Fill the Gaps - What's Your Smell?

Oftentimes while working at camp, we would get through a morning of cleaning up after a week-long group, gather around on the porch of the coffee shop, and wait to be "dismissed" into our 24 hours off. In this time, some of us would nap, go to the beach, reflect, hit the city up north, play...whatever. But the director of the camp would tell us the same thing every single time before we went our separate ways for the 24 hours: "Remember you are representing this camp and Jesus wherever you go." And he was right. He is still right. We would eat dinner out in a city almost an hour away, or even hours away if we went further, and we always ran into a kid we had just had a camp that past week, along with their parents, and they knew exactly who we were. They would light up at the sight of the camp counselors they had. Not only that, if we were sporting the camp gear with the camp's name on it, and acting like fools - imagine how dumb we made camp to look. Even worse, that we made Jesus look to that kid. If I push this idea further, to someone who was sitting across the way who had never been interested in this "Jesus" or this "Bible" stuff (it said "Bible Camp" in the camp title), and we were acting foolishly, imagine how that taste of faith was left in that person's mouth. Someone is always watching you.

As Christ-followers, we need to have a set of convictions, or a term I like better - standards. If we really break down the verse of Romans 12:1-2, we'll find what these "standards" should look like. They are not restraining, yet they are not negligent. They are not enslaving, but they set us free. They are not heavy, but they fit perfectly into what a hurting world needs. They break a cycle of terrible values in family lines, yet are meant to build relationship. They are neither condemning, nor judgmental, but give us a target to aim for as we walk through this world on the line of it and Christ-followers.

Romans 12:2- "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will." 

Ruth considered what a Godly life should look like. The "renewing of her mind" caused her to not only step out and take a risk, but to be noticed by a Godly man, who protected and favored her. As we learn more and more about Boaz, it's surprising that Ruth was the one he noticed, which says a lot about Ruth's demeanor.

Being renewed in mind and transformed by Christ means we do it the right way. Boaz pursued Ruth in the right way in following the laws of the time and going to the man who was in line ahead of him to "claim" Ruth as his. Though Boaz has a way with words in this negotiation, he doesn't break the law or dishonor God through merely "stealing" Ruth, but has a man to man conversation. Being set apart means to not to be "snooty" in our faith, but to do things the right way. To be above reproach. Sometimes that means being humble and taking the proper steps and allowing processes to work out. Boaz displays Romans 12:2 perfectly. He tested God's will in doing the right thing and allowing it to fall into place. If it wasn't God's will, the unnamed man may have claimed Ruth and all that came with her himself.

Setting standards based on God's standards, not the world's speaks volumes of your loyalties. This may look like obeying laws of this world and respecting authorities we don't always agree with. (Romans 13) When we are waiting for the right relationship, opportunity, etc. we need to look based on what would please God, not our own desires. After all, we are told in Matthew 6:33 to seek Him first and His righteousness, and all else will come.

A relationship - many struggle to find someone who "measures up" to perhaps some high standards you've placed based on your convictions. So, as your friends tell you that those are unrealistic or you'll never find someone who will meet those standards, you begin to lower them more and more until you don't even recognize yourself anymore. Same goes for behavior. You start to think that it is impossible to play by all the rules, so you let perfectionism ruin it all, allowing one bad day to make bad decisions for a week, a month, a year...even a life.

Careers - I know unemployed people who won't take jobs because they are waiting for a "higher position" to open up. They won't provide for their family because they are too prideful to settle into a job that makes money at all. Let me be the first person to tell you that you need to provide, not hold on to pride. Your convictions may feel like you should have higher standards for where you work, but your convictions should actually feel like you have higher standards for the people you are providing for. Take care of your people, not your pride. If you are trying to work up the ladder, this is different. You are providing while you better yourself and your situation. If you are sitting at home on the couch with video games while there is no food for the table, time to move to something that provides.

So how do we renew our minds in order to be transformed? It's all the work of God, but we need to do our part in setting our minds on Him.

We realize God is bigger than where we're at in life. He can form plans out of mere turmoil. As we have seen throughout the book of Ruth, a story that has gone from a bleak, funeral-ridden, hopeless life, to a hope-filled, exciting occasion in a relationship, God's way always works out. Even if the process right now is long, tiring, and just feels hard, know that God has bigger plans in the works. If life feels boring, mundane, and as I call it "in survival mode", God has excitement around the corner.

