The answer.... Be Like Him

So the other day I wrote a blog title "what is it going to take"

I have a real passion for the American Church
I go to church on Sundays and teach Sunday School and help lead worship and work with Youth and I see empty faith. I see empty religion.... It breaks my heart. It makes my soul cry. I have spent many hours thinking and praying and talking to friends about what to do to change the spiritual walks of our churches... It is something that I am passionate about. I am currently reading thru the gospel of John. As I was sitting in my house last night reading and pouring over the pages of Jesus' ministry; a thought hit me.

I love people .... In all of the personality tests, I am always classified as a classic textbook extrovert. I get my energy from spending time around others. I am the type of person who likes to be in a house full of people. Even if we aren't socializing or talking, I find an energy and a happiness about my chores and tasks. Things seem so much easier when others are around. Because I love people so much and I absolutely treasure the time that I get to spend with them, I sometimes allow my love for them to get in the way of the "hard talks." I shy away from confrontation. I want to smooth things over and allow things to just roll off my back. I typically don't make a big deal out of things that really bother me and upset me. When I do chose to confront someone about an issue, my throad gets dry, my hands get clammy and my stomach does butterflies. I am an independent person and I take criticizm well but I do not like to argue. I do not like to call people out.... It is something that I have been working on for the last year or so. Thanks to some amazing and awesome friends in my life, I see the importance of doing that.

I realize now from talking and praying and reading thru Jesus' ministry that people need someone to tell-them-like-it-is. The reason that so many people are not growing and not getting real with God, is because no one confronts them about that. No one looks at them and says, "How is your relationship with God?" So many people, myself included, treasure the relationship with the person and look to love them more then look to challenge them.

Look at Jesus' ministry. He was able to tell-them-like-it-is... but with Love and with Grace. He was able to have the difficult discussions and didn't back down from the confrontation, but he approached it with love. I know that there is a balance. I know that there is a way to do both. I know that I air on loving more then on challenging. I know that I need to step up to the plate. I need to be more like Jesus. It is ok to challenge someone and take them out of their comfort zone.

I think about the relationships that I have with my family and my friends. The ones that are the closest to me are the ones that challenge me. They are the ones where I know I am going to get the truth always...even at the expense of some hurt feelings. I admire the truth and honesty of those people.

I look at Jesus' ministry and I see times where he got upset and toppled tables in the temple, I read about a miracle He did for a father whose son was dying, I picture the scene of him telling the paralyzed man at the fountain to get up and walk. I imagine myself there with the disciples as Jesus talks and preaches. His message was always the same. His purpose was clear. His missiong concrete. Everything that he did, came back to one thing always! He challenged the disciples to grow and understand. He called out the Pharisees when they tried to trick him. He constantly went to his knees in prayer to the Father for guidance and thanksgiving.

He had the balance... He loved people SO much that He couldn't let them continue to be ignorant or apathetic. He loved the Father more then ANYTHING and so speaking the truth and making sure people understood the message was more important then anything. He approached those difficult situations with love for the Father and then love for the person. He wanted them to grow and be challenged. He wanted their walk to be strengthened and their lives to be changed!

The answer.... to be more like Jesus.
To be brutally honest but with love for the Father and love for the person.

What would our world look like if we had more people striving to be like Jesus?
How much stronger would the body of Christ be?
How much more effective would our wittnessing and preaching become?
How many more souls would we be able to save?

Love is important! Love is essential!
I don't plan to change that about myself.
I want to love the way Jesus loved....

But Honesty is SO important!
Brutal Honesty that tells people the truth!
I need to challenge. I need to speak up and confront the situation.

We need to challenge them to go deeper then the surface.
They are capable of so much more!
No more sleeping.... no more surface answers that "sound" good.
Lets get to the depths of understanding.
Lets tell it like it is.... with honesty and with love.

Lets be more like Him.

The result....
People are physically and emotionally healed ... not just part of them but ALL of them.
Their hearts and their souls are different .... because of Him.
Lives are challenged.
Souls are saved.
God is glorified!

Lets be more like Him.
That is what it is going to take ....

Personal Possessions

My cousin and her husband were affected by a house fire a couple of years ago. They lived in an apartment complex and a young child had left a candle burning and it caught the couch on fire. Almost immediately, the building was in flames. They ended up having to move into an extended stay hotel until the apartment complex was able to find other housing for them. They were very fortunate and were allowed back into their home to get some personal belongings. I remember going thru the apartment with her. Dark soot lined the window sills, all of the fabric on couches and clothes were ruined. She was the most concerned about her pictures. Our family is incredibly close and we are constantly getting together for celebrations and holidays. Each time we meet there are many MANY many cameras amongst us. The flash keeps flashing and the film keeps developing! Her photo albums were so important to her and had so much meaning to her.

Take a look at the right side of my blog. All along the side of my posts are pictures of the people that are very special and dear to me. They are my family and my friends who I love a lot! Take a look at your photos..... they are personal. They represent and capture some of the most amazing memories of your life.

