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Does Hearing Lead To Action?

October 28, 2009 by jbrianhill

I had the unique opportunity to hear Francis Chan, a pastor in Simi Valley, CA, preach yesterday at a conference in Arlington.  He is an exceptional communicator and did a great job.  One of the things he said in one of his sermons has haunted me ever since he said it.  He talked about how we often pray to hear a word from God.  We set aside time to pray and read in hopes that we will hear from God.  But then he asked the question, “When we hear a word from God, do we do anything about it?”

He used an illustration of playing a game of Simon Says.  He reminded us that when you play Simon Says, all those playing must do what the leader says (emphasis on the word DO).  However, when we read in the Bible what Jesus taught, we have taken the approach that we should memorize it but little more.  We can quote scripture of what Jesus said, but has it impacted the way we live?

I am still wrestling with this question.  How about you?  When you hear from God, do you do anything about it?

Posted in Formation | 1 Comment »

It’s All or Nothing

October 27, 2009 by jbrianhill

One of my favorite authors of all time is Thomas Merton.  He has been described as one of the most influential spiritual masters of the twentieth century.  He was a monk, a poet and a writer.

I ran across this quote yesterday and it has had me thinking ever since:  “A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all.  No man can serve two masters.  Your life is shaped by the end you live for.  You are made in the image of what you desire.”

“A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all” – Wow!  That hits home for me.  I think we all have a tendency to compartmentalize our lives – our spiritual lives are lived at church, our family lives are lived at home and our work lives or school lives are lived there.  But Merton reminds us that it is all or nothing.

Is your job spiritual?  How about your home or family life – is it spiritual?  God wants all of you not just part of you.

I challenge you today to spend some time contemplating your life.  Is it spiritual (focused on God – serving God) or is it non-spiritual (focused on yourself)?

Posted in Formation, Motivational | 1 Comment »

Lesson On a Mini-Bike

October 26, 2009 by jbrianhill

One of my earliest memories on a motorized vehicle was when I was about 6 years old or so.  My dad had found a mini-bike.  Now for you folks not familiar with such things, a mini-bike is a small two-wheeled invention with a five horse or so motor mounted on it – no gears, just a throttle and a brake.  This one was red and it had black handle grips and a black seat – the seat was a piece of plywood with 3″ foam on top and covered in black shag carpet – yeah, real shag baby.  It was stylish.

The brake was a foot lever that when pushed would make a steel plate press against the tire – yep, that’s how you stopped (in theory anyway).  My first time on that contraption was in the alley behind our house.  Now a key point to the story comes at this point – at the west end of our alley was a street but at the east end, the alley made a T and there was a row of houses backed up to the alley, each with a back fence (you may be guessing what comes next but don’t get ahead of me).

My dad pull started the engine, I got on and away I went, straight down the alley.  Things were progressing well until I realized I was going to have to slow down at the end of the alley.  A minor point omitted to this point, and unbeknownst to me at the time, is that the throttle had a tendency to stick.  I let off the throttle but nothing happened, I maintained my break-neck speed (probably about 20 miles per hour).  I began to push the brake with my foot but it wasn’t helping.

I got to the end of the alley and went head-on into a fence.  Oddly enough, that stopped me.  I missed a telephone pole by inches so I walked away with only a deep scrape on my knee from glancing off the pole.  But the fence didn’t fare so well – I had knocked it down.  I am sure my dad spent the better part of a day repairing the fence so it was fine.  But I was left with a fear of that mini-bike and a scar that I carried on my knee for years to come.

I quickly got over my fear, but the scar remained.

I am reminded today that we all have scars – all kinds of scars – physical, emotional and maybe even spiritual.  But here is the challenge for today, don’t let the scars hold you back, use them to remind you of the lessons you learn along the journey – let those lessons make you stronger.

God wants to use all of you to make a difference – scars and all!

Posted in Formation, Humor, Motivational | 1 Comment »

Don’t Be a Pharisee

October 23, 2009 by jbrianhill

We’ve all known people like this – loud, overly confident, always bragging about accomplishments they have made or how much they know – arrogance is all around us.  To be blunt, I don’t really like being around arrogant people – they annoy me, especially the ones who are arrogant about their faith or their Christian walk.  I have said this before, but if you ever encounter a person who suggests they have everything worked out and can explain all the mysteries of God – you need to run; get as far away from them as you can.

I don’t think God takes delight in arrogance.  In fact, that is what got the Pharisees in trouble.  The fact that they were so sure of what they believed is the very downfall that kept them from recognizing Jesus as the son of God.  I don’t want to be a Pharisee!  I want to remain open to what God is trying to do in and through me.  So this requires humility.

Humility is hard for all of us – more so for some than others.  Our society teaches us that it is ALL ABOUT ME!  I have rights and you can’t tell me what to do.  We are so programed to believe that the world revolves around us that it is sometimes hard to remember that God is in control – not us.

If we are truly going to follow God, we must do so out of a sense of humility – humility that understands God is in charge and others are just as important as us.  We have to remember that we do not have the corner on the market for understanding God.  We have to remain open to the fact that we can really only understand as much about God as God reveals to us.

Remember that God is God and we are not – don’t be a Pharisee.

Posted in Church, Formation, Grace | Leave a Comment »

Be Full

October 22, 2009 by jbrianhill

I was reading in Romans 11 this morning of how Paul was considered the Apostle to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish folk of the time.  He talked here about how his hope was that through the conversion of the non-Jewish people, that the Jews (his very people) would be jealous and thus want to turn to Jesus as well.

