Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Faith

Why We Don’t Utilize God’s Gifts

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In the last blog post (see “Gifts from God”), we discussed the gifts that God has given to each one of us. A reader asked why I thought people did not use the gifts they have been given, and I felt this was worthy of a follow up post. I’d be very interested to hear some of your thoughts as well, so please leave a comment with some of the reasons you believe people do not use their gifts, or perhaps even reasons you have refrained from using your own gifts. I’m certain your comments will be useful, inspiring and thought provoking to the rest of the audience.

So what are some of the reasons people do not exercise the gifts God has given them? If we take a step back and analyze the question, it is somewhat unbelievable to conceive of the premise; we have been given gifts, talents, and abilities from the Creator of the Universe and the only thing we see fit to do with them is hide them away so no one knows! This surely is not our finest moment. When I was growing up, I remember people (mostly women) who would get a towel from Elvis Presley at his concert; they showed everyone their gift (if a sweat covered rag indeed qualifies as a gift)! They couldn’t wait to tell everyone they’d meet about this amazing item. It was displayed with honor in their homes, there for all to see. My example is somewhat frivolous I realize, but the truth remains. When someone we admire gives us a gift, we can’t shut up about it. We are compelled to use it and tell the story behind it to everyone we encounter. Yet when the King of the Universe, the one we proclaim is our Lord, gives us a gift, we hide it away to make certain no one knows about it. Why?

Fear – We are afraid people will make fun of us; we’re afraid to be labeled a Jesus freak or a fanatic. We’re afraid we’ll be cast out of our circle of friends. We’re afraid people will look down on us. There is no fear in love and God is, above all else, love. If we are fearful then we are not trusting in Him. Would you follow someone you don’t trust? Of course you wouldn’t. If you are fearful, then you are not trusting God, and so it would seem logical to conclude you are not following Him. We follow those we trust. If you would be a true follower of Christ, there can be no fear in doing so.

Time – We claim we don’t have time to use our gifts. Our society and lives have become so busy that there simply isn’t space in our life to make use of what God entrusted to us. If this is you, may I humbly suggest that your priorities are not in order? If you have time for other things, but not for God and the works He gave you to accomplish, then He is not Lord of your life. Stop kidding yourself; you are not following Jesus if you are too busy following other pursuits in life. This is dangerous and you need to surrender yourself to Him anew.

Money – Our gifts require us to spend some money, and we simply don’t have it. God equips you to do the works He designed for you. If He calls you to feed the hungry and you can barely afford food for your own family, you need to simply trust Him to provide. Use whatever you have to do what He created you to do. He’ll take care of the rest. Following Jesus means walking a path that won’t always make sense to us. We aren’t called to understand everything He commands us to do; we are called to simply do. If He is truly your Lord, you will trust Him. If you do not have the faith in Jesus to provide for your needs, then you are not truly following Christ; you are merely a spectator in the crowd.

Laziness – Following Jesus is a hard road; it requires hard work. Many times we simply don’t feel like putting forth the effort. We’d rather catch an extra hour of sleep or watch something on television. In the Western culture, it is easy to forget that there is a spiritual war being waged all around us. If you believe in Christ and in His word, you know this to be true. If we are lazy in war, we will be defeated. If we are defeated, we cannot be following Christ, because Christ is never defeated. We can get knocked down, but as long as we are following Christ, we can never be beaten. There are no timeouts in war. There is no possible way to follow Jesus in a lackadaisical manner.

Selfishness – If we were to use our gifts, we would never have time to do the things we want to do. If this is where you find yourself, you need to take a hard look at what you want to do with the life God has given you. Either Jesus is the Lord of your life or you are. Whom will you choose? Following Jesus is an all or nothing proposition; you can’t serve two masters. If you are to be a true follower of Jesus, you must give up your life as you know it. Jesus died for you; we must do the same for Him. If you would proclaim Jesus as Lord, your every aim and desire must be to do the works He created you to do.

Are you utilizing the gifts God has given to you? If not, did you find yourself in any of the excuses above? If you haven’t been using what God has entrusted to you, it’s not too late. As long as you have breath you can begin to use what God has given you to accomplish the tasks He created you to do. Not sure where to start? Drop me a line ([email protected]); I’ll help you figure it out. Not sure what to do? Start with the basics: feed the hungry; shelter the homeless; take care of the sick, the orphans, the widows and those in poverty. Be the hands and feet of Jesus. Do the work He created you to do. Utilize the gifts God has given you.

