We Have Only One Reason To Exist

I don't really know how to sound intelligent or deep. I'm a super opinionated person, with nothing really to say. I read all sorts of blogs and Internet sites trying to gain knowledge on things that will make me sound like I know what I'm talking about, but I don't really know anything about the important things of life. Well, there is one exception to that.  I actually know the most important thing in life.  But I don't live like I do, or share that knowledge.  If fact, most of the time I live and act and speak like I don't know this crucial truth to our existence. I know there is a deep and critical purpose for our lives. I know this purpose brings hope and joy. I know that, without understanding this purpose, besides the eternal damnation we face apart from this truth, our lives will be lived hopeless and frustrated, filled with hated, anger, and emptiness. The crazy thing is, even with this knowledge in my own head, I live in a negative place right now.  And this is because we are not called to merely understand this purpose, but we are told to live it.

I turned 35 last week and I've started to take a look at my life, maybe for the first time. I've been looking at where I came from, where I am, what I've accomplished, and what I've set as goals. I started my life in a loving family, where I was raised, protected, and guided in the knowledge of God. I grew into an involved member of the Church, playing music in worship services, leading small group discussions, working on my own relationship with God, studying the Bible, and trying to live my life to please God.  Currently, my life is a joke.  There is nothing in it that resembles a life lived in faith. Sure, I go to church on Sundays where one of the most dynamic preacher I've ever heard teaches, I teach my kids about God, I pray with them, I even pray (mostly plead) on my own, but there is no living by faith. My wife and I have had our share of tragic happenings, from medical things and deaths in the family to financial and job related trials, but our prayers and requests for God's help and guidance are far and few between. We don't live in faith. We don't live as though we understand our purpose for existence.

I am a huge failure. I place a lot of the responsibility for my wife's spiritual maturity on my own shoulders.  I should be leading this family into meaningful, deep, real, solid relationships with God.  Instead, I'm the one that is to angry and frustrated at the outcome of my life this far to be a positive force in this family.  As someone who was raised in the church, with lots of access to the Bible and teachers and examples of God pleasing people, i should lovingly lead my wife and kids into God's light and grace. I have the chance to show them God's grace and love, and that our purpose is to enjoy glorify Him. But I'm selfish, frustrated, sinful, and horrible. I don't bring God glory with my own life, so how can I teach my family to do the same?  After 8+ years together, how is it my wife is still a baby Christian and I've now become someone who doesn't even resemble one at all?

Knowledge is nothing without actions. Just like James 2:19 says "even the demons believe - and shudder".  It's not knowledge of God that saves. It takes faith in our need for Jesus. We must give up self control.  We MUST realize we can never be good enough on our own.  Apart from God, we are nothing.  Our purpose is to glorify God, who is the Creator of all things.  He gave us free will, and then a Savior to save us from ourselves.  Think of it like this: we are called to go out into the world and reveal God to those we meet.  But it we don't know God ourselves, who can we share Him with others?  I need to wake up and live this knowledge.  I am nothing apart from God.  I deserve eternal damnation because of my sins.  And without God's Son, Jesus, I'd be there.  But by the grace of God, I am saved from these sins by the perfect lamb, sacrificed for me.  Now I have only one reason to exist: I MUST GLORIFY GOD!

Paul Gives Up His Rights...Disciplines His Body

There are so many rhetorical questions in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians. It's almost like Paul wants to say, "Duh" to the church at Corith. What he is doing is pointing out the things he is giving up in his life or disciplining himself from so that he is a better witness for the gospel. He is making it clear that, although some of the things he gives up are not sinful to partake in, he abstains from such things to be set apart and free from guilt.  Just like in chapter 8, where he explains he is free to eat or drink whatever he desires, he does not eat or drink certain things in certain situations so he does not cause someone else to stumble or judge him wrongly.  Now in chapter 9 is goes further to explain the freedoms he gives up to better serve God.

