"Exposed," Part 2 of "The Measuring Stick"

In part one of "The Measuring Stick," I talked about how we become conscious of our sin by observing God's laws. These laws are not set in place to make us righteous and to help us obtain our membership card for God's goodie-tooshoo's club, but rather they are a confirmation of our relationship with Him and they hold us to a higher standard of living.

In part two, "Exposed," I want to focus on the result of living with this higher standard. By measuring your life with Christ Jesus as your standard, your measuring stick, you will be able to live the life He has called you to live. When you measure your life against the measuring stick of culture, you will always fall short of leaving your mark on this world. In fact, following culture could lead to a life of sin, and this sinful lifestyle will make you fearful of being "exposed"

Take a look at John 3:19-21 (NIV)

19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

You know what rats do when you turn the light on in a room? They scamper, they high tail it out of the room as quickly as possible for the fear of being exposed. That is what happens to us when we don't hold ourselves accountable to living as Christ and reflecting The Image of God. We become rats and fall into sin because we say, "Everyone else is doing it." Or we rationalize and think that the only way to get ahead in business is to cheat, the only way to become popular is to have sex and get drunk on the weekends. When this happens, we hate the light, and will not come into the light for fear that our deeds will be exposed.

Follow Christ and His Teachings, allow Him to be your measuring stick and constantly compare your life with His. By doing so you will be able to live the life that honors God and you will be able to give Him the Glory that He is due...Welcome the light and Glorify God!

21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

"Conscious" - Part 1 of "The Measuring Stick"

How do you know how tall you are? My guess is that you probably pull out a measuring stick and compare it to some standard, something that will allow you to become conscious of your height.

What about hard work? How do you know what work is? I bet it is because you know what rest is....what about pain? The reason you have a knowledge of what pain feels like is because you have the capacity to experience pleasure...

Up, Down, Left, Right.....Cold, Hot....Victory and Defeat....we have the knowledge to discern the differences in life because we have standards and these standards expose differences and allow us to be conscious of who we are and what we experience...

So let me ask you another question. What is your measuring stick? Who or what do you compare your life with in order to know whether or not you are living up to a higher standard or hiding in a life of mediocrity and sin?

Allow me to let Scripture answer this question.....see Romans 3:20 (NIV)

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin

You see, we are called to a higher standard of living as we read God's inspired word to us through Romans 3:20. He is telling us that the law does not exist so that we can join the 'righteous club' and get a cool sticker that says we are righteous because we follow laws..

Instead, God has established the law in order for us to make comparisons, just like hot versus cold, in our life of righteous living versus sinful living...through His laws, our sin is exposed because we have a measuring stick that shows us how to become conscious of our mediocre and sinful lifestyle....

Andy Stanley explains it like this, "God did not establish laws as conditions for a relationship with Him, but rather a confirmation of a relationship with Him." We don't follow His laws in order to be accepted into The Kingdom of God, instead, we have laws that confirm our relationship with Him because He wants the best for us and calls us to a higher standard of living!

Imagine if you are a parent. You don't establish rules for your kids so that they will follow them, and IF they follow them, then and then only will you love them...NO, you establish rules for them because you hold them accountable to certain standards and these rules provide a framework that exposes them and makes them conscious of where they are falling short.

Here is a very important point we must make with all of this. Andy Stanley again explains it beautifully. He says, "Rules without Relationship Leads to Rebellion." Friends, we must establish Relationships with those we love, with our family, our co-workers, our employees, our teams and students, because without relationships, our rules will be lead to rebellion. Without relationships, rules become something that people follow out of spite instead of out of love, but when you have a loving and intense relationship with others, you want to follow rules because you love the ones who establish them and you understand that they are in place in order to create an ethos for Glorifying God!

Hot or Cold. Culture or Christ. What is your measuring stick. I want mine to be Jesus Christ. If I model my life after Him instead of culture, and if I allow God's laws to show me where I am falling short of His calling, then I will always be called to a higher standard......Join me in becoming conscious of how God wants us to live. Establish a relationship with Him. His Higher Calling will keep you and me from falling short!

Check into Part 2 of this series, "The Measuring Stick" called "Exposure" and you will want to step into the light instead of hiding in fear of being exposed

Everything you ever need to know...

