Finally the Finale!
Major Themes: Worldly gains are irrelevant, be patient, be prayerful
Action: Being patient, thinking about what is really important
Lessons Learned: VERY few people knew about the week as it was occuring. My friends who did were messing with me saying, “Traci, gosh traffic is really slow.” And me responding with “Isn’t this such a great opportunity for quality time? I’m so glad that traffic is going 4 mph!” Hilarious.
But the original intent of Day 5 was to tie up the James Experiment through describing the relationship between patience, faith, and trust in the midst of our puzzling, unknown futures. Unsatisfactorily, it resulted in vague Christian clichés like “Cling to the Cross” and “Give it to God.” Maybe it’s just me, but what do those actually mean? I’ve read James 5 about 20 times in an attempt to connect it all, but honestly, “In your ocean I’m ankle deep.” –NeedToBreathe.
The last several weeks have instead taken me extremely far from James 5. Lately, the study of God’s Word has nullified my ability to simply correlate the over exaggerated Biblical lesson-of-the-day with the 2010 application, and brought forward the reality that God cannot be reduced to a 1 page blog, a 24 year old’s thoughts, or a ridiculous, 5 day investigation. I am moving toward the place where all that matters is “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” –Revelation 4:8.
When observant, almost everything from the brightness of a starry night in Aspen to the hugs of 1st graders (elementary sub=opportunity to practice patience) brings out the truth in Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” This reminds me of just how BIG God is, and how minute I am. It’s quite humorous what I think I have figured out, when in actuality my perception of life is so narrow compared to someone just 10 years older. What makes me think I can even attempt to understand the Lord? “He (Christ) is the Beyond-in-our-midst, and though in our midst, still beyond anything we can intellectualize or imagine. Jesus Christ will always be a scandal to the murky, immodest theory-making of the intelligentsia, because he cannot be comprehended by the rational, scientific, and finite mind.” –Ruthless Trust, pg 55. My mind clearly is scientific, and I must comprehend everything. Concepts need to make reasonable sense, be explainable, and of course answer my favorite questions of why & how. However, the philosophical statement of “the Bible is beyond logic” challenged my haughty expectations. Zophar (Job’s friend giving horrible advice) actually makes a legitimate point in saying “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” –Job 11:7. No, we can’t. And we should value that.
In the book “Crazy Love,” Francis Chan addresses the magnitude of God. I loaned out the book, so I am unable to quote it exactly, but my thoughts mixed with Chan’s insight produce something like this: How could we worship, surrender to, and be completely in awe of a comprehendible, tangible God? I couldn’t. Knowing that I probably have a paradigm shift weekly, how great could a God be that is fully understandable at any lifestage? Rather than worshiping an explainable God that we incongruously personify and project our concepts of human characteristics on, we instead rest in the God of the Scripture, the God of Abraham, of David, of Paul, of Peter. I CAN be completely enamored with a God who is mysterious, captivating, and unfathomable; a God of unending anonymity yet unexplainably near. “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” –Deuteronomy 10:17. He is a God “full of compassion and mercy.” -James 5:11. And He is a God who has measured the waters in the hallow of his hand, and marked off the heavens with the breadth of his hand. He has held the dust of the earth in a basket, and weighed the mountains on scales… The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. -Isaiah 40:12,28 (paraphrased).
God is a God beyond all understanding, and that quality alone makes Him more than worthy of our praise, adoration, and unending search to know Him.
Showing posts with label Life is an Experiment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life is an Experiment. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Day 4- Take 2
The James 4 post basically focused on what WE DO (or not do). In reality, WE TRUST GOD. That's it. TRUST GOD. Like David, who is described as 'a man after God's own heart.' TRUST GOD.
Instead of reading my post, listen to this. It's better. Seriously. YOU WILL BE GLAD. Or if you are too-cool-for-school, then don't, whatever. But you will be missing out on a paradigm shift. (note-if it's not yet posted, it will be soon):
itunes/podcasts/watermarkradio-theporchchannel/livingtheadventure(4/27/10)
PS- The finale (Day 5) will come eventually. When I have time to write it!
