Categories
Christian Living

To Be or To Do – Is Character Important?

Being or Doing?
What is better in God’s eyes?

I believe that His statement: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” answers the question.

I remember one trip when I was a youth minister where the adult leaders were asked: “What are the things that have most excited you about youth ministry this past year?”

One after another, people stood up and shared: We went on a mission trip. We did a service project. We performed a special choir musical for our church. We did this, or We did that.

As I listened, I thought, “I’m not sure these are the things that we ought to be “most” excited about.”
There was no mention of life change, salvation, or deeper discipleship.
It seems most of us were excited about the things we were doing.
Not about the things our students were “being.”
A tragedy.

What we ought to be most excited about are the changes we see in the people around us as they spend more time developing the character traits of Jesus.

In our “busy” society, we seem to believe that the more we “do” for someone, the better. That leads us to think that the more we “do” for the church, the more God appreciates it.

But is that truly the case?
Or can we be in the habit of “doing” in such a way that it is not an honor to God?

God doesn’t want you doing Christian things, without embracing His character traits.
He desires mercy, because He is a merciful God.
He desires love, because He is love.
He desires patience, because He is the most patient.
He desires purity, because He is a God of holiness.

There are many verses where God indicates His frustration with His people for how much they were “doing for Him” without “being” the people He had called them to be.

(here are some of those passages, if you care to read any of them:
1 Samuel 15:22; Ps 40:6-8; Ps 50:7-15; Ps 51:15-17; Isaiah 1:11-16a; Hos 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8)

What does God want from you?
Does He desire that you do things for His kingdom?
Sure, but not if you refuse to develop His character.

Let’s make sure our “being” matches us with our “doing.”

Categories
Relationships

How Far Does Your Compassion Go?

How Long Has It Been Since You…
     Took the time to go see someone who lives alone?
     Wrote a letter to someone who crossed your mind?
     Read to someone who was unable to read for themselves?
     Encouraged someone who was having a hard time in life?

Every one of us can do something compassionate to encourage someone else.
But how far will our compassion go?

One of my favorite stories is the one where four friends pick up their paralyzed friend to get him to the One they heard is a healer. They’ve heard of this miracle worker and probably even knew someone else He has healed. So they go to their friend, tell him the plan, and start making their way to the house where the miracle man is supposed to be. They weren’t going to let anything stop them, because they knew that this Healer could change their friend’s life.

But when they arrived they couldn’t get in the door.
So they ripped through the roof.

What?
Seriously?
They tore up another person’s home to get their friend to this healer?
They must have truly believed this was going to work to be willing to go to that extreme.

What would have happened if I was holding one corner of the mat? Or if you were?
Would we have told our friend that we’d try to bring him to Jesus another day?
When our other friend said – “Hey, let’s go get some rope and some tools and we’ll rip through the roof and lower him down to the Healer!”, Would you have said – “No way, we can’t destroy this guy’s house. We’ll have to fix it or pay to have it repaired. Let’s just come back another day.”?

Or would you have been the first one to grab an axe to start busting a hole in the roof?

I think it all depends on how much we believe that this Healer, Jesus, can change lives.
If we truly believe Jesus can change the life of our friend, then we are much more likely to go to any cost to get them to Jesus. Even if it means destroying someone’s physical property to get our friend the healing that he needs.

But it might be that we examine our own lives and realize that we don’t seem changed that much, so is it really that important to get others to Jesus? We can do it later, and even if we don’t… then what does it really matter? If we have not been radically changed by the Healer… if we have not become new creatures because of what Jesus has done in our lives… then we will not be very passionate about getting others to Jesus.

We are passionate about music, we are passionate about the vehicles we drive, we are passionate about sports, we are passionate about politics, we are passionate about making money. When are we going to get passionate about the only treasure that we can take with us when we die… other people?

When will we become compassionate about those for whom God is passionate and wants to heal?
When will we believe that God really can (and does) change lives?

What do you think… How can someone get and keep the type of compassion the four friends had?

Categories
Relationships

Justice Is What You Deserve…Compassion What You Need

Not only is justice deserved, it is often called for.
But where would any of us be without mercy?

front steps of a courthouseHere is a good illustration of both justice and mercy:

One bitterly cold night in January in the 1930s, the Mayor of a large city turned up at a night court that served the poorest area of the city. The Mayor would occasionally come to the court, dismiss the judge for the evening, and take over the bench himself to hear the cases. On this night he did so again, taking off his coat and hat, taking his seat behind the bench, and beginning to hear the various court cases. Within a few minutes, an elderly woman in tattered clothing was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told the Mayor that her son-in-law had deserted her daughter, her daughter had then become sick, and her two grandchildren were now starving. But the store owner, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. “It’s a bad neighborhood, your Honor,” the man told the Mayor. “She’s got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.”

The Mayor sighed. He turned to the woman and said, “I’ve got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions…ten dollars or ten days in jail.” But even as he pronounced sentence, the Mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his hat saying: “Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.”

The following day the newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy others –petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and city policeman– each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.

The mayor, who was required to uphold justice, also showed amazing love and compassion.

