The following is a poem from "Smiling Bill" McChesney, an American missionary that left for the Congo in the early sixties. At that time, the Congo was a VERY dangerous place for a non-local to be. He died at the hands of an angry mob in 1964.
This is "My Choice"
I want my breakfast served at eight, with ham and eggs upon the plate;
A well-broiled steak I'll eat at one, and dine again when day is done.
I want an ultramodern home and in each room a telephone;
Soft carpets, too, upon the floors, and pretty drapes to grace the doors.
A cozy place of lovely things, like easy chairs with inner springs,
And then I'll get a small TV- of course, "I'm careful what I see."
I want my wardrobe, too, to be of neatest, finest quality,
With latest style in suit and vest: Why should not Christians have the best?
But then the Master I can hear in no uncertain voice, so clear:
"I bid you come and follow Me, the lowly Man of Galilee."
"Birds of the air have made their nest, and foxes in their holes find rest,
But I can offer you no bed; no place have I to lay My head."
In shame I hung my head and cried. How could I spurn the Crucified?
Could I forget the way He went, the sleepless nights in prayer He spent?
For forty days without a bite, alone He fasted day and night;
Despised, rejected- on He went, and did not stop till veil He rent.
A man of sorrows and of grief, no earthly friend to bring relief;
"Smitten of God," the prophet said- Mocked, beaten, bruised, His blood ran red.
If He be God, and died for me, no sacrifice too great can be
For me, a mortal man, to make; I'll do it all for Jesus' sake.
Yes, I will tread the path He trod, no other way will please my God;
So, henceforth, this my choice shall be, my choice for all eternity.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Hero- 1 John 2:1-2
I have selective hearing. I think every child and married man does. I somehow miss he hard things my wife asks me to do, but I can hear that it's dinner time from 3 1/2 miles away!
It's funny how we tend to hear things from a perspective that benefits us. We hear what we want to hear. God tells us to obediently give our tithe, and what we hear is that we will get a blessing. We hear the Bible say that if we resist the Devil, he will flee, but we somehow miss how it also says that this will only happen when we are living in submission to God.
I had some serious selective hearing about a year ago. A minister that I truly respect was praying for me, and he kept repeating a phrase as he prayed. He kept saying, "The world needs a hero Andy. The world needs a hero!" I honestly believe that God was speaking to me through this man's prayer... the only question is, what was God trying to tell me.
This is what I heard: "Andy, you are a hero, and the world needs you!" We hear things like this a lot in the Christian world. It seems like there is always someone telling you that you need to go change the world. We hear things, and tell others things like, "Be extraordinary! Be a hero! Be the difference for someone!" So, it's not too crazy to understand why I would have "heard" God say what I thought He said.
After this man prayed for me, I set out to be a hero. I set out to be the best... to be holy... to be righteous... to be the world's hero. I let my head inflate to the extent that I became convinced that without me, there was no hope for people to find Jesus. In my head, I kinda became the world's Obi Wan Kenobi... I was their only hope.
But then, a few months ago, through some personal trials that I went through, my perspective changed. The air was let out of my BIG head. And I began to see me and Jesus in the proper perspective. I saw how incredible and powerful He is, and how weak and ordinary I am. I saw how loving and generous He is, and how self-serving, and conceited I am.
I was trying to be the perfect one. I was trying to be holy. I was trying to be the hero. And in doing that, I was trying to be God. I was trying to be Jesus. He is perfect. He is holy. He is pure. He is the hero. I am not.
When it comes right down to it, I am flawed and imperfect. I am not worthy to be anyone's hero. I don't have what it takes. When that man was telling me that the world needed a hero, I believe that God was telling me to point the world to Jesus... the Hero. But in my selective hearing, I heard what benefited me...
So now I read 1 John 2:1-2, and I see my Hero! When I couldn't make my sin right, He stood in my place. He did it for me. He is my Hero!!
"My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins- and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." 1 John 2:1-2
It's funny how we tend to hear things from a perspective that benefits us. We hear what we want to hear. God tells us to obediently give our tithe, and what we hear is that we will get a blessing. We hear the Bible say that if we resist the Devil, he will flee, but we somehow miss how it also says that this will only happen when we are living in submission to God.
