Where Should I Go to Church

Intro: 

I have been talking to several people lately about making decisions on where they should attend church. So, I decided to write this “little” post. I hope it helps people who are struggling with this decision. Please feel free to share it. It is a little long but I encourage you to read it all, even if you do so in several settings.

Where Should I Go to Church?

First I think there are few important things to know about church:

1. The church was really started by Christ. He was the official organizer of what we call “the Church.” So this gives “church” a great value.
2. We are commanded by the scriptures to fellowship with other believer, to worship God, and to learn about Him.
3. “The Church” is not a building but the universal brotherhood of believers. There are people who say they “belong to a church” but don’t really belong to the church. People find solace in belonging to a church and often feel that it scores points with God. But those who do not belong to the church, will find themselves coming up short when they stand before God.
4. The church is considered Christ’s body. One of the chief reasons, is that once Christ left this earth He commissioned the church to do the work that He had begun. We are now the hands, feet, the body, of Christ.
5. In the body (or the church) there are specific functions needed. Just as a real body needs systems to continue to live, so the church needs the members of the body functioning as they are suppose to. Try functioning without your heart for any amount of time. Can’t happen. Each organ/system is needed. Without certain people, the body may live but it will be crippled to an extent. Without functioning systems and members of those systems, the body is sick. Let your kidney shut down and refuse to work, and it affects the whole body. Refusing to, or just neglecting to, function as God designed you, does more than just affect you, it can have a detrimental affect on His body.
   God brings us into the body, not just to get us to heaven, but so that we function in the system He designed us for. You and I have been designed from birth with the personalities, gifts, and abilities that God wanted us to have. Why? So that we could use those abilities to keep the body (of Christ) functioning.

Comfort is often the only consideration as to where to attend a certain church. (Read that first line again and let it sink in.) Do I like the pastor? Do they have a good kid’s program? Do they have a clean ladies room? (Right ladies?) What kind of music do they have? But considering whether you should buy a house because you like the light

ing fixtures is just as fool-hearted as choosing a church based on some of these things. 

Should you want to comfortable at your church? Yes. But it cannot be the only decision making criteria. Because we are called by God to work as part of His body, chances are He has a specific place designed for you also. God may call us to places that don’t seem like just the right fit to us, but is exactly where God wants us. 

Why? The most important work of the body is people. Christ wants His love to be spread to people through the church. God could call us to a place where we don’t like the music but where we sit down next to someone He needs us to help. Like having a great friendship takes a certain chemistry, also, ministry sometimes takes that. God, at times, puts people in the path of others so that there is a match of the personalities. He may want to do that with you despite the pastor, or the music, or the distance you have to walk across a parking lot. 

It is important to note here one very important fact. If you are a christian, you are because you surrendered yourself to the Lordship of Christ. In real terms, that means, you gave God permission to own your life, to run your life. If you did not do that, then you don’t understand true Christianity. Christianity is not fire insurance, or a ticket to heaven. Christianity is about a lifestyle of serving Christ and allowing Him to make choices for you. The disciples were called disciples because the word “disciple” comes from the same root as discipline. Disciples are just that, because they discipline themselves to follow Christ. They discipline themselves to serve for Christ and follow His directions. 

Sometimes that means that our comfort is not the most important thing. Many people have been asked to do very uncomfortable things by God because He could see a bigger picture. Mother Theresa was only able to do what God called her to do by subjecting herself to discomfort. Yet, in her discomfort, she has become a symbol of true Christian love ... and success. Christ could only do what His Father had called Him to do by allowing God to choose discomfort for Him. He wrestled with that in the garden, but was able to see a bigger picture. Thank God He did.

So, are you willing to ask God for His plan for your life? Does God have a bigger picture than what you can see? Probably! Most of our plans would really end up in disaster. But God has plans that are about our success. (see Jeremiah 29:11) But, still, silently God stands and awaits our decision. God never takes control, He always waits for us to give it to Him.

Church, it is true, is not the pentacle of the gospel process. Or... at least it shouldn’t be. Waiting for people to come to church to be touched by God is not God’s plan. His true plan is for us is to be constantly and consistently making an impact on our worlds; Sunday through Saturday. Christ said “go into all the world” not wait for folks to come to your church.

Another consideration for choosing a church is based on another job of the church. The Bible says that the ministry is giving to do a couple of things in particular. One is to equip people to serve God (that means to do kingdom work for Him). The other is to provide a way for the perfecting of the people in the church. God uses the church as a springboard to prepare us to affect the world.

It is true that the church provides an opportunity to worship. We have gone as far as to call our time of singing in churches “morning worship” or to call church services “worship services. But there are issues here: 

The first is, one must be a Christian to truly worship. Jesus said that we must worship Him in “spirit and in truth”. (See John 4) The spirit part seems easy. It is very easy to get in “the spirit” of worship. (Sometimes just as easy as getting into the spirit of your favorite team winning a game.) But the truth part is more difficult. The truth part has to do with the way we lived our lives the week before Sunday. Real worship cannot come from someone who will not, live in, and obey God’s truths.

