By Name

The sky and the earth and the air and the galaxy,

In all of their beauty and complexity,

Were created by the One true master. He...

 detailed everything with such skill 

but most of it goes unnoticed because of our lack of just being still.

It's like we're running through the greatest art gallery that ever will be;

Introverted and focused on just you and me.

 

So wake up and widen your gaze!

Stop going through life unengaged and in a daze!

The beauty of this all though is that while he created the entire universe and everything it contains...

He created us, his children, and he knows us by name. 

Recognition

            “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”

                                                Psalm 107:1

 

We have all been there. Either something amazing and mind-blowing happens, or something tragic occurs and we are so quick to pull God off the backburner and incorporate him in our struggle or praise him for his goodness. We Tweet, post to Facebook, or Instagram a verse or a joyous picture and there is absolutely nothing wrong with these posts…But if we are only recognizing God’s goodness in particular life occurrences, what does this say about our view of God’s faithfulness? What does it say about our motives of being in sync with the Lord? Isn’t this limiting the power and sovereignty of the omniscient Creator of the universe?

 

NEWS FLASH:

 

                        God is good always, whether we recognize it or not.

 

God’s goodness is unconditional. He is good when you get your very first job, when you get promoted, and when you get fired. He is good when you get that college acceptance letter, when a married couple has their first child, and when a loved one passes away.

 

When you choose to realize God’s goodness only in joyous circumstances, you are limiting God’s power to work in trials and adversity and you are choosing only to rejoice in the Lord when things go well. In other words, “things go YOUR way”.

 

The flip side to that is only recognizing God’s power when the storm hits.

 

When we treat God like a dusty first-aid kit that we leave in the medicine cabinet only to treat deep wounds, we aren’t wanting more of God; we’re wanting the side-effects of having an in-tune relationship with him.

 

 To put it like one of my mentors and youth pastors, Stan Rhoden, said:

 

“We don’t want God; we want his stuff”

 

How do we fix this? How can we be aware of the unconditional goodness and faithfulness of God ALL of the time?

 

I believe this problem exposes our lack of thankfulness to the Lord due to complacency. Becoming thankful and rejoicing in all circumstances is the key to seeing God’s goodness all of the time.

 

            “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

Pray for the Lord to open your eyes to his workings in your life, big or small. When we do this, we become more aware of God’s working in our life no matter what the consequences. When we begin to see the small things the Lord is doing in our lives, our eyes become more accustomed to recognizing God’s goodness anywhere we look and we become more amazed by his power and his faithfulness to us on a daily basis.

 

God’s goodness is unconditional…

 

It’s just a matter of us recognizing it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Escape

                        “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

-          1 Corinthians 10:13

 

Praise the Lord that this verse is true!

 

How many times has a sin seemed to overtake you and left your heart wrecked and guilt ridden?

 

            If the answer is, “Too many times!” then listen up.

 

            Let’s talk temptations. The temptations in our life are many and strong. Some come with warning, and some sneak up on us like those school paper deadlines.

 

            A temptation also requires a response. Some of you reading this are saying “Caleb, you don’t understand. I just ignore temptation and it seems to go away.” Well, kudos to you, but the very act of ignoring is a response in itself! And there are many sins out there that are beating people down over and over again because they’re so far deep that ignoring a temptation is beyond question. They have to have a greater response; an escape plan.

 

            How do I deal with temptation?

            What does a “game plan” look like?

            Is there always an escape?

            I am not strong enough to take the escape. What do I do?

 

Dealing with temptation is different for everybody. You have to find out what works for you. Be smart!

 

If you have trouble with your searches on the internet, don’t be alone with a computer.

If you have trouble with your girlfriend or boyfriend, don’t be alone with them either.

If you have trouble with drinking too much, don’t go to that party where you know there will be alcohol.

If you have trouble with gossip, leave the conversation and don’t surround yourself with people who tend to gossip.

 

It is all about finding what triggers your temptations, isolating that variable and then deciding ahead of time how to deal with it in a way that will honor God.

 

It seems pretty simple, but it is extremely hard for some people (me included) in practice.

 

Why is that?

 

If the issue is that you can’t seem to see the way out and don’t believe that God is capable of providing one to you, read the verse again.

 

            “God is faithful”

He is not going to leave you. Ever.

He knows your past, your present and your future and he still loves you.

He is not surprised at the outcome and your response to the temptation and he still loves you.

He created the entire universe and yet he cares for you because you are his child.

 

His power is not limited…he can provide an escape.

 

Most likely, it is not the issue of not seeing the way of escape that plagues Christians; it’s actually taking it.

 

Like I mentioned earlier, a temptation requires a response. You can either fall for it, or you can beat it.

