Do I KNOW Jesus?

First off, Merry Christmas, my friends!  I hope that you have had an amazing Christmas season, and that you are blessed in every way possible!  Today, we celebrate the life of Jesus and what he has done for us.  We often think about his birth and his death, but not many people focus on the KNOWING aspect.  Today, I am celebrating knowing Jesus and I am thankful for what he has done and will do in my life!  Today, I wanted to spend time talking about knowing him, because I am finding that there is a lot of confusion at times.

Months ago, a friend posed this question to me: “What if I go through my entire life thinking that I am a Christian but I am truly deceived?  How would I know that?”  He referenced Matthew 7:21-23 in which Jesus is teaching about false prophets who claim to know God but really do not.  Jesus claims that those who think they do but really do not know God will be sent away.

This seems like a really harsh statement, but when we consider what it takes to know God, it is just like a relationship that you would have with a significant other/spouse…

Do I communicate with him?  Do I take the time to read the Bible and ask God to reveal new things to me?  When I do that, I am making a concerted effort to understand his will.  Do I pray to him and ask him to give me wisdom for my life?  By doing that, I understand his heart better.  If I never talk to my wife or I never take the time to get to know her, then I will lose the relationship.

Do I properly understand his grace?  I have heard a lot of people claim that God will always forgive us, but do I take that for granted?  If I were continually hurting my wife on purpose knowing that she will forgive me, something is out of whack.  When I love others, I always want to do what is best for them and I do not want to hurt them.  That attitude should be reciprocated, and it allows two people to love well knowing that we do not want to hurt each other.  One way I keep this in check is when I accidently hurt someone.  Do I feel remorse for it or do I shrug it off (or indulge in it, as some do)?  It bugs me to death when I hurt people, so that’s how I have known that my relationship with Christ is sound because it consciously bothers me.  This is why when I look at sinning, I realize that it hurts my relationship with God and I want to minimize it because I do not want to take advantage of his grace.

The opposite of receiving grace is giving grace.  When a conflict comes up with God, do remain slow to react as I try to understand his perspective or do I shut him out/give him silent treatment/throw a tantrum?  Lets face it, in relationships; I don’t always get my way.  My relationship with God is no different.  We must remember that if someone loves us, they will not willingly hurt us and we must be quick to forgive. 

Also, if I want the relationship with God to be one sided, how do I want my relationship with others to exist?  More than likely, one sided.  Jesus took care of himself, but he took care of others as well.  This is why I have to be others-minded as well.

If I am a disciple of Christ, then I will try to shape my image to his.  What is the image that I am bearing?  Jesus mentions in Matthew 7:16 that false teachers are exposed by their fruit.  So as a Christian leader, do I lack self control, have anger issues, am out for myself, have jealousy streaks, etc.?  Or do pursue love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?  Someone that is aspiring to be a loving Christian should be bearing fruit that is life giving.  Yes, we fail at times, but the over all pattern should be one that is benefiting others (Galatians 5:16-25).

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I wanted to set you up on the right path.  It can be tough to answer a question in it’s entirety, but I think that we learn a lot about our relationship with God and others by our communication, our love/grace for one another, how we handle conflicts, and how we live our life.  Again, I am totally blessed by you guys and am thankful that you read this.  My hope is that we can continue to grow together and to get to know Christ together.  Merry Christmas, and God bless you!

Overcoming Trials

As a Christian, one thing that I have learned is that we will face trials.  There are many teachers out there that claim that the holier that you are the easier your life is.  Ask the disciples of the early church who gave their lives for the sake of the cross, they will tell you differently.  They had trials.  That being said, today, I just want to spend some time encouraging those of you who are discouraged at the direction of your life and at the trials that you face.

James 1:2 reads that you should consider it joy when you face trials of any kind.  You are probably wondering, "how in the heck can I do that right now and why is he saying this?" He is writing to an audience that was being persecuted and systematically hunted for their faith during a time when Christianity was considered suspicious by Roman authorities.  My hope is that you can see that even though this was a message to the Israelites, this is still applicable to us.  If we can find the blessings and the positives when our situations are dire, we will find God's peace.  It also helps shape your perspective on what is important.

Even though we are still dealing with consequences of actions that are sinful, God still forgives us and good things can come out of our trials.  I have found in my own life that the trials that I have faced due to my sins have been easy to translate into stories that help others.  When you go through a trial and can help someone through that same problem, you have used an "undesirable" part your past as a way to bless someone else.  God does not waste those aspects of your life.  One of the best ways to do this is to fully overcome something, which requires perseverance.

James 1:3 mentions the development of perseverance.  As a whole, our society does not look highly upon pain.  Oftentimes we do what we can to mitigate it temporarily rather than trying to understand the source of the pain and make corrections in our life so that the pain will go away permanently.  This is why I want to ask you to take the time to understand the pains and the trials in your life and approach it constructively rather than trying to flee at the first sign of discomfort or placate it with "aspirin" (meaning anything that distracts you from dealing with the pain and gives a quick fix).

James 1:4 mentions that perseverance must finish its work, and that only then will the individual be mature and complete.  Sometimes this requires dealing with the harder issues in our life until it concludes, which can be frustrating, but at the same time it is worth it.  Just think, many people don't like to go to the doctor because they are afraid of what they might find.  What they forget is that if they find something fast enough, they could get healed and that bit of discomfort is worth the prevention of a terminal disease.  On another note, as we overcome trials, it makes it easier to overcome new trials that enter our lives.  In the process of overcoming, we gain wisdom to deal with many situations in life.

