Faith

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  –Benjamin Franklin

I say it every year…this is the year I am going to read through the Bible. This is the year I am going to read 50 books. This is the year I am going to set goals and follow through on every one of them. Then, February comes. I know…I have been there. The initial passion for the plan subsides and life gets busy. So, here we go again with a new year and most of us are setting goals for the year that will last three or four weeks. I am not taking a shot at your failure to follow through on what you have promised yourself you will do…I am just stating a fact. I am in the same boat with you.

I was thinking recently…why do we set goals? What makes us want to set goals for our lives? Maybe it is because we know we are not reaching our full potential. Maybe it is because we want to make a difference in the world. Maybe it is because we want to live the only earthly life we have to the fullest. All of these answers are true and good, but I believe the real answer is found in something deeper and more significant. Not that the answers above are too shallow, but there is something more meaningful to our desire to plan and set goals…I believe we are hardwired by our Creator to succeed by planning. Think about it…God plans. From the beginning, He had a plan for the redemption of the world. God did not just hover around for thousands of years and then one day look at the other members of the Trinity and the angels and say,

“Jesus, it is time to go. Angels, you need to find someway to tell some people on earth Jesus is coming…figure it out. Holy Spirit, you need to have a role in this thing too…I am not sure what it is because I have not thought much about it, but we cannot leave you out. Alright guys and neuter beings, let’s do this. Ready…Break!”

This sounds ridiculous, right?! Excuse my crazy parallel, but if we were in charge of finding the right time to send Jesus and redeem the world, this would probably be our approach. Let’s face it: most of us are poor planners and even worse executors of our plans. I want to challenge you to change the way you think of planning. I want to challenge you to think of planning as necessary. I want to challenge you to think of planning as essential…God planned out every intricate detail of Jesus’s arrival because he wanted the Savior’s entrance to be perfect…and it was. If we desire to reflect the image of our Creator, we are missing something if we fail to plan and set goals.

“Hey, check this out…I decided yesterday I am going to get in my car and ride aimlessly until I see a sign that looks appealing as a final destination or until something hits me in the face as a good place to land. How long will it take? Who knows…maybe days or weeks. But I know I am supposed to be somewhere and I know I cannot stay here, so I am going to ride.”

‘Tis life for a lot of us. We hop in our car and ride around the roads of our life hoping to end up somewhere, but most of us never do. In the process, we waste a lot of gas and time. Then life is over. Wow, that sounds really somber. I apologize.

Remember: time is a non-renewable resource. It is the most valuable resource we have because we cannot get it back. Almost everything our society places value on we can create more of (or earth can naturally create more of). This is not true with time. If you or I waste a day, it is impossible for us to get it back. It is gone forever. Here is a good question to ask yourself…”Am I being a good steward of my time? Am I investing my time well?” Can I be frank with you (notice the pun…it is intended), I do not think watching inordinate amounts of television is really investing time. Neither is spending inordinate amounts of time playing Xbox or watching Netflix. These things are not inherently bad, but when a large portion of your free time is spent on yourself, there is a problem.  And here is a dirty little secret…if you do not plan how you will spend your day, you will default to something meaningless and insignificant. I have seen it too many times in my own life.

One more thing then I am done…

Satan is going to tell you planning is a waste of time. Satan is going to tell you goal setting is ridiculous…but be careful about listening to Satan. Jesus says he is the father of lies (John 8:44), and this makes sense because SATAN PLANS TOO (see Luke 4:13). He left Jesus in the wilderness until an “opportune” time. In other words, he planned the times when he would visit again. Satan knows if you refuse to plan, you will live a life of normalcy and not make much impact on the world. He is cool with that. Normalcy is a scheme of Satan.

