Tag: comfort

Categories
Serving Others

Serving God Can Be Uncomfortable. But That May Be On Purpose.

Sometimes God puts us in uncomfortable places to serve Him.

Paul went to Jerusalem knowing that he would be arrested. And yet he went anyway. From all indications, prison is uncomfortable.photo of prison bars remind us prison is uncomfortable

While in prison, Paul got the chance to speak to Felix, the Governor. The Bible tells us that Felix was hoping to get money from Paul, so he spoke to him often. So why didn’t Paul just go ahead and bribe Felix to get out of prison?

Alistair Begg mentions:

Certainly Paul would have known that the hints dropped by Felix would allow him to get out of prison. Certainly he could have asked for his supporters to give finances to help him get out of prison. What reason would Paul remain in prison when he could have bribed his way out?

Well, before I share with you Begg’s answer, I would venture to say that one reason could be that Paul knew that providing a bribe was not following the law and was not God-honoring. I hope that as we think about our own lives, that we strive to honor God by obedience to the law. According to the Bible, we are to obey the law until the law puts us in conflict with God’s commands. There are plenty of ways people try to “get around” the law even though it is not in conflict with God’s Word. Let’s make sure we don’t fall into that trap of damaging our witness by taking shortcuts or using deception to “get around” the law.

But I also really like Begg’s answer:

Since Paul had an opportunity to share the gospel with people who he would not otherwise be able to interact with, he remained in prison and remained able to attempt to influence Felix and those in the court.

Paul trusts that God has him exactly where he is supposed to be. He could have thought, “I can be more effective outside of this prison.” But he doesn’t seek for that release knowing that God has him in exactly the right spot. So instead of worrying about where he is, he sees his current location and situation as an opportunity.chalkboard with crisis crossed out since uncomfortable situations can be opportunities

I don’t know where God will place you today, but I do believe that He has you there for a reason. It may be (like Paul with Felix) that there is someone that will be there with you that is not open to hearing about God from anyone else but you. So don’t work so hard to get out of an uncomfortable place, if that’s where you find yourself. Instead, try to see it as a special opportunity to share with those God has placed around you. He placed you right where you are “for such a time as this!”

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Categories
Christian Living

The Beauty of God In The Midst of Danger, Tragedy, and Pain

Here in America, we are relatively safe.
We are fairly comfortable.
Life is often pretty easy.
We find ourselves free from many dangers.
And we thank God for this safe, comfortable, easy life.hammock on the beach signifying a life of comfort and no danger

And yet, Jesus didn’t come to this earth to make our lives comfortable and safe. It is extremely hard for us to remove from our minds this notion that God came to make life easy. Here in America – this land of plenty – we have so much. We know that God has blessed us. But why has He blessed us? Is it so we can gather up more and more of His blessings so that we feel more safe and more comfortable? Is it to keep us free from danger, tragedy, and pain?

Hmmmm…. That does not seem to be the way that the disciples lived. Instead, they lived radical lives for the gospel, not focused on their own safety and blessing, but rather on sharing the message of Jesus in the midst of danger and at the cost of their very lives. It was a dangerous calling that caused beatings, pain, suffering – and they rejoiced in the midst ofthis dangerous calling.

They had discovered that Jesus’ “beauty shines most brightly when He is treasured above wealth, above health, and above life itself.”

They realized that “if we can learn to enjoy Christ and magnify Him even in the midst of pain and suffering, we show the world where our true love lies.”

Some of us might say, “But I am ready to die for Christ if it came down to that.” That may be true, but though we might be willing to die for Christ, the question is whether we will choose to live dangerously for Him?

“Some of us would be willing to die for Christ, the question is: are we willing to live for Him, suffer for Him, and magnify Him with our lives…. What we are willing to die for shows our belief, but what we are willing to live for and suffer for shows our radical commitment to our beliefs.”

We must love Christ above His blessings. We must love Him above our comfort. We must love Him above our safety and life of ease. We must value Him above the American Dream that we often find ourselves chasing.

