Find Your Purpose: Taking Risks

I found this video of an incredible downhill bike race in Chile and it made me think. First, watch the video...


Intense isn't it?

There are few things that stick out about that ride. First, it is fast in places that people don't normally go fast. Second, there were several truly dangerous places throughout that course. Third, the rider never hesitates.

What is it that allowed the rider to navigate that course so successfully? I believe it comes down to three words: Fear, Skill, and Comfort. These are three words that will either paralyze or empower every Christian in his or her walk because I truly believe that the Christian life is just like that downhill race, for those who are willing to brave it.

First, lets talk about fear. Most people will look at this video and immediately think "No way would I even try that! That guy is crazy!" Crazy? Maybe, if you define life by playing it safe, keeping your pulse under 100 and never risking anything. But here is the catch.

God has not called us to play it safe. In fact, he has called us to be radicals in this world. Christians are to be the game changers. But too many never come close to experiencing the true blessing of being used by God because they are afraid. They are paralyzed by fear.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of what "might" happen. Fear of failure. Just the thought of doing something extreme sends many Christians into lockdown. Yet, some of the most common words in all of scripture are "Fear Not." Jesus told us that "perfect love casts out fear" and that we need only fear God and not man. Many will look at something like that bike ride and say "there is a difference in fear and wisdom." Maybe, but I think that all greatness once started out as a crazy idea that sent shivers down somebody's spine.

Someone will say "okay, I'm not afraid, but I don't know how to do something like that and if I tried, I would kill myself."

This is a true and wise statement that brings us to our second word: Skill.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence at the age of 33. That's quite an accomplishment. But you know what? He didn't get there by accident. Before his 33rd birthday he had already accomplished more than most people will accomplish in an entire lifetime. It wasn't an accident that he was the man chosen to write one of the most important political documents our world has ever seen. Here is a list of what he accomplished before writing the Declaration of Independence at the age of 33.


At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor. At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French. At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages. At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.  At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe. At 23, started his own law practice. At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America" and retired from his law practice. At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

Thomas Jefferson wasn't afraid of a challenge, but he also knew he needed to develop the skill necessary to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish. In the video above, that wasn't that bike rider's first time to attempt something like that. He started small and built his skill set until he could accomplish something remarkable. 

Are you willing to risk learning how to do something amazing? Are you willing to learn the scripture well enough to live it? Are you willing to develop your skill in communicating, teaching, building, leading, organizing, or whatever it is you do? God is not going to put you on a bike and say good luck. He wants His people to stand out, but to stand out in a good way. 

There are two ways to stand out in this world: Excellence or Incompetence. Only one happens by accident. And if we are going to be intentional about developing the necessary skill to take real risks for God, then we are going to have to be willing to redefine our comfort zones. 

Comfort, our third word. Its a funny thing because it can be redefined far more easily than most people think. We often talk about getting outside our comfort zones in Christianity. What we are really talking about is getting outside of what is familiar and easy. Here is a secret for you to remember: nobody ever really gets outside his or her comfort zone. We just expand our comfort zone as our skill increases. We can and MUST become comfortable taking certain risks. 

The rider in the video was comfortable taking the risks associated with that course because he knew his skill set. What he was doing was trying to push his skill limit even further. The next time you feel uncomfortable taking a risk for God, you need to ask yourself why? Is it lack of skill or just lack of familiarity? Do you need further development or are you just getting a feel for the course? Either way, if you are uncomfortable stepping up for God, then you haven't yet truly given God his due in your life. 

You can't meet the Creator of the Universe, be filled with His Spirit, and not feel some boldness well up inside you. 

Here is one more little secret: the more skill you have and the broader your comfort zone, the more fun and enjoyment you will get out of what you are doing for God. That bike rider in the video enjoyed his ride. You hear him laugh part way through the video. His heart was racing, his skill set was challenged, but I promise you he ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF THAT RIDE. He even enjoyed when he was able to avoid the dog that almost ruined the whole thing. 

So, what insane downhill race is God calling you to train for? What fears need to be set aside? What training needs to happen and what comfort zones need to be redefined? It is only when we see life as one big downhill race that God has called us to dominate that we can rise Above Reality and Find our Purpose. We must take risks for God!

Find Your Purpose: Sacrifice

Sacrifice. Big word, big meaning, even bigger neglect. It can be defined as: Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

In everyday language it means giving until it hurts. This can mean giving of your time, your emotions, your energy, your resources, your friendship, or your abilities for something you believe. 

