Our Men’s Ministry, JourneyMEN, has been studying Francis Chan’s book, “Crazy Love” for several weeks now. In the book, he poses a hypothetical, but very thought-provoking question. It’s a question I have been meditating on, and really searching my heart about. So I wanted to ask it here…

If you were born and raised on a secluded island, having no outside influence and nothing to read but the Bible, what would church look like in your mind? And if you were rescued from that island as a young adult, and came to the United States, would you say that churches here resemble what you imagined church would look like while reading God’s Word for all those many years?

James 1:19 says to be “quick to listen and slow to speak”

Proverbs 12:23 says, “the heart of fools blurts out folly.”

The bible is clear. We are to be careful with our words.

Slow to speak. Quick to listen. And only fools blurt out folly.

With that fresh on your mind, please turn your thoughts to Social Media.

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and many more outlets on the web provide countless opportunities for us to share our thoughts.

Few of us have ever had such a large and captive audience. I mean, the average person has the ability to reach hundreds, even thousands of readers a day!

What a huge responsibility!

Question for Christians: Are we applying God‘s Word to our online lives? Or are we feeling immune to, or even hidden from it?

How many foolish things do I blurt out to the masses? Am I really quick to listen and slow to speak?

James 3:8 says it directly, “no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

I wonder what James would have to say about taming our tweets.

This photo is an accurate depiction of my life right now. 

I’m ringing my hands a lot. I feel alone, and distressed. Everywhere I turn there are major issues and concerns. A heavy weight of burden is laying over my spirit, and I am overwhelmed.

        Finances | Family unrest | Wife’s job | Health | Global catastrophes

It’s difficult to find faith at times like this. It’s hard to see beyond the stress and fix my gaze on the Lord. But I know it’s what I must do. It’s what I am doing.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry  about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? …” – Matthew 6:25-30

What helps you look beyond the stress to see the Lord?

“The Lord your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”

- Zephaniah 3:17

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Alpha and the Omega, the Great I Am, the Creator of EVERYTHING… rejoices and sings over ME?! How do I wrap my head around this one? It’s one of the most overwhelming things I have ever thought of or felt.

Thoughts?

I didn’t.

So He’s opening my eyes to some things. Take a look at this scripture:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 – “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”

God is saying, what are you building on? Are you building on Christ, or on something else? And will your work escape the flames and become a reward for you, or will it burn up and be lost? “…the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.”

Then, He pointed me to Matthew 25.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.‘
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

This is what He’s showing me… asking me. What are you doing in ministry that you say is in My Name? What are you building your work on? Will it stand the test of My fire? And are you remembering to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take in strangers, care for the sick and visit the imprisoned, or are you having church and denying me in these most important areas?

We Christians all get that we’re supposed to share the gospel, and point people to Jesus. But are we forgetting Matthew 25?

Soul At Rest

Thank you, LeAnn, for being a living, daily example of Christ in our home, and in my life. I just want you to know that it doesn’t go unnoticed! I love you dearly, sweet girl.

I just want to direct you to a friend’s blog who has researched several ways you can help in the Haiti disaster relief, if you feel led to do so.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” – Matthew 5:4

Follow your hearts! Follow the link below!

JENNICLAYVILLE.COM

I want to ask you something.

Why do we, as Christians, need everyone around us to think that we’re ok, when we’re really not? Seriously, why? We have the same trials as the rest of the world. We argue with our spouses. We lose our loved ones. We have our feelings hurt by co-workers. We’re abandoned and abused by our parents. We suffer through private porn addictions, and drug and alcohol addictions. We have serious, life-threatening diagnosis’ given to us at the Dr.’s office. We’re fired from our jobs, suffer through house fires, and we’re burglarized and stolen from. Yet, we’ll smile and say, “God is good!” when someone asks us how we’re doing in the foyer on Sunday morning. Why can we be dying on the inside, but not want anyone to know?

This is a tragedy in the church at-large.

If we could talk with God, face-to-face right now and ask Him, “what is the one thing we need to change about church that would make the biggest impact on this world? I really believe it would be this. He can’t do anything with people who aren’t willing to be real with themselves, with Him, or with each other. Period.

What happened? When did church become so “sterile”? It’s nothing short of a giant “clean room” where you have to put on a happy face, and nice clothes, and keep everything squeaky clean. It’s rare to see anyone confess their weakness, or be transparent enough to put their junk out there to be dealt with. You rarely see people break down and weep, or show anger, or frustration.

I am as guilty as the next person. Why is it so hard to be transparent? More importantly, why don’t we feel comfortable to be transparent in church?

This has to change. If we can’t be real with other Christians, who can we be real with? I read an excerpt off of the website of Anne Jackson’s upcoming new book, “Permission To Speak Freely” that read, “We have to confess to God, and to others so that we can live our lives whole, and healed. We have to identify our brokenness, and ultimately share our story of redemption and rescue with others.”

What is it that you’re carrying around all alone? Isn’t it time to stop posing and pretending that you’re fine. Isn’t it time that we start sharing our burdens, and carrying each other’s burdens, as well?

Am I the only one who feels this way? Please comment below.

I encourage you to free up some moments of solitude in your day. And make yourself a captive audience for the King of Kings.