To help understand this even more fully, click on this link to watch an excellent 2.5 minute video on the difference between the prosperity gospel and loving Christ in the midst of suffering.
            youtube.com video – the prosperity gospel

“What you love determines what you feel shame about. If you love for others to applaud you, you will feel shame when they don’t, but if you love for men to make much of Christ you will feel shame when His name is belittled on your account.”

(quotes by Jon Piper in Don’t Waste Your Life)

Categories
Christian Living

Reach for the Stars and All of Your Dreams Will Come True

Reach for the Stars! Attain All of Your Dreams!
a shooting star symbolizing the saying reach for the stars

We hear these types of things, especially at the end of May during graduation ceremonies and other milestone markers in life. As a youth minister, I heard these “motivational” speeches given to students time and time again.

These statements sound good initially, but the more I think about them…
If you reach for the stars and were finally able to catch one… even a tiny one… it would burn your hand clean off!

And some of my dreams have been nightmares. I don’t want some of those dreams becoming reality – certainly not that dream of me sitting in a final exam in just my underwear nor the one where a monster in the woods is hunting me down to gobble me up.

Of course, we use these little clichés to try to motivate us to make a plan and achieve it. But what if it’s the wrong plan? What if I set my ladder of success up, but once I get to the top of the ladder, I find out that I leaned it against the wrong building?

My plan is to have a safe, comfortable life. But is that goal the same dream that God has for planned for me? I’m not sure that a safe, comfortable life is what God has called me to.

Another one of my plans is to have a happy, healthy family and to put them first. But God says He is supposed to be have priority over my family. When I put my family first, I can allow my desire for comfort and safety in my family to keep me from serving God and from doing what I should. When I do that, I am making my family the supreme love of my life. I am worshipping them, looking after them and their welfare first instead of worshipping and putting God first. When I put my family first, I am allowing my family to become my idol.

“Christ calls us to a higher mission than to find comfort and tranquility in this life. Love of family IS a law of God, but even this love can be self-serving and used as an excuse not to serve God or do his work” (Life Application Bible Notes).

As a youth minister, I would tell my students – to follow your school counselor’s plans for your life is wrong; To follow your friends’ plans for your life is wrong; Even to follow your parent’s plans for your life is wrong. (Sorry parents… but it is true.) These different people can definitely share much wisdom with you, but when God is calling us to His plan, we must leave all other plans behind… no matter whose it is. Our school counselor’s plan, our friends’ plan, our parents’ plan, even our own plan for our own life must be abandoned when these plans are not in-line with God’s plan.

God’s plan is that we not waste our lives on a safe, comfortable life of leisure, but rather that we boldly and courageously live for sharing His message with the world – and that will be uncomfortable in many ways and will even be unsafe in certain situations.

What plans do I need to abandon this week and leave behind so I can start following God’s plan?
How about you?

Categories
Relationships

Does Being A Christian Require You To Be A Jerk?

I am not a jerk.
Well, at least I am pretty sure I am not a jerk.

A jerk is an obnoxious, annoying person who treats other people badly.

I have known plenty of jerks, but I don’t count myself as one of them. Of course, as I think about this… most people who are jerks, have no clue that they are! So maybe I’m a jerk and don’t know it.

But what I mean is that I don’t intentionally set out to treat other people badly. I try to get along with everyone. I don’t set out with a plan to step on anyone’s toes. But I have discovered that sometimes the things I share from the Bible can “sting” a bit. So by simply sharing certain things from the Bible, even when done so out of love and with a compassionate heart, I sometimes get labeled as a jerk.

Have you ever found this to be true? That as a Christian you are commanded to speak the truth in love to others, just as Jesus did, but that people might not be very receptive to your ideas, because they might be contrary to how they are living.

But isn’t the Bible supposed to be a book about God’s love? Yes, but the Bible is also a book of conviction.

