May 25, 2010
Training Wheels
A few thoughts about week three of : Sub-Mission.
When a kid uses training wheels it is because they do not have the ability to balance on their own. Over time they learn to balance by themselves and soon the training wheels are no longer needed. It occurred to me during the service that many men refuse to take the training wheels off of their lives. In marriage you submit to the other person for the mutual benefit of the relationship. When you get married you are now a grown up who needs to ditch the use of training wheels and start to balance on your own. Submission is NOT about the other person doing whatever you say. Submission means that you put the other person before yourself and that every decision that you both agree to is for the benefit of the marriage.
So what happens to a person if they become dependant on the training wheels and they do not want to balance their own life?
When a kid uses training wheels it is because they do not have the ability to balance on their own. Over time they learn to balance by themselves and soon the training wheels are no longer needed. It occurred to me during the service that many men refuse to take the training wheels off of their lives. In marriage you submit to the other person for the mutual benefit of the relationship. When you get married you are now a grown up who needs to ditch the use of training wheels and start to balance on your own. Submission is NOT about the other person doing whatever you say. Submission means that you put the other person before yourself and that every decision that you both agree to is for the benefit of the marriage.
So what happens to a person if they become dependant on the training wheels and they do not want to balance their own life?
- You live in fear - You cannot even take baby steps on your own because you are so dependant on others to make decisions for you that you wuss out.
- You remain a boy - God wants you to be a man. Stop being a weiner who can't stop complaining about their life. Grow a pair and become the man that you need to be.
- You continue to give the rest of us a bad name - I am not perfect, but I know the most important person in my life needs me to be a man. I admit when I am wrong, when I am in pain, and when I am pissed. I talk to my wife about me, because if I don't then I am not worthy of being her husband.
I have had testicular cancer twice, and I still have more balls then you if you cannot learn to take your training wheels off. If I can learn to do this, so can you.
Posted by: Aaron Freeman
May 18, 2010
Remember to Remember
An Elephant never forgets. This is true, but unfortunately I do.
I forget what God has forgiven
I forget the life I had before Jesus changed me
I forget who I was when I was far from God
I forget where my focus should be
I was worshipping God yesterday when I realized that I had forgotten my focus. When I devote my time to God my focus becomes clear again. I forgot to remember.
I remember that I was going to commit suicide
I remember that I was depressed and sick
I remember that Jesus changed my life
I remember what it was to have hope
I remember God's grace and mercy changing me
Yet I still forget these things and my focus strays from where God has me. When I re-adjust my focus to the greatness and awesomeness of God then my heart starts to worship God with new enthusiasm. I am renergized. I love God more when I give Him my focus.
Jesus
I forget what God has forgiven
I forget the life I had before Jesus changed me
I forget who I was when I was far from God
I forget where my focus should be
I was worshipping God yesterday when I realized that I had forgotten my focus. When I devote my time to God my focus becomes clear again. I forgot to remember.
I remember that I was going to commit suicide
I remember that I was depressed and sick
I remember that Jesus changed my life
I remember what it was to have hope
I remember God's grace and mercy changing me
Yet I still forget these things and my focus strays from where God has me. When I re-adjust my focus to the greatness and awesomeness of God then my heart starts to worship God with new enthusiasm. I am renergized. I love God more when I give Him my focus.
Jesus
May 11, 2010
Silence
There has been a recurring theme in my life over the last few days.
Silence.
Silence is a funny thing because it drives some people totally crazy or it is a place of total serenity for others.
Who has time for silence? I mean really, how are you supposed to be silent when everything in the world screams "LISTEN". God is waiting in the silence for you to listen to Him. He does not blast His message to you on the radio. He does not have a bullhorn. He is in the silence.
When you stop to listen what do you hear?
Some people shy away from silence because it means that they have to listen to themselves think. People like to hide in loudness. God is waiting in the silence.
Have you ever shut the door to your room and just listened? In the quiet of that moment God can finally talk to you. This is your moment to listen. This is how you can hear God, by listening. Not listening to the radio, or the neighbors yelling at their kids, or the sound of traffic outside of your window. Listening to the quiet voice of God can only be heard when you stop listening to everything else. Can you hear it? Can you close your eyes and listen? This may be the hardest thing you have ever done, but God is waiting for you to listen.
