Hallway Friends

The Man in the Mirror | Chapter 7 | Broken Relationships | “By having the same attitude as Jesus Christ, we can break with the self-interested, secular view of the world.  Our score in relationships will improve so much we might even make the dean’s list!” – Patrick M. Morley

scrip·ture |

Hebrews 10:24-25 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Matthew 7:7-8 ⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

de·vo·tion | When I worked in Minneapolis, I would have meetings at multiple buildings disparately located throughout downtown. As I walked from building to building, there were those people that I would recognize only in passing and would give a quick nod or a “how’s it going?” They would do the polite Midwest thing and give a nod in return, say “good, and you?” I called these people my hallway friends. They seemed like nice people, but I never thought of taking any real time to get and know these people. I didn’t even know their names. I was content with them being my hallway friend as long as I didn’t have to take the time to invest in a personal relationship. I was comfortable with knowing I didn’t need to take the time to personally know them.

At times I would find myself in a meeting where one of my hallway friends would be present. Like our hallway passing, we would have our surface level pleasantries. Sometimes I found myself taking the next step and asking a hallway friend to coffee. Slowly, as I invested time and effort into these hallway friends, I would learn more and more about them. I wouldn’t just learn their name, I would find out what they liked to do. I would find out their career aspirations. I would hear praises and complaints about their job. In some cases, I would invest more with these hallway friends. The more I invested the less were a hallway friend, they became a personal friend. They became a friend where we would share not just work stuff, but life stuff with each other. We felt comfortable sharing our personal joys, frustrations, and private opportunities. They went from being a surface level hallway friend to a personal life partner that could hold me accountable and help me grow.

In our Christian life, we can find ourselves wandering the church or our men’s groups only satisfied with making hallway friends. We rarely put the time into creating relationships that allow us to grow in wisdom and companionship with our fellow brothers. We stagnate our personal spiritual growth by keeping our brothers far enough away, where we only see them as a person we politely nod to and say “how’s it going?” Even worse, we wander our Christian life only satisfied with God being one of those hallway friends. We become content just knowing His name and not investing more into knowing Him personally.

A.W. Tozer writes, “Everything is made to center upon the initial act of “accepting” Christ [hallway friend] … and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him we need no more seek Him.” We miss out on building a personal relationship with our LORD, where we are content with just accepting God.  We become lazy in our journey to continuously ask, seek, and knock. We need to not be content with keeping God as a hallway friend.  We must seek Him out on a daily basis and pray with Him, read with Him, cry with Him, and experience joy with Him. Let us drop our complacency and seek a relationship built on a desire to know Him, and let that trickle into our relationships in our work, community, and church. Let us not be content in being hallway Christians.

Prayer | LORD, praise and worship to You, my personal God. Praise and worship to You for sending us Your son Jesus the Christ, a deliberate act on Your part to move beyond being a hallway friend to your people, but advocating a personal relationship with us.  Forgive me LORD for my comfortableness, my laziness, and my complacency in not asking, seeking, or knocking on a daily basis.  I commit myself to treating you more than just a hallway friend.  I also pray that you continue to put those people in my life that I can grow with spiritually and personally.  Lend me Your Spirit that I may break down my walls of being a comfortable Christian and I can find in my everyday wonderings a brother that can share in my worship and praise.  Amen

Daily Alone Time with God |

Chapter of the Week | Proverbs 3

Mon·day | Proverbs 13:20 ²⁰ Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm

Tues·day | Proverbs 17:17 ¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Wednes·day | Ephesians 4:2-3 ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirt in the bond of peace.

Thurs·day | Isaiah 40:31 ³¹ But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on the wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Fri·day | 2 Peter 1:5-7 ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

I Wish

The Man in the Mirror | Chapter 6 | The Secret of Job Contentment | “The issue, I learned, is that our circumstances don’t determine our contentment, but our faith and trust in God do” – Patrick M. Morley
scrip·ture | 1 Timothy 6:6-7 ⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

de·vo·tion | It was fall, and I drove into town with my mom to open up the Sears store she owned.  As we walked up to the front door, I could see the bundle of magazines sitting there.  “It’s here, it’s here” I yelled out.  The fall Sears’s toy Christmas catalogue had come and the entire bundle was sitting right at my feet.  Selfishly asking my mom if I could bring the bundle in, she said yes, I grabbed the magazines and promptly ran to the back room and cut it open.

I spent the rest of that morning looking at all the toys I wanted to get.  “Oh, I want that one!” “Mom, look at these, I wish I could have both of these!” I continued to circle toys I wanted to have, toys that were better than anything I had at home.  These were toys that if I didn’t have them, I would be the saddest little boy, because that meant I had to play with all those useless toys I had at home.

