What's Keeping You Where You Are?

  Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? “Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” Ex. 4:10-12

Have you ever been gripped by fear. I mean "can't move, can't breath, I'm just going to run the other way kind of fear"? Now I love horror movies but I absolutely hate haunted houses. Years ago I went to the "Nightmare on 6th Street" haunted house... and I will admit I screamed like a little girl. I thought I was going to hurt someone trying to get out of that house. I could not stand not knowing what was next around the dark corners of that house. To this day I will not go to a haunted house! No, my man card still works-don't judge me!

I bring up that story because I think fear whether it happens in a haunted house or everyday life, ultimately comes down to one thing...control. Fear will ALWAYS KEEP YOU WHERE YOU ARE. Its the safe play! It requires you to stay instead of jump. In this chapter God shows Moses some amazing signs, and yet his only response is God find someone else to do what you need done-I cant do it! The reason Moses was afraid was because he was looking at the wrong things- He was looking past his experiences with God and only focusing on his limitations.

You see fear causes you to see what your not instead of seeing whose you are! Fear causes you to hide behind your limitations instead of relying on God's reputation. Do you and I have faith enough in who He is to believe that He can use us even at our greatest point of weakness. Not only do I believe God can use us like that, I would say that it's the only time God can use us! "For when I am weak ,then I am strong...my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12)

Will you jump today into radical obedience when everything in you says to stay? What's keeping you where you are?

Not Ashamed...Bill

Shameful Concessions

"Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality." 1 Samuel 15:9

Compromise: to make a shameful concession.

As I read about Saul this morning I can't help but think about a man with amazing abilities & potential but who refused to listen and abandon himself completely to the LORD. Instead he chose to waste it all on his own selfish desires! The most dangerous moment in our lives will be the day we stop surrendering, yielding, caring and concerning ourselves with the condition & temperature of our hearts! Saul had everything... the looks, the physique, the strength, the power and the fame...he had it all, and because of that it cost him everything! You see the problem with Saul was that he allowed his heart to lead his life instead of his God.

You see God was looking for a man who would abandon his heart, his life and his soul to Him, so that He could exalt him and use him for His glory. But Saul gave into one compromise after another. These concessions led him to a place he never intended to be! You see here's the problem with compromise and concessions...they never end! Just ask Tiger Woods about that! That's not a dig on Tiger, God knows but for the grace of God in my life I could be in his shoes! I'm only saying that at some point just like Saul, Tiger Woods started believing his own headlines, he thought he was untouchable and it cost him everything!

So how do you know if you're dangerously close to shameful concessions? Here are a few warning signs in 1 Samuel 15...

- We're willing to settle for good things instead of godly things! (v3,9)
- We care more about the approval of men than we do about the praise of God! (v12,17)
- We start focusing on the areas of our lives we've GIVEN to God, instead of those areas we haven't! (v13 20, 22)

Again the issue for Saul, the issue for me, and the issue for you will always be this...Does God have all of US? Am I completely abandoned to His will, His desires, and to His word? “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,..." 1 Samuel 15:22

Not Ashamed...Bill

Abandoned: Emptied of Self!

13“O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 1 Chronicles 29:13-14

As I read 1 Chronicles 29, I am struck by the brokenness of a man who missed it as a father. From David's life we know that he excelled as king but failed miserably at home. Did he screw up as king? You bet! Did he fail in his personal life? Absolutely. But was he a failure? NO! Because even as flawed as David was, he was still considered a man after Gods'own heart. David always turned back to God! He always fought to abandon himself to God. He always came back to the place where God was at the center of his life!

The funny thing about leading others whether its in the home or marketplace is this, until your willing to give of your OWN TREASURES those who follow you won't either! Leadership must cost you before it costs others! David in v2 says "with all of my ability I have provided for the house of the Lord..." What David was saying is this, God all that I am I pour out...all that I own I give freely...I will gladly spend all that I am for your glory God!

A couple of things to meditate on from this chapter as it relates to living a life that is abandoned to God. Ask yourself a few questions: Do I give comfortably or sacrificially?(v9) (not just money but time) Are there any holes or blind spots in my life and is there someone I am accountability to personally? (v17) What am I holding back from God? (v16) (Am I giving God what I want or what he desires?)

