Holding Pattern Part 3, Journaling.

In this Holding pattern I am being Amazed at my Father.   Let’s unpack part 3 of Holding Pattern.

There are holding patterns that are full of pain, resentment, bitterness, and etc.  However, this holding pattern I’m  currently in,  is full of renewal, and life change.  I’ve been hearing God’s voice clearer than ever and going through a growing season.  Nightly, I am praying for young lives that would be impacted by Him.  This Holding pattern is calm before the storm of ministry.

Part 3: Draw the Holding Pattern. Once you have the Fix and Course, mentally or physically draw a picture of the holding pattern.

One of the things I’ve started doing (again) is journaling.  On my bookshelf next to my desk I have about 12 journals I’ve done.   Writing what the Lord tells you, writing your prayers, and writing down your studies will bring about growth.  In one of my  journals I was praying for a change in my life and at that time I felt like God was distant.  Reading it now I look and it’s obvious God was there the whole time.    So in this time, this holding time, I am writing down the course He has me on.  I am spiritually drawing a picture of the place God is calling me to.

In this short entry, I challenge you and encourage you if you don’t consistently write in a Journal, start and it will grow you in more ways than you know.

Let’s Debrief the Cost

Doing mission trips for teenagers and leading mission trips in general is my speciality.  It’s what I’ve doing for most of my ministry life.  I enjoy it.  However, as I have a  3 year old and passion for youth pastoring has re-ignited it’s time to pursue more mainstream ministry (aka: working for a church).

As I was thinking this morning and praying I started dwelling on the the word Debrief.  One of the things I do on my mission trips with my attendees is debrief at the end of the day.  What was our high and low?  What did we see God do and where did we see God move?

Yesterday I spent some time taking a class (Body Pump) at a local gym.  I was so after the class and I don’t think I need to share how sore I am today.  That soreness did remind me of what I did yesterday.  I remember being in the gym thinking to myself “is this actually worth it?”.  Then I would look up at the posters of people that are in shape (of course) and that would help me concentrate as I felt like my muscles (the ones I didn’t know I had) were about to rip in half and jump out of my body.

Today, I am reminded that serving Christ is not always fun.  Being a Christian in today’s world is a bit hard.  Let’s face it, we live in a society where it’s more cool to have the latest gadget than it is  to be a Christ follower.  Yesterday, it costed me time, money, hard work, and soreness to achieve what…….nothing.   Actually, nothing “yet”.  It takes me doing this weekly, if not daily to achieve what I want to achieve.

We must admit that being a Christian is costly.  What does it cost? Everything!  When the rich young man came to Christ and asked what he must do to have eternal life, Jesus told him to sell everything and give the money to the poor. When Isaiah asked how long he should preach to the unheeding people of Judah, God told him, until there is nothing left in the land.  Paul told Timothy to endure hardship as a soldier of Christ.  When the Christians who were being persecuted by the Romans and the Jews for the “crime” of following Christ wanted to know how long they should persevere in the faith, Christ told them, even unto death.  When Christ told the Twelve about the price of following Him, He said, “if any man would be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  I am convinced that the greatest heresy of our time is the idea that discipleship is all about learning how to get God to give you that next big thrill or that next big toy, and leaves “take up thy cross and follow me” completely out of the picture. In truth real discipleship is costly.  Real discipleship is self discipline, self denial, self sacrifice, self crucifixion.  It is choosing against yourself in order that you may choose for God.  There’s an old hymn that says,

Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free?

No there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me.

Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease,

While others  fought to win the prize, and sailed on bloody seas?

Almost every one of the Apostles died a horrible death for the faith.  For 300 years Christians were persecuted, thrown to the lions, burned alive, and crucified for the “crime” of following Christ.  Throughout history the true believers have been a small, and often, persecuted body within the larger group of those who called themselves Christians.  But now, suddenly, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, being a Christian is about being healed of every disease, having your best life now, and getting everything you’ve ever wanted from God?  I don’t think so  I don’t see the change in Scripture.  It is true  that most American Christians will not suffer persecution these days, and I’m talking about loosing one’s life. (I do think it’s happening very much so today but outside of America) It is true that most of us will never be called upon to suffer martyrdom, thanks be to God.  But following Christ is still costly.  It takes time and money and energy we could have devoted to our own pleasures, and it still requires us to choose against our natural inclinations in order to obey the commandments of God.  But, here is the point, the prize is worth the cost.

The rich young man has just left Jesus.  He has refused to follow Christ.  It was not persecution that turned him away.  Christ did not tell him he would face suffering or death in His service.  Christ told him to sell all that he had and give the money away.  Christ was telling the man to value Christ above all things.  Christ was telling him to trust Christ above all things.  Hold nothing back.  Put everything you have and everything you are and everything you ever hope for into the hands of Christ.  This is similar to what God called Abraham to do when He told him to leave his home and his people and go to a land that God would show him.  He was calling Abraham to leave behind everything he depended on for his meaning and security in life, and to put a radical faith in God.  In a similar way, God called Moses to leave the pleasant life of a shepherd and go back to Egypt, right into the very throne room of the pharaoh and say, “Let my people go.”  Moses was called to give up everything he had come to value and depend on, even to risk his life, to dedicate everything to God, holding back nothing.  That is what Jesus is telling the rich young man to do.  But he would not do it, and he left Jesus and kept his trinkets.

