Check out this illustration I came across. It is about worshiping God as a "waste of time."
Law No. 153/190, Article 1-D, forbids Rumanian citizens from “coming together to play cards, drink alcohol, or waste time.”
By the widest stretch of the imagination, one finds it difficult to conceive of such a law having any effect upon Christian believers. And yet, it does! Under it, numbers are being arrested, fined, and even imprisoned. The charge: “wasting time.” For Rumanians to assemble for worship or prayer or Christian fellowship is, by atheistic Communist standards, “a waste of time.”
It is not hard to understand why such a law must be resorted to in Rumania, because there, as in other Communist-dominated countries, the national constitution guarantees “religious freedom.”
[1]
[1]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Complaining: How To Quiet Your Mind
From The Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 53 and The Doctor Luke, Chapter 22
From Verses 7-9
He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence.
The next time you think about complaining, think upon this verse. Let this Verse sink in.....meditate upon it.....Live It!
I must confess that I have caught myself in a season of complaining and I do not like it. I am beginning to despise complaining more than the things I have been complaining about. Thanks to God, He rocked my world as I read through and Meditated upon Isaiah 53 and Luke 22.
Complaining in perspective
If anyone ever had the right to complain it would have been Jesus. Jesus was the only perfect person to have ever set flesh to the soil of planet Earth. He was the only person who inhaled oxygen through His lungs yet never allowed sin to enter His Soul...Being Perfect, Jesus died for the imperfect. Being imperfect, we as humans have fallen short of His Glory and yet as sinners, He died for us. We need to meditate upon that instead of meditating on complaining. We need to think about how we act and respond to life and then to what we say as a result.
What do you say?
What are some of your sayings that you yell out when you complain? "Oh man!" (saying this with a high pitch sound that you did not know you had!)....What about, "You have got to be kidding, not again!" What about, "*%&#$%^%^&&, I am not believing this *(&^D!@##$!!!" Well, I hope you have at least gotten control of the last example :)
But seriously, take a look at what Jesus' responses were and were not in relation to opportunities of complaining.....
What Jesus Said
"Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?"
Jesus obviously had every right to complain about going to The Cross, He was about to die when He had done nothing wrong...His body was even in a state of stress as He dropped sweats of blood.....At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face. (From Luke 22:41-44 MSG)
Jesus knew God's Will for His life, He knew the torture that was ahead; but Jesus was strong enough to say, "not what I want. What do you want?"
What Jesus Did Not Say
From Isaiah Verses 7-9
He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence.
Now, if I was being beaten and tortured I would not only say a few words, I would open up the jar on anything and everything I could think of and then I would fight like there was no tomorrow...but Jesus was not just randomly being beaten and tortured. In fact as we read in Luke 22, He knew this was coming....He knew it was God's Will for Him to go to The Cross...so let me assure you that Jesus was not being a wuss and just taking a beating because he was too afraid to fight...to the contrary, Jesus was such a Warrior that He took responsibility for what He was called to do...take a look at this Warrior Passage from Scripture...
...he looked death in the face and didn't flinch (From Isaiah 53.11-12 MSG)...
Listen, when you know who you live for, and you do something amazing for them, you do not complain. When you think of your self all day and throw pity parties, I promise you that complaining will be as natural as breathing.
From Verses 7-9
He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence.
The next time you think about complaining, think upon this verse. Let this Verse sink in.....meditate upon it.....Live It!
I must confess that I have caught myself in a season of complaining and I do not like it. I am beginning to despise complaining more than the things I have been complaining about. Thanks to God, He rocked my world as I read through and Meditated upon Isaiah 53 and Luke 22.
Complaining in perspective
If anyone ever had the right to complain it would have been Jesus. Jesus was the only perfect person to have ever set flesh to the soil of planet Earth. He was the only person who inhaled oxygen through His lungs yet never allowed sin to enter His Soul...Being Perfect, Jesus died for the imperfect. Being imperfect, we as humans have fallen short of His Glory and yet as sinners, He died for us. We need to meditate upon that instead of meditating on complaining. We need to think about how we act and respond to life and then to what we say as a result.
What do you say?
What are some of your sayings that you yell out when you complain? "Oh man!" (saying this with a high pitch sound that you did not know you had!)....What about, "You have got to be kidding, not again!" What about, "*%&#$%^%^&&, I am not believing this *(&^D!@##$!!!" Well, I hope you have at least gotten control of the last example :)
But seriously, take a look at what Jesus' responses were and were not in relation to opportunities of complaining.....
What Jesus Said
"Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?"
