"When it all Falls Down"
Ezekiel 12:1-14:11
Hebrews 7:1-17
Psalm 105:39-45
Proverbs 27:3
Have you ever asked a friend or someone you knew how things are going and their response was "fine" and later discovered their world was falling apart? There's been times when an individual has been hurting so bad, and yet there's no outward sign. Later when everything falls apart, everyone stands around saying "I had no idea". It's easy to say, "If only they had said something, I could have helped them..." That statement may be true, but there's hypocrisy in there as well.
In Ezekiel 13, God is reprimanding Israel for listening to false prophets as they are building the wall. "Tell these evil builders that their wall will fall. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down. And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, 'Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?' Yes, it will surely fall. The Lord God says: I will sweep it away with a storm of indignation and with a great flood of anger and with hailstones of wrath. I will break down your whitewashed wall, and it will fall on you and crush you, and you shall know I am the Lord." Ez. 13:11-14
Think of the tragedy: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?"
Each one of us struggle in this area. We live with a certain amount of pride and pretension. We want things to look good. When there are vulnerabilities in our life, we don't want anyone to know. We don't want people to see that we have weakness. That we hurt. That we're addicted. That we're empty. So, we paint the wall.
Our mind justifies this: I'll deal with my problems later... no one will ever know... It's just between me & God anyway.... I can fix this...
Then the rains come. The pressure of the flood reveals the weakness in the wall and there is destruction. We find that it's not only one life that's destroyed. It all those around as well. Then come the questions: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up it's faults?"
Well, we know why. "I don't want to appear weak." "What will people think of me."
We all know that we are created for "Relationships Devoted to Unity". We can recite that, but we forget that the reason we need to be in unity is so that we can bear one another's burdens. So we can help each other align to the Word and strengthen one another. To be vulnerable with one another. The longer we wait, the worse it gets.
A few years ago we built 2 large retaining walls. As it was going up, I came home for lunch, and the man who was doing the labor noticed the look on my face and said, "what are you seeing?" I said, "that block on the 2nd course looks a bit crooked." He said, yeah, I saw that too, but it will correct itself by the time we get to the top. I went back to work, and came home expecting to find all 8 courses in place. Instead, I found only a couple courses at the bottom and stacks of block everywhere. He had left already & I called to ask him what happened. He said, "you remember that one block? well by the time we got to the top, the whole thing was unstable, so I had to tear it all down."
When the Spirit reveals to us that there is something in our life that is a little bit "crooked", we must allow him to fix it. We must go for help. We must confide in a friend. Too often that isn't what happens. We hope with everything within us that by the time we "get to the top" things will have "worked themselves out."
We may get by with that for a while. I'm glad my friend tore the wall down and started over. Otherwise, when the rains came, it wouldn't have been just stacks of block around, it would have been soil, trees, and destruction all over.
Can you imagine the destruction of lives if help is not sought out? "Daddy, why didn't you tell someone you had a problem with the internet?" "Honey, why didn't you tell us we were out of money... you didn't have to steal."
We've seen time and again ministries that have failed because of the hidden sin of a leader. What a tragedy. Regardless of the specifics of the circumstance, one thing we know is that there was a problem down deep that was not taken care of. God loves his people enough to bring that which is in the darkness into the light. He wants us to be pure before him.
Make no mistake about it. It's not easy to tear the wall down one block at a time to take care of it, but it sure beats the alternative.
I'm not saying we need to broadcast all of our secret sins and struggles and put them on a sign in our yard, but we need to be in REAL relationships with people who have our best interest in mind and care enough to tell us the truth and help us to be aligned with scripture. We need to love one another that much.
We need to build the wall God wants. This is the key to living a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship with a heart that is open and pure before him. This wall will not fall no matter what storm may come.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Showing posts with label Accountability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Accountability. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
10.28.11 "Seduction and Destruction"
"Seduction and Destruction"
Jeremiah 51:54-52:34
Titus 3:1-15
Psalm 100:1-5
Proverbs 26:18-19
There is a powerful part of our human nature. Much of it's power lies in the fact that its attack is subtle. Its entry into our life is not something that we even guard against. We welcome it we entertain it. We dwell on it and it grows. We're not worried that its roots are going deeper and deeper, because we think it to be a good thing. It's hard to know at what point it becomes out of control, but many times it ends up on the throne of our thoughts. We don't even realize that this "friend" has now become our master, and we're controlled by it.
What is this rebel, this insurrectionist? This thing that causes such a subtle yet devastating war inside? It's none other than our Opinion.
"Don't get involved in arguing over unanswerable questions and controversial theological ideas; keep out of arguments and quarrels about obedience to Jewish laws, for this kind of thing isn't worthwhile; it only does harm. If anyone is causing divisions among you, he should be given a first and second warning. After that have nothing more to do with him, for such a person has a wrong sense of values. He is sinning, and he knows it." Titus 3:9-11
Unity is important to God. The majority of the time, it is Opinion that destroys unity. Division is most often birthed when an individual has an opinion of how something could be done better. It may very well be a good idea, but whoever is in authority determines not to do it that way. Opinion feels that it hasn't been understood, so it pushes a little harder to make a point... to no avail. Suddenly, Opinion has changed it's name to Offense. Offense feels justified, because Opinion was a really good idea. Offense begins to search for allies, and looks for platforms to promote this great Opinion. The only thing is that the drive is now Offense. Offense is intent on Opposition. The Seduction of Opinion is now leading to Destruction of Unity.
