We’re doing Advent again this year and I really love it! After dinner each night, we take about five minutes out to light the candle, read the scripture, and talk about our Savior’s birth. If you’ve ever thought about introducing family devotion, then Advent is the perfect introduction. Besides, family traditions are important and this is a great one to add to the list.
This year, my youngest son wants to do everything. He lights the candle (with a little help) and often volunteers to read.
That’s it! Forgive me for my self indulgence but I’m as proud as can be of my boy. He reads Isaiah like an old pro! Enjoy the video!
“I give up. I’m done. I quit. It’s over. I surrender. I’m not doing this anymore!” These are some of the most powerful words in the Christian vocabulary. Unfortunately, they’re seldom spoken accept in reference to an assignment. The idea of a life absolutely surrendered to God is foreign to us in our culture of achievement, prosperity, and recognition. We attach so much of our self worth to “making it” that we can’t conceive that God might have a better plan for us.
Here’s what I mean. We find out that there is a God who’s crazy about us. We ask Jesus to be our savior. We then put Him in our pocket with the rest of our possessions and let Him be a part of our lives as long as He doesn’t interrupt our lifestyle or standard of living. Sure He’s important to us, even vital, but he’s still just a part of the picture. He’s not the whole thing. Instead of stuffing Him into our pocket, we should be asking Him to stuff us into His.
I’ve had the honor of knowing people who have found the freedom of a life of absolute surrender. They completely wrap their lives around God, regardless of the cost. And you know what? I’ve noticed a few things.
1. They seem to be an effortless blessing to others. It’s never a strain or a struggle to bless people. All they have already belongs to God so when He asks them to give it, there’s no debate.
2. They have nothing to prove. They don’t have to keep up with the Joneses. Status is unimportant. “Standard of living” isn’t even in their vocabulary. They’re bond servants and they’re OK with that because one day they’ll hear “well done.”
3. There is a joy and peace that seems to radiate from them. Think about it, if you’ve surrendered it all, then there’s nothing to lose. If Christ owns it all, then He can worry about it. If you’ve given your dreams to Him, then he’ll help fulfill them, or give you an even better one. That’s the kind of peace I want!
4. There’s a simplicity about them that makes you want what they have. In a world of hurry-sickness and spread-too-thin-itis, simplicity is good medicine.
In Matthew chapter 16 Jesus says, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?“
A life of absolute surrender is life abundant. It’s life the way God meant for you to live it. It requires laying down what we want from time to time. It requires giving at an (initially) uncomfortable level. It requires giving God permission to mess up your plans and change you. It’s not easy and it’s a challenging process. However, if we’re going to be used by God to make a difference in the world, we have to go there.
One thing I know for sure: people who give up what they want and surrender all they are and have to Jesus will have some incredible stories to tell. When their lives draw to an end and it’s time to reflect on it all, you’ll never hear them say, “I wish I would have…”
We decided to visit my parents for Thanksgiving this year. Something we haven’t done for years. It’s fun to have everyone pile into the folks house, raid the cupboards, lay around, and laugh about whatever. For some reason, it’s actually easy to forget about all stress and responsibility of ministry, bills, and business while I’m here.
This morning I woke up to the smell of a very large turkey in the oven and the mere smell of that bird cooking made me feel grateful. We’ve had a tradition of sharing what we’re thankful for around the table for so long that all it takes is the aroma to stir up a sense of gratitude in me. Take that Pavlov!
The thing about thankfulness is that it’s so good for you! When we’re really grateful, it’s hard to stay proud because it acknowledges that someone else has met your need. It’s hard to be bitter when we’re thanking Christ for His forgiveness. Thanksgiving really does refocus our perspective! It helps us to think positively and there are a lot of families out there that could benefit from less negativity in their homes! The more I think about it, the more I just love this holiday!
2nd Corinthians 4:15 tells us thatthanksgiving brings glory to God. What more motivation do we need? My prayer for you and me is for a thankful heart EVERY DAY.
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” – 2nd Corinthians 9:15
Ever feel like God is far away? You know, you pray but don’t feel his presence, ask for direction but don’t hear a thing, read and nothing jumps out at you. It feels like your life is a long walk down a desert road with no life on the horizon. I know, I know that sounds terribly depressing but we all go through it from time to time. I know I have! My prayer journal is filled with pages of complaints to God about his alleged silence.
