Think.

There a few times in life that you are more sober minded and contemplative of the meaning of life, then on your deathbed. Though I’m still young, I do pray and ask for God to reveal the brevity of my life and to understand moments in light of just how short life really is. 

I’d say a lot of us definitely do live as if we are going to live forever or at least without consideration of the fact that the common thread that links all humans is the fact that one day, soon, we will all die. 

With 20 minutes left of Easter, I’m just sitting here contemplating the resurrection of Christ and the powerful implications that it can have in the life of someone who accepts and believe Him to be their risen savior. Jesus Christ died too. But He rose again, ~2000 years ago today. People saw it happen and there were hundreds of witnesses that testified to not only his death and burial, but his resurrection and ascension.

As someone who is going to die in a short amount of years (when considering eternity), I would have to ask myself to consider the words and call of Christ in THIS life with the understanding that His resurrection assures entrance into the NEXT life with Him. 

To top it all off, I happened to “randomly” come across this video which pretty much visually displayed  my thoughts of how I am to live this life in light of the next. I hope at the very least, it gets us to think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8fNL8nOFmo

It seems like I always randomly feel like writing again out of the blue when I am sitting at Starbucks. It must be the temperature or the music or something hahaha

After a good talk with a fellow brother last night after KCM, it got me thinking.

We have become a young generation all to consumed and occupied with the notion of making the “right decision”. It’s almost like we view God like Morpheus from “The Matrix”, constantly presenting us with two choices with only one being the RIGHT one or the “godly” one. 

I can definitely see why it’s easy to fall into this mindset because I have this mindset as well. Especially those who are nearing graduation and are early in their post-grad years, the overwhelming question is always,”Should I do THIS or THAT?”. Missions or summer school? Study abroad or stay at home? Get an internship or find a job? Stay at my struggling church or move on? The list goes on.

It’s easy to say that this is a very stressful life to live if life is defined only by a series of choices to make with only one being the ‘right’ one. Yet I have to wonder if that is how our God desires our walk with Him to be. A walk filled with anxiety, burden and stress over making the right choice/decision with the underlying pressure of trying to pick the one that is “more glorifying to God”? In the context of an earthly relationship, how burdensome it would be for both parties involved if the man or the woman’s sole understanding of the relationship is to always be pressured to try to do the “right” thing.

I am beginning to develop a deeper conviction that our walk with Christ, our growth as Christians and our Christian life is NOT like a multiple choice test. In other words, God is not grading us by how many times we choose choice A over B. In fact, I believe the bible affirms the fact that it is contrary to the desire and nature of God to be a added burden to our life, as if He were a test proctor constantly looking over our shoulder waiting to catch an error. 

So what is my point? It’s still developing but…

• I believe Christ came to RELIEVE burden, not create it (Matt. 11:28-30)
• I believe Christ desires to rid us of anxiety because of Him, not the opposite (Phil. 4:6-7, Matthew 6:25-34)
• I believe the Christian can and should enjoy the utmost peace and rest in the midst of uncertainty (Proverbs 3:5-6)
• I believe we miss the point of what the primary focus and understanding of our relationship with Christ should be when we think more about our earthly future than our present walk with Christ. (James 4:13-16)

In no way am I saying that wisdom and discernment should not be sought after and exercised constantly. But is wisdom merely a matter of picking the right door to walk through? Or is it everything in between? Something to think about.

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He WILL act.” (Psalm 4:4-5)

The Most Transformational Word

You are always preaching some kind of gospel to yourself. Every day you preach to yourself a gospel of your loneliness, inability, and lack of resources or you faithfully preach to yourself the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel you preach to yourself will have an enormous effect on what you desire, think, say, and do in your ministry.

If your ministry is to be all that God has ordained for it to be, you must live and minister out of a sure grasp of your identity as a child of God’s freely given and personally transforming grace. That grace must stay fresh and exciting to you. It must be personally celebrated. It must never be allowed to be distant, technical, and merely academic. Grace must not only be something you consider theologically, it must also be something you live practically. In nurturing your own soul for ministry, you must considering and reconsider again and again the nature of the grace you have been given.

Unilateral and Radical

Grace is the most transformational word in Scripture. The entire Bible is a narrative of God’s grace, a story of undeserved redemption. By the transformational power of his grace, God unilaterally reaches into the muck of this fallen world, through the presence of his Son, and radically transforms his children from what we are (sinners) into what we are becoming by his power (Christ-like). The famous John Newton hymn uses the best word possible for that grace: amazing.