Instead of reading my post, listen to this. It's better. Seriously. YOU WILL BE GLAD. Or if you are too-cool-for-school, then don't, whatever. But you will be missing out on a paradigm shift. (note-if it's not yet posted, it will be soon):
itunes/podcasts/watermarkradio-theporchchannel/livingtheadventure(4/27/10)
PS- The finale (Day 5) will come eventually. When I have time to write it!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The James Experiement: Day 4- James 4
Major Themes: Submitting to God; Not boasting in the future
Action: Nothing. See where God takes the day.
“Would I believe you when you would say,
Your hand will guide my every way?...
And I will walk by faith,
Even when I cannot see.
For because this broken road
Prepares your will for me.”
-Walk By Faith, Jeremy Camp
Lessons learned: In trying to develop the action for day 4, a very wise friend asked, “If YOU plan it, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of submitting to God?” So true. Therefore, I woke up without a plan, and spent the morning praying about James 4 then Luke 22:42 “Not my will but Thy will be done” and asking God to show me what that should look like for the day.
Okay, so probably not ideal for EVERY day, but for ONE day = spectacular. Basically, I spent the entire day in the Word, loving and serving other people, easily changing my non-existent-plans to fit someone else’s, and continually praying. I didn’t check off a single item on my extensive to-do list, try to figure out the fall in NC, research residency programs for next year, freak-out about my 25th birthday 10 months away, or even plan the weekend. Although atypical for me, it really happened. And it was phenomenal. God used this to show me how much of the present I waste living in the future, when often He has something better in store. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” –Proverbs 19:21
In regard to not boasting about tomorrow (James 4:13-17), the concept of TODAY can be difficult. I am a planner, especially a future planner. Confident in MY abilities (really?), I like to orchestrate the way I want things to turn out. James says otherwise. “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” –James 4:14.
The clarity of this section made me curious as to why it is so. I love to plan the future, what’s wrong with that? Our entire lives we’ve been told to prepare for later. Elementary gymnastics makes a better cheerleader, high school choices dictate college opportunities, on-and-on. So, why this lesson, James? Perhaps God is simply trying to protect us by keeping us from overplanning. How? I think sometimes we can be so focused on “our plan” that we completely miss the phenomenal opportunities that God is giving us in something else. It’s the "can’t see the forest for the trees" syndrome. On top of that, when we get too wrapped up in our plan, we have to face the harsh reality of unmet expectations when it doesn't work out. Unfortunately, a planner has to swallow this frequently, and thankfully God has reined me back over past year or so.
Example: Here’s how the wrong way often looks, in say a job situation. You find this job that has potential of being fantastic, so naturally you get really excited. You fill out the application, rock the interview, and are super pumped about the 3rd callback with the office tour. You begin picturing yourself in this job, who your work friends will be, what you will wear the first week, etc. It seems promising, so you zealously tell your friends and family who become completely stoked too. Next, you go spend your first paycheck (which you haven’t actually earned) on snazzy business clothes. As you are walking on sunshine in flashy new heels, your future boss politely tells you they have hired someone else. WHAT? You. are. crushed. In reality, your non-boss did nothing wrong. The pain was self-inflicted because you let this future-fantasy run away in your head, rather than adhering to Solomon's advice to "...guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." -Proverbs 4:23. You invested prematurely, and in this instance your plan didn’t jive with God’s plan. Still, you are left with the stinging pain of disappointment from unmet expectations. I've mostly done this the hard way, and am FINALLY learning the right way. One (of many) vital lesson from James 4: God is actually trying to prevent us from hurting ourselves. The quicker we learn this, the less heartache we encounter.
