New Discoveries

One of the highlights of being a parent is watching Oliver as he learns and discovers new things. There are many areas that would fit in those two categories. He’s learned how to go up and down stairs (safely). He’s discovered that running too fast causes you to lose your balance. He’s learned how to put a tool on a bolt. He’s discovered how to put a straw in the correct place on a lid. He’s discovered that being too close to a door, after getting excited to go “bye-bye”, results in hitting his head on the door. Oh, the many things he’s learned and discovered, and I can’t describe how enjoyable it is to watch him as he goes through these phases.

Dreaming leads to discovering. What would happen if you woke up and didn’t get out of bed on any given day? Basically, it would come down to the fact that you would fail to discover what life was like that day. You would remain in bed, never to see the other side of the bedroom door. You wouldn’t know what was out there, waiting, patiently, to be discovered…by you!

Discoveries are awesome to be a part of. Whether they are self-discoveries or group discoveries. These moments are monumental in you figuring out something totally different than you’ve ever known before! Whether it is a new use for a chemical and method which a group of people can work together or somewhere in between.

Just as being a father I enjoy watching my little one make new discoveries, I can’t fathom the joy that our Father gets when He sees His children dreaming about ways they can serve Him, then watch them put it into practice!

Make discoveries!

A New Found...Fear - Acts 2:43

The summer I turned 16 I had a new driver's dream job. Maybe dream might be a bit extreme, but I was so excited about the opportunity to get to detail and drive brand new cars by working at a car dealership. Each time I sat in the driver's seat of the cars, whether they were new or used, I was a bit nervous. Partly because I had not been driving too long and the other part was because the cars were not mine. I had a sense of fear of damaging them, but yet I was excited to drive these new cars. For a bit of trivia, the Chevrolet Beretta had come out that year - if you want to know my approximate age.

That feeling of fear mixed with excitement is what I think might have been in the minds of the early church as they began their life as "Christ's Church". Below are some applications to choose from to apply from our lesson yesterday as we continued with our look at the early church...

1. We tend to like to tell others when we have bought something new. It is really easy to share about the item. Is your life in Christ new? If so, it should be easy to share. If you're like me, it has been a few years since you "put on Christ", however the sheer impact that it has made on your life should be never fading. Rekindle your memories of the past when you "put on Christ" and stoke the embers to create a flame to cause you to want to share with others.
   
2. One thing that creates a sense of "old" is routine. Our churches are full of routine and tradition. It can be good but it can also be bad. If you are a church leader, specifically, try to bring about something in your assembly (be it each week or once a month) that is a bit out of the ordinary. Something with an edifying goal, but that would be a break in the routine. I doubt the early church had a routine.
   
3. If you are not as involved as you could be, is it as a result of fear? Allow that fear to fuel you instead of fizzling you. Allow it to be a mission that you decide to take on - which is not impossible. Go ahead and try it out...you may like it. Join a group, talk to that person, share Jesus, use your talents, etc.
   

The early church had a lot for us to look at and learn from. If you are involved with a church, examine what they experienced to stoke the fire in your congregation. If you are not involved with a church, the early church was nothing like what we find in most groups on Sunday mornings across America. This was an excited, yet fearful, group of people who just wanted to get together to worship God, the Father of Jesus, whom they recently put on the cross. They were community changers - and God added to their number daily (Acts 2:47).

Have an excitedly scared week!

Approaching things with nervousness...

Venturing Out While Losing Sight

In Junior High I had an assignment in Art Class to recreate the line drawing (at right) of Igor Stravinsky, as originally drawn by Pablo Picasso. Forget the fact that it was a "famous" drawing; I was more concerned with doing the assignment! Not only were we to try to recreate it, the drawing was hung upside down and that was how we were to recreate the drawing. "Why is it upside down?" were the questions, followed by many groans and complaints.

Nevertheless, we started to tackle what seemed to be impossible, with our 4' X 4' sheets of paper before us. I drew some, erased a lot. I drew more, turning my paper around every so often to see how it was looking. This assignment took a few days to finish, but in the end I had impressed myself. That brings us to this week's quote...

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. ~ Andre Gide

At the beginning of the assignment I remember being very frustrated. Like anyone who is inexperienced in drawing, you want it to look "perfect" in the end. You try and try and try to make it look good. You are longing to stay close to the shore because that is where you feel safe. You don't want to venture out and just let yourself see what you might discover. Venturing out requires trust - in this case, in yourself and your abilities. The assignment was to teach us to draw what we see and not what we think we see. In other words, draw lines, not fingers, eyes, cuffs, etc.

Much the same is life. We like to stay in where we feel safe. We don't like to venture out. However, when you venture out you not only lose sight of the shore, you gain sight on something you haven't ever seen before.

So, what seems impossible for you? Making new friends? Losing weight? Learning a new hobby/skill? Sharing Jesus? Giving up a bad habit? Praying? Completing a degree? Forgiving? Reconciling a relationship?.....Go ahead, venture out. Don't look at what you think you see, obstacles, but look at what is actually present, opportunity. By the time the "assignment" is finished, you may impress yourself with the results!

Losing sight of the shore...

Christians, Do You Remember Why You Are a Christian?

