The Bottom

God has been at work in my life for the last several months in ways that I'm not even fully aware of to the full extent. It's been good, but it's been hard.

In many ways I felt as I tried to accomplish things that I was merely scraping the bottom of the barrel to try and do anything effectively. Whatever I did, it was not the best or fullest that it could be. And so in light of that, I decided that it was better to just not do some things. And so I ceased doing a lot that was good, but not best. My excuse was lack of time, but the reality went far deeper than that. 

If you've been one of the few to check up on this blog from time to time, you know that this blog is one of the things that fell to the bottom of my priorities. I'm sorry that it did. But in not writing over this time frame I think that I'll have better thoughts looking back than if I had written while in the midst of it all.

I had the privilege to go to a conference about two months ago, and while there I was struck with the reality of where my life was at. And because of that, a lot has since changed! God is good! While at the conference I heard Dr. John Piper speak, and in his sermon he said something like this: "What's at the bottom of your joy?" Basically, what is it in life that gives you your fullest joy? And then he said; "Do you make much of God by having Him under all to the extent that He makes much of you?" And I didn't really get what he meant by that second statement at first. But what Dr. Piper was asking is; is God and your relationship with Him what everything else sprouts from? Is HE the bottom of your joy?

I had to stop and think about that. I knew the answer, but I had to let it sink in. God has always been a huge part of my life. But for a few months that's all that He was. Just a huge part. Not the foundation of every part of my existence. Not the bottom of my joy.  In the busyness and scattered-ness of my life God had become just a thing that I declared with my lips, not THE relationship that caused everything else to be as it should. 

What I realized next is that this is incredibly easy to fall into. The idea that if God is a big thing in our lives that is enough. The truth is that if God is not at the bottom, the foundation, then He isn't the Lord of my life at all. No matter how much I proclaim it to be true with my sin encrusted lips.

Since those realizations I have done all that I can to make sure that God is at the bottom. That He is the source of my fullest joy in life. That everything I do is growing from Him being my foundation. The Bottom. But it isn't an instantaneous thing. Instead it is something that God forms, crafts, and develops within us. Just like the forming of any other relationship in life, it takes time. Day by day.

So as Dr. Piper asked me (effectively); I ask you: "What's at the bottom of your joy?"

Light Bulbs

It seems that a common thread throughout my life since mid-summer has been light bulbs. You're probably thinking "Well, he works in multimedia, so maybe he's going to tie in something with that....?" Nope! "How about light and darkness, with righteousness and sin?" Nope!

Instead I've been seeing in my own life, how God often uses a bunch of different things to click in my head and heart, to in a sense, turn on a bunch of little light bulbs in my understanding of things. Which in turn leads to often a large area being illuminated! And I've been noticing this not only in spiritual matters, but also in the areas that God has gifted me in!

In my own life this summer it was the whole idea of inspiration and understanding how it is that I'm inspired (which is another post in itself!). But in the last few days I've been used by God to help illuminate some things in a few others lives. With one individual it was related to an ability that God has given that enabled the individual to be more effective in where God has currently placed them in ministry! For another it was helping them to see a spiritual aspect more clearly which in turn has changed their entire outlook!

God is so good! And I must say that when this occurs, I find great joy in it!

This all comes into focus with these questions:
Is God illuminating things in my(your) life? If not, why not?

Is God using you(me) to aid the illumination process in others lives? If not, why not?

Thanks for reading, and may God get the glory! Comments are always welcome!

Fruit

I've been studying the book of Galatians lately for my morning time of devotion with God. There's a ton to ponder in that book. But what God has been focusing me on in the last week is what is commonly known as 'The fruit of the Spirit.'

Just before they are listed in that passage, there is a list of things that Christians should not have in their lives. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, or orgies. It's a pretty intense list, and the reason that we shouldn't have those in our lives is because they distract us from God and all that He has for us. And for the most part, when I read that list, I don't feel conviction in my heart... And that's because I, by God's grace and strength, don't struggle much with any of those. However the list that comes next I struggle with a lot.

This list is what I should have in my life as a Christian, as a direct result of Christ living in me. It's as follows: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I've realized that as I don't struggle as much with the first list, that's awesome! And in that God is glorified! But to truly have an impact on those around me, to truly inspire them, I need to be living with the second list as foundational to my every breath.

However, this second list is something that I cannot just achieve on my own. It's only possible through Jesus Christ living in my life. It's only by His strength that I'm able to show love to those whom I wouldn't normally love. It's only by His power that I'm able to have self-control. I can't accomplish any of those through my own striving. And because of that fact, I must look to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, to work those attributes into my everyday existence.

That is my prayer, so that Christ may be glorified, and through that, others be inspired!

A Place to Start...

I've been thinking a lot lately about inspiration. I would like to live my life in a way that inspires others, and one way that I've been thinking of seeking to do that is through online content. So I'm going to experiment with a blog. No guarantees as to the frequency that I will post. But I'm seeing this as a place to start.