No, He does not.
Finding God’s Will, Part 2: Can You Walk the Walk?
Let me warn you: this is a hard pill to swallow. Why? Simple. Most of us use this whole idea of “I wish I could find God’s will for my life” as an excuse to waste time doing whatever we want to do while we wait for a Facebook message from God explaining in detail exactly what He wants us to do. As long as we can hide behind the whole idea of not knowing what God wants from us, we have a self-authorized license to get away with living however we want.
Here’s the deal. 99% of people I’ve ever talked to that have asked this question have heard the response that I’m about to offer to you. How committed are you? When you decided to “follow Jesus,” what was going through your mind? What is Jesus to you? Is He a way to avoid the possibility of hell? Is He a shoulder to cry on when times are tough? Is He your “BFF?” Really, what is He to you?
Most of us would probably have to admit that we’re guilty of this: when we make the decision, whatever decision it is, to “follow Jesus,” we add Him to the mix. What we’re really doing is inviting Him to follow us, to join us on whatever journey we’re already on in life. We don’t consider changing our plans, we don’t consider a new direction, and we definitely never consider the idea that maybe He meant it when He said we might just have to give everything up for His sake.
The hard truth is that until we really, truly follow Him, we are never going to “feel” any sense of knowing His will. Why? Because to put it simply, His will is for us to completely sell out to Him. Instead of doing what we try so hard to do by adding Him to our life as it is, He wants us to let all of that go and start over with Him at the center.
Francis Chan put it this way in his book, Forgotten God:
Nowhere in Scripture do I see a “balanced life with a little bit of God added in” as an ideal for us to emulate. Yet when I look at our churches, this is exactly what I see: a lot of people who have added Jesus to their lives. People who have, in a sense, asked Him to join them on their life journey, to follow them wherever they feel they should go, rather than following Him as we are commanded. The God of the universe is not something we can just add to our lives and keep on as we did before. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives. Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us. He died and rose again so that we could forget everything else and follow Him to the cross, to true life.
The idea is simply that sometimes, following Jesus takes us places we might not choose to go otherwise. We might stop doing something we enjoy, whether it’s “sin” or not. Even if there’s nothing wrong with a particular thing we like to do, if it’s keeping us from giving more of our time, money, energy, or mental or spiritual passion in serving God, then it might just have to go.
I’m NOT saying to go quit everything you do……unless you need to. Maybe you just need to quit something so you can give a little bit more of yourself to God. I’m saying, be open to the idea that God’s plan for your life is very likely different than yours, and then ask yourself the real question: whose plan is more important to you? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to follow HIS plan?
I said it was tough. You were warned, so don’t send me a nasty message. I’m only telling you what is true, what we know from God’s word: if we want to know His will for our life, it’s plain and simple, right in front of us. We follow Him, wherever He leads, whatever it takes. We completely dedicate every aspect of our lives to being the kind of people He wants us to be, to living the kind of lives He wants us to live. We get serious about putting God NOT at the TOP of our list of priorities, but EVERYWHERE, in and among everything on our list. We set our own stuff aside.
You will never 100% achieve that, but it isn’t about 100% with God. It’s about giving 1% more than you are right now, and then doing that again tomorrow, and then the day after that, and…well, you get it. When you’re ready for that, finding God’s will for your life won’t be a problem at all. You can take that to the bank.
Finding God’s Will, Part 1: When You Don’t “Feel It”
PREFACE: I hear a lot of talk and get a lot of questions from people asking about how they can find God’s will for their lives. So while I’ll readily admit that my understanding of who God is and how He works is really, really pathetic, I’m going to write a series of posts that will hopefully help you make some sense out of your situation, wherever you are, if you’re searching for God’s will for your life.
Lately I’ve been reading through Acts and the first 7 chapters talk a lot about the beginning of the church and the arrival of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, living in us as Christians. And if you read the first couple chapters of Acts, you see all kinds of examples of the Holy Spirit doing amazing things (allowing the disciples to speak in tongues to communicate the message of Jesus for the first time, moving 3,000 people to join the church on the very first day, even making little flames appear above the heads of the disciples without even singeing their hair).
