Broken and Spilled Out

The room was crowded. They were all in town for the celebration which was just a couple of days away. All of the men of course were gathered in the living room talking about current affairs, politics, and religion. Oh, yes, religion . . . always. The discussion usually was quite lively. In fact, to this group there was no separation of church and state. Religion and national politics had always been meshed, not just in conversation but in everyday life.

She slipped into the room unnoticed at first, but then as she made her way into the inner circle, everyone began to notice. This was not the first time she had crashed the party. She seemed to always want to challenge social mores and mingle with the guys – especially when He was in the house. Oh how she loved Him. Not like most women love men, hers was not an attraction that caused her to want to know Him in an intimate physical sense. It went much deeper than that. She loved Him not for his man-ness, but for his God-ness.

Then, she did something very strange. She was carrying with her an intricately crafted box made from alabaster. She was so focused in Him she could not open the box properly. She was nervous, scared, self-conscious. Finally in desperation she tore the box open and out came the fragrant and expensive ointment. Then she poured the ointment on top of His head. It was sweetly pungent and the fragrance filled the room. The ointment ran down His head, through His beard, eventually stopping in a puddle around His feet.

Everyone was thinking SOMETHING about what they had seen. The thoughts ranged from bewilderment to contempt. How could she do such a thing. She claims to love Him, but shenanigans like this will only bring scandal to His ministry and thwart the progress He had made over the last three years. What was she, a woman, doing in the room with all the men? Why wasn’t she in the kitchen helping her poor sister with the catering? Finally Judas spoke up and verbalized what he was thinking. “What a waste! That ointment could have brought us a full year’s salary on the market.”

He hushed them all. He had heard the whispers, and certainly heard Judas’ ridiculous tirade. He approved of her actions, but more importantly He validated her as a person. He directly answered Judas’ objection. The need of the hour was not the ministry but the One for whom the ministry was performed. It was a time for “being” rather than doing.

By now you have recognized the story. “He” is Jesus, “she,” Mary. The story is one of the most captivating in the Gospels. But let’s put ourselves in the scene. How would you have reacted to such an unorthodox display of devotion? Where would you have been standing? What would you have been thinking, or even saying? Consider with me just a minute a few the players in this strange drama.

Martha. Mary’s sister who had been as exposed to the life, teaching, and ministry of Jesus as her sister, was not in the scene at all. She was in the kitchen. She was so busy (in one place another time, Jesus called her “distracted”) doing that she missed and opportunity to fellowship with Jesus. Have you ever been there? Too busy serving the Lord to find the time to BE with the Lord. What a tragedy when we substitute activity for intimacy. How sad the at times we allow ourselves to go fly high serving Jesus without grounding ourselves for maintenance and refueling. And we wonder why we crash and burn so often. We sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent.

The Disciples. You can imagine what they were thinking. “Mary is going to give Jesus a bad reputation. She is being so trashy, hanging all over him like that. Who does she think she is and what does she think she is doing. She thinks she is so much closer to him than we are.” I can imagine so many other lame, self-deluded attitudes that in the name of “Jesus’ best interests” misunderstood and misinterpreted this beautiful and brave act of worship. We too are quick to judge and slow to discern. We see others and automatically think we know their motives. You know why I think this crowd was so critical of this woman? JEALOUSY. They saw in her passion for the Son of God, a passion pure yet fervent. They recognize that she was truly connecting to Him on so much more than a physical or political level. They saw in her something they lacked, and rather than evaluating themselves and realizing what they lacked, they instead chose to try and discount and discredit her. Same old song and dance some use today. The thought goes something like this: I cannot match her devotion to God, she risks so much more than I am willing to risk. I can’t match her, I am not willing to give up that much, so I have to make her look bad so I can look good. Rather than turn the heat up in our own lives, we often choose to burn – or scorch – others.

Judas. If there ever was a quintessential “bad guy” it had to be Judas Iscariot. What a crook, a first century embezzler. He criticized Mary because her act cost him. What she did not only exposed ALL the disciples for the weenies that they were, she personally was wasting something that could have padded the ministry coffers and of course, Judas’ own personal treasure. How quick are we to criticize those who serve God in such a way that our conventions and comfort zones are challenged – exposed for the dens of complacency self-service that they are? Like that evil Judas, sometimes we discount the way others serve God because it cramps our style . . . it put us out in some way or another.

