Jesus

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Are you really listening?

The story of Jesus talking to Peter on the seashore is one of my favorites. 

I think we can all relate to Peter because his life is the most relatable of the disciples. This guy was zealous, but made some mistakes along the way. 

Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” 

Peter says, “You know I do.”

Jesus responds, “Go feed my sheep.”

This happens two other times. Jesus is questioning Peter to check his heart while also giving Peter a job to do. 

Peter got a little exasperated at Jesus, but Jesus wasn’t bothered–until Peter compared himself to John. 
“What about John, Lord? What’s his job? Where’s his heart?” Peter asked in reply.  

Jesus was firm in His answer: “What about him? We’re talking about you. If John lives until I return again, is that any of your business?”

Pastor Hagin shared at church tonight how it’s important to work and serve where God has placed you right now. 
Standing firm, staying in position is only possible when you are secure in who you are in Christ. 

Jesus was giving Peter instructions and the next words out of Peter’s mouth are “What about John?”

Maybe God’s been talking to you for a while and you’re too busy looking around at others.

Just something to think about…

I know this is an area where I have to be on guard. 

The comparison trap keeps us from hearing God’s voice effectively because our attention is divided. 

Remember: God is always talking to us. All we need to do is get quiet and listen up. 


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Living Bibles

Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite books because it highlights the importance of reading. 

Bradbury said, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

At the end of Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag finds the Book People whose entire purpose is to preserve books by memorizing them, becoming a living book. 

Ms. Lynette asked us earlier in the week how much Word was hidden in our hearts. 

God could’ve chosen any medium to express himself, but He chose a book. 

I don’t think many of us understand or even think of the significance of reading enough. 

Sure, I enjoy reading different genres of literature–reading is my favorite thing to do–but Father God expressed His will for us in a book…

We need to read the Bible!

Jesus said, “Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the Father” (Matt. 4:4).

In Fahrenheit 451, the Book People’s goal was to be a living book. Their whole existence was wrapped up in remembering their books. 
What a great parallel for us as Christians!

We should know the Word enough that we’re living Bibles–walking, talking testaments of God. 

And Christians  have it even better than Bradbury’s Book People because the Holy Spirit lives within us and one of His jobs is to remind us of the Bible’s truths!

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Why giving matters

I have a friend who always has granola bars in her backpack. 

She’s generous, too. If you need a snack, just find her! 

I’m actually going to buy her a box of granola bars this weekend because she’s helped me–and many others–out this week. 

My friend’s genorisity got me thinking…

Shouldn’t all Christians be known for their generosity?

It’s in the Bible. You see passages about:

  • Hospitality
  • Giving
  • Prayer
  • Miracles
  • Healing

And all of it was done for the purposes of evangelism to the lost and edification for the body of Christ. 

Nothing was ever done for selfish ambition. 

Christians are not supposed to be stingy–in any area!

In my class on the gifts of the spirit, we’ve talked quite a bit about how none of God’s gifts are for us. 

This makes sense to me because in light of the bigger picture, it’s kind of comical to think anything is ours to begin with. 

It all belongs to Him!

Plus, Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. He is our Redeemer and our pardon was purchased with His blood. 

How can we not give freely when He is our example?

Jesus has given us everything. 

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Grace is the greatest motivator

“But for the grace of God” is one of my favorite phrases to describe how blessed I am. 

Paul was the first person to use this verse as an explanation of his life and ministry:

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭15:10‬). 

In this verse Paul was talking about who he was because of the grace of God. The phrase I grew up hearing talks about who we’d be without the grace of God. 

Either way, the greatest common denominator is grace. 

Grace is the best motivator. 

Nothing empowers you toward change, toward action like the undeserved gift of grace. 

I try my best to see everything through this lens, especially as I hang out with non-Christians. They need to see that grace is for them. 

Do you remember what life was like before Christ?

Do you remember the patience and mercy of God during that time?

How often we forget where we started. I know that I’m guilty of this mentality. 

As a child, I was reminded quite regularly of how fortunate I was to end up on top despite of the abandonment of my parents. 

And it’s true. 