Today, the Holy Spirit is one way that God communicates with us. But what do we do when we don’t feel it. You know what I mean…when you feel like God either isn’t listening, isn’t interested, or isn’t even present at the moment. How are you supposed to figure this stuff out when you’re doing all kinds of talking but God doesn’t seem to be talking back?
In Acts 1, we read about what was happening between the time when Jesus left to return to heaven and when the church got started. Basically, the apostles are gathered together and it says they were in “constant prayer” (Acts 1:14). They were no doubt experiencing a mixture of feelings. They felt lost, because for the first time in several years, Jesus wasn’t there with them in person to lead them and tell them what to do and where to go. They were feeling afraid because they were unsure of their future.
But something we don’t usually think about is that they were also definitely feeling sad. Judas, who had been one of them, who had walked with them, who had even handled the money for their collective ministry, who had experienced and witnessed Jesus’ teaching and miracles, who had been trusted and loved like a brother, had betrayed Jesus and had let them down. And the real tragedy is that, instead of seeking forgiveness and restoration, he was so ashamed that he killed himself.
The room where they were gathered was probably a pretty depressing place to be, as they waited for some indication from God of what to do next. Finally, Peter stood up and said (I’m paraphrasing here), “Guys, this was all part of God’s plan, and it had to happen, but we have to move on.” What he meant was that they’d have to choose someone to replace Judas in their group.
I like to imagine that someone in the crowd sarcastically said something like, “No kidding. Let’s go ask Jesus what to…..oh yeah, he’s GONE.” Maybe that’s just me…
First of all, Peter knew they couldn’t just ask Jesus what to do because, like it or not, he was gone. And none of them had a clue about what the mysterious Holy Spirit would be or would do. They knew Jesus had promised that the Spirit would come, but they didn’t know when. So instead of sitting around sulking, and instead of giving up, and instead of making some poor decision based on their own feelings, Peter quoted from the Old Testament, specifically the book of Psalms.
As Dr. Peter Barnes put it,
With Jesus no longer available to consult, and prior to the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were using Scripture to guide their decision-making and the discerning of God’s will for their lives.
If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit in your life. But it’s great to know that even when you don’t feel it, you can always turn to the Bible for guidance. God speaks through His Word. The Bible will never tell you which restaurant to choose, and it might not outline the course of your day specifically, but it reveals clues about who God is and it shows us the kind of life He wants us to live.
So when you’re looking for a push in the right direction, crack open your Bible, and see what God has to say.
Cosmic Christmas
Every year just before Christmas, I’m reminded of how God changed everything when He sent Jesus into the world, to become flesh and bone. A man. One sacrifice, for all. We get just a glimpse of what it was like for Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and Wise Men, and others as they learned of the coming of Jesus, and then of His arrival. As they not only heard, but experienced the presence of God on earth.
But can you just imagine what it would have been like for the angels who delivered the news to Mary? To Joseph? The shepherds? Can you imagine what it must have been like when God called them into the throne room and told them what He was about to do?
Max Lucado wrote a book called Cosmic Christmas a few years back. It’s his idea of what it might have been like to be the angel Gabriel while all that was happening. Here’s one of my favorite passages from the book, the thoughts of Gabriel as he looks on at the newborn King of Kings lying in Mary’s arms:
[One of the other angels] was whispering. I drew near to his words:
“A child has been given to us; God has given a Son to us. He will be responsible for leading the people. His name will be: Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who lives forever, Prince of Peace.
He will be wounded for the wrong they did, crushed for the evil they did. The punishment which will make them well will be given to Him. They will be healed because of His wounds.”
Once again, I heard the words I had heard first in the throne room. Only this time, I understood. “So this is He. Immanuel. So this is God’s gift. A Savior. He shall save His people from their sins.”
“Worthy is the Lamb,” I whispered as I knelt before my God. My heart was full. I turned to Mary as she cradled her child and I spoke. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t hear me. The stars could. All of nature could. And most of all, my King could.
