Who Do You Live For?

Do live for yourself, for others, or for Christ?

How easy it is to simply live for our own desires. Similarly, how easy it is to fall into the trap of living our lives for the desires of others. In youth ministry we often speak of the struggle students face in dealing with peer pressure, the pressure to live as others expect. If we are to be honest with ourselves, it is a struggle that more than just teenagers deal with.

Have fun with this Candid Camera video as you consider who it is you live for.



May we remember....

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20.


HT to Adam McLane for the video.

Rooted

As we move into Spring, I find myself thinking about seasons. I enjoy the change of seasons. As we leave winter behind I am especially excited about the warmth, fragrance, and color of Spring. Spring also means my favorite season, Summer, is just around the corner!

Just as the calender brings different seasons, so does life. Some are more welcomed than others. I often wish the seasons of life would be more spring and summer like, but often, they are not. As the winter months bring harsh and trying weather, there are often seasons in life which bring harsh and trying times.

Here in the Northwest it is not uncommon to see large trees topple to the ground as strong Pacific storms blow through. As the harsh winds beat relentlessly against the trees there is but one determining factor that decides whether they stand or fall, roots. The tree with the weak and dying root system rarely fairs well, where as the tree with the deep, healthy, and strong roots stand.

Much like the tree, it is our roots that make the difference. As we seek to grow in our knowledge of Christ, our roots grow healthy and deep. As we are well rooted in Christ, our faith grows, and as our faith grows, we will experience the strength needed to ride out the unwelcomed storms of life.

How are your roots?



So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

To Be Like Dad

I recently posted this picture of my son, mowing the lawn with me to my Twitter account. My accompanying tweet said, "Getting the lawn mowed. Nice to have a 'little help.'" Little did I know, such a simple picture would inspire my friend Greg to write the following blog post. It is so good, I share it here.

Consider My Servant

Recently, a friend of mine went out to mow his lawn. While he was mowing, his 4 year old son came out, with his toy lawn mower, to “help” him. My friend was so excited and proud and impressed that his son wanted to help, that he took a picture of it and posted it on Twitter.

It’s a very cute picture: there is the front of my friend’s lawn mower (I think it’s a John Deere). To the right of the mower is the freshly cut grass, to the left of the mower is the uncut grass, and right in front of it is his little boy pushing his toy lawn mower that looks almost like Dad’s.

Now, you know he’s not really helping…it’s a toy, it’s not really doing anything, but I wonder what was going through that little guy’s mind. I came up with five things he might be thinking:

1. I want to be with my Dad.

2. I want to be like my Dad.

3. I want to please my Dad.

4. I’m really helping him out.

5. I bet he’s proud of me.

(Knowing my friend like I do, and the fact that he posted the picture, I know number 5 is true.)

I thought of a similar story in Job 1:6-9:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

(A side note: If God twittered this question it would look like this: Have U considered my servant Job, that thr is none lk him on the earth, a blameless & upright man, who fears God & turns away from evil?)

Just like my friend, God is proud of His people who do good, after all it’s what we were created for. (Ephesians 2:10)

The thing that struck me the most is the fact that, even though God is proud of me for doing good works, and even though I get all full of myself for “helping” my Heavenly Father, I sometimes wonder if I’m mowing the lawn with a toy lawn mower. And then I think, maybe that’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

My motivation for doing good should be 1, 2, 3, and 5 on that little boy’s list:

1. I want to be with my Dad.

2. I want to be like my Dad.

3. I want to please my Dad.

5. I bet he’s proud of me.

If I convince myself that any of my good works are worth anything I’m kidding myself. (Isaiah 64:6) But I’m going to keep doing them, because I want to make my Daddy proud.

So good! May we all strive to be more and more like our Daddy.

Safety First?

How safe do you play it? Do you live life to the fullest or do you play it safe? Conventional wisdom says to play it safe. It tells us to get a good job, save lots of money, and retire comfortably. Is that really the life God invites us into?

These are questions I have wrestled with over the years. Which is more responsible, to store away so that I can eventually enjoy a comfortable retirement and hopefully leave something behind for my kids, or to live a life of faith and trust? A life that gives more than it saves. A life that is more concerned about the life to come than this present one.

In my current pursuit of what God has next for my family and me, I wrestle with these thoughts. Do I hold out for the "perfect job" that promises to provide all the things on our list of desires, or do I walk through the doors God is opening before us to serve Him right here, right now? The "perfect job" may or may not come. The one thing I am certain of, is the one who is perfect, promises to meet us where we are, and to provide for our every need. What He desires of us is faithfulness (Matthew 6:25-33).

God does not call us into a life of safety. He calls us into a radical lifestyle of trust and faith. It's not always a safe life, but it's an exciting life, and one that culminates in hearing the words, "Well done good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21). It is those very words that I hope to hear someday.

I hope this Francis Chan video challenges you as it does me.

Satisfied with Christ

How satisfied with Christ are you? We live in a culture that tells us the end goal in life is the accumulation of stuff. We live in a relentless pursuit of more; more money, more things, more friends, more pleasure, and the list goes on.

I was challenged recently with a John Piper quote I came across while reading Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love. In asking, how in love with Christ are we, he shared the following quote.

The critical question for our generation - and for every generation - is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

When we are in love, everything in life changes. It changes the way we view our stuff, our relationships, and our priorities.

May we love Christ in a way that causes everything else in life to pale in comparison to knowing and loving Him.

The Love of God

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 is arguably the most well known verse of scripture. One would be hard pressed to find someone unfamiliar with it. In all our familiarity with it, I wonder, how often do we just sit and marvel at it's truth.

Take a moment and watch this video of Francis Chan sharing "The Awe Factor of God."



To be loved by such an awesome, big, and powerful God is simply incredible to me! May we remain in awe of His awesome love for us. May we love Him in return, in a manner that He deserves

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19.