Beach Balls and What's Under the Surface

When I was a kid my Dad got us an above ground circular swimming pool.  Come Spring he cleaned it, got the necessary chemicals,plugged in the filter, and as soon as it was warm enough, we enjoyed the refreshment and laughter all summer long. One of the games we played was taking big colorful beach balls and push them below the water surface and try to hold them down or tried to sit on them. The problem was, beach balls are round and not easy to control under the surface.  Air is so much lighter than water and air was continually and strongly forcing the ball up above the surface.  It was fun trying to keep the ball below the surface, all the while the ball was trying hard to get up above the surface.

We can be like that can't we?  There are just things in our private lives that we really don't want people to see, so we force them below the surface in hopes that no one can.  That's a problem!!! Because sooner or later that problem is going to explode above and people will know and it will make a scene.  Wouldn't it be so much better if we all could practice bringing in a few trusted friends in, people who are safe, love us, care for us and know we have stuff and they love us enough to not let us stay stuck?  The truth is they have had and will have their stuff too..

  So, rather then becoming a statistic, how about we take the plunge, dive in and ask a few safe, trusted and wise people into our lives, marriage and spiritual life, and ask for their help while we are still in it instead of trying hard to make sure no one sees it? How about becoming that for a few people ourselves if we are in a good place presently.  No one, and I mean no one has their life, spiritual life, marriage, parenting together.  We need God, we need His word, we need His Holy Spirit AND we need others who know us best, love us most and are willing to speak the truth in love to us. And we need them to be in our corner when the pressures in our lives if left un-checked will explode in a mess for all to see.

"Shame Kills" is a message I heard about 10 years ago. When there are times we can't make it on our own, we somehow swallow our pride and try figuring out ways we can make it work without "bothering" others,, shame kills.  When we hope we will turn things around but don't bring people in to speak into it, shame kills. When our marriage is hurtful and not helpful and we don't ask for the wisdom, prayers and support of others, well shame kills.  When we can't seem to win the battle over a sin that so easily entangles us and we are too ashamed of opening up to a spiritual mentor, but later on we get "found out", shame kills.....  Let's be people who carefully let the ball up and out for those close to us to see instead of trying hard to keep it below where no one can..

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Want to Keep Your Relationship with God fresh?

I am one of the fortunate ones, I am so glad that my relationship with God has been amazingly fresh and alive since 1976 when it started. I know this is NOT true for most followers of God, and unfortunately far too many followers fall away because no one showed them how. Our human relationships need nurturing and intentionality in order be alive, and so it is with our relationship with God.

If this helps here are some things I practice to keep my relationship with God alive.

1. Shake things up. By that I mean don't always read the same version of the Bible, I schedule reading plans that are not the same, eg. character of the Bible study, word study, Book study,or I read and meditate on a verse a day etc.

2. Remember who you are and whose you are! Every once in awhile it's so good to do an inventory of your Identity in Christ.

3. Consistently have times of remembering all that God has done for you. Keep a separate journal just for this, and when you are feeling distant from God or your faith is faltering this will be a great tool to use to look back and remember how God has showed His Faithfulness to you.

4. Listen to a lot of praise/worship music. Change the words and make them personal. For instance "we exalt you, we exalt you" to "I exalt you, I exalt you..."

5. Write God love letters, and let Him write you love letters. Now the first one makes sense and is pretty easy to do. The second one is a little more difficult. When I do this, I really take time to listen, be still and quiet. Then I grab a pen and paper and from God's perspective, I write down what I think He would be saying to me right at that moment. It's hardly ever condemnation, especially in light of Romans 8:1, but it's almost always very tender and grace filled. Sometimes He will communicate an area or weakness to pay attention to but mostly it's just tender.

6. A Daily Gratitude List - I bought a book years ago called "10,000 Things to Thank God For". It has served me well to remind me of all the reasons I can thank Him. Create your own, seriously, we have so much to be grateful for.

Well this is a start but I hope it helps keep your relationship with God alive and fresh. You and I must be strategic and intentional in all of our human relationships or they become predictable and stale, the same is true with God.

Don't Leave Home without these - seriously!

Fall is here, and most people across the country need to put their summer clothes away and get their Fall/Winter clothes out and ready to wear. God's word gives us a list of clothing we cannot afford to have missing from our wardrobe, in fact these items need to be put on everyday. Want to know what they are? Of course you do, here is the list.

1. Humility - I Peter 5:5. God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.
2. Christ Jesus. Romans 13:14 & Galatians 3:27 say we are to clothe ourselves with Christ. If you know what Jesus looks like than you will know what to put on each day.
3. Compassion - Colossians 3:12
4. Kindness - Colossians 3:12 Treat others the way you want to be treated.
5. Gentleness - Colossians 3:12 When we are in a hurry, it's hard to be gentle.
6. Patience - Colossians 3:12 We need to slow down and show grace, we are all in process.

Remember that in Biblical times people more or less covered themselves from head to toe with clothing. There was not a lot of skin showing. People need to see less of us and more of God in us and through us!

Lastly, we are in a continual battle, I mean it we are! If you are truly living for God and are a citizen, an heir, a child of His then you are at war with your gratifying your own flesh,fighting against the accusations, lies and temptations of the devil and the ways of the world which oppose the ways of God. With that being said, no one in their right mind would forget to take their armor and weapons out on the battle field. But I am afraid that is what happens MOST of the time. You don't have to believe me, look at what scripture says in Ephesians 6 10-17. The Apostle Paul says twice to put on the FULL armor of God. Why?
"So you may stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is NOT against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of the this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places...that you may be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm." Ephesians 6:12-13.

Here are the other pieces of "clothing" or armor you and I must put on EVERYDAY!