Give Me Just Enough

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Reading in Proverbs the other day, a couple of verses really stood out to me. You read a passage you’ve read many, many times before and God just sticks His finger in the book and says, “Look, Right there!” I love when that happens. The passage I read was Proverbs 30:7-9:

Two things I ask of You; don’t deny them to me before I die:
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.
Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying, “Who is the LORD?”
Or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God. (HCSB)

I immediately prayed these words for my own life. I want my words to be always measured and truthful. Proverbs tells us, and life confirms, the more you speak the more prone you are to say something that is not true. Let your words be few; speak slowly and let every word count. Never lie or deceive another. We are servants of the king. Jesus said to let our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ be ‘no’. (Matthew 5:37) The ninth commandment in the Old Testament tells us not to lie. (Exodus 20:16) There is no wiggle room. God demands honesty. In addition to keeping deceit from my own lips, I also pray that those who would deceive me would stay far away. Flattering lips and scheming individuals tempt us to walk a path Christ would not. I want these types of people as far from me as possible. Don’t keep close company with those who make a habit of lying to you or to others. Surround yourself with those of the highest character or you may be enticed to live in a manner that is against God.

The second thing I prayed was to be neither poor nor wealthy. I have on some small level touched both ends of the spectrum in my own life and can attest to the temptations of each. (As a side note, do you realize if you make in excess of $25,000 per year you are wealthier than 97% of the world? If you make in excess of $50,000 per year, you are wealthier than 99% of the world’s population! I’d wager you are wealthier than you may have previously thought! ) If I have too much excess available to me, I might easily be tempted to spend it selfishly on things I don’t necessarily need. Money and time are finite; are we spending them in a way that is pleasing to God? If I have too little, there is pressure to perhaps take what we did not pay for in order to satisfy our need for food or clothing or perhaps even just our desire to have something we could not otherwise afford. Better to have just enough for the day. This will cause me to faithfully trust Christ every day for His provision of my needs. If I have too much, my response should be to give that excess to those who do not have enough.

It is beautiful and astounding that the words of Proverbs written so long ago are still so relevant today. We are bombarded by advertising that makes us think we need the latest gadget or service. We are encouraged to do whatever it takes to get ahead. There is the concept of a “white lie” that apparently doesn’t count as an actual lie; who thought of this ludicrous idea? Lord, keep all deceit from my lips, and keep those who would deceive me far away. Give me simply just enough to provide for my day and let me fully trust you to take care of tomorrow. Keep my eyes on You and You alone; may I remain ever faithful with all you entrust into my care. Please, give me just enough.

Haiti: What’s Our Response?

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I try and steer away from tying in a blog post to a current event. My thinking is this gives the posts a more timeless element so that they can be applicable regardless of when you read them. The recent earthquake in Haiti (and subsequent aftershocks) has given me reason to break my unwritten rule. Looking at the pictures of devastation is heartbreaking. There is a great outpouring of support from the world at large which is heartening. At least we have not totally lost our soul; not yet anyway. As followers of Christ we must ask, “What is our response to the tragedy in Haiti?”

The most basic tenet of Christianity is to care for the poor and needy. Haiti is a poor country. They were before the earthquake; they are even more so now. As Christians it is our duty to serve them. We should have been serving them all along, but perhaps this tragedy will awaken our slumbering hearts. In mere moments, tens of thousands found themselves homeless, hungry and without basic sanitation. Tens of thousands more are no longer among the living. In the blink of an eye their lives ended and we lost the opportunity to serve them and to share the love of Jesus with them. It’s too late. We waited too long. We waited because missionary work was always someone else’s job. We waited because we were too afraid to give of our time or our money or ourselves. We waited because we were simply indifferent to the plight of a poor nation thousands of miles from our front door. While we waited, Jesus wept. He gave all He had for us. He died for us. He set the perfect example for our response to those in need. We ignored it.

Now, we are awake. Our eyes are open to the plight of these dear people. Each one of them is created in the image of God. Each one of them is loved unconditionally by the same Savior we call Lord. Do we love them? Are we willing to give everything we have to serve them? Will we open our checkbooks, our cupboards or our life to them? They are our brothers and sisters. Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, in his terrific “The Hole in Our Gospel”, writes “Authentic faith, rooted in the heart of God, is expressed in deeds done to ease the pain of others; it is imbued with personal sacrifice, and it comes with a cost.”