I had some serious selective hearing about a year ago. A minister that I truly respect was praying for me, and he kept repeating a phrase as he prayed. He kept saying, "The world needs a hero Andy. The world needs a hero!" I honestly believe that God was speaking to me through this man's prayer... the only question is, what was God trying to tell me.
This is what I heard: "Andy, you are a hero, and the world needs you!" We hear things like this a lot in the Christian world. It seems like there is always someone telling you that you need to go change the world. We hear things, and tell others things like, "Be extraordinary! Be a hero! Be the difference for someone!" So, it's not too crazy to understand why I would have "heard" God say what I thought He said.
After this man prayed for me, I set out to be a hero. I set out to be the best... to be holy... to be righteous... to be the world's hero. I let my head inflate to the extent that I became convinced that without me, there was no hope for people to find Jesus. In my head, I kinda became the world's Obi Wan Kenobi... I was their only hope.
But then, a few months ago, through some personal trials that I went through, my perspective changed. The air was let out of my BIG head. And I began to see me and Jesus in the proper perspective. I saw how incredible and powerful He is, and how weak and ordinary I am. I saw how loving and generous He is, and how self-serving, and conceited I am.
I was trying to be the perfect one. I was trying to be holy. I was trying to be the hero. And in doing that, I was trying to be God. I was trying to be Jesus. He is perfect. He is holy. He is pure. He is the hero. I am not.
When it comes right down to it, I am flawed and imperfect. I am not worthy to be anyone's hero. I don't have what it takes. When that man was telling me that the world needed a hero, I believe that God was telling me to point the world to Jesus... the Hero. But in my selective hearing, I heard what benefited me...
So now I read 1 John 2:1-2, and I see my Hero! When I couldn't make my sin right, He stood in my place. He did it for me. He is my Hero!!
"My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins- and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." 1 John 2:1-2
Friday, June 25, 2010
Imperfect
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”----Mahatma Gandhi
This is a really powerful statement. This is a really thought provoking statement. This is a really embarrassing statement. And while it seems to be a scathing remark about our ability to be Christlike, I see it a little differently. I see it as a rebuke about how we, as Christians, have portrayed ourselves to the rest of the world.
We will never be Christlike enough to compare to Jesus. He is perfect, and we are definitely not (at least I know I am not!). And we will never be perfect. We are flawed and frail. We are weak and prone to failure. We are unable to live up to the standards of perfection that God has set for us.
In Revelation 4&5, John goes into the throne room of God. He starts describing things for the reader. He describes the throne, the area around the throne, the other creatures and beings in the room, but He doesn't really describe the most important aspect of the throne room.... God!! He just calls Him "the One sitting on the throne." Why would John do this? Isn't "the One sitting on the throne" the most important thing to describe? John doesn't describe Him because He is indescribable. In order to describe something, you have to make a comparison. You have to find something that it is like, and use that thing to describe what you are seeing. God is unlike anything or anyone else. He is beyond compare. And because He cannot be compared with anything, He cannot be accurately described.
So, when we, as frail and flawed people, compare ourselves to the glory of God, it should make sense that we will come up short. We will never be like Him. Not even close.
So then, why would Gandhi say this? Why would he emphasize our imperfection? I think it is because we have carried ourselves in the world like we are perfect. We have given everyone the impression that because we follow Christ, we have no flaws and that we don't make mistakes. We try to explain away or excuse past failures of ourselves or other Christians as though we have no faults. We have brought the world into a belief that we think we are perfect, or better than everyone else because we are Christians. We have forgotten who we are being compared to.
We like to compare ourselves to someone whose life is falling apart, and say "I'm not perfect, but at least I'm better than that guy!" Or, we compare ourselves to other Christians that we think we are more spiritual than. And as we make these comparisons, we come out thinking that we are pretty special. We think we have got it all together. We think that because we are better than someone else in our own eyes, that makes us perfect. We are so wrong.
We need to remember that we are to compare ourselves to one person, and one person only. And that one person is Jesus Christ. And when I compare myself to Him, I always come up seriously short. When I compare myself to His power, and His perfection, I realize just how weak and imperfect I am.
But here is the good news: Even though God's standard is perfection, He knows I can't get there. And since I can't do it, He came and did it for me. I could not be my own perfect sacrifice, so Jesus became that sacrifice on my behalf!! That sacrifice means that when God looks at my life, He sees perfection... But its not my perfection He sees... He sees the perfection of Christ. I don't own or possess that perfection, it is a covering that Christ has given to me. He covers my imperfection with His perfection!!