What makes this so destructive is the lure of Opinion in the first place. It might not necessarily have been off base theologically, nor did it begin with impure motives, but momentum was built as Opinion was given more honor than it was due. The Values and Goals of the Body have been lost as Opinion as grown to the point of blocking them out. It has taken the throne. Sometimes this happens because some find their personal value in their opinion. If their opinion is rejected, then they feel rejected, so they fight for the right for opinion to live.
Discipleship many times is the "ministry of damage control". I usually say that in jest, but there is truth in it. Much of the time we find alignment by getting out of line and needing to be brought back in to line. Paul's instructions to Titus don't say "if someone is divisive, kick them out right away." He says warn them. However, he does say that there is a point to not give them a voice any longer. If an individual will not accept "alignment", "such a person has a wrong sense of values."
This is a difficult part of growing in the Body of Christ. This is why it is so VITAL that the mission and vision are shared by all. It keeps our values in check. It keeps us aligned with scripture. Being Empowered through Biblical Training helps keep Opinion aligned with the Word, and Relationships Devoted to Unity keeps our dedication to building one another up, and keeps our opinion from growing out of control as we are committed to one another.
Keep Opinion in its proper perspective today.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Jeremiah 51:54-52:34
Titus 3:1-15
Psalm 100:1-5
Proverbs 26:18-19
There is a powerful part of our human nature. Much of it's power lies in the fact that its attack is subtle. Its entry into our life is not something that we even guard against. We welcome it we entertain it. We dwell on it and it grows. We're not worried that its roots are going deeper and deeper, because we think it to be a good thing. It's hard to know at what point it becomes out of control, but many times it ends up on the throne of our thoughts. We don't even realize that this "friend" has now become our master, and we're controlled by it.
What is this rebel, this insurrectionist? This thing that causes such a subtle yet devastating war inside? It's none other than our Opinion.
"Don't get involved in arguing over unanswerable questions and controversial theological ideas; keep out of arguments and quarrels about obedience to Jewish laws, for this kind of thing isn't worthwhile; it only does harm. If anyone is causing divisions among you, he should be given a first and second warning. After that have nothing more to do with him, for such a person has a wrong sense of values. He is sinning, and he knows it." Titus 3:9-11
Unity is important to God. The majority of the time, it is Opinion that destroys unity. Division is most often birthed when an individual has an opinion of how something could be done better. It may very well be a good idea, but whoever is in authority determines not to do it that way. Opinion feels that it hasn't been understood, so it pushes a little harder to make a point... to no avail. Suddenly, Opinion has changed it's name to Offense. Offense feels justified, because Opinion was a really good idea. Offense begins to search for allies, and looks for platforms to promote this great Opinion. The only thing is that the drive is now Offense. Offense is intent on Opposition. The Seduction of Opinion is now leading to Destruction of Unity.
What makes this so destructive is the lure of Opinion in the first place. It might not necessarily have been off base theologically, nor did it begin with impure motives, but momentum was built as Opinion was given more honor than it was due. The Values and Goals of the Body have been lost as Opinion as grown to the point of blocking them out. It has taken the throne. Sometimes this happens because some find their personal value in their opinion. If their opinion is rejected, then they feel rejected, so they fight for the right for opinion to live.
Discipleship many times is the "ministry of damage control". I usually say that in jest, but there is truth in it. Much of the time we find alignment by getting out of line and needing to be brought back in to line. Paul's instructions to Titus don't say "if someone is divisive, kick them out right away." He says warn them. However, he does say that there is a point to not give them a voice any longer. If an individual will not accept "alignment", "such a person has a wrong sense of values."
This is a difficult part of growing in the Body of Christ. This is why it is so VITAL that the mission and vision are shared by all. It keeps our values in check. It keeps us aligned with scripture. Being Empowered through Biblical Training helps keep Opinion aligned with the Word, and Relationships Devoted to Unity keeps our dedication to building one another up, and keeps our opinion from growing out of control as we are committed to one another.
Keep Opinion in its proper perspective today.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Sunday, August 14, 2011
8.14.11 "Responsible to No Mere Man"
"Responsible to No Mere Man"
Nehemiah 7:61-9:21
I corinthians 9:1-19
Psalm 33:12-22
Proverbs 21:11-12
I Corinthians 9:1 "I am an apostle, God's messenger, responsible to no mere man."
We've been talking over the last couple of days about carrying the vision, working hard, and knowing the voice of God. I guess that today's DEVO would fit into this "mini-series".
We MUST understand the RESPONSIBILITY that comes with the call of God on our lives. This is a BIG deal that I think we too easily shrug off into a minor thing. The verse I'm using from 1 Corinthians 9 is not directly speaking to what I'm talking about, but it says a whole lot! In context, Paul is talking to the Corinthian believers about how they need to support those in ministry. I'm not speaking to that issue at all, but Paul's first statement is HUGE! He is not responsible to mere man, he's responsible to God! Guess what? So am I. So are you.
You're thinking, "what's so profound about this?"
We need to understand the awesome responsibility of being the caretaker of all the resources given to us from God. I'll use finances first, because I think it's a tangible resource that we can all relate to. We understand the principle of tithing, and we walk in obedience to it. We know we must give him our first fruits. Then, with the other 90% we know we should be good stewards. But how seriously do we take that stewardship? What do you do with $50? What do you do with $100,000? Do you act differently toward different amounts? why?
If we are careless with finances, we can get this casual sub-conscious thought: "Oops, I guess I wasn't a very good steward there, oh well..." We don't think it's a big deal. A while back I heard a story on the radio where a city official threw this party downtown and went into the red by several hundred thousand dollars. I didn't get the full story, but my impression was that the individual responsible for this had the attitude of "oops, oh well..." You can see the problem here.
