A Work in Progress

Do you consider yourself a work in progress? I certainly am. I am far from being 'complete' but, and this is the important point, I am in progress. I am not standing still because that would mean I was moving backwards (think about it). And, this is exciting! Every day the Lord is working with me to help me grow.

Since none of us has made it yet we really have only 2 choices - to continue to grow and mature or stale out and move backwards. In the book of Revelation God tells us what He does with lukewarm (stale) people - He would rather spew them out. That's drastic but it is a choice! We can always choose to be this kind of Christian. This option whether you call it standing still, being stale, lukewarm is decidedly unattractive.

The other option is the obvious choice but you always need to realize it is not the easiest choice. In the New Testament, God is always pruning His people - and this is an inevitable situation for those who choose to be a person who grows. Not every lesson is simple or painless - our choices often make for painful learning, but it always is a learning that isn't forgotten.

A growing Christian is not one who makes no mistakes but it is a person who acts on what they think is the right choice. Other people, however, don't always see it in this way. The detractors can be powerful with ways to cause us hurt. Unfortunately, they can also be those who don't want to rock the boat (compromisers) or honestly don't agree. The issue is if you are acting according to the light you have.

Being a work in progress will always lead you toward greater understanding. It will also lead you toward the Lord as your source. It really is a great adventure, it is never boring, and it never ends.

Commitment

What is it? And is it really important? What's the absence of commitment?

Commitment is believing in and acting on something regardless of knowing the results of your efforts. It is believing in/being totally sold out to/on an idea/person that you'll spend your time and energy to accomplish. And yes, you can go through your entire life without being committed to anything or anyone. However, an argument could be made that it is your personal well being that you are committed to.

Commitment's mates are passion and vision and other like minded attributes. But commitment will stay the course till the end or stay regardless of knowing if there is eventual accomplishment. Commitment is more than a foundation or a goal and yet all of those qualities are involved.

Why is it important? Because it gives additional meaning to living - it may not be the salt, but it does add spice. It is taking a stand and willing to accept what happens as a result of the stand. Commitment doesn't hide and it isn't fearful. It is an 'is'.

BUT commitment should never be entered into lightly. It should embody your own personal philosophy and beliefs. Commitment is never willy nilly or wishy washy - it is strong and never mitigates its importance. A commitment may last a life time or... it may be for a season. But it always stays till the end.

Witness....

What is it? What does it mean? What does it require? ... Why me!!!!

Actually, everyone is constantly witnessing by their actions, by their words. You are, consciously or not, 'witnessing' to what you think, what you believe - every moment! One way of considering what a witness is/does is to consider what happens in court: a witness testifies to what they saw, heard. This is what a witness does - testify.

If you state that you are a Christian, your question is - do you exemplify Christ-like qualities? Are you a witness for Christ? Is this what others see and hear from you? For some reason many people immediately think, primarily, in terms of 'turning the other cheek'. That is only one small component to what being a Christian witness is and does.

Equally important about being a Christian witness is - how do you witness. Do you witness in an apologetic fashion, almost denying your Christianity? Or maybe you are at the opposite end of the continuum and you're the 'hit them over the head' Christian - bombing them with hell fire and brimstone? I know the Apostle Paul said that he was all things to all men in order by some means he might bring them to a saving knowledge.... but neither stand would be one he would advocate.

Most of us share the Christ we have discovered, the one we know. The logical extension from that is - how much have you discovered, who is it you know? This is not a frivolous question. Someone said that you may be the only Bible someone reads. That's an enormous responsibility, but not a fearful one. It should inspire us to discover Jesus and grow in our understanding and appreciation of who He is. This will naturally translate into who we become, how we portray Him to others.

Being a witness shouldn't be a frightening or burdensome activity. You are a witness. The only question remaining is: what are you a witness of, to, about?

Vision

Do you have one? Actually, vision is so important that the Word tells us we will perish for the lack of one! This is not something to be taken lightly.

