Grow 'n' Go

A hectic week for sure.  One that will go much quicker than most of us want it to and for others, not soon enough.  It seems that 2011 just started and now it ends with a rush of returns, organizing facts and figures for tax preparations, parties and gatherings, paying of bills, holiday blues, winter dread, past reflections, and putting away all of the Christmas trappings.

What were your 2011 highlights?  Low points?  Make any new friends?  Did you learn anything new – knowledge or skill wise?  Lose any anyone close to you or say good-bye because of a life transition?  Is your life better or more bitter because of the past year?  What positive impact or contribution have you made to your family, church, community, and culture?  How is your health – mentally?  Socially?  Emotionally?  Physically?  Spiritually?  Is God more or less real to you? 

As you prepare for 2012, do you have any goals that are worthy of your life energy and really matter in terms of eternity?  For me, I want to both GROW 'n' GO. 

I want to GROW in my knowledge of God, His Word, and His Will for my life.  I would like to become more like Him inwardly and outwardly --- I’m not content in who I am.  I’m still too much like Don and not enough like Jesus.

 

2 Peter 3:18a  “But GROW in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

And I want to GO more.  Not in terms of travel but in building relationships with those who need Jesus.  The world is full of people whom God loves and desires to have in His spiritual family.  And He has commissioned me – and all who bear the name Christian, to tell others the good news of Christ.

Matthew 28:18-19a  ¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations,”

GROW 'n' GO will also be the theme for Grace Church during the coming year.   As you consider and even set goals for the New Year, I hope that you will join me in this twin endeavor.  I believe that both are worthy of our life energy and will really matter in terms of eternity.

On January 1, 2012 Grace Church will start the New Year with this two-fold emphasis and I hope that you will join me on this journey.

Conforming

A while back a friend sent a website that really intrigued me.  It highlighted a Chinese artist by the name of Liu Bolin, known for taking photographs of himself.  The interesting thing is that Liu is painted in order to blend in with his background. 

Liu spends hours in preparation and expends great effort to merge himself with his surroundings and his work is simply stunning. 

 http://www.elikleinfineart.com/html/ArtistResults.asp?artist=82

As a kid who grew up watching all sorts of “war” movies, donning camouflage, and painting my face with motor oil and dirt in order to play army at night --- I was in awe of this man’s art form.  And I was tempted .. just a little … to go home and see if I could do something similar (it’s the little kid in me).


As I viewed the various pictures on the website, a passage in the Bible came to mind.  Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  

 A Christian is not only created in the image of God, but at the point of new birth we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  One of the primary works of the Spirit is to develop the character of Christ in our hearts and the conduct of Christ in our daily lifestyle.  Rather than blend in with the world around us, we are to stand out in sharp contrast to the values, beliefs, and actions of our world.

Some Christians I know seemingly work as hard as Liu Bolin to conform to their surroundings.  Whether they are afraid of rejection by their peers for being different, lack the knowledge or training to be like Christ, or just enjoy the game of “playing like the world” --- too many of us blend in.  I know that I have done this at times in my life.  And all too often there is more about us that looks like the world then looks like Jesus or His Father.   

Jesus said in John 14:9 “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” He intentionally lived each day to represent His Father to the world around Him.  Like Liu’s creative work, Christian living requires planning, creativity, and a lot of effort.  And the rewards for doing so will be more than just a few ribbons and cash prizes – our rewards will be eternal in nature and life impacting as others see and seek the God that our lives present to them. 

I have been challenged by the Lord’s words to examine the artwork of my life, to see if I look more like the world than I do my Heavenly Father.  I hope you will be too. 

Other websites to check out: 

·        http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/meet-the-real-life-invisible-man.html 

·        http://thisisdiversity.com/articles/all/2282/chinese-artist-paints-himself-invisible/

Wandering

In Genesis 37 we have the story of Joseph being sent by his father Jacob to check up on his brothers.  We read in v. 13 ...

   “I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.

 ¹⁴ “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.

 ¹⁵ When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

 ¹⁶ “I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”

Out of obedience to his father, Joseph was on a mission.  In a similar way, our heavenly Father has sent each of us on a mission ... to represent Him to the world and to make disciples.  Our role is to obey our Father as Joseph did his.  Imagine looking next to your job assignment sheet in heaven ... would you have the word "traveled" written next to the mission that the Father has given you? 

The Father's expectation for our life is simple obedience, nothing more.  Obedience, whether we go to our schools, places of employment, neighborhoods, or some distant city like "Shechem", Kalamo, Charlotte, Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, etc.  It's important to note that the Father wants a "report" --- and will hold us accountable for our journey.  That is because He cares about those to whom He is sending us ... something we should not forget. 

What I especially enjoyed in this passage is the observation of the "man from the area."  Another truth worth remembering is that people in the area of life where we are going, are always observing or "noticing" us.  We may not be aware of it, or we might totally miss it because we are so focused on the task at hand.  But they do watch us.  I wonder what they see?  I wonder what their perspective is concerning our mission? 

