"You'll Never Change"

You have probably heard that lie, “You’ll never change”, about you in your life. Maybe from a parent or a coach or a teacher or even your pastor. You and I must discern between what is truth in our life and how the enemy lies to us about who we are. You and I must concede that God and his truth can and will set us free.

For several years, I was part of an American Civil War reenacting group called the Trans-Mississippi Rifles (that has nothing to do with gender identity, by the way). We were attached to the 3rd Louisiana infantry and “fought” for the South. Our U.S. Civil War pit us Americans against ourselves and for some reason we like to replay that.

We are spiritually in a civil war as well. We are fighting with who we are and whom God called us to be. Paul talks about his personal frustration with this civil war in Romans 7:15-19. You can just feel his frustration in the words he pens. “We don’t do what we want to do and the thing we don’t want to do, we do.” So how do we overcome this within ourselves?

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10 that we demolish the stronghold Satan has on us by taking our thoughts captive for Jesus Christ. We make our thoughts and then actions obedient to Jesus. And when we take every thought captive, the walls will fall. For some reason, we believe Satan and God are equally matched but NOTHING is equal to the power of God’s love for us.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” In other words, protect what you think about or dwell on each and every day. Whatever you’re allowing into your thinking will direct your attitudes, emotions, and behavior. Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 not to conform to the world’s way of thinking but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So to do this, I want you to think about a couple of things.

First, think process, not perfection. Becoming more like Jesus doesn’t happen overnight. But use this metric…am I different as a follower of Jesus than one year ago? Since the first of 2024? Have a changed any since summer began? You’ll want to do some investigation in yourself to see if you are growing spiritually. We’re all in process. Even the Apostle Paul says that in Philippians 3 about himself.

Now we are justified or found to be righteous the moment we say “yes” to Jesus. But sanctification or becoming more holy and like Jesus is a lifelong process. We are made right through Jesus immediately upon making him our Lord and Savior but our journey is a life-long process.

Secondly, think God’s power, not your own. That word “transform” in Romans 12:2 in the original Greek is in passive form meaning we don’t do it to ourselves, it’s done to us. There is power with filling our minds with Godly moments and thoughts.

One final point. Paul tells us something so important in regards to power. Our enemy, Satan, gets us so busy and distracted we forget about the power of God in our lives. But Paul reminds us in Ephesians 1:19-20, “I pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” Wow! That kind of power lives within you if you’ve said “yes” to Jesus.

Jesus came to set us free. He’s come to give you life. He’s come to empower you. He’s come to change you. And if you will let him, your life will never be the same again. Blessings on the journey.

"You Deserve to be Happy"

Forbes Magazine wrote an article a few years ago about unhappy habits. In other words, things we do that we believe will make us happy but actually do not make us happy. Things like: waiting on the future, acquiring stuff, avoiding people and staying home, complaining and seeing yourself as a victim.

The whisper we hear from the enemy, Satan, is that you deserve to be happy. And that is a ubiquitous theme throughout our American culture. But if you make happiness the central point of your life, you’ll notice it’s always an arm length away. It will always allude you.

So, you’re telling me God doesn’t want me to be happy? Somehow, my desire to be happy gets morphed into “God wants me to be happy.” What I think will make me happy somehow becomes what God wants. God is a loving father and his desire is for his children to experience joy in their life. The issue is we take what culture says will make us happy and assume that’s God’s version of our happiness.

You see, culture tells us the pursuit of pleasure will bring us happiness. When you read through the book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon, we find that chasing all the money, all the fame, all the sex, all the relationships and the fortune this life can offer is like chasing the wind. Solomon, who did all that, says it’s meaningless.

God tells us pursuing holiness is what will bring you happiness. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 1:1-3, “Happy is the person who doesn’t follow the world but delights in mediating on God and His ways” (paraphrased). God defines happiness different than culture.

But the world goes on to say happiness is based on your circumstances or what’s happening around you. You look at any commercial on TV or social media. Every one of them are saying you’d be happier if you buy this product or act this way or have this lifestyle. 2024 Gallup Poll measured the happiness of countries around the world. America came in at #23. With all we have in America, 22 countries are happier than we are.