So what, exactly, is a 'vision'? Vision is the motivating force that propels us toward our future, our destiny. Vision is the panoramic 'big picture' view of who we are in relation to what our goals are. Vision provides us a standard to judge if our actions are leading us toward the goal of the vision. Vision is our foundation and structure when we are buffeted by the 'storms of life'. Vision is what pushes us onward when all seems lost or we feel totally inadequate to the task. Vision is the journey.

And those descriptions only scratch the surface of what a vision is and does. There may be those who would insist that they don't have a vision. If this is true then they need some time to determine their 'heart's desire'. What is it that moves you forward, onward? What is it that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning? What is it that determines your choices, your decisions?

I would contend that we all have a vision, albeit undefined in some cases, that is directing our lives - whether or not we acknowledge this. It's like a map. If we don't have a destination in mind, how do we know when we arrive? And if we don't have a map to help guide us, then we waste so much time in false starts or misdirection. This is also true, in its simplest state, of what a vision is and does. A vision.... leads.

Lord's Prayer

I know, I know.... everyone has written on the Lord's Prayer countless times. Sometimes we almost seem too familiar with it and don't really see or appreciate it. The prayer is incredibly powerful because it was given by Jesus in answer to a question by His disciples. By watching Him they all noticed that often Jesus went off by Himself to be alone and pray. They also saw the impact prayer had on what the Lord did. So they came to Him and asked Him about prayer and to teach them to pray.

But the Lord's Prayer is more than mere recitation of the words, as beautiful as they are. It is also a model of how we should pray: what the components of prayer are. Again, this has been written on by countless authors and I really have nothing new to add, but I would like to restate them so we all have a similar understanding.

As a model, there are 7 topics or parts (and 7 represents completion, the total): the greeting or acknowledgment of who the prayer is directed toward, acknowledging the Person through praise, next comes the statement on God's priorities, then seeking provision, indicating the need for and act of forgiving, acknowledging the power of God over all and His deliverance, and a final statement of praise. Those 7 topics/parts should provide all of us with the model of prayer.

Jesus had much to say about prayer. It is an act of submission but it is also an act of power. Prayer is a defense against the turbulence of the times and it is an offensive act. Prayer is a shield and a protection and it is a foundation to go forth.

Chosen ... to bear (good) fruit

In an earlier post I talked about being fruitful. You will bear fruit, everyone does, the question is whether or not the fruit is good, lasts or not. If your mindset is to bear good fruit then you have a context to determine whether or not your words and actions accomplish this goal or work against it.

We've all seen rotten fruit. It smells. It can also be harmful to one's health if eaten - but we can also see/smell if the fruit is good. When it is good the fruit is beneficial, tastes good and we enjoy it. But what IS good fruit?

The answer is found in scripture. John chapter 15 talks about fruit - how to bear good fruit, how the Father is glorified when you bear fruit. It's amazingly simple - to bear good fruit, abide in Him. Jesus tells us (verse 5) that when we abide in Him we bear much fruit. But without Him we can't bear good fruit.

When we look to what Jesus indicated good fruit is we see that one of the components that make up 'good fruit' is truth - speaking the truth in love. In our words, to have good fruit we need to always speak the truth but speak it in love. Love gives a context to the truth - but truth is never to be compromised. Speaking truth in love is not qualifying truth to make it more acceptable or softening truth so any word of admonish is easier to acknowledge.

The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) tells us what we need to cultivate, what we need to practice. These are character points and as we portray them we produce good fruit to honor the Father.

Chosen ... to be an ambassador

You do realize that ambassadors are always by appointment - yes? Did you also realize that ambassadors are held accountable according to the laws of the country they represent - not the country they reside in/are sent to? Does this begin to give you a beginning understanding of what you are chosen to be?

In case you don't feel like an ambassador or think you are one or even like the consideration that you could be one since you feel inadequate - look to scripture which tells you, unequivocally, exactly who and what you are. 2 Corinthians 5 beginning in verse 17 gives us our assignment as ambassadors.

As a born again Christian, we all have the assignment, the appointment as ambassadors. Verse 20 outlines this and tells us what our 'job responsibilities' are. We really have only one task - to witness to (share) the saving grace that occurs because we have accepted Jesus as Lord. We are to proclaim this message so all in our hearing know. And we demonstrate the effect of this through our actions.

