Why Is There An Empty Seat In Church Today?

Love Hard

2013-07-03T18:21:00.001-08:00

     Judges 6:11-22 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a wine press to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”
“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me. Don’t go away until I come back and bring my offering to you.”
He answered, “I will stay here until you return.”
Gideon hurried home. He cooked a young goat, and with a basket^[a] of flour he baked some bread without yeast. Then, carrying the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out and presented them to the angel, who was under the great tree.
The angel of God said to him, “Place the meat and the unleavened bread on this rock, and pour the broth over it.” And Gideon did as he was told. Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and bread with the tip of the staff in his hand, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he had brought. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.
When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

   I see a reflection of the modern human's attitude towards God in this section of scripture. I have been burdened by the reality that God looks awful, to the non-Christian individual. And why wouldn't He? If you hear the stories of God's judgement and see His people judging other people, but never see the love wouldn't you be slightly disinclined at the notion of who you think God is?

     It seems that Gideon felt similarly about the Lord. When he is told, "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you," his first reaction is skepticism. Asking why everything is happening, and wondering about the awesome power he grew up hearing stories about. He makes a point to say that he is the weakest in his family, and that his clan is the weakest in the whole tribe. He's an insecure boy who has had no reason to believe that this God character has any concern for him or his people.

     So Gideon asks for proof, but not with defiance. He is longing for a truth to hold on to, something to have hope in. His whole world is broken and desolate, starving in a land where he and his family have to fight to stay alive.

     I think this is the reflection of people today. They want something to have hope in. God is not the answer in their opinion because the people who are supposed to represent Him, don't paint a good picture. They hear stories like Gideon did, but they see a different reality where they live. Where is their proof? It took the creation of a relationship, an interaction with the Almighty to change Gideon's heart and mind. Christian's are supposed to be that relational bridge between, what we have come to call "the lost", and a loving God. The stories are nice, and they make you feel good, but a tangible representation of God's love is what gives that hope that we long for.

     Am I loving people as hard as I can? If you're reading this, can you say that you love people enough? As I type this I can honestly say that I don't love as well as I could. But the way that Gideon's life changed makes me think about the power of encountering God, and how much of an impact he had once his life was dedicated to the Father. I don't want to miss the opportunity for God to use me in a way that can change one person that might be able to change the world, or lead a nation like Gideon did.

     Love Hard

Pray before you eat

2011-12-20T09:14:00.000-09:00

I was recently reading through the book of John, as a part of a S.O.A.P Journal bible study, and I found myself having trouble understanding the words of Jesus. It seems as though I wasn't the only one. Throughout chapters 7 & 8 John makes a point to mention that the people didn't understand, the religious leaders didn't understand, even the disciples didn't understand. As I began to meditate on the difficulty of Jesus' words I heard the Lord say to me that I needed to pray. My first thought after that was, "Well of course Father, I will, when I'm done. Just like I always do."
This is the part in the story where Jesus would say, "How much longer do I have to deal with you?"(Matthew 17:17) He then proceeded to reveal to me how important it is to not wait until after you read His word to spend time on your knees in prayer, preparing your heart and mind to understand the words and teaching of our Father.
Just a thought to share with you.