Remember Who you represent. Just like our director would tell us to watch our actions, we should remember Who we are displaying as we slap on the label "Christian". Does that mean we bend over backwards...well, yes. We put others first, even if it makes our teeth grind. We count others as higher than us. We step away from arguments that aren't going to change a thing. We just allow God to do the work and represent Him well. We will screw up and we will fall at times, and yes, people will call you a hypocrite and judge you, but remember we all are. We all fall. We all need Jesus. Even the ones who point. Remember to show Jesus to them.

Let your light shine. Let your smell be sweet. Every circumstance you face has an opportunity to display God in your life. Every person  you interact with, you will give off a "smell". Even if you don't talk to them, people access you from across a room. Take every moment of this life and use it to shine, even on days you don't want to shine. Put off a vibe that screams redeemed. Shine in the crappiest times of life because that is when people stop and ask what in the world is wrong with you? Or why are you so "hopeful, positive, even joyful"? It doesn't mean we don't mourn the hardships, but we shine off Who has us in those hardships.

Walk this world like a Ruth or a Boaz. Try to see past circumstances, and accept God's will for what it is. Keep in mind that He has it all together, even when we are not together. Fill the gaps of your life with this hope and with standards that will make the world turn and wonder.

Scripture to Read:
Ruth 4:1-12, Romans 12:1-2

Questions to Ponder:
How do you think you can renew your mind?
What kind of "smell" do you think you give off when it comes to Christianity?
What do you think the term "living sacrifice" means in Romans 12:1? How do we do this in life?
How does the way in which Boaz went about marrying Ruth speak volumes of His standards and convictions?

Agape Love - The Mental Scorecard

I could be an Olympic medalist in conflict avoidance. If a certain person has burned me before, I avoid hardcore. I flag personalities that I know will "hurt" eventually. The strong ones that will push until they get what they want, yet don't necessarily do wrong. I run from people who I know will drain me. I recall conversations that I didn't like, someone's anger or frustration towards me, or just a time that person came on really too harsh or strong. And, it's completely unfair to those people. In a sense I'm judging circumstances from the past and still applying them today and I keep the mental scorecard up to date.

Agape love keeps no record of wrong. If we were to translate this phrase from the original Greek being used, you would have "it keeps/takes no record (reckons, counts, computes, calculates) of wrongs (a bad nature). Whether it be the mental scorecard of their powerful, spirited personality that mine clashes with, or it be a time they really did hurt me, but asked for forgiveness. I have no business holding that.

What this could look like:
"Well, at least I'm not as bad of a Christian as so 'n so, who lies/gossips/drinks/skips church/whatever all the time." The truth is we are all on a level playing field when it comes to the foot of the cross. No sin is greater than another in God's eyes, and we all need grace to carry on. If we continually say, "well, at least I don't skip church like _______", we are missing agape. Love doesn't keep track. It realizes we all need grace, and none of us deserve it.

Lack of forgiveness and reconciliation. It takes both sides to accomplish this. If we want to actually imitate the same love Christ has for us, agape love, we can't just forget about the wrong done to us. BUT, if the person has genuinely said sorry, and knows they had done wrong, we need to forgive. And if you have done wrong, you need to admit that. Christ died for us to wipe away that record of wrongs we have done, however, we won't receive that reconciliation with Him until we confess that we have lived a life apart from His ways. If you are still holding a grudge on someone who has wronged you, even after they have come to make it right with you, then it's on you and you need to work on this character of agape.

Colossians 2:13-14
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross."

Next we might ask "what has that person done for me?" Sometimes we fail to serve someone because they haven't served us. Even if that is frustrating, it is keeping record, which isn't agape. Rather than wondering how you can get from a person, stop and ask what you can do for a person who has probably never done anything for you. You wouldn't even believe the blessing you will feel, which will probably even more so than they feel. Consider the words of 1 Peter 3:9:

"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."

Practice agape by looking at everyone equally. The unhealthy grudge you can get from counting up wrongs in someone will taint your walk with God more than you can imagine. Rather than focusing on the benefits for you, focus on how you can benefit others, whether it be not judging them, forgiving them, or blessing them. Stop keeping the scorecard file and start living each day as an opportunity to practice agape in this way.

Scripture to Read:
1 Peter 3:9, Colossians 2:13-14

Questions to Ponder:
Do you believe you keep a scorecard of some sort? Why or why not?
Have you ever had anyone ask your forgiveness, and you said you forgave them, but you still keep a grudge? How can you get past this?
What does it look like to repay evil with a blessing, as 1 Peter 3:9 states?