Stewardship is a BIG deal in every area of life! I want to speak now in terms of what you are called to do. Your vision, your career, your calling. You are "responsible to no mere man" in this as well. You can't take a "oops, oh well..." attitude in the stewardship of the gifts, calling and vision God has placed upon you. You have to understand the gravity of this message.
We often see airliners taking off over our house. Once, when airliner went by I felt the Lord say, "What if the pilot said, oops, I wasn't a good steward of my gifts today..." What would the result be? "I probably shouldn't have crashed that plane..." What's the difference? Your answer may be, "well, he's responsible for all those lives... I don't have that kind of responsibility..." How do you know?
God has equipped you for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:17) He didn't give you gifts and resources so you could spend your life "playing house". He gave it to you because you are to be a good steward. We have a saying with the choir & drama ministry: "Why be faithful in small things? Because God has BIG plans!" You don't know whether the gifts you have are $50 or a million dollars in God's plan. Either way, you need to understand the heart-discipline of stewardship and responsibility.
Responsibility is the spiritual principle of Active Ministry Involvement. You can't live the Balanced Christian Life without living a life of responsibility. This means being a good steward of your Time, Talent and Resources.
Maybe if we understood that we were going to be "audited" in regards to our resources. God's going to be checking the receipts of what we've done for His glory. (Matthew 25:14-30) If you knew you were about to be audited, you'd get your stuff in order. Well, get your stuff in order, cuz you're going to be audited!
This needs to be a part of who we are. There's no vacation from being a good steward of the resources God has given. It must be an ingrained part of life. I am responsible to no mere man. I Timothy 4:14-15 says "Do not neglect your gift... Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress." 2 Timothy 2: 15 says "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (because you're going to be audited today.) (Note: It is good stewardship to have a vacation! :) )
Live today as if you're flying a plane, because you are. We have a great responsibility for the gifts God has given us, and we are responsible TO the One who's given them. It's with that intensity we must treat our stewardship.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Nehemiah 7:61-9:21
I corinthians 9:1-19
Psalm 33:12-22
Proverbs 21:11-12
I Corinthians 9:1 "I am an apostle, God's messenger, responsible to no mere man."
We've been talking over the last couple of days about carrying the vision, working hard, and knowing the voice of God. I guess that today's DEVO would fit into this "mini-series".
We MUST understand the RESPONSIBILITY that comes with the call of God on our lives. This is a BIG deal that I think we too easily shrug off into a minor thing. The verse I'm using from 1 Corinthians 9 is not directly speaking to what I'm talking about, but it says a whole lot! In context, Paul is talking to the Corinthian believers about how they need to support those in ministry. I'm not speaking to that issue at all, but Paul's first statement is HUGE! He is not responsible to mere man, he's responsible to God! Guess what? So am I. So are you.
You're thinking, "what's so profound about this?"
We need to understand the awesome responsibility of being the caretaker of all the resources given to us from God. I'll use finances first, because I think it's a tangible resource that we can all relate to. We understand the principle of tithing, and we walk in obedience to it. We know we must give him our first fruits. Then, with the other 90% we know we should be good stewards. But how seriously do we take that stewardship? What do you do with $50? What do you do with $100,000? Do you act differently toward different amounts? why?
If we are careless with finances, we can get this casual sub-conscious thought: "Oops, I guess I wasn't a very good steward there, oh well..." We don't think it's a big deal. A while back I heard a story on the radio where a city official threw this party downtown and went into the red by several hundred thousand dollars. I didn't get the full story, but my impression was that the individual responsible for this had the attitude of "oops, oh well..." You can see the problem here.
Stewardship is a BIG deal in every area of life! I want to speak now in terms of what you are called to do. Your vision, your career, your calling. You are "responsible to no mere man" in this as well. You can't take a "oops, oh well..." attitude in the stewardship of the gifts, calling and vision God has placed upon you. You have to understand the gravity of this message.
We often see airliners taking off over our house. Once, when airliner went by I felt the Lord say, "What if the pilot said, oops, I wasn't a good steward of my gifts today..." What would the result be? "I probably shouldn't have crashed that plane..." What's the difference? Your answer may be, "well, he's responsible for all those lives... I don't have that kind of responsibility..." How do you know?
God has equipped you for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:17) He didn't give you gifts and resources so you could spend your life "playing house". He gave it to you because you are to be a good steward. We have a saying with the choir & drama ministry: "Why be faithful in small things? Because God has BIG plans!" You don't know whether the gifts you have are $50 or a million dollars in God's plan. Either way, you need to understand the heart-discipline of stewardship and responsibility.
Responsibility is the spiritual principle of Active Ministry Involvement. You can't live the Balanced Christian Life without living a life of responsibility. This means being a good steward of your Time, Talent and Resources.
Maybe if we understood that we were going to be "audited" in regards to our resources. God's going to be checking the receipts of what we've done for His glory. (Matthew 25:14-30) If you knew you were about to be audited, you'd get your stuff in order. Well, get your stuff in order, cuz you're going to be audited!
This needs to be a part of who we are. There's no vacation from being a good steward of the resources God has given. It must be an ingrained part of life. I am responsible to no mere man. I Timothy 4:14-15 says "Do not neglect your gift... Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress." 2 Timothy 2: 15 says "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (because you're going to be audited today.) (Note: It is good stewardship to have a vacation! :) )
Live today as if you're flying a plane, because you are. We have a great responsibility for the gifts God has given us, and we are responsible TO the One who's given them. It's with that intensity we must treat our stewardship.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, November 5, 2009
11.5.9 "When it all Falls Down"
"When it all Falls Down"
Ezekiel 12:1-14:11
Hebrews 7:1-17
Psalm 105:39-45
Proverbs 27:3
Have you ever asked a friend or someone you knew how things are going and their response was "fine" and later discovered their world was falling apart? There's been times when an individual has been hurting so bad, and yet there's no outward sign. Later when everything falls apart, everyone stands around saying "I had no idea". It's easy to say, "If only they had said something, I could have helped them..." That statement may be true, but there's hypocrisy in there as well.