Fast Forward | It is fall, and I drove up to my mailbox in front of my house.  As I opened the mailbox, I could see the magazine sitting on top of all the other mail.  “It’s here, it’s here” I yelled in my head.  The fall Northern Tool Christmas catalogue had come.  Selfishly I threw all the other mail aside and started looking at all the tools I wanted to get.  “Oh, I already have a hammer, but man, this one has anti vibration!” “Oh, I wouldn’t have to manually turn my screw driver, I could hook it up to my compressor and it will do it for me!” “Oh, I need a new compressor to run the new screw driver I am going to get!” “I wish I could get all of these things.”

Not much has changed has it?  As kids, we were always looking for the next best thing, looking for that one toy that was going to bring us joy.  As kids, we were caught up in having a full toy box to choose from and not content with the boxes full of toys in the attic.  As an adult, I have a garage full of tools that at one point was going to change my life.  I have 8 sets of screw drivers, 4 hammers, and thingamajig’s and thingamajob’s that were to fill the void of the un-contentedness I was feeling with me tools.

As a Christian, I find myself doing the same thing.  I approach God like I do my fall Northern Tool Christmas catalogue.  I start asking Him to give me this and to give me that, I wish I could have this and I wish I could have that.  I ask him to help me get promoted or to give me something new to do, because what I am doing is just not doing it for me anymore.  If I could just start looking to God less for improving my already blessed life and start praising Him for what I have today.  If I could just start looking into what He has provided and find satisfaction in the wonderful life that He has sent before me.  If I focus my prayers on the joy of His salvation and the simplicity in His love and grace for us, maybe, just maybe, as the Rolling Stones famously penned, “You can’t always get what you want; But if you try sometimes well you just might find; You get what you need”

Prayer | LORD, I find myself trying to identify just what it is I want that is going to create a satisfaction in me.  I am finding myself looking, seeking, and asking You to help me find whatever that is that is going to bring me more joy.  LORD, I bow my head to You, and ask you to forgive the foolishness that is in me.  I praise You for just how wonderful You are.  I thank You so much for the blessings you have put into my life.  I want this prayer to be a prayer ended in praise to You.  No I wish, just I love You and thank You for Your awesomeness!  Amen 

Daily Alone Time with God |

Chapter of the Week | Read Philippians 3

Mon·day | Matthew 6:25-26 ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?

Tues·day | Hebrews 13:5 ⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Wednes·day | Ecclesiastes 3:13 ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil-this is the gift of God.

Thurs·day | Philippians 4:11 ¹¹ Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Fri·day | Proverbs 30:8 ⁸ Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,

Identity Crisis

The Man in the Mirror | Chapter 4 | Significance: The Search for Meaning and Purpose | “He came to the conclusion on his own: “Why should God give me a great job when I am not yet a faithful doer of the job He has already give men?”  You and I would never consider promoting someone who wasn’t doing the job they already had!

scrip·ture | Matthew 16:24-26 ²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?  Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

de·vo·tion | I was doing it.  I was absolutely doing it!  I was riding on the American Dream fast train.  Only two years after graduating from college, I had been promoted 4 times and had received a pay raise every 6 months.  I had made it to a Systems Engineer within two years and was being promised Senior Systems Engineer within 6 months.  I had no road blocks, continuous promotions, and the sky was the limit, I was doing it!  Then 2008 happened, and there were roadblocks everywhere.

Because I had grown accustomed to the American Dream fast train, I continued to press being promoted to Senior Systems Engineer.  I became obsessed with it.  I was asking my manager, “When will I be getting promoted?!?” in every conversation and at every turn.  I was so obsessed with it I started to pay less attention to what I was actually delivering, and more on getting to the next promotion.  I was sitting down with my manager during one conversation, and yet again asked, “When am I going to get promoted?”  My manager finally said the one thing I needed to hear, “When are you going to start being a good Systems Engineer?”

I had been so obsessed with the idea of being promoted that I completely lost track of doing the job I was supposed to be doing.  As Christians, we can find ourselves so caught up in what we want to be in this world and striving for the next big thing, we forget about being good at the one thing God has actually asked us to be.  We are called to take up our cross daily and be disciples of our LORD and Savior Jesus the Christ.  We are asked to humble ourselves and confess that without Him, we can achieve nothing.  We are so focused on asking to be promoted and held in such high regard in this world, we don’t hear the LORD asking, “When are you going to start being a good disciple?”

Prayer | LORD, I have found in the examination of myself, I am lacking in living out what you have called me to be.  I spend so much time focused on the rat race of this world and seeking out the approval from the wrong people.  I do not spend enough time focusing on living out what You called me to be, a dedicated child and disciple of You.  LORD, forgive me for my blindness!  LORD, forgive me for my complacency!  Lend me Your Spirit that I may have strength to humble my celebrated self and focus on loving You.  Amen

Daily Alone Time with God |

Chapter of the Week | Read Romans 12

Mon·day | Exodus 9:16 ¹⁶ But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name bay be proclaimed in all the earth.