This guy just didn't get what Joseph was doing.... in his mind Joseph was simply "wandering".  It just didn't make sense to him ... Joseph had a different agenda in life, different values, different priorities, and a different passion.  That is the way our lifestyle and mission should affect others.  Not in a weird way though, but in a way that makes them wonder about our "wandering". 

And that will give us a great opportunity to answer their heart-felt questions about life and about our life.  When was the last time that someone asked you a question like this ... “What are you looking for?” Does our lifestyle cause anyone to want to probe around inside us ... to discover who we live for, why we are different, and what our mission in life is all about?

Have you said these words of Joseph, “I’m ready to go”, to your Heavenly Father as you consider the mission that He desires you to go on?  Or have you become too comfortable and forgotten that the Father really cares about those who are separated from Him?

You may be the only one in your peer group or family that is on mission.  To them and to others you may look as strange and dorky as a bird walking alone down a beach.  But the bird isn't just "wandering" ... he is watching for something... he is living out the mission for which he was created. That is the way the Father made him.

I pray that each of us will live missionally this week and say as Joseph did when asked about his "wandering" ... "I'm looking for my brothers!" 

What if you were “Tebowed?”

So many people have written about Tim Tebow in the past few months.  People criticize his throwing motion, mechanics, and footwork.  People seem to hate him.  People cheer for him.  People mock him.  People believe that they know him, own him, worship him, have a crush on him, bet on him, ignore him, and pray for him.

And most of the negative reactions are because Tim believes in God and will kneel occasionally to pray.  This has been called “Tebowing” (in the good sense of the word).  As one reporter recently wrote, “Tebow's the most polarizing sports figure in the country right now.”

·       Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-28/sports/30449337_1_tim-tebow-middle-ground-sports-figure#ixzz1ffeQUUkG

Such is life for someone on planet earth who is in the limelight.  And “Timmy” has stayed in the game, working hard, passing credit on to others, admitting his shortcomings, believing in himself, his teammates, and His God.

In some small degree, have you ever experienced any of the above being directed toward you?  Not because you are football player.  But maybe because you are a parent.  A boss.  A friend or spouse.  A person who has a position of influence or power.  A Christian in a secular world.  If so, how have you responded?

Jesus understood the fickleness of men … especially those closest to Him.  In Luke 4:16-30 we see the Lord return to His hometown and experience the gamut of human acceptance and approval.  All Jesus was doing is what He felt His Father was directing Him to do … and He was misunderstood, criticized, and threatened.  Oh, He had those who were His fans, but they most often were drowned out by the others.  In spite of all this, at the end of that passage we see how the Lord handled the negativity … we read in Luke 4:30 “But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.”

Jesus, like Tebow, stayed in the game.  The Lord didn’t quit, he didn’t complain, and he didn’t respond in a negative manner.  He believed in His mission, He believed in His teammates, and He believed in His God.

When you go about your school, work, family, or civic responsibilities this week, it is possible that the same might happen to you.  You could be “Tebowed,” (in the negative sense of the word --- criticized for living out your faith).  How will you respond?  Will you as a Christ-follower stay in the game?

Through the Lens ...

As a little boy I used to love looking through the lenses of my telescope.  Oh, it wasn’t very big, powerful, or expensive … but it gave me a different perspective on life; different than what my natural eyes could see.  It provided a big picture of life outside of my normal range and outlook and the clarity that it brought provided a sense of wonder and amazement.

Now some 50 years later, I so appreciate looking through a good set of lenses.  You see in the last year I had to have eye surgery that put a new set of lenses into my eyes.  A medical condition had clouded my eyesight to the point where it was like looking through a foggy tunnel.  I was unable to see the simplest things and was often left uncertain about the normal actions of life; such as driving, shopping, and even reading.                 

Since surgery, my vision is much better and I again marvel at the things I had previously been unable to see with my natural eyes.

In a similar manner the Bible teaches that man is unable to see life clearly because of a condition called sin.  It clouds our eyes, our thinking, and our perception of God and our fellowman.  Paul described this condition in 2 Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Jesus spoke often about our eyes and having eyes that could see --- see the spiritual world and truth that God offers to humanity.  He said in Matthew 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.”

What the human race needs is a new set of lenses to see through.  God provides these with a new birth which comes by faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, who died so that we could become a “new creation.”  As thankful as I am for my new physical eyes, I’m so much more thankful for my spiritual eyes that allow me to see God and His perspective about every aspect of life.  These lenses provide me with both a telescopic and microscopic view of life so that I don’t miss anything that He wants me to spiritually see or understand.

A while back a popular movie provided a line of dialog that said, “I see dead people.”  When I look around with my spiritual eyes, I see a world full of people that God loves and desires a relationship with; through His Son Jesus. 

This blog will simply record my observations of life and the world around me as I look THROUGH the LENS that God gave to me when I placed my faith in His Son. 

I hope you enjoy the things that He allows me to see.