Private Property

Private Property

For the past couple of years we have contemplated building a home. We have pushed around several ideas, and have had to make countless decisions. One of which is where on our property would it be best to build it? Because of the location of our out buildings, pond and current home, we are kind of limited. We have tried to angle it just so, then swap it here and then turn it there. Through all of the moving around, we never once considered building it on the ground surrounding our property though. Why? Because it was owned by someone else. This may seem like a "well duh, who would?" kind of statement, but I am just making a point here.

There is NO way that anyone would ever build their home on someone else's property. Is that a pretty accurate statement?

So if you are not loving God, have never accepted Him as your Savior, repented and turned your heart towards Him, you are not His property. Again…this is an accurate statement. (I'm not asking a question this time…just making the point). Why would you think that He would "build a house" with you?

Let me unpack that a little. (You may know someone who makes the following statements. I don't want you to picture them though; I want you to think about YOUR own life. After examining yourself, if God lays someone on your heart to go talk to, then do it. But not before self-examination is done.)

I have heard countless times some of these statements:

"God just isn't doing anything in my life"

"Why does God do so much with so and so and nothing with me?"

"I do so much good stuff, I volunteer, I am a nice person, etc…why don't I hear God talking to me?"

"I want to do something for God too…but He never uses me"

"Why are you the one getting all the "assignments?"

Trust me when I say that these are just a few. And to be honest, I personally cannot answer the question with a blanket response. The reason God is not responding or speaking in a person's life can be because of different reasons. But I want to look at just one of them.

It really is a simple question. Answered by a simple yes or no:

Are you His property?

There is no hesitation…it's yes or no! Period. (Or maybe exclamation point!)

There are no, well maybe's. You will hear either "get away from Me, I NEVER knew you", or "well done good and faithful servant!"

God will not build with you when you are not even His. He WILL pursue you, and desire you to be! But until that time of surrender, until that time of purchase, when the deed is signed by His Son's Blood, He will keep His tools in His belt (not literally…ha!)

Do you blame Him? Because if you go back up to the first question I asked you, you would respond the same way! There is just too much at stake, too much was paid. He wants you…oh so badly…but He will not trespass without permission. Maybe it's time to take those private property signs down. Let Him put His own signs up…ones that will ensure that you have been bought, that you are His. Then be ready for the construction to begin!

Matthew 7:24-27 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

 

 

Detour

Detour

Ever since I got my iPhone, I have been addicted to the maps app. I absolutely love knowing that my phone will tell me exactly where I am and exactly how to get to where I want to go! I feel so much safer. Isn't that weird? A little dot that flashes and moves along a colored path on a handheld screen makes me feel safe. Huh. But it's true! Sometimes, especially in towns that I don't know, one wrong turn and I can't find my way out.

That is exactly what happened the other day, except I guess it wasn't a wrong turn, but rather an unexpected one way road that had my dot routed off of the intended path. You should have seen me. My eyes did not leave my phone (don't worry, I have gotten really good at driving without looking…jkjk) The whole time I was desperately trying to get back on course. Once I finally did, I could breathe so much better! Again…weird huh?

The detour lasted o about 5 minutes, but for that time, I couldn't think of anything else except the safe way that I knew would take me straight to my destination.

So now comes the question for you…are you so focused on the safe route that if God interrupts your life, you freak out or refuse to go any other way except your carefully planned out, comfortable, straight path?

And that then leads to another question…who is controlling your life anyhow? Is it all about your plans and at the end you want to waltz into the pearly gates? Do you think you will ever hear "Great job dodging all those people that needed help! Man that one time, that was a close one…I thought that you might have no other choice except to stop and talk to your friend that was having a hard time! You did SUCH a great job fitting in with everyone around you! You were just the perfect American (or whatever you are J). You got the perfect job, the house, wife, kids, dog, vacations, yada yada. I am just so glad that you let ME come along for the ride. GREAT JOB! WELL DONE!" ????? Because if you know anything about Jesus, you would know, that this would never be the words that you hear! Maybe I should let you fill in the blank…what is your life like? And what do you think Jesus would say about it?

So many people tell me that they love Him and have accepted Him as savior, but then they don't follow Him. They follow a "flashing dot", traveling along a well designed road, choosing the route with minimal traffic, bypassing the large crowded areas, construction and anything else that might slow them down. They are on target with where they want to go, how they want to get there, and NOTHING is going to get in their way. If a little hiccup pops up, as quickly as they can, they fix what needs to be fixed and nicely slide right back on track.

But the problem with all of this is: Jesus says FOLLOW ME! And the crazy thing about Jesus, is that He just doesn't tell you where every step is going to be. And sometimes it feels as if He put a blind fold on too. He may take you to some pretty uncomfortable places where you may not have many comforts. He may ask you to even live without some things that you have done nothing but strived to get. He will ask you to deny yourself and He will ask you to think of others first. He will ask you to Love HIM with not half of your heart but with ALL of it! He will ask you to not be NORMAL! You will have to go against the flow, you will ruffle feathers, you will stand out and apart and at times you may just be lonely. This life will not be easy. BUT…when others fail you, Jesus will NOT. He will NEVER leave you or forsake you; He will fight for you, and comfort you. He will NEVER EVER allow you to go through anything that you can't handle because He will be right beside you the whole way!