I should’ve been placed in foster care. 

I shouldn’t have graduated from college. 

I should’ve ended up impoverished or inprisoned. 

The statistics were not in my favor.

But for the grace of God…

Redemption and restoration is found through grace. There is hope for the seemingly hopeless. 

Christ in us is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27) and Christ is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). 

This is what makes the gospel such wonderful news. 

 

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Compelling Love

I’m reading Tortured for Christ and it’s an inspirational and eye opening book. 

The cruelties inflicted on Christians in communist countries are evil beyond compare because, as Richard Wurmbrand says, the presence of evil in it’s darkest state was seen in the eyes of their torturers. 

  The love of Christ, though, is greater than all evil. 

What’s amazing to discover is that the Christians never hated, belittled, or backstabbed their tormentors. 

The grace and love of Christ compelled them to see these men as who they could be. 

All around the world, persecuted Christians share this same view. 

I want to follow their example. I want to love others with the pure love of Jesus. 

The level of selflessness expressed by my persecuted brothers and sisters calls me to action, challenges my apathy. 

If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend it. 

Go to The Voice of the Martyrs website to request the book (it’s free). 

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The Ultimate Authority

Yesterday I told you we’d talk about the right way to view the Bible.

It’s not a trump card to be used as an “In your face!” insult.

The Bible is the Word of God, the way in which God chose to communicate with man. His directives, the history of who He is, the redemption story, how to live a godly life, how the world will end (and begin anew) can be found in the progressive revelation of the narrative.

The Bible is the ultimate authority and the final say.

Whenever I talk with friends and family about my beliefs on a topic, I have to take them to the Bible. There’s nowhere else for me to go.

And, no, I’m not contradicting myself. My use of the Bible to define my beliefs using scriptures is not the same as using a trump card.

My use of the Bible as my guide makes me a Christian.  

I find it so funny that people are offended by this notion.

Yes, Christians make all decisions based on the beliefs found in ancient writings, yet here’s the crazy thing: So does everyone else.

Why, then, is it only “weird” when a Christian says, “Sorry, I don’t believe that because it goes against the Bible”?

I am aware of the rampant biblical illiteracy and the number of Christians who, in the name of culture, twist and bend scripture.

Besides the obvious, logical conclusion that Christians aren’t the only group with nominal followers in it’s camp, let’s put these things aside for a minute, okay?

I think the crux of the problem stems from what Christians profess:

Jesus is the only way, only truth, the only life.

This bothers people.

How can that be?

Isn’t that judgmental?

Isn’t that rather exclusive?

The beliefs about Jesus–who He is, what He came to do–are very clear in the Bible. If you don’t believe the truth about Him, you can’t be a Christian and you don’t believe in the totality of scripture.

So, when I say that this way of viewing the Bible is the best, I don’t say it lightly.

My commitment to the Bible as the ultimate authority means that everything (and I mean everything) is filtered through this singular lens. 

 

 

 

 

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The Gospel over Lattes

see you latteSelling a $5 latte in a cup that doesn’t  say “Merry Christmas” or “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” is not persecution.

I’m pulling out the Pharisee card on this one, okay?

This situation requires me to challenge the legalism behind the idea that not acknowledging a holiday means the whole world is against you.

Maybe we should ask Christians in the Middle East about persecution–over a nice, steaming latte in a Starbucks red paper cup.

“I mean, persecution is so awful, right?” we sob.

“I don’t know, friend, they’re pretty nice to let us sit in here. I was run out of town for being a Christian.”

What do we want from non-believers?

We freak out about homosexuality and sexual immorality and so many things…..things that unbelievers do not have the conscientious to understand on their own.

But don’t they know what the Bible says about _____________?”

No!

They’re not Christians.

1 Corinthians 1 says,

 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[b] foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Stop trying to shove your beliefs down people’s throats. You’re not helping anyone.

The gospel changes lives–not a cup!

  1. Share the gospel.
  2. Stop acting like a crazy person (Christianity is already an out there concept. Additional weirdness is not needed).
  3. Repeat.

Who knows?