Tues·day | Proverbs 19:21 ²¹ Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

Wednes·day | Philippians 2:12-13 ¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always, obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Thurs·day | Romans 8:28 ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Fri·day | 2 Timothy 1:8-9 ⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ⁹ who save us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began

 

Comfortable Christian

The Man in the Mirror Chapter 3: Biblical Christian or Cultural Christian | “The question for us all should be: Is there any marginal difference between the way I live and the way the broken, hurting world lives?  Does my life offer hope or disillusionment?”

scrip·ture | Revelations 3:15-17 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

de·vo·tion·al | Lukewarm, Cultural, and Comfortable Christian, all terms I have seen or heard over the past five years describing modern day Christianity.  To be comfortable, I always think of surrounding myself with things that are familiar to me. I try not to introduce anything new or put myself in a situation where I might not fit the status quo.  A Lukewarm, Cultural, or Comfortable Christian praises God, reads their Bible, and goes to church in ways that have become half hearted, and surround themselves or only take part in things that are familiar to them. Put themselves in situations that they know are not going to ruffle feathers or put a strain on their already hectic schedule.

I was reminded of a story of when I used to ride the bus from Mound to Minneapolis for work every night. It was a cold day in Minnesota, which already zaps you of any energy you may have. It had been a long day at work, and I was both physically and mentally exhausted. When I got on the bus, I went and sat in my favorite spot. In the winter, it was the back seat where the engine warms the seat and adds the extra bit of warmth that the struggling heaters cannot produce. My ride was only a forty-five minute ride, so I put my feet up on the seat in front of me, laid my head back, and got as comfortable and cozy as I could in my favorite spot. After a while, I stirred from my sleep and took a quick look around. To my surprise, I had been so comfortable I had missed my stop. I was over twelve miles away from my stop and still headed in the wrong direction. I had missed out on my opportunity to be at home, and now had to wait until the bus made its way back towards my bus stop.  It scares me that if I found myself to be a Comfortable Christian, like my bus trip, I might miss the most important stop of my life.

It is time as a Christian that we become less comfortable, otherwise we might fall asleep and miss out on the opportunity to get off at the right spot.  Although I had the benefit of taking the bus until it came back around to my bus stop, as a Christian, we have only one opportunity and one chance to get off where we need to...

prayer | LORD, Help me to become less comfortable as a Christian. Inspire your word in me and help me to get off my earthly pedestal and look to you for guidance in my faith. I humble myself in front of your feet, and ask you to speak through my heart once again.

Through thought, word, and deed, I will be You God and Your son Jesus Christ...AMEN

Daily Time with God |

Mon·day

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Tues·day

1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect

Wednes·day

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Thurs·day

Jeremiah 7:24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walking in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.

Fri·day

Matthew 16:25-27 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

"Little Bit of a Weight Problem"

The Man in the Mirror | Chapter 2: Leading an Unexamined Life | “Because we don’t take this invisible war seriously, many of us are losing the battle for our minds.  But we can win them back by committing ourselves to self-examination through studying the Scriptures.  You can know the real you, the you that is known by our God.”

scrip·ture | Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD.

de·vo·tion·al | “I’d better not.  I have what doctors call a little bit of a weight problem.  I used to grab bear claws as a kid, two at a time, and I’d get them lodged right in this region here.” [motioning at his stomach] – Tommy Boy

The thing is, I can totally relate to Tommy Boy here, only it was Little Debbie Snacks instead of bear claws for me.  All of that free-for-all with my food as a kid has really led to me battling with my weight as an adult.  The only time I have been able to manage my weight is when I use Weight Watcher or MyFitnessPal to examine my food habits daily.

Using MyFitnessPal, I am consistently journaling the food choices I make for the day, and it allows me to examine my eating habits carefully.  Now when I first started journaling my food intake, I was floored by the completely bad food choices I was making.  I was completely oblivious to my food choices adding to my “little bit of a weight problem.”  I was leading an unexamined life when it came to my food, which was making me lazy and ignorant in my approach to getting healthy.  As long as I stick with the approach of using MyFitnessPal and examining my food intake daily, I am much more successful at meeting my goals of being healthy.  This same concept is true for us as Christians.

