Transformation

I don't cry. This last Sunday I was a wreck, a crying fool. I have been attempting to figure out why I was brought to tears. What was so profound? What made this harden heart well up with emotional? It was transformation. I use to be this way, and then I encountered a righteous God and was changed. I love this because i struggle with it. Maybe my heart is reacting with the reality that I desire this in my own life. Maybe it's because I have gotten stuck in my walk with the Lord and it's a reminder that His Holy Spirit is restless in His pursuit of mankind.

As a Pastor I get to interact with people on a weekly basis that have been transformed by the grace and love God has extended to us. I love hearing their stories, but apart of me is jealous. They possess such a zeal, everything is new truth for them, which causes an obvious reaction in the way they respond to things. Every sermon they hear is convicting, every passage they read reveals some type of life changing truth. And here I sit, 25 years deep in my walk with the Lord wondering, "shouldn't I be the one all wound up, shouldn't I be the one that is captivated by the Word of God?" I have seen God work for years, He continues to reveal His glory to me, and yet....Do you relate?

What is it that pushes a believer with years of relationship to continue to be excited about who God is, and what he is doing? How do you break out of the routine? If God Word is "living and active," how do i reconnect with it?

Let me know what you think, let process through this.

Be Proactive

I was talking with some guys while playing golf yesterday and this reality struck me: When we want God to answer prayer for us we want it now, but when it comes to us living in obedience we ask God to be patient. Now I realize that we serve a very patient God, but this seems hypocritical.
We all reside in a market that is hurting, people are losing their jobs and their security. We humans are asking God to save us...to help us, and yet we are not being proactive. Here's an example: many of us are asking God to help us with our financial situation and we bought a house we couldn't afford, drive around a car that we can't afford, and are swiping our credit cards on anything that moves. We then look to heaven and ask God for a bail out plan, oh God......and I need it now. This is beyond me, "God I'm going to do what i want to do and disobey you, but God when I'm hurting as a result of these decisions I need you to work your magic fast."
Romans 6:1 drops the bomb when Paul say "should we sin more since grace abounds....may it never be!" So lets all make the change, lets begin to stop insulting the God of the universe with our petty talk, and fall on the throne of his mercy. Lets be proactive when we pray, "God I know I have sinned, but I want to follow you, and be obedient to what you have called me to do. Lord I need help here, but I am going to work my butt off, and would you answer my pray as a result of me submitting to your will and not my own. Oh... and God I know I got myself here, so if you don't bail me out, I get it, and am so grateful for your mercy and patience with me."