Secondly, the worship of the believer cannot be reserved for Sunday. Unless we worship God daily, there is a very real possibility that we are not worshipping Him on Sunday. Worship is more a lifestyle than an action. 

The third is: the ultimate form of worship is not singing songs, raising hands or even saying good things about God. If you read Romans the 12th chapter, you will find a definition of real worship. Read verse one and you will see that the true form of worship is about surrendering one’s self to God. Not only Sunday but each day of life. 

People can worship other things besides God when they go to church. (Did you get that?) There is very real condition that some people have. It is a false worship. It is a worship where people are, in truth, worshipping the feelings they get from church rather than God. This happens often when people use church as a sort of fix. They live lives that are not concerned with God, or His plan, so they don’t feel close to Him throughout the week. They go to church to get that good feeling that, somehow, they are closer to Him in a church or by visiting one. This feeling can be addictive and people will go to church to get that feeling. Soon it becomes about the feeling and not about God. 

Also, others get a good feeling because they think that they have done God a favor by showing up on Sunday. They feel that God gives more points to those who attend church. Showing up to receive anything is really about self, not about God. 

See true worship has nothing to do with us. It is about total focus on our heavenly Father and our Savior. Even singing songs, though the are good, about how good God makes us feel or what we are going to do because of God, is not the truest form of worship that can come from us in a church setting. There is nothing wrong with singing songs that tell about our overcoming, or our desires to be more like God. These are testimonial songs. But real worship is directed in one direction only - God and His greatness.

At church we do worship. We do find answers from God’s word. We do fellowship with others on this journey. These are all important aspects of church and should never be dismissed. The are biblical.

Because the ministry is given for helping us learn about God and about how to work for Him, I do think it is possible to go to the wrong church because of leadership or teaching. By that, I mean, that there is an aspect of church where church can be an intricate part of your christian growth. Here are somethings to consider:

1. If the church does not teach truth, then it could actually be a harmful place spiritually; especially if you are a newbie to church/christian life. If the pastor or teachers there don’t teach the truth, they could serve to lead you the wrong direction. This cannot be a healthy environment even for the seasoned saint.
2. “Practice what you preach.” This is an old saying but bears out a lot of truth. I would warn people who attend a church where the leaders (when teaching truth) don’t practice what they preach. This warning comes from the fact that pastors who don’t practice God’s truths, are highly unlikely to give you a message of truth from God. Preachers and teachers who are aware of their failure to line up to God’s word will, many times, not preach on those things because of the conviction they feel.
3. God does not use false prophets to spread His message to His people. Bear in mind that God’s word even if preached by a monkey is still that “God’s word.” It is powerful and will change peoples lives even if it comes through a unlikely source. But, God needs to reveal to pastors and teachers/leaders what they are to say. The pastor or teacher is suppose to become a conduit for God’s message to His people. God chose to do it this way. (see: i Corinthians 1:21) When a leader is out of sync with God, God is not able to use that person in the way He wishes. What generally happens in these situations, is that, the leader begins to do things based on his/her personal talents, abilities or knowledge. The message thus becomes the word of the pastor/teacher rather than God’s word.
   (Note: God’s word always will affect us. But no matter who we hear preaching or teaching God’s word, we should always be in a place that God can reveal what might be wrong in a message. The bible talks about wolves in sheep’s clothing; people who deliver a message but their motives are not pure.)
   Pastors, church leaders, and teachers, are commanded by God Himself to live as an example, before people, of the truth of God’s word. We do realize that people, even those in leadership in the church, make mistakes. But leaders who live mistakes is a different thing. It is very difficult for us to be told by someone doing wrong, not to do the things they do. I think this is because God has placed in us the “knowing” of right from wrong. When someone is living wrong and then denying it, this is not only lying to themselves but to everyone else, including God.
   Remember that titles mean nothing to God. God judges by the content of the heart. Just because someone wears the title pastor, overseer, bible teacher, ... etc., does not mean their hearts are right with God or that there message is one of truth.
4. Matthew 15:14, Jesus speaking, says if the blind lead the blind, they both will fall into a ditch. I am not interested in falling at all. So, there are some people I will not follow. Note, that this applies to anyone who is teaching God’s word, whether in a church, on TV/radio or in a book. Be careful about following people you do not know. And especially careful following people who do not demonstrate truth in their own lives.
5. One thing that God uses, to speak to others, that says we have Christ in our lives, is love. Christ himself said that people would know that we follow His truths by seeing the love we have for others. (see John 13:35) I suggest not following someone who doesn’t display love for others. Loving people is the second greatest commandment. People who do not show a Godly, genuine, love for people are not followers of Christ.
    