It’s a reminder that happiness is based on Christ. Paul knew this as he states in Philippians 4:11-12. He was happy or joyful in any circumstance because it didn’t matter what was going on in life as long as he was connected to Jesus. And he wrote that from a prison cell. See, happiness is based on happenings; joy is based on Jesus.

Culture says our happiness is based on comparisons. All of us look at social media. And all of us post only the best pics on media. As we scroll through those, we see we aren’t as pretty or fit or popular or fun. So we try to do more and keep up with the Joneses.

But God says our happiness is fueled by gratitude. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in every situation…” Our demeanor as a believer is to find the things that are praiseworthy and focus on the life we have in Christ. It doesn’t mean we will always have smiles and life will always be a bowl of cherries. But it does mean our focus is on Jesus and what He’s done for us.

Finally, culture tells us life is about you, look out for #1, I’m in it for me. Currently, we live in an incredibly entitled culture. “I have everything coming to me and I’m going to get it no matter the cost.” That’s how our culture thinks. Everyone exclaims they have rights and are owed something. Even if I have to step on you to get, I’m going to claim what’s mine.

But God says happiness is actually when you focus on others and live as second. When we decide to humble ourselves is when we actually find joy. It’s when we find the peace in life we truly want. Serving others will ultimately bring you happiness. Try it and see if this doesn’t change your spirit.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:39, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” As believers, we want to imitate Jesus. He served others and laid down his life for us. If we are truly disciples, we’ll have the same mindset. Happiness is found in Jesus. Follow him closely. Do what He did. Blessings on the journey.

You Can Fix It Yourself.

We live in a DIY world. Every Saturday, I try to watch at least one house flipping show because I love that kind of stuff. It’s reassuring to me that I can save tons of money on labor if I do the work myself. I typically look at a project and say, “I think I can do that myself.” We’ve all been saying that since we were 3 years old though.

But many times in our adult life when we say this, it really isn’t true. It’s the lie of pride that states I don’t need anyone else. We are desperate to cover up imperfection, hide mistakes, not admit fault or that we are even capable of doing something so we just say, “I can fix it myself.”

Sometimes the thing we are fixing is the person we are married to or our kids or our coworker. Sometimes we are fixing a financial situation, our marriage, an addiction, a health issue, a broken relationship or a secret sin. Here in the good ole USA, we pride ourselves on being individualists. We celebrate self-starters and self-sustainers. It’s our mentality to not include others because after all, I can fix it myself. And this idea has been around for a long, long time.

Sarah thought this when she and Abraham were past childbearing years in Genesis 16. God had told them they would have a baby and their offspring would be more than the stars in the sky. They were an old couple so Sarah gave her servant, Hagar, to Abraham thinking that’s how God will do it. I can fix this myself. Hagar and Abram had a child together. All the issues between Muslims and Jews and Muslims and Christians can be traced to Genesis 16 where one person decided they could fix the issue by themselves.

If we buy into this lie, I can fix it myself, several things happen to us in our lives. First it increases pride. “I don’t need anything else or anyone to help me.” I can do it on my own is inherently prideful. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be humble and part of a community. Pride goes before a fall so the Bible says.

When we believe this lie, it minimizes the problem saying it’s nothing I can’t handle. We end up usually making the situation worse than it ever was and to avoid embarrassment, we just say it’s no big deal.

It can also feed guilt and shame. Internally, we acknowledge the mess of our situation and the reality that I can’t really clean it up. I can’t put it back in the package like it was before. So I take on guilt and wear it like a bad suit. Carrying the guilt intensifies the fallout. We think, “I can’t believe I let it get this bad.” We typically realize this too late when our addictive personality keeps bringing us back to the porn site or the intake of alcohol or drugs.

This lie will rob us of relational intimacy. We are ashamed of our situation because we thought we could handle it so we are not vulnerable enough to admit we need help. It can be the reason we avoid being in a church small group or attending Sunday morning Bible class. However, when we decide to have relational intimacy, it makes the person we interact with feel valued and helps us feel known.

Finally, when we buy into the lie, it fuels hypocrisy. We dare not let anyone know how broken we are so we put on the mask and pretend all is right as rain.

