Jesus Changed My Life

How? The best way to describe it would be to list what I would be like if I did not follow Jesus. 

• I probably would be more selfish.  I can honestly say that Jesus changed and continues to change how I view myself and treat others.  If I did not give my life to Jesus, I would only think of me and at the expense of my wife, my daughter, my friends, and, really, everyone I know. 
• I would not be compassionate.  Jesus has caused me to care for people who I do not know in addition to people who I know.  This has led me to be involved in serving the needy in my hometown, to sponsor two children in India through Compassion, to be working with people to help the world to discover Jesus, and to learn more about the needs of the world.
• I would be a bitter man and have an anger management problem.  With following Jesus, I have learned to forgive (meaning I let go of my right to respond with what whoever caused hurt or damage to me).

There are a lot more things that would be different.  For those who know me, if I did not know Jesus, what kind of person do you think I would be right now and why?  

I Do Not Know God

If we insist upon trying to imagine Him, we end with an idol, made not with hands but with thoughts; and an idol of the mind is so offensive to God as an idol of the hand.  Knowledge of the Holy, Tozer, pg.8

I have followed Jesus for over 25 years now and I have taken for granted that I know God. But when I read this I am shocked back to the truth that I can not know God completely because he is far, above and beyond like anything on this earth. Anything I use as a reference will be a poor likeness of God.

I do not know God... but I want to.

In fact, I yearn to and it seems that there is a craving in each person to do so as well. They may not label is as wanting to "know God", but it may come out in other forms like craving purpose, meaning and intimacy. "The yearning to know What cannot be known, to comprehend the Incomprehensible, to touch and taste the Unapproachable, arises from the image of God in the nature of man... the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its Source." Tozer, 9.

So how can one know? Is it to read the Bible? Obey it? On its own - no.  We need Jesus. Without Jesus, there is nothing to bridge the gap that separates us from God in the first place - the reason why he is unapproachable in the first place.

But with Jesus we have access to know God. Then we can go on and do what Tozer suggests and instead of asking, "What is God like?" we should be asking "What has God disclosed about Himself that He has declared true?" Specifically, we know him by his attributes.

My plan is:

• Study God's attributes (i.e. read the rest of Tozer's book!)
• Do a word study on God's attributes as I learn about them
• Blog about each attribute
• Identify things I take God for granted for and erroneously applied to Him 

What are some suggestions that have worked to help you know God more by focusing on his attributes?

Photo by kloan

Occupiers, 1% and Proverbs 11

Photo by My Pickz

As I read Proverbs 11 this morning, I was struck how the words strike a chord with current events of today, specifically in the age of Occupiers vs. the 1%.  How much would the world be different if parties on both sides followed and lived out this chapter?

"The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights."
"Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people."
1%: You won't be facing criticism of making your money off the backs of the poor and the oppressed and be accused of using fear to get your way.

"Riches won't help on the day of judgement, but right living can save you from death."
1%: What are you doing with your riches?  Are you using it for right living?  You won't be depending on riches for happiness or fulfillment.
Occupiers: Are you aspiring for the riches the 1% has or are you working like an ant?  You won't be depending on riches for happiness or fulfillment.

"Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers."
Occupiers: Does everyone have a voice or should there be a separation of those who are wise and those who should not be listened to?  Wisdom will shine through in interviews and solutions.
1%: Are you a power hungry CEO or do you have many advisers that you listen to and consult to make great policies and lead well?  By garnering the collective wisdom of a team, you will offset your personal weaknesses.

"Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last."
"Give freely and become more wealthy, be stingy and lose everything."
1%: Who and what are you living for?  Are you leaving a legacy that will help others after you?  The bottom line will no longer just be a personal gain, but a gain for society.
Occupiers: Are you influencing the 1% to live a godly life or are you secretly want to be rich?  Develop a giving attitude early on and you will find it easier to give when you have wealth.

"Trust in your money and down you go!  But the godly flourish like leaves in spring."
All: Are we trusting in money?  Are we thinking that money will solve all our problems?  Are we striving to be more like Jesus?

I am reminded that in writing this that this is just not for two sectors of society - the 1% or the Occupiers, but for all of society - for me.  I believe that if these proverbs are followed, there will be an acceleration of the shrinking gap between rich and poor.   Society as a whole will be caring about the lives of people because they hold onto the sanctity of life.

But it will take more than just living a lifestyle - because it is evident through history that we can not do it with ideals.  This can only happen if we follow Jesus.

There are obvious many more ways to apply these verses - these are just my personal thoughts.  What do you think would the world look like if we applied Proverbs to our lives and followed Jesus' teaching?

Be Like an Ant

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.  Learn from their ways and become wise!  though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.  But you, lazybones how long will you sleep?  When will you wake up?  A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.  Proverbs 6:6-11 (NLT)

Photo by grytr

This was part of my daily reading plan and it struck me how relevant this passage is to today's current reality.  In the midst of economic hard times, political upheaval and revolutions, this lesson struck a cord with me - be like an ant.

Regardless of who is in power or leadership over me (be it a prime minister, a boss, another authority figure or lack of ), I need to be working hard and doing what I need to do to bring food to the table.   And I can't help wonder if these instructions were followed by the masses - would it solve some of the problems that we are collectively facing?

