Happy new year everyone!
It might just be a number on the calendar, but the new year always seems like a time to start over and make things better. In Christ, we always have the chance to start over. Whether it's January 1st or May 9th, God makes all things new. My prayer for everyone reading this is that we embrace that truth and do something awesome with God.
"... the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
Just The Way You Are
For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10All people, whether Jew or Gentile (like this passage is talking about), were created purposefully. The Greek for "handiwork" can also mean "work of art". This shows that we are beautifully and intentionally made. God prepared a goal and mission for each of us, the "good works", and created us specifically to do those things. Our strengths, weaknesses, our life history and our circumstances were all foreseen by God and taken into account when he formed us.
We can take comfort in hard times or in times of self-doubt, knowing that God has created us perfectly for the road we are to take. It is our call to dedicate ourselves to the good works God has prepared for us and to thank Him for the gifts He's given us to do those works.
It's also a call to love and respect others. When we tear down or criticize others, we insult God's handiwork. While people may still do things that require a loving rebuke, the person himself is treasured by God.
King Over our Defeated Foes
In our messed up world, we sometimes forget that God is sovereignly in control of all things. Satan, though ruler of this world, is still ultimately limited by God's will. This awesome quote from a book I'm reading gave me great hope in the power of our God over the darkness:
When God gave Satan permission to test His servant Job, He set the limit beyond which Satan could not go. At Calvary, he became a defeated foe, for when Jesus cries, "It is finished," He implied a complete victory over the unseen rulers of the darkness of this world.
- Herbert Lockyer
When God gave Satan permission to test His servant Job, He set the limit beyond which Satan could not go. At Calvary, he became a defeated foe, for when Jesus cries, "It is finished," He implied a complete victory over the unseen rulers of the darkness of this world.
- Herbert Lockyer
Love Them Again
I will plant [my people] for myself in the land;The entire book of Hosea hits me like a truck every time I read it. Hosea's wife betrayed him over and over, but God instructed him to "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods."(Hosea 3:1)
I will show my love to the one I called "Not my loved one."
I will say to those called "Not my people," "You are my people";
and they will say, "You are my God."
-Hosea 2:23
I'm so grateful the Lord is patient with me. When every ounce of logic says He should throw me away and disown me, He loves me again and again and again.
On Our Side
I had a few Skype meetings today with some awesome people. One of them was with a good friend who is always incredibly encouraging. After talking about some struggles for a while, she reminded me of the words of a song she wrote a few years ago: God is "on our side".
We talked about how God cares about our struggles and actively fights on our behalf. He stops at nothing to win victory for us and to help us through anything that is dragging us down. He offered up His own Son to be brutally beaten so that our own wounds could be healed. We don't need to battle our demons alone, because God is with us. If God is for us, who can be against us? The Creator of the universe who mightily controls all things, that God is standing in our corner cheering us on and picking us up when we fall.
We are never too broken, too sinful, or too lost that God will not sit down with us and love us.
We talked about how God cares about our struggles and actively fights on our behalf. He stops at nothing to win victory for us and to help us through anything that is dragging us down. He offered up His own Son to be brutally beaten so that our own wounds could be healed. We don't need to battle our demons alone, because God is with us. If God is for us, who can be against us? The Creator of the universe who mightily controls all things, that God is standing in our corner cheering us on and picking us up when we fall.
We are never too broken, too sinful, or too lost that God will not sit down with us and love us.
Holy Discontent
A little while ago I wrote a little review for a booked called "The Me I Want to Be". I just finished another book, so I thought I'd say a few things about it.
The book is "Holy Discontent" by Bill Hybels. I figured a book by Hybels must be good, because I've heard him speak several times and his messages are always incredible. However, this book seemed like kind of a dud to me.
I don't mean that nothing in the book was relevant or true—because it all made a lot of sense. I just found that each chapter tended to repeat what the last one said.
In the book, Hybels lays out his theory, which he calls holy discontent. Basically, God has wired us all to be "discontent" with some issue in the world; poverty, the spiritually lost, the AIDS crisis, etc. Hybels suggest that instead of accepting the world for the way it is, we should embrace our holy discontent and allow it to fuel us as we change the world in one small way. This is a great idea which Hybels supports with solid scripture in the first chapter.
Unfortunately, that's pretty much all you need to read. Very little new information or expansion on the idea is presented in the rest of the book. It's still an interesting read, as Hybels shares stories of people he knows who have embraced their holy discontent to make an impact on the world. He even gives some examples from his own life about how his holy discontent over lukewarm churches drove him to build Willowcreek, which as you probably know is one of the most influential and thriving churches in the world today.
This book is definitely not a bad one by any means; it's very well-written and has some good inspiring stories in it. I got really excited over the first chapter but was disappointed to discover that the remainder of the book was basically just a series of rewordings.
However, if you're a person who doesn't quite have your own "holy discontent" quite figured out yet, this book could definitely help. There are tons of inspiring stories that might just trigger something in your heart and show you what God might be calling you to do with your life.
A "ministry leader" guide is also available for the book, which I haven't had a chance to read. If anyone's checked that out, please post a comment letting me know how it is.
The book is "Holy Discontent" by Bill Hybels. I figured a book by Hybels must be good, because I've heard him speak several times and his messages are always incredible. However, this book seemed like kind of a dud to me.
I don't mean that nothing in the book was relevant or true—because it all made a lot of sense. I just found that each chapter tended to repeat what the last one said.
In the book, Hybels lays out his theory, which he calls holy discontent. Basically, God has wired us all to be "discontent" with some issue in the world; poverty, the spiritually lost, the AIDS crisis, etc. Hybels suggest that instead of accepting the world for the way it is, we should embrace our holy discontent and allow it to fuel us as we change the world in one small way. This is a great idea which Hybels supports with solid scripture in the first chapter.
Unfortunately, that's pretty much all you need to read. Very little new information or expansion on the idea is presented in the rest of the book. It's still an interesting read, as Hybels shares stories of people he knows who have embraced their holy discontent to make an impact on the world. He even gives some examples from his own life about how his holy discontent over lukewarm churches drove him to build Willowcreek, which as you probably know is one of the most influential and thriving churches in the world today.
This book is definitely not a bad one by any means; it's very well-written and has some good inspiring stories in it. I got really excited over the first chapter but was disappointed to discover that the remainder of the book was basically just a series of rewordings.
However, if you're a person who doesn't quite have your own "holy discontent" quite figured out yet, this book could definitely help. There are tons of inspiring stories that might just trigger something in your heart and show you what God might be calling you to do with your life.
A "ministry leader" guide is also available for the book, which I haven't had a chance to read. If anyone's checked that out, please post a comment letting me know how it is.
 | Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision By Bill Hybels |
 | Living and Leading from Your Holy Discontent: A Companion Guide for Ministry Leaders By Bill Hybels & Ashley Wiersma |
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