Reckless Abandon

"Come follow me." Those words ring true today. What if I were to practice reckless abandon, drop my net and surrender totally to Jesus' call? At some point those guys must have said if not directly to Him, then in their minds, "Jesus, not sure exactly where this is going, but have you read concerning yourself? Aren't we going to be taking charge here? Look, I had a good job back there. Sure, I followed you, but let's be honest, I was a little tired of the same old, same old. I was looking for some adventure, maybe even a stepping stone. My old job is not looking so bad right now. Surely you've got bigger plans than this?" Yet, they held on, they moved past the microscope to the telescope and were martyred for their beliefs. Mabe what kept them holding on was the realization that life is a vapor and whatever the sacrifice it was short term through the looking glass of eternity.

So what if I always view life through the looking glass of eternity instead of the microscope of now? Impossible to do, but I could be better--much better. I want to live with reckless abandon for the faith. What's holding me back? God calls us all to reckless abandon. What are you going to do to practice reckless abandon? What should you do, but aren't? What dream has God put in your heart that would require reckless abandon? What's holding you back? What's holding me back?

Faith, Furnaces, and Lions

I'm amazed at the faith of the heroes of the Bible. Most of them have their moments of great faith, mingled with times of doubt or failure. Daniel was not so, or at least the Bible doesn't describe such an incident with Daniel. Some things stick out to me regarding him and countless others.

1) If you are a man of God, the people you serve in power will most always love you. They may not agree with you, but they will respect you. For a person in power, having an objective, right hand man who will willingly say difficult things is invaluable.
2) How one receives hard advice, will determine their success in life/death. Best to embrace that person than to shun them and do whatever you planned to do anyway.
3) God takes care of his own. You may not avoid a lion's den or a fiery furnace, but he will be faithful to deliver me through it.
4) Compromise in a small thing, don't expect to stand strong when faced with a pack of lion's or a furnace. The gospel is to change the culture, not change with the culture.

Robbing God

What am I aftraid of? If God is for me who can stand against me? Bring all the tithes into the storehouse and all my offerings and will not God supply all my needs? Will he not give heaping, shaken and pressed down so much that I can't contain it? Am I building a house of panels and cedars, while the Lord's house is in ruin? Holes in my pockets? Who am I to doubt God? Is His arm too short? Trust in me and I have myself to blame. If I trust God with my money, I have Him to blame. God is blameless. Can a man rob God? But I need insurance. Really? I know they have my best interests at heart! But I need TV! Really? I'm such a better person for it. But my house is too small? Really, the son of Man had no place to lay his head. But I need retirement? Where is retirement in the Bible? Who will take care of me when I'm old. Really? Didn't Moses walk Mt. Sinai and live to a ripe old age? Haven't my heroes in the faith lived full lives until they passed, and they never saw the likes of nursing homes. Who will pay for my children's college? Doesn't God give them wisdom for SATs and the like?

I've been testing the waters of faith, sometimes even getting waist deep, but the water is cold. Why not jump in? At least it's not lukewarm. God, push me in and float me there, cause fighting the current is getting old.