God showed up at my house today.  I didn’t get to see him, but I know he was here. There were no witnesses, and no one heard anything that could prove my statement, but I believe that he swung by to drop something off… Something that I need to work on.  It was not something that most people would enjoy having in their life and to be honest, I am not sure that I am happy about it, but I believe that he brought this gift (and I am trying to see it as a gift) to me for a reason.  I have a job to do.  My problem is, I just don’t know the right way to handle it.  This gift is scary.  It is broken and toxic.  It makes me hurt in new and unfamiliar ways.  It screams, “Pretend I am not here, and I will just go away.” But I can’t.  I know that God brought it to me.  I can’t ignore that.

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A lot of my discussions lately have revolved around the idea that God allows us to go through crisis to awaken us to the fact that all is not right.  I feel like this is one of those times when He is putting it right in my face so I can’t miss it and asking me to step into the role He has designed for me.  The good news for me is that this is not my crisis.  It isn’t mine, but I have been put on a path to intersect someone who needs to awaken to the fact that all is not right with their world.  Now…what is my role?  How do I help?  I don’t know yet.

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I have been praying about this situation all afternoon which is completely foreign to me.  Normally, I would just make the decisions and handle the situation and later it would hit me that I never pinged God for his input.  So, here I am doing it “the right way”, taking it to God first and I am, well…I’m still waiting.  Waiting for any kind of answer.

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 Maybe if I write it out…  God please hear my prayer.

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What should I be doing?  Just tell me God.  I have option A – G ready to go.  I know how to set them in motion even if I don’t know the end result.  I am prepared to do anything you tell me to, but I need it to be loud and clear.  You know me.  I get in my own way.  I overthink it every time.  I am second guessing my every move wondering if it is really your will or my own.  Please just make it easy for me and do it soon.  The waiting is killing me, but I have to trust you.  I know you have my back.  I know your plan is unfolding in your time not mine.  It is just so hard…  I want to show them your glory and I fear that I missed the opportunity you laid out.  I don’t want to let you down.

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I love writing this blog for so many reasons.  One of the reasons is that it’s an adventure.  Sometimes I sit down planning on writing about a certain subject but then it goes in a completely different direction.  Like today for instance, I was planning on writing about something that’s been on my heart lately but then it went to The Bible and then it stalled again so I said, “Okay God, so what am I going to write about today?”

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And then it went here, which I’m not gonna lie, is a little strange.

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Imagine a world without crock pots.

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I know what you must be thinking, “What kind of messed up world are you asking me to imagine here?”

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I know, I know but just stay with me here. 

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And then one day, along came you – the very first crock pot. 

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Are you there?  Imagining it?  You are the very first crock pot.  Only problem is, you don’t know that you’re a crock pot.  You don’t know what you are.  You came with no instruction manual, there were no illustrations on the box and nobody around you seems to know what your purpose is either.

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So what do you do?

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Trial and error has you trying all sorts of things:

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Tool cleaning, feet soaking, candle making, rain measuring, dog water dish, candy holder (hopefully you bathed somewhere in between the feet soaking and candy holding), silver polishing, mud carrying and plant holding.  You finally settled on your current job – paper weight, which you’re pretty good at.

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And while you may not be miserable, deep down inside you know that you’re not being properly utilized.  You know there’s a greater purpose for you.  You’ve searched and searched (I mean, why else would you try foot soaking?) but you’ve never realized that potential you have.  But you know it’s there.   

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So how do you find it?

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You could just keep trying different things but how’s that worked out for you?

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I’ll tell you how it’s worked out for you in three words – DOG WATER DISH.

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So you can just resign yourself to being a paperweight for the rest of your days unless something better happens to come along.

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Or

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You can look to the one who created you because who better to show you what you were made for than the one who made you?

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“BINGO!”

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So you seek and find your creator and next thing you know, you’re making the tastiest, melt in your mouth, pot roast.  Two weeks from now you’ll be entering the Flaming Hot Chili Cook Off and you’re pretty sure that you’re going to have a big part in that beef stew recipe that was recently put on the counter.

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Purpose found! 

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All it took was seeking the one true person who knew what you were made for.

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Try it on your own, you might end up soaking bunions.  Seek your creator and you’re making Rotel cheese dip for the family get together. 

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So……

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Are you a crock pot paperweight?