Real world application in MY head, so take it with some salt. I honestly think it is very wise to have a general idea, an overall direction, some concrete goals, and a vision in life, in addition to seeking Christ. But when we legitimately, presumptuously overplan, and think "THIS is EXACTLY what I want," it is a self set-up for a catastrophe. Thankfully, even though we regularly wound ourselves, Jeremiah 29:11 is reassuring. "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
Action: Nothing. See where God takes the day.
“Would I believe you when you would say,
Your hand will guide my every way?...
And I will walk by faith,
Even when I cannot see.
For because this broken road
Prepares your will for me.”
-Walk By Faith, Jeremy Camp
Lessons learned: In trying to develop the action for day 4, a very wise friend asked, “If YOU plan it, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of submitting to God?” So true. Therefore, I woke up without a plan, and spent the morning praying about James 4 then Luke 22:42 “Not my will but Thy will be done” and asking God to show me what that should look like for the day.
Okay, so probably not ideal for EVERY day, but for ONE day = spectacular. Basically, I spent the entire day in the Word, loving and serving other people, easily changing my non-existent-plans to fit someone else’s, and continually praying. I didn’t check off a single item on my extensive to-do list, try to figure out the fall in NC, research residency programs for next year, freak-out about my 25th birthday 10 months away, or even plan the weekend. Although atypical for me, it really happened. And it was phenomenal. God used this to show me how much of the present I waste living in the future, when often He has something better in store. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” –Proverbs 19:21
In regard to not boasting about tomorrow (James 4:13-17), the concept of TODAY can be difficult. I am a planner, especially a future planner. Confident in MY abilities (really?), I like to orchestrate the way I want things to turn out. James says otherwise. “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” –James 4:14.
The clarity of this section made me curious as to why it is so. I love to plan the future, what’s wrong with that? Our entire lives we’ve been told to prepare for later. Elementary gymnastics makes a better cheerleader, high school choices dictate college opportunities, on-and-on. So, why this lesson, James? Perhaps God is simply trying to protect us by keeping us from overplanning. How? I think sometimes we can be so focused on “our plan” that we completely miss the phenomenal opportunities that God is giving us in something else. It’s the "can’t see the forest for the trees" syndrome. On top of that, when we get too wrapped up in our plan, we have to face the harsh reality of unmet expectations when it doesn't work out. Unfortunately, a planner has to swallow this frequently, and thankfully God has reined me back over past year or so.
Example: Here’s how the wrong way often looks, in say a job situation. You find this job that has potential of being fantastic, so naturally you get really excited. You fill out the application, rock the interview, and are super pumped about the 3rd callback with the office tour. You begin picturing yourself in this job, who your work friends will be, what you will wear the first week, etc. It seems promising, so you zealously tell your friends and family who become completely stoked too. Next, you go spend your first paycheck (which you haven’t actually earned) on snazzy business clothes. As you are walking on sunshine in flashy new heels, your future boss politely tells you they have hired someone else. WHAT? You. are. crushed. In reality, your non-boss did nothing wrong. The pain was self-inflicted because you let this future-fantasy run away in your head, rather than adhering to Solomon's advice to "...guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." -Proverbs 4:23. You invested prematurely, and in this instance your plan didn’t jive with God’s plan. Still, you are left with the stinging pain of disappointment from unmet expectations. I've mostly done this the hard way, and am FINALLY learning the right way. One (of many) vital lesson from James 4: God is actually trying to prevent us from hurting ourselves. The quicker we learn this, the less heartache we encounter.
Real world application in MY head, so take it with some salt. I honestly think it is very wise to have a general idea, an overall direction, some concrete goals, and a vision in life, in addition to seeking Christ. But when we legitimately, presumptuously overplan, and think "THIS is EXACTLY what I want," it is a self set-up for a catastrophe. Thankfully, even though we regularly wound ourselves, Jeremiah 29:11 is reassuring. "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
The James Experiement: Day 3- James 3
Major Theme: Tame the tongue; do not be double-minded
Action: Only speak when spoken to, and have completely positive responses.