Really, this is too short an explanation to do this passage justice, but to break down each statement would take me too long with my limited time to write.  Basically, we need to look at the things in our lives that are not necessarily wrong to be involved in but that might cause others to stumble or question our faith.  We need to be able to use our freedoms to further the kingdom of God and allow us to more easily share the gospel.  Just as Paul says in 9:22 "...I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some," our freedoms allow us to present to gospel to all types of people.  But we must, "discipline (our) body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others (we) should be disqualified."

Tweet

Love God. Love Others. Watch What/When/Where You Eat?

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 is a long passage to say something that isn't really that big of an issue for people I'm around and for most of our society. Maybe I'm missing something, but, there aren't foods that are offered to idols, or foods that cause fellow believers to stumble. I have heard this passage used to say it's okay to drink alcohol, as long as you do it where believers who don't agree with the drinking of alcohol are not going to see you and be tempted by it; meaning even though they think it's wrong in their mind, they drink in spite of that. This would be sin for them, not because it is wrong to drink, but because they think it's wrong and still do it. It's like a sin against their own conscience and a decision to choose sin over what is right.

But I just read this passage twice, and I didn't really have much to apply to myself. I drink the occasional glass of wine or beer. I eat pretty well, for the most part. I think the biggest thing I'm going to take away from this passage is to be aware of who is watching and listening to you, in all situations. There are things people are observing in us that would lead them to make judgments against our faith. We are all sinners, and we all fail to reach heaven on our own. But it is so important to try and live a life that glorifies God and shows those around us that we are set apart for Him. Christ saved us from eternal death. Now we need to live a life of love. "If anyone loves God, he is known by God." Show God love by glorifying Him with all we do. I know, it's hard. At least for me it is.

Tweet

The Spiritual RQA

My job is to review the 6 branches I'm directly responsible for and see that they are operationally sound. I'm called an Operations Specialist. Really, I go in and point out people's mistakes, tell them how to fix them, teach them how to avoid the mistakes next time, and tell them how to do it correctly the first time all the time. I give resources, helpful tools, and policy standards each branch so they can function within the rules and regulations that govern my industry. Basically, the people who want to do a good job appreciate me for the help I provide, and the ones who don't seem to care have a hard time with me pointing out all their mistakes. Part of my job is to prepare these branches for the "testing" process or the "Retail Quality Assurance Review". These reviews happen roughly every 12 to 18 months. The RQA group comes in and assigns a grade to the branches operations to judge their operational soundness. The branch is found "Acceptable", one we need to "Watch", or "Unacceptable". This is where the stress comes from for me.

I have 6 branches, all are due for their RQA audit...well now it's 5 of 6 because one just had its review and passed with the "Acceptable" score. Yea! Of the other 5 remaining branches I have 3 that I am really struggling with, and I've been struggling with for months. I tell them how to do things correctly, and they don't seem to be able to put that into practice. I explain to the managers the need for their buy-in into my recommendations, so they can be successful in their upcoming audits. In most cases; however, it doesn't seem to be happening. I'm very tired. I'm very discouraged. I'm very worried about how well they will do. I think a big issue is the accountability portion of this process. The score for the branches is put on me, not the manager of the branch or the team that is at the branch daily. It mainly reflects on me, and I'm only there, at best, once a week. With 6 branches spread over 200 miles, it's a little difficult to be at any given branch on a consistent basis.

I'm not here to complain about my job, although it may seem like that. I like the challenge. I actually wanted to relate this dynamic to God and us. God tells us in the Bible how to live our lives correctly (please don't think I'm saying we can earn salvation if we live a good life) so that on the day of judgement we can be found pure and holy. He gives us resources, instructions, council, guidance, and the answers we need to live as believers. He longing for us to be His. He gave His Son for our sin. All we need to do is believe. And yet we have all these resources and one easy step to follow (faith), and we don't listen or follow the simple step to the perfection of eternity. We think all our own stuff is so much more important than glorifying God with our lives. We think that our own goals and our own desires will make us happy and successful in life. But in reality, if we do not follow God's words and instructions, we will fail. Romans 10:9-10 says, "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." But James 2:18-20 says, "But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?" You have to believe to be saved. But true belief or faith is evidenced by actions. There better be some evidence to your claim of salvation in your life. You better be doing what God tells you to do in His Word, the Bible.

