Monday, September 19, 2011

What was a gain to me was a lost for Christ.

This verse has always been a challenge for me.  Understanding it and accepting it is hard.  Paul seems to be saying to us, "What is a gain to me may very well be a loss to Christ."  So?  Give it away!  Everything that  doesn't belong to God give it away.  If it truly belongs to God then just enjoy it while you have it.  But be ready to release it when He ask for it.

Attempting to hold on to what really belongs to God will entrap us.  We will become possessive.  It can become so meaningful to us that it takes the place of God.  This is idolatry.  The Apostle John re-enforces this in I John 2:15 when he says, "Love not the things of the world."  He knew the danger.

When things become so meaningful to us,  we find our pleasure in them.  Instead of seeking pleasure in the things of God we look at what we can possess here, in this life.  To make a list of the things of the world that may entrap us is almost impossible.  We are strange creatures and can't ever seem to have enough.  The only thing that satisfy us in this misguided approach to life is more of what we already have.  A little more will bring us more pleasure.

You see, in God you can have fullness of life.  Content and at rest with what you have.  Sometimes contentment may require you to give something away instead of getting more.  Just release it.  Don't let it hold you.  There is no pleasure in what holds you.  Anything that holds you is an addiction.  Things can easily become addictive.

You will have to personally experience the pleasure of a relationship with God to understand this whole concept.  Entering into a relationship with Him can bring such pleasure that you can not explain it.  I fail  to put into words what I am at this moment experiencing in my relationship with Christ. It is simply unexplainable.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Readings from C.S. Lewis

I have been reading from one of my favorite Christian writers.  He talks about our struggle to do good when we really don't want to do it.  "The more you obey your conscience, the more your conscience will demand of you.  And your natural self, which is thus being starved and hampered and worried at every turn, will get angrier and angrier."  In my own personal struggles I find that no matter how much I have prayed I feel I should pray more.  No matter how much I give, I think I  should give more.  On and on it goes and each new day brings new demands.  C.S. goes further, "The Christian way is different:  Harder, and easier.  Christ says, 'Give Me all.  I don't want so much of time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want YOU."  It seems what C.S. is saying is that the struggle comes to an end when we fully surrender.  You don't lose anything when you surrender everything to Him.

We can't seem to understand that all we have gained will be lost to us in the end.  The deception is so strong that it causes us to gather material things far beyond our needs.  Give us this day our daily bread seems to be a needless prayer.  We simply do not have enough faith to live daily without surrounding ourselves with things, money, people, protection, etc.  Daily faith is hard.  The Apostle Paul seems to have finally made this discovery.  "Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things."


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Traveling

I am 35,000 feet in the air traveling at about 600 mph. That's 5,000 feet higher than Mount Everest.  I've just had a bowl of Japanese noodles.  I want to sleep a little.  However, my mind is busy.  It's amazing how our minds tend to control us.  I always think when I am flying that I am closer to God.  That's probably not true.  We are just as close to Him with our feet on the ground as in the air.  Maybe it is our mind that confuses this simple truth.  God is everywhere at all times.  That is comforting.  The flight I am on has a purpose.  I am not ramblingly traveling.  I am returning to God's place for me.  Ramblingly traveling has an attraction for most of us but you can only ramble so long and so far.  You then must return to a purpose.  That's the way of those who follow God.  There is a purpose.  Even very small things can be meaningful.  I don't always return to God's purpose easily.  There is a dragging of the feet at times, as I slowly move in that direction.  The human side of me desires other meaningless things.  Things that really have no real purpose except giving me a little pleasure for a very short time.  I always have this sense of satisfaction at the end of each day when I have followed His purpose.  I feel so empty when I have come to the end of the day and the only reason for tiredness is meaningless activity.  Not that it is wrong.  And perhaps we need it at times.  It is just not fulfilling.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Welcome to my chair.

Evenings in Tennessee bring a coolness with a calming effect.  I have been drawn to my chair to enjoy this special time of the day.  My thoughts turn to the goodness of the Lord.  Everyday brings new mercies as Jeremiah wrote and today has been no exception.  This is my first post on my new blog.  I want to begin with a note of thanksgiving as the evening embraces.  There is a certain unexplainable strength that is gained when we are thankful.  It seems the Lord is breathing on us saying softly, "You are welcome."  Whether it is morning or evening for you, be thankful.  You will note a difference.