Can I present something to you that you might not have ever thought of? We have put an enormous amount of pressure on people to absolutely do away with sin in their lives, which in theory is not a bad thing. It would be an incredible life if we never sinned again, however, it is incredibly unlikely that we will actually live a 100% perfect life. I think for the most part, we also think that God thinks the same way that we do when it comes to the "sin issue." We have been teaching people forever how to manage their sinfulness, and do away with the "really big" sins, but keep the little ones hidden so that we can have the appearance of being really Godly and holy people. We continue to go back to these sins as a sort of place of comfort, because it is legitimately a place of familiarity, and we get comfortable in the sin.
I had a conversation with someone just last night in which this person told me that they didn't view the things they did as bad, because of the fact that they liked doing them. And that's the story from a lot of people in today's culture. "What's so wrong with it if I enjoy it so much? What's the big deal?" Well I think the overall big deal with continually going back to our old familiar sins, over and over again, is the fact that it is in effect crippling us. We get so comfortable in our sin, that it doesn't seem bad anymore, and after that, it's enjoyable, so it's no big deal. I know that when I was younger, in my mid to late teens, my spiritual life was a roller coaster at best. I would go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, and it all hinged on me doing something that I thought was awesome, or me doing something that was incredibly stupid. My life was a wreck, because I was basing my worth and my acceptance from God, off of whether I was doing good things, or doing bad things.
Here's something I've really only truly learned recently. God has already accepted and forgiven everyone. We have to accept His forgiveness, but it was given to us all when Jesus died on the cross. He knows when we are going to sin, and He knows when we are going to have weeks, months, or even years of continuous victory. His love and His acceptance of us is not determined by what we do. It was determined already, by who He is.
I am writing this tonight because of something that one of my friend's wrote in a blog today.You can read Justin's blog here. Do we use our sin as an excuse to live a mediocre life? I know most of us wouldn't think of it in those terms, but Christ has already set us free. Remember what He said in the book of John, "Whom the Son has set free is free indeed!" We have been freed from the curse of sin and death. We have been made alive in His resurrection, and in His life. We are free. Here's the big picture. When we come into a relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. We are now His tabernacle. That being said, Paul also tells us that wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. You have freedom living inside of you.
So how have we crippled ourselves? Well, first of all, we have completely allowed the enemy to run us through the mud. He is called the accuser of the brethren in scripture. We have allowed him to tell us that we are no good, and that we will never amount to anything. We have also embraced this ridiculous idea that says, "Well, I screwed up there...I might as well go for broke!" Did you know that Christ set you free with only one thing in mind? It wasn't for us to be good. Or to do good. Or to live a holy life. He set us free, simply, so that we could be free. We can choose every single day whether we will live a life that aligns with His plan, or not. He has given us that freedom. After all, it isn't freedom if you don't have a choice, right?
If His spirit lives in us, and He has set us free, then we don't have to sin any more. Did you catch that? You don't have to do that anymore. You are freed from being a slave to sin. You can be bound to righteousness. You can live the life that He's called you to now. This very instant. He isn't sitting up in heaven waiting to destroy us because we've been bad. He's anxiously waiting for us to finally understand that we don't have to live in that life any longer! Paul tells the Romans in effect, "Stop it!", when it comes to sin. He says in Romans 6:13, "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness." In other words, His solution for sinning is very simple. Stop! Stop it! You are in control of your life, and in control of your body! And because of the power that has been given to you because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, YOU. DO. NOT. HAVE. TO. DO. IT. ANY. MORE!!!!!
Ultimately this is the point I want to make tonight; stop using your sin as an excuse to live a mediocre Christian life. God paid for a much better life that the one that most of us are living. He took care of sin, and death, and hell on the cross, and He took care of giving us brand new life through the resurrection. We don't have to sin any more if we don't want to. Do I expect to walk through every day without stumbling one time? Honestly, no, I don't. Do I see a day where I stumble less and less and less every day? You bet your bottom dollar I do! Because whom the Son has set free is free indeed!
