Hard hitting

I always like a good Christian book that will always ask me the hard questions or ask me to examine my life, my Christian walk, or my love for God. In the book I am reading now the author gives 4 signs of progressing in spiritual maturity from Ephesians 4:14-16.      

1. vs.14 You are grounded in the Word and can handle yourself in the face of false teachings. (I think some of us, includes me, who have grown up in Christian homes, just believe what we believe because our parents believed it and we (I) can’t back it with scripture to prove it. Sad but true.) 
2. vs.15 You have the ability to speak the truth in love. Because you have a genuine love for others, you have the ability to say the hard things that need to be said but you do it in a loving way.  (Sometimes we see a train wreck going to happen but we sit back to watch it unfold. Why? Why don’t I throw them the life preserver when I can plainly see them drowning?)
3. vs 16 You are fitted. You know your gift, you are part of the church, and you are producing fruit because you are using your gift.
4. You have an ever expanding love for God and others. The author believes God measures our spiritual progress by the way we answer the following 2 questions:

• Am I loving God more deeply?
• Am I loving others more authentically?

These really showed me areas that I need to ask God to help me in. I can’t grow without getting into His word each and every day and sitting still, meditating on His words, and listening for His “still small voice” I’ve realized in my own life over the past few years that besides thinking “I need more of God”  how about also thinking “I need to give God more of me”. All of me.

Quiet Saturday Morning

Well today I slept in. I can’t remember the last time I got up at 8:30. I just thanked the Lord for the much needed sleep and started the day with some worship to Him and reading in Psalms. One of my favorite worship songs is by Matt Redman.  I remember the first time I heard it was at a Starfield concert and it just floored me. So I’ll let my word be few…listen to the words and fall in love with Jesus more and more each day.

I can’t do it alone

Spent some time reading Chip Ingram’s Holy Transformation book today. We talk alot about striving to be Christ like, but what attributes are we trying to achieve? Chip goes on to describe the character of Jesus in Ephesians 4:2 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.” He goes on to describe how Christ was an example of all of these traits. 

• Humility- Jesus washing his disciples feet

• Gentleness- Jesus went willingly when arrested and held back the angels

• Patience- Jesus remained silent before Pilate and His accusers

• Showing tolerance in love- Jesus puts up with me and my sins everyday!

I really have to take a look at myself and ask do I really mirror these or any of these characteristics of Christ.  These are some tough qualities to master! Chip makes a great point about why it’s so hard-because all of these attitudes involve other people! Does this mean I can’t grow spiritually or become “Christ-like” if I stay away from people, church, Sunday school, youth group etc.? I don’t think it’s possible to develop these isolated and alone. I’ve said it before-we were made for relationships-with God our creator and others.  We need to be involved in fellowship with others.  Lord forgive me where I fail at these qualities. I want to be more like Jesus but I need Your help-I can’t do it alone. 

I really enjoy getting together with the people of The ODC -we should get together more often. I should start inviting myself over to dinner… I’ll bring my cats.

 

 

All Glory to God

Just a quick post to praise God. Tonight was FAITH visitation night and two guys from church were able to share the gospel with our next door neighbors. After they left their house the daughter came running over to our house. I happened to be out visiting but Tia was home. She answered the door and the daughter says that 2 guys from our church had been there and they shared the gospel and she says “I want to know more!” Tia was able to lead her to Christ tonight and she wants to get baptized. All glory to God. 

Baby steps in your faith

I’ve just started reading a new book called Holy Transformation by Chip Ingram. In it he begins telling that in Ephesians 4:1 Paul says”…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling by which you were called.” What’s the call?  It refers to Christ’s invitation for us to come into a relationship with Him.  He makes a great point that when we receive Christ as our saviour we already receive these great qualities like “chosen”, “forgiven”, “redeemed”-(outlined in the first 3 chapters in Ephesians) and “receiving every spiritual blessing” Eph 1:3. And so Paul just basically says “that since these qualities already belong to us I want you to live a life that matches who you are in Christ.”  I have found that this isn’t so easy sittin’ in the boat. In my own life it’s been about taking baby steps. When I took my spiritual gifts test, evangelism was my lowest score. I remember when we as a church were going to be going door to door inviting people to church last year. Man I was reluctant to do it. It wasn’t going to be full on evangelism but it was still stepping out of my comfort zone talking to people about my faith, church, and Jesus! I really prayed about it and found myself thinking “Ron if you’re ever gonna start growing in your faith and experiencing God at the next level than I have to get out of my safe little world and start taking baby steps to real growth.”  Well I took that baby step of faith and I’m glad i did.

Chip Ingram makes a great analogy of a child learning to walk. Standing up is the first challenge! Man that’s me! Stand up Ron and start walking! Start growing!  He says “The process involves one step of faith followed by another step of faith, then another and another. Walking means you have to get out of your comfort zone and lose balance, regain balance, lose balance, and regain balance.”  I have found that yeah I’m gonna fall sometimes but I get back up and keep trying.