So, here is my challenge to you: Set goals for the year. Have a plan for your day (I use this productivity schedule to help me invest my time in meaningful ways and stay focused). Have a plan for the year. Have a plan for the next five years. Have a plan for the next ten years. Then take time and map out that plan. You can say this is being structured and rigid, and I say yes and no. It is very structured, but only as rigid as you allow. But remember, we are made in the image of God, and our God is pretty structured. In your planning, do not become so rigid that you do not allow plans to be adapted and changed, but also do not become so flexible that you allow everything to take precedent over your goals and plans.

When we plan we reflect the image of our Creator.

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I love you all. To God be the glory forever. Amen!

I remember when the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) craze hit in the mid 1990s. Everybody was wearing the bands, and even though they were the opposite of chic, I will admit I had a couple. But what always baffled me were the people that wore ten bands all the way up their forearm because they wanted people to know they were real tight with Jesus. Everyone else thought they looked like a rainbow colored totem pole. At the time when the WWJD concept started sweeping through American churches, it was a good thing. I believe people can benefit from having items they keep on them that serve as reminders of what and who they represent. I will have to say, however, from a personal perspective I rarely used the wristband as a blockade to keep me from being a bad person, and more times than not I was embarrassed to wear the bracelet because I thought someone might make fun of me. At that time in my life, I was much more concerned with being accepted by my peers than being affirmed by God.

Slowly, the WWJD wristbands got old and out-dated, but for those of us that are followers of Jesus, the question continues to permeate our thoughts and actions. What Would Jesus Do? I wonder if any of you ever ask that question when you are faced with ethical and moral dilemmas in life? It can be a very healthy question to ask, but it can also be a very dangerous question to ask. Now, some of you are ready to cry foul and give up on me as a Christian, but I want to encourage you to think seriously about this question. Allow me to highlight a few issues…

1.) YOU ARE LIMITED IN YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO ANSWER A QUESTION ABOUT A GOD WHO HAS UNLIMITED KNOWLEDGE. 

I need to start with a disclaimer: There are certainly situations and circumstances where the life Jesus modeled on earth gives us a clear answer to the question we might be asking (i.e., Do we need to love our neighbor? Do we need to cheat on our spouse?, etc.). We have no problem answering those questions, but other times we are faced with difficult questions and no explicit answer from the life of Jesus or the Bible to provide us an answer. At this point, we are no longer asking What Would Jesus Do?, but What Do We Think Jesus Would Do? Two completely different questions. Now, Jesus knows the CORRECT answer to every question (if an answer even exists), but you, on the other hand, do not have the correct answer to every question. That would make you God. So, inevitably you are bound to distort the ethos of Jesus because you believe he would handle a situation exactly like you would handle it. At this point, it is necessary to make an important point…YOU AND JESUS ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE THE SAME ANSWER TO EVERY QUESTION. Let me say it another way.

If you and Jesus answer every question the same way in regards to politics, finances, life choices, etc., you are probably being influenced more by your own desires and aspirations than the desires and aspirations of Jesus.

Be very careful about trying to mold Jesus around your own selfish desires, and thus forcing him to think just like you. Read through the life and ministry of Jesus and note how many times Jesus befuddled the people he was around because they expected him to say or do a certain thing and he did something different.

You are limited in knowledge and understanding and Jesus is not…approach situations with this in mind.

2.) IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ANSWER A QUESTION ABOUT GOD WITHOUT DIVORCING YOURSELF FROM THE SURROUNDING CULTURE. 

Culture is a powerful shaping element. I have made the statement before that culture does not have to define you, but it is going to shape you. I have spent the majority of my life in Mississippi, and it has shaped my personality and my thought pattern. It has shaped my vernacular and my dialect. If someone from the south goes to New York for vacation, it does not take much investigative work to figure out that person is not a native. Conversely, if I am walking down the street and someone bumps into me without saying, “Excuse me,” I know they are either a jerk or from the north (the two are mutually exclusive, so please, my northern brothers, do not take offense).

