The Walking Dead

Have you ever wondered "What is my purpose?"

No doubt all of us at some point or another have felt lost or confused as to why we were put on this earth. During times of frustration we may feel that there's no point to our existence, or we may feel we are unnecessary to the functioning of this world. Even Christians, whether saved for 5 minutes or 50 years, can often go through these feelings of questioning their reason for life. If these feelings are not taken captive, or if a solution is not found, they can lead to depression, hopelessness, and eventually death.

The world is full of people who are carrying the weight of not knowing their purpose. It's a deadly epidemic that plagues our society. It's a virus that eats away at the spirits of people. Some walk around thinking they know their purpose, but only find emptiness and a false sense of confidence. We can see the cycles of hopelessness being passed down from parents to their children. It's as if society is a bunch of zombies walking around with the appearance that they have it all made, that they are full of life and purpose. At closer glance, these zombies are actually not full of life at all, but rather full of darkness and death.

It is within each of us to need to be "needed." It is within each of us the desire to succeed at something. We do all have a purpose, but too often our perception of our purpose is muddled and even flat out wrong! What is your purpose and my purpose you ask? We find the answer not in figuring out what our desire is for our destiny. That will only lead to a stronger dose of the disease. Our purpose is not in how many accolades we can acquire or how successful we can be according to the world's standards. Our true purpose, the only one that will give LASTING satisfaction, is found in fulfilling the calling and duty God has placed upon us.

Our church's mission statement is Worship. Love. Serve. Simple, huh? Yet, these three words contain the purpose of every human being that has ever walked the earth or ever will walk the earth. The sum of our existence lies in these three very simplistic words. Worship God. Love God and others. Serve God and others.

Worship. Remember the zombies I mentioned earlier? If you have ever seen the TV show "The Walking Dead" you know that humans turn into flesh-eating zombies because of a disease that every person carries. If you are bit or scratched by a zombie, or even at your natural death, your body turns from what was a normal human to a creature that is dead yet walking around. These zombies, like those who don't understand their true purpose, are in complete darkness. As worshippers of the one true God, we are full of His light. Every time we surrender ourselves wholly and completely to Him, He fills us continually with His light. Light and darkness cannot exist in the same place at the same time. It will either be dark or light. When we carry the light of God through our worship of Him and Him alone, we expel the darkness of this world. Every place our feet tread, we are expelling the darkness of no purpose, and showing with very clear light, that the purpose of God is the key to life.

Love. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Love contains a power stronger that any other. Love is what drives us to do what we do. Love for our children drives us to do everything in our power to protect them and bring them up to be productive members of society. Love for our spouse drives us to be the best we can for them. We put their needs above ours. Love for our job drives us to bring our best efforts each day. These loves are good and they have their places, but the greatest love of all comes not from a spouse, child, or job, but from our Heavenly Father, who by definition is love. God is love. Love is God. You cannot divide or separate love from God or God from love, because that's who He is. His love covers over our sin and transgression. His love in us is the cure for the disease that turns people who are full of potential into lifeless zombies. We cannot honestly call ourselves a disciple of Christ if we do not love.

Serve. To serve means to put our needs and desires aside to fulfill the needs of another. There are many things that we can do to serve others, especially zombies. It may be a hot meal, clothing for the naked, a bottle of water, a place to stay, friendship/discipleship, or even just a smile when you really don't feel like smiling. As a follower of Christ, we must serve. We cannot escape this calling or diminish this calling, because it's who we are. We are servants. Mark 10:45 says "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." If Christ is who we exemplify, and even He didn't come to earth to be served but to be a servant, how much more are we called to be servants. When we serve others, especially zombies, we are showing them the love and hope in Christ. We are literally being the hands and feet of Jesus. There is no greater honor! There is no trophy that can be won, no promotion that can be attained, no more a prestigious title that can be given than to be considered a servant of the Most High God.

Unlike the show "The Walking Dead," where nothing can be done to help a zombie besides stabbing its brain, there is hope for the zombies in our society. There is hope and life in Christ Jesus. Aside from that, it's darkness and death. We hold the cure to the disease of no purpose and no hope. Let's inject it into our world for the glory of God.