Last year I was asked to take the FAITH class and  learn how to share my faith with a total stranger.  Here was what I thought was my greatest fear and  biggest weakness and God wanted to use it?? I remembered the verse about weakness. I found it in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 and I claimed that verse and I said “Lord if you want me to do this then it’s gonna have to come from You because I can’t do this on my own.” His power is perfected in my weakness?!  What a great life verse.  This goes against man’s thinking! I’m so glad I took that baby step  in faith and it has brought me closer in my walk with Him.

Do you have a fear or is there something that you see as a weakness that may be holding you back from growing in your faith? Don’t get discouraged. Lay that fear or perceived weakness at His feet and ask Him to use your weakness and let Him show you how strong you can be!  Go to that next level in your walk with Him and you will not be disappointed.

Celebration time

This weekend is a time of celebration for our family. My wife is graduating from Wilson College. Her determination, strength, and faith in God has been a real inspiration to me. The last five years of her life have been extremely tough balancing work, family, and school, but she never gave up. She always had her eye on the reward at the end.  All glory goes to God because He is the One she is living for. He directed her path and gave her the peace in knowing this is what He wanted her to do. To become a teacher. What a great God we serve.   But how did she know that this is what He wanted her to do?   I believe the Lord put the desire to be a teacher in her early on in her life.  This was His amazing guiding hand at work. Through faith and giving her life over to His hand He just straightened out the path to get there. Imagine balancing working at a job for 17 years you can’t stand, 24 hours a week, being mom to 2 kids, wife, 24/7, and taking 2 classes each semester (summer intensives too!) and always having a peace through it all with not one door closed in the process.  God is good, always.  Thank you Lord. We know there’s more to this and we can’t wait to see what you have in store for her future.

This past year has been amazing to see how God works. Seeing how God provided  financially through it all has been amazing. We took a big leap into His arms and we knew He would catch us.  It’s like jumping off a cliff and you can’t see the bottom or see how you will survive, but He has been faithful just as He promises.  We keep passing around the five loaves and 2 fishes and the baskets keep coming back overflowing! Put your trust in Him, seek Him first, acknowledge Him in everything you do, small or big, give everything you have over to Him, and He will guide your way and provide everything you need.  Early on God put this verse on my heart and I keep going back to it time after time.  Psalm 37: 23-25 LB King David writes “The steps of good men are directed by the Lord.  He delights in each step they take.  If they fall it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with His Hand. I have been young and now I am old.  And in all my years I have never seen the Lord forsake a man who loves Him; nor have I seen the children of the godly go hungry”.  Insert Chris Tomlin’s “How Great Is Our God” chorus here.

Let’s get real

We were made for relationships.  So why do we find it so hard to share with others what we are feeling? Is it the embarrassment from letting my guard down and letting people know the real me? I think that sharing our hearts is one of the most powerful ways to break down walls between us. When we start being real and authentic. If I told you that sometimes I am overcome by the concept of God’s grace and mercy when I am so undeserving of it that it puts me on my knees crying before Him -would you think I was strange?  If I told you that during singing/worship time at church I really want to raise my hands as I sing but I’m afraid of what others will think of me-would you think I was revealing too much about myself?  How about if I told you I still get scared and nervous sharing my faith/witnessing to someone even though I’m a leader in the FAITH class-would you think any less of me? It’s just me being honest and real with you.  Jesus wept openly for his friend Lazarus.  He went away by himself to grieve for his cousin John when He heard about his death. Real open emotions. In Matthew 26:37 (NASB) it says that Peter, James, and John “…began to be grieved and distressed”, so in the next verse 38 Jesus  shared his true feelings and says  “…my soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death…”. Jesus was scared?! Jesus was being honest and real!  He asks them to remain with Him and keep watch with him and pray. And let’s not forget His pain on the cross as He feels the separation from His father and cries out in front of everyone “My God, My God why have you forsaken me? Deep heart felt abandonment. The worst kind.

I want to thank Jeremy B for having a time for us as leaders to share our hearts Wednesday night. Thankyou to you all, you are such a blessing and encouragement to me. It was a  chance for us to get rid of the “masks” we put on sometimes.   As leaders in the student ministry we can’t expect others to open up and be real if we are not. As parents we need to share our hearts with our kids. Show them where your strength comes from when you are scared, worried, angry, depressed, happy, sad. Check out Psalm 121:1-2.

Be like Christ

Did some reading today in Philipians again. Paul gives some great instruction to the believers which I think that if everyone really adopted this mindset it would flip our churches, small groups, sunday schools upside down. Check out in chapter 2 verses 1-8. What if everyone of us took on these traits- NIV “like minded”, “having the same love”, “being one in spirit and purpose”,  and the one I want to stress is “in humility consider others better than yourselves”. Wow that’s a tough one. How many of us can say we’ve walked into our youth groups and thought “how can I lower myself,  lift up and encourage someone tonight and make them feel better about themselves?” I can’t say that’s first on my mind.