As a follower of Christ, I realize the truth in Hebrews 4:14-16. Jesus is there for us. He carries the weight. He understands our dilemma. He gets us. Jesus is our high priest who has taken on our guilt and created a pathway to the very throne of God. And because Jesus is our high priest, we can appoach the throne of God with boldness. We don’t have to, indeed we literally cannot do it on our own. We need Jesus. And with Jesus comes the church.

None of us were ever meant to journey alone even though that’s what Satan wants. Jesus calls us to follow him, not to walk alone. The church is the body of Christ so being in the body means we are never alone. If you’ve bought into the lie that you can do it alone, I hope you’ll leave that idea behind and realize you have a high priest who wants to be your advocate, your rock and your soulmate for the journey. Grab his hand and leave the lie behind. Blessings on the journey.

You Don't Have What It Takes

You’ve probably heard this phrase sometime in your life. Maybe on a sports team or from a parent or in a classroom. Sometimes we hear that phrase, “You don’t have what it takes”, and it is not true. That’s typically the Devil lying to us and trying to tear us down.

Jesus told us in John 8 that Satan is a liar. In deed, it’s his native language. But in the same chapter of John, Jesus reminds us that Jesus is truth and the truth will set you free. Too many times, we believe the lie and are bound and shackled by Satan’s whispers rather than listening the the truth that Jesus wants us to hear and know.

And Satan has been at this deceiving thing for a while. You go all the way back to Genesis 3 in the Garden of Eden and Satan is spinning his story to Eve. “You won’t really die but you’ll be as smart as God.” That’s what he told Eve and in that chapter, Eve believes the lie, eats the fruit and sin enters the world. That’s what Satan wants to do to us. Get us to believe the lie so that he can ruin our relationships with each other, ruin our relationship with God and break us. That is his goal.

We do this to each other as well through social media. We fall into comparison with each other and Satan whispers that we don’t have what it takes…we aren’t good enough…we are not worthy nor valuable. So we begin to work on ourselves by trying to be perfect so that none of this will be right.

But perfectionism is just not possible. It’s not attainable. The only way we can be perfect is through Jesus and even then, it’s Jesus, not us, that is perfect. But as we try and are unsuccessful at being perfect, we get angry. If we stay in that emotion long enough, we get frazzled, tired, and fatigued. Since we can’t handle that state of mind very long, we discover things we can escape with such as pouring ourselves into our work, or going to the gym every possible moment, or binging Netflix, or going to websites no Christian should be on. The enemy loves it when we buy into the lie so he can break us.

But this lie does have some truth to it. It’s not the whole truth. The whole truth is in Jesus, you have everything you need to accomplish all things in life! And Paul knew this. He states in Philippians 4:11-13, “…I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

You can tell the enemy, “I may not have what it takes but I know the One who does.” His Name is Jesus. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. So be free from the pressure of culture and the lies. Jesus is your perfection. You don’t need to feel helpless. Jesus is your help. If you’re hurting, Jesus will heal. If you’re overwhelmed, Jesus will give you peace. If you’re lost, He wants to find you. Blessings on the journey.

Simplify

The world is full of things that will distract you from your purpose and life’s meaning. King Solomon lived about 3000 years ago but his wisdom recorded in Ecclesiastes is so profound for our current state of life in America. Americans are overwhelmed with perceived expectations from work, culture, family and friends. It can be debilitating and paralyzing. But Solomon gives us a moment to discover clarity and peace in Ecclesiastes.

See, we need a bigger God theology. That means, we don’t minimize our stories. I know many of us are dealing with a prolonged illness or adult children who have left God or the end of a career and no enough money to retire. There are lots of things that can bog down our process of becoming everything God created us to be. But a bigger God theology states that, despite our circumstances, God is bigger than that thing we are dealing with in our life.

So in Ecclesiastes, King Solomon gives us four things to consider if we want to move post those road blocks and move on to a more productive and joyful life.

First Solomon reminds us that we can’t control outcomes. We had ideas about what our marriage would look like. In our mind, it was going to be Disney-like…a fairy tale. We got married and it was different than we thought. It’s a great marriage and fulfilling but it’s not like we dreamed it would be. You can’t control outcomes.

