In my book, 52 Paths to Heaven, I have a little graphic that illustrates how we view Jesus. He’s either the central part of our life or afterthought.
How does he rate in your life?
Jesus doesn’t demand that we exclude much from our lives. He just longs to be a big part of what we have going on.
Check it out. How do you ensure it’s about Jesus gets the glory?
I participate and complete studies with other Christian men and then sigh: “I can’t operate at that level.”
The topics we cover and the teachings accumulate and I begin to wonder how much of a change a guy can really make.
After I suppress my whining and negativity, I put what I read and experience into perspective. They’re goals, not rigid performance grades.
Looking toward being a better follower of Jesus gives me something fresh to think about and to aspire to in some capacity.
My goal is to be a street evangelist, but it’s been a long, long time since I approached a total stranger.
What kind of Christian do you hope to be as you grow in your walk with Christ?
As a model, look at the words of John Wesley, a famed evangelist and founder of Methodism:
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”
Lofty?
Not really.
It’s about setting the bar kind of high so you can look up.
I once heard that God isn’t looking so much for our ability as He is our availability.
Lord, please help me make myself available to you and sort out the pressures and priorities of my life.
If you could score it, I’d say many sensitive, socially concerned unbelievers do a lot more good on this earth than some Christians.
Unfortunately, good people go to hell.
Like me, do you wonder how nice people manage to care for the world without knowing Jesus and living in the power of the Holy Spirit?
I lose sight of the answer at times.
God isn’t going to zap an unbeliever who is about to lend a hand or start a great cause.
I’m learning to remember that goodness or righteousness should reflect a love of God, acknowledge that He’s at work in us and that He should be getting the glory.
When a caring person helps someone in need (i.e. pays for their groceries at a store), how can the giver’s heart align with the Lord’s if there isn’t a connection in the first place? How can he or she be grateful that God provided the opportunity to be His hands and His feet?
For my part, I’m just grateful that God allows me to be good. And sometimes I remember to reflect on what He’s allowed me to do.
If I’m good, God gets the credit. Positive things he accomplishes in me constantly clash with my sins.
John Piper, a noted Christian leader and author, goes a little deeper with this. He acknowledges that nice deeds by unbelievers reflect what God teaches us in Scripture. But the relationship with God is the missing part.
In one of his teachings, “Total Depravity,” Piper explains it this way:
“It is not done out of reliance on him or for his glory. He is not trusted for the resources, though he gives them all. Nor is his honor exalted, even though that’s his will in all things (1 Corinthians 10:31). Therefore even these ‘good’ acts are part of our rebellion and are not ‘good’ in the sense that really counts in the end—in relation to God.”
I think about a lot of verses – and put my life in perspective. In John 15, Jesus says we can’t really do anything without Him (I figure He’s talking about anything of His will that has merit or is rooted in love).
In Luke 18:19, Jesus tells the rich young ruler: “No one is good – except God alone.”
Travis Carden, a Christian, compiled the “Total Depravity Verse List.”
It’s not easy reading, but it’s the truth. Look at the references to sinners, disobedience, schemers, evil, wickedness, envy, deceit, pride, foolishness and many more.
Humanity benefits from unbelievers and Christians alike. I just need to remember more often that God should be the one who gets the credit.
I always figured I’d end up in prison for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, I’d get picked up for going into a rage if someone tried to hurt my wife or sons.
But maybe I’ll get arrested for being a violent extremist. After all, I oppose lax immigration policies and abortion laws that allow pieces of tiny kids to be tossed in the garbage.
But my stands on issues is the essence of a new report by some bureaucrats who lack some common sense.
Get a load of it here in the Washington Times:
“The report sent to law enforcement … lists veterans as a terrorist risk to the U.S. and defines ‘rightwing extremism’ as including groups opposed to abortion and immigration.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/16/napolitano-stands-rightwing-extremism
http://video1.washingtontimes.com/video/extremismreport.pdf
No, I’m not being arrested today. But the government is quick to label me a potential Christian extremist (read: terrorist) if I seem razor-focused on a cause.
I guess I’m in the clear because I hold firm beliefs about lots of things, not one. That’s a relief.
Besides my views on immigrants (I say kick out the illegals who don’t know how to honor the law), I think we:
- Need better gun control laws (for homeowners and gang members alike)
- Should eliminate the U.S. Department of Education
- Should drill for oil in lots of places on land and in the ocean
- Shouldn’t cave into owl lovers or tree huggers
- Should let homosexuals have a bigger voice with their loved ones (like with medical decisions) but stop short of granting them marriages (God kind of had the man/woman thing in mind)
So do those beliefs – and countless others – align me with extremist groups? I would think not.
Will I get in trouble for bashing the government? I hope not.
I love my country – even when it’s off its rocker.
How about you?
I could care less of the Freedom from Religion Foundation is upset that Wisconsin lawmakers decided to call a Capitol rotunda tree a Christmas tree. I guess someone started calling it a holiday tree years ago (for some pathethic reason).
Maybe some non-Christian could be offended that public lawmakers call it a Christmas tree. Be offended. It’s a Christmas tree – the kind of lights, a star, gifts underneath and all of that.
Don’t celebrate Christman? That’s your choice. No one forces you to be a Christian. I’m sure many people exchange gifts on Christmas Day that aren’t Christians. Actually, I think that’s kind of funny.
Why don’t lawmakers decorate the the rotunda with Jewish, Muslim and Wicca symbols? Because not enough people care. People identify with Christmas. Those who feel put out can spend their time complaining in their private group meetings so no one has to be offended by their dispute.
Lawmakers represent the majority. If most people are annoyed with the Christmas tree name, they can voice their opinion at the polls. Somehow, I think the majority (vast majority) won;’t.
It’s OK to drink alcohol if you’re Christian and if you aren’t a believer in Christ.
I know many Christians disagree with this – that Jesus doesn’t want people getting drunk. And others say it’s better to avoid booze just because – kind of like you avoid the sin of being drunk just by not drinking in the first place. The same thinking comes from people who don’t think boys and girls should dance together because someone may get romantic. Or, they don’t want boys and girls to swim in the same lake because those bathing suits (or skin) may arouse someone.
Anyway, I drink now and then because I have a few drinks that I like. I don’t get drunk and drive home or kill people. In fact, plenty of references in the Bible (Old and New Testaments) talk about parties and drinking. In other words, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. But God clearly teaches against excess.
Here’s a twist: As Christians, we may want to consider not drinking if our behavior causes someone else to stumble. In other words, if your drinking makes someone else think drinking is OK for them (when it may not be for any number of reasons), maybe you shouldn’t drink either. Or, maybe you shouldn’t drink simply because someone else watching your Christian witness may be turned off because they see you with some hard liquor.
Stuff to think about, stuff that has little to do with whether you’re a friend of Jesus. Pride is a more serious issue.
“She rides pretty good for a black girl,” the teen-ager told me one day.
I was glad in a sense that my son heard the comment in 2007 about a young girl’s skateboarding ability. It demonstrated how he should never act and revealed a bad streak in his otherwise jovial friend.
Whether that was racisim or just an ignorant remark by a teen who hangs out with black friends, the truth is that pure-bred racism can lead to heaven.
The chapter explains that you need to live through your evil and essentially make a record of it before you can come to grips with it and have a fighting chance of reaching out to Jesus for His forgiveness.
Are you a racist? What about your friends?