Who's Driving This Thing?

We have entered the world of GPS. Amazon had some crazy sale on the Magellan Maestro 4260 and, with our anniversary around the corner (at that time) I decided to purchase one for my "directionally challenged" wife (love you, babe!). This morning I took the new gadget with me to Dallas to try it out.

The unit worked well calculating the fastest route to my destination (knowing where I was going I only disagreed with it once). But then the Dallas traffic kicked in. Since I didn't have the traffic service set up (I think it came with a 3 or 6 month free trial), I had to depart from the suggested route several times. Each time the unit quickly recalculated a route for me. Pretty cool.

However, being alone in the car, I began to reflect on the experience. As my thoughts began to roam a bit (never a good thing for me) I started to wonder what the GPS must be "thinking" about my driving. Stick with me here... From its limited perspective, it laid out the perfect route for me to reach my destination in the shortest amount of time. But, again and again, I changed directions without any seeming sense of purpose. I made course corrections based on circumstances the GPS could not "see". "What is this guy doing?"

Do you think this relates to our view of God at all? Aren't we like the GPS system, laying out the "fastest route" through our lives based on what we can see. Then God, who is driving the whole thing, takes a hard right turn that we didn't see coming. We begin to question what God is doing when we cannot see the circumstances God is guiding us through. Perhaps we need to stop "dinging" at God when we think the turn has been missed and, instead, enjoy the ride. Something to think about...

Famliy Time?

We thought we would take the family out for a little dinner and family time at CiCis. Didn't count on sitting right next to the TV... Tim Nations Sent from my iPhone

He Is Not Here, For He Has Risen... (Matthew 28:1-6)

The past few days my schedule has not been such that I could post my devotional reflections. But as the season of Lent comes to an end and I reflect on the final devotional on Easter Sunday, I wanted to make time. Here's a quote from today's devotional:

In the Good Friday reading, it is mentioned that the cross only has meaning in light of Christ’s resurrection. It can also be said that the resurrection only has meaning in light of the cross. New life in Christ is born out of suffering and death. Jesus’ suffering and death had a unique quality to it: it was redemptive. It redeemed the world from the judgment of sin.

As followers of Christ, our lives are to have a unique quality to them. As with the suffering and death of Christ, our lives are to be 'redemptive'. Paul writes that we are Christ's ambassadors. We have been entrusted with the redemptive message of God's love poured out in Christ. Therefore every ounce of our lives are to be filled with redemptive power.

Do you look at your life that way?

When you suffer, do you look for the redemptive message in it? When you experience gain, do you turn that blessing into a message of hope for others? One of the greatest challenges facing us (I believe) is to allow every moment of our lives--those we see coming and those that hit us from the blind side--to serve as a vessel for the story of God's redemptive work in Christ. We must let our sufferings, our blessings, our joys and pains "be for" God's sake. Otherwise, our lives have no meaning. The resurrection of Christ, and our future resurrection, gives meaning to our lives. Can I, through my life with all its circumstances and happenings, speak into the lives of others to help them find that same meaning? Can you?

He is risen...just as he said.

What Does It Cost? (Luke 14:25-35)

I find myself asking that A LOT these days. "Well, what does it cost?" With the economy the way it is, its not a bad question to be asking. But how often do I ask this question in relation to my walk with Christ.

I can just imagine Christ walking along the road with hoardes of people following him, thinking to himself, "They need to know. I need to know. Which ones are truly ready to follow me, to be my disciples?" And so he lays out the cost. And the cost is high.

When I look at my own life, can I truly say that the cost is high? Here's a quote from my devotional email this morning:

Why am I prepared to sacrifice some things in my life for Christ, but not others? Of course it is easier to give up some things, but if it’s easy to give something up surely it’s not a sacrifice anymore. Why do I subconsciously hold on to some things, when I know I should give everything up to my Father? And why do I pretend other things I give up are a real sacrifice when they’re insignificant?

If I looked hard enough, I could probably find something that I hold back from God every day. Most of them seem like such small things. Little things are alright, aren't they? Then I'm hit between the eyes by Jesus words in Luke 16:10, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Ouch!

