Are You Not Entertained?

To T.V. or not to T.V. that is the question!

Or is it?

Entertainment in all it's forms is central to the American modern culture.  While theater, concerts, shopping expeditions used to be only for the rich and idle these things are now for everyone. Even those considered poor are able to find ready cash to entertain themselves.

This country loves those things once considered frivolous.

The church, or at least most of us in the American church, loves them too.

It is time the church takes a good look at itself and puts down the remote, walks past the Red Box, and breaks it's Facebook addiction.  However we need to know why.

Turning off the T.V. without dealing with the why will only create a people puffed up with it's works.

If we unplug the one eyed monster without dealing with the why we will simply turn to some other religious means of distraction which will be as equally displeasing to God and we will be all the worse for our new laws.  Our way of getting to God.

The problem lies in our lovelessness.  Our lack of passion towards God.

If we loved Him, were captivated, entranced, and hungry for Him our time would be spent searching Him out instead of watching the latest movie.

When will we turn and be entertained by God?

Yes...

... ENTERTAINED BY GOD.

The word entertain means to provide amusement but it also means to give attention or consideration to.

WHY do we give so much attention to sports, games, videos and so little to the one who died for us?

If we can answer this question and repent of our lovelessness then we would desire to discipline ourselves to turn away from amusement and give all of our attention, our thoughts, and our desires to God.

It's time we search our hearts,

He's coming soon.

Always Ask Yourself Why

So you want to disciple others for Christ...

...WHY?

Why?  Isn't it obvious?  Jesus commands us to go and make disciples.  It says it right in Matthew 28:19!

He also told us to count the cost.  (Luke 14:28-33)  Have you done that?  Have you counted the cost of discipling another?

People have babies all the time and never once consider the late night feedings, hours of constant screaming, tons of poopy diapers, the financial cost, and the utter lack of FREEDOM.  This my friend is just the beginning of the cost of discipleship.

Just as babies grow up into teenagers and rebel so do disciples.  Children love you one moment and want nothing to do with you the next.  so do disciples.  Children listen to their friends and trample all over your words of wisdom.  Children arrive at a time in life when they think they know it all.  Children are self-centered, hate work, love junk food, and test your patience.  So do disciples.

But just as children eventually arrive at a place in life where they have endured the trials of life, have their own children, and become wise enough to see how much their parents have truly invested emotionally, again financially, and spiritually, so do disciples.

So, my friend, if you have considered all this and you're ready to lay down your life go for it.

In the end it will all be
worth it and you will receive your reward!!

*The pic above is of my 6 lovelies!!!  And yes they are worth it!

Wood, Hay, And Stubble

How much time do you spend building treasure in heaven?



How much time do you spend thinking that one day Jesus Himself will hand to you your eternal reward?



Most people who call themselves Christians give very little thought to their future reward.  They are too busy building earthly treasure to ponder heaven.



Consider this scripture...



Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.  But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.  If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.  But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. 1 Cor 3: 13-15



Here on earth there are people who are called investors.  These men and women spend alot of time researching commodities to find out where to best invest their money.  They have financial portfolios, stock market reports, and properties.  We call them wise.



I say we can learn from them.



The Kingdom of God is sound.  Unlike the stock market there is no danger of heaven "crashing".  Yet God's people hesitate to invest.  We hold on to our time, treasure, and talents (even or spouses and children) with greedy or fearful hands and begrudge to give even a little to God.



The Holy Spirit is speaking to anyone who has an ear to hear.  He says in a still, small voice...



INVEST!  Your reward is in my hands.



To those who are listening there is an urgency in that voice, though it be quiet.  Daily He says it, over and over...



PREPARE!



The wise are listening for that voice because He will guide them.  Even as worldly investors hire stock brokers to help them invest well God has provided through His Spirit a broker.  He is speaking to the heavenly investor...



give this, give that, serve, love, help, minister, forgive, preach, share, pray, read, study, draw near, worship, disciple, let go and GO! 



Every step of obedience to His voice is an investment of...



 gold, silver, jewels



A window has opened in time and for the wise this is an opportunity that will culminate in rewards beyond our imagination.  Blessing we can't contain.



