Truth vs. Junk Food

I recently started Weight Watchers. I love it.  Well, the principals are really easy to understand and live by, I love that part-not the doing. Every time I diet I consider how easy, it is to study the principals of the diet, dedicate it to memory, be able to recite it to others and act like a know it all when someone asks a "How To" question.  I could even roll my eyes, in judgement, at someone who doesn't diet and probably should. :(

Kinda like Christians. So many of us have been fed the word of God our entire lives. We can recite the principals, some memory verses, may even have a few catchy T-Shirts.  I can turn my head in disgust when I see someone in sin. I can tell you what you should and shouldn't do.  We may even think we have "All the Right Answers".

But what's the point in studying all of those Dieting principals if we're not applying them.  What's the point in filling my head with all of that knowledge and chowing down on a Big Mac?  How can I be living out the diet plan; and look at someone, who needs to diet but isn't, with disgust and not with compassion. Since I know exactly how hard it is to diet.  Wouldn't I instead become their biggest encourager - Because I've been there?

I think the biggest problem with the "Kinda Like Christians" is that we're "Kinda Like Christians".  We grew up being fed principals and never realized we had a "Sin Problem".  We were born into the church and were accepted and learned to live a lifestyle that looks- "Kinda Like Christians." 

I heard this verse this past weekend and the Lord has brought it to mind repeatedly.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.- James 1:22 (ESV)

Whats the Difference?

• Do you know that gossip is wrong - but the Holy Spirit inside of you is not convicting you of it...
• Do you know that negativity (always finding complaints for everything) is wrong - but the Holy Spirit is not convicting you?
• Do you Know that Lying is wrong - but there's no conviction?
• Meanness...
• A Critical Spirit...
• Do you struggle with a constant fear of others (Self Conscience) ....but you've never stopped to consider that's something the Lord wants to free you from.
• Do you struggle with Pride or you never considered that you should...
• Do you have the Fruit of the Spirit (or are you daily fighting for it) Gal. 5:22
• Do you consider the needs of others above your own?
• Has the Lord filled you with compassion for the lost, broken, wounded, neglected...others?

The reason I mention the above is because these are not things you can fake. These are things that as your pursue Christ, He begins working on your heart in these areas or areas like this. Only His work can overcome these. 

This is How I Do not doubt God's presence; because I played "Kinda Like Christian" until I was 24yrs old. I remember clearly who I was without His presence in my life and He's graciously continuing to remove these differences. 

Am I trying to get you to question your faith? I Absolutely am! Not out of harsh judgement or condemnation but, look at the High Price you'll pay if you Don't!  So many times the bible calls us to examine ourselves - Read the entire book of 1 John.  Examine yourself!

Know, for certainty, that you have not been blinded by having a knowledge of truth, without Living a life of Truth!

Let me warn you of our immediate tendency to compare ourselves to our brother, who's not our FATHER.  Examine your life up next to HIS.

I'm not suggesting here a works based salvation. The question is: is He changing your life. 

I would look like a fool to tell you I was late for work because I was just run over by a train but I had no apparent marks or bruises.  How much more foolish is it for me to say I've had an encounter with the HOLY GOD but I look the same?

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! - 2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)

Image Credit

Are we feasting on truth or junk food?

HIS clay~

Melissa Bradley

Linked With:

A Pause on the Path - Mrs. Shanda Oakley

Questions Effecting Our Culture III

You Can Find Part II Here!

Hearing the question: "Should I force my child to go to church or allow them to make their own choice" sent my heart into a whirlwind. I knew it was wrong, the Holy Spirit in my heart testified of it, and it broke my heart! Actually it wasn't stated as a question, it was stated as an understood belief. "I don't want to force my child to go to church, I think they should be able to make their own choice."

It made my heart scream, No! Not out of anger, heaven forbid, but out of brokenness over their acceptance to this logic. How this lie had been accepted as truth. 

I cannot disregard the fact that it is hard being in a constant battle with your children, but you have to understand the implications and the long term consequences if the problem is not addressed.

In my home growing up. God wasn't just something we did on Sunday. God was apart of our every decision. God was the topic of many conversations, even when it made me roll my eyes.