Silence.
Silence is a funny thing because it drives some people totally crazy or it is a place of total serenity for others.
Who has time for silence? I mean really, how are you supposed to be silent when everything in the world screams "LISTEN". God is waiting in the silence for you to listen to Him. He does not blast His message to you on the radio. He does not have a bullhorn. He is in the silence.
When you stop to listen what do you hear?
Some people shy away from silence because it means that they have to listen to themselves think. People like to hide in loudness. God is waiting in the silence.
Have you ever shut the door to your room and just listened? In the quiet of that moment God can finally talk to you. This is your moment to listen. This is how you can hear God, by listening. Not listening to the radio, or the neighbors yelling at their kids, or the sound of traffic outside of your window. Listening to the quiet voice of God can only be heard when you stop listening to everything else. Can you hear it? Can you close your eyes and listen? This may be the hardest thing you have ever done, but God is waiting for you to listen.
May 4, 2010
Where is your heart?
I know, it's in the middle of your chest, but the question is actually much deeper then that. Where does your motivation come from? Your actions reflect your heart. Romans 2:17-29 hits those of faith right in the face. If YOUR heart is bragging about how great YOUR faith is, and how righteous YOU are, and how much YOU know about God, then YOUR heart is all about YOU. God wants our heart to be about HIM. How great HE is, and how awesome HE is, and how our faith is moved by HIM, and how great it is that you can know HIM. When your heart is motivated by how great you are in your faith, then your faith has nothing to do with Jesus. When your heart is motivated by how great He is, then your faith is about Jesus.
The more we focus on ourselves the less we focus on Jesus. Romans 2:17-24 Paul pretty much slaps those of faith right in the mouth. How can you say that you are great in your knowledge of God when you do not even practice what you claim to follow? The Jews knew everything there is to know about God, they were perfect in their faith. Or so they thought. Then Paul rips them a new one by pointing out that their focus has been on them and not Him. This is what makes faith so interesting, you have to balance it by not becoming focused on what you know, but what you do with that knowledge.
Like the Jews, the church gets into the rut of thinking that "we know everything to know about God and therefore our faith is great". I believe that this type of thinking is faulty because it assumes that you can obtain perfect faith. Our belief in Jesus does not mean that we know all there is to know. We know as much as we understand with our finite brains. Faith reaches beyond the limits of what we can understand in order to connect to a God that is infinite in nature. Can you understand infinity? The concept of knowing a God who by definition is beyond understanding is literally mind blowing. What Paul was saying to the Jews was that they believed that they were holy because they thought they understood God, but they did not even follow the God they claimed to know. How can you understand God if you don't follow Him? Perhaps the church needs to refocus its attention from understanding God to following God to the best of their understanding. Where is your heart? Mine is knowing that my faith is only as great as my serving.
The more we focus on ourselves the less we focus on Jesus. Romans 2:17-24 Paul pretty much slaps those of faith right in the mouth. How can you say that you are great in your knowledge of God when you do not even practice what you claim to follow? The Jews knew everything there is to know about God, they were perfect in their faith. Or so they thought. Then Paul rips them a new one by pointing out that their focus has been on them and not Him. This is what makes faith so interesting, you have to balance it by not becoming focused on what you know, but what you do with that knowledge.
Like the Jews, the church gets into the rut of thinking that "we know everything to know about God and therefore our faith is great". I believe that this type of thinking is faulty because it assumes that you can obtain perfect faith. Our belief in Jesus does not mean that we know all there is to know. We know as much as we understand with our finite brains. Faith reaches beyond the limits of what we can understand in order to connect to a God that is infinite in nature. Can you understand infinity? The concept of knowing a God who by definition is beyond understanding is literally mind blowing. What Paul was saying to the Jews was that they believed that they were holy because they thought they understood God, but they did not even follow the God they claimed to know. How can you understand God if you don't follow Him? Perhaps the church needs to refocus its attention from understanding God to following God to the best of their understanding. Where is your heart? Mine is knowing that my faith is only as great as my serving.
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