“On Your Mark”

When God calls us to a tough place and a tight space, it can be difficult. but if we are honest, the more we have and the more we can see the easier it is to follow. But what happens when the tough place gets tougher and the tight place begins to restrict u?. What happens when we come to the end of sight and seemingly the end of provisions. It is important to know that even when we are out, God never is. He always has one more or a little more or just more. His supply is so powerful that even a little is more than enough to take care of His call. We have to stay partnered with Him in faith no matter how it looks or how little the supply seems. God is able.

God will often call us to places and to do things that we feel woefully unprepared and unable to do. And frankly, in most cases we will be both unprepared and unable. But the blessing in all of that is we are not going alone. We have a partner who is with us, who is directing us, who is speaking to us and who is preparing to way for us so that we don't fail. We just have to trust Him and partner with Him by faith and go and he directs. And when we find that we are not enough, He will be more than enough.

In many games that require teammates or partners, it is so important to learn, understand and trust your partner. We don't operate alone. We have help, assistance and support in accomplishing a task. If we find ourselves attempting to operate on our own we will quickly calculate our ability and realize we are unable. However, when we realize that our energy and effort is only part of the equation, we can trust more fully that things can and will go well. As Christians, we have to realize that we have the ultimate partner in Christ Jesus to accomplish all that God has called us to do. We have a Partner and as such we can have faith and trust that the work God has called us to we can do even if by ourselves we are not able. What we lack Jesus more than makes up for. So we can, in faith and utilizing faith, go as God directs.

FAITH! It is a very important tenant in the Christian...well faith. But what is faith exactly and how to we utilize it to please God. In this series of episodes we endeavor to dive deeper into what faith is, how we are to utilize it and ultimately how we please God with it. But be aware, you may find that what has been called faith is really not faith at all. In short, faith is an active trust in God that rises to the level of action toward that which God has called and directed regardless of facts or feelings. But what does that look like and feel like in action. Join in and lets take a peek.

Is God on the throne? No really, is He still on the throne of our hearts? I believe this is an important question for us to answer as we explore church hurt. Why? Well, if we have unwittingly replaced God with other people places or things, we have at the same time unwittingly set ourselves up for a world of hurt. And sometimes what we are calling hurt be it from the church or otherwise, is just an outcome and indication that we have set up false and idol gods. It is at least worth investigation and inspection to be sure that we first have God in His proper place in our lives, then we can better ascertain what is going on in our lives. When we keep God first and move at His command, we are more likely to overcome and in many cases avoid church hurt.

Are we in the right place or not? This is a question we have to be willing to ask and discern as we explore the idea of church hurt. Because, if we are in fact out of place or "misplaced" what we call hurt can and most often will be simply a result of our unwillingness to follow God's lead. While we don't condone and will not excuse anyone for poor and ungodly behavior, the "anyone" has to include all parties. And if we are simply not doing or going where God has called us, we are also participating in ungodly behavior. Being in the right place may not eliminate all the issues but it certainly gives us a power to handle them. The right place puts us in the right mind and mentality to deal with the things around us. Let's discuss.

It has been said that the distance between what we want and what we have is the size of our disappointment. Or said another way, the distance between what we were expecting and what actually occurred is the size of our disappointment. While that may be true, how often do we sit back and ask ourselves; do we even have a right to expect that? Is it fair, viable or even right to expect some of the things we are expecting? Does it make sense to expect that? Obviously when it comes to the Christian Church some things should be a given. But beyond that, are we placing more expectations on an institution that God is working on and that is filled with imperfect people God is working on and with. Perhaps some of what we call hurt is the disappointment we feel when our expectations are not met. It is at least worth some thought and a discussion. So lets discuss.

Church hurt is a big issue and item for discussion within the Christian family. And in that discussion we need to be more open, honest and direct about what the church really is, who created it, and the purpose for that creation. When we do I believe we will learn that the Church is an institution created by God, loved by God and it is being worked on / perfected by God. Because of that, it is unviable to expect certain things from the church that when it is not delivered, leaves us hurt. Now to be clear, there are instances where wrong has been done and individuals have been effected terribly and very much hurt. We are not attempting to excuse or really even give a defense for the church: the church in many instances need to do and be better. But In this episode we simply endeavor to have a discussion about the church and our proper participation in it. As we do so, we may find that much hurt goes away or at least is better understood and handled as God does His perfecting work through Jesus Christ. Let's discuss.

Apologies tent to fall in one or two categories. I'm not doing it or I don't mean it. Let's develop a new category that supersedes all previous categories. This one is the, I'm sorry, I mean it and I'll prove it with my actions. No one is perfect, of that we are certain. And with that being the case, we can all stand to take a closer look at self and examine where we may have offended others. And a very real insight is to also understand that our offense, when we are inappropriate and do wrong, is really and actually an offense to God. Knowing that should help us admit our wrong to the person or persons impacted and admit our wrong to God. But not just admit we were wrong; strive to be better and to move far from that behavior. It starts by saying...I'm sorry.

Accountability is such an important issue that we must all come to grips with. However, more and more, it seems as though we are struggling to be responsible enough to take accountability for ourselves. It is easier to be defensive and point the finger at others who may be more at fault than us. And let's be clear, they may be more at fault. They may have issues. They may be guilty; but what is our part in it? What did we do? Are we behaving as God has instructed us. When God calls us to account, it won't be for what others do. And a really big part in our success and growth in this Christian life is us being responsible enough to accept accountability for our actions. In doing so, we open ourselves up for new growth and heights in God. Let's face it, we don't grow from an issue we won't admit that we have. So no matter what others are doing, Let's be responsible to accept accountability for ourselves. In doing so, we grow.