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Well

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“….Everyone who seeks, finds.” – Matthew 7:8

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EVERYONE

Situational Christianity

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This is something I’ve wrestled with ever since I became an Unlikely Christian.

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It’s also something I’m done with.

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Are you a situational Christian? 

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Are you a Christian when you get together with your church buddies? – Yep

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How about at church?  Duh….of course!

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At community group?  Oh yeah!

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How about when you go back home to visit your friends and or family?  Umm…well…uhhh…

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How about at work?  Well…..you see…..

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That used to be me.  A Christian within the safe confines of the holy huddle for sure, but around my non-Christian friends/family, work or any other place where the conditions/people weren’t favorable….yeah not so much.

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Why?

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Well for me it was because I didn’t want to freak them out.  I didn’t want to push them away. 

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As a Christian, I became a guy that I never thought I’d be – a Christian.  In doing so, I also became a guy that I know they aren’t necessarily fond of – a Christian.  So when around them, I didn’t want to weird them out. 

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Is that for the right reasons?  I don’t think so.  I basically denied Jesus in front of them?  Well I didn’t fully deny Him.  They know I’m a Christian because they know I go to church and have a Christian blog but did I tuck it away?  Oh guilty, guilty, guilty.  I folded it up nicely and put it in my backpack.  It was there with me, I could get it out at anytime but I didn’t because I didn’t want to freak them out.  I didn’t want them running the other direction.  I want them to be open to a relationship with Jesus so the last thing I wanted is them seeing me as some crazy religious nutjob.  Not that I have any religious nutjob traits but a close family member already made some comments to that effect once I started writing about being an Unlikely Christian.  It freaked him out a little bit. 

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Is that family member saved?  No, maybe, I don’t know.  Do we talk about it?  Well, no.  One of the last times we got into a conversation about it, another family member made it clear that subject matter such as that, was not to be talked about in their house, which was totally weird for me.  I was the guy who was being told to stop talking about God.  I let it go and I haven’t brought it up again.

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So when around them, I just acted like the old Bill and that’s a travesty.  Am I to believe Jesus will honor that?  Because I don’t want to be uncomfortable or make things a little weird, I basically kept my Christianity hidden.  

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“Well done good and faithful servant”…. yeah, I don’t think so.

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Jesus went to parties and hung out with non-Christians but He didn’t stop being Jesus.  He was full on, full blown, Jesus.  He didn’t pretend to be somebody He wasn’t to help others feel comfortable.  He made others feel comfortable by being true to who He was and wants us to do the same – “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” – Matthew 5:14-16

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Going back to Pre-Jesus Bill (PJB) in those situations is putting a lit lamp under a basket.  What good is that doing?  What if deep down inside they are actually watching me to see if I really am different, to see if I’ve changed?  Well then I’m sure they’re thinking, “Yep, same old Bill, nothing’s changed, guess there isn’t really anything to this Christianity thing”. What if my non-Christian friends/family are secretly reading my blog but then when I’m around them I’m PJB?  Talk about some mixed signals.  The phrase, “All talk and no walk” comes to mind.

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Maybe they want to see the Jesus in me.  Maybe they’re looking for it.  Maybe that’s what they need to see to be open to it.  Instead I’m giving them PJB - “Yeah look at me, nothing’s changed so feel free to do it too.” 

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That’s not right.

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But that’s what being a situational Christian does. 

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It puts the light under a basket.

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If you’re a Christian that means you belong to Christ and, “The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

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Did you get that? 

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The old life is gone.

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GONE!

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Bye-Bye!

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C-U-L8R

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Not to be resurrected in certain situations.

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GONE!

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I’m finally letting go of mine.

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And while it’s not always easy, it’s oh so freeing.

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The bottom line is, situational Christianity isn’t really Christianity at all.

POSER!

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As a skater (skateboarder, not figure skater) from the 80’s, I am very familiar with the word poser. 

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In that world, a poser was somebody who had a skater haircut, skater clothes, a nice Powell & Peralta or Santa Cruz deck, with some Indy Trucks, Bullet Wheels and the fastest bearings money could buy.  Sounds like a typical skater right?  Yeah but if you looked closely at their board, you’d notice that their wheels always looked clean, the deck was scratch free and even the grip tape looked brand new. 

