Developed or Discovered?

I once heard Perry Noble say that a lot of leaders would rather be discovered rather than developed. I never realized that that was what I wanted until God revealed it to me through Perry saying that. I realized that the driving force behind anything I was doing or saying was to be "discovered" by a person, an organization, or anything that had influence to help me get where I wanted to go. I still fight those motivations every day, as I'm sure a lot of leaders do, especially young leaders. I would encourage anyone reading this to consider this: Am I seeking to be developed as a leader, or just discovered? To help you consider that, let me share some thoughts I've had when I've pursued discovery, as well as development.

When you look to be discovered, everything you do and think is motivated by:

- Pride: Where do others fail? How can I sell myself?

-Achievement: If I can do it better, I AM better

-Appearance: Who can I impress? 

Whereas these motivations may bring rewards of a temporary nature, there is no way to grow. When you look to just be discovered, there is no room for character growth when everything is done to be in the sight of others.There is no room for fellowship, when you are driven constantly by competition and comparison. And there is certainly no room for spiritual growth, because the focus is on YOU. Not God.

When you look to be developed, everything you do and think is motivated by:

- Humility: Where can I improve? How can I serve others in this position?

- Prayer: How can I be better aligned with God's will?

- Relationships: Who can I learn from? Who can I pour into?

If there's one thing I've learned, the pursuit of development  has eternal significance and the focus is entirely on being shaped by God and His Will. Discovery only lasts as long as it takes for a better opportunity to come along. Honestly, sometimes it doesn't have to be better, it just has to be new.

I want to be developed, not discovered. But wanting isn't going to change a thing. It's a start, but it doesn't fix anything. This blog post certainly won't. No amount or reading or talking or listening is going to change our focus. We have to fist take the focus off of ourselves and onto the one person who can change  us: Christ. If you want to be discovered, then any development that comes is superficial, just meant to move closer to the opportunity or job or respect or whatever that you're after.

But if you seek development, it doesn't matter what jobs or people or opportunities come or pass, because you will always be moving closer to Christ, closer to His likeness. And THAT is what lasts. Growing closer to Christ lasts far beyond any opportunity in this world.

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14

No Longer a Wanderer

This is the first post I've written since changing my blog title from "Where My Mind Wanders" to "One Step Closer". The change came from the fact that I no longer want to be a wanderer. Right now, I'm experiencing a great deal of change in my life, from coming closer to graduation, to doing something new over the summer for the first time in 3 years, to the normal changes that happen to everyone every day. I'm surrounded by uncertainty and change and it is HARD. I'm not going to say I have no worries or doubts or fears, because I do. I have so many. I struggle with so many terrifying thoughts.

I don't have what it takes.

No one will listen to me.

I'm too weak to move on.

I'll lose touch with all of my friends.

No one can really love me.

And the fears don't end there. But, I believe that God surpasses all fears and all pain. When I have these thoughts, He is faithful in reminding me of the real truth.

I don't have what it takes. But God will be the One working through me.

No one will listen to me. God is always willing to listen.

I'm too weak to move on. But God is my strength.

I'll lose all of my friends. The Body of Christ is stronger than any distance, physical or otherwise. 

No one can really love me. Christ already proved his unfailing love on the Cross.

I don't want to wander through a sea of opportunities and thoughts day after day. It isn't about choosing the right opportunities. It's not even about the opportunities. No matter what opportunities I choose or pass up in my life, no matter who I meet or who I lose touch with, and no matter how many times I fail, I want to move towards the Lord in everything I do. In my successes and my failures. In my high points and my low points.

I don't want to wander. I want purpose. I want to have a destination. My destination is Christ. My journey in this life is to move closer to Him in every opportunity, every day.

 I'm done wandering.


 

Devotion

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Then fear came over everyone and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and had all things in common. " Acts 2:42-44

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm exhausted.
 I'm tired of trying to be a better person.
 I'm tired of trying to figure out where I'll be or who I'll be with in a year, 5 years, 15 years, etc.
 I'm tired of putting so much stock in my image.
I'm tired of putting so much effort in trying to appear to be spiritual.

And I'm realizing that I'm so tired because I was not created to worry about all these things. We were not created to worry about all these things.

We were created to seek God, to trust in Him, to put all of our faith and hope in His strength, not our own.

So many people, myself included, spend so much time trying to figure out the secret formula to a successful life, ministry, relationship, and whatever else. When, this whole time, God has the answers and He is just asking that we look to Him.

Stop trying to "figure things out", but put your hope in Christ.

Don't just pray to pray, but devote yourself to prayer.