We listened to Christian music. I was not encouraged to, but I was allowed to listen to other music.  Even though I fought my parents about having to go to church some days, sometimes it was out of a Laziness Sin, but the rest of the time it was out of Deep Personal sin, and even though I fought them over it, I knew I didn't have a leg to stand on in the fight. We're going to church. We went last Sunday, we'll go next Sunday, we will go every Sunday.

I didn't have areas of hypocrisy to catch my parents in. They didn't send me and not go themselves. They never stayed home "just because" and then expected me to go the next Sunday because they felt like it. My parents had a relationship with Christ that was evident. They didn't feel forced to go to church out of Duty, it's an opportunity to Hebrews 10:23-25 where we meet together to encourage one another, to build each other up and to Worship God with other believers!  Don't get me wrong. There were many times it wasn't encouraging and far from building each other up, but that's a blog for another day. :) 

You see a lot of times I think we get our worship confused. We're so accustomed to the tradition of church that we neglect to seek the one on whom the church is built and often Christians find themselves worshipping "Church".  Here's a list of the symptoms of Church Worship.

• You see it as something that you're "supposed to do" on Sunday.
• You get excited about going because you have some great friends there.
• Your friendships aren't stronger because you challenge each other in your walks with Christ.
• You talk about anything and everything but to have an in-depth conversation about God would be awkward.
• If they aren't there or some people from your friend group are missing, church isn't as fun or you wish they would have let you know because you may as well have not come.
• It's easy to become annoyed when the service goes over.
• You can get easily annoyed by the music not being your style or well anything.

Here's the thing, I can easily list these things because I have once been a "Church Worshipper",  I was also a "Good, Morality" Worshipper. Thinking that I was witnessing by having my southern hospitality. When God didn't call us to be polite He called us to be Holy, Fishers of Men, Conformed into His image. 

At the time it was easy for me to Worship Church because I didn't know God!  I could tell you that we're supposed to have a relationship with Him, (I could recite that as a truth) but, I had never experienced it. 

So back to the question : Who or What are you worshipping? This is important.  If you see church as an obligation not an opportunity to recharge, encourage and be encouraged, I can see how you could see the main question: "Should I force my child to go to church or allow them to make their own choice " as optional. 

Church isn't "good" for our children. Seeing their parents seeking God, seeing the church functioning the way God created it to function. That is good for our children. 

Deut. 6:4-9 (NAS)

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Hebrews 10:23-25 

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

His Clay~

    

At War With Myself

Warning The Following Information May be filled with Run-On Sentences and a Bizarre amount of Grammatical Mistakes. Read at your own Risk: :)

(Also this is in no way a reflection of anyone but myself. I am Not preaching at anyone but this is what I've seen in my life and if this is you, too. I pray that this will open your eyes as much as it has mine.)

This is a response to my "Head Knowledge" vs. my "Life Outpour" following the Post "Lord of the Pawn".  

I came to the dramatic reality of how Poisonious Cultural Christianity is to todays American Churches, only a few years ago. My entire life I have been blinded to the reality of the call that Christ has laid on the hearts of His children. 

I have attended church my entire life. For years, because I was so used to sitting in the pew and hearing the word preached, I Knew when I heard a good message, because it was like heart medicine. Even the ones that stepped all over my toes.  It was like finally getting a cold cup of water on a hot Southern day.  It was good!
 But that was as far as it went - HEARING it. 

It's so frustrating to hear a good word but ok what next. How do I Live it out? How do I become Salt and Light?  How do I preach the Gospel to all nations? 

Don't get me wrong, I think the IMB in the beginning was a Great Idea, and it still is. However, I am afraid that too many of us have adopted that as a,
"Well, I'm funding them to go and do what I've been called to do." 

Or even
"Well, don't we pay the pastor and church staff to do that?"


You may not have said these exact words but is "That" what your life is living?

It has been mine. Think about it... You're trusting in these pastors who have also been brought up the same way, alot of words about outreach but very little, if any, out pour.  Alot of conviction but little, to no, Action.

What do we do? How do we do it? How do I become Salt and Light? How do I minister at every oppurtunity I have. And Its not by sneaking Tracks in toilet stalls. Do you think "that's" what Jesus would Do? Run, drop and hide?  Christ wasn't sneaky at all. He was compassionate and His words spoke deep to the heart!

