This is about the time I reflect back and see what I need to change for the next year. It usually includes: do more exercise, eat healthier, call my old friend (and the list goes on)… just to forget about them two months later and if I’m lucky, I’ll remember them in the fall and make another attempt to accomplish them.
This week I was reminded of a passage I have read time and time again this past year but some how this time it carried another meaning. In Philippians 3, Paul talks about not having confidence in the flesh and pressing on towards the goal. Now, I don’t know about you, but if anyone is going to boast about where they come from, who they are and how much they know is Paul the man himself who has all the rights to do this. Yet, he doesn’t. He evens considers all he has and all he knows as “rubbish”. As I read verses 12-14, I get a glimpse of what Paul was trying to say. The man who by far did more for God was telling me that he is not perfect and he doesn’t have it all together (most of the time I think he does!). Not only that; but to forget what is behind! He can’t mean everything! YES! To forget my failures and victories, all the things I have achieved, all that I have learned so I can have both hands free to take hold of what Christ has call me to. I stopped to think of the work this will take just to read his next choice of word: “straining”. If you have done any physical labor or sports you know very well the meaning of this word: “discipline” and “hard work”. Paul is very clear on this when he talks with Timothy (2 Tim. 2:3-6). I then realized that this has become a foreign term for most us who live in this “information at your fingertips”, “get it now”, “super speed” & “comfortable” world. Paul didn’t make any mistakes in saying this. He knew very well that discipline and letting go of the past is what would press him forward to reach for the goal to which God called Him to.
So, as you think about your New Year’s resolution, I pray that you let go of all that is “behind” you, what ever your successes and failures have been. Let go of the things you think you know or don’t know and step into this New Year with “two free hands” and “strain forward towards the goal” (this means that sometimes it takes work!) so you can take hold of all the new promises God has for you. As for me, my resolution will be to put into practice what Paul was talking about in Phil. 3:12-14.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Remedy (Kyle)
Kyle is listening to:
The cd is great. There are still a few songs that are a little silly and "poppy," but this should be expected - it's David Crowder. The album is called Remedy, which is appropriate because I could use a good remedy right now, as I have come down with a head cold over the last few days. So, as of right now, I am on Sudafed, Dayquil, Airborn, multi-vitamins, vitamin C, and Good Earth tea. I will take anything and everything that will make me feel better. I'm sure you can relate. Got any other ideas?
On a more serious note, the concept of the cd is amazing, and I have been thinking about it since last week when I first put it on my not-so-reliable ipod (it has a tendency to erase all my music when it gets angry at me). The 10-tracks all follow this theme:
"Where there is pain, let us bring grace. Where there is suffering, bring serinity. for those afraid, let us be brave. Where there is misery, let us bring relief. Let us be the remedy."
According to wiktionary, a remedy is "something that corrects or counteracts." As a Christian, I know that Christ was the ultimate rememdy, corrects and counteracting the sin that corrupts mankind. He is my ultimate remedy. If Christ lives inside of me and I am submissive and obediant to him, then I also can be the remedy to those who live without God. I hate to use the Christian phrase "Jesus with skin on" because it honestly kinda creeps me out, but that is what I am - Sent by him to help finish his work in a world that is so void of his love and far from the way God intended it to be. The symptoms of our emptiness are clear (and I still have some of them!): parties, drinking, drugs, crime, violence, poverty, injustice, pessimism/negativity, an emotional need for relationships, trust in money or a good salary for security, ambition, pain, pride, hunger, and the list goes on...
The fact that the disease of sin and emptiness is such an epidemic in our world should not discourage us, but instead lift us up and bring us closer to God. We are the Remedy!!! Oswald Chambers wrote this, "To walk in the light means that everything in the darkness drives me closer to the light." It makes sense, right?