NOTE: I assume only a few people read this blog, and that those are my Christian friends. If you are not a Christian, and you think that I'm comparing myself to God, understand that I am actually the sinner realizing I have the Word of God to point me to a proper pleasing life, but I fail to follow those instructions and it frustrates God that I do not listen to Him. I am only saved because of grace. If there was an RQA Review on my life, I would not be saved. I would be found "Unacceptable". Praise God that He shows grace on me. Praise God that He saves


Tweet

Undivided Devotion To The Lord

1 Corintians 7:25-40 wraps this chapter with Paul advising not to marry. He says it is better to stay as you are because your focus can be on your relationship with God and not on the things of this world, or how to please your spouse. He says it's not a sin to be married, but it takes away focus and time that can be spent on God and out "interests are divided." Paul says these things over several verses, but to the point that we "may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord."

Without getting into details, there are time that I argue with my wife and feel like the arguments are such a waste of time. Are we in anyway sharpening each other or helping build our relationship with God? No. But I also know that the passions of my flesh would not allow me to be like Paul without sin. And he does address that too. It is not a sin to marry. Paul says, "So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better."

God did give me my wife as a partner. Last night we talked about our church service and a challenge our pastor presented, a 40 day fast. The church is planning a prayer service 40 days from Tuesday. The challenge was to give something up for 40 days as a fast, and on every Wednesday to fast from food, until the prayer service. Our pastor said he felt like he wasn't prepared for the last prayer service and he wanted to be more prepared this time. The 40 day fast was suggested as a means of preparing our hearts to "be in the presence of God" at the prayer service. My wife talked to me about what she wanted to do for the fast, and I realized I didn't even take the thought of the fast serious. I thought about what I would want to do for it, but I didn't plan on actually participating.

The point of this section of scripture for me is: it is better to be focused on God than the things of this world. To do this it is better to be focused on God than have the distraction of a spouse. But more often a spouse protects you from the lusts of the flesh and can often times point you back to God. In the words of a past pastor, a wife can be a help mate. I believe my wife is often a help mate, even when she doesn't know or realize she's being one.


Tweet

Sunday Is Not For Church

It has become almost a regular habit lately for my family to miss church. We haven't gone for some weeks now because of sick kids. First Caleb. Then Ryan. And now both. But is it really because of the kids?

I've talked for a while about my own spiritual life being in the dumps. My past involvement in church kept me accountable to being at church, living with a level of responsibility to my own witness, and a feeling of correctness and freedom to call myself a Christian. But the place I'm in now leads me to question whether I was fooling myself before or if I've just fallen into a depression over the depravity of man.

Selfishness, corruption, laziness, popularity, the "cool factor", modern, fun, easy, comfortable, friendly, politically correct; these are things that make me so mad about both our society and the church. Mankind is disgusting. Why God would want to die for us, I can not
understand.

Sent from my iPhone

Live As A Believer In Whatever Situation You Were Assigned

1 Corinthians 7:17-24 starts with a really straight forward command, "...each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them." Step 1 of being a Christian: live as a believer. What? Are you serious?

Now, this is not actually "Step 1", I'd say faith is, but how often are we actually living as though we are saved from our Sin by the God of the Universe? Salvation is from eternal death, pain, torture, and separation from God? Are we living like we understand the grace that has been given to us? We don't deserve to be forgiven of our sins, but God has given us Jesus as payment for our sins.

When we are saved, we aren't called to take ourselves out of the situation we are in. And we are not called to make drastic changes (like circumcision) to ourselves. Outward physical changes are not what living as a believer is about. Verses 19-20 "...Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them."

The last section of this passage talks about whether the believer is a slave or one who is free. For the slave, he is not to worry, unless he can earn his freedom. I'm not really sure about this section, or how to relate it to our society today, but I know that we are not to enslave ourselves to any thing or any one. We are the Lord's slave, because we were bought by His blood. When He paid for our sin with His life, He called us to serve Him. As believers we should live as such, by expressing the freedom from sin and its consequence (eternal separation and death) we have in Christ.