Mary. What a brave woman. She was so in love with the Son of God that she was willing to risk. She risked her reputation. She risked her dignity. She risked rejection. Ultimately she risked vulnerability. Not only was she willing to risk, but she was also absolute in her devotion. She held back nothing for herself. The box was broken and could never be used again. The ointment was spilled out and could not be recovered, reused, or recycled. When she poured it out, there was nothing left for her. She gave up something of incredible value. By today’s wage standard the ointment cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $36,000. She was willing to give up her most valuable possession. It took a woman to show a room full of men what being a disciple truly meant.

You see, I want to be like Mary. I want to lay it all out there for Jesus. At the end of each day I want to know that I gave everything I had that day. I want to know that I let nothing stop me from being who He is making me. Fear of rejection did not stop me. The possibility of ridicule did not stop me. Cost did not stop me. I want to know that I use up to its completion everyday that God gives me. I want to love Him with reckless abandon. I want to love Him for His God-ness so much so that I will give anything, go anywhere, and risk it all to show my devotion to Him.

After all, it was He Who emptied Himself for me.

The Biblical account paraphrased here can be read in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:2-8.

Am I A Sled Dog?

Sears Toughskins. Husky. To this day I hate that word husky. It was a nice was of saying short and fat. All the other kids wore "Regular," "Tall," "Short." I wore “Husky.” Like I was some sled dog from Alaska or something. In fact way back then they were called "dungarees." How many of you remember THAT word? When I was a kid I was about as round as I was tall. Had my parents dressed me in pigskin, I would have looked like a football with eyes. And ears. Oh yea, don’t get me started on the ears. I think I remember at one time the FAA wanting to borrow me and use my ears in their radar program.

Well as time has worn on, my head has grown into my ears and I no longer have to wear those sled dog pants. But still there is this preoccupation with those charts that tell you how much you should weigh according to your height. I hated those too. My problem was not that I was overweight, mind you. My weight was perfect. But I was 12 inches too short! There was never any doubt though that I was a growing boy. And I continued to grow right into my adult life.

My growth could be noticed – and measured – by my pants size. At my largest I was a 38/30 . . . still short and fat. But apparently lots of men were also, because that bin on the pants rack was always empty. Fortunately I have dropped a few inches in the pants size, and they are a little more readily available.

But how can we measure spiritual growth? If we are honest, would we admit that rather than “shopping” in the adult section of the Bible, we are still browsing through the kids racks? Paul, in Colossians 3:12-15 gives us a list of what we should be wearing spiritually – things like compassion, kindness, humility, acceptance, forgiveness. These are togs for spiritual adults not infants.

Why do we not grow spiritually as we should? Let me suggest a few reasons, challenge you a bit, then leave you with a memory verse to encourage you.

Maybe we fail to grow as we should because we do not have a good spiritual diet. We lack the essential spiritual vitamins, minerals and nutrients that cause us to develop and mature. Just like our bodies cannot be properly nourished from junk food, so also our spirits cannot grow if all we feed them are the sweet pabulum of spiritual candy. We grow when we allow ourselves to eat the fiber of the deep things of God found in his Word. These truths can only be digested by slowly chewing over them in meditation and seeking to learn what God has to say to us.

Maybe we fail to grow because of a lack of exercise. Rather than take the risk of faith, and get out in the world and minister in Jesus’ name, we prefer to remain a spiritual couch potato – or I guess more accurately a “pew potato” – and sit on the pew soaking up all the preacher has to say, but not putting it into practice.

Maybe we fail to grow because we allow bad habits that stunt our growth – habits like those things Paul said to put away in Colossians 3:5-11. We allow sin to remain unconfessed and we continue to practice our pet sins to our own spiritual detriment. Bad attitudes, sinful actions, derelict disciplines all hinder the growth that God want to bring in our lives.

There could be myriad other reasons why we do not grow, but at the core, we do not grow because we choose other things besides the Word and work of God in our lives. God has provided all we need to grow and He gives us His Spirit as the ultimate growth catalyst. To remind you and encourage you to grow, I share with you this memory verse. It will provide a great constant reminder to us to GROW!