All of this reminds of a movie I recently saw called "I am Legend." You've heard of it...Will Smith is the last human left in New York, a city were a virus has overtaken mankind making them into violent vampire-like creatures. They live in the darkness. He spends day after day trying to find a remedy to this disease, so that he can save these creatures that want to kill him. Does he find it? Well, I won't ruin the film if you haven't seen it. But the point is that his character is bold, courageous, and selfless because of the great task he has taken upon himself to save these ex-humans. He is not their savior, but his actions are heroic and admirable.
Whose remedy do you need to be today?
The cd is great. There are still a few songs that are a little silly and "poppy," but this should be expected - it's David Crowder. The album is called Remedy, which is appropriate because I could use a good remedy right now, as I have come down with a head cold over the last few days. So, as of right now, I am on Sudafed, Dayquil, Airborn, multi-vitamins, vitamin C, and Good Earth tea. I will take anything and everything that will make me feel better. I'm sure you can relate. Got any other ideas?
On a more serious note, the concept of the cd is amazing, and I have been thinking about it since last week when I first put it on my not-so-reliable ipod (it has a tendency to erase all my music when it gets angry at me). The 10-tracks all follow this theme:
"Where there is pain, let us bring grace. Where there is suffering, bring serinity. for those afraid, let us be brave. Where there is misery, let us bring relief. Let us be the remedy."
According to wiktionary, a remedy is "something that corrects or counteracts." As a Christian, I know that Christ was the ultimate rememdy, corrects and counteracting the sin that corrupts mankind. He is my ultimate remedy. If Christ lives inside of me and I am submissive and obediant to him, then I also can be the remedy to those who live without God. I hate to use the Christian phrase "Jesus with skin on" because it honestly kinda creeps me out, but that is what I am - Sent by him to help finish his work in a world that is so void of his love and far from the way God intended it to be. The symptoms of our emptiness are clear (and I still have some of them!): parties, drinking, drugs, crime, violence, poverty, injustice, pessimism/negativity, an emotional need for relationships, trust in money or a good salary for security, ambition, pain, pride, hunger, and the list goes on...
The fact that the disease of sin and emptiness is such an epidemic in our world should not discourage us, but instead lift us up and bring us closer to God. We are the Remedy!!! Oswald Chambers wrote this, "To walk in the light means that everything in the darkness drives me closer to the light." It makes sense, right?
All of this reminds of a movie I recently saw called "I am Legend." You've heard of it...Will Smith is the last human left in New York, a city were a virus has overtaken mankind making them into violent vampire-like creatures. They live in the darkness. He spends day after day trying to find a remedy to this disease, so that he can save these creatures that want to kill him. Does he find it? Well, I won't ruin the film if you haven't seen it. But the point is that his character is bold, courageous, and selfless because of the great task he has taken upon himself to save these ex-humans. He is not their savior, but his actions are heroic and admirable.
Whose remedy do you need to be today?
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
And the wonder of it all...
Merry Christmas everyone!
I hope you all had as good of a time with friends and family as I have. So far, I have had a great holiday, celebrating the love of God in Jesus with those who I love. I also got to go to midnight mass at the Cathedral downtown. It is a beautiful, stained-glass and domed Catholic church in downtown Sacramento. (my family and I were in town for Christmas eve, and wide awake after the party at my cousin's house, so we thought we would check it out). I have never been to a midnight mass on Christmas eve, but it really was something that gave me a fresh perspective on Christmas, the birth of Christ, and the holiness of God. As soon as Decemeber 25th began at 12:00, we were singing various songs in latin, spanish, german, and english about the birth of our savior. I began to think about why we celebrate Christmas. It is not about the gifts we give each other, but about the gift of Christ that God gave to us before we knew Him. It is really quite incredible for me to think about.
Would Christ have felt welcomed at the Christmas parties we went to this year? They should be celebrations of him, his birth, and what he came to be - the messiah and savior of the world. I'm not sure if he would be all the time, which really bothers me. Honostly, I could do away with the gifts and the commercialism of Christmas if we could all just get back to the reality and holiness of this day we celebrate. Even though Christmas has passed, I am continuing to reflect on these things. Why Christ was born and what it meant to all people for all time.
