At Springhouse Worship & Arts Center (yes that’s the name of the church I attend) we’ve been talking a little bit about worship recently.  We come together to proclaim the name of God, to sit under the public reading of the Word, and to allow God to minister to us through each other.  It’s pretty cool.

We sing songs about God.  We dance and raise our hands and sometimes shout.  We try to yield ourselves to God’s word and his leading in our lives.  We pray for each other.  We talk about and learn about God.  We share our burdens and our strengths.

Just a Small Part

But that’s just a small part of worship.  At least the way we understand worship.  Wayne Berry, our Worship Ministries Pastor, often says that “Worship is all we say and do.”

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)

Based on this passage, Pastor Wayne is absolutely right to say that “Worship is all we say and do.”  Or at least, as followers of Jesus of Nazareth, it ought to be and it can be.  But there’s more to it because all that I say and do is only worship if it actually is worship, right?  So how can I know that all I say and do actually is worship?

A Simple Definition of Worship

I’m going to borrow from John Piper and my older, Reformed brothers in the Faith.  Actually, I’m going to steal directly from John Piper’s book Desiring God (affiliate link).  If you haven’t read it, you really ought to.  It’s theologically solid and can inspire a passion for the life God gives us.

Worship is when we gladly glorify and enjoy God.

Now there’s a definition that I can sink my teeth into.  It’s a definition that I can live.  It’s a fundamental view of how I can truly make worship “all I say and do.”  And it’s useful to me because it consists of only a few basic elements  that I can actually understand.

• God – Worship is first and foremost about God.
• Gladly - Worship is given gladly.
• Glorify God – Worship glorifies God.
• Enjoy God – Worship enjoys God.

Putting it into Action

With these few criteria, I can live a life of worship.  Praise becomes worship.  Study becomes worship.  Sharing my faith becomes worship.  Work becomes worship.  Prayer becomes worship.  Serving others becomes worship.  Helping the poor becomes worship.  Defending the oppressed becomes worship.  Loving others becomes worship.  Submitting to God becomes worship.  Life becomes worship.

Or at least it can be as long as in all I do I’m gladly glorifying and enjoying God.

I Haven’t “Arrived” Yet.

Worship is not yet all I say and do but I’m working on it.  And the Holy Spirit is forming me more fully into the image of Christ as I worship.

What about you?  Is worship all that you say and do?

Image credit: Ben Ehmke

Thanks for reading Worship is a Lifestyle from bdentzy!

• Jesus is the Center
• A Word from God is Precious
• Find God’s Best in the Little Things

As I’ve pondered raising our new daughter (we’re now just over a week into parenthood), I’ve realized that there are so many things in life that I can’t take care of for her. While I want to teach her and protect her, there are some things that I can’t teach and so many things I can’t protect her from. So many opportunities for evil.

That scares me

I don’t like to realize that I’m incapable and insufficient.  I don’t like the feeling of helplessness.  I’d much rather be able to protect my little girl from everything and everybody.

Sure, I could get the stereotypical shotgun to scare off all potential boyfriends.  I could try to refuse to let her date until she’s 35.  I could homeschool her and keep her inside and away from germs.  But if I did that, it might still do no good.  It might even cause her harm.

Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

(Psalm 127:1 – New Living Translation)

There’s Hope

Then, the other evening, my wife and I were reading through Psalm 1 together.  As we were reading, I had all of these fears and inadequacies in mind.  And right at the end of our reading, God spoke to me through the Bible.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

(Psalm 1:6)

We are made righteous in Christ and God is watching over us.  We (I) can trust him.  He’s all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere – and he’s got it.

What Else?

I wonder what other areas of my life I’m trying to control and protect rather than trusting in God.  I’m sure he’ll let me know.

How about you – anything you should trust God with?

Thanks for reading God Watches Over Us from bdentzy!

• Life is a Spiritual Exercise
• That’s Tough
• Doing What is Most Important

Let me be a little more specific.  Have you ever considered that you might need to let one dream die so that a greater dream can live?  Or that the very thing that’s holding you back in life might be what you are holding on to?

Dreams are Good

I’m going to talk a little about some practical experience that my wife and I had recently, but the principles apply in so many areas of our lives.  We all have so many dreams – some old dreams from our childhood, some crushed dreams, some dreams we’re working on, and maybe even some dreams that are bigger than our lives.

There’s nothing wrong with having these dreams – particularly if they are God-given.  In fact, I believe that dreaming is part of our being formed in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-31).  But let’s be honest with ourselves, sometimes our dreams are in conflict with each other.  And sometimes our dreams are in conflict with reality.  What do we do then?

