Seek Ye First

Seek Ye First

Idolatry is placing anything between us and Christ. Why do I place so many things between us? Because I am human. But that is a lousy excuse. So why do I do it? Because I am not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct me. So sad. But I have been reading books the last two weeks. I have embarked on my plan to finish the New Testament by the end of June. I am in a much better place than I was. But I still allow distractions to creep in. I still allow myself to drift.

I will close out my internet and cable connections at the end of this month. I have discovered that the world of wireless internet connections outside my home is vast. The world of unsecured wireless internet connections is slightly less vast, and yet widely available. I am safer accessing the internet for brief periods of time to upload emails and download podcasts. I am excited about the prospect. This means much more focus time at home. This means much more time to spend with friends.

One of my friends is moving. He got another job. He will be going back to his hometown. I am sad.

It is difficult for me to establish good friendships and we have developed a very strong one since he moved her slightly less than a year ago. It is even more difficult for me to FIND single men around my age who are dedicated to serving Christ. But I know that this whole thing means that God has tremendous things in store for both of us. I am looking forward to continuing the friendship despite the distance. But I am scared.

I would say that he is easily one of less than four guys I have had good solid Christian friendships with. We work together, so we have that bond. We agree on some pretty strongly held theological points. We are both tremendous fans of grace. We have both come through and still confront some of the same struggles. But my God is bigger than this. My God shall supply all my need. I need a male friend who will hold me accountable. I need a guy with whom I can discuss deep spiritual things one minute and sit down and eat a pizza and play a board game with the next.

So much for society’s mold of a man who is completely independent. So much for Hollywood’s view of strength. I have heard it said that meekness is not weakness; it is God’s power under control. Heavenly Father, I pray that you make me meek. Make me a man of humility.

The Time Has Arrived

The Time For Transformation Has Arrived

So here’s the deal.  I have a great deal of areas in my life that I have been ignoring for too long.  Way too many areas.  It is high time to rectify those problem areas; time to rebuild altars to the Lord where the ungodly altars have been established for far too long.  Some of these altars were torn down at one point or another, but they have all been in place for far too long and merely continue to grow.  For when a problem is neglected, it ferments and becomes much more potent.

Cultural Detox Is The Beginning

For the remainder of June, my computer/internet time will consist of little more than checking emails in the morning and checking emails in the afternoon.  No Instant Messenger.  No hours spent squandering precious seconds into minutes and hours.  No video games.  No browsing myspace profiles.  No downloading the hottest, latest, greatest programs.  No web searches.  Email.

Radical Change Demands Radical Changes

I have done it before and I will do it again.  This time for real.  Cable and internet go away on July 1st.  I am sick of wasting time.  You see, it is not simply my time that is wasted.  It is not simply my innocence that is sacrificed through popup ads, over sexualized imagery, and reading horrible things that people type.  It is a spiritual battle.  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).  Life is a spiritual battle.  I have allowed the internet to creep in once again and hinder my fighting the good fight.

Responsibility Ushers In Discipline

I am responsible for this, and I accept that responsibility.  I must now take the responsibility to overcome these problems.  As a result, I stand here at the brink of life-altering changes.  When I did this once before, it was wonderful seeing the growth I experienced.  Now I am committing to a much longer period of freedom from the net.  It is definitely for at least a year.  In June of 2007, I will reexamine to see where things stand and see if I want to bring it back in.

Discipline Leads To The Path Of Righteousness

As I become more disciplined in my life, I will spend more time seeking the Lord.  This discipline will come in some key areas.  Specifically, I envision becoming more disciplined in:

Prayer Time
Free Time
Bible Study
Exercise Habits
Eating Habits
Spending/Saving Habits (Thank you Dave Ramsey)
Thought Patterns – specifically regarding lust issues
Sleep Habits (without television or internet, why not go to sleep earlier?)