"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:2;NIV)

If you are reading this right now, you are most likely on the internet (unless you printed it off...but then again, you had to get online in order to print it). Do you enjoy the internet? I do! One can find out so much information on the "information highway"! I love information. We live in an information world. We can know so much about so much! However, I am about to tell you everything you will ever need to know in one sentence. Here it is: "Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

Jesus Christ and Him crucified is what, rather, WHO you need to know in life. If you know Jesus Christ and what He did that Friday on the Cross for us, that's really all you will ever need to know!

Sure, there are other things we need to be smart about and learn how to do. We need to know practical things, etc. But all that information is garbage unless we know Jesus Christ and the Cross that He bore!

Do you want to know how to be a better husband? Get to know Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross.

Do you want seven steps on better finances? I'll give you one step,not seven: Jesus Christ and His Cross!!!

How about how to win friends and influence people? Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Reduce stress and find joy/peace? JESUS CHRIST and HIM CRUCIFIED!

You see, 4 ways to raise your kids...3 ways to become a better listener are all good and very beneficial. But above all, life is knowing Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
That's all Paul wanted to know and wanted to preach about (1 Corinthians 1:23;2:2)!

The more you know God's Son and His sacrifice, the more you will know about life, marriage, finances, parenthood, purpose, love, humility, courage, health, careers,college, friendships, dating, purity, thought life, prayer life, Scripture study, etc. The more you know and love Jesus...the more you will know and love your wife, husband, friend, stranger. The more you and I are crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), the more we will live! "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)!"

You see, life is about self-giving. That is what Jesus and Him Crucified is all about...not just giving away 'some' of yourself but ALL of YOURSELF! Jesus gave everything He was and everything He had because He loved His Father and us. Want to be a better husband or wife? Give yourself away completely to your God and to your spouse? Want to be a better employee or friend? Give yourself away entirely. Give yourself away. Lay down your life for another! That is what your life and my life is all about. It's what our Savior's life was all about. It is what Paul's life was all about!

Resolve, like Paul, to know NOTHING in this information exploded world but JESUS CHRIST and HIM CRUCIFIED! I've come to realize, we may know a lot of things...we can "google" all we want to...but until we know the Man who was murdered on a piece of wood one Friday afternoon, we know nothing.

The Affection of Christ Jesus

" God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus." (Paul to the Philippians, 1:8; NIV)

I just read my twin bro’s blog titled, ""When you come looking for Me, you'll find Me!" WOW! An AMAZING and LIFE CHANGING blog post and if you will pray through it, you will find God…He’ll even FIND YOU! Can you think of anything more life changing than that? I can’t…so get to it!

I had in mind to write a blog on suffering for Jesus tonight. I am thinking about titling it, “Chains for Christ” based off of Philippians 1:13 and some other verses in Acts that the Holy Spirit is going to use to “kung fu” you and me into action with. However, I came looking for God…I found Him and He found me in my prayer tonight. That being said, my blog post is not going to be about “Chains for Christ” but “The Affection of Christ Jesus.”

You see…I have been reading and re-reading, praying and re-praying through Philippians these past few days. Not only that, God has been reading me! He pierced my heart tonight with a love arrow for Him and for my family. I want to love the Triune God and my family with the affection of Christ Jesus.

I want the affection of Christ Jesus for God the Father and God the Spirit. I want the affection of God the Father and God the Spirit for Christ Jesus! I want to long for them! I want the affection of Christ Jesus for my beautiful wife and my precious daughter. They are what the promise of God looks like…literally! I want the affection of Christ Jesus for my mom and my dad…for my older bro and my twin bro…for my older bro’s soon-to-be wife and her children…for my mother-in-law and my father-in-law…for my brother-in-law and for his girlfriend. They are what God’s beauty looks like…literally!

I cry out to God for the affection of Christ Jesus! Paul had it…that’s why he prayed for the Philippians and thanked God every time he remembered them. He prayed with joy because of their partnership in the Gospel. He was confident that God, who began a good work in his brothers and sisters, would carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. He even goes on to say that it was right for him to feel that way about them! Why? I will let Paul answer for himself, “…Since I have you in my heart.” (Philippians 1:7)

Is God in your heart? Is your family in your heart? Are they in your heart with the affection of Christ Jesus? Can God testify to that (1:8)? The affection of Christ Jesus, in a nutshell, will cause you and me to die for the Gospel and to lay down our lives for our families! There is really NO OTHER way to love or to live.

Fill in the blank prayer for you: "Father, give me the Affection of Jesus Christ for_______________! In the Affectionate One, Jesus my Savior, Amen!