Because we are shaped by our surroundings, there is an element of our surroundings that factors into our understanding of Jesus. So, if you are from the south you most likely believe Jesus is a conservative that votes a certain way because you cannot imagine Jesus advocating a social party that is pro-choice (not understanding that there are people all across the board in all arenas). Take the Civil War as an example. When I was taking a class at Harding School of Theology recently, one of things I found fascinating was that religious leaders of both the South and the North thought God was fighting for them. I look back at that with disgust and ask myself how people in the South could ever think God would fight for a group of people that believed in the ownership of slaves and prejudice. Let’s be honest, even though I am not questioning their devotion to the Lord, I am saying there was financial and economical incentive for them maintaining slaves and oppressing certain people groups. Our surroundings affect how we think Jesus would handle situations.

If you think Jesus today would be waving an American flag, live in a gated neighborhood, be involved in an institutionalized church, take his kids to see Santa Claus, and travel all over the land participating in traveling team sports, maybe you are being more influenced by the culture around you than by the ethos of Jesus.

3.) IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE BIBLE OBJECTIVELY

I grew up hearing this phrase (or some derivative of it) from men in the pulpit, “Do not just take what I say as fact…go home and read (the Bible) for yourself.” What a novel statement, but the problem is most people are going to take what the preacher says as truth. After all, that is why he is the preacher. He should be trusted not to deliver false doctrines. This never eliminates the authority of Scripture and personal study, but the reality is this…we are shaped religiously by our upbringing. I am in a fellowship, Churches of Christ, that holds dearly to many of its traditions. I am proud of my heritage, but we have our issues. As I struggled through the journey to develop my own faith, I noticed many of the things we hold as essential truths are muddled interpretations of Scripture at best and misguided interpretations at worst. I have known men and women that have honestly believed everyone outside of our fellowship needs to be saved from their misguided interpretations of Scripture. Others have made claims that they have not changed their mind about anything related to God in years. I believe strongly in some core doctrines found in Scripture, but I also understand when I believe I have all the interpretations nailed down, I make a claim that I am God. That’s not good. I know how sinful I am. I make a terrible god.

If Jesus would interpret the Bible exactly the same way you would, you are probably influenced more by your surroundings than your Savior.

On a macro level, the WWJD question is good. It keeps us focused and it allows our thoughts to be conditioned by the ways and teachings of Jesus. Be careful, however, not to fall into the trap of thinking Jesus would answer every question the way you think he would. Give the almighty, all powerful, omniscient God more credit than that. It is on the micro level that the WWJD question becomes problematic and even dangerous.  As you journey through life, respond to situations with humility and a level of openness, accepting differing thought patterns and opinions. I think Solomon issues a statement that would be wise for us to grasp, “God is in heaven and you are on earth” (Ecc. 5:2). You are not God. You do not have all the answers. You are not omniscient. Pray to God for wisdom and understanding, but be cognizant of the reality that even the most knowledgable people still have their convictions undergirded by a layer of subjectivity.

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I love you all. To God be the glory forever. Amen!

Allow me to make a confession…there are days (and maybe weeks) in vocational ministry that seem monotonous. I will admit that most of the monotony is a product of my own downfalls and weaknesses. This is not to say those times are insignificant or unimportant, but it is to say in those times it is difficult to see what impact is being made for the Lord or what impact the Lord is making on me. There are times, however, when you feel the presence and impact of the Lord in your life and/or in your ministry in a very powerful way. In those times, you have that “mountaintop experience,” similar to what Peter, James, and John must have experienced when they witnessed Jesus being transfigured before their eyes. This past weekend I had a “mountaintop experience.”

In preparation for a youth event in Starkville, MS where I am speaking, I had the opportunity to sit down and have a discussion with Dr. John Perkins. John Perkins is one of the most highly esteemed voices in the world on reconciliation and justice. He speaks all across the globe to all groups of people. He has written several very powerful books, including Let Justice Roll Down, Follow Me To Freedom, and Leadership Revolution, among others. Dr. Perkins has eleven honorary doctorate degrees, and two universities have established John Perkins centers.