The greatest act of sacrifice ever seen was on the cross almost 2000 years ago when Jesus, the Son of God, sacrificed himself to set right what man had broken. 

He even said "Father, forgive them..." Here was the eternal Son of God, bleeding, suffering, and dying for a creation that had rejected him and yet he could say the words, "Father, forgive them." Why? Because Jesus was sacrificing himself for us. As a sacrifice, his life was spent for those who hated him. Jesus knew he was getting no benefit from this sacrifice. It was entirely for our benefit. 

You see, that is what sacrifice is. It is enduring pain and struggle for the benefit of another. It is voluntarily giving to the point of pain so someone else can experience the benefit. Jesus died on the cross so we could have a relationship with God. He already had a perfect relationship with the Father. He didn't need anything for himself. It was humanity that needed a Savior. So, Jesus offered himself, perfect in every way, as a sacrifice for our failings. 

And so we also become a people of sacrifice. We learn to give of ourselves. We learn to sacrifice. We learn to give until it hurts. Sacrifice for others, even those who hate us, should become a way of life for those who believe in Jesus Christ. We give in service, love, finances, talents, support, and even encouragement. We learn to see what others need and give of ourselves to help them. 

Even when they hate us. 

That is what makes it a sacrifice. We have to endure something we do not deserve for the sake of someone who does not deserve what we are giving. 

And we do it with Love. 

We do not do it to earn points with them, with God, or even to feed selfish pride. We sacrifice because we see the right thing to do and we are children of God who understand that it took the greatest sacrifice in the history of creation to make us children of God. 

So we sacrifice. 

Unfortunately too many of us have bought into American consumerism and we expect some kind of immediate return on our "righteous" deeds. We see ourselves as God's employees complete with a heavenly 401k retirement plan, benefits, and collective bargaining rights. We have confused God's call to die and sacrifice with a self-serving gospel of health and wealth. 

And the idea of true sacrifice is completely lost. We only serve in our church as long as it is convenient and doesn't interfere with my time on the golf course. We choose a church based on what they can provide me instead of seeing where my gifts and talents could be used to help others. We get it backwards. 

When we get it backwards, we lose touch with everything that God intended and our lives become no different than the great throng of people who live only to please themselves. This is why Jesus said some of the most frightening words in all of Scripture in Matthew 7:21-23:

“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. 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?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ 

Many who never learned the true meaning of sacrifice and obedience will try to cash in their heavenly 401k retirement plan only to find out that their investment tanked because they invested in themselves and not in the God who sent His Son as a Sacrifice. Think today about your concept of sacrifice and obedience to God and rise Above Reality. 

Find Your Purpose: Worship

There is a common refrain that finds itself repeated throughout much of the history of the church. It is that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Enjoy Him.

Experience, relate to, be fulfilled and enjoy Him.

In a word: WORSHIP

We are created to worship our maker. God is the source of all life, existence, joy and meaning. When I say that we are to enjoy Him forever, I mean we are to enjoy Him as He is, for who He is, and What He is.

Enjoy God because He is God.

Meaning, you can't enjoy Him if you are too busy trying to make him jump through your hoops. You can't enjoy Him if you are too busy trying to make Him serve You. You can't enjoy Him if you think of Him as just another person.

Enjoy the fact that God is not you. Be thankful that God is not you. He is not like you, He does not think like you. His existence is beyond you, above you, over you, and bigger than you. Those difficulties you have, He doesn't.

You should rejoice in this.

Enjoy God! Worship Him. Why? Because it is what you were created to do. It is in your very being. Your meaning and purpose in life will be completely wrapped up in serving and worshiping God. If you don't worship Him, you can't enjoy Him.

The Psalmists knew all too well that God wasn't like them and they loved it.

EVERY BIT OF IT! They marveled at His majesty, sang songs about His Wisdom, trembled at His Power, and invited the nations to come find out what they already knew: God is awesome.

Psalm 95 puts it this way:

 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; 

      let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 

            2      Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; 

      let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 

            3      For the LORD is a great God, 

      and a great King above all gods. 

            4      In his hand are the depths of the earth; 

      the heights of the mountains are his also. 

            5      The sea is his, for he made it, 

      and his hands formed the dry land. 