Don't just go to church and listen and hang out, but  devote yourself to teaching and fellowship.

If we are going to be a generation that wants to receive power from the Holy Spirit and see incredible things done in our schools, our churches, and our homes, we need to devote ourselves to the Lord and His will, not just use Him as a backup when we aren't sure where we are headed.

Go all in. Know who you are as a believer. Know who you are as a church. Know who you are as a family. Then, prepare yourself to see the Lord do more amazing things you could ever imagine in your life.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Wake Up

Born into sin, born into shame

Try to walk on my own with a body that's lame.

Covered in sin, a veil over my eyes.

Dead in the tomb by cause of my pride.

What I once thought was wise, 

 was really a death sentence keeping me from the prize.

Unable to get up my own,

looking for one last ray of hope.

Then, suddenly, from beyond the tomb I've grown accustomed to, 

I hear a strong voice shout to me, but who?

It is the Savior, it is the Christ.

Calling to me, "Come out! Begin a new life!"

I've never made the best decisions, but this one holds true,

Christ has made me whole, made me anew.

Now, it's up to you. 

That same God who called Lazarus from the grave, now calls for you.

He's shouting, "Wake Up! Open your eyes!"

It's no longer just you in the fight.

He won't just show you the light, He is the light.

Wake up.

"When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go." John 11:43-44

Those who are familiar with the story of Lazarus know the basic gist of what happens. Lazarus dies, Jesus waits four days to come and see him, then Jesus raises him from the dead. As you just read in the verses above, Jesus calls to him, "Lazarus, come out!" and Lazarus walks out of the tomb, alive, indeed.

There are so many parallels through that story as it applies to the present day. The biggest one that we see is that Jesus has done the same for us in saving us from our sins through death on the cross, raising us to life again. 

Yet, unfortunately, God has recently put on my heart that a lot of us are still living as if we are still suck in the tomb, dead in our sins. This includes me. 

When we receive Christ's love with an open heart, we are forgiven of past, present, and future sins. We are set free.  

No longer dead, but alive.

If you're still living trapped in sin and shame, Jesus is calling to you.

Christ is shouting: "______, come out!" 

Christ calls all of us to leave behind the dead ways that once ruled us, take off our grave clothes and the old ways we once lived by, and walk out into the light.

To walk out into a relationship with the one person with the power to set you free: Jesus Christ.

Be free.

 ^"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;  and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 

John 11:25

Why Is There A Lack of Persecution in the American Church?

Well, I'm definitely no expert on persecution, suffering, the church, or really anything. I can't say I've ever known true suffering or persecution. However, I do know that God promises it to us in His word:

"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," 2 Tim. 3:12

I think all of us can agree that living a Christian life is tough, but most of us in America can't say that the Gospel has cost us anything apart from slight discomfort, rejection, and the occasional sacrifice of our time to go to church. As persecution is defined as the subjecting of a person or group to cruel or unfair treatment because of their beliefs, I don't think those things count as persecution.

I've heard this topic discussed plenty of times, and usually the conversation loops around to being ended by saying, "We have just been blessed to have been born in a tolerant country."

Yes, we have been blessed to live in an amazing country where we aren't hunted down for our beliefs. Yet, you have to ask the question: Where there are so many countries in which Christians ARE being hunted down, why is ours so different? I don't think it's just because all of our government is just so tolerant of everyone's beliefs.

In a big way, we as Christians in America have stopped being a threat. It's easy to be tolerant of something when it doesn't pose a threat. Just take a look at the life of Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb. If he had just been the lamb and not challenged the current ways of the day, I'm sure the Pharisees would have been plenty "tolerant." But yet, He was also the lion, who came to defend the weak and change the hearts of those who believed.

And He became a threat.

Another threat was posed after Christ Himself was put to death, and His name was Stephen, also known as the first martyr for the cause of Christ.

"Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however..." Acts 6:8-9

The Bible says that Stephen was full of God's grace and power, yet there was opposition. But why? Verse 14 clears that up for us, "For we have heard Him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." 

Although these accounts were from false witnesses, their lies tell us why they were afraid of Stephen. He told them that His Savior, Jesus, threatened to "change the customs". They didn't want to change. So in chapter 8, we see Stephen stoned for the threat that he posed in the name of Jesus.

Stephen was living in a "God-believing" nation, as well. But that didn't stop him from being seen as a threat. Wherever you are, take a stand against even the most minor injustice that you see and see how the people react.

Where there is no risk, there is no threat. Where there is no threat, there is no need for persecution.

Even Satan cares very little when we are Christians but taking no risk. We don't pose a threat to His purposes.