Jesus obviously had every right to complain about going to The Cross, He was about to die when He had done nothing wrong...His body was even in a state of stress as He dropped sweats of blood.....At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face. (From Luke 22:41-44 MSG)
Jesus knew God's Will for His life, He knew the torture that was ahead; but Jesus was strong enough to say, "not what I want. What do you want?"
What Jesus Did Not Say
From Isaiah Verses 7-9
He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence.
Now, if I was being beaten and tortured I would not only say a few words, I would open up the jar on anything and everything I could think of and then I would fight like there was no tomorrow...but Jesus was not just randomly being beaten and tortured. In fact as we read in Luke 22, He knew this was coming....He knew it was God's Will for Him to go to The Cross...so let me assure you that Jesus was not being a wuss and just taking a beating because he was too afraid to fight...to the contrary, Jesus was such a Warrior that He took responsibility for what He was called to do...take a look at this Warrior Passage from Scripture...
...he looked death in the face and didn't flinch (From Isaiah 53.11-12 MSG)...
Friends, that is not being a wuss and taking a beating, that is being a Warrior and taking a stand. That is knowing what you are called to do and being a Warrior while doing it!
Core of ComplainingDo you know what one of the key components of answering His call of being a Warrior was? Jesus had the strength to go through such pain and torture because He was doing it for you. He was doing it for your family, for me, my family, and the entire world. In a nutshell: He was unselfish....take a look...
He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people (From Isaiah 53.7-9 MSG)Listen, when you know who you live for, and you do something amazing for them, you do not complain. When you think of your self all day and throw pity parties, I promise you that complaining will be as natural as breathing.
So can you see what is at the core of complaining? I can answer that question with confidence and say that after reading and Praying through Isaiah 53 and Luke 22 that the answer is selfishness. Now it may not always be the case, sometimes we just complain for the sake of complaining, maybe we are tired from a long hard day of work, but that still is rooted in selfishness because you are thinking of how hard your day was without thinking if anyone else had a bad day or not. Then you create a sense of entitlement instead of an attitude of thanksgiving, but this is a whole other topic, and it will be discussed in-depth in one of my chapters in my new book that The Lord is writing through me!
Jesus was unselfish and He answered God's call. Verse 53.11-12 tells us how God rewards Him extravagantly with the highest honors. So how will you look back on your life? Will you be rewarded by answering God's call? Will you spend your energy on Praising God instead of complaining? Through the rest of this Lent Season, make it a commitment that you will not only fast from complaining but that every time you think about doing so, use it as a reminder to Praise The Carpenter of Creation for His Son Jesus Christ who stared death in the face for you yet never flinched. Praise God for The One who took on his own shoulders the sin of the many so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God's plan will deeply prosper through him. From Isaiah 53.10-12 MSG.
I will close with the Isaiah 53.11-12. Thank your for reading and may God give you Victory through The Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV)11-12 Out of that terrible travail of soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous ones," as he himself carries the burden of their sins.Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly— the best of everything, the highest honors—Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
To the Cross!
"Restore to me the JOY of Your SALVATION..." (Psalm 51:12;NIV)
God just rocked my world. Praise Trinity! Tonight, we celebrated Ash Wednesday at my church. I've been looking forward to Ash Wednesday. Justin and I have covenanted together to walk "to the Cross" with Jesus for the days of Lent. We want to make it to the Cross of Christ and end all sin that we struggle with on Good Friday and resurrect anew on Easter Sunday!
Lent is a time of confession and repentance. So let me confess my sin that I've been struggling with: the sin of lethargy, complaining, and self-pity. I have not had joy in my life. Why? I am way too busy...so busy that I have lost joy for church, for ministry, for people. This is not the heart of Christ nor the mind of Christ. I have repented. But listen, I have been really down.
Tonight, we walked forward in our Ash Wednesday gathering. The minister put the sign of the Cross on my forehead and said, "The Spirit calls you to repent and believe the Gospel." I had my bible in hand, ready to approach God at the altar and read Psalm 51, John 1, and Mark 1:34-35. God rocked my world with Psalm 51:12. I've read and prayed through this Psalm many times...but man, verse 12 cut my heart. It says, "Restore to me the JOY of YOUR SALVATION and grant me a willing spirit within me." The Master Communicator knows exactly how to speak to us.
Are you like me...so busy that you've lost the JOY of God's Salvation? The only way I know to regain the JOY of God's Salvation, is to pray Psalm 51:12 every single day of Lent until God's Spirit restores this joy in me. Pray until you get it. That's what I'm going to do. I'm in seminary...full time ministry...full time family...my busyness is here to stay. Jesus destroyed sin on Good Friday. He Resurrected on Sunday! My sin is destroyed and my joy will be be resurrected! I am going to follow Jesus "to the Cross" this Lent season. God's Joy will be mine! It can be yours. Will you walk with me "to the Cross?"
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