This story was presented to me as true, but even if it is not, it is a great parable of what God has done for each and every person on this earth. God, the just Judge, must uphold His own law. But in His mercy and compassion, instead of condemning all of us who cannot pay the fine, He went ahead and paid the costly price to satisfy His own justice.

I am now that bewildered one who stands before the Judge knowing that I am guilty of breaking the laws He has made, but having the fine paid for me. I am standing before Him knowing it is right for me to receive punishment due to my selfish choices that led me to break His laws, but instead I receive mercy.

Justice is what I deserve, but what I received was compassion through the just Judge paying a fine He did not owe to allow me to experience ultimate freedom… freedom to live for Him.

Will I ?

Categories
Jesus

Homeless Savior

bird nest with blue eggs
“Birds have nests, Foxes have holes… but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Homelessness.

I have never been without a place to lay my head at night. But along with many of my friends, I did lose my house in a hurricane and didn’t have a home for a while. Being homeless in that way wasn’t a lot of fun. We were dependent on others and on their hospitality for several months.

After a couple of months, we were able to move into a FEMA trailer. It was certainly a blessing to have, but it still wasn’t home. And what we found is that you are never truly comfortable until you reach your true home. You are not comfortable in a borrowed trailer, in a friend’s converted garage, in a relative’s house. You are thankful for these options, but you aren’t comfortable until you are back in your home.

Stone Feeding Trough - Jesus' First Bed. (image from evidenceoftruthministries.org)
Stone Feeding Trough – Jesus’ First Bed.
(image from evidenceoftruthministries.org)

Jesus, the Savior, left His heavenly home. And even as He arrived on the earth, He seemed homeless – he was not born in the comforts of his family’s home, but rather in a stable and placed in a feed trough for his first basinet. He and his family would become refugees in another country while He was still a baby. And during His ministry, He lived as a traveling preacher without a home base. He knew what it was to be homeless.

But today, though Jesus has ascended back into Heaven – our God is still looking for a place to dwell on the earth as He now inhabits human hearts. Have you let Him take ownership of yours?

And just because you let Him in, have you given Him full control to redecorate as He sees fit? Or have you only let Him into certain rooms and allowed Him limited freedom there – more like a tenant than an owner?
Have you given Him a true home in your heart?

“Birds have nests
Foxes have dens
The hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
You did not have a home”
          –Rich Mullins

The question remains – Have you given the Homeless Savior full ownership of the home He wants in your heart?

Categories
Worship

Developing Your Personal Worship Plan

“Private personal worship is an effective tool of grace in the hands of God to kill those things in you that must die in order that you may be what you have been called to be.” –Paul Tripp

praying hands on top of a bible symbolizing personal worship

The last two years at FBC Newton where I pastor, we have provided people with a simple guide to use as they think through a personal worship plan. It is a list of some key spiritual areas that each person should consider strengthening and it provides some examples that can be used to determine new spiritual commitments for the year.

At the end of the post is a link that will let you download a pdf file that can be printed on a regular sheet of paper and then folded and placed in your Bible so you can refer to it throughout the year.

Here are the areas we ask people to consider praying through with examples of some possible commitments that could be selected or adapted:

Reading of God’s Word
I will commit to a daily Bible reading of ___ minutes per day.
I will commit to reading ___ chapter(s) per day.
I will commit to reading through the New Testament, Old Testament, or Entire Bible this year.

Prayer Life
I will commit to a daily prayer time of ____ minutes daily.
I will commit to pray daily with my spouse & children.
I will commit to pray with others outside of “church time.”

Personal Praise
I will commit to listen to only Christian music in my vehicle.
I will add personal praise into my daily devotion time.

Financial Giving
I will commit to tithe this year.
I will commit to increase my giving by ________ this year.
I will be a better steward of my remaining money.

Church Attendance
I will commit to attend a small group Bible study such as Sunday School regularly.
I will commit to participate in Sun. / Wed. Night services at my church.
I will commit to attend all services of the church.

Ministry Involvement
I will commit to find a ministry service so that I am using my spiritual gifts and abilities to serve my church and/or community for the Lord.

Scripture Memory
I will memorize _____ verses that are important to me.

Reading Christian Literature
I will commit to reading at least one Christian non-fiction book each quarter of the year.

Accountability Partnership(s)
I will commit to finding someone of the same gender to start an accountability group.
I will meet with my account. partner ____ times per month.

Mentoring & Discipleship
I will commit to finding someone to mentor me this year.
I will commit to finding someone to disciple this year.

Obedience – acting on God’s promptings
I will commit to say “yes” to all God asks of me.
I will commit to find and attempt at least one “action” to take each week from Sunday School/Worship.

Sharing My Faith
I will commit to writing out my testimony this year.
I will commit to sharing my testimony in Sunday School.
I will have the goal of turning every conversation I have toward Jesus.

Family Devotions (and praise)
I will commit to leading my family to have a devotional time together ____ time(s) per week.

Other Commitments God Wants Me To Make
Perhaps to cease a behavior/habit

Personal Worship Plan Booklet Link Just click on this pdf image link to open or download the file.

(if you are reading this on facebook or another source that doesn’t allow you to download the file, you will need to go to www.brianrushing.net to download it)