It is when we take risks that we become a threat to Satan and the world around us. When we finally become dangerous, then persecution will come. Christ was persecuted for OUR sake. We follow in His footsteps because we believe in His cause, no matter what it costs.

What has following Christ cost you?

In Your Word we are promised persecution and suffering, 

but where is it, aside from the slight discomfort of occasional rejection?

You've called us to risk and danger

but those of us in the "Land of the Free" have become stagnant

We chalk up our lack of promised persecution to tolerance,

but that is not the whole story, not the full picture.

Tolerance exists because threat doesn't.

The Church and the world were never intended to be in a tolerant standstill,

we are called to dangerous influence, to threaten the regime of the Evil One

Our very Savior was crucified by His own people for posing a threat to "the way things were"

So GO! Be dangerous, be a threat.

Identity

Recently, I've been meditating a lot on the struggle we face between the fact that we are sinners and the fact that God has redeemed and restored us from all of that through His grace:

 ^"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,  so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7

I realized that when I struggle with sin, I have generally two incorrect outlooks. 

First, when I am indulging myself in my sinful desires, both during and after, I feel strong guilt and shame and I feel unable to go to God for forgiveness because I tell myself I'm not worthy. Which is stupid. I'm never worthy. That's the beauty of grace. Christ became sin for our sakes, so that through His sacrifice we could be redeemed and cleansed of ALL of our sins, past, present, and future (2 Cor. 5:21).

Second, when I feel as I'm doing well resisting temptation (with God's help, since I can do nothing apart from Him giving me life), I act as if I'll never sin again. SO, I get on my righteous high horse and begin to put all the accomplishments on my own ability. 

I don't know if anyone else is like this, but I find myself in one of those two states more often than not. If you're like me, then be in prayer that God can remind you of how weak you are in your own power against sin, but also that He redeems us and gives us strength to overcome sin. When you do mess up (which you WILL) pray that He reminds you of His love and grace that is stronger than any guilt or shame the Devil can place on you. 

Who am I but a man bound to sin?

When I fall I am ashamed of my stupidity

yet when I am lifted up, I expect to never fall again.

The only thing I can hope for is to be reminded of my weakness and Your grace

Only then will I be consumed entirely by the fire my soul longs for.

Only then will I be free to dissolve into you.

Following Through on your Leadership and Ministry Goals

For me, it has come to the time of year where I'm really beginning to prepare for the coming summer that I'm working at CentriKid. During this time, I've begun to think about how I am to cast the vision that I have for how I want to minister. I'll be in a formal leadership position within the team for my first summer, so I find it even more crucial to create a cognitive road map of the goals I have and why I have those goals. I've found that the steps I'm taking to cast that vision for my ministry over the summer is helping a great deal and will keep me much more accountable to follow through on those goals. As a person who has struggled with following through on goals in the past, I've realized the difference it makes in your life when you follow through. Without following through on the ministry goals you set for yourself, those goals become wishes and hopes that "could have been". I've done my best to learn from those shortcomings, and these steps have definitely helped me to be more diligent in achieving my goals.

1. Pray and meditate. Pray and give real thought to what your goals are for your ministry, what you expect of yourself, and what you expect of the people on your team and write them down. Joshua 1:8 tells us to "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Joshua urges us to meditate on Scripture to be prosperous in our lives, and I think it goes the same for our ministry goals and expectations. The more you pray and meditate on what you expect of yourself and how you will glorify God in your ministry, the more likely you are to follow through.

2. Confirm your goals with Scripture. It's much harder to follow through on your goals when you don't have solid evidence for why you believe in those goals. When you confirm your goals through Scripture, you have a great reference point when you pray and meditate on your goals. Let Scripture be your main point of reference when you are determining your leadership and ministry goals.

3. Seek wise counsel. You don't have to be entirely original in your goals, nor do you have to keep them to yourself. Feedback on your goals from peers or mentors always helps. It may help you develop new goals, improve upon your own goals, or even realize where some goals don't match up with the Biblical standard God has set for you.

4. Be serious about your goals. You've set the goals out at this point. Don't compromise on them. Stand firm in following through on your goals and keep your mind focused toward Christ.  1 Peter 1:13 tells us, "Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Prepare your mind to accomplish these goals through prayer and practice and remember that only by the grace of God will you be able to achieve the goals you have set out. Through his strength and power, you can be a powerful leader for the cause of Christ.

In no way is the only way to achieve your goals. These are just some ways that have helped me to recognize and achieve my goals, and if you decide to try it, I hope and pray it works for you, as well.