Sin Is Frustrating

2011-01-24T23:50:00.000-09:00

     Sin is frustrating, to say the least. Sin is the bane of our walk with God. This is obvious and I don't think many believers would argue with me. As believers in Christ, we have a desire to follow God and honor him with our life, like Paul tells us in Romans 12,"...give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice the kind he will accept." So as with all goals worth striving for we have an obstacle. Sin.
     I think James sums it up pretty well when he says,"Rember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it," James 4:17. But I am wondering, at what point does it become sin. Sure it's easy to say that if I steal from my neighbor, or if I sleep with someone other than my spouse, then it is sin. Yet, is it the final act that is the sin or is it an elaborate process that we think isn't a sin until one of the Commandments is broken?
     I heard a pastor say once that all sin is a series of unwise decisions which end up leading us down a path to a sin we may have never intended to commit. If that's the truth, maybe we ought to pay a little more attention to our actions. Of course we can't see the outcome of all of our decisions so we wont always know exactly what is taking us to sin. However, there are most definately situations where we know what the outcome will be. Jesus tell us in Matthew 18:8,"So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It's better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet." For us, right now that may mean putting an accountability software on your computer so someone else can see what you look at, maybe selling your television, maybe opening a savings account that charges you when you take money out so you stop spending it on junk. It can look like a hundred different things in your life.
     If we make the effort, sin can be avoided by putting up guardrails and destroying the little road that leads us there. It's interesting how the enemy makes every little things seem like it's not destructive and somehow gets us to focus on only the big sins. We think, maybe if I don't go all the way and fully commit the sin, it's not so bad and I'll be alright. But I think the point that kills us is when we begin to desensitize ourselves to a fallen world who tells us,"it's not against the rules unless you get caught," and turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit, to whom we cried out to for help and stop listening when He warns us. I have learned that you can know all you want about Scripture, you can argue a scholar into believing the gospel, and even know how to check off a list of memory verses each week, but if you don't listen to the voice of God when he, in his infinite wisdom and understanding, calls out to us,"Stop, my child there is danger ahead," you are doomed to a life of disappointment in yourself knowing you won't be free from you sin.
     I'm not trying to convict anyone, that's not my job. Listen to the Holy Spirit, spend some time in prayer, let him shine a light on areas of your life where things need to change. This is a new year, let's work together and seek our Father's face so this can be a year that finds it's way into the history books as a year where the Creator of the universe, is glorified in us because we learned how to live holy and sinless.

Think about it...?

2010-09-04T00:56:00.002-08:00

     Have you ever thought about the staggering reality of what Jesus did? This is something I try to ask teenagers all the time.

     First of all he died, but that simple fact alone, I believe, isn't what is so impressive. If you had to make a decision to either live and let everyone else die or, you die and allow the entire human race, for the remainder of time, to have the opportunity to live forever in a perfect paradise, which would you choose? I find it hard to believe that very many people would choose their own life above that and the few that would are selfish cowards to the very core of their being.

    Scripture tells us in Hebrews 10:12 "But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time..." Jesus understood this. I also believe that He understood that people were going to reject, curse, hate and turn their backs on him for all time despite what He did. How many of us would still be willing to die, knowing full well that this is going to be the thanks that you would recieve? I think a few hands are slipping back down to their sides and I can't say I would blame them.

     He was tortured, Mark 15:15, "Pilate...ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified."

     They made fun of him and mocked him, Mark 15:17-20, "They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified."

     Then they murdered him, Mark 15:24 and 37, "Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross... Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last" So Jesus willingly dies for us, Isaiah 53:7 tells us that, "...he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth." He never put up a fight, but wouldn't we if we had to make this decision knowing all these terrible things were going to happen? But it doesn't even stop there! It gets better. Our Savior did all of this, while loving each and everyone of us. Take a moment and meditate on the magnitude of this kind of love.

     Many people would be willing to put their life on the line and maybe even die for the people they love, their friends and family, maybe even a widow or an orphan. But what about your childhood bully, or the politician that stands for everything you are against, or the rapist that is sitting on death row for his crimes, would you die for them? Not only that, would you die with love in your heart that runs so deep you volunteer to take his punishment?

     I hope this affects people the same way it has affected me. But we aren't done, there is one more level of mind-blowing love in this whole thing. When the Word says that Christ "...bore the sins of all..." we must understand that he came as a man. The same rules apply to him as they do to us, the price for sin is death and the sins of the whole world were placed on his shoulders. Jesus then died, but that wasn't the end for him. Our Prince of Peace fought death and won, he took the price we had to pay took care of it for every man woman and child for the remnant of time. Christ died but he defeated the one thing that even the atheist has to agree is definative, death. He ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father as our defense and our atonement that we may have the second chance that we don't deserve and with that said I dare you to find a love that will ever even come close to the love that Jesus Christ has for you, me and the rest of the world.

Lip service or a true heart??