6. Character flaws are part of all of our lives. Yet, God is very concerned about character. When we see people who either seem to not be aware of character flaws, will not hear others who reach out to help them concerning the flaws, or seemingly are not addressing character flaws, this is a sign of spiritual immaturity. Flaws that are so evident in leaders, to those around them, usually will be addressed by God also. Someone who is not sensitive to God’s spirit about their personal issues will, most likely, not be sensitive to God when God tells them how to lead.
   The Bible is also adamant about fellowshipping (hanging with) people of questionable character. In fact, at one point we are told not to even eat with them. Paul talks a lot about the dangers of having relationships with people who are not true believers. Paul, basically, says stay away.
7. Fruit. Jesus said that you could know someone by their fruit. If you are not sure about following someone, inspect their fruit. The fruit will tell you what kind of tree they are. Look at their lifestyle. Are they genuinely loving with people, going out of their way to meet peoples needs. Does God seem important to them when they are out of the church environment? Do they talk about Jesus and what God is doing in their lives often? (They will if God is important to them.) Does it seems like they are more earthly minded than concerned with the Lord’s will or work. When you discuss an issue with them, is the first reaction to talk to God about it? Do they change? In other words, do you see them growing spiritually? When you grow you change. How do they treat others when then are frustrated or under fire? Do they always preface making decisions by saying, “Let’s pray for God’s direction on this!” Do they recognize their mistakes and ask forgiveness? Do they do things that one might consider non-christian?  Are they servants or bosses? Jesus said that leaders are to serve. Are they trying to emulate Jesus? (Yes we all fall short of being like Jesus, but you can tell if someone is trying to be like Him.)
   These are just few things to consider when looking at fruit.
8. God gives discernment. If you are connected in a good relationship with God, He will give you extraordinary abilities. One of those is discernment. Discernment is simply knowing some things about a situation that are outside of human reasoning. It is like intuition. Discernment is a way of God telling you something about a person or situation that is important for you to know. God can put a gut feeling inside you about a person or place.
   We should learn to discern whether a situation is good or bad. The first step to this is having a tight relationship with God, one where you are close enough to hear His voice. The second step is asking God to keep you aware of His voice, asking God about situations. Often we accept things as they are and forget to ask God what He thinks. When God gives you discernment, it is many times for your protection. He may send up red flags because He is warning of spiritual or physical danger.
   God can give you discernment when it comes to churches, leaders, authors, speakers ... etc.
9. Be careful of cults. Hear are a few things to watch for:

• Cults usually have strong leaders that may be considered or consider themselves 

     somewhat infallible. They put themselves above others and can’t admit to their own mistakes or short comings. They refuse to hear others when it comes to any criticism of them. Many times they feel that the have a monopoly on the truth and/or God only speaks to them.

• Cult leaders/churches may emphasize their teachings above the authority of God’s word. This can be done very slyly. Churches that emphasize traditions over God’s word are dangerous places.
• Cults tend to put pressure on people to submit to their way of thinking. If a church uses pressure tactics rather than relying on God’s spirit to change people, they are in the wrong.
• Cult will twist scriptures and will also emphasize the “works” mentality. By that, I mean they tend to say the things you do are more important to being saved than the things that Christ did.

You can find other signs of a cult on the internet. 

Look for these things when you visit a church. Be careful that churches you attend or might consider attending, do not manifest these signs. These can be dangerous places and it highly unlikely that God will choose to send you there.

God’s direction is the number one prerequisite when considering a church. Is God placing you there even if you are not sure why. Spend time talking with God about where you and your family should go to church. Be willing to wait on His answer but insist that you have it. Stay put until you have His direction. He may begin to reveal things to you, where you are, that are signs that you should leave or that you should stay. Keep your spiritual eyes and ears clear so that you can sense His messages and promptings.

Once you hear from God, don’t delay. Make the changes you need to make or stay put. If God sends you to a specific place, bear these things in mind:

1. You probably will not feel comfortable there at first. No one feels at home the first time  they visit a place. Just because you are not comfortable doesn’t mean this it is not God’s place for you. Be comfortable in the peace that you are following God’s direction despite being uncomfortable in the environment.
2. Continue to be aware of signs that this is not where God sent you. We all make mistakes. Look for God’s signs of approval.
3. Don’t sit on the bench too long. God had brought you there for a reason. He put you in that body to function. Don’t squelch God plan for you, and that church, by waiting to be ask to do something. Come forward and express why you think God wants you there. If you are not sure at first, find out! Find out by seeking God and His voice in the matter.
   There is very real desire to hibernate or to allow yourself to get lost in a crowd at a different church. The Devil would love nothing more than that respond to God’s  moving you, that you would fail to get involved. Remember, if you feel that God sends you somewhere, it is not for you to sit back and become non-productive. Do not let your fear of new circumstances or people inhibit the fulfillment of God’s plan. Determine before you step foot in the place( that God sends you) that you will go in ready to accomplish His plan.
4. Meet the leadership. See where their hearts are and express your desire to help. Don’t be surprise if you have to prove yourself first. Leaders need to see that you can be trusted before they put responsibility in your hands. Don’t be surprised if they mention something that goes hand in hand with things that God has already put in your heart.
5. Look for opportunities to help. People in a new place don’t know you, so they most likely will not ask for your help. This is one of the best ways to get to know people in a church. Getting to know people is the fastest route to feeling at home in a church. Again, do not let the Devil stop you because of fear.
6. Listen intently to what God says to you there. God may send you to a place so that you can hear something from Him. That could come from the pastor, a teacher, or someone sitting in service next to you.

