Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military generals who ever lived, conquered almost the entire known world with his vast army.
One night during a campaign, he couldn’t sleep and left his tent to walk around the campgrounds.
As he was walking he came across a soldier asleep on guard duty—a serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard duty was, in some cases, instant death; the commanding officer sometimes poured kerosene on the sleeping soldier and lit it.
The soldier began to wake up as Alexander the Great approached him. Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man feared for his life.
“Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?” Alexander the Great asked the soldier.
“Yes, sir,” the soldier responded in a quivering voice.
“Soldier, what’s your name?” demanded Alexander the Great.
“Alexander, sir.”
Alexander the Great repeated the question: “What is your name?”
“My name is Alexander, sir,” the soldier repeated.
A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, “What is your name?”
A third time the soldier meekly said, “My name is Alexander, sir.”
Alexander the Great then looked the young soldier straight in the eye. “Soldier,” he said with intensity, “either change your name or change your conduct.”
Those who carry the name of Christ and call themselves "Christ"ian have a tremendous responsibility to live up to that name.
What do people think about Christ when they watch your life?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sandbars and Beaches
Spent the day at Lake Michigan Friday. My family hung out with some friends at the beach in Grand Haven then went out on the lake for some deep sea swimming and some salmon fishing. Let's just say the the swimming was better than the fishing.
Anyway, my daughters, Emma (7), and Allison (5), loved the beach. They loved going out to the sandbar and bodysurfing in the big waves. They could spend all day in the water and never get tired of it. They are water bugs through and through.
It was interesting, though, when we went out on the boat to swim, only one of them wanted to jump in the deep water. One daughter jumped off the boat right away and started swimming away from it, basking in her new found freedom. (she had a life jacket of course). My other daughter was not so excited. I asked her and asked her to come in and she would just look at the water and refuse. Finally I bribed her to at least sit on the wood deck at the back of the boat and feel the water. So she did. After that, I bribed her again to get on my back and go in the water. She finally did. Then, she got out of the water and JUMPED back in on her own! What a frightening thrill it was for her. She ended up loving it! It was very comfortable for my girls to swim at the beach where they could stand on their own and see and touch the bottom. But when there wasn't the safety of the sandbar and beach, that changed for one of my girls.
Aren't we like that in our relationship with God? We love following God when we can "see" where we are going. We have no problem saying "yes" to God when we know we can do it in our own strength and ability. We enjoy God's presence at the sandbar and beach where it is safe.
So many people serve God in the shallow water where they can stand up and touch and see the bottom.
But what about when God asks you to go out to the deep water? You know, asks you to do something you are not quite sure about. Something that requires more faith than self reliance. Maybe something you have never done before.
Maybe God just wants you to draw closer to Him, but you are afraid because you don't know what's next.
I don't really care to swim at the beach. The water's cold, the sand is a mess, it's crowded. But going out on the lake where there's no bottom to stand on and no boundaries close by, I love that.
It is similar with God. There is so much more to our Christian life than sandbars and beaches.
Just like I was in the water holding out my arms asking my kids to jump to me, your heavenly Father, God, is holding out His arms calling you to come to Him.
Be brave. Take a risk. Be a thrill seeker.
Jump out into the deep water where only God knows what's next. You never know, you may just love it!
Anyway, my daughters, Emma (7), and Allison (5), loved the beach. They loved going out to the sandbar and bodysurfing in the big waves. They could spend all day in the water and never get tired of it. They are water bugs through and through.
It was interesting, though, when we went out on the boat to swim, only one of them wanted to jump in the deep water. One daughter jumped off the boat right away and started swimming away from it, basking in her new found freedom. (she had a life jacket of course). My other daughter was not so excited. I asked her and asked her to come in and she would just look at the water and refuse. Finally I bribed her to at least sit on the wood deck at the back of the boat and feel the water. So she did. After that, I bribed her again to get on my back and go in the water. She finally did. Then, she got out of the water and JUMPED back in on her own! What a frightening thrill it was for her. She ended up loving it! It was very comfortable for my girls to swim at the beach where they could stand on their own and see and touch the bottom. But when there wasn't the safety of the sandbar and beach, that changed for one of my girls.
Aren't we like that in our relationship with God? We love following God when we can "see" where we are going. We have no problem saying "yes" to God when we know we can do it in our own strength and ability. We enjoy God's presence at the sandbar and beach where it is safe.
So many people serve God in the shallow water where they can stand up and touch and see the bottom.
