A Grateful Evangelist

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

The church I attend made us take a test to determine what our natural talents are, because they believe that Christians should use their natural talents to serve each other.  My test results showed that I am an "evangelistic person" who wants to tell people that God loves them and wants to be with them.  As I thought about my talent, I started to wonder what an evangelist looks like.  How do evangelists preach; how do they pray; how do they feel.  Are they angry people who want to rebuke others?  Are they friendly folks who love to be around others?  Are they aggressively trying to make as many coverts as possible?  Are they constantly praying that God would give them powerful words?

These is an important question for me, because my best friends, and some of my closest family members are non-Christians.  I pray for them when I can, but I've been praying for years and haven't seen a lot of changes in their lives.  I began to wonder if I'm not praying effectively for them, so I decided to ask God "how to pray" for my non-believing loved ones.  The response I received was very remarkable.

As I was asking God how to pray, I felt prompted to think about God's desire for people.  I realized that God desires everyone to know Him and come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), but I also realized that God wants us to give thanks for every circumstance.  That's a biblical command, and the will of God for every person.  God wants grateful children.  It's no different than any other parent or person for that matter.  Does anyone want to be around someone who is always complaining about how bad their life is?  Does any parent want to hear their kids constantly asking for stuff?  I don't think so.  I think parents ultimately want to hear, "Thanks dad, I really appreciate you," or "I love you mom, because I know you do the best you can to take care of me."  That's what every parents longs to hear, and God is no different.

So I began to ask the Lord, "How can I be grateful when praying for people who don't love the Lord?"  And that's when I realized that I can be grateful for two things:

1. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to pray and witness to them.  

God has placed people in my life so we can grow closer to God.  God wants everyone to acknowledge Him as their God and savior, and I get the chance to encourage others in that process.  It is a privilege for me to pray for the people that I love.   I want them to know God, because I couldn't imagine eternity without Him.
  

2. I am grateful that God is so patient and compassionate to all of us.

My friends and my family deserve nothing from God, but don't misunderstand me, I don't deserve anything from God either.  We have all chosen to reject God at times even though He is gracious and loving to each of us.  He has been gracious to me even though I have mocked Him, thrown insults on other Christians, and acted in ways that goes against His truth.  Picture yourself in God's position: what would you do with someone like me who has insulted you and hurt your children?  Would you be willing to show love and compassion?  I wouldn't.

I have the tendency of rejecting people who reject me, but luckily God is greater than me in love and compassion.  God has been patient with me even though I've hurt Him.  He has been patient with my friends and family even though they hurt Him.  I am so grateful that God is patient with each and every one of us.  I'm also grateful that God has given each and everyone of us the opportunity to help our friends and family grow closer to Him.

So I encourage you to spend time thanking God for His love.  Everything you have is a gift from His hand.  God is good.

Flawlessly Relevant

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

This week was frustrating for me, because I was to doubting the validity of the bible.  I have realized that I've misinterpreted the bible at times, and that many of the older folks who taught me had done the same thing.  As these frustrations began to build, I wondered how much we have gotten wrong and whether or not we needed to rewrite our textbooks.  Is it really true that ALL scripture is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16-17)?

I do believe that to be the truth, but it's interesting that I am wrestling with these thoughts while attending seminary.  I mean here I am, surrounded by smart men and women who have studied the bible for decades and believe it to be the authority in their lives, but I'm more skeptical than ever before.  What is going on?

It was explained to me last week that seminary isn't a "special time" where Christians are safe from the schemes of Satan.  Instead, many seminary students are plagued by more doubts and more temptations than ever before, partly because its hard to read the bible as a text book and maintain its authority in your life.  I mean, isn't the point of higher education to question the current paradigms?  Aren't college students taught to examine and then critique their textbooks?  Don't teachers encourage students to "think outside the box" and reach for greater truths?   I know my undergraduate professors did.

I was a chemistry major as a college student.  We knew that certain parts of our textbook were out of date.  We knew that scientific advances would soon cause other parts of our textbook to be inaccurate as well.  Science isn't perfect, and needs to be refined.  The point of chemistry was to learn from the current information so we could refine and perfect it.  But how can you refine and perfect the bible?  Isn't it the perfect book?

That's the problem with my thinking.  I'm learning that seminary isn't intended to refine and perfect the bible:  it's intended to refine the perfect the student (although we won't be perfect until we reach heaven).  It's true that "refinement of the student" is the point of science as well, but there is also the hope that we will discover something new that will rewrite our textbooks.  But unlike scientists, a biblical scholars will never unlock some "new mystery" that will allow us to rewrite our theology. The bible is complete as it is.

While most people don't go to seminary, I still think everybody deals with these doubts at times.  Humans spend so much time trying to learn from the faults of others and questioning the practices of our leaders, that we find ourselves doing the same thing with Jesus.  We begin to question the authority and validity of His story, believing that it's a flawed book that is irrelevant to today.  But that's not true.

The bible is both flawless and relevant.  The bible flawlessly shows the fact that God is perfect in love and justice, and it shows that mankind is sinful and corrupt.  The bible relevantly shows how sinful people can relate to and be in relationship with a perfect God.

So let me ask you a question: if there is a God, and if that God created everything, and if we will spend eternity either with or without that God, what could be more important and relevant than knowing how to relate to Him?

I believe in God, and I believe He is the only flawless and truly relevant thing in my life.  Do you?  Why?

The Pursuit Of...

In my last blog I wrote that seeking God is a passionate, zealous and continuous activity.  We pursue God the way He pursues us.  But if you are like me, it's hard to know what we are trying to pursue.  Are we pursuing facts and theology about God?  Are we pursuing a good feeling?  Some might ask what kind of God we are pursuing; an angry God, a happy God, distant but wise God?  Another might ask why we are pursuing Him; is He is hiding from us?  