“Do you know who you hold, Mary? You secure the Author of grace. He Who is ageless is now moments old. He Who is limitless is now suckling your milk. He Who strides upon the stars, now has legs too weak to walk; the hands which held the oceans are now an infant’s fists. To Him who has never asked a question, you will teach the name of the wind. The Source of language will learn words from you. He Who has never stumbled, you will carry. He Who has never hungered, you will feed. The King of creation is in your arms.”
Take a few minutes today, in the middle of the busyness of preparing for whatever you have going on this Christmas, and thank God for His amazing gift.
Blue Christmas: When Holidays Hurt
Turn on the radio, flip through the channels, walk into Wal-Mart…just look around at this time of year and you see it. Happy Christmas songs play constantly. Everyone says it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
In many ways, they’re right. When you know that the reason to celebrate Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, then you can’t argue that it really is the happiest, most joyful time of the year.
But the truth is, Christmas can also hurt in a big way. There are many people who are lonely at this time of year. Many who are mourning the loss of loved ones in the past year (or even many years before). Some who are separated from family or friends, whether by miles or other circumstances.
These are just a few of the ways that people experience pain or heartache during the holidays.
If that’s where you find yourself today, let me remind you of one simple promise from God. In Hebrews 13:5, God says,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
And that’s especially true when you feel alone. God’s specialty is comforting the hurting and giving peace and healing to the bothered and broken.
Nothing else I can say can fix your problems, and that’s not what I’m trying to do. I only hope that this guarantee from God Himself will comfort you in some way.
This Christmas, you don’t have to fake it. Feel free to celebrate Jesus’ birth in whatever way you can. Often, the most meaningful worship to God comes out of our desperation, so offer it up to Him.
Jesus came to offer hope, and it’s available today just like it was 2,000 years ago. And the hope of God never, ever fails.
Start Talking
Tens of thousands of people were gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost, people from all over the world. They spoke many different languages. And here are Peter, James, John, and the rest of the apostles of Jesus, who have been waiting in the city for this mysterious “Holy Spirit” that Jesus had promised to send them. They’ve got this incredible message of God’s grace, called the Gospel, that they need to share.
The problem is, they all speak the same language, so there’s no way to communicate their message of Jesus Christ to the people gathered in the city who didn’t understand their language.
So what did God do? He sent the Holy Spirit, and to meet this immediate need and solve this immediate problem, God made it possible for them to speak in all of these languages (Acts 2:4). They weren’t speaking gibberish. They weren’t drunk, as some people mockingly said (2:13). They were clearly communicating with the people around them, because of the power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Notice something very important here. When people needed to hear about Jesus, God didn’t give those people a gift of hearing; he gave the people who knew the message a gift of speaking.
I’ll guarantee you that there’s someone in your life that needs to know about Jesus. I can name a few good friends off the top of my head that I’ve never talked with about Him. I think I’m guilty of waiting for them to want to hear. Maybe I expect that they’ll just ask me someday. And who knows, maybe they will.
But the deal is, God gave us a Spirit power, not fear and timidity (2 Timothy 1:7). The Holy Spirit that is in us as Christians in the 21st Century is the same one that made it possible for the disciples to communicate with people that day. And it didn’t happen because God made the people understand the message in their language. He made it possible for the disciples to communicate to people right where they were.
Wanna talk about courage? Just a few weeks before, Peter wouldn’t even admit to a few people around a campfire that he even knew Jesus (Mark 14:66-72). Now he’s about to get up in front of tens of thousands of people and tell them that they not only killed Jesus but that if they don’t follow Him with their lives, they’re doomed. That’s courage. But it wasn’t courage from himself; it was courage from God, through the Holy Spirit.
Remember that when tough times come, when you’re standing face to face with a brick wall, God will make a way. And all of the courage and power of God is available to you any time you need it. We don’t have to wait for people, our friends and family especially, to want to hear and to be ready. God will give us the same gift and ability to make the message of His grace clear if we let Him. He’ll give us the ability to speak the right words at the right time if we ask.
