Simply Obey

Obedience sounds simple, it does.  Just do what the Lord says. Easy enough, right? But why is it so hard.  Yeah, I know we live in a fallen world and have hearts filled with sin at birth. I know disobedience enter the Garden very early and it is something that man has dealt with since the beginning.  I know that disobedience is as the sin of witchcraft.  But you think if we had the technology to control a satellite in space and find a mass murder hiding in a compound in Pakistan, we should be able to simply obey.  My son has recently shed some light on this subject for me.  Yes, my 5yr old son has given me insight on a significant sin issue. 

Will has a big problem with obeying me.  In fact, he rarely listens to anything me or my wife says to him.  He is caught up in his own 5yr old world doing his 5yr old things and it messes up things  when the big people try to intervene in his 5yr old world.  “Rules are boring Daddy…I don’t want to listen Mommy”.  Instead of putting his toys up, he will rearrange his brother’s toys.  He will say “I’m just trying to help you out”.   He will try to go above the obedience and try to impress me or get on my good side much like I try to do with God. I am so much like my son and my son is so much like me.  I am the 5yr old kid who doesn’t want the rules and listen to the stuff that big, enormous God says sometimes.  I want to keep playing in my 27yr old world.  Saul gives the greatest example of attempting to impress God with his disobedience.  Sometimes I try, we try to impress God with our cool abilities, talents, skills instead of simply obeying Him and saying “Yes Sir”.  The Bible makes it very clear that God blesses those who obey. I think sometimes I forget that I am little 27yr old Josh, and He is giant God.  It doesn’t take creative thinking, planning, schemes, or tactics to obey.  Let’s complicate this thing as we have done with most things in the church.  It’s simple.  Say, “Yes Sir”.

Strain

As I sit and wallow in self pity thinking about the dark, miserable situations in my life, I wonder how they compare to the likes of David, Paul, and Peter.  I read in Psalms where David said, "My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me."  Instantly I thought me and King David were in the same boat, fighting the same battle.  I am in a situation where I am waiting on God to show up and so was he.  And then I thought about Paul, Peter, Elijah and others being there as well.  We have all been at that place of straining to see the promises of God in our lives.  That place where we wonder if the desert will ever end.  The place of constant head scratching.  The place where all we have is 5 loaves and 2 fish, and we are waiting on Jesus to turn it into a feast.
But before I was too comforted in my little community of pain and sorrow, God whispered something to me.
"You haven't been there like they have been there"
It's true that those great conquerers of the Bible have been through there fair share of struggles, and we can take comfort in knowing that we are not alone. But we haven't been to the same places they have been too.  You and I have never walked around a literal desert for 40 years like Moses.  You and I haven't been chased by a bipolar king who wanted us dead like David.  You and I haven't been shipwrecked, imprisoned, and beaten like Paul.  So take comfort in this...You and I really don't have it so bad. Maybe if you and I spend more time counting our blessings than discounting God's timing we would be much better off.

Unsatisfaction

I have a disease. It's called unsatisfaction. My disease hurts me and benefits me. I am never satisfied with almost everything in my life. I can never get educated enough. I can never get fit enough. I am never in the right financial situation. I haven't accomplished enough or worked hard enough. I haven't loved enough or given enough. I haven't touched enough lives or changed enough situations. I don't feed the hungry enough, give shelter to the homeless enough, or answer the cries of the hurting enough. I haven't prayed enough or studied the Word enough. I am not close enough to Christ. I'm never close enough to my wife and family. I'm never a good enough speaker, teacher, mentor, it motivator. Unsatisfaction drives me. It keeps me awake at night. It keeps me from becoming stale and bored. Unsatisfaction also keeps me from rest. It makes me weary. I understand that I may never be, have, or do enough, but God covers my gaps. The only thing I am satisfied in is Him. He is complete in every way. So to sum this up: My unsatisfaction leads to my satisfaction.

Are You All In

I have never been good at poker.  In fact, I don't even like it, and I am completely against gambling.  But there is an interesting dynamic that poker brings that the church and individuals should look at.  It's the "All In" way of living.  In poker if you think you have the overwhelming best hand or if you are just a risk taker you will bet everything you've got.  You will lay everything out on the line.  If you play poker in a safe, no risk way, you will likely be a horrible player.  You have to take risks.  You have to believe you have the best hand.
As Christ followers and members of the unified body of Christ we have to believe we have the best hand.  Even if we are holding just a pair of 2's we still have a way better chance of winning than our enemy.  We must live our lives believing and knowing that what we are holding trumps what the enemy of our soul is holding.  We have to take risks and chances and see God prove Himself big in our lives.  We must be willing to bet the house.  We must be willing to give everything we have or we need to get out of the game.  Are you "All In"?