Know What’s Most Important

My wife and I had a baby very recently (hours ago as I write this) and, like Aaron Shaver (@shaversrazor) wrote in a guest post here on bdentzy.com, we had a birth plan and some ideals.  We had everything worked out the way that we hoped it would happen.  Unfortunately things didn’t go exactly as planned

I’m not going to get into all of the details, but some things came up that required us to reevaluate our plan and to make tradeoff decisions about our dreams and what was most important.  Quite honestly, we had to choose between some dreams .

Thankfully, we had the counsel of excellent medical staff and great family support (Proverbs 26:4) and our decisions were pretty simple to make (simple, not easy).  We had our dream of the perfect birth with all of the details but we had to choose between kissing some parts of our overall childbirth dream “good-bye” or missing out completely.

Healthy baby, Healthy mommy.

The point of this whole pregnancy exercise is to have a baby.  And, ideally, there’s a mommy and daddy left when it’s all over, too.  So when our decisions became about choosing between details or missing the point of having a healthy baby and a healthy mommy, it was simple.

Simple, Not Easy

After planning and waiting so many months and days for God’s best in our little baby girl, the choice was simple – we needed to do what it takes to have a healthy baby and mommy.  We knew we were making the right decisions but that didn’t make them easy.  We still had to watch some of our dreams die.  But I can tell you (one healthy baby and a healthy mommy later) that we absolutely made the right call.  We didn’t miss the point of it all, though we let a few details go.

It was totally worth it.  She’s beautiful!

Just One Example

This is just one example.  There are so many ways that we might need to let a dream die so that a bigger dream can live.  Maybe we need to let go of a dream from our past.  Maybe we need to mourn a dream that’s already dead but we’re still trying to resuscitate.  Maybe we need to do the hard work of looking what’s most important so that we can make the right call if we need to.

I’m still dreaming even though sometimes I watch a dream or part of a dream die.  How about you?

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• Get it all Done
• There’s Too Much to Do
• I Wanna Grow Up – Tell Me How!

That song just lumbered slowly along like the SUV I was following the other day, mercilessly subjecting everybody else to its own schedule (no, I did not take that picture while I was driving – I found it on Flickr).

Have patience
Have patience
Don’t be in such a hurry
When you get
Impatient
You only start to worry

Have Patience from Bullfrogs and Butterflies

And here’s what I learned about patience – go slow and chill out. I learned to do “patient” things.  I learned to endure quietly.  But, I think that is an incomplete view of patience because it only addressed the speed of action and my emotional response to waiting.  They were missing something.

Patience has a point.  There is a purpose to patience – it might be simple survival or it might be to take over the world – but patience has purpose.

The Point of Patience

The point of patience is not actually waiting or being predisposed to inaction or with being powerless to affect change.  The point of patience is not necessarily to relax.  The point of patience is simply to take action at the right time.

Athletes understand this.  Military generals understand it too.  They can be patient in the face of great frustration because they are waiting for the right time to do something.

Waiting is important – but only important until it’s time to stop waiting and take action.  Emotions are important.  It’s important to both control and harness emotion.  But denying that there is a goal or that we’re experiencing emotion is futile.  In fact, I’d go so far to say that denying emotion and purpose are unbiblical.

Think for a moment about King David, Moses, Abraham, and the Apostle Paul.  While none were perfect, each was goal-oriented and (mostly) patient yet open with their emotions.  Jesus expressed deep frustration, yet remained patient.  In fact, the Bible goes so far to tell us that God is not slow, but is patient with a purpose (2 Peter 3:9).

My Struggle with Patience

If I look at patience this way, I see that most of my struggles with patience have been related to my emotional response to waiting and not knowing when the “right time” is.  And while I’ve often not felt patient, I have sometimes actually been patient.  Other times I have felt patient but, in retrospect, I was just slow.

But I can tell you from the few times I’ve gotten patience right, it’s worth it.  I think specifically of waiting for my wife, which took a little while but was well worth it.  I often didn’t feel patient but I waited.  And when I realized I’d found her and that the time was right, we were married within months.

I waited patiently – with purpose and expectation – even though I didn’t feel like it.  And when I saw that it was right, I moved.

How about you?

When have you been patient?
Do you struggle with emotion?
How has patience worked out for you?

Image credit: kingoftv

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• We’re Not Alone
• Doing What is Most Important
• Luke 3:4-14

A couple of years ago I was getting ready to marry my beautiful wife and was looking for gifts for my groomsmen.  I wanted to get them nice, useful gifts because I valued them and their friendship but I was held back by something.  I was held back by convention.

Held Back By Convention

“What do you mean, ‘Held back by convention,’” you ask?