Maybe it’ll be a conversation at Starbucks–sipping lattes out of red cups–that will be the tipping point in someone’s life.

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The real problem is hopelessness

I saw racism at work today and it was an ugly monster.

Racism will never go away until unchanged, hateful hearts hear the Truth.

There are not adequate words to describe what I’m feeling right now. It’s a weird mixture of anger, sadness, empathy, and……..resolve. I know resolve isn’t a feeling, but it found its place inside my heart in the midst of the emotions.

The young man came into my office and told me what happened. He had the saddest look on his face. The man was hurt, yes, yet he forgave the woman immediately.

Do you know what still had him sad?

His sense of overall hopelessness.

I can’t get his words out of my head:

I guess what hurts me the most is that this kind of thing happens and no one has my back. No one’s going to do anything.

Wow.

Here’s some questions for us to consider:

What if a mentality of hopelessness is behind all of the tension–racial and otherwise–around the world?

What if our own hopeless utterances of “things just are the way they are” is keeping us from doing the right thing?

This is not me negating the importance of personal responsibility or excusing bad behavior. This is me wrestling with my own negligence while a hurting world is simply running around in the dark looking for hope.

I was convicted today because I saw a young man who was told his skin color made him less than–and he really believed it.

He was just as hopeless as the perpetrator of the offense.

Pray for him.

Pray for the perpetrator.

Pray for me.

I’m going to share the gospel with my new friend. The only thing that drives out hate and hopelessness is a Love beyond words.

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Unity is better

There are 7 billion people on this planet and no one is just alike.

This should be as common knowledge as the fact we all need oxygen to breathe. And yet, the way we talk about differences online makes it sound like scientists just figured it out.

Fighting over differences makes no sense when you understand that humans are created for relationship.

God said to Adam, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18).

The church is called a body and we are to work together for the growth of the kingdom by spreading the gospel.

unityAll of these things point to relationships, so why are we struggling?

I could list a million reasons, but the crux of it all comes down to the issue of unity. We have forgotten what connects us all.

In the absence of this knowledge, division is rampant. It’s blinding and leads to disconnection.

Looking back to Genesis, this is what connects us: All humans are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27)

I do not believe “all ways lead to Heaven” and “we’re all God’s children”.

There is only one way to Heaven (Jesus) and while we are all created in the image of God, only those who accept the one way (once again, Jesus) become children of God.

Here’s what makes the gospel so powerful: Jesus came to redeem all humanity. No one is left out. We can all have a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ.

In all of our wonderful, God given differences, may we never forget what unites us: We are the most precious of God’s creation.

Everything God did in Genesis 1 and 2 was done for man and woman. Provision and shelter, safety and rest, family and friendship all started in the Garden of Eden.

Even when we messed up, God’s redemptive plan was to give it all back.

Let’s agree to unite around the gospel.

Let’s agree to unite around the fact that people are important.

Differences are wonderful, but unity is even better.

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I know where I’m going

IMG_1694Many times the Lord gives me direction through dreams. I think of it like a road map.

“Audra, this is where you are headed.”

With a dream, though, comes the knowledge that staying stuck is not possible. You cannot decide to camp out on the side of the road when you need to be moving forward.

I find myself facing some situations where running away would be so easy. (I think by now my vulnerability issues are well known.)

During these tough times, I yell–I mean, pray–to the Lord.

He’s given me permission to be 100% honest with him. His exact words were, “I know your heart anyway, so stop hiding.”

God has seen the angelic side of me and the grumpy side of me. My prayer is that as I follow Him, Angel Audra shows up more and more. (Think halo not being held up by horns.)

Do you know where He takes me at the end of each conversation?

My dreams.

Remember, Audra, where you are going. Don’t settle for anything less than where I am sending you.

All of my tantrums are ruined by God.

I am pouting and angry and God just laughs. And HIs laughter is like a whack from a belt.

Then I remember my dream.

I’m such a hard headed brat……..

When God shows you something don’t let go. Take it and run. Let that hope be an anchor for your soul. Nothing will motivate you more than a glimpse of where God’s taking you.  

And no worries if you find yourself camping out either. God will help you pack back up and keep moving.