Imagine you're in the most important soccer game of your life. The ball goes out of bounds and you stand just outside the line trying to signal a team mate to get ready for the pass. You see a team mate, you recognize them by the jersey of course, and yell at them to get open! They turn around and say, "I'm just not sure. I don't know if I'm on this team. I'm kind of on the fence." WHAT. Now is not the time! This game is crucial! You scramble looking to pass to someone else who can get the ball up the field and help your team out...
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!" Revelation 3:15
Essentially, being lukewarm means not knowing what team you want to play for. That's what it comes down to in my mind. And really, if you're on the fence about which team you're on, no one is going to want you to be on their team! If you can't decide which direction you're going in, you essentially render yourself useless to everyone around you.
Figure it out.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Bigger Doesn't Mean Better
Some times you just want to know that you're in the right place, that you didn't just stumble into something accidentally or that it all "just happened". I heard once that you can't believe in coincidence and God at the same time. The following is a snapshot of something I wrote the other day about hearing from God.
"It's funny because we want God to speak to us in these big crazy ways that make our eyes water or give us goose bumps. But some times God shows up in the simple stuff - Like meeting a sweet lady named Lillian or old familiar songs or relevant passages or friendly faces or good coffee. Maybe we just need to have God speak to us by whatever means necessary. It's that still small voice. It's the old time familiar tune versus the loud booming voice from the heavenlies. I guess what I'm saying is that that's how you know you are where you're supposed to be. Not because they play a set of your favorite worship songs or because the pastor speaks about Jonah. When God speaks, we just know it. It just fits right and for a moment you feel a new sense of clarity."
There's a story in 1 Kings 19 where this guy named Elijah is waiting to hear from God. There's a mighty strong wind, an earthquake and a fire... and yet God wasn't speaking through any of those. And then after all of the craziness settles down, God speaks. I wrote another blog a while back about how God is always trying to speak to us - we just need to be willing to listen and even more so willing to then be obedient. I just find it funny that we expect God to speak to us in these big crazy ways because we acknowledge that God is so big and powerful. It's great that we acknowledge His majesty but I wonder if some times it's not about quanity but about quality. I've wanted God to speak to me in big ways. But more often then not, He's spoken to me in small ways about BIG THINGS. Funny eh?
Maybe you want God's opinion on something. Maybe you're weighing some decisions or maybe you just feel drained. I'm not saying God can't part the clouds, shine the sun and give you guidance as to which pizza place to grab lunch at today. He could probably do that. But be on the look out. Maybe God wants to tell you something really big but He wants to use something average, every day and ordinary to do it. Don't underestimate the every day things. There are no coincidences, remember?
"It's funny because we want God to speak to us in these big crazy ways that make our eyes water or give us goose bumps. But some times God shows up in the simple stuff - Like meeting a sweet lady named Lillian or old familiar songs or relevant passages or friendly faces or good coffee. Maybe we just need to have God speak to us by whatever means necessary. It's that still small voice. It's the old time familiar tune versus the loud booming voice from the heavenlies. I guess what I'm saying is that that's how you know you are where you're supposed to be. Not because they play a set of your favorite worship songs or because the pastor speaks about Jonah. When God speaks, we just know it. It just fits right and for a moment you feel a new sense of clarity."
There's a story in 1 Kings 19 where this guy named Elijah is waiting to hear from God. There's a mighty strong wind, an earthquake and a fire... and yet God wasn't speaking through any of those. And then after all of the craziness settles down, God speaks. I wrote another blog a while back about how God is always trying to speak to us - we just need to be willing to listen and even more so willing to then be obedient. I just find it funny that we expect God to speak to us in these big crazy ways because we acknowledge that God is so big and powerful. It's great that we acknowledge His majesty but I wonder if some times it's not about quanity but about quality. I've wanted God to speak to me in big ways. But more often then not, He's spoken to me in small ways about BIG THINGS. Funny eh?
Maybe you want God's opinion on something. Maybe you're weighing some decisions or maybe you just feel drained. I'm not saying God can't part the clouds, shine the sun and give you guidance as to which pizza place to grab lunch at today. He could probably do that. But be on the look out. Maybe God wants to tell you something really big but He wants to use something average, every day and ordinary to do it. Don't underestimate the every day things. There are no coincidences, remember?
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