Let's take another look at some verses which discuss seeking God: 

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.  (Deuteronomy 4:29)

Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. (1 Chronicles 16:10)

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)

Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all things (Prov 28:5)

The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. (Psalm 34:10)

The first thing that stands out to me is that we are seeking after a person.  Deuteronomy says that we will find HIM if we seek.  Everything else that I mention will flow from this thought.  We don't seek stuff (even good stuff like spouses, children, jobs, etc); we seek God Himself.  This is important, because sometimes we forget that God has feelings, and that God created us to be with Him.  With that said, we see that seeking God will result in: gladness, refreshment from longing, understanding and many other good things.  

These are all great gifts, especially if we stop and think about what they mean.  For example, could you imagine be so satisfied that you never want anything ever again?  That would be amazing.

I want to admit that the reason I focused on the priority of seeking after God instead of His gifts, is because I struggle to do that.  To be honest, I often catch myself seeking after God because I know He brings joy and peace.  I'm like the kid that goes to my friends in order to play with my friend's toys.  I think that is something we all struggle with, but I know that God will gently remind us when we are doing it.  Let me give you a quick example:

Last week was challenging for me, because I wanted peace and rest.  It eventually became my main focus throughout the day.  In my desire for rest and relaxation, I failed to appreciate the amazing opportunity I have to search for God in seminary.  Although God desires to give us rest (and "love, joy, peace, patience, etc"Gal 5:22), it's easy for me to desire the rest, joy and peace above desiring Him.  I know that to be true, because many times  I avoiding being with God when He is suffering.

That statement might raise a question in your mind: "Does God suffer?"

And the answer is Yes!

The problem with this world is evident.  God didn't indent for people to starve to death.  He didn't intend for women and children to be sold into sex trafficking.  He didn't intend for children to be forced into fighting a war.

Those things hurt God's heart.

What about the people who die everyday without hearing the good news that God loves them and wants to be with them?  What about people that are killed by their parents because they choose to believe in Jesus?

Those things hurt God's heart.

Seeking God will bring us incredible rewards, but it also requires work and sacrifice at times.  Jesus suffered for us, and He asks us to pay it forward.  In other words: followers of Jesus must be willing to sacrifice for others just like Jesus sacrificed for them.  This means forgiving people who hurt you, asking for forgiveness when you hurt others, and showing love to your enemies.  It's not always easy, but it's worth it.

A small sacrifice that I make is writing this blog in order to help people understand that God loves them.  It's not a big deal, and only takes a few hours, but it is something I think is important.  In fact, it makes me feel good in the end, because I grow closer to God by writing about Him, and I have faith that God uses these words to express His love to others.   But in reality, it's not about me or my feelings.  Neither is it about you and your opinion of me.  It's about God and His desire to tell people that He loves them.  I want to be the messenger of His good news:

"God loves you, wants to be with you, and is worth every sacrifice you will make."

I encourage you to seek God passionately, and remember that you are seeking Him instead of His stuff.  If the creator of the world wants to be in a deeper relationship with you, why wouldn't you want to spend time with Him?

Seeking God

As I mentioned in my last blog I was recently required to read 10 verses that encourage us to seek God and then describe what it means to seek God.  As I started reading the verses, I realize that God wants us to seek us the same way that we sought Him.  He left everything to look for us, but how are we suppose to look for Him?

As I started looking at the verses, I became amazed by how God teaches us to "seek" Him.  Here are a few of the verses that I found:

• But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.  (Deuteronomy 4:29)
• Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. (1 Chronicles 16:10)
• But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)
• Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. (1 Chronicles 16:11)

As you read through the verses, I assume there will be a few words that stick out to you:

With all your heart and soul

First/Primarily

Continually

When I read these verses, I see God asking us to seek Him with energy and gusto.  He wants us to be more interested in seeking Him than anything else, and He wants us to be continually searching for Him.  

I especially like the concept of continually searching, because I think there are two elements to the word "continually" that are important.  The definition that I typically think of is the idea of searching for a long period of time.  Have you ever met an old person who still reads their bible?  Even though they can probably rattle off a 100 bible verses, and have been going to church since the time they can remember, they still wake up every morning and read the bible.  That's someone who seeks continually; until the day they die.  

One of the other definitions of "continually," is the concept of frequency, and this is the definition that I'm learning to appreciate as I grow older.  Have you ever met a person who expects to see God everywhere in everyday life?  If it starts raining and a stranger offers them a ride home, these people are convinced that God sent them an angel. While other people might maintain some skepticism that God had His hand in the situation, these people are convinced it was from God.  They see God as a Father who cares about their needs and is willing to do something about it.  They believe God is frequently (continually) revealing Himself to them.  That's an amazing aspect of the word continually, and I think it's something God wants.

As I mentioned, this is a new way of viewing the term, "continually" in my walk with God.  I think some people are more prone to see unusual coincidences as blessing from God, and others, like me, are not.  Maybe we have a lack of trust, maybe we have been taught to be more "rational" and scientific, maybe we don't think God cares. 

Personally, I've struggled with all these reasons.  I was trained to be more skeptical of "coincidences" because of my science degree in college.  I was also afraid that people would laugh at me if I called random coincides a blessing from God.  I was even scared that if I tried to look for God in everyday life, I would be let down..."why would God waste His time with me?" I thought.

The more I get to know God, though, the more I realize that He does care.  I should seek Him with passion, energy, longevity and frequency, because He loves me and He wants me to know Him more.

As I read through those verses, I was amazed not only by how we should seek after God, but what we should be expecting to find.  So, next time I will talk about what I think we should look for when we seek Him, but first, let's pause and apply this to our own lives.

Christians, thank you for choosing to bring glory to God, and let's keep it up.  First, I encourage you to ask our Father to make "seeking Him" our innermost desire.  Secondly, I encourage you to pause throughout the day and ask God where He is working.  Finally, I encourage you to thank Him for the little blessings He brings.  It might seem weird at first, but it will become a joy to see these little coincidences as His gifts to you.  