Forgive me Lord when I bring others down. There’s already too much negativity in this world.  Our churches should be a positive experience every time we come together.  Help me to realize it’s not all about me, but it’s about serving others.  Lord God, help me to take on the humility that Christ modeled.  What a wonderful Saviour. 

More of Him, less of me

I am really drawn to people who are passionate about what they do and what they believe in.  I love their energy and their contagious attitudes that just stick to ya.  Hang around Jeremy Blount for a minute and you’ll see what I’m talkin’ about.  I came across in my time with God this afternoon someone with a passion for wanting more of Christ. In Phillipians 3:7-11 NASB. Here Paul says whatever he thought was important in life before, is now considered worthless “in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”   He uses passionate words of wanting to know Christ more, like “so that I may gain Christ”, and “may be found in Him”, and “that I may know Him”.  Paul couldn’t get enough of Jesus.   This is a great verse that I use to pray through.  I ask God to give me that kind of passion for Christ and His teachings and the things that matter most to Him.  More of Him and less of me. I pray that He will give me more passion to love and serve others.

This week I really took my eyes off the Lord and got distracted.  Forgive me Lord. He always takes me back.

Vicky Beeching  (the female version of Jeremy Camp) has a great song from her first cd called Captivated.

                                              “I am captivated by You/may my life be one unbroken gaze/ fixed upon the beauty of Your face

 

I gotta share it with you. First legit comment on this post gets her cd brand new and free. I only have one.  I’ll send it to you. No joke.-ron

Praise time…

I was glad to hear that Jeremy and Nicole were able to enjoy a great concert Thursday night with Michael W. Smith.  It’s also great to know it was an awesome time of praise and worship. Our pastors and leaders always need that kind of “recharge”-the Lord gets the praise and the believer gets their fire stoked in their heart.  I love hearing someone describe an awesome concert where God was just exalted-usually they don’t have words to describe it!  One of those “You really had to be there” moments.

I love good Christian music that does that for me.  When it both praises God and pumps up your spiritual heart and gets it flowing again.   Christian music is a big part of my devoted time with God each day.  It helps me get focused on Him and it sticks in my head the rest of the day.   I’m a big fan of The David Crowder Band, Starfield, Chris Tomlin, the list goes on and on.

I would love to hear about anyone else’s favorite Christian bands/singers.   Do you use music in your alone time with Him?  I would definitely like to hear anybody’s reviews or recommendations on new music.  How about your favorite Christian concert you’ve ever been to?

later -ron         

Missing the miracle…

For the last few months i have been praying for something big from God.  To be used of Him in a big way so that He would be glorified.  The supernatural.  Something that is obviously a “God thing”. To experience or to be a part of a miracle. Did you ever know of someone with cancer or dying and all of a sudden they are healed. No trace of disease and it leaves the doctors baffled.  The supernatural hand of God.

Well God has been showing me miracles-and I’ve been missing them. They’ve been happening right before my eyes-the supernatural not realized.  The event this past Sunday at the park had me thinking.  What prompts a man to finally hand his life over to God or even to be curious or interested about the things of God.  There’s the miracle!! God’s hand reaching down and drawing a person to Him.  The Hand that holds the world reaching down and stirring something in a man to seek Him. 

                                         John 6:44   Jesus says ” No one can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him…”

That’s the miracle that i have been overlooking-God’s working in a person’s life.  Being born sinful leaves a man like this explained in-Romans 3:11 “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

Please don’t miss the miracle of God working in an unsaved friends life.  Know the signs!  Be sensitive when a friend asks questions about your faith, or shows an interest in coming to a Chillsport or Impact group. This is God doing a miracle right in front of you. Don’t miss the chance to be a part of the great miracle of salvation.

 

Getting started

When I was asked to do a blog for the ODSM , I immediately thought it would be fun and easy. My thoughts, feelings, etc. all typed up in 20 minutes. Half a day later i don’t know how to begin.

First let me explain the category-”it’s just You and me here now” -Its taken from a David Crowder song called “Only You”. 

                “Take my heart, I lay it down/At the feet of You who’s crowned/And take my life, I’m letting go/ I lift it up, to You who’s throned.”

Here I want to be real, broken, face- down -on -the- ground, undignified, stripped down, and completely open…revealing my love for Christ. Complete worship with my thoughts. Just letting go. Why hold anything back. He’s the One who saved me, loves me, cares for me, – I have some reservations though, about journaling thoughts that some may otherwise jot down in a personal notebook somewhere.  I hope to get over that and just “drink and flow” and express my love and praise to only Him that is worthy of it.

                        ”And it’s just You and me here now/ Only You and me here now/ You should see the view/ When it’s only You.”       DCB

 ron