Our kids grow up and make choices that would not be the ones we would have made for them. They end up going to a different college, moving away from us and even marrying someone we don’t think is a fit. No matter how hard we try, we can’t control other people. In Ecclesiastes 7:14, Solomon reminds us, “…nothing is certain in this life.”

But he also tells us that power cannot bring pleasure. And he should know. He was the most powerful, wisest king in his day and at the end of his life, he’s saying power is like a vapor, like chasing the wind. No matter the title on your office door, no matter how much sway you have in the market place, no matter if you’re the patriarch or matriarch in your family, Solomon reminds us that we will never find joy in the power we wield.

Solomon knows about people getting a leg up even though they don’t follow God. But he reminds us in Ecclesiastes 8:12, “…those that fear God are better off.” Fear or respect God and you will not fear death. Solomon is at at the end of his life as he dictates Ecclesiastes and he knows death is the great equalizer. He says as you follow God it may look like others have more money and prestige, more pull and position. Those people may not be following God and no matter what it looks like, those that fear God are better off.

Finally, Solomon calls us to find joy in ordinary life. In Ecclesiastes 8:15 and 9:7-10, he says we should love our work and eating because they are gifts from God. Enjoy the life God has given you. Enjoy your marriage and just the rhythm of life. You don’t need to be a social media influencer or have a life with a big splash. Enjoy the natural and normal ebb and flow of life. It’s all from God.

So may you find joy as we begin a new school year. May you discover true purpose of your raise your kids and enjoy your marriage. May you feel the presence of God in your life as you live into your purpose. Blessings on the journey.

Red, White, and Hope

If you’ve driven anywhere in the last month, turned on a tv or radio, or gone to the mailbox, then you are probably well aware that the 2024 election season has officially begun. Campaign signs are on every street corner, political ads are airing on tv, debates are being held, and campaign mailers are hitting mailboxes. Over the last decade, politics have felt increasingly tense, so how should we navigate the election season as Christians?

Remember That Every Person Is, First And Foremost, A Person

Politics offer a unique look at human behavior. As we watch campaigns and debates, it can be easy to fall into an “us versus them” mentality. The danger here is that when we do this, our brain makes a shortcut, and we start seeing individuals in the “them” category purely as their political ideologies dictate and not as the humans they are.

This process is known as “dehumanization.” Brene Brown, a research professor and author saying, “Dehumanizing often starts with creating an enemy image. As we take sides, lose trust, and get angrier and angrier, we not only solidify an idea of our enemy, but also start to lose our ability to listen, communicate, and practice even a modicum of empathy.” Once we see the other side as an enemy, the issue becomes framed as good versus evil, and all of a sudden, the ends start justifying the means. We start treating people differently on the basis of their political beliefs. Think about the things you’ve heard about politicians, parties, and the people who support them. What labels have been applied to them? How do people talk to or about them?

When I first heard about this concept, I challenged myself to think about groups of people with whom I did not agree, and I was shocked to see how often I had reduced them down to their ideas and stopped seeing them as people.

At the end of the day, every human being is made in the image of God, and deserves to be treated with kindness and respect regardless of what they believe or do. This includes candidates, protestors, supporters, leaders, and voters. During this time when much of the country will be at odds over politics, how can we intentionally remind ourselves and others to treat people as image-bearers and not as enemies?

Put Your Identity In Jesus, Not In A Political Party.

Over the last several years, politics have grown so that they are now a core part of one’s everyday life. No longer do we live in a society where everyone could vote as they willed and leave it at that, living peacefully with those who voted differently. Now, your political affiliations even affect which memes you see on Facebook.

While it is easy to get wrapped up in the culture and base our identity on politics, it is critical that we remember this is not what we are called to do as Christians. Our greatest commandments are to love God with all of our hearts and souls and minds, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39). We are called to be “salt” and “light” (Matt. 5), but if we don’t have love, these efforts will have gained nothing (1 Cor. 13). The social issues at play in our society today are important, but pale in comparison to eternity.

Pray For Every Candidate, Regardless Of Their Party.

