The great thing about God is He does not need to be our only joy in life. God made us complex human beings with dreams, wants, desires and passions and He loves to watch us discover them. God created each and every one of us by a unique design with unique ideas so that we would each serve a unique purpose and position on earth. Every life is different, therefore, every Christian is different. There is no mold to be filled every time someone is saved. God wants us to serve Him and His people in the way He created us. He does not want us to live our lives with the mindset of "should". I should read more. I should talk more. I should teach a class. I should stay at this job, it pays more. I should follow my parent's wishes for my life. Should will not bring us joy. Should will not fill our hunger. Should will not stir our passions. "Should simply does not have the power to get you there."
Just as God does not need to be our only joy, He has provided many different options to find joy. Paul writes in Philippians 4 "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." The key word in this passage is whatever. WHATEVER. We shared last week in class in which we find our joy. There were many diferent responses, such as smelling the fresh air on a front porch, watching a kid "get it" for the first time, singing as loud as you possibly can in your car or watching a loved one smile. But a lot of times we don't realize that these joys "count" as time with God. These joys "count" as opening up your mind to the flow of the Holy Spirit. How many times have we read this passage from Philippians and never realized the importance or true meaning of the word "whatever"? I know I've done it a hundred times. But how refreshing is that?! WHATEVER we find pure, WHATEVER we find lovely, WHATEVER we find admiralbe....if we think on such things we can open our minds to the Flow.
So how do we think on such things? Most of our world, (enitrely and personally) is filled with anger, hate, negativity, gossip, lies and ill-doings. Because of this it tends to be easier to say "Think Great Thoughts" rather than actually think great thoughts. One of the easiest ways to habitually think great thoughts is to dive into Scripture. Eugene Peterson writes, "Christians feed on Scripture. Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don't simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love." This does not mean we have to spend hours everyday reading the Bible. God is just as powerful using one verse to change a life as He is using an entire passage. Unfortunately, most Christians, most people really, find the Bible boring or mundane. So Ortberg gives us some pointers on how to read the Bible in way that keeps us interested and allows us to absorb more than we might have before. (Read Chapter 9 pages 106-113, very helpful hints!!!) (Audio Bibles are great aids too, especially if you learn by hearing)
Paul also writes in Colossians 3, "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." Sounds easy right? There is a way to do this! Whenever you find yourself thinking negatively you must reset your mind and create a new pattern. A positive pattern of thought. Did you know if you have been thinking evil things for a long period of time, your mind will eventually habitually go there without you even realizing it? Luckily, the flow of the Holy Spirit is always available. Ortberg suggests, if you're having trouble thinking great thoughts, try practicing them first. "If you practice love and hope and peace, you will soon think of love, and hope and peace."
God does not make mistakes. He made you and found you good. He has made you excellent and wants you to think in excellence. He longs to help you strive for excellence. And the wonderful thing is you can do this at any moment. He [the flow of the Holy Spirit] is always available to tap into. Feed your minds with excellence and you will be excellent.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Counterfeit Me's
This week's assignment was to chart whena nd how often you were anything other than the best verison of yourself by using the following "Me's":
The Me I Pretend To Be: "I try to convince people I'm important while secretly fearing I am not"
The Me I Think I Should Be: "I have a need to try to be someone I'm not, often motivated by comparison"
The Me Others Want Me To Be: "I don't feel free to be myself. I follow others' agendas"
The Me I'm Afraid God Wants: "I lack trust in God's love and plan; I equate spiritual maturity with trying hard to follow the Bible's rules"
The Me That Fails To Be: "I'm missing mental and emotional vitality; my soul is weary"
On Sunday I asked the class which "Me" they were most like. There were quite a few that answered, "Can I be all of them?" I loved that answer! Of course we can be all of the "Me's". As humans we are very complex and so it is incredibly hard to pin down just one general definition of ourselves. So this week we were supposed to keep track of which "Me" we were and when; What were the situations that caused us to be that "Me"? Here's what I found:
Most days I found myself acting as the me that isn't. "The me other's want" or "the me I pretend to be". It felt like I was faking all week. At work I was pushing farther than I should've; doing things above and beyoind my scope of capabilities, or with friends, finding myself doing things I did not have time or energy to do because I didn't want to let them down. And at least once a day I was "The Me that Fails to be".
