Are You Worthy?

This morning while reading my quiet time I was reading Matthew 10. For whatever reason verses 37-39 really stuck out to me. Here is what it says:

37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

This got me thinking about how I am a family man, a huge family person. I love being around my family, it fills me up on the inside. I would literally do anything for anyone in my family, doesn’t matter what, I would do it to help them. I am super close with my dad, my mom, my brother and his wife, my sister and Kristin and they know that I would give up my arm for them if it means I got to help them out in anyway.

Reading Matthew 10 makes me ask the question, “Do I love Jesus like this?” do I have a relationship with Him in a way that I would drop anything at the drop of a hat to serve Him in a way that I would my family?According to these verses, if I would love my family in that way and I don’t love God in the same way, then I am not worthy. Now we are all unworthy, that’s why Jesus died and rose again for our sins, but it just got me thinking.

I feel called to do His ministry and he is talking to His disciples about going out to show God’s love, but do I have the closeness in my relationship with Jesus that is greater than the love I have for my family?

Whatever the answer is I can only pray and hope that I am striving to have a relationship in a way that has a greater love for Jesus. I hope that I continue to strive for that closeness to Jesus like I feel for my family. I want to be worthy.

The question is, do you feel the same way? Do you strive for the closeness to Jesus that is greater than the closeness of the people you love in your life? It’s a fair question. I am afraid of my answer, because I know I would do anything at anytime for my family, but I am scared to think what my answer would be if I felt God was calling me to do something that was very difficult. Would I have that same attitude with God that I have with my family?

Do you?

May I Vs. Must I

Have you ever had a passion in which when you started it and you really enjoyed doing it? You enjoyed it so much that it consumed your life and it was everything that you lived for and would do anything for the cause of it? Has that passion ever, after a while, turned into a burden? Where the passion that you once had turns into an obligation and that thing that you once enjoyed now seems like a menial job that just drains you?

I feel this is how Christianity works sometimes. When we first find God, He moves in us to move and love others and we give into service like there is no tomorrow and we are asking God, “May I?” to serve in anyway possible. May I do this for you? May I? But then, after a while, the fire dies down and what once fills us up is now a burden and we feel that it is draining us to the point we don’t even enjoy doing it anymore. At first we are on this “high” and love it, it is amazing, but then “high” wears off and we are now stuck with this service, this burden of acting as a Christian in the tough situations, and it is hard for us to keep moving forward. We don’t want to quit though because that’s not like us, so we continue to serve but there is no fire like we had before.

If you are anything like me I wondered why I didn’t feel like it did before. I loved the idea of it still but now it was a burden. But isn’t this true? You love your work and the idea of it, you love the idea of being a Christian and what it represents, but in doing it you find so many cares and responsibilities with it, you feel doubt in the idea that you are being effective and before you even go and do it, you already find it burdensome and therefore you don’t want to do it.

We are selfish. How easy is it to do something in which WE will to do. No matter what the task, whether it will be easy or difficult, if its something that WE want to do, we will do whatever it takes, even if people tell us that we cant or we wont, we just laugh in there face and want to prove them wrong because WE want to do it.

We need to start getting Christians to WANT to do GOD’S will as much as other people want to do their own will.

Read Hebrews 8:6-13

It is written in our hearts, it’s in our minds; God’s will for us is there. We should be able to want to do God’s will, not because it is our duty but because we want to do what God wills. We need to completely die to what we want. If there is something that is draining us and its hard to find joy in it but you feel its within God’s will for you to do then we need to stop fighting the urge to say, “Must I?” and give it to God and say once again, “May I?” We are not wanting what WE want but wanting what GOD wants. If we fully give it to God and say, “Yes, Lord, YES!” and allow Him to take control and remind yourself “Thy will be done.” That thing that you once felt as a huge burden will start to look new and precious to you.

We need to go back to the “May I?” thinking of service rather than the “Must I?” One of them is seeking God and the other is seeking our self. We cannot do it alone because then it will become a burden. We need God. Hannah Whitall Smith says, “His strength is made perfect, not in our strength, but in our weakness. Our strength is only a hindrance.” When we submit to God’s will, and pursue that again and not only rely on us, the “May I?” will come more naturally and the “Must I?” will diminish.