What's Mine is Mine

 It never ceases to amuse me to watch small children argue over toys. Child #1 sees an appealing toy, takes it, and begins to play with it. Child #2, who has been entertained with other toys until this moment, sees Child #1 with the toy and is overcome with a desire for the toy in Child #1's possession. Child #2 proceeds to snatch the toy from Child #1, not without a fight of course. Child #1 then chooses to either punch, kick, bite, yell, tattle, or some other method to get the toy back that they originally had stating "MINE!"
  Isn't it amazing how we take ownership of certain things in our lives. We would never allow another human being to steal away our personal possessions that are of most value to us. A loving mother wouldn't allow a stranger to take her child without a fight. A protective father wouldn't allow a thief to rob his family of their belongings. These examples and many others depict our feelings of ownership and love for the things we hold dear to our hearts. What's mine is mine!
  In the book of 2 Samuel chapter 3 we see a story that reminds me of how dear we hold our possessions to us. To give you a little background, King Saul, the leader of God's people, is dead. The kingdom is divided, some still clinging to Saul's part of the kingdom, and the others under rule of David, the man anointed to be the King of Israel by God himself. King Saul had a captain in his army named Abner. Abner, after being accused of immorality and offended by one of Saul's sons, decides to help out David instead. Abner sends messengers to David asking him if he would like to strike up a deal with him. Abner says he will "help bring the whole country of Israel over to you (David)." David agrees to a deal with Abner, but the condition he gives is that Abner must bring Michal back to him. Michal is King Saul's daughter and David's first wife who was given to David by Saul for slaying Goliath and 100 other Philistines. David had to leave Michal with her father, because Saul had tried many times to kill David because of jealousy. When Abner brings Michal, who has since married another man, Paltiel, he follows his wife sobbing. In a place called Bahurim, Abner turns to this sobbing husband and tells him to go home.
  At first, when reading this story, I find myself feeling so awful for Paltiel. No doubt he loves Michal, because we see him showing emotion at her loss. He is losing his wife to a king. It doesn't quite seem  fair, does it? The more I thought about this story, the more my feelings began to shift. You see, Michal belonged to David FIRST. She was his first wife who he loved and worked very hard to obtain. Over the time that they had to be apart, which was quite some time, he must have never stopped thinking of her. Yes, he married more wives, and she married another man, but it makes me wonder if they always thought of each other and longed for each other. She belonged to him and he belonged to her. Circumstances caused them to have to be apart, but maybe they always desired to be together in their hearts.
  Sometimes in our lives, our King, God, requires us to give up some things. We can identify with Paltiel, Michal's husband, when we are asked to give these things up. We are upset and sad, because we want to keep the things we see as "belongings" to ourselves. God may ask us to give up our time, money, desires, plans, tv shows, and most of all our hearts. He desires our lives. It can be a painful exchange for us giving these things up. It doesn't always seem fair. Why should I have to give up more of my paycheck, didn't I work hard to earn it? Why does God want me to take time to disciple someone, can't he just have the pastor to do that? Why can't I fulfill my dreams for my life, God?  These and many other questions may swirl through our minds as we try to wrestle our "toy" from God.
Paltiel followed his wife until they reached a place called Bahurim. The word Bahurim means choice. At some point in our lives, we have to make a choice. Am I willing to let God have those things in my life that he desires? Am I willing to sacrifice my entire life and all that I am for my Savior? Do I love him enough to be willing to let some things go? We have to make a choice. Not to say it's going to be easy, because we all know that giving up our desires for God is painfully difficult. It's as if a piece of us is being torn away. The difference between King David and our God is this...David gave nothing to Paltiel in exchange for taking Michal. God always replaces those things that we must give up to him. In fact he doesn't just replace them, he multiplies and gives us exceedingly, abundantly above what we had before. But he will only do this if we surrender to his will.
  We can't say "What's mine is mine" to God. In reality, it all belongs to him anyways, just like Michal really belonged to David first. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says that "You are bought with a price." When we choose to become a follower of Christ, we are choosing to give it all away in devotion to the Savior. We are choosing his will over our's, his plan over our's, his desires over our desires. My life isn't my own. It belongs to him. Whats's His is His...

Next Level

As we come into this new year, 2013, we are not only entering into a new calendar year, but a new year spiritually as well. It's a new season, a time for celebration. I believe with all my heart that God is going to go above and beyond what we could ever imagine this year. He is taking His church to the next level. Jeremiah 29:13-14 says (MSG) "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed. - God's Decree - I'll turn things around for you. I'll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you - God's Decree - bring you home into the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it." When we get serious about wanting to go to the next level with God, he won't disappoint us. However, too often we find ourselves staying in the same place for various reasons. While thinking about this very thing, the Lord showed me six things that keep us from going to the next level in Him...

6. Weights - The purpose of a weight is to put pressure on you. It's job is to counteract the motion you want to do. If you want to curl a weight, it's job is to pull your arm downward instead of upward. In our walk with God, we can find ourselves having spiritual "weights." These weights can be anything from addictions (even those we try to justify), unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, jealousy, laziness, etc. These and others are sin. Our spirit man is in pursuit of Christ, yet these weights counteract what our spirit man wants and pulls us further away from God rather than to Him. You may not notice these weights doing their job at first, but after a little while, you'll notice the pain they bring. It's very hard to lift your hands in worship if you're carrying a weight. It's very hard to hug and love your brother or sister in Christ if you're carrying a weight. It's very hard to walk in a free life like God intended if you're carrying a weight. Hebrews 12:1 says "Therefore seeing we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily ensnare us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." Let's cast these weights aside so we can go to the next level with our Lord.