2010-08-26T23:20:00.002-08:00

"Becky has a house on Abundant Life Blvd.

A good name, a good family, and butterflies in her yard

Becky loves Jesus and really wants to make him proud

She tears up in church and she sings her harmonies loud

She's got a Bible by the bed, a prayer journal, and a fish on her car

She makes sure to bow her head and give thanks in every restaurant

But is that enough?" Chris Rice - Becky & Me

     These lyrics challenge me. We often hear the stories about people who are able to put up a great show for everyone to show how religious they are, or maybe even how truly Christ-like they are, but they aren't doing anything more than that. I have taught Sunday school on and off for about 5 years now, I've been on the worship teams, and I've been involved in lots of other ministries that make me a church person. But this song challenges me to think, and I think that I am falling short.

     Showing up to church a couple times a week is easy. Reading your Bible and praying before every meal is simple. It's even pretty undemanding to stand at the front of the sanctuary and raise your hands during worship. The potential problem is whether or not our hearts live the religious life we lead.

     "And so the Lord says, 'These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote." Isaiah 29:13 NLT

     I don't ever want to be someone who has forgotten why I seek the disciplines and get involved in the ministries I do. I feel like there is a quota I have to meet, or at least make people think I meet it, in order to keep on being a Christian. If I don't meet that quota, people won't think I am quite as "spiritual."

     The Lord has used this song to convict me. My heart has been, "...far from...", Him. Is yours?? I am not writing this because of anyone but myself. I know people are in the same situation as I am, I just hope this will make them think about it. The long lost discipline of honest, heart-felt, truth-seeking self evaluation could do us all a lot of good.

     Please, think about it. Does this apply to your life?? Is your heart not where your ministry is? Are you trying too hard to impress people with your white-washed tomb, all the while you are dead inside? Do you read Scripture and then just put it down when you are done so you can check it off the list of things that "good church people" do or does the God inspired Word of Truth rattle and convict you every time you read it? If living the life that God has called you to is at all important to you, ask yourself these questions and seek God to find out if your heart is where it should be.

     I think it goes without saying but just in case, you have to want to know the truth about whether or not you measure up to God's standard, and His standard is not simply filling out your daily report and holding out your hand for the "Atta Boy!" you think you deserve.

      Let's seek our Father and change our world.

Servant Liberation

2010-08-22T23:59:00.001-08:00

     "Did Jesus lose his identity when he set his face towards Golgatha? Did Peter lose his identity when he responded to Jesus' cross-bearing command, 'Follow me' (John 21:19)? Did Paul lose his identity when he committed himself to the One who said, 'I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name' (Acts 9:16)? Of course not. We know that the opposite is true. They found their identity in the act of self-denial."          Richard Foster - Celebrating Discipline, pg. 114

     These men in history understood something great about living a life in the servitude of the people around them. They knew what it meant to take up their cross and follow Jesus. I know that the terms and concept are thrown around so much from the pulpits these days, and I mean no disrespect to our pastors whom we love so dearly, but I wonder whether or not we know how to take on this task that Jesus gave.

     I have recently been taught a fascinating formula that very well may be the key to beginning to understand the reason Jesus told us to, "take up our cross." Taking up my cross puts me into a place of humility and servanthood. This submission creates liberation in my live. Liberation makes it so I am not angered when I don't get what I think I am entitled to because I did something for someone else, or because they did something to me. I no longer have the burden of selfishness, I want the best for my brothers around me and I want to work to make it happen. Self gratification is no longer an avenue for pride to stick its ugly head into my life because I didn't do anything for myself. This beautiful demonstration of self-denial in our lives will give way to others, so the kingdom of God can grow.

     Richard Foster mentions seven acts of submission, I believe in order of importance, that we can begin focusing on right now. The first being submission to the Triune God, start at the beginning of the day and live like He really is your King and Savior.

     The second submission is to the Scripture. Yield to the Word of God, seek conviction and obey his commands.
     Thirdly, we must submit to our family. Teens and children honor your parents, something I wish I did more as a kid. Wives respect your husband, and husbands love and adore your wife. Teach your children to be men and women of God, understanding their purpose and eternal worth.

