Give of what you've got, not of what is routine

I find it ironic that I have never felt like I needed a lesson on generosity, especially at Christmastime, but today as I was reading through the book of Acts, I came across some old familiar verses that are a part of a familiar story, and they came to me in a different light than when I heard them in the past. Growing up in church, I have become very familiar with the story of Peter healing the crippled beggar in chapter three of Acts, but what stands out today that I haven't really paid attention to before is this in verse six: "...silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you..." This is where my story ends here today.

My story begins a few years ago when I stopped carrying cash in my wallet. I did this because we used to go line dancing in downtown Nashville several nights each week. If you've been to downtown Nashville, you know that you can't walk twenty feet without someone begging for money, cigarettes, booze, food, or something. I grew weary of being asked for money, etc. after the first week and decided that rather than lie and say I don't have any money on me, I would just be sure I didn't carry any cash anymore and be able to tell the truth when I said that I don't have cash. It was uncomfortable at first telling people obviously in need that I didn't have the means to help them, but as my heart grew more callous, it was easy to transition to saying something like, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any cash on me, I wish I could help you!" I actually would say things like that so I sounded like I would have helped had I brought cash with me! My desire to manipulate the situation to prevent lying had progressed to, you guessed it, lying yet again. Through this I realized it wasn't the lying I wanted to prevent in the first place, but it was my lack of desire to give that I wanted to conceal. Therein lies the problem: I thought I didn't have anything to give because I didn't have the money to give, but did that mean I didn't have anything to give? Do I have a voice? Well, yes. Do I have time in a day? Yes, well, not those nights though...right? I had the need to line dance...wasn't that more important? Not so much...but wait, aren't those people there just scamming people or wanting money to buy alcohol or drugs? The real question is: does that matter? No and yes. No, because I'm called to give and the recipient is responsible for what the gift is used for. And yes as well, because some of them actually do scam people to get money for alcohol...so, what then do I give? I give the same thing Peter gave in verse six: whatever I have. Which brings us back to where my story ended. What do I have? Well, for starters (as of recently) I have a desire to give. I also have some money set aside to be used to help people who need help, but I should use that money wisely, so with that money I have time and a voice for conversation. So this is what I challenge myself with for starters: take time and spend it with someone in need, use the money to take care of what they need, what they are asking me for when I walk down the street, a meal, a cup of coffee, or something, and just spend time with that person. That takes care of a need without giving money away and not knowing what it is being used for. I'm giving what I have, the biggest of which is my time. I don't necessarily have to heal a crippled man to make a difference (although that would be pretty  much awesome to be a part of), I just have to offer myself to serve those who can't serve themselves. So not just because it is Christmastime, but because it is the right thing to do. Serve someone a big helping of whatever you have. If it is money, praise God! If it is not, praise God as well! Make a difference in this world, and whatever you have to give, give it, even if it is unconventional! Bless someone with your life, not just this season, but any chance you get!

You can't wait for Heaven?....well, I can.

I know, I know, the title itself lends this post to skeptic speculation about irreverence or a self-fulfilling lifestyle, but read a little further, I promise it's not what you think...or maybe it is?

Lots of people "cannot wait" to get to Heaven, to live there forever with our Lord, face to face with our Savior, Jesus Christ, and while on the surface it sounds all well and good, and it's something to say at the end of a great worship service at church, I on the other hand can, in fact, wait to get to Heaven. Now, before you start lighting torches and getting your pitchforks ready to come get me, hear me out. It's nothing selfish or irreverent, but there is so little time to do what we are called to do here on Earth, and there is an eternity to enjoy our reward for living our calling. We oftentimes focus too much on getting there and not enough on what we are needing to do here now. By focusing on the eternity ahead rather than the here-and-now, what are we missing, more importantly, who are we missing out on serving? How much energy are we putting into wondering about, thinking, dreaming, or speculating, even debating about what Heaven is like, and how the world may end? How much are we focusing on what we truly do not know much (if anything for certain) about, other than the fact that if we are believers we will be there one day? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying do not think or talk about what's to come, because it is awesome to imagine and anticipate, but what if we took our focus off so much of what, when, and how it all takes place, and look more toward what we can do while we are here to ensure we are serving others as we are called to through Christ? Imagine if we took all the time and energy we spend "not being able to wait for Heaven," and put even half of it toward sharing our lives with the people who need it most, the people that all of us see almost every day. If we were all, as believers, to focus on being the servants to the world that Jesus came and showed us how to be, how different would the world look now? Don't misunderstand me, I'm excited about getting to Heaven at some point and worshipping in the actual physical presence of God for eternity, but I have an eternity to focus on that when I get there. I only have this brief moment of life to live out what I'm called to, and if I keep my focus on the important things, when I step into eternity I can look forward to meeting Jesus and hearing him say "well done my good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your salvation!"