The most important thing about choosing a church is knowing that God is in your choice. 

The most important thing you can do, is let church be a vehicle to equip you to do God’s bidding. Going to the greatest church in the world means nothing if you are not doing God’s work because of it. You should see people being saved, not because you brought them to church, but because you invested in a friendship, you shared the gospel and prayed with them. (Bear in mind that many salvations experiences in a church service are not truly a conversion of a soul but a start of a process in which God will use you to seal the deal. There are many reasons that people pray a sinners prayer at church and many of them are not because they need a savior.) That is more likely to happen at your backyard barbecue than at a church service. Look for opportunities to make relationships that will lead to someone accepting the Lord. Remember that the sinners prayer is the beginning of your work, not the end. Once someone accepts Christ, your next duties it to take care of that baby; disciple them.

Realize that this may not be your final destination. God often takes us different places to develop us for a final purpose. When you give God control of your life, you must trust Him to take you the places He knows is best for you.

Don’t wait for discomfort where you are to see that God wants you to move. On the other hand, don’t suppose that discomfort means it is time to move. There are people who are more concerned with finding comfort than God’s will. Don’t be one of them. They will never find satisfaction in a church but they will only find it in a relationship with God and doing His will, where He would have it done. Jumping from church to church, based on comfort, only does two things, prevents a person from finding their place in the body and knowing the fulfillment by doing so, and... robs the body (of where they should be) of that functionality. God is never happy with that.

So... talk to God about your church. Don’t settle, or base your decision on selfish motives but be determined to hear God voice. Watch for the signs He gives you and then do what He ask.

Once there, (whether moving or staying) you will have the peace that follows listening to God. You will also obtain the rewards for your obedience. God will bless you in ways you have never experienced, when you obey Him.

Then... get to work! God is counting on us. He uses the church to do His work. If we refuse to work, God will not come from heaven and do it Himself. That would go against the plan that Jesus set up when He established the church and left this earth. God was already here with us and He finished what He was suppose to do and left. Now we take the wheel and drive the church to success.

I pray that this message helps and that your greatest wish is “What does God want?”

It Takes a Church to Raise a Child

Part of the reason the church exist is education and equipping of the people in it. It’s ultimate message is the Gospel but also teaching the concepts and precepts of God’s word. The church’s mission is helping people understand the need of salvation and a relationship with God and the bringing help to mankind but all this is done through a system of training and preparing christian workers to do the Kingdom work.

When we think missionally about the church, or the equipping of the saints, it is easy to forget that part of the process involves our children. Even in the earliest days of the Hebrew people, God was insistent about helping children learn about Him. This duty fell mostly to the parents but was also about the spiritual community’s effect on children.

One of the accomplished works of Jesus was the founding of the church. He was, in effect, passing on His duties to us. God’s plan, and His will,  apparently involved a system where people would work together to accomplish His work.

God is very concerned about giving children foundations and the heritage to insure that each generation will affect the next. The church is the chief avenue for this.

The church has come a long way from the mentality of “children should be seen and not heard,” in which children were shoved into back rooms with a coloring sheet and whoever was brave enough to oversee the process. We have come far in understanding the need to invest into children. We have finally began to see the pay-off of that investment and are wisely hiring Children’s pastors, building children’s facilities, and equipping children’s workers with the latest technology, and well designed curriculum, in order to win and teach children. 

But it seems that we are once again returning to the same cliche. We may be pushing the children aside once more. 

How?

Parents may be neglecting the commands of God that said to teach your children. 

"Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up." 

                         Deuteronomy 6:4-7 

Parents seem to be so distracted by the noise of life they do not hear the cry of the child, or the voice of God. God’s plan was for the greatest spiritual impact to come from the parent. It has become easy to expect a children’s pastor or Sunday school teacher to build the complete spiritual foundation of our children’s lives, and to do it all in a weekly, easy to take, quick, one hour dose. But this was not God’s plan.

We may be expecting the church’s children’s program to undo all the lessons learned at home. And, sadly to say, most homes may not be teaching the value of God in daily living because God is not part of the lifestyle, the talk, the decision making, or given any part of the family time. Is is very rare and very difficult for the value of God to rise above the model set up in the home.

Often there are many children that attend church who come from no spiritual background or have no Godly influence at home or from the family. Then what? Then the responsibility falls on the church. If the church will not take this responsibility, who will? There is no other human source for spiritual guidance. Who else has the love of Christ and the commission from Him but the church.

God expects the church to impact lives. No matter the age or learning level.   But the church is falling short. We have forsaken our children with words like, “ I don’t like children,” or “That is not my ministry,” or “I don’t have the time to invest.” We have convinced ourselves that as long as we have someone with job description that involves children’s ministry, or someone is paid “to do that,” then God will somehow will dismiss His expectations for us. 

Nancy Reagan made famous the African saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” We can go farther and say it takes a church to raise a child. When the church raises a child, they are doing more than feeding and housing a body, they are forming character, developing a lifestyle, building a citizen,  erecting a spiritual leader. The church is re-writing tomorrow’s headlines. We are emptying tomorrow’s prisons. We are removing the worry of walking down tomorrow’s dark streets. The church has the opportunity to change tomorrow’s world.