But here is what caught my attention today, the word that will stay with me and hopefully form me to be more like Jesus today is “fulfillment.”  Paul said in verse 12 that through their reconciliation to Jesus, they would be fulfilled.

How many people do you know that are looking for fulfillment?  Are you looking for fulfillment?  Do you turn to your job to fill that need for validation and feeling full?  Do you turn to your spouse for that feeling of fulfillment?

The Bible teaches that true fulfillment – feeling complete and valued – can only come from God.  Why is that?  I believe it is because in reality, when this life is over, all that really matters is how we followed Jesus.  What did you do with your life to make an impact for God’s kingdom.

The only thing that really brings fulfillment is a life lived for Jesus – fleshed out in how we love others – that’s the full life.

Posted in Formation, Motivational | Leave a Comment »

Praying At Gun Point

October 21, 2009 by jbrianhill

I read something this morning and I thought, maybe I need to go back and qualify what I said yesterday.  The post yesterday dealt with focusing on God even in the mundane tasks, giving God the glory for everything we do.  In that way, we will begin to experience God’s presence in all things.  But I think this might be taking that thought a little too far.

As I read this story it made me laugh and still does – my first thought was, “I wonder if this was a pastor?”  But I know that could not be the case because some of the money was left behind.

As for the clerk, what bravery and concern – I am not sure I could have prayed at gun point – could you?

Posted in Grace, Humor | Leave a Comment »

God’s Presence In Washing Dishes

October 20, 2009 by jbrianhill

One of the normal evening rituals at our house is family dinner.  We don’t always get to eat together but we try.  It is the one time of the day we can enjoy being together as a family.  Kristi normally cooks and while she never gets much credit, she is a wonderful cook.  When Kristi cooks, I clean the kitchen.

As I was standing over the sink last night washing dishes, I was reminded of one of my favorite books entitled Practicing The Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence was born Nicholas Herman in the early 1600’s.  He joined a Carmelite order of monks as a lay brother and lived out his days in a monastery in the French Lorraine.  In this collection of Lawrence’s writings, he tells of how he learned to experience God’s presence in all circumstances.  In fact, Lawrence said he could sense God’s presence in the kitchen among the pots and pans just as strongly as in the chapel during prayers.

The key to sensing God’s presence, Lawrence found, is in our approach.  Everything we do should be done for God’s glory.  As long as our focus is on pleasing God, then everything we do will take on a new purpose.  A result of this new found focus will be that we will begin to sense God’s presence in everything we do.

Try it this week.  It could brighten your day – it might even change your life!

Posted in Formation, Hope | 2 Comments »

It’s Monday

October 19, 2009 by jbrianhill

Never fails, when I wake up the day after Sunday, it is Monday.  It comes around every week!  So here we are this morning, it’s Monday again.  For some, Mondays are dreaded days.  But they don’t have to be.  Try this today:

  1. Read this
  2. Then pray that God will open your eyes to people and things around you that should invoke praise
  3. Determine today that you will impact at least one life positively this week
  4. On Tuesday, repeat all of the above – then continue each day in the same fashion.

Have a great week!

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational | Leave a Comment »

Changing Seasons

October 16, 2009 by jbrianhill

Fall Backyard

Fall officially began a couple of weeks ago, and it is in full swing around here now.  The picture above was taken yesterday in my yard.  I love this time of year.  The leaves are turning and the temperatures become very pleasant – brisk mornings and warm afternoons.  Everything is changing – it’s refreshing.

As I drove home from work yesterday, I was noticing all the fall colors and I began to think about the change of seasons.  In most parts of the world, God created four seasons – four distinct climate changes to keep us on our toes.  I really believe God knew that if things stayed the same day in and day out, that we would become complacent, stagnant and bored.

With the changing of seasons, I think we are reminded of at least two things.  The first is that we should guard ourselves against becoming stagnant and bored.   God created us to be alive – to live life and enjoy it – to make a positive impact on those around us.

The other thing we are reminded of is that regardless of where we find ourselves today, tomorrow is a new day full of opportunities.  Just as the seasons change, so can our situations.  There is a lot of hope found in this fact.

Life should be full of hope!  God intended us to live and to do so with hope.

My challenge to you today is to reflect on areas of your life that may need a little change and then take concrete steps to make those changes for the better.

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational | 1 Comment »

Present and Accounted For

October 15, 2009 by jbrianhill

I read a blog post earlier this week from Glenn Packiam entitled, “Practicing the Wrong Presence.”  (You can link to it here).  In that post, Glenn makes the point that we often say we want to experience God’s presence.  But in reality, God is always present.  You quite possibly have heard me say or read when I have written that we should not think of God’s presence as something that comes and goes.  We don’t “come into the presence of God.”  We should rather think of it as being sensitive to God’s presence.

I love the way Glenn uses the word presence to make this point.  He states that the issue isn’t whether or not God is present with us, but rather whether or not we are present with God.  You see, God will never leave nor forsake us – God is always with us.  The question we need to ask ourselves is “Are we present with God.”

Have you ever been talking to someone and you can tell they are distracted or maybe thinking more about what they are going to say next than actually listening to you.  Doesn’t that drive you crazy (if I have done that to you lately – I apologize!)?  Trying to talk to someone who is not present mentally or emotionally is very frustrating and not very meaningful for either party involved.

Don’t do that to God!

Practice being present to God and to others today – you won’t regret it (and neither will those around you).

Posted in Formation, Hope | Leave a Comment »

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