Chapter 2: From Burden to Joy

Chapter two in the book focuses on some of the fundamental disciplines of a Christian.
I really enjoy this chapter because it is very personal to me. Well, I can say many of the chapters have a personal relevance but this one deals with the disciplines that really got me in trouble as a child.

In writing this chapter, I went back to the roots of my life of prayer, worship and fasting, which took place in my elementary years. It is fun to see my parents' approach to instilling disciplines in my life as a child and also my resistance to their approach.

I strive to make believers aware of how our prayer and fasting often become legalistic. I share of how prayer and fasting became very burdensome to me in my childhood years and try to use that as a lesson to help us make adjustments.

Christians get to the point where their prayer, their bible reading and all the other spiritual discipines become a bore as well as a great chore. Interestingly enough many put their head down and continue pushing forward, thinking that if they give God a little extra, the Lord will be impressed.

This chapter has the purpose of inspiring us to see our life of prayer, our bible reading and our fasting; as great privilleges and opportunities to fellowship with God and know Him better. It gives us some practical pointers on how to pray and study the Word so that it would be refreshing and relevant.

Instead of making our devotion to God a burdensome experience we need to start approaching it with the mindset of a child. We need to simplify our approach to prayer and bible reading so that we can truly meet with God.

Lastly, we will be challenged to trust God. One of the fundamental problems of legalists is that they try hard to save themselves. We will point out our responsibility as believers, but at the same time, challenge us to trust God to save us, not our spiritual disciplines or our abilities.

From Hollowness to Holiness Part 2

In my last post I started the sermon outline and shared a few charateristics of hollowness.
This post will be a presentation of the characteristics of holiness.

Characteristics of Holiness

Holiness:

Is about a lifestyle

When we are serious about holiness, we will focus on God regardless of the place we are at.
(John 4:23) The true worshipper, worships God in Spirit and in truth.
When our worship is a lifestyle, our focus will be on God continually.
Genesis 5 - Enoch walked with God or had a lifestyle of Godliness.

Is about SERVING God

It is sad that people use God and ministry in order to bring glory to themselves.
We must make the decision whether our service is meant to bring Glory to God or to ourselves.
The way we serve will determine if we are headed toward hollowness or toward holiness.
John the Baptist took all the attention off himself and put it on Jesus.
Jonn 3:30. "He must become greater; I must become less."
John was willing to become unpopular and invisible in order for Jesus' ministry to be most effective.
-Are we willing to step out of the spotlight if we knew such action would bring more effectivness to God's work? Are we willing to work behind the scenes?

Is About Falling in Love with God's Commands

Luke 19- Rich young man was devoted to rules but was not devoted to the one who gave those commands.
John 14: If you love me, you will do what I command.
-People that love God's commands are head over heels in love with Jesus Christ.
Test of love: Are you willing to give up everything and follow Jesus? The rich young man from Luke 19 was not willing to make the sacrifice.

This is a great way for us to regularly evaluate our love for God and His commands.

FROM HOLLOWNESS TO HOLINESS PART 1

I had the privillege of attending, and speaking at the 2009 Romanian Youth Conference in Portland Oregon this past weekend. I was the youth speaker on Saturday night havin a message on Holiness, which was the theme of the three day conference.

I will outline the message in two parts. You will find an outline for the first part of the message today and the second part tomorrow:

From Hollowness to Holiness

(John 1:48). Jesus liked Nathanael because of who the man was when alone/ in secret.
It is important that Jesus likes our life when we are in our secret place.

The way we live our life when no one sees us will determinine whether we are Hollow or Holy Christians.

The Characteristics of Hollowness:

Hollowness:

Focuses on a Place

RESPECT AT CHURCH-Old Testament Jews, at some points in their history, showed respect for God when at the temple but that was only a formality.

It is not enough to show God respect when at church because we don't spend all of our time at church. We need to respect Him at work and at home etc.

EXPERIENCE AT CHURCH - The Corinthians experienced God at church (see 1 Cor. 14) but they had serious problems in their personal lives (see 1 Cor. 1; 1 Cor 5; 1 Cor 6).

It is not enough to lift our hands in worship during a church service; we must experience God in the quietness of our room.