Lessons Learned: When I told my best friend about this experiment, she laughed hysterically at me. Then, kind of switched her tone and said, “You are giving up eating AND speaking?”. Implying, “Should we be concerned about you?”. It. Was. Awesome.
Alright, serious-face now. In our world, words are cheap and flow so freely without hesitation. We say things we don’t actually mean, set expectations that we don’t uphold, and “praise and curse out of the same mouth.” James 3:10. Funny example: A friend was telling us how she caught herself jamming out to worship music in her car, then semi-yelling at some guy in traffic, then immediately switching back to worshiping. How true is that for us all? (sidenote: the only people who actually see your ichthys and college bumper stickers are the ones you cut off in traffic. Not the best marketing technique.)
A few relevant Proverbs:
“Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” –Proverbs 17:28
“A gossip betrays a confidence, so avoid a man who talks too much” –Proverbs 20:19
“Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.” – Proverbs 25:24
This was an eye-opening experiment. A few things I already knew: I extremely value communication, am an avid encourager,and my main love language is words of affirmation. It also wasn't news that I'm verbally expressive, an auditory learner, and a collaborator. Embarrassingly, it was news how much I actually talk to myself. It became apparent that I recite to-do lists when trying to remember, verbally recap and plan out events, regularly read aloud, sing waaaaaaay more than expected, and actually speak to God. These things were discovered because I caught myself doing them. It happened ALL day, or at least the 25% of the day I was alone.
The remaining 75% of the day was divided into equal timeframes of strangers, acquaintances, and close friends. “Excuse me” and “thank you” were replaced with a nod and a smile. At school, someone would have to ask me for the information I really needed and wanted to tell them. In social situations, as a natural conversationalist, I felt ridiculous and kind of left out. It was, however, insightful to sit back and observe rather than always being in the mix. It was also good practice at being a Biblical woman in regard to responding and following. Tangent: If we expect men to be leaders, then we have to patiently give them the opportunity.
Also, sooooooooo many times things came to mind that typically I would just say without a second thought. Being forced keep them in my head, I sadly realized how often those statements didn’t really benefit, encourage, or educate anyone. And they weren’t glorifying Christ. Convicting moment...
God also used this day both to protect me and to teach me to rely on Him. There were a couple of conversations that flowed well because I was only allowed to respond. I unfortunately slipped up a time or two in those chats, but this day mostly prevented me from over speaking. Specifically, one conversation was a prime moment where less-is-best, and thanks to God it happened on my ‘not talking’ day. However, things were by no means picture-perfect, and this extrovert couldn’t talk about it to anyone! I could not call. Or text. Or email. Or facebook. Or gchat. Or contact first anyone in any form. It was killing me! And, it blatently pointed out that I immediately turn to someone other than the Lord. Skipping ahead to James 5:13 it is clear what we should do,"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise." Due to a day without carelessly speaking, the situation resulted in me looking to God the way He designed- and He absolutely provided.
Action: Only speak when spoken to, and have completely positive responses.
Lessons Learned: When I told my best friend about this experiment, she laughed hysterically at me. Then, kind of switched her tone and said, “You are giving up eating AND speaking?”. Implying, “Should we be concerned about you?”. It. Was. Awesome.
Alright, serious-face now. In our world, words are cheap and flow so freely without hesitation. We say things we don’t actually mean, set expectations that we don’t uphold, and “praise and curse out of the same mouth.” James 3:10. Funny example: A friend was telling us how she caught herself jamming out to worship music in her car, then semi-yelling at some guy in traffic, then immediately switching back to worshiping. How true is that for us all? (sidenote: the only people who actually see your ichthys and college bumper stickers are the ones you cut off in traffic. Not the best marketing technique.)