I couldn’t think of any great gifts because I knew what kinds of gifts were expected.  Were “traditional.”  To be fair, my friends and I really aren’t the “monogramed beer stein and cigar” crowd but most of the recommended gifts (Amazon link) for groomsmen are what I would call useless.  The kind of thing that my groomsmen would never actually want but would feel obliged to keep simply because it had been a gift.

For whatever reason, I found my brain locked into junk gifts as though I were a moth circling a fluorescent bulb.  I couldn’t see any further than the “conventional” gifts and found myself anchored to them in the same way that a manufacturer’s suggested retail price makes us think we got a great deal when we have just been fleeced.

Sadly, I got them exactly that kind of gift.  Though  I don’t know exactly what I gave them any more – probably a travel coffee mug with our wedding date on it or something like that – I can guarantee it was almost entirely useless.  And that, whatever it was, it certainly didn’t express what these guys have meant to me and I doubt that even one of them has it any more.

A Whole New World

Of course, at the time I felt pretty good about myself for fulfilling the convention. That is until a couple of weeks ago when I was a groomsman.  I was in a friend’s wedding and he got us a super-cool gift.  As you can see, he didn’t defy the tradition, but he wasn’t imprisoned by the “conventional” gifts.  I suspect he thought long and hard about what to do.

Instead of getting us some lame key chain or cigarette lighter, he got each of us a LaCie iamaKey 4 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive 130869 (Amazon link).  Now that might not be a great gift for some people, but we’re geeks and this was totally up our collective alley.  We’re the guys who would love to have a flash drive that fits on a keychain and looks like a key.

That God Me Thinking

A super-cool gift like that made me think a little about the gifts I’d given.  It made me wonder if I could have done better.  And then I started wondering if there were other ways that I settle for “good enough” or “normal” or “traditional.”

You know what?  I’m sure that there are.  I bet that I settle a little every day.  I can almost guarantee that I live more by what I see than by faith in God.  That I allow others to think for me and accept a diet of mediocre ideas and entertainment on an ongoing basis.  I bet that I sacrifice my own enjoyment and fulfillment simply by not being willing to do the hard work of waiting for what’s best.

I’m Tired of “Good Enough”

Actually, I’m embarrassed that I ever settled for “good enough.”  In the gifts that I give, in the way that I love, and in the life that I live.  I’ve settled for “good enough” for too long because God has called me to extraordinary.

And he’s called you, too.  Are you settling for “good enough” instead of extraordinary?

Lord, help me (and us) to see where we’re trapped by our own expectations.  Transform our thinking and our lives until we think and live the way you want us to live.  Give us the grace to be extraordinary.

Image credit: eqqman

Thanks for reading Be Extraordinary from bdentzy!

• Don’t Settle
• The Very Best
• What to do When it Hurts

Take this weekend, for example.  I know that I spent a few hours looking for a new template (I found a couple that I like – Manifest and The Erudite – but I’m not making a change just yet).

And how much time was invested in looking at templates?  Several hours.

It’s a Matter of Priority

Now, I think having a good, readable template is a good thing.  And I’m all about plugins that help me make my blog more usable.  In fact I think beauty is a matter of both form and function.  But it’s a matter of priority.  You see, having a killer template and screaming-hot plugins is not nearly as important as writing great blog posts.

It’s the cart before the horse.  If I write stuff that nobody wants to find, read, or share, what’s the point in making sure that I have the infrastructure for people to do what they don’t want to do? But if, on the other hand, I invest my time in making sure that I write killer blog posts that are relevant to your lives, you’ll find a way to read it and share it.

Did you catch that? If I write killer posts that are relevant, you’ll find a way to read and share it.  If I make that simpler, all the better.  But I have to get the first part first – writing killer posts that are relevant.

What Could I Accomplish?

I’d taken just two hours this weekend to write instead of search, I could have written three new posts – maybe even four.  That would have been at least two more posts for you to read this week.

Come to think of it, I shudder to think what could be accomplished if I recaptured only two hours a week – every week for a year.  That would be over 100 hours a year.  That’s over two additional work-weeks of time.

It’s Not Just Blog Posts

I do this all the time and I bet you do too.  It seems like I spend more time obsessing about the “easy” part of finding or creating systems and tools than I do worrying about the hard work.  The work of connecting with people and taking care of their needs – what Seth Godin would call creating my art.

It kind of makes me wonder what I could accomplish if I really did focus on what’s important. Probably a lot.

Photo credit: Akbar Simonse

Thanks for reading Just Do Great Work from bdentzy!