We are His ambassadors to the world we live in. What we all need to know and appreciate is that while we are held accountable to this position, we also gain our sustenance and strength from the Person who appointed us. We are not left to our own devises, we are enabled by Him who sent us.

Chosen ... by, for, to

You were chosen by love... for love... to love. And you can spend the rest of your life trying to understand this..... While this is extremely important since it marks the context, there are other aspects to consider. Why were you chosen? The simplest response is... does it matter? You were. Then again, everyone is (according to scripture). However you responded to the invitation by choosing and that says it all.

I realize this sounds far too simplistic. The reality is that we try to complicate matters because it really is just that simple. And just that complex. To completely cover the reality of what we have been chosen into, to plumb those riches, could take a lifetime. One of the more obvious 'conditions' we have been chosen into is: love.

I mentioned this first because love is the glue and it is the foundation of everything else. It was love by the Father who sent His Son to be our way back into relationship with Him. It was love by the Son who freely gave His life so that we had a way. Our response has to be love in return. But it is a love that is strong (and no, not tough love - that one makes little sense) and yet resilient. This is a love that doesn't give up or give in, it doesn't compromise but is still gentle.

And it is love toward the Father and Son but also love toward one another. To be honest, the first is a lot easier than the second. And, if you are at all similar to me, love toward one another can be hard (I might even say 'impossible' at times). But we weren't asked about the ease of love - we have been told that this is something we need to be, to do.

And we have examples in reading about what Jesus did, who He was in relationships. Using Him as the guide, we can be His love extended to others. Fortunately we have the Holy Spirit working with us to aid us in accomplishing this. Personally I could never do this without Him.

Chosen

If you are a Christian then you are a chosen person. You were chosen, not for anything you did (or would do) or who you are. Your were chosen from the beginning of time and God was waiting for you .... to chose.

You were chosen by Him in love. Being chosen is not something you earn or can buy - and there is absolutely nothing you can do to merit being chosen. However, you have to choose to be chosen. This is your choice, your free choice but it opens up to you absolutely everything.

The choice on your part - to repent, to turn away from all those things that are contrary to following on His path and to turn toward Jesus and accept Him as your Lord. But in accepting Him as Lord you become a heir, a son/daughter of the Most High God. You trade your unrighteous (not in right standing with God) state to being the righteous. But this is only the beginning.

In the next few posts I'm going to address some of the things you are chosen into if you've made the choice to choose Him. Being chosen is not a magic wand and it does require you to continue to grow in the things of the Lord. It requires you to study to show yourself approved. But in the growing and studying you are also strengthening who you are and whose you are.

Pearl of great price

Have you/are you on a quest for something/someone that is more important to you than... even life itself? Is there anything that motivates you to spend all your time, money, efforts to finding the object of your quest? What's your pearl of great price? And once you find it???????

Most of us don't have that level of passion that we'll do anything we can to attain our goal, accomplish our quest. We'll typically go a long way toward the accomplishment but typically will stop short of attainment. Why? It's too arduous to continue or we've given up 'hope' of ever finding it or we're beginning to think 'it' never existed in the first place. And then there's the old - it costs too much to continue or we're too lazy or 'responsibilities' require a change a change.

Scripture tells us to, "... not be weary in well doing for we shall reap if we faint not". Translated this means that the pearl is attainable. God never teases us - He would never tell us to persevere if He thought we couldn't accomplish the task. More often than not this speaks to our level of commitment and the value we place on the pearl.

So.. is the pearl of great value? That's the question you have to ask yourself. If it is your job or promotion or 'things' I suspect it isn't. It's the eternal things that are of great value. Those are worthy of dedication, of commitment. But... will you do all to attain it? That too is a question only you can answer.

... know

For me, there are certain concepts that I highly value. 'Know' is one of them. When I first was saved, there was soooo much I wanted to know. But... could I really know? And though I realize this is very sophomoric, but what is 'know'?