Pressure can cause a person to have a lack of judgment in a given situation. Whether it comes from peers, time, family, society, or self, they all can wreak havoc. Christians have the additional pressure of giving in to what the flesh wants to do, as in the battle between spiritual and worldliness. You may know something isn't good for you, but you compromise it momentarily. Or, maybe it isn't necessarily "bad" for you, so you compromise it, but at the same time it isn't "good" for you either.

What pressures have you been experiencing lately? As we looked at an Overview of I Peter, yesterday, we examined how the Christians in those days were experiencing great persecution from the Roman government. We are blessed to not be living in a society that isn't anywhere close their's. As we make an attempt to try to relate to a little of what they might have experienced, let's examine these applications...

1. Part of the reason that something loses its appeal and becomes "old" is that there are other things that are better that you can replace it with. That is the deception that causes people to fall away from their faith. Maybe someone comes along that makes their faith seem better than your's or you feel a void in your own faith that causes you to look elsewhere. Either way, the other looks better. However, it is not better at all. What you have IN CHRIST is the best of the best. Your faith may be "aged" but it is never "old". It is still just as new and exciting as it was when you first believed. Appreciate what you have IN CHRIST and praise God for your faith...Stand tall, Christian!
2. Team pride can be a very effective stimulant to continue on in a contest. As you are on the "Chosen Race", "Royal Priesthood", and "Holy Nation" team, you are on a team that has never lost. It is undefeated. Only those that have formed their own "team" because they, temporarily or indefinitely, thought another "team" was more appealing have ever lost. We all have taken ourselves off this team, and each time we do, we lose. And at each loss, I tell the "coach" that I messed up and ask if I can be back on the team, and He says "Yes." May the pride that comes from being a member on this team inspire you to keep going another step, another minute, another quarter, another mile...just never give up!
   
3. Going through trying times is never enjoyable. Even if you can look back on an experience and appreciate something that came from it, if it was bad, it was still bad. Christians will suffer before they enter into heaven. The Bible tells us that. Look at each time of suffering as an opportunity to do the following:
1. Grow...into a more mature Christian.
   
2. Learn...how to turn suffering into opportunity.
   
3. Reflect Jesus...to those around you.
   
4. Develop...perseverance for a possible next time.
   

As a Christian, you go through a lot each and every day. But, friend, let me assure you that it is all worth it. The end result will ultimately be eternal bliss. Just keep on keeping on. Stay on the narrow road, no matter how appealing the broad road looks. Walk away from the conversation when it is going against your conscience. You know what is right and wrong, now stick with it, you'll be glad you did!

Have a great week!

Sharing Jesus ~

Breaking Through

I don't know if you've ever moved somewhere new in your life, but you probably all have started a new job where you didn't know many of the people. In either case, it takes a while for you to break in to a group or two, or even break in to individuals' lives.

One of my passions is teaching - whether it is about spiritual matters, practical concepts, or secular information - I enjoy the challenge of creating an "aha" moment for people. I have the opportunity to teach through my job as a minister, but I also get the opportunity to teach when I sub in our local schools. Sometimes, it seems, that subs are just "temporary" visitors and regular teachers may not care to take the time to get to know them.

After about 2 years of consistent subbing in the local high school, I feel more and more like I am breaking through the barriers of being acknowledged. I look forward to each time I get to sub - not for the pay - but for the opportunity of how God will use me and who I might be able to uplift that day.

With the students, it is a similar concept. Most of them know me, and my "rules" and I rarely have any "trouble" with them. I've been "high fived" and "all right-ed" upon seeing me. Usually they want to know who I'm there for.

God has opened a door for me to, literally, minister to people in our local high school, and I love the fact that I am breaking through to build some relationships with those great people.

It's nice to not be the "new kid" and be able to break through!

Monday Mentionings: A Great Work - Nehemiah 6:1-14

It is almost always nice to start something new. In this case, it is nice to start a new week each Monday morning. You can put last week's business behind you and press on to making this week a great week!

God has a "great work" that He is doing all the time and everywhere. He guides us in carrying out that "great work" and that makes me excited to be a part of it! I hope that you can join in with an excitement of being a teammate of God's. Nehemiah had a "great work" going on and he was faced with opposition. See if you can use any of these applications to help you apply the lesson...

1. Though it is Monday morning at 11:30 AM, has Satan called to meet you somewhere yet? Nehemiah's opponents tried to take him away from a safe place to meet up with him. Our Enemy tries to get us to go away from Jesus and meet him in a place where we're more susceptible to being weak. Keep this idea on your mind as you go throughout the week.
2. Kids are taught at an early age that they can't have everything they want. I just visited with my 7 year-old nephew yesterday and he had just been at the store and wanted something but didn't receive it. However, this lesson never sinks in. Sure, some are more disciplined than others, but there is still a desire to want. The opposition to Nehemiah wanted them to not get the wall built so they could still have an influence on Jerusalem. We may want our "way" or may want a product. Either way, damage can be done in our pursuit to achieve that desire. Pray that the next time you "want" something - whether it is "your way" or something else - you think how it will affect your life and any others involved.
3. This week is a new week and Satan will be serving lots of different ping pong opportunities at you. How will you respond? Peter encourages us to be "preparing your minds for action; be self-controlled" (I Peter 1:13a). Pray that God will keep you strong and under control as you "fight the good fight of the faith".

Have a Jesus-filled week!

Keeping up my shield ~