A few relevant Proverbs:
“Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” –Proverbs 17:28
“A gossip betrays a confidence, so avoid a man who talks too much” –Proverbs 20:19
“Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.” – Proverbs 25:24
This was an eye-opening experiment. A few things I already knew: I extremely value communication, am an avid encourager,and my main love language is words of affirmation. It also wasn't news that I'm verbally expressive, an auditory learner, and a collaborator. Embarrassingly, it was news how much I actually talk to myself. It became apparent that I recite to-do lists when trying to remember, verbally recap and plan out events, regularly read aloud, sing waaaaaaay more than expected, and actually speak to God. These things were discovered because I caught myself doing them. It happened ALL day, or at least the 25% of the day I was alone.
The remaining 75% of the day was divided into equal timeframes of strangers, acquaintances, and close friends. “Excuse me” and “thank you” were replaced with a nod and a smile. At school, someone would have to ask me for the information I really needed and wanted to tell them. In social situations, as a natural conversationalist, I felt ridiculous and kind of left out. It was, however, insightful to sit back and observe rather than always being in the mix. It was also good practice at being a Biblical woman in regard to responding and following. Tangent: If we expect men to be leaders, then we have to patiently give them the opportunity.
Also, sooooooooo many times things came to mind that typically I would just say without a second thought. Being forced keep them in my head, I sadly realized how often those statements didn’t really benefit, encourage, or educate anyone. And they weren’t glorifying Christ. Convicting moment...
God also used this day both to protect me and to teach me to rely on Him. There were a couple of conversations that flowed well because I was only allowed to respond. I unfortunately slipped up a time or two in those chats, but this day mostly prevented me from over speaking. Specifically, one conversation was a prime moment where less-is-best, and thanks to God it happened on my ‘not talking’ day. However, things were by no means picture-perfect, and this extrovert couldn’t talk about it to anyone! I could not call. Or text. Or email. Or facebook. Or gchat. Or contact first anyone in any form. It was killing me! And, it blatently pointed out that I immediately turn to someone other than the Lord. Skipping ahead to James 5:13 it is clear what we should do,"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise." Due to a day without carelessly speaking, the situation resulted in me looking to God the way He designed- and He absolutely provided.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The James Experiment: Day 2- James 2
Major Theme: Faith shows itself through deeds
Action: Coming up with how to live out faith through action for a day was tricky, because we SHOULD do this every day. So, I spent a day NOT procrastinating anything.
Lessons Learned: Educational, but ultimately created more questions.
A few cool things. Got up to the 1st alarm instead of the 3rd snooze, had an efficient and productive day, felt a sense of accomplishment, blah blah blah...Moving on.
A very common verse quoted from James is James 2:26, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” This goes hand-in-hand with one of my favorite quotes: "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." -Brennan Manning (you know you are rocking to old-school DC Talk in your head right now).
Anyway, thinking about these brought to mind a lot of questions about some key areas where we procrastinate our deeds. Mainly, time with God, service, relationships, and witnessing. ****note: I am extremely guilty, and these are my convictions NOT my instructions. Just sharing what I’m learning.****
Time with God: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” – Rev 4:11 (KJV). We are created to worship Him. Yes, it’s that simple.“But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” – Exodus 9:16. The most selfless thing God can do is bring us to Himself, because He is the supplier of all our needs. If we believe that, then why is time with God often put off until later? Seriously? It is absolutely ridiculous. Is it because we know He is always there and will forgive us, or because we are doing better than most, so God should be okay with that? Reality check: "He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord." -2 Chronicles 12:14. Seeking God is not doing God a favor. He doesn’t NEED us to join his team, life is not the NFL draft. His plan will happen with or without us. In actuality, we are supposed to yearn after God because the best thing for US is time with HIM. For me, it is extremely apparent when I am and when I am not consistently rooted in the Word. My world is different; full v. empty. Real life application: A few days after my "non-procrastination" day, a friend asked if I would be interested in committing to a year-long daily Bible study. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for the next 365. Answer: yes without hesitation.
Service: “…and I will show you my faith by what I do.” – James 2:18. Honestly, we are never going to have enough time, enough money, or a good “break” at work. Life will never settle down and circumstances will never be perfect. Truth be told, time is dictated by priorities. Are we pulling a John Mayer and “waiting on the world to change” or a Ghandi and “be(ing) the change you wish to see in the world.”?