I believe there are two critical components to knowing... the first is that it requires effort on our part. To know is not waving a magic wand and expecting to know and to understand everything by a kind of effortless osmosis. To know requires study and learning, building knowing upon learning upon knowing upon....

The other component is that you are always responsible for what you know. If you know then your behavior has to encompass that knowledge. This sometimes is a difficult thing to do because knowledge is NOT compromise-able. I suspect the argument could be made that knowledge is relative, but it isn't.

Using scripture as my foundation 'to know' I eventually got to my favorite book of knowledge - Ephesians, and I came across 3:19. It wasn't that I hadn't read 'to know' before, but suddenly it was in capital letters with neon lights. Verse 14 (to 21) begins a powerful prayer by Paul and in the middle I read, "...to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;..." If Paul was praying that we would know then it is something we can know.

In this particular passage Paul is talking about knowing the love of Christ which passes knowledge. Passes knowledge! But it is also something one can know. I still have problems getting my head around this. This is a lifelong learning, a lifelong quest. But.... if you want to know........

Quality of days...

So... when do you stop 'saving' for a rainy day? Do you know how much (money, time, people, etc.) you need to 'fund' your rainy day? How do you know you have enough for your rainy day? How much is enough? All legitimate questions but often without definition. And they all speak to the issue of quantity and quality of days. Which is the most important and don't just blithely say, 'quality'.

In this question/determination, age is not the issue. Whether you are 20 or 70, age simply is not the relevant issue. However, mindset is. And, most important, you don't need to wait till retirement to begin acting on your quality issue. The old... if you don't know where you are and you haven't defined where you're going, how do you know when you're 'there'... applies as well. The first question is one of definition - how do you define quality? What is quality for you?

There was a delightful movie, "Bucket List", which addresses this issue. Do you have one? Are there certain activities you want to be part of/attend/etc.? Those things that you put off 'till later' - places you want to see/visit, people you want to be with, things you want to do or need to do - when is 'later'? If you were to die tomorrow will you have done those things, seen those places, been with those people that define your quality issue? And if you aren't - why?

Everyone needs to put quality into their life and not wait. Quality doesn't need to cost a lot of money though some of the activities may and need to wait. But if you put off quality to wait on finances, you'll never get to quality.

A Brush With Death

Have you ever had a brush with death? However, the larger question is... did it change your life? Did you make some lifestyle changes as a result of the experience. Or after a few days, weeks, months did life revert back to what it was prior to the experience? Maybe you made some promises to yourself to change certain aspects of your life, to 'improve'. And now that time has passed, where are those promises, changes now?

Personally, I had a heart attack some 14+ months ago. What did I do as a result? Yes, there were some immediate dietary changes which have subsequently slipped considerably. But some of the same symptoms emerged just recently which reminded me that those changes were effective and it was time to not give just lip service to them but to let them take root and effect a change in me... now.

As important as the dietary changes are, the more important ones are the philosophical and spiritual changes. In many respects this has been a time of refinement of what I believe and a strengthening of why I believe what I believe. For me it developed in me a greater sense of appreciation of what and who populated my world. It also made me rethink what was important and what was crucial and what really wasn't all that necessary. Some things faded and some intensified.

Being the introspective type it was natural to do some reassessing. However, as important as reassessing is, the more critical point is - how did the reassessing translate into changed behavior? Did I walk the talk? And what about you? It really doesn't need to be a life threatening situation for you to reconsider what and who you are becoming...... and what's important.

A Devotional Life

Do you have one? Do you try to have one? Is a devotional life important to you? The last question is the critical consideration because this is the foundation on which a devotional life stands... or falls. One could also make an argument that your spiritual life stands or falls on your devotional life.

What is a devotional life? It's the time you set aside for just you and the Lord - no one else, just you and Him. It can involve prayer, worship, reading scripture, study - actually all the above. It's time to listen for how the Lord is leading you, because He will speak if you will listen. You become refreshed in His presence as you focus on Who He is and not just What He does. A devotional life is critical for all Christians, not just the 'professional' (ministers, missionaries, etc.) Christian.