Non believers, if you are reading this, then you are seeking.  Why else would you read a blog about God if you didn't have any desire to know Him?  My first challenge for you is to persevere.  Don't give up.  My second challenge is to ask yourself and God this one simple question; "Why don't I trust God to save me?"  And then clarify your answer.  Are you afraid of what God might ask you to do?  Do you feel like you don't deserve God's love?  Is it hard for you to distinguish Jesus from other prophets?  Maybe you think that God owes you something.  Well, what is it?  What do you think He owes you?  Name it, describe it, dig deep.  Send me a message if you have questions or want help, but this is the most important decision of your life, so don't be content with a simple answer.

Finally, this is my prayer for all of us:

God, thank you for revealing yourself to us.  Thank you for the questions and uncomfortable moments that drives us closer to you.  You are a good God who desires us to seek you, so please give us that desire as well.  Father, I'm so grateful that you demonstrated your love through Jesus.  Thank you for your Spirit.  You are good, please help us to experience that even more.

Search And Rescue

In one of my classes I was required to look at various verses of the Bible which command us to search for God and then create a definition for the word “seek.”  It was an interesting project, but it was also very relevant to my life.  It was interesting because I was amazed at what I learned, and it was relevant because some of the people I love the most are considered “seekers.”  These are people that I pray for on a regular basis, because they don't know whether or not they believe in God, let alone if Jesus is God.  It's also relevant because I go to a “seeker-friendly” church whose mission is to provide a comfortable setting for non-believers and new believers to hear about God.

Anyway, as I started looking at some of the verses in the bible that uses the word “seek,” I ran into two that caught my attention.

The first is found in Matthew 6:33 which says:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

And the second verse is in Luke 19:10 which says:

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

I quickly realized that the word used to describe our search for God, is the same word that Jesus used to describe His search for us. Therefore, if we want to know what it means to seek God, we should consider how He sought us. But before I talk about how God literally sought after (and still seeks after) us, I want to take a moment to put this into a human perspective:

You may not realize this, but God calls Himself a parent, and therefore, we can think about the relationships we have with our parents when we think about the relationship we have with Him. Sometimes this is helpful, and other times it's not. Some people have great parents, while others don't. I'm not talking about your parents grounding you for smoking cigarettes, I'm talking about them beating you, sexually abusing you, or getting a divorce and making you choose between them. That's not what God intended and it's sad that kids have to experience that.  But I digress...

So, imagine yourself in a fairly normal and loving family. Your mom and dad love you and your brother, and every night you sit around the table to eat dinner as a family to talk about the day. Now imagine one night your little brother doesn't come home for dinner. Your parents wait for awhile and then try calling his cellphone.

No response.

A few more hours pass, and your parents call your brother's friends, teachers, and coaches to see if they saw him.

No one has...your brother is missing.

I want you to stop and think about what you would expect a parent to do in that situation. What would you do in that situation? If someone that you loved was lost, how hard would you look for them?

Most people would be frantic. They would call the cops, hang up fliers, drive around the city in their car. Go to every skate park, movie theater, train station, or mall in the 50 mile area. Most parents would split up and start recruiting friends and family to join the search. They wouldn't sleep that night, or at least not until they passed out from exhaustion at 4 in the morning. They would call in sick to work for the week, and probably offer up every prayer they know (whether or not they even believe in God!)

Now think about God as a parent, and humans as His lost children. With that being the case, and Jesus claiming that He came to seek and save the lost; what did that look like?

It's hard to imagine, but before God came to earth, He lived in the “heavens” as the ruler and creator of everything. He had all the power and authority in the universe, but He chose to give it all up and come to earth as a baby. (Imagine transitioning from President to garbage man overnight, and you would still be only scratching the surface.)

Not only did God give up everything to be on earth, but He also lived here for 33 years before He was beaten and nailed to a cross. (If you don't know what a crucifixion looks like, you should rent the The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson. It's gross, bloody and painful to watch.)

So why would Jesus do that? Because He came to seek and save the lost.

Humans rebelled against God and were separated from Him. In other words: we were lost. There was only one way to restore the relationship between God and mankind: punish the rebellion. Unfortunately, we were the rebellious ones, and therefore we are the ones that need to be punished! God knew we couldn't handle the punishment, though, so He had to find another way...and this is where Jesus comes in: He took our punishment.

So let's tie this all together: Jesus came to earth to seek and save the lost. What does that mean? It means that He left His status, power, position, security, and home to come to earth and die for people that rebelled against Him. He didn't have to; He chose to.

That's what it means for God to seek us!  You are passionately sought after.

And now, back to the original question:

If that's what it meant for God to seek us, what does it look like for us to seek Him? I'm going to write about that next time, but until then, consider how hard God has been searching for you.

Moses, Jesus and Christians

In one of my classes for seminary, I was asked to address whether the Mosaic Law (aka the "rules" of the bible) are relevant for a Christian.  The question arises because some people claim that we are saved by grace, and therefore the Mosaic Law isn't relevant for Christians, while others say that we need to obey the 10 commandments.   I wanted to share some of my thoughts, because I think it's an important topic that can cause a lot of confusion.  In my case, I went from one extreme to the other, with a lot of fear, frustration and anger along the way.

When I was young, I was a person who clung to the phrase: “Everything is permissible," which led me in a horrible direction that caused a lot of grief and shame.  After realizing that something wasn't "right," I became very focused on the rules of the bible, and felt discouraged when I broke any of them.  I'm starting to realize where I went wrong, but before I address whether the Mosaic Law is relevant for Christians, I want to address what I believe the Mosaic Law is.  

After the nation of Israel left Egypt, God brought Moses up a mountain and gave him a list of rules.  We call these rules the ten commandments, and additional commands were added over the years.  The first question we need to ask ourselves is: 

What was the purpose of these commandments?

I think the purpose of the law was for God to protect, instruct and provide the nation of Israel a new culture after they left Egypt. The Law was their guardian, not their savior (Gal. 3:24; Heb 10:4).  This is where I think a lot of modern Christians get confused. In an attempt to reject the notion that the law can save them, Christians end up rejecting the law, which isn't right (I'll address the issue of salvation in a bit).  

