ever lived was King Solomon.  He wrote a book of Wisdom for his son.  It is found as one of 66 books found in the Bible called Proverbs.  There are 31 chapters in Proverbs.  I like to use them one chapter for each day of the month.  I want to show you how one of the wisest men that ever lived viewed success.  He spelled out the plan for success for his son and ultimately each of us.  In Proverbs 16:2-3, Solomon’s plan reads like this,

“2People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.  3Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”

Most of the time, people feel their motives are pure.  However, God knows the motives of our heart.  When personal plans are made committing them to God leads to a successful fulfillment of those plans.  Motives of the heart are understood by God even though we may think ourselves pure and right before Him.  The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual act of committing all we do to the Lord will determine your success or failure.

I had to come to the realization that I can do nothing apart from God.  My plans need to be committed to Him to ensure success.  Success is not for me, per se.  Although I get to experience the fruit of success and the blessings of success, my true success is for God’s glory through my plans being committed to Him.  He is the one that gets the 1st Place Ribbon…I get the blessing of being His son.  He gets the glory, I get the earthly benefit of blessings.

Who or what has 1st Place in your life?

What drives you in your pursuit of success?

How do you define success?

Have you committed your plans to God?

What are the motives of your heart?

The Will of the Cow

I know what you are thinking.  What in the world is he thinking and how is this going to apply to my life?  And now, you are thinking, what in the world am I doing reading about a Cow’s will?  Do cows even have a will?  I mean, really…they eat grass, chew cud and make huge patties that when dried make great inexpensive frisbees.  On the other hand…please use extreme caution and a stick before picking one up to throw.  Now, on to the story…

My brother and I used to argue all the time.  We would always try to get out of doing our chores and try to get the other one to do our chores for us.  Growing up in Louisiana, neither of us liked to mow the grass during the summer.  It was HOT!  It was HUMID!  In fact, in our town, they discovered these Indian ruins that had hieroglyphics that when translated, they read, “Its hot in Louisiana in the Summer!”  Okay, I can’t back that up!  Either way, we would devise different contests to determine if we could shirk out duties on to the other one.  We would shoot baskets, we would throw baseballs for distance, we would chip golf balls from one end of the yard to the other trying to get them into a tire and the closest one would win.  If we couldn’t settle the chore duties through these games of skill, we would leave it to chance by flipping a coin…of course, 2 out of 3.  There would be statements made like, “If I make this shot, even though I lost at HORSE, you get to do the mowing.”  One shot…determined our next couple of hours and how dehydrated we would become.

 

 

A lot of times people who are followers of Christ, will leave their relationship with Him to chance just like I did with my brother in trying to decide who was going to do the yard work.  Take this account found in 1 Samuel 6:9,

9 If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the Lord who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don’t, we will know it was not his hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance.”

This verse comes after the decision to find out if God was the one who sent the plague to the Philistines or not.  You see, the Philistines had stolen the Ark of the Covenant from Israel.  God sent a plague and they were really tired of it.  So, in verse 9, this is what they resorted to determine if God sent the plagues or if they were coincidence.  I am not a big believer in coincidence.   God does nothing by chance.  God does things according to His will, His plan.

Here, the priests of Dagon in Philistia, made that discovery that the Lord is a God of planning.  They made the comment that if two cows would cross a border carrying the Ark of the Covenant, then it would be a sign that God was the one that brought the plagues upon the Philistines.  If not, then it was just a coincidence. The cows went straight back to the land of Israel without deviating from the path.  What is flawed in the thinking of coincidence is that whatever object you use to determine what is destiny or coincidence can always be deemed coincidence by that object’s outcome.

I am not sure that I would want this…

to determine the Will of God for my life.

I believe that  God has a perfect plan for your life.  He cares for you. Even when you aren’t sure of the path He has you on, trust in Him!  Nothing happens by coincidence.  It is happening for His purpose and His plan in your life.  Remain righteous and let God order your steps.

Are you leaving your relationship with God to chance?

Are you making deals with God like I did with my brother?  If I could just make this shot God, I will…

Will you allow God to lead you where He wants you to go?

