Recent Excerpt from Matt Chandler

This is a very short excerpt from Matt Chandler's The Explicit Gospel that I thought was worth sharing.

"We live through faith, and we die through faith.  Everything else is garbage. Even works of righteousness, if not done through faith, are works of self-righteousness and therefore filthy rags.  Be very careful about going to church, reading your Bible, saying prayers, doing good deeds, and reading books like this through anything but faith in the living Lord.  Because the result of all that is belief in a phony Jesus and inoculation to the gospel.  You can end up knowing the jargon and playing pretend.  Be very careful. Watch your life and your doctrine closely ( 1 Time 4:16).  Some of you are so good that you've deceived yourselves.  God help you."

This made me really think again. With the last sentence it better make me think. I am not so hard that I will ever think I don't need work and I definitely don't have it all together. Of course Matt Chandler has a great way of getting your attention with his unapologetic and skillful wording, but even that is God given. He just simply reminded me that especially with the above, that Faith is the only way to please God. Not just faith by itself. Faith in the Living Lord. That is it in a nutshell. Hard for us because it stretches us beyond our comfort. Calls us to let go, which is incredibly hard to do. Then give it to someone we can't even see. Well, as a very wise camp pastor once told me, I will leave you with this. 

I don't know exactly how electricity works (and for those of you that do....think of another example that puzzles you.....try anything medical that doesn't work exactly how we expect it to!!) but I'm not standing around in the dark to figure it out! How true. I'm going to the source even though I don't understand everything about Him. He's far too great to us to understand everything about Him. I understand enough to know that He is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do. There's no one who gives me the hope and promise and love that He offers. 

Faith? Yes Lord, I pray that I have enough to please you!

Jonah

Jonah 4: 9-11
Considering that last chapter and verses in Jonah, I had a great eye opener this morning. It states that Jonah was more worried about the plant that God sent him to give him shade, withering up and dying. He was throwing a fit over a plant. God then enters and asked him why he had a right to be angry because (in a nutshell) Jonah didn't make the plant or tend to it, so why was he mad about it? God poses the final question like a dagger....shouldn't you care more about Nineveh than a plant? Basically, shouldn't you care more about people than your own comfort.
   It was a great reminder that our perspective is usually self-centered and it takes God to open our eyes to that. He wants us to care more about others that our own silly comforts and wants. He wants us to care about others more than all of our stuff. What a funny story to use. I can just picture Jonah sitting under his little plant, totally content with the shade and pitching a fit the next when it died like a 2 year old. Stomping his feet, throwing his arms down to make his argument, then enter GOD. Funny how often God probably shakes his head in love, mercy, and patience over me because it probably looks the same way....but Lord I hope not. I just want to say yes the first time instead of running, getting swallowed up and spit out, then pitching a fit like Jonah. Really when we all read the story of Jonah we find ourselves saying, "Stop. Get off the boat! The fish is coming stupid!" kinda like we might holler at a movie as if we can change the outcome or ending. The Lord was just good to remind me that if I think Jonah looked ridiculous and his running was futile, then why oh why do you think you can do anything beyond my reach? Point taken Lord!