• There’s Too Much to Do
• The Greatest in the Kingdom
• Be Encouraged

Clearly, she hasn’t been born yet, and it’s possible she won’t be born today.  In times like this it’s so easy to become impatient and to forget that God’s timing is best.  I know it’s easy because I often get impatient with God.

God’s Timing is Best

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve had struggles with faith because of timing.  I always want God’s best.  But sometimes I want God’s best at the wrong time.  Sometimes I want God’s best for later but I want it right now.

Like right now, waiting on a baby.  I want for her to be born at the right time – in God’s time.  But I sure am looking forward to meeting her.  And I’m getting a little impatient this morning.

Photo credit: SeRVe61

Thanks for reading God’s Timing is Best from bdentzy!

• Have Patience
• Christmas Reminds us that Jesus will Return
• Blessings Are More than Money

I mean, is humility something that we can work towards?  Can we just do humble things until we become humble (fake it ’till you make it)?  For that matter, do we even know what humility is?

Sideways Humor

So, admitting my weakness and my lack of knowledge, I figure it’s OK to have some fun.  To that end, I used to tell people that I was quite proud of my humility – that it was my best attribute.  Continuing that, I started this thread on Facebook with some friends there.

Want to add something to it?

Comment away!

Thanks for reading Proud of My Own Humility from bdentzy!

• Does Facebook Make Us Better Friends
• Guest Teaser – If Jim Planted a Church Today
• Sidetracked Without Goals

Do you find areas in your life where your focus has been off or where you’ve known what to do but just haven’t been consistent? Have you decided you want to bless others by sharing your life in person?  Have you only been giving 50% at work?  Are you living an ineffective life without passion?

Have You Been Challenged?

I’m hoping that my recent posts have challenged you.  I know they’ve challenged me.  And if they haven’t challenged you, I’d challenge you to go ahead and challenge me (that just sounds funny, doesn’t it).  I’d appreciate it.

If You’re Not Satisfied

So, let’s assume for a moment that we’re not satisfied with our lives.  That God has more for us than we’re living and that we want to step into what God has for us.  What should we do?

• Pray about it
  I can’t emphasize this enough.  If we want God’s very best, we must begin with our relationship with God.   We must first come to God to find out what he wants from us.  He might speak to us through the Bible.  Or through others.  But we have to first set our minds and hearts on hearing and obeying his will.
• Set some goals
  That’s right.  Faith is practical, so if we know what God wants from us and how he wants to work through us, it’s perfectly appropriate for us talk with him about some goals (there’s prayer again).  And then write them down and  work our little tails off – empowered by the Holy Spirit – to achieve those goals.
• Upset the apple cart
  Sometimes we need to do more than just set a goal.  Sometimes we need to create some tension.  Sometimes we need for our whole lives to be a little off-balance for a while so that we’re uncomfortable enough to transition from where we are to where we should be.
• What else?
  I don’t begin to think that I’ve made an exhaustive list.  What about your list?  What’s missing from mine?

Photo credit: D’Arcy Norman

Thanks for reading Are You Satisfied? from bdentzy!

• Take it out!
• There’s Too Much to Do
• The Secret to Conquering Adversity

Facebook is a pretty cool thing.  I’m on Facebook and I like it.  It’s great for sharing photos and stories and such.  And for keeping up with friends.  But does it make us better friends?

I don’t know

I’m talking to you – the “regular” people who use Facebook and email and Twitter to keep up with friends and family.  Not the people who are marketing their business or trying to network for their next sale.  Just the people who use it personally.

Do you think it makes you a better friend?

I mean, it’s great to catch up.  It’s super-easy to “like” a comment or status update.  You can use Facebook to begin to know people in a socially non-threatening way.  But does it make you a better friend?

I know there have been times that I’ve “liked” and commented away and felt really connected to my friends and family.  That is, until I’m asked a question about something that I “liked” or commented and I realize I can’t even remember the comment, much less the context.

How about you?

Has that ever happened to you?
Do you think Facebook makes you a better friend?
Have I been a good friend to you on or through or in spite of Facebook?

Photo credit: uros velickovic

Thanks for reading Does Facebook Make Us Better Friends from bdentzy!

• Get Connected
• Social Media and Ministry
• Guest Teaser – If Jim Planted a Church Today

It’s OK to have a plan – a strategy, if you will.  It’s even right to have a strategy.  But I think most people misunderstand strategy.  Football players understand strategy and so do generals in the army.

Do the rest of us understand strategy?

What Isn’t a Strategy?

A shortcut isn’t a strategy.  We think it’s a strategy because we’ve misunderstood what strategy is.  And most often, what we’re looking for is a shortcut – an inside track to success – rather than a strategy.