Jesus may you teach me & and lead me to give sacrificially not comfortably. Jesus will you show me every blind spot, every sin that is trying to take root in my life so that I may confess it and be cleansed. Jesus, may I live to give myself away today so that others may come to know your name!

Not Ashamed...Bill

Abandoned...

Abandoned: unrestrained or uncontrolled; to give up the control; to yield

This year as I begin to think about what God is calling me to I feel a real sense that He is calling me back to meditate and focus my life on what it means to truly surrender all that I am to Him. I think the longer I walk with Him and the more He reveals himself to me-the more that is required of me! This absolutely scares me because it means I have to let go of more and more of my life. This is my greatest struggle. Unfortunately I'm so good at trusting God in the safe areas of my life. I don't want to be safe, I want to be dangerous for the kingdom of God. I refuse to allow my life to be marginalized this year and the only way for that to happen is for me to ABANDON ALL THAT I AM TO ALL THAT HE IS!
I have been reflecting on my 16 years as a Christ follower and I've seen some amazing things! I've seen the hand of God and His mighty power at work in and through my life in ways I could have never imagined. I've seen GOD deliver me from the those who sought my life in Bangladesh. I've seen the impossible become a reality through prayer and fasting as God healed a close and dear friend from cancer. I've seen a man on his death bed rise up and walk away to the praise of the glory of God. I have seen a village of Hindus and Muslims miraculously broken by Gods Spirit and bow and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He has used me in numerous ways to lead people to Christ and then to disciple them to do the same! I have seen God do a lot in 13 years of following Him...but I want to see more! I want to KNOW HIM MORE. I want to LOVE HIM MORE, I want to be consumed by Him. So as I begin this journey with God this year my simple prayer is that God would allow me to see what it means to be completely abandoned to HIM. An uncontrolled, unrestrained relentless pursuit of Jesus Christ!

Not Ashamed...Bill

What's Your ONE THING?

"...Demas having loved this present world has deserted me & has gone to Thessalonica..." 2 Timothy 4:9

As I read Paul's final farewell, his death sentence letter to Timothy, I am struck by his focus and how intentional his final words are to his "son" in the ministry. His concern is not so much about his life or what he is about to lose, or even those things he is going to miss out on as death and torture approaches. His final thoughts are about his brothers and sisters & their pursuit & devotion to Jesus Christ. Simply put- is Jesus Christ their ONE THING. Paul warns Timothy that there are those in the faith who have purposely gone astray from Christ. There are those in the church who have willfully deserted, abandoned, left, turned back from a pure & simple devotion to Christ. What a legacy to leave right! That has to be a crushing blow in your life when your name has been forever associated with deserting Christ and His church! I mean taking a break, catching your breath, "its just not convenient right now Lord" sounds so much better doesn't it? Deserted sounds so harsh, so disloyal, so treacherous. I mean no believer would ever say that they willingly abandoned or deserted Christ, and yet our lives don't lie. They tell a different story don't they?

As I read Paul’s words to Timothy, I think another passage applies here as well, its found in Revelation 2:4, “… Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” Isn’t that really the issue here with Demas? I mean yea he bailed on Paul but more than that; he bailed on Jesus, he left his first love. He took his foot off the gas; he pushed cruise control spiritually. You see its not that he started to pursue the things of this world- he just stopped pursuing the only thing that mattered-Jesus Christ! As I think about Paul's final words to Timothy this morning ... I am challenged in my own life. I wonder how close I am from "deserting" my first love, my pure and simple devotion to Christ? I wonder what area of my life I’m letting up spiritually? Where am I casually trying to follow Christ in my own life? You see I don’t think desertion & abandonment happens all at once. I just think it happens the moment we stop pursuing the only thing that matters most- our love affair with Jesus Christ! So my question for you this morning is this- What’s your ONE THING!

Not Ashamed….Bill

A Mistaken Identity

"Now you are Christ's body..."

1 Corinthians 12:27

I've been meditating lately on what it really means to be the "body of Christ." And as I have read and studied this chapter in Corinthians, I have to say my heart has been broken over the condition of the "church." Were missing it! No doubt in
1 Cor. 12 Paul paints a picture of the body of Christ as being made up of many members all working together for the common good, but there is so much more to it than just what we do. You see I believe the substance of the church is so much more precious, worthy and significant than just its function. I think we have grossly misinterpreted how Christ meant the church to be defined in our culture today. We have taking a living organism (Christ and his church) and transformed it into a religious organization.