I actually was able to catch up with him as he returned from a trip in California and was preparing to speak at an event in Pennsylvania.  I wanted to post some of my conversation with Doc, as I asked him about his upbringing, his thoughts on the church and mission, and his view of God as it relates to the church’s effectiveness. I hope you grow as much from these clips as I did listening to him.

I started by asking Dr. Perkins about his upbringing, and how his upbringing has affected his theology and his views on justice and reconciliation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rNHI20btMk

I then asked Dr. Perkins a simple, yet profound and complex question…”What is the church?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhAj2UgxKFU

The final question I asked Dr. Perkins relates to the why a small view of God hinders the mission and effectiveness of the church.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koTnjbG3QgA

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I love you all. To God be the glory forever. Amen!

Yeah, I know what some of you are thinking…majoring in the minors is a detrimental mindset to have. I will agree with you when the context is Christian ideology. Nothing is more damaging to the unity and progression of the church than individuals or groups of people focusing on trivial, insignificant issues in the life of a church at the expense of the larger mission. It will suck the life from even the most devout followers of Jesus. So, don’t worry, we are all on the same page there. What I am referring to instead is a mindset we should develop that hinges the successes or failures of life on a smaller, subset of decisions. In essence, success in life and faithfulness to God is rooted in the small decisions and not necessarily the large ones. Hear me out.

When I played football in high school, there was one coach that would come out every Monday before we started practice and say to us, “Fellas……..(there was always an extended, awkward pause here)…….if you want to succeed on Friday night, you have to succeed on Monday. You can’t expect to win on Friday if you don’t win on Monday” (imagine this in a very forte, raspy coach’s voice…then it really starts to come to life). Being a teenager, that sounded like the most ridiculous statement I had ever heard. I would never think to approach Monday like a Friday. Friday is when the lights come on. Friday is when thousands (alright maybe hundreds) of people are watching. Friday is when I get an opportunity to cement my place in Grenada High School folk lore (which doesn’t exist). Mondays?? Mondays are only good because they are four days from Friday. And I do not know about the rest of you, but the worst possible stuff always happened to me on Mondays. My coach, however, pushed us harder on Mondays in drills and scrimmages than any other day…and now I see why. He knew if he could get us to see the importance of winning the small battles, Friday night wins would come. And they did come.

How does this translate to everyday life? Let me make a statement I hope sticks with you.

“I believe both God AND Satan recognize the importance of the small decisions we make in everyday life.”

Let’s start with Satan. In my previous post, I talked about the schemes of Satan. He wants to destroy us. He is crafty and deceitful. He recognizes this fact to be true…most Christians are not going to fall for a trap if we can see it. So, instead Satan chooses to use a small series of traps that are less visible and might even be hidden in some form of truth (refer to 2 Cor. 11:14). Satan can destroy your life faster than the government spends money, but for Satan to gain control of your mind and heart, he must take control of the small, seemingly insignificant decisions. For the building to come crashing down, there must first be a crack.

Now, let’s turn to God. Let’s start here…the fact that the almighty, all powerful God of the universe would even consider human beings is the first (and most important) sign God “majors in the minors.” But then you go even deeper. Matthew 10:30 tells us God knows EXACTLY how many hairs we have on our head. What?! God even puts his stamp on the human body. One of the basic proteins responsible for holding us together (I understand this is not sound technical jargon for my doctors out there, so please bear with me) is called a laminin. What is striking about the laminin? Its structure and shape is that of a cross. God even wanted to place his fingerprints are something that human eyes can not even see. Let’s face it…the small things are important to God, and they also need to be important to us.

