Giving Our Lives Away

If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Php 2:1-4 MSG)

Yesterday, I spoke with a man a  who is a teacher's assistant at a handicap school, tutors middle school kids after school, and spends his summers helping at a summer camp for youth. My comment to my wife was, "He is giving his life away."

Of course this begs the question, How am I giving my life away?

My first thoughts were along the lines of  Well, what is giving my life away?  sounding strangely familiar to the question of Who is my neighbor?  If we have to qualify what giving our lives away is, then we haven't gotten to where we need to be yet - wrong attitude, wrong thinking, wrong question.  A better question would be How can I give my life away today.

I remember a song Steven Curtis Chapman used to do called "My Turn Now":

My Turn Now Lyrics

Well it's my turn now
My turn now
Hey, my turn to give my life away
I close the book and I shake my head
Sometimes I can't believe the things I've read
I don't deserve what He did for me
Hey, hey


He gave His love and His life away
And now He's asking me to do the same
So I'm gonna give Him all I am
And all I ever hope to be 'cause

Chorus
It's my turn now
Well it's my turn now
My turn to give my life away

I open up the book and look again
I read the stories of the faithful men
Who gave up all they had to follow Him
Yeah, yeah

He used the strong and He used the weak
He even gave the timid words to speak
He called whoever listened then
And now His call goes out again
Chorus

Bridge


My turn to say "I love Him"
My turn to let Him know
My life is His, so where He leads me that's where I will go
Chorus

Let's keep asking ourselves ... How can I give my life away today?

Let's keep noticing and being inspired by those who are giving their lives away.

The rest of Philippians 2 gives us the answer to having a right attitude so that when we ask the right question, we will have the right response.

Living Sacrifice

I was praying this morning and all of a sudden I had a moment of clarity. The words of Romans 12:1-2 were on my lips when I was stopped as realization of the words hit me. It was not that I haven't ever prayed these verses, I have. It was not that I haven't considered these verses and their meaning, I have. It was not that I haven't prayed these verses with conviction and passion, I have. What stopped me was the realization that this time I was praying these verses without consciously considering what I was doing. I was offering myself to God as a living sacrifice by memory instead of conviction and passion. I then considered what I was doing, hushed the fear of  this simple prayer's implication, sang a simple song I learned at some point that goes something like:

Make my  life ...........a living sacrifice
Pure and holy .......... just and true
With thanksgiving ..... I'll be a living
Sanctuary ................. for You

and then I consciously offered myself to God as a living sacrifice.

So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God, what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect. (Ro 12:1-2 GNB)

Notice this doesn't say we are to make a sacrifice every now and then.....we are the sacrifice.

The Wisdom of The Great Husbandman

Tuesday, March 01, 2011 Morning and Evening Charles H. Spurgeon

"Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." --Song of Solomon 4:16

Anything is better than the dead calm of indifference. Our souls may wisely desire the north wind of trouble if that alone can be sanctified to the drawing forth of the perfume of our graces. So long as it cannot be said, "The Lord was not in the wind", we will not shrink from the most wintry blast that ever blew upon plants of grace. Did not the spouse in this verse humbly submit herself to the reproofs of her Beloved; only entreating him to send forth his grace in some form, and making no stipulation as to the peculiar manner in which it should come? Did she not, like ourselves, become so utterly weary of deadness and unholy calm that she sighed for any visitation which would brace her to action? Yet she desires the warm south wind of comfort, too, the smiles of divine love, the joy of the Redeemer's presence; these are often mightily effectual to arouse our sluggish life. She desires either one or the other, or both; so that she may but be able to delight her Beloved with the spices of her garden. She cannot endure to be unprofitable, nor can we. How cheering a thought that Jesus can find comfort in our poor feeble graces. Can it be? It seems far too good to be true. Well may we court trial or even death itself if we shall thereby be aided to make glad Immanuel's heart. O that our heart were crushed to atoms if only by such bruising our sweet Lord Jesus could be glorified. Graces unexercised are as sweet perfumes slumbering in the cups of the flowers: the wisdom of the great Husbandman overrules diverse and opposite causes to produce the one desired result, and makes both affliction and consolation draw forth the grateful odours of faith, love, patience, hope, resignation, joy, and the other fair flowers of the garden. May we know by sweet experience, what this means.

