Forced Captive or Willing Participant?

This morning I was reading from the beginning of Matthew's Gospel in the 6th chapter  I was really impacted on how corrupted my views of sin are sometimes, namely mine. The headings in the chapter in the text I read are listed in order, Giving to the Needy, Prayer, Fasting, Treasures in Heaven, Do Not Worry, and then I roll up on chapter 7 to see Judging Others. Whereas this may not be convicting to anyone else it hit me pretty hard. As I read and pondered I began to ask myself the same question over and over as I approached each sub-chapter, "How are you doing with this"?

The first paragraph isn't so much about giving to others in need as it is about blowing your own horn and demanding recognition for doing so when you do give or help. How many times do we either brag subtly of our so called "good works" or even more to allow others to do that when both parties know full well anything good that we ever do is by the Fathers hand and not our own. When I pray do I pray like Jesus teaches me here or do I pray in a manner that draws attention to myself, even when I'm alone? My problems, my wants, my desires, my needs, My, My, My. When I Fast, if I Fast, do I want the world to know? Where is it exactly that I keep my treasures? What do I allow my eyes to view? How many masters do I serve? It was at this point that I began to wonder, am I struggling in these areas because I've been somehow taken into captivity by an outside force? Did the enemy sneak into my camp during the middle of the night to snatch me up and carry me away, it's prisoner now for ever more? Well it's a good story but that's really all it is, isn't it. Sin never  sneaks up on a Believer, it's us who typically walk willingly into it's camp, white flag of surrender waving boldly in our own hands and say, "I give up and I give in" put the chains on my legs and let me then whine about all of the problems in my life.

We must break this cycle of returning to the same place over and over and seeking to blame someone else or even God for our short comings and slips. If we do not, things will never get better and we will never grow up. The Believer really doesn't have the option of becoming Peter Pan who sought to live in Never Never Land because it just doesn't exist.

Just My Views,

pk

How Different is Enough?

As you may or may not know I Pastor this incredible church in High Point NC called The Journey. It's a really cool place where a lot really wonderful people gather to serve and Worship and reach out to others who don't have relationships like that. We've been established now for a little over 5 years and one of the things that we've sought to be, as well as told people we are, is you guessed it, Different. There was a time a few short years ago that I really thought that I knew what that meant however today I'm honestly not so sure.The term "Different" by itself is clearly ambiguous at best, I mean how do you define it? How do we even know what different is in the first place? Is it different from all the rest, or just different from where you came from last? How do we know that this particular brand of different is even different enough? To me it's become like trying to measure air with a ruler or tape measure. I think I've got the right tools to work with however it's the results of the measurement that I seem to be having a little trouble with.

If I remember correctly, our hopes in the beginning were that we could reach out to people where they were at that very moment in their lives without asking them to change who they were on our account all for the sake of developing a relationship with Jesus and possibly connecting with others who were seeking the same things. Sounds like a good enough plan right? Now I'm not suggesting that we didn't do that or that those goals were not accomplished, or that peoples lives have not been changed by the power of the Gospel because I know full well that's happened to many, many, people because their lives are well, different than they were before. My concerns are based on the questions of, are we still different, is it enough, is our brand of different even relevant anymore? Sometimes in our quest to be something that others are not we can lose who we actually are and what our place and purpose is in the first place. Trending publications and organizations seem to constantly be churning out the newest and best things and of why what you did yesterday won't work today because this new group isn't like the last and won't respond. That dynamic makes it very difficult to decide on what to do next, thus making it nearly impossible to quantify your results. Therefore I believe it's not really about being "different" or "trendy" at all, I think it's about what it was in the beginning, building relationships with people in order to earn the opportunity to share the greatest Relationship with them that a person could ever have.

Just My View,

pk