So in essence: Moses led the nation out of Egypt and they had to decide whether they would live like their new neighbors, hold onto the Egyptian culture, or take on a completely different culture. God used the Law to protect them from Satan's schemes and mankind's own propensity towards sin by giving them instruction on how to live in a Godly manner.  This raises a new question: 

Why do we need to live in a Godly manner?

I think it's important to live in a Godly manner, because I believe that God designed the world so that natural laws would prevent Him from being mocked (Gal. 6:7). If you sow hatred, you will reap division (punch your best friend in the nose and you'll probably lose your "all-time shotgun" status").  Apart from God providing us with instruction, we are required to figure out those natural laws by trial and error as the other nations did (e.g. Babylonian omen texts) and even then, God's laws are counter intuitive to fallen man. Self-preservation and “survival of the fittest” seems like a logical conclusion for humanity's survival, but it's not. Jesus showed us that love is the only sustainable method of co-existence.

This leads to the original question: 

If the Law was given to protect and instruct us (not save us) until Jesus came and bridged the gap between Christians and God's Spirit, is the Law still relevant for modern believers?  

I believe it is.

Some might say that we don't need the law, because Christians now have Jesus' example and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They would claim that bible says God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), and that His power is inside of us (Ephesians 3:20). In other words: The Holy Spirit empowers Christians to live Godly lives.  

I totally agree with that, but I still believe that God uses the laws from His word (the bible) to teach us how to live as Christians.  The apostle Paul says in 2 Tim 3:16 that all scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness which is affirmed by various other biblical passages (Psalm 119: 9, Joshua 1:7-9; Heb 4:12). The law is still useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, which is exactly what humans need until they stand face to face with God. For me, the question isn't whether the Mosaic Law is relevant, it's how we are to use the law today. 

 So how do we use it?

What I have found while reflecting on the law, is that there are two general ways to read the law. We can examine the “letter of the law” or we can examine the “spirit of the law.” I find no joy in reading the Mosaic law if I'm merely reading a list of rules (the “letter of the law,”) but I find love and joy if I try to understand why God gave us certain commands (the “spirit of the law”). I believe that using the Mosaic law to understand who God is, how He designed us to interact with Him and others, and why we need His guidance is the primary purpose of the law for a Christian. So, how do we examine the “spirit of the law?” We do this by comparing the pagan culture to the law that God gave Moses. Once we see how those rules taught the Israelites to love, we can apply the general principles to our daily lives.  Now, back to the issue of salvation:

Are we saved by obeying the law?  

Salvation is not through the Law!  We can't earn, buy, volunteer, donate, etc our way into God's good graces.  The bible says that every one of us has done evil, therefore, the Law only makes us guilty.  Think about it, have you ever hurt someone else?  This could look like so many things; lying, stealing, cutting someone off in traffic because you are in a hurry, getting angry at the guy ahead of you in line and cursing him under your breath, cheating on your girlfriend, or telling your boss to "take this job and shove it."  God calls that sin.  He calls that evil.  It hurts others (or you wish it hurt them), and it's not the way God intended us to live.  The truth is that we have all sinned, and that sin breaks the relationship we have with God and others.  

Why does sin break the relationship we have with God?  

Because when we sin, we are rejecting God and rejecting His plan for us.  Think about that statement: it's possible for us to reject our Creator.  

A broken relationship with God is just like any broken relationship; you can't "earn" that person's forgiveness.  The other person either chooses to forgive you, or they don't.  Bribing someone to forgive you just cheapens the apology, and further insults the person you hurt.  Fortunately, God wants to forgive us.  He wants to forgive us and restore the relationship with us so badly that He died on a cross to prove it.  

Why did Jesus die on a cross?

Jesus died on the cross because there are consequences for hurting someone else.  You don't want a murderer to be forgiven without consequence, right?  You want justice to be done.  In this case, the consequence for disobeying God by hurting Him and other people is eternal separation from Him.  (You know that empty void you feel, that sense of fear and insecurity that something's not right?  That's separation from God).  Thankfully, Jesus paid the penalty for disobeying God, which allows us to seek forgiveness.  

Why is separation from God eternal? 

Justice is the act of being fair.  If you break something that's worth $20, you have to pay the owner $20.  So, when you break God's heart, you are breaking something that has an infinite value.  When you hurt someone else, you are hurting something that is created in the image of an infinite God; therefore, people an infinite value as well.  How long do you think it takes to pay back an infinite amount?  Even at $1,000,000 dollars an hour, it's still going to take you an infinite amount of time.  When you reject God, you are eternally separated from Him, because you have rebelled against an infinite and perfect God.  The only just and fair penalty for the consequence is a "perfect and infinite" sacrifice.  Jesus is God, therefore, Jesus is perfect and infinite.  He died on a cross, accepted our consequence of separation from God, and rose from the grave.

What does this mean?

You can't make it to heaven by being a "good person" who obeys the law, because you've already sinned.  The consequence for sinning is eternal separation from God and you can't "earn" your way back into a relationship with Him.  Jesus paid the consequence for us, which allows us to ask God for forgiveness.  Apart from Jesus, we would be unable to approach God.  God says that the ONLY way you can restore the relationship with Him is if you accept forgiveness through Jesus' sacrifice.  You need to admit that you are in the wrong, tell Him you are sorry, and ask Him for forgiveness.  Remember, this is only possible because Jesus paid the consequence for you, therefore, thank Jesus by agreeing to live the way He created us to live.


Tying It All Together

The Mosaic Law is intended to teach us about God's love and how to live in a Godly way.  The Law doesn't save us, it merely points out our sin.  It's not good to sin, because sin has consequences.  We see those consequences on earth in the form of broken relationships and suffering.  Sin also separates us from God, and only Jesus can restore that relationship.  Once you have a relationship with God through Jesus, you can be confident that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

I hope this helps you understand what I believe.  Please let me know if you have questions or comments!

God's Work Ethic

When I was younger I was told that people from the Midwest have the hardest work ethic in America. My grandfather lives in New Mexico, and told us that business owners in the southwest hire Mid-westerners to keep other workers productive and efficient. So, I grew up thinking that my work ethic was a golden ticket to anyplace in the world, and moving to South Carolina has allowed me to test that theory.

