Discipline

I got into a conversation with two Muslim Brothers over their faith...

In the midst of the conversation, they explained Islam - what they believe, why they believe it, and why they do what they do. The thing that blew my mind was that all over the world no matter what time it is, there is a Muslim praying....

Thinking back on the conversation, the men were disciplined. They had a solid foundation in their faith and could explain it.

It got me thinking - why aren't Christians as a whole more disciplined. What does that say about us? What does it say when our example is perfect beyond measure yet we don't have the same or more discipline than the people who follow the example of a man?

We don't pray most times until we are in trouble. When we aren't in trouble, we are praying for what we want as opposed to praying to spend time with God.. When was the last time you actually spent time with God? Human nature is to actively pursue that in which you are interested in, why don't we pursue God with that same fervor? Do we pursue God the way we pursue a lover? We are willing to sacrifice most anything for the one we love, yet we balk when God asks us to sacrifice for him?

At the end of the day, it all comes down to what are we willing to do for our faith. What are we willing to do to show others that our faith is the center of our lives..... Are we willing to be as Disciplined as our Muslim brothers and sisters?.... Are we willing to let God be the center of our lives and fall in love with him?

What are you willing to do to become more disciplined?

To Worship in Truth is to be Free....

A few weeks ago we talked about Worship and how it's hard for some to lose themselves in Worship. We talked about David being able to Worship so hard that he danced out of his clothes. When he was asked about it, he says that I praise him the way I do because of what he has done for me. (2 Samuel 6:20-21)

This begs the question, how do we get to a point where we can Worship as freely as David did.... David did it without consideration for who was around. To him it wasn't important what others thought when he was in Worship....

We get to this point by being Free. Worship in itself is a freedom. To be able to worship the way that David did we have to let go of everything. We have to let go of everything because we need to be able to Worship both in Spirit and in Truth. Jesus tells this to the woman at the well in John 4. Jesus talks about water being in a well on the inside of us, springing up into everlasting life. This is apart of us Worshiping in Spirit. When we do something in Spirit, that means that it is so entrenched in us that we do it subconsciously. We Worship without thinking about it, we just do it.

Worshiping in Spirit is only part of it though. The Jewish people, worshiped in Spirit. They worshiped because it was something they wanted to do but also had to do as apart of the Law. They did not Worship in truth. We see this as the conversation progresses between Jesus and the Woman. Jesus calls her out about her home life.He talks about her lack of a husband, even though the man she is with she calls him her husband. He lets her know that while she is keeping the traditions of the faith, she is not living in truth. Truth being that while she was following the tradition, she still had things going on in her life that did not allow her to be freely who she was supposed to be.

Many of us are like that. Many of us go to church where for a few hours, minutes even, we get our fix. We get enough to hold us over for a few days, but when it wears off we are still in bondage. We are still wrestling with something that leaves us in chains - but we refuse to admit it and correct it. Admitting it and correcting it is how we Worship in Truth. We cannot deny ourselves in Worship if we are tied down. That was the message Jesus was giving to the woman at the well. He says to her that one day people will worship in Spirit and in Truth. One day we will Worship in such a manner that we are free - both Spiritually and  Physically.

Why should we wait for that one day to come? Why should we wait to start Worshiping in Spirit as well as Truth? Why not loose the chains now and gain our freedom?

Do we place God in a box?

There have been many posts on changing our way of thinking. I know I seem to keep coming back to that topic in some shape form or fashion, but it is important as for what a man thinketh in his heart so is he
(Proverbs 23:7). The mind plays a very important part in our faith walk. It is the thing that essentially can make or break us. What proof do we have of this? Paul talked constantly about wanting to do what was right but having his flesh draw him in a different direction....  

Why do I bring up the mind again? Why was there a need to reiterate the importance of the mind?

I brought up the mind again because I came across this thought today as I have a few times before.... Do we not only put people in a box, but do we put God in a box?

If you are anything like I am, you have probably thought about someone at sometime.. "You've changed". Now the only way a person can "change" at least from our perspective is if we have made it up in our minds that, that is who the person is and who they will stay. But is that really the case or is it that we don't allow for people to change? Do we find ourselves placing people in a box, placing labels on people and not allowing them to be able to get out of the box or have those labels removed? If we do it with our fellow man, how much more likely do we do it with God? Do we limit what God can do because we have never been able to let go of the God we encountered when we were younger? Do we limit what God can do because we have seen him move one way and just expect for him to always move that way? Do we?

My challenge to you, for some it will truly be a challenge, is for you to pull off all labels and open all boxes. We have to start allowing for people to grow and evolve as we change/grow and evolve. The same goes with God. As we walk and get deeper in our faith, we have to give God room to be God. We have to give God the freedom in our lives to BE Alpha and Omega. We can no longer just say the words. We have to be open to allowing the Infinite Being to BE the Infinite Being. We have to open our minds. So will you join me this year in allowing God to be.... GOD?