Body Shop

Today I as I sit down to write, I am still thinking about yesterday.  I was the guest speaker at Whitehouse First Assembly in Whitehouse, TX.  My friends, Michael and Angie Fleming are the pastors there and have a great staff that works with them.  One thing I love about the church is that there are no strangers there.  The moment you walk in, its like you have just been gone for a while and made your way back even though it may be your first time to ever visit.  On Saturday, this church hosted a 5k and 1K fun run to raise money for a missions work they titled Hope for Haiti.  Now don’t get me wrong, this was just a part of the focus of the weekend.  You see, the pastor has been conducting a series of messages that he called Back to the Future.  The whole premise is based on what your future self would come back and tell your present self.

This particular weekend, they were focusing on “body ministry”.  This is a topic that you don’t normally hear about in church unless it deals with the entire church body as a whole.  However, Sunday was going to be a little different.  It was dealing with the individual’s personal body.  I have grown up in church and admit that I have never heard a message on the individual’s responsibility in taking care of their bodies.  This honors God! I want to share with you some thoughts on this topic today and give you a challenge.

Jesus, when asked about the greatest commandment, replied in Matthew 22:37 this way,

37Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

In this passage, he gave 3 areas to love God with…heart (body), soul, and spirit (mind).  When I saw this, I asked, “How in the world do I love God with my body?”  I immediately began to think of sacrifices, diets, exercise, the silver sweatsuit…I wanted no part of those.  You see, I love donuts.  I have never met a donut I didn’t like!  Those donuts are also what helped me to get to an all time high weight of 420 pounds!  My body was not loving God!  I tried to use Scripture, being a pastor of a church, to justify my obesity.  In fact, I used 1 Timothy 4:7-9 as a justification, look what it says…

7Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it.

My rationale was found in verse 8 to get out of the discipline of training my body.  However, I quickly found myself flashing back to this image…

I wanted no part of this!!!  That was when I re-read Romans 12:1,

1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Honoring God with my body was not a diet, exercise regimen or even wearing some crazy looking sauna suit.  It was a holy sacrifice of me GIVING my body to Him as an act of worship.  He finds that acceptable.  Now the part of me finding that acceptable was the issue.  I had to come to grips with making time to offer my body to God.  I had to make a change.  I weighed 420 pounds and was miserable.  Through a variety of measures, I was able to lose over 200 pounds.  Check out my before and after photo…

I began to think, I am putting up a wooden fence at my house, about to paint my house, have put new flooring in my house and spent all kinds of money on my house yet not done one thing for my body.  I had neglected my body for too long.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says this,

19Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

That is when I realized, I have spent more on my earthly home, than the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  God bought me with a price…His Son!  I have no other choice than to honor Him with my body.  What good am I to God on this earth if I am dead?  NONE!  My thinking then changed, If I try to make my home have the best appearance it possibly can, why should I do anything less for God’s temple?

As I shared this at Whitehouse First Assembly yesterday, the Pastor and I asked them to make physical fitness commitments.  His goal was for his church to get healthy and corporately commit to lose 1000 pounds in the next 6 months.  They took pledge cards and collected them…the final tally…2345 pounds total as a goal to make their bodies a living sacrifice which is holy and acceptable to God.

WOW!!!  That is over 1 ton of weight they want to lose as a church!

My question for you…

Will you begin today to make your body the best temple that it can possibly be for God?

Will you commit for the next 6 months to a healthy lifestyle and take off some unwanted weight?

Will you honor God with your body since He bought you with a price?

5 Things God Requires of You

I am a big believer in planning. I utilize ‘to do’ lists throughout my month, week and day. One of my mottos that I have adopted, I heard at a John Maxwell Leadership conference. It simply says,

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

 

Since then, I have become more determined to live a more planned out life with plenty of wiggle room for those things that seem to spring on me without any notice. You know…life. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t PLAN to “interact with kids” or “dinner with my wife”…those things take precedent over any and everything on my schedule. Appointments get bumped, moved or cancelled when it comes to my family. If I am in a meeting and my wife calls, the meeting is on hold. Why? Because I also tend to be a worrier. I immediately start playing out worst case scenarios. It is just how I am wired. I am a problem solver. That can be good or bad.