Parables of Jesus- Specks & Logs

To set this up, preview a video a friend of mine made here. 

"And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye." - Matthew 7:3-5

I think we can all relate with the fact we sit in a Sunday service and hear a convicting message, but then start thinking, "geez, too bad so-n-so isn't hearing this." Or we decide how we'll strategically place the verses used on our facebook page so those less than perfect friends will see them and hopefully change their evil ways. Or we get into a conflict with someone and instead of looking at how we contributed to the problem, we immediately start considering every little thing (related or unrelated) with the other person we're mad at and hate. "I can't believe so-n-so won't clean up her work messes...uhg! And she is a cat person. I totally can't stand cat people!" The worst part is our work mess is probably bigger, but we don't see it because we've grown so used to it, plus we probably have a cat too.

We won't grow if we're busy pointing out everyone else's faults, and according to Matthew 7, we will be judged more harshly for judging others. I think sometimes people misinterpret the word "evangelism". Some see it as finding a person to "change" or to provide "direction" to so that "you" may bring them to the Lord. The problem with this is that God makes the change and He provides the Hope for them. If you don't see yourself on a level playing field as you do the next person, the one who hasn't found Jesus, then you have some work to do. We all have specks and logs in our eyes.

The woman caught in adultery and her story is a great reminder of this concept for us all. As she is shamefully drug out to the middle of the road and accused by Pharisees and Religious Leaders. Even though these religious ones knew this was a sin indeed, they still were using this woman to trap Jesus into saying the "wrong" things so they could use it against Him. But Jesus, the One Who had indeed shared about specks and logs brought this concept into play told the crowd to stone her, as this was the punishment of the day, but for the one who had never sinned to go first. He gave this woman grace, and He gave the Pharisees truth, just what each of them needed.

This illustration Jesus uses has to beg some questions of each of us. We all have work to do. We all have a log in our eyes. We all to an extent see the specks in everyone else's eyes, because we are insecure. We don't want people to see our faults, so we point out others' faults. We may say passive aggressive things to the person who annoys us. We may get into conflicts and think it is ALL the other person's fault. Everyone is a critic in life. We all are insecure, and if we are confident, we are still seeing faults. Don't fool yourself. Humble yourself and start doing some checking into your own life. Start applying sermons to yourself. Start finding ways to change your heart before your go around trying to Bible-beat everyone else. This indeed says a lot about a person.

Scripture to Read:
Matthew 7:1-6, John 8:1-11

Questions to Ponder:
When has been a time you felt like judging someone, or did judge someone? Why do you think you felt this way?
When has been a time you felt judged or were judged? How did you feel?
What do you think Jesus would say in the case of your life being drug out into the middle of the road to be judged? What about to the people you want to judge?

Day 119: The Whole Story

Day 119
Joshua 16-18; 1 Corinthians 4

How often have you jumped to conclusions about someone you didn't really know? And by really know, I mean know their struggles, their heart, their weaknesses, their pain. When someone opens up to you about those things, they really trust you, thus they will trust your advice, opinion, etc. There are some lessons to be taken in jumping to judgments in today's readings.

We need to remember that we are all loved by God. God cares for each of us, whether or not we have accepted Him into our lives. He loves each of us, no matter what we've done, are doing, or will do. He pours out mercy on us every single day. We deserve so much less, yet He gives and gave us so much more. As the land continued to be divided up in Joshua, I can't help but consider how God chose these people to do His work and carry His Name. It is no different for us as His followers. He has chosen us to carry His mission and do the tasks that seem tedious or less than glamorous. If God chose you, can He trust you? Your ministry begins the minute you say "yes, Lord. I want you in my life."

The daughters of Zelophehad were a prime example of why traditions can lead to misleading judgment. Moses had put what was right ahead of the tradition of women not inheriting land back in Numbers, and now we are seeing their land distributed to them. Don't decide on actions, judgments, and a path because "that's how it's always been done" or "that's the way that always has been." Scope out the whole story or situation and rely on God to be the judge and make the direction clear to you. Imagine the impact you can have on someone's heart and life because you went a different direction than the typical treatment or judgment they always get.

