Daily Walking - Sept 14, 2008

We will be moving to video blogging in the near future, but I wanted to move forward and post previous text blogs to this page now for your enjoyment and edification:


REPOST FROM September 14, 2008

John 7:24 - Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

I have sat firmly on this truth for years. But it can be observed in so many different ways. Only God could give us a book that has one simple sentence, that can be viewed multiple ways and every way be of truth.

1. Do not look at the outside looks of others and judge them holy or evil, because it is what is on the inside that counts.

2. Do not look at the behavior that people show you and judge them holy or evil, because it may not be what is on the inside.....and the inside is what counts. The inner man is what determines his character, who he really is.

3. Do not put on a show for people and for God, because He sees the truth... that which is on the inside

4. Don't hold someone to a law and be "nit-picky", if what they did and why they did it truly shows the character of God. Again, it's the inside, the why they did it.

5. Do not exalt someone based on what they've done, if they did it with a low character, for the wrong reasons, and/or with the wrong heart on the inside.

God cares about what is on the inside...and why you do the things that you do.

Your outside appearance doesn't matter.

If you have a 6 inch mohawk that is purple

If you have Sarah Palin's hair style

If you have multiple piercings

If you more closely resemble the conservative appearance of the President of the United States.

If you wear pants or not.

If you wear a suit to church.

If you have long hair or not.

If you wear make up or not.

If you dress in Ann Taylor or not.

God doesn't care.

Your behavior isn't the point either:

If you give to the poor or if you can't.

If you go to church every week or if you don't.

If you sing southern gospel music or if you thrash your head.

If you preach the gospel

If you write books

If you write music

If you draw

If you are good at a budget

If you, If you, If you

All of this is not the point.

Look at your inside, the true you. That is what matters... that is what God sees. That is what He instructs us to look at.

Let's take this a little more indepth.If you are on the platform at church, leading worship...is that a "good" thing? Well you really don't know... you can't make a judgment based on the action alone.

If you are up there because you can play well, you like the attention it brings, you want to show people what you've got, to feel you are in a position above others, etc. Then ... not so much. Those are self oriented, "wrong" motives from you inner man.

However, if you are up there because you want to help lead others into worshiping the almighty God, because you consider it a blessing for God to be able to use your skills and talents to help the Brethren praise the Father, because you worship Him through playing your instrument, because you are open to others viewing you as a true follow of Christ, or you have been asked to serve and are humbled by the opportunity to follow God's will in your life. This are good motives from your inner man.

Everything is this way... look at everything you do.

You like wearing short skirts.... is that good or bad? Let's look at the why.

Are you wearing it to feel younger than you are, because you are jealous of the younger women, to feel more attractive to men, to distract the pastor so he has difficulty in delivering God's message (because you never really liked the whole Christianity thing any way, you are just there because a friend of yours or your parents made you go), because that's how you were raised - your mother wears them, your sisters wear them, your friends wear them, because what you wear is not as bad as other people you've seen, or because it's the fashionable thing to do? Why are you wearing it? Figure that out and see if it lines up with the character of God... remember, more like Jesus is our goal.

Ok, one more - You are an evangelist. You are pumping the streets everyday tell others about the reality of Hell. Telling them that Christ is the only way to heaven. Is that a "good" thing?Well, where is your heart?

Are you doing it because you are super spiritual and you have to call out sin where ever you seen it? Obviously, you have none because you are an evangelist...even if you did it wouldn't be as bad as theirs.

Are you "helping" God because without you and others like you, He'd never be able to find all of the folks to populate this new place He's building called Heaven?

Are you doing it to try and prove that your way is right and that all other ways are wrong?or

Are you doing it because you love people? Because God loved you enough to save you from your trip to hell, so you want to help others realize God's love for them too.

Are you doing it because you dedicated your life to service God through reaching out to others with His heart as your own?

Why are you doing it?

It's all about the "why".

(c) 2009 Reformation Productions
www.ReformationProductions.com

Hard-Headed

We will be moving to video blogging in the near future, but I wanted to move forward and post previous text blogs to this page now for your enjoyment and edification:


REPOST FROM July 27, 2008

My mother used to tell me that I was "hard-headed". I used to think that it was just a way that people of the older generation would insult a boy. But now, old enough to be a parent myself, I think I finally understand what that term means.