Through His cross, and through His blood, He has paid for our redemption. We don't have an excuse any more. We can live an incredible life right now. We don't have to settle for this mediocrity that we have grown so accustomed to. Let go of your sin, and grab hold of Jesus. He has an incredible adventure with your name written on it, and your brand new incredible life could begin right now. Take a chance. Jump into the wild blue yonder with no inhibitions. Leap into faith and run as fast as you can. Let's say goodbye to the sins of yesterday that we grown comfortable in. Let's throw away the mediocrity that we have bred over the years, and let's excitedly, expectantly, and joyfully go wherever the Spirit takes us! Why would you want to settle for such mediocrity when incredible fulfillment is just a choice away?
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
Wasting Time Part 2
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:33
Last time I talked about the time that we waste on regrets of the past. Tonight I want to touch on the time that we waste on the angst of the future. When Jesus tells these people to seek the kingdom and God's righteousness first, He was telling them to stop worrying. "Which one of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"-verse 27 The people are fretting over the things they will wear, and the food they will eat. He is explaining to these people that the need to chill out on worrying and being anxious about anything, because if they will seek the kingdom of God first, they will be taken care of. The scripture says "all these things will be added to you..." The word added is the same word as forfeit. It will be given up to you and you will take part in the abundance of Him.
So what does that mean for today? Well I'll take a little while to tell you about some of the worries that I have and the stresses I have for the future. I can't tell you how often I have gotten caught up thinking about who my wife will be. I never thought I would see 26 AND STILL BE SINGLE. Now that I'm here, it's really not that big of a deal. Honestly the single life isn't really that bad. But I spent so much time worrying about whether or not I knew her yet, or was close to finding her, or what she looked like, or whatever, and all it did was make me long for someone I didn't know and gave me a lot of stress because of the fact that I didn't know her yet.
I have spent a lot of time over the last 5 years wondering about my calling and my position and why things weren't working out the way that I thought they would, and sometimes it has robbed me of enjoying the things that I do have and am experiencing right now. I have an amazing church family. I get to spend a few hours every week with some of the coolest teenagers on the planet. My worry and angst about the future has robbed me of countless hours over the years.
Those are just a couple of things in my life that still come up every day, and I have to focus my attention on Jesus in order to get those ideas and those things under control. You see, I am confident that God doesn't want us focused on our past, because it can trap us in the people we used to be. I am also confident that He doesn't want us focused on the future, because we can overlook the good things that are in store for us today! There is a saying, that is super cliche, but bear with me. Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. Is it okay to plan for the future? Of course! I don't think it is a bad idea to have some plans and goals and dreams. Is it okay for the plans of the future to consume you to the point that you lose today? Absolutely not. You can't get to your future without living through today. And you can't live for today and make a difference and see incredible things happen today if you're so focused on the future.
If we will earnestly and diligently seek His kingdom first, then the future won't be a problem. The pieces will fit together and the gears will turn smoothly. He has designed us all with a purpose and a plan in mind, but we can't get ahead of the process or we will think we aren't getting anywhere, and we will start freaking out because of the fact that we aren't getting anywhere, and then we will stress about what tomorrow will bring, and then we will lose today. Embrace today. Meet it head on. Seek the kingdom, and slowly you will see those things that you worried about being added to you, and you'll wonder why you ever worried about them before!
Am I married yet? No. But I know that the Lord has set aside an incredible woman for me, and He has set me aside for her. Am I exactly where I want to be in ministry yet? No. But I know that right now, I can say that I'm full of hope and joy for where I am with my church family. Seek the kingdom first, and then peace will reign. Stress, restlessness, and angst will be out the window, and you will be completely wrapped up in Him. He is a great God, and He knows what He's doing. He's never late. He's never early. He's always perfectly on time, and He wants you to live a life that absolutely takes advantage of the only day that is promised, and that day is today.
Let's stop wasting time on tomorrow, and instead focus on redeeming the time today! What could we do if we really got a revelation of the difference we can make today instead of worrying about tomorrow and the things we might be able to do then. Do something awesome with the day that's been given. Make the most of every minute. And seek His kingdom, and His righteousness, and all the worries will be given up, and the spoils will be yours.