I will never be perfect. I will never compare to Christ. I will never live up to His standards. If I could, I wouldn't need Him. I live and breathe knowing that Jesus Christ has become my covering.
I need to carry myself in the world with the knowledge of my imperfection, and the wonder of knowing that the love and grace of God has covered me. Then maybe the world will see that I am real. I am not letting people think I am like Christ or that I could ever be like Christ. Then maybe the world will see that I'm just a messed up, imperfect person, doing my best to serve a perfect God.
This is a really powerful statement. This is a really thought provoking statement. This is a really embarrassing statement. And while it seems to be a scathing remark about our ability to be Christlike, I see it a little differently. I see it as a rebuke about how we, as Christians, have portrayed ourselves to the rest of the world.
We will never be Christlike enough to compare to Jesus. He is perfect, and we are definitely not (at least I know I am not!). And we will never be perfect. We are flawed and frail. We are weak and prone to failure. We are unable to live up to the standards of perfection that God has set for us.
In Revelation 4&5, John goes into the throne room of God. He starts describing things for the reader. He describes the throne, the area around the throne, the other creatures and beings in the room, but He doesn't really describe the most important aspect of the throne room.... God!! He just calls Him "the One sitting on the throne." Why would John do this? Isn't "the One sitting on the throne" the most important thing to describe? John doesn't describe Him because He is indescribable. In order to describe something, you have to make a comparison. You have to find something that it is like, and use that thing to describe what you are seeing. God is unlike anything or anyone else. He is beyond compare. And because He cannot be compared with anything, He cannot be accurately described.
So, when we, as frail and flawed people, compare ourselves to the glory of God, it should make sense that we will come up short. We will never be like Him. Not even close.
So then, why would Gandhi say this? Why would he emphasize our imperfection? I think it is because we have carried ourselves in the world like we are perfect. We have given everyone the impression that because we follow Christ, we have no flaws and that we don't make mistakes. We try to explain away or excuse past failures of ourselves or other Christians as though we have no faults. We have brought the world into a belief that we think we are perfect, or better than everyone else because we are Christians. We have forgotten who we are being compared to.
We like to compare ourselves to someone whose life is falling apart, and say "I'm not perfect, but at least I'm better than that guy!" Or, we compare ourselves to other Christians that we think we are more spiritual than. And as we make these comparisons, we come out thinking that we are pretty special. We think we have got it all together. We think that because we are better than someone else in our own eyes, that makes us perfect. We are so wrong.
We need to remember that we are to compare ourselves to one person, and one person only. And that one person is Jesus Christ. And when I compare myself to Him, I always come up seriously short. When I compare myself to His power, and His perfection, I realize just how weak and imperfect I am.
But here is the good news: Even though God's standard is perfection, He knows I can't get there. And since I can't do it, He came and did it for me. I could not be my own perfect sacrifice, so Jesus became that sacrifice on my behalf!! That sacrifice means that when God looks at my life, He sees perfection... But its not my perfection He sees... He sees the perfection of Christ. I don't own or possess that perfection, it is a covering that Christ has given to me. He covers my imperfection with His perfection!!
I will never be perfect. I will never compare to Christ. I will never live up to His standards. If I could, I wouldn't need Him. I live and breathe knowing that Jesus Christ has become my covering.
I need to carry myself in the world with the knowledge of my imperfection, and the wonder of knowing that the love and grace of God has covered me. Then maybe the world will see that I am real. I am not letting people think I am like Christ or that I could ever be like Christ. Then maybe the world will see that I'm just a messed up, imperfect person, doing my best to serve a perfect God.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Entitled- Luke 17:7-10
"When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, 'Come in and eat with me'? No, he says, 'Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you eat later.' And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, 'We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.'" Luke 17:7-10 NLT
Sometimes as Christians, we feel entitled. Sometimes as people, we feel entitled. We feel like the world owes us something. We can feel like this because we think that we have been wronged by the world, and they need to make it up to us, or because we feel superior to the world and they need to adore us. Either way, we feel entitled to the praise and recognition of others.