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And the reason for that was simple.  They didn’t skate.  They were posers.  Their look, their board, the way they talked, was all for show.  They were wannabe skaters – Posers. 

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I’m not sure what benefits they hoped to reap by pretending to be skaters.  There were certainly no pop songs being written about Sk8er Boys back then.  We weren’t the most popular guys in school, if anything we were outcasts.  In spite of all that, people wanted to be like us.  We had something they wanted and because of that, there were a large number of posers in our school, which we enjoyed pointing out.

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Why did we enjoy pointing it out?

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Because they were posers!  For whatever reason, they didn’t have the courage to shred.  They were never going to drop in on a quarter pipe, spray paint “Skate or Die!” on the neighborhood concrete ditch or leave skin on the driveway while perfecting their ollie skills.  But we…..we had earned the moniker “Skater” thru blood, sweat, tears and more blood.  The scars on my elbows tell the story.

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Real skaters lived it, while posers pretended.  Real skaters were fully committed to the sport / lifestyle, posers wanted what real skaters had without the commitment.  Skaters were easily recognized as skaters because, well we were skaters, it was what we did.  Posers…..well everybody knew they were posers because they didn’t really skate.  All you had to do was sit back and watch for a little bit and you could tell who the skaters were and who the posers were.

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Posers…..yuck!

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Today, however, I have a different view of posers.  Why?  Well because I can relate when it comes to being a Christian. 

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I go to church on Sunday, I volunteer there twice a month, I wear a cross necklace, an “I AM SECOND” bracelet and I have a Christian Blog.  But do I skate?

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Am I really living the life Jesus called me to live?  The life Jesus died to give me?

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Everybody knew I was a skater in high school because I lived it.  It’s who I was because it’s what I did.

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But who outside of the “Holy Huddle” really knows I’m a Christian?

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Like I said earlier, all you had to do was sit back and watch to tell the skaters from the posers.

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What can people tell by watching me?  Can they tell that I’m a Christian or do I come off as more of a poser?

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If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t really like the answer to that question.

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I love Jesus.  No doubt about it.  But truth be told, I think some posers loved skating.  They romanticized about doing it but for whatever reason they just didn’t.  They dressed the part, had the equipment and maybe even the skills, but they just didn’t while skaters did and because of that, they remained posers.

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When taking inventory, I’m afraid that I might be more of a poser than a Christian.

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I don’t want to be a poser.  I want to be all God made me to be.  I want to live the life God called me to live.  

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As I said earlier, the main difference between a poser and a skater is – Skaters do, posers don’t. 

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It’s time for me to start doing. 

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a 17 year old Unlikely Christian

Sk8er Boy

Oh, I still got it This was a couple of years ago.

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I am a new Christian.  If you have read any of my other posts you know that not too long ago I thought this God thing was a sham and that Christians were pathetic.  Well, I am eating my words on a daily basis and truthfully, I love how it tastes.

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As a new Christian I have had to learn how to move out of my comfort zone and have faith in something unseen.  Initially, this was very difficult for me as I did not want to admit that I had been wrong or that what was happening inside me was anything more than an emotional response to new ideas.  It has taken a while for me to wrestle with my own issues about what being a Christian really means.  There are a few specific events over the last two years that stand out to me as major milestones in my development.  Here is just one of those big events that helped me to see God’s amazing power.

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Prayer has been one of the biggest obstacles for me to overcome on my journey to developing a relationship with God.  What I am talking about is not just praying, but having meaningful, genuine, heartfelt conversations with someone you truly love and trust.  I am just guessing here, but I have a feeling that this a sticking point for many people and especially for those new Christians who are seeking to find how to have a deeper relationship with God.

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A while back my pastor challenged us as a church to pray “bold prayers.”  I was a little baffled by this at first. In my infancy I thought he meant to pray for big things. You know: miracles and healings.  To me this was just wishful thinking. These prayers were irrational and unprovable and I had no use for them.  But when he described the prayer he intended, I was intrigued by the simplicity and the power of what he was asking me to do.  It was the perfect prayer for me.   It was simple, meaningful, and best of all it could prove to me whether or not this prayer horsepucky worked!  This prayer was a staple of his sermons.  I had heard it from him before, but had never considered it for myself.

