Archives for March 2011

Following God No Matter What

March 8, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

A couple of years ago, Francis Chan stepped away from the church he had led in California for fifteen years because God was calling him to something else. He didn’t know what that something else was, he just knew he needed to trust and move on. Recently the Senior Pastor of the fellowship I attend made a similar announcement. He would be transitioning out of his role to pursue an undefined path. Like Abraham, he doesn’t know where he’s going; he simply knows he is being told to go. I admire their courage to abandon everything to follow God to places unknown.

Are you willing to follow God no matter what? Could you really walk away from everything you own and everyone you know for the sake of Jesus Christ? It is a question I have been battling for some time and confess I have not yet made a similar leap. I trust God explicitly with my heart, but my mind continues to get in the way. The realities of life invade my passionate desire to follow Jesus without any backdrop of security. We have been taught that we must balance wisdom with faith. Most of us don’t go stepping off the roof of a skyscraper trusting Jesus will bring us safely to the ground. That shows a legitimate lack of wisdom. We are finite beings that are confined to live by the laws of a physical world (we are not immune from gravity, for example).

Walking away from a job trusting that Jesus will care for your needs is a weighty proposition. It works out for some, but for others, not so much. The Bible never promises success in every endeavor; it does, however, promise that if we will trust our lives to Christ and work to glorify Him, then we will spend eternity in His presence. No matter how bad things get on earth, this is a promise that provides ultimate comfort and security. Life is more than comfort, investments and personal pleasure; it’s more than the car you drive, the house in which you dwell or the size of your paycheck. Life is simply about Jesus; knowing Him and serving Him. Too often our decisions boil down to choosing between God and personal comfort.

Remembering our purpose on earth can bring clarity to an otherwise murky decision process. Are we making our choices based on Kingdom directives or earthly economics? It can prove difficult in our Western society to dismiss the pull and norms of our culture. All our lives we have been taught to be financially wealthy, to become as successful as possible and to care first for our own needs. The Kingdom of God demands that we give all that we have in service to Jesus, submitting to those around us in order to serve their needs first, and to consider ourselves willing slaves of God. When we see life through the eyes of Christ, our perspective will be dramatically altered. Our decision process will gain new parameters. No longer will we choose a direction based on what seems most comfortable or financially prudent. When our hearts begin to break over the very things that break the heart of God, we will be compelled to choose that which results in bringing eternal glory to our King.

Having said all this, learning to make decisions from a Kingdom perspective is not an easy matter. We have years of teaching and fears to overcome. Family and friends will not understand and will probably vigorously oppose the decision. While this is generally driven by their own fear and lack of faith, it can nevertheless create great uncertainty for us. It is then we must remember whom we serve; if we serve Jesus first and only, the opinions of others will not matter. While we should certainly seek wise and Godly counsel, ultimately we must choose to do that which God is calling us to do. There is far greater uncertainty in running from God than running toward Him; just ask Jonah (Jonah 1-3).

While decisions are not easy or to be taken lightly, there truly is a simple reason why some people turn away from all they know to follow Jesus and others don’t. Those who do are not super spiritual beings; they have no secret gene that allows them to take greater risks. They simply desire to follow Christ more than anything this life can offer them. They choose to forsake the illusion of earthly security for the certainty of eternal salvation. They have died to themselves and have chosen to serve Christ no matter what the cost in this life. With an eternal perspective, any sense of success as defined by this world pales and fades away. I have my own issues to deal with in this area, how about you? What is it that you have been putting off for God in favor of maintaining your own comfort and sense of security? In the end, anything we have accumulated in this life will disappear; there is nothing eternal in the physical realm. Are you willing to follow Jesus no matter the cost? Only the spiritual will endure; only what we do for Christ will last. Only He can provide the comfort and security you seek; only He can fill the deepest yearnings of your heart. True life and lasting security is found in Christ alone.

Seize Every Moment

March 6, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

What do you want out of life, what is it you hope to accomplish? Have you ever taken the time to consider the legacy you want to leave behind or to list the things you hope to accomplish before you die? Many of us float through life oblivious to the opportunities that we have every day. Without a clearly defined purpose we allow life to happen to us rather than impacting the world. As followers of Jesus, we all have a clearly defined goal: to love God and to love people; to serve Him and serve others. While we may all agree with this premise in principle, living it out in our daily lives presents much more of a challenge. The stresses of life sap our energy and the shiny things we’re convinced we need divert our attention. Without passion and focus, our lives will never fulfill what we were created to be.

One of the problems we encounter is that we’ve developed a self-centered view of the world. We see everything as it relates to our lives and in relation to how it affects our comfort and well-being. As long as we are focused on our own lives, we will never be able to follow Jesus completely. If you walk around staring into a mirror, you will consistently crash into things that will knock you off course; if our gaze is always on our own reflection, we will never see the people directly in front of us. We must always be alert, having our head up and our eyes fixed on Jesus. Only then will we be able to see the dangers and the opportunities that are before us.

