Go and Do

I often wonder about the things we do.  We say we do them for one reason or another, but is that true, or do we decieve ourselves for a bit of self satisfaction.  Do we allow ourselves to become so jaded in an attempt at self realization we miss the greatest realization of all? The realization of Jesus Christ, His death, Resurrection, and the Salvation through this.

We go around with a Jesus stamp at times, seeking to justify anything and everything we do by shouting the name of Jesus and making a show of it.  In the Bible Jesus sorts of the Goats and the Sheep, those that KNEW Him and those that DID NOT.  Both went about performing miracles, but there was one key difference.  One, the goats, were making a man made effort, focusing on deeds; the other, the sheep, knew His Voice.  So let me ask you this, do you know His voice? Do you know the saviour you claim to have?  Will Jesus say "Enter the gates my sheep", or will He say, "Get away from me, I DID NOT KNOW YOU!".

There is a delicate balancing act between FAITH and DEEDS.  To demonstrate, in James 1 it speaks of our faith going without deeds, and when there are no deeds to match our faith, our faith is DEAD!  However, jumping over to Ephesians 2, Paul tells us we are NOT SAVED BY DEEDS, but by faith.  

So how does this work?  Our deeds will not save us, nothing we can EVER do, can grant us salvation, only through Jesus Christ and FAITH in Him can we be saved.  Now that doesn't mean we get fire insurance and we're good to go, nay nay.  My house has an alarm system, now that's no good if I don't use it correct?  Say someone broke in to my house, I tell the Police officer, "I have an alarm system", he would ask if it was armed, and I would reply, well no, having should be good enough right?" I gaurantee that officer would laugh at you.  The same thing with faith, it's pointless if you aren't walking in it.  Your faith should be pushing you to move and DO SOMETHING.  

James 1:27 (NKJV) "Pure and undefilied religion before God the Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, AND to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

There's a two fold walk there, NOT ONLY do we have to think about ourselves, which is actually the second point not the first, take notice of that, I think there's a reason for that.  We also have to look out for OTHERS.  We have to DO SOMETHING.  The great commission in Matthew 28:18-20 wasn't a recommendation, but a commandment.  I don't know when GO and DO turned into sitting in a church pew on Sunday morning and going about life as if nothing happened.  If Jesus came back right now, what do you think He would say about the church today?  "Oh hey, I like that picture of me." "That's a really nice sound system you have there" for some reason I doubt that.  He'd probably start asking if we've been loving our neighbour as ourself, if we've been visiting those orphans and those widows, if we've been dying ourselves DAILY and picking up our cross.  

But always remember, make sure your eyes are on Him.  

I don't say any of this to condemn, that is not my goal nor my hearts desire.  I do however, wish to challenge people.  To break them out of mediocrity and complacency into a fullness of Joy they have never known.  If my life hadn't been radically changed by the Lord my Saviour Jesus Christ I would not care what you did.  But knowing what I know, there is so much more than this world has to offer.  The shallow, short lived pleasures are nothing measured up to the Greatness of the One above, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, Yahweh, God our Father.  And for that reason, I challenge you to never stop moving, always keep watch, always keep faithful, never let discouragement be a burden, but in all things find what is good and rejoice.

When Asking For Something...

I've just realized I haven't written in a month and a half...for this I offer some form of apology.  But to the point of this post.

We like to hit God relentlessly with requests and petitions with almost no expectations at times, this hits me as odd. We ask him frequently to heal someone, provide something, make a change, the mountain is never ending, and when it happens, we're blown away.  Two missionaries from our church recently visited and shared with us a story of answered prayer.  This may seem like an underwhelming statement or conversation, however it's the direction this is going that is the underlying theme to this writing.

Their prayer: The wife (Anchalee) comes from a small village in Thailand and has a heart for people in her situation, so obviously she has a heart for people in similar situations.  Anchalee and her husand (Kim) began to pray for the people in the jungle villages that they would know freedom in Christ and find hope in situations that would seem hopeless.  They wanted light in the darkness of the jungle. 

They however did not expect the answer they received.  God not only answered the prayer to send someone for the people, but He chose them.  This brings me to the point of this post.  When asking God to guide your steps, make sure you're ready to walk.  We pray for revival, for change in our family, provisions, so on and so forth, we rarely expect an answer, and even less often expect Him to use us to answer it.  On the flip side there's the I prayed for revival but God isn't using ME! That's a whole other can of worms I'll get in to some other time.  This is why I say (or I guess in this case write) MAKE SURE YOU'RE READY TO WALK, we should always stay in tune with God's will and where we fit in.  Make sure you're walking WITH HIM!!  That is the imperative point of this.  Without Him we can do nothing, ministry will fail, worship won't happen, evangelism will die; with Him, things flourish.

Not Afraid, Not Alone

I have a heart for inner city kids, when I was in college doing my education degree (I had to leave during the recession), my first practicum was at an inner city school. A lot of the kids come from broken homes, a number don't know their moms/dads, or barely know them. They don't have any positive influence in their lives, and some make bad choice, either for attention, or the impression they've been left with. It breaks my heart on a daily basis seeing kids go through this. My eyes are not dry, my heart is definitely broken, my emotions run wild, my passion flares up, and I get raw and down to the point with this. These kids need someone, they need hope, and a light in their life. They don't need punishment, or this reform school garbage. They need love, because they ain't gettin it any where else. They end up going to the wrong places looking for acceptance, for love, for some fake level of 'you did alright'. There is an attack on our Youth today, turning them into lifeless zombies drifting through life, numb and cold. Things need to change. Please help me; help me spread hope. Help me bring life to young men and women who feel their life deep down, means nothing. Help me, make a difference. 

**I wrote the words previous, and following this in raw aggression and desire for a change. Everything I say is real, pass it on.

When I slip into ignorance, complacancy surrounding me
I go numb, don't know what's goin on.
Ignorance is bliss, can I keep living like this?

When I see the hurt, when I see the pain
I know there's a God, he couldn't be more real to me
Cuz I know that when there's pain in the night, Joy comes in the morning
There is a hope, I'm not afraid, I'm not alone, I'm not afraid, not alone.

In the pain and the suffering, I know what hope will bring
I'm not alone, I'm not afraid.
I got the Lord Almighty by my side.
I'm not alone, not afraid.

Though the world is dark, cold, falling apart,
Here in His presence, He comforts me.
No mourning in Heaven, He'll wipe away my tears
I will rejoice, I will rejoice
I'm not afraid, I'm not alone.