Qualified

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.
2 Peter 1:3

“Sorry, you just don’t have the experience we’re looking for.”
“Sorry, but we’re looking for someone with a little more education.”
“What were some major accomplishments (if any), while being a stay-at-home parent?” “While working at your previous company, did you do any volunteer work at all?”

It can really be tough in the job market. After a few interviews and even more rejection letters, a person can feel completely inadequate. Fortunately, in God’s economy, every believer is immediately qualified for Kingdom work. Peter reminds us that the Holy Spirit equips each believer with everything necessary to please our Father. That’s great news.

But, even within the earthly church, it’s easy to feel inadequate when surrounded by believers with long histories of ministry or the ability to memorize long passages of Scripture. We need to remember that nothing more special than the Holy Spirit is required to serve God effectively. We all have everything necessary to do our jobs within the Kingdom.

Still, Peter doesn’t stop with this reassurance. He challenges every believer to add personal disciplines that will build character, mature us, and be used to encourage the church as a whole. He goes on to write, “Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

The pursuit of these virtues is just one way of expressing our thanks and love to the God who rescued us from our complete inadequacy. Having the Holy Spirit with us at all times, we can depend on him to guide us through the stresses that are used to hone these virtues. All that is asked of us is that we continue on and not give up.

Being fully equipped by the Holy Spirit, let’s heed his guidance and pursue spiritual maturity. May we ever strive to become all that God has called us to be, and may he ever grant us the ability to serve him faithfully.

Rising Above

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.
Genesis 50:20


Everyone faces adversity from time to time. A person is fired from his or her job. Bills are due, but there’s no money to pay them with. A beloved family member dies. How we handle these situations can say a lot about our faith in the Lord.

In the case of Joseph, his problems began the moment he fell for his brothers’ “we’ve got a really neat pit to show you” trick. They sold him as a slave to Ishmaelites passing through the area in an attempt to rid themselves of “the dreamer” (see Genesis 37:19). Eventually, Joseph was able to gain a good standing with Potiphar and was placed in charge of his house. But later, Potiphar’s wife attempted to seduce Joseph and falsely accused him of adultery. Joseph ended up in prison as a result.

Joseph had plenty of opportunities to cry out about the injustice he was facing. He had chances to complain about the treatment he had received from his brothers. He could have become bitter when the king’s cupbearer was released from prison and forgot about him. These actions and attitudes would have reduced Joseph to hopelessness.

Instead, Joseph allowed himself to be used by God to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Pharaoh removed him from prison and placed him in charge of Egypt, where he organized a plan to store grain before the famine occurred. Finally, Joseph was reunited with his brothers. What was intended for bad was used by God for good.

Obstacles have the ability to take us out of contention, but we also have the opportunity to rise above them. We can cry, complain, and live in misery because of our struggles. Or we can react like Joseph—allowing God, in his timing, to bring something good out of our circumstances. Are you allowing God to help you land on your feet?

Now Playing

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8

The human brain is an amazing component of our bodies. With it, we are able to sense, to recognize, to understand, and to remember countless things. Our brains keep track of countless important details (like heartbeats) that keep us alive. All without conscious decisions on our part. Even with the most advanced products of scientific research, we have not been able to rival what has been given to us by God with the gift of life.

One thing we must be careful about is the type of material we give our brains access to. Since the brain is like a sponge, it retains all the information it receives. A few years ago, Denny Gunderson, former president of Youth With A Mission, asked an interesting question: Would you feel comfortable if your thoughts were to be shown on a movie screen for all to see?

What we think about can have a very strong impact on the way we handle a situation or view a series of events. Thoughts lead to actions. And, if left unchecked, these can turn into negative character traits rather quickly.

The Lord wants our minds to be pure and useful for the tasks he has planned for us. It is difficult to serve effectively when a person is considering thoughts of revenge, envy, or other wickedness. Paul understood this and challenged the Philippian church to think about things that were honorable, true, lovely, admirable, and worthy of praise. This way, their actions would match their thoughts.

Would you feel comfortable if your thoughts were shown on a movie screen for all to see? It’s not too late to allow God to perform some “editing” so our thinking is in line with his. The question is whether you are willing to let him do it. Can you take the list from Philippians 4 and note three or four items for each of those traits?

Parenting a New Generation

My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
Proverbs 1:8

I have worked with young people through the ministry of churches for more than a decade. Through the years I have seen or read about many changes in the youth culture. The late sixties and early seventies, for example, were filled with questions and open rebellion against societal norms and institutions. Our meetings would draw hundreds of kids per school to discuss racism, war, and the meaning to life.

Then there was a dramatic shift toward the self. Instead of caring about society or others in need, young people focused on meeting their own needs. They got jobs and spent their money on concert tickets, record albums, stereos, and cars. The “me generation” wanted to be entertained, and it was difficult to get them to discuss much of anything.

Out of this mushroomed the drug culture. Whether seeking new experiences or escapes, looking for pleasure or trying to cover their depression, young people consumed marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol while continuing to focus on themselves and their needs. Today, kids are self-centered but lonely, pleasure-seeking but filled with despair, materialistic but desperate for meaning in life.

We can identify many causes for these problems. Certainly the erosion of public values, the promotion of ethical relativism, and the breakdown of the family were contributing factors. But perhaps we should also consider the role that parenting has played in some of these issues.

A few weeks ago, I went to a wedding. It was a prime example of conspicuous consumption, from the two stretch limos to the lavish reception. The bride’s family is not rich, nor is the young couple. Yet they felt it was necessary to spend thousands on this party for themselves. Later I learned that my friend had told his daughter that she could have $10,000 for the wedding. She spent thirteen and has to pay back the extra three thousand. What a way to begin a marriage!

As a parent, check your lifestyle—does it honor Christ? And consider what you are teaching children in your home, neighborhood, and church. What are they learning about values from seeing yours? Do they work for anything, or is everything given to them? Do they have opportunities to serve others? Do they understand what it means to be a responsible, productive, and selfless Christian and citizen? And think about this: how can you promote positive, godly character in your children in the midst of a society that is pulling them in other directions?

What is the answer to living in this culture and yet being someone who is a “Kingdom-Minded” person? Join me this weekend for our new series, “Everyday”- a new series on how we are to engage this everyday life with eternity written on our hearts!

Trev

A Breathing Lesson

But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.Luke 5:15-16

Our society wants us to spend every waking second of our lives doing something. As a result, the pace of life can become quite daunting. There are clients to meet, deadlines to make, calls to return. We run at 10,000 RPM for the entire day, then make our way home and have to deal with cooking dinner, washing laundry, and getting the kids to bed.

We must learn to slow down in life. Racecars cannot be repaired while on the track, so why do we think we can “be still, and know” God (Psa. 46:10) when we cannot find the time to take a lunch break?

But there is a way to slow down when we’re running full throttle all day and night. It’s called margin. Put another way, it could be considered a reserve or simply breathing room. Jesus thought it was important enough that he made it a routine part of his life on earth—he recognized his earthly limits and took time to get recharged.

Consider this: When you don’t have any margin in your life, you cannot fully accomplish the things God reveals for you to do.

There are numerous ways we can introduce breathing room into our lives. We can learn to say no when we’re already overloaded with tasks. We can anticipate the unexpected and add some time to the front end of meetings. We can take opportunities to laugh, cry, and rest. We can also take time to help others in ways that allow them to experience breathing room in their lives.
Don’t move so fast that God’s voice is lost in the everyday. Take time to slow down and breathe so you can grow and get to know the Savior as a friend.