The Obsessed...Remember

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. (Deuteronomy 32:7 NIV)

This week, we discussed the Profile of the Obsessed - Obsessed with God.  Someone obsessed with God always seems to remember what God has done.  Maybe the memory comes from reading Scripture.  It doesn't seem to matter to the obsessed whether it was the Old Testament or the New Testament.  When they remember what God has done, it encourages them in what God is doing today.  The Apostle, Paul, showed this kind of obsession all the time - remembering what Scriptures tell us about God working in the past...

Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." And do you remember God's reply? He said, "No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!" It is the same today...  (Romans 11:2-5 NLT)

"Do you remember God's reply?" Paul asked.  In other words, do you remember this story from Scripture?  Have you read Scripture?  Do you know how the story ends?  This was important to Paul because the circumstances were "the same today..."  Paul was obsessed with what God had done.  It gave him confidence in what God was doing "now."

Sometimes the obsessed remember what God has already done in their own life.  They don't have to look back hundreds or thousands of years to remember God at work.  They only need a few years, months, or even days.  They remember what God had done in their life and it gives them confidence that God will be there today and any day in the future.

Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!  (Hebrews 10:32-35 NLT)

Do you remember the great things God has done in the past or even in your own life?  Do you find confidence today remembering what He has done yesterday?  Are you obsessed with God, remembering all He has done?

Serving Leftover Words

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NIV)

Our words are powerful.  How we use them reflects who we follow.  Declaring "Jesus is Lord" does not stop at the moment we voice those three words.  In fact, our success in declaring Jesus as Lord is determined by every word we speak.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:9-10 NIV)

We show just how much Jesus is our Lord by our words.  How do you use your words?  Are they used to encourage people and build them up?  Are your words a gift to those who hear (or read) them?  Do you purposefully choose your words to Glorify God and build people up?  Do you use your words to share God with others?

"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33 NASB)

You see, confessing Jesus to other people is only a good thing if the rest of our words are a blessing.  Inviting someone to Church or to follow Jesus will only confuse them if you just got done cussing them out.  All our words are to be under the Lordship of Christ.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. (Hebrews 13:15 NIV)

Lukewarm Living

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:14-16 NIV)

One of the most dangerous teachings that the church has propagated over the last several centuries is the idea that once we are saved, we cannot lose that salvation.  God warns us otherwise.

He tells the church in Laodicea that he is about to "spit" them out.  At this point in church history there were no church buildings.  There were no doubts what the word "church" meant.  He was referring to the group of people who believed Jesus is the Christ, proclaimed Jesus as Lord, and experienced fellowship of the Holy Spirit.  They were Christians...whom God was going to spit out.

That's not the only warning He gives us, His followers:

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume His enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us. For we know the One who said, "I will take revenge. I will pay them back." He also said, "The LORD will judge His own people." It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31 NLT)

Lukewarm living is dangerous. You never know how long God's patience will last before He decides to "spit out" even His own people. It's not good enough to simply proclaim Jesus as Lord. It never was. Lordship means, by definition, that He is in charge, He calls the shots, and that we follow Him. Anything less would be considered insubordination, going AWOL, or even...lukewarm.

The Same, Today

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. (Hebrews 13:7 NIV)

Probably the most difficult teaching I ever have to share is God's definition of leadership.  In our world today, leadership and success is usually defined by numbers: number of people gathered or number of dollars earned.  Leadership in God's Church is also about numbers, but not the numbers we watch in the world.  Number of people gathered only tell us the size of a crowd.  Crowds can gather for riots as well.  Number of dollars tell us how much money is exchanging hands.  Jesus didn't have any money, so more money can't equal greater success.

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.  (Hebrews 13:9a NIV)

Success as a follower has to do with our consistency in following the commands Jesus gave to his disciples.  Success as a leader has to do with the number of people you have helped do the same.  Leadership, then, is not about power, position, or politics.  It's not about gathering crowds or raising large amounts of money.  It's about walking with God and helping others do the same.  Success, then, is shown in the number of people walking together with God.

I remember talking to a mentor/friend many years ago about the Christian walk.  I was excited about how much I was learning in Seminary.  I was getting answers to many of my questions and I was starting to see the picture God has for our lives.  He smiled and said, "It's really not all that difficult, is it?"  He was right.  The picture God has for us really isn't all that complex.  The enemy makes it seem that way.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)

I'm glad that God, and His picture, stays the same.  It gives us time to figure it out.  Not only that, it gives us time to start enjoying it and sharing it with others.    It makes the "yoke" or "burden" of learning and sharing rather light.  I find comfort in the fact that God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow.

Why Today?

Look here, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit." How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (James 4:13-17 NLT)

I'm not sure the reason, but I've been having the same kind of discussion over and over again lately.  It usually takes place on a Sunday morning when someone attended church services who hasn't attended in a little while.  Maybe they've missed a couple weeks - maybe a couple months or years.

The conversations all seem to have the same components in them.  First, they find me to "touch base" after being gone a little while.  Then they tell me what an impact God made on them that day.  (I'm always glad to hear His Spirit was working in people during service.)  It's at this point that they seem to come to a self-realization.  "Every time I come here I wonder why I waited so long...why I don't come every week."  Clearly they are feeling some kind of conviction about their attendance - that God want's to meet with them more in this way.

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still "today," so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. (Hebrews 3:12-13 NLT)

This week I also had conversations giving me gentle reminders that I had not been blogging the last week or so.  During our "Builders" time on Sunday afternoon, we asked one another an accountability questions about reading Scripture:  "How often were you in The Word this week?  Is that the amount God want's you in Scripture?  What, if anything, are you going to change in this area?"

Being transparent, I had to admit that God was convicting me in this area.  I've been keeping up with my Bible reading plan, but not by reading every day.  I was letting several days "back up" and then reading all those days at once (like I did today).  I keep up with the reading, but I'm not in Scripture each day.  Now, I know that God doesn't command that we be in His Word each day, just like I know He doesn't command attendance at church services each week.  But, just like my friends, I find myself convicted anyway.

I think the reason for my conviction is that God teaches so many times about the importance of "today."  We're reminded that today will bring it's own troubles, challenges, and opportunities to minister to people.  Today will be different from any other "today" we have experienced or will experience.  Today was given to me as a gift, and I should live that gift today.  

God wants to walk with me today.

So, I've read His Word today.  I'm talking with Him (still) today.  I'm writing down what He has convicted me to say today.  Now, I will go about my day today for as long as He gives me today.  When "today" stops for me here, we will be able to look back and see what a difference "today" made.

For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. (Hebrews 3:14 NLT)