When I as a children’s pastor make a plea to my congregation for help in children’s ministries, this is not just a request but a reminder that we are a spiritual “village.” We don’t place the responsibility of our children as a society on public school teachers alone, they are only part of the factor. Our society in many way is responsible to impact our children. The same is true with the church. We are given the task as a church to change the lives of our children.

The task of the church is not only teaching children, but also protecting and guiding. We are not only here to build them a shelter for their training, but to shelter them in our arms of love and acceptance. The church is more and more become the spiritual and emotional surrogate for the children around us. 

The church, the body of Christ, should still voice: “...Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”


It takes a church to raise a child!

Molding or A-Molderin'?

John Brown's body lies a-molderin' in the grave.

John Brown's body lies a-molderin' in the grave.

John Brown's body lies a-molderin' in the grave.

But his soul goes marching on.

(Words to a Civil War song) 

Some day (if Christ does not return) each of our bodies will lie a-molderin’ in the grave. We are all heading to the same earthly destination; the grave. It is definite and defiant. Death will call us whether we are ready or whether we have accomplished anything of value in life.

If we were to make a list of things we would like to accomplish, it would be varied. But, as parents, there might be one notation that would rise to the top of the list. That thing would be to make a positive impact on our children and who they are to be.

The gift of a child is, without argument, one of the greatest blessings and challenges we can ever face in life. After the cooing, gooing and fussing over the new life that has now arrived in our care, the day comes when we are suddenly hit with a life-shattering realization. We come to the understanding that we are responsible for shaping a life. We are nearly suffocated by the consciousness of the fact that this child will become what we model for them, and much of what we are.

There is a very sobering scripture in God’s word that is placed smack-dab in the middle of God’s law. 

Exodus 20:4-6 (CEV) Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. Don't bow down and worship idols. I am the LORD your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me, I will punish your families for three or four generations. But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.

This scripture points out to us more than God’s destain with idols but tells a story of how the choices of parents affect children. God’s design was that parents become models for their offspring. Whether we are conscious of this or not, children will become duplicates who we are. 

One comedian said that you know you are getting old when you look into the mirror and say, “Dad, (or mom) when did you get here?” We often see more of our parents in us than we like. Yet, just the same, we can easily see how much of them is reprinted in us.

Lawrence Kohlberg did a study on the development of moral reasoning. In the study he states that around ten years of age children begin to consider what is right by what the people in their lives agree with. 

The Bureau of Social Hygiene Study, (Yes, I guess it was really called that!) in 1928 said this: 

“It is very difficult and expensive to undo, after you are married, the things that your mother and father did to you while you were putting your first six birthdays behind you.”

Years ago studies were done on specific ethnic groups that found that there were genetic propensities toward addictions that were passed down from parents. These conclusions, I think, were actually already given to us in Exodus 20. God knew the great extent of which we were going to carbon copy ourselves in our progeny. 

Garrison Keillor said, “Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting our eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted.” What we model for our children is not wasted. It becomes part of who our children will be. Part of God’s great plan was forming what we are, what we have learned, and what we experience of God into our children. (see Deuteronomy 4:5-9) He wants us to invest so that there is a heritage of Godly character that continues after we are molderin’ in the grave.

Our assurance from God is that keeping God as the top object of worship in our lives will insure generations of God’s favor. This is possible because we not only teach our children Godly living but pass on a heritage of how we choose (based on Godly percepts) to make decisions in our lives. In turn, when our children reproduce, in succession, their children will emulate them.

Proverbs 22:6
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

A Roman tombstone reads: “All we who are dead below Have become bones and ashes, but nothing else.” Yet, in reality, even if there were no eternity, we do not become just bones and ashes but we become the influence of thousands of generations. When we place God, and His Word, in the lives of our children we becoming involved in something more than teaching children good-living tricks. We are investing in a deeper spiritual side of who they are. God and His Word go deep into who they are and will become. It becomes woven into the fabric of ever decision they make and every lesson they teach their children.

A part of you lives on throughout all the generations you began. This being so, how important it is that we model what we know God wants our future to become. The headlines of tomorrow are written based on what we model today. The direction of society is founded on the blueprint you draw up with your character today. You are the mold into which you are pouring your children and your grandchildren.

The song says “But his soul goes marching on.” Your soul, when you are dead and perhaps forgotten, goes marching on. It marches on, through time, to the cadence of your words, your actions, your values, and your God.

Hodding Carter wrote: “There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One is roots; the other, wings.” Our children need to wings to fly free, to be who God intended them to be, to make their own decisions, but the current under them will always be what you placed in them. And they need the roots of Godly parents who show Godly character in all that they are.

1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV)
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Death is not so final when we realize that part of what we are continues. And though we believe in eternal life, the is no victory in death when our Godly character lives on through our children.

Once life is finished were we molding or a-moldering?

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Psalm 103:17

The LORD is always kind to those who worship him, and he keeps his promises to their descendants

In A Perfect World...