A quick Google search yields a number of people willing to sell you their social media “strategies” for success.  A similar search will find you any number of “secrets” that will make your life amazing, fulfilled, and all-together unbelievable.  We look for these magic pills to fix our marriages and make ourselves look slimmer without diets or working out.

Can you believe that we buy into that stuff?!

Maybe not all of it, but some of it.  And why?

We buy into it because we don’t understand what strategy is.  We go looking for what we think is a strategy but what we really want is a shortcut.  We want a magic pill that will make everything better and easy and cost only 3 easy payments of $39.95.  But the magic pill doesn’t exist.  And even if it did, the magic pill isn’t a strategy.

What is a Strategy?

A strategy is actually really simple (at its core).  It consists of four parts.

1. Objective - What is the overall vision of what you want to accomplish and when?
2. Assets - What and how much do you have that works in your favor?
3. Liabilities - What and how much works against you?
4. A Plan - With consideration of assets and liabilities, how will you accomplish your vision?

That’s it.  A strategy is nothing more than a plan that uses assets to overcome liabilities to achieve a goal.

Why is this Important?

Well, I think it’s important so that we don’t get duped into thinking a shortcut is a strategy.  A shortcut – at best – is a tactic.

Your strategy might be “I will use shortcuts to achieve my goals” and that would be a strategy.  Not necessarily a great long-term strategy, but a strategy nonetheless.  And if that’s your strategy, head back to Google and search away for the “magic pill.”  Good luck.

I Have a Strategy

In my relationship with God I have a strategy.  It doesn’t involve buying anything and it’s surely not flashy or trendy or even complex.  But let’s use it to go through the process.

1. My overall vision is to be fully formed into the image of Christ and in perfect relationship with God and humanity.
2. My assets are God and the time and abilities he gives me.
3. My liabilities are me and what I think I can and can’t do.
4. My plan is REALLY simple.  Trust God and do the four things below.
   • The Bible – spend time in the Word to meet and learn about God
   • Prayer & Worship – spend time with God, listen, adore
   • Fellowship – spend time with God’s people
   • Service & Sharing – show and tell what God has done in your life

If I were to write it out, it would be something like “I will trust God to form me into his image by his great power and I will partner with him to overcome my weaknesses by investing my life in the Bible, in prayer and worship, in fellowship, and in service to others.”

Of course, you will notice that very little of my strategy relies on me – at best I “partner with” God.  That’s because my objective can only be accomplished through God’s power and my weakness.  So I have aligned my strategy to consider that.

Do You Have a Strategy?

What’s your life strategy?

Photo credit: The US Army

Thanks for reading What’s Your Life Strategy? from bdentzy!

• What’s Your Resloution?
• Small: Not Big?
• Changing My Media Diet

But I wonder, can God take my life?  Does God take our lives?

We’ve Already Lost our Lives

It seems to me that we traded away our lives when we entered into sin through Adam and Eve.  That our lives were taken from us in a bad trade.  That what we have because of sin isn’t really life.

Unless we give our lives to God.  Unless we trade our banal, death-bound non-life and trade it for the amazing life that we have in Jesus.  And if we have already given God our lives, can they really be taken from us?

What do you think?
Can our lives really be taken from us?
Can your life be taken from you?

Thanks for reading Can God Take Your Life? from bdentzy!

• Who Does God Love?
• What is Eternal Life?
• Do You Know How to Share?

Just a couple days ago, God spoke to me in a mundane part of my life.  I was at home and getting ready to go upstairs to get something (I don’t remember what that was any more).  As I got up and headed towards the stairs, Mischief – one of our cats – decided to race me.

But Mischief didn’t know where I was headed.  He headed out at top speed, knowing that he would win the race to the downstairs bathroom.  And, of course, he did win – sort of.  Except that I didn’t race him.

I Didn’t Get Sucked into His Race

I knew where I was headed and just kept going to my destination.  I let him win his little race with no competition.  After all, winning that race was of no value to me.  I had no need to win a race to a place I wasn’t headed.

It’s at that point that God spoke to me.  No, not the “audible voice” of God.  But the still small voice of the Holy Spirit that reminds us of Jesus’ teachings and that reminds us of Scripture.

Know Which Race

In that moment I realized that there are many races in life.  There are many destinations.  And, being a little competitive, I can easily get sucked into running the wrong race.  I can so easily end up chasing rainbows and goals and trying to be someone other than who I actually am.  In fact, chasing the wrong goals can even suck motivation out of our lives.

So it’s really important for me (for us) to know who I am and what race God has for me to run.  It’s important for me to know what it is to win that race and how to run the race.  Because (to steal a book title from John Ortberg), When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box (Amazon Link).