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Before I tell you what the prayer was, a little background is in order here.  I am a teacher.  I make a living educating kids about “the three R’s” (Readin’, Ritin’,&  Rithmetic’).  More than that, I believe my purpose is to teach kids about life:  How to enjoy learning, how to work with others, how to manage time, how to set goals and work toward them, and how to make and keep friends.  I have always believed that the kids that pass through my door from year to year may never remember a thing I taught them academically, but the lessons they learn about life will be with them forever and I take great pride in having a hand in helping develop their character.  That is an honor for me and is what keeps me coming back year after year.

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So, back to the prayer…  The pastor dared us to pray the bold prayer of “Send me your broken people.”  Seems appropriate enough for a teacher right?

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I am thinking, “I’ve got this!  I am a problem solver.  Daily, I make decisions that affect kid’s lives forever.  If I cannot be trusted to deal with kid’s problems, then who can?”

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Man, was I ever in for an awakening!

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In my decade or so of teaching before uttering this prayer, I was aware of a number of kids going through difficult divorces and had heard of mistreatment and abuse in some of my kids’ past.  When you have as many students as I have had over the years, it is inevitable that you will come across these stories, but my previous experiences could not have prepared me for the bombs that started dropping on me the very morning that I said this prayer during our moment of silence.

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Of course, I cannot share specifics about my students and would never share something that could embarrass or hurt them, but I will just tell you that God heard my prayer and unloaded the Enola Gay’s payload on me for several days.   Like Hiroshima, I was a wreck and I didn’t know how to put the pieces back together for myself much less for the kids that so desperately needed my help.

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I wish I could say that I came through and saved the day.  I wish that I could tell you that I stopped their hurting and changed their circumstances.  I wish… but I cannot.  The reason I can say that without being heartbroken is that I know it is not me who can fix anything in other people’s lives.  That is God’s privilege and He alone can right the wrongs and heal our hurts.

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The greatness of this understanding is that it allows us to be God’s hands, feet, and mouth here on Earth and to allow Him to use us to accomplish His work.  This truth was evident to me as I spoke to these students about their pain.  I found myself speaking to them though I had no idea what to say.  Gentle and compassionate words were coming from my mouth and I became keenly aware of my participation in a dialogue that I was not actively contributing to.  My mind was blank and yet the words poured from my throat as though someone else was speaking.  I know that was God using me for his purposes.  I have no doubt in my mind that He had that conversation with those children because I could never have reached them with my own simple words.

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How awesome is that???

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Bold prayers.  I tell you what! They are for real.

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Don’t take my word for it.  Give it a try… I dare you.

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I’m a shortcut guy. 

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I’m not a shortcut guy in the sense that I’m lazy, or at least that’s not how I see it anyway.

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I just like getting to places fast.

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Maybe it’s the man in me, I don’t know, but when there’s a clear destination, I want to be there NOW.  I don’t want to wait and I don’t want it to take very long to get there.  This is true in most areas of my life.

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It was certainly true when I became a Christian, and I think that has led to a lot of the frustrations I’ve encountered in my spiritual walk. 

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You see, I wasn’t content with being a new Christian.  I was 38 years old for crying out loud!  I’d missed out on too much time, so I felt like I needed to play some serious catch-up to get where I wanted to be.

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My destination, in case you were wondering was just a couple of ladder rungs below SuperChristian.  I wanted to be a walking wealth of Christian knowledge.  Not so I could compete on Christian Jeopardy one day, but because I truly wanted to be a great Christian man.

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But I wanted to be a great Christian right then and there.  I wanted what other people who had been walking with Christ for years and years had.  In essence, I wanted to be given a job that required years of experience, without having to actually rack up all the years of experience. 

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So being the shortcut man I am, I decided I needed to blow through The Bible so I could get all that Biblical knowledge in me as fast as I could.  So I cranked through Genesis and Exodus.  I got a little bogged down in Leviticus and Numbers but I kept the RPM high, got through it and before I knew it, I had finished The Bible.

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Did I understand it all?  Nope.  In fact I’m sure I would’ve bombed the multiple choice comprehension quiz had there been one afterwards.  Yeah, I jotted down some scripture that spoke to me but my destination was Revelation 22:21, so I didn’t stop at too many scenic rest stops to just take in the beauty.  And in doing so, I’m quite sure I missed a bunch of Grand Canyons, Niagara Falls, Old Faithful Geysers, the second largest ball of twine on earth which was only 4 short hours away, and so many other fantastic things.  And yes I did just throw Clark Griswold into a post about The Bible.