5. Pride - The only person I can truly blame for stagnation in my spiritual walk is...me. I am the problem. It's like we walk around with a mirror of pride, giving us the capability to only see ourselves. This problem happens to many of us who have been walking with the Lord for a long time. We get this mindset that we have arrived, that we've received all that God has for us. In our minds, we are super Christian! However in Psalm 10:4 it says "In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is not room for God." If we have the attitude that we have arrived and absorbed all that God has for us, then we are considered wicked according to God's word. We serve a God on the move, if we aren't moving with Him because of our pride, we really can't consider ourselves to be followers of Him. There was a group of people in the Bible that struggled with pride and going to the next level. They were called the Pharisees. Their pride was so great, they didn't even recognize the God they said they served.

4. Contentment - Contentment and pride go hand-in-hand. The definition of contentment is "acknowledgement and satisfaction of your currently reached capacity." Contentment is knowing where you are and being satisfied with it, even if it's not where you should be or what's best for you. Maybe your contentment is being satisfied in an experience with God you had many months or even years ago. You believe that the goosebump you felt 3 years ago is going to sustain your walk with God forever. Many people unfortunately believe the only experience you can have with God is salvation. Although salvation is the greatest thing you could ever experience, it's not all God wants to do in us. Salvation is the beginning of a lifelong walk with God in full obedience to Him. You would never hear someone say, "My marriage is terrible. My wife/husband and I never really speak, and we really don't love each other anymore. But, we had a great wedding, and I'm satisfied with that." No one would consider this to be a successful marriage, being content with only having a great wedding. A successful marriage is one that grows in love and admiration for each other. It's the same way with our walk with God. It's a continual growth and maturity in Him. Philippians 4:13 "I press on toward the goal..."

3. Too Dependent on Others - Sometimes we won't go to the next level with God, because we are relying on someone else to get us there. When we first get saved, we are spiritual "babies." This is not meant in a derogatory way by any means. Just like we are biologically born babies and grow up, when we begin our walk with God, we are spiritual babies that must grow and mature. Some of us, however, never grow. Babies rely on their every meal to be supplied by someone else, because they can't obtain it themselves. They have to learn how to feed themselves. In the same manner, we must not forever rely on someone else to "feed" us our spiritual food of prayer and Bible-reading. We are as Christians to help those that are newly saved. We must nurture them and disciple them. In time, though, we must allow them to begin to grow relying solely on the Lord. We are ignorantly thinking if we believe that the message we hear from our pastors on Sunday is going to carry us through the entire week. We must be daily feasting on His word and prayer to grow and go to the next level in Christ. It is not one's responsibility to carry you to the next level if you have known Christ for awhile. It is mine and mine alone to pursue Him. Imagine if all the people that Jesus told to take up their beds and walk would have waited until someone came along to lift them up. Their lack of faith may have stopped their healing. We in turn, must be willing to "take up our beds" and walk on in the Lord.

2. Not Kingdom-Minded - As followers of Christ, everything we do should be for the purpose of furthering the kingdom of God. No matter what the task, it should be viewed as a vital part of the growth of the Kingdom. For many, we are the only Jesus people see. Many will equate their opinion of the Lord on what they see us doing and saying. Our obedience is not only imperative because of our devotion to God, but it might be the turning point in someone's life in which they decide to follow after God. When we refuse to go to the next level, it doesn't just affect us, but the countless number of people that we are to influence. When we aren't kingdom-minded, it's as if we are wearing a blindfold, refusing to see the world around us. When we reject the idea of being kingdom-minded we are not only hindering ourselves, but taking the risk of another's blood being placed on our hands.

1. Fear - The #1 reason we don't go to the next level in Christ is fear. Every other reason could be summed up as fear. Addictions are fear, pride is fear, contentment is fear, spiritual immaturity is fear, selfishness is fear. We have fear of rejection, the unknown, failure, etc. Fear will cripple us, and leave us incapable of doing all that God desires us to do. Countless times in the Bible, God says "do not fear" or "fear not." Why? Because He knew that as humans, we would sometimes fear the future. The reality of it is, many of the things we fear never even come to pass. Fear can turn into a lack of faith. We are afraid of going to the next level, because we are afraid of what might take place there. 1 John 4:18 (KJV) says "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." God wants to lavish us with His love and fill us with His love. Fear counteracts His love. We must cast fear aside and tell it to leave in Jesus name. Let's not be crippled by fear, but rather let's operate in God's pure and faithful love.

The time to move is here and now. We must jump on board with God, or be left behind. The next level is upon us. We can move or stay stagnant. True joy and fulfillment in life lies only in pursuing God. I hope we all chase after Him with all we have in this new year.