In Ezekiel 13, God is reprimanding Israel for listening to false prophets as they are building the wall. "Tell these evil builders that their wall will fall. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down. And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, 'Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?' Yes, it will surely fall. The Lord God says: I will sweep it away with a storm of indignation and with a great flood of anger and with hailstones of wrath. I will break down your whitewashed wall, and it will fall on you and crush you, and you shall know I am the Lord." Ez. 13:11-14
Think of the tragedy: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?"
Each one of us struggle in this area. We live with a certain amount of pride and pretension. We want things to look good. When there are vulnerabilities in our life, we don't want anyone to know. We don't want people to see that we have weakness. That we hurt. That we're addicted. That we're empty. So, we paint the wall.
Our mind justifies this: I'll deal with my problems later... no one will ever know... It's just between me & God anyway.... I can fix this...
Then the rains come. The pressure of the flood reveals the weakness in the wall and there is destruction. We find that it's not only one life that's destroyed. It all those around as well. Then come the questions: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up it's faults?"
Well, we know why. "I don't want to appear weak." "What will people think of me."
We all know that we are created for "Relationships Devoted to Unity". We can recite that, but we forget that the reason we need to be in unity is so that we can bear one another's burdens. So we can help each other align to the Word and strengthen one another. To be vulnerable with one another. The longer we wait, the worse it gets.
A few years ago we built 2 large retaining walls. As it was going up, I came home for lunch, and the man who was doing the labor noticed the look on my face and said, "what are you seeing?" I said, "that block on the 2nd course looks a bit crooked." He said, yeah, I saw that too, but it will correct itself by the time we get to the top. I went back to work, and came home expecting to find all 8 courses in place. Instead, I found only a couple courses at the bottom and stacks of block everywhere. He had left already & I called to ask him what happened. He said, "you remember that one block? well by the time we got to the top, the whole thing was unstable, so I had to tear it all down."
When the Spirit reveals to us that there is something in our life that is a little bit "crooked", we must allow him to fix it. We must go for help. We must confide in a friend. Too often that isn't what happens. We hope with everything within us that by the time we "get to the top" things will have "worked themselves out."
We may get by with that for a while. I'm glad my friend tore the wall down and started over. Otherwise, when the rains came, it wouldn't have been just stacks of block around, it would have been soil, trees, and destruction all over.
Can you imagine the destruction of lives if help is not sought out? "Daddy, why didn't you tell someone you had a problem with the internet?" "Honey, why didn't you tell us we were out of money... you didn't have to steal."
We've seen time and again ministries that have failed because of the hidden sin of a leader. What a tragedy. Regardless of the specifics of the circumstance, one thing we know is that there was a problem down deep that was not taken care of. God loves his people enough to bring that which is in the darkness into the light. He wants us to be pure before him.
Make no mistake about it. It's not easy to tear the wall down one block at a time to take care of it, but it sure beats the alternative.
I'm not saying we need to broadcast all of our secret sins and struggles and put them on a sign in our yard, but we need to be in REAL relationships with people who have our best interest in mind and care enough to tell us the truth and help us to be aligned with scripture. We need to love one another that much.
We need to build the wall God wants. This is the key to living a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship with a heart that is open and pure before him. This wall will not fall no matter what storm may come.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Ezekiel 12:1-14:11
Hebrews 7:1-17
Psalm 105:39-45
Proverbs 27:3
Have you ever asked a friend or someone you knew how things are going and their response was "fine" and later discovered their world was falling apart? There's been times when an individual has been hurting so bad, and yet there's no outward sign. Later when everything falls apart, everyone stands around saying "I had no idea". It's easy to say, "If only they had said something, I could have helped them..." That statement may be true, but there's hypocrisy in there as well.
In Ezekiel 13, God is reprimanding Israel for listening to false prophets as they are building the wall. "Tell these evil builders that their wall will fall. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down. And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, 'Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?' Yes, it will surely fall. The Lord God says: I will sweep it away with a storm of indignation and with a great flood of anger and with hailstones of wrath. I will break down your whitewashed wall, and it will fall on you and crush you, and you shall know I am the Lord." Ez. 13:11-14
Think of the tragedy: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?"
Each one of us struggle in this area. We live with a certain amount of pride and pretension. We want things to look good. When there are vulnerabilities in our life, we don't want anyone to know. We don't want people to see that we have weakness. That we hurt. That we're addicted. That we're empty. So, we paint the wall.
Our mind justifies this: I'll deal with my problems later... no one will ever know... It's just between me & God anyway.... I can fix this...
Then the rains come. The pressure of the flood reveals the weakness in the wall and there is destruction. We find that it's not only one life that's destroyed. It all those around as well. Then come the questions: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up it's faults?"
Well, we know why. "I don't want to appear weak." "What will people think of me."
We all know that we are created for "Relationships Devoted to Unity". We can recite that, but we forget that the reason we need to be in unity is so that we can bear one another's burdens. So we can help each other align to the Word and strengthen one another. To be vulnerable with one another. The longer we wait, the worse it gets.