But what about when God asks you to go out to the deep water? You know, asks you to do something you are not quite sure about. Something that requires more faith than self reliance. Maybe something you have never done before.
Maybe God just wants you to draw closer to Him, but you are afraid because you don't know what's next.
I don't really care to swim at the beach. The water's cold, the sand is a mess, it's crowded. But going out on the lake where there's no bottom to stand on and no boundaries close by, I love that.
It is similar with God. There is so much more to our Christian life than sandbars and beaches.
Just like I was in the water holding out my arms asking my kids to jump to me, your heavenly Father, God, is holding out His arms calling you to come to Him.
Be brave. Take a risk. Be a thrill seeker.
Jump out into the deep water where only God knows what's next. You never know, you may just love it!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
How To Kill Your Flesh
I was watching an episode of House recently. You know, the show with the jerk genius diagnostic Doctor who treats people really bad but does his job really good? Anyway, the patient in this episode had an awful infection that was eating the flesh of his hand. They decided to amputate his hand before the infection could spread. The thought was that if they cut off the hand, the disease would be gone since it wouldn't have anymore flesh to feed on.
Reflecting on that, I was thinking about the Bible telling us to crucify or kill our flesh. There is a never ending battle that takes place in us between our flesh and the Spirit of God in us. A war, if you will. Our flesh wants to do things that only satisfy our human desires and the Spirit of God wants us to do things that please God and make us more like Christ.
I look at this way. We each have a certain amount of "living space" in us. Like a house. So let's say we are a 1000 square foot house. In this house there is a struggle over who is going to live there. Flesh or Spirit. Before we become a Christ follower, that whole living space is occupied by our flesh. Everything we do is motivated by what makes "us" feel good. When we decide to start living for God, the Spirit of God moves in and wants to take over that living space. Now our motivation is supposed to be to do what pleases God. Easier said than done, I know.
But here is what I have discovered.
Our sinful flesh and the Spirit of God cannot live together. And so the battle for that living space rages on.
What do we do?
There is a simple concept we can apply here.
What we feed grows, what we starve dies.
If we "feed" our flesh, it along with its appetite will grow.
If we starve it, it will die.
If we "feed" our spirit, it will grow.
If we starve it, it will die.
We feed our flesh by giving in to things that are only for our personal satisfaction. In other words, we choose to sin.
We starve our flesh by resisting and avoiding temptation and sin.
We feed our spirit by reading the Bible, praying to God, going to church, hanging out with other Christ followers, listening to teachers of the Bible, and by making choices that are pleasing to God, our heavenly Father.
We starve our spirit when we don't do these things.
The patient in that episode of House had his hand cut off so that the disease wouldn't have anymore to eat. It was starved to death. We need to do the same in our lives and remove the things our flesh feeds on so that it will die.
Ask yourself this, "What am I hungry for? Things that feed my flesh or things that feed my spirit?"
If the answer is the flesh, it's time to make a decision to starve it to death so that you can grow spiritually in God to become more like Christ.
Reflecting on that, I was thinking about the Bible telling us to crucify or kill our flesh. There is a never ending battle that takes place in us between our flesh and the Spirit of God in us. A war, if you will. Our flesh wants to do things that only satisfy our human desires and the Spirit of God wants us to do things that please God and make us more like Christ.
I look at this way. We each have a certain amount of "living space" in us. Like a house. So let's say we are a 1000 square foot house. In this house there is a struggle over who is going to live there. Flesh or Spirit. Before we become a Christ follower, that whole living space is occupied by our flesh. Everything we do is motivated by what makes "us" feel good. When we decide to start living for God, the Spirit of God moves in and wants to take over that living space. Now our motivation is supposed to be to do what pleases God. Easier said than done, I know.
But here is what I have discovered.
Our sinful flesh and the Spirit of God cannot live together. And so the battle for that living space rages on.
What do we do?
There is a simple concept we can apply here.
What we feed grows, what we starve dies.
If we "feed" our flesh, it along with its appetite will grow.
If we starve it, it will die.
If we "feed" our spirit, it will grow.
If we starve it, it will die.
We feed our flesh by giving in to things that are only for our personal satisfaction. In other words, we choose to sin.
We starve our flesh by resisting and avoiding temptation and sin.
We feed our spirit by reading the Bible, praying to God, going to church, hanging out with other Christ followers, listening to teachers of the Bible, and by making choices that are pleasing to God, our heavenly Father.
We starve our spirit when we don't do these things.
