Faith or Works?

It's clear that God has laid out His plan for our relationship with Him.  He made us a promise.

Ephesians 2:8: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

The promise?  Trust in Christ - I've handled the rest. 

I know I'm a child of God.  Because God said so.  He did all the work.  He loved me first and paid the price for me to have this relationship.  I've placed my faith in Christ.  That was over 8 years ago.

Then God gave me another promise.  He promised to change me - to transform me into the image of Jesus.  But I recently realized that something went terribly wrong along the way.  I began working on the list of things I had to do to change.  Don't drink, don't smoke, don't cuss, don't lie...don't, don't, don't!  As if by not doing certain bad things, but doing good things instead, I could actually change myself.  It is a works-based approach to a faith-based problem!

What is wrong with my approach is that the problem is not my actions.  The root of the problem lies in my heart.  My actions are a result of what is in my heart.  If I change my actions, but my heart does not change, I only cover up who I really am.  I can do that for a while, but eventually the real me will come out again.

So how do I change my heart?  Easy.  I don't!  Only God can change my heart.  He does this by helping me gain a better understanding of who He is.  The more I truly understand about the character of God, the more my heart changes to become more like Christ.  Once again, I simply have to have faith that God will keep His promise and change me.  I believe He will do it...I believe He IS doing it!

Not that we don't have any work to do - but our work is as a result of what God is doing in us first - not trying to control the situation on our end.  We work out our faith by spending time with God  in prayer, by reading His Word and by listening to the Holy Spirit.  Our hearts change as a result of how accurate the picture we have of God.

The bottom line is that God just Rocks!  He does all the real work.  We just have to keep looking to Him for the next step in the process!  If you are in the works rut - stop the madness!  Live free in Christ!

Real Man?

I just turned 46 years old last month. I've spent the better part of the past year in evaluation mode - call it a prompting from God. I've found these promptings are usually followed by the realization that I don't really understand much at all!

For example, I believe God has called me to be a preacher, teacher and leader in His church. I've worked hard, especially over the past 5 years, to make myself available and be involved in any way I can help out. Mostly it has not turned out at all like I've expected.

1 Tim 3:5 has been hounding me for months: ...if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?

First I get defensive - Hey I'm a pretty good husband and father! I have a job and put food on the table! Besides, real men get their worth from being good on the job, or in the church...not by what they do at home. What is He trying to say?

What I'm hearing is this - You can't fake the funk at home. Deep down, your kids know who you are by what they have watched you do...and not do...as they grow up under you. Your wife certainly knows who you are by your willingness to sacrificially love her, to nourish her and cherish her (Ephesians). I may not be "bad" in this category, but could I look the Lord in the eyes and say that I gave it my best?...OUCH!  What does it take to be a real man?  Humility is a big factor - willingness to be corrected and take some action as a result.

I feel like God is starting a new chapter in my life. Not sure at all where it is going, but I'm going to try to share some of that experience here with you. I would appreciate hearing your own experiences, or comments on mine.

God Rocks!