Name Droppers, Please Stop, We Get It

Do you know any name droppers? People who randomly throw in a name of a person who they think is important to impress you in the middle of conversation? For example, "So the other day I was hanging out with Kobe Bryant, oh ya we are like super close and we hang out once in a while (more like just once, just saying), anyways we blah blah blah and then Justin Beiber came over. What?!? You don't know him?! Dang, he is great, you should know him like I do." A bit exaggerated, yes, but you get the point? Most of the time it's usually someone you do not even really care about, but they do it anyways.

I have done it too I admit it. But some people do it more than others. I was thinking, why do we do this? It's because we are trying to impress people by who we know. Thinking that if we are associated with these people, others will think we are important too. It's self glorification.

I was reading in Matthew 3 and John the Baptist does some name dropping himself. But he was doing the right kind of name dropping, the type of name dropping we all should be doing, the type that does not lift us up into glory, but to lift Jesus up.

It says "The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”

John is announcing to all that Jesus is coming and will be greater than he will ever be. It says that people went out into the wilderness in huge crowds to listen to John. But as soon as Jesus came on the scene, he wanted all attention on Jesus, not him. He name dropped the most important name, not to make himself look better but to make Jesus known.

I know I still need to work on this, but I do know others REALLY need to work on it. How important is name dropping to make yourself look better really? Makes us look like a tool.

Let's lift up His name not ours.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Let It Be Known

Joshua 2:8-11 (NIV)
Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof [9] and said to them, "I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. [10] We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. [11] When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

I was reading this today for my quiet time. Something stuck out to me with Rahab, not only was she brave and protected God's people, but what stood out to me is the fact that she heard about the great things that God has done. She said the people of Jericho heard what God had been doing, and everyone else in the town knew as well and knew that God was the God of heaven and the earth below.

When I was reading this, I was thinking, do we show this in a way in which other people have heard the great things that God has done in our lives?

In the offices today, we were saying that we need to start to celebrate the victories of God in lives. We seem to only focus on God working in the brokenness, which is a huge quality of God, but not the only quality.

Rehab heard how God had helped Jacob conquer lands...how? People talked. God was known throughout the land. We need to be spreading how God is moving. We need to spread what God is doing in different ministries, in small groups, through people in the city, that way all know that God is the God of all of heaven and the earth below. So that there will be no doubt that there is just this "something", but THE SOMETHING, God of the universe and have that be undeniable that He exists.

Spread the word, celebrate it, make Him known.

Back To School For Me...

WOW. This last week has been insane. Last weekend was CIY Believe; this is a conference for just junior high students. It was Hope International University in Fullerton and there were about 750 junior high students there. Needless to say it was just all out crazy. There were endless amounts of the game Ninja, Jousting, and Ptyeridackl. It was a blast. We went through the book of Esther and it was pretty amazing. We had a blast with our junior highers and it was a great time just to get to hang out with them on a smaller level compared to our Wednesday nights, which has around 350 students (Praise God!). I know for sure I must be getting to that stage were I say, “Man, I really am getting old” because I am about to say it. “Man, I am getting old.” I am still beat from almost no sleep and constant energy from the 7^th-8^th grade population. I am recovering.

During CIY, there was a question that was asked that got me thinking. What is your “here” moment with God? Where are you with Him? During the end of the conference, it shows that this is the NOW moment, that we have right now to act for God, to step out for Him. I find it funny that I, an adult, learned something huge from a junior high conference, designed especially for junior highers. Maybe that just says something about my mind, I don’t know. Ill just leave it at that.

One of my spiritual gifts is “learning”. I know, I was shocked too when I found this out because in high school I despised school. Turns out, while at APU, I ate it up. I fell in love with all of my classes. I used to hate reading. Now I cannot get enough. I have been going through a book a month. Its great. With that said, I have felt God’s undeniable urge for me to go back to school and get my Masters. Crazy I know. I told myself from the very beginning that I would do a couple of years of full time ministry before going back to school, but that is not the case now.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is James 4:17 which states, “If you know what you ought to do, and do not do it, then it is a sin.” I look at that and I cringe because I know exactly what I need to do. I have felt the urge and I need to act on it.

So I have applied for APU’s Graduate School of Theology. I found out that there is a scholarship in which they give a full ride to people who want to pursue full time ministry. I am applying for that as well, which would be great. I have been thinking a lot about this, and I have decided that even if I do not get this scholarship, I am still going to pursue school and get my M. Div. I will have to take out a loan, but I fell like its something that God has placed on my heart for a reason. So I am going to be obedient and follow and pray for the guidance for whatever may happen with this scholarship and going back to school.

If you can be in prayer for that as well I would greatly appreciate it.