     Fourth, submit to your neighbors and co-workers. Love them like Christ loved everyone around him. Serve them every chance you get, you are the Jesus in their life and they may never see him again unless you show his love through your life. Be a kindness evangelist.

     Fifth, submit to the church. Be like the first church in Acts 2 encouraging each other and providing for each other with everything you have that is more than you need. Pray with them and seek God with them, get underneath and carry your brothers and sisters by helping them in any way you can.

     Sixth, submit to the broken and lost, the widows and orphans. James 1:27 tells us to, "care for the orphans and the widows in their trouble..." There are always a myriad of ways these precious children of God can be served. You can start by offering to do repairs around their home or vehicle. If you aren't mechanically inclined invite them to your home for dinner and fellowship so you can simply be a blessing.

     And finally we must serve the world. We cannot shut ourselves away thinking that we are going to preserve our righteousness by not associating with the world. If you have to pray in the Spirit every step of the way as you run into the world head first, guns blazin', preaching the Word of God until you lead someone to salvation, so be it! But do not think that you can sit in the church services and Bible studies hanging out with church folk and think that you are living the life God has called you to, all the while hiding yourself from the world.

      Go and live as the child of God you are.

Why is there an empty seat in church today??

2010-08-22T02:21:00.001-08:00

     As I look at my life, from my overly analytical perspective, I have discoverd that every character trait, every little quirk about a person is caused by a past situation, a series of events, or certain circumstances in the past. As i think about it more and more i realize that, this isn't something new.


     Ever since we were infants we understood this cause and effect relationship. I cry, mommy picks me up and tends to my needs, therefore, I will cry whenever i want something. Even animals have grasped ahold of this simple concept, if I poop in the house, everyone's reaction is against me. I will stop pooping in the house, because i don't like having my face "rubbed in it."

     So i can't help but wonder, why don't we apply that simple principle to every aspect of our lives? I always see people shuffle across an icy parking lot so that they don't fall down and hurt their bum. They understand that if they fall down, it will hurt. Then again, those same people refuse to listen to God or even their own conscience, or whatever other higher power they my subscribe to, and keep on going running across the ice the next day. I don't believe that people are always as ignorant as they act. Is it pure selfishness?

     Then we have the people who call themselves Christians(myself being included in this critique.) We got it together. We see the cause and effect and we always shuffle acoss the ice, never run. But i think another problem arises. Are we too busy looking at our own feet making sure we don't fall to tell the other people that running is a bad idea? Most of us aren't ignorant either, so i fall back to my previous question, is it pure selfishness? Whether they listen or not is not my problem, my problem is when i stand before God's big screen replay of my life am i going to have to say, "I didn't want them to laugh at me." Is someone laughing at you the reason that there are empty chairs in your church service on Sunday morning? Is it the reason there are empty chairs in mine?

     When I look at people's responses, from my overly analytical perspective, I have come to find that the vast majority of witnessing opportunities that are taken advantage of, seldom are responded to with laughter. There will be some, there may be many, but if ridicule changed Jesus' mind about going through all He did, where would you be right now? What chance would we stand?Do you remember all the times you did fall down on the ice when you were trying to run and He picked you back up and held your hand? The next person who you see running, why not let them know that Jesus has a firmer footing than they do and He wants to walk them across the ice.

     Friends I don't write this to convict you beause this is something that God is convicting me of not doing right. I write this because everyone keeps talking about a revival in Alaska and in America, but who is God going to use if no one is willing to step up to the plate and try starting. Be the Isaiah of you community as say,"...here i am Lord send me."

     Some Christian are doing an excellent job already and if you are reading this and trying, i thank you and ask that you would begin teaching the people around you who aren't.

     I believe that one of the key factors that drive evangelistic people is the understanding of the cause and effect relationship between our sin and the true consequences that God's Word tells us about,"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) If you can understand this and act with the love of Christ in your heart, then you can call yourself a Christian.