Prayers for Lindsay – Updated 12/23
This is Lindsay Ward. I’ve known her family for years. She’s a student at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, studying Pharmacy. She loves hockey, especially the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Monday, December 19, Lindsay went into surgery to remove a brain tumor. During the operation, she slipped into a coma. She remains in the coma in ICU at this time.
Would you take just a minute and pray for her? I can’t imagine being a parent and having this happen to my child. I’m sure they’re all scared and desperate for her to be ok. They’ll need our prayers in a big way through this process.
UPDATE
Lindsay is awake! She has a long road to recovery ahead of her. Physical rehab and other treatments are just the beginning. Please continue to pray for Lindsay and her family as they continue on this journey. God is good!
Wanna Get Away?
Have you ever messed up or been so embarrassed or ashamed that all you wanted to do was run? Remember those “Wanna get away” commercials? That’s what I’m talking about. Maybe you’re thinking of something in your past that’s so bad that you just wanted to move away and get a fresh start.
I was reading in Acts just now and it hit me for the first time (that happens a lot when I read my Bible) that when Jesus’ best friends, the disciples, started the church, they did it in Jerusalem. And when that happened and Peter preached the first gospel sermon, 3,000 people joined the church in one day (Acts 2:41).
But flash back to a night just 7 weeks before that very day. Jesus was on trial, and Peter and the rest of the disciples denied him, abandoned him, or both. In Jerusalem. (Matt. 26:34, 69-75)
Jesus told them, before he ascended to Heaven, to stay there (in Jerusalem) and wait to see what the Holy Spirit would enable them to do (Luke 24:46-49). And what He did was to use them, in the place where they had experienced their greatest failure, to accomplish their greatest success by the power of God.
God can use you like that. Your failure can be His success. Your weakness can be where He is able to show His faithfulness and strength. Just let Him do it.
Resolving Conflict – A Biblical Approach
I don’t know if it’s the weather turning cold or the fact that the Cleveland Browns are terrible again this year, but lately I’ve been particularly sensitive to negativity. Conflict seems to stand out in a way I can’t remember it ever standing out before. I’ve had my fair share of people I’ve been angry with in the past, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who have been angry with me.
Conflict is a natural part of life. Any time you put two people with different personalities or thoughts about a particular issue or situation into the same relative location, you’re going to have conflict on one level or another. People say things that sting, do things that hurt, and whether it’s intentional or not, betray friendships in ways that often leave lasting scars.
This is particularly painful in the church. I have felt deeply hurt by things that people I’ve considered to be friends have done or said, sometimes behind my back, and sometimes boldly to my face. I’m sure you’ve felt the same way at one point or another. And in the context of the church, where we expect (and ideally this would be true) that we would be cared for and loved, it’s especially hard when people let us down.
Jesus knew this is the way people work and interact, and He knew that conflict would come, so He gave instructions for how we should handle conflict. So here are three steps to take to resolve conflict Biblically.
By the way, these steps are simple, but I’m not using the word “easy” on purpose. I’m not pretending that forgiveness is easy or quick, but if we truly seek to glorify God, He can heal any wound and change our hearts to make forgiveness more than possible.
Step 1 – Pray for strength, courage and compassion. Ask God, simply, to give you those characteristics. If you’re a Christian, those characteristics are already in you because the Holy Spirit is in you.
“For in Christ the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. And you have been given the fullness of Christ, who is head over every power and authority.” (Colossians 2:9-10)
That verse tells us that as Christians we have the fullness of God present in our lives through the Holy Spirit. So you already have the strength, courage and compassion of God Himself…now just ask Him to produce those characteristics in a greater way in your life.
Ask Him for the strength and courage to show compassion, and to approach and grant forgiveness to the person who has wronged or hurt you, and to trust that He will make it possible.
Step 2 – Pray for the person you’ve been hurt by. First of all, don’t try to act all tough here. If you know me well at all, you know I’m not a touchy-feely kind of guy. And guys, we especially don’t like to admit when we’re hurt. John Wayne never got hurt. Clint Eastwood never got hurt. If someone had hurt Rambo’s feelings, they’d be dead before they even knew it had happened. Let’s not even speculate about the calamity that would ensue if someone offended Chuck Norris…but for once let’s just call it like it is.