This is even more dangerous when we feel entitled to recognition from God... Have you ever felt like God owed you a "thank you"?... I have. I have had times where I didn't think God really appreciated everything that I was doing for Him. I didn't think He appreciated the time I gave Him, or the talents I gave Him, or the money I gave Him. And I felt wronged. I felt entitled to recognition from God.
My biggest problem is that I wasn't doing those things for Him. Because I was seeking the praise and the acclaim, I was doing those things for me. I wanted recognized by God because I thought I had done somethings special. But this passage in Luke kinda puts things into perspective.
I am a servant. And you are too, if you are a follower of Christ. Servants are supposed to do one thing... serve. That's it. That's all. It's actually pretty simple. Just serve.
And servants don't get parades thrown in their honor. Statues are not made of them. Why? Because they are just doing their job.
As a Christian, serving is our job. Let's do our job. Let's not worry about winning "Employee of the Month". Let's just do our job. Let's serve the Master. Let's serve His servants. Let's serve the world that He loved so desperately and gave His life for. Let's serve.
No parades. No statues. No plaques or special ceremonies. No "thank you" is necessary. Serving the Master is an honor. It is a privilege that we should relish. We get to serve the Most High God!! The Creator of Heaven and Earth. Wow!! What a privilege!
And the best part.... Even though we are servants, He loves us enough to invite us to the table to eat with Him anyway (Luke 22:29-30)!!
Sometimes as Christians, we feel entitled. Sometimes as people, we feel entitled. We feel like the world owes us something. We can feel like this because we think that we have been wronged by the world, and they need to make it up to us, or because we feel superior to the world and they need to adore us. Either way, we feel entitled to the praise and recognition of others.
This is even more dangerous when we feel entitled to recognition from God... Have you ever felt like God owed you a "thank you"?... I have. I have had times where I didn't think God really appreciated everything that I was doing for Him. I didn't think He appreciated the time I gave Him, or the talents I gave Him, or the money I gave Him. And I felt wronged. I felt entitled to recognition from God.
My biggest problem is that I wasn't doing those things for Him. Because I was seeking the praise and the acclaim, I was doing those things for me. I wanted recognized by God because I thought I had done somethings special. But this passage in Luke kinda puts things into perspective.
I am a servant. And you are too, if you are a follower of Christ. Servants are supposed to do one thing... serve. That's it. That's all. It's actually pretty simple. Just serve.
And servants don't get parades thrown in their honor. Statues are not made of them. Why? Because they are just doing their job.
As a Christian, serving is our job. Let's do our job. Let's not worry about winning "Employee of the Month". Let's just do our job. Let's serve the Master. Let's serve His servants. Let's serve the world that He loved so desperately and gave His life for. Let's serve.
No parades. No statues. No plaques or special ceremonies. No "thank you" is necessary. Serving the Master is an honor. It is a privilege that we should relish. We get to serve the Most High God!! The Creator of Heaven and Earth. Wow!! What a privilege!
And the best part.... Even though we are servants, He loves us enough to invite us to the table to eat with Him anyway (Luke 22:29-30)!!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
The Letter Of The Law- John 18
Sometimes the craziest things happen right under our noses, and we don't notice them. One of these things happens in John 18:28.
In this verse, the Jewish leaders are trying to condemn an innocent man to death, but are afraid to defile themselves by going into a Roman government building before Passover. What?? Did I read that right? Defile themselves? Didn't they defile themselves by accusing innocent blood??
These guys were so wrapped up in obeying the letter of the Law on the outside,that they didn't see the filth on the inside of them! They didn't see that their sin, hate, and disgust had defiled them. Their jealousy had defiled them. Their insecurity had defiled them. They were filthy!! That Roman building was probably cleaner than they were!!
But I think we all do this. We get so concerned about where we go, what we watch, and the things we do that we don't see the sin inside of us.
Don't only appear clean. Be clean!!! Let God cleanse what's inside of you! Let him purify your thoughts, motives, and intentions. Don't just obey the letter of the Law. Let it come alive inside of you!
In this verse, the Jewish leaders are trying to condemn an innocent man to death, but are afraid to defile themselves by going into a Roman government building before Passover. What?? Did I read that right? Defile themselves? Didn't they defile themselves by accusing innocent blood??
These guys were so wrapped up in obeying the letter of the Law on the outside,that they didn't see the filth on the inside of them! They didn't see that their sin, hate, and disgust had defiled them. Their jealousy had defiled them. Their insecurity had defiled them. They were filthy!! That Roman building was probably cleaner than they were!!
