Who I Am cont.

"We don't serve God to gain His acceptance; we are accepted, so we serve God. We don't follow Him to be loved; we are loved, so we follow Him."

"It is not what we do that determines who we are; it is who we are that determines what we do."

1 John 3:2 - "Beloved, now we are children of God."

Who I Am

Today I realized that I've been striving to attain something that is already mine to own.

I've been trying to BECOME a child of God, to BECOME worthy enough to be proud of by my Father in heaven.

I've been struggling to become a man of God, and I've felt like I'm failing.

Then Jesus spoke to me. He told me that i don't have to earn it, that I don't have to TRY to be a true man of God. I AM a man of God. I AM a child of God. This is not something that i need to earn. It's who I am already. A man after God's heart.

And yet, for some reason, I still feel like I need to grow more to somehow earn that title. I feel like I need to do more, to be more, as if I can somehow better myself in my Father's eyes.

I can't. Not only that, but I don't have to. I'm already there.

I've found myself doing things for God, like trying to better myself and grow and serve, and those are all necessary. But my motivation is wrong. Was wrong.

I was motivated by my fear that I wasn't good enough or strong enough or wise enough. That is what pushed me to be better.

Because, to be quite honest, I don't feel like I measure up. To other people and to what I think are God's expectations of me.

That's the best part about grace. I can't measure up. That's where grace steps in.

I don't have to measure up. We as God's children aren't called to measure up. We are called to live righteous and holy lives and lives of purity. But we don't have to earn God's acceptance. We already have it. I already have it. He cannot be more proud of me, of us, than He already is.

This knowledge sets me free. My motivation is no longer to be better because I'm not good enough. My motivation is to be better, to live taller, to accept grace, because God already takes pride in me and is pleased with me.

With us.

We have nothing to earn, but everything to gain.

I

I am not simply a forgiven sinner, someone that will never be able to overcome. I am a redeemed saint. The term sinner no longer applies to me, because by the grace of God I have been made righteous. I do sin. But i'm a sinner no longer. I've been redeemed.

The Time is Now

I was sitting in my apartment reading my Bible when God spoke to me. He only said three words.

Opportunity is knocking.

Opportunity is knocking on our door. We of this generation have a chance to change the world like never before; something is happening. There is an undercurrent swirling just out of sight under the surface of the water but it's rising. Something is coming, and we need to be ready.

There is a window of opportunity that has not in the past been open, but it's opening now.

I read three verses: Galations 6:9-10, Ephesians 5:14-16, and Colossians 4:5. These verses all say the same thing and that is that are to make the most of every opportunity, for the days are evil.

I feel something happening, like a shift in the spiritual world. The tide is turning. We as Christians have struggled in recent history to make immediate lasting impact on the people around us, to turn the world upside-down like the apostles did, but that is becoming a thing of the past because something new is coming and it's BIG. It's new revelations; it's a destruction of previously assumed ideas and a birth of new ideas, of truth. God said, "See! I make all things new!" and that is what's happening, but in larger measure.

We as people are going to discover what is and what isn't.

But the catch is this: it's up to us. If we don't usher in this new kingdom of God on earth, it won't happen, because the LORD is looking for workers to harvest the fields. The crops will not harvest themselves.

Now the Lord's will WILL be accomplished, whether by our work or someone else's, but if we want this wave to sweep through our world like never before then now is the time.

Do we want to miss out on what God is doing? Do we want to miss the opportunity to be a part of something that this world has NEVER seen before?

This isn't like giving to a charity or radio station. We can't say," Well, someone else will give."

This is our time, our chance, to shake the world.

Something is coming. I feel it in my heart and gut and Spirit that something HUGE is happening.

Something is gonna break.

The word of the day is opportunity.

And it's ours for the taking.

Let's not be caught unprepared.

Let's get in the game.

Defense?

I was shocked to discover that no where in the Bible are we commanded to defend the Gospel.

No where.

Wait. Is that right? Aren't we supposed to defend what is most precious to us?

Then I had a thought.

This Gospel speaks for itself. We don't need to defend it. It's flawless. It has no weaknesses.

So why would we feel like we have to defend it?

Because we've bought in to the idea that we need to sell the Gospel.
We've bought in to the idea that we can somehow persuade people to accept the Bible as truth by the power of our words.

We don't need to do that. The Gospel speaks for itself.

Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 2:4 : "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

See what I'm saying? This Gospel speaks for itself. The Spirit can speak for itself. It's not our job to try to convince people to accept it. It's not our job to argue with people and defend it when they disagree with it.

It is simply our job to know nothing but Jesus and Him crucified. We are to simply show that and let the Spirit do the rest.

In Acts 5, a man named Gamaliel stands up in a council that is debating over what to do with the apostles. The apostles will not stop healing people and preaching the message of Jesus.

