I have had a very similar conversation at least 5 times that I can remember. Each conversation revolved around getting Christians (usually the young people) involved in community service or a mission trip of some sort. In every case people have expressed their desire or the desire of their group was to “live out their faith.” The concept is that people today are tired of hearing the Bible stories at Church and want to get out and do something for God.

I completely understand this longing in the human heart. Faith needs expression. If we just keep filling ourselves with the gospel the end result is overfed Christians with a lot of head knowledge. In fact, I have often stood in front of the Church begging and pleading with people to get up out of their chairs and serve the Lord somewhere.

With each of these conversation I have a growing fear that is manifesting itself to me. This is that people equate serving the Lord as something that is best done as an organized event. We need to have a mission trip for people to share the gospel. We need to have an organized community service project for people to serve in our community. The Church needs to organize something for us to live out our faith.

I want to declare now that I believe that faith is best lived out in unorganized environments. I continually go back to the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 about the separation of the sheep and the goats. It is a description of those who have done God’s will and those who have not done it. It was pointed out to me that both groups are surprised at their fate. One group says, “When did we not do what you desire?” and the other groups says “when did we do what you desire?” (my paraphrase) Jesus response is that you did these things for me when you served the least of these. Neither group knew they were serving, or were not serving, Jesus. They were simply living out the gospel in their immediate context.

This truth needs to touch each one of us who claim to have faith. Living out the gospel is not something we need an organized event to do. Organized events are helpful in many ways, but they are not the sum total of Christian service. The gospel is alive and active in the way I treat my family, in how I speak to my neighbor, in the way I treat students at school and in a visit to the elderly. There are a thousand little things we do each day that are an opportunity to manifest the gospel in my life. If you are a person of faith you might do these activities as part of your natural existence never realizing you are living out the gospel the way Jesus commanded.

Living out your faith is done in every moment of your life. Today is an opportunity to show the world what you believe in everything you do.

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In the world of behavior addictions there is an acronym that is used frequently to help people think through their times of vulnerability. This acronym is H.A.L.T. and the idea is that we can HALT bad decisions by not letting ourselves get too –

H – hungry
A – angry
L – lonely
T – tired

The concept is simple: when you find yourself overly hungry or angry or lonely or tired you will make the worst decisions. This is especially true with addictions whether it be drugs, alcohol, sex or overeating. I think it applies to almost all poor decisions.

I was thinking about this today as my children go back to school. The changes in schedule will often lead to at least three of these if not all four. You need to be aware of this in your children. You need to be aware of it in yourself.

There is always so little time compared to the amount of work that needs to be done. Everyone wants a little piece of our time. Each of us must make decisions about what we will do and will not do with our time. I have been thinking about this a great deal lately and have come up with three vital questions about the actions I do.

1. Will this action have an immediate impact? Some decisions are easy for me to make as I can see an immediate result. Should I tell my family that I love them or that I am sorry or any host of other words? Of course I should.

2. Will this action have a long-term result? This is where it begins to get a little more tricky. Exercise might not have an impact today, but done over years it will change my health. Bible reading has little impact the moment I read it, but in the long-term it can give me perspective, hope and grace.

3. Will this action matter in eternity? This is what the Bible, and especially the teachings of Jesus, are so good at doing. It takes your life and pushes your actions up against the final judgment of God. Matthew chapter 24-25 contain much of this type of teaching. It might only seem like a cup of cold water given in Jesus name, but it can have eternal rewards. When God looks at the actions of my life will they reflect my faith?

These types of questions have helped me to decide what to do and what not to do. For example, I no longer care about my yard. I mow it so that it will look okay, but I no longer fertilize it or spray weed control. Clothes don’t matter, paint doesn’t matter, and a long list of other things we give ourselves to don’t matter either. On the flip side, even though I am an introvert, I willingly invite people into my home because it makes me a better person and builds a stronger congregation that will have an impact for eternity. These questions can help clarify our actions.

I keep asking myself these big questions so that my life will be abundant and full of meaningful things. I still have a long way to go, but its a start.

In the year 2000 I decided to plant a Church, by 2008 I was faithless and awash in sin and shame. My walk with God was non-existent and I was on the verge of losing my family. In those days I decided to resign as Pastor and take a Sabbatical for 2 months that lead to a 6 month hiatus as I searched for a new ministry and then made the move to Alaska. During that time away from ministry I made several decisions that have helped me regain my walk with God and my relationship with my family. Here they are –

1. I Committed To a Regular Time With God. – I start almost every day in my office with prayer and Bible reading. It takes me about a half hour for me to do both usually. I have found it has deepened my understanding of God and his word. It has helped me to develop a heart for people and it has enriched my love for my family.

2. I Made My Family a Priority. – My faith in God is the biggest guiding value in my life. Second is my family. Work is now third or maybe even fourth on my list. No longer will I be away from my family almost every night. In fact, I will not be gone more than two nights in a week unless there is a huge emergency. I schedule my kid’s games and make time for them in my life.

3. I Decided to Do Only a Few Things Well. – Once upon a time I wanted to pastor a large Church, write a bestselling book, travel speaking on the conference tour, and become a folk hero in the Church. Now, I want to preach well and I want to develop a healthy church. That’s it. I hope to do two things well besides being a good husband, father and son.

4. I Have Learned to Say No. – This is BY FAR the biggest decision most of us need to make. This year I have had to say no to two special speaking engagements where I was invited to preach. These would have been good events that would have helped me to make a name for myself. But, they would have meant time away from the few things I want to do well and from my family.