2 Peter 3:18

But grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen!

Something's Fishy About Me

I had a conversation with my friend Michael yesterday. My conversations with him are important because I value his input. I admire his fervor for God and I covet his leadership ability. He is a great pastor. At the time of our conversation I was lamenting how great a pastor I am NOT. In the middle of my attempt at self-evaluation, he asked me a strange question:

Are you diligently seeking to learn ways of improvement or are you down and seeking ways to clobber yourself over your own head?

I assured him that I was actually in very good spirits and that I was just introspectively grading myself on what I perceived to be my strengths and weaknesses as a pastor. Then today, God directed me to a familiar story in His ministry and taught me some valuable lessons. It is the story of Jesus feeding the multitude with 5 loaves and 2 fish. There is some speculation (non-theological, of course) that the fish in question must have been tuna. What other kind of fish could you stretch to make so many sandwiches? Not sure about that but here are some things I of which I am sure.

First, the disciples saw a problem, but Jesus saw an opportunity. Perspective is an amazing thing. Why is it that it is so much easier to ponder problems that to search for solutions? We are flounder (rolls eyes) in our circumstances when we only view them in light of what is happening tangibly right in front of our eyes. Jesus sees the future – determines the future, in fact. Situations that appear to us to be hopeless are a piece of cake (I know!) to Him. We easily get discouraged, give up, and miss out on God’s activity in our lives because we think that our perception is reality, when in actuality the Author of reality may be working something else entirely behind the scenes. So don’t get discouraged when your circumstances seem to make no sense at all. God sees, and, more importantly, God is active and at work in your situation. NOTHING is never happening, God is always up to something – even when we cannot see it. Trust Him.

Second, the disciples focused on what they didn’t have (enough food), but Jesus focused on what was available (5 loaves and 2 fish).

Disciples: “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?”

Jesus: “How many loaves do you have?

I don’t know about you, but it is easy for me to focus on my shortcomings, my weaknesses, what I cannot do. But all Jesus asks for is what we He has given us. HE manages to make the most of what we make available to Him. It is interesting to note that Jesus never asked them to bring Him something they did not have. Also, He never asks us to bring Him something He has not already given to us.

I read an interesting quote the other day, and I am not sure of its source, but is says,

Every journey begins at the same place . . . where you are.

Too many times we are guilty of comparing our starting point to someone else’s destination. We look at others and see where God has taken them rather than honestly assessing where we are so we can begin our own forward journey in Him. Consider what God has given you in the way of resources, gifts, skills, abilities, opportunities. So what if you cannot sing as beautifully as someone else, or speak as eloquently as your favorite preacher. Don’t worry about what God has given them. What has He given you, and what are you doing with it?

Third, the disciples were thinking in terms of self-sufficiency, Jesus in terms of Divine ability. The disciples saw only on little boy’s snack, but Jesus knew in His hands it was more than enough. The disciples were discouraged because they thought the outcome was based on their own abilities to provide in the situation. Jesus knew He was about to perform a miracle. They figured since they didn’t have enough food nor buy food that the situation was hopeless. Jesus taught them that the provision does not always come by conventional means.

One final lesson though is very important. Jesus didn’t perform the miracle until they had given all they could. Just as easily as He multiplied the 5 loaves and 2 fish, Jesus could have also easily created from nothing enough to feed the crowd. But he responded to the little boy’s sacrifice and willingness to give all he had to Jesus. Our constant attention to what we lack often prevents us from offering what we have. By faith, offer who you are and what you have and trust Jesus to make up what is lacking in the situation.

So, what does this have to do with me and my ministry? Honestly I am not completely sure yet. I expect as I meditate in this over the next several days that God will continue to teach my truths and ways to apply those truths in my life. In the meantime, I will offer to Him what I have and see what He does with it. Can I count on you to do the same? Most importantly . . . can God count on you to do the same?

Wrong Way - God and GPS

I do not have the best sense of direction. If anyone is a candidate for a GPS system it is me. So if any of you are looking for something to get me for my birthday (December 9) or Christmas, there is a suggestion. I am getting better as I get older, but I still have a knack for getting turned around. But I am no Roy Reigels.