A few years ago we built 2 large retaining walls. As it was going up, I came home for lunch, and the man who was doing the labor noticed the look on my face and said, "what are you seeing?" I said, "that block on the 2nd course looks a bit crooked." He said, yeah, I saw that too, but it will correct itself by the time we get to the top. I went back to work, and came home expecting to find all 8 courses in place. Instead, I found only a couple courses at the bottom and stacks of block everywhere. He had left already & I called to ask him what happened. He said, "you remember that one block? well by the time we got to the top, the whole thing was unstable, so I had to tear it all down."
When the Spirit reveals to us that there is something in our life that is a little bit "crooked", we must allow him to fix it. We must go for help. We must confide in a friend. Too often that isn't what happens. We hope with everything within us that by the time we "get to the top" things will have "worked themselves out."
We may get by with that for a while. I'm glad my friend tore the wall down and started over. Otherwise, when the rains came, it wouldn't have been just stacks of block around, it would have been soil, trees, and destruction all over.
Can you imagine the destruction of lives if help is not sought out? "Daddy, why didn't you tell someone you had a problem with the internet?" "Honey, why didn't you tell us we were out of money... you didn't have to steal."
We've seen time and again ministries that have failed because of the hidden sin of a leader. What a tragedy. Regardless of the specifics of the circumstance, one thing we know is that there was a problem down deep that was not taken care of. God loves his people enough to bring that which is in the darkness into the light. He wants us to be pure before him.
Make no mistake about it. It's not easy to tear the wall down one block at a time to take care of it, but it sure beats the alternative.
I'm not saying we need to broadcast all of our secret sins and struggles and put them on a sign in our yard, but we need to be in REAL relationships with people who have our best interest in mind and care enough to tell us the truth and help us to be aligned with scripture. We need to love one another that much.
We need to build the wall God wants. This is the key to living a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship with a heart that is open and pure before him. This wall will not fall no matter what storm may come.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, October 15, 2009
10.15.9 "Get to Work!"
"Get to Work!"
Jeremiah 26:1-27:22
2 Thessalonians 3:1-18
Psalm 85:1-13
Proverbs 25:16
"Now here is a command, dear brothers, given in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by his authority:..."
Got your ears perked up? This must be big. Paul has been talking about the coming of Christ in 2 Thes, and now he makes this statement in 2 Thes. 3:6. It must be important. What could it be?
Here it is: "Stay away from any Christian who spends his days in laziness and does not follow the ideal of hard work we set up for you." What do you think of that? Sounds harsh doesn't it?
As we spend time studying scripture, we begin to discover in a new light, the things that are really important to God. When you look at this verse, what DREAM principle applies? Is it a lesson on "Relationships devoted to Unity"? Not this verse. A few verses later that comes in.
This scripture shows the importance God places on Active Ministry Involvement. As we've discussed before, the principle of AMI is Responsibility. As with the other principles, this is not just a good idea. It's a necessary element in the way God created us. It's something we must activate in our lives to grow in our Christian walk... To Live the DREAM.
It may be easy for some to think, "Well, I'm in the choir. I'm living the 'A' of DREAM." or "I got that covered, I'm an usher..." We have to come to terms with the fact that it's not just about being a part of a group. It's about applying the principle of Responsibility to every area of life.
An individual who is not properly Empowered Through Biblical Training can read this verse and take it upon themselves to go around and judge how hard each one is working, and then form division in the church based on those judgments, destroying unity. This isn't the point. In verse 15 it says, "Don't think of him as an enemy, but speak to him as you would to a brother who needs to be warned." This is where "Relationships Devoted to Unity" kicks in: You show you care about me enough to talk to me when you feel I am not being responsible with the resources God has given me.
What Paul is showing by saying "stay away" from the lazy ones is that it is really easy to get lured into their mindset. Verse 11 says, "Yet we hear that some of you are living in laziness, refusing to work, and wasting your time in gossiping." A gossip needs someone to talk to. It's very easy to get drawn into that trap. There's a lure to it that is dangerous. The same is true with laziness. Individuals who are not being good stewards of their resources often will say, "Why work so hard? Come on over Sunday night. Let's watch TV..." It has the appearance of a comfortable lifestyle, but comfort is not a scriptural principle. Responsibility is.
Let's encourage one another to "quiet down, get to work" (I Thess. 3:12) and also to "never be tired of doing right." (3:13) Make sure you are being Responsible with what God has given you.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Jeremiah 26:1-27:22
2 Thessalonians 3:1-18
Psalm 85:1-13
Proverbs 25:16
"Now here is a command, dear brothers, given in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by his authority:..."
Got your ears perked up? This must be big. Paul has been talking about the coming of Christ in 2 Thes, and now he makes this statement in 2 Thes. 3:6. It must be important. What could it be?
Here it is: "Stay away from any Christian who spends his days in laziness and does not follow the ideal of hard work we set up for you." What do you think of that? Sounds harsh doesn't it?
As we spend time studying scripture, we begin to discover in a new light, the things that are really important to God. When you look at this verse, what DREAM principle applies? Is it a lesson on "Relationships devoted to Unity"? Not this verse. A few verses later that comes in.
This scripture shows the importance God places on Active Ministry Involvement. As we've discussed before, the principle of AMI is Responsibility. As with the other principles, this is not just a good idea. It's a necessary element in the way God created us. It's something we must activate in our lives to grow in our Christian walk... To Live the DREAM.
It may be easy for some to think, "Well, I'm in the choir. I'm living the 'A' of DREAM." or "I got that covered, I'm an usher..." We have to come to terms with the fact that it's not just about being a part of a group. It's about applying the principle of Responsibility to every area of life.