 

Ok, so what if you have tried to take the escape and you still fail?

 

YOU CANNOT DO THIS ALONE.

 

“There is no temptation that has overtaken you that is not common to man”

 

You hear that?

You are not alone in this fight!

 

Galatians 6 is going to call us to “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2)

 

This is a call to participate in gospel centered accountability with other believers. Find someone, or a group of people that are dealing with the same struggle and struggle together and with Christ.

 

Pray for eyes to see the way out.

Pray for ears to hear the Holy Spirit.

Pray for God to give you the strength, discipline and boldness to act and actually take the way out.

 

Escape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Application

 

                “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding- indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-5

 

            Sounds pretty awesome huh? Just cry out for wisdom and understanding and it’s all yours? The book of Proverbs preaches the seeking of wisdom a TON. You could take verses of Proverbs and print them in cross shaped fortune cookies and I guarantee they would be a huge hit at your local Christian bookstore. (Yes, I copyright that idea)

 

But did you catch the first couple of verses? Read it again.

 

            “applying your heart to understanding…”

 

It takes effort to study the Bible and pray daily and there is no doubt that, if you do these things daily, God will start to reveal his wisdom to you and show you things through your life and daily experiences.

 

But the hard part comes next. We read and study and pray for Gods wisdom when dealing with issues we have but when God answers, he usually intends to change you and rock the boat a little.

 

So we take what God reveals to us and we make plans. Plans to cut out sinful ways, to stop gossiping, to forgive so-and-so or whatever the Holy Spirit is pressing on our hearts.

 

But to reap the full benefit of living life in Christ, you have to APPLY the plan. You have to act.

 

Why do we as humans fall down and fail at application?

 

I believe it is because of one word.

 

            Response

 

In Matt Chandler’s The Explicit Gospel, Matt explores the idea of our response to the gospel saying basically we can accept it and be changed by it or do nothing at all. He makes the comparison of a husband cheating on his wife on their honeymoon just after he has declared his love for her and her alone.

 

Let’s dig a little deeper.

 

In its very nature, the word “response” requires some sort of action from the person who is responding to an event or action. A response would require that the person responding changes somehow to fit the action or event they are witnessing or experiencing. For example, let imagine you’re walking away from your car and it suddenly explodes. While this explosion doesn’t seem to phase action stars like the Rock or Vin Diesel, it is highly unlikely that you would maintain the same heart rate, adrenaline level, blood pressure, and thought process once your body realizes what has happened. A response.

 

In the same way, we know that encountering the gospel will mean change. We will, at some point, have to respond to the gospel.

 

As sinful humans, when we do encounter the gospel, it definitely calls for a life change and a renewal of heart.

 

Never has a person realized that Christ died for all of man-kind’s sin and said, “I don’t need to change”

 

A response requires change. A change requires action….

And let’s face it…WE’RE LAZY.

 

We try for a little bit, do all the “right studies”, gather enough knowledge to yell answers at the T.V. while watching American Bible Challenge  but we don’t want to really apply it most of the time. We are too COMFORTABLE.

 

It’s the complacency and comfort of where we are that keeps us chained to our old ways and stunts progress and growth.

 

After reading the “Response” chapter in The Explicit Gospel, I put a note on my desk that says:

 

            “How will you respond to the gospel today?”

 

 

So, how will YOU?

 

 

 

 

Mac [SI]N' Cheese

Picture this:

I rushed home during my seemingly 10 second lunch break and was cramming some molten-lava-hot mac n’ cheese in to my mouth when I looked down…

A noodle had declared its pathway into my mouth unsatisfactory to that high expectation it held as a microwavable, processed noodle and it had landed on my  blue v-neck t-shirt.

I mean, it was only ONE noodle.

How bad could the stain be?

I put the noodle in the trash and I wiped the cheese off and, in my 18 year old male desperation, washed it with a dab of water and tried to dry it with a blow dryer…

We have all been there right?

Right…?

Needless to say I was no oxy-clean poster-child and I was left with a somewhat barf-green stain (cheese being yellow and my shirt being a baby blue of some sorts).

I look down at my watch and it was time to bullet back to school for another couple of class periods. I had a choice: change shirts or just leave and hope I’m not late to my class.

In my vanity, I rushed to my closet, grabbed a matching shirt and flew out of the door.

Then the thought came upon me a day later: Why did I rush to change shirts? Why didn’t I just face the rest of my day with a little stain?

I didn’t want to be that kid with food on his shirt and look like the EasyMac monster.

Why are we uncomfortable with stains? Just because they look gross?

What does our view of food stains say about the way we handle the staining of our hearts in regard to our sin?

