A New Pair Of Jeans....

Today is going to be a huge "ramble."  Some of you will not like this very much.  I don't like it, but what I am about to say is the truth.  Many of us (Big D included) don't want sin out of our lives.  I want to have a life where my sin is comfortable.  Don't get me wrong, I want God.  I want God to transform my life to make it look like Him, but I still want my sin. 

Look at it this way.  Sin is kind of like a new pair of jeans that you bought at your favorite clothing establishment without trying them on.  You get them home and try them on and they are too tight.  They are not extremely too tight, but they are tight enough to make you uncomfortable when you wear them.  If you are like me at all, you don't like to take things back to the store and exchange them.  I'll just put up with the discomfort. 

Sin is just like this.  We want the comfort of a new pair of jeans that fit just right, but we want it in the new pair of jeans that are too tight.  What we should do is take the pair of jeans back to the store and get rid of them.  We need to turn them in for a pair that fit perfectly.  Do you see the comparison?

We must (daily) exchange our sin for the righteousness of God.  We must get rid of the things in our lives that don't fit right.  We must not get to the point in our lives where we are okay with wearing things (sin) that are too tight.  If this happens, are relationship with God suffers, are relationship with others suffer, and we will suffer.  Sometimes it might seem like a hassle to take the clothing back to the store, but in the end there is nothing like a pair of jeans that fit perfectly.  At this point I am prepared to make you (and myself) a promise:  if you try on the righteousness of God, it will fit.  This is the way that God designed it.  I must end this post now.  I have some jeans in my closet that need to be returned for ones that fit perfectly.  Happy repenting. 

Blessings!

Christ is the Difference...

I don't know about you, but I don't know near enough about the book of Isaiah.  Several days ago I was seeking God's guidance about where I needed to turn next in my personal Bible reading/study.  For some reason, maybe it is because I don't know enough about it, God directed me to the book of Isaiah.  It has been challenging thus far.

My readings for today had me in Isaiah 8, 9, & 10.  I want to highlight something God revealed (not in a prophetic way) to me today.  If you have a chance, take minute and read over chapter 9. 

All done?  Great.  Here are my thoughts.

I know enough about the book of Isaiah to know that God's people were in some serious trouble with Jehovah.  God had given them chance after chance to turn their hearts back to Him.  However, much like you and I, they didn't listen.  Looking at chapter 8 of Isaiah, God uses Isaiah to warn them of the coming judgment by the Assyrians.  He also, in chapter 8, warns Isaiah not to become like all the other people.  Then, beginning in chapter 9, God gives us some prophetic words regarding the future that we all are probably failure with. 

He tells them in Isaiah 9:1 that this coming judgment isn't going to be like "the gloom of the distressed land...of the former times (HCSB)."  This time of destruction is going to be different than anything that has happened before.

Beginning in verse 2 Isaiah lays it all out for us.

1. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.
2. On those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned.
3. The nation has been enlarged and increased its joy.
4. The people are now rejoicing before You
5. God has shattered their burdensome yoke and the rod on their shoulders, and the staff of the oppressors (Assyria)

The logical question is, "How is this going to happen?"  I am glad I asked because in verses 6-7 of chapter 9, Isaiah gives us the answer.

"For a CHILD will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders, He will be named  WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, ETERNAL FATHER, PRINCE of PEACE.  The dominion will be vast and its prosperity will never end.  He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.  THE ZEAL OF THE LORD OF HOSTS WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS."--Isaiah 9:6-7 (HCSB)

CHRIST IS THE DIFFERENCE!!!!!  Oh, that Christ would be the difference in your life and my life.  I want to challenge you to live in the light of this today!!!

"Just Do Something" by Kevin DeYoung...

I just finished a very thought provoking book on knowing and doing God's will. The book is entitled "Just Do Something" by Kevin DeYoung. Kevin has some non-traditional views on this subject. I want to share one specifically.

Often times, this is how I was taught, we are instructed that God's will is this magical, unknown phenomena that must be sought after, prayed about, and stressed over. All of those things might be true, but I don't think it has to be this way.

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us the answer to this "God's Will" issue. We are to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.".

Did you catch the answer? I didn't either at first. The most important thing in following God's will is seeking God's kingdom first. If we strive to consistently live this way, I believe all the other pieces will fall into place.

I would highly recommend this book.

Show Us Christ...

Very powerful song that we will be doing in the near future at Ada First.  This is my prayer as a follower of Jesus Christ and as a minister of the gospel.  Blessings!

The songs is entitled Show Us Christ by Sovereign Grace Music

God Frustrate Me...

Often times, when reading scripture, I get frustrated with myself.  Why?  I feel like there is a huge disconnect in what I read and the way that I live it out. 

DISCLAIMER:  I am not saying all of this so that you will lavish me with praise and empty compliments. 

I could give probably endless examples of scriptures that make me feel this way.  I won't do that, however.  I will only list a few.

EXAMPLES:
Philippians 2:1-17--Having the Mind of Christ
1 John 3:16-18--Live in Action, Not Just Talk
Romans 12:1-21--Be Transformed
Matthew 5-7--Seek First the Kingdom of God

At the same time, I think that I would be little concerned if I read scripture and there was "nothing going on in me."  Do you know what I mean?  Let me tell you.  There have been times in my 19 years of following Jesus that I "doubted" if I was even following Jesus.  When these occasions occurred, I would seek counsel.  Some of the best advice that I ever received was when I was facing this issue.  I was told, "the very fact that you are questioning whether you are following Jesus or not, tells me that you are."  Whether you agree with this advice or not is irrelevant.  I believe it and hold to it and pass it on to others. 

Do you see how this situation applies to my frustration?

I think the very fact that I am frustrated says that God has got my attention.  I think if you are honest with who you are in Christ, you will find out one of two things:

#1-You are frustrated and feel like there is a disconnect with what you read in scripture and how you live it out.
#2--You are not frustrated and you need to be frustrated.  What I mean is that you aren't reading God's Word and you aren't allowing it to frustrate you and transform you.  Make sense?  It does.

God frustrate us!!!