            6      Oh come, let us worship and bow down; 

      let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 

            7      For he is our God, 

      and we are the people of his pasture, 

      and the sheep of his hand. 

                  Today, if you hear his voice, 

            8      do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, 

      as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 

            9      when your fathers put me to the test 

      and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 

            10      For forty years I loathed that generation 

      and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, 

      and they have not known my ways.” 

            11      Therefore I swore in my wrath, 

      “They shall not enter my rest.” 

You see that? Invitation to join in, a warning about ignoring Him, and an absolute sense of awe at His being. 

Worship is not an choice for those who have Discovered God. It becomes their purpose in life. Service and Worship, Worship and service, praise and practice, practice and praise all become intertwined in this wonderfully poetic dance that is life. We worship because of God's greatness. Our worship leads us to service and our service erupts in praise. 

Psalm 97 puts it this way:

The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; 

      let the many coastlands be glad! 

            2      Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; 

      righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 

            3      Fire goes before him 

      and burns up his adversaries all around. 

            4      His lightnings light up the world; 

      the earth sees and trembles. 

            5      The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, 

      before the Lord of all the earth. 

            6      The heavens proclaim his righteousness, 

      and all the peoples see his glory. 

            7      All worshipers of images are put to shame, 

      who make their boast in worthless idols; 

      worship him, all you gods! 

            8      Zion hears and is glad, 

      and the daughters of Judah rejoice, 

      because of your judgments, O LORD. 

            9      For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; 

      you are exalted far above all gods. 

            10      O you who love the LORD, hate evil! 

      He preserves the lives of his saints; 

      he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 

            11      Light is sown for the righteous, 

      and joy for the upright in heart. 

            12      Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, 

      and give thanks to his holy name! 

This awe inspiring, terror building, righteous judge is on His throne and everyone, those near and far need to rejoice simply because it is true. The Psalmist is not worried about living his best life now. He isn't worried about himself at all. He is overcome with the greatness of God. It is great beyond compare, terrifying and yet assuring. 

Enjoy God! 

Look beyond your circumstances. Look beyond yourself and see God for Who and What He is. Worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Worship Him in life, in song, in service and in fellowship and you will rise Above Reality. 

Christmas Blessing.

 Merry Christmas! What wonderful words to be able to say. This time of year, so many people get depressed, stressed, grumpy, or withdrawn it is unbelievable. Some for good reason. Maybe Christmas brings up painful memories. Maybe they don't have the family or friends to spend the holidays with that they would like. Maybe Christmas puts too heavy a financial burden on some people.

Whatever the reason, a lot of people don't find Christmas to be so "Merry."

I am reminded of Charlie Brown desperately trying to "get" the Christmas Spirit. His compassion for a sickly tree was despised. His disdain for an overly commercialized production misunderstood. And his frustration at the competition over Christmas Spirit won by Snoopy was too much for him to take.

I truly hope and pray that you, reader, are not one of them. And if you are, here are some reasons that you shouldn't be.

Christmas is about Christ. Yeah, I know that you already know that. But let it sink in for a moment. The world has been lost in sin, without hope, without direction and God chose to intervene.

God CHOSE to help mankind and his Son Jesus was the single greatest gift that was ever given. Think about these verses of scripture for a moment.

Philippians 2:5-8

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus was and still is the second part of the Godhead. The Son is the second person of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit. The Son was in Eternity with the Father and Spirit and chose to humble himself, set aside the benefits of deity, and come to earth as a human being. A man of a lower social order. He deserved to be worshiped and adored by all creation, yet He chose to come into our world and live as one of us so he could die a condemned man on a cursed tree.

That is what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown. So remove all of the hustle and bustle, the gift buying, the crowds, the decorations, the family gatherings, and you still have one of the most monumentous occasions to celebrate that mankind has ever seen. If you understand the enormity of what Christmas means, then you can get into the Christmas spirit, the Spirit of Worshiping the God who loves you, without needing any egg nog, carols, lights, or wrapping paper. (Though, I must admit, egg nog may have been given by God to help celebrate the birth of the King of Kings. A drink worthy of majesty.)

This year, think about those who are able to celebrate Christmas without all of the social acceptance that we here in America enjoy. Persecuted Christians in the Muslim world who celebrate under threat of imprisonment, persecution and loss.

But they still celebrate.