If we do not take the time to get into God’s Word, and examine ourselves prayerfully along with God’s Spirit daily, we will end up finding ourselves being comfortable with the world and becoming lazy in our journey towards becoming a righteous disciple of God.  We find ourselves having a bunch of “spiritual weight problems”.  Set times aside to read God’s Word and examine your daily habits against the character of Christ.  Set time aside to pray and examine your spirit along with the Holy Spirit to help you in the areas you need to change in your life.  

prayer | LORD, I pray to You now, asking that You provide me with the words, truths, and knowledge that will lead me to a more examined life.  Lend me Your Spirit, that I may find comfort and strength in not doing this journey alone.  I ask that the strength You give gets me passed the initial shock of my spiritual weight problems, and I can lead a more truthful and transparent path towards becoming a righteous disciple of You.  Amen

Daily Time with God |

Mon·day

2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?

Tues·day

John 5:30-32 “... I see not my own will but the will of him who sent me.  If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.  There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.

Wednes·day

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Thurs·day

Galatians 6:4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.

Fri·day

1 Corinthians 11:27-31 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.

Bait and Switch

As a Men's Group at Grace Fellowship Church, we are reading a book called The Man in the Mirror; Solving the 24 Problems Men Face.  I was asked and given the privilege to write short devotionals based on what I see in each chapter.  Below is my first devotional for Chapter 1.  If you feel moved, buy the book, follow along, add your thoughts and comments.  God's peace my friends - Shua


The Man in the Mirror | Chapter 1: The Rat Race | “The rat race boils down to the conflict between who we are created to be and who we are tempted to be.” – Patrick M. Morley

de·vo·tion·al | When I was a kid, I remember looking through this magazine and coming across this advertisement for a flying machine.  I saw the advertisement and I couldn’t believe that for $2.50 I could have my very own flying machine.  The picture was of a little boy sitting on this machine hovering in the air, and the little boy had such a big smile on his face.

So, I did what any other little boy would do when they wanted something, I went to my parents and borrowed $2.50 so I could get my very own flying machine.  I remember after I sent the money in the mail, actually having dreams where my parents would be upset with me and I would quickly run outside, get onto my flying machine, spend a few hours up in the air while they let off steam, and coming down later.  Oh man, I could not wait until I got my flying machine.

The day finally came, I got a letter in the mail, which I was sure was going to provide a time and place for me to pick up my flying machine.  When I ripped open the parcel, I found inside an instruction pamphlet on what I would need to build my own flying machine…bait and switch on a seven year old is not cool.

How many of you today feel like you paid the $2.50 to be happy in this life, but as you opened the parcel of life, have found out that the happiness of this world was not what it is advertised to be?  Spend some time today in God’s Word and praying to the Father about having Him fill you with what the joy of life is meant to be.  As you read The Rat Race, keep your hearts and ears opened to what the Spirit is trying to point out to you.

scrip·ture | 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. (NIV)

prayer | Heavenly Father, every day I am faced with the temptations the devil places in front of me.  I am faced with fulfilling a short term happiness only to give up a long term home with You.  I ask You Lord to lend me Your Spirit in driving these temptations from my mind.  That as I seek Your Face, the fleshly temptations of this world die and that I pursue the eternal salvation You have offered to me, which I know is the true meaning of my earthly and spiritual happiness.  Amen

Godly Parenting | Angels or A-holes

scrip·ture
1 Samuel 8:1-3 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

de·vo·tion·al
As a parent, have you ever asked yourself, "Am I ruining my kids life?", "Am I raising my children in what God deems to be a Godly foundation?", "Am I developing angels or a-holes?"

Here is the deal, God has asked us to create a Godly environment where our children marinate in Godly choices and actions. We are asked to write the faith, hope, and love of God on their hearts. More importantly, we are to, as Titus 2:7-8 states,"SHOW yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show INTEGRITY, DIGNITY, and SOUND SPEECH that cannot be condemned..."[emphasis added by me], or as it states in Joshua 24:15, "...But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

In the end, no matter what Godly marinating you have provided to your children, they grow up and start exercising their God given character of free choice.  They start choosing the other marinades that are available to them, both Godly and un-Godly.  Look at the words in Joshua 24:15 said before he makes his proclamation, "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell..."  In the end, they were given the opportunity to make a choice.

All in all, it is not through awesome parenting that we secure a great and Godly Character for our children, our children grow up and either choose God and continue down a path of SHOWING the way God asked us to or they choose poorly, just like Walter Donovan did in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

God creates the marinade, we soak ourselves and our children in that Godly marinade, and our children grow up.  The choice is theirs on their OWN.  In the end, it is our children as adults that make the choice on their personal journey on becoming angels or a-holes.

prayer
Dear LORD, my God and my Savior. I ask you LORD to continue to equip me with the truth and knowledge and strength to live a righteous life that reflects your character. Help me to create a Godly marinate that I can share with my children. Also LORD, lend my children your Spirit in the times where they have choices that are outside my influence, and that you find it in your steadfast mercy to keep them within your everlasting arms.

Amen