Ever have one of those days when you are the last person that you want to be around? I really have too many of those. There are some days when I just don’t like me! 

Maybe you are one of those upbeat persons, that rises when a song in your heart and skip in your step. Maybe you look at yourself, first thing, in the mirror and reply, “Hey good lookin’!” or “How did I ever deserve me?” If you do, then great for you. We need to talk!

I tend to hit the alarm snooze button about 32 times, drag myself to the bathroom, look in the mirror and say something like, “Oh, you again?” I look at my receding hair, my crooked teeth, the ever increasing inner-tube around my midsection and don’t really like what I see. I want to be different. Sometimes I want to be someone else.

Then, there are days that I feel like all I do is fail, that things I do don’t really count for much, and most of what I accomplish isn’t really what I wanted it to be. I feel that life has let me down and I have returned the favor.

There is a scripture in the Bible that spoke a lot to me recently. Let me share it with you:

Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

This scripture is about you and me! No doubt who the audience is in this one. The “I” in this scripture is universal because we were all made (basically) the same by the same creator.

You see, the world has a message. Our culture, especially in America, has something to say to us. It constantly barks the message that we are just not good enough. Advertisers tell us that our hair is not silky enough, our teeth are not white enough, we always weigh too much, we need new clothes, we need a better house, we need a different car, .... yadie, yadie, yadie ... etc. etc. etc.!! The message is always the same, we are not what, where, how we are suppose to be. They teach that without their methods we can never come to be who we need to be. Their message says that who you are and what you are now are just not good enough.

I think there is an osmosis to their method. It does begin to influence our opinion of who we are. I think most of us, although we dismiss this ploy, react somewhat by taking inventory of what we are, even if it is a insignificant look. 

All of God’s “works are wonderful!” I am wonderful. You are wonderful. We are “wonderfully” made. That tells us that God had a design for who he made us to be. We are made above and beyond the plain, the mundane, the ordinary! We are a “wonderful” creation. Who are we to say that what we are right at this moment is not perfection. God designed me with bad teeth, hair that is falling out, and the bulge in my middle, but that is God’s perfection. I may be a “10” or a “2” in my own eyes, but I am what God wanted me to be. To Him I am off the scale.

The world is constantly setting up models that they call “perfect!” There is the “perfect 10” model for example. They imply that attaining that model status is the ultimate goal. The models suppose two things: that it is possible to become equal to the model and that the model is an example of perfection. 

Let’s examine those thoughts for a minute. Let’s talk about the latter first: “that the model is an example of perfection.” Perfection, has a totally different look in the mind of God than it does in the thinking of our world. Excellence to God relates to His word, His will and His plan for our lives. Perfection to the world is hardly obtainable but is usually described in things that you can touch with your hands. Seldom does the world put perfection in the same realm with character, sacrifice, or spiritual qualities. Never does the world associate our measure of perfection with an example set up by Jesus Himself.

Now what about the first supposition: “it is possible to become equal to the model.” Part of the problem of worldly models is that they don’t stay the same. They drift, shift, and change.   This is touched on when Jesus talks about building our house on sand. (See Matthew 6:47-49) What is considered perfection today may not be considered thus tomorrow. One example: If you look at the art of the middle ages you may notice that many of the women were sporting quite the little pooch around the middle and seemed quite hefty. Supposedly, it was considered attractive for women to be plump during that time. During the 60’s models like Twiggy were considered the prime. Now in the 21st century we have other standards of what we consider “sexy” or beautiful. There really are no standards because standards change... which in fact, makes them not standards at all! (Does that make sense?)

Secondly, becoming equal to the model supposes that everyone has the same ability to become like the model. Many woman in the 60’s finally succumbed to the fact that, no matter how hard they tried, they could never reduce to the sticklike figure of Twiggy.  Because we are all dealt a different hand, our model of perfection should look different from that of others. 

The model of Christ is obtainable though, for all. God did not design a system that was only obtainable by a select few. No! The power to come to God’s perfection is readily at hand. Why can we all reach that model set up by God? We can reach it because He gave us all the tools and resources needed to be what He wanted us to be. We will never be able to blame God for asking us to be something and not giving us the raw materials to be just that. On top of that, the Spirit of God living in us, empowers us to change, to do, and more importantly, to succeed. Contained in you is everything you need to be perfect. Maybe this is why we read in Matthew 5:48 to “be perfect.” In God’s making you, “wonderfully”, He designed in you the ability to meet His standards of perfection.

What is perfection you ask. If I had to boil down what I think God would say about perfection to one thought, I guess, I would say this: Perfection is doing what God wants you to do, with what God gives you. 

By setting standards the world ascribes value to people. If I can’t reach the bar then I am not as valuable to the world. This is diametrically opposed to God’s system where the ultimate value is placed on all. And where God's design is perfect.

The way we feel about ourselves should always come through the filter of God’s word, His expectations, and His plan for us. We will seldom be able to match the perfection pattern that the world lays out for us. But we are designed to fit into the pattern God cut out for us... perfectly. The way we feel about ourselves will never negate how valuable we are to God. To hate, dislike, or devalue ourselves, in turn, says that God’s is not perfect in all He does. It says that our value of things is more important than God’s value system. 