I came across a passage of Scripture that gave the Children of Israel a “checklist” of what God expected from them. Now, before you start thinking, “That was the Old Testament, we live under the New Testament.” These truths given to the Israelites were reinforced all throughout the New Testament. So…get rid of your excuses… Look at what Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says,

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

12“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.13And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

Observations:

Here the Lord lists what He expects from His people.

• Fear the Lord
• Live to please Him
• Love Him
• Serve Him with your whole heart
• Obey His commands

Why does he require this from His people? It is for their own good.

Application:

If I want my best interests to be at the forefront of God’s mind, then I need to live to fulfill what He wants as my Lord and Savior. Living these 5 things out leads to a life of righteousness and ultimately reveals our devotion to God.

Make no mistake about it, living out these 5 things is much more than a checklist that you can go down and mark as completed. God wants to be more than a ‘to do’ list, He wants a relationship with YOU! In fact, these things won’t be completed until we are with Him in heaven. Checklists make my day simpler…God makes it simple for His people. Accept His grace and mercy and continue to live a righteous life in His sight.

How are you focusing on the 5 Things?
Are you living a “checklist” with God or a relationship?

 

Prayer:

God, I thank you for your love, your mercy and your grace. I pray that you would bless my work today and help me reach my goals. I pray that you would help me to be a light in a dark world. Bless my family and keep them safe throughout their day. All these things I ask according to Your Word and Your Will. Amen!

Seek the Seeds

I love American History!  This love of American History came from the passion that my 7th grade American History teacher possessed and infused in my life at Greenacres Junior High School in Bossier City, LA.  Mrs. Ray, had an unusual teaching style that ignited the passion of remembering otherwise tedious dates in history and actually making me want to know those dates and be able to put them on my tests correctly.  The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint her by forgetting or not knowing.  Mrs. Ray taught me ways to memorize all of our President’s in order by using the “Who Are Jolly Mighty Men…” memorization technique.  The first letter in every word was the first letter of the President’s last name.  Thank You…I did make a 100% on that test…thank you!  She had a remarkable style of presentation of history.  One time, she climbed her stool and with one foot atop her desk and the other on the stool, re-enacted George Washington crossing the Delaware River.  I can remember thinking, “She is crazy…she is fun…I like history…this is cool!” She always had a smile that lit up the room!  See for yourself…

I can remember that same passion when she covered the different wars, the different legislation, the things that make this country what it is today.  She is one of my favorite teachers to this very day!  Why?  Because I find myself teaching my kids some of the same things she taught me.  I can see her passion light up my kid’s eyes when I talk about the things she taught me.  They don’t even know her!  But they do know her passion for American History.

Like Mrs. Ray, Solomon was one of the wisest men in history and had a passion for passing down his wisdom to the next generation.  In fact, he wrote the Proverbs for his son to pass down the wisdom God had given him.  One of the Proverbs that he penned reminded me of Mrs. Ray’s history class.  It is found in Proverbs 8:10-11 and it reads,

Choose my instruction rather than silver and knowledge rather than pure gold.  For wisdom is more valuable than rubies.  Nothing you desire can compare with it.

Instruction, knowledge and wisdom are directly compared as more valuable than what the free market deems as valuable.  Silver, gold and rubies are monetarily valuable and typically signify great wealth.  However, Solomon says that nothing compares to having attributes in one’s character that can be passed down from generation to generation versus something that is as fleeting as wealth.

In today’s society, people have bought into the false belief that their value is attached to their pay stub.  God says that true value lies in one’s character and knowledge.  Those building blocks are what produces the monetary value that will enable you to take care of your financial obligations. In today’s world, people want the easy way out and to only have the fruit minus the labor.  All they want is the fruit…not the hassle.   It seems as though people have forgotten to seek those things that will continue to produce fruit rather than the fruit itself.  We need to seek the seeds that will produce for a lifetime. Seek the way to get fruit for a lifetime and even for your kid’s lifetime.  Long term planning should be further out than your nose is long.

The old adage lies true today…

In what ways are you seeking knowledge, instruction and wisdom?

Do you have someone who has invested in you and planted seeds that are still producing today?  If so, thank them.  Write them a letter, give them a phone call, let them know of the deposit they have put into your life.

Challenge:  Ask someone close to you to describe your character to you…evaluate their thoughts and make additions or subtractions.