Offended?

Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them,

"Does this offend you?".... John 6:61, NLT

I am continually amazed at how loosely Christians use the word "offend" to describe a hurt or perceived wrong done to them by a fellow believer. Please read carefully the following definition of the New Testament word skandalizō (skän-dä-lē'-zō) which is the word most often translated "offend" in the New Testament:

1) to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may

trip and fall, metaph. to offend

a) to entice to sin

b) to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to

trust and obey

1) to cause to fall away

2) to be offended in one, i.e. to see in another what I disapprove of and

what hinders me from acknowledging his authority

3) to cause one to judge unfavourably or unjustly of another

c) since one who stumbles or whose foot gets entangled feels annoyed

1) to cause one displeasure at a thing

2) to make indignant

3) to be displeased, indignant

Have I ever been hurt by another's words? Certainly! Have I been misunderstood, misrepresented, even mistreated? Perhaps! Has anyone ever OFFENDED me? ABSOLUTELY NOT! No injustice ever done to me has the power to "entice me to sin" or "to cause to fall away." I refuse to grant it such authority in my life!

"Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them

or make them stumble".... Psalm 119:165, Amplified Bible

Disillusionment

"....How long will you live crazed by illusion?" -- Psalm 4:2, The Message

According to the dictionary, the word "illusion" is defined as "something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality." Therefore, the word "disillusioned" means to be freed from a false impression of reality. Could it be, then, that disillusionment is a necessary part of growing in the truth?

Some of us need to be "disillusioned" when it comes to God! Yes...I meant to say that and exactly that way! It is so easy for people to form their own theologies on the basis of their wishful thinking about God, not on the solid foundation of God's own self-revelation in history. Even those of us who know God through Jesus Christ, and who derive our core theology from Scripture, often believe things about God that simply aren't true. For us, God may be a big ol' friend who is there to give us everything we want....hardly the biblical God. Or perhaps our "God" is harsh and severe rather than gracious and merciful. To some extent, we all need to be "disillusioned" when it comes to God in order to embrace the truth of God's nature as revealed to us through Christ and through Scripture.

If I am fooled by an illusion, if I embrace as true something that isn't, then "disillusionment" might be a painful but necessary step on the road to truth and health.

I wonder which illusions I need to be set free from? Where do I need disillusionment? When it comes, will I accept it as a tough but gracious teacher or will I cling to my illusions?

Men vs Women Brains

Today is a first for Monday Morning Mentoring...I am simply directing you to a link with Mark Gungor of Laugh Your Way To a Better Marriage. He's describing the differences between the brains of men and women. I hope it helps you begin your week with some laughter!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BxckAMaTDc

"We have drifted away from being fishers of men

to being keepers of the aquarium"

-- Paul Harvey--

Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew's house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus' followers. "What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?" Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders."

Matthew 9:11-13, The Message

The local church is the hope of the world! If we as church leaders do not embrace the vision to become salt and light in our world, the Church will fail to realize its potential as an agent of change. We will become inwardly focused on meeting the needs of 'insiders' to the exclusion of 'outsiders.' We will become a spiritual cocoon, where Christians meet to retreat from a hostile world, rather than a 'transformation station' whose primary objective is to change the world.

It's not that churches shouldn't minister to their own members, but there should be a balance between internal and external ministry. When our churches become spiritual spas to which we retreat from the world, our salt loses its saltiness and we are no longer able to impact our culture.

Why did God make me? To love, serve, and obey Him--very simple, yet extremely profound. If we all woke up each morning asking, "How can I love, serve, and obey God today?" it might change everything---it might even change the world!

What is Worship?

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father

is seeking such to worship Him...John 4:23, NKJV

For many years Christians have broken fellowship and broken God's heart in the name of worship. We have argued over form, anguished over the opinions of others, and attacked those who looked or acted differently. Meanwhile in Heaven, the search goes on --

When you can give yourself permission to do everything else imperfectly, so long as you love Him completely...that is worship.

When you can come to Him boldly, even at the risk of the disapproval of others...that is worship.

When you can pursue His presence, even when your heart is broken...that is worship.

When you can submit your life to Jesus even when you don't understand all of what is happening around you...that is worship.

When you can love Jesus with ridiculous generosity, offering to Him the finest of your time, your talent, and your treasure...that is worship.

The Father still looks for that kind of worshiper. I hope His search finds completion in you.

Content or Complacent?

The Bible presents contentment as a good thing. It is something learned, though, and doesn't come naturally. Paul once received a generous offering from his friends in Philippi, and in thanking them said, "I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances" (Philippians 4:11, The Message). The operative word here is "learned." Contentment doesn't come easy when there's much to complain about and a lot you would change if you had the power to do so.

There's also something that looks like contentment but isn't. Complacency is ugly -- it's not resting in the Lord, it's snoring! While contentment is desire under surrender, complacency is desire under siege. A. W. Tozer said,

Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must

be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He

waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so

very long, in vain.

Are you content or complacent?

Be A Difference Maker!

Leadership expert John Maxwell says that the average person influences 10,000 people - either for good or bad - in the course of a lifetime.  That means all of us are difference-makers.

Miss Amy Whittington would certainly qualify as one who directly and indirectly influenced thousands of people.  At age 83 she was still teaching a Sunday school class in Sault St. Marie, Michigan.  She learned that the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago was offering a seminar to teach people how to be more effective teachers.  She literally saved her pennies until she had the necessary money to buy a bus ticket.  She rode the bus all night to attend the seminar to learn new methods and procedures so she could do a better job.

One of the professors, impressed with her age, enthusiasm, and the fact that she had ridden the bus all night to attend the seminar, engaged her in conversation.  He asked her what age group she taught and how many were in her class.  When she responded that she taught a class of junior high school boys and there were 13 in the class, the professor asked how many kids belonged to the church.  Miss Whittington replied, "Fifty." The professor, astonished that this little lady taught over 25% of the church youth, responded, "With that kind of record we should have you teach us how to teach."  How right he was!

People who are already good at what they do are far more likely to work at getting better than are those who are marginal performers.  What kind of impact did Miss Amy Whittington have? Eighty-six of those boys she taught in her Sunday school class through the years ended up in the ministry! Can't you just imagine the thousands of people she directly and indirectly impacted for good?  She truly was a difference-maker. 

You are too ... so make it a "good" difference!