The Word tells us that God is no respecter of persons thus His word is important for all to know and understand in order to live a life worth living. And if it was important for Jesus to take the time then how much more important is it for us? Jesus did this? Absolutely! Check the scripture - Jesus was often taking time away to be with the Father.

A devotional life is a period of time that you have to jealously guard from ALL intruders, good and bad. And there will be intrusions against you taking that time. Distractions will abound. And if we are to be equipped and enabled then we need to take the time with the source - God. The 'length' of this time is not as important as the 'quality' in the time. Your devotional time is your most important time in the day.

Time for ( )

Since I've been writing this blog for a little over 6 months it's time to reassess, refine, reconsider what I'm doing. That's what I call ( ) time. (btw: Have you ever thought about how many ways you can say - what am I doing? You can say WHAT am I doing ... or, what AM I doing ... or what am I doing? Or you can say ... what I am doing...)

I'm a great one for reflection and looking at what I'm doing in terms of my initial focus. Most of the time this will mean a change and/or refinement in either how I do what I'm doing or the focus/goal/objective or more probably - both. I'm also a great believer that life isn't static - it's extremely dynamic so reflection is mandatory.

When it comes to this blog my intent was to write a few paragraphs on a subject - basically introducing it and inviting the reader (I've called him/her Cosmic Reader) to think about how/what they think... and why. Obviously in 3 to 4 paragraphs there isn't an in depth study. There are some subjects, like forgiveness, that I wrote more (3 different blogs on 3 different foci) because I wanted the reader to consider the subject from different emphases.

Admittedly not all of the blogs are worth the effort because initially I was writing daily, but now I write based on 'inspiration'. And the overall approach has changed from a tad tongue-in-cheek to more thought provoking. More recently my writing has a decided Christian theme and that is by design, not chance. It will continue as the theme.

As to my goal to provide concepts/ideas/philosophies for you - the reader - to consider YOUR beliefs... actually it's nearly impossible to know if this is accomplished. However, my belief that the possibility exists that people will stumble across my blog and stay long enough to read at least one is the promise. I think I can continue based on that.

Defining Moments...

Defining moments are those times in our lives that we can go to, in our minds, and see how a particular decision set you on a different path then the one you were on or marked an important decision that impacted on your life or an event/person that caused a change.

Examples of defining moments are: the time when you found your mate and knew that you wanted to spend your lives together, or you found a job that gave meaning for your professional life, or when you had your first child.... and the examples continue. However, the one that is the most critical is the time when you accepted and made Jesus your Lord.

Reality also indicates that not all defining moments are fun or joyful - they can be times of pain or stress such as when someone close dies or you lose a job that you enjoyed. The important consideration is how we respond to these defining moments and how we changed, grew, or reacted.

Defining moments are also memory times that we can use as a standard to see where we are now, who we are as a result of the defining moment. As much as I enjoy remembering them, I also use them to judge myself to see where I've grown.

A Wretch no more

"Amazing Grace" is a favorite song that talks about how we were, WERE, a wretch but now, NOW... and that's the point. We may have been one but the moment we accept Jesus as Lord, we no longer are wretches. We can no longer look at ourselves as wretches.

When I was first saved I thought the first logical step was to read the Bible since that would really tell me all I needed to know. True, but of course one reading is never enough because you are continually growing in who you are now. One scripture that leapt out at me was Romans 8:1 - which tells us that there is no longer any condemnation in us. What a tremendous gift given us and what a tremendous revelation once you see this and the ramifications that come from it.

If there is no longer any condemnation, what and who are we? Next I discovered 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. A new creation! That's what we become in Christ. (I briefly talked about this on May 29th.) But we've also been given an assignment - we are His ambassadors! This is a considerable distance from our old state of 'wretch'.

Actually, we no longer have the luxury of being a wretch - a status we are familiar with. Being designated as an ambassador requires us to grow up, to learn what being a member of the household of God is all about, to act as new creations - and this is only a beginning. Once we accept that Jesus is our Lord then we begin a fantastic adventure.