The Key Word: Balance

"these things I have spoken unto you,
        that in ME ye might have peace.
                In the world ye shall have tribulation:
   but be of GOOD cheer,
    I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD."
                                             John 16:33

On Sunday I wrote about the week I had experienced. I spoke about how rejoicing can quickly become boasting and how that is a fine line to walk. While speaking with Mike we began looking back beyond the past week.

Over the course of the last year it has been a whirlwind of experiences. The one thing I learned, and found out that Mike was experiencing the same, was that I was not reading the Word enough. While we both had good intentions and no opposition to doing so, it was just difficult to get into a routine with it.

Here is one thing I know: We were not the only ones.

That is where LvL Up started. Short, daily devotionals that made sure we interacted with scripture regularly. As we talked about different things that had happened over the past year we saw how much this small act impacted everything else.

Our lives are full of valleys and mountain tops. Maybe you prefer the roller coaster description. Regardless, the joy of the peaks is often off the charts, but the bottom of the dips can be unbearable. What has become clear is this:

When we have that relationship, or BALANCE, in our lives it becomes easier not to go zero to sixty from one end of the spectrum to the other. You may not believe me, but it is the truth.

In another of my posts I spoke of how I worry. I see the worst case scenario right away. Lately though, while the worry may still be there, it does not take over in the same way that it once did. The reason is that daily one of my very first thoughts is about my devotional reading. That reading and discussion with my brothers helps to strengthen that relationship that Jesus has desired, but I struggled to nurture.

If you find yourself rising and crashing like the tides and it all feels out of control...find your balance.

You will be surprised that it doesn't take as much as you may be telling yourself. God is not looking for us to be perfect. He has Jesus for that. He is simply asking that we are making the effort. He will bless that effort. If He didn't then we would not be here. I would not be in a place to write these words.

The world tells you that you are undeserving. It tries to prove that to you. There is one however who says you are His. When you are His the world may hate you, but there is nothing that it can do about it. Walk firmly in that. The highs and lows begin to even out. It makes the journey more enjoyable.

#LvLUp

The Key Word: Boast

    "But we will not BOAST of things
                             without our measure,
but according to the measure of the rule which GOD hath
             distributed to us,
       a measure to reach even unto YOU."
                                              2 Corinthians 10:13


Friends this has been a good week. Such a good week in fact that it would be very easy for me to boast about it. Let me attempt to share without boasting.

I was offered and have accepted a new job. I start in two weeks. It is more than just a job, it is an opportunity for a career. After close to two DECADES in the retail world I am moving on. I am ready. I am sure that my family is ready as well.

No longer will my schedule be inconsistent. I will be home by 5:30 during the week more often than not. I will be home on the weekends (with the occasional weekend event I need to cover). I'LL BE ABLE TO HELP COACH MY KIDS SPORTS TEAMS!

This is indeed a game changer for us. 

I am happy and I feel a weight lifted off of me. I want to rejoice and I should. Rejoicing can quickly turn to boasting. And boasting is a tricky thing.

Are we able to boast? The answer is yes. However, there is a correct way to do so. If we are boasting in our accomplishments, if we are taking the glory as if we did something, then we do so from a place of pride. In Psalms 73:6 it says "Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence coverth them as a garment." Pride leads us around bound in a chain. It makes us a slave. Man...

Boast and be proud when you are blessed, but do so boasting in the measure of God.

On top of the job opportunity, this community has now been up and running for two weeks. It has been great. It is something we should be proud of. Not because of what we have done, but because God has used it to His measure...to fulfill His purpose. 

As Paul said that God's measure allowed him to reach out to the Corinthians, LvL Up has been allowed to reach out to the ones who have viewed this site. THAT IS EXCITING!  I cannot wait to see and connect with the people this community will reach. 

I realized that majority of the content so far perhaps focused on struggle. While we cannot avoid struggle and it will always be present, there are also seasons of joy. We should celebrate them. We should cherish them. We should take them in as well as we can, for there are valleys along the way. But that is not to say that these moments cannot sustain us as we travel on.

Boast in the things that God has seen fit to bless you with. Let your joy reflect Him.  #LvLUp

The Key Word: Relationship

Why do people "leave organized religion"? Why are people turned off by the word religion in the first place? At times I believe I can understand. Religion, Christian, Church - all of these over time have taken on negative connotations.

So what is the reason?

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I have the answer. I don't. However, I believe there is an aspect of that answer that seems quite obvious. There has been a shift of focus. Being a Christian has turned into a legalistic thing. Churches are concerned about rules more than people.

You see Jesus' ministry was based on one simple thing. Relationships. Those relationships are rare today. When people are leaving religion it is often because of broken relationships. The sad thing is that many equate relationships with other believers to relationship with God. I want to scream "do you see the mistake you are making!"

People are going to let you down. Even the most well meaning individual will make a mistake and hurt your feelings. These experiences can cause confusion. When someone who claims Christianity hurts another it is often God who receives the blame.

These difficult situations should cause us to seek out the truest relationship that we can have, the relationship with Christ. I fully believe that, but I also had a realization while reading a daily devotional this week: People who say that God is all you need are wrong.

Yes Jesus can and will provide everything we need, but unfortunately that is not enough. This is why the human race is a broken, messy collection of individuals. Even with God we still need each other. God himself realized this. After all Adam had the perfect relationship with his creator, but still something was missing. Seeing this God gave him Eve.

Humans need each other. Christians need other Christians. Even the ones who want to distance themselves from this fact cannot really escape it. It can be hard to make sense of it all. Rather than dig through all the countless theories and come to our own conclusion PEOPLE - JUST - QUIT.

So what can be done?

We need to to become the Body, the true Church again. Not a collection of people at this building or another, but the Bride of Christ. We need to truly care about each other. We need to seek and know the realness of Jesus.

We need to accept our ugliness and not give power to the shame that tries to attach itself to it. Love people. Engage them. The "sinners" of Jesus' time were often the most comfortable in His presence. We need unbelievers to want to be around us.

Forget making the right impression at church. Instead impact the people of the world. After all that is what we have been commissioned to do, right? We will find it doesn't take much and it comes with a sense of purpose that we just may be missing.

RELATIONSHIP not rules. CONNECTION and not theology.