Just do it.

I've been spending my free time getting fit again. It's still a far cry from my high school days when I could run laps and laps, for what seemed like an eternity, without tiring. Nowadays I've taken to saying to myself, "No more excuses," and just heading out for a bike ride, a jog or doing my regular workout without delay. So far it's been good.

Nike had it right, "Just do it." Simple and to the point, straightforward and commanding. Just do it. Get 'er done. There's the side of obedience we struggle with, just doing what we've been commanded to do. We always talk about that, we discuss the excuses we make in order to justify why we can't or won't do something that God has explicitly commanded us to do. Then there's the other side that says, "If you do this Lord, then I promise such and such to you.." and we make some pretty tragic vows with the Lord, when He just wants us to obey. 

"36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil."

(Matthew 5:36-37)

Jesus was talking about making oaths and how you shouldn't do it because it's not necessary, and it's not wise. You either make promises you cannot keep, or promises that are beyond what you bargained for (and not remotely close to being in your control), and in either case, making such vows isn't exactly God honouring, or God-trusting. Letting your "yes be yes," fits into obedience and submission. Don't give yourself room to make excuses, or to create ultimatums or "tragic vows". A submissive servant does what the master says without question. He is able to do this because, he trusts, knows, loves and respects the master. 

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

If you love the Lord, just do it. I find it funny to imagine Jesus saying something like, "If you love me, think on it for a few weeks, then come back and let me know if that's gonna do it for you or not. If you're not sure we can make a bargain or you promise me something and I'll promise you back such and such to make sure you get it done." Thankfully, he never said any of that. 

I've been reading through Judges and arrived at Jephthah and his own tragic vow (Judges 11:29-40). A vow that absolutely did not need to be made. God was with him, God was going to hand the Ammonites over to him, all Jephthah needed to do was obey. But his story illustrated that making vows or oaths in the stead of "just doing it," and trusting God, just leads to tragedy and heartbreak. 

There is a lot of baggage we hold onto that keeps us from just doing what we're told. Our wants and our desires often get in the way, dancing in front of us as huge distractions. It's our responsibility to deal with all that and let it go, so that we do not give ourselves excuses not to trust God, and therefore not obey. I've heard it said multiple times, "Delayed obedience is disobedience." Delays will always create more obstacles than you need. 

When the command is clear, just go for it. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes'.  

The Good, the Bad and the Glory.

Finally, had my convocation ceremony this past Monday. I had never really considered myself "graduated" until I had walked across the stage. It was a great day. I especially appreciated seeing most of my classmates again, before parting ways for what will probably be a good long while.

I honestly cannot believe how far I've come in this life. I remember the days when I was transitioning from elementary school to middle school, middle school to high school, and high school to university. At each transition point I was terrified. Scared to make the change, wishing Jesus would come back so I wouldn't have to live through such drastic change and unknown. When I think back, through it all, God took care of me. He provided me with all the friends, and circumstances necessary to grow me and to make it through these periods of life. I owe so much to Him, the good but especially the bad. 

The Christian I am today is because of God's provisions and the personal decisions I had to make. It's a combo. With every mistake and circumstance, I have learned a bit more about who God is, and what it means for Him to be glorified. 

I spent a long time not really getting what it meant to "glorify God". It's just one of those Christianese sayings that gets worked into your vocabulary, and you say it because that's just what you say. "Glorifying God" is what all Christians should do, it's what we're supposed to say and do, you know? I think it comes to a point where we say it so habitually that it starts to mean less and less to us.

Glorifying God is not solely about God getting the credit for something. God is not obsessed about credit and getting all the "good feels". The glory of God spoken about in the Bible is more about His character. The glorification of God is, from what I have come to understand, the revealing and display of His true, great knowledge or control. 

When God is glorified, it's like His character bleeds out of us. When God is glorified, it's as if His character is so evident and unrestrained and displayed, it is so undeniably Holy, and righteous, loving, that it is so undeniably God. All God has ever desired is that people come to know Him, and come to be reconciled to Him through this. What better way to do it than for people who love and serve Him, to put His very character on display in their lives through all circumstances? 