We don’t want to appear to the outside world as a gross careless eater, and an even worse,

A sinner.

As humans, we sin, fail, and drop the cheesy noodles on our shirts from time to time.

We panic a little and try and get the stain out ourselves. This, we must know, will never work and may even make things worse since

           

“Apart from me (God), you can do nothing”

                   John 15:5

Our outward image means nothing in Gods eyes.

He doesn’t care what hairstyle you have, how many pimples you have, if you can pull off those crazy thick hipster glasses, if you look like Gerard Butler in 300 or that shallow model that’s on the cover or your favorite Cosmo magazine, or if you have a nasty stain of sin on your heart because our heart is clothed with the most beautiful and powerful thing in the entire world:

“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.

          For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness…” Isaiah 61:10

So therefore delight in your God.

You don’t have to hide the stains of your heart.

Come to the Lord, like a child after a messy meal, and let him clean you by covering you with his righteousness.

Die, Dethrone, and Delight

Let’s be honest. Sometimes, as humans, we suck.

We wear out and we get frustrated (mostly at our own doing) and we turn to other things that give temporary satisfaction, if any at all.

What are the things you struggle with DAILY?

Maybe you’re not struggling with a serious drug addiction, but you can’t seem to keep your mouth shut around your “inner circle”?

Here are three points that I “came up with” (I like to believe that God placed them in my mind and upon my heart based on my own continuous struggles) that will help you in your daily battles against the world.

It’s as easy as ABC…D?

1) Die to Daily Desires

Like I said, what are those things that you struggle with daily?

What are the things you think about, look at again, say and wish you hadn’t, take, use, or abuse and those things you don’t think twice about but probably should?

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh along with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit”

Galatians 5:24-25

Here in Galatians 5, Paul talks about life in the Spirit and how desires of our flesh are not of the Spirit and we have crucified them and belong to them no longer.

Now is the point where you say, “Well it’s not that easy!”

Yeah, you’re right.

Let me preach to myself as much as to you here:

To overcome your daily desires that are not of the spirit, it’s going to take DAILY DEATH.

Whenever that temptation hits you, say to yourself

“Lord, make me dead to this desire today”

 Don’t be above asking the Father above for help.

2) Dethrone Doubt

In the book of Kings, Elijah the prophet gets into a classic “My dad can beat up your dad” argument with the prophets of Baal.

So naturally he makes a bet:

He tells the prophets of Baal to choose two bulls and put them on separate wooden altars for a burn offering. He issues a challenge:

“Then you call on the name of our god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire- he is God” Kings 18:24

Pretty bold statement right?

Elijah even taunts them and has them pour buckets of water on his stack of wood.

Elijah trusts God’s power enough to stand in front of hundreds of people and make such a bet and yet, in our own lives, we submit to our vices because, deep down, we believe they are better and more satisfying than a God who answers by fire:

“Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil and also licked up the water in the trench” Kings 18:38

                            

Ask for the Fire of the Lord to fall down in your life and dethrone your doubts of salvation and satisfaction.

3) Delight in your Deliverance

God already knows your failures.

Past, present and future.

So it’s not a shock to the Almighty when you fall down.

God, knowing our human limitations and inclination to submit to our sinful hearts, sent his only Son to die on the cross for ALL of our sin. No matter how frequent or how ugly. He died for it.

          “When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, ‘Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance” 2 Chronicles 12:7

          “‘You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you’” 2 Chronicles 20:17

It’s like being enrolled the class “Life 101” and God is the professor.

We expect our report card to come back to us:

A- Language choice

B- Gossip

F- Lying

D- Sexual Immorality

Student Notes: Fix your sin before you can graduate!

But how blessed are we that Jesus crushed our sins on the cross!

Sure. We fail and may earn an “F” in a certain area of our walk with Christ but God sent his Son to the “Final exam” on the cross and presents us with an exemption ticket, hot off the press, with the word “GRACE” stamped on the top.

Therefore, battle your sin already knowing the outcome.

God is on your side: HE WINS!

So come face to face with your struggles, die to them, dethrone the doubt that the presence of God may not be better than the fulfillment of your fleshly desires, and battle already knowing the victorious outcome you have with Christ.

Engage

Jesus wins, so erase the doubt.
Rise up your ashes, come off the sidelines and get off the couch.

Be engaged because a relationship is a two way street. Seek and you will find and, trust me, it's pretty sweet!

To find something, someone who is seeking you. And constantly covering all those times you come unglued.

There's no way to really capture this beauty in a lame little rhyme, but it's just a little something I thought I would give to the God who created time.

So get out of your every day cycle and dust off your shoes.

Open up the word today.

What have you got to lose?