More Christians?

We live in a time where more people claim Christianity as their belief system than ever before. Let me say that again, there are more Christians living today than there have ever been. And while I find this encouraging and reassuring, I also feel extremely disappointed. My eyes tell me a different story. My experiences paint a very different picture of our world. The world I live in feels very different than the example Christ lived. This world feels judgmental instead of compassionate. This world feels self centered instead of God centered. This world feels more self serving than full of servants. This world feels more exclusive than inclusive.

As with almost any problem I encounter, the first step I take toward a solution is a personal inventory. How am I part of, contributing to, or the reason behind this problem? And the truth is, I cannot condemn the way this world feels without admitting that I am, at times, guilty of contributing to the flaws of our society. I judge. I can be self centered and self serving. I tend to retreat into my introverted comfort zone. Admitting this to myself is the first step of rectifying the behavior. I know it is wrong, because of the great gift of the Holy Spirit – it feels wrong each and every time I behave badly. And the only way to get better is to acknowledge the behavior, turn away from it, and be intentional about behaving differently with the next opportunity.

It isn’t an immediate change in my heart. It is taking a lot of time to undo years and years of programming. But the change is happening. A few days ago, riding through the neighborhood where we bought our first home, we were stopped at busy intersection and I spotted a homeless man sleeping in the corner of an alley. Not long ago my thoughts would have swirled around what he did to cause himself that misfortune. I would have worried about him asking me for a handout, or harming my family. I would have been disgusted by his free-loader mentality. I would have condemned and blamed him without a single reason to even judge him. But on this occasion, I got lost in thoughts about wanting to know his story and wanting to know if he felt mistreated or helpless. I wanted to know if I could help. But because I am still a work in progress, the light changed and I just went on my way. Since then I have been haunted by the experience and I did not know why, until I read Matthew 9:36 this morning.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

When I saw the homeless man, I had compassion for him. And while this is great progress from my old ways, to be truly Christ-like, I should have had compassion on him. I had the God nudge to learn his story and offer him help if I could, but I silenced that nudge. God was telling me that compassion, much like love, is not a passive feeling. Its a verb. Its something we do. It’s a method of serving.

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

So many times we think, “I volunteer at church on Sunday – I serve”. And while that is a true statement, it isn’t the complete picture. It is not the full intention of a life of servitude that Jesus exemplified. We, or at least I, need to change our views on serving. Instead of serving being an obligation to fulfill or a box to check, it needs to be a positioning of our hearts. We need to look at every encounter and every situation through a true Christian lens. How can I serve in this situation? It doesn’t always require elbow grease or hours of attention. Sometimes the way we can serve is to just simply love or encourage someone. Take a quick moment and think about any random situation you have been in recently or just make one up. Close your eyes and let the Spirit show you a situation. Now, think about how that situation would have turned out if you – or someone else involved, would have approached it with a loving, compassionate, serving heart. Now imagine the world full of these situations and those reactions. That would be a world that would feel like it hosted the most Christians in history. We won’t get there all at once. It starts with you and I, as individuals. I challenge you to be intentional to possess those traits and behaviors. That is how we become contributory, efficient, and productive Christians.

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8)

But it does not stop there. Because, even Jesus didn’t try to maintain his spiritual energy by just pouring into others all the time. He and the early Church spent time in fellowship with other believers, as a way of worship and as a way to recharge their spiritual batteries.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bred in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47)

The congregation of believers is important to God, and the part that is missed by many is that it is also important to the believers. A Church that worships and fellowships together, genuinely and passionately without ulterior motive, always increases in number. When the group of believers loves and has compassion on each other for God’s glory, He will move. Imagine if each Christian in this world lived our values. Then imagine how efficient and productive the world Church would be as true Christians united to serve and carry out God’s calling.

All you got

In our broken world, we are obsessed with more. We want what we don’t have, and we package this desire as “drive”. Now, I am not going to sit here and condemn the pull and motivation to accomplish greater things, but where we fall short as humans is the appreciation of where we are and what we have. I am not saying we shouldn’t dream or plan ahead. We absolutely should. God is calling each of us to greater things. His promise is Great (Hebrews 10:23). But we have to understand that His will and His plans are not ours. We have to trust that He is the Way and will provide all that we need.

‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1:17-18)

The disciples literally left everything they were certain of to follow Jesus. They trusted God to provide for their needs along the way. They understood that God had a plan and that His plans are only restricted by His will. Whether His plan was the same as theirs or His timing was convenient – they trusted. His timing is a critical variable of your path forward. You cannot rush Him. And if you are in a stalling pattern, it is probably because either; you have not accomplished His goal for you in this stage or He has not finished preparing you or other for your next stage.