Seeing an opportunity and taking action on it are two very different things. Most of us walk by potential moments of service every day. We have the chance to reflect the love and character of God, but we deem ourselves too busy or worse yet we are simply too preoccupied to even notice. I can attest that there are few feelings worse than recognizing a missed opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. It stays with you at night and gnaws at your soul. The only way to avoid that feeling is to seize every moment as it presents itself. In all things, both small and large, reflect Jesus and do the things you know He would do. Get into the habit of doing a selfless deed for someone every day and record that action in a journal before you go to bed. After 30 days your life will look very different from the way it does today. By consciously choosing to serve others at no benefit to yourself, you will transform your character to be more like Christ.

Each moment that we let slip by can never be recaptured; it is lost in our history, forever etched into the past. We will never know what effect seizing that opportunity may have had on a person or indeed the entire world. A regular Sunday school teacher seized the moment and led his student to trust in Christ as his Savior. That student, D.L. Moody, went on to lead millions to Christ through his preaching and the legacy of his work continues today. One man seized a moment and had an impact on the world that is difficult to quantify. Jesus asked that the difficult task of the cross be taken from Him if there was any other way; but when the moment of truth came, He seized the moment to do the will of His Father. He seized the divine moment and literally changed the history of the world forever.

We were not created to live aimless and disinterested lives. We were created for passion and for involvement in the lives of others. We have been given the task of continuing the mission of Jesus. Every day there are moments that we can either seize or ignore; our response creates the measure of our character. Our goal should be to seize each moment as it comes and wring out every ounce of life we are able to drain from it. Life is not about what we can achieve, but rather what we can give. Earl Nightingale once defined success as “the continual pursuit of a worthwhile goal.” By that definition, we who have chosen to follow Christ are already successful; we no longer should feel any pressure to prove ourselves to the world. Instead, we should concern ourselves only with proving ourselves faithful to the One we serve. This proof is found in how we respond to the moments of our lives. Ask God to make you aware of the divine moments you encounter every day. Never walk away from an opportunity to reflect His love and to serve others. Seize every moment; live the life He created you to live. May this be our goal, and one which we passionately pursue.

Choosing Jesus Over Heaven

March 3, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

Why do you follow Jesus? Is it because of what you will gain in the process or because of what you can give? Jesus led a life that had one purpose: to sacrifice His life for others. If we would walk in the way that He walked, this is what we must do as well. If we don’t love Him enough to give up everything for the sake of His mission, then we cannot perfectly follow in His footsteps. We must be willing to love Christ regardless of any reward; we simply follow Him out of our love for Him and our gratitude for what He gave up for us.

Many of us came to Christianity because of the offer of eternal life. It’s a great benefit, to be certain, but would we have been so drawn if the promise of our relationship with God did not include the promise of Heaven? Would the sheer knowledge that the Creator of the universe desired to interact with us be enough if there were no other reward? It’s important to remember that Heaven is the eventuality, not the goal. The goal is to love God with all our hearts and to love and serve those around us. (Matthew 22:35-40). The mission of Jesus was to redeem His people, and our mission is to carry that message to the world.

While He was here on earth, Jesus did not live in luxury. He was constantly on the road in an effort to touch as many people as He possibly could before His time was up. Are we doing the same? My adult life has been spent climbing the ladder of business success, providing a nice home for my family and securing my retirement in the future. None of that looks like Jesus. I suspect you are in a similar situation. This is what has to change. We have been sold a bill of goods in the past few hundred years about what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. We have gotten very good at practicing a Western flavor of Christianity that has very little to do with the life Christ told us to live. We gather in large buildings to worship and devote a tiny sliver of that budget to actually carry out the mission of Jesus as it is defined in the Bible.

I have a challenge for you: obtain a copy of your church’s annual budget and compare it to Matthew 25:31-46, James 1:27 and Isaiah 58:6-10. My guess is you will be mortified. We spend money on heating and cooling costs, lawn and building maintenance, office supplies and holiday decorations. Add up the items that specifically relate to the Scriptures above and see what percentage is being spent on the mission of Jesus. Before you feel too judgmental however, let’s also turn the same mirror on ourselves. Let’s take a look at our own household budget. What percentage of our own money are we dedicating to doing the work we have been commanded to do? Regardless of what our lips may say, the evidence seems to point to the fact that we are more interested in the reward of Heaven than in the beauty of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our priorities have to change. If being a Christian is not about following Jesus simply because of who He is, then there is little point. If our faith in Him is not proven by the way we live our lives, then there is a strong question of whether or not that faith will actually save us and bring about the eternal life we are so desperate to achieve (James 2:14-17). Until we are ready to follow Jesus simply because we love Him and desire to be in relationship with Him, we will simply be practicing an empty religion that looks nothing like what God designed for us. We don’t marry for the sake of what we might acquire when the marriage is over; we marry for what the relationship will be throughout the journey. It is the same in our relationship with Jesus Christ; it’s not about what happens when we die, it’s about what happens while we live.

