The Spiritual Side

I recently had a conversation that started out about football but ended up on God. Basically where we ended up, I was asked if I really thought God cared about football. To which I answered YES I BELIEVE HE DOES!

So how do you get to the spiritual side of everything? How do you know there is spirituality in everything? For me, I look at the beginning,
John 1:3 ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

In 1 Col chp 1, about vs 15, the bible tells us about the supremacy of God. that all things were actually made for Him. And He is the glue that holds everything together. Yes there is a spiritual side to all things.

SO, how do we find that spiritual side? How can I see the spiritual side of a sports event, a tractor pull, or even a wrestling match? 

When I was teaching youth we talked about spiritual gifts and how God has wired us. My main focus was "what are you good at right now?"  For some that was basketball, some video games, some would answer "nothing". We would all say to a child, you're good at something! So that's what I say to you. It's through you that God makes all things spiritual. At your work or play, you carry the spirit of God.

We all might not see the spiritual side in every situation, but that doesn't mean its not there. How do I bring the spiritual side out,

Proverbs 3:5-

 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make your paths straight

In all our ways............ Love David.

YOU GOT SKILLS..........

So you got skills? WHY YES YOU DO!

At our church office you can walk by the desks of the staff members and they all have these letters on their desks. One day I happened to stop and read one of theirs. After working with this person awhile and now reading what this said I thought wow! That seems right on the money!

It was a personality test. But what it revealed to me, was how do you best communicate and interact with this person.

Ephesians 4:11-13

¹¹ And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, [growing] into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ's fullness.

The reason I"m writing this is because of the scripture above. God has built each one in a unique way. But also with the need and ability to come together as one "Church" and work two-gather. (unity in the faith) so we need to know all we can about our comrades in this battle in which we have a common partner Jesus Christ. 

After taking my personality test it told me I was an ESTJ-THE GUARDIANS

There are several different categories.

ISTJ - The Duty Fulfillers

ESTJ - The Guardians

ISFJ - The Nurturers

ESFJ - The Caregivers

ISTP - The Mechanics

ESTP - The Doers

ESFP - The Performers

ISFP - The Artists

ENTJ - The Executives

INTJ - The Scientists

ENTP - The Visionaries

INTP - The Thinkers

ENFJ - The Givers

INFJ - The Protectors

ENFP - The Inspirers

INFP - The Idealists

Just for fun won't you take this little quiz, see what the results are, and give it all a good praying over.

love ya- David

The right people

Well today at "church" we talked about two of my all time favorite Bible stories. Jonathon and his armor bearer and Moses with Aaron and Hur. Both really good instances of God's people coming together.

That is something that has become very important to me. There are instances throughout history that God did something that was all on His own, pillar of fire, burning bush, those things. But more often we see God doing miracles through His people. I have seen people do things that are not normal, they are weird in a God way.

A point driven home in this mornings experience.

Who are the top five voices speaking in to your life?

When the right people, gather together for the right reasons, God shows up and the right things happen.

I believe one thing to remember is we have to be intentional about these relationships. We need to pray about them, that God would use our relationships. That we would not take them for granted, even when words might not be what we wanted to hear. Relationships require effort, pray God would give us the time to get together, to allow many opportunities, Facebook, twitter, or texting, to hear these voices. That God would open up our hearts to hear, and understand even the deep things of God.

The "Church" needs to realize that its not the building you meet in. The church is meeting all the time. When you get together at someones house, at the coffee shop, when you're shopping and run into a brother or sister in Christ. The "Church" is together.

More churches should push people out of the walls of buildings and into the world to meet. To be an example to our neighbors, to our friends, to the world. We do not hide our Christianity behind the walls of a building like it's some supernatural club.

Our church has a saying.....

We are spiritual contributors not spiritual consumers. The church does not exist for us. We are the church and we exist for the world.

Hope you all have a great week. Love- David.

God only knows....

Over the past few weeks I have seen a lot of things change around me. And I don't "DO" change. But we all must face changes throughout our lives. Why somethings happen the way the do we'll never know, at least til we see God.

If you have ever been around a serious professional cabinet maker they are meticulous. It is almost annoying the level of perfection that they shoot for. An 1/8 of an inch variance is too much. They have a design that is custom built for the specific location, in a specific room, with no tolerance for error. In the process of making the cabinet every thing is thought our, drawn out, measured twice, cut once, laid out, finish sanded, then stained. It is amazing to watch the process from start to finish. Many times the things being cut don't even look like they belong to what they are doing, but they bring it all together.

I am watching friends struggle through circumstances that seem almost cruel. When we serve a God that can take care of any problem, why does this go on? Whether it is the slow, painful loss of watching the aged or the sudden loss of an young army Specialist. Why do these things go on?

Earlier I said, "Many times the things being cut don't even look like they belong to what they are doing, but they bring it all together." We have walked smack dab into the middle of a cabinet being built by the best of the best. There is no error made. But when I look in to the situation I cannot tell the good from the waste nor the top from the bottom. All I can see saws cutting, nail guns being fired. wood being piled up. I don't know whats going on. I can even go look at the plan, but still might not understand it all. Except for, maybe, the picture of the finished product.