In the 1929 Rose Bowl game between the University of California Bears and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Cal offensive lineman Reigels made a historic play. He snatched up a ball on the first bounce that had been fumbled by Georgia Tech running back Stumpy Thomason (I love that name) and got spun around and proceeded to run 64 yards toward an apparent touchdown – only he was the wrong way – toward his own team’s goal line. Speedy Cal running back Benny Lom chased him down, trying to convince him to stop. Reigels thought Lam was trying to get him to lateral the ball to him so he could get credit for the touchdown. He ignored the warnings until finally Lam caught him at the one yard line and got him to stop. But it was too late. Tech players tackled him at the one yard line.

Of course in 1929, offensive schemes were quite conservative, so Cal lined up (with Reigels at center) to punt. Tech’s Vance Maree broke through to block the punt and the ball rolled out of the end zone resulting in a safety and 2 points for Tech. That play provided the margin of victory as Tech won the Rose Bowl 8 – 7 capping off a perfect 10-0 season and a national championship.

What about our journey through life? Could it be possible to think we are headed in the right direction, think we are living the way we should, making all the right choices and decision, but in fact we to be running AWAY from God and what He wants to do in our life? It is not only possible, but it is a reality in everyone’s life at some point or another. Our memory verse for this week gives us guidance as we travel through life:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths. - Proverbs 3:5-6

Our knowledge, experience, understanding, skills are all limited, but God is infinitely able in all of those areas. He and He alone sees the future and knows what is ahead of us. He and He alone completely sees what is going on around us each day. Nothing is hidden from Him. He and He alone has perfect knowledge – knowledge he wants to share with us to help us smoothly navigate our lives toward the destination He has prepared for us. If we try to figure things out with just our own resources, we are limited in the success we will have – in fact, we might, like Roy Reigels even be running the wrong way unawares.

But being a student of God’s Word, reading, heeding, and applying it to our lives equips us to walk wisely and carefully all of our days. His Word keeps us on the path because it is a “lamp to our feet and light to our path.” (Psalm 119:105) So, I want you to not only memorize our verse for this week, but also let the truth it teaches become a reality in your life. Seek God’s wisdom for your life. Quit making decisions and behaving based merely on how your perceive life and what you believe to be right and wrong. Learn what God says and pattern your actions, thoughts, and attitude after what you learn in His Word and you will never aid the opposition by running the wrong way.

Oh, by the way, in 1971 Roy Reigels and Benny Lom were granted honorary membership in the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Letterman’s Club. A step up, I would say, for a couple of Cal Bears.

A Frog In the Kettle

I can’t believe I got so excited about it! I saw a place today that had gas for only $2.29 a gallon. I emphasize “only” because I realize the absurdity of getting so excited about such a high price. Who would have believed just a couple of years ago that we would be paying over $2.00 for a gallon of gas – AND EXCITED ABOUT IT. The gasoline market has conditioned us to expect higher prices, and when the prices come in below those expectations it gives us a false sense of savings. We are constantly being conditioned by our cultural and societal circumstances.

This reminds me of a science project I once heard about – I doubt that it really happened. The challenge was to boil a frog in a kettle of water. The students would get the water boiling and then put the frog in the kettle. As soon as the cold-blooded frog hit the water, he would jump right out. Of course who among us wouldn’t, reptile or not. Eventually it was discovered that in order to boil the frog in the water, first they had to put cool water in the kettle and put the frog in the kettle with the cool water. The frog liked that, you see. In fact, he liked it so well, he didn’t even notice when the students put the kettle over a low flame and slowly increased the temperature of the water. The cold-blooded frog adapted to the changes so well he didn’t even recognize the change. Maybe we could get Sharon Jenkins’ science class to verify this hypothesis for us? Are you game, Sharon?

Unfortunately, as Christians we are a lot like that frog. If we are not careful, we get so numb and desensitized to sin that we fall prey to its temptation before we barely even realize the temptation is there. We are bombarded with so many images of sin each day that this desensitization can take place gradually and unnoticed. We see bad attitude, actions, thoughts, and words paraded in front of us every day. We get so used to the sin that first of all we no longer even notice it, then if we are not careful we become willing allies in sin as well.