Though I use the right shampoo, drive the right car, have the right weight, am I perfect? Or... will there be someone else that will come along and tell me that this perfection is wrong and I need a different perfection? Our personal goal is not to achieve a pattern that our world has set up but to come to a likeness of a perfect Christ.

Try looking at yourself through God’s eyes. When we value ourselves as God values us, we might see a different person in our mirror. We may always be able to see what we think should change in us but it doesn’t annul what God is planning for us to be. Our shortcomings, should not become a excuse for not being what God demands of us, but, neither should they cause us to sell short the value God placed on us, and the ability He has to do something great with, and through, us. The trick is letting Him perfect us.

“No one is perfect” is relative. When God is the designer, the maker, and the guide of who we are, how can we be less than perfect. Maybe this is not "a perfect world”, but really who makes that call?

Tomorrow when I wake up and drag myself to the bathroom. I am going to say to the person in the mirror, “You look perfectly wonderful!”

Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Taking Notice

A few weeks ago a new television show called “Undercover Boss” began to air. The show is a reality spin where CEOs of large corporations go undercover in their own corporations by working in various jobs, at all levels in their companies. On the CBS webpage for the show, there is a picture of one such CEO holding a mop as he talks to an employee at the bottom echelon of his organization. At the end of the show the boss is revealed to the employees and he talks about how the experience changed the way he viewed the workers and workings of the corporation.

After viewing the first few programs two notions began to strike my mind. 

The first thought had to do with particular comments and attitudes that some employees exhibited. My thoughts centered around the surprise that someone cared. Whether it was for the show itself or truly their character, the CEOs seemed interested in who the people were in their companies and the conditions of their work environments. The workers were taken back by the fact that someone would take the time to meet them at their level and express interest in their needs.

The second thing that I connected with, as CBS readily played up, was the impact that was made on the CEO himself and the workers he connected with. So far, in each show, there seemed to be a genuine epiphany that happened when there was a connection between the common worker and the top dog. That connection caused a total change of perspective of CEO, and the subordinate of the company, in how they perceived each other.

God designed not only people but community. There is something wonderful that goes down when people connect with people. Perhaps that is why fellowship is mentioned so many times in the Bible and often as one of the goals of the church. Even beyond that, there is something almost miraculous that happens when people help people. 

I don’t know if our brain releases a chemical or it is purely a God design but something, almost, magical happens when we reach out to people. Call it “warm fuzzies” (there is probably a technical name) but something turns on inside us when we touch someone’s life. There is a fulfillment that is experienced in that scenario that cannot be found in any other way.

Response to the plight of others is God’s design. When we sit and watch a commercial about starving children, we are somewhat moved but it is so easy to dismiss the issue. But when we make contact with someone in need and we begin to understand their humanness, their likeness to us, the world they live in, suddenly there is a new factor in the equation. There is an old Native American saying that says “walk a  mile in my moccasins.” The concept being that you never understand someone else’s journey in life until you actually walk the same path they do. We can really never identify with others when our world is all we know.

Perhaps one of the best known passages in scripture is found in the twelfth chapter of Matthew. We know it as the “golden rule.” The Message Bible puts it this way. 

Matthew 6:12 (The Message)
"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

We have heard christians question God’s will or plan for their lives. They sit idly on the sidelines of life (and christianity) and wait for some great light to shine out of heaven to reveal specifics of a plan designed just for them. This scripture and the second greatest commandment (see Matthew 22:39-40) really boil down to revelation that God’s law is wrapped up in our connection with people. “Add up” all that God proclaimed about His will for us and this is the target of His will.

Did you notice? Did you notice the sadness of the person in the cubicle next to you.  Did you notice the tattered clothing of the child that plays in front of your house? Did you notice the loneliness of the man at the bus stop? Did you hear the crying of the baby at the doctors office? Did you notice the tear of the young woman you sat beside in church Sunday? Connecting with people is about being aware.

Is time to blame? Are the days really getting shorter, as we get older. Is there really too much to do? Yes, if we choose to believe that. Or is there time for people in our lives? Should there be? Do we believe that? Do we fail to hear the plight of those around us because of the noise of our personal world? 

I think God’s plan for us is to identify with our world. To notice and to go into their world at the risk of our personal loss. We have to ask the spirit to quicken us to notice people around us. 

There is a story of a young lady named Kitty Jenovese that was attacked in New York while people noticed. In fact, she was attacked 3 times with in 35 minutes, while 37 people noticed. The issue was not that people in that neighborhood did not notice but those who looked on supposed that someone else was coming to her aid; someone else was calling 911. Kitty died that day, while people noticed.

Taking notice is more than seeing. God took notice to our dilemma but He did not sit back. He was not happy to do nothing but observe. He took action. And isn’t that the real gospel? A God who becomes involved with the people He loves. The demonstration of God’s love was found in the sacrifice of His Son. Taking notice of our eternal doom drove God to act on our behalf. 

