What on earth am I here for?

It seems that I am regularly talking to people who are confused about which step to take next.

Life is full of decisions and even as Christians the buffet of choices can be a bit overwhelming.

We pray and ask God to show us the next step and sometimes we feel He shows us, sometimes we feel like He’s withholding from us, and other times we feel He spoke but then circumstances get weird and we begin to second guess and question whether we really heard from God.

This little post isn’t meant to answer the question “How does God speak to us” and “how can we be sure it’s God”, but rather a different issue, but one that is of vital importance if we are ever going to get this “following God” thing right.

It has to do with our launch pad or starting point of decision making.

You see, most of us find ourselves in a situation where we are asking God to guide us and show us His will, but then we start weighing the options; Which choice has greater “earthly” benefit?

We all make decisions based on natural reason. Reason was given to us to operate on a daily basis, but if we are walking with Jesus then we have to be open to Him leading us in ways that don’t make sense. That’s where life moves from natural to supernatural, from just life to Life-to-the-Full.

Most of us look at a situation and say… Hmm, I should go to this school, because it offers this or that, or I should work at this job, because it pays more or has good benefits, or that couldn’t be God because it’s not a sure thing, it’s not a guarantee, or it doesn’t pay as much.

Here is where we miss it. We are asking the wrong question(s).

Do we really think God moves us to a place just to become informed, make money, get benefits, or because it’s a sure thing?

God’s ways, purposes, and plans are much higher than that.

What on earth am I hear for? NOT to get educated, NOT to make money, NOT to get good benefits, NOT to have it all and do it all. Material, Intellectual, and Ego gain are not high priority on God’s list.

Each of these (excluding unhealthy pride/ego) are a byproduct of following Jesus, but they are not THE POINT.

I don’t go to work to make money; I go to be a witness/missionary. God didn’t give me this job to make money or even make a living, He gave it to me as my mission and in doing it I will make money/a living.

God can send you anywhere to make money and get educated. In fact, He can do both these things without the aid of any man, so if we’re going to get better at this “following God” thing, then we must clear our vision from those things that are obstructing the view.

Jesus said, “31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:31-34

We are not to be trying to play God and figure it all out. We’re not to be trying to make sense of it all. That is great if we do understand and can see how it all works together and how it will work out, but we must learn to trust God and know that often times He leads us in ways we would never reason out for ourselves, because He is God and He knows factors that we do not.

We can trust that He is always desiring what is best for us, so though He plays outside the box of what we can understand in natural reason, we can understand one thing for certain… He loves us and wants what’s best for us and He knows what is best for us better than we do.

Jesus said that our launch pad for decision making is NOT earthly concerns/gain. Nor is our launch pad for decision making to be one based on worry (trying to be in control and figure it all out).

Instead THE launch pad for ALL decision making is “seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness”.

There you go! That is it!!!! That’s is why we are here!!!!! This is the starting point of my decision making process!

I should pray and ask God where He wants me to God, what He wants me to do, and then watch… not to see which choice has greater earthly benefit from what I can see and understand, but rather to see which choice God is moving in.

Where do I see Him more at work? Where do I see my life having the biggest impact for His kingdom? Where do I see myself growing in Christ the most? Where do I see my life shining the biggest light for Jesus? Where do I see myself compromising, getting distracted, settling, or getting involved in a lifestyle or behavior that is not right in God’s eyes?

When we get our eyes on the things of this world as factors in our decision making we can miss what God wants. That is what the non-Christian world chases after and lives for. That is their ambition and priority. Not so for the Christ Follower.

In fact, Jesus warns us how the earthly things (though they are not evil or wrong in and of themselves) can blind us to God’s best or choke out God’s guidance in our life.

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” Luke 8:14 and “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:19

Jesus said that the direction or message is given, but it is choked out, not heard, not clearly seen or understood, because of an earthly focus. As we get our focus on the worries of this life, riches, pleasures, and the desires for other things we get distracted or worse blinded and cannot see or hear clearly what God is saying and wanting to do.

So, let me say it this way…

You are NOT here on earth to build an earthly kingdom, for yourself or someone else. You are here to build an eternal kingdom.

The issue that gets so many Christians side tracked and confused on what God is leading them to do is that they get caught up in “seeking first their kingdom or the worlds kingdom and their happiness and provision and pleasure” instead of “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”.

We don’t have to worry about chasing after/pursuing those things because Jesus makes it clear that all these things will be taken care of and given to us if we make our first priority His kingdom and His righteousness.

