Q: What should Christians Hate??

Your gut response (probably) and mine, to this question is likely to sound like this: "sin, evil, meanness, hatred, murder, jealousy, pride, stealing, adultery, betrayal, etc etc."

Check out what Jesus says in Luke, Chapter 14, verse 26:
“If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple."


Whoa.  Not exactly what I expected.  Or is it?


Do you think that Jesus...the very definition of Love, sacrifice, forgiveness and grace...would truly ask us as His followers to HATE our families, even ourselves?  Is this a massive contradiction?


Or is He asking us to hate anything...ANYTHING that would stifle or compete with our affections for HIM?  God sacrificed EVERYTHING He had through Jesus Christ with an all-consuming passion!  It wasn't a non-chalant, obligatory move of strategery on His part.  It cost Him EVERYTHING.  We receive His forgiveness, Love, Grace, mercy, faithfulness for FREE...only because of the sacrifice, paid for in blood, by Jesus.  


What do you have an all-consuming passion about?  Is it weightier to you than knowing Jesus, and being His?  This passage calls us, not to hate our families, but to hate anything that would diminish our all-consuming passion for Christ.   


What stirs your affections for Christ?  What diminishes it?

JOY

I just read a blog at http://www.orangeparents.org on cultivating good energy in our home. I think as parents what we'd LIKE to see happen in our homes is sometimes NOT what actually occurs. I'm not talking about being control-freaks...more along the lines of our desires as parents vs. our realities.

I know that I struggle daily with being overwhelmed with the 'tasks' of life. I'm not just talking about the dishes here, but certainly they are included as well...and don't even get me started on the laundry...or the floors, or..ok-I digress. Anyway, it's easy for me to waste an entire day DOING a bunch of stuff and not once actually engaging with my family. Or if I do find myself stopping what I'm doing, it's only to complain or gripe about the thing that they are doing (or not doing)! Ok, so hopefully it's not quite this extreme every day, but even if it's more days than not...I'm not ok with this.

I want our home to be a haven. Our safe place of comfort, refreshment, engagement and JOY. Chad and I want our kids to grow up remembering their childhood with fond memories of not only fun, but fulfilling moments together. We talk a big game of 'relationship' here, and I'm just not sure I'm doing a great job of actually living that out...day by day in my home.

So...the question I'd like to pose is this: What can we do to cultivate JOY in our homes? How can we create an atmosphere that is more in line with our desires for our families instead of overrun with the busyness, negativity and disengagement that seems to be the reality? How can we still get done the daily tasks required, but also carve out time for nothing BUT relationship, joy, life and laughter?

Ready? Set...REPLY!

Holy Discontentment?

Last night we read deeper into the book of Phillipians as Paul described his walk with Jesus in words such as "striving, toiling and pressing hard."  His verbage makes it very clear that the idea of 'comfort' that we most typically associate with a Christian lifestyle is just not Biblical.

Matt described a 'holy discontentment' in a way that propels us closer to and more deeply desiring more of Jesus.  NOT a discontentment that paralyzes us with anxiety, guilt or shame...leaving us to our own efforts.

What are some areas of holy discontentment for you?  'How and where' can we apply good, true teaching to our lives...making a plan to incorporate it instead of leaving it stagnant in our minds?

Accountability.  Do we shy away from it?  Truly being vulnerable to someone or a group of someones, in an attempt to identify real areas of sin in our lives and gain help and support as we repent (or walk away from) that sin.  So easy to talk about doing....not so easy to do.  'How and when' can we put this into action?

Feel like a spiritual giant?  What are some areas of weakness in your own life, that could potentially be strengthened by spending time with someone who is stronger in it?  It takes time, courage and humility....'how and when' can we make it happen?

_______

This was a tough message, for me at least.  It's so much easier for me to listen and process something that doesn't give a direct assignment of incorporating it into my life.  Introspection is hard for most of us.  Sometimes I know that I'm feeling A LOT, but can't actually articulate what it is that I'm actually experiencing.  It takes time, emotional energy and a level of honesty and vulnerability that can be terrifying.

Here's the Good News....Jesus :)  He is good.  He is for us.  And His grace covers our weaknesses.  He's not interested in our performance or attempts at earning His favor...He's relentlessly pursuing and transforming our hearts and minds.

Try bringing these questions to Him as you navigate them yourself.  Let Him join the conversation :)

Told ya so....

Who didn't think I'd actually get this done??  C'mon...you can tell me...actually, don't.  I much prefer to think of myself as flawless :)  Ahem...I'm sorry, is that a bit much??

So I'm really excited about the possibilities that this presents for our lifegroup conversations!  Thanks, Eric for suggesting the idea...BRILLIANT!

Each time we meet collectively, I will post a recap/summary-type blurb of what we discussed, maybe post some of the questions we asked and didn't have time to really get into depth with (since we are definitely time-challenged ;) and let it fly from there!  Might help if you subscribe so that you will potentially get an email notification each time we update/post.

Thanks for being so awesome...it truly is a pleasure to get to hang and journey with each of you!  Let's get talking!