Now that we’ve agreed to admit that we’re hurt, this is the hardest part. Step 3 will actually be easy compared to this. Before you approach someone, you should pray for them. And I’ll be the first to admit, this hurts bad. It’s really, really difficult to pray for someone without slipping in something like, “And by the way, God, if they happen to be standing near a steep cliff at the moment…”
Really, pray for them. Thank God for something that person has done for you in the past that’s been meaningful or generous or kind. Ask God to help you focus on those things. Ask Him to remind you that they matter to Him and that He loves them, and ask Him to help you do the same. Jesus modeled this for us in the Lord’s prayer when he said,
“And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” (Matthew 6:12 NLT)
We read over that passage a lot. You might even have it memorized, but have you ever really thought about that verse? By asking God to help you forgive someone else, you’re also reminding yourself that God does the same thing for you all the time. We’re just passing it on…
Like it said, this isn’t easy at all. You might have already tuned me out, but just give it a shot.
Step 3 – Approach the person with compassion and love. If you were able to genuinely pray for the person, this will be a whole lot easier.
See, the thing is, this part goes completely against our human nature. Think about it…when someone hurts us, what do we instinctively want to do? We (a) starting hoarding our angry feelings and harboring a grudge and (b) we go tell someone else about it. But that is SIN. I should have made that bold… ok, yeah, I will. It’s sin to gossip about someone; even someone that has hurt you (Romans 1:29; Proverbs 20:19, 11:12-13, 16:28). Instead, Jesus says to go to that person with all the compassion you can muster and just lay the cards out on the table.
”If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” (Matthew 18:15-17 ESV)
That’s pretty self-explanatory, so rather than unpack that, let me mention one other important thing. Check your anger and speak carefully. Read these verses:
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19 ESV)
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1 ESV)
Remember that you’ve already prayed for God’s courage and compassion, so you’ve got it. Now just do your best to be honest but level-headed, and remember that your goal is a peaceful resolution, not an angry argument. Work toward that.
Just this past Sunday, I had someone approach me after church. He told me that he had been mad at me and I didn’t even know. And then he told me he had forgiven me. Even though I was unaware of the entire situation, that meant a lot to me, and I believe that God healed a wound. He can do that for you.
FINALLY, let me remind you of one thing: you have probably hurt just as many people as you’ve been hurt by. Remember to stay approachable. If you want people to be able to come to you rather than gossip to everyone else, you need to make it possible. Be the kind of person you would be able to approach if you had an issue with someone.
I hope that I’m available and approachable to anyone that might have felt hurt by me or that might be upset with me. As a leader in the church, it’s inevitable that I’ll offend or upset someone at one time or another, and I honestly lose sleep when I know that happens. So I pray that I’ll be able to more closely follow this Biblical advice daily, and I hope you will too.
And by the way, if you have a Cleveland Browns joke, take it somewhere else or I’ll hate you forever.
Church….on Christmas?
If you haven’t noticed, Christmas morning falls on a Sunday this year. Most years, Christmas is one of the few times that a lot of people who don’t usually attend a church choose to go, but that will likely be different this year since it’s actually the same morning. And since I know this is undoubtedly a topic of discussion (or debate or at least hopefully some serious thought) in a lot of Christian homes at the moment, I wanted to share a couple of reasons that I think it’s important to get out of the house and be in church on Christmas morning.
PARENTS: Please, please pay extra close attention, because I’m going to explain a couple of things that I believe are crucial for your families.
So without further delay, here’s why I truly believe it’s worth it to be in church on Christmas morning.
First of all, it’s an important time for us to renew our minds and spirits. The holidays are busy, with shopping and cooking and everything else that they entail. Being present in a worship service on Christmas morning will be a valuable time for you to find some peace in the middle of the chaos. It’s important to take a few moments to stop, to take a deep breath, and to recenter our hearts on God during any busy season of life, and what better season than the one that’s meant to celebrate Him anyway? Being in a worship service will give you the opportunity to focus on Him and to let Him silence the noise for a few minutes.