But for those who are ignoring that voice all they have to offer God is the...



wood, hay, or straw



of their fearful, self centered, and opinionated lives.



But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. 1Cor 3:12-15

I love God....?

                   

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind...."  Luke 10:27

Can you say effort?

To love God means we must exert some force.  That we push, sweat, tire ourselves out, and be spent in our quest to know Him.

Loving God is anything but  passive.

To love God there must be some sort of fight within you.

You must have a ruthless determination that every word, thought, and deed will honor God.

Loving God is not some casual pursuit but a drive to make everything and everyone second to Him.  If there is anything fighting to be first in your heart....

IDOL

...let that thing be as sin to you.

Loving God needs no qualifiers.  Either you love God or you don't.

If there is anything in my heart that I prefer more than God then I do not love Him.

God wants ALL of us and will settle for nothing less.

It is better to be honest with God and admit we love other things more than Him than to go on pretending.  It is better that when Jesus comes He finds us repenting and fighting to love Him with everything that is in us than to go on offering Him this listless, lackluster thing we call love.

 He will not accept it.

Ask of God and you will receive the grace to love Him as He deserves.   Place Him on the throne of your heart and let their be no more rivals for your affection towards Him.

My Apologies....Again.

So sorry to everyone who makes the time to read these blogs.  Having difficulty posting my blogs yet again.  I appreciate your patience as I work out these technical difficulties.

10,000 Hours....42 Days With Jesus-Listening To His Voice

When I first proposed shutting down the television (or at least minimizing it, social media, and surfing the web) the idea was to free up more time with the Lord.  My husband and I have personally had that.

The first day we cut off the television was very strange.  However breaking the habit of turning it on as soon as we walked in the house or our bedroom did not take as long as I imagined.  After just a few days it was actually nice to have a house that was...

...QUIET.

To hear my own thoughts, my children speaking to me, the sounds of life without the blaring of the TV was  a very welcome change.

What I did not anticipate was being more receptive to God's conviction.

As I have spent more time in the Bible and my thoughts more focused on my God I also find my spiritual ears more open to His voice.  

That still small voice...

I am hearing things that God had been speaking all along but without the distractions it is somehow clearer or maybe I'm just paying attention.

My family loves movies.  We are a creative bunch and movies add fuel to our imagination as we create dramas.  But even as I write that seems like such an insult to God.  Do we need Hollywood to inspire our creativity when the God of all creation is living in us?  Why must I be entertained by the same things that entertain the world?

The word entertain basically means (among other things) to captivate or hold ones attention.  Can I not be entertained by God Himself?  Can He and He alone captivate my attention...my heart?

There is nothing more wonderful than hearing the voice of God.  Than thinking on Him and meditating on His Word.

42 Days out of the year to focus on God.

Is that enough?

10,000 Hours....42 Days With Jesus

In my last blog, 10,000 Hours...It's Going To Cost You, I posed the question,

"Who is willing to pay the price?"

Since then I have had something brewing on my heart.  That something was to start 2014 by giving Jesus 1000 hours of our time or focus.  But HOW to do that was the issue.  

My first thought was to cut off all entertainment and devote all that freed up time to prayer and the Word.  Then I considered creating a calender check list and schedule.  Then writing a to do list for those who were twiddling their thumbs as they sat around with nothing to do. Then every week blogging assignments...then...then...then...

Can you say complicated?

It almost reminds me of how the Pharisees took just 10 commandments and after adding in their two cents that law became a terrible burden and a yoke that brought no one closer to God.

So this is what I'm going to do and if it helps you at all feel free to join me.

The Bible says all of the law can be summed up in two commandments...

Love God with everything that is in you and love your neighbor as you would love yourself. (Matt 22:27-40)

Starting Jan 1, 2014 for 42 days I am cutting off television, movies, surfing the Internet, other mindless forms of entertainment, and dedicating the time I would have spent doing that to seeking the Lord OR blessing other people.  The two greatest commandments.

Why 42 days?

