Power Source

When we live in our own power, we are god.  We are worshipping our holy thoughts and will.  But our thoughts aren't holy and our will is feeble.  So we run to and fro looking for any way we can meet our limited human longings- irregardless of who we step on along the way.  Truth hurts, doesn't it?

There is only one who is worthy of our faith, only one way which will give us the abundant life we seek.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  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.  But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. (2 Peter 1:3-9 NIV)

Do you honestly desire to be godly?

What are your "evil desires"?

What will you do to have these qualities "in increasing measure"?

Septic Issues

I just finished a men's retreat last weekend.  It was meaningful because the group I was in was a diverse group all in different places with God all with different backgrounds yet we all had some common struggles.  When we dug in and were brutally honest we got dirty.  Some of the filth and sin we released by confession had been kept inside like a malignant tumor for decades.  These were septic experiences and were painful to admit but so very healing to release.  

Perhaps the reason so many men have left the faith is because they don't feel they can be real and deal with these septic experiences.  To reach and rescue us God had to crawl into the mud and mire.  

It feels like the church has largely quit on men.  There is not a place for the wild, rough man at the table and they are legion.  There is a certain degree of macho bullshit that much be penetrated to reach the inner man who struggles with shame, overcompensates for his weaknesses and is too proud to cry.  

God remembered us when we were down, His love never quits.
Rescued us from the trampling boot, His love never quits.
Takes care of everyone in time of need. His love never quits.
Thank God, who did it all! His love never quits!  (Psalm 136:23-26 The Message)

What are our behavioral expectations for men at church?  

What does it mean to be authentic?

What is it that causes you shame and pain in your life? 

Holidays

A friend asks: 

What do you get an atheist for Christmas? Do they debunk Santa Claus as a myth? Why give gifts if you don't believe? 
Oh, maybe for the kids sake! Why do they accept a Christmas bonus? Why do you take a day off, if America is not a Christian nation? Who do you give thanks to on Thanksgiving? Why take the day off from work, if it is just another day. Do atheist work seven days a week? Why not?


Another person replied, Considering every Christian holiday was borrowed from pagan religions I think we should be asking the Christians if we should get them holiday gifts


Every day is a holiday because we do not get what we deserve because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross. This temporal world wants celebrations and reasons to indulge itself, it wants to worship itself. 

Romans 12:2 - Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you. (Living Bible)

How can you turn the focus of your days to gratitude for God's gifts to you?

Is it time to de-emphasize the traditions of holidays and focus our resources and efforts on something more lasting and meaningful?

Does it make sense to give and be generous and thankful on certain days?  How can we make this a lifestyle?

Complacency

Word of the day: Complacency-a feeling of being satisfied with how things are and not wanting to try to make them better 

Life takes intentional effort to maintain forward motion.  Improvement and growth are not static factors.  My spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical development- including my career, my finances, my marriage, my family life are all my responsibility to grow and nurture.

I do not have the luxury of managing these items one at a time, they are a list of daily objectives I must balance and maintain if I am to experience meaningful growth and lasting change.  Comfort cannot be my goal, nor is there a end to which I can be satisfied.  This is a process, a movement- this is life.  It is the very work of God being done in me- I must cooperate.

[ Place Your Life Before God ] So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.  ~Romans 12:2 (The Message)

Where are you feeling comfortable?  Identify areas of your life where you are settling for the status quo.  
Choose how best to advance in that area right now.  You know what you need to do, don't you?  Don't flinch here- admit you may have many excellent excuses for not working on this- yet we find time for the things that are truly important to us.  Don't be passive.  Engage.  You may have to eliminate some good things to be able to focus on the great things. 

Hearing the Voice of God

Is there a reliable guide to when we are really hearing the voice of God, or just a self-interested or even quite ungodly voice in the language of heaven? I think there is. Who speaks for God? When the voice of God is invoked on behalf of those who have no voice, it is time to listen. But when the name of God is used to benefit the interests of those who are speaking, it is time to be very careful.” 
― Jim Wallis, Who Speaks for God?

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. (Phil. 2:3)

Those who do not hear from God aren't listening enough.  I hear God speaking to me through his Word, through nature, through friends and strangers alike, through my circumstances, through my work, my play, my use of money and my family.  Some of what God says is a whisper that is often hard to distinguish from my own thoughts, that is the Holy Spirit instructing and guiding my heart.  My goal is to be ever more obedient to that voice.  Some of what God says is for the benefit of others, and in these matters I need to be more discerning about the circumstances, setting and timing.  I want to speak only what is meant to build others up.  I must not put someone in an uncomfortable situation by asking a question in front of the wrong party.  I will often probe with a few questions to see if what I believe I heard from God is confirmed before I make statements- and I would be careful not to put words in God's mouth.