Where Are You Going?

OK, the gloves are off. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

I'll ask you point blank now, Where are you going?

My posts have led you on a path that I hope are resonating in your mind and heart to give serious consideration of where you are in your walk with Christ. Why is this so important to me? Well, I keep running into well intentioned "Christians" that are going through their lives with a lukewarm relationship with Christ. Now, please understand, I am the pot calling the kettle black! I am not saying a word to you that I am not giving serious consideration to myself. As I have said before, I want to be challenged and tested by you, my brothers. I need that accountability.

So far, our path has taken us through a new commitment in 2010 to be more intentional in our love for Christ, and our seeking of wisdom given by God. I then challenged you to recognize that you were chosen of Him. It was not an accident, and it's not some passing chance that you were called. Due to this calling, you have a further responsibility to be discipled and to be a discipler. I then posted about our focus; either temporal or eternal. Are we focused on our Creator or the stuff He created? Our lives are short and our tendencies are to take what we have for granted and never really look at the eternal impact of our choices. Ah...Choices! Yes, it does boil down to our choices. But how can we change our earthly, temporal perspective through our choices? Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our thinking can change as we understand that our thinking controls our emotions which control our behavior which control our habits which control our legacy.

Again I will point out that most of us have heard this most of our lives, or at least as long as we have been Christians. My fear; however, is that we accept all of this with a head knowledge yet never truly live it out in our lives. And if we never truly live it out in our lives, are we the ones Christ spoke of in Matthew 7:21-23?

"Not everyone who says to me. 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"

Earlier in Matthew, Christ warns us of false prophets and how to tell them from true prophets; through recognition of the fruit of their lives. But what I read in Matthew 7:21-23 is even a more stark warning that even those who believe they are faithful producers of "fruit;" doing what they feel is work of the Lord, yes even some of those will be denied life given by Christ. Why? Because those "believers" still didn't have their hearts right. Somewhere and some how, their lives were not Christ-focused in spite of their works.

Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Are we certain that we have our lives in this order? Faith > Salvation > Works? Is our heart in our works because it should be, or is our heart in our works because we can't breathe a breath without crying out for the will of God in our lives?

What about the wishy-washy Christian? What about the wet noodle Christian? Your heart is in the right place. You want to walk according to your calling by Christ. You want to get pumped up by something greater than yourself. What of you? Is Christ speaking of you in this dire warning? Does Christ know this Christian?

I fear the loss of these brothers more than any other. But why are we so lukewarm even though we have spent years of our life in church, in fellowship with other believers, and hearing the Gospel? Have our hearts been hardened? Have we allowed our own complacency to overcome our faith?

Maybe we are asking ourselves quietly, in our own private places, "Can I trust God?" Yes, we all battle the temporal and eternal value systems of existence. It is so easy for us to place our trust in what we can see, taste, smell, and feel; our temporal belief system. On the other side, we've read 2 Corinthians 5:7, "for we walk by faith, not by sight," and Romans 8:24-25, "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it."

You might be saying to yourself, "I get it...but I don't get it!"

Guys, I have to just lay it out all on the line....if this is you, you may still be fighting the temporal battle. You still may be battling with fully trusting God. If this is you, please drop to your knees right now and pray that God will soften your heart. Pray that He will give you the faith to trust Him fully and completely. He wants so badly to give you this trust!

This choice...this trust is spelled out so well in 1 Peter 1:8-9, "Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Still struggling, well, let's dig a little deeper.

In his book, Conformed to His Image, Kenneth Boa outlines a practical way in which we can evaluate our mindset in regard to our trust in the Lord. He says, "Our presuppositions shape our perspective. Our perspective in turn shapes our priorities, and our priorities shape our practice."

First let's look at what a presupposition is. A presupposition is basically a nonnegotiable within our lives. A presupposition is a value or a character trait of which we base, as a foundational truth, for our lives. We would never compromise a foundational truth in our lives, right?

This is an important starting point for us. We must identify what our presuppositions are. If we are truly Christians, shouldn't one of our presuppositions be that the Word of God is the inerrant truth from cover to cover? If that is true, shouldn't everything in our lives and of our lives flow from this presupposition?

If it doesn't, what does that say about our presupposition; about our foundational truth of which we profess?

It's beginning to hurt a little, isn't it? It sure is for me. Kenneth Boa goes on to point out that few of us who profess a Christian-view of our life's presuppositions "have actually thought through the logical implications of these assumptions. And of this small fraction, only a handful have contrasted these logical implications with the way they live." He further argues that this is why we can live our lives with such a huge gap between our professed beliefs and our practice of these beliefs.

So, I'll ask you, how do your presuppositions shape your perspective?

Let me ask it a different way. Are you tolerant of things in your life and people in your life that go against your core beliefs? Do you water-down your core values in the workplace or with certain family members and friends? Do you vote according to your Biblical values?

No doubt these are difficult and challenging questions, so I will remind you that sanctification by Christ is a journey. No one goes from conversion to glory in an instant, but that doesn't free us from the calling of Scripture for a change of heart and a reaffirmation of living according to Christ's nonnegotiables!

So, our presuppositions shape our perspective, now our perspectives shape our priorities. This is where the heart of our daily walk finds its proving ground. This is where the action of our beliefs; either temporal or eternal, come into play. We must recognize that our stay on earth is but a whisper of time. Isaiah 40:6b-8 tells us, "All flesh is grass, and all its lovliness is like the flower in the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

If our presuppositions are right with God, then we can more readily (by faith) have an eternal perspective that is gripped by the Truth. Boa adds, "The more we align ourselves with this perspective, the more it will have an impact on our short-term and long-term priorities." And of course, the opposite is true; failing to to align our presuppositions on Scripture, we will lean toward focusing our priorities on things that have no eternal value.

What are your priorities? What do you spend your time on? Who do you choose to spend time with? Where is your legacy?

And finally, Boa says that our priorities shape our practice. Even the reverse is true; our practice will reveal our priorities. Consider it this way; we can all agree that life passes by so quickly. The older I get, the faster the years pass by. Well, that time passing by is our window of opportunity. You see, we only have our time on earth to live a life of impact and purpose. There is no dress rehearsal to eternity. (I don't know who said that, but they're not my original words)

This is your one shot...how are you going to take it? This is your one chance; given to you by God for a moment by moment chance to have your practice match your priorities and your priorities to match your presuppositions. Are you spending your time wisely? Does your life's practice include renewing your mind through consistent, diligent, intentional time in Scripture? Are you cultivating a growing intimacy with God through prayer? Are you seeking God's calling for opportunities to serve and love others unconditionally?

Where are you going Christian?

You have been given a gift; a gift of eternal life. Paid for in full by the murder of innocent life; the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. He took your sins to the cross. He endured all of your guilt and shame so that you do not have to. He called you to Himself. He gave you the opportunity to share His Message of hope.

What are you doing with your gift Christian?

Please, I ask you...I emplore you...get off the bench and get in the game. Make a difference. Impact others for Christ. Cast aside your fears. Do not allow Satan to keep you lukewarm and dead to the life that Christ promises. Do not go another day with a question in your heart....does the Lord know me?

(Much of the content of this blog comes from my study of Kenneth Boa's book, Conformed to His Image. I can't encourage you enough to get this book and read it carefully. Few books I have come across are as straightforward and thought provoking as this.)