I don't write this to make anyone feel guilty or to dismiss the difficulty that some have during the Christmas season. I am writing this to help us all see that Christmas should be a time of worship and thanks for the fact that God sent his Son into the world to save sinners. Of whom I am chief.

In order to get a view of what Christmas is truly about, think about the lyrics to this popular Christmas song.

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christmas is about the Gospel. It is about God saving mankind from himself. The long march toward the cross started the day the Eternal Son stepped out of heaven and into creation as a child who would grow to a man. As a man, he would offer himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sins. 

That is what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown. 

Indoctrination vs. Discipleship

Indoctrination: to teach (a person or group of people) systematically to accept doctrines uncritically. It is an accusation that is commonly placed on religious practices.




Often times, rightly so.




The process of indoctrination is thousands of years old and has been used countless times over. Indoctrination forces a set of principles, values, or thoughts onto a person, demands uncritical, unquestioning acceptance of everything taught, frowns on individual expression and condemns creativity as dangerous.




The church has been at its worst when it has resorted to indoctrination in order to try to spread the message of Jesus Christ.




Why?




Because that is not what Jesus did, taught, stood for, or why He died on the cross. Lets get this straight right now. Jesus never indoctrinated a single person. He fought constantly with the Pharisees, who, consequently, were all about indoctrination.




Jesus was into discipleship, not indoctrination. Whereas those who are interested in indoctrination are concerned with conformity, Jesus is interested in the person as a whole. Mind, body, and spirit are all part of Jesus' teaching and it never involves blind conformity. Indoctrination discourages and condemns questions and free thought in the interest of "maintaining doctrinal purity."




Jesus, however, encouraged his disciples to ask questions. Why? Because questions are the beginning of faith. Jesus said "Seek and you will find" not "listen and repeat after me." This is the greatness of discipleship. It involves you as you are. Your being. Your soul. Your likes and dislikes. Its like Jesus comes along side you and says "I am going to fully invest myself in your life. I'm going to get to know you inside and out. I am going to know what makes you tick. I'm going to love your for WHO YOU ARE, and in the process, I'm going to teach you how to live. I'm going to teach you truth and how to recognize truth. I'm going to show you great and hidden things you do not know. Don't worry, I am going to be with you through this whole journey. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't quit when it gets hard. I promise to be with you."




Discipleship is personal. Discipleship is relational, intellectual, emotional, social, and on-going. Indoctrination is interested in people saying the right things, looking the part, and in producing quantity over quality. Indoctrination is a one time process where someone is told what to think and then moved along. Discipleship is personal investment that encourages questions, seeking, and personal growth.




This is the problem with much of our so called "Bible-study" today. Much of it is incorrectly based on the principles of indoctrination. It gives people the "answers" for life in a bullet point format, tells people what God wants them to think and to be and then moves on to the next approved lesson.




This isn't how Jesus taught.




If God had wanted us to learn from bullet points, scripture would be laid out differently.




You see, indoctrination is a cheap and ineffective substitute for discipleship. It tries to skip the discipleship process by giving people the "answers" ahead of time. Unfortunately, getting the answer is not how we learn and grow. The discipleship process is how we learn and grow. The answer isn't effective if we lose the process. So, instead of trying to skip to the end, we need to get back to true discipleship.




Think about this. Jesus, the pre-existent Logos/Word of God in flesh, took three years to train his disciples. If anyone could have skipped to the end and taken the short version it would have been Jesus. Yet, here he was, teaching, walking with, loving, valuing and investing himself in the lives of His disciples for 3 years. And in those three years we hardly see Jesus asking his disciples for quick, indoctrinated answers. Even when they came to Jesus looking for those answers Jesus redirected them.




So, this raises the question for you and your church. Are you making disciples or simply trying to indoctrinate people? If you are indoctrinating people you will get a lot of people who can say all the right things but not live them. You will get Pharisees.




And Pharisees are hypocrites.




You also must ask: "Have I been indoctrinated or discipled?" You may be surprised at the answer. Do you grow in your faith by asking questions and seeking or by wanting a quick black or white answer to something that really doesn't affect your life one way or the other?




Jesus commanded us to make DISCIPLES of all nations. It is time to let go of the easy but ineffective model of indoctrination and rise Above Reality by embracing discipleship.

Is Your God Safe?

Have you ever been truly frightened? Not worried, a little anxious, or nervous, but freaking scared out of your mind? The kind of scared that you don't talk about later because you remember the feelings too well? Ever been that kind of scared? Odds are, at some point in life you have been. It isn't fun.