And this is where the problem arises. We live in a culture today that is irrefutably driven by results, and the results must be seen and the results must be seen NOW. Coaches are fired after one season if he or she loses a bunch of games. People are fired from jobs if the quarter’s profits are down. Unfortunately at times, ministers are even fired if sharp increases in attendance numbers and baptisms are not seen quickly. How can we not expect to buy into what the culture is selling? I understand it is hard, but here is the thing about “majoring in the minors”…it involves making decisions everyday that will not produce immediate fruit. My coach wanted to instill in us a mentality that focuses on the times when the lights are off just as much as when the lights are on. If we expect to be successful in this life and remain faithful to God, we must approach Monday morning the same way we approach Sunday morning. We must live out the same type of Christian life that we portray to others on Sunday morning, and we do this by developing good, healthy habits everyday. I hear teens say things like this often, “I just did not get anything out of this Bible study oR prayer or that speaker or devotional. I just do not see the importance of reading my Bible everyday.” What essentially they are saying is this…I did not see any visible results, so I stopped doing it. You can take what I am about to say to the bank.

“The seed you sow today might not produce fruit tomorrow, but it WILL produce fruit eventually.”

We must realize the importance of developing good habits and treating the minor decisions as major ones. Whether or not you decide to spend time alone with God everyday is a major decision. Whether or not you decide to spend time with God’s people as often as possible is a major decision. Whether or not you decide to put yourself in vulnerable positions is a major decision. How you decide to spend your free time. How you decide to love your spouse daily. How you decide to treat your parents and siblings. How you decide to respond to stress and anxiety. All of these decisions are important. The decision you make regarding the small situations and circumstances in life might not produce fruit tomorrow, but it will produce fruit eventually.

All of these minor, seemingly insignificant decisions ultimately determine our success in this life and our faithfulness to God. We have a God that takes the small things seriously. We have an adversary that take the small things seriously. I challenge you to major in the minors and see how your life begins to change.

Yesterday was my 28th birthday, which means I am one year closer to the dreaded age of 30, and everyone knows stuff starts falling apart after 30. FREE PIECE OF INFO: Life goes by really fast…do not take it for granted (and all of the grandparents reading collectively say, “Amen!”). Don’t just sit around playing games all day, go out and do stuff and if you are a gamer, then why don’t you look at UnrankedSmurfs.com, a site which can help improve your ranking of your character (It helps save you time so you can go out and do stuff with your friends and family!). I grew up in a family where birthdays consisted of a cake (sometimes) and a present (all of the time), but my family never went over the top. I married into a family, however, where birthdays and other life events (such as anniversaries) are given the utmost significance. I learned this the hard way when my wife’s birthday rolled around the first year we were dating. Apparently in her family a birthday REQUIRES a birthday cake. I did not know this. One would think this is a piece of info that needs to be passed down from family to boyfriend. Well, needless to say her birthday was an enormous fail because there was no birthday cake. I believe I could have bought her a shiny pearl wrapped in gold and her birthday would still have been a failure. She was expecting a cake. Well, I learned my lesson. The next year I made sure to go to the local bakery and buy her the most beautiful, exquisite caramel cake in the store. I then purchased some candles and made sure the cake was waiting on her when she got home from school. She walked in the door and immediately it was like someone took a needle and popped the air out of her balloon. I was baffled. What had I done wrong? Well, come to find out not only does she expect a birthday cake, but she expects a birthday cake that looks and appears like an actual birthday cake (so it needs to say “Happy Birthday” and have some sprinkles). Who would have thought? Not me. Again, one would think this is pertinent info that should be passed down from family to boyfriend (as an aside, I have the best in-laws in the world. This info was probably transmitted to me, but many times my transmitter has technical problems). My wife has been raised to expect certain things on her birthday because her parents instilled in her that birthdays are special days. Speaking of birthdays, my friends daughter, who just turned 16 and got a lovely 50cc scooter! Her parents were fantastic enough to also get her some 50cc scooter insurance! She now can get some experience on the road that’ll help her in the in the future to get a car of her own.

