assets and liabilities

And let us be concerned about one another to promote love and good works,  Hebrews 10:24

I recently filled out a balance sheet for my financial adviser.  It is a form that has a vertical line through the center.  On the left side are your assets.  These consist of money, property, and other valuables that you own.  On the right side are liabilities.  These are what and who you owe.  At the bottom of the sheet you add up all the lines in the asset column and write a total.  Then you add up all the liabilities and write a total.  Finally, you subtract the liabilities from the assets.  This magic number is you net worth.  Ideally, your assets should far outweigh your liabilities.

Lets talk about our spiritual balance sheet.  As I was doing the financial balance sheet, I couldn't help but correlate it with the Christian walk.  We as Christians are called to help one another down this road called life.  Make up a spiritual balance sheet for yourself.  If you are kind and giving, that's and asset.  If you are a complainer and rude, that's a liability.  Make yourself a balance sheet if you are brave enough.  Are you an asset to others?  Maybe your a liability?  Be careful if you're the latter... you may be wrote off!

This one's about me and David.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

20 Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord,[c] is in you.     -Psalm 25:16-21

If there is any character in the bible that I can relate to, its David.  David is a real man among men.  He's a warrior.  A sinner.  A lover.  A writer.  A man after God's own heart.  A leader.  Hated and loved.  Alone...He is alone.

He is alone when he is in a crowd.  He is alone when he is in the wilderness.  He is alone.  David cries out to God when he is alone.

Tonight, I showed my face in a crowd.  There were a lot of people there that I knew.  I spoke to several.  Lots of smiles and handshakes were given and received.  Some asked me where I've been.  One thought I moved away.  I was alone.  Alone in the crowd.

Friends, recent circumstances have carried me into the wilderness.  I have learned to rely on God more than ever.  He is my comforter and my strength.  Much like David, I have been let down by men.  The only earthly satisfaction to be found has been a few intimate conversations and visits with dear friends.  So, if you wondered where I've been... I've been here all along... Alone with God.

                                -Scotty Northcutt

Haters be h8tin

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  
-Romans 12:9

     There are several things in life that I hate.  Here's a list of a few things I hate in no certain order:  snakes, when people oppress others, spiders, dodge trucks, when people lie, the devil, ect...
     There are more things that I love:  a young couple in love, a rainbow over chinaman's hut in Oahu, a good romantic comedy, when my children say "daddy I love you," a walk through the woods on a brisk fall morning, when a sinner gives himself to Christ, ect...

I encourage you to make a list of things you love and hate.  Is it deep or shallow?  Check yourself before you wreck yourself... 

How deep is it?

Someone once said, “The Bible is like a pool.  Shallow enough that a little child can come and get a drink without fear of drowning, yet so deep scholars can swim in it and never touch bottom.”

I love this quote that Pastor Adrian Rogers used.  It says so much and says so little at the same time.  The reality is the truth behind it.  My children have no problem understanding that there is a God.  That He created the heavens and the earth.  That He sent His one and only son to die on a cross for all man's sin.  That He was resurrected on the third day and ascended to heaven.  It's so simple when you have just a little faith.                    
In contrast, it can be deep.  How deep?  Real deep.  There are many things in the bible that no one understands.

So lets apply this to our lives.  Your daily conversations say a lot about how "deep or shallow" you are.  We want to be deep but not drown.  Are your conversations typically about some score of some game, or the person that cut you off at the store, or what that one gal said about someone else?  That's quite shallow.  Or are your conversations deeper, about the meaning of scripture, blessings, praises, and the will of God?

 

Picking a fight in church.

12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.  
1 Thessalonians 5:11

I recently attended a dinner at a local church.  I'm a new face and know very few people there.  As we were eating dinner there were a few men at my table that proceeded to slam one of the church staff.  They were negatively commenting on the staff member's way of doing things.  These men were introduced to me minutes before and were told that I was a new guest.  One of the men's wife picked up on my disgust for the comments.  She politely said to her husband that maybe they were "just two grumpy old men."  I (being the person that takes no lip from anyone) adamantly looked them both in the eyes with my intimidating stare and loudly said "your exactly right about that!)  One of the guys picked up on my anger real quick.  He got up and left and did not return.  The other sat oblivious to the things that just transpired.
Now, why would I tell you this?  Because, I hope your not "that guy."  The one that doesnt agree with every little thing a staff member does.  The one with verbal diarrhea that is condemning his pastoral staff in front of a new prospect. Staff work countless hours in an unappreciated role to make the church tick. I will stand up and fight for them. Am I right for picking a fight in church?  Or am I wrong for not calling the guys out and physically throwing them out of the temple like Jesus did?

where's your heart at?

20Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.  Matthew 6

In life there are patterns.  Some are very defined.  Some a subtle.  I was reconciling my checkbook today as i usually do each Monday.  There was a definite pattern.  I noted several consistincies in the the check register.  One in particular that made me smile.  God is good and God is faithful.  Are you being faithful to Him?  Connect the dots of the pattern of your treasure.  Then you will know where your heart is...