I quickly got a job as a landscaper in South Carolina, which was great because it allowed me to work with a team of other men.  Once the guys found out that I was training to become a pastor, they started asking me a lot of questions about my faith, which made each day exciting and rewarding for me.

I found out that the guys claimed to be Christians, but they didn't know what it meant to live as one. They didn't understand God's love, they didn't realize the importance of living with integrity, and they hadn't been to church in a while. I was their unofficial “pastor,” and it was my goal to encouraging them to grow into mature Christians. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay very long because of the heat.

Near the end of my first week, I began to suffer from severe cramps and heat rashes. It was discouraging, but I figured that I would acclimate if given enough time. I quickly realized that I was wrong. The following week became worse, so I told my boss that I needed to quit. I have never quit a job after a week and a half, but I assumed he would be disappointed in me. Instead, his reaction surprised me.

He told me that he understood the heat was too much for me, but asked me to consider coming back in the fall. He told me that coming back in September would give me time to acclimate to the SC weather, and he would even work around my school hours. I was even more shocked as he continued:

“Josh, we need guys like you, guys that have that strong Christian ethic and can encourage others to work hard.”

The boss didn't see my work ethic as something new to the south, he saw it as something God commanded for Christians. Colossians 3:23-24 says that we should always work hard, remembering that we are ultimately working for God. Yes, we have an earthly boss, but our true master is Jesus.

But why is this so important? Why does God repeatedly tell His children to work hard and honor their bosses?

Because it's the most loving thing we can do.

Let me give you a quick example from the landscaping job:

One of the responsibilities we had while landscaping was laying sod (dirt and grass) around newly constructed homes. We had to finishing sodding the house once we started it, because otherwise the heat would destroy the lawn. I would get so frustrated when one of the guys would slack off, because it put an extra burden on everyone else. We had to finish, which meant working harder and staying later. The heat was already too much for me, so the extra time in the sun was physically hurting me.

I realized while I was at the landscaping company, that life is a team sport even when you try to play independently. Your actions have consequences, and those consequences affect other people as well as you. The bible says it like this:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (Galatians 6:7).

So when a Christian works hard, they are removing the burden off of another person, but when a Christian is lazy, they are placing an extra burden upon someone else. Stop and think about how frustrated you feel when someone's poor choices have effected you. Do you really want to put someone else in that position? Not only that, but what would Jesus do?

Christians should work hard and make sacrifices, because that's what God does. He created the world, let us use it, we broke it, and then He came to earth as Jesus and began to fix it. He could have made us clean own mess, but He knew that we couldn't do it. Just think about it; we are at the pinnacle of human existence, and there are most sex slaves in the world than ever before. When will our “progress” prevent us from buying and selling people like cattle? Probably never. People just keep finding new and creative ways to destroy each other. We need God to help us, and thankfully He does. He offers us a fresh start with new life.

A Curious Pursuit

I’m reading a book on spiritual influence and this is a quote that made me think about our role as spiritual leaders:

Curiosity is a particular form of passion, an instinct that says, “There is more out there, I know there is.  God is on the loose, and if I look with eyes of faith I will be able to see what He wants to do in the world.  Every person is interesting in some way.”

  

The reason this quote stuck out to me is because of what John Eldredge says in the book “Captivating.”  He says that women (just like God) want to be pursued like an expensive treasure.  I’ve seen that in Ashley, but I’ve also seen that elsewhere in life.  I’m now starting to wonder whether there is more to pursuit than just romance… 

When I think of being pursued, I'm reminded of the Hebrew word Hesed.  It’s the word that God used in the book of Hosea to describe the “loving-kindness” He had for His people.  Let me provide a quick summary in case you haven't read the book.

Hosea is a book in the Old Testament written by a prophet named Hosea.  Prophets had the unique responsibility of helping the people of God understand who God was and what He wanted.  They also provided a glimpse of what would happen in the future.  The book of Hosea was a sad, frustrating, but surprisingly hopeful story.  Here it is:

Hosea was instructed to marry a woman who cheated on him and even found herself indebted to another man.  Hosea had the right to divorce her, but instead, God told Hosea to buy her back. Hosea obeyed God, and in the process we see the stubbornness of his wife, and the pain and sadness it caused Hosea.  Although she was rebellious and adulterous, Hosea repeatedly showed her love.  But remember, Hosea's situation was meant to be an illustration of the way God felt when His people rebelled against Him.

Aren't we all like that at times?  Don't we all choose to rebel against God and put our trust and self-worth in things other than God: things like money, fame, power, jobs, clothing, college degrees, etc?  I know I do; and what does God say about that?

God's message is simple: It hurts, but He pursues people even when they hurt Him.  God’s “loving-kindness” came in the form of a passionate and persistent pursuit of showing love and mercy to rebellious children, which makes me think that proper "pursuit" is more than just romance.  I mean, don't we all want to be passionately and persistently pursued with love and mercy? 

As I said earlier, I’ve seen Ashley’s desire to be pursued, so I've started asking God to give me the curiosity required to pursue her properly.  Now, though, I'm starting to realize that I also need to ask God to give me the curiosity required to pursue other people with love and mercy.  But my need for that particular form of passion doesn't stop there.  In fact, my curiosity for others is just scratching the surface.

The most important thing I need to do, is recognize that God has been pursuing me with love and mercy throughout my whole life.  I need to stop running from Him, and accept His love instead.  I need to recognize that I've hurt Him and ask for forgiveness.  Finally, I need to ask Him for the desire and curiosity required to pursue Him the way He has pursued me, because there is nothing greater in life than growing closer to the creator of the universe.  Do you feel that way as well?  

I would love to read the story of how you realized that God was pursuing you.  Leave me a comment

Psalm 46:10

I had one of those weeks where I felt restless and bored, but couldn’t understand why.  And then finally, the solution just fell on my lap.  It happened while was taking a class for school.  My professor shared the difference between “long form reading” and “short form reading”, saying that many people today prefer short form reading.  He explained that “short form reading” is speed reading for information, while “long form reading” is searching for understanding.  My professor said that short form reading tends to create shallow thoughts and a lack of fulfillment. 