One thing I’ve learned about these times is that they are always growth experiences. It’s difficult to say that because it feels so trite. “Growth experience” is such an overused expression and not every difficult circumstance is brought our way to help us grow. Sometime stuff just stinks. The thing is, I’ve never gone through a “dry time” and not been able to look back and see how God stretched me and caused me to mature.
I was reading in scripture today about a great king who experienced such a time. 2nd Chronicles 32:31 says, “However, when ambassadors arrived from Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land, God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart.” It was a test. God was withdrawing from Hezekiah to see how he would testify about his circumstances when the feelings of God’s presence and blessing weren’t there. As my old friend used to say, “You can’t have a testimony without a test.”
One thing is for sure. Dry times, seemingly unfruitful times, even times of crisis will reveal what is truly in our hearts. Will we stay committed to pray when we don’t feel his presence? Will we continue to read His Word when we’re not getting revelation? Will we stay faithful to His calling when it seems like we’re not producing fruit? Will we obey and stay steady when we don’t know which direction He wants us to go? Will we praise Him and confess His goodness when He seems distant an indifferent? Will we humbly give Him the glory when we experience success?
The truth is God’s greatness, His love, and His goodness have absolutely nothing to do with how we feel. Whether we feel like he’s near or far, He has promised not to leave or forsake us. We can pass the test when we know beyond our emotions how truly, deeply in love He is with us. We can praise Him in good times and bad simply because He loves us and He is good, always, even when our perception of goodness clashes with His. When we hold that tightly, in the core of who we are, then we can say as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15)
I remember Christmas as a kid. Each unwrapped box held the potential to make all my wildest dreams come true. I would tear into each one with unchecked enthusiasm and ferocity until the toy was extracted that would change my life forever. Or at least that’s what it felt like at the time. I wasn’t one for just leaving my new loot under the tree either. I’d take it up to my room, display it neatly, and play with my favorites for hours on end. Every once in a while, I’d receive a toy that was particularly dear to me. When I six years old, it was Stretch Armstrong. Stretch was a body builder who could be stretched a long way without breaking. It was a real workout playing with him, especially if I let his stretchable limbs get too cold. I was so proud of my stretch Armstrong that, when company came over, I’d nonchalantly bring him out and start playing with him in a subtle display of show and tell.
Eventually my birthday came along, and another Christmas and old Stretch didn’t get played with as much. I’d moved on to the the sound effects gadget and electronic football. It had been months and I hadn’t played with my former favorite toy at all. One day, my older brother found Stretch up in my closet and decided he wanted a good look at the jelly inside of him that made him so stretchy. He plunged a knife into the neck of my toy and a red gooey substance came out. I was so upset! My favorite Stretch Armstrong was ruined! Realistically, if he would have done that behind the garage and tossed the toy in the trash, I never would have noticed.
Lately I’ve been doing A LOT of praying about what’s next for my life. “What do you want me to do next, Lord?” The ministry I was working for had to make financial cutbacks and I was part of those cutbacks. It was tough because I loved what I was doing so much. I’ve begged, pleaded, and begged some more for God to show me what to do next. You know what I’ve hear in response to all my praying? Nothing. Crickets chirping (on a good day). No unction, no whisper, no holy gut-feeling, not even a throat clearing! How unbelievably disturbing it is to be walking in revelation and intimacy and suddenly be cut off. Or so it seems…
I remembered all the times God DID speak to me. The visions and dreams. The things that were so heavy on my heart to accomplish for His glory. How many God-ideas are written in my prayer journal that I have yet to do anything with? How many burdens has God placed on my heart that just seemed to slip off the radar? There they are like last year’s Christmas toys waiting to be played with! Just because they don’t have that “shiny new toy” appeal any more doesn’t mean that God has forgotten about them. They still need to be done and time doesn’t change the fact that God has entrusted them with me.
James chapter two tells us that our actions make our faith complete. It’s not enough to just treasure the dreams God gives us. We have to be faithful to obey what He’s told us to do. They’re ALL important. Even the ones that are small, distant, or inconvenient. He gave them to us for a reason.
My kids are like most kids. They want stuff. They start making their list for Christmas somewhere around July. Oftentimes, when my wife and I sit down to look at their wish lists, we have the same response that I believe God has when He reads ours. “But they don’t play with the ones they have.” So here’s my plan: start doing all the things I believe God has already spoken to me to do. Once I’ve done them all, then maybe beg and plead some more. Chances are though, I won’t have to.