I firmly believe that most people live their lives based on guilt. I feel like they need to do something when asked or otherwise people will think less of me. Then I feel guilty for letting you down. I don’t want to feel guilty so I would rather endure being involved than saying no.

Let me be clear though – You need to know your priorities before you can say no. Numerous people say no to Church, no to church activities, not to small groups, no to bible study & prayer along with saying no to other believers because they have said yes to a lot of small and trivial things.

5. I Do Things I Enjoy Regularly. – For years I felt guilty for taking time off. If I went fishing I felt like I had to justify that to everyone. After all, there are so many good things I could be doing for the Church and the cause of Christ. I would not let myself enjoy life so that I could be a martyr for Jesus. Now, I have no shame in taking nights off. I need to have time to go fishing or just watch TV. I need a break to refresh my soul.

Today I feel more spiritually healthy than I have in my whole life. It didn’t come easy, but with a few critical decisions I began to turn everything in my life around. I know that you can do the same. All you have to do is make the right decisions.

This morning I sat down at my computer and do something that I enjoy doing. I take a long look at the world outside my window. Now you must know that my window doesn’t have a great view. It does not compare to the mountains that I used to look out upon in Alaska. It is mainly a stretch of grass behind the Church and currently a soy bean field. I do occasionally get to see squirrels and there was a bird that had a nest on the downspout right next to my window. But mostly it would be considered by many a lot of boring nothing.

Today there was something different in my line of view. Between the window and the screen there is a fairly large spider. It is black and it is a little larger than a nickel. I don’t know when or how it arrived in my window but it has had long enough time to build a makeshift web in each corner. Not the kind of beautiful web found in paintings or Halloween decorations. It looks more like a cotton ball that has been pulled apart for a children’s class project.

In his ugly web there are the remains of a fly, two other creatures and what looks like the wings of a rather large bug. It is very clear that his plan has worked. Personally, I would not have thought that very many insects would be able to get between my glass and that screen, but I would be wrong. My spider appears to be living a happy and abundant life.

Today the spider reminded me of a simple Biblical principle. Jesus tells his followers to look at the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. He challenges them to see how God dresses them and takes care of them. They don’t worry about their life and they have everything they need. This spider found a small place in the corner of my world and God is taking good care of it. It has food, shelter and even a view. What more could a spider want?

Here I set thinking of a slightly different take on scripture. “Look to the spider, they find a place and make a web and the Lord takes care of them. Are you not worth much more than a spider?”

In the middle of the rush of the days leading up to school I have a simple invitation for you. Take time today to truly live. We spend too many days just trying to “get through them.” Take some time today and try to live in the moment.

What if today…

You called your parents and had a conversation.

You sat down with your children and asked about their life.

You walked across the street and spoke with a neighbor you haven’t spoken to lately.

You wrote a love letter to your spouse.

You gave someone a little gift unexpectedly.

You shut off your phone, TV and internet and just see where your evening goes.

You called up an old friend and went out for a beverage.

You visited the graveside and just cried.

You invited a church member into your home.

You stopped by the nursing home and shared some time with a senior citizen.

You went to the lake and sat quietly to pray.

You sat alone on your porch just watching a quiet hour pass.

You went for a walk with someone you love and spoke.

You ate a meal with someone in need.

You pulled out the old board games and just had fun.

You took out your photo albums and took a walk down memory lane.

What if today you took some time to enjoy your life? What if you shared your life and brought joy to someone else. The work will still be there tomorrow. Take time to live today.

After my sermon this past Sunday I was reminded of an illustration Dr. Fred Craddock once used.

“To give my life for Christ appears glorious,” he said. “To pour myself out for others. . . to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom — I’ll do it. I’m ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory.”

“We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking $l,000 bill and laying it on the table–‘Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.'”

“But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $l,000 bill for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there.

Listen to the neighbor kid’s troubles instead of saying, ‘Get lost.’ Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home.

Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time.

It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul.”

My son unofficially started his senior year yesterday. His high school football team held their first practice of the new season at 12:01 on Monday morning.

One week from this Thursday he will begin taking classes in his final year of high school.

I know everyone says that children grow up fast but the reality is quicker than expected. I am struggling to transition my role as a parent. The reality is that all of us go through changes as a parent.

1. Provider. The child is born and you provide all of their needs. This is everything from food, diapers, clothing to shelter.

2. Caregiver. As the child grows you begin to connect with them emotionally as they start talking to you and saying those words, “I love you” in return.

3. Dreamer. You dream of all the child could become right along with them. Pro sports, president, doctor, preacher and lawyer (well, maybe not a lawyer). You dream with them and for them.

4. Coach/Teacher. Suddenly you are thrust into the role of helping them try to achieve their dreams. You want them to be the best and you put in the time to help them achieve. This may be informally in the stands of formally on the sidelines.

5. Cheerleader. Children quickly outgrow a parent’s ability. So you hand them over to qualified people who can instruct them better than you can on your own. You are forced to sit in the stands and you cheer with every small victory.

6. Releaser. At some point your children are ready to leave the nest and go out on their own. It is a wonderful and scary time. They may fail and they may get hurt. Also they may succeed and do well. The future is unclear and there is a desire to hold on tight.

[This is where my knowledge of parenting ceases firsthand. Some of you may be able to add to my list.]

As I move into this sixth stage with my first-born I am filled with fear and trembling. I pray daily for God’s guidance and grace in their life. I pray for the decisions he is making this final year of high school. I hope I have handled each stage well and I especially hope I handle this one well.

Today I want to thank God for my oldest son. I hope he enjoys his senior year. The days have passed quickly and I thank my God for each and every one. May you and I both handle the stages of a parent with God’s strength, mercy and grace.