Even as my professor spoke, I was able to realize that I’m a "short form reader."  I am someone who loves to learn new things, but don’t want to go through the tedious work of trying to learn something new from an old concept.  But that shouldn’t be a surprise, don’t we all love new things? 

I think we all want that new car smell, but we don’t want the hard work of cleaning the old one.  We believe it’s easier to buy something new, but the problem is that it requires more hours of work to buy a new car than it does to maintain or even fix the current one.  It’s also less fulfilling to have someone else do the work for you, but I digress…

There are reasons why "short form reading" and consumerism doesn’t fulfill us, but that’s not something I want to write about.  Instead, I want to share what happened when I decided to quit skim-reading my bible, and start meditating on a verse.

I decided to meditate on the first part of Psalm 46:10 by emphasizing a different word each time I repeated the verse.  Here are some of the thoughts that I wrote in my journal as I meditated:

BE: a command to exist in a certain condition.  It’s more than doing, it should be my state of existence

STILL: Why is it important to be still?  What is preventing me from being still… is it boredom and wanting to find fulfillment?

AND: It seems like there is more to stillness than sitting around and being lazy.  I should be still AND do something; what is it that I’m supposed to do?

KNOW: Does this mean more than just an intellectual knowledge?  Is it an experiential knowledge?  What am I suppose to know?

THAT: …the next part of this verse is what I’m supposed to know…

I: This is God speaking.  It’s not a pastor saying, “This is what you should know.”  It’s something that the creator of earth is telling me to know and study.

AM: This is more than just what God does or feels.  It’s about who He is.  Who am I?  I define myself by my work, experiences, or my status, but when I am going to bed at night, who do I say that I am?  What is my true identity?  More importantly, what is God about to tell me regarding His identity?

GOD:  This is what He wants me to know about Himself.  It’s His identity, His nature: He is God.  What does it mean to be God?  I know that I try to be God, but what is it like to truly be God... 

What is it like to speak the universe into existence; to move mountains; to place or replace political leaders into a position?

What is it like to know everything; to always be right; to never force myself upon someone?  What is it like to create something that rejects you?  How is it possible for God to forgive instead of get even? 

If He is God and I am not, why don’t I praise Him more?  Why am I not asking Him questions all the time?  Why do I isolate myself from Him?  Why do I let the opinions of others control what I think about myself?  How can I KNOW Him better?

I realized that skim-reading the bible isn't fulfilling, but being led into reality is.  What’s reality?  Reality is the understanding that I’m not God, but that God wants to be with me.  It’s not because of something I've done, or am capable of doing.  He spoke the universe into creation.  He doesn't need me to help Him run it.  Instead, it’s because of who He is.  He is love, and He is a generous God that wants to share His love with His creation.  How do I know that?  He came to earth and died on a cross to prove it.

Transitioning Well

The following post is from a friend who has been forced to make a major life-decision.  She wanted to share her experience, in hopes that her struggles may provide some clarity for all of us dealing with life transitions.  Please let me know if you have a story to share...

The most recent “decision” that sticks out for me was the decision of where to attend school next year.  Throughout the application process, a university in Boston stuck out to me.  I loved Boston, the program sounded great, I have friends in the area – I knew I wanted to go there.  When I got in, it felt like a done deal.  Then, I was offered a seat at a program in Virginia - they gave me 10 days to decide.  About 4 days before I had to tell them yes or no (and mentally I had already said “no”) my dad recommended that I at least look into the school.  So I did. 

The more research I did, the more of a fit Virginia seemed.  But I really didn’t want to go.  It’s far away, I know nobody in the area, the program is small and, most importantly, it wasn’t Boston.  

Regardless of my desire to say no, something inside of me was urging me to say yes.  In prayer with God, I thought I felt Him pulling me there.  In a moment of prayer, I heard “Trust Me.”  So I did, and I said yes. 

It’s funny, because I’m still not sure I made the right decision.  I’m not 100% convinced that I’m headed where God wants me, but I had to select one or the other.

Fast-forward a couple weeks, and Josh hands me a book called Decision Making and the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View by Garry Friesen and J. Robin Maxson, which puts forth two views on decision making and God’s Will.  A brief summary of the book’s discussion of these two views follows:

Traditional View

God has three Wills:  Sovereign, Moral, and Individual.

1.  “Sovereign” – “God’s secret plan that determines everything that happens in the universe.” (Friesen and Maxson, 35)
2. “Moral” – Right vs Wrong:  Through His Word, the Bible, God gives humanity instructions as to how we should conduct ourselves, that is to say, He reveals what is considered good behavior and what is evil.  The Bible also instructs us as to what we should believe.  “God’s revealed commands in the Bible that teach how men ought to believe and live.”
3. “Individual” – Personalized specifics: God’s individual plan for my life. 

Frieson and Maxson list seven means by which we interpret God’s Wills.  They collectively name these seven “Road Signs.”

1. Bible
2. Circumstances – Often referred to as “Open Doors” or “Closed Doors.” 
3. Inner Witness – The work of the Holy Spirit within you.  You may feel pulled toward a certain decision.
4. Mature Counsel – Seeking advice from a more mature/experienced Christian.
5. Personal Desires
6. Common Sense
7. Special Guidance – Refers to divine intervention in your life such as the visit of an angel.  The traditional view notes that this is a rare occurrence and should not be expected. 

Wisdom View (according to Friesen and Maxson)

God has 2 Wills:

1.      “Sovereign” – same as Traditional

2.      “Moral” – same as Traditional

Frieson and Maxson contend that the “Individual Will” is not scripturally based.  This does not mean that God does not care about us, but rather He has granted us an “Area of Freedom” which lies within His “Moral” and “Sovereign” Wills.

The driving force behind the question of which view is accurate is “Am I being obedient to God?”

