Tag Archives: Walking with God

What Are Your Motives?

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There are motives behind everything we do in life.  Every decision and action we take.  We have motives for why we do them.  Have you ever really put much thought into what those motives were?  Were they fear of rejection, need of acceptance, to look important, anger and retaliation, or any of a number of other things?  Or were you even motivated by faith.  Whatever it is, we all have motives behind our actions.  Often times, those motives are meant to hide ourselves in someway for fear of exposure.  For me fear and insecurities in myself often result in me being more reserved and quite.  For the longest time, particularly in settings that were just not me, I would stay on the quite end.  Motives can make a significant impact on how you act in situations or interact with others.

So what about faith?  If we act from faith, are the outcomes different?  Do we find ourselves more alive and free?  I would have to say without a doubt, yes.  As my life has changed and I’ve allowed God fully into my heart, it has fully changed my motives and the lasting impacts from my decisions, how I interact with others, and how I lead my family and my life.  It’s been quite remarkable to see when I step back and just look at my life.  Acting on faith has enabled me to interact with more people in my church family and share more about my journey.  Acting on faith led me out to Colorado to the Wild At Heart Boot Camp where God just completely changed my world and my heart.  Faith has led to me being more intentional in how I father my kids and the type of husband I am.  Faith has led me to make some big life changing decisions in how I will serve my God and those around me.  You get the picture.  Motivated by faith, so many things begin to shift in a good way and a way that is after God’s heart.

I don’t have this all figured out yet and I know I have plenty more work to do.  I tell you what, though; the work God has done on my heart and my life and the people he has led me to has been just completely amazing.  He’s Fathered me through this and allowed me to see that if I just put my full faith and trust in him, he will lead me through.  I will be able to better recognize and take the spiritual warfare I  and my family faces.  I will be able to better act on where he’s leading me and accept his counsel directly and through those he puts in my life.

In “Free To Live,” John Eldredge points to the motives we have in life and why we have certain tendencies.  He explains that we need to look at our motives and begin to make our choices according to the motives we have.  Examine the motives and determine if it comes out confidence and faith in God or some other fear of insecurities we may have.  Romans 14:23 says that “everything that does not come from faith is sin.” We really need to examine why we do things and then choose based on what the motives really are.  As John states, “This is where genuine goodness is lived out. This is the real deal. The sense of personal integrity that it will give you will be profound. 

Think about Jesus when it comes to choice and motive.  Jesus was able to lead a sinless life.  Why?  It’s simple, because he chose based on faith.  Everything he did in his life here on earth was on pure faith in the Father and the purpose he was here to fulfill.  He was given plenty of chances to choose differently as are recounted in his time in the wilderness with Satan, in his time with the woman at the well, and so much more.  He chose to live on faith.  His motives were driven by faith.

God creating us was a pure act of faith and risk.  His pursuit of us and the war he has waged for our hearts even since our fall is all on faith in us and on love.  Sending Christ behind enemy lines was done on faith and love.  Now we have a deep hope in because of the faith and love that he has had for us.

I know none of us will get this right 100% of the time.  But it certainly gives something to think about when we look at the decisions we make and really examine our motives.  If your motives are based on faith, then have the faith in where God will lead you in.  It’s not always an easy road, but I promise that God will take hold of your heart and lead you.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

What Kind Of Man Do I Want To Be?

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Ephesians 5:16 tells us that we should make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  The problem that many of us have is that we let opportunities that come our way just pass right by and we do not do anything about it.  We spend our days in our own small story and hide from opportunity.  It could be right in front of our face, yet we do nothing.  I can speak all about this, because I have certainly been guilty of this in my life.  Truth is truth and it’s not worth hiding from.

In John Eldredge’s book, “Free To Live – The Utter Relief Holiness,” he shares something we all struggle with in our life’s.  It has to do with how we hide in our lives.  We are all guilty of this in someway.  We have that fig leaf that protects us in our small story.  Here is what John shares:

One of the strangest quirks of life here on this planet is the fact that the one face we hardly ever see is the one closest to us: our own. As we move about in the world every day, our face is always right before us and always just beyond us. Somebody could write a fairy tale about that. It would be an allegory for how rarely we see ourselves, who we truly are, the good and the bad. But in unexpected moments we get a sideways glance, as when passing by a plate glass window downtown, and most of the time we don’t like much what we see.

Notice how we are in elevators: No one makes eye contact. No one wants to acknowledge that we are seeing and being seen. In a moment of forced intimacy, almost claustrophobic intimacy, we pretend we aren’t even there. The reason? Most times we just don’t know what to do with what we see. About ourselves, I mean. It doesn’t take a Nobel Prize winner to see that something dreadful has happened to the human race. So we look at the ceiling or our shoes; we watch the numbers report the passing floors; we hide. This is how most of us approach our entire lives—we hide what we can, work on what we feel is redeemable, and despise the rest.