42 days is roughly 1000 hours. Imagine if the church dedicated 1000 hours at the beginning of every new year?  And what if at the end of 42 days we did not go back to the same old ways of doing things but increased in our time with Him and our love for people yearly?  The spiritual growth in knowing Him and loving and serving people would be amazing!

But wait you can't possibly spend 24 hours every day doing nothing but seeking God or helping others...or can you?

This is where I where I will need to focus, listen, and get my daily marching orders from the Holy Spirit.  Time with God is not so difficult most of the time as I have a daily prayer time...more time with God requires that I simply pray and read (or worship) as opposed to turning on the television. Being sensitive to the needs of others requires that I listen to that still small voice and do God lays on my heart.  Make that phone call,  send an encouraging text, write a letter, pray and fast for others, give that right gift. 

I'm a Christian but I don't really pray or read my Bible.

Then this is a perfect time to get started.  You're at zero time with God right now.  Can I honestly tell you something?  You are in a dangerous place and you need to create a discipline of daily prayer.  Do we honestly think we can go to heaven simply because we believe in God?  The demons believe in God but have no relationship with Him nor a place in heaven. Prayer and Bible reading draw us into relationship with the Lord.  You cannot have a relationship with someone you don't know.  Please consider this scripture...

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matt 7:21-23

But you have to sleep.

The Bible says

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he gives his beloved sleep Ps 127:2

I believe as I spend my days seeking the face of Jesus and striving to do HIS will that when it is time to sleep He will not only watch over me but all that I have put in His hands.  As I lay my head down with God as the last thought of my day He will honor my efforts and work on my behalf as I sleep.  So yes our work still has an effect as we rest daily.

Ok,  but what about work?  How can you focus on God and work at the same time?

I am blessed to Have a job that doesn't require much thought.  So as I work I am able to meditate on scripture, sing, or pray in tongues.  But for those who need to think as they work remember this...

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.  Col 3:22-24

If you dedicate every day to doing your best work for the Lord, keeping your Christian testimony, and shining your light so that others may be drawn to Jesus,  this is also acceptable to God.  Your focus will still be on Him and others.

I do suggest starting your day with prayer and Bible reading before you go to work.  Also turn off talk radio or Christian pop music in your car and worship God on your way to work and back home.  Consider praying in tongues as you drive.  If you have a 15 minute drive to work you will have prayed in tongues 30 minutes a day.

But I don't watch TV or movies much, or surf the Internet?

Find out what is preventing you from giving more time to God and people and cut it out of your life or at least limit the time you spend on that thing.  I also suggest organizing your time better.  We are all given 24 hours in each day and a bulk of that is wasted somewhere.  Keep a to do list, a calender, or reminder notes of what you need to accomplish each day and don't waste time doing things that will keep you from the Lord.  If you want to do this it will require effort.  It will cost you.

Family?

I heard a man say Americans have no idea how to fellowship with their own families.  We are so entertainment/media driven that our idea of intimacy involves movies or spending money.  If your spouse will do this with you then cut off the television/video games for 42 days for everyone.  At first it will be uncomfortable but as we ask the Lord to show us how to really bond with our own spouse, our children, and our church family I think we will all be surprised at how creative and intimate we can be with one another.  

Kids don't spend time reading, drawing, creating, playing like they used to.  This will be a good time to expand their thinking on how to spend their time.  

Also there used to be a time where families would gather together and read the Bible.  Would that be such a bad thing to introduce to our children?

What else can I do with my time?

Exercise, go on a date or take a walk with your spouse, cook supper together and sit at the table as your eat, bake cookies, work on your home and yard, have people over for a pot luck and fellowship, talk, clean out your car, visit the elderly or the sick, dejunk...in other words there are things God has made us stewards over that we are neglecting.  There is plenty to do but the main thing is more time with the Lord.

Listen if you have been feeling that you want more intimacy with God, you want to know His will for your life, you want to be Spirit led, AND the thought of turning off the TV for 42 days distresses you then you NEED this more than you know.

42 DAYS WITH JESUS STARTS JAN 1, 2014. 

YOU HAVE UNTIL 11:59 P.M. DEC 31, 2013 TO COUNT THE COST.