Much the same is our limited view of what God is doing here. What he is doing in your life. We have such little understanding and our perception is not always accurate.

I would love to pray for you specfically in what circumstance you find yourself in. Comment or email me. Love in Christ-David. lyonsseeking@gmail.com

Ephesians 2:10¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

1 Corinthians 3:9⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Why do you?

Most of you know that my wife and I attend Lifechurch.tv. We, our whole family, love it there. It is quite the atmosphere. We love the people, we love the worship, we love the opportunities to serve.  But today something odd happened.

Every week my family and many others, greet people, welcoming the masses on to the campus of Lifechurch.tv-Stillwater. After we are done with this "greeting" we have a "huddle". All the Host Team (other greeters, people that drive golf carts, make drinks, etc.) gather around for a word from our leader, prayer requests, pertinent information, and summed up with a prayer. But today,,,,,,,,today was different.

Today we were given little cards about the size of an index card 3 x 5 inches. On one card was simply to update our contact information. The second, and what gets this blogger's attention was for this. "Write down why you serve." Hmmm, all on one card, can I do front and back, and  by the way I need time to process that question! Were all the thoughts that raced through my mind. Did I mention I might over analyze? Out of the dozen or so people in our huddle, 8 were done by the time the short little prayer was over. That left the awkward 4.

I searched my limited vocabulary for the words I needed, my train of thought was still at the boarding station. I was able to respond with "to demonstrate the love of Christ through action, and to teach the importance of serving to our family."

But there was this scripture that immediately came to mind.

1 John 3:16-18

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Love in Action

 ¹⁶ This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us.

We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. 

¹⁷ If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need but shuts off his compassion ⁽from him—how can God's love reside in him? ^(G)

    ¹⁸ Little children, we must not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth;

Now I am not standing at the doors handing out things of mine to the people that walk through the doors. But I do have something, If you're reading this I hope you have it too. The love of Christ. 

I like what Peter says in Acts.3:6

 ⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

That's where I want to be in serving. Meeting the needs of people they don't even realize they have.  To be bold with the love and power of Christ our risen Saviour.

Love in Christ- David

Lost on the I

Well I missed a week of the blog. Not for any particular reason it just happened I wanted to do it but time just got away.

Earlier this week I had posted a comment on Facebook, "You ever look around like How did I get here? Why haven't I seen a sign in awhile?"

I think maybe that is what has happened in my own relationship with God. I became unaware. In my line of work they use the term "Situational Awareness". I work at a fairly busy airport. the need to be constantly aware of where you are, what exactly your are doing, and what others are doing around you.  This Situational Awareness is what gets you home safe everyday.

We need to have this same, OK maybe I, need to make this same effort in my relationship with God. Maybe I lost my awareness. I seemed to have turned around and can't remember how I got here. I don't recognize anything, nothing seems familiar.

It's like every time I go to Tulsa, OK, I don't mean to but I always end up in the railway shipping area, at least 8 out of 10 times. The funny thing is now when I get to that point I can find my way out. It has gotten easier.  But I also realize that I make those mistakes easily, so I am aware of my ability or lack of ability. I try not to make the same mistakes twice.

Or maybe it something different all together. Maybe the frustration I feel at getting lost Is actually God in control. Maybe just maybe there's too much I......................

John 3:30 ³⁰ He must become greater; I must become less.”

 

Well that was kind of all over the place wasn't it.- love David.

GLORIFY

Definition of GLORY

1a : praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent : renown b : worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving <giving glory to God>

 

 

Definition of GLORIOUS

1a : possessing or deserving glory : illustrious b : entitling one to glory <a glorious victory>

2: marked by great beauty or splendor : magnificent <a glorious sunset>

 

Definition of GLORIFY

1a : to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration b : to elevate to celestial glory.

 

I think most of us would say that we want to live a life that Glorifies God.  More over a life that Glorifies Him and also points others to do the same. But what does that mean? What does that look like?

 

Matthew Chp 5 says we are the light of the world, let our light shine, others will see and glorify the Father.  I know I for one look at myself and think, "How can I point others to Glorify the Father?" when I look at what all is wrong with me how can God use me.

 

Really the answer is simpler than one might think. God's is bigger than you are. What can you do that God says, "Now what am I going to do?" Nothing. Read through the Psalms, as you see David a man after God's own heart, crying out to Abba, praising Him, searching for Him. 

 

It wasn't that David was perfect, he apparently had a few issues throughout his life. Same as us, but God saw through all of those faults (which God uses to change us) and built a great Kingdom through David. 

 

God is working through you. Take heart. With your Heart seek Him, seek His Love, seek His mercy and grace.  Remember that this is a constant spiritual battle, and wanting to good evil is right there with us. 

 

Please take a minute, follow this link read Psalm 69.   

 

Finally I leave you with a few scriptures.

Psalm 86:12
I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.Psalm 63:3
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.Psalm 34:3
Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.

I want to thank you so much for reading. My prayer from the beginning was that God be glorified. To spread the Love of Christ. To question religion and find Relationship. To challenge others to realize the leadership potential God has built within them. You are here for battle. We might have varying roles in there, but I feel we are at war.

 

Love in Christ- David