In another boat, while we find God so "easily glorified" in all the good, while He gets "credit" for all the good He has done, is He not also responsible for all the bad? In human error, we can only blame ourselves, evidently. God allows people to make mistakes, an individual's choices will always be up to him/herself. Crime happens, hurts happen, disasters happen. What is committed by humans, humans have to own up to, but that does not mean God is no less in control. People often forget that just because humans have the power to make poor choices, that does not mean God has made a mistake. Circumstances are always within His control:

5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is none besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness,
    I make well-being and create calamity,
    I am the Lord, who does all these things. (Isaiah 45:5-7)

The point being made here is that the LORD is the Lord. He's in charge, He allows or does not allow troubles or disasters, and He brings good, as He desires. Everything according to plan, nothing beyond His knowledge. 

He is Lord, and I am thankful He has more than one role and occupation, as He is also a Redeemer. In the midst of evil, and calamity, God can redeem anything. He has the ability and power to turn the bad to good. All He does, He does with great love and understanding, He's seen and done it all. 

God has done so much for you and I. I cannot deny that He is good. Even in the midst of the pain and suffering I have endured in my own life, I cannot deny that everything He intended was for good. The way things happen to us are the ways that will always work best. It's individualized and unique. Through it all, it's in us to just glorify Him; it's a deep seated desire that God be known, that His real character be shown. I almost want to say that I like it when times get rough, and when things seem impossibly bad, because in the end, you come out of it only saying, "I could not have survived this, or seen the end of the tunnel, had it not been for Him." 

The glory of God is important, it is vital in the process of knowing Him, and becoming more and more like Him. God cares about people, He cares about a relationship to be restored. The Glory of God is all about that; that He be known, in order that reconciliation would happen. That's a big deal.  

Defining the Relationship.

Here's my best friend Myra, and I...and my many chins. Seeing as this post is going to go through the topic of relationships and friendships, I'll just say that my friendship with Myra is a very significant one in my life. I am still awed by how we came to be such good friends. I am very blessed to have her in my life. With that..

I don't know if people still say it, or throw down the ol' DTR - define the relationship. Is that still a thing? I think it is? There are plenty of young people out there fooling around in strange relationships, and I'm sure them and their SO's (significant others), really love the clarity of knowing what exactly the relationship is, hence DTR-ing...D-ingTR?..nevermind. 

I can imagine how when you hear the person you're in close relation to, ask you: "So what are we? How do we define this relationship?", your heart skips around, and you might get a bit panicky because you really don't know. Or you just hadn't thought about it, and you don't really want to deal with this at the moment, because you just want to enjoy whatever is going on. Sooner or later though, it's going to happen, and you'll both want to figure it out. 

Similarly, if you never thought about it, the same thing has to happen between you and God. The relationship we have with Him is no different in that regard. In fact, this relationship is much more precious, and therefore should be more worthy of attention to detail, and understanding of what our relationship to Him really is. 

"21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" (Matthew 7:21-23)

The thing is, like the pharisees and other people who call upon God but have no relationship with Him, even though in their minds they have known Him, or have "done things for Him," He has not known them. They have not truly come to know Him, because they had not truly submitted to, or known His heart's desires.

It's important for us to understand how we relate to God. While I hear many throw around the words,"Jesus is my friend," or "Jesus is my homeboy," I actually don't think I'd be comfortable, safely saying any of that. For me personally, between the Lord and I, I'm still working on the lordship aspect of our relationship. Yes, I am coming to know Him, but as of yet, we are still in the midst of building the basic, solid servant-master relationship. And on a related note, Jesus always referred to the followers of God in His parables as servants, and not ''Bros" or "buddies" (not just because those words didn't exist back then, you get what I mean).

