being “god” is tough

“So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too?     ACTS 15:10

Have you ever caught yourself stepping in God’s way.  I find myself trying to be my own “god” all the time.  Trying to take control, trying to make certain things happen, or happen faster.  Sometimes even as a Pastor, I find myself wrestling with GOD and trying to make my own agenda happen.  Starting each day at the cross definetly helps getting me out of the way.  What about you?  Do you ever find yourself getting in God’s way?  What do you do make and keep God the center of who you are and of what you are doing?

Bring your very Best???

I love YouVersion.com the online Bible that Life Church created.

I just spent a few minutes in John 12 and couldn’t hardly get past the first several versus.

John 12:3 Then Mary took
about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on
Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled
with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,

5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He
did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a
thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was
put into it. 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “
It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.

Jesus and the Disciples are back in Bethany just six days before Passover.  He had just brought one of his best buds Lazarus back from the dead, which had stirred up both those who believed and those who didn’t.  On this day, Jesus was having a little down time.  Hanging out with some close family friends Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha.  Martha doing her thing, staying busy and serving, and here is Mary again blowing me away with her amazing faith.

I’m sure the disciple, “the boys” were chatting about how Oklahoma Sooners lost by the three on Saturday to the Longhorns… BOO!  Judas is counting through what’s left of the crews funds.  Then there’s Mary.  Mary breaks out the most expensive thing she owns, a pint of nard.  Maybe like pulling out a pint of Armani cologne, you know the expensive stuff, and she doesn’t hold back.  She begins to pour out the entire pint onto Jesus’ feet as to give him honor.

Listen, I love cologne, but I spray, or dab it.  I mean on myself.  I don’t pour out the whole thing.  Mary pours it out on Jesus’ feet and begins to wipe his feet with her hair.  She brought her very best to anoint Jesus.

How often have you brought your very best before Jesus and poured it out, I mean all of it to bless Him?

Or do you find yourself to be more like Judas, ticked off that blessing was “wasted” on Jesus instead of on what he supposedly wanted to use it for?

Honestly, and more often than not, I tend to find myself thinking like Judas rather than like Marry.

Father, Give me a heart that beats like Mary’s, that I would break out my very best for you.  I want to be a blesser of your name, not a whiner of mine.

Why does God feel so distant?

I hear this question all the time. As a matter of fact I even remember asking this question a several times myself. Well here is my devotional from this morning, and Blackaby knocks the answer out of the park. I love the experiencing God day by day devotional which is free at http://www.blackaby.org/.

The only time you ever see Jesus distant from God is on the Cross, when he is bearing the sins of the world. What a great reminder to always draw near to God.

Draw Near to God

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
(James 4:8)

There
may be times when God seems far away. You may feel as if your prayers
go unheard. James said there is a simple reason for this and a
solution. If you are far from God, it is because your sin has separated
you from Him.

God is unchanging. His character stays absolutely holy. His
faithfulness remains constant; it is we who change. We allow sin into
our lives. We choose our own direction. We spend less and less time
with Him in Bible study and prayer. Then one day we realize that we
have gradually grown distant from God. The solution, according to
James, is straightforward. We are to draw near to God. As we realize
our need to be closer to the Father and we begin to return to Him, He
meets us even as the father hurried to greet his prodigal son (Luke
15:20).

Drawing near to God requires you to take two actions. First, you must
cleanse your hands (Isa. 1:15). You must cleanse your way of living. If
you have been actively engaged in sin, you must renounce it. If you
have done anything to offend or hurt someone, you must make it right.
Second, you are to purify your heart (Ps. 51:10). You must make certain
your attitudes, thoughts, and motives are right in God’s eyes and are
in harmony with God’s word. Jesus warned that you cannot serve two
masters (Matt. 6:24). It is impossible to love anything else as much as
you love God and still please Him.

If God seems distant, do what is necessary to cleanse your hands, purify your heart, and draw near to Him.