King David was like that. I do not believe for one minute he ever set out to have an affair with Bathsheba. But, he got lazy and he got closer to sin than he was to God. One thing led to another and he found himself in adultery – and to make matters worse became a cold blooded murdered. And THIS MAN was the apple of God’s eye. How much more do you and I need to be on guard? Let me suggest some steps we all can take to avoid having the heat turned up around us unawares.

First, guard your heart. Proverbs 4:23 teaches us,

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

The inner self, the heart, is that part of us that constitutes our motivations, our likes and dislikes, our feelings, our desires, dreams, and aspirations. In many ways it is the command center for our will. Our heart tells us what to do. We need often to evaluate if our heart is seeking God’s will or our own selfish will. We protect our heart when we recognize things that influence us to want, feel, or dream anything that draws us away from God.

Second, take care what you feed your mind. Our brains are like computers in a sense; they cannot operate without data input. Every thought we think is the product of information that is already in our minds. Philippians 4:8 says,”

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

We do not think, speak, or do anything that has not first passed through our brain. If we want to avoid cultural conformity, we will carefully filter out those things we read, see, and hear so that nothing enters our brain that is counter to the work of remaking us that God is doing.

And finally, exercise your spirit. Galatians 5:17 reminds us,

For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

Our natural, physical desires play a cosmic game of tug-o-war with the Holy Spirit. Our natural urges pull us one way – toward self-gratification and away from God, while the Spirit pulls us in the opposite direction – away from self and toward God. We hold the key that determines which side wins, in fact, we choose the winner. Whichever one we give into . . . wins. We exercise the spirit in our lives when we refuse to give into those selfish physical desires that draw us away from God, and when we constantly engage in activities and attitudes that reflect the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We exercise our spirit and strengthen it when we choose to act, react, and respond by asking the Holy Spirit to display these qualities.

In his translation of Romans 12:2, JB Phillips tells us, “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.” That is my prayer, that rather than being molded by my culture, I would instead by salt and light and change the world around me. I hope you join me in this quest. Let’s learn to think and act differently – like the Savior who we serve.

Our culture is turning up the heat . . . do we even notice?

The Value of a Life

September 11, 2006. Today marks the five year anniversary of one of the darkest dyas in our country’s history – certainly THE darkest in my lifetime. In a matter of 77 minutes, 16 men with no regard for human life, not even their own, orchestrated the deaths of 3000 people. Their political statement was more valuable to them than human life. To them life was cheap, a currency to be spent to buy them and their cause attention and notoriety. To those 16 men – and the myriad of others who sanctioned, aided, abetted, and collaborated with them - life was only a means to another end. What a waste!

How do we measure the value of a life? We can put a price tag on most things, and those items are “worth” whatever we are willing to pay for them. But what about human life? How can we put a price tag on human life? We talked about this a little in church yesterday, and I want to share some of those thoughts with the blogosphere.

Life is precious. Listen to how Genesis 2:7 describes the creation of Man:

Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living soul.

A living soul. No other created animal warranted that distinction. Into no other created thing did God breathe His own breath, but into the crown of His creation – Man. Only we are designated as being created in the image of God. That alone is reason enough to understand that life is precious. But there’s more.

Life is also precious because it is temporary. Every one of us has an appointment with death. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die . . .

When we are born we have a fixed number of days which we will occupy here on this planet – and that number is known to God alone. But life is not a self-renewing energy source; it is a fixed commodity. We do not know how many days we have here on earth, so each day is precious. Each day is a gift from God.

Also life is precious because it is shared. Part of being created in God’s image is that we are relational. We sometimes overlook that aspect of the nature and character of God. By His nature God is three persons in one essence, a truth we are not able to fully grasp with our finite minds. But at creation, God said, “Let Us make man in Our own image.” See those plural pronouns? Even in creation God was relating and by creation preparing a people with whom He could relate. We need relationships. We are wired to relate to others. Life is precious because of the precious people God allows us to know, be related to, work with, play with, live beside, etc. Life is precious because life is shared with others.

Let me close out by suggestions a couple of things you can do to value life and to raise its worth. First, remember that life is a stewardship. First and foremost, we were created to know and be known by our Creator. His Son Jesus has made it possible for us to be re-connected to our ultimate roots. If you would like to know more about how you can have a personal relationship with God, follow this link.