At the end of the day, even the best candidates have human limitations, and being an elected official is an immense responsibility. The sheer number of decisions they have to make on a wide range of topics, and often very quickly, is a lot of pressure. Add on top of that the tensions surrounding many of their decisions, the opposing opinions that may (or may not) have equal credibility, and the number of lives that could be impacted by their decisions. Regardless of whether or not you agree with a candidate or elected official, they need your prayers.

No Matter How It Turns Out, There Is Still Hope.

Whether the election turns out as we hope or not, we have to remember that God is still sovereign. As it says in the book of Daniel, “He removes kings and sets up kings” (2:21), and He has a reason for doing both. As we go through what will likely be a tumultuous election cycle, it is important that we remember to hold fast to our faith and trust that God has a plan for whatever the outcomes might be.

So, I encourage you to do some research; read some articles; don’t listen much to social media; be in prayer; get out and vote when it’s time; be God’s person all the time but especially when the rest of the world seems chaotic. Blessings on your journey.

Searching for Purpose.

Many of us have lost things along the way. We have lost our phone, our wallet, our keys…our minds sometimes. And so we go looking for these items that have meaning to us. I have spoken to many people over my ministry career who have a feeling of lostness. They feel they are living everyday with no real compass. They don’t feel satisfied in the their life choices and direction. They want to know what is the meaning of their life? How do they discover their purpose?

King Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 2 that he’s gone down every road available. He’s tried every earthly thing. He experienced pleasures of all kinds, had all the money and stuff he could aquire. He had so many relationships and sexual encounters. He used his creativity to build things that would outlast him, one of which was the temple in Jerusalem. He was an international celebrity and enjoyed being a house hold name for the world. And then King Solomon said that none of it mattered or brought him satisfaction or made a real difference in his life. He said it was like chasing the wind….all meaningless.

It is meaningless unless you have God in the priority position in your life. The only way you will satisfy the aching spot in your heart is to find your purpose in God and His story. So, how do I find my purpose in this life as it relates to God?

Paul told us in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” We are reminded the same hands that created the universe…the same hands that knit you together in the womb of your mother are the same hands that want to show you your purpose. And in order to discover your purpose, you must hang out at the intersection. So you ask, “What intersection?”

There are four roads that lead to helping you answer the question of your purpose and if you stand at the intersection of those four roads, you’ll figure out your purpose.

The first road is answering the question, “What brings God glory?” John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “Jesus must become greater and I must become less.” Live life in such a way as to bring God glory every single day, not just on Sunday. How are you using your time, talent and resources to make more of God than you do yourself? Everything outside this idea Solomon says is hevel or meaningless. Paul tells us in Romans 11 that everything we have and all that we are flows from God and is for God. What are you doing to bring God glory?

The second road is discovering your gifts. Paul gives us a list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. He tells us that each of us have been given at least one gift by the Holy Spirit. And when you master that gift, desire to lean into the other gifts as well. God was deliberate when he saw you in your mother’s womb and knew just exactly what to give you as a gift. What is your gift and how are you using it in God’s story?

The third road is discovering your passion. What is the thing you are very passionate about? For me, it’s preaching and kids and teenagers. Another way to word this is what brings you joy? And you know it’s your passion when you discover it’s not being done and it creates an emotional response in you. So on mornings I’m not bringing the Word, I miss that piece of sharing God’s story. When I see children or teens being mistreated, it gets me agitated. So what are your passions and how are you using those in God’s story?

Finally, the fourth road is where are the open doors? Find the places available to do things you are passionate about. You’ll feel the Holy Spirit nudging you at your place of employment, in the places you live, play and worship. How are you using your gifts and passions for God’s glory in the places where there are open doors?

If you don’t know what your gifts are, ask someone close to you like a spouse or a close friend. I promise they will tell you what they see in you if you ask.

And you don’t need an army to accomplish living everyday into God’s story. What I see in the Bible is this formula: God + You = enough. When you surrender to God’s story the only power you need is the power of Almighty God.

So let the maker give you meaning. Once, I couldn’t get my Apple computer to do what I needed. After working with it half a day, I finally took it to the Apple Store and in about a second, they had it functioning at its full potential. So also, when we surrender to our Maker, he’ll help us function at our full potential.