Matthew 6:33
Last time I talked about the time that we waste on regrets of the past. Tonight I want to touch on the time that we waste on the angst of the future. When Jesus tells these people to seek the kingdom and God's righteousness first, He was telling them to stop worrying. "Which one of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"-verse 27 The people are fretting over the things they will wear, and the food they will eat. He is explaining to these people that the need to chill out on worrying and being anxious about anything, because if they will seek the kingdom of God first, they will be taken care of. The scripture says "all these things will be added to you..." The word added is the same word as forfeit. It will be given up to you and you will take part in the abundance of Him.
So what does that mean for today? Well I'll take a little while to tell you about some of the worries that I have and the stresses I have for the future. I can't tell you how often I have gotten caught up thinking about who my wife will be. I never thought I would see 26 AND STILL BE SINGLE. Now that I'm here, it's really not that big of a deal. Honestly the single life isn't really that bad. But I spent so much time worrying about whether or not I knew her yet, or was close to finding her, or what she looked like, or whatever, and all it did was make me long for someone I didn't know and gave me a lot of stress because of the fact that I didn't know her yet.
I have spent a lot of time over the last 5 years wondering about my calling and my position and why things weren't working out the way that I thought they would, and sometimes it has robbed me of enjoying the things that I do have and am experiencing right now. I have an amazing church family. I get to spend a few hours every week with some of the coolest teenagers on the planet. My worry and angst about the future has robbed me of countless hours over the years.
Those are just a couple of things in my life that still come up every day, and I have to focus my attention on Jesus in order to get those ideas and those things under control. You see, I am confident that God doesn't want us focused on our past, because it can trap us in the people we used to be. I am also confident that He doesn't want us focused on the future, because we can overlook the good things that are in store for us today! There is a saying, that is super cliche, but bear with me. Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. Is it okay to plan for the future? Of course! I don't think it is a bad idea to have some plans and goals and dreams. Is it okay for the plans of the future to consume you to the point that you lose today? Absolutely not. You can't get to your future without living through today. And you can't live for today and make a difference and see incredible things happen today if you're so focused on the future.
If we will earnestly and diligently seek His kingdom first, then the future won't be a problem. The pieces will fit together and the gears will turn smoothly. He has designed us all with a purpose and a plan in mind, but we can't get ahead of the process or we will think we aren't getting anywhere, and we will start freaking out because of the fact that we aren't getting anywhere, and then we will stress about what tomorrow will bring, and then we will lose today. Embrace today. Meet it head on. Seek the kingdom, and slowly you will see those things that you worried about being added to you, and you'll wonder why you ever worried about them before!
Am I married yet? No. But I know that the Lord has set aside an incredible woman for me, and He has set me aside for her. Am I exactly where I want to be in ministry yet? No. But I know that right now, I can say that I'm full of hope and joy for where I am with my church family. Seek the kingdom first, and then peace will reign. Stress, restlessness, and angst will be out the window, and you will be completely wrapped up in Him. He is a great God, and He knows what He's doing. He's never late. He's never early. He's always perfectly on time, and He wants you to live a life that absolutely takes advantage of the only day that is promised, and that day is today.
Let's stop wasting time on tomorrow, and instead focus on redeeming the time today! What could we do if we really got a revelation of the difference we can make today instead of worrying about tomorrow and the things we might be able to do then. Do something awesome with the day that's been given. Make the most of every minute. And seek His kingdom, and His righteousness, and all the worries will be given up, and the spoils will be yours.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Wasting Time
"...I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way, that He loves us..."-John Mark McMillan
I've wasted a lot of time. Like, an incredible portion of my life after coming to Christ, because I've been way too focused on the regrets of yesterday. I've been far too preoccupied with where I came from instead of where I'm going. Can anyone else relate? Why are we so worried about who we used to be? God isn't worried about it, so why should we be?
Well, I think the number one reason why we worry about it so much is the fact that the people around us have a hard time differentiating between who we were and who we are. The people who knew us when we were boneheaded and completely lost, still quantify us as that person. The bible says that if anyone be in Christ, that person is a new creation. So, remember, you are not who you were, and Christ took the punishment for who you used to be. He did this, so that we wouldn't have to be that person anymore. It's time to look forward, towards Him and His love. You can't move forward until you realize that your past is in your past for a reason. You aren't meant for that time. He is in the present, and He's leading us to a glorious future!