One thing this excercise has taught me is that my emotions tend to control me. When I'm tired (which is more often than not) I run away. I look for an escape from reality, usually though TV or girl's night out instead of studying or working on personal tasks. When I'm stressed or upset I avoid big things that need to be done because my mind tells me they're too much for me to handle right now. So I become "The Me that Fails to be". I long for more in life and yet I run away, lacking vitality and drive. But then I remember that Spiritual Maturity is not measured the same for every person. Henri Nouwen wrote "Spiritual greatness has nothing to do with being greater than others. It has everything to do with being as great as each of us can be." And the great thing about that is God is strongly involved and interested in helping us reach our INDIVIDUAL greatness. We are not alone in the journey. We can embrace it knowing He's leading us.
Confidence = enthusiasm = change!!!
God wants us to be nothing but ourselves, but not just ourselves, He wants us to be the BEST version of ourselves. The me we're meant to be! The me He had in mind when He created us.
So what do YOU find out about yourselves this week?
The Me I Pretend To Be: "I try to convince people I'm important while secretly fearing I am not"
The Me I Think I Should Be: "I have a need to try to be someone I'm not, often motivated by comparison"
The Me Others Want Me To Be: "I don't feel free to be myself. I follow others' agendas"
The Me I'm Afraid God Wants: "I lack trust in God's love and plan; I equate spiritual maturity with trying hard to follow the Bible's rules"
The Me That Fails To Be: "I'm missing mental and emotional vitality; my soul is weary"
On Sunday I asked the class which "Me" they were most like. There were quite a few that answered, "Can I be all of them?" I loved that answer! Of course we can be all of the "Me's". As humans we are very complex and so it is incredibly hard to pin down just one general definition of ourselves. So this week we were supposed to keep track of which "Me" we were and when; What were the situations that caused us to be that "Me"? Here's what I found:
Most days I found myself acting as the me that isn't. "The me other's want" or "the me I pretend to be". It felt like I was faking all week. At work I was pushing farther than I should've; doing things above and beyoind my scope of capabilities, or with friends, finding myself doing things I did not have time or energy to do because I didn't want to let them down. And at least once a day I was "The Me that Fails to be".
One thing this excercise has taught me is that my emotions tend to control me. When I'm tired (which is more often than not) I run away. I look for an escape from reality, usually though TV or girl's night out instead of studying or working on personal tasks. When I'm stressed or upset I avoid big things that need to be done because my mind tells me they're too much for me to handle right now. So I become "The Me that Fails to be". I long for more in life and yet I run away, lacking vitality and drive. But then I remember that Spiritual Maturity is not measured the same for every person. Henri Nouwen wrote "Spiritual greatness has nothing to do with being greater than others. It has everything to do with being as great as each of us can be." And the great thing about that is God is strongly involved and interested in helping us reach our INDIVIDUAL greatness. We are not alone in the journey. We can embrace it knowing He's leading us.
Confidence = enthusiasm = change!!!
God wants us to be nothing but ourselves, but not just ourselves, He wants us to be the BEST version of ourselves. The me we're meant to be! The me He had in mind when He created us.
So what do YOU find out about yourselves this week?
Redeemed Not Exchanged
"The most important task of your life is not what you do, but who you become. An acorn can grow into an oaktree, but it can not be a rose bush. You will always be and when you flourish [in God] you become more you. You become more that perosn God had in mind when He thought you up. You don't just become holier. You become you-ier. God doesn't want to change or exchange but redeem you and watch you flouish into His best version of you."
Excerpts from The Me I Want To Be by John Ortberg
Excerpts from The Me I Want To Be by John Ortberg
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