Burnt Out

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Ok let’s admit it. It happens to us all; we all get stale in our faith, bored, worn out, stagnant. In today’s modern evangelical world it is easy to get lost in so many well-meaning things and totally lose sight of what we are really doing.

It happens to me from time to time. I can tell when it is happening because I lose the satisfaction of serving, giving, studying, and even praying.  Everything then becomes an obligation.

Why does this happen? This should not be our attitude as believers right? I mean do we not remember who it is we’re serving? Well that may be the problem at times, and I dare say most of the time.

Whenever we find ourselves in this place it is mostly because we have lost the awe and wonder of who Christ is. Our eyes have lost sight of His majesty and have instead embarked on some other spiritual journey instead of seeking to know Christ.

This is how we end up in this place of dissatisfaction; when programs, leadership status, titles, and so on take the place of the wonder and awe of Christ. Now all those things are good in their place but everything out of its place, though good, can become bad.

I just posted on Facebook the other day “Being a preacher is like framing a picture, you're just trying to make Christ the focal point.” The problem so many times is that we have moved the frame from centering on Christ and have made the focal point other things and have diminished Christ to a footnote.

The book of Colossians has always been able to stir my heart for the Lord. I can’t explain it fully but I think it has something to do with how it frames Christ. Here read it for yourself;

 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:15-18, ESV)

That in all things He might be preeminent, first, top, of greatest importance. That everything was created by Him, the universe was formed by HIS HANDS. Not only did he create it but HE HOLDS IT TOGETHER. All matter is being held together by HIS power! Your chair is a chair right now by HIS COMMAND.

Maybe that doesn’t stir you but I challenge you one night to go outside under the night sky, away from the city lights, look at the stars and recite those passages to yourself. Remind yourself of how big he is, how powerful he is.

The old hymn was correct when it said “And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

Nothing seems to matter a lot when you are blinded by the majesty of Christ. Tribulations become just as the scriptures say, “a light momentary affliction” 2 Corthinians 4:17. No other endeavor is as attractive. Nothing else holds power over us. When we gaze into His awesomeness we experience freedom to the utmost.

So are you burnt out? Do you feel worn out? Tired? Lost in your faith? Lacking excitement and zeal?

Step back from every pursuit you have. Leave every frustration behind. Adjust your eyes to once again gaze upon the beauty of Christ and watch the Spirit renew you and fill you with fresh strength and vision. That is my prayer for you today my friends.

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What Is Love?

I think a horrible fantasy to live in is where Love is thought of as this eternal bubbly feeling that never leaves. I find that sometimes people are under this impression that love hits you and it never leaves.  I think love is something that must be maintained. I found this out several weeks after I got married.

Now many of you reading may disagree with me and that’s because you are not married or you have some abnormally great marriage where nothing goes wrong. I think love is like any other emotion. It must be maintained in order for it to be present. See, I stay mad when I continually remind myself of something that was done to me, the same thing can be said about depression. When I choose to not dwell on those things I’m not mad or depressed.

Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,..”

Galatians says that love is a fruit of the Spirit, meaning that love is something that the Holy Spirit produces in us. Now as humans we have love, but it is mostly shallow, self-serving, and short lived, but the love the Spirit produces in us is described in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7:

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

This type of love is sacrificial, unconditional, and durable.

For me to love my wife as I should, or better yet love people the way Jesus calls me to, requires an intentional and deep relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Going into a marriage or relationship without this revelation can lead to a failed marriage, or worse stuck in a relationship that lacks love and is filled with bondage. We must go into a marriage understanding that the Holy Spirit is the one that breathes life. I have learned that a successful marriage requires two people seeking Christ, two people drinking from the fountain of life.

“ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3

The foundation of my marriage must be a relationship with the Holy Spirit or else everything else is bound to fail or be unfruitful and void of life. 

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Faithfulness of Christ

 

“If we are faithless, he remains faithful…” 2 Timothy 2:13

After my last post, I laid my head on my pillow and this scripture came to my mind. It has been the only thing I’ve been able to think about since we last spoke. I don’t think we can give a great picture of faithfulness without looking at the faithfulness of Christ towards us as His bride.

At my wedding, and most any other wedding, I’ve heard these words;

“I, (Bride/Groom), take you (Groom/Bride), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.”

It is a pledge a man and a woman make to each other on their wedding day to say to each other, “I don’t care what happens I’m committed to you until the end.” It’s saying that you aren’t waiting for something better to come along but that you are choosing to love them and care for them no matter the circumstances.  Even if for some reason the other chooses to be unfaithful we are committing to remain faithful.

That last sentence perfectly describes 2 Timothy 2:13 (“If we are faithless, he remains faithful”). When God saves us, He promises to be faithful to us. That at times we may be unfaithful to him, but he is continually at work in us being faithful to what he said he would do. Continually calling us, convicting us, drawing us, changing us, LOVING US!

Meditating on the faithfulness of Christ towards me is what motivates me to strive to be faithful in my marriage to the utmost. Now at the moment you may automatically claim to have a handle on faithfulness, but let me contend with you that we are all prone to wander. If we will wander from the one who is ultimately faithful (Christ), we will wander from those in our lives who are not perfect.

I have no advice to give you except the example of Christ. Be marveled at His faithfulness towards you and pray for his Spirit to strengthen you to continue in faithfulness towards Him and others.

Deuteronomy  7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,”

1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2 Corinthians 1:18 “As surely as God is faithful…”

1 Thessalonians 5:24 “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”

Hebrews 3:6 “…Christ is faithful over God's house as a son.”

Revelation 19:11 “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”

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