The world teaches us to ‘think outside the box’. While this is a wonderful brainstorming strategy, it can also be a detriment to our everyday lives. If you are feeling stuck or you feel like your growth is stymied, I want to challenge you to think inside the box. Stop worrying about what you want or what you don’t have and start working with what you have. Try gratitude for where God has you today. Your burdens may be someone else’s blessings, the only difference is perspective.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for tin the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working not planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Are you treating your current job or stage as a gift from God? Are you performing to the best of your ability to bring Him glory? Or are you mailing it in? Are you just going through the motions and resenting God for not giving you what is next, for not answering your prayers? I challenge you think inside the box by absolutely killing your current stage. Do it better than nobody could have imagined and while you do, give Him praise for the lessons you are learning during this stage. But this is not just my challenge, the apostle Paul gives this instruction in the Bible as well.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

Try it and watch how fast He promotes you to the next level.

Not only do we get stuck because of our lack of fervor for the stage God has us in currently, but another distractor is our focus on our limitations. We aren’t rich, smart, good looking, powerful, or privileged enough. We aren’t enough. We seem to forget or maybe we doubt that God, the creator of everything, has a plan for us. The only thing that can derail His plan is our will (or lack thereof). So many times, throughout the Bible, God shows us that our biggest limitation is His biggest opportunity.

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. (Matthew 14:17-18)

Even the disciples got bogged down in the earthly limitations while serving and walking with the Messiah. It is understandable and a natural reaction, but I challenge you to recognize that voice in your head, the one that says, “I am not enough”. And you rebut that voice by saying, “But I am the child of a mighty God”.

If you had all the resources you think you needed, maybe you wouldn’t be compelled to call upon the resources that God has put inside of you. And He has put inside of you all that you need.

All you got is all you need.

I am called to write

Like many people, I have been trying to find a way to make this world better than the way I found it. I have been trying to find my calling toward impact. I have been trying to figure out what my ministry is in this world. I feel like I have been given and continue to be given very practical ways of viewing the world through a Christian lens. I have a lot to say but I don’t like speaking in front of people, or really, speaking to people at all. Allowing my thoughts to flow through my fingertips, to be forever preserved for the eyes of future generations, provides a very peaceful and serene warmth to my soul.

“Write these things for the future so that people who are not yet born will praise the Lord” (Psalms 102:18)

I have many struggles with writing, and at times my negative thoughts paralyze me from crafting a single word even though the urge was overwhelming just moments prior.
“I am not good enough.”
“Why would anyone care what I have to say?”
“I don’t know enough about any single topic to write anything helpful about it.”
“I can’t spell.”
“I have a limited vocabulary.”
“I am a simple and basic person.”
“I am not even sure the proper grammatical composition of a sentence, paragraph or story.”

The enemy certainly thinks he has my number. But I know, none of this matters. Because God gives me the urge, the thoughts, and the passion for putting these words down. He is THE Creator. He thinks I am good enough and He wants me to write.

Plus, I do love to write. I love to receive a Word or inspiration and just expound on it until all of the fervent thoughts escape my mind and become a collection of ramblings in no specific pattern. Then, I love to retrace those thoughts word by word and form them into something that is consumable to other human eyes.

I have zero idea what this collection of ramblings may turn into. I am not even sure what I want to accomplish out of this exercise. I don’t aspire to be a famous writer. I don’t want accolades. I don’t expect to earn a living penning my random thoughts. I am not even sure I want to be vulnerable enough to let anyone read them. However, the thought that excites me the most is that my written words somehow become a ministry that helps people in life and ultimately get to know Jesus Christ.

Many of the words that the apostle Paul wrote were penned to believers to encourage them to continue spreading the Gospel. He tried to help them live Christ-like lives and use their example to be a light in the world. He did this in writing, mostly because that was the only medium he was afforded. Paul spent a good portion of his ministry captive in one way or another – usually in prison for his belief and faithfulness to Christ. Paul couldn’t preach from the pulpit. He couldn’t go door to door offering salvation. But he had to get the Word out. There was an unstoppable need to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. He had no choice but to write.

I often feel a similar pull – like I just have to get the words out. Whether anyone ever reads them or not – I must rid myself of these thoughts or I may just explode.

Sometimes, I secretly hope that someone finds these thoughts, falls in love with them and publishes them to the world. But not knowing who created them. -they are just published anonymously and enjoyed unanimously.

The truth is, for me there is a euphoric high from writing. It is a therapeutic relief. It is a energy inducing rush. There are few sweeter moments than the completion of that last sentence of a writing. What surprises me, is the writing related reward of completing that thought is reinvigorated by someone else enjoying the words I have written. It is one of the most vulnerable things I can do – let someone read my true and unguarded thoughts. It is one thing to write, it is quite another to be read.

My entire lifetime I have been pulled to make a difference in this world. I feel a rush of excitement anytime I think about the possibility of my words reaching places that I may never go. There is no limit to the places my writings can travel and that is both exciting and frightening at the same time. My honest hope is that my words, one day and in some way, resonate with someone and help in a way I could have never imagined helping. That is exactly how God works, isn’t it? He gives you a gift that you may not appreciate, be aware of, or understand how to use, and He turns that gift into something He can use in ways that were not previously apparent to you or your understanding. I am confident that is God’s plan for me. And, right now, He is urging me to write.

Obediently, I follow.