Tweet

Commanded To Not Separate

1 Corinthians 7:10-16 talks about staying together in a marriage.  Today it seems like divorce is the answer to most people's marital problems.  If you don't get along, just divorce.  If you want to be with someone else, just divorce.  But as Christians, we are commanded not to separate from our spouse.  Even if that spouse is not a believer, we are told to stay with them as long as they will stay with us.

Divorce is wrong.  I know that there are situations and scenarios that we all try to put together to justify making that decision, but for the most part it's not God's will.  Too often, the problems in a marriage come from the selfishness of both parties.  Instead, thinking of the needs of the other person can solve most of the problems.  And as Christians, we are called to love others.  This includes our spouse.  When we feel like we aren't getting what we want out of our marriage, I think we need to look at what we are putting into it.  And even if we feel like we ARE doing all we can and it's still rough, I think that God will still bless us for our commitment.

Love your spouse today.  Remember the commitment of marriage and God's command to not separate.


Tweet

Sex Is For Marriage...Marriage Is For Sex

1 Corinthians 7:1-9 continues on the topic of sex.  Some in the church think that Paul will agree with them about abstaining from sex, because Paul is not married.  But Paul tells them that not everyone has the self control and that this is a gift from God that he has. "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another..."

I think that a lot of fights in marriage (right up there with the money ones) are based around sex.  If both spouses listened to this passage, I think that we could reduce the amount of adultery that is so prevalent in our country.  There are TV and radio shows that talk about cheating.  There are leaders of our country that are caught in it. It is a huge thing in our society.  I think it comes down to a misunderstanding of marriage and a major purpose for it.  Paul says he wishes we were all like him, able to remain single, but that marriage is important for those who do not have self control.  Marriage is important so that sexual desires can be fulfilled within that relationship.  When spouses withhold sex from each other, even if the withholder feels they have a legitimate reason, they do not understand that in marriage you give up your own body.  It becomes the spouse's.  The only time it is okay to abstain from sex in marriage is if you agree to have a time of prayer, like fasting from food to be focused more on God.

Marriage has more than sex of course, and there are lots of things that affect how we respond to each other.  Like I said in my three 2011 resolutions, I'm going to work to serve my wife.  We have to work together as a team in all aspects of the relationship.

Tweet

The Body Is For The Lord

Well, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 is an awkward topic because sexual immorality is so prevalent in our society.  I'm sure it's similar to the time of the church of Corith.  Today we have gay rights, porn ruling the Internet, and everyone having sex with anyone at any time.  We've made sex just an okay thing that anyone can do with anyone else.  Sex is not saved for marriage anymore.  I've even heard people say you have to have sex with someone before you marry them to make sure you are "compatible".

"The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body."  Sex joins two people together. "The two will become one flesh."  This is a real thing too.  I hate how people today have sex with anyone and everyone, and pretend that it was "just sex".  There is a connection that sex creates.  The only thing that I can agree with is, the amount of sex people are having with others numbs the connection to each other that sex causes.  Think about why people need each other.  There is a feeling of completeness for a moment.  But this is a perversion of what the body is meant for.  The body is not meant for sexual immorality.  The body is meant for the Lord.  We are called the bride of Christ.  We are meant to have that connection with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  He is the head of the church and we are the body.

Just a last minute thought, if the body was made for the type of sex people are having today, do you think there would be so many sexually transmitted diseases?  If we were meant to have sex with anyone and everyone, there wouldn't be so many dangers from having sex in this manner.  There isn't a sexually transmitted disease caused by one man and one woman having sex with each other only.

We are here for a short time.  We have lusts of the flesh that lead us to sexual immorality, but for our time here we need to fight against those urges.  If we can focus on God, and not ourselves, we will be better equipped to fight the temptations of the flesh.  It's not easy, but it's required of us.  If we can place our focus on things above, not on things of this earth, we will succeed.  Colossians 3 talks about putting on the new self and verse 2 tells us, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."  These instructions will help us put to death our sinful nature and live as those called to be children of God.



Tweet