There were seven tribes that procrastinated in getting their share of land. I think we tend to procrastinate because we think something will be hard or that we feel we are incapable of doing it. Even if something ends up being hard, it makes you stronger and teaches you something. If you are feeling incapable, allow God to show you His power through you. He is waiting to teach you how capable He is. Who knows? You may even completely misjudge the situation and end up having fun with it. Work at seeing something as an opportunity, rather than a task and you will continue to grow in Who God is and feel the power He has in your life.

Paul leans in pretty hard toward the people of Corinth as he warns them not to make judgments ahead of time about people and riches. This is still true for us today. We cannot count on riches to make us happy and carry us to eternity. We cannot judge people because we think we know how they view God and how they walk with Him. The truth is, that is for God to do. Paul reminds us that we are all human and we don't have the ability to judge one another, and we will all fail at one point or another. What we think is worthy is this world is actually foolish in God's eyes. What is looked down upon in this world is actually honored in God's eyes. Leave the judgment to Him.

Nothing in this world is as it seems to God. He views what is rich as poor, and what is poor as rich, as well as greatness as the lowest, and the lowest as the greatest. We shouldn't rely on past traditions to be a judge in every situation, nor is it our job ever to judge the heart of other people when it comes to their relationship with God. We are merely humans with human eyes and human intentions. God sees the heart for what it truly is. Before you jump, get the whole story. Before you decide about something, see it as God would see it.

Day 90: Judgment: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Day 90
Numbers 16-17; Mark 2

It seems that in the world we currently live in at the moment, people feel very much at liberty to judge others and decide who they are based on surface evaluation. When you take the time to think about God's judgement and how Jesus handled judgements as we read about today, our petty gossips and calls can be put to shame. Our God is One of jealousy and wrath if we continually complain against Him. Jesus looked beyond the sin of a person, as we read about today as well. Let's learn from these instances today.

We can all think pretty highly of ourselves at times. We think we are the best, the most holy, the most worthy... Yet if you are a Christ-follower, you should know that the foot of the cross is a level playing field. It doesn't matter how the sin the person next to you committed and and few sins you've committed line up in comparison. You're both sinners and need redemption. We read about some jealousy in Numbers as the leaders fight to go up against Moses and Aaron, claiming that a new leader needed to be in charge. Moses tells him to be ready for the Lord to choose (as this is what a great leader would do - leave it in the Lord's hands). As you read, you see it didn't quite work out for Korah and his cohorts. The Lord's wrath spilled out upon them and their families, as well as the people offering incense. The judgement was put in God's hands, rather than that of Moses or Aaron.

Rather than trying to constantly throw guilt and judgement around to people you believe deserve it, allow God to handle it. The people who tried to overthrow Moses knew better, but allowed their arrogance to get in the way, thus the Lord took radical action upon them. As the people continue to grumble the very next day, we again, see the Lord's anger stir up. As you sit and read about their complaining, I bet like me, you just shook your head and wondered how the people could be so dumb. Yet look at your own life and what you have. Consider all the Lord has done for you and then put it up against the times you weren't happy or you complained. We fall guilty as well. Remember to thank the Lord for what He has given you, rather than being discontent with it. We don't deserve any of it, yet we act like we deserve the kingdom at times.

As Jesus carried out His own ministry, He too was surrounded by judgement-casters. The religious leaders obviously didn't support what He was doing and not only judged Him, but the people He hung around with. How often do we stand on the sidelines and talk about "those people" or share about who so n' so is hanging out with. Before you judge, consider who Jesus hung out with and what He came here for. He states as he was eating with Matthew's friends that the healthy don't need a doctor, but the sick do. The perfect people don't need Jesus, but the imperfect do. Here's a hint: NONE of us is perfect.

Not only did the religious leaders cast judgement about the people Jesus hung out with, but in turn, cast judgement on Who He was. We do this all the time. We need to decide each and every day Who Jesus is to us. The leaders doubted. We may doubt too. So many thought He was crazy, evil, or that He was indeed the living God among us Who died so we may live. The choice is yours. No one can make it for you. Decide today and everyday Who Jesus is to you. He doesn't need our approval, but we most definitely need His. The good news is, when you run to Him, you are approved.

Judgement is good, as it helps us grow when it comes from the Lord. Judgement is bad, when we try to do it ourselves to others. Judgement can be ugly, as we read today in Numbers. One thing is for sure, however: Judgement is to be done by God. Stop casting it yourself and deciding who is worthy around you. Simply exist in the light of Jesus, loving others, and allowing Him to do the rest. Why make more work for yourself?