Prone to Wander Lord, I Feel It. . .

Siu Sum! Xiao Xin!

In my sermon last Sunday, I didn't have time to address this issue again, but Jesus once again reiterated the point that no one can come to him unless the Father draws him or her. When the Father draws you to Jesus, how do you respond? Do you keep wandering or do you turn and go to Jesus?

The first half of Isaiah 53:6 says, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..." You know it's true. Even the children of God have a tendency to wander, a situation that won't be remedied until we die or Jesus comes back again, whichever comes first.

Problems start when we turn to our own ways, what seems right to us. In the days of the Judges, the biggest problem came because "every man did was was right in their own eyes." We need to do what is right in God's eyes. It does not matter if every person in the world is against us, we need to always do what is right in the eyes of God. And the way to do that is to stick with him.

Don't wander from God. You might get hit by a truck!

God Does God-sized Work

The blog entry title is the third point of my sermon a couple of days ago but I really want you to explore the ramifications of that statement. To help you get the ball rolling, watch this video about the universe:



Can you imagine how much power it would take to create the universe? That same God lives in you! Don't you think it's a little abnormal that the lives of the vast majority of Christians are so powerless?

If it is true that the God who created the universe lives in you, then why do Christians have lives that resemble people who don't have the Lord Almighty in them? We have been underachieving for so long that what is abnormal seems normal.

Actually, Jesus said that we would accomplish even greater things than he did on earth in John 14:12 - I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

The possibilities are: Jesus was wrong, lying, deluded, or correct. Here lies the tension. Of course Jesus was correct, but for some reason most Christians don't show it. It is something we only know cerebrally and have yet to experience it.

So what do we do? Cling to God with a tenacious death-grip and seek to obey with all you have. I am confident that if we give all we can to God, his statement will hold true for us. Let's stop the mediocrity in Christianity right now.

Do Hard Things

Underachievers. Irresponsible. Unreliable. These are the words that describe many teenagers today. Our culture places such low expectations on teens that they have descended to meet the expectations.

Teenage twins Brett and Alex Harris are seeking to change that. They have written a book called Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion against Low Expectations.




But are low expectations the realm of teens alone? I think not. In American church culture, it is evident that we also have low expectations for our members.

If you go to church on Sundays and attend Sunday School, give 10% of your income, and maybe even attend a fellowship, then you are in good shape. Heck, if you do those things long enough, you might even be asked to teach or be a deacon or trustee or a leader of some sort.

But is that what Christianity is all about? Seriously? Jesus said in John 14:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Somehow expectations have shifted and mediocre Christianity is considered normal, and complete and total surrender to the Lordship of Christ is considered "radical." Read Jesus' words again. If you are in him and he is in you, you will bear MUCH fruit.

But it's not just any kind of fruit, it should be fruit that is worthy of an awesome God. William Carey, who is also known as the "Father of Modern Missions" put it best when he said, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God." Our God is a great and mighty God; shouldn't the fruit that we are to be bearing in our lives be demonstrative of that power?

How much and what kind of fruit would God say your life is producing right now? If it's not what it should be, what are you going to do about it?