How beautiful the cross of Jesus

John 1:12-13

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural decent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

The question this verse makes me ask myself is "do I live every day as though I have been given the right to become a child of God, being BORN OF GOD? The short answer is "no". But, why? Why do I not realize that every day is not to be taken for granted, not to be used for my desires and my accomplishments and accolades, but is to be used to live as though I know, that I really know, I am born of God. I think that the meaning of "born of God" gets lost in everyday life. We unfortunately forget what being a part of Christ's crucified body is like. We forget that being dead in our sins makes us alive in Christ, just as the baptism of faith symbolizes in front of our churches as not only a statement of faith, but also as a symbol of commitment that the old is dead and buried with Jesus, and the new has arisen from what used to be our lives lived for ourselves. We have taken an oath of insincerity. Another word for it, and it is a strong word that we also have abandoned in our comfortable salvation experiences, is hypocrisy. Now, please don't assume that I am saying all people who get baptized are hypocrites, because I am not insinuating that idea. I am saying that for a large number of us who call ourselves "Christians" (meaning that we live a life that is manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus himself, in other words: Christlike), have taken the object allowing our adoption into the family of God, the instrument of death used to lead to the salvation of God's people, and we relegate it to something on the level of wallpaper or a flower arrangement on a table. Churches adorn their walls, steeples, bell towers, and choir robes with this cross, and while that's not inherently wrong, we as Christians have become comfortable with the cross. We have taken the centerpiece of our faith and beautified our homes, necklaces, ears, walls, and rear-view mirrors with this symbol, and somewhere in the mix forgotten why we put them there in the first place. When I was in high school, I had a cross necklace made from three nails and some wire that I hung from my rearview mirror in my car. Initially I hung it there to remind me that as I was on my way to school, I had a life to live that emulated the life of Christ, I had a reminder on my way to school, my mission ground at the time, that I was a believer in Christ and I needed to show that to my school. For the first few days, hopefully weeks, I remembered what that symbolized: a life worth living is a life worth dying for. Unfortunately I got used to the necklace swinging there as I hurried to school and probably drove too fast because I was running late sometimes. Emulating Christ, of course, right? Wrong...I didn't completely forget. I was wearing my cleverly worded "Christian" t-shirt that manipulated some regular, everyday slogan that secular America used to advertise its products. As strange as it may sound, this seems directly contrary to one of the first memory verses I ever learned: "do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve of what God's will is - his good, pleasing, and perfect will." (Romans 12:2, NIV) I ask myself now, how could I have believed that I wasn't conforming to the world when I was wearing a shirt that at first glance would be mistaken for something else? We get comfortable in our faith, relegate the foundation of our faith as a common decoration, and forget that the cross was used for something extraordinary, for the salvation of the world. While I do not have a problem with people using crosses in their homes or churches decorating the walls, steeples, bell towers, and choir robes with the cross, for it is a beautiful sight to behold. The problem comes when we forget what the cross stands for. It stands for our beautiful Christ, it should serve as a reminder each morning when we see our cross dangling from the rearview mirror that we are fully a part of God's family, born into it by the spirit which resides in our lives after we accept the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on that beautiful, rugged cross. It is a reminder that a life worth living is a life worth dying for, both physically and daily in our spiritual lives. How beautiful the cross of our Wonderful Savior, Jesus!

"Praise our God, for he is good"

This should be reason enough in our lives as believers for us to praise Him. We should not need blessings, signs, proof, or any other representation of God other than his goodness for us to have reason for our praise. Although it is right and good to glorify the Father for these things, it is absolutely wrong for us to wait for those reasons to praise him. His sheer goodness is reason enough to praise him for an eternity, over and over, without ceasing, because he is simply good. It is not that His goodness encompasses who God is in all respects, thus giving us reason all the more for praise, but He is good, one of the simplest of God's infinite characteristics that should be enough to elicit the most passionate of our praises. When we break down our reasons for praise, the most basic reason for praise should be that He is good. I feel that all too often we get caught up in being blessed, praising God for that (which in essence is not bad), and waiting for the next blessing as an opportunity for praise and adoration. This cycle reminds me of how a dog is trained: dog performs desired function, dog is "praised"/rewarded for the function, and eventually the dog is trained to do what the owner desires. This system of praise works when training a dog, but when applied to worshipping the creator is demeaning, belittling, downright inappropriate and worthless. God desires worshippers who praise him out of love and desire, not out of obligation and a desire for an end result. God will not be trained to give desired results as a reaction to praise. He is not a "vending machine" of blessings where you put in what you are required in hopes that your "candy bar" of blessing will fall out. Our truest and purest praise comes out not when we have just been blessed or a certain prayer has been answered, but when we realize that the goodness of God far outweighs any and all other reasons for praise. When we praise God in the midst of blessings because he is good, we begin to forget about how he gives us things, focusing less on his hands and what is in them, and we focus on who God is, and seeking his face. I have recently seen this taking place in  my life as God has continually affirmed a call on my life with sign after sign, none of which were asked for or sought out, but were given anyway. In the midst of all that, the focus wasn't placed on the cool things God was doing, but on the goodness of our Wonderful Savior. Praise our God, for he is GOOD!