I Can Run Any Race

Sure, I can run any race I want to.  I can get caught up in the rat race.  I can grasp and claw at wealth and riches.  Or I can try to earn my salvation by giving everything away.  But I can’t win any of these races.  So there’s no point in running.

The only race I can win is the one God has for me.
And the only way I can win it is in and through him.

That goes for you, too.

The only race you can win is the one God has for you.
And the only way you can win it is in and through him.

Some Introspection

I wonder what races I’m running that are headed nowhere.
What about you?  Any races you’re running that you should stop?
What are you going to do about it?

Photo by: LSE Sports

Thanks for reading How to Win the Race from bdentzy!

• Enjoy the Little Things
• There’s Too Much to Do
• Where is Your Wealth?

I suspect that most people hear “God will bless you” as “God will make you rich.”  In fact I would go so far as to say that there are probably even some who tithe because we think God will make them rich (of course, you know better than that).

But that misses the point of a blessing.  A blessing is when God releases supernatural forces to work in your favor (I “borrowed” this from my pastor).  It is a gift from God.  It might be a something you’ve asked for and expected.  Or God might just totally blow your mind.  In fact, I bet God wants to totally blow your mind.

Oh, how we need God’s grace!  How we need his perspective when it comes to blessings.  I fear that we so often think of blessings only as financial or material.

Money Can’t Buy This

Today I was able to witness one of the biggest blessings I’ve seen in a while.  It’s not the kind of blessing that we normally think of, but a blessing none-the-less.  In fact, it might be a bigger, more substantial blessing than we would first think.  But it was definitely a blessing that money simply can’t buy.

A Prodigal Returns

Earlier today I was at Church.  I was with the fellowship of believers worshiping God and proclaiming his name.  And as part of that I was able to witness a baptism (not in the Pacific Ocean like the picture above).  Now, I think baptisms are always a really cool thing.  They are a space for God’s grace through obedience.  They are a place to meet God and to be transformed into his image.  But for many in our body, this wasn’t an ordinary baptism – it marked the return of a prodigal.

A young man in his 20′s who was raised in church.  Who has ministered and served.  He was a man we’ve known and loved and who spent a few years following his own path (boy, can I identify with that).  The son of parents who remained faithful and trusted God to work on their behalf and to hold their son secure (I can relate to that, too).

But, as with many of the things of God, it gets better.  He was baptized by his father – an amazing display of God’s grace and mercy and divine plan in our lives.

I’m sure that you’ll agree this is a huge blessing for this young man, his parents, our church, and for the kingdom of God.  It’s the kind of blessing that money can’t buy.  It’s the kind of blessing that can only come from the hand of God.  And I ask you – do you think his parents would ever trade their son’s eternity for a few extra dollars?

Let’s Reset Our Perspectives

Oh, how we need to remember this when we think of blessings.  How we need to remember the unfathomable blessing that is the gift of Jesus Christ on the cross – crucified, buried, and resurrected on the third day.  How awesome is the love of God towards us!  How we need to remember that he is always at work on our behalf, working all things together for good (Romans 8:28).

Let’s remember that God’s blessings are so much more than money or health.  God’s blessings are eternal and so far above what we can ask or even imagine.  Let’s open ourselves to receive all of God’s blessings in all of their various forms.  Let’s not just seek God’s blessings. Let’s seek God’s presence and with it, the grace to see the blessings that he pours out on us daily.

Be blessed.  And may God grant you (and me) the perspective to see the blessing.

Photo credit: mikebaird

Thanks for reading Blessings Are More than Money from bdentzy!

• Blessed Beyond Measure
• Three Reasons I Tithe
• The Way Back Machine

Our life in Christ isn’t static.  It’s dynamic.  It shifts and changes and grows.  It’s not a destination, it’s a journey.  And it’s a journey that’s meant to be shared.  Shared with God and shared with others.

In fact your journey – the ongoing story of your life with Christ – might be one of the most powerful things you have to offer.  One of the most irrefutable ways to share your faith.  It might just be a way that you can defeat the work of evil in the world (Revelation 12:11).

Why is Your Story Powerful?

• It’s YOUR story.
• It shows that God is interested in our lives.
• It demonstrates God’s faithfulness and grace.
• It’s an opportunity to share how you’ve lived so that others can live better than you have.

How Long Should I Wait?

You don’t have to wait to start sharing your story.  You don’t have to be an old man or woman.  You don’t have to be perfect (I sure haven’t arrived yet).  You don’t have to be nearing your death.

In fact, you don’t just have to share your story in the past tense.  You can share your life right now.  You can invite other people to be part of God’s ongoing work in your life.  And you can be involved in what he’s doing with them at the same time.