James 1:5 reminds you that you should ask for wisdom if you feel that you lack it, for he who earnestly asks shall receive God's wisdom.  One thing that I have always done that helps me overcome trials is to ask God for the reason that I am experiencing the trial, and then I ask him what I should be learning from it. Honesty is not always fun, but I feel better when I understand his perspective.  It will sometimes take time to figure out, but in the end I find that I feel better knowing that my trials are not in vain.

I have always enjoyed the book of James, and today I felt very strongly about sharing this with you.  I think that James starts out his book with a great plan for overcoming trials= Take joy in the circumstance, endure to it's finish, and ask God for his understanding.

As I wrap up, I feel impressed to give a more global view of Christianity.  I can not help but think about how Christianity thrives in areas of the world where it is persecuted.  Thousands of people come become Christians daily in China even though it is outlawed.  These are people who are giving everything for their faith, and yet they do it willingly!  This not only shows me that God does not make life magically comfortable, but this shows me that God will comfort us and guide us during the darkest of hours and that we will find peace during our trials.

I also want to remind you that when you are facing a trial, please do not shut down.  I have seen so many people say, "Well I would love to do that, but I am just going through a tough time right now."  There are some circumstances where you absolutely have to for a short period of time, but please do not stay comfortable there not doing anything.  The problem is that we will always have tough times.  If we wait for the perfect time for anything (job, marriage, buying a house, etc.) we will be waiting for a very long time!  Don't let those trials stop you from finding God's blessing!

Also, stopping for a trial can withhold a blessing for someone else.  I can remember someone telling me to step down from a teaching position when I was going through a rough time.  I knew that I was, but I continued to teach because I knew that if I stepped down that it meant that someone would lose out on a blessing because I was not using my gift to help them.   People have also told me not to use my ability to teach because of my former struggle with speech. I know that I am not the best orator or teacher, but I know that if I let those excuses stop me, I will be hurting others because of it.  Needless to say, I over came those problems and I am NOT looking back at that and letting it stop me from reaching God's goal for my life.  So please know that if you stop what you are doing, you are stopping people from receiving God's blessing in their life.

I want to close by reminding you to give praise to God when you go through trials.  As Peter was locked in Jail in Acts, he was praising God.  As Paul was enduring hardships, he was praising God and focusing on his mission.  As David was depressed in Psalm 42, he was praising God for past successes and praising him for getting him out of his trial.  Never forget to praise God and remember that he has and he will get you through your trials.

Avoid, Alter, Adapt, Accept

I am going to start by saying that the past two weeks have been very heavy weeks for me, not bad, just heavy.  Between my workload for finals, job hunts, the holidays, an old friend passing away, and other disappointments, it has been a long two weeks!  But I feel at peace about everything.

I have been teaching a stress management class at church (part of my school workload), and I found that part of my lesson is very helpful as I sort out my life.  I find it very interesting that I am teaching the class, but sometimes I feel as if it is teaching me!  Just comes to show that God can work through many avenues to reach you!

It is called the 4 A’s… Avoid, Alter, Adapt, and Accept.  This is how it has been working for me…

Avoid: Not all fights are worth fighting, and sometimes the best confrontation is one that you never put yourself in the place to be in.  I am also constantly reminded that avoiding excessive time with certain people is wise.  A more recent adaptation of avoidance is knowing that just because I CAN do something, does not mean that I SHOULD do something.  Saying no to friendships, relationships, jobs, and ministry opportunities is rough, but I want to do God’s will.

Alter:  Sometimes a situation is unavoidable, but not pleasant.  This is when we must have boundaries in place with anyone who violates them.  I do my best to do it with grace and love.  A key here is knowing what is worth altering and when it is appropriate to do so.

Adapt:  Instead of seeing everything that is negative as life taking, reframe the opportunities as something that could be beneficial.  Remember the positives and glean those, while dispensing the negative before it eats at your soul.  For me, a simple thing that I do is remain thankful for the time that I have with people and make the best of the moments that I have with them rather than complaining about the time that I wish I could be with them. 

Accept: Certain things from the past cannot be changed, but I can change my reaction.  Otherwise, I find that the bitterness that is held onto is toxic.  We never want to let that happen because it poisons everyone.  Think of it like a book bag… I have all of these books, but they do not all belong to me.  It is important to know where the books came from and give them back because otherwise it makes my journey all the more heavier… and the weight of the bag is my concern and responsibility.

I have been making it a point this year to let go of those things that are not in my control.  I can not take responsibility for other people’s actions or their desires, but I can control mine.

One of the hardest things for me is letting things and people go because there are histories and I honestly care about people.  But sometimes I have to or else they will continue to steal what God has given me, and I cannot have that.  Sometimes I may want to either keep or start a friendship, job, position, or a relationship, but either it is not the right one, they chose differently, or it is not the right time.   It can be frustrating, but I have to accept that, and trust that God either knows the right timing or knows that it is not the right situation for me.  It’s tough, but I am confident that God has his best for me!

Anyway, so that is how God has been using what I have been learning and allowing me to teach on it.  I have been trying to implement these in my life, and I thought that it was really beneficial to share.  I hope that you like it as well =)