Tag: God (page 5 of 5)

The “Visitor” Treatment

August 22, 2010 / / 4 Comments

I read this on a sign at an O’Charley’s restaurant I visited in Nashville:

At our place, everybody’s a regular.

What a powerful statement, especially to me on my first time in the restaurant.  That sign told me that I was being viewed a regular customer, even though it was my first time to ever step foot into the place.  I knew none of the waiters or waitresses.  I didn’t have my “special” seat.  The waiter didn’t know my name or what I “always ordered.”  Yet from the moment I stepped foot into the restaurant, I felt valued.

And the service I received backed that up.

I felt like an honored guest.  My waiter went out of his way to make sure I was served well.  He was skilled at his job, and was great at making our table feel served and appreciated.  I really did feel like I was a regular there.  The service was beyond my expectations…especially because there were 40 people in our group.  My tea was always full.  He made sure I was satisfied with each course of food.  He made sure my son was happy.  And he never seemed frustrated that my son was roaming throughout our section (for the record, he doesn’t normally do that, but he was in a foul mood because he was sick, so we let him roam a bit).

Yeah, our service was top notch.

This principle holds true in churches as well.

The way you treat visitors at your church says much about what you, as a church, value.  If you treat them as honored guests, you are saying:

1. We love you, even though we don’t know your story.

2. God loves you, and He does know your story.

3. We love others because God loves us…not because a person is an “insider.”

4. It’s ok to “come as you are.”  Questions, mess, and all.

5. God’s big enough to handle your junk.

Can it be said of a typical Sunday morning at your local church, “At our place, everybody’s a regular.“?

When was the last time you thought, “What impact will this have on first time guests?” as you were planning a Sunday morning environment?

Have you ever tried putting yourself in the shoes of a first-timer, trying to see and experience what they do, from the parking lot to the worship service and the children’s environments?

 

When it doesn’t go right, part 2

August 16, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I noted a few things HERE that we can rightly say our circumstances are not.  Today, let’s look at a few things our circumstances are.

When “life” happens, remember

1. Circumstances give you a chance to slow down. Moving through life at blazing speeds is something that most of us do well.  When trials happen, you’re forced to slow down, and given the chance to evaluate things.  Use that time wisely!

2. God is in control of all things. Even when everything seems to fall apart, reminding yourself that God is ultimately in control is a great source of hope. (Ecclesiastes 7:14; John 10:27-29; Colossians 1:17)

3. You need others to help you discern the hand of God. We gravitate to quick, rash decisions…and paralyzation, waiting forever before doing anything.  But it is within the counsel of other godly men and women that wisdom is found. (Proverbs 13:20; Proverbs 15:22)  Others who love you, have your best interest at heart, and are committed to helping you grow rightly give counsel to help you see where God’s working.  (see my related posts on the value of small groups HERE)

4. Circumstances don’t control the outcome of your life. Your relationship with God does.  If they begin to control your life, it’s because you’ve given them that power, because Christ is greater than he who is in the world.  (1 John 4:4)

This is what the Lord says:
Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord .
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit. –Jeremiah 17:5-8

Ever felt like you were controlled by your circumstances?

Ever worked through the difficulties and found God at work the whole time?

 

When it doesn’t go right

August 11, 2010 / / 2 Comments

Ever hit a rough spot in life?


The Bible’s full of people hitting rough spots.

In 2 Chronicles 32, it says that Hezekiah (the king of Judah in the early 700s – late 600s b.c.) had just finished doing what the Lord had asked him to do.  In distributing food to the people, in following the laws and commands of the Lord, and in all that he did, he sought the Lord wholeheartedly.  He was very successful. (2 Chronicles 31:20-21)  Yet it was in the midst of this success that he was invaded by his enemy, the King of Assyria.
The people must have quickly lost hope.  I’m sure some said, “We followed God, now this?!?”  But Hezekiah encouraged the people with this:
Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people.
So how should we view our circumstances?  The ups and downs of life?  Should we look at them as a door…opening and closing to different possibilities?  Or should we look at them as an indicator of our spiritual health?

Here are a few things we can rightly say that circumstances are not:

1. Circumstances aren’t a good barometer for how you’re living your life. Hezekiah was following the Lord with all of his heart.  He was seeking God wholeheartedly.  Yet things were still crumbling around him.  There can be a connection with how you’re living your life and the natural consequences you reap…but not always.  I’ve heard people say that, when things fall apart, there must be some unconfessed sin in your heart that God’s punishing you for.  Thankfully, I don’t think that God operates like that.  If He worked off of a scale, and every sin I committed meant I got a given punishment, then my life would be a mess most of the time.   I’m so thankful Christ has paid my ransom.
2. Circumstances aren’t a good barometer for how you should plan your life. If they were, then every time you failed a test, you could assume that God didn’t want you to finish school; every time you got sick, you could assume that God didn’t want you to do whatever you were set out to do; every time you were short on money, you could assume God wants you to do whatever it takes to get more money.  Don’t plan your life around circumstances…plan them around what God’s called you to do.  Circumstances are complicated.  And if you’ll sit down and think through it, you could just as easily convince yourself that God’s leading you to do something as He is asking you not to do that same thing.  Circumstances may help confirm the Lord’s work, but because of the work of Satan (which God allows…see Job 1.6-12), it’s hard to know for certain that a given situation is the Lord’s direct work.
3. Circumstances aren’t a good barometer for whether the Lord is with you or not. Hezekiah’s circumstances, from man’s perspective, looked pretty awful.  He was being attacked!  But the Lord was certainly with them.  Just because you’re under attack doesn’t mean that the Lord has left you.  In fact, He may have allowed you to come under attack so that He could rescue you.  One thing he clearly loves to do. (see…the whole Bible)