 So I ask myself – was I being obedient to God? Was choosing Virginia an act of obedience?  In a way, yes, but not necessarily in that I know choosing VA was what God wanted me to do.  I don’t know for sure that God wants me there – perhaps He really didn’t mind where I ended up.  I do believe, however, that trusting Him in the decision was an act of obedience.  I’m comforted because I know that during my time there, I will have the opportunity to live as an obedient daughter, living as a light for Him. 

This leads into what I think is a critical element in decision-making: The approach that I use when I have to make decisions should be Christ-centered.

All earthly things, relationships, positions are temporary.  When I cease to exist, so will they.  God’s Kingdom, however, will prevail into eternity, regardless of the decisions I make.  In the end, whether I go to VA or MA, God’s Will will prevail.  He, in His sovereignty, can use me for His Kingdom as He sees fit, in VA or MA.

Paul’s words: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” can help maintain that perspective.  If all that I am, all my accomplishments, are a loss in light of Christ, why worry so much about them?  We are assured that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28)  My confidence need not lie in what I do, but rather it rests in Him. 

Friesen, Gary, and J. Robin Maxson. Decision Making and the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View. Print.

Overcoming Entitlement

This past weekend was hard for me because of the financial burden involved in moving.  I got a second job in order to pay for the move, but on Sunday I used money from my second job to pay for the tithe from my full-time job.  It was frustrating to watch the money I earned on Saturday enter the church basket on Sunday. As I was talking to a friend, I realized how frustrated I really was.

I told my friend that I didn’t want give to the local church, because the rest of the paycheck pays for seminary.  Am I not already sacrificing a lot in order to go to seminary?  Do I really need to give more?  As I continued talking, I realized that I was angry and struggling with entitlement issues.

Entitlement is something we all struggle with.  We say that God wants us to do something, and then feel entitled to receive His blessings when we obey.  We begin to question God’s mercy and wisdom once the trials happen, and fail to see that God never promised a painless life. 

Americans in the 21^st century aren’t the only ones who struggle with entitlement, though; the bible is full of people who struggle with it as well.  In fact, Paul addresses two believers in Philippi who wanted their way.

Look at what Paul says to a group of believers in Philippians 4:2-3: 

 ² Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. ³ And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

Fighting and division is a problem for everyone, including Christians from the bible.  Gratefully, God doesn’t abandon us or leave us to figure out our problems on our own, instead, He tells us how to overcome our issues through the wisdom found in Paul’s letter.  Read Philippians 4:4-7:

⁴ Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! ⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

 ⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

As you can see, it’s a matter of perspective and will.  We can gain a new perspective by remembering that Jesus has helped us in the past and He will help us again if we ask.  But we also need to make a choice to rejoice in His faithfulness.

Taking time to remember what the Lord has done proved helpful.  I realized that Jesus gave more than 10% of His life: He gave 100%.  I also remembered that it’s not my money, it’s His.  He gave me the energy and ability necessary to make money, and I give Him a portion of it back.  I finally remembered that it was my choice to go to school, which I knew would require hardships.  Initially, the blessings of school outweighed the hardships, but eventually hardships steal our joy and leave us with a bitter perspective.  We change our perspective by remembering what the Lord has done and choosing to grateful.

Paul continues in Philippians 4:7 by saying that God’s peace comes after the choice to rejoice, and that’s what happened to me.  

I was able to recognize my entitlement issue after sharing my frustration with other people, and then I had to decide whether to demand my way or submit to God.  I experienced a sense of peace the more I submitted.

I think that’s one of the cool things about God.  He knew that I was being selfish and entitled, but He patiently and gently revealed it to me.  The revelation process was hard, but it brought me closer to God and to other people.  So here is the question:

Is your heart divided, and causing anger or resentment?  Are you willing to remember the good things that God has given for you (including His son)?  Are you willing to call your issue a sin?  Are you willing to thank Him for His mercy?  Then ask Him for help!  You won’t be disappointed.   

Humble Unity

A man, down on his luck, went into a church which catered to the rich. Spotting the man's dirty clothes a deacon, worried about the churches image, went to the man and asked him if he needed help. The man said, "I was praying and the Lord told me to come to this church.”  The deacon suggested that the man go pray some more and possibly he might get a different answer. The next Sunday the man returned. The deacon asked, "Did you get a different answer?"  The man replied, "Yes I did. I told the Lord that they don't want me in that church and the Lord said, 'Don't worry about it son; I've been trying to get into that church for years and haven't made it yet."

That’s a clever joke, but has some truth in it.  Sometimes in our attempt to be the good Christians, we do the opposite of what Christ asks us to do: fail to practice humility.  When it comes to humility, my struggle is showing love to older folks who should “know better.”  I’ve bought into the lie that I can have anything I want if I study hard enough, and therefore, I should have my elder’s job if I can outscore him on an IQ test.

I think a lot of people are like me.  People who struggle with some sort of prejudice.  We have preferential treatment for others of our kind. We want options because we want something that is tailored to our tastes.  Wikipedia says that there are 36,000 church denominations; over 11 different kinds within 2 miles of me.  Sometimes it’s good to have options, but our freedom requires a burden of responsibility.  Without humility we have church wars, and one group feels that they are the "real deal," while everyone else is wrong.

What about the early Church?  Did they have that problem?  Referring back to Acts 16 we see that the first church in Philippi was a comprised of slave, soldier and business owner.  They were a diverse group of people who didn’t have the choice of going to the Lutheran church across the street, so they had to make it work.  But how?  How do you get selfish, arrogant people to get along?  Paul’s answer is found in Phil 2:1-11.

            Remember the joy you feel as a Child of God (vs 1). 

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion


Remember that selfishness hurts your brothers and sisters (vs 2-4)

then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 


Remember how you obtained that status (vs 6-8). 

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!


Remember that your Leader not only deserves your allegiance due to power, but also due to His willingness to lay down that power (vs 9-11).