You want to find purpose in life? Solomon tells us you won’t find it in anything the world is offering you. You’ll find purpose in God, our Maker at the intersection of God’s glory, your giftedness and passion, and open doors. But you must be brave enough to listen and then act. Blessings on your journey.

Finding Your Way

Ecclesiastes is the perfect book of the Bible for our current cultural times. King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, is looking back on his life and offering sage advice for the people who are listening to him. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon will help all of us answer two questions that we all have: What’s the meaning of life? and What’s my purpose on earth?

Each of us get so caught up in the rat race of gathering “stuff”. We do things in our life that we think is going to fulfill us and satiate us. We amass money, relationships, sexual encounters. We get caught up in food, alcohol, pills. We think all of these things will satisfy us. Solomon says he’s tried all of that to the “nth” degree and all of that isn’t it.

Solomon was so rich and powerful, he had the ability to pursue every possibility to find joy and happiness in them. At the end of his life, with all of his life experiences, he lets us know as we are on life’s journey, we could do one of three things on the road we travel on.

If we are not careful, we could end up in the ditch of fatalism, believing nothing really matters. You can try to fill your life with money, sex, substance, or the party scene because you’ve resigned yourself to nothing really maters. But Solomon is telling us, he’s tried all of that and it’s like chasing the wind.

He says we could also wind up in the ditch of humanism which just makes everything about me. It’s an egocentric lifestyle that screams my weekends are about me, my relationships are about me and my goals are just about my self-fulfillment. This way of life says we are out to tantalize all five of our senses. It’s about self-actualization. But Solomon says God wants to get you off that hamster wheel.

Each of us have a God-shaped hole within us. That space draws us closer to God when we let it. And when we decide God’s call overrides what the world says, we begin walking on the road of faith.

Solomon is telling us, he’s tried everything and the only thing that brings joy and happiness, the only thing that satisfies, the only thing that affirms our purpose is God. No amount of money, sex, pleasure or prestige will ever amount to what God will do in our lives.

A.W. Tozer wrote in “The Pursuit of God”, “It is not what a person does that determines whether their work is sacred or secular. It is WHY they do it. The motive is everything. Let a person sanctify the Lord God in their heart and they can thereafter do no common act.”

You don’t have to have 14 degrees or a boat load of money to have purpose. You don’t need to find importance in your relationships or power in your sexual exploitations. You don’t need to be a king or president to find significance. You simply need to follow God.

It’s in God you’ll find purpose and meaning. It’s in him you’ll discover peace and a life that is satisfying. Don’t chase the wind but chase after the God who created you and loves you. Blessings on your journey.

Don't Miss Your Calling.

In the 8th grade, I got my first job…washing and waxing cars across the street from my house. I gave it my best shot but within 2 weeks, the owner told my dad it wasn’t working out. I found out quickly my calling was not in the car industry in any shape or form.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians chapters 1-3 how much Jesus has done for us. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have been adopted into God’s family. We co-heirs with Christ. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God. We have so much to be grateful for in Christ Jesus.

So Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:1, “I beg you to live a life worthy of your calling because you have been called by God.” Now, in America we get caught up in what we are called to do. Am I called to be a lawyer or work in retail? Am I called to be an electrician or a movie producer? Am I called to be a spouse or live single? Am I called to get this college degree or that one?

But Paul is reminding us that calling is about who you are before what you do. Our calling is our identity. We are called to be holy, set apart from the world. We are not driven by the things of this world but called by God, infused by Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a holy life.

See, I know I am called to be a minister/pastor at the local church. I know I’ve been called to be a father and husband. But I can be those things and not living a holy life. If that happens, then I am not living into my calling. It’s a who before you do. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:17, “In everything you do, do it to the glory of God.” It’s a call to holy living. It’s not about what I do but who I am as I do those things.

We get caught up in titles and positions…in the amount of money we have…in the kind of job we have. Paul is telling us in doesn’t matter about any of those things but about how you do them. You see, the size of your assignment never determines the significance of your impact.

Just like that little shepherd boy who was taking lunch to his brothers. He got to the camp and heard the local bully cussing out God Almighty. So the little boy picked up 5 smooth stones and ended that ridiculous episode. Or the little boy who went to hear Jesus speak one day in the middle of nowhere. He was the only smart one to bring something to eat. Late in the day, it was his small lunch that Jesus broke apart to feed thousands of people.

