Reese’s Puffs and Impatience

January 23, 2012

in Ideas

It’s nearly a daily occurrence for me to throw up a half-hearted-mid-chew prayer to God as I eagerly dive into a bowl of Reese’s Puffs.

It’s more than a rushed supplication. It’s an indicator of a deeper issue.

I’m impatient. I’m too impatient to take a half a minute to thank God for his provision. I’m too impatient to consistently and continually seek God in prayer. I’m too impatient to ignore a phone call or text or tweet, so instead I choose to interrupt a conversation with a real, live human being that I’m talking to face-to-face. I’m too impatient to sit down for 20 minutes and write a single blog post in one sitting (this line is being added in during round three). And I’m certainly far too impatient to deal with customer service over the phone.

Image provided by stock.xchng

It’s hard to be patient (mostly because of the whole waiting thing).

As a result of a constantly connected world, I’m in the habit of constantly disconnecting from God. It’s rare for me to make it much longer than a few moments in the awareness of God’s presence.

I’m impatient because I think the next item will satisfy me more than my current situation.

I think Reese’s Puffs are more satisfying then a moment thanking the God of the universe for providing for me.
I think a tweet or text or call is more satisfying than genuine human connection.
I think something I can buy is more satisfying than Jesus, who has given himself to me freely.

Let’s not let the next moment get in the way of the current one, especially if the current one is with the Lord.

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How Would Jesus Do This?

January 9, 2012

in Faith

What Would Jesus Do dominated wristbands in the 90s (but it’s hard to give much credit to 90s trends when dressing like the Fresh Prince was cool and wearing backwards pants was totally acceptable).

In reality, the WWJD bands caused people to pause and ponder what Jesus would do in their shoes. It’s a great question for analyzing situations and (hopefully) making good decisions based on how we think the Messiah would respond.

But being like Jesus isn’t just doing what he would do. It’s about thinking how he would think too.

As I think about stewarding my time, resources, and abilities, I’m beginning to ask myself, “How would Jesus do this?”

How would Jesus share the gospel with his family?
How would he make disciples in the 21st century?
How would Jesus spend his time?
How would Christ compel others to live for God if he was giving a lecture today?
How would he respond to an atheist?

As I ask myself, “How would Jesus do this,” and read about his life in the Bible, I’m convinced that he wouldn’t just slop together work or participate half-heartedly in conversations.

He was a student of his disciples and the people he talked with. He did an incredible job of asking heart-level questions that cleared away the clutter, distractions and barriers in conversations. Jesus took his time when others thought he should hurry along (in the case of his friend Lazarus), and he withdrew when others thought he should stick around (like when they tried to make him a politician).

You don’t have an infinite source of divine knowledge like Jesus, and you probably don’t know any lepers to heal, even if you were able. But Christians certainly have the ability to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, turn to God’s Word for direction, and trust the promise of Jesus that we’d do greater works than he did.

All we have to do is seek God’s wisdom as we ask, “How would Jesus do this?”

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A Missionary Who Isn’t Missional

October 25, 2011

in Ideas

Isn’t it funny how those who clean houses for a living have dirty homes? Or how repairmen have all kinds of broken things around the house?

It seems backwards, but I’m an offender myself. I’m a missionary who isn’t missional.

Talking with college students about Jesus is my day job, and I’ve recently realized I have a tendency to leave my work on campus. I have a heart to reach Ohio University for Jesus, but I’ve managed to forget my duty to share my faith outside of my vocation.

All of my coworkers are Christians. Most of my friends still in Athens are Christians. I don’t have classes to attend with non-Christians, and I’ve graduated beyond student organizations where many of my friends didn’t know Jesus. I’ve allowed myself to become trapped inside a Christian bubble.

When we first come to know Jesus, we often have only a few Christian friends and many who don’t know the Lord. Then, as we grow in our faith, get plugged into a church and Christian community, our friendship pendulum swings in the opposite direction, and we end up having nearly all Christian friends and only a few friends who don’t follow Christ.

Jesus ate at the table with those who didn’t know God. We’re called to do the same thing. We’re on this earth because God has given us a mission: to go to the ends of the earth to tell people about Jesus.

It’s time for me to start inviting people to my table who don’t know Jesus. I want to live life with them, share my faith with them, and love them right where they are. I want to be missional in my life, not just in my day job. I want to go into the community, meet new people and tell them about how God has transformed my life.

Christians, no matter what your day job is, you’re called to make disciples and be missional. Jesus has given us the words of eternal life. We’ve got to give people and opportunity to respond to them.

If you’re a Christian, will you open up your table? Will you be missional wherever God has you?

When a Swiss Army Knife Trumps a Tank

July 29, 2011

in Ideas

I’ve never been in a fight, but from what I understand, the biggest group with the toughest guys normally wins.

Except in the case of Gideon. He is the self-proclaimed weakest person in his family, and he comes from the scrawniest family around. But God promises to win a battle with him and his 32,000 men. That is, until God decides that’s too big of an army.

Judges 7:3
Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight.

God decided to use 10,00 men instead of 32,000. That’s a pretty substantial decrease.