How Can I Share My Spiritual Journey?

Well, in some way’s that’s very personal.  And I believe God wants it to be very personal.  At the same time, there are a few VERY basic principles that will always apply.

1. Have a relationship with Jesus
2. Spend time with other people
3. Be authentic
4. Allow God to speak to you and change you
5. What else?

Thanks for reading Share Your Spiritual Journey from bdentzy!

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• Do You Know How to Share?
• Life is More Than Acting Like a Christian

You see, as a friend of mine – Martina, who blogs here – pointed out, the post was one-sided.  And it was one-sided on purpose.  The point of the post was that sin has no place in our lives, which is true.

However, as Martina pointed out in her comment, there are a number of God-relationship metaphors provided for us in Scripture – sons & daughters, lovers, servants, and so on.  And, as she astutely pointed out, when we use the word “slave” it means something very specific to us.

A Person With No Choice

When we think of a slave, we think of a person who was taken against his or her will and enslaved.  A person captured.  A person controlled and completely lacking in rights.  A person who is not even considered a person.

That, I think, very accurately describes how we lived when we were slaves to sin (or how we live if we are still slaves to sin).  We don’t have a choice.  It doesn’t really matter what we do – the end is the same.  We die.

But that’s not the end of this story.  Jesus gives us a choice.

Jesus Gives us a Choice

He says “Come to me, you who are weak and carry heavy loads, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  He gives us the choice to trade out our slavery to sin for the dignity of a new life as sons and daughters of God.

He takes the image of slave and converts it to “bond-servant.”  You see, a bond-servant had a choice.  A bond-servant chooses whom he or she will serve.  We are given the choice to serve sin or righteousness.

We are made right with God – sons and daughters of God.  That is true.  But we still choose whether we will be slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness.  Whether we will do what sin requires of us, which leads to death (Romans 6:1-23).  Or whether we will do what righteousness requires of us, which leads to victorious eternal life.

Here’s the Question

Are you a child of God?  Have you been made right with him?
Are you living as a slave to sin or as a slave to righteousness?

Thanks for reading Slave by Choice from bdentzy!

• Are You a Slave?
• What is Eternal Life?
• Get it all Done

Image by bdentzy via Flickr

I have to tell you, I think weddings totally rock!  There’s such excitement and anticipation.  There are all kinds of people showing up and sharing their lives – sometimes even family and friends from other countries.  It’s just a powerful thing.

A few days ago I was at a wedding.  Actually, to be more specific, I was in a wedding.  It was a blessed event and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Weddings Remind Me

Weddings remind me of things.  They remind me of the value of marriage.  They remind me of the vows I took with my wife.  They remind me that there’s something special about marriage – that it’s ordained by God and is one of the ways that the Holy Spirit forms us into the image of Jesus.

Weddings speak to me of how humanity was created in the image of God.  Of how God created us for relationship.  Of how God commanded dominion of the earth.  Weddings are a cool thing!

But there is always one part of the wedding that just totally messes me up.

The Entry of the Bride

Yes, that’s it.  When the bride enters, all beautiful and glowing, and everybody stands up in her honor.

In all honesty, tears well up in my eyes every time because I’m overcome by beauty, memories, and hopes.

• The beauty and purity of the moment
• The memory of my own bride walking down the aisle
• The vision of the Bride of Christ entering the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, spotless, beautiful, complete
• The hope of our new life, fully complete in relationship with God

The Wedding is an Event

I’m not at all confused that the wedding is an event that starts a life we must live daily.  It is a glorious, blessed, God-ordained event and it starts a new life that can be even more glorious and blessed than the wedding.

A new life where two become one.  Where God forms us into the likeness of his Son through the power of the Holy Spirit.  A life where we are able to experience intimacy, to extend and to receive grace, and to love unashamedly.

Let’s live marriages worthy of our weddings!  And let’s live lives worthy of our future with Christ in eternity!

Thanks for reading Why I Love Weddings from bdentzy!

• Spouses Be Good to Each Other
• Christ is Always With Us
• Jesus is the Center

Image by UW Digital Collections via Flickr

Technology is a cool thing.  I almost can’t imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t have a cell phone, email, Facebook, Twitter, and the ability to telecommute.

I’m Blessed

I am very blessed that I live where and when I do.  I’m happy about it.  In fact, I still want an iPad, even though they’re $500 or more.  And I want an Android phone even though it’ll cost me $30 more per month just for a data plan.

But there’s something I can’t do through technology.  I can’t actually show up over technology.  I can’t have fondue on Facebook.  I can’t actually hug somebody or shake a hand.

Why Show Up?

