Yep, I've changed!

The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ— God’s righteousness. (Philippians 3:7-9 MSG)

I love this scripture from the message. It made me think about how I have changed throughout my life, how God has changed me! I have wasted so much of my life pursuing "credentials" which is just a fancy word for pursuing "power and prestige". It is also another way of saying my priorities have always been mixed up. I've always been trying to climb the ladder, get more stuff, nicer homes, and a "better" life. I claimed I was doing it for my family when I was really doing it for myself.  I kept rules in an attempt to please God, yet I ignored him, except on Sunday. In that time of my life, I had my own righteousness. I was in control!

Yep, I've changed.

Now I realize, and not a moment too soon, that all I ever needed was in Christ. All the things that used to be important aren't even an after thought. My prayers aren't for things anymore. They're not for jobs, or promotions. They're not for money or financial strife. They're not for the success of my kids. Now my prayers are full of praise and glory for a God that loves me even when I don't deserve it. My prayers are about my family's relationship with the God of the universe. My prayers are to plead for the souls of the lost, the poor, and those that have lost hope. It's no longer about me, it's about God, his glory, and his kingdom. I have realized I can never have real righteousness apart from God and I don't WANT to be in control. I want God to be in control.

Yep, I've changed! And I praise God for the work he is doing in me!

Declared Flawless!

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1 NIV)

This idea of justification through faith is foreign to most people, even some long term Christians. Simply put, God declares we are righteous with only one condition, we must have faith. I've heard it said he DECLAREs us righteous, it's not something he does to us. Hedoesn't  magically make us perfect and from then on we do not sin. No, he just speaks the declaration and regardless of our flaws, we are declared righteous. It's like he's blinded by his own choice to our sins. We can't do anything to be perfect, it's impossible. When you strip off all the works, or good deeds we try to do to earn Gods favor, you simply have faith. It's that wonderful, pure faith that gives us peace. We no longer have to struggle to DO something to earn God's acceptance. We just need faith. 

Can you imagine having peace with God? Here is the creator of the universe. He could end our life at any moment. He creates life and builds the heavens. Why is he so worried about us living a life at peace? 

He loves us. 

He adores us. 

He longs for our unimpaired faith. It's such a high priority for him. It pains him to see our stressed out, crazy, dysfunctional lives. 

It is so simple to receive peace in our lives even through turmoil. It is done simply by faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God he is blinded to my sin and declares me perfect. I know I'm not perfect but because I believe in him, he says it's so. Thank you Lord for your amazing grace and perfect righteousness. I want to serve you and love you every day for the rest of my life!

It's not about me!

And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12 NKJV)

It's not about me!

I am in several leadership positions in my life. I'm not trying to brag, it's fact. It could be easy to get a "Big Head". 

It's not about me!

I am a leader as a teacher. If I lose sight of the needs and wants of the students, I'm a failure as a teacher. Students shouldn't have to adapt to me and my teaching style, I should have to adapt to them. If a student fails, I have to take responsibility. 

It's not about me!

In ministry, like CMA, I'm a leader. It would be easy to think of ourselves as being righteous. We are going out to share Jesus with people who don't know him. We are great, right? The Bible clearly states we're not. We are ALL sinners. None of us are righteous. If we can get to the point where we come to grips with our sin and humble ourselves before The Lord, then we can truly serve others. 

It's not about me!

I'm a leader in my family. When it comes to making decisions, I can't do it from selfishness. I need to be a team player with my family. I have to be able to share my thoughts and rally hear the thoughts of others. I need to make sure I help the family and sacrifice, when I need to, for the good of the family.

It's not about me!

I am a selfish person at heart and I need to make sure I keep my own selfishness in check! I am not that great and I have weaknesses I would like to say don't exist. These four words can help me keep from exalting myself. "It's not about me!" Lord help me humble myself before you, listen to your direction in my life and always remember these four words!

It's not about me!

An Honorary Award!

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Philippians 3:9 NIV)

I've done some pretty good things in my life. It sounds weird to say that. I gave my life to Christ as an early teenager. My dedication to Christ has been up and down over the years. During the up times, I have done some good things. I have served people, worshipped, brought people to know Christ and done other Good Works. Yet, through all that I have done, I am not righteous in any way, shape, or form. I am still the same sinner. I have come to know I can't attain righteousness. It's not something within my grasp. It is only through my faith in Jesus that I can wear a label of righteousness. It is not my earned label. It was earned by Jesus on the cross. It would be like me receiving an honorary doctorate. I wouldn't deserve it, I would only have it through a gift. 

I accept the gift and because I am so unworthy, I will serve the giver of this marvelous gift. I can't do enough, but want to try.

Peace!

Psalm 85 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹⁰ Love and faithfulness meet together;
   righteousness and peace kiss each other. 
¹¹ Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
   and righteousness looks down from heaven.
¹² The LORD will indeed give what is good,
   and our land will yield its harvest.
¹³ Righteousness goes before him
   and prepares the way for his steps.

