Unlocked, Unburdened. (And great Ministry news!)

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever tried to open a door with the wrong key, or tried so hard to wrestle your way free of some situation, but you just couldn't? Maybe it's an addiction , guilt from mistakes in the past, a broken relationship, or something else that you have convinced yourself you cannot break free of in life. On a side note:  If you have a serious addiction or problem, I encourage you to seek medical attention or a counselor.

But, think about it for a minute. If I asked you all to close your eyes and then raise your hand if you've ever felt trapped, I'd assume that the majority of people would raise their hands in the air. We all feel stuck at some point. What if you could change that, though? What if the tedious routine of "ignorance is bliss" or "I'll deal with it later" could finally be dealt with today, and you finally felt unlocked and unburdened?

This morning, I stayed up well into the night moved to tears by a true story about a boy with autism.  Many kids who suffer from this are trapped inside of a world they cannot escape, whether they are non-communicative or high functioning AS (Asperger's Syndrome). That's about the extent of my knowledge about the subject, but I will say that the story of a boy who broke free through music and because of prayers and pleas to God filled my heart with a gut wrenching sadness and joy all at one time. He trusted God, even though he couldn't express that to others. 

So, what in your life can you not express to others?

Maybe, you haven't even admitted it to yourself. Maybe, you're scared. Maybe, you feel lost or trapped. I think at some point, we all have or we all do. Will you trust God to help you, even if the answers are not immediate...can you have faith as small as a mustard seed to watch what He can do with your problems? The God who created the stars in the sky and every creature and landscape - He loves YOU. His son Jesus, well, He died on a cross so no one else would have that burden. But, God and His son, they love YOU. We are  told that we would have trouble in this world and to take heart, for He has already overcome it.

Guess what that means?

It means God can overcome whatever is going on in your life. His LOVE surpasses all things and His grace is unending. What can He help you to unlock; what burden can his he take upon his yoke to make your burden lighter? (Matthew 11:28-30) Start on your knees. Last night, I prayed like I hadn't in a long time. I'll admit that to you. But, what I will also say is that all of the problems in my life, all of the dilemmas big and small that I was dealing with this week, don't seem like dilemmas today. I don't have to carry the weight of them, because He is already doing that. I just have to trust in His direction and follow His small, still voice. 

Note:

I'm headed to Missouri on a Campus ministry plant at Missouri State University. You can read more about it from the director of Campus Ministry United here. God has so much more planned for me and for our plant team than I could have ever imagined. In my case, I believe that it is because I allowed him the key to my heart and the weight of my past burdens. Now, my future looks so incredibly beautiful and bright! (I'll write more about what I'm feeling regarding this plant in another post).

Don't let the things of the past get to you. He is doing a new thing and you just don't see it yet - trust Him, and see where it goes. This is a personal topic, because it's something that in the past, I've had difficulty wrapping my head around it. That's not to say I never slip up and start trying to rely on myself - I do, I'm human. But, now I am quicker to get on my knees and turn the keys back over to God. He's a much more efficient navigator.

Start the change now. He won't necessarily lead you to Springfield, MO, or even on a campus ministry plant. But what I do know is that He has great plans for each one of us - the blueprints are simply waiting to be unrolled. Where might your adventure with God begin? 

It's not Him, it's you.

You know when you're watching one of those sappy romantic comedies and the couple breaks up? One doesn't want to devastate the other so they say "oh, it's not you, it's me?" We hear that over and over and over again.

You know what I think? Spiritually speaking in our relationship with God, he is saying, "It's not me, it IS you." You've had it all backwards and you are the reason that this relationship isn't working. 

Let me back up. We had a girls' Bible study last night on the first three chapters of John. We talked about how we could use that to teach someone who doesn't really know Christ about where he came from, who he is and what he does.  It got me thinking specifically about chapter 3. 

