Have You been Challenged Lately?

How are you doing spiritually? Has anyone asked you that question lately? What would be your answer? Seriously, how are you doing? I don't mean are you happier, healthier, or more prosperous today than any other time in your life either. You could be going through the most difficult time of your life and yet be doing better spiritually now than ever before.
So, how are you doing? Are you closer to God now than you were last week? How about last month? What about last year? You could be walking through a dry season in your spiritual walk right now and you feel alone and isolated from God. (NOTE- if you are walking in sin, that's different. Sin WILL separate and isolate you from God because He's Holy and can't fellowship with sin. So if that's the issue, repent and start doing what is right!)
So back to the question... how are you doing?
If you're in a dry season, have you run to Him during this time or are you just self-medicating yourself with other activities (i.e. TV, sports, shopping, work, etc.) to get you through?
Perhaps God's calling you deeper. Just maybe you're feeling dry because God is calling you out into the deeper water. Maybe He wants you to step out in faith and trust Him in this next season of your life.
You see, if what we're doing right now doesn't require faith (trusting and believing God) to get through... then we need to re-evaluate our lives. Hebrews 11:6 says, "without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please Him." If the way we are living doesn't require any faith, or if what we're doing can be accomplished whether God shows-up or not, then we need to change the way we're living. He wants us to trust Him and not something else. You know, stuff like our own abilities, money, our job... He wants us to trust Him.
So, if you can't put your finger on what the problem is in your spiritual walk, perhaps He's calling you out deeper?
I know that right now, for me and MJ, we're feeling that call in our lives. The call to go deeper. The call to make a radical step that will require faith for us and our family to make it. I don't know exactly what that is yet but I've got an idea. You may say, "but Jim, you guys are already walking in faith with adopting all those kids and having to trust God to supply your needs already." That's right, we are and we do... but we can never get too comfortable in our walk with Him. We've always got to be in a passionate pursuit of Him and His perfect will for our lives. Even if it seems crazy or it doesn't make sense to the natural mind. We've always got to be sensitive to what He's asking us to do. So, rather than just living safely and easily... we want to live radical, sold-out, we're gonna crash and burn if God doesn't show-up lives for Him. I don't ever want to get too comfortable.
So, one last time... what about you? How's your walk? Are you truly following Christ and His perfect will for your life? If not, why? I'm challenging you to trust Him and go deeper because "He's waiting."
Here's a new book that just came out that I'd highly recommend if you want to be challenged in your walk with Christ. It's called "Radical," by David Platt. I've also attached a short video promo for the book. It's really good but WARNING... if you don't want to be challenged... don't read the book!
Love Ya!
Jim

I Had to post This

Hey Guys! I know I haven't posted on this blog since January (I have been posting on http://www.wearethrev.blogspot.com/ though) but when I read this I just had to post it. Someone fowarded this to me (usually I immediately erase all fowarded emails... I despise those 'chain emails!' Come'on you do too... just admit it.) Anyway, I've been fired-up lately about being a "true Follower of Christ" and almost all of my talks (or sermons if you're old school) for the last year have been about this subject. I received an email this week that was a prayer that Billy Graham had prayed for our Nation. Now if there is anyone in the "Christian world" that deserves respect, it's Billy Graham. This great man of God is 90 years old and has been in the ministry forever. In all the years of ministry he has never been involved in anything scandalous or inappropriate. Just a solid example of what it means to be a true Follower of Christ. Anyway, this is a prayer he prayed for our nation:

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

When I read that prayer it reminded me that, for us as true Christ Followers, to just sit idly by and just let things happen is sin. We weren't called to just roll with the punches and let the "chips fall where they may" in our country. God called us to make a difference. And the first place is in prayer ( see II Chron. 7:14 and I Timothy 2:1). So, Lord forgive me for not praying for my country enough. Forgive me for not being willing to spend as much time praying for my government as I do in criticizing them (although they are an easy target. lol! jk.). Let us all not be found guilty in underestimating the power of prayer.

On His Knees,

Jim

Happy New Year It's 2010!

Well, it's a new year. A new decade. A new start... wait a minute. Why do we always wait until the new year to start with diets and exercise plans... with promises to spend more time in our Bibles or to give up something that isn't good for us? It's one of life's mysteries I guess. Something I'll probably never understand. One thing that, for some reason, really annoyed me this year was TV preachers. Now I'm not against TV evangelists or that the Word of God is being taught (on some of the programs) over the airwaves... it's just that every channel I turned to had someone telling me a new slogan for the year. And all of them had the same theme... new levels of breakthrough, the best year yet, prosperity, victory, heaven on earth! All kinds of really cool stuff that God was supposedly telling them to tell me. Now again, don't get me wrong... I'm not opposed to victory and breakthrough. I'm not opposed to prosperity or having the best year yet. But isn't that the same thing we heard last year and the year before that? And if I'm not mistaking last year was one of the worst years economically that we've seen since the great depression. What about all my Christian friends who are in the housing and construction market right now? I don't think they would tell you that 09' was an awesome year of breakthrough. For some reason I've really gotten frustrated with ministers always preaching and telling me that all I'm going to see is prosperity and breakthrough. That's not in the Bible and that's not true! Sure I will have periods of prosperity in my life but there will probably be times of famine as well. Sure, I'm going to have periods of breakthrough in my life but there are also going to be times of having to press through difficulty. That's where the beauty of having a true relationship with Christ comes in. That's where we can say along with the Apostle Paul that, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and that "I've learned to be content no matter what my circumstance." You see 2010 could be the best year yet and I hope it is. But 2010 might be a difficult year, who knows? But one thing I do know is that even if there is a fight... we win. Even if there is a struggle... we'll come out on top. Even if the gates of hell are unleashed against me and everyone I know... they will not prevail! For greater is He who's in me than he who's in the world. Now having said all of that, let me say this... as I was reading the other day, a scripture jumped out at me. I really felt like the Lord was speaking to me about 2010. It was in Joshua 3:5. It's where Joshua was leading the people of God into the promised land and they were just about to cross over the Jordan river into what God had been promising them forever... remember the story? Anyway, right before they crossed he said this. "sanctify yourselves because tomorrow the Lord is going to do amazing things among you." This is what I feel like God is telling us. He IS going to do great things for us in 2010 but we need to sanctify our self first. We need to totally set our self apart for Him and him alone. We need to get rid of all the unholy things and all of the things that aren't necessarily sinful but the things that are slowing our spiritual progress too. We've got a saying for this year (just like all those TV preacher guys. LOL!) and it's "Lean In 2010 (twenty ten)". Lean In to God... press in to Him and His presence, totally pursue Him and nothing else. So that's what I'm doing this year. My resolution is to go after God like I never have before. Me and my family are going to fervently run after Him and everything He has for us... good or bad, happy or sad, easy or difficult. We're Leaning In to 2010!

Happy New Year,
Jim

PS - I'm also going to lose weight, exercise and manage my time better this year. For the first few weeks anyway. haha