An individual who is not properly Empowered Through Biblical Training can read this verse and take it upon themselves to go around and judge how hard each one is working, and then form division in the church based on those judgments, destroying unity. This isn't the point. In verse 15 it says, "Don't think of him as an enemy, but speak to him as you would to a brother who needs to be warned." This is where "Relationships Devoted to Unity" kicks in: You show you care about me enough to talk to me when you feel I am not being responsible with the resources God has given me.
What Paul is showing by saying "stay away" from the lazy ones is that it is really easy to get lured into their mindset. Verse 11 says, "Yet we hear that some of you are living in laziness, refusing to work, and wasting your time in gossiping." A gossip needs someone to talk to. It's very easy to get drawn into that trap. There's a lure to it that is dangerous. The same is true with laziness. Individuals who are not being good stewards of their resources often will say, "Why work so hard? Come on over Sunday night. Let's watch TV..." It has the appearance of a comfortable lifestyle, but comfort is not a scriptural principle. Responsibility is.
Let's encourage one another to "quiet down, get to work" (I Thess. 3:12) and also to "never be tired of doing right." (3:13) Make sure you are being Responsible with what God has given you.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, November 15, 2008
11.15.8 "Look Out!"
"Look out!"
Ezekiel 31:1-32:32
Hebrews 12:14-29
Psalm 113:1-114:8
Proverbs 27:18-20
If you've ever been to Niagara Falls, you know it is truly an amazing sight. The volume of water that goes over the falls is incredible. It almost makes you dizzy to watch it. When we were there in the summer of '07, we walked through tunnels behind the falls, and the roar of the water was incredible. I had slippery shoes on, and there were a couple of times i hit a slick spot on the tunnel floor, and wiped out. For how many tourists are there I'm surprised it isn't more guarded with safety rails. It would be very easy for a child or a crazy teenager to walk out on a ledge, and fall over the cliff or into the falls.
As I read the scriptures this morning, I was imagining seeing someone walk out there with slippery shoes. What would I do if I saw that? Would I say anything? Would I do anything to prevent?
When discussing confrontation a friend said, "It's hardest to confront those closest to you. We're great friends, but when it comes to spiritual things..."
Hebrews 12:15 shows us the priority: "Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God's best blessings. Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you, for as it springs up it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives."
This is what it is all about. In pastoral ministries there are some sad stories. I'll sit in my office as the person across my desk has a broken life in their hand. Often it's something that has gone on for years. What makes it so sad, is that many times individuals in this state have "close" relationships with Christian friends. But, for some reason or another, the struggle never came up. There may have been comments on the side about a marriage frustration, or even a snide comment about another believer, but for one reason another, it was never discussed. Never confronted.
Enter the bitter root. An individual misses church for a few weeks, and no one "notices". Sure, there's a call from a pastor, or church leader, but what about my friends? The bitterness grows to the point that when a call is made, it seems "too late". The bitter root takes hold, and it causes deep trouble. Not only for the individual, but "hurting many in their spiritual lives."
It's uncomfortable many times to say, "hey man, I notice you're not getting along with your wife very well." Or, "I haven't seen you in bible study for a while. Is everything ok?" We don't want to risk offending the individual. But SO OFTEN, the one who's hurting inside is BEGGING for someone to notice. Someone to ask.
It's like seeing the child on the ledge. "I'd say something, but I don't want the parent to think I'm judging them." "I haven't met them yet. Who am I to say something?"
In a scenario like that the only way you would keep silent is either you don't value the life, or you don't recognize the danger.
Look again at the purpose for this. "Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God's best blessings." If you see me heading down a path that could cause me to miss God's best blessings, why wouldn't you talk to me about it? Why wouldn't you say, "Look out!" Don't you care enough?
The difficulty is that too often people are "judged" instead of talked to. Benny misses two bible studies & he must be in sin. We build a case against him in our mind, build it up to be a huge deal, and we actually become insecure in how to deal with the issue, and afraid to do anything. So, we shake our head, and wonder what went wrong rather than finding out that Benny is discouraged because of a job situation, and could really use a call. We don't value Benny's life enough to pick up the phone.
Relationships Devoted to Unity are "discipling" relationships. It's caring enough to help one another keep conversation and conduct aligned with the word. Look at the people in your world differently. View yourself as God's agent to bring another closer to Christ. Not just unbelievers, but those in your family & the family of God.
There's a pretty good chance that someone reading this email is the one who "needs someone to notice". The enemy wants to keep you isolated and alone. He wants to separate you from the Body so he can destroy you. Don't use the lie that "no one cares" feed into the ploy to drive you to despair. Get connected! Pursue relationships with godly people. EVERY ONE of us have this responsibility!
One thing that I'm discovering more and more is that as the Lord is purifying his Church for his soon return, there are some interesting things happening. In the lives of so many individuals there are things that are coming to the surface. For example, people who have been Christians for a long time are "all of the sudden" struggling with issues and it's being revealed.
As the Lord purifies us, things come to the surface so we can allow God to take them away. What tends to happen, though is that we want to cover them up. We feel we should be perfect because it's time to be mature. But the bible says that we should "confess our sins one to another so that we may be healed." We need to be vulnerable one to another. We need to offer grace one to another. We need to show one another the way out.
We need to Look Out! for one another! If we don't we either don't value the life, or recognize the danger.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Ezekiel 31:1-32:32
Hebrews 12:14-29
Psalm 113:1-114:8
Proverbs 27:18-20
If you've ever been to Niagara Falls, you know it is truly an amazing sight. The volume of water that goes over the falls is incredible. It almost makes you dizzy to watch it. When we were there in the summer of '07, we walked through tunnels behind the falls, and the roar of the water was incredible. I had slippery shoes on, and there were a couple of times i hit a slick spot on the tunnel floor, and wiped out. For how many tourists are there I'm surprised it isn't more guarded with safety rails. It would be very easy for a child or a crazy teenager to walk out on a ledge, and fall over the cliff or into the falls.
