My mom, grandma, and sister all came to see me today. It was good to see my family and catch up on the happenings. Everyone is still doing well. Though I confess it is harder and harder to look and see them all getting older. Especially my parents and grandparents. Reminds me just how short life truly is.
While here, the four of us ventured over to Mardels, the ‘get anything Christian (ie: mentions Jesus and has a fish or cross on it)’ store. I was needing some new tunes, so I picked up a couple of CDs. My sister got one as well. Kari Jobe is the womans name. www.karijobe.com I’ve been familiar with her for a couple of years now and have been nothing but blown away. She was a worship leader at Christ for the Nations institute for a time and I believe is now a worship leader and music pastor at gateway church somewhere in the Dallas area.
I quickly snagged the CD and copied it quickly before sending it home with the family. While it was downloading I read through the acknowledgements and thanks. In the back was a note from Kari explaining how the album came about and how God grew and inspired her over the course of the project. One thing she said struck me powerfully.
“People are affected by our obedience(to God).”
No truer words could have been said. Many times it is in the patient waiting that God brings about the ultimate miracles and gives us that last bit of inspiration and knowledge that is needed to achieve all that God desires for our lives and our work. If Kari hadn’t been patient and obedient to the leading of God, the album wouldn’t have been all that God desired it to be. And it is good! I’m glad I don’t have to listen and be disappointed by what a lousy album a lack of obedience would have resulted in. Would God have blessed it? Yes, but could it have been all that he desired and planned it to be? No. It is in the follow through that the fullness of blessing is found.
That makes me wonder that if in my life I often times sell myself short. Lately I’ve been having conversations with a friend of mine that have been challenging me (and I think them) quite a bit. One question that has come out it is “Are we selling ourselves short of something better?” The answer is a resounding ‘Yes!” We have been. While our conversations have been limited to a couple areas of life, it definitely carries over and permeates everything. Do I desire to see the fullness of God lived out in every aspect of my life? Or do I lack obedience and follow-through, and thus, end up with something blessed…but less.
Lord show me the areas of my life where I am settling for less than what you have. Abba, then give me strength and perseverance to follow-through with the removal of these life choking weeds in my life. For your strength is all I have. Your breath, my only intake. Your word, my only nourishment.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Idols of Egypt
Here is the devotional I wrote for the recent mission trip to Alaska. May it bless and encourage you.
“And I said to them, cast away the destable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” -Ezekiel 20:7
As Christians we are called to be, “in the world, but not of the world.” We hear this in Sunday school, church, rallies and at conferences. It has become a staple of sorts for living “a Godly life.” I think the thing we many times fail to fully define is what constitutes “the world.” With the failure of knowing what the world is, comes the failure of following through with being “not of the world.” How do we live in the world, but not of the world?
Enter Ezekiel 20:7. I love this verse, because set in context for us as new testament Christians, it speaks directly to this issue of “the world.” The verse is speaking to the time with the Israelites were in the foreign land of Egypt as slaves. Egypt was a foreign place to them, having different customs, different forms of dress, and different religious beliefs. While being fully surrounded and immersed in the world of Egyptian culture, it was hard for the Israelites to not begin to take on the Egyptian customs, the Egyptian forms of dress, and the Egyptian religious beliefs. But we see how God is calling His people to remember who they are. They are NOT Egyptians. Therefore, they, the chosen people of God, shouldn’t take on the beliefs and characteristics of the Egyptians, because its not who they are!
In the same fashion we are foreigners in a land. Christians should not so easily adhere and take on the ways of the culture that surrounds us. We should remember that we are the chosen people of God, grafted into the vine by the master gardener. As such, should we defile ourselves by following after the “gods” of our culture? The pursuit of wealth, immoral sexual pleasures (sexual activity outside of marriage), fame/popularity and the pursuit of “cool,” are three that come to mind immediately. But idols are not always so easily recognized. An idol, simply put, is anything in our lives that is more important to us than God. That could be everything from kittens to our TV watching.
We are not finite beings. When we die, we are just beginning to live. We are not just meant for this world, but also for the next. Realizing the reality of eternity, and that we are not promised tomorrow, can transform our daily lives and help us to recognize and weed out the “idols of Egypt” that we are holding onto in our lives. Idols hold us back from the things God has planned for us because we are distracted from who we really are. Francis Chan says it best, “Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come.”
Oh Lord, reveal to me the idols I hold in my life. The things I cling to more closely than I do you and your word. Enable me to see with an eternity perspective. That I may see what is truly of worth and pursue those things, instead of settling for the idols of this foreign land I am living in. By Christ I ask this. Amen.
“And I said to them, cast away the destable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” -Ezekiel 20:7
As Christians we are called to be, “in the world, but not of the world.” We hear this in Sunday school, church, rallies and at conferences. It has become a staple of sorts for living “a Godly life.” I think the thing we many times fail to fully define is what constitutes “the world.” With the failure of knowing what the world is, comes the failure of following through with being “not of the world.” How do we live in the world, but not of the world?
Enter Ezekiel 20:7. I love this verse, because set in context for us as new testament Christians, it speaks directly to this issue of “the world.” The verse is speaking to the time with the Israelites were in the foreign land of Egypt as slaves. Egypt was a foreign place to them, having different customs, different forms of dress, and different religious beliefs. While being fully surrounded and immersed in the world of Egyptian culture, it was hard for the Israelites to not begin to take on the Egyptian customs, the Egyptian forms of dress, and the Egyptian religious beliefs. But we see how God is calling His people to remember who they are. They are NOT Egyptians. Therefore, they, the chosen people of God, shouldn’t take on the beliefs and characteristics of the Egyptians, because its not who they are!
In the same fashion we are foreigners in a land. Christians should not so easily adhere and take on the ways of the culture that surrounds us. We should remember that we are the chosen people of God, grafted into the vine by the master gardener. As such, should we defile ourselves by following after the “gods” of our culture? The pursuit of wealth, immoral sexual pleasures (sexual activity outside of marriage), fame/popularity and the pursuit of “cool,” are three that come to mind immediately. But idols are not always so easily recognized. An idol, simply put, is anything in our lives that is more important to us than God. That could be everything from kittens to our TV watching.
We are not finite beings. When we die, we are just beginning to live. We are not just meant for this world, but also for the next. Realizing the reality of eternity, and that we are not promised tomorrow, can transform our daily lives and help us to recognize and weed out the “idols of Egypt” that we are holding onto in our lives. Idols hold us back from the things God has planned for us because we are distracted from who we really are. Francis Chan says it best, “Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come.”
Oh Lord, reveal to me the idols I hold in my life. The things I cling to more closely than I do you and your word. Enable me to see with an eternity perspective. That I may see what is truly of worth and pursue those things, instead of settling for the idols of this foreign land I am living in. By Christ I ask this. Amen.
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