It is something we try to avoid.


At all costs...




So what happens when we experience that moment when we realize that the God we serve isn't as safe as we once thought? In fact, we realize that He is terrifying and have to think hard about everything we have learned about God. What happens when the God who has always brought us comfort suddenly scares us to death?


The FEAR of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7




Fear: Emotional foreboding or dread of impending distress or misfortune.


Not quite the message of the modern church is it?


What has happened today is God has been turned into a therapist, we are the patients, and the therapist's goal is to make us happy and whole. God is safe and quiet. He is there to calm your nerves and make life pleasant. He is a friend who is always supportive and never critical. He is a compassionate care-giver that understands the human plight and just wants to help. So, if you will just let Him, He will make it all better because you were created to live "in total victory." (quoted from Mr. Happy himself, Joel Osteen)


puke...


Problem is, that is not why Jesus died and it is not what God has in mind for us today.  It is not at all what Paul had in mind as he evangelized the Gentile world.


Perhaps, no, CERTAINLY this misguided view of God is what has kept many people from growing in their Christianity. If God is there to make us happy, then He will never ask us to do anything that could possibly be difficult or lead to struggle, pain, or sorrow.


Lets look at the scriptures to see where God called someone to happiness and comfort for the sake of His Kingdom.


Go ahead and look. Sure, there was that one guy.


Wait,


No, his life was pretty hard.


No matter how long you look, you won't find it. Happily ever after in God's Kingdom means hard service and sacrifice until you die, THEN, you get to enjoy eternal blessings. Think about this list


Paul-imprisoned, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, bad health, poor, hated and despised
Peter-crucified upside down
John-boiled in oil (survived), imprisoned on an island (survived)
John the Baptist- imprisoned, beheaded
Job-lost his whole family, his health, and his wealth BECAUSE he was a righteous man. (Bet Joel doesn't preach on that one!)
Jonah-swallowed by a whale (brought it on himself)
Isaiah - Sawed in two
Jeremiah - beaten, put in the stocks, thrown into a pit, repeated attempts at his life
Moses - led an obstinate people in circles for 40 years...


All of these people and more suffered and suffered some more because of their faith in God, yet they all persevered and continued to serve God. Why? Because their God wasn't safe. They knew He was unpredictable, powerful, and that their purpose was to serve no matter what. Today, people get angry and leave when a worship service runs too long.


So I ask you, when was the last time you were truly afraid of God? I know it is seems like a strange question in today's culture, but seriously, have you ever been so overcome with the knowledge of his power, righteousness, and holiness that you literally became afraid of Him? If you haven't, then you don't know Him. You may know about Him, but you don't know Him personally.


Because when you do know Him, you know that occasionally and sometimes quite often, He is going to ask you to do something that you don't like. You know inherently that He has called you to do more than simply go to church on Sunday morning. You know that your life is not your own, but belongs to Him because he bought you. The price? His Son Jesus Christ.


And when He calls, you obey. You listen and you do it even though you know you are going to catch it from friends, family, and enemies alike. You are scared to death but you do it anyway because you are more AFRAID of God than you are of the situation.


You know your god is safe when all he calls you to do is whatever comes easy or when the biggest sacrifice you make is the $5 you throw in the plate as it comes by. God is seen as too safe by too many people.


The problem with a safe god, is that you get safe results. Paul's God wasn't safe, and so, Paul himself wasn't safe. Thus, Paul changed the world. He paid a price for it, but he also accomplished great things. Everyone wants God to be active in their lives, but what they really want is the safe god, not the God who is the creator of the heavens and the earth.


The Psalmist understood it. Check this out.


Psalm 97:1-6

The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; 

 let the many coastlands be glad! 

 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; 

  righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 

  Fire goes before him 

and burns up his adversaries all around. 

 His lightnings light up the world; 

 the earth sees and trembles. 

 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, 

      before the Lord of all the earth. 

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, 

and all the peoples see his glory. 

Let me tell you a secret: That Psalm was not written to give you warm fuzzies. It was written to express the power, majesty, and perfection of God. It was written to cause fear, fear that leads to worship and service.