The patient in that episode of House had his hand cut off so that the disease wouldn't have anymore to eat. It was starved to death. We need to do the same in our lives and remove the things our flesh feeds on so that it will die.
Ask yourself this, "What am I hungry for? Things that feed my flesh or things that feed my spirit?"
If the answer is the flesh, it's time to make a decision to starve it to death so that you can grow spiritually in God to become more like Christ.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Imitate Me as I Imitate Christ
There are some things in the Bible that just seem to stick out to me more than others. And as I continue on this journey of living for Jesus, these things sometimes change along the way. But one of the statements in scripture that has stuck with me for a long time is the Apostle Paul saying, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1
My struggle with this has been that it seemed this instruction of Paul's took people's focus off of Jesus and on to Paul. That he was saying, don't imitate Jesus and look to Him as your example, but look to me, Paul, instead.
This is just not true. What I have come to understand is that Paul was all about leading people into a relationship with God through Jesus. He was also about Christ followers being good examples to others.
I realize I had the wrong picture of this verse in my head. I had an image of Paul walking down a path and others following behind him in a single file line formation. That Paul looked to Christ and followed Him as others fell in and followed Paul.
That is not Paul's intention at all.
The mind picture I now have, is Paul walking side by side, hand in hand with others down this path. Encouraging each other in the right way to go. Helping each other figure out just what it means to be a Christ follower. And being willing to let anyone join in the journey and follow Christ with them. All the while, each individual keeps their eyes on Jesus as the model of what their life is supposed to be like.
So I think Paul was encouraging us as Christ followers to be good examples so that if someone needs a hand in figuring out how to follow Christ, we can come alongside them in their journey and help them along the way. We don't have people walk behind us, but walk beside us.
My struggle with this has been that it seemed this instruction of Paul's took people's focus off of Jesus and on to Paul. That he was saying, don't imitate Jesus and look to Him as your example, but look to me, Paul, instead.
This is just not true. What I have come to understand is that Paul was all about leading people into a relationship with God through Jesus. He was also about Christ followers being good examples to others.
I realize I had the wrong picture of this verse in my head. I had an image of Paul walking down a path and others following behind him in a single file line formation. That Paul looked to Christ and followed Him as others fell in and followed Paul.
That is not Paul's intention at all.
The mind picture I now have, is Paul walking side by side, hand in hand with others down this path. Encouraging each other in the right way to go. Helping each other figure out just what it means to be a Christ follower. And being willing to let anyone join in the journey and follow Christ with them. All the while, each individual keeps their eyes on Jesus as the model of what their life is supposed to be like.
So I think Paul was encouraging us as Christ followers to be good examples so that if someone needs a hand in figuring out how to follow Christ, we can come alongside them in their journey and help them along the way. We don't have people walk behind us, but walk beside us.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Gismos, Gadgets, and God
This is my first blog posted on another site and just moved it here. enjoy -
August 05
Gismos, Gadgets, and God
As I sit to write this, I am reading a book, checking my e-mail, staying up on world events, the Tigers, and Wolverines online, updating my FB (facebook), texting back and forth with my wife, and just set up a Twitter account so I can Tweet my peeps!
What an amazing age we live in that we can have instant access to news from around the world, updates by the second from people anywhere, instant messages, cell phone communication wherever we are, iphones, blackberries, notebooks, netbooks, kindles, smart phones. The list goes on.
The world has never been smaller than it is today because of technology.
Maybe you are one that loves to multi task, too. Or maybe you are one that thinks everybody on FB or MySpace or Twitter wants to know every little detail of your day. Whoever you are, gismos and gadgets probably connect you somehow.
Anybody else out there been thrilled to reconnect with an old friend that you have not talked to since high school? Isn’t it exciting to see pictures of them and their families and to find out what they are doing with their lives?
I remember when I used to have to wait until the 11 o’clock news or the newspaper to get my sports scores. Now every game is available play by play online. Or I can get instant updates on my cell phone.
How many hours a day do you spend online, just waiting for the next post to pop up on your computer, only to be disappointed to read that someone just ate a chocolate chip cookie? So much is being written, yet not much is being said.
I wonder if we have the same enthusiasm when it comes to hearing what God wants to say to us. Do we get excited to hear from God’s word? Do we anxiously await what will happen in our prayer time with God? Do we care about what God thinks of the day’s issues?
I have really enjoyed reconnecting with old friends recently. I think it is wonderful to be connected with people in a community (online or otherwise).