Relationships: Ahh, this one is fun. To begin, think of Disney combined with chick flicks. Throw in cultural overabundance, instant gratification, ten-thousand books, the positive aspects of marriage, the negative aspects of singleness, the plethora of sappy love songs, and the lack of Biblical examples of dating. What do you get? A fantasy world in our minds, in which we very much procrastinate reality. The last couple of years have really taught me A TON here, but those insights will be reserved for another day.
Witnessing: Confession, I am horrible in this area. Worse, I am actually really good at influencing, convincing, communicating with strangers, and presenting a legitimate case for whatever the topic. My Dad easily envisioned me as lawyer or politician. Sadly, I rarely use this talent for the glory of the Lord. Sure, I'll talk about MY relationship with Christ to anyone. Will I ask them about their's? Christian friends, totally. Others I'm not certain about, not regularly. I'm afraid of offending, ruining a friendship, appearing close-minded, seeming judgemental or unaccepting, and possibly even being that "Christian fanatic". I tend to think another time will be better and less awkward. We'll chat later. Stark contrast to our confused minds, we can always count on Paul to tell it like it is. "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." -Galatians 1:10. So if we are servants of Christ, what should this look like? "Come and follow me" Jesus said, "And I will make you fishers of men." -Mark 1:17. He also told Simon Peter to "Feed my lambs" -John 21:15. Also, "Jesus says to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'" -Mark 16:15. And of course the great commission."Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," -Matthew 28:19. Paul says, "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season..." -2 Timothy 4:2. and "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." -Colossians 4:5. James has an overall sense of urgency. In addition to scripture, one of the most convicting facts came from Penn Jillette, an atheist comedian, magician, and filmmaker, after someone gave him a Bible following a show. Jillette said, "How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhG-tkQ_Q2w
Action: Coming up with how to live out faith through action for a day was tricky, because we SHOULD do this every day. So, I spent a day NOT procrastinating anything.
Lessons Learned: Educational, but ultimately created more questions.
A few cool things. Got up to the 1st alarm instead of the 3rd snooze, had an efficient and productive day, felt a sense of accomplishment, blah blah blah...Moving on.
A very common verse quoted from James is James 2:26, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” This goes hand-in-hand with one of my favorite quotes: "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." -Brennan Manning (you know you are rocking to old-school DC Talk in your head right now).
Anyway, thinking about these brought to mind a lot of questions about some key areas where we procrastinate our deeds. Mainly, time with God, service, relationships, and witnessing. ****note: I am extremely guilty, and these are my convictions NOT my instructions. Just sharing what I’m learning.****
Time with God: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” – Rev 4:11 (KJV). We are created to worship Him. Yes, it’s that simple.“But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” – Exodus 9:16. The most selfless thing God can do is bring us to Himself, because He is the supplier of all our needs. If we believe that, then why is time with God often put off until later? Seriously? It is absolutely ridiculous. Is it because we know He is always there and will forgive us, or because we are doing better than most, so God should be okay with that? Reality check: "He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord." -2 Chronicles 12:14. Seeking God is not doing God a favor. He doesn’t NEED us to join his team, life is not the NFL draft. His plan will happen with or without us. In actuality, we are supposed to yearn after God because the best thing for US is time with HIM. For me, it is extremely apparent when I am and when I am not consistently rooted in the Word. My world is different; full v. empty. Real life application: A few days after my "non-procrastination" day, a friend asked if I would be interested in committing to a year-long daily Bible study. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for the next 365. Answer: yes without hesitation.
Service: “…and I will show you my faith by what I do.” – James 2:18. Honestly, we are never going to have enough time, enough money, or a good “break” at work. Life will never settle down and circumstances will never be perfect. Truth be told, time is dictated by priorities. Are we pulling a John Mayer and “waiting on the world to change” or a Ghandi and “be(ing) the change you wish to see in the world.”?