I used to disagree with placing special significance on birthdays and other events, but I have now changed my mind. You see, as my birthday progressed yesterday, I series of events transpired that led me to believe something big was going to happen. The whole day I anticipated something that, at the end of the day, never happened. I was disappointed. As I was talking to my wife about what happened (or did not happen), I told her God taught me something important…people want and deserve to feel special occasionally. I never really understood this until yesterday. I believe it is not only innate in humans to desire to be loved, but it is also innate in humans to want to receive some extra attention on occasion. And it is not a bad thing; in fact, I think God built us this way. So, I started thinking about some people in my “sphere of influence” I could impact in a positive way. And I want to challenge you to do the same thing. Here are some ideas I came up with:

1.) Make a phone call to someone you have not seen or talked to in a while just to tell them you are thinking about them.It could be a relative (such as a grandmother, sibling, etc.), a friend you have lost contact with, or someone from your church you have not seen in a few weeks. One of the most memorable parts of my birthday occurred when somebody who is a member at the church where I am employed called me just to wish me happy birthday. Nothing else. It took him all of one minute, but the fact that he sat aside time to call me and not just send me a text message or write on my Facebook timeline really resonated with me. I will be honest, even though I am thankful for people writing on my Facebook wall, it still seems a bit impersonal for those closest to me. I have a hard time believing people actually go through their timeline and look at every person who wishes them happy birthday. Not that I am completely against it, but if you are close to the person, send them a text message at the very least. Which leads to the next idea…

2.) Send a text message or email to someone you love thanking them for their positive influence in your life. Technology makes it so easy for us to connect with others, and this is a quick, but powerful way to impact someone’s day. I still remember receiving a very encouraging e-mail one day from a member at my church who commended me on a message I delivered the previous Sunday. I even remember some of the specifics of the e-mail, and she wrote the e-mail about three or four months ago. It meant a lot to me, and your heart-felt e-mail or message can mean a lot to someone else.

3.) Compose a hand-written letter to someone at your church or work. Hand written cards indicate to the one receiving that you have not only thought about them, but you have put time into it. Put together a hand-written note to the preacher or one of the elders at your church thanking them for their hard work. They do much more laboring than the average person realizes. You can also send a letter to your boss or someone random at your church. This is something I have decided to do weekly. You may think this is subtle, but I promise hand-written cards or letters are a huge boost and encouragement (and it is weird how they always come at just the right time).

4.) Invite someone to lunch or go see someone who does not have people in their lives to make them feel special. When my wife worked at a nursing home last year, she would come home and tell me story after story of a man or woman abandoned by their family. She could see the sadness and loneliness on the faces of so many people. These stories made my heart hurt. I can not imagine being in a position where my family has either died or left me to die in a nursing home. Many of you know somebody far away from family or who has lost family and needs some encouragement. Maybe you know an elderly person who would benefit from a short visit. Make it happen.

5.) Invite someone into your home for dinner. I hold to the idea people are much more perceptive than we give them credit for. Therefore, the more work you put into something, the more people are going to feel like you really care about them. Go through the trouble of making dinner for somebody. It will have a greater impact than simply asking them to meet you at a restaurant. Maybe it is a neighbor across the street or a widow, and you have been thinking about inviting them over for a while now. Do not delay any longer.

The options available for helping others are endless, but we have to stop allowing our lives to revolve around us and stop thinking we are too busy to impact other people. God taught me yesterday I need to be spending more of my time on this earth making other people feel special. He had to place in me a feeling of disappointment, but I am extremely grateful it happened. We never know the level to which our kind words or deeds will positively influence other people. Positively impacting others needs to be part of our lifestyle, and if you are a follower of Jesus you need to do some introspection if this is not part of your lifestyle. Make everyday a birthday for someone else. Take advantage of opportunities in your life to make other people feel special.

In the words of Kid President:

“Make this week awesome for somebody else.”

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I love you all. To God be the glory forever. Amen!

