Making a New Start in Life...
Several folks have written lately asking about how they can "begin again" and "have a new start in life." So, I wanted to take a moment to share with you the plan that saved my life and changed my future. It begins simple enough...
God, through Jesus Christ, has offered forgiveness for our mistakes and a new start for our lives...
How do you change your life?
1. Recognize that no matter how smart, good, strong, bad, sinful, religious, non-religious, agreeable, angry or doubtful you have been, you just can't do this journey on your own. The road is too long and too complicated. And, you can't make the ache go away by yourself.
2. Ask Christ to change your life by living in your heart, by transforming your mind and changing the way you view Him and others. Ask him to take the baggage of your mistakes and brokenness and give you freedom and peace.
3. Commit yourself to trust in Him first by studying His Word, Praying daily, and by living like Him in the world. This not only affects how you connect to God, but it will change how you connect to your brothers and sisters in Christ and to the world.
4. Do Life with Others by joining a community of faith and by committing yourself to a life of serving others through Him. Remember, it is not about YOU anymore. We are not enough, but He is.
5. Share your gifts for God's work in the world. No, we're not talking about your money, here. We're talking about YOU-- all of YOU. It is not enough to simply Love Jesus... We must Love Like Jesus.
Now, all of this begins with a simple prayer. There is no right or wrong way to pray it. I could give you suggestions, but you don't need to pray using any words but your own. God wants to hear from YOU. Just start talking to Him. He has heard it all before!
I love you. But, more importantly, God loves you. You matter to Him.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
What I Learned Yesterday About Tomorrow, Part III
Lesson Six: “I am HOW I pray”
Most of my prayers take one of two forms. I am either asking God to help with some problem, or I am thanking God for helping with... some problem. And, to make matters worse, I am usually bargaining with God in the latter as to how I will thank Him more if he blesses me more... with less problems.
But, that is not prayer… not even close.
I love the first words of Mercy Me’s song, Word of God Speak. “I’m finding myself at a loss for words, and the funny thing is, its okay. The last thing I need is to be heard, but to hear what you would say…”
The most intimate places of prayer have little to do with my words or with my voice being heard. Deeper still, prayer becomes my relationship with God because it symbolizes the places where I am and where I am not... the most in need, the most broken and, yes, the most complete.
My prayer life, as I would presume with you as well, defines how I trust God and how I see the opportunities for where God can move and work in my life.
If my prayer life exhibits listening, praise, peace, comfort, wisdom… then that becomes the reflection for how my heart is connected to God.
If I am stuck in a pattern of only asking for help and only consumed with my own problems and issues… well… you get the picture.
My grandfather prayed beautiful, sweet spirited, humble prayers. He didn’t just talk to God. He walked into God’s presence and found a place.
I always could tell when my grandfather had been praying. There was a look on his face that spoke to having been in the presence of power, majesty and love. It was more than a task on his calendar, prayer transformed him.... defined him.
My grandfather was how he prayed.
Lesson Seven: “I am not enough”
We live in a world that suffers from the “lie of self sufficiency”. It is a lie that we have believed from the beginning… not just our respective beginnings, but from THE beginning. From as far back as the Garden of Eden, we have chosen to believe that we can be enough. Of course, it is entirely in the Adversary’s interest that we learn to waste inordinate amounts of time trying to be our own little gods.
We don’t even have to be particularly good at it. We simply need, from time to time, to become distracted enough that the lotus of our being is distorted and our scope is reduced.
Maybe my grandfather understood this so clearly because of what had shaped him. As a child of the Depression, he understood being without and not having enough. He also understood that eventually, no matter how smart or strong or fast you are, something comes along that “reduces” you. That was his term for being put in your place or in becoming all too aware of our frailties.
Or maybe it was “war” that shaped him and showed his generation what happens when self interests or national interests overshoot goodness, community or self control.
Regardless, my grandfather passed along this wisdom directly and often. He would always say, “Boy, you're smart, but you will never be smart enough” when it came to my need to keep learning. Or, he would, concerning my golf game, say “Son, you're good, but you will never be good enough. You will always have to practice.” He was right about that, too.
Of all the lessons we can share with our words and actions, this one may be the most important for our children to learn. Sure, we assure them that they are loved, valued and respected, but there is always room to grow deeper and better.
Learning early that we are not enough to meet the various challenges and seize the opportunities of life causes us to reach for others, and, hopefully, for God.
