Your Gift

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  – 2 Tim 1

Do you ever look at someone and wish that you had the skills that they do?  Come on, be honest.  I know you do.  So do I.  I see someone who is doing what I would love to do and I think “Man, I wish I had his talent.”  One problem, their gifts belong to them, not to us. 

The good news is that we have gifts, and they are not far away.  The scripture says to fan into flame the gifts that are IN US.  You have a gift (at least one), in you.  That’s right, you.  You have gifts; in you.  Instead of looking at what others have, and feeling bad about what you don’t, fan into flame what you have.  You may feel like you have nothing, but you do.  What are you good at?  What do you enjoy?   What experiences (good and bad) have you gone through? Can you use those to help others move closer to Christ? Those gifts might be smoldering.  You may have used them in a previous season and been ignoring them now.  Why not blow some air on the embers and get the fire going again?

Forget about what others have. It’s time to get your fire going; the fire he put IN YOU.

photo by dominic’s pics

Perfect Timing

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. – Rm 5

At just the right time.  Christ came at just the right time.  That’s deep.  it reminds me that he is the master of time and the master of timing.

His timing is not like mine.  I want things now. I want them fixed in a hurry.  I want to see results.  I have assessed the problem and I know the solution; or so I have told myself.  But my timing is not like his.  And if I follow him, I have to trust that his timing is much better than mine.

God, I will trust your timing.  It may be one of the biggest challenges I have to date.  I trust you as the leader of my life and I will trust you as the one who has perfect timing.

photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/macinate/macinate

The Ministry Ladder of Success

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord . . . – Joshua 1:1

“What, after all, is Apollos?  And what is Paul?  Only servants whom you came to believe. – I Cor 3:5

Moses is addressed as a “servant of the Lord. “ Not “Moses the leader.”  Not “Moses the great deliverer.”  Not “Moses the righteous.”  Not even “Moses, the friend of God.”  Just “Moses, the servant of the Lord.”

Paul makes a similar statement in I Cor 3:5 (above).  They are all servants, not superstars.

So are we.

It is easy to look at other people and be envious of their experience.  “Why don’t I have the talent that she does?”  “Why is my ministry not as big as his?”  “How come God seems to be working in him and not in me?”  After enough of this thinking we figure there must be a ladder of ministry success.  We begin to envy the people “higher” than us.   Pitiful. 

Truth: We are all bit players in a story authored by the Father.  The players do not write the story, they live, and act, and serve at the direction of the Father.  We may play different roles, but we all have one focus; we are servants.

May you serve today with the freedom of knowing that we all play the same role and serve the same God.

photo by boliston

Honoring Myself

¹ Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. ² So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. ³ Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said:
       " ‘Among those who approach me
       I will show myself holy;
       in the sight of all the people
       I will be honored.’ "
      Aaron remained silent. – Lev 1

We must offer authorized fire (service).  What makes it authorized?  Among other things, it must honor God.  Do the things I offer honor him or me?

Do I serve so that I can tell great stories of my serving or so that I honor God?

Do I build relationships with people so that I can feel better about myself or so that I honor God?

Do I tithe and give so that God will bless me, or do I do it to honor God?

It all comes down to the motivation of my heart.

Today may we offer him no unauthorized fire, but only that which brings him honor.

photo by elenm1

Suffer

¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." – Acts 9

A guy named Paul (who would later write much of the New Testament), had just had an experience with God.  It blinded him.  He was in a house and God decides to send a guy named Ananias to Paul.  Ananias is to tell Paul of the great things that will come in the future.  Exciting things like . . . suffering.

Suffering?  You would think that God would say that he is going to show Paul all the great things that will be done.  The thousands that will be saved.  The church that will be established. Why not start with the big vision?  Why not get Paul pumped about the results and get him to commit to the plan no matter what the cost?

Because Paul was not committed to the plan, he was committed to the Christ.  If it brought suffering, so be it.

God wanted to give him a clear picture; it’s not all roses.

What if God showed me how much I would suffer for him?  Would I still make the decision to follow him?  Would you?

photo by CGehlen

Where is God Now?

⁷ Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not? – Ex 17

Sometimes I wonder about the presence of God. "Is the Lord here with me?"  Sometimes I know that he is.  Sometimes it feels like he is far away.  I look at Israel and think, "How can they think God was far away, he sent the plagues, opened up the Red Sea, freed them from slavery." 

I bet if I were there I would have wondered the same thing they did.  Or maybe I would have thought "Sure, God was with us then, but where is he now?" 

I know that God has done some great things in the past, but he seems a bit distant in the present.  Maybe it is because I am too busy to recognize him.  Maybe I am not paying attention.  Or maybe he is backing off for a season for some reason.  Either way, I have two choices; argue with God, or try to listen all the more intently.

I’ll chose to listen.

How will you listen today?

photo by adam selwood

Take the Blame

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” – Gen 3:12

Passing blame.  A game we have been playing for centuries.  When I am busted for my actions, it is always the fault of someone else.  My parents raised me that way, everybody is doing it, I had no choice, my teacher doesn’t like me, blah, blah, blah.

Take responsibility for your actions.

If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great errors to rest. – Eyck 10:4

Suck it up.  Admit  fault.  Ask forgiveness.  Make the change.

We are responsible for our own actions.

photo by Chris Owens

Tongue of Fire

⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. – James 3

The tongue is dangerous.  How many of us have not been hurt by words?  Most of us have hurt people with words.   But words can also be used for good.  If the tongue can set a whole life on fire for destruction, can it set a life on fire with passion and cause?  What if we harnessed the power of the tongue for good?  Maybe it is as simple as saying things like . . .

• Thank you
• You look nice today
• I’m sorry
• I have been praying for you
• I believe in you

I often underestimate the power of words.  They have the ability to start a fire and change a life.

Go start a little fire today.

photo by db*photography

The Road to Hope Starts with Suffering

³Not only so, but we^[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. – Rom 5

²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,^[j] who^[k] have been called according to his purpose. – Rom 8

Suffering.   Not a big fan.  But it produces  . . .

perseverance; which produces . . .

character; which produces  . . .

hope.

The road to hope starts with suffering.

Even in the middle of suffering , God works the circumstances of suffering for good.  He works them toward hope.  The good that he is working in every circumstance is that I can have perseverance, character, and hope.  There may be no better way to get perseverance, character, and hope, than to suffer.

photo by elward-photography

Living in Half of the Story

²²When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. ²³They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief. – Mt 17:20

Jesus speaks to his disciples, telling them that he is going to be killed and raised to life.  The disciples were filled with grief.  Why? They only heard half the story.  Naturally they would be shocked at the thought that Jesus would be killed, but there had to be some comfort in the fact that he would be raised to life.  When they listened to Jesus, I wonder if they heard "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.  They will kill him and blah, blah, blah . . ." 

They only heard half the story.  The front half.  The worse half.

How many times do we hear half the story?  Maybe we are living in the first half of the story.  We are filled with grief because we think that is all there is. 

Yesterday a friend emailed me and said her Dr just informed her that she has breast cancer. Devastating news.  We are now living in half the story.  That half fills us with grief.  It’s the second second half of the story that I am pulling for.  It’s the half that the disciples didn’t hear, it’s the half that we can’t see. It’s the half where God pulls off miracles.  It’s the half where he makes his name famous.

I’m pulling for a great second half, even if all I currently see and hear is the first half.

photo by duchamp