If you are serving a safe God, then you are leading a safe life that probably has you bored to death. Why? Because you were created to serve this terrifying, majestic God. You were created for Him and His purposes and His purposes are big. Let go of the safety of your safe god and serve the God who created Heaven and Earth. The God who sent His Son to die a horrible death so save your soul. Stop being safe and start living in faith. Get back into the scriptures and learn about the God who WILL tell you to do something that will scare you to death. When He asks, then you will find out what your faith is made of. If you obey not only will you stop being safe, you will wonder why you have waited so long to follow the God who is always Above Reality.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

"He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich." Proverbs 21:17

We live in a society that is completely enamored with entertainment. From American Idol to the News, we are constantly looking for someone to entertain us. We celebrate athletes, actors and singers because they entertain us. Our educational system is based around making learning "fun" and people often focus on whether they enjoy their jobs. Let's face it, we are so busy having fun that it is a wonder that anything gets done in this world.

However, if this is indeed the world in which we live, then it has to affect our view of God and how we serve Him. Instead of worship, we have productions. Instead of fasting, we have feasts. Instead of discipleship, we have recreational small groups. Fun is the order of the day and we are getting plenty of it.

The issues stated above are just the symptoms of a larger problem. Worship is my response to what I value most. If I most value entertainment and "fun" in my life, then I will naturally order my priorities and values around it. Even God will become a source of entertainment to me. Fun becomes and idol.

So we have to ask, "What do worship and service at the altar of fun look like?" First, it must bring fun into my own life, so I will demand that my church and my God make me happy. If my church does not "meet my needs" then it is perfectly suitable for me to find a better source of entertainment and say "God was leading me  to this church" when what was really meant was "I really liked the coffee bar, basketball court, entertaining praise band and motivational speaking that is passed off as preaching."

Second, after my needs are met and I am being entertained, I will naturally want to serve my "god" and thus will want to bring entertainment into another person's life. So, I will learn guitar, sing specials at church, start a recreational small group, and hang-out as much as possible with others so I can prove just how "fun" Jesus really is to those who don't know Him.

Third, my discipleship will not consist in quoting and understanding scripture, but in following the latest pop-Christian singer. We will trade our theologians for those who are especially gifted at entertaining us and marvel at how God is using them in miraculous ways.

The problem with all of this is that it doesn't look or function any different than the world. We just chose a different kind of entertainment. Less sex, less materialism, more God talk, more positive thoughts, but in the end, it is based on the same value system: my entertainment.

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy Christian artists and creativity as much as the next person. Truly using a talent that God has given you is what we all should be doing. What I am talking about is our value system as American Christians. Do we strive to achieve "virtue" or fame? Do we serve humbly or do we look for celebrity status. There is a line between enjoying a Christian artist, field, or art form and making it into an idol and currently I fear that the church in America is on the wrong side of the issue. Worship is about far more than having a killer praise band, a slick visual presentation and an entertaining message. Worship is about giving ourselves to God, praising Him and serving Him according to His desires and not ours.

Lets look at a couple of people in scripture and see how much fun they had.

The Apostle Paul
Whipped, stoned, beaten, shipwrecked, starved, imprisoned, abandoned, and killed for his faith in Jesus Christ. Somehow, I don't think he would be too impressed with the worship wars over contemporary and traditional music. Paul's concern was not with being entertained nor with entertaining others. In fact, Paul went out of his way to make sure that he preached the Gospel, "not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." Paul made sure people were not drawn to his entertaining speech (as was custom in his day) but to the actual message of the cross.

The Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah was a young man when God called him. He spoke about the sins of Judah and warned them of impending disaster. He was hated, maligned, thrown into a pit, blamed, and ultimately alone because of God's message. He saw the destruction of the city that he loved and wrote a lament over the city that became a part of our Bible. (Lamentations)

Now, I am not saying that fun is bad. I like to have fun. But it cannot be at the expense of discipleship. We cannot refuse to STUDY our Bibles because it is "boring." We cannot church-hop because we aren't being entertained enough. We cannot allow our worship of God to be hindered because it isn't the style of music we prefer. If you can't worship God to a particular style of music, then you aren't worshiping God. You should be able to sing praises to the creator, sustainer, savior God to the sound of an out of tune piano and a banjo and mean it just as much as you would if it were your favorite artists in the world.

We must repent of this dependence upon entertainment as the driving force behind our worship and service. It is absolutely the truth that God is going to call you to a lot of things that are not fun at all in your life. You must submit to them. God is going to call you to sacrifice. God is going to call you to serve in tangible ways and not just in ways that spread more entertainment.