But we understand that every day we wake up and have life is a gift from God. We do not plug ourselves into an outlet to recharge or keep our hearts beating. We do not sleep in some sort of hyperbaric chamber to keep our lungs breathing while we sleep. No, it is God who gives us the gift of a day. With that gift comes the responsibility to use it wisely. Ephesians 5:15-16 is the memory verse for this week and it says,

Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Each day is a gift from God. How we use that day is our gift to Him.

Finally, be proactive about adding value to the lives of others. Make it your effort to be a “lifter.” Encourage. Support. Cheer. Tell people you love them and appreciate them. Help out. Meet needs. Be the kind of person that others are sad when you leave. Be very, very slow to criticize but be very quick to add something good to the lives of people around you.

Gas prices may be on the decline (hallelujah!), but let’s you and I start a campaign to raise the value and cost of life. It is indeed precious.

My Girl Is Growing

We celebrated a birthday yesterday . . . birthday number 4. I am the proud father of a four year old. Other words describe me too – tired, confused, befuddled, hopeful, happy. The list could go on. I was thinking just last night about when Bekah was born. She was so tiny. She weighed barely over 5 lbs. and she was less than 5 lbs. when we took her home. She was so small that I could hold her like a football, with her head in my hand and her feet barely hanging off the crook of my arm at the elbow. I remember learning to swaddle her tight in a blanket to keep her warm and secure as she slept. I called her Daddy’s Little Burrito. Now when she crawls up in my lap, there are long feet at the end of lanky legs that hang off of the chair. I can’t hold her like a football anymore that is for sure.

She is growing, and more than just physically. Her diet has changed. I can still smell that formula. YUCK! ProSobee. Gross! It smelled even worse coming out that going in. Then we graduated to cereal. That was fun. Messy, but fun. And of course the jars of Gerber’s. She liked Green Peas, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Corn. Those were pretty cool too. But when she finally started eating table food things got so much easier, although to this day, eating Spaghetti with her should warrant hazard pay. Now her diet consists primarily of Macaroni and Cheese and Chicken Nuggets. Oh, my! She McLoves McNuggets from McDonalds. At night she doesn’t snore, she clucks.

I remember sitting in the floor with her helping her learn to roll over – always the coach! I remember holding her hands up trying to get her to learn to walk. I remember being a little concerned that at 2 years old she wasn’t talking. We thought she would never walk, then we thought she would never talk. But she does. Both. A lot.

She can already (and has been able to for a while now) read anything you put in front of her. We never had the chance as some parents do to keep things from her by spelling out the words. She could read and spell before she ever talked. She makes friends, makes up stories and songs, and she even goes to preschool two days a week. She can navigate the internet all by herself. She is growing up right before our very eyes. She makes her daddy proud.

I wonder if my Heavenly Father says the same about me? I wonder if He ever turns to one of the hosts of angels attending His throne and says, “Look at my boy! He’s growing.” I want to grow, I am supposed to grow. Consider these verses:

2 Peter 3:18 - But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:2-3 - Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment . . .

2 Thessalonians 1:3 - We must always thank God for you, brothers, which is fitting, since your faith is flourishing, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

Colossians 1:10 - . . . so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.

Am I growing? Do I crave the spiritual food of God’s Word? Do I long for the excitement of fresh new experiences? Is my faith flourishing or do I prefer the comfort and safety of the routine and familiar? Have I learned by experience anything new about God lately? Have I seen Him at work in my life in new and fresh ways?

I don’t want to be a tot, toddler, or even a teenager in my Christian life. I don’t want to grow complacent and suffer from arrested development. I have a plan. It goes like this. I want to eat more freely from the table of God’s Word – studying more for my personal growth and enrichment and not just for sermon or lesson preparations. I want to learn to give and receive grace more freely. I want to experience the power of God and see the glory of God more prominently in my life. I want to challenge my faith. I want to go places and do things that cause me to trust God and see Him at work in my life. I am tired of the comfortable and familiar. I want to experience the same sense of adventure that led four rugged fishermen to give up their comfortable careers, drop their nets, leave the familiar existence and embark on a journey with Jesus.

I want Jesus to look at me and say, “My boy sure has grown. I am proud of him.”