With Abraham, God called him His friend. To me, that does not mean I am instantly God's friend, or that once I became a Christian, He just calls me His friend. When God called Abraham His friend, that was because He had just shown Abraham His heart. Abraham had a long time to know the Lord, and it is in this personal moment, after Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac, God FINALLY calls him friend. This story tells me that there is hope for a friendship between God and I, but not because all of a sudden I state that we are best buds. God isn't illogical or spontaneous with relationships.

The term 'friend' seems to be very loosely defined these days. It's clear that God's definition and concept of 'friend' is so much deeper than what we understand. With the Lord, the relationship is a progression. We must know Him first as Saviour, Messiah, Redeemer and Lord. It is my belief that friendship with the Lord will come as you establish those other dimensions first. When He reveals His heart to you, as you know and submit to Him as your Lord and Saviour, friendship will blossom. 

So the question is, who is Jesus to you? What is your relationship to Him?

Enough.

Most families with kids in their mid to late 20's will recall a series of audio adventures known as Adventures in Odyssey. I grew up listening to it, and I still listen to it today. The Biblical lessons they teach through them are still relevant today, and just as heart-warming and inspiring. Which leads me to what inspired this post. 

The scripture mentioned in one particular episode of Odyssey was from Timothy:

"17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

The whole chapter is a wealth of truth. I highly recommend reading this passage in the context of the rest of the chapter, it's beautiful. For someone who is just now starting to personally experience the struggle with the love of money and riches, this chapter in Timothy has been a great encouragement. I could not say it any better:

"...But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." (1 Timothy 6:6-7) 

 "11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:11-12) 

My job is to trust that God provides, to look back on my life and see how for every need and every step of the journey through His will, He was supplied me. What God supplies is just exactly what I need, no more, and no less. When temptation hits, it's also my choice to run the opposite way, and to pursue the things of God, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness. When you pursue God and His will at all costs, your needs for the journey will inevitably be taken care of.   

Whatever

Imagine a stage. A set of aluminum rods hold up several thick black curtains. The lights go out, and out of the darkness, from behind the curtains, arise these neon, bright, glowing puppets. And from their mouths, they sing heartily:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

I'll admit, puppets are not my favorite art form, but I can't diss what people do with them. It's hard work, and it's worship, and I find no fault with that. This past weekend my church hosted a Creative Ministry conference. Over a hundred people, along with their puppets and props came together to learn, and to share their experiences and worship in and through this ministry. When the puppets performed their act based off of Philippians 4:8, it got me thinking really hard about some important things in my life. That's the beauty of ministry forms like puppets, like them or not, you can really remember something when it's presented to you in song, with black light and neon puppets. 

I thought about all the times I had complained about someone in my head, or had wished I could utter some foul words. It's pretty sad. All the times I had carried a bad attitude to the table, whatever the situation had been, came to mind. In not one of those occasions, nor now in my current days, could I say my thoughts have been true, noble, right, pure, lovey, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. 

For someone who claims to live life according to the Spirit of God, I feel like I haven't been doing so in this area of my life. One explanation I have is because I live my thought-life rather thoughtlessly. Christ says it is an exercise, surrender is an active process we must train in every area of our being. 

"5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Thinking cannot be done thoughtlessly. For every thought, it must be tested and tried. Our minds have undergone a process of renewal, but our thoughts also must be trained, being brought under the lordship of Christ.

 "45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)

Jesus is basically saying that you are what you eat (or whatever you take in). I am responsible for what I fill my heart with, for the thoughts that I think, and the words and actions that emerge as a result. 

I pick up on the belief that people do not think they have control over what they think, or they never consider that the way they live their lives is heavily dependent on their thought patterns and practices. We cannot excuse nor can we justify complaints, whining, bad thoughts about anyone or anything if we are to measure ourselves to the standard of God. I know this is a must for me to practice in my own life. I've justified bad thoughts all too often.

So why not work to train our thoughts, not only to be more positive, but why not start to set them on someone who fulfills the adjectives in Philippians 4:8 so tangibly, Christ. Then strive for righteousness, to think on whatever..whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.