YGT: Permanently Pressing (The Good Life)

How do we get the good life?  

Well, that depends on your idea of "good". We often believe that a good life is one where we're "happy" - where we don't have to worry about anything. However, if we define our lives by God's standards, the good life is not an easy life. You see, God's definition of good is quite different. 

Paul gives us a hint of this when he said "this one thing will I do" in Philippians 3:13-14.  He said he will PRESS. One of the definitions of press in Greek is to pursue in a hostile manner.  That means to work, scratch, crawl, kick, bleed, and sweat your way to your destination.  

Many of us can relate to what it means to press.  Everyday our lives seem like we are in a battle as we try to live for God.  It is my belief that the pressing we do each day is good to God.  Paul said it better when he said at the end of his life he wants to be able to say "he fought the good fight of faith."  Or in other words, that he pressed.  

Our social expectations and childhood fantasies have painted a picture of the good life that was never given by God.  I like to imagine that God is looking down, watching us press each day, and longing to say "Well done, my good and faithful servant".  When God says you've lived a good life, that's when you know you've attained it.  Until then, this one thing will I do...

Lord, please help us to be strong and continue living for you.  Help us press.  Please be with us when we would like to give up on the journey.  We desire to know You, but it is hard.  We desire to live for You, but it is painful.  We want to hear well done and to hear you call our lives good.  In Christ's name and for His sake, Amen.

In hostile pursuit,

j.a.g.

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Philippians 3:13-14Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

II Timothy 4:7

I have fought a good fight of faith, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Matthew 25:23

His lord said unto him, Well done good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of the Lord.

YGT: Does Church get in the way of Living like Jesus?

This week, I wanted to share a testimony of former pastor Edward G. Dobson.  The video describes his journey from being the pastor of a thriving church to his diagnosis with Lou Gehrig's disease.


At the 5:20 minute mark, Dobson shares that being so active in the church actually challenged his ability to live like Jesus.  This reminded me of an interpretation of the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37 below).  When a man asked Jesus who was his neighbor, Jesus told him a story about a man who was hurting on the side of the road and people who passed him by.  The first person to pass was a priest.  The second, a Levite.  These two were each religious leaders in the Jewish community.  As the interpretation goes (the one here is by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), perhaps they didn't help the man because they were on their way to a religious meeting.  Being part of a religious community was actually preventing them from seeing their neighbors.  


Not surprisingly, Dobson is also good at recognizing his neighbor.  From an insightful article on his life...


The scraggly guy stood at Ed Dobson’s door, asking for money. He said he was a Vietnam vet and needed bus fare for a medical appointment in Lansing.

Problem: It was the same story the same guy told three months earlier, when Dobson gave him $15. Dobson figured he probably blew that on booze and would again.

Problem No. 2: Jesus said, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”This time, Dobson gave him $20.

I wonder if he would have been as giving if he was pastoring...


Check out his book - The Year of Living Like Jesus.  Haven't read it, but looking forward to soon.  In the meantime, I'll try to follow what Jesus has shown us in scripture. Ed Dobson reminds us that it's not about how much you know, it's about how much you know that you're willing to act on.  Praise God for his witness.






Lord, please forgive us for desiring to be in church more than we desire to be in You.  Have mercy on us.  We look to Christ as our Savior, teacher, and intercessor.  In His matchless name, Amen.


Freed,
j.a.g.






*Btw, if you can, check out the article linked above.  Discusses why Dobson voted for Obama during his year of living like Jesus.  Hmmm... A compelling figure indeed.


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Luke 10:25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

On That Thing

It is that thing each person has, but few publicly acknowledge. It is what separates us from divinity. It is the burden of humanity - issues. Although it is impossible to know everyone’s thing (or issue), it is certainly possible to speak to their universality. Whatever your thing is, only you know it best. It is that thing you can’t shake. Even after much of the undesirable has been removed, that thing is there. No matter how many good thoughts, earnest prayers, or sound strategies you employ, it remains. The truth is, each of us has some-THING, some irritating imperfection that lingers in our spiritual and/or physical temple. Whatever it is, it is a deficiency that is nearly impossible to break. In the battle to overcome that thing, many question their sanity and others even question God. “God, Why can’t I get rid of this THING!”

However, whether you are dealing with a physical battle or a character flaw, there are reasons for it. In II Corinthians 12:7-10 (below), Paul discusses his own affliction and the reason for it. He discusses his “thorn in the flesh” (verse 7), that “thing” (verse 8) that he could not overcome even after asking God to remove it from him. Then, he discusses why God allows imperfection, illness, and inconveniences in our lives. – to humble us and to show God’s strength.

“Lest I should be exalted” in verse 7 explains that God allows issues in our lives in order for us to remain humble. People who have gifts and never hurt often find it harder to exercise humility. ‘If I’ve never hurt, why would I need the help of God or others? I’ll be ok. I can make it, I’m me.’ The truth is, that “thing” keeps you humble, understanding the frailty of man and the grace of God.

In addition to humbling us, that thing also comes to show us God’s strength. When we have issues, it leads us to the One who can fix them. God told Paul in verse 9, “…my strength is made perfect in weakness”. At no greater time can God exhibit His power than when we are weak. Just think –

Would you hire a plumber if you never had a leak?

Would you go to a doctor if you never got sick?

Would you need a mechanic if your car never failed?


The question to each is, rhetorically, NO. It is when you have an issue, when something occurs, that you find out the true value in the plumber, doctor, or mechanic. This is God’s explanation for that thing in your life. That issue has not come to destroy you or devastate you. It has come to show you that God is able to correct it. It is there to humble you and show you the strength of the God you serve.


Let us reach our hands to the heavens in humble adoration of a God who hears us and humbles us. He doesn’t forget to pick us up when that thing knocks us down. The only reason He lets us fall is so we can appreciate how strong His arms are when He lifts us up. I pray that we begin to “take pleasure” in the distresses, needs, and persecutions we face. It is only then, in the place of our thing (issue), that God’s glory can truly be shown. Then we will reach our peak of understanding Him. For then we will understand how great He truly is.




Trusting,


- j.a.g.

II Corinthians 12:7-10
7And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.