2010-04-25 Faith Walk/ Priorities

I struggle in life staying focused. My mind has a tendency to run wild. When I find something to be interesting, I seek it out, and then, typically, get bored with it – much like a kid playing with new toys on Christmas morning. And as my mind wonders, worries, and questions things of this world, I often feel a drift in my spiritual walk. Although I never drift completely out of faith, I do often find myself is a state that I do not want to be: farther from God. Fortunately though, at the point of realization, I am provided the opportunity to renew my faith and recommit myself to God.

I understand that my faith is a life long commitment, and one that I am very proud of, that is also going to be a continuous battle. I know that temptations and questions will try to pull me from God, but I also know that this will provide for more growth and commitments to God. As the world places demands on me, my hope and prayer is that I place more emphasis on my faith, for I know, in my heart, that is the only true way to be successful.

I counted all my dollars while God counted crosses;

I counted gains while he counted losses;

I counted my worth by the things gained in store,

But He sized me up by the scars that I bore.

I coveted honors and sought for degrees;

He wept as He counted the hours on my knees.

I never knew till one day by a grave

How vain are the things that we spend life to save.

I did not know till a friend went above

That richest is he who is rich in God’s love.

Josh

2008-04-18 Committing to God

This past Sunday morning during Sunday School, I asked the youth, “Why are you choosing to follow Christ? Why are you seeking God’s will? Would it not be easier to just live like you want, as carefree and reckless as you like?” In response, I received many blank stares. At that moment, I thought to myself, “oh no, what have I done,” fearing that I may have just sparked an interest in them of a life away from the Lord. Fortunately though, one of them answered, “I choose to have eternal life without pain and suffering.” This, then, created a chain reaction of answers amongst many of the youth.

Even though there are many answers, the question of “why be a Christian” still remains for many people. As Christians, are we not supposed to shed a light on the benefits of living a life as Christ has instructed? But how do we effectively convey such a message? I imagine this question has been thought about since the time of the disciples setting up the first churches in the days after Jesus’ resurrection; however, I do believe we can effectively shed light on this topic if we seek council and guidance from the Father through the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, giving entirely over to God is a whole other difficulty. But why? Why should we, as creations with free will, give ourselves over to a divine source when we have the option of doing our own thing instead? I believe the answer to that question must come from within the person that is making that choice, but there has to be a certain amount of faith, alongside an understanding of love and grace, involved in making such a decision.

From “Illustrations Unlimited” – Why do people resist surrendering themselves to Christ? For many, the reason they give is that they don’t really trust God to handle their lives to their suiting. A young lady stood talking to an evangelist on the subject of consecration, of giving herself wholly to God. She said, “I dare not give myself wholly to the Lord, for fear He will send me out to China as a missionary.” The evangelist said, “If some cold, snowy morning a little bird should come, half-frozen, pecking at your window, and you would let you take it in and feed it, thereby putting itself entirely in your power, what would you do? Would you grip it in your hand and crush it? Or would you give it shelter, warmth, food, and care?” A new light came into the girl’s eyes. She said, “Oh, now I see, I see. I can trust God!” Two years later she again met the evangelist and recalled to him the incident. She told of how she had finally abandoned herself to God—and then her face lit up with a smile and said, “And do you know where God is going to let me serve Him?” And there was now a twinkle in her eye— In China!”

Are you holding back from turning your life over to God? Why? I challenge you this week to think about your “faith walk” and commit or recommit your life to God.

Josh

2008-04-11 Gifts and Freewill

It’s official; I am beginning a new career this week. I have accepted a job offer from Piper Valve in OKC to work in design engineering and drafting. For those of you who do not know, I have been employed at ExxonMobil Chemical for nearly seven years, most of my adult life! Therefore, this is a big change for me.

This offer is a quite an opportunity, one that I am very thankful for. I completed all my requirements to earn my bachelor’s degree from SGU this past February, an accomplishment I am proud of; however I cannot take all the credit for the many good fortunes that have been placed in my path. I thank Kasey for her support during these past years and for putting up with me; I give thanks also to both my family and church family for the support each has provided as well; but above all I give thanks to God who has provided for me in countless ways.

In my personal situation, there have been various paths to travel leading to various opportunities, and I attribute this to God’s gift of free will – for God loves me so much, unconditionally, that he allows for me to make my own decisions and as a result of those decisions, he opens avenues. Even when I have made poor choices, I know that God has orchestrated goodness to come.

