Monday, August 31, 2009

I'm Done With Clarity

Every story about Mother Teresa is epic. Her life was one of those rare examples of someone who is so much like Jesus, it becomes synonymous with the gospel. I suggest you not only read about her life (the Wikipedia entry is enough to convert the hardest heart), but you also read the words she has written.

There goes this story in which an American man was feeling called to the area which Mother Teresa was ministering to. However, he was not sure where exactly and therefore was hesitant to begin work anywhere. The man had the opportunity to speak with Mother Teresa about his conundrum.

“I know God is calling me to serve him and to give my whole life, but I’m so clueless as to where he wants me to go,” he told her.

The man humbly and honestly asked Mother Teresa if she could pray for him, that God would grant him clarity in this situation.

“I admire your closeness to God and the clarity he has given you for this ministry you have. I would love to have what you have. Please pray for me,” he begged.

But Mother Teresa’s response astonished the young Westerner: “I have never once had clarity, laddie, I have only had courage.”

After I heard this, I realized I need to start praying differently. So often I pray that God would change my circumstances and make it clearer as to where I need to go. But my Bible reads differently (The Lord's Prayer has no petition for clarity). Instead of praying for God to change things around me, we should pray that God change us.

We have it backwards. We should not be asking for our circumstances to change in order for clarity, rather we should be asking for God to change us so that our circumstances and world around us then changes because we are new people.

Scripture is full of this. When Samuel anoints Saul with oil and prays a blessing over Saul, he commissions Saul to journey out toward Gilbeath-elohim (the hill of God). He tells him to look for certain people along the way, to prophesy and preach God to people as he goes, and, “...the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with those there and be turned into another man. Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you” (1 Samuel 10:6-7).

Samuel simply tells him, “let God change you as his Spirit fills you, and do whatever you think is right.” You see, we do God’s will (or what God wants us to do) when we live in and through Him and by His Word. That is His will. It is not a certain job, a certain place to live, or a certain school.

You don’t do God’s will because you’re in a certain place, you do God’s will because you’re a certain person. You stop living by your standards, and you begin to live by His.

You’re Spirit filled. You are loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled (Galatians 5:22). You’ll be generous (2 Cor. 9), unstained from the world (James 1:27, 2 Timothy 2:22-23), passionate about the least of these (Matt. 25, James 1:27), and pretty much everything else Jesus was because you’ll begin being conformed to his image, not yours (2 Cor. 3:16-18).

Stop asking God to change your circumstances, and begin asking him to change you so that you can change your own circumstances.

Think about it: your circumstances are different and will always change; the only thing consistent in them is you. So, the only way to change those things that are thrown at you and around you is if you change.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Your Life at the End of Your Life

"But there were a few newer tombstones, the marble bright and fresh. Some of them had solemn dun-and-beige pictures of the deceased, below which there were their names and dates: Oleksandr Pronek 1967-2002; Oksana Mykolchuk 1928-1995. The whole life a dash between the two arbitrary numbers..."

- Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project, pp. 105.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Worst Worship. Ever.

These are the times I think about moving very far away...

Monday, August 17, 2009

This One's For Free

If you know me at all, I often say that I don't know where I would be without C.S. Lewis. He, for some reason, can articulate the ways of God to me better than pretty much any body, and he points me to Christ constantly. I haven't read everything of his, but I plan on it. I was going through one of his works for a second look as I'm preparing a certain sermon, and came across this, which I believe is of prime importance.
"The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word, 'love,' and look on things as if man were the center of them. Man is not the center. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. 'Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.' We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too) but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the Divine love may rest well pleased."
-C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, pp. 40-41.

This world was not made for you or me. Nor was is your life about fulfilling what you believe makes you happy. Google "Hubble Telescope" and you'll see what I mean.

This Man Died Three Weeks After He Said This

His name was Rich Mullins, and this pretty much sums up what I try to articulate often and the way I train to live my own life.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

A Reminder That Jesus Lives

This is an email I got to write to my whole staff at Rolling Hills. A lot of my life is watching God work, this time it was obvious. Enjoy...

Got to witness a miracle in the life of a member of our church, Mike Hargett. Here’s the skinny.

