External Righteousness

At church we are going through a series called ReThink (Following Jesus is simpler than you think). It has been very good and I've been specifically challenged through the messages.











Last week, the title was "Inside-Out". Aaron talked about the misconception many Christians have that as long as we behave well then we are a good Christian. Jesus taught that what was in our heart/mind was just as important, if not more, than our actions. If we are harboring negative thoughts about someone, it is just as bad as if we were voicing them for others to hear.

We are called to be internally righteous. But it's not something we can do on our own (thank God). God is the one who is able to work in us to change our sinful desires into righteous ones. Philippians 2:13 says "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." We need to seek God in prayer for him to change our hearts to want to please him.

Something that really struck me was when Aaron said that trying to be good on your own will either cause you to continually beat yourself up for falling short or cause you to judge others for not being as holy. I have definitely been on both sides of this.

I have been reading back through my old journals lately. In high school and college I judged people all the time for not being as externally holy. I could claim that I did not curse, drink, smoke or have sex so I thought I was doing great. But by judging others I was showing the sinfulness of my heart but did not realize it. Not that I don't still struggle with passing judgment, but I now know that it's not my place (and I recognize that I'm not perfect) so that's an improvement.

I definitely have also struggled with feeling like a failure for not living up to my own expectations of how holy I should be. I see all of these other Christians who are amazing prayer warriors, or whose compassion spurs them to do amazing things for others, and those who are so generous with their time, talents and money. I have felt like I am so far behind where I should be. Or I decide that I am going to start doing something such as memorizing scripture, set a goal, and then fail to meet it or get so far behind that it seems hopeless.

I'm not saying that it's not good to desire to grow in your faith, but what will really make me grow is drawing closer to God himself and letting him lead me. Perhaps if I focus on spending time with him in prayer and Bible study, it will help me learn more scripture or develop a more compassionate heart for others. God knows what he desires of me and what my gifts are. I should trust him to work in me rather than trying to do it on my own.

What about you? Have you ever fallen into one of the two categories above from trying to be "good" on your own?

Reflect the Light

In December, our message series was "Light." I am just now getting around to December 20th's notes. I wasn't around for the 27th, but it seems like it might be good to listen to it to have all of the messages on here. So keep your eyes open for the fourth Light message. In the meantime, here are my notes from week three.


Philippians 2:5-7 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
>the Incarnation

Luke 2:6-7 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
>birth event
>Max Lucado quote about birth story

Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
>the application of the Incarnation
->Put Others First
*In our culture, we are taught to fight for our rights and look out for ourselves. If we are this way with our own family, how much more so with strangers/neighbors/etc?

Philippians 2:14-16 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
>Do EVERYTHING Without Complaining.
->We like to complain, to point out to God what we are lacking or what's not fair.
->Joseph didn't complain; Mary didn't complain; Jesus didn't complain

The light did not just come into the world, the message was handed off to us to reflect to the world.

Challenge: Instead of being drawn into the darkness, would you reflect God's light?
>Instead of fear and anxiety, will you choose peace? Instead of a critical spirit, compassion? Instead of impatience, kindness?

Philippians 2:10-11
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.


I really enjoyed Jeff talking about exchanging negative emotions for positive, life giving ones. I wasn't able to write fast enough to get all of them, but I know they're all on the podcast. It was a good reminder to hear that none of the members of the family were given the best circumstances - Joseph a pregnant fiance, Mary an unplanned child, Jesus life on earth as a human - but they accepted God's will for them and chose to trust him with the outcome. How are we to know whether our difficult circumstances might hold an unseen blessing? God is faithful and can be trusted.

Life All-In With God

Yesterday was the last message of our Soul Revolution series. I missed the week before due to traveling, but you and I can both listen to it, as well as yesterday's message, here. Below are my notes from yesterday.


Soul Revolution Week 8 (so there were only 8 weeks after all)

December 11th: 60th day of the 60-60 experiment

How does an experiment like this end? God's desire is that it won't.

It's a matter of acquiring a new habit of thought. - Frank Laubach

We need to establish our own God reminders: in the car, bathroom mirror, cell phone, keys, fridge, laptop, etc.

Philippians 1:6 "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it on the day of Christ Jesus.
>He: God is in charge and in control
>who began: we are a work in progress; change to our hearts comes slow
>a good work: all that God does is good; Habakkuk 3:2
>in you: he has plans of good specifically for you
>will be faithful to complete it: God will not give up on us
>on the day of Christ Jesus: God's work in us will be completed only when Christ returns.
~Our gain did not begin the day we were born and will not end the day we die.

Therefore, we should not give up on our attempts to draw closer to God.

God's focus is not on good starts, but on complete games.


I really enjoyed the reminder that just because the experiment is almost over, does not mean we ought to revert to our old way of living where we think about God maybe once per day. I like that Jeff acknowledged that we may need to use something other than beeps and alarms to continue to cultivate this mindset. I have found that as the weeks continue, there are multiple times per day when I don't hear my watch beep. Obviously, I am becoming used to it and it's effectiveness is waning. I thought about other things I might do to remember to focus on God. Perhaps put a banner on my cell phone reminding me that God is with me - something to see whenever I look at my phone. Perhaps put a note in the car prompting me to pray each time I head out to somewhere. There are many things that can be done that will prevent me from a pray once and done mentality. I know that it is hard, but most worthwhile things are challenging. Habits are developed through repetition. If this is something that I really want, I have to be willing to put in the necessary work.

What about you? How do you remember to draw near to God?

Do What It Says

I was listening to a sermon recently by Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte. It's from The Essential James series and was based on James 1:22-25.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Steven mentioned how, when he was in college, he realized that he was not getting anything out of the chapel times so he decided that he would make a point to find something in each message that he could apply to his life and then apply it some way that week. I found that very interesting because often I will write notes on the sermon I hear but most of the time the notes stay in my Bible until the next Sunday and nothing was really done about what I heard. So I thought that I would try to take a step toward application of the word by writing my thoughts on the messages I hear on here to see if that doesn't help me be more action-driven.

Speaking of "doing what it says." Philippians 3:16 says, "Only let us live up to what we have already attained." The note in my Bible does a great job of explaining this verse. "Christian maturity involves acting on the guidance that you have already received. We can always make excuses that we still have so much to learn. The instruction for us is to live up to what we already know and live out what we have already learned. We do not have to be sidetracked by an unending search for truth."

There is a lot that I already know but don't always obey. For example, I don't always love my neighbor as myself. Nor do I always consider the interests of others. There are plenty of verses that need to be applied to my life now. I don't need to know everything the Bible says I ought to do before I start doing some of it. So I have started a little notebook of God's truths that I should learn and abide by. Though, really, if I could get a grasp on the first one I have written down, then pretty much everything else would fall in line, I bet.

The first one I have written is Mark 12:29-31.
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

To sum all of this up, I am planning to post my thoughts/application from the messages I hear. Hopefully additional action will follow.