But I think we all do this. We get so concerned about where we go, what we watch, and the things we do that we don't see the sin inside of us.
Don't only appear clean. Be clean!!! Let God cleanse what's inside of you! Let him purify your thoughts, motives, and intentions. Don't just obey the letter of the Law. Let it come alive inside of you!
Friday, April 16, 2010
"Make Them Holy"- John17
Prayer is probably the most important and impactful thing we can do as people and as followers of Christ. Prayer is awesome. It is breathtaking to think that a silly, sinful human like me can communicate with Almighty God... the Creator of Heaven and Earth!! WOW!!!
As important as prayer is, we should really pay close attention to the times in Scripture when Jesus is praying. It would make sense that He would be pretty good at it! But check out what Jesus prays in verse 17. He prays that the Father would make His disciples holy.
So, when Jesus prayed for you and me, He prayed that we would be holy. He didn't pray we would be healthy. He didn't pray that we would be happy. He didn't pray that we would have money. He didn't pray that our churches would be popular. He didn't pray that we would have an easy life. He didn't pray that our kids would always obey us, or that our spouses would always show us love. Jesus prays that the Father would make us holy by the truth of the Father.
So then, what is that truth? The truth is that Jesus is all we need. We would like to have everything I listed above, but what we need is Jesus. Him and Him only. And when we pursue Him and His truth, He makes us holy.
Jesus wants me holy... Hmm... interesting....
As important as prayer is, we should really pay close attention to the times in Scripture when Jesus is praying. It would make sense that He would be pretty good at it! But check out what Jesus prays in verse 17. He prays that the Father would make His disciples holy.
So, when Jesus prayed for you and me, He prayed that we would be holy. He didn't pray we would be healthy. He didn't pray that we would be happy. He didn't pray that we would have money. He didn't pray that our churches would be popular. He didn't pray that we would have an easy life. He didn't pray that our kids would always obey us, or that our spouses would always show us love. Jesus prays that the Father would make us holy by the truth of the Father.
So then, what is that truth? The truth is that Jesus is all we need. We would like to have everything I listed above, but what we need is Jesus. Him and Him only. And when we pursue Him and His truth, He makes us holy.
Jesus wants me holy... Hmm... interesting....
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
He Has Conquered- John 16
Conquer. That's kind of a funny sounding word. Say it with me... Conquer! It's kind of a powerful word to say. Say it again.... Conquer!! I like that word!
We are always trying to conquer something. We are trying to conquer our fears. We are trying to conquer our inhibitions. We are trying to conquer our sinful nature. We are trying to conquer the battle of the bulge. We are trying to conquer a lot of different things in our lives.
But you have to love what Jesus says at the end of John 16. He says that He has conquered the world!! The whole world!! There is nothing he hasn't or can't conquer. Jesus is the man!!! There is nothing beyond His grasp!
Unfortunately, I think sometimes we get so conquer-happy, that we try to conquer Jesus. We try to drown out, or ignore His voice. We try not to listen. We try to be our own conqueror.
But rest assured, Jesus will NOT be conquered. Not by me, you, or anyone else. He was, is, and always will be victorious! He is the conqueror!
So, quit trying to fight a losing battle, and submit to Jesus the Mighty Conqueror as your Lord and King!! This is the one time in your life when it is a good thing to be conquered!
We are always trying to conquer something. We are trying to conquer our fears. We are trying to conquer our inhibitions. We are trying to conquer our sinful nature. We are trying to conquer the battle of the bulge. We are trying to conquer a lot of different things in our lives.
But you have to love what Jesus says at the end of John 16. He says that He has conquered the world!! The whole world!! There is nothing he hasn't or can't conquer. Jesus is the man!!! There is nothing beyond His grasp!
Unfortunately, I think sometimes we get so conquer-happy, that we try to conquer Jesus. We try to drown out, or ignore His voice. We try not to listen. We try to be our own conqueror.
But rest assured, Jesus will NOT be conquered. Not by me, you, or anyone else. He was, is, and always will be victorious! He is the conqueror!
So, quit trying to fight a losing battle, and submit to Jesus the Mighty Conqueror as your Lord and King!! This is the one time in your life when it is a good thing to be conquered!
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