Stalled

As I was reading in the book "Plan B" yesterday, I figured I had gotten the jist of the book, and not much more would surprise me. After all, I was in the 2nd to last chapter, what could be left? As it turns out there was more for me to learn. Pete Wilson mention a book called, "The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith" Now, understand I am not really a fan of, "follow these steps and God will do..." because that is not the way life works, no matter how much we want it to. But this book seems to be more about assessing your spiritual walk to see what needs to be worked on. And books can be a valuable tool in doing so.

 As Wilson started going through the stages I was trying to guess about which one I would fall into. I guessed there wouldn't be too many, after all we like to break things down into 3's or 4's, so when I read that stage four was "The Journey Inward" I said AHA! this must be the stage I am at! And I felt pretty good about that. After you have recognized that you are in need of a Savior, have been discipled, and done outreaches or other 'good' things, then you begin to look deeper into your life. So I was quite sure this was my spot. To my dismay the next sentence was something like this, "And this is where many Christian stall." Crap. Alas, there were more than 4 stages. I read on and tried to convince myself I was at stage 5 or 6, because there is no way I was a "stalled" Christian. But as I continued to think about it, and no matter how much I wanted to be on a later stage, I settled that stage 4 was a good assessment of where I was.

Stage 5 and 6 are "The Journey Outward" and "The Life of Love". But something is supposed to happen in-between stages 4 and 5 that perhaps isn't happening, and that's where many Christians get stalled. Don't worry about which stage you may or may not be on, that is not really what is of importance. Pete goes on to say(and maybe int he book too, I haven't read it yet.) that in-between stage 4 and 5 there is a transformation that takes place. I would guess that most of you, like me, are comfortable with how you live your life. You don't want to change anything. Or maybe you just don't know what to change. I see this part of the journey as being where 'the rubber meets the road'. Will our everyday life reflect how important Christ really is? Will the way we do business, our actions,  & our words leave a pleasant aroma? What will our spending habits say about us? What will our planner say about us? Are we actually going to give God the place he deserves in our life?

I think its all too easy to get stuck in this spot. God ends up getting the back burner. We get embarrassed to say that we aren't going somewhere, or aren't doing something because we believe God has called us to a higher standard. We don't want people to think we are crazy, or weird. Or, heaven forbid, actually letting our beliefs dictate how we live!

I plan on reading this book when I can get my hands on it. Not so I can work through the stages, because that is not what life is about. Its not a spiritual ladder we have to climb. Its just a tool to use to assess our lives and have the Lord look into our heart and see what needs fixin'.

What about you? Are you stalled? Are you shying away from God because of unexpected events? Pain? Have you even acknowledged you need a savior? Have you started down the discipleship path? Where are you & where are you headed?

1 Thessalonians

I was reading this book last night and not really getting much out of it. And then after chapter 3 I kinda felt like I was reading someones mail. Those first chapters were all about how thankful Paul, Timothy, and Silas were for the church in Thessalonika(?) And why were they thankful for them? Well they were living life and doing everything they could to obey Christs' teachings. They were working hard and being honest. They weren't giving in to sin. They were resisting. They were doing well. They didn't all turn into evangelists, prophets, teachers, etc...they were just doing their work. And they were giving God praise. And Paul was urging them to do so more and more. Continue to grow. Continue to love God. Continue to resist sin. And look forward to when Christ will return from heaven to take us to be with Him. At first I wasn't getting much out of Thessalonians, but as it sank in I began to realize that this is what life is all about. We build our lives on the principles set forth by God, and then continue in them. Live life, love God, love His principles, work to adhere to them, and look forward to eternity with God. Life will happen. We will have our share of "Plan B's", but continue to be faithful to God. Be faithful to his decrees. He will comfort you and He will guide you. It's not our job to make things happen. It's our job to be faithful and follow Christ. Just like the church in Thessalonika.

Connecting

I love connecting with friends I haven't talked to in a while. Its so nice to chat and catch up. I got to have lunch with Jamie today. It was great. I hadn't seen him since our wedding. That is a friendship I will cherish the rest of my life.

I heard a great radio broadcast the other day. I believe it was Chip Ingram. He was talking about how we as Christians put our salvation on ourselves. We wouldn't actually come out and say it, but with our actions and how we think, that is what we believe. We get caught up in having to read our Bible, or having to pray, or having to go to church; that we forget that our salvation is in Christ's grace & mercy. You don't have to read the Bible, you don't have to pray, and you don't have to go to church. Those are things we ought to do, but we don't have to do them. Doing those things does not make you a better Christian. Doing those things doesn't mean that God owes you anything. Its funny, sometimes we'll (sorry for switching tenses so much) feel like God HAS to bless us, or give us this promotion, or sell our house, or etc... because we pray and read our Bible and go to church. But truth is, He doesn't. God owes us nothing and we owe Him everything. We ought to read our Bibles because that is one of the ways God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. And as a created being who loves his Creator, it makes sense to want to get to know Him better. We ought to pray because God loves to listen to us. Whether we are happy, sad, depressed, joyful, or anything else, He loves listening to us and talking to us. We ought to go to church because its beneficial for our spiritual walk to be around like minded individuals and to to listen to Godly sermons. The Bible also tells us in Hebrews "not to forsake the gathering of the saints". But none of those things will save us and get us to heaven. That can only be done through Jesus Christ.

I'm in.

Well, after a long wait lots of paperwork and more waiting I am finally a part of the US Air Force. Allyson and I are very excited for the adventures that lie ahead. Next ahead for us is more waiting. (suprise suprise) I will be lined up with a job sometime and then I will be given a departure date. I'm guessing sometime around September-October, however it could always be sooner or later. I would imagine that October would be a nice time to be in San Antonio. The current forecast looks a little to warm to be doing drills.

I have already been scoping out military discounts. Some of which I am pretty excited about. Like free pizza at papa murphys. Wherever we end up, I hope there is one close by.

Next thing on the list that would be nice to have out of the way is the house. It would be good to not have to think about it anymore. I believe that the Lord has called us into the Air Force, and so I believe he will work things out for us. Which is sort of what I have been studying about.

Abraham is the only person in the Bible referenced as a 'friend of God'. King David was a man after Gods heart, but that doesn't mean they were friends. If I met someone who loved football, and golfing, and grilling brats I would consider that a person after my own heart. However, we could have conflicting personalities. And I think Davids personality kept him from being a friend of God. Abraham was obedient to Gods call on his life. He left his family, friends, and wealth and started the adventure God called him on. He believed God when he was told he would have a child in his old age. When I read Abraham's story it seems to me that his every response is 'yes Lord'. He doesn't get in to asking about all the details(not every time anyway). He is just faithful and believes that the Lord will take care of him as he is obedient to what the Lord tells him to do. And I think that is what makes him a friend of God. And that's what I want to be as well. I want to follow the Lords plan for my life and believe He will take care of me no matter what I am doing and where I am going. Even if the road seems tough.