Focuses on People

WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK-

(Galatians 2) Peter, the great Apostole, was controlled by the opinion of his brothers and acted in hipocrisy, being afraid of what they would think.
We often fall into the trap of living out our walk with God in such a way as to be approved by man.

WANTING RECOGNITION -
Matthew 23:5...The Pharisees were always serving to make sure others saw their actions.

Sometimes our serving is conditioned upon whether people see us or reward us.

Focuses on Performance

There are individuals that try to show God how holy they are. There are at least three types of performers.

RESTRICTIONS - Some, through their restrictions, try to show God and others how holy they are and even make the claim that if everyone does not practice their restrictions, those individuals are hell-bound.

MINISTRY - Some, use ministry, as a tool to show God and others how great they are. They visit the sick, Evangelize, sing in the choir etc. in order to prove their holiness.

PERFECTION - Some try to make their services, their worship time, their messages perfect and try to impress God in this manner.

All three of the above performers push God out of the picture and try to do things in their own strength, something that is not Biblical.

Chapters of the Book

Here is how the chapters of the book are organized. You can find this list in the Introduction to the book as well. The key concepts are underlined with words written in bold.

1. From Deception to Acknowledgment
2. From Burden to Joy
3. From Exterior to Interior
4. From Traditions to Commands
5. From Performance to Obedience
6. From Sunday to Everyday
7. From Methods to Principles
8. From Selfishness to Sacrifice
9. From Man Favor to God Favor
10. From Disputes to Acceptance
11. From Then to Now
12. From Desperation to Transformation

Some of these words carry a history with many believers. As I mentioned, each chapter can be read individually. If as you are reading the chapter keywords one of them jumps out at you, don't hestitate to go straight to that chapter in the book. You will be able to have a clear understanding of the principles even if you read that chapter individually.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Chapter 1

Every few days I will post discussion questions for a different chapter of the book. This will help those of you that want to get more out of your reading.

The first chapter of the book is a dark chapter. I titled it "Going Deep" because, as we evaluate the deepest part of our being, we each uncover deception.

This first chapter comes across as a bit depressing, but I felt it was necessary to write on our human tendencies, which are at times depressing and even horrifying (you will see what I mean when reading some of the stories).

It is when we see our fallen nature, what we are really capable of as people, that we are able to repentently come before God asking for forgiveness/ cleansing. Only then can we do like David and come before God understanding that He sees everything (Ps. 51).

Here are a few questions to ask yourself, as you read this first chapter, to see if there are traces of deception within you:

1. Is your church/ ministry life, different from your home life?
2. List five inconsistencies between your church and your home life.
3. (Personal) What activities/habits, that you would never practice in the real world, are often in your mind?
4. What areas of your life do you find yourself constantly failing in (in thought or practice)?
5. What personal struggle that you constantly encounter, seems almost beyond cure?
6. What are some religious practices you tend to hide deceptive behavior behind?
7. Why do you think people often try to elude repentance?
8. How do you think repentance and overcoming deception go hand in hand?
9. What behavior that is wrong in your life, don you need to own up to?
10. What people in your family and/or your church help you acknowledge deceptive behavior?

These are some questions to ask yourself as you search to see if the enemy has had success with infiltrating deception into your life. Ask God to give you the strength to overcome any of the activities/ habits you may uncover, which lead you away from God.

As You Read

For those of you that are interested in reading the book, here are a few pointers.

The book is an easy read. It flows smoothly as there are stories and illustrations from my life or the life of people I know. This should help you move along, especially if you are not a big reader.

The first chapter is more of a foundational chapter. It deals with the idea that all of humanity has "deceptive" tendencies. Each one of us is capable of doing horrible things without God at the core of our life.

I personally think the first chapter of the book is very shocking and fascinating at the same time. In my opinion, chapter one is a very good chapter, but hey, I wrote the book so my opinion is kind of biased.

I received feeback from a friend who read the chapter and said he zipped through the other chapters a lot more quickly than he went through that first one. So my suggestion for you as a reader is this. If you get bored with that first chapter for any reason, don't hesitate to move right on to chapters two and three where a lot of the excitement and controversy starts.

Chapter two is more entertaining as I share about how my dad made my brothers and I pray and fast, when we were younger, even though we disliked it.

