Anger…

Posted on February 11, 2010 by heavnstrl

I was thinking today about what a wasteful emotion anger usually is. Lately I find myself angry about a number of things and I hold on to and bask in that anger. It is self-fueling but to what value?

The Bible talks about how we are to deal with anger immediately and I think I now understand why. Anger gnaws at us like an acid. Much of the time I find myself angry about something that I have absolutely no control over – how foolish is that? I’m letting my attitude and perspective be tainted – I’m being controlled by an emotion instead of the Spirit of God. My prayer today is that I give up anger as soon as it appears and let Jesus resume control.

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Stages of Hope…

Posted on February 3, 2010 by heavnstrl

Everyone is familiar with the idea that there are stages of grief. Those stages (denial, anger, despair and acceptance) are pretty well understood and accepted.

A key concept for a Christ follower is the idea of Hope; the truth and object of Hope is based in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It so turns out that there are stages of Hope as well…

  1. Learning to live with the past…
  2. Learning to live in the present…
  3. Learning to live for the future…

I’ll try and write on my experience with these over the next few days.

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another “Inconvenient” Truth…

Posted on February 3, 2010 by heavnstrl

Much has been made about the movie that exposes the concept of global warming. The “truth” put forward here is viewed as inconvenient because dealing with it costs us something; we must change our ways in a manner that impacts us personally.

While reading an article debating the “facts” of global warming, I started thinking about another “inconvenient” truth – the truth of the Gospel. Just as Al Gore took a lot of heat (get it?) for putting global warming on center stage, we Christ followers will get grief for proclaiming the truth of the Gospel. I find it interesting that the reason for resistance is similar. Embracing the Gospel also will cost us something. Jesus makes it clear that we are to “count the cost” and “pick up our cross” to follow Him.

In those brief moments when I’m brutally honest with myself, I find that I can’t say that the evidence supports a truth that I live as if I am sold out for Christ. Too much of the time I am embracing Jesus lordship when it is convenient for me. My prayer today is for Christ to expose those strongholds and give me the strength to break free.

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Seeing…

Posted on February 1, 2010 by heavnstrl

My eyes have been weirded out the last couple of days, especially my “good” eye (left eye is dominant). I’m having some blurred vision, especially in bright lights. This makes for some uncomfortable moments in hallways at work when someone is approaching from a distance and I’m not sure who they are but they say hi or wave. Often I can recognize them from body language but sometimes really struggle figuring out who it is. I don’t want to be rude and not greet them but also don’t want the embarrassment of addressing them with someone else’s name.

This is a physical phenomena but there is a spiritual one as well. I find that there are times when my “spiritual” vision is clouded or out of focus. At these times I struggle with recognizing things in God’s favor from those outside. I pray I have the same concern with “getting it right” as I do with my physical vision.

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Encounters…

Posted on January 25, 2010 by heavnstrl

Message at church yesterday was about living a life “at peace”. I am reminded that peace does not come from within (no matter what the self-help books might say); rather peace comes from God. The only way to know peace is to experience the presence of God.

Of course experiencing the presence of God isn’t something that happens without some effort. In order to experience the presence of God I must encounter God and those encounters require me to be intentional with investing in the encounter. A simple way to invite God in for an encounter is to recite the “Jesus Prayer”…

Jesus Christ, son of the living God. Have mercy on me, a sinner…

As I experience peace I also need to remember that peace isn’t to be withheld. Peace is meant to be shared with others…

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… thoughts on Joy

Posted on January 21, 2010 by heavnstrl

What is James talking about in James 1:2Open Link in New Window when he tells us to consider it “pure joy” when we face trials? I must admit that I have a problem with the difference between joy and happiness. I recently heard an awesome definition for joy:

Joy is the supernatural desire for the presence of God, the purpose of God and the people of God. We consider joy when we respond to a tragedy in a way that is pleasing to God; a way that displays the power and presence of God in God’s people.

James seems to be reminding us that God’s presence in us should cause us to be different from someone without God’s presence. My personal experience with this has been the unexpected pregnancy of my daughter. Our initial reaction to learning our (just turned) 17 year old daughter was a mixture of shock, anger and shame. Only by seeking God’s presence, purpose and people were we finally able to “consider the joy” in this situation.

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Obstacles…

Posted on January 20, 2010 by heavnstrl

Anytime there is forward movement in your life you will meet obstacles. Sometimes those obstacles are clear and obvious but many obstacles are much more subtle. Luther posited that there are three main obstacles in Christian growth. Those would be “the world”, “the flesh” and “the devil”.

The world is an obstacle when we let society define what what is acceptable and what is tabu. Societal norms change over time as evidenced by the change in attitude regarding abortion and homosexuality. Christian growth depends on us looking to God to define what is acceptable or tabu.

The flesh is an obstacle when we confuse our desires with needs and let our desires drive our actions. Face it – we want to be comfortable and happy. Christian growth depends on aligning our desires with God’s desires.

The devil is an obstacle in that he hates us and frequently works to derail our relationship with God. The devil is the “father of lies” and the “great tempter”, often playing off our fleshly desires as well as working to shift society norms. Christian growth requires that we resist the devil by arming ourselves with the truth of God.

God never promises that His path will be comfortable but He does promise that in Him, the path will be straight and His burden will be light…

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Suffering For Christ…

Posted on January 13, 2010 by heavnstrl

The Bible calls us out a few times on how we are to “endure” or to “suffer” for Christ. I was thinking about how much I hate my job and wondering if that counts as “suffering” or “enduring”. Then I see the news about the earthquake in Haiti. My wife went to Haiti a few years ago and you can’t begin to imagine the extreme poverty those people live with daily yet they are filled with joy for knowing Jesus as Lord. Makes my “suffering” seem pretty small…

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Planning and Preparation

Posted on January 12, 2010 by heavnstrl

Jesus came to earth to do more than die on the cross. Jesus came to launch a plan that would not only secure salvation for those who would believe but also give us a role in God’s salvation plan for others.

God chose me to Do Something! As Paul write…
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advanced for us to do. Eph 2:10Open Link in New Window

God has a plan for me but I need to prepare as well…

  • God prepares me with Faith; am I living by faith or by feeling?
  • God prepares me with Scripture; am I using scripture to learn what is right?
  • God prepares me with the Holy Spirit; am I allowing the Holy Spirit to lead my life?
  • God prepares me with Prayer; am I talking to God on a regular basis?
  • God prepares me with my Circumstances; am I fully using where I’m at, who I’m with and what I’ve been through to find opportunities to do God’s work?

I have to allow God to do something IN me before He can do something THROUGH me. It isn’t about what I KNOW, rather it’s about what I DO.

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Finding Your Passion | stephen brewster

Posted on January 7, 2010 by heavnstrl

Brewster talks about living with passion. One of the really attractive about Christ for me was the passion that filled his life. There was no “hum-drum”, just get by days. We weren’t created to just exist but to live!

Finding Your Passion | stephen brewster.

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