Some Kingdom ABC’s

Some Kingdom ABC’s

We are called to Abide:

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (Jn 15:3-5 NKJV)

• What are some signs that we are not abiding?
• What are some things that help us abide?

We are called to Belong:

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ep 4:16 NLT)

We are designed to live in community, to be a part of something larger than we are. If we are not part of a community, the community is not complete and we are not complete, and we will never fulfill our destiny in God.

We are called to Color:

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. (Mt 5:14 NIV)

• How much color can you see in a room without light?
• Light reveals color.
• We are to reveal, to add color

Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.  (Mt 5:14-16 MSG)

This Year

I see 2011 as a year in which God will present many opportunities, but only those who are willing to take a risk will be able to walk in them.  John Wimber used to say "Faith is spelled  r - i - s - k".  We seem prone to want a sure thing before we will take a chance, before we will step out.  We would rather play it safe like the person with one talent who buried it, rather than use it.

This year let's be willing to look foolish in the eyes of man.
This year let's be willing to take a chance of failing.
This year let's be willing to step out and use our gifts for the Kingdom of God.
This year let's be willing to believe that God is speaking to us about Kingdom possibilities.
This year let's be willing to use our talents, gifts, finances, and time in His Kingdom purposes.
This year let's be willing to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
This year let's be willing to believe that the Bible is true.
This year let's be willing to believe God's promises.
This year let's be willing to be dependent upon God.

As long as we react to opportunities and circumstances based upon our own abilities, talents, and finances, we will play it safe and miss out on the greater than we can hope, think, ask, or imagine of Ephesians 3.

As long as we play it safe we will never fully enter into our destiny, our calling, the God way of living and being and doing and relating, for we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ep 2:10)

As long as we are not willing to take a risk, we will not venture into the God adventure we are destined for.

This year let's be willing to take a risk ... to take a chance ... to step out ... to speak up ... to stand, ... to do ... to live.

Ignored Warnings Bring Unwanted Results

In recent days I have visited a journal I kept for a while back in 2004.  I recorded on 01/01/2004:

 A quite beginning to a new year.  A thought today...we want explicit direction from God, what He wants is for us to trust Him.  Lord, help me to trust You even when I can't see, hear, or know.

In repentence and rest is your salvation, in quiteness and trust is your strength...(Is 30:15).

A quite and gentle stream goes only where it is directed; in rest its purpose is accomplished with a quiteness that cannot be ignored.

The last part of Is 30:15 I did not record on that day, however it is the last part that stands out to me today.  The end of that verse is but you would have none of it.  OUCH from 01/08/2011.



The Reality Is

These are a shadow of the things that were to come;

the reality, however, is found in Christ. (Col 2:17)

The reality is that in Christ we are free from all religious activity, rituals, regulations, etc that would supposedly bring us into good relationship with and keep us in good relationship with God, His favor, His grace, and as it were, His smile.  The reality is that we are already in right relationship with God, and are under His grace, His mercy, His favor, and His smile through Jesus Christ.  We can't be in a better relationship with Him than we already are in Christ.  All the grace and mercy and favor we can experience from God are in Christ., and all of that by grace. The reality is that in Christ we are free of all religious activity that would supposedly make us more right with Him or more pleasing to Him.  Not only are we free of those things but also the institutions and people that would try to impose those things upon us so that we may be more godly in their eyes.  The reality is that in Jesus we are free of all self effort to be right with or maintain rightness with God.  The reality is that in Christ we are free form sin and all efforts we attempt to make up for, pay for, or pay the price for sin.  We have what religion and rituals can't give us. We have what regulations and penance can't give us.  We have been set free of those activities and delivered into the freedom of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The reality is that in Jesus we are free from the shadow of religion, and have free access to God and all that implies through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.