Big Mike was recovering from surgery this past week when some combination of medicines was not working. He became very nauseous and weak Sunday morning and his Mom (LouAnne) had to call 911 for her son.

I met them at the ER and things were not looking good for a little bit. I prayed multiple times but things were getting worse. He ended up staying over night at the hospital Sunday and Monday night. I went in on Monday and things were down but he was stabilized.

On Tuesday, I was in a meeting when Lou Anne called me saying things were getting worse. His liver was showing signs of failure. The doc’s were puzzled and began trying tons more options.

I rushed over and brought my buddy and brother in the Lord Alex Landers.

We prayed over his bed for a while, asking God for healing.

I just got a call from Mike himself who wanted you all to know that the doctors can’t explain why, but his whole body is at 100% functionality and he can go home to continue to recover from his surgery. He was in high spirits and thanking God.

Mike is a new believer, and I’ve witnessed his growth in faith through discipleship and community. This was huge and I just thought I should share that with you guys in order to spur you on in the Spirit, and for you to know the grave is still empty and God answers prayer.

I love you all, keep praying.

Chris Nye

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

MEN.SUCK.

I remember when my dad left a couple of years ago, I was really messed up by it, and my roommate John and I were sitting on the grass in Wallace Park just talking about all that was going on and he said to me, "It really is crazy how much power we as men have to totally screw stuff up."

That has really stuck with me. While women can really screw things up too, it seems that because men have so much more of a dominating social and political presence, we can really screw stuff up on a bigger level.

This last Sunday, our young adult group was thin because most were off being counselors at our Jr. High Camp in Washington. So I decided to take a lil' field trip to Medical Teams International's exhibit called REAL.LIFE. As I was reading about a dictator who charged every woman in his country to have 5 babies in order to feed his army, or the countless men who ditch their large families in poor countries, or the men who force children to fight in their armies and kill their families as initiation, that concept came back to me.

I was reading one particular story from Africa when John leaned in and said, "This exhibit could easily be called Men, period, Suck, period." I told him I was thinking the same thing.

I can't tell you how many stories I hear about men ditching their kids, wives, families, just in order to feel a little bit more powerful. It's pathetic. And mostly these men operate this way because they didn't get enough attention from their father.

Fatherlessness is a crisis in America for sure. But it has been a crisis for a long time all over the world. This is why I appreciate The Mentoring Project, which you should find out more about. These guys are working to change things.

Anyways.

Go to REAL.LIFE. Find out about it, donate to Medical Teams, sell something you don't need and give your money to the poor.

And men?

Be a man. No, that doesn't mean getting the most girls, or making the most money, or having a ton of power just so you can stroke your insignificant, tiny ego.

Being a man means taking responsibility for what you've been given. You have a mind, a heart, a soul, and you have a lot of strength that you may not even think you have.

You have deeper things, more to give than you could possibly imagine. It is better to give than receive. So instead of receiving a bunch of pleasure from sex and money and power that will eventually wreck your heart, soul, mind and strength, do what was meant to be done.

Surrender.

Give all that you have. Of course, I need to tell you to give it first all to God. But for His sake give to your family, your wife, your friends, and your community and neighborhood. If you don't give and just receive, you may get the entire world. Seriously, you can spend your whole life and work in order to recieve the whole world. Everything can be yours here, it really can. But I gurentee your soul will be lost in the process. You'll be embarrased.

This is the way the Bible charts it out. Give to God and you won't regret it. Don't think I'm not aware of all the Christian men that have screwed things up in the name of God. Believe me, I'm more aware of that than what pagans have done. To me, it's even worse to claim to be of God and act like a boy.

It takes much more of a man to give his life to something than to treat his life like a sponge that absorbs anything he sees as "good."

I'll encourage you, that if you're a Christian guy, seriously think about your future. You have a lot on your sholders and I think we've all figured out that your tiny little life is no game. Stop praying that God will change your circumstances (your relationships, your finances, your career, your school, etc) and start praying and begging him to change YOU.

If you don't know God, get to know him. I've never met a perfect dad. I don't think I'll ever find one here. But when I read the Bible I'm so confused at His perfection.

All you can do at that point is give Him what you know and have and pray to be more and more like Him.