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Then, still not feeling any closer to my ultimate destination of SuperChristian, I started diving into Christian books, which was great because these I could actually understand better.  So I flew through books by Meyer, Warren, Graham, Lucado, Chan, Lewis, Ortberg etc…and without question, they helped me to grow.  For some reason scripture in their books seemed to jump out at me more.  Their books certainly got my gears turning but I still felt light years away from my destination.  

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And just recently it hit me.  I’ve been using these Christian books as a shortcut to try to get to where I want to be.  But the problem is, and I think all of the above mentioned authors would agree, these books will only get you so far.  You have to abide in God’s Word to truly become all that God made you to be.

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Jesus didn’t say if you abide in the words of others with a little bit of My Words sprinkled in, you are my disciples.  He said, “…If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” - John 8:31-32 NKJV
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Now I truly believe God uses Christian writers to help Christians grow, but if we rely more on them to bring us the word than God’s already written word, when we start using Christian books, Christian podcasts etc… in lieu of God’s Word, we will stumble, get frustrated, stunt our growth etc….

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We have to abide in God’s Word.

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Is The Bible an easy read?

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It is certainly not, but it is God’s Word for us and the more time you spend in it, the more you will learn and grow in Him.  

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I have come to learn that there are no shortcuts in Christian growth.  Oh from time to time, God may enroll you in some accelerated learning courses where growth comes fast and furious but your walk with Him is just that, a walk.  It‘s not a sprint, jog or skip.  It’s a walk, a slow and steady walk.  And you can’t circumvent God’s navigation either.  There are no shortcuts.

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None of us may ever achieve SuperChristian status here on earth but if we abide in God’s Word, we become His disciples indeed.  And we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free!

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So get in His word, then keep walking and abiding and see where God will take you!

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I love buffets.  They are the absolute best case food scenarios for picky eaters like me..

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Just a little background on me.  When it comes to food, I live by one simple rule: If it’s green, it doesn’t go in my mouth.  Actually, that was my original rule in my food bill of rights.  Since then, there have been several amendments to my food constitution.  Here’s a few: 

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Amendment #4 – If it’s a vegetable, other than corn or potatoes, it doesn’t go in my mouth. 

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Amendment #7 – When in doubt, don’t eat it because it’s probably vile. 

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If it sounds like these amendments were written by a child, well it’s because they were, but much like our country sticks to rules that were written 225 years ago, I stick to mine. 

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Is it a little ludicrous to follow rules written by a child?  Well, I have an amendment that addresses that.

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Amendment #17 – People may tell you, “Now that you’re an adult, your taste buds have changed.  Go ahead and give this green bean casserole a try.  I bet you’ll like it.”  These people aren’t looking out for your best interests.  Don’t be fooled by them and their evil intentions.  They might even try to tempt you by wrapping green beans in bacon.  Don’t take the bait.  You know how unpleasant green beans really are, wrapping them in bacon doesn’t change that.  It just ruins perfectly good bacon.  Ignore these people and their food promptings.

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Ridiculous?  Yeah probably but I can’t help it.  I am a very picky eater.

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So when it comes to buffets, I’m all, “Heck yes!”

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I grab my plate and head straight for the meat and starches.  I’ll have some of this fried fish, some corn nuggets, is that Salisbury steak? Oh you know I’m gonna have me some of that.  Let’s see, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, some more meat, a little more meat and some meat.  That’s me.  I head straight for the good stuff, giving the cabbage, cole slaw, beans of all types, peas, carrots, salads of all types, asparawhatevers etc….. a wide berth.  I ignore them all together.

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Buffets are great.  Pick the stuff you like, ignore the stuff you don’t.

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So not to try to punch you in the stomach now that you’re hungry but do you ever treat The Bible like a buffet?

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Okay, I’ll have some abundant life, some salvation, is that God’s Blessings? Oh you know I’m gonna have me some of that.  Let’s see, Holy Spirit, Christ’s Strength, some more of God’s Blessings etc…  Meanwhile steering your plate clear of the, being a blessing to others, loving your neighbors as yourselves, tithing, loving God more than anything, including your family. 

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Are you guilty?

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Man I am.

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And I bet I have plenty of company.  We live in a buffet world and let’s face it, we kind of dig the buffet world, but the abundant life God has for us can’t be found in the buffet world.