It was immediately after this incident that Peter said to our Lord, “we have left everything to follow you.” Peter is saying he has made the sacrifices.  He has done what Christ demanded.  He has become a poor, homeless beggar to follow Jesus.  And Jesus said to Peter, anyone who makes the sacrifices of discipleship will receive a hundred fold in return (Mt. 19:29).  In other words the prize is worth the cost.  What you receive from Christ is more valuable than anything you sacrifice in His service.

We need to understand that Jesus is not telling you that if you put a dollar in the offering plate He’ll give you a hundred dollars back. He is not saying He will make life easy and pleasant and protect you from all hurt and grief and loss.   Jesus is promising spiritual blessings to His people, which cannot be compared to the treasures of earth that fade and rust, and that we have for only a few short years.  Jesus came to give us treasures in Heaven.  He came to give us peace in our souls that comes from the knowledge that we are at peace with God.   He came to assure those who come to Him in Biblical faith that no matter what challenges and trials we face in this world, one day we will be with Him in a land where there is no sorrow, no grief, no pain, no suffering, no fear, and no death, forever.  All of our questions will be answered. All of our sins and failures will be forgotten.  All of the real needs and hopes of our souls, will be fulfilled, and we will know the peace that passes all understanding in all its fullness and glory, for we will know God.  He came to give His word to us, the Holy Bible.   He came so you and I could spend eternal life with Him.   That is the prize.

Let me close with two thoughts.  First the prize is only for those who pay the cost.  I often hear people, talking about the latest victory of their favorite sport team, say, “We won.  We’re number one.”  I am tempted to say, “We?  What part did you play in the victory. How many tackles did you make?  How many points did you score?  What did you sacrifice to win the prize?  Where is your trophy?” Those who watch the game on TV and wear a sweatshirt with a team emblem on it don’t win any prizes.  The athletes and coaches and support people win the victory, and they receive the prizes.  Likewise, in the Christian faith, it is not those who sit in the stands, but those who run the race, who win the prize Christ promises.  Those who make the changes of thought and attitude and action, those who make the sacrifices, those who are faithful to the end, they are the ones who will reign with Christ in Heaven.  Second, the prize is worth the cost.  There is nothing on this earth we can own forever.  Everything we possess today will belong to someone else on some other day.  All of the prizes of this world will pass away, out of our hands, forever.  Only the spiritual things really count because only the spiritual things really last.  And those things are worth the sacrifices it takes to attain them.  It is true that it profits us nothing to gain the whole world and loose our own soul.  But it is also true that to gain Christ and loose the whole world is to gain everything and loose nothing.  So whatever the price, whatever the sacrifice, whatever the cost of following Christ; the prize is worth the cost.

Let's Debrief the Cost

Doing mission trips for teenagers and leading mission trips in general is my speciality.  It’s what I’ve doing for most of my ministry life.  I enjoy it.  However, as I have a  3 year old and passion for youth pastoring has re-ignited it’s time to pursue more mainstream ministry (aka: working for a church).

As I was thinking this morning and praying I started dwelling on the the word Debrief.  One of the things I do on my mission trips with my attendees is debrief at the end of the day.  What was our high and low?  What did we see God do and where did we see God move?

Yesterday I spent some time taking a class (Body Pump) at a local gym.  I was so after the class and I don’t think I need to share how sore I am today.  That soreness did remind me of what I did yesterday.  I remember being in the gym thinking to myself “is this actually worth it?”.  Then I would look up at the posters of people that are in shape (of course) and that would help me concentrate as I felt like my muscles (the ones I didn’t know I had) were about to rip in half and jump out of my body.

Today, I am reminded that serving Christ is not always fun.  Being a Christian in today’s world is a bit hard.  Let’s face it, we live in a society where it’s more cool to have the latest gadget than it is  to be a Christ follower.  Yesterday, it costed me time, money, hard work, and soreness to achieve what…….nothing.   Actually, nothing “yet”.  It takes me doing this weekly, if not daily to achieve what I want to achieve.

We must admit that being a Christian is costly.  What does it cost? Everything!  When the rich young man came to Christ and asked what he must do to have eternal life, Jesus told him to sell everything and give the money to the poor. When Isaiah asked how long he should preach to the unheeding people of Judah, God told him, until there is nothing left in the land.  Paul told Timothy to endure hardship as a soldier of Christ.  When the Christians who were being persecuted by the Romans and the Jews for the “crime” of following Christ wanted to know how long they should persevere in the faith, Christ told them, even unto death.  When Christ told the Twelve about the price of following Him, He said, “if any man would be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  I am convinced that the greatest heresy of our time is the idea that discipleship is all about learning how to get God to give you that next big thrill or that next big toy, and leaves “take up thy cross and follow me” completely out of the picture. In truth real discipleship is costly.  Real discipleship is self discipline, self denial, self sacrifice, self crucifixion.  It is choosing against yourself in order that you may choose for God.  There’s an old hymn that says,

Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free?

