Taboo or not?

Today, I had a conversation about giving.

Some folks love to give. Others are stingy. It's got nothing to do with the person's location in the demographic cross section. There are affluent people who are stingy and miserable,  while some in poverty are filled with joy. The heart is the key. Self-ish or self-less

Within the church, it is one of those touchy subjects. I'm not sure why. The Bible talks a lot about money. That said, at a minimum it's ok to preach about and the reality is, it should probably come up more often.

Through the years, I have heard scores of testimonies about God's provision. How a person gave and God provided. That's just how He rolls. But the heart is still the key. Some give out of duty, others love to share their blessings. 

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 completely explains it. Give cheerfully and God will give all you need PLUS enough to HELP OTHERS. 

Man, I'm trying so hard to do that and the bottom line is: 

God is faithful so I GET  to help others.  

Challenges

Challenges in life come in many different forms. 
Sometimes we are challenged by circumstances that are beyond our control. Other challenges come as a result of decisions made. But the scope of challenges that I am currently facing are a direct result of God's presence at a recent conference.
This conference was directed at church leaders. There were 5000 of us there. It was exciting, almost electric. Then, it happened. A man began to say things that, to me, were as though God himself were speaking directly to me. I was challenged.
At first I began to make mental excuses as to why I should back down from the challenge. But the longer he spoke, the more I realized the need to accept this imposition. 
The challenge? Be a leader! Not a leader by title, a leader by example.  A leader willing to step out in faith to uncharted places. A leader willing to sacrifice. A leader willing to take criticism. A leader, a true leader. A leader like Jesus. Am I willing to go that far?
Because, the bottom line is:
the world crucified Jesus. 

Workers

I've just returned from a short-term trip to Honduras. It's all the same, "been there done that" several times before. This was my first trip with a team comprised of only adults. It gave me the freedom to look around and pay attention to some things I'd never really noticed. I had never noticed how symmetrical that banana bunches grow. I had never noticed how little TV the Hondurans watch. I had never noticed how few of them smoke. Little things that aren't such a big deal. But for the first time, I noticed one thing of great significance: I noticed that all of the people in the mission that I work with (Mision Caribe) have a certain tenacity and work ethic that is rarely found so widespread in any given organization. 

They all recognize the task at hand and press towards it. I never once heard "that's not my job". I never once heard, "Oh well, that's good enough." What I saw and heard was the best effort for the Kingdom. 

I'm not saying that they are perfect, just focused. That impressed me, alot.

In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus told His disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers in to His fields." I will pray for workers.

The bottom line is, we need more workers like those at Mision Caribe. Pray.

Forward and Reverse

As I was reading the last few chapters of the book of Revelation, I had to smile and read a paragraph to Theresa: (Revelation 21:22-27)
I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Without being weird or morbid, I can't wait for that. NO NIGHT! Sleep is such a a waste of time to me. Heaven will be amazing. Being in God's presence will be awesome in the truest sense of the word.
So, I look back over 2010. It was my first year at CCC and I analyze the impact on the Kingdom. I can try to see just how much I allowed God to be in control of my life and use me. Well, the church attendance grew by over a 100 people, more than that were baptized into the Lord, our family groups grew, we did several service projects, we adopted Feed The Heart, a ministry to feed people. 
In retrospect, it looks good. TO GOD BE THE GLORY! But I'm reminded of my favorite passage (Eph 3:20):
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 
I'm dreaming about 2011 and I'm dreaming BIG!
The bottom line is: I can't wait to see how God amazes me in 2011!

My influence

My recent study of the Scripture has taken me into the Old Testament. It's interesting to read the history of God's dealings with His people. 
As I have read, I've laughed at the stupidity of the human race; shook my head at the brevity of faith that some people have had following God doing amazing things; and ultimately my studies have caused me to contemplated my own part in the Kingdom.
It's easy to scrutinize the actions of others. I do it all the time. Watching football, driving, give advice. 
But today, I was challenged. Challenged by the Facebook responses to the death of a standout high school athlete. His friends reminisced all of the times that they had partied together, done crazy things while in a drunken stupor, etc. 
The legacy that this guy left behind following his drug overdose was sad, to say the least. 
So I ask myself a question: what would people post on FB about me? Would the posts read:
Matt was a good ole boy.
Matt loved BBQ.
Matt was funny.


