I have to be reminded of this constantly because every minute of the day I am caught up in lesser joys. I am convinced that the worst thing is not necessarily placing value on bad things but placing too much value on good things to where they take the place of the Best thing. I hope that makes sense somehow. Recently I have been challenged by the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, before you read any further, read it here.

I have recently been changed because the giftings and abilities God has given me are finally lining up with the opportunities that he provides. The hard part now is staying focused on using it to build God’s Kingdom and realizing that every part of life is caught up in that.

I recently listened to a Matt Chandler message (as i often do) on this passage, I would strongly urge you to do the same as I think it is very encouraging. These are the moments that challenged me:

“As natural abilities begin to grow and become visible to the world around us opportunities come, opportunities intrinsically belong to God, they are given based off natural ability. The more natural ability you have the more opportunity you have. They were given to us not for our own use and our own gain but for the gain of the Kingdom. This text is about what you do with the opportunities that come your way based off the gifting that Christ gifted you with.

This is talking about how we see the world. How do we see the world? Do we really see that this is light and momentary and that there is a future glory coming? Do we see our money as not being ours but rather as money for the Kingdom to fund the Kingdom and to do good eternally? Do we see our opportunities, our free time, our Saturdays as a way to build the Kingdom?

What do you really value? What do you really treasure? What are you really after? Don’t tell me Jesus, don’t give me the church answer. Look into your heart, look into your wallet, and look into how you use your time. They’ll betray you or they’ll convince you. In the end God is after your joy, he is not honored in begrudging submission. The only way to have that kind of joy is to walk in freedom. The only way to walk in that kind of freedom is to live life with an open hand.”

I don’t know much else to say after that. This causes me to examine myself and then seek God and ask for help. I hope it does that for you too.

Ok,  I know I have been a little unoriginal lately and have basically been putting quotes from books on here, but this has to be put out somewhere for everyone to read.

I am reading Larry Crab’s Inside Out right now and it is rocking my world. So here is a small section from the first chapter that I think is crucial:

“Just a quick glance beneath the surface of our life makes it clear that more is going on than loving God and loving others. It requires only a moment of self reflection to realize that, no matter how much we may have already changed, we still have a long way to go. We know things are not as they should be. Something is wrong.

Ever since God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden, we have lived in an unnatural environment, a world in which we were not designed to live. We were built to enjoy a garden without weeds, relationships without friction, fellowship without distance. But something is wrong, and we know it, both within our world and within ourselves. Deep inside we sense we’re out of the nest, always ending the day in a motel room, never at home. When we’re honest, we see we handle our discomfort by keeping our distance from people, responding more to our fears than to another’s desire for love.

We wish we were better than we are, but we’re not. And that realization brings shame, a desire to hide, to avoid real contact, to present to others only that part of us we think will be well received. We want to hide the rest- not because we desire to avoid offending others with our ugly side, but because we fear their rejection. We live for the purpose of self protection, clinging to whatever brings happiness and security. The effect is a discouraging distance between ourselves and the people we long to be close to. The quality of our life diminishes.”

Well doesn’t that make you want to jump right out of bed in the morning?! As hard as some of these things are to face, its necessary if we are to be honest and real with ourselves, with God and with a lost world that needs to see that Jesus really changes people. When we go to the hard places in us and stop pretending that we are fine we create an opportunity for God to begin to transform us by his grace. If it really is Jesus that we have then we will change for it is his nature to reconcile us to God.

So I am reading a Bill Hybels book right now called Holy Discontent. I am normally not a big Hybels fan but i like this book and it is helping me turn my deconstruction into something productive. In this specific chapter he is referencing a book written by Robert Quinn called Building The Bridge As You Walk On It. In the book Quinn mentions two different ways of living: normal and fundamental. (now this is not fundamental in the bible thumping, no dancing, mostly legalistic church way):

“‘When we accept the world as it is, we deny our ability to see something better, and hence our ability to be something better. We become what we behold. To remain in the normal state is ultimately to choose slow death.’ The normal state is so self seeking that you can spin your wheels for a lifetime and never once impact the world around you. In the fundamental state, however, people care so much about getting results that they begin to move and breathe in a totally different realm. Thy operate with intentionality. They act with massive doses of enthusiaism and persistance. They surrender their ego because they simply can’t afford their pride. They open themselves up to any and all new ideas and forms of input-regardless where those suggestions come from. People who operate in a “fundamental” state of mind concentrate at higher levels and focus more intensely because the goal they’re pursuing demands it. They take risks they wouldn’t normally take..because they have to- there’s too much at stake not to! Their creativity kicks up a notch. Their energy soars. Their passion swells.”

It seems to me that those who operate in the “fundamental” state are the ones who are following the mission of Jesus instead of looking for ways to squeeze him into “what i want to do with my life”.

It made me think of something Jesus once said, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”- Luke 17:33