The size of your assignment never determines the significance of your impact.

As you live everyday with the spirit of “less of you and more of Jesus”, when you live where it’s not your name you care about but the Name of Jesus, when the focus is about how you are living for Jesus and not the dollar…you won’t need to find your calling because your calling with find you.

So one day you realize there’s someone in need, you’re called to meet that need. You’ll see someone who’s hurting and you’re called to listen, to cry with them, to help bear their burden. You might be in a space where you’re called to love a spouse that’s difficult to love or pray for an adult child who keeps running away from God. Maybe it’s a call to confess sin that’s been holding you back. And you hear Paul’s voice, “Whatever you do, honor Jesus.”

What am I called to do? It starts with who. You are a child of God, coheir with Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit. So live a life worthy of your calling. Jesus has done so much for you. Won’t you live for him? Blessings on your journey.

How to Grow Spiritually.

The Apostle Paul lays out the formula for spiritual growth in Ephesians 3. He reminds us in chapters 1-3 what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Then in chapters 4-6, Paul reminds of how we are called to live in gratitude because of what Jesus has done for us.

In chapter 3, Paul says that God’s plan all along has been to offer salvation for both Jews and Gentiles. When we believe we come together as the church, then Paul says God’s intention is to show His power through the church, not only to the world, but to those rulers in the unseen, heavenly realms.

So God is going to use me and you to show all creation, seen and unseen, how amazing He truly is. But in order to be a part of His plan, you and I must make Jesus the priority in our lives. Jesus has to be the first thing in our lives. See, our identity is IN JESUS. The world would have us make our identity in our sexuality or gender; our money and things; our diplomas and titles; our relationships and family. But Paul reminds us if we are going to show the world how amazing our God truly is, we are going to have to make Jesus the #1 thing in our life.

So how do we do that? What’s the formula? What are the steps I can do that would make it obvious to those around me, Jesus is my priority? Paul gives us three things, found in his prayer in Ephesians 3, to do in order to grow in faith and clearly have a life seated in Jesus.

The first one is so very hard. As humans, it’s hard to submit…to acknowledge someone is more important than we are. But Paul says the first thing to do in Ephesians 3:14-15. He says, “I fall on my knees and pray…” In other words, he humbles himself before the Father, acknowledging someone greater than he is in control. We hate to give up control.

There is something to be said about body posture. We really don’t worry too much about this in our American culture but I challenge you to try it. There is something about praying on your knees that creates a submissive attitude. And we humble ourselves more than just before the Father but also with others.

Paul says in Philippians 2, our attitude MUST be like Jesus Christ who humbled himself. So if you follow Jesus, it’s not an option to humble yourself. It’s a requirement to forget your life then find your life in Jesus. So our attitude of humility not only includes Jesus but those we work with, those in our family, those in the neighborhood. Our spirit must take on the spirit of Jesus.

Secondly, Paul says we need to allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen us in verses 16-17. When we get in step with the Spirit, it’s then that we discover a better way of life. Paul gives us the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we exhibit these traits in our lives, we’ll recognize we are in step with Spirit who is transforming us to look more like Jesus. Start with just choosing one of those and work on it in your life. Once you feel you have the hang of it, try adding another one to work on.

Finally, Paul encourages us to experience the love of Christ. His love is all encompassing. It’s everywhere if we just look. The Apostle John tells us what love looks like in 1 John 4:19. We know how to love because He first loved us. We see Jesus’ unselfish act, giving his life on a cross so that each of us could have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Jesus gave up his life even when I was sinner.

Paul finishes up this prayer by telling us how we can be complete and feel complete. He says to humble ourselves, allow the Holy Spirit to transform us and experience the all encompassing love of Jesus Christ. When we do all three, we will be complete with all the fullness of God and power God can give us. That’s exciting and encouraging.

So remember, when we make Jesus the priority, we gain adoption into the family of God and are strengthened with power to live this life for Jesus. Embrace Jesus today. Make Him the center. Choose Jesus as your identity and see if that doesn’t change everything in your life! Blessings on the journey.