What are you passionate about?

People will make time for what they consider most important.  No doubt, everyone has a lot going on!  So, how do we decide what we do and what we don't do?  We decide by placing the things that are most important at the top of our list.  If it is something that we are passionate about, we will do what it takes to make time for it.  For instance, Saturday was cold and rainy all afternoon.  I really enjoy running.  It helps to clear my mind and also helps me to focus.  That's not to mention the health benefits of it.  So, on Saturday afternoon, I still ran the long run I had planned.  I didn't let the weather stop me or the fact that I was tired.  Many of us make plenty of time for our jobs (claiming that we have to be there all the time to make enough money to survive)...many of us make time for sports (basketball fans??)...many of us make time for our families because they are important (and they ARE!)...but how many us make time for the Lord...How many of us put God as our FIRST priority?  Unfortunately, looking at the churches today - NOT MANY...
So, what do we do about it?  Christians are the body of Christ - we need to get our priorities straight and in the right order!!!  God comes first before anything - NO EXCUSES...
If you put God first in your life, what does your week look like?  What changes do you need to make?  If we all put God first in our lives, I believe the church will look quite different...we might actually be more like Jesus...what a concept...

A New Start

As Christians, we are truly blessed to have been given a new start.  As we are told in Romans 6, the old has passed away and the new is here.  The Lord loves us enough to not only offer salvation, but a new life.  This new life has an amazing blessing called grace.  Grace is unmerited favor - basically, that God loves us so much that when we know Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and ask for forgiveness, our sins are washed away.  That old sinful life no longer has a hold on us.  
However, we are still human.  Because we have grace, does that mean that we can do whatever we want to and just ask for forgiveness later?  We are told in Romans 6 that the answer is a resounding NO!  Why?  We are forgiven of our sins and those sins no longer have a hold on us.  We are now free to live for Jesus.  How can we not live for the One who died for us AND offers us eternal life?? 
Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are on an amazing journey to become more like Him.  That is freedom to live the right way and do the right things.  This freedom has with it peace and joy and hope and love...and SO much more.  It gives us a freedom to put the "fleshly" desires behind us and serve an wonderful Savior who will take care of us every step of the way!
Why don't we focus our attention on the One who gives us a brand new start??

Oh, I want to know Him more!

How many times do we think that about really knowing the Lord better?  We may consider in our minds that we really do want to get to know Him better...but do we?  Too often, the answer is unfortunately that we don't really want to put in any effort to really know Him more...
Ever been around anyone who is a "just get by" kind of person?  You know the people...those that do just enough to get by but aren't really willing to do anything additional.  They really don't want to put any extra time into anything - do just enough to get by.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of Christians like that.  They are "just get by" type of Christians.  They want to know they are doing okay, but don't want to put in any extra effort towards serving the Lord. 
To me, the scripture doesn't teach that Christians should be "just get by" type of people.  We shouldn't do only the bare minimum to get by...When I read about the teachings of Jesus, He wants all of us - He wants our dedication and our complete service to Him. 
This phrase really strikes home with me when I consider the Lord....TO KNOW IS TO LOVE AND TO LOVE IS TO SERVE...
We are taught that God is love and that if we know God, we know love.  It is true that to know God is definitely to love Him.  The more we know about Him, the more we love Him.  The more we love Him, the more we want to serve Him and obey Him.  We truly want to give Him our all as we get to know Him more and more.  Romans 10:14-15 teaches that we have a responsibility to spread the Good News everywhere.  We are to be messengers of the Word.  If we don't do it, who does?  People will get the wrong message if God's people don't stand up and stand strong.  We will serve if we know Him.
Do you want to know Him more?  Remember that if you know Him, you love Him.  If you love Him, you just want to know more and more about Him.  If you know Him and love Him, you WANT to serve HIM!!
Wow - that could change things if we all wanted to know Him more and really began to serve!!!

Reflection & Redemption

As I consider the beginning of the season of Lent today, I can't help but think about this as a time of reflection.  This is a time when we should look at the path we are on to make sure it is the path that God would have us on.  It is a time to see if we are holding on to anything that will keep us from being the people God has called us to be.  We may think that we are absolutely ready to do whatever God has asked us to do.  We may think we are willing to say yes and give it all up to follow.  We may think that we are ready to sacrifice it all for the Lord.  However, I challenge you to really look at your walk and your relationship. 
As we look at Scripture, Peter had some amazing experiences.  Peter left all he had known to follow Jesus.  He had seen Jesus feed many people with very little.  He had seen the blind and sick healed.  He had experienced a walk with Jesus.  He had been there on the mountaintop experience of the transfiguration.  He had even walked on water with Jesus.  Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  But, when it came down to "crunch time", Peter denied Jesus and fled...Did Peter get back up?  You bet he did!
For us, it is a time to consider if we have become a bit complacent in our walk because we think we are doing it all right.  We may even feel great about our relationship with the Lord.  But, if we don't take the time to reflect and make sure, we may find ourselves off track without even knowing how it happened.
Now is a time of reflection.  Now is a time to live as those who are redeemed.  Now is the time to move forward and do as Isaiah - saying, "Here am I, Lord, send me!!"

Almost Springtime!

It has been so nice to have warmer weather.  It is difficult to feel motivated to do anything when the weather is cold and dark.  Springtime is a favorite of mine because the weather warms, it stays light longer, and flowers begin to bloom.  As I was considering springtime, I thought about a garden.  Gardens do not just produce themselves.  Someone has to plant the seeds, the seeds have to be watered, and then they begin to grow and produce. 
The person who puts the seed in the ground doesn't have a choice about how much rain there is or how much sun there is.  There isn't control over whether that seed grows and develops.  All the planter can do is plant and do the best to provide the right environment and hope something is produced.
Paul describes something similar in 1 Corinthians 3.  He is writing to the church about how he planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.  The foundation was Jesus Christ and everything is based on that.  With this scripture in mind, I started thinking about how the church should begin producing a community garden.  Not a literal dirt garden (although they are great).  A garden of faithful believers who sow seeds in the community and water those seeds regularly.  What does that mean?  What if the church sowed seeds of kindness...seeds of joy...seeds of peace...seeds of faithfulness...seeds of LOVE...
All Christians can do is sow the seeds and water the seeds.  We are called to love God and love others.  We are called to serve the Lord.  In doing these things the right way, seeds are sown everywhere we go.  Someone else may come behind us and water that seed at just the right time (because they are listening to the Lord too).  We can't worry about what happens with the seeds we sow - God takes care of all that.  We are called to just be faithful gardeners.  So, what kinds of seeds will you sow today?