As I read the scriptures this morning, I was imagining seeing someone walk out there with slippery shoes. What would I do if I saw that? Would I say anything? Would I do anything to prevent?
When discussing confrontation a friend said, "It's hardest to confront those closest to you. We're great friends, but when it comes to spiritual things..."
Hebrews 12:15 shows us the priority: "Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God's best blessings. Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you, for as it springs up it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives."
This is what it is all about. In pastoral ministries there are some sad stories. I'll sit in my office as the person across my desk has a broken life in their hand. Often it's something that has gone on for years. What makes it so sad, is that many times individuals in this state have "close" relationships with Christian friends. But, for some reason or another, the struggle never came up. There may have been comments on the side about a marriage frustration, or even a snide comment about another believer, but for one reason another, it was never discussed. Never confronted.
Enter the bitter root. An individual misses church for a few weeks, and no one "notices". Sure, there's a call from a pastor, or church leader, but what about my friends? The bitterness grows to the point that when a call is made, it seems "too late". The bitter root takes hold, and it causes deep trouble. Not only for the individual, but "hurting many in their spiritual lives."
It's uncomfortable many times to say, "hey man, I notice you're not getting along with your wife very well." Or, "I haven't seen you in bible study for a while. Is everything ok?" We don't want to risk offending the individual. But SO OFTEN, the one who's hurting inside is BEGGING for someone to notice. Someone to ask.
It's like seeing the child on the ledge. "I'd say something, but I don't want the parent to think I'm judging them." "I haven't met them yet. Who am I to say something?"
In a scenario like that the only way you would keep silent is either you don't value the life, or you don't recognize the danger.
Look again at the purpose for this. "Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God's best blessings." If you see me heading down a path that could cause me to miss God's best blessings, why wouldn't you talk to me about it? Why wouldn't you say, "Look out!" Don't you care enough?
The difficulty is that too often people are "judged" instead of talked to. Benny misses two bible studies & he must be in sin. We build a case against him in our mind, build it up to be a huge deal, and we actually become insecure in how to deal with the issue, and afraid to do anything. So, we shake our head, and wonder what went wrong rather than finding out that Benny is discouraged because of a job situation, and could really use a call. We don't value Benny's life enough to pick up the phone.
Relationships Devoted to Unity are "discipling" relationships. It's caring enough to help one another keep conversation and conduct aligned with the word. Look at the people in your world differently. View yourself as God's agent to bring another closer to Christ. Not just unbelievers, but those in your family & the family of God.
There's a pretty good chance that someone reading this email is the one who "needs someone to notice". The enemy wants to keep you isolated and alone. He wants to separate you from the Body so he can destroy you. Don't use the lie that "no one cares" feed into the ploy to drive you to despair. Get connected! Pursue relationships with godly people. EVERY ONE of us have this responsibility!
One thing that I'm discovering more and more is that as the Lord is purifying his Church for his soon return, there are some interesting things happening. In the lives of so many individuals there are things that are coming to the surface. For example, people who have been Christians for a long time are "all of the sudden" struggling with issues and it's being revealed.
As the Lord purifies us, things come to the surface so we can allow God to take them away. What tends to happen, though is that we want to cover them up. We feel we should be perfect because it's time to be mature. But the bible says that we should "confess our sins one to another so that we may be healed." We need to be vulnerable one to another. We need to offer grace one to another. We need to show one another the way out.
We need to Look Out! for one another! If we don't we either don't value the life, or recognize the danger.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
11.5.8 "When it all Falls Down"
"When it all Falls Down"
Ezekiel 12:1-14:11
Hebrews 7:1-17
Psalm 105:39-45
Proverbs 27:3
Have you ever asked a friend or someone you knew how things are going and their response was "fine" and later discovered their world was falling apart? There's been times when an individual has been hurting so bad, and yet there's no outward sign. Later when everything falls apart, everyone stands around saying "I had no idea". It's easy to say, "If only they had said something, I could have helped them..." That statement may be true, but there's hypocrisy in there as well.
In Ezekiel 13, God is reprimanding Israel for listening to false prophets as they are building the wall. "Tell these evil builders that their wall will fall. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down. And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, 'Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?' Yes, it will surely fall. The Lord God says: I will sweep it away with a storm of indignation and with a great flood of anger and with hailstones of wrath. I will break down your whitewashed wall, and it will fall on you and crush you, and you shall know I am the Lord." Ez. 13:11-14
Think of the tragedy: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?"
Each one of us struggle in this area. We live with a certain amount of pride and pretension. We want things to look good. When there are vulnerabilities in our life, we don't want anyone to know. We don't want people to see that we have weakness. That we hurt. That we're addicted. That we're empty. So, we paint the wall.
Our mind justifies this: I'll deal with my problems later... no one will ever know... It's just between me & God anyway.... I can fix this...
Then the rains come. The pressure of the flood reveals the weakness in the wall and there is destruction. We find that it's not only one life that's destroyed. It all those around as well. Then come the questions: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up it's faults?"
Well, we know why. "I don't want to appear weak." "What will people think of me."
We all know that we are created for "Relationships Devoted to Unity". We can recite that, but we forget that the reason we need to be in unity is so that we can bear one another's burdens. So we can help each other align to the Word and strengthen one another. To be vulnerable with one another. The longer we wait, the worse it gets.