Righteousness Leads To The Face of God

As I shed these things, I will outwardly demonstrate the inward change.  Just as when Moses’ face shone after he spent time in communion with God on the Mount, so will my countenance become brighter.  Additionally, I expect to lose weight as a result of being more attentive to the foods I eat and the amount of exercising that I do.

So Does This Mean Complete Internet Rejection?

Absolutely not.  I am fortunate that I have a notebook computer that has a built in wireless receiver.  I am also fortunate that I live in a place where there are a handful of free wireless networks lingering around town.  I will experiment with them some over the next few weeks.  Sending and receiving emails through Outlook (write and read offline, upload and download online), publishing occasional blog posts, and catching up on podcasts should all be things that minimal internet connectivity through free wireless networks will handle.

Cultural Detox

Cultural Detox

I am not yet sure what all will be entailed in this ordeal, and it will undoubtedly be a work in progress.  What I know is that too much of the world’s culture has been allowed to creep into my life and I want to expel as much of it as I can.  So it is time to do just that.

A Summer of Sacrifice

This summer – definitely during the months of June and July, I am going to make some changes.  Some will be more painful than others, and yet whatever the case, they will all be changes made toward the end of reaching a goal.  That goal is one of transformation in my outlook.

Satisfied with Dissatisfaction

You see, at least in my life, I see a great ill.  I see it in the lives of most people, but I know not the cause.  In me, the problem is simply a matter of being dissatisfied with what I have.  I am not happy with what God has divinely ordained for me to have.  As a result of this dissatisfaction, I seek something better.  The whole “grass is greener on the other side” syndrome.  The grass only appears greener.

STUFF DOESN’T SUFFICE

My life experience, limited though it may be, has proven to me over and over again that when I acquire things, when I achieve recognition, when I accomplish tasks, and when I attain goals, I am always left with a sense of lack.  That sense of lack is there for a purpose!  Jesus advised us to, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

Did you get that?  Life is not about stuff.  When our lives revolve around stuff, Jesus calls that covetousness.  That’s greed.  That’s one of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins.  Ouch.  So what does that mean?

The Plan

This will be a summer of spiritual conquest in my life.  It will be a summer of overcoming the flesh.  I do not know what all will be entailed in this.  I will assume that there will be some fasting involved.  I am waiting on the leading of the Holy Spirit in some areas.  What I do know, is that I am going to go on a “Fast Food Food Fast” this summer.  That means, I will not eat anything from McDonalds, Jack In The Box, Wendy’s, whatever.  I may still do the occasional Subway or Quizno’s, but we shall see.  This goes in line with my “Total Money Makeover” (ala Dave Ramsey) in that it helps me save money.  It also will help me to avoid overindulgence in really unhealthy foods.

God is the source of all true satisfaction.  Not stuff.  Not food.  Not video games.  Not television.  It’ll be a fun ride!

Got Theology

Got Theology?

Have you ever wanted to sit down and have a good old fashioned conversation about basic theology?  Why is it that more people don’t understand some of the theological basics?  I mean, how can you go to church for most of your life and yet not understand justification?  How can you not understand the basics of salvation?  What’s up with that?

It is disappointing that so many people in churches know more about Jabez in the Old Testament than they do about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.  More people could tell you how to be blessed than could tell you how to be saved.  And I don’t even want to begin tackling the subject of hypocrisy.  “Hey!  I’m a Christian, too!  Want to go clubbing tonight?  I’ll buy the drinks!”

Shallow people disappoint me. <sigh>

Trying vs. Dying

I went to a friend’s house last night and we listened to Chuck Smith teaching through Ephesians 1. We discussed again the phenomenal power of God’s grace. It boggles the mind. God has given so much and asks so little.

Then we started talking about churches

So many churches simply do not teach doctrine. It’s like pastors are afraid that if they teach doctrine, they will bore their congregations or something. I guess it’s a tough decision between boring people or sending them to hell. We see so many people working for their own salvation. I think so often people don’t know that they are doing it!

So where does this works thing come from?