There's a passage in the third chapter about Nicodemus. He's part of the Sanhedrin (aka the religious leadership).  He goes to see Jesus because he wants to know more about following him....but he goes at night. If his friends from the Sanhedrin knew what he was up to, that he was a fan of this carpenter from Galilee, they'd ask questions and they might even persecute him. See, Nicodemus didn't want to be inconvenienced  by Jesus, but he wanted all the benefits that came with it.  He wanted to keep his relationship a secret so that no one would know. For Nicodemus, it would cost him everything. Well God tells us that if we deny him before man, he will deny us in Heaven.  Jesus doesn't want you to be a fan. He wants you to be a wholehearted follower - and sometimes that means that we won't be well liked or respected. If you're going to be in a relationship with God, it has to be public. Proclaim it, live it, don't be ashamed of it. In our world's terms, tweet it, make it Facebook official, tell your girlfriends or tell your buddies. Make Him known.

In a passage from Kyle Idleman's book Not a Fan. He writes this: 

"There is no way to follow Jesus without him interfering with your life. Following Jesus will cost you something. Following Jesus always costs something...it's a twenty four hour a day commitment that will interfere with your life. That's not the small print, that's a guarantee." (Ch 2, a Decision or a Commitment?)

So what has Jesus cost you? If he hasn't cost you much and you haven't let him interfere in your life, I'd venture to say you're not really following Jesus, you're just a fan. People who don't want to take their relationship to the next level and the next level are people who are letting themselves get in the way of knowing Jesus.  He's not holding anything back from us - we hold ourselves back from him. 

I'm guilty as charged. I've done this. I admit that. I have not been willing to fully commit to God in the past because I was too afraid I would lose my family who are not Christians, I feared not being good enough, knowledgeable enough. I didn't want to leave the "comforts of home" or the safe circle of friends that I've developed relationships with because friendships take work. I was selfish. I didn't see the relationship I have with God for what it CAN BE, only for what I thought it needed to be. 

I'm working on this. I'm prayerfully going through a program that will help me understand what I can do to make my relationship with myself stronger so I can have a better relationship with God, and other people. I've allowed God to change my surroundings, circumstances and plans as he sees fit - and it's been incredible to stand in the midst of everything he can do for us, with us and around us because He loves us. 

God is committed to the relationship he has with you. Are you a follower - or just a fan? It's decision versus commitment and the choice you make will change everything.  

The Pride Problem.

Tonight, I was talking with a few friends about pride.  I know it's a touchy subject, but if I'm correct it is also something we all deal with at some point or another.  Pride is a disease...it eats at us and makes us feel invincible, but if so, for all the wrong reasons.  It disarms our ability to do greater things and love other people because we are too consumed with loving ourselves. Almost everything, I would argue, becomes an internal discussion of "what can I get out of this?" or "how will this make me look better?" Pride does not do what we think it should. We look at it as a way of seeming confident, but sometimes the aroma is more arrogant because it is masking what we really feel.

The times I have seen pride most prevalent in my life are the times that I am most unwilling to admit my own weaknesses, but quick to point them out in others.  I'm not suggesting that it's wrong to lovingly point out pride to a fellowman - but when it is only to ignore the fact that you are equally as prideful as him, that's where it gets hazy. So why? Why be prideful - after all, Jesus says in Luke 18:14 that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Who then would choose pride over exaltation? Any ill-reasoned man. See, he is also the man who thinks from this notion that pride can lead to exaltation. But, he lacks the focus on what Jesus says here - you can't have your pride cake and eat it too. God cannot be mocked.

Pride creeps in. It's not something that just appears and you can recognize it. If that were the case, none of us would have a pride problem.  I know for me, the cause of my pride was fear and laziness. First, I feared what I would find if I faced my pride and admitted that I was weak...me, weak, never! Besides that, I was lazy. Dealing with pride took  work. It took an understanding of who I am compared to God, and it put me in my place again. Fixing a pride problem requires humility (the opposite of pride) to acknowledge that it, your pride, exists. Furthermore, it then requires your willingness to do something about it. No one said it would be easy, but without it, it's not a very fulfilling life, I learned that.