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It’s amazing to think that Jesus chose to use humility instead of power.  I’m not like Him.  I daydream of using power to validate my cause, and wish a thousand angels would obey my command to rid the world of evil.  Jesus had the power to rid the world of evil, but instead, He allowed evil to crucify Him on a cross.  Why would He do that?  Why would He submit to His Father?

Love.  Jesus knew that His father knew best.  Jesus knew that the temporary suffering was worth the glory His actions would bring His Father.  Jesus knew that there was only one way to save us.   Jesus knew we needed an example to follow.

So follow His example.  Let your humility lead to obedience, and remember that He is the only person who knows best anyways.  There is only one person who proved Himself faithful when deciding to lead by example instead of power.  There is one person who defines love.  Jesus.

A Fearless Society

This weekend my pastor used 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 to explain the importance of serving in love.  He pointed out that Paul’s message to the Corinthians in effect was this: great abilities and accomplishments are worthless if they aren’t administered in love.   We all know the type; the NBA all-star who scores 50 points by refusing to pass the ball, and causes his team to lose the game.   How about the movie star who has a million dollars, but no friends, or the successful dad who misses all the big events in his child’s life?  Paul wants us to remember that God values love over success and abilities.  It was a straightforward message until our pastor started looking at the cultural setting of the passage.

 1 Corinthians 13 starts like this:

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but don’t have love, I’m a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

I always thought that Paul was merely using a metaphor for an annoying preacher, but our pastor explained that Paul was making a comparison to the cult religions in the city of Corinth.

Just like today, Corinth had a lot of different churches and religions, but these church services were a lot different than the ones we have today.  They were full of fear and death, instead of peace and love.  The priests of the Cybele and Dionysus cults would walk the streets banging gongs and cymbals in order to call their people to worship.  The service involved drugs, spirit possession, orgies, self mutilation and animal/human sacrifice.   They practiced self-gratification and survival of the fittest.  It sounds like Paul is saying that a church without love is like a self-gratifying cult. 

The sermon prompted Ashley and I to discuss the idea of distinguishing ourselves from the culture and wondered how to do that in the 21^st century.  In an age where the culture has been shaped by virtue and justice, what makes our churches different than the philanthropists of the world? 

As we started to ponder that question, we realized it was the lack of fear that Christians should exhibit.  I think there should be at least two ways that we live fearlessly:

1.         We don’t fear death
2.         We don’t fear failure

In Philippians 1:27-30, Paul says that we should stand firm without being frightened of those that oppose us.  He said that this was a sign that we would be saved but they would be destroyed. 

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.  For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

The most obvious difference is that Christians shouldn’t fear death.  In fact, we tell the world that there is a God who loves them and created them for a purpose.  We believe that people are separated from God because of our individual sinful choices, but thankfully, God came to earth as a man named Jesus and removed the separation.  Jesus demonstrated His love by dying in our place and demonstrated His divinity by coming back from the dead to offer us eternal life with Him.  Life is not perfect on earth, but thankfully there is something better waiting for Christians after death.  

The second difference is that Christians shouldn’t fear failure. 

There is difference between freedom from failure, and freedom from the fear of failure.  Jesus said there would be set-backs and failures, but He also said that He made us conquerors (look at Romans 8). 

Christians shouldn’t fear failure when they have a proper understanding of what’s expected of them.  They don’t have to worry about failure, because God promised to be their unfailing leader.  Christians believe that only God can change people, and our responsibility is to remain available and act in humility.  

I’m not encouraging laziness and irresponsibility; instead, I’m encouraging Christians to throw off the fear that prevents courageous and humble service.  Maybe we will see success in this life, but maybe we will have to wait.  In either case, our highest definition of success is acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God.  Humility is a proper view of ourselves which leads to a willingness to submit to God.  A perfect example of humility is found in King Jesus.

My Reality Specs

This past week was difficult for Ashley and me, because of tough decisions we need to make in order to move to South Carolina for seminary.  We believe that God wants to develop our character through this opportunity, and have already felt the tension.  The first thing we realized is the faith it takes to know that God will provide when it’s evident that we can’t.  We know that God wants us there, and face frustrations as we move forward.  This caused us to realize that we will need to take some risks and ask for God’s help.

The risk factor causes friction in our relationship, and is teaching us the frustration of compromise.  Compromise is hard, but the moments of frustration are caused by something I learned in the past.

About a year ago, I realized that a fight is caused by two people who have each made mistakes.  That realization helps me remember to look for my mistakes first, so last week I started to ask myself where I went wrong.  I finally decided to ask God for wisdom, but my prayer sounded more like a command.  I began my prayer by saying, “Father, Ashley is in the wrong, so why don’t you change her?  I’ve examined myself, and fail to see an error on my end.”  God responded, but it wasn’t the answer I was expecting.

He asked me whether I would drop out of seminary in order to show Ashley love.  My response was a strong and passionate, “ABSOLUTELY NOT!”  Which caused me to realize that the problem wasn't with Ashley: it was with me.  God began to gently point out that I was turning His gift into an idol.  I knew that God wanted to develop my character, and I also knew that He didn't need seminary to do it.  God could use anything to develop me.  Using God’s perspective to examine my actions revealed my sin, selfishness and my dependence. 

What I find interesting, is that I fell short when I tried to examine my situation on my own.  I forgot that I’m a sinful, selfish person, and that’s why it was hard to see my mistakes yet easy to see Ashley’s.  I’m realizing that it takes a perfect God to show us our faults, and that only a perfect God can reveal them perfectly.

I believe that God uses prayer to change our perspective, and empowers us to lay down our selfishness and pride.  I also believe that prayer gives us a perfectly, non-biased perspective on life so we can become more like Him.

The power that prayer has to alter our perspective leads to many implications.  Maybe you aren’t a Christian and wonder why Christians believe in God; ask Him to reveal His perspective on life.  Maybe you are fighting with someone and can’t see your fault; ask Him to reveal your fault.  Maybe you are suffering persecution or hardship and can’t see the purpose in your suffering; ask Him.  I think our Father is waiting for His children to ask Him for a clearer picture of reality.   Reality if life from God’s perspective, not ours.