It doesn’t stop there.

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-3086908057

God says something along the lines of, “Gideon, that’s still too many! Go to the river and only take the crazy ones with you, the real Neanderthals who drink the water like a dog and lap it up with their tongues—the ones likely missing large parts of their brains. All I need is 300 scrubs.”

Let’s take a timeout here. God has effectively asked Gideon to fight with a Swiss Army Knife instead of a convoy of tanks–and Gideon obeys.

Then, in typical God fashion, Gideon’s army goes to battle and defeats the Midianites with less than 1% of the original army and no weapons but trumpets and torches.

How do you win a battle with 1% of your army using only trumpets and torches? With faith in God.

No military leader in their right mind would ever send 99% of their army home before a battle and only take instruments and flaming sticks. Unless God is the one leading the army.

God gets more glory when things are unexplainable apart from Him.

When things are so tight financially that only a miracle can fix it, when things are so wrecked only His hand can rescue it, when things are totally and completely beyond human repair, God gets all the glory when things are redeemed.

  • When a marriage is on the brink of divorce, don’t think God can’t turn it all around.
  • If the doctors have only given you months to live, don’t think God isn’t bigger than a timeline.
  • When money is so short you don’t know how you’ll eat tomorrow, don’t think God isn’t bigger than your next day.

God can do far more with 1% and a grain of faith than we could ever do with all the resources in the world trying to make things happen on our own.

God works best when time is short, when resources are scarce, and when things are overwhelming. In those moments, He only requires faith.

Why You Haven’t Experienced God

July 27, 2011

in Faith

“I would probably believe in God if he showed himself to me. Or if I had a near death experience and had some vision. If he came down to me and said, ‘I am God. Believe in me.’ Then I would start believing”

In my encounters, visions and near death experiences top the charts in what it would take for those who don’t believe in God to place their faith in Him.

I understand where they’re coming from. They need some proof. They need an experience. Just like you need to drink a cup of the World’s Best Coffee to believe it’s the real deal.

“If Christians really believe in God, the God who created the universe, it should be no problem for Him to show Himself to me.”

It’s an awfully selfish request. It’s framed in a way implying God owes us something—as if we deserve to hear from him in a way we decide. That God should erase our need for faith in order to embrace Him.

To those who have never experienced God: Don’t limit experiencing Him to near death experiences and angelic visions. God rarely shows up in the form of a burning bush or audible voice.

It’s not impossible, it’s just unlikely.

But that doesn’t mean you don’t have opportunities to experience Him.

Maybe you’ve had nothing but hardships, seen nothing but hypocrites who claim to be Christians, and the closest you’ve come to experiencing God is hearing a Fray song at the bar.

Don’t give up. God is alive. He is here. You just haven’t experienced Him yet.

If you’re asking why God hasn’t visibly appeared or audibly spoken to you, you’re asking the wrong question. You need to ask, If I want to experience God, where is the most likely place for that to happen?

You haven’t experienced God because you haven’t put yourself (and your heart) in a place to experience Him.

You may not like to hear it, but God promises to show up where two or more are gathered in His name (Matthew 18:20)—making a church that has a pastor and at least one person in attendance a good start. God also promises to draw near to those who draw near to Him (James 4:8). Have you gathered in His name? Have you tried to draw near to Him through reading the Bible or praying to Him?

God can show up at a bar, but chances are it is going to be hard to hear Him there.

God can show up in a vision, but He’s already showed up in the flesh, in the form of His son, Jesus Christ. He could speak audibly to you, or He could write you a whole book, the longest love letter ever written, in the form of the Bible.

Don’t limit how you can experience a limitless God. Put yourself in a position to experience Him in places He promises to be.

The Diet Pill Solution

February 7, 2011

in Ideas

Results show that over thirty days with no change in diet and no exercise you can lose 20 pounds!

What a delight! All we have to do is take a pill, make no changes in our life, and we can lose weight. Sign me up!

Whether or not the claims we hear each day from every direction of the media are true, I think it highlights a problem much larger than obesity in our culture.

Photo provided by http://www.sxc.hu/profile/dariuszman

We want things to change without having to sacrifice anything.

We want to lose weight but eat all the Twinkies we want.
We want to fix our relationships but we don’t want to turn off the TV and truly communicate.
We want a job we love without having to do anything more than submit a resume online.
We want to go to heaven but we don’t want to stop living for hell.

We have been inundated with laziness and apathy thanks to everyone from infomercials to Disney. We want to do what we’ve always done but achieve different results (some say that’s the definition of insanity) because that’s what we hear everyone else is doing.

No sacrifice. No change. No problem.

Take a pill; fix your life.

My friends, there is no diet pill for your life. There is no change without sacrifice.

If you want to lose weight, you need to die to your old diet and laziness.
If you want to repair broken relationships, you need to die to yourself and put others’ needs above your own.
If you want a job you love, you need to die to the old way of doing things and create value that no one else can.
If you want to go to heaven, you need to die to your sin through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

There are no shortcuts to change. There are no life-changing pills. You have to die to your old ways if you want to live differently.

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