So what's causing you to be prideful? How does that hinder you from choosing to live a more meaningful life instead of comparing yourself to others, and others to you? What can you to serve instead of being served? Be a blessing.

Fear Factor.

Let me be somewhat transparent for a moment. These four weeks have been tough...I have been getting real with everything I never realized about myself before. I've dug deep and wide inside my heart and my soul to try and understand exactly how I got to where I am today, in this moment. The search by the way - it's far, far from over. Is it terrifying? Yes. Is it eye opening, yes. Is it difficult? YES.

I've learned something so far, though; we let fear define us, instead of being defined by faith. Think back, how many times in the past month have you done, or not done something because of fear? It doesn't matter if you feared success, or you feared failure, or if you feared being wrong or you feared being right.  Any way you spin it, you are afraid.  That fear factor has a way of making us uncomfortable. We fear, fear. So instead of facing  fear and doing something that might make us get outside of our cozy little corner and fight for our lives, we back down and pull the covers over our eyes, expecting the result when we emerge to be something drastically different. It won't be. There is no intentional desire in any of this.

When I realized this about my life, I hit my knees in prayer. I'll admit, I don't pray on my knees as often as I should, but let me tell you - it might be one of the most vulnerable positions I have ever been in.  However, it is quite possibly the only way we will be capable of standing strong.  So many times before, I would pray a sincere but lackluster prayer and ask God to move in my life. The result of that would be: God moving and me standing still as if He was supposed to do something for me. This time - when I prayed, I prayed. I asked God to move me for what moves Him. When I got an answer to that prayer - or several probable answers...I was rendered speechless.

The answer to my prayers became increasingly clear, but the question became - do I trust his directions? Do I believe in changing my life for the better, no matter what He says the cost is? Instead of expecting God to move me, God is expecting me to move! What a concept, right? I won't specify the details just yet [After all, want you to come back and read another post, right? (; ], but what He is asking me to do is to get out from underneath my cozy familiar covers, out from my comfortable little corner and actually change and grow.

Choosing to do what is uncomfortable is not the popular route. It is scary, it is difficult, it is uncertain and ultimately, it will lead to change, which, we refuse to do because we let fear become bigger than our faith. Don't let fear overcome your life - choose to overcome fear.  Don't just pray - be intentional about your prayer and actively seek out the open doors that might present themselves because of it. Embrace change - it just might change your life. It is in my life, for sure.

I encourage you to really ask God to show you what is holding you back from the fullness of life you are meant to live (John 10:10). Don't let fear be a factor for you.

Be Real. Live it out.

What does that even mean - be real?
People say that all the time...

"It can't be real," or, "You're not being real," or, "Please, get real..."

What does it mean to you? I don't want a dictionary definition.
I don't think we can be real without feeling. Definitions are not a feeling - they are words on a page.
What does it feel like to be real...is it an emotion, a physical response, a conscious, mental state of mind?

Think on it - now answer this...

What does it mean to be a real Christian?


People sometimes claim that we don't live out our Christianity - but, what does that mean for us? What will it take you to get real?

It makes me think of [John 1:14]...the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

What does it look like when we are walking, talking and serving like Jesus - when His word becomes our flesh, our breath and our purpose - when we make our dwelling among the 'us' that is this world, right now?

I think it looks like grace, truth, mercy, love, forgiveness, humility, honesty, faith, trust...it looks like Jesus Christ.


What are some practical ways to "be real" with one another and with the World?
How can we show them that the "real world" we live in isn't really the "real" world worth living for?

I think being real starts with being honest with yourself.
Only when you are willing to face who you are in God's image will you understand how to be real with people, and to stay real. The kind of real that matters.

 It's not about how the world labels you.
It's how much you learn and value yourself (humbly, albeit), the way that God values you as His sons and daughters.
We were commissioned to be real. It is the great commission.
Will you be real?