In his most recent book, Follow Me, David Platt makes the following statement:

As we turn to Jesus, he transforms us. As we die to ourselves, we live in him. He gives us a new heart – cleansed of sin and filled with his Spirit. He gives us a new mind – an entirely new way of thinking. He gives us new desires – an entirely new sense of longing. And he gives us a new will – an entirely new way of living.

Summation: when someone encounters Jesus, the game is changed. We begin to live for a new purpose. We put on the lenses of Jesus.

As American Evangelicals, we must constantly fight this dichotomy between the American mantra of comfort and security and the Christian mantra of sacrifice and persecution. Unfortunately, the American mantra often wins out. And let’s be clear, as long as the “comfort and security” mentality is prevailing, the Kingdom is not going to advance. Following Jesus and allowing Him to permeate every area of our life pushes back against everything this country instills in us. For example, this culture teaches us to believe whatever we would like, but do not share your belief with others. Yet, we see at the end of the gospel of Matthew, the command from Jesus to go into every nation and make disciples. American culture: keep your faith to yourself….Jesus: share your faith with every person you contact on a daily basis. Chances are most of us know if we are living for Jesus, but in case you are wondering, here are five indicators that you might not have on the lenses of Jesus.

1.) You associate with people that look and act and talk just like you…Jesus was notorious for hanging out with tax collectors (reviled during Jesus’s day) and prostitutes. How many non-Christians and sinners do you associate with? He did not establish relationships with just the righteous. Even his apostles were probably not the people I would have chosen. He had fishermen and even a tax collector. I would have chosen Bible scholars and gifted speakers. If we are going to be Jesus, we need to spend time with people that do not look, act, or talk like us.

2.) You view people that cross your path throughout the day as a hindrance to your schedule and not as an opportunity to spread the love of Jesus…too many people give priority to their schedule or their own idea for how their day should play out instead of taking advantage of opportunities to share Jesus with others. I really struggle with this because I am a task-oriented person, so if I am in the midst of completing a task, it often takes priority over everything else. The problem is when I decided to follow Jesus, He took priority over my schedule. Do not get so caught up in life and tasks that you fail to see someone in need.

3.) You only invest in people who can give you something in return…this is self-explanatory. If you do not have relationships with people that have nothing to offer you, it is time to do some introspection. Remember, Jesus left the majesty of heaven and died on a cross for you. There is nothing you could offer him in return for that amazing gift.

4.) You constantly make statements such as, “I never have opportunities to share Jesus with others,” or “I am just too busy to notice people who might need Jesus.”…this indicates that your life is too wrapped up in yourself or your job or whatever you want to use to fill in the blank other than Jesus. Someone who is wearing the lenses of Jesus inspects EVERY situation to see whether God might be placing someone in their path. What about the cashier at the gas station? What about the waiter at the restaurant? What about the parents on your child’s soccer/softball/baseball/whatever other team? What about the people that live right beside you in your neighborhood? Opportunities abound, but you need to reorient your priorities.

5.) You refuse to help others because you do not think you are good enough…and you would be right about the good enough part. By yourself, the advancement of the Kingdom is going to be tough (this is an example of an understatement, which means it is impossible to do this by yourself). But when someone encounters Jesus, the Spirit begins to penetrate your heart and mind. Paul makes it clear in I Timothy that the Spirit we have is not one that operates out of fear. And you might not have the words to say, but remember God brings people into a relationship with him, not you. So, if the Spirit is working through you, and you are not responsible for drawing people to God, remind me what you are scared of again? Let us also not forget when you killed your old self through baptism, your “comfort zone” was included.

Putting on the lenses of Jesus is a daily, maybe even hourly, decision. I can attest to the five statements above because I personally struggle with all of them. I must constantly remember Jesus is the center of my life, and when I became a follower of Him, I killed the comfort and security mentality. Maybe you need to do the same.

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I love you all. To God be the glory forever. Amen!