The other reason we need to renew our minds when it comes to this time of year is simply that sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we lose focus of the fact that it really is all about Jesus. Making the decision to be at church on Christmas morning is a reminder, even to yourself, that He is more important than sleeping in or whatever else is happening.
Second, especially for parents, being in church on Christmas morning is a great way to set an example. I have parents come to me all the time asking me to talk to their troubled kids or to help them with their troubles in their families. But almost without exception, the parents are the ones who at fault. I’m sorry if that sounds blunt, but parents, you need to set a better example for your kids. Show them that God is the #1 priority in your family…it’s not enough to just tell them. Show them that being active in the body of Christ is a high priority in your family. You can’t just tell them…you have to prove it by how you live and by the decisions you make for your family.
DADS: This is where the rubber meets the road. It’s time to be a warrior, a man of God; be a leader, make the decision, and get your family to church (not just on Christmas, by the way).
Whether you’re a parent of young kids or teens, or even if you’re 90 years old, being in church on Christmas morning (just like any other Sunday) is a great way to set an example to others of the importance that being an ACTIVE PART of God’s family plays in your life. So lead by example, and be there.
Finally, skipping church on Christmas morning is just silly. Yep, I said silly. Seriously think about it…we’re celebrating Jesus’ birthday by being absent at the party?! Makes no sense to me… Now, I could go on a rant here about the commercialization of Christmas and how we’ve lost the real meaning and America is so far from God and blah blah blah…but listen, the deal is, Christmas is to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, and the worship service is to celebrate Jesus with other Christians, so why miss it?
Now I’m aware that you have a REALLY REALLY GOOD REASON for not being there on Christmas morning. I mean, I know that everyone else might have their reason, but YOURS IS REALLY REALLY GOOD. Legit. Right? Wrong. Here are a couple examples of what I mean:
EXCUSE: “But Jimmy, we open presents as a family on Christmas morning.”
RESPONSE: Suck it up, wake up an hour earlier, open those presents, and then get to church. If it takes you more than an hour to open presents, you’re buying too much stuff anyway.
EXCUSE: “But Jimmy, we have family dinner on Christmas.”
RESPONSE: I don’t know where you go to church, but at FCC, we boil everything down to one service on Christmas, and we purposefully schedule it at 10:00am, which is late enough for you to eat before and early enough for you to eat after. Besides, you NEED to feed your SOUL…
EXCUSE: “But Jimmy, it’s a day off of work and school and I’m so tired and I really need to sleep in…”
RESPONSE: Gosh I hate the way this makes me sound like a cliché, but I’ll say it anyway. God never has any excuse about having too much to do to make time for any of us, so why should we make excuses about being too busy or tired for him?
EXCUSE: “But Jimmy, we’re coming on Christmas Eve, isn’t that enough?”
RESPONSE: My honest answer? If your church is offering the same service on Christmas Eve that they are offering on Christmas morning, then maybe. I still think it’s a little funny to skip CHURCH on CHRISTMAS. But if that’s the case, then whatever. However, if your church’s Christmas Eve service is different (like ours at FCC where, for example, we won’t be serving communion on Christmas Eve), then you need to get yourself to church and thank God for being so awesome, for crying out loud.
This could go on all day, so I’ll stop. And I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but I truly think it’s funny that someone would have any reason to not get together with other people to celebrate Jesus on Christmas day. If you ask me, we ought to have a worship service on Christmas morning EVERY YEAR. I hope you’ll decide to go to wherever you worship and to spend that time on Christmas morning with your family and friends praising God for His incredible gift.
By the way, if you don’t have a church, you’re definitely invited to come to FCC for our Christmas services. You don’t have to get all dressy and whatnot, even on Christmas day. Just come however you’re comfortable, drink some coffee, and worship God. Our Christmas morning schedule is boiled down to one service, meeting at 10:00am.
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES AT FCC
1st service: 4:30pm
2nd service: 6:00pm
These services are identical. Childcare is offered for children 3-years-old and under.
CHRISTMAS MORNING SERVICE AT FCC
One service, at 10:00am.
Childcare is offered for children 3-years-old and under.