I look forward to spending eternity with Jesus in Heaven; I am definitely eager to obtain the peace and rest He promises. But I don’t want to wish away the years of getting to know Him while I am still walking this planet. I don’t want to miss a single opportunity to serve Him and grow in my relationship with Him. I want to take hold of each moment I have been given to get to know Him better and to share His love with the world around me. This is my aspiration; more than anything else I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I want to obey His commands out of love, respect and trust in Him. I want Heaven, but I don’t want to miss a thing between the now and the not yet. So why do you follow Jesus? Is it for what you will gain or perhaps to protect what you might lose? Or is it simply for the sake of knowing Him? Do you struggle like me in maintaining perspective and the proper priorities in your life? I’d love to hear your thoughts and encourage you to leave a comment below. Let’s be real with each other and simply tell it like it is. We are all together on this journey. As for me, I definitely want the reward, but not at the expense of the relationship. Even if there were nothing else, I’d still choose Jesus. I have a long way to go, but this is my desire; He alone is my hope.

Obeying God’s Will

March 1, 2011 by Tim Sherfy

Sometimes we can become paralyzed trying to figure out what it is we should do with our lives. This is largely an affliction of Western culture where the opportunities are plentiful and the aim is generally one of success. For those of us who seek to follow Christ, the dilemma is intensified by the fact that we want to live a life that is pleasing to Him. I think we can get so wrapped up in following Jesus that we neglect to take it to the level of learning from Him. If we simply follow, we will miss much of what surrounds us; but if we learn from Him, we will notice the opportunity and the beautiful ways to express His love as we go throughout our days. Our two-fold problem is determining what we should do and how we should live.

Fortunately, the Bible provides us with ample clues as to what we should and shouldn’t do. We shouldn’t kill, steal or lie (Exodus 20:1-17) but we should feed the hungry, care for the sick and seek justice for everyone (Isaiah 58:6-7). While that’s certainly not an exhaustive list, it’s a great start. If we want to live a life that reflects the love of Jesus, we will do the things He commanded us to do and steer clear of the things about which He warned us. As we pray for the change we want to see in the world in a way that aligns with His mission, we will gain clarity on what it is we should do. With this clarity comes great responsibility. Once we know what we should do, it is up to us to obediently do that work. This is where the hard part comes in. No longer can we simply sit around wondering what God’s will is for our life; now we know. Now we are obligated.

Once we recognize the things Jesus told us to do are the things we must dedicate our lives to doing, it is simply a matter of utilizing our unique blend of talents and gifts to take action. If you have a gift if playing music, perhaps you could raise money for the hungry by performing. If you are gifted in leadership, you could organize projects to feed the hungry. If you have a gift of service, you could join one of those projects and be the hands and feet of Jesus feeding the very ones who hunger. Whatever your gift, whatever your talent, as long as you are using it to do what Christ commanded us to do, you are in the will of God. You are living the adventurous life that we have been promised. It won’t be easy and it won’t always be safe, but it will be satisfying beyond measure.

Finding the will of God for your life is not difficult; it is in fact, extremely easy. We have made this simple subject extremely complex by assuming that there is a giant blueprint for our lives and that we are in constant peril of slipping off the narrow line that guides us through. God is far more interactive than that; He uniquely created each of us to collaborate with Him in carrying out His mission on earth. As long as we are seeking to do what He would do, to obey His commands and to serve Him only, He will be with us in all we endeavor. This is not a guarantee of success or prosperity, but it is a guarantee of a life well lived for His Kingdom and His glory. Nothing else matters anyway; without Jesus, there is no purpose and no point. Only He fulfills the empty gnawing in your heart; only He can bring rest to your weary soul.

Finding the will of God for your life is as simple as reading His word, praying that His will would be done on earth and then engaging your abilities to do the things He has told us to do. Your abilities may be small and seemingly insignificant, or they may be great and obvious. Regardless, Jesus can amplify and multiply whatever you bring for Him to use. Remember the boy who brought a couple of fishes and loaves of bread to Christ? (John 6:1-15) With that small gift and willingness to share it for God’s kingdom, more than 5,000 people were fed. How many might be fed through your own gifts? Never underestimate what God can do with the smallest of offerings. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, it is never too late to turn around and follow Jesus with all your heart. Surrender to Him, discover again what He has told you to do. Release your abilities to Him and watch Him miraculously bring the Kingdom all around you. This is the will of God for your life; it is there for the taking. Don’t miss it.