When you travel to new places and take pictures sometimes you take pictures of buildings and skylines and pretty scenery. You capture the landscape or a beautiful flower. These pictures are indeed beautiful and can be enjoyed... but what made Katie so upset was not losing pictures of buildings and landscapes but losing pictures of family and friends! A picture of a building is just that.... a picture of a building. But a picture of a building with your family in front of it, all of a sudden it has meaning and value to you. You have personalized it and made it your own.

The same can be true of our relationship with Christ and of our committment to our faith and discipline as a child of God. You can know all the facts about God.... you can read the Bible and decide that it is a good literary work. You can go to church and leave thinking that your pastor is a good public speaker. When we do those things.... we are missing out. Instead when we get into a personal relationship with Christ and we go to church to worship and study God's Word, when we begin to pray and read the Bible and apply it to our life, it becomes personal. It becomes real. Like those pictures with our family and friends, our relationship with Christ begins to have meaning. The services we attend, the worship we have, the time in the Word all begins to have value for us.

All of a sudden its not just words on a page or a good speech ... Its a love letter written specifically for you. Its a sermon designed to challenge and change you. All of a sudden its not just the "man upsatairs" but your personal Lord and Savior whome you talk to and pray to daily. All of a sudden its not just another homeless guy.... its Jesus! Believe this; when your faith and your committment to Christ becomes real and personal it will change your life! If you allow it, that relationship and love will transform you! It will become the most important relationship and your most valued posession.

What is it going to take?

"Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart"

- Casting Crowns - "Stain Glass Masquerade"

My heart is aching.
Tears fall from my soul.

What is it going to take
To move past the surface life

What has to happen
to get real with one another

What has to happen
to get real with God
No more "going thru the motions"
No more half-hearted religion that we adopt for a couple of hours on Sunday Morning.
I am interested in life changing religion.
I am interested in relationships with the Lord that change the core of a person.
I am interested in talking to real people with real struggles and real pain and real questions; REAL people

How many people sit in pews on Sunday morning
Numb to the Grace of Jesus Christ

How many children run the halls of Sunday School
Unaware of the Love of God

How many teens searching for acceptance overlook
the one person who loves and accepts them just the way they are

My heart is aching....

I long to see people in the American church connect with the life and love of Jesus Christ. I want to be a part of the solution. I want God to use me to impact their lives with Him.

I go to retreats and I participate in worship services where tradition trumps truth and passion. The leaders and the people go thru the motions unaffected, unchanged, unchallenged. It doesn't touch the core of who they are. They aren't willing to go there.... often times because we don't ask. Often times because we don't show them. Lets get to a place where we recognize our need for Jesus.

We are dead with out him. Lifeless. Puppets on a string going thru the motions. Pretending to worship, pretending to study, pretending to know Jesus, all the while asleep to true salvation and true happiness and joy that come from knowing him intimately and completely. Unknown to the peace... unknown to the victory over sin! Unknown to the glorious riches that can be found in Christ.

My heart is aching ... my soul is crying.

What has happened to good Bible-based preaching. What has happened to Christians desiring to fall in love with God and to pour over the love letter that God has written for each believer.

What has happened with bowing down on our knees and calling out to Christ. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

My heart is breaking... My soul is crying.

What is it going to take for people to be real in their relationship with Christ

Its time to admit our flaws. Its time to drop the masks. Its time to become transparent. Let others see our hearts bleeding. Let others see our tears. Christ is longing for His people to come home. Christ is longing for them to understand their purpose.

God use me! God let me be your hands and feet. Allow people to see my tears for their souls. God I want to help fight apathy. I want to help fight ignorance. I want to stand for the truth and for the righteousness that you offer.

I want to help people find their joy in you! I want to help lead people to the decision of Jesus Christ! God I want to impact the world. I am not interested in being medicore. I am not interested in shuffling my feet. Open my eyes so I can see, Open my ears so I can hear, Give me the capacity to love and connect with hurting people. God equip me to reach your people who are asleep in the church pews across America. Connect me with people who share my passion and together God lets make a difference. God I want to accomplish so much that others looking in have no choice but to give you the glory and the credit.

My heart is breaking. I want to make a difference. I want to change the world and I want to proclaim the Love of Jesus Christ to others!

What is it going to take....?

God I am willing...show me and teach me. Mold me and use me. I am yours.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

I love the fall season, especially in southwest Virginia.
The leaves are beautiful
The air is crisp
Football games crowd Friday night schedules
Hot Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate are the drinks of choice
I love the fall!

But what makes Virginia so special is the mountains and the back roads. If you have ever spent any time in VA you know what I mean. There is nothing better then having a straight strectch of road where you can accelerate and then you have the climb up the mountain. It is the best if you are on a road with sharp hairpin turns and narrow shoulders and roadways. As you ascent the beautiful and awesome Blue Ridge Mountains you pass by some of the most picturesque overlooks. Views that will take your breath away! All of the reds, burnt organges and golds just flood the skyline. The entire time up the mountain your foot is pressing hard on the accelerator. You have the "pedal to the metal." There is excitement in seeing how fast you can take a turn and your destination is the peak... the peak of the mountain. The highest point on the mountain.