Relationships: Ahh, this one is fun. To begin, think of Disney combined with chick flicks. Throw in cultural overabundance, instant gratification, ten-thousand books, the positive aspects of marriage, the negative aspects of singleness, the plethora of sappy love songs, and the lack of Biblical examples of dating. What do you get? A fantasy world in our minds, in which we very much procrastinate reality. The last couple of years have really taught me A TON here, but those insights will be reserved for another day.
Witnessing: Confession, I am horrible in this area. Worse, I am actually really good at influencing, convincing, communicating with strangers, and presenting a legitimate case for whatever the topic. My Dad easily envisioned me as lawyer or politician. Sadly, I rarely use this talent for the glory of the Lord. Sure, I'll talk about MY relationship with Christ to anyone. Will I ask them about their's? Christian friends, totally. Others I'm not certain about, not regularly. I'm afraid of offending, ruining a friendship, appearing close-minded, seeming judgemental or unaccepting, and possibly even being that "Christian fanatic". I tend to think another time will be better and less awkward. We'll chat later. Stark contrast to our confused minds, we can always count on Paul to tell it like it is. "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." -Galatians 1:10. So if we are servants of Christ, what should this look like? "Come and follow me" Jesus said, "And I will make you fishers of men." -Mark 1:17. He also told Simon Peter to "Feed my lambs" -John 21:15. Also, "Jesus says to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'" -Mark 16:15. And of course the great commission."Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," -Matthew 28:19. Paul says, "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season..." -2 Timothy 4:2. and "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." -Colossians 4:5. James has an overall sense of urgency. In addition to scripture, one of the most convicting facts came from Penn Jillette, an atheist comedian, magician, and filmmaker, after someone gave him a Bible following a show. Jillette said, "How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhG-tkQ_Q2w
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The James Experiment: Day 1 - James 1
It took me a while to decide whether or not to post this, but I learned a lot, so maybe you can too. First, the community group I am lucky to be a part of is absolutely astonishing. All. The. Time. Second, we just studied James.
To begin, James is Jesus’s half-brother (or most speculate). If Jesus was NOT drastically different than any other guy, his little brother would be trying to beat him up or cover up his embarrassing blasphemy rather than tell the world to worship Him. Next, James is all about action. Just Do It. No more of this talk, but step up and do something. Quite relevant to Dallas...
James has 5 chapters, and coincidentally, so does a work-week. This inspired me to do a little experiment: to literally and completely alter my life for a week. Each day had a very different predetermined action (some worldly, some biblically), based on the chapter. I'll post day-by-day how it played out…
Day 1: James 1
Major theme: Preservation through suffering, temptation
Action: Obviously the theme applies to every aspect of life. But, I wasn’t going to create a real-life struggle, so I had to make up something, which became a water only fast. Being diligent and hungry? It’s amazing how our “god is our stomach”.
Lessons learned: Not eating takes major focus, more than I expected. Several times, I almost ate something because I was hungry and had simply forgotten that I wasn’t eating. Avoiding temptation in regard to the things that we regularly struggle with takes intense focus as well. We have to consciously make a decision and stick with it. "...rather, train yourselves to be godly." -1 Timothy 4:7
Being hungry also makes one cranky, tired, sick-feeling, and overall less cheerful. To make a water fast more relevant to perseverance in trials, I purposely chose a day where I am expected to be the all-so-ever happy girl as well as be around food all day. It became amazing how much I had to rely on Christ to ensure I was appropriately representing Him, not being either fake or negative, and simply not eating. Hunger definitely heightens your senses in Twilight style proportions –okay maybe not that much –but God’s handiwork became increasingly obvious. Ex: the perfect song at the perfect time. Phenomenal worship to refresh me. Unexplainable peace. A phone call when needed. Also, I realized major opportunities that probably are always there but often go overlooked. It reminded me of 1 Corinthians 10:13 “...But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God always gives us another way, we just have to stop focusing on our sin long enough to see it.