I hope you all had as good of a time with friends and family as I have. So far, I have had a great holiday, celebrating the love of God in Jesus with those who I love. I also got to go to midnight mass at the Cathedral downtown. It is a beautiful, stained-glass and domed Catholic church in downtown Sacramento. (my family and I were in town for Christmas eve, and wide awake after the party at my cousin's house, so we thought we would check it out). I have never been to a midnight mass on Christmas eve, but it really was something that gave me a fresh perspective on Christmas, the birth of Christ, and the holiness of God. As soon as Decemeber 25th began at 12:00, we were singing various songs in latin, spanish, german, and english about the birth of our savior. I began to think about why we celebrate Christmas. It is not about the gifts we give each other, but about the gift of Christ that God gave to us before we knew Him. It is really quite incredible for me to think about.
Would Christ have felt welcomed at the Christmas parties we went to this year? They should be celebrations of him, his birth, and what he came to be - the messiah and savior of the world. I'm not sure if he would be all the time, which really bothers me. Honostly, I could do away with the gifts and the commercialism of Christmas if we could all just get back to the reality and holiness of this day we celebrate. Even though Christmas has passed, I am continuing to reflect on these things. Why Christ was born and what it meant to all people for all time.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
An active faith? (Kyle Marks)
"But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
Romans 8:24-25
This verse says that we must wait patiently for the things that are to come. However, my wait must not be without action. I need to remember that I must have a faith that is revealed to others through my actions. I can't just kick back, relax, and feel good about knowing that God is working on my behalf. Actually, this habit of "non-action" might actually be the opposite of what Paul is talking about in Romans 8.
Chambers wrote, "All the great blessing of God are finshed and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into a relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant. Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means I have no faith in Him."
Well, way to go Oswald and completely make me feel horrible about my faith. He does have a way of speaking the truth in a way that is heavy and convicting. But it is true. The writer of James wrote that "faith without deeds is dead."
So I ask myself, what is God telling me to DO today? How can my faith and hope be made alive by my actions and inter-action with other people? I do I need to do today to prepare me for what God is calling me to do tomorrow?
The things I regret in my life the most are never the things that I actually DID do, but instead, they are almost always the things that I DID NOT do. Let's keep this in mind as we enter a five-week break and the Christmas season.
-Kyle
Romans 8:24-25
This verse says that we must wait patiently for the things that are to come. However, my wait must not be without action. I need to remember that I must have a faith that is revealed to others through my actions. I can't just kick back, relax, and feel good about knowing that God is working on my behalf. Actually, this habit of "non-action" might actually be the opposite of what Paul is talking about in Romans 8.
Chambers wrote, "All the great blessing of God are finshed and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into a relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant. Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means I have no faith in Him."
Well, way to go Oswald and completely make me feel horrible about my faith. He does have a way of speaking the truth in a way that is heavy and convicting. But it is true. The writer of James wrote that "faith without deeds is dead."
So I ask myself, what is God telling me to DO today? How can my faith and hope be made alive by my actions and inter-action with other people? I do I need to do today to prepare me for what God is calling me to do tomorrow?
The things I regret in my life the most are never the things that I actually DID do, but instead, they are almost always the things that I DID NOT do. Let's keep this in mind as we enter a five-week break and the Christmas season.
-Kyle
Friday, November 30, 2007
I am what I am (Kyle Marks)
This morning I was reading My Utmost for His Highest, which is a daily devotional by Oswald Chambers. Today's reading really spoke to me. It says this:
"The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us."
I struggle with this often. Many people may think I am humble by saying that I am not good at something, when I really I know that I am good at it. But this is like a slap in the face to God, who has given me these abilities and talents to be used for His glory. It is not humility in God's eyes at all. It is dangerous for us to live in this "spirit of poverty," where all we can say is "I'm not good enough," or "I can't do it," or "that could never happen." God, on the other hand, is endless and can do anything in us and through us. So what we find is summed up in what Chambers writes at the end of the devotion:
"There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life."