We all know whats on the other side. Its the descent. Its the downward trek. Same curves in the road and same narrow shoulders. This time, you take your foot off the accelerator. This time you coast. No need to gas the car. There is no work to be done. Now you just sit back and relax. At the top of the mountain, your car gains momentum and might even pick up speed. As you continue down the mountain and reach the other side the car slows down. The speed eventually gets slower and slower and as the road flattens the car conitnues to slow. At that point, we have two options. We can choose to put our foot back onto the gas pedal and begin to accelerate. The other option is to continue to coast until the car stops in the middle of the road. Its out of gas. There is no momentum left.

This is true of our relationship with God as well.
There are spiritual highs and times of fantastic growth and awesome times of fulfillment and spiritual renewal. Things are just going right. We are surrounded by people who love the Lord, we are being challenged to grow, the people we minister to are making decisions to give their life to the Lord, the church is growing, the volunteers are plentiful. Life is good! We are working really hard. We have the "pedal to the metal" but the ascent is exciting and opportunities and the views are rewarding! We reach the peak and are on an emotional high. We see God working and we are benefiting from the fruits of our labor.

As we decend down the mountain, we take our foot off the pedal. No gas is needed. We are still coasting on the momentum from before. Growth is still happening, times are still good and then slowly but surely, sometimes without our even knowing it, we lose that momentum and before we know it, we are stopped in the middle of the road staring at nothing but a long straight stretch. We turn around trying to figure out what happened and trying desperately to go just a little further and have just a little more coasting left within us.

I don't know how you feel, but I can tell you that I don't want to stop in the middle of the road. I want to know when I am coasting! I want to be aware of when I am losing momentum so I can make the decision to push foward and accelerate. Accelerating requires effort. Accelerating requires work but rest assured that when you are accelerating in the name of Jesus Christ and pushing towards Him and in pursuit of Him, the work is well worth it! The destination far outweighs the gas you burn to get there!

Please know that I am not saying that you are not going to have rough times in your walk. God does not promise an easy life. There are times of spiritual growth all around you and there are times when you hit a flat spot and things get a little tougher and harder to see. What I am challenging and encouraging all of us to do is to be intentional about understanding where you are.

Are you climing?
Are you at the peak?
Are you descending?

Ask God to open your eyes and make you aware of where you are. Don't wait until you are completely stopped in the middle of the road. If we are intentional and faithful in our relationship with God, He will let us know when we are going to have to push a little harder and make the decision to be more intentional and aware of our walk. We will have to push a little more and we will have to cling to what His Word says but rest assured that it is going to be easier to accelerate from a roll then from a complete stop! Cling to your faith and know that He loves you! Push forward and make the decision to try hard to get past the flat stretch. The next mountain is right around the corner!

Dirty Socks and Heaping Piles

Diry Socks laying on the floor
Empty glasses of coke on the bed stand
Books on the floor beside the bed
Shoes scattered in the closet and stuffed in the corners
Backbacks unzipped with ipods and candy wrappers in the pockets
Papers crumpled up on the floor beside the trash can
Drawers partially open with clothes hanging out
Towels draped over the closet door

The room is messy and dirty
It will take hours to clean and organize

My mom use to get so frustrated with my brother when we were growing up. She would tell us to go and clean our rooms and 30 minutes later Bryan would have EVERYTHING out of the closet and drawers and laying on his bed. Huge piles of stuff heaping on top of each other. It looked worse then before! What a mess..... This certainly was NOT cleaning!!

Bryan, however, had a plan. Everything on that bed and in his room had a place. He had to pull it all out so he could organize it and put it all back where it belonged. He had to make it worse so that in the end it would be as he imagined.

Think about your life.....
Sometimes it just doesn't make sense.
Sometimes the trials and hard things are REALLY bad.
The tests that God puts us thru are hard and painful
Sometimes we think that He really messes things up and makes them worse then it was before
We look around and all we see is a mess. Just a heap of things, piled on top of each other.
No answers anywhere... just more problems and more questions.

Then slowly and surely, sometimes without us even realizing it, He starts to put it back together. He has a place for EVERYTHING. The mess becomes organized and useable. Only He could see the vision. Only He understood how it would all fit together. In His perfect timing and because of His perfect plan, each pile becomes organized ans useable. Finally, the mess makes sense. Finally it is organized and labeled.

The result is a child of God fully depending on their Maker and Savior. He has to make a mess of our lives sometimes so that we let Him in. He has to pull everything out and heap things in a pile so we turn and listen. When we surrender and lean on Him, He slowly puts it back together like only He can. When we turn to Him and Love Him with ALL of our heart and ALL of our soul, he organizes our life so EVERYTHING has a place and EACH thing can be used to His glory.
It is then that we find order and freedom!