In this chapter Paul paints a very different picture of what the church is. After describing the church as a body made up of many members, each one placed together in the body just as God designed it...Paul says this in v12..."so also is Christ." The reality is...if the church is "the body"... shouldn't it reflect and reveal the very person of Christ. You see I believe we have an identity crisis in the church today. Historically we have told our people that being apart of the body of Christ is all about what you do. But that's not really true...we have mistaken our identity as something we do instead of a Savior we know and make known to others. Paul makes it so clear here in Corinthians that being apart of the body is about who you are not what you do! For Paul the body of Christ is not just a metaphor or a word picture but a living reality that Jesus Christ indwells his people and gives his life to them. In other words the church is not a human organization designed to keep alive the memory of a great historical figure, but rather the church is a divine organism mystically fused to a living and reigning Christ, who desires to continually reveal himself through the lives of his people -His body-the church.

Listen Jesus is not simply one who founded a community of believers and left it, but rather the one who is still ever present within it. That's what makes the church such an unstoppable force! It was never meant to be a well-oiled organization that functioned inside the walls of a building but rather a community of believers who reflect and reveal the very person and presence of Christ to those desperately hurting & lost outside the walls of the church!

Father my prayer is that as I live my life today, may your presence be felt, may your power be seen and may your life be poured out into those whom cross my path. Jesus may I be your body today!

Not Ashamed....Bill

Love intersecting Life...

"...we loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. "

1Thessolians 2:7-8

This may sound kind of weird coming from a pastor, but here it is... I finally understand now what Paul means by this verse. Over the past 4 months Debbie and I have had the amazing opportunity to share not only Christ with some friends of ours but our home, our family, our marriage, our very lives! We have seen this sweet couple not only embrace the grace of our God through Jesus Christ, but we've also gotten the chance to walk with them through this journey. We have shared intimate details of our marriage, revealed the missteps in our own past, as well as our own current spiritual struggles, and how sweet that journey has been. Bottom line- we shared our very own lives! All of it! The good, the bad, the ugly.

We didn't simply share a FAITH outline (nothing wrong with that) or pat them on the back after they prayed a "prayer" & tell them to go and attend a "New Believers' class so they could try and figure this whole Jesus thing out on their own. No, instead we invited them to know the Jesus we knew. We invited them into our very own lives. We invited them to come and watch what we do, to hear what we say, to see how we love, to follow our pattern of life in Christ. It meant many late nights, a ton of questions, and a lot of transparent & real dialogue. But isn't that the way Christ meant it to be though! The very presence & person of Christ intersecting people right where they are...His Love intersecting Life! Can I tell you that this couple has not only become a new brother and sister in Christ, but they have become a part of my family, a part of my marriage, they have become a part of our lives forever. Simply put they have "become dear to us."

The reason I share all this is because I feel a sense of responsibility now for their lives. I carry a constant burden for them. I feel drawn to them and extremely committed to making sure that the Christ in me is formed in them! I pray for them and share my life with them not because I'm a pastor but because I deeply care for them. I have a stake in their spiritual lives. What an amazing blessing! This couple has become so dear to me & Deb that we are committed just as Paul was in Galatians 4:19 "Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives." I so understand Paul's heart, passion and desire for the church now. I get now why Paul writes with such passion for the church. He cared so much for the church because he was heavily invested into people's lives. He had so much deep love for his brothers and sisters in Christ who were struggling spiritually, who were being persecuted for their faith, because he didn't want anything to cause them to drift away from a pure and simple devotion to Christ. Just as Paul felt personally responsible for the early believers he was entrusted, so should we! We should do whatever it takes, go to whatever length in our lives so that we might fan the flame of Christ in those God has entrusted to our lives!

It's amazing how different you live, and how deep you love when others faith are at stake in your life. And you see I get the sense that this is exactly how Christ meant it to be! Disciple-making was never meant to be a spectator event, a church growth formula to be put on paper, or a task reserved for the super-saints, but rather an up front, close and intimate experience between those who are connected to Christ and those who are far from God.

So here's my question for you. Where's that kind of relationship in your life right now? Whose life do you feel spiritually responsible for at the moment? And if you still don't have an answer, then what are you waiting for?


Not Ashamed...Bill