The point I am trying to make is this: through God’s love for us, he has given us freewill, and without this freewill what would life be? I have had many conversations with people in regards to this topic over the years, especially during trying times in life. The question of why God has allowed bad things to happen has often been brought up to me. My response is simple: freewill. I typically follow that up with a story of my own for illustration purposes. I often reference my education/work journey. Because of the decisions I made, I placed myself into situations that have been very trying, for instance passing on several scholarships after high school in favor of working. I understand now that while I have moaned and groaned about not having an education and not being able to get the job I want, it was my decision and solely a reaction to the actions and choices I made. It’s not God’s fault, or anyone else’s, it is mine. However, even with my foolish mistakes, God has provided opportunities for me. He has allowed me to experience many things that I otherwise would not have been able to experience; continuing with my example: traveling across the US in my early twenties; learning to balance work, school, and family; meet and learn about the “real world” work environments, etc.

My testimony is this: God will provide, but he will not dictate. I believe that no matter the choice we make, God looks at our situation and says, “I can work with this.” It is not God that makes these bad things happen, rather it is the flesh. The flesh is of the world and therefore doesn’t always know or want what God wants for us, but through God’s love, he allows us to carry on with our own path, yet he never leaves us.

What about you and your choices? Are you blaming God for something? Are you holding a grudge with the Almighty for a turn of events that ended unfavorably? If so, I hope and pray that you remove these hurt feelings towards God and open your eyes to opportunities he has laid before you. God will provide for you if you allow him to, but he will not dictate your every move. You have been blessed through God’s love with freewill, how are you using it?

Josh

New Job

So a new page in my life begins tomorrow. I must say I am excited, while a bit nervous, about the opportunity. I look forward to new challenges and problems, and the resulting solutions from each. My prayer is that God gives the strength to endure the obstacles and my hope is that I take advantage of every situation to learn something new.

Josh

What's Going on Here

Alright, here's the thing, I write on a weekly basis for my church where I serve as the director of youth ministries. I have my own section where I give out my own thoughts. I have began this blog as a way to capture some of these commentaries in another fashion. Feel free to comment on any of them. All blogs will be titled first by the date (YYYY-MM-DD) in which it was written followed by a subject it talks about.

Josh

2010-03-28 Opportunities

Opportunities are amazing things. We experience opportunities in our daily lives, regardless if we recognize it or not. For instance, as soon as the alarm clock sounds in the morning, you are presented with the opportunity to rise and give thanks for the day that the Lord hath made, or you can lie there pounding the snooze button until you are late for work (yes, I’m guilty of that). Opportunities go hand-in-hand with choices – often a choice you have made lends itself to an opportunity or a choice that someone else has made provides for an opportunity.

To use an analogy, opportunities are much like a computer network. In order to connect to the network, a port must open. This port may seem to lead to only one place, for instance a server, but from there countless other ports become available. The destination is only reached when the ports align properly, i.e. when the address is available and working. However, sometimes the destination is blocked, and when this arises a choice must be made – go elsewhere or wait for the destination to become available. Neither option is wrong or right for every situation, but this block is typically not the final destination.

Life is much the same way. We make the choice of what “servers” we connect to. This determines what other options and opportunities become available from there. As Christians, we connect to God through the Christ “server”. Through this port, many opportunity avenues are available. However, on this network there is a hacker – temptation. Satan is working to hack into our lives and cause “service interruptions” with the Christ “server”. Fortunately, there is a Satan-blocker out there and it’s found in the words of the world’s best selling book, the Bible, and through prayer.

Is your Satan-blocker up to par? Are the choices you make leading to opportunities for growth or is Satan blocking your final destination? You have the choice, and the opportunity is there through the grace of God.

Josh

2010-02-21 Grace

Grace. We hear the term in church often; most of us know a definition for it and understand the context of the word, but do you ever stop and really think about God’s grace? Grace is the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. Nothing we do can earn salvation, nor do we deserve it, but through God’s grace it is freely given; all we must do is understand and accept that it is only through God’s mercy, through the blood of Christ, that we can be saved. We cannot save ourselves. Without God’s grace, we are destined to suffer apart from our creator, but through the selfless sacrifice of Christ, we are saved.

Ephesians 1:3-8 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

Through God’s grace, we are forgiven; what a joy this is! However, God has also granted us free will through His love for us. Anything less than free will would put a stipulation on God’s love, which is not possible because God’s love is endless and unconditional. Therefore it is up to us to receive His grace. Have you accepted the greatest gift – the gift of boundless love and forgiveness, the opportunity to spend eternity with Christ in paradise? If not, will you ask Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sins? Give thanks to God for His grace and boundless love.

Josh