I am not Ashamed of the Gospel because it is the Power of Christ unto Salvation! (Romans 1:16)
Tracks arent all bad, used correctly but have a relationship first. Build a relationship! Even if it is just a 5 min totally out of your comfort zone conversation.

Because frankly "christians" have given "Christianity" a bad name, and most anyone can spot a Fake from a mile away.  And if we're saying one thing and living another, "whats so great about what we're saying?"
Not many in our society are going to respond well to a secret bathroom stall cheesy track that falls out of your toilet paper roll. Because your too scared to open your mouth and talk with them personally.  I have yet to see or hear of a toilet stall convert.

The biggest, scariest, thing about what we're facing in this war with ourselves is - Where Do We Start?  We've not seen it modeled in our churches, or much around us. So we're learning from scratch. It's exciting to see God sparking a light in hearts around the world and friends around the world but you know what.  When you see Truth clearly, and you have no one to follow...it means God's Calling you to be a Leader!

The church has got to quit with the mindset of, "well they'll come to us. maybe if we have a great program, fun games, exciting activities. Ooo, Power Point, no media shout, no a Great worship leader, well it must be, this or that or maybe so and so isn't doing such and such." All of that bogs us down from the truth of the call. Christ called us to be "Fishers of men" What are YOU doing?

Does a fisherman sit on the shore, get a well decorated, state of the art boat, push the boat out and hope that the fish jump in? Heck No!  Go, Tell, Preach! Come on!  If you don't see someone else doing it, you think it needs to be done...it may be God calling You to do it!  Quit waiting for someone else to pick of the reigns of what you've been called to do.  If your scared EVEN Better! If God's calling you to do something and your scared it means, He's ready to rock your socks off! If God's calling you to do something and you think you don't have the time, the skill or it might make you uncomfortable or excuse, excuse, excuse...get ready for God to rock your socks off!
Remain in the word. Learn how to trust Him and Him only! Learn how to hear His Voice, Learn how to notice His hand at work around you.
 It is time we stop waiting for others to fulfill our calling!

Being a Fisher of Men means NOW! Not when it's convenient or during quarterly organized ministry church projects. NOW! Today! 

My biggest struggle right now is figuring out all the little ways God's wanting to use me in my everyday life, with 2 tiny, precious anchors at home.  Anchors: is in no way a derogatory term, it just means that it limits me.  Pulls me back home :) Yes, little things I am cool with, but full-time commitments to different ministries; it is impossible for me to remain consistent in.  Doesn't mean it's stalling me, it means I've got to find out how it all fits together, and I'm about to start stalking some missionaries. 

I've got to get out of this "Church Mindset", quit labeling full-time missionaries as "the Missionaries" and realize "Hi my name is Melissa Bradley, I live in Danville, Ky and I have been Called by God to be a Missionary in this town and everywhere these feet take me!

Lord, Use me however You chose. Move me out of the way. Move my weakness out of the way and fill me with Your strength. May I be Your vessel to be used however You desire!  Clear the path ahead of me. Fill my mouth with Your words. May Your words, Your desires speak Loudly from my life!

Your Clay,
Melissa





                        

The Lord of the Pawn

When Christians come to the realization that God's world does not revolve around us, our world is meant to revolve around Him and that the ultimate desire for our lives should be to bring Him glory. Then Cultural christianity will no longer be "the faith poison".

This is a completely different view from what I once thought or believed, but at the same time it is so freeing to realize and understand. Realizing that the world does not revolve around me, and my immediate wants and desires, that there's a much larger picture is very freeing indeed. 

Whether it is through tragedy or triumph, loss or gain, God is in control of my past, present and future. My wants and desires are null is comparison to my life bringing glory to my King.

That does not mean that God does not care when we hurt.  FAR from it.  "The Lord is near to the broken hearted."  "The Lord is compassionate, slow to anger abounding in love and mercy." No, no, no He is very loving indeed.  It means that there is a much greater purpose and we should always be mindful and trust Him with that. 
When you allow your successes or failures to bring you to your knees and for them to bring you to a greater understanding of Who He is, the church will, finally, once again come to a place of revival.

