Man up!

Man up! Or since I live in Texas, cowboy up! That phrase is often used to tell someone to toughen up or brace yourself. To prepare yourself for what is coming. I picture a man with a closed fist and his chest puffed out ready for a fight. This world is getting tough and there are many battles out there. I believe there are not enough men of character in this world, and that is leading to its destruction. I am putting out a call for men to man up! But not like this world pictures it. When I say man up, I mean lay down. That's right, I said in order to man up...we need to lay down. Lay down our pride, lay down our possessions, lay down our jobs, lay down anything in our lives that hinders our relationship with Christ. Offer up our lives as a living sacrifice.

 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1 NIV)

In class at church we have been learning how God has prepared a greater life for us. If your marriage is broken or your relationship with your children is damaged, it is time to stop trying to fix it, man up, and lay it down before the throne of God. If you are chasing fortune and fame and working for the things of this earth, it's time to man up! Lay it down before the throne of God. If your pride or a secret sin is keeping you from living the greater life God intended for you, you need to man up and lay it down before The Lord your God. In order to fix society and our own lives the simple answer is Jesus. We need to seek him first. 

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33 NIV)

 I love that! If we seek God, he will give us a restored marriage, a renewed sense of passion, and even power over sin. Whatever we need he will give it to us. Our part is to Seek him above all else,  Not family or work or money first but God first. 

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38 NIV)

The Bible is calling us to seek him first with every fiber of our being.

No holds bar! We can't experience gods power in our life if we aren't recklessly pursing him first. So man up and don't hold anything back. Is fear of not finding him holding you back? What if we seek God with all that we are and we still can't find him? 

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13 NIV)

God promises us we will find him. Men, let's man up! Let's start to prepare for what is coming. It is time to start investing in our eternity. Lay down everything and pursue God with reckless abandon. He will show up and begin to use our lives for his glory. Don't waste another day. Be the man God intended you to be. 

Yes Man

If you have ever been around a child who is learning to talk there is one word they learn all to quickly, "no." As my twenty month old is shoveling mac and cheese into his mouth like we haven't fed him in days, I ask him, "is that good?" he is quick to respond with "no." No has become one of his favorite words. Any question you ask him will get a "no" about eighty percent of the time. Whether it's my twenty month old saying no or my five year old arguing with just about everything you ask him to do some days, the end result is a frustrating no. Does this sound familiar to our response with God? We pour our blood, sweat and tears into trying to make our children obedient, but are we ourselves obedient to God? There was a movie that came out several years ago called "Yes Man." It was a comedy about a man has a negative outlook on life and is always missing opportunities because of it. His friend sends him to a motivational speaker where he vows to no longer be a "no man" and starts to answer yes to literally everything. He is constantly in outrageous circumstances because of saying yes to everything and it is opening up opportunities all around for him. (I am not promoting the content or character of this film) Now this is an unrealistic portrayal of what might happen if we only said yes and never said no. I would be silly to do this in everyday life, but its a good illustration on how we should answer God, "yes" without hesitation. Let's take a look at Abraham and his obedience to God in Genesis 22:1-3.

"Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," He replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love- Issac - and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you." Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Issac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about."

Abraham was a "yes man." I don't know about you but it's just not that easy to always say yes to God. The past few years I have missed out on opportunities because I didn't say yes to God. I argue with him all the time. Patients at the hospital where I work will ask me to pray for them so I tell them I will keep them in my prayers. When God is telling me to pray out loud with them right then and there. I would tell God what about everyone else they would be uncomfortable. God has been telling me to try again to be on the praise team and I have been putting that off as well. It is easy to make excuses and it's hard to be obedient. Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his only son and he got up early the next morning and went! I am not sure about you but I would have tried to stall a bit.  Maybe sleep in a little, then stall some hoping God would tell me something different. Abraham didn't stall, he said yes and God provided for him. I want to become a yes man when it comes to following God. I started saying yes and he is starting to pour into my life. In fact it's 5 am as I write this because God is telling me to write it now and not later. God prompted me to start a blog and I waited because I'm not really a good writer and thought if I write it down that will be good enough. After a week or two I finally started and god has already start to reveal himself to me in ways he has never before. When God calls us to do something our immediate response should be yes! He will provide everything else. Quit arguing or making excuses to god. Even if it seems small or insignificant, such as praying for someone right then and there. God will be faithful to provide for those who are obedient to him. Obedience to God is a true sign of your love for him.  Vow to be a "yes man" for God and watch how faithful he can be in your life. The peace I talked about in my first post is a direct result of obedience to God. We sang a song in church called "It is well." As I was singing it I felt and overwhelming peace come over me. I can truly say it is well... with my soul.

I Am Here To Serve

"Do I have to?" As a parent I am sure you are all to familiar with those words. When you ask your children to pick their clothes up of the floor, put their toys away, brush their teeth, get ready for school, do their homework; their response is often a slightly whiny "do I have to?" Isn't that IRRITATING! Then I realized I was saying that same little whiny phrase to God when he asked me to do things. When I wake up to go to work one of my first thoughts was "do I have to?". Or when I felt God tugging at me to share him with someone, I thought "do I have to Lord?" How about when God tells me I'm the one who should apologize. Yep, you guessed it, that same irritating phrase.

 1 peter 5:2-4 says 

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them-not because you must, but because you are willing,as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve. not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away."

We work to provide but God tells us I have provided this work for YOU! It is our opportunity to serve that which God has entrusted us with. We find ourselves going through the motions of life doing just enough to get by. I work with a doctor who walks into the operating room and exclaims, "I am here to serve!" Wow! what an attitude to have at work and in life. How many of you walk into work in the morning and proclaim "I am here to serve!" Don't feel bad if you don't, I wasn't doing that either. But think of how work might be different if everyone was there to serve. Think of the world and how different it would be if everyone on it was here to serve and not be served.  God has given us a "flock." That flock is your ministry, your family, your job, or whatever else God may have entrusted you with. This year I want to be eager to serve, an example for those around me. I know there will still be days when that dreaded "do I have to?" starts to creep back in, but let's pray each day for God to give us a servant heart. Let us not go through life just because we have to or pursuing worldly gain, but because God has entrusted us with every blessing he has given us. Humbly serve where God has put you! And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will never fade away.

Lay down your burdens

As I walk through the halls at work I asked God to open my eyes, to see things the ways he sees things. I realize I am shuffling in a pit of brokenness and hurt. I wonder if I've been oblivious or just unmoved by the fact that Satan is trying to destroy the lives of people all around me. I start to see suffering of marriages, depression, addiction, cancer, loneliness, worry, complacency and the list goes on and on. All of us are burdened with Trouble! So what now? Do we continue to sink into the sand until we suffocate? Is there an answer? I believe there is. John 16:33 says

 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world there will be troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

The God who spoke into the darkness and created the light, The God who created the heavens far beyond what we can see, The God who raised his own son from the dead, promises us peace. It's time to stop carrying our own burdens and start experiencing the peace God promises us we can find in HIM! So whatever you are facing today, come to the foot of the cross and lay down your burdens. There is no sorrow, no trouble to big for God.