There is a better way.

There is most certainly a better a way.  I can totally relate to this.  I ride an elevator to a 21st floor office and it has often been an awkward time.  I find myself staring up, staring at the floor counter, or my phone.  I know I’m not the only one either.  If you think about we are hiding.  We hide from opportunities to fellowship, know others, and from exposing anything about ourselves.  I’ve been coming to great terms about the false story I’ve lived in and hid behind.  I have a great deal of work to do, but the Lord has been revealing so much about who I am and who He is calling me to be.

It begs the question of what kind of man do I want to be.  Do I want to be one that stays in my hidden small story and behind my fig leaf or do I want to put off the old man, the poser I’ve been and come alive for my God and for His kingdom.  It takes a great deal of courage to come out from behind our fig leaf.  It is so easy to be stuck in that world and in that life and be perfectly content with just getting on life.  As for me, I not live in this small and false story any longer.  God has shown me who I am and I know I cannot go back.

Ephesians 4:24 says to “Put on your new nature, created to be like God.” God is calling all of us to a larger story.  He is calling us into his kingdom.  To leave our sinful nature behind and live for him and under his undeserved grace and mercy that we have through Jesus Christ.  When we learn to leave this old nature behind, the opportunities that will unfold through our faith will be enormous.  With our real identities in Christ, we can truly move forward for the kingdom.  We all have gifts and talents we’re blessed with.  It’s a matter of whether we decide to put them to us.

In now living our life through Christ, we can share our faith with others.  As my Pastor shared with us, we can extend the love of God to others.  Jesus extended compassion to everyone.  The lost (Matthew 9;36:37), the sick (Mark 1:41), the adulterous, and the demon possessed (Mark 5:19).  We all have an opportunity, through Christ to share that same compassion and love to others.  We all have a number of different ways that God is calling us to do this.  We are not saved by our good works, but since we are saved, we have the opportunity to do works that God calls us too.

So in returning to the question, what kind of man or for you ladies, what kind of woman do you want to be.  Do you want to hide behind your fig leaf, or do you want to answer the call God has for all of us?  Do you want to be on the sidelines out of the game, or do you want to be in the game?

I know this all sounds easy, but if you turn to the Father in prayer and daily communion with Him, He will Father you through this.  He is wanting to raise the fatherless place in all of us to restore us through Christ Jesus so that we are now alive and equipped for the race.  Armed with the full Armor of God and ready to get your hands dirty and into the battle. Remember, the Father is orchestrating a rescue of all of us.  You have to make the choice of whether you allow Him to rescue your heart and bring you to life.  The free will choice is always ours to make.  Will you choose God first or this world?  I used to choose the world first and hide just as Adam did.  I no longer want to be that man.  My new heart is in Jesus and my desire is come alive in Christ and walk with God in discipleship and love.

It’s Never Too Late For Change

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I’ve written about finding your calling many times.  The search in trying to determine what it is God leading you too and then making the steps and having the courage to make the change.  I started this blog over two years ago as I started feeling like God was calling me to something new.  The only problem was that I never stopped and listened enough to what it is he was calling me to.  I just knew it was a far cry different from where I was.  I have been blogging for many years and keep on doing so just because I love to write.  I love to share different things that are on my mind and hopefully make people think and to form their own conclusions.

In the last few months, that calling has become more and more intense.  The closer I got to attending Wild At Heart, the more intense the battles became.  It’s like the enemy knew that God was truly going to gain another warrior.  Not just someone who sits by and pays lip service and just sounds off with opinion, but someone who is ready to battle for the kingdom.

I learned who I was in Colorado.  I learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was God’s son.  I know I have referred to this experience a lot, but it had more of an impact on me than I had ever thought possible.  I prayed many times in the weeks leading up to that week that God would open my heart to all he had for me and good gracious….he certainly did.  It was and has been like a whole new awakening.  I have come alive like I never thought possible in my heart and now with the resolve to go where God is calling.

For a long time I was afraid of risk.  I was afraid to rock the boat and make bold changes.  I became complacent and was comfortable with where I was.  I thought it was the right thing for my family and for me to just do what seemed to be expected despite the fact that I no longer found any joy in what I did.  The meaning has been lost and I was living in such a small story.  God has called me and he’s called all of us to a larger story.  It’s just a matter of whether we respond to it.

Life is so full of risk, and following our hearts and God’s calling can be quite a risk.  It can be unnerving to not know what is around the corner.  To not know what the outcomes will be.  We have to decide to choose God first, though, and to trust him.  We’ve all heard the phrase, “The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.”  I believe in this statement.  God is not going to leave you where you are.  He will go wherever you are to pull you from your old and false self and your life of sin and from the jaws of death.  He will go there but will not leave you there.  He will pull you out.  Likewise, he’s not going to lead you down a path that would not be for his glory.  That’s what it’s about after all.  To glorify God in all that we do and with all that we are as his children…as his beloved and his image bearers.