Also, as you may have a chance to read on the description of the book, found on the back, each chapter can be read individually. I mention in the introduction to the book that each chapter should be viewed as a journey. There are individual lessons that can be picked up by reading each chapter as if it were its own book.

Introduction To The Book

The introduction to the book can pull you in. My sister said she does not usually read the intros but she read mine because, well, I am her brother, and she did not want to skip anything in my book.

She said that the intro really got her attention and kind of sucked her into the book. So after checking out the description on the back, definitly pop open the book and read the introduction, which starts off with a personal story.

That personal story really sets the tone for the rest of the book. Throughout the various chapters I insert stories that are often shocking but that i feel are essential to illustrate what needs to be emphasized. Some of these examples are dramatic. But hey, the reality is that life, especially when lived behind certain practices, can be very drama filled.

Christian Behind Closed Doors

As I have grown up in the church, I began making an interesting observation.

The personal practices as well as some of the church practices we followed, as believers, did not always seem to help get us closer to God.
It is not that those practices were wrong, but there seemed to be some issues with our attitude and sincerity.

Sometimes, because we wanted to come across as more holy than others, our practices became a weapon with which we could exclude and include people into our groups.

If someone did not practice our worship style or follow our guidelines for dress, we found ways to marginalize them. As a child growing up, not knowing too much, I saw something fishy about all of this.

Sometimes, I got the sense that these practices, which some thought were giving us better access to God, were actually placing a barrier between us and Him.

The focus and emphasis was overwhelmingly on the practices, with Jesus getting pushed out of the way in the process.


Growing up with this phenomenon, I always thought that if I was going to write a book, it would somehow address some of the practices that can be adjusted.

The reality is that we can do things in our families and our churches to make our relationship with God better, without compromising the principles of the Bible.

So I have written a book, you see the cover above, which basically challenges believers to look at the Bible, not some deep rooted practices, as the compass for a relationship with Jesus Christ.

In my next post I will give you an idea of what to expect when reading the book.

The book addresses some legalism as I experienced it. It is filled with personal stories and illustrations that will keep you interested ( I hope).

Serving God Not a Religion

I want to start off with what is most important in my life. Let me say that differently. I would like to start with the one thing that I constantly strive to make most important in my life.


My greatest desire is to serve God with all of my heart. As a Christian, I want to live out my faith in my every day life. But as my wife will be able to tell you I am definitely not perfect. Especially when I don't take out the trash as I had promised.


I want to give every part of my life over to God and be a good example of Faith for my wife, my daughter and my son; to be a role model to my family. My desire is for them to be able to follow in my footsteps as I follow in the footsteps of Jesus.


All this said, I see how there are times where my walk with God becomes a religious practice. I get so consumed with my church and the activity there that I forget about what God truly desires.


I do not want to be a religious person that focuses only on practices certain rules and rituals. I don't want to be a Christian that is always preparing for the next church meeting. I want to go deeper!


I want to always be at a place of relationship; a place where I can actually meet with God. I want to have Him close and personal. When I call out to Him there should be an overwhelming sense of security that He will answer. When I need help in a difficult decisio there should be a sense of peace. That is the place I want to be in continually. In the arms of the Father.


Often, I have to remind myself that the things I am involved in are not themselves that relationship. The fact that I am involved in church is not necessarily what connects me to God.


Sure, church can help get me fired up, but the fact that I attend churh or get involved in ministry is not a guarantee of Godliness. My desire to serve in minitry should be a direct response to what is already a real connection with God. It is because of that relationship with God that I should desire to do God's work. I don't think we should be doing God's work in order to get at that special connection. If we are going about things in that manner, then we have it all wrong.

I want my religion to be a true dedication to Jesus Christ period. I want to love Him wholeheartedly and in the process help others do the same.

There are those that try to introduce people to church rather than to Jesus. I want to point everyone to Jesus Christ more than to just a church. Don't get me wrong, bringing someone to church can give them a better chance to meet Jesus. Sometimes. Sometimes, unfortunately, because we each don't have the love and compassion of Christ, it ends up driving people away.

The bottom line is that as long as we are pointing people to Jesus, we will be engaged in something more than routine or religion.