1. The Belt of Truth Be truth tellers not liars and deceivers or gossips.
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness. Do things that please God.
3. The shoes of the Gospel of Peace The Gospel is GREAT NEWS - Share it!
4. The Shield of Faith It is impossible to please God without it.
5. The Helmet of Salvation. Use your head and handle accurately the truth.
6. The Sword of the Spirit. God's word is truth and eternal, enough said.

This is pretty plain isn't it? We would not go out in the rain without an umbrella or rain coat, we wouldn't be wise to go out in the snow without a winder coat, hat and gloves, and we wouldn't go outside in the sun in South Florida without sunscreen. Everyday, do your best to be the best dressed Christian you know.

A Great Spiritual Trio

I am not just talking about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When the combination of God's word (the Bible), the Power of the Holy Spirit (who leads us into truth, convicts of sin etc.) and our own open/teachable hearts intersect, amazing things happen! Life changing and world impacting! Seriously, it is an amazing trio! One without the other is still amazing and great, but if you are not open and teachable than God's word and the Holy Spirit will not always do what they fully meant to do in your life. If you are open and teachable, but you are not interacting with God's word, than it's still not enough. You get the point! Or do you?
Many people who are born again do not take their next steps and it becomes a bit of a loss because they do not become all that God desires, and other people are not effected by the fruit of the changed life either. I think it's one of the reasons so many Christians get stuck. Is that you? I want to encourage you not to give up. You probably know of some other Christian who has had the kind of relationship with God that you long for yourself. If you looked at some of the reasons why this is true, I think you would see that they read Gods's word consistently, they allow the Holy Spirit to do whatever He wants, and they are open and teachable to keep growing and living in a way that fulfills them and points others to God.
Find that person you know who has a fulfilling walk with God, approach them and ask them to help you get into the Bible more, guide you to a better relationship with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and ask God to help you be open and teachable. Before you know it, you will be one of those people being sought out to help others out of their stuck place.

Foundations are tricky things, I am no construction or engineering guy, but I have heard wild stories of houses, buildings and roads where the foundations weren't solid and it meant disaster. Billions of dollars of worth of destruction happened because of poor planning/research, or acts of nature.

Our lives need foundations because disasters will happen. These disasters may not even be our fault, but something may go wrong because of either poor planning or a natural disaster. We will need a strong foundation in order to survive and thrive. Take some time to think about what you are building your life on that is strong enough to count on. Most people will say family, friends, health and traditions. Those are good, but let's face it, family and friends are NOT 100% reliable. People die, get sick, move away or there is a disagreement that divides.

Those of you reading this know me well enough, (I think) to know that I have built my foundation on God and the Bible. They have stood the test of time and truth! The truths found in them have sustained people for thousands of years. I admit there is controversy in some parts of the Bible regarding slavery, religious wars and the mistreatment of people. People are flawed and that's why we need God. People come and go, philosophy's become out-dated, historic buildings and even modern ones that supposedly are indestructible have fallen! Building your life on top of God and His truth will be the best thing you can do.

I close with John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father (get to Heaven) except through me". You don't have to crumble when disaster comes, God is for you, He will never leave you, He is faithful! People and organizations will let you down. There are many wrong things said about God, the Bible and the church all under the subject of "organized religion", but part of the reason Jesus came was to get rid of religion and have people live in freedom and love. A local church is full of people who are in process, but as God takes over our lives people will see a difference. A life filled with love, forgiveness, generosity, unity, and crosses barriers that prove God is a foundation worth building upon.

A Simple Discipleship Formula

Sometimes we complicate simple things. Think of jobs or projects from your past where rules and procedures so slowed outcomes down to the point it either robbed joy out of it or caused resentment and caused you to quit altogether. We make up rules and procedures that may look like safeguards but in the end they can easily take us down a path so far away from the original idea that we forget why we are doing what we are doing. Take discipleship, Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20 that we should go into the entire world to make disciples, baptize them, teach them to obey EVERYTHING He taught and as a promise, He'd be with us always. Looking at His ministry life we know that He spent a full night in prayer just to determine who the faithful followers would be who would become His disciples, God's agents of change. Next, He spent 3 years training, teaching, being with and praying for these guys. If it were an equation it might look something like this; Relationship + Spiritual Truth + Teachable Heart + Time = Transformation In our highly connected, socially savy, information revolution we must remember that there are no short-cuts to building/multiplying Jesus followers. Books, blogs, tweets and podcasts can help as long as they are pointing back to the Bible and not just about it. Authenticity and transparency are critical so that disciplers do not set up disciples with the idea that they personally get something out of the Bible every time they read it, or that great faith prayers are prayed that reap huge results morning, noon and night, and that new converts are won every week. I have had the honor of being poured into and been able to pour into others. Success rates climb really, really high when we take the time to dispense practical Biblical truth, over time to people who are teachable and real. Biblical truth can seem pretty overwhelming but an easy place to start are the Red Letters of the Gospels. What did Jesus say? Most people can quote only a fraction of it. And remember in the Great Commission quoted above in Matthew 28, that Jesus commanded us to teach them everything He commanded. We also have the Epistles of Paul where there is plenty to study and apply. We have the entire Old Testament which is full of great treasures of Truth/Gold. This can easily take you all of 3 years. As I have quoted many times from David Watson's classic book - "Called and Committed" "If a gifted evangelist could win 1,000 converts a night, it would take them about 10,000 years to win the world to Christ, not including any population spikes, but if a true disciple of Christ were to win one person to Christ per year and spend that year training and teaching that disciple to do the same it would take aprox. 32 years to win the entire world to Christ." Amazing! Let's make this simple, if you need to be poured into, ask someone around you whose walk with Christ inspires you and you wished to be like to help you become like them. If you are pretty mature and obviously walking with Christ, than you should be looking for someone to approach and pour into. It's simple!