When I am able to take a "Paul and Silas in prison moment" (Acts 16) and instead of sulking, I find myself praising, and declaring, "Lord, I know You have this and one way or the other. You will ultimately be magnified through this". I will know that I have finally Got It.

I find satisfaction in nothing more than being a pawn on God's chess table. He uses me and moves my player in order to bring Himself victory in the game. Whether it is through my pawn being taken out of the game early or even pawns around me. Think about it for a second. It may sound a little strong off the cuff, but think about it. 

If my life is totally surrendered to His ultimate will and He compares His love for us to the love of an "amazing earthly father" but His love is magnified in being a heavenly Father...

Follow me here...

An earthly father wants good things for His children. An earthly father wants to dote on his children, see them smile and be comforted.  In saying that, an earthly father isn't there, at all times, to help guide your steps nor to help map out your path.  An earthly father, even though he wants good things for you, all that he can direct you in, is what he may see in the immediate future.

For instance, "Yes, you should get this college education, at this great school, so that you can receive a great education, become a lawyer, be well off financially and hopefully make a difference. etc. etc." In our logic that may sound like a good plan. Your earthly father knows that you've talked about doing that for a long time and it's what you would like to do with your future.

However, your Heavenly Father made you from scratch, He breathed air into your lungs. He knows your strengths and your weakness's.  He knows the challenges you will face at that school. He knows where the spouse He created for you will be found.  He knows (for instance) that you will get to age 25 and just starting off your career as a lawyer and your heart will be longing to be a wife and mother.  He knows that you would rather die than have to leave your children for your work. He knows that with the debt you will accrue in college it will be an impossibility for you to stay home etc., etc., etc.  He knows your paths.

I'm not saying that if you are a sold out child of God that you won't face challenges. Oh mercy no! But they're different when you come to the "Pawn Realization".  When you face challenges while seeking His direction, continue seeking His direction and accept His Lordship.  Be mindful of His promises and He will guide you through it.  Whether it's by Him shaping your heart and desires towards His will or by accepting that whatever comes my way does not catch Him by surprise and that I can take the moment and reflect on His Grace or I can run hide under my covers and sulk.  He wants to be magnified in our lives.  He wants us to know Him better.  He wants us to know and trust Him for who He is and accept His Lordship in all things.

I am not saying that it's easy, but suffering will come one way or the other and we have the opportunity to surrender it and accept His authority over it and know that somehow, someway He will receive the glory for it or we can diminish His glory by trusting in our idols or pouting, sulking and "Why Me -ing."

I am in No Way trying to diminish people's pain. Please do not read "that" into this. Oh I have so many friends who have endured unimaginable pain. 

I am however trying to magnify Him and put a magnifying glass on our upside down world view, and how He desires to take our brokenness, our ashes and to create them into something beautifully surrendered.

If Paul and Silas had sulked, do you think the other prisoners and guards would have seen Christ in their life?  If Daniel had sulked do you think God would have kept the Lions mouths shut...?  (Daniel 6) Possibly, but I wonder.  If Hannah (1 Sam. 1) would have been pitching a fit, blaming and hollering at God for not giving her a child, do you think He would have chosen her and opened her womb and blessed her with a Samuel.

You see our American Christian World View is WAY off when we think that all His glory is to be pointed at us.  We are not the god's that need to be magnified.  My life is a Pawn in my Masters hand!

I find satisfaction and hope in that. I find satisfaction in knowing that my life is of far greater importance than just me.  When I entrust my life to His hands, my chess piece is promoted from a pawn to a knight. There's a heck of a lot more power in that. And that my God will be the Ultimate Victorious Champ in the game and that my little player was used at all in the game, kinda rocks my socks off!

But when I fully see and understand my role: I am freed up to love, without fear of rejection;  I am freed up to trust, without fear of being let down. I am no longer concerned with being inconvenienced or outside of my comfort zone. I am freed up to be 100% sold out and doing everything in my power to serve the Lord without fear of burn out, because my life is no longer about me, but the One who's in control of me. We are to go, do, teach and Trust, Love, Obey and leave the details in His hands.  I am NOT saying I am successful at living this out daily, but this is the mindset and the heart I am longing for. I must decrease so that He can increase. John 3:30

Game On!