Being Hard-headed means to embrace a character flaw in yourself. You know that it's a flaw. You know that this character trait doesn't help you or others in any way, and yet you cling to it, claiming it as part of "who you are". It doesn't serve to help you in any way, except to make you feel that it's part of who you are. But let's remember, your character isn't what you do, it's why you do the things that you do.

Examine yourself for a moment... why do you do the things that you do. The things that make your parents, your spouse, your friends, or your children upset... why do you do them? Do these things help you or them in anyway? Or do you cling to them as something that you do or don't do because it's just "the way your are". Is it a character flaw? Do you resist changing or altering things because it will be "out of character" for you, even though it would be the right thing to do?... Are you being hard-headed?

(c) 2009 Reformation Productions
www.ReformationProductions.com

More indications of the end times.

We will be moving to video blogging in the near future, but I wanted to move forward and post previous text blogs to this page now for your enjoyment and edification:


REPOST FROM July 5, 2008

For those of you that don't think that a one world religion is possible? Or that the ground work for such a religion is being laid TODAY.



As I often say in regards to the microchip implants and the fingerprint payment systems that are emerging in our society, I'm not saying that THIS IS IT... but it certainly points to the foundational ground work for it.....


(c) 2009 Reformation Productions
www.ReformationProductions.com

Daily Walking

We will be moving to video blogging in the near future, but I wanted to move forward and post previous text blogs to this page now for your enjoyment and edification:


REPOST FROM June 22, 2008

Several things going on in my thoughts and prayers this week. I'm going to share one with you. What do we, as Christians, do from day-to-day? As we seek God's purposes in our lives, what should we be doing first and foremost? I believe that we need to know how to function daily so that we know how to pray and how to live in God's will.

So, first I think we have to embrace and understand what we submitted to when we became Christian. When we first accepted God's gift of salvation, we saw our own depravity and accepted Him as lord and king of our lives. We agreed to stop doing things our own way and to do things His way. Some how within Christendom, we've forgotted what that means... after the point of salvation. I think that we first need to life-out that submission.

First, let's go to what God has told us we should be/do in our roles:

As a husband and father, my jobs are to be the best provider that I can be, to be the best leader that I can be in my home, and to be the priest of my home. (These are individually huge things but we'll just keep it to broad strokes today and not dive into the details of each one.) Every day I get up, these are my first goals. To live our my godly role as God has laid it before me.

For the wife and mother, it would be to establish and maintain a home that is a refuge (a sanctuary) for the family, supporting and petitioning the husband so that he can fulfill his role effectively according to God's purpose, and caring for the family. Again, these are huge, but we won't dive into the details today.

SIDENOTE: These are not the only roles that we have. They are simply my focus for today. There are also (may also be) your role at work, your role as a child, your role as a human being, your role as a friend, your role as a professional, your role as an employee/employer, your role as a citizen, etc.

So first, I get up with these roles in mind.... I don't NOT get up because my children aren't following my leadership, I don't sulk in the basement because I'm not providing for the family in the way I would like, etc. It's not about me. It's not about if I feel like doing these things. Again, it's not about me. I do the best I can under my submission to God.

So, let's talk about the elephant-in-the-room for those of you who know me and my current status - my role as provider in the home - as an detail example:

I don't strive to do things in my own power to provide for my family outside of God's will. I strive to be the BEST provider than I can under God's authority. I am seeking God's will for my career; knocking on doors, looking for what God is going to provide me; looking at my own heart to ensure there are no self-motivated obstructions to His will; following His guidance, directions, and promptings in obedience; watching and waiting for His confirmations; and of course maintaining a consistent relationship with Him through focus time and prayer.

You see, it is very important for me that I don't do anything in and of my own power that is outside of His will...even though that may be what some expect of me. I did things in my own power and for my own motives for a long time and I can assure you that it gets you no where. Sure I could go out a make something happen- I could get a job video editing pornography or working for a company that steals money from their clients by falsely reporting time-worked or I could work anywhere that is outside of His plan for me- but that wouldn't be right and it wouldn't be in line with His lordship over my life, His plans or purposes, or His standards for my life.

Bottomline - when you get up in the morning, say to yourself:

♦"What can I do today that will embrace my God-given role and show obedience and honor to His authority, whether I feel like it or not."

♦"What can I do to champion my role in the family."

♦"What can I do today that will make my spouse's role easier."

♦"What can I do that will help others?"

♦"What can I do to further God's kingdom and show my love for Him"

Remember love... that's what it all about.

(c) 2009 Reformation Productions
www.ReformationProductions.com