The 7 Year Itch

About 7 years ago I began to experience something that confused me but now makes sense.  I began to "suffer" from a skin disorder called Eczema.  My skin get severely dry which causes it to crack and bleed.  It also itches severely.  I don't think you would understand how bad it itches unless you actually had Eczema.  I will at times scratch my hands almost uncontrollably.  I have also unfortunately passed this trait down to my two sons.  I have at times thought about why I would have developed this disorder out of the blue in 2003 and why I haven't always had it.
I have also wondered how a crack addict can never get enough and will do anything to get his fix.  I have wondered why an alcoholic always needs another drink.  I have wondered why "meth-heads" would go to such suicidal extremes to get high.  I have wondered why dogs return to their vomit.  You see for those of us who have never tasted those things it is difficult to put ourselves in the shoes of a drug addict or alcoholic.  It's hard for me to understand why someone will steal from his family just to get more of something that is ruining his life.  I never knew why it is so hard not to scratch that itch until I had Eczema.  Eczema is that thorn in my side that allows me to put drug and alcohol addiction among other things into perspective.  I was once very bitter and confused about this shin disorder.  I know find myself thankful for another one of God's weird life lessons.  So when you find yourself with a thorn in your side like Paul, allow God to show you why it is there.

Live to Love

We are all born with Love.  We are all full of Love.  Yes, we are born in a world filled with hate and sin, and we are born into sin (thanks adam and eve!), but we are born full of Love.  We were made in God's likeness, and God is the very definition of Love.  Our problem is finding where to put our Love.  Where is it supposed to go?
Family...friends...stuff...hobbies...jobs...pets...boyfriend/girlfriend...?
We take chance on where to place our buckets full of Love and often have them just knocked over by people.  We expect to receive Love when we give Love and we should. But we get frustrated and angry when we misplace our Love in the wrong spots and don't get Loved back.  We tend to give up on the Love we have to give.  Our Love grows cold and dark and starts to decay.  Our Love must be put in the proper places for it to grow.  There are 3 ways our Love must be lived out.

1.  Worship.  We were created to worship.  We spend our lives searching for that someone or something to give our Love in worship to.  When we worship anything other than our Creator, our Love decays. Misplaced Love in worship turns to hate.
2.  Relationships.  We were created for relationships with people and our Maker.  Our Love must be poured out in the right Godly relationships.  We waste our Love on relationships that drive us away from God.
3.  Cause.  We were created for a cause.  We must have a cause to spend our Love on.  Whether it's making the world cleaner, defeating starvation and poverty, fathering a fatherless generation, or stopping abortion, we must have a cause.

People hurt us, disappoint us, and abandon us.  This world is messed up and probably won't get any better. Teenagers are killing each other, men are cheating on their wives, and hate is running rampant across the nation.  But I can't help but thinking that if this world could just put their Love where it is supposed to go it wouldn't turn into hate.  I think it would help.

Perspective

We all have goals, dreams, and visions for our lives.  Well, at least you should have those things.  Let's be honest, for some of us those goals and dreams are a little out of focus.  We live in an age where competition reigns supreme and it truly is the survival of the fittest.  We must get bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, and greater.  We are at times willing to sacrifice important relationships with family and friends to get where we think we need to be.  We push and shove our way to the front like it's Black Friday and Walmart has 42" Samsung's for $199.  This attitude is shown by both Christians and non-Christians and even worse by some churches.
I wish I could have been born in the 40's. Life was much simpler. Sure, it may not have been as convenient but they had something in the 40's that we don't have now. Rest.  Rest, as simple four letter word that some of us don't like to hear.  We fear rest like we fear cancer.  If we sit and rest someone else will climb to the top of the mountain and our dreams will be crushed.
Allow me to throw some perspective your way and introduce you to perhaps a new life goal.
Genesis 26:28
"They replied, "We can plainly see that the Lord is with you."
This passage refers to how some disgruntled men viewed Isaac.  I know that in our society it may not "pay" to be Holy, but I assure you in God's society it does.  What if we all shifted our perspective to this way of life. To live in such a way that even our enemies can plainly see that the Lord is with you.  I am sure it would cause you to adjust some of those goals, dreams, and visions.