If you find yourself in some difficult times, take hope that God’s not left you.  He doesn’t do that. He works right in the midst of the difficulties.
I’ll post tomorrow about some things we can rightly assert about our circumstances.  But until then,
Have you ever used circumstances, in and of themselves, to make a decision?
Have you found any of the above to be true in your life?
 

Tragedy & the work of God

May 5, 2010 / / 0 Comments

If you’ve been affected by the flood in Clarksville, Grace would like to help.  Just go to this site HERE and let us know what we can do.

It’s often in the midst of tragedy that God works most powerfully in a person’s life.

Life can clip along just fine for years and years.  That normal, frenetic pace of life lulls us to spiritual sleep.  Into a coma of sorts that makes us feel like we’re in control, that we don’t need others, and that we certainly don’t need God.  Because, when you have a successful career, a nice home, a nice family, and are fulfilling the “American dream,” what else could you ask for?

But it’s suffering that helps remind us that we have very little control of our lives.  No matter what you do, you can’t safeguard your life against disaster.  Try as you may, suffering will find you.  And you can continue to try to put up fences, sandbags, walls, and defenses against disaster…but no part of life is outside the reach of Tragedy.

The point of suffering is many-fold, and I don’t presume to know exactly what God’s up to when He allows certain things.  But one thing is certain (in addition to the fact that Satan is out to steal, kill, and destroy” – John 10:10).  “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)  It’s when we recognize our position in relationship with God that we find true security.  Feelings of safety and ease are just that…feelings.  When “life” happens, we find that the only safe place to rest is clinging tight to the One who holds life in His hands.

May we show Christ to be our all surpassing Treasure, and not the stuff of earth that is quickly fleeting.

And may we, out of that relationship, offer hope and help to a world left stunned and confused when life falls apart.


 

The power of your story

March 18, 2010 / / 0 Comments

You have a story.

It may be ugly and offensive.

It may be neat and pretty.

It may be rough and unfinished.

And you’re probably scared to share it, because of what people will think when they hear it.

But sharing your story within community is one of the most powerful things you can do to build community.

I recently shared my story with my small group.

And let me tell you…it felt great.

To have people intently listening to my life story, nod their head in understanding, ask probing questions, and affirm God’s work in my life felt so freeing.

And confirmed to me the value of my story.

You have a story.

And the beautiful part is that God’s still working on you.

Will you consider building community around sharing your story and listening to others’ stories?

 

Worry, Trust, and God's Control

January 22, 2009 / / 1 Comment

I want to thank you for all of the prayers you prayed for my son, who had surgery a couple of weeks ago.  It went very well, and he’s recovering nicely.  In fact, he does not even react as if the surgery site is painful now.  We’re so thankful for the outpouring of love and support from you all.

Sending my son in for surgery was one of the toughest things I’ve had to do.  The worst part was when they wheeled him out to the operating room, and we saw him round the corner away from us.  Let me tell you, that was a tough moment.  Part of the reason it was so tough was because it’s my son, and I love him, and I hate to see him hurting.  But the other, and more significant reason that it was so difficult, I believe, was that it was out of my control.  Surgery is beyond my level of expertise, and I had nothing to do with the procedure in the surgery room.  It was completely beyond me.  When things are beyond us, out of our control, we can move in one of two directions: worry or trust.

Worry says that I don’t really trust that God is in control.  Because God is not fully in control, and He’s not going to give this the time, effort, love, and thought that the gravity of this situation deserves, I in my sufficient wisdom will fret, sweat, and unhealthily concern myself with that which I cannot control.  God cannot be in control, because if He were, He would have led me to this situation.  Worry, at its heart, reflects a lack of trust.

Trust, on the other hand, says that though this is a difficult situation, and I don’t know what the outcome will be, God is in control.  As He has been faithful in the past, so will He be faithful now.  God is good, and His love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34).  The one who trusts sleeps peacefully in the knowledge that God is the one who provides true safety (Psalm 4:8).  Trust, at its heart, reflects a true belief.

I’d like to say that I never once worried throughout this whole process, but I can’t honestly say that.  However, I can say that difficult situations tend to bring heart issues out.  When difficult times come, use that as a time to evaluate your heart.  Will you worry?  Or will you flee to God?

 
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