So grace is a story, and grace is a gift. It is God’s character, and it is your hope. Grace is a transforming tool and a state of relationship. Grace is a theology and an invitation. Grace is an experience and a calling. Grace will turn your life upside down while giving you a rest you have never known. Grace will convince you of your unworthiness without ever making you feel unloved.

Grace will make you acknowledge that you cannot earn God’s favor, and it will remove your fear of not measuring up to his standards. Grace will confront you with the fact that you are much less than you thought you were, even as it assures you that you can be far more than you had ever imagined. Grace will put you in your place without ever putting you down.

Grace will enable you to face truths about yourself that you have hesitated to consider, while freeing you from being self-consciously introspective. Grace will confront you with profound weaknesses, and at the same time introduce you to new-found strength. Grace will tell you what you aren’t, while welcoming you to what you can now be. Grace will make you as uncomfortable as you have ever been, while offering you more comfort than you have ever known. Grace will drive you to the end of yourself, while it invites you to fresh starts and new beginnings. Grace will dash your hopes but never leave you hopeless. Grace will decimate your kingdom as it introduces you to a better King. Grace will expose your blindness as it gives you eyes to see. Grace will make you sadder than you have ever been, while it gives you greater cause for celebration than you have ever known.

Grace enters your life in a moment and will occupy you for eternity. You simply cannot live a productive life or have a productive ministry in this broken-down world unless you have a practical grasp of the grace you have been given.

So faithfully preach the gospel of grace to the people under your care, but start by preaching it daily to yourself, for the sake of your own soul and the ministry to which God has called you.

A lot of interesting things have been going on since my last Starbucks update. To best describe what has been going on in my life and in my mind, let me turn you to Ephesians 5.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore (so then) do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 

One of the most common prayer requests I have heard ever since I was a freshmen in college was that individuals would be able to have good “time management” and to make the “most of their time”. I have shared the desire for this yet as I have been studying this text, I’ve been challenged and convicted to see that these prayer requests may be misguided. In no way am I saying that these are bad prayer requests; yet I will take the initiative in saying that they are somewhat lacking in God-glorifying substance. 

Everyone can agree that ANY individual who has somewhat of a desire for productivity and fulfillment in life (regardless if they are Christian or not) wants to make the most of their time. Thus, if a follower of Christ limits the purpose of his request for mere productivity, efficiency and fulfillment in personal achievement, CHRIST DOES NOT RECEIVE THE GLORY. In fact, I would even say that this aim makes God take a second place in what is a personal pursuit of self-fulfillment and self-worth. 

Clearly, Paul is telling believers that the fool is one who does not make the most of his time. So then what does he say is characteristic of an individual who DOES make the most of his time? 

Therefore (so then) do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is

There’s the answer. A God-glorifying pursuit of effective time management is to ALWAYS be seeking to understand and live out His will in your life: Not only in the big picture, but in the everyday details of life (Romans 12:1-2). 

Paul is basically implying (in my own words): You can be the most disciplined and efficient individual with a lifestyle comparable to that of an ambitious CEO of some multi-million dollar company. Yet if GOD is not the center, if GOD is not the focus, if GOD’S GLORY is not the aim, then you are NOT making the most of your time. In fact, you may be wasting your time. 

This doesn’t mean give up everything and become a missionary. 

but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

It means that WHATEVER you do, you are to be filled with the Holy Spirit and your heart must be full of thanksgiving and gratitude to God.

I’ve been wasting a lot of time. 

“Children have no understanding of what is good for them and will sample anything. Their mouths are constantly wide open, eager to taste and to eat anything that looks good to their untrained eyes. It is only with maturity that children learn what is truly good for them and what is not. Only with maturity will children learn that what looks good may not truly be good. Children need to learn to differentiate between what will hurt them and what will make them healthy. Eventually they learn to discriminate; they learn to discern. In the same way mature Christians have learned to differentiate between what is pleasing to God and what is not, between what is consistent with Scripture and what is not. The Bible places great emphasis on spiritual maturity because, like children, immature believers are prone to sample anything. They are attracted to what looks good to their untrained eyes. Only as they grow in maturity are they able to differentiate between what pleases God and what does not. Because of this there can be no growth without discernment.”