our blog
Jun
Rethinking Our Connections
The idea of relationships is simply about connecting or more importantly finding a connection. The implication is that we must be proactive—we must find these points of connection and common ground. Then we need to go a step further and bear with one another instead of checking out or running when things get too personal. We want so desperately to be known, we say we want to be held accountable for the things we struggle with, yet we set boundaries up in our minds.
When people get to close to those boundaries, we start to backstep and rethink our connections to those people. When it becomes personal, it becomes dangerous. People might actually figure out that we don’t have it together. Living authentically means being vulnerable and transparent.
If someone is taking you seriously and is willing to hold you accountable to your word, it requires willingness on your part to accept responsibility for your own spiritual change. This means taking on a posture of help and transparency. We must fight our natural inclination to hide from others when we are struggling with something or living in sin.
Entering into a relationship where accountability and spiritual vulnerability are cornerstones requires us to be honest and upfront with our struggles, not sending our friends on a fishing expedition for the truth. Doing life together requires all to be proactive in their own relationship with Christ. The challenge before us is to step up our walk by examining our heart.
If we are not willing to be vulnerable before God, we will never go deep with others. Our relationships will remain superficial at best and we will continue to use others solely for our own benefit. We have to remember that in Christ we have the fullness of love necessary to live with others without having to get.
- What are the places where you need support, encouragement and accountability? Who knows about these places? For those that could not come up with a name, we encourage you to tell someone you trust about your experience with my One Word. For those that have a community of supporters, take a moment and reflect on how well these people know about your current progress towards growth. In both cases, be honest about your need for accountability.
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!
Jun
Hide & Seek
As odd as it might sound, when I am walking outside sometimes I am looking for places that would make good spots to hide. I blame it on the numerous summer days spent playing Hide and Seek with my friends. All the kids would fan out through the neighborhood searching for a place to disappear hoping that the person who was “It” would never locate them. Climbing up trees, ducking between bushes, hiding underneath a set of stairs – anywhere where they were out of sight would do. Yet, being the last one found was a badge of honor on our block.
It was a sense of accomplishment to hear someone scream out “Olly Oxen Free!” This expression is familiar to anyone who has spent anytime on a playground. It is used in children’s games to signal that the game is over or that the main player has given up hope of winning.
Now as a father of two young girls, I watch them play hide and seek and it is charming. However, during my time walking alongside people as a pastor, I’ve come to realize watching grown men and woman still playing this game is nothing but depressing. The sad truth is that there are some who are still hidden behind that bush waiting for someone, anyone, to make that call: Olly, Olly, Oxen Free!
The game is the same, we’ve just come up with different hiding places and the players have perfected the craft of disappearing. True community will never take place if we remain hidden behind our jobs, fake appearances, social status, or pat Christian answers. The game of hide and seek will continue on from sun up to sun down.
Somebody has to have the courage to make the call: Olly, Olly, Oxen Free! It only takes one person who is willing to lay down their agenda for others to realize they can come out hiding without the risk of being caught. There is no fear of being caught—only found. There is no longer the pressure to hide.
Community is essential in our transformation process. Without being known others, the likelihood of true inner change occurring is very slim. Every one of us needs a few people to tell us the truth about our heart, point out our weaknesses, and also celebrate our successes. It is imperative that we all have someone who will ask those difficult questions.
- Read Proverbs 27:17, Hebrews 10:23-25 and Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Why is being known inside of community critical to our individual growth?
- Think of the area where you are most vulnerable to stumbling as it relates to your One Word. What are you risking by keeping your struggles to yourself? What benefit is there to becoming transparent before God and inside community?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal –log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!
May
Struggling with God’s Promises
I see little-to-no separation between My One Word and Biblical principles. My word is about who I want to be and it’s biblical principes that will shape me into that person. Of course, the further into the year I get, the more of a struggle it is to stay disciplined, and the further away I feel from my goal. There are a ton of commands in the Bible, and it’s impossible for any of us to always follow all of them – I can’t say that loving my neighbor as myself is standard practice for me. So, recently, I have felt the need to take the pressure off of myself by taking a step back and looking at the big picture. The Bible can start to feel like a giant rule book sometimes, but after some research I’ve come to realize that there are about five times as many promises as there are commands within it’s pages. This got me thinking that maybe the reason I feel a lack discipline isn’t because I am struggling with following God’s principles, maybe I struggle more with accepting God’s promises.
There are numerous stories in the Bible about people struggling with God’s promises, and one person in particular makes me feel much better about myself because he’s the last person you would expect to struggle in this area – Moses. Moses is a powerhouse of the Old Testament. His faith in God was great and God did great things through him because of it, but this type of faith didn’t come without struggle. God called Moses to free the Israelites in Egypt by appearing to him in a burning bush and telling him to confront Pharaoh. He explained to Moses, almost in detail, how this was going to happen so that there would be no room for doubt that he was going to have success. There was just one problem, Moses had a speach impediment, so this is the conversation that followed:
Exodus 4:10-16
“O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.”
Moses not only struggled to do what God was commanding him to do, he also struggled with the promise that God made to him – that he will be able to speak properly, and with authority, when the time came. God wasn’t going to change His mind about sending Moses, and I suspect He was even prepared to do a miraculous work in his life, but Moses couldn’t see past his circumstances. Instead, he was convinced that his problem was a permanent one, even after an encounter with God. So, God let’s him keep his problem and gave him Arron who would do the speaking for him.
This is not to be misinterpreted as a threat that you can, in anyway, mess up or miss out on what God has planned for you. Think of it more as encouragement to embrace your word no matter what your struggle with it may have been thus far. Know that God will fulfill his purpose for your word this year, but how you choose to respond to the promises in His word may determine how that purpose is fulfilled. Don’t let your problems, shortcomings, or struggles render you blind to what God is doing in your life. Make up your mind to embrace His promises. Use the promises of the Bible as fuel to keep you moving forward with your word.