Sure there is a lot of pushback for this one. Our culture prefers the opposite, teaching that our answers are found “within” us. And, that is partly true (God has placed the answers simply and humbly deep within our hearts and relationships with Him) But, WE are not the answer.
Ultimately, no matter our gifts or strengths, we turn down a dead end, face an impossible question, or reach an obstacle too high.
We are not enough.
Love to you all.
Be Salt and Light... You Matter.
Shane
Lesson Six: “I am HOW I pray”
Most of my prayers take one of two forms. I am either asking God to help with some problem, or I am thanking God for helping with... some problem. And, to make matters worse, I am usually bargaining with God in the latter as to how I will thank Him more if he blesses me more... with less problems.
But, that is not prayer… not even close.
I love the first words of Mercy Me’s song, Word of God Speak. “I’m finding myself at a loss for words, and the funny thing is, its okay. The last thing I need is to be heard, but to hear what you would say…”
The most intimate places of prayer have little to do with my words or with my voice being heard. Deeper still, prayer becomes my relationship with God because it symbolizes the places where I am and where I am not... the most in need, the most broken and, yes, the most complete.
My prayer life, as I would presume with you as well, defines how I trust God and how I see the opportunities for where God can move and work in my life.
If my prayer life exhibits listening, praise, peace, comfort, wisdom… then that becomes the reflection for how my heart is connected to God.
If I am stuck in a pattern of only asking for help and only consumed with my own problems and issues… well… you get the picture.
My grandfather prayed beautiful, sweet spirited, humble prayers. He didn’t just talk to God. He walked into God’s presence and found a place.
I always could tell when my grandfather had been praying. There was a look on his face that spoke to having been in the presence of power, majesty and love. It was more than a task on his calendar, prayer transformed him.... defined him.
My grandfather was how he prayed.
Lesson Seven: “I am not enough”
We live in a world that suffers from the “lie of self sufficiency”. It is a lie that we have believed from the beginning… not just our respective beginnings, but from THE beginning. From as far back as the Garden of Eden, we have chosen to believe that we can be enough. Of course, it is entirely in the Adversary’s interest that we learn to waste inordinate amounts of time trying to be our own little gods.
We don’t even have to be particularly good at it. We simply need, from time to time, to become distracted enough that the lotus of our being is distorted and our scope is reduced.
Maybe my grandfather understood this so clearly because of what had shaped him. As a child of the Depression, he understood being without and not having enough. He also understood that eventually, no matter how smart or strong or fast you are, something comes along that “reduces” you. That was his term for being put in your place or in becoming all too aware of our frailties.
Or maybe it was “war” that shaped him and showed his generation what happens when self interests or national interests overshoot goodness, community or self control.
Regardless, my grandfather passed along this wisdom directly and often. He would always say, “Boy, you're smart, but you will never be smart enough” when it came to my need to keep learning. Or, he would, concerning my golf game, say “Son, you're good, but you will never be good enough. You will always have to practice.” He was right about that, too.
Of all the lessons we can share with our words and actions, this one may be the most important for our children to learn. Sure, we assure them that they are loved, valued and respected, but there is always room to grow deeper and better.
Learning early that we are not enough to meet the various challenges and seize the opportunities of life causes us to reach for others, and, hopefully, for God.
Sure there is a lot of pushback for this one. Our culture prefers the opposite, teaching that our answers are found “within” us. And, that is partly true (God has placed the answers simply and humbly deep within our hearts and relationships with Him) But, WE are not the answer.
Ultimately, no matter our gifts or strengths, we turn down a dead end, face an impossible question, or reach an obstacle too high.
We are not enough.
Love to you all.
Be Salt and Light... You Matter.
Shane
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
"What I Learned Yesterday About Tomorrow, Part II"
Lessons 3, 4, and 5
Lesson Three: “They will walk like me”
A friend of mine uses the phrase “withness” instead of “witness” to share the intimate nature of what following God really entails. Loving Jesus is more than knowing the right doctrine or following the prescribed list of disciplines. No, loving Jesus means “being with” Christ in both how we approach our relationships with God and with each other.
As we live faithfully in relationship with Christ, that relationship imprints on our words and actions how we live in the world. We “reflect” that which we believe and that for which we have passion.
This is a familiar theme for the Apostle John who, in one of his letters, describes the nature of Godly love as the connection between what we say and what we “really” believe. How will others know what we believe and to “whom we belong”? They will know by our actions and by how we treat one another.