If you study the ideas contained in the Bible, what you find is that its content is going to be challenging and sometimes even painful. God tells us that His Word should change us. The Bible is not a storybook simply to be used for entertainment. Nor is it just a history book to keep us from repeating the mistakes of the past. There are entertaining, historical accounts within its pages, but God tells us that His Word has a deeper purpose.

Medieval SwordGod says to us that His Word is living and active and is sharper than a sword. If I properly understand the purpose of a sword… a sword is designed to pierce and to cut. So the Bible, by its own admission, is designed to pierce you… Ouch. That doesn’t sound pleasant. And it seeks to cut out the places in your life that aren’t in-line with God’s character… Ouch Ouch! No one enjoys being pierced or carved on. We prefer comfort.

But Jesus didn’t preach a message of comfort. He came preaching the messages of “Repent,” “Deny Yourself,” and “Follow Me.” He commanded lives be changed for God and for hearts to turn back to God. Conviction and life change should be a regular part of our lives if we are following Jesus.

God knows what is best for me and tells me to present myself to Him “as a sacrifice.” Another unpleasant word…

Sacrifice.

A sacrifice was killed – completely killed. (Is there any other way?) Not halfway killed. Not maimed. But completely and thoroughly killed. So for me to be a sacrifice means I give up everything… Everything. When we present ourselves to God as a sacrifice, we are saying we give up running our own lives and controlling our own plans. We “kill” our will and our desires in order to fulfill His. How well am I doing this? How well are you at it?

God’s goal is to transform me into the likeness of Christ. And as I am going down that path of transformation being pierced and cut, I find it to be painful. Killing my own desires isn’t pleasant. But with each step of killing more of myself, I discover that He gives me more peace and more joy and more abundant life than I had before. So the piercing and carving is painful, but brings a better end. I think the reason it often hurts so much is because of how tightly I am holding onto the things that aren’t good for me. I need to hold to them more loosely.

So even though I sometimes say things that sting, I am not a jerk. (Not usually, anyway.) And certainly not when I’m sharing God’s Word with others out of love. In fact, there is nothing more loving than helping someone become more like Christ and experience the peace, joy, and abundant life that He provides. Or course, at times, some people might not appreciate it!

So don’t be a jerk today, but do share God’s Word with others.

Categories
Jesus

Homeless Savior

bird nest with blue eggs
“Birds have nests, Foxes have holes… but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Homelessness.

I have never been without a place to lay my head at night. But along with many of my friends, I did lose my house in a hurricane and didn’t have a home for a while. Being homeless in that way wasn’t a lot of fun. We were dependent on others and on their hospitality for several months.

After a couple of months, we were able to move into a FEMA trailer. It was certainly a blessing to have, but it still wasn’t home. And what we found is that you are never truly comfortable until you reach your true home. You are not comfortable in a borrowed trailer, in a friend’s converted garage, in a relative’s house. You are thankful for these options, but you aren’t comfortable until you are back in your home.

Stone Feeding Trough - Jesus' First Bed. (image from evidenceoftruthministries.org)
Stone Feeding Trough – Jesus’ First Bed.
(image from evidenceoftruthministries.org)

Jesus, the Savior, left His heavenly home. And even as He arrived on the earth, He seemed homeless – he was not born in the comforts of his family’s home, but rather in a stable and placed in a feed trough for his first basinet. He and his family would become refugees in another country while He was still a baby. And during His ministry, He lived as a traveling preacher without a home base. He knew what it was to be homeless.

But today, though Jesus has ascended back into Heaven – our God is still looking for a place to dwell on the earth as He now inhabits human hearts. Have you let Him take ownership of yours?

And just because you let Him in, have you given Him full control to redecorate as He sees fit? Or have you only let Him into certain rooms and allowed Him limited freedom there – more like a tenant than an owner?
Have you given Him a true home in your heart?

“Birds have nests
Foxes have dens
The hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
You did not have a home”
          –Rich Mullins

The question remains – Have you given the Homeless Savior full ownership of the home He wants in your heart?