I really don't know why we want to settle for only the things that we can do. We are so limited it is crazy! God working through us is the most exciting thing I have ever experienced! You get to watch Him move people's hearts in ways that would be impossible without Him! You are a witness to His awesome power desiring a relationship with us humans, and then using us to accomplish His purposes. Seriously! … Why would you want to settle for less?

I'll leave you with one more thought. I may be wrong but I can only recall 2 different responses recorded in the Bible of what we will hear when we get to Heaven. The difference between the two will make you weep:

WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

GET AWAY FROM ME…I NEVER KNEW YOU!

You have one shot…there are no do-over's on that day. And there will be no hesitation. Are you living life FOR Him, or for yourself? Don't get stuck following the dot…

Are you ready for the detour??

For Sale

For Sale

Isn't it funny how you can drive by someone's house every single day, but not really look at it until they make a change? I did that not so long ago. My neighbors had repainted their barn. It was funny just how much I never really noticed their barn before that day. But man, it sure looked nice! I started remembering back to our first house. The siding…not so nice. And when I say that, I really mean not so nice! But it was livable and we endured it for about 5 years. We re-sided, and then you know what we did? We MOVED! I still look back and think about how nice it would have been to have done the work a few years before so we could have actually enjoyed it!

I see this happen over and over. You drive by someone's place and really notice how they have cleaned it up and all of the sudden gotten things looking nice. The next week…a for sale sign.

The thing that happens, and I think you can relate, is that we just get comfortable where we are. Our property doesn't all of the sudden get run down and cluttered, it usually happens over time. It isn't until we want to really impress someone, proving to them that they would like to buy it, do we get crackin on cleaning things up!

I was talking to some high school kids the other day, and funny thing was, they have the same perception of their life! The even funnier thing is, us adults do too!

How many of you have, in the last year, taken a really good look at your life? Take a challenge to stop and really think about who you are and what you are doing with your life. I would venture to guess that you will realize you're in a place and it happened so fast and you don't know how you got there and it's been such a whirlwind and you just got busy and and and…

Am I close?

Distractions…they get you every time! If it isn't the kids, it's the job, or the sports, or the homework, or the parents, or the church activity, or the friends, or the promotion you are working towards, or the laundry, or the office work, etc… the list can go on and on. There is always something to fill your time with! And the more you fill the more you focus on that "stuff" and the less you notice the state your life is in!

Let me ask you all a question…what is your birth date? Easy one right! O.k.…smarty…you answered that pretty quick…try this one:

What is the date of your death?

You don't know?? Well here's one last question…

If you don't know when you are going to die, how can you live like you have all the time in the world before getting ready to meet Jesus?

Look at it this way…if Jesus was coming to "buy your house", what condition would He find it in? Have you neglected yourself so long that several things need trimmed, and some just plain need replaced?

What will Jesus say on that day you stand before Him?

"I never knew you!" or "Well done!"

These are the only two options. There will not be one that says, here is a list of hints of the things that I need you to work on. Go back and try again. Do we understand fully what the options are! You will NOT get a second chance!!

I will challenge you with one last thing. Take your life and match it up against the WORD! That will be the true test to see where you really are, and what you really need to do! Don't get caught assuming that just because "Jesus loves me this I know", you get to live like you don't care! Because like it or not, there is a for sale sign for your life out there, and only two buyers interested. You get to choose. Let His Love change you…then make sure everyone that passes by knows exactly who the purchaser is!

John 3:19-21

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Colored Hair

Colored Hair

Hebrews 4:13

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account."

Everyone has seen someone with their hair dyed. Most of the time it is a new highlight or a touch up here or there. Once in a while you will get a brave soul who decides to change their whole head of hair all at once! I remember some ladies who would chuckle and proclaim that they have been dyeing their hair for so long they can't even remember what their original hair color is. I thought, "what do you mean, you are obviously a blonde?" The reality: they are brown as brown can be.

I started recalling that "I don't even know my natural color anymore" comment. Honestly, I think it is nothing more than a lie! There is NO way anyone will forget that they are actually a brunette. They may trick an awful lot of people, but inside, they remember!

I started thinking about how true this is with our hearts. We all put on a front for someone. When asked how we are doing, rarely do we say anything other than "good"! We can be bawling our eyes out on the way to church, but fully compose ourselves and be the smiling person everyone expects by the time we hit the doors.

We learn early on to hide our true emotions. We learn early on to hide a lot actually. Along with our suppressed feelings, lie our sins. We all are pretty good at keeping those hidden too, aren't we?

The thing I am realizing is that we have "dyed" our lives so many times that others may think they know us but really don't have clue.

2 people. That's what this is all about!

YOU AND JESUS!

You can stand here and convince me you love Him, I can witness you "doing" a lot for Him, but in reality, He is the ONLY one that knows the true state of your heart!

So now the question becomes: why do we spend our time trying to impress others when really, the audience that counts consists of only ONE!

Who are you really? How far have you let your heart get away from the truth? How hard are you trying to disguise the true state you are in?

Friend, stop running! The truth is this: you can disguise all you want, but my opinion of you...doesn't add up to anything! The only opinion that matters is the ONE who already sees you for who you are anyhow!

Here's the reminder again in case you read it too fast before:

Hebrews 4:13

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account!"