But, how we live what we believe not only impacts our journey, but also impacts those who are watching us. “Withness” is a powerful concept for faith because it defines, from one generation to another, what those next believers cling to and how deeply their faith roots.
Lesson Four: “It ain’t over until He says its over”.
Too often, we live in a “give up” world. We “give up” if the situation gets too hard, or if the circumstances do not intrigue us, or if the outcome does not serve our purposes. A friend of mine says “giving up” is the most self-centered of reactions that exists in a self-centered world.
For many of us, "giving up" is about control, not the circumstances. Over and over again, though, God uses the difficult places of our lives to teach us the most valuable lessons. How better for God to get our attention or push us even beyond our prescribed limits than to test us beyond our control or comfort zones?
Of all of my grandfather's lessons, this one is most personal because it, more than any of the others, defines his tremendous impact in my life.
He taught me that, sure, “giving up” was an option, but never the best one. And, by pressing on and through difficult circumstances, the sweetness of lessons found only on the other side of struggle was immense and worth it.
Following God’s will, even through the uncertain and unchosen places of life, brings the greatest rewards and most profound opportunities.
Lesson Five: “I need a place”
We are created to belong. The first interactions in the Garden are about belonging--- to God, to Eden, to one another. In fact, God, who calls all of creation “good”, calls the completion of relationship in Adam and Eve “very good”. There is something complete about them being together; they have “found their place”.
Unfortunately, I didn’t fully appreciate this scene until I had lost my place. I appreciated those moments, but nothing prepared me for the significance of what those days had meant, or how much I would miss them.
I have spent the years sense talking to others, especially my children about the importance and sweetness of “place”—about how we are created to “belong” and how we are created to offer “belonging” to others.
Today, I count time around the table of my home with the people I love as the premium of my life.
I need a place. But, the place also needs me.
Next Week: "What I Learned Yesterday About Tomorrow, Part III"
Lessons 3, 4, and 5
Lesson Three: “They will walk like me”
A friend of mine uses the phrase “withness” instead of “witness” to share the intimate nature of what following God really entails. Loving Jesus is more than knowing the right doctrine or following the prescribed list of disciplines. No, loving Jesus means “being with” Christ in both how we approach our relationships with God and with each other.
As we live faithfully in relationship with Christ, that relationship imprints on our words and actions how we live in the world. We “reflect” that which we believe and that for which we have passion.
This is a familiar theme for the Apostle John who, in one of his letters, describes the nature of Godly love as the connection between what we say and what we “really” believe. How will others know what we believe and to “whom we belong”? They will know by our actions and by how we treat one another.
But, how we live what we believe not only impacts our journey, but also impacts those who are watching us. “Withness” is a powerful concept for faith because it defines, from one generation to another, what those next believers cling to and how deeply their faith roots.
Lesson Four: “It ain’t over until He says its over”.
Too often, we live in a “give up” world. We “give up” if the situation gets too hard, or if the circumstances do not intrigue us, or if the outcome does not serve our purposes. A friend of mine says “giving up” is the most self-centered of reactions that exists in a self-centered world.
For many of us, "giving up" is about control, not the circumstances. Over and over again, though, God uses the difficult places of our lives to teach us the most valuable lessons. How better for God to get our attention or push us even beyond our prescribed limits than to test us beyond our control or comfort zones?
Of all of my grandfather's lessons, this one is most personal because it, more than any of the others, defines his tremendous impact in my life.
He taught me that, sure, “giving up” was an option, but never the best one. And, by pressing on and through difficult circumstances, the sweetness of lessons found only on the other side of struggle was immense and worth it.
Following God’s will, even through the uncertain and unchosen places of life, brings the greatest rewards and most profound opportunities.
Lesson Five: “I need a place”
We are created to belong. The first interactions in the Garden are about belonging--- to God, to Eden, to one another. In fact, God, who calls all of creation “good”, calls the completion of relationship in Adam and Eve “very good”. There is something complete about them being together; they have “found their place”.
Unfortunately, I didn’t fully appreciate this scene until I had lost my place. I appreciated those moments, but nothing prepared me for the significance of what those days had meant, or how much I would miss them.
I have spent the years sense talking to others, especially my children about the importance and sweetness of “place”—about how we are created to “belong” and how we are created to offer “belonging” to others.
Today, I count time around the table of my home with the people I love as the premium of my life.
I need a place. But, the place also needs me.
Next Week: "What I Learned Yesterday About Tomorrow, Part III"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)