This speaks of a focused life, which I have learned is the most effective, powerful, and fulfilling life anyone can live. Sometimes I feel like a "Jack of all trades," being good a many things, but great at nothing. My life-focus is too wide. When we are focused, we can do great things, but when we are not, our lives can become useless and sometimes even destructive. Remember that a flood is just a river that couldn't decide where to go. So my goal is to live a focused life, and move beyond just being good at many things and into being great at the one thing God has destined for me to do.
-Kyle
"The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us."
I struggle with this often. Many people may think I am humble by saying that I am not good at something, when I really I know that I am good at it. But this is like a slap in the face to God, who has given me these abilities and talents to be used for His glory. It is not humility in God's eyes at all. It is dangerous for us to live in this "spirit of poverty," where all we can say is "I'm not good enough," or "I can't do it," or "that could never happen." God, on the other hand, is endless and can do anything in us and through us. So what we find is summed up in what Chambers writes at the end of the devotion:
"There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life."
This speaks of a focused life, which I have learned is the most effective, powerful, and fulfilling life anyone can live. Sometimes I feel like a "Jack of all trades," being good a many things, but great at nothing. My life-focus is too wide. When we are focused, we can do great things, but when we are not, our lives can become useless and sometimes even destructive. Remember that a flood is just a river that couldn't decide where to go. So my goal is to live a focused life, and move beyond just being good at many things and into being great at the one thing God has destined for me to do.
-Kyle
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Thankful (Tim Smith)
I woke up on Thanksgiving morning to the sound of my children laughing and playing with their grandparents. Since their grandparents live thousands of miles away, it's always great to hear that sound, and I was thankful.
It was just into double digits in the morning, and I was thankful for the chance to sleep late. The parade on TV was almost over, and since I don't like the parade, that made me even more thankful. I knew I was in for a day that would be dominated by eating a great meal with family and friends, and watching football for several hours while digesting said meal and eating pie, and for all this I was truly thankful.
Thanksgiving did turn out to be a great day at the Smith's, and I was thankful. Black Friday brought my Dad and I the task of hanging the Christmas lights on my house (broken lights caused momentary non-thankfulness) while Julie went shopping with my Mom and Sister and the kids (thankfully not me.) Later Julie and I bought our Christmas tree, brought it home, and (she and the kids) decorated it, and I found reasons, again, to be thankful.
So much concentrated thankfulness. Somewhere late Friday or early Saturday, with the Holiday's turkey and football memories receding into the past, a disturbing little thought began to nag at me--am I still thankful?
Thankfulness is big business in our culture today. Oprah preaches a doctrine of positive thinking including daily thankfulness. Deborah Norville, of TV's Inside Edition, has just released a book called Thank You Power: Making The Science Of Gratitude Work For You. It seems people are attempting to co-opt thankfulness and turn it into something we can use to make ourselves healthier, wiser, or richer.
But I'm not buying. As a Christian, I want to obey the Biblical command to "be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:18, NLT) Thankfulness that truly comes from the heart is offered in view of what has already been done for me, not as a way to manipulate some future benefit.
So I wonder--am I still thankful? Am I thankful in all my circumstances? If I'm thankful to be a citizen of the most blessed nation humanity has ever known, shouldn't that motivate me to use my resources to respond to a world with entirely too much poverty, disease, and preventable death? If I'm thankful to be one of the tiny percentage of people on the planet to get an American university education, shouldn't that motivate me to use that education to respond to the needs of the lost and dying the world over?
So I'll keep wondering if I am still thankful. And time will tell.
It was just into double digits in the morning, and I was thankful for the chance to sleep late. The parade on TV was almost over, and since I don't like the parade, that made me even more thankful. I knew I was in for a day that would be dominated by eating a great meal with family and friends, and watching football for several hours while digesting said meal and eating pie, and for all this I was truly thankful.