Whenever we try to maintain our own salvation or take responsibility for our own actions, we are working. When we understand the New Covenant, we are freed from the stress that comes from TRYING to live according to the Law of God. The Law is good because it shows us our desperate need for Jesus Christ, but it reminds us of just how inept we are. Isaiah says that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). The grace of God is great because it shows us our desperate need for Jesus Christ while, at the same time, freeing us from the disappointment that comes so often from the realization that we cannot fulfill the Law’s requirements. Bob Hoekstra writes:

When a person struggles and struggles with a major medical problem, it is agonizing to go on and on, not knowing what the problem actually is. It is glorious when someone is able to reveal what the problem actually is. Part of the glory of the law is that it reveals the basic problem of human struggles: sin. Yet, it is a far more glorious matter to have a remedy for a problem revealed. Grace is that remedy.

Trying vs. Dying

Louie Giglio says we need to do a lot less trying and a lot more dying. That is a good preachery kind of way to put it. In the opening chapters of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit says that Jesus Christ has sat down at the right hand of the Father so that we might enter into the true rest that is typified throughout the Old Testament by the Sabbath Day of rest. Our High Priest has sat down to rest (meaning there is no more work to be done) so that we, too, might enter into that rest. Later, I will write much more on the subject of losing one’s salvation. For now, suffice it to say that when we labor to maintain our own salvation and fear losing it, we miss out on the rest that God has provided once for all for us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Glory be to His holy name.

Dead fish float

Dead fish float

I was listening to a sermon message by Chuck Smith tonight.  Something he said really jumped out at me, especially in light of the last post I made.  He said that when he was younger, he would always complain to his mother when she wouldn’t let him to go parties or movies or whatever.  His argument was always “But everyone else is doing it.”  He said that her response was something to the effect of, “Any dead fish can float down the stream.  It takes a live fish to swim against the current.”

Dead people float

By the same token, any spiritually dead person can float through life.  It takes the life of Christ within us to resist those things that are “normal.”

I just realized something

I just realized something today.

A few days ago, I got a myspace account because I have heard a lot about it and I have a handful of friends who put pictures on there or whatever.  Well, I finally bit the bullet and jumped in.  What I have begun to discover disappoints me.  So many of the profiles I see on there are so carnal; so worldly.  They put Christian as their religion, but then they proceed to put half-naked people, playboy bunnies, raunchy songs, profanity, and all sorts of other things on there as well.  “Where,” I asked myself, “are all of the normal people?”

Then it struck me.

The normal people are the ones whose profiles I am looking at.  The normal people are on there looking for dates.  Looking for friends.  The normal people are the ones who go to bars on Saturdays and church on Sundays.  The normal people are the ones who live to pursue pleasure.  The normal people are the ones who go through life without a vision for progress.

Then it struck me.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: be he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Proverbs 29:18).

Normal people don’t have a vision for life.  I have a vision for my life.  Therefore, I am not like normal people.  I am different.  I am called to be different.  I am saved to be different.

But being different makes it difficult to make a lot of friends.

This also is true, but that in no way justifies going back to doing normal people stuff.  But they might think I’m weird.  They might not be my friend.  They might shrug me off and never invite me to hang out with them.  Dave Ramsey says that when broke people are criticizing your financial planning, you are on the right track.  I say that when normal people are criticizing my lifestyle, I am on the right track.

Pursue Jesus at all costs

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
“Looking unto Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

No other pursuit in life is more prosperous or beneficial than an all-out abandoned pursuit of the Messiah.  The Redeemer of Israel is also the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  The righteousness of Christ is unbelievably pure and it makes me stand here in utter amazement.

So where are all of the normal people?  They are on myspace.  Where are all of the different people?  They are on their knees in prayer.  Lord, that I might be separated more from the patterns of the world!  Direct me, Heavenly Father.  Lead me in right paths.

Success

Success in any endeavor, no matter how mundane or profound, is dependant solely upon setting a goal, delaying gratification, and, with the highest level of intensity possibly, seeing the goal through to ultimate fruition.