It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to!

Just watched "My Dog Skip"...stupid movie - A man shouldn't cry on his birthday. Oh well, they say it's good for you! The movie reminds me that God put us here to figure out what is truly important. I guess for some people it could be a dog. It probably was for me as a kid. But now, it's my wife and kids! Not over God, but through Him. I'm going to go play a game with them (Those home anyway).

What about you? What or who is most important? Go spend some time with them! That is one thing you will never regret!

Click!

Every once in a while, "Click" goes the light and I get it! All too rare, but this morning is one of those times. I keep asking Him why I don't have love for the world. How can I be a Disciple if I really don't care what happens to this dying world? The answer...No, wait...The problem first. The problem is, I want a feeling - I want to feel love for a dying world. That is the problem because love is not a feeling! Isn't that what gets us into so much trouble? How many marriages have been lost because the feelings stopped? How many children die of hunger because I don't feel like helping? I could go on, but that is the problem - We wait to feel something so we can then do the right thing? 

John Maxwell says "Do the right things and the good feelings will follow."

So, the answer? Decide! Decide to love! That's what a Disciple does. They decide to love, no matter how they feel. ...But something is bothering me. What is it?

Tough Question

Hey God, why don't you do any miracles through me? For that matter, through hardly anyone these days?

Because power flows from who we are at the heart level, not the pretend level (Another idea from The Divine Conspiracy). 

 

Road Blocks

So what gets in the way of allowing Jesus to change my heart? Well, me! You see Jesus takes His time changing me because it is a relational process - I change as we spend time together. If He simply "changed" me into what He wanted then I would be His puppet. And it is very difficult to have a relationship with a puppet...all those strings getting in the way!

But meanwhile, people are watching me...religious people! And they expect me to act like them! So I start pretending to be like them...no, wait, I am not pretending to be like them, I actually become like them because they are pretending too (But don't tell them that. It will get you crucified!).

Where was I, oh yes, pretending. This is bad because when I am pretending, I am not being honest about who I really am. God can't change a pretender. And once I pretend to be someone else it is intensely difficult to go back. It is called backsliding (This won't get you crucified, it will get you gossip).

So what is the answer? Honesty! Ugly, messy honesty...Ouch!

Forget That...How Did I Miss This???

"To succeed in keeping the law one must aim at something other and something more. One must aim to become the kind of person from whom the deeds of the law naturally flow. The apple tree naturally and easily produces apples because of its inner nature...And here also lies the fundamental mistake of the scribe and Pharisee. They focus on the actions that the law requires...They are intensely self-conscious about doing the right thing...But the inner dimensions of their personality, their heart and character, are left to remain contrary to what God has required."  (Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, 142)

This is the best understanding I have found on what, at its core, religion is: Trying to reach God through actions. And as I think about it, it is easier to focus on my actions than on my heart. Not to mention I can always find someone whose actions are worse than mine, thereby making myself feel better.

Opposite religion is seeking Jesus and allowing Him to change my heart, so that I automatically produce the right kind of fruit (actions). Sounds easy...