This is our opportunity; this is our time of great decision. We can rise up and stand with people of Haiti, or we can turn our back on Jesus and all we profess to believe. In a couple of weeks, Haiti will be off the front page, but the need will remain for years to come. So I ask again, what is our response to Haiti? Will we be unchanged by the tragic events or will we use it to open our eyes to the poor and suffering all over the world? Haiti needed us before the earthquake, and few of us did anything. Are we awake now? Do we now see the need that has been there all along and is far greater now? What will our response be to Haiti and the rest of the world in need? Whatever we do for them, we do for Jesus; if we turn away, we turn away from Jesus. How will you respond?

Goals for the New Year

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I can think of few greater disappointments than to live the next year exactly as we have lived this one. To think of living next year as a year of maintaining the status quo, or worse yet to live it in a way that would see us move backwards in our spiritual lives, is a tragedy of profound proportions. Following Christ is not a call to a level of comfort or to a relaxed plateau. We are called to excellence in all areas of our lives and that will simply not be possible unless we are truly living a life in endless pursuit of Jesus.

If last year was a breakthrough year for you spiritually, that’s tremendous, and you should use it as a spring board to do bigger and better things for God this year. If last year was a veritable disaster, be encouraged, because a new year brings new opportunities. The past is over and done. Start with a clean slate, determined to make this year the best of your life as you seek to live a life of justice, faithfulness and humility before our Savior. If you fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes, don’t let that happen again in the upcoming year. Cast off your mediocrity and determine that you will excel in everything you do this year. Commit your heart anew to living as Jesus lived, walking in His footsteps and demonstrating love to everyone you encounter.

Over the next couple of posts we will dig into some specifics of how to ensure that this year will be a year defined by great accomplishments in your spiritual life. It is our duty and responsibility as followers of Jesus that we do the good works that He intends for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). These good works are to act justly, without prejudice, to every soul we happen to meet throughout the year. These works are to not only act justly to everyone but to also respond to their needs in love. Sometimes this may cost you a few dollars, but more often it will simply cost you a few minutes. Doing these things allows us to walk faithfully before our Lord. Finally, remember to demonstrate great humility in everything you do and say. Christ is greater than all, and He loves all people equally. We have nothing to boast about, we are nothing without Christ.

Prepare now to have an amazing 2010. Begin praying, asking that God would show you the areas of your life that need improvement. Resolve that you will do whatever it takes to excel in the good works He has planned for you to do. Whatever your circumstances, you can choose to follow God in faithfulness, to live in humility and justice, and ultimately to love everyone with whom you come into contact. The upcoming year can be your best yet if you simply yield all that you have and all that you are to the Creator of the universe, the Lover of your soul.

Faith vs. Fear

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Denis Waitley said, “Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.”  I find this very applicable to the Christian life as well.  Living out our faith is a continual learning process.  We will never achieve a life lived perfectly.  While some might see that as a discouraging statement, I would say that if you do you are missing the point.  The whole point of the journey is not to arrive, but rather to walk, to strive, to live more like Jesus.

To be certain, we will fail, and we will fail often; but failure is a good thing!  Nothing has ever been accomplished without a good deal of failure preceding the accomplishment.  No one gets it right the first time, and every failure is simply an opportunity to learn something and be better for it.  Life is one long cycle of fall down, get up.  It’s our desire to get up over and over again that builds our character and strengthens our faith.  If we never fell, we would never need Christ.

Often we hold back from doing Kingdom work because we are afraid of failure.  The Bible says that if God is for us, who can be against us?  No matter what trial we face, God is bigger, stronger and more powerful.  What is there to fear?  Fear is evidence that Satan is alive and well, because it is he who whispers fear into our hearts.  We need to always press forward.  Life will come at us full force, but it is up to us to determine whether we simply will wait for it to hit us, or if we will rush headlong into whatever may come.

Life lived intentionally, a life where we race into the fray regardless of the outcome, is a life of adventure and excitement.  Living the Christian life in a purely reactive manner is not only ineffective but it is dull and ultimately life-less!  We need to engage our world, the people around us and those far away.  We need to demonstrate the love of Christ to everyone at all times.  When doing so results in our getting knocked down, we must have only one reaction:  get up and lean into life again; unbeaten, undeterred and unafraid.  Lean into life with the power of Christ and dare it to knock you down.  Faith and courage are built through enduring the storms.