So why show up?  If we can do lots of stuff electronically, why bother to hop in the car (or on a bicycle) and burn the calories to show up?

1. “[The] coolest technology in the world can’t replace looking someone in the eye, shaking their hand, grabbing an impromptu coffee or drink or handing someone your business card as a sign of interest.” (via DoubleShot Creative)
2. TV and movies are cool.  But watching somebody else bring a character to life isn’t as cool as watching it in person – in real time.
3. Concerts are better than CDs, even if the sound isn’t as good.
4. More of our communication is non-verbal than verbal (or written).  So we say more when we’re together, even if we talk less.
5. We’re more likely to change and grow because real change happens in person.  Cultural change is always personal change.
6. It helps us know each other better. (via WebWorkerDaily)
7. Laughter is contagious and compassion is personal.
8. Being with somebody else helps us focus our attention.
9. Our children learn how to live by watching what we do.
10. God’s love for us was made personal in and through Jesus of Nazareth.

More ideas?

I’m sure there are more reasons we should get together in person.

Do you think it’s important to get together?
What are you going to do about it?

Thanks for reading Life Happens in Person from bdentzy!

• Changing My Media Diet
• Does Facebook Make Us Better Friends
• Effects of a Media Diet Change

Image by bdentzy via Flickr

I wonder if part of the reason we – the Church – don’t share our faith more is because we’re not connected.  I don’t mean that we don’t have cell phones and don’t check our email every 8.36 seconds.  I mean that our lives aren’t connected.

Sure, we think we’re connected.  We share information about our lives.  But we don’t share our lives.

We share pictures and thoughts and quotes.  But we don’t get in the car.  We don’t go to concerts with friends.  We don’t hang out at the park.  At least not like we used to.

Instead, we hole up in our homes – our fortresses of solitude – where we have information and entertainment piped in.  Where we nuke our TV dinners and write blogs in the middle of the night (“like I’m doing now”, types Bryan ruefully).

A Personal Proverb

This is one I made up.  You can’t have fondue on Facebook.

You just can’t.

Let’s Make a Change

It’s OK to keep up with your friends and to share photos and stuff.  But let’s make sure we’re sharing our lives.

• Attend worship services
• Go to ballgames (suggested by Patty Both on Facebook)
• Take friends to concerts
• Go to a park to walk your dog
• Grill out with the neighbors
• Have an outdoor movie night (suggested by Mark Entzminger)
• Invite me over for fondue

What am I missing?
Give me some ideas.  I need ‘em too!

Thanks for reading Get Connected from bdentzy!

• Does Facebook Make Us Better Friends
• You Can’t Have Fondue on Facebook
• Life Happens in Person

Image via Wikipedia

One of the things I so love about the Church – the body of Christ – is that our God speaks to us through our brothers and sisters.  God often uses our relationships to make us think.  To speak a rebuke or to extend grace.  Or just to help us understand him better.

That happened to me yesterday.  I was deeply troubled about something I read in a report by the Barna Group and wrote a post about it.  In short, I was troubled because it seems that we – the Church – are not living and sharing our faith like we used to.  Man, that still bothers me.

Widening My Perspective

And I think I outlined a few good reasons this might be.  But then Steve Grossman (@stevegrossman), a friend of mine, just totally blew the lid off of my perspective as he responded back to me in a comment.

I had been coming at my understanding based on a the perspective of Fear of Man and whether we really believe the Gospel.  That may shed a little light on where I need to grow.  But Steve’s answer was just so full of grace and truth, that I’d like to just quote him here.

Probably because I’m reading Dallas Willard‘s The Divine Conspiracy, but my answer to why is that we’ve been deceived into accepting the Gospel of “Sin Management” instead of heaven on earth and kingdom of God LIFE. So instead of living and therefore preaching the good news of power/passion/joy/purpose infused life, all we have is a list of don’t dos. And that is no good news at all.

(emphasis and links added)

The gospel of “Sin Management” which is really no gospel  That’s HUGE.  And it’s often what we try to sell our culture rather than the kingdom of God on earth.  What a flip!

Making it Practical

And then, Karen Byrne (@karenbyrne), who I’ve never met in person, but who blogs here, responded with several practical ideas for how to engage our culture and impact the lives of the generation coming behind us.  I’m going to list just a few of her suggestions.

• Use life as an opportunity to show how God is moving
• Be real – [people] can see right through our masks
• Pray, and pray, and pray

What about You?

Have you embraced the “gospel of sin management?”
Do you have any practical ideas for engaging people and the culture for Jesus?
How does God use your fellowship with other believers to change you?

Thanks for reading The Gospel of Sin Management from bdentzy!

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