Could it be that at those times when we do notice, it is God steering us and others into a collision path? Perhaps He pilots our lives so that we are thrust into someone’s world so that we are shocked into noticing; noticing their need, noticing their condition, noticing their helplessness.

Why is it so amazing to people when someone steps out of their life to intervene? Why is it foreign when someone gives themselves for a cause that brings them no benefit? Because it is not the way of the world.  But shouldn’t it be so common among Christians that it comes as no surprise to the world around us? When a christian helps, should the response from our world be, “that is what we expected!”

Noticing is not hard. It can come like a brisk wind, but it can leave just the same. Those of us with the heart of God should notice, but cannot just notice. We are compelled to reaction. We are driven to affect. Why? Because our heart is the heart of a Father who is ordained to act on the behalf of others.

Listen. Look. Feel. Contemplate. Process. Take in the world around you. Shut out the noise of who you are and notice. Notice that prompting of God’s spirit. And in that noticing, you manifest the character of a Father who certainly took notice of you.

Fruit and the (Toilet) Bowl

 

Someone recently sent me this picture and it made me think about my life as a christian. (Not that way!! Read on!) This is a picture of a public toilet located on a street in Houston ... in public view. The walls of the toilet are two-way mirrors. You can see out but no one can see in.

Most of us like our privacy. It is hard for us to be ourselves especially around folks we don’t know. When we are aware that people are noticing us, we tend to put on masks that make us what we want people to think we are, or what we think they want us to be. We all have, to some extent, multiple personalities. We are a different person to the people who live in our house, than the person who works at the drive-thru. We are different at a basketball game than at a gravesite.

I was sitting and talking with a group of pastors not long ago. As I listened they began to talk of a pastor at a very large well respected church. They spoke of a situation where the pastor of that church reacted to a situation in a very unchristian way. It definitely made a impression on those who were there and I could tell that the opinion of that pastor had definitely changed the way the people at table felt about him.

A few years ago there was a song that became very popular by the artist Cyndi Lauper. The song was call True Colors. Part of the chorus goes like this, 

“But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show”

We use the phrase “true colors” when we talk about seeing who a person really is, or when we see someone’s true character. It is when the truth of a person’s inner qualities or values manifest itself. Circumstances that put pressure on us tend to bring out our true colors. Peterson writes, in the Message Bible, in Matthew the twelfth chapter:

It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard.

Again in the Bible we read:

Matthew 7:16-18

You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit.

By giving our hearts to Christ we are, in essence, asking Him to change the kind of tree we are. Prior to salvation we did not have the option of producing good fruit. We weren’t that kind of tree. We began to bear good fruit when we began to take on the nature of Christ. Christ is bearing good fruit through the character He produces in us.

After being saved we follow suite by being baptised. Baptism is a way of opening your fruit stand. In the ritual of baptism we are saying, publicly, “I am a christian now... come and take a look at my fruit.” We no longer have to “be afraid to let them show” because Christ is now producing His “ true colors” in us. 

Matthew 3:8 
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

We like the privacy of being hidden in our own little worlds but if there are character flaws in us, our true colors will show. We should feel like someone sitting on that toilet, feeling totally exposed to the world, because we are, in effect, a constant show of His true colors. We are an advertisement to the world of who the Christ in us is. We tell people daily if christianity is real, and if it really can change lives. Every day, every contact we make, every word we speak, every action we take, may very well be viewed by someone who is questioning the legitimacy of christianity. Maybe that is part of the concept of Christ words when He said, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14, see context) 

An old song says, “No man is an island. No man stands alone.” We are christians now, but we still are part of the whole of humanity ... and the answer for it. Unless we are a hermit, we are a continual reminder of Christ and how He can bring peace, joy, and forgiveness, and how He can renovate a life.

Someone once said that character is who you are, when you are all alone and no one sees you. That is character, but I submit that character is also the you who bleeds out, after being isolated, into a world that experiences who you are.

There is no two-way glass for the christian. Every person we meet becomes our fruit inspector. We will not bear good fruit if our roots are not deeply grounded in Christ and His pattern for our lives. We can hide, or put on mask, or build facades, but eventually our true colors show.

There are many people who wear the jersey but really aren’t on our team. They have learned how to play the game of Christianity. They have learned the words to say, the actions to take, but they are not able to bear good fruit because they are not that kind of tree. Eventually we catch a whiff of rotten fruit and see their true colors.

The world is looking for Jesus (whether they understand it or not) but the only one they will ever see is you and me. As christians, we are sitting there exposing ourselves to all who care to take a look. And when the world sees good fruit it gives people the notion that maybe there is a God, maybe He does care, and maybe there is hope for them.

I think, as followers of Christ, it is good for us to feel exposed. It is a reminder that we are constantly under the microscope of those around us. It doesn’t have to make us feel uncomfortable though, when the fruit we bear is good fruit.

So ask God to help you see your character flaws. Maybe you should ask people close to you what they think your true colors are, and deal with the reality of their answers. God is about empowering us to change. And if you become firmly rooted in Him, you cannot help but produce good things.

As God begins to produce good fruit through you, you will not be negatively affected by people looking on. Then you have the confidence to ... (I have to say it) Go... into all the world...