Love, Faithfulness, Righteousness, and Peace belong together. If you try to separate these things, life is not complete. Without God, without the faith of things to come, with out following God's will, we can have no peace. When these four things come together, your life will be good. You will receive a harvest beyond all things.  

Our world does everything to try to create Peace. It tries everything to generate Love without God, without Faith, without Righteousness. It can't be done. We wonder why our lives are so incomplete. We wonder why our lives are so complicated and good things don't happen. WE wonder why we don't feel real Peace. I can tell you why! We are trying to do it without the creator of the universe. We ignore him and his son. We ignore his guidance. We ignore his love and his path to peace. Stop ignoring him. Stop right now and Pray for Love through Christ Jesus to enter your life.  Trust in his faithfulness and his righteousness. When you can do all this. His grace will grant you Peace. Peace that surpasses all understanding. Thank You Lord!

Pay Back!

Psalm 79 (New International Version, ©2011) 

¹⁰ Why should the nations say,
   “Where is their God?”
   Before our eyes, make known among the nations
   that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
¹¹ May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
   with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
¹² Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
   the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord. 
¹³ Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
   will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
   we will proclaim your praise.

Don't you wish that God would be more vocal and make his presence known? I wish Evil would get destroyed more and the righteous would be the victors more! I am sure you know someone or a group of people you wish would feel the power of God 7 times over. Why? Would it make you feel better? Would it really be productive? Is that truly the attitude God wishes of us?

As Christians we see so much evil in the world. It seems like they have all the success. It seems the righteous are always the martyrs. It seems like evil, on this Earth, wins. It really is quite arrogant. To think that we know better than God. To think that we can second guess his plan like we second guess the decisions of a coach or boss or co-worker. God knows best. He knows when to praise and when to punish.  He knows what we can deal with. He knows all.

Lord, Please forgive me for my selfishness and my arrogance. Please help me t accept your plan as the ultimate righteousness. Lord, I have seen the power of your plan and I know your Love. I have seen it in my own life. I have seen how you can take death on the cross and use it to save us. I praise you for who you are and ask forgiveness for who I am. You have already won the ultimate victory. We don't need to win another battle, because the victory is ours through you. Thank You Lord! Amen!

2011 -- A new Start!

After a week off,  I am ready to attack another year of Blogging!

I have really been trying to get an idea about what I was going to do this year. Every year for the past 9 years, I have read through the entire Bible every year. I don't think God demands this, but it has been a way to get me on a schedule to be disciplined in my study of God's word. I have noticed when I do this, I get rushed because I have a deadline of about 3 chapters a day. I am sure God would prefer I spend more time reflecting on smaller pieces than  trying to meet some arbitrary deadline. SOOOOOOOOO, I am going to jump around, in some of the books I have really wanted to study more in-depth, instead of going start to finish. Wish me Luck!

Psalm 1 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ¹ Blessed is the one
   who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
   or sit in the company of mockers, ² but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, 
   and who meditates on his law day and night. ³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
   whatever they do prospers. ⁴ Not so the wicked!
   They are like chaff
   that the wind blows away. ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
 ⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Military tradition and procedures fascinate me. Have you ever heard the command "Ten-hut" According to Wikipedia:

Ten-hut

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ten-hut is an American military term that means, "Come to attention!" It was shortened from "a-ten-hut" and came into use because it is easier to say at full shout than "attention."This command does not officially exist as a US Military command phrase. Use of "A-ten-hut" or "Ten-hut" may result in a "dressing down" from an Officer or NCO. Some units are not as strict with its use.

The correct order to come to the "position of attention" is; The Preparatory command: (ie. squad, platoon, company etc.) followed by the Execution command: "Atten-tion"

I think it is fascinating to watch military personnel march or interact with each other. The salute and standing at attention to signify respect of a superior officer is so honorable.  Our world does not honor or respect people like they used to. We don't open doors for women, we don't stand when a dignitary enters a room, and we don't respect our bosses or people in authority over us.

In a way, we Christians are honoring sinfulness by many of our actions. In an attempt to change the world and build relationships with Non-believers, we join them. Many times I talk like them, tell the same jokes, or at least laugh at them. Sometimes I even join in the mocking of another Christian or God himself. I show more respect for the sinful than the Righteous. I place the "World" and what it thinks above God and the things of Heaven.

God does not want me to march in step with sinners. I am to break ranks with the "World".  People have to be able to tell the difference between a Christian and a Non-Christian. I KNOW I am a sinner, but when I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I chose to take a different path from the rest of the world. I chose to act differently and in so doing, be blessed by the creator of the universe.

I personally know how tough this is. It is so easy to justify inappropriate actions in the name of building relationships with non-christians. As followers of Christ, we must act IN the world, but no act LIKE the world.  It seems more often than not I try to act like the world.  In 2011, I need to be a changed person, to act differently than I did in 2010. I need to take the power and strength of Jesus Christ and apply that to my life in real and tangible ways in 2011.

Dear Lord, Help me be a changed person in 2011. Help me to be the vessel of your Love in a sick and sinful world. Help me to be your light in darkness and to resist the evil around me every single day. Thank you Lord for what you will do through me in this New Year!