No there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me.

Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease,

While others  fought to win the prize, and sailed on bloody seas?

Almost every one of the Apostles died a horrible death for the faith.  For 300 years Christians were persecuted, thrown to the lions, burned alive, and crucified for the “crime” of following Christ.  Throughout history the true believers have been a small, and often, persecuted body within the larger group of those who called themselves Christians.  But now, suddenly, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, being a Christian is about being healed of every disease, having your best life now, and getting everything you’ve ever wanted from God?  I don’t think so  I don’t see the change in Scripture.  It is true  that most American Christians will not suffer persecution these days, and I’m talking about loosing one’s life. (I do think it’s happening very much so today but outside of America) It is true that most of us will never be called upon to suffer martyrdom, thanks be to God.  But following Christ is still costly.  It takes time and money and energy we could have devoted to our own pleasures, and it still requires us to choose against our natural inclinations in order to obey the commandments of God.  But, here is the point, the prize is worth the cost.

The rich young man has just left Jesus.  He has refused to follow Christ.  It was not persecution that turned him away.  Christ did not tell him he would face suffering or death in His service.  Christ told him to sell all that he had and give the money away.  Christ was telling the man to value Christ above all things.  Christ was telling him to trust Christ above all things.  Hold nothing back.  Put everything you have and everything you are and everything you ever hope for into the hands of Christ.  This is similar to what God called Abraham to do when He told him to leave his home and his people and go to a land that God would show him.  He was calling Abraham to leave behind everything he depended on for his meaning and security in life, and to put a radical faith in God.  In a similar way, God called Moses to leave the pleasant life of a shepherd and go back to Egypt, right into the very throne room of the pharaoh and say, “Let my people go.”  Moses was called to give up everything he had come to value and depend on, even to risk his life, to dedicate everything to God, holding back nothing.  That is what Jesus is telling the rich young man to do.  But he would not do it, and he left Jesus and kept his trinkets.

It was immediately after this incident that Peter said to our Lord, “we have left everything to follow you.” Peter is saying he has made the sacrifices.  He has done what Christ demanded.  He has become a poor, homeless beggar to follow Jesus.  And Jesus said to Peter, anyone who makes the sacrifices of discipleship will receive a hundred fold in return (Mt. 19:29).  In other words the prize is worth the cost.  What you receive from Christ is more valuable than anything you sacrifice in His service.

We need to understand that Jesus is not telling you that if you put a dollar in the offering plate He’ll give you a hundred dollars back. He is not saying He will make life easy and pleasant and protect you from all hurt and grief and loss.   Jesus is promising spiritual blessings to His people, which cannot be compared to the treasures of earth that fade and rust, and that we have for only a few short years.  Jesus came to give us treasures in Heaven.  He came to give us peace in our souls that comes from the knowledge that we are at peace with God.   He came to assure those who come to Him in Biblical faith that no matter what challenges and trials we face in this world, one day we will be with Him in a land where there is no sorrow, no grief, no pain, no suffering, no fear, and no death, forever.  All of our questions will be answered. All of our sins and failures will be forgotten.  All of the real needs and hopes of our souls, will be fulfilled, and we will know the peace that passes all understanding in all its fullness and glory, for we will know God.  He came to give His word to us, the Holy Bible.   He came so you and I could spend eternal life with Him.   That is the prize.

Let me close with two thoughts.  First the prize is only for those who pay the cost.  I often hear people, talking about the latest victory of their favorite sport team, say, “We won.  We’re number one.”  I am tempted to say, “We?  What part did you play in the victory. How many tackles did you make?  How many points did you score?  What did you sacrifice to win the prize?  Where is your trophy?” Those who watch the game on TV and wear a sweatshirt with a team emblem on it don’t win any prizes.  The athletes and coaches and support people win the victory, and they receive the prizes.  Likewise, in the Christian faith, it is not those who sit in the stands, but those who run the race, who win the prize Christ promises.  Those who make the changes of thought and attitude and action, those who make the sacrifices, those who are faithful to the end, they are the ones who will reign with Christ in Heaven.  Second, the prize is worth the cost.  There is nothing on this earth we can own forever.  Everything we possess today will belong to someone else on some other day.  All of the prizes of this world will pass away, out of our hands, forever.  Only the spiritual things really count because only the spiritual things really last.  And those things are worth the sacrifices it takes to attain them.  It is true that it profits us nothing to gain the whole world and loose our own soul.  But it is also true that to gain Christ and loose the whole world is to gain everything and loose nothing.  So whatever the price, whatever the sacrifice, whatever the cost of following Christ; the prize is worth the cost.