As John Mark McMillan put it, we don't have time to hold on to the regrets when we come into contact with the love of our Savior! Jesus love is so great, that when we are confronted with it, our regrets, our past, our shame, our sin, it all falls away, and we are left with nothing hindering us from Him. When His love really overtakes you, you can't help but reciprocate it. I think one reason that we worry so much about the regrets of yesterday and the slip ups of the past is because we fear that God didn't really take care of all of it on the cross. We don't really believe that Jesus really loves us that much. So we are fearful that He won't be pleased with us. This is one of the devil's greatest tactics. Fear. If he can get us trapped in a fearful spirit regarding God and His love for us, then He can keep us from really reaching out for the love of God. The bible says that there is no fear in love. Perfect love has cast out fear!
There's no time left for us to maintain those regrets. There's no time for us to leave those regrets on life support. It's time we pulled the plug and let our regrets and our failures of yesterday die. Today is a brand new day, and Jesus has new things planned for today. If we were meant for yesterday, we would have stayed there. Jesus is standing, beckoning, gently urging us along, to follow Him into our future. Jesus paid for our who we used to be, and adopted us into His family of righteousness.
Let us stop wasting so much time in yesterday. Let's not worry about what tomorrow brings, and let us live in today and for today. Let us make a difference today, and let us accept Jesus blessings for today, instead of longing to go back and correct what we did yesterday. I don't know about you, but I am tired of living in who I was, and worrying about correcting who I was. I'm ready to see what today's blessings and today's grace holds! Stop wasting time, and start redeeming it. Basking in His love for you today. As the song says, I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves!
I've wasted a lot of time. Like, an incredible portion of my life after coming to Christ, because I've been way too focused on the regrets of yesterday. I've been far too preoccupied with where I came from instead of where I'm going. Can anyone else relate? Why are we so worried about who we used to be? God isn't worried about it, so why should we be?
Well, I think the number one reason why we worry about it so much is the fact that the people around us have a hard time differentiating between who we were and who we are. The people who knew us when we were boneheaded and completely lost, still quantify us as that person. The bible says that if anyone be in Christ, that person is a new creation. So, remember, you are not who you were, and Christ took the punishment for who you used to be. He did this, so that we wouldn't have to be that person anymore. It's time to look forward, towards Him and His love. You can't move forward until you realize that your past is in your past for a reason. You aren't meant for that time. He is in the present, and He's leading us to a glorious future!
As John Mark McMillan put it, we don't have time to hold on to the regrets when we come into contact with the love of our Savior! Jesus love is so great, that when we are confronted with it, our regrets, our past, our shame, our sin, it all falls away, and we are left with nothing hindering us from Him. When His love really overtakes you, you can't help but reciprocate it. I think one reason that we worry so much about the regrets of yesterday and the slip ups of the past is because we fear that God didn't really take care of all of it on the cross. We don't really believe that Jesus really loves us that much. So we are fearful that He won't be pleased with us. This is one of the devil's greatest tactics. Fear. If he can get us trapped in a fearful spirit regarding God and His love for us, then He can keep us from really reaching out for the love of God. The bible says that there is no fear in love. Perfect love has cast out fear!
There's no time left for us to maintain those regrets. There's no time for us to leave those regrets on life support. It's time we pulled the plug and let our regrets and our failures of yesterday die. Today is a brand new day, and Jesus has new things planned for today. If we were meant for yesterday, we would have stayed there. Jesus is standing, beckoning, gently urging us along, to follow Him into our future. Jesus paid for our who we used to be, and adopted us into His family of righteousness.
Let us stop wasting so much time in yesterday. Let's not worry about what tomorrow brings, and let us live in today and for today. Let us make a difference today, and let us accept Jesus blessings for today, instead of longing to go back and correct what we did yesterday. I don't know about you, but I am tired of living in who I was, and worrying about correcting who I was. I'm ready to see what today's blessings and today's grace holds! Stop wasting time, and start redeeming it. Basking in His love for you today. As the song says, I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves!
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