This day also brought to mind how easily we justify and rationalize our actions. We tend to live in this world of grey, but sometimes things are simply black and white. Often, sin is black and white. Interestingly, the concept of ‘water only’ is very black and white, but I found myself coloring it grey. Did I really mean, ONLY water? What about tea, that’s mostly water? Can I put fruit in it to jazz it up a bit? Of course this is a silly example, but has real world application. I’m quite guilty of living in grey, being able to present a stellar case to convince myself and others that whatever I want to do is 'right' or within the will of God. But in actuality, sometimes it just isn’t. Granted, I’m not talking about what Christians often consider a “major sin” (all sin is the same, but that’s for another day) but rather the things we consider “minor sin”. If you tell a lie to not hurt someone’s feelings, surely that is justifiable, right? What about not confessing a struggle and just pretending it didn’t happen? If it only affects you, will that be okay? I’m not God, so I don’t know the answer. But, life can be difficult, confusing, and messy; maybe we should cherish the aspects that are black and white.
To begin, James is Jesus’s half-brother (or most speculate). If Jesus was NOT drastically different than any other guy, his little brother would be trying to beat him up or cover up his embarrassing blasphemy rather than tell the world to worship Him. Next, James is all about action. Just Do It. No more of this talk, but step up and do something. Quite relevant to Dallas...
James has 5 chapters, and coincidentally, so does a work-week. This inspired me to do a little experiment: to literally and completely alter my life for a week. Each day had a very different predetermined action (some worldly, some biblically), based on the chapter. I'll post day-by-day how it played out…
Day 1: James 1
Major theme: Preservation through suffering, temptation
Action: Obviously the theme applies to every aspect of life. But, I wasn’t going to create a real-life struggle, so I had to make up something, which became a water only fast. Being diligent and hungry? It’s amazing how our “god is our stomach”.
Lessons learned: Not eating takes major focus, more than I expected. Several times, I almost ate something because I was hungry and had simply forgotten that I wasn’t eating. Avoiding temptation in regard to the things that we regularly struggle with takes intense focus as well. We have to consciously make a decision and stick with it. "...rather, train yourselves to be godly." -1 Timothy 4:7
Being hungry also makes one cranky, tired, sick-feeling, and overall less cheerful. To make a water fast more relevant to perseverance in trials, I purposely chose a day where I am expected to be the all-so-ever happy girl as well as be around food all day. It became amazing how much I had to rely on Christ to ensure I was appropriately representing Him, not being either fake or negative, and simply not eating. Hunger definitely heightens your senses in Twilight style proportions –okay maybe not that much –but God’s handiwork became increasingly obvious. Ex: the perfect song at the perfect time. Phenomenal worship to refresh me. Unexplainable peace. A phone call when needed. Also, I realized major opportunities that probably are always there but often go overlooked. It reminded me of 1 Corinthians 10:13 “...But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God always gives us another way, we just have to stop focusing on our sin long enough to see it.
This day also brought to mind how easily we justify and rationalize our actions. We tend to live in this world of grey, but sometimes things are simply black and white. Often, sin is black and white. Interestingly, the concept of ‘water only’ is very black and white, but I found myself coloring it grey. Did I really mean, ONLY water? What about tea, that’s mostly water? Can I put fruit in it to jazz it up a bit? Of course this is a silly example, but has real world application. I’m quite guilty of living in grey, being able to present a stellar case to convince myself and others that whatever I want to do is 'right' or within the will of God. But in actuality, sometimes it just isn’t. Granted, I’m not talking about what Christians often consider a “major sin” (all sin is the same, but that’s for another day) but rather the things we consider “minor sin”. If you tell a lie to not hurt someone’s feelings, surely that is justifiable, right? What about not confessing a struggle and just pretending it didn’t happen? If it only affects you, will that be okay? I’m not God, so I don’t know the answer. But, life can be difficult, confusing, and messy; maybe we should cherish the aspects that are black and white.
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