The question I need to dwell on is this: "What sacrifices still need to be made in my life because I'm a follower of Christ?" I know 'control' is one. What else is there? Lord God, shine your light into my dark places. Help me to see the sacrifices that still need to be made. Show me the things that I still cling tightly to so that I might release them into your loving hands. Amen.

Who's In Control? - Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians chapter two has been one of my favorite chapters in the Bible for as long as I can remember. Perhpas its the poetic way in which Paul communicates the gentle spirit of Christ that led him to the cross for us. There is great beauty in those words; there is hope and promise.

But there is also a challenge. Now, as an adult, I read in those words as much about myself as I do about Christ. "[My] attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." What attitude is that? One of immense humility. What comes to mind when you think of humility? When I look at Christ (which Paul is telling us to do), I see him surrendering status, control, advantage, and privilege. Jesus put those things aside so that he could carry out the will of the Father.

I don't worry much about status, advantage, or privilege in my life. Maybe its because I've never had much of those things. Well, that's not entirely true. If I broaden my view beyond the country in which I live, I do realize there is tremendous advantage and privilege living in the US. That's not something I planned; it was a gift from my Father. Even so, I don't know that it would be too hard to give those things up. It would be more difficult to remove those things from my family than to surrender them for myself.

But control...that's a whole different animal. I took a "test" a few months ago in conjunction with a marriage seminar my wife and I attended. One of the things this test reveals is what "country" you are from--how you view yourself, interact with the world, etc. Guess what country I am from--Control. I like to know what's going to happen. I want to call the shots. I NEED to have a handle on things to feel secure and confident. I want to be in control.

But control doesn't play well with humility. When I'm in control, I don't consider others more important than myself. I am most important. When I'm in control, its not another's will that takes center stage, it is my own. To have the attidue of Christ--to be humble--I must give up control. God is calling me to let go and quit relying on my own strength. He wants me to lay back and rest in His. Intellectually, I know its the best way, but I struggle with that release.

Father, I know that control is just a myth. I know its a comfort I seek when I lack trust in you. Help me to surrender, to have the humility to let God and trust in what I cannot see. Thank you for Christ's willingness to set status, privilege, control, and advantage aside to rescue me. Day by day, help me to live more into the image you have of me--the image I was created in. Amen.

Its Holy Week

As I've been a bit more intentional about following the liturgical calendar, I'm reminded that this is "holy week", the week that began with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and will end with his victorious ascension into heaven. I've been journaling throughout the season of Lent, allowing my thoughts to be guided by an email devotional series I subscribed to from crmleaders.org. This morning I decided that, for the final week, I would journal my thoughts online. For the one or two of you that still check our blog in case we might post something, feel free to share your thoughts.

Luke 22:39-44
As I think about what's really going on here, behind the scenes, I'm dumbstruck. Jesus is pouring out his heart to his Father. He is alone. Completely alone. Oh, his closest friends are nearby, but they don't get what's going on. They're too busy napping to get a clue. Jesus is looking ahead to a cruel, painful, humiliating death and no one really cares.

But that's not the hardest part for me to grasp. You see, I think about God looking down on His Son, knowing what is about to happen, listening to the earnest pleas for help from His only boy, and all God can do is send an angel to comfort him. OK, yes, He could do more, but God's love for US compels Him to choose sacrifice--the sacrifice of His Son--over rescue. Are you kidding? I don't understand that at all. I look at my family, my kids, and there is no one on earth I would give them up for--NO ONE. If one of my kids cried out for my help I would stop at nothing to rescue them. I would sacrifice myself before I would let harm come to them.

As much as I don't understand it, that's just how deep God's love is for us. His heart is so filled with compassion for us that God would stop at nothing to save us and redeem us. He created us and then went on to pay the ultimate price--a price I never would have paid--to buy us back. That's amazing!

Father, help me to understand your love for me. More than that, help me to be filled with that kind of love for others. Give me the willingness to live with the same generosity and extravagance that you showed through Christ. Help me to live like Christ so that you may be glorified in my life. Father, I don't get your love. Its too much to take in. But, with all my heart, I thank you for making me the object of that great love!