That scares me. Scares me to think about what my God will say. Will He be proud of me? As I watch my life play back, will I have made a difference? Am I making the world a better place? But most importantly, do those in my life see Jesus in me?
The bottom line is, I want to make a difference. A positive difference.

Intellect

My 16 year old son has caused me to consider the place of intellect in my spiritual journey.  1 Corinthians 8:1 immediately comes to mind. "Knowledges puffs up, love builds up." I ask myself the question, Why would I seek deeper intellect? Motive is extremely important for me. Do I seek depth so that I can better love others and use it to lead them into a relationship with Christ or to draw them nearer to Him? So, I've meshed my ideals with the those of others to come up with some questions and conclusions. Is it about education? What credential enables someone to understand Scripture? Is a Ph.D. required? Clearly not, since some professors of theology and biblical studies use their knowledge to argue against the truth of God’s Word. What about a background in the sciences, in order to know the details of God’s creation? But some brilliant scientists conclude that the supernatural is absent from the natural world. In fact, We have the book of Acts 4:13 says, "The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures" Is education necessary to advance the Gospel? NO! To go back to the passage in Corinthians, the Corinthian culture prized education. Now, learning is obviously not inherently evil, but the problem came when they valued it above the truth of God’s Word. Advanced degrees or high I.Q. scores are not the foundations for our spiritual growth. Plus, God's wisdom can be contradictory to earthly wisdom. So does all this correlate?   Three things that I see: First, God the Father has prepared great things for us, wonders beyond the scope of our imagination or scientific discovery (Isaiah 64:4). Second, we must have the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:10-12). We are not left to our own limited devices—the Spirit has been given to us to enable us to know the words and deeds and character of God. Through the Spirit it is possible for us to understand spiritual truth and spiritual truth is the type of intellect we should seek. Third, we have the mind of Christ. The word mind encompasses more than just intellectual capability; it includes the motive and attitude. Philippians 2 describes Jesus’ humility and love in this way: “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had". Here is the key to our growth in knowledge—love for others in obedience to God that reveals spiritual discernment of the indescribable love of God.  The bottom line is that we need intellect that will last for eternity.

"Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable?"

Robin is my closest friend of more than 30 years. He's challenged me lots of times in lots of ways. Most recently, he asked this question of me and the rest of the staff at CCC: "Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable?" 
That question relates to a passage in John 16 where Jesus promises to send the Comforter, The Holy Spirit. I had never thought about it that way...why would Jesus promise that if we weren't going to need it? 
When my walk with Christ is comfortable, what does that do to faith? In my estimation, it eliminates the need for faith. At least in terms of dependance. I suppose I could reword the question as: Do I live by faith? 
I continue the query to myself with questions like: Do I follow Christ in such a way that, without God's intervention, it will fail miserably? Do I seek God's will every minute? Are my thoughts towards my life with Christ "comforted" because I have sought His guidance throughout?
That passage in John 16 says that The Comforter will convict the world of it's sin. Ironically, last night Theresa and I talked with a young lady who needed comfort because her God-centered lifestyle had convicted those around her. Subsequently, she was experiencing persecution. 
Maybe that's why we don't need comforted, we aren't living lives that are pure enough to convict the world of anything.
We, as Christ's disciples, watch and listen to the same trash as entertainment, use the same vulgarities, struggle with the same sins as people who have never heard of Jesus. We are comfortable in our own little sloppy pens as so many pigs, awaiting slaughter.
When I am trying to live like Christ, I need comfort. When I'm living like the devil, I don't. And there's no "fence-riding" in between the two.
The bottom line is, sin is fake comfort resulting in eternal discomfort.