Read again what Proverbs 21:17 says about over-valuing entertainment "He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich." Spiritually we are becoming poorer and poorer all the time in this country. It is time to shift our values back to the pursuit of God and virtue and rise Above Reality.

Find Your Purpose: Service

When the hammer hits the nail, that is when we know something is getting done. As we have seen, we are called to Discover God, Find our Purpose and finally to share the journey. As we continue to look at ways that we find our purpose in life, we will find that it will almost always involve giving, sacrificing, and effort. What's is the old saying: "Nothing good ever came easy?"  In the Christian lifestyle this is always true. God does not call us to the good life of ease and repose. He calls us to good old fashioned sacrificial service. There is no other way around it. If you want to know God, you will have serve people. 


In 2 Corinthians 4:5 the Apostle Paul wrote: "For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake." Paul says that he did two things. He proclaimed Christ and he served. We must come to see these two as inseparable. The two sides of the evangelism coin. If we want an avenue to share the gospel, we must serve. If we want people to hear our words, we must serve. If we want to know God better we must serve. If we want to experience true community, we must serve. 


So what is service? It is work done by one person or a group of people that benefits another. See, it is a person getting outside of himself or herself and doing something for the good of someone else regardless of personal return. Service means I do it simply because it will help you and I am not looking for ANYTHING in return. In fact, the best servants on this earth are the ones you have never seen. They are invisible. They serve without fanfare and without recognition. This is what God calls all of us to do. Serve. 


The tricky thing about service is that we often like to pat ourselves on the back for our service and, thus, lose the entire concept. In the Gospel of John the disciples begin arguing about who is the best. You know the kind of arguments John is talking about. The kind of arguments that overlook personal shortcomings and emphasize the faults of somebody else. The kind of arguments that allow a person to talk big and yet do nothing. Yeah, those arguments. 


Jesus will have none of it. Does he join in the argument? Nope. Does he declare one side the victor? Nope. What does he do? He serves. He takes a towel and some water and washes every one of their feet. Here is Jesus, the Word, the Logos of God in flesh PERFORMING the lowest of tasks. He is serving His disciples. How embarrassing. Think about it. You are one of the disciples who has been railing against your brothers, building yourself up, sitting on your ivory tower when suddenly, you see your master at your feet washing off the dirt you had ignored. 


Service. 


You see, it is only when we realize that there is no job below us and we have no right to any recognition that we are truly ready to be used by God in any real sense. It is when our loving actions of service match our words that we are true witnesses.


The sad thing about many of today's Christians is that this is precisely where they check out. They draw near to God and experience His wonderful, life-giving presence. They love what He has done and then God does the unthinkable. He says "Serve..." 


And then nothing. 


We search for any and every reason why God couldn't be talking to me. I mean, I work all week, I have to take care of the kids, I go to Church on Sunday, when do I get a little me time? God's response? "Serve..." We respond by telling God "I'll worship on Sunday, that's my service." So we worship, but for some reason, the feeling begins to fade and we find that the church I go to just isn't meeting "my needs" any more so we look for another church that makes "worship" a little more exciting. Then, when we find it, we are satisfied for a short time, that is, until the new wears off and then suddenly, we find ourselves without the motivation to worship and stop going to church altogether. Was it God's fault? Nope. It was mine because I refused to serve. 


When we refuse to serve we will inevitably come to see God as being there to serve us. My happiness will become what drives my life and a funny thing will happen: I won't ever be truly happy. Service keeps us from getting lost inside ourselves. It keeps us from becoming selfish. It makes us thankful for God's blessings. Instead of focusing on all the things I'm missing that could make me happier, I will see all the wonderful things that God has given me. 


Service. It is necessary to a healthy spiritual walk. If you truly know Jesus, you will learn to serve as he served. It must be sacrificial, which means your service will COST YOU SOMETHING. If your "service" to God is simply going to church and staying awake during the sermon then you know nothing of service. Talk to any mature Christian and they will have stories about how God wore them out serving other people at different points in their life. But watch as they smile, experience peace, and reflect on how wonderful it was, even when their hammer hit their thumb. You see, when we serve, we find contentment. We find fulfillment because our lives are no longer about my elusive happiness, but about obedience to our Creator. The Creator who loved and served. 


Find Your Purpose and Serve God because Service will help you rise Above Reality.