A few years ago we built 2 large retaining walls. As it was going up, I came home for lunch, and the man who was doing the labor noticed the look on my face and said, "what are you seeing?" I said, "that block on the 2nd course looks a bit crooked." He said, yeah, I saw that too, but it will correct itself by the time we get to the top. I went back to work, and came home expecting to find all 8 courses in place. Instead, I found only a couple courses at the bottom and stacks of block everywhere. He had left already & I called to ask him what happened. He said, "you remember that one block? well by the time we got to the top, the whole thing was unstable, so I had to tear it all down."
When the Spirit reveals to us that there is something in our life that is a little bit "crooked", we must allow him to fix it. We must go for help. We must confide in a friend. Too often that isn't what happens. We hope with everything within us that by the time we "get to the top" things will have "worked themselves out."
We may get by with that for a while. I'm glad my friend tore the wall down and started over. Otherwise, when the rains came, it wouldn't have been just stacks of block around, it would have been soil, trees, and destruction all over.
Can you imagine the destruction of lives if help is not sought out? "Daddy, why didn't you tell someone you had a problem with the internet?" "Honey, why didn't you tell us we were out of money... you didn't have to steal."
We've seen time and again ministries that have failed because of the hidden sin of a leader. What a tragedy. Regardless of the specifics of the circumstance, one thing we know is that there was a problem down deep that was not taken care of. God loves his people enough to bring that which is in the darkness into the light. He wants us to be pure before him.
Make no mistake about it. It's not easy to tear the wall down one block at a time to take care of it, but it sure beats the alternative.
I'm not saying we need to broadcast all of our secret sins and struggles and put them on a sign in our yard, but we need to be in REAL relationships with people who have our best interest in mind and care enough to tell us the truth and help us to be aligned with scripture. We need to love one another that much.
We need to build the wall God wants. This is the key to living a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship with a heart that is open and pure before him. This wall will not fall no matter what storm may come.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Ezekiel 12:1-14:11
Hebrews 7:1-17
Psalm 105:39-45
Proverbs 27:3
Have you ever asked a friend or someone you knew how things are going and their response was "fine" and later discovered their world was falling apart? There's been times when an individual has been hurting so bad, and yet there's no outward sign. Later when everything falls apart, everyone stands around saying "I had no idea". It's easy to say, "If only they had said something, I could have helped them..." That statement may be true, but there's hypocrisy in there as well.
In Ezekiel 13, God is reprimanding Israel for listening to false prophets as they are building the wall. "Tell these evil builders that their wall will fall. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down. And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, 'Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?' Yes, it will surely fall. The Lord God says: I will sweep it away with a storm of indignation and with a great flood of anger and with hailstones of wrath. I will break down your whitewashed wall, and it will fall on you and crush you, and you shall know I am the Lord." Ez. 13:11-14
Think of the tragedy: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up its faults?"
Each one of us struggle in this area. We live with a certain amount of pride and pretension. We want things to look good. When there are vulnerabilities in our life, we don't want anyone to know. We don't want people to see that we have weakness. That we hurt. That we're addicted. That we're empty. So, we paint the wall.
Our mind justifies this: I'll deal with my problems later... no one will ever know... It's just between me & God anyway.... I can fix this...
Then the rains come. The pressure of the flood reveals the weakness in the wall and there is destruction. We find that it's not only one life that's destroyed. It all those around as well. Then come the questions: "Why didn't you tell us that it wasn't good enough? Why did you whitewash it and cover up it's faults?"
Well, we know why. "I don't want to appear weak." "What will people think of me."
We all know that we are created for "Relationships Devoted to Unity". We can recite that, but we forget that the reason we need to be in unity is so that we can bear one another's burdens. So we can help each other align to the Word and strengthen one another. To be vulnerable with one another. The longer we wait, the worse it gets.
A few years ago we built 2 large retaining walls. As it was going up, I came home for lunch, and the man who was doing the labor noticed the look on my face and said, "what are you seeing?" I said, "that block on the 2nd course looks a bit crooked." He said, yeah, I saw that too, but it will correct itself by the time we get to the top. I went back to work, and came home expecting to find all 8 courses in place. Instead, I found only a couple courses at the bottom and stacks of block everywhere. He had left already & I called to ask him what happened. He said, "you remember that one block? well by the time we got to the top, the whole thing was unstable, so I had to tear it all down."
When the Spirit reveals to us that there is something in our life that is a little bit "crooked", we must allow him to fix it. We must go for help. We must confide in a friend. Too often that isn't what happens. We hope with everything within us that by the time we "get to the top" things will have "worked themselves out."
We may get by with that for a while. I'm glad my friend tore the wall down and started over. Otherwise, when the rains came, it wouldn't have been just stacks of block around, it would have been soil, trees, and destruction all over.
Can you imagine the destruction of lives if help is not sought out? "Daddy, why didn't you tell someone you had a problem with the internet?" "Honey, why didn't you tell us we were out of money... you didn't have to steal."
We've seen time and again ministries that have failed because of the hidden sin of a leader. What a tragedy. Regardless of the specifics of the circumstance, one thing we know is that there was a problem down deep that was not taken care of. God loves his people enough to bring that which is in the darkness into the light. He wants us to be pure before him.
Make no mistake about it. It's not easy to tear the wall down one block at a time to take care of it, but it sure beats the alternative.
I'm not saying we need to broadcast all of our secret sins and struggles and put them on a sign in our yard, but we need to be in REAL relationships with people who have our best interest in mind and care enough to tell us the truth and help us to be aligned with scripture. We need to love one another that much.
We need to build the wall God wants. This is the key to living a Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship with a heart that is open and pure before him. This wall will not fall no matter what storm may come.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
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