"When you come looking for me, you'll find me"

Guten Tag everyone, I decided to say 'Good Day' in German. Why? Because I thought it sounded cool! Yea, anyway, let's get back to Part 2 of our 2 part series discussing the difference between Seeking or ignoring God....

In Part 1, ("I've Reached Out To You, But You've Ignored Me.") I let Scripture speak for itself. The Passage from Proverbs showed that the reason we may not hear God's voice is because it could be that we are choosing to ignore Him...

Here in part 2, I want to allow Scripture to powerfully speak to you again as I point out verses and passages of God's inspired Word that show us how Seeking Him will Rock our world!

1. Read Jeff's Man...I don't know what I would do without... It is so rich and full of Scripture and Teaching that you will want to crave Seeking God!

2. Jeremiah 29.12-14 (MSG)

12"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. 13-14"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." God's Decree. "I'll turn things around for you (Emphasis Added).

3. Psalm 91.14-16 (MSG)

14-16 "If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,
"I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I'll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!" (Emphasis Added)

Enough said!

Man...I don't know what I would do without...

...without Cable TV...my weekly watching of "24" and "Dancing with the Stars"...without my cell phone..."I've got to have my morning coffee; what would I do without my morning coffee!"

We've all said these kind of things...we all "need" our coffee, our internet; our Oprah; our newspaper, our afternoon listening to Lionel Richie and organic hemp hot chocolate (okay, maybe that's just me on that last one)...we "can't" make it without these "life supports", right! I wonder if we feel the same way about Jesus and His eternal word?

Do we ever catch ourselves saying, "Man, I can't make it today without praying through the Psalms" or "Man, I can't make it today without reading Mark 14:1-11; I have GOT TO find out what Jeremiah says today?" Do we "crave" Jesus and His word?

David did. He prayed in Psalm 27:8, "My heart has heard You say, “Come and talk with Me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming. (NLT)” He says in Psalm 63:1,"God—You're my God! I can't get enough of You! I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God (MSG)." Again, Psalm 119:131 says, "I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commands."

I know some of us have sprinted home, busted the door open, thrown our bags down, looked recklessly for the TV control (because we can never find it right), and turned on "American Idol" because our favorite performer was about to sing! I can see us now: bent over, hands on our knees, mouth wide open, panting for breath, but with huge excitement, because we got there in time to see what Simon says about our favorite singer!

That's what Psalm 119:131 is a picture of...the Psalmist...mouth wide open, panting for God's word...wanting the Lord and His word more than anything else. We see the sons of Korah doing the same thing in the famous Psalm 42:1, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" When was the last time you wanted to "meet" with God so badly that you "thirsted" for Him like a Holiday Gingerbread Latte from Starbucks?

In Mark 2, so many people thirsted for Jesus and His word, 4 guys had serious trouble getting their paralyzed friend into see and hear Him. His friends had to "bust the roof open" to get him to Jesus. Some of us would "bust the roof open" if we couldn't get into our email or find our chapstick (okay, maybe just me again)! These guys said, "Man...I don't know what we're gonna do if we don't get our buddy to Jesus!"

If we go tonight without Grey's Atanomy, what are we gonna do!!! If I don't have my organic agave nectar chocolate ganashe today, what am I gonna do!!! Will we care that much about spending intentional sit down time with Jesus and His word today and this week? Will we "bust the roof" open if we have to in order to see the face of our Savior through the pages of Scripture? It's saying this: I will do whatever I have to do in order to "meet" with God...no matter what my schedule is! Can you and I do without Jesus and His word? "Man, I don't know what I would do without ___________." Does "Jesus and His word" fill in the blank for you?

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68-69) (NIV)

"I've Reached Out To You, But You've Ignored Me."

Is God quiet or are you choosing to ignore Him?

In this first part of a 2 part series, I am going to let Scripture, The Word Breathed by God, speak for itself to see if we can help ourselves understand if we are seriously Seeking after God or if maybe the reason we don't hear Him is because we are choosing to ignore Him.

Part 1: Are We Ignoring God?
(Proverbs 1.20-33 MSG; Key verse: 1:24 MSG)
Lady Wisdom 20-21
Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
At the busiest corner she calls out:

22-24 "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I'm ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear;
I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.

25-28 "Since you laugh at my counsel
and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing
to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect
an answer.
No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.

29-33 "Because you hated Knowledge
and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn't take my advice
and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."

Click for Part 2 "When you come looking for me, you'll find me" to see how God responds when we seek Him with all-out Intensity!