So the question remains; is it ever too late to make a change.  The answer is that it’s never too late.  I don’t care where you are in life.  It is never too late, especially if God is leading you and you are seeking his counsel through it all.  It’s never too late.

For me, God’s leading me in some awesome directions.  He’s put some awesome men in my life that I know I can turn to for counsel, the knights of my round table if you will, and He’s counseling me through it as well.  I also have the full support and love of my wife and children.  What the end results will be, it’s hard to say, but God is calling me to service and I am answering.  It’s going to take some schooling and learning on my part as I move to a world of christian counseling, writing, and ministry work, but I’m so excited.  It’s like a whole new beginning.  All I can do is trust and leave the outcomes up to God.

Where is God calling you to live courageously?  It’s never too late!

Let God Father You

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I have come into a lot of growth over the last couple of years.  Learning more about God and growing in my faith in Jesus Christ.  One of the biggest things I have grown into is learning about God as my Father, my true Father.  My life has gone through a series of twists and turns in the fathering I received.  Events growing up led to a mix of seeing my earthly dad as a great man, while at the same time coming to terms recently that I was never fully initiated as man nor received the full validation I needed and that every boy needs coming into manhood.  I married early and pulled away from the family.  As I neared my 30s, things began to change in how our relationship grew stronger.    We spent some great times just hanging out and talking.  Then all of a sudden, he was gone.  I’ve shared this on many times, but it ripped my heart out losing him the way we did.

So what to do with all of this.  Not having my dad any longer I was lost.  I grew in my faith and it began to have a lasting effect on my life and my family.   I looked to God as my father now and I have wanted to grow in knowing him.  Something changed in me recently though while at Wild At Heart.  Before, I was looking to God as a backup father.  My dad, gone, so who do I turn to.  Ephesians 1 tells us that God is the originator though.  He adopted us into his family as sons, as his sons and daughters.  Verse 4 says, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ.”  He is not the backup plan. He was my Father before I was created and has always been, and will always be.  God desires to bring us into Sonship with Him.  To allow him to Father us.

Morgan Snyder from the Ransomed Heart team shared some pretty remarkable things about this and has some awesome audio about Sonship on the Ransomed Heart site.  One thing He mentioned is that God is orchestrating a rescue of us.  Our earthly dad was meant to point us to the father, but never sufficient to take the Father’s place.  This is just a small snippet, but it’s pretty profound.  The invitation of the Father is to be his son.  He wants to Father us.

What does this do for our hearts and our lives when we allow God to father us?  One thing I can say for sure is that you feel alive.  Aside from addressing my wounds, the thing that made me most alive in my journey at Wild At Heart was truly learning that I was God’s son and that he believed in me as a man.  I heard one of the guys say that it allows us to be young again.  I believe this to be true.  In coming alive, I feel like I can do anything again and allowing God to Father me is leading me in a pretty awesome direction.  He’s initiating me into adventures and what feels like a new beginning.  I noticed my overall demeanor has changed.  I think it brings us to a point to where we just enjoy life.

We need to seek Sonship and seek God to Father us each day.  Know that we are our Father’s son and he loves us and believes in us.  Whether or not you had a good relationship with your earthly dad, coming to God as the Father is on a whole new level.  He has a name and identity for us. Spend time in prayer with him and get to know him for who he is and he will tell you who you are.  I’m paraphrasing, but George McDonald said that it’s better to not know the Father than to have learned him wrong.

Being a son was a the center of Jesus’s life.  He sought the Father for everything he did.  He came to do the will of the Father and new he was the apple of his Father’s eye.  He was one with Him In John 14, Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father.  Jesus replied that anyone who has seen him has seen the Father.  They are one.  We are the image bearers of God and God desires us to be drawn into Sonship with him as well.  In John 17, Jesus’s invitation is to know the Father through Christ.  This is the path to eternal life.  In Romans 8 Paul says that all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves.  Instead you received a spirit of sonship.

The invitation is right there.  God desires to Father us.  To bring us close to him as his sons.  God has rigged the world so that it does not work, apart from him.  Without him, things fall apart.  With God, there is life through Jesus.  The enemy has used many tools to draw us away from this.  In our wounds with our earthly dads or other men in our lives. The enemy hates the father son connection and is out to destroy it.  Look to the Father though and he will reveal the Truth to you.  Look in his Word and all he has shared.  He desires for us to be drawn to him as sons.

As you grow in Sonship and I am still growing, you’ll be amazed at the ways God will Father you.  He will come at you directly.  He will also use other people in your lives to Father you.  I have definitely found this to be true in the guys I’ve connected with and the conversations I’ve been able to share with others.  I may not have recognized it all before, it God’s definitely showing it to me now.  It’s pretty amazing to see.  There’s a place for us all in the fellowship of man if we open our hearts to the Father and let him in.