The problems are multi-faceted and more complex to be solved in any one way, but I think an ant work ethic would do away with an entitlement attitude, excess spending on luxurious items, and a proper focus on human life over materialistic things.  More importantly, the church needs to have an ant work ethic in focusing on what Jesus is all about - His mission to bring that one lost sheep back into the pen.  

Think Rightly About God

Photo by jardek

Where do I get my concept of God?

In reading through The Knowledge of the Holy by AW Tozer's first chapter, I am challenged to think about how our concept of God is being shaped.  More specifically, how is my concept of God being shaped?

In my earlier years of following Jesus, I would say the physical local church that I attended fed my concept of God with small doses of the media.  They often competed, but I came out knowing God as a friend and forgiver.  But is that who God really is?

As I have been journeying through life and (hopefully) growing in my knowledge and relationship with God, I am realizing that I usually depend on other people's opinion and teaching to inform me of who God is.  Although this is not a bad idea in itself (after all, that is what pastors do for a living - tell others about who God is and those listening should be better for it), I do need to learn about God on my own.

But why do I need to know God on my own?

"Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts if they were true." Tozer

My belief in God will influence how I live and represent Him.  In the past, I didn't think much of developing my personal, right thinking of who God is.  I have realized the error in that and trusting God know Him in the right way.

My plan is:

• read the Bible regularly - God has revealed himself in his Word.  I need to read the Bible through once every 2-3 years
• James 1:17 - thank God for every good and perfect gift.  This helps me to acknowledge the truth of God's blessing and takes my relationship with God to the realm of experiencing Him
• take faith steps that rely on God (i.e. I can't do it on my own).  Again, this takes my faith to the experience realm. 

What do you do to help you think and know God rightly?

Psalm 27: Boldness

Recently, my church finished a 41 days of prayer and at the heart of it was this prayer:

Our prayer is to be at the epicenter of an unprecedented move of God in the city marked by glorious conversions and supernatural life transformation. To this end we ask for: faith- to believe it is possible, passion- to care about lost people, and boldness- to play our part.

Although we have finished, it is a prayer that I still pray from time to time and adopted it for other groups of Christians I work with.  While I was spending time in the word today, I came across Psalm 27 which includes, 

"The Lord is my light and my salvation - so why should I be afraid?  The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?  When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.  Though a mighty  army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid.  Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident."

Even though many us may not have enemies like David, there are spiritual forces at work that do not like  that I am a follower of Jesus Christ.  It is verses like these that give me the boldness to represent Jesus and follow the example he set out in the Bible.  As I trust God for boldness, I am looking forward to what is in store.

Wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Image courtesy of Official Blackberry Images

The Pursuit of God: Chapter 1- Following Hard after God

We have almost forgotten that God is a Person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can.  It is inherent in personality to be able to know other personalities, but full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved by one encounter.

Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.  

The evil habit of seeking God and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation.  In the "and" lies our great woe.  If we omit the "and" we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.

There are many quotes in the first chapter of The Pursuit of God that I wrote down to comment on or to guide my first response to this amazing book.  I think I wrote down 7-8 of them.  I think 3 will suffice to help me respond to this first chapter.

I am guilty of complacency.  I have been that person that lived like I only had one encounter with God and thought that was enough.  I have bought the lie that I needed God and...  

I have many "and"s, but at the forefront is convenience.  I think inside of me, I believe that God and convenience will give me the satisfaction my heart is looking for.  But convenience is just the desire in me that leads to complacency - I just do enough to get by and I am content.  But I usually don't realize that I miss the opportunity and the joy that comes from going further to experience God.  My end goal was really convenience and not God.

picture by JPhilipson

I have not grasped what Paul said when he writes, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Philippians 3

Like a friend taken for granted, I do not cultivate my relationship with my Friend - I only do enough to get by.

So what needs to change?  I need to cast off complacency, not settle for convenience and be intentional in my communion with God (3 C's... that could be a sermon).  That is why my church's Prayer 41 is such a challenge and a great channel to break out of complacency. It is my hope my church's small group can hold me accountable to.

Prayer 41

Our prayer is to be at the epicenter of an unprecedented move of God in the city of Halifax marked by glorious conversions and supernatural life transformation. To this end we ask for: faith- to believe it is possible, passion- to care about lost people, and boldness- to play our part.

What I first made as a casual commitment to prayer is quickly becoming something that is forcing me to be more serious in prayer.  I have always prayed, but praying for one thing over a specific period of time in a community of like-minded people via different avenues of praying that prayer is new.  And I am liking it more and more.

Praying for a one hour period is part of this commitment and as I was praying this morning, I wondered why God "waits" for prayer before acting.  This was evident in the Bible when God waited for Elijah to pray for no rain (James 5:17, 1 Kings 17:1), and then for rain (James 5:18, 1 Kings 19:42-44) even though he declared rain was coming (1 Kings 18:1).  

I wondered because I was praying that there would be "an unprecedented move of God" - why do we have to pray it?  God is capable of doing this on his own.  But I realized that even though God can do so on his own it is for our benefit that we are included in God's work.  By praying, we have a whole lot to gain - faith, passion and boldness.  Why do you think God wants us to pray?