I had the privilege of going to see some amazing girls play some Super Fab Softball last night.  Gosh I love playing softball, not that I'm necessarily any good at it but it is definitely my favorite sport to play. 

The game however, made me reflect on my spiritual walk and the current church. As a christian I have to admit I've had the problem of living most of my life in the dugout. Watching the game go on, watching some people hit homeruns and making excellent catches. While I'm comfortably chewing my bubble gum and sipping my Gatorade in the shade, and at times making some nasty critical remarks about the ones out in the field fumbling the ball around.

As time goes on I feel that we have WAY more people settling to sit in the dugout than out in the field playing.

The first time I saw that my life was being lived in the dugout, it stinking blew me away. It was a game changer in my book and it was so simple.  I went out to eat with my friends Amanda Lark and Lauren Parnell.  We were at Wendy's and before they payed, one of them asked the guy serving us, "Hey, we're about to say the blessing, is there anything we can pray for you about?" 

What the heck? Was that not awkward?  I'd never seen anyone mention their faith like that, yeah through conversations or relationship building or whenever it was within your comfort zone or convenient but Never Random dude you don't know.

Over the past year, I have realized that throughout my life I've heard some amazing Truths Preached.  You ask me a biblical question and I will probably be able to give you an answer, because I've heard it and heard it and heard it but not often have I seen believers living these biblical truths out in everyday, day to day life. I wrote about ministry a few months ago and this kinda ties in with it. 

Truths:

• There's Power in Prayer
• The Holy Spirit dwells in the lives of believers and is Always at work around us.
• Christ Raised people from the dead, Christ worked miracles through the apostles and leaders in the early church, and He still does it today.
• God desires to have a Personal Love Relationship with you.
• God desires to use you in your life on a daily basis.
• He has a plan and a purpose for your life
• etc., etc

God spoke to my heart back in September (don't know why I remember that being the month) and I realized my ministry does Not begin and end with the Youth.  I don't go out to the playing field @ 10am on Sundays and 6:30 on Wednesdays. In Truth thats supposed to be our dugout time, our Game Plan time.

My Game is All Day Every Day Seeking God to Open My Eyes to His hand at work around me. I pray as I turn on Facebook that God would speak through me to anyone who chats me, Not to be annoyed by it but to see it as an opportunity to minister.

I'm a stay at home mom and God has a plan for my life to use me, and even though I'm stuck at home, alot, God still desires to use me (that is in no way a complaint, I am SO blessed to be home with my children and I know He's using me in the lives of my Jax and Pait, but I'm not going to allow that to be my crutch and keep me from being used outside of the box either.) 

As I hop in the car to head to the grocery store instead of being annoyed at the mom with a Crying baby saying, "Lord is this You drawing my attention away from myself and opening an opportunity to minister? Even if it's through a smile, uttering a prayer for her or Praise the Lord an opportunity to share the Gospel?

As I hop in the car, even as I go and spend time with the teens not only Lord open my eyes to them and their needs and let me be used in the lives of the teens,but praying for everyone else I may cross paths with that God may use me in whatever way He chooses.

Lord let me be used in the nursery if the Sunday School teacher gets stuck in the nursery during Worship service too.

If I'm running late to Sunday School and I ALWAYS am, Lord, are You hindering me from making it on time because You desire to use me in some other way this morning, open my eyes to it? 

Praying for the mom in tears beside me as I drive down the road.

Praying, Praying Praying for God to Open my eyes to how He wants to use me, and for me to take my eyes off of my self and to look for His hand at work around me and joining Him in His work. 

Letting go of my comfort zone and saying Lord whatever it is that You are leading me to do may I do it without Hesitation and complaint. My ministry is in these little day to day things.  It is not in my routine.  I want my life to be Game On!

Game On, at the end of an exhausting day where all I want to do is grab some supper for my hot, exhausted crying babies and saying "Lord Fill my mouth with Your Words, to minister to this woman at Subway. Lord, I Know that my children are climbing on the table behind me, and hopping from seat to seat but keep them safe, send Your angels to protect them :) and may I Speak the Truth, because I may be the only bit of Jesus this woman sees!

Get the Junk out of the air conditioned, Wide Screen TV, Surround Sound, with my Gatorade and Chewing Gum, Dug Out and Get In the Game!

Game ON!

Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.