Thanksgiving did turn out to be a great day at the Smith's, and I was thankful. Black Friday brought my Dad and I the task of hanging the Christmas lights on my house (broken lights caused momentary non-thankfulness) while Julie went shopping with my Mom and Sister and the kids (thankfully not me.) Later Julie and I bought our Christmas tree, brought it home, and (she and the kids) decorated it, and I found reasons, again, to be thankful.
So much concentrated thankfulness. Somewhere late Friday or early Saturday, with the Holiday's turkey and football memories receding into the past, a disturbing little thought began to nag at me--am I still thankful?
Thankfulness is big business in our culture today. Oprah preaches a doctrine of positive thinking including daily thankfulness. Deborah Norville, of TV's Inside Edition, has just released a book called Thank You Power: Making The Science Of Gratitude Work For You. It seems people are attempting to co-opt thankfulness and turn it into something we can use to make ourselves healthier, wiser, or richer.
But I'm not buying. As a Christian, I want to obey the Biblical command to "be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:18, NLT) Thankfulness that truly comes from the heart is offered in view of what has already been done for me, not as a way to manipulate some future benefit.
So I wonder--am I still thankful? Am I thankful in all my circumstances? If I'm thankful to be a citizen of the most blessed nation humanity has ever known, shouldn't that motivate me to use my resources to respond to a world with entirely too much poverty, disease, and preventable death? If I'm thankful to be one of the tiny percentage of people on the planet to get an American university education, shouldn't that motivate me to use that education to respond to the needs of the lost and dying the world over?
So I'll keep wondering if I am still thankful. And time will tell.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
it's not about me. (Kyle Marks)
"The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him."
These are not my words. They are the word of the Apostle Paul, from his letter to the Phillipian church. But these things that Paul wrote about and understood are very important to me as a Christian. I hope that one day I will be able to understand this as Paul did. Another translation of the Bible reads "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." Paul knew that everything in this life is worthless trash in comparison to greatness of being in a personal relationship with Jesus.
Paul knew that nothing was better than knowing God and putting him first in everything. I, on the other hand, find trouble doing this. Everytime I need to make an important decision, I first consider my own interests in each of my choices, and how much each one appeals to me. This is always my default response, not because I am completely selfish, but because I am not perfect at seeking the Lord's will first, and only his will. Yes, I do ask God and seek Him, but my own interests are still there infuencing what I think.
It is hard for us to live for something or someone other than ourselves. But I think this is exactly what we were made to do. Why is it so hard? Well, it requires humility, selflessness, sacrifice, and submission. It usually requires pain as well, and I have yet to meet someone who gladly welcomes any of these things. When you think about the life of Jesus, it is easy to recognize that he did not live for himself at all. When I struggle to give the smallest parts of my life to God, I see that Jesus gave everything.
So after all this, my prayer is simple: "Help me to live for someone besides myself."
- Kyle
These are not my words. They are the word of the Apostle Paul, from his letter to the Phillipian church. But these things that Paul wrote about and understood are very important to me as a Christian. I hope that one day I will be able to understand this as Paul did. Another translation of the Bible reads "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." Paul knew that everything in this life is worthless trash in comparison to greatness of being in a personal relationship with Jesus.
Paul knew that nothing was better than knowing God and putting him first in everything. I, on the other hand, find trouble doing this. Everytime I need to make an important decision, I first consider my own interests in each of my choices, and how much each one appeals to me. This is always my default response, not because I am completely selfish, but because I am not perfect at seeking the Lord's will first, and only his will. Yes, I do ask God and seek Him, but my own interests are still there infuencing what I think.
It is hard for us to live for something or someone other than ourselves. But I think this is exactly what we were made to do. Why is it so hard? Well, it requires humility, selflessness, sacrifice, and submission. It usually requires pain as well, and I have yet to meet someone who gladly welcomes any of these things. When you think about the life of Jesus, it is easy to recognize that he did not live for himself at all. When I struggle to give the smallest parts of my life to God, I see that Jesus gave everything.
So after all this, my prayer is simple: "Help me to live for someone besides myself."
- Kyle
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)