Gamaliel says this: "Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. BUT IF IT IS FROM GOD, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

What is he saying here? He's saying that they should let this Gospel that the apostles are preaching speak for itself. It's very simple: if it's not from God, it will be proved as such. But if it is, it's unstoppable.

Why do we need to defend something that is already unstoppable........?

Our job is not to fight. We are simply to present and let the Spirit do the rest. Let people say what they want. The Gospel is still exploding all over the world.

So let's not try to convince people that they should believe. And let's not fight the people that don't. The apostles didn't. Why should we?

This Gospel speaks for itself.

Do Something

"We can believe in CPR, but people will remain dead until someone breathes new life into them."

"We are not simply to bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, but we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself."

"We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside ... but one day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not constantly be beaten and robbed. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that a system that produces beggars needs to be repaved. We are called to be the Good Samaritan, but after you lift so many people out of the ditch you start to ask, maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be repaved."

There will always be casualties. Until we get to the root of the problem, until we decide to stop simply giving out fish and actually give someone a fishing rod, nothing will change.

There will always be people that need money. There will always be people that need food. There will always be people that need clothes.

Until we stop waiting for them to come to us and we actually hit the problem at the source.

We don't just wait for the beggars to come to us beaten after their treacherous journey on the road to Jericho. We go clear out the robbers and repave the road. We strike first.

We don't simply bandage the road rash of people that have been overrun by the wheels of injustice. We take a steel bar and shove it through the spokes of that wheel.

Why don't we do this though?

Because it's easier to write a check.

Because it's easier to say "I'll pray for you."

Because no one actually wants to get their hands dirty.

James 2:14-17 says it best: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by works is dead."

Shane Claiborne says it this way: "Tithes, tax-exempt donations, and short-term mission trips, while they accomplish some good, can also function as outlets that allow us to appease our consciences and still remain a safe distance from the poor. Charity can be a dangerous insulator."

He continues: "I'm just not convinced that Jesus is going to say, 'When I was hungry, you gave a check to the United Way and they fed me,' or , 'When i was naked, you donated clothes to the Salvation Army and they clothed me.' Jesus is not seeking distant acts of charity. He seeks concrete acts of love."

Too many are trying to play this game with one foot on the court and one foot on the bench.

It's time to either get on the court or sit down.

Because this halfway stuff isn't actually solving anything.

It's not fixing what's really broken.

It's only damage control.

I had one expectation.

In the days leading up to my trip to South Africa I decided that I wanted God to prove something to me.

I wanted Him to prove to me that two week mission trips were effective. I wanted Him to prove to me that they could actually make a difference despite the incredible lack of longevity. That was my only expectation.

He answered me. But not in the way I was expecting. Here's what He showed me.

There are no mission trips.

Think about it. There are no mission trips.

Life ITSELF is the mission.

Let me explain.

In the weeks leading up to our trip, preparation was stressed repeatedly. Things commonly heard were "Be reading your Bibles every day"and "Remain in constant prayer for this trip".

Shouldn't we be doing that already?

This is the misconception.

We assume that since we're going to Africa we need to "up our game". As if the people in America need to hear it less?

How many of us slack in our efforts here in our own country, yet bring the heat the minute we land in a foreign country? Can this be right?

Here's how God answered my question.

If we determine to live a LIFE of ministry, then it won't matter where you are, how long you're there, or what you're doing.

Because your attitude remains the same. The same attitude that we carry would simply fly with us to another country and we would only pick up where we left off in America.

Here's what I propose.

We blow this box wide open.

We think bigger than "mission trips" which has become such a catch phrase in the Christian circles.

We decide to have the same attitude, the same preparation, the same fervor, no matter where we are. Then the duration of the trip won't matter. The area we live in won't matter. The class of people that we minister to won't matter.

Because now everyone is on equal ground in our minds. No one people need the Gospel more than another. Let's cut up this misconception and let God show what HIS idea of missions looks like.

You know, when we found out that we were going to staying in a nice house with comfortable beds and a pool and showers and American food, I imagine some of were just a bit disappointed.

We were ready to take the Gospel to the people that REALLY needed it, like the poor people and the homeless!

Like the rich people don't need it too?

Like the business people and the teachers and the higher class in general don't need it too?

This is a matter of perspective, and it's a wrong perspective.

We have this idea in our heads and we gotta break it down because I believe it's preventing many of us from truly making a constant, day-to-day impact in this world.

The Americans need the Gospel too. So why is everyone running off to other countries?

The rich people need the Gospel too. So why is everyone looking for poor people?

This should be equal territory but it isn't. So let's change it. Let's be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Let's think BIGGER.

No more "mission trips".

More "lifestyle".