The question I have for you is this, “Are you connecting with God?”
A nice thing about connecting with God is how easy it is. All you have to do is talk to Him. He is instantly there waiting for you. Try picking up a Bible and read something that He wrote. I guarantee it is more exciting than hearing about somebody drinking a White Mocha Latte from Starbucks!
The point is, make connecting with God a priority in your life. It’s so easy.
p.s.
You do not have to wait for God to accept your friend request! He has been waiting for years for you to accept His.
August 05
Gismos, Gadgets, and God
As I sit to write this, I am reading a book, checking my e-mail, staying up on world events, the Tigers, and Wolverines online, updating my FB (facebook), texting back and forth with my wife, and just set up a Twitter account so I can Tweet my peeps!
What an amazing age we live in that we can have instant access to news from around the world, updates by the second from people anywhere, instant messages, cell phone communication wherever we are, iphones, blackberries, notebooks, netbooks, kindles, smart phones. The list goes on.
The world has never been smaller than it is today because of technology.
Maybe you are one that loves to multi task, too. Or maybe you are one that thinks everybody on FB or MySpace or Twitter wants to know every little detail of your day. Whoever you are, gismos and gadgets probably connect you somehow.
Anybody else out there been thrilled to reconnect with an old friend that you have not talked to since high school? Isn’t it exciting to see pictures of them and their families and to find out what they are doing with their lives?
I remember when I used to have to wait until the 11 o’clock news or the newspaper to get my sports scores. Now every game is available play by play online. Or I can get instant updates on my cell phone.
How many hours a day do you spend online, just waiting for the next post to pop up on your computer, only to be disappointed to read that someone just ate a chocolate chip cookie? So much is being written, yet not much is being said.
I wonder if we have the same enthusiasm when it comes to hearing what God wants to say to us. Do we get excited to hear from God’s word? Do we anxiously await what will happen in our prayer time with God? Do we care about what God thinks of the day’s issues?
I have really enjoyed reconnecting with old friends recently. I think it is wonderful to be connected with people in a community (online or otherwise).
The question I have for you is this, “Are you connecting with God?”
A nice thing about connecting with God is how easy it is. All you have to do is talk to Him. He is instantly there waiting for you. Try picking up a Bible and read something that He wrote. I guarantee it is more exciting than hearing about somebody drinking a White Mocha Latte from Starbucks!
The point is, make connecting with God a priority in your life. It’s so easy.
p.s.
You do not have to wait for God to accept your friend request! He has been waiting for years for you to accept His.
Trustworthy Christians
Ever play the "let's see who can hit the softest" game. When I was young, my dad played this with me. He'd say, "Son, let's see who can hit the softest. You go first." Then he would lower his shoulder in front of me so I could get a good shot at his bicep and I would ever so slightly touch his arm with my fist, hitting him with all the force of a feather.
Then I would expose my bicep (all 10 inches of it) for him to hit. He proceeded to punch me in the arm really hard and laugh out loud while saying, "You win!"
Needless to say, I don't play that game with my Dad anymore.
I had a hard time trusting him to play fair after that.
Yesterday I was reading 1 Corinthians 4:1,2
The Contemporary English Version says, "This is how you should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. (2) Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy."
TRUSTWORTHY
The Apostle Paul is saying that as Christ followers, we should be servants and stewards. In other words, serve God by serving people and be responsible in how we represent God.
Christians need to be trustworthy.
It makes me wonder, can people trust me as a Christian? If I say something about the love of God, have they seen that through me? If I tell someone about about God's mercy, have I lived that out? If I tell someone that Jesus will change their life, have they seen a changed life in me.
How have I represented God?
Then I would expose my bicep (all 10 inches of it) for him to hit. He proceeded to punch me in the arm really hard and laugh out loud while saying, "You win!"
Needless to say, I don't play that game with my Dad anymore.
I had a hard time trusting him to play fair after that.
Yesterday I was reading 1 Corinthians 4:1,2
The Contemporary English Version says, "This is how you should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. (2) Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy."
TRUSTWORTHY
The Apostle Paul is saying that as Christ followers, we should be servants and stewards. In other words, serve God by serving people and be responsible in how we represent God.
Christians need to be trustworthy.
It makes me wonder, can people trust me as a Christian? If I say something about the love of God, have they seen that through me? If I tell someone about about God's mercy, have I lived that out? If I tell someone that Jesus will change their life, have they seen a changed life in me.
How have I represented God?
Am I a trustworthy Christian?
Are you?
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