So, there you go. What launch pad are you starting your decision making process from… “What’s in it for me?” or “What’s in it for God?” Do I put my trust in what I can figure out and understand and make happen and control, or will I put my trust in God, even when his infinite wisdom and purpose doesn’t fit in my finite understanding, reason, and plans.

Only one launch pad is the right one. Only one launch pad will produce the results and kind of life that Scripture describes for the believer.

What will you choose? How will you look at things (from God’s perspective or earth bound perspectives)? How will you reason out situations? What approach with capture your heart and mind? What will you be caught up in?

Submission, the secret to success

Everybody wants success! Success in their relationships (with God, spouse, parents, siblings, children), success in society and the workplace, and so on.

Everybody wants love, peace, joy, and so on.

What if it wasn't as hard as we think to find ALL of this?

To read more click the link below:

Submission, the secret to success

The Difference

I was having a conversation with a friend that led into the fact that the average stay of a youth pastor in a church is under 2 years and the average stay of most pastors is somewhere between 3 and 5 years, but the other reality is that the longer a minister stays at a ministry the more effective they and the ministry become.

So, we have an obvious problem, but interestingly it’s not a problem isolated to ministers and ministries. It’s a problem across the board of life.

The key issue is commitment/perseverance.

In America we are used to immediate gratification, instantaneous results, fast food, fast cars, fast relationships, fast money, microwaves, instant potatoes, you name it, and we face the same problem… less than great/best results.

Very few have learned what many of our grandparents knew to be true… persevering hard work pays off. They knew nothing is easy, nothing is perfect, and so you have to commit, work hard, endure the bad and enjoy the good, but above all… persevere.

In the lives of many people, if the relationship gets too boring or tough and requires work and sacrifice and discomfort, then we just get rid of it, and we apply this same principle to our work, church, and our relationships with God, family and friends.

Not only has our “microwave mentality” affected our commitment to long-term results, but so has another aspect of our society, namely the “disposable mentality”.

Very few things are built to last. It used to be if a TV, computer, or VCR broke, you would pay to have it repaired, but not any more. Now days, you just trash it and go buy a new one. Why? Because we all know that today’s products are not built to last, they don’t have the same quality as the products of our grandparents. Therefore, it’s cheaper and wiser to just buy a new product than pay the money to have the cheapo outdated product repaired.

This “disposable mentality” has also crept into other areas of life. If a job or relationship doesn’t seem to work right, doesn’t run smoothly, or down right gets broke, we just throw it away.

The effect of these two mentalities is tragic and catastrophic in our nation and around the world in industrialized nations.

First, we are a selfish people committed only to our personal happiness, comfort, pleasure, and so on. No one and no thing is more important than me and thus we live in a world where everyone is consumed with looking out for number one only.

No rule, relationship, or anything else is more important than trying to fulfill me and therefore, nothing is sacred, nothing has my devotion/commitment, anything can be broken.

If I’m not the center of the attention, if this thing doesn’t revolve around me, then it’s not real, has no value, and doesn’t have my persevering commitment.

Second, we are people who are shallow and have no depth/fulfillment in life. Because we break things off every time they don’t center on us, gratify us, or work out smoothly we have nothing in life to anchor us to reality or life in general. We are a people with no roots… no roots in our job, our relationships, our faith.

Thirdly, we are broken people. With so many people being the “discarded” in life, the one’s not worth the time and energy, we have a lot of wounded, broken, and empty people. Not only that, but by our brokenness we are a dysfunctional people who don’t know how to have fulfilling relationships, jobs, and faith. We don’t know how to stick with it, how to question and communicate without feeling that “fight or flight” mentality kick in, and how to accept that no matter how strong the relationship with another person their world does not revolve around just you, it’s not all about you. They have other people in their life that they love and care about too, and this reality doesn’t mean they love less, or are less committed, or that the relationship isn’t real and should just be trashed.

This brokenness not only effects our commitment in relationships, it effects our commitment to work, our commitment to personal health, our commitment to good stewardship of all God’s blessed us with.

So, the key… Choice!

Choice of what? Choose to commit unwaveringly to the things God has called you to; your relationship with him and those around you, your stewardship of your person and your material wealth, your work, you name it.

Have a persevering attitude. Not a quitter attitude. Don’t embrace the “Immediate Gratification Mentality” or the “Disposable Mentality” when it comes to the important areas of your life. Understand that a good experience and quality living in the area of relationships, wealth, health, and faith come through time, hard work, and weathering the storms and not giving up; in a nutshell the difference is… perseverance/commitment.