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As Christians you have to decide, are you going to take the plate God Himself dished up for you or are you going to try to pick and choose?  Buffet lovers a.k.a. World lovers, don’t like others dishing up their plates because chances are, especially for guys like me, there’s going to be some stuff on there that’s not overly appealing.  There might also be some stuff on there that you know you don’t like as well as some stuff that you don’t even know what it is.  

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The Bible is not a buffet though.  Oh you can lock onto and memorize bits and pieces of scripture that speaks to you but remember that scripture has a beginning and an end.  That scripture is just a small part of the whole enchilada, so to speak.

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In other words, it doesn’t work if you just try to get platefuls of only, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” - James 1:5 – NLT because in that same scoop of James 1:5 is James 1:6-8 “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.   Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”  You don’t get verse 5 without verse 6-8.  It’s a package deal, impossible to separate.  There is no “…Ask and He will give it to you” without the “…Be sure your faith is in God alone.”  The two go together like, ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong.

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The Bible isn’t a buffet, it’s a heaping plateful of everything that you need.  Some of it, you would’ve gladly dished up yourself, some of it you’d never dream of putting on your plate but it all fits together perfectly.  And take heart in knowing who it was prepared by.  It wasn’t prepared by some hormonal teenager, who forgot to wash his hands and put on his hairnet.  It was prepared by God Himself.  The God that LOVES you.  The God who gave the ULTIMATE sacrifice for you.

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When it comes to The Bible we can’t treat it like a buffet.  We can’t just pick and choose and we can’t put our own amendments on it either.  We as Christians have to accept it as the plateful of everything that we need.  Yep, even the green stuff that doesn’t always look appetizing on the surface.  God knows us better than we know ourselves and He prepared this meal just for us.

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So dig in.

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First of all, Happy New Year!  I’m glad we all made it through 2011.  I know it was kind of touch and go there for awhile, especially around May 21st  ;-)

Second of all, I’d like to say how thankful I am for you, the reader.  The positive feedback, well wishes, correspondence etc..that I’ve received since I started the site last summer has been amazing. I’m truly blown away and humbled.

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THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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Thirdly, God has really put it on my heart to reach people like the guy I used to be – far from God with no intention of moving closer.  I also want to help others grow in Christ.  Now I’m no theologian, I’m just a new-ish Christian that likes to share but I think one of the coolest things about God is that He’ll use somebody like me to reach people. 

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Afterall, when Jesus started His ministry, He picked ordinary people to be His disciples.  There certainly wasn’t anything special about them, resume-wise, that would lead anybody to believe they’d have the impact they had.  In fact, most would say they were highly under-qualified.  Now please know that I’m not comparing myself to one of the disciples of Jesus, I’m just saying that you don’t have to go to seminary to play your part for God.  The same rings true for you as well.     

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Here’s the deal with me though, I am no social butterfly.  In fact many times I feel socially inept.  God certainly didn’t give me the spiritual gift of gab, but writing – I like it very much.  So UnlikelyChristian.com is me doing my small part to try to reach people in a way that I know how. 

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Fourth, I really appreciate all the sharing of my posts you’ve been doing via Facebook, Twitter etc…  I ask that you please continue to share them via social media when felt led to. You never know which one of your friends, family or tweeps might be secretly reading it.  That’s totally something I would’ve done when I was kicking the tires of Christianity.  I also ask that if you haven’t already, please consider becoming a follower of Unlikely Christian on Twitter or “Liking” my Facebook page.  I know some of you regular readers out there read our posts only through somebody else sharing it.

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And please know that I don’t want to have hundreds of “Likes” on Facebook so I can puff out my chest and do daily affirmations in the mirror every morning to feel good.  “Because I’m good enough, smart enough, have 300 “Likes” on Facebook and doggone on it, people like me.”  The reason is the same as above – exposure.  The fact that you “Like” it may spark curiosity in somebody who’s far from God and that spark of curiousity can quickly grow into a fire.  Remember, God uses people like us to reach others. 

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Fifthly, (is fifthly even a word?  Doesn’t really look right to me but I’m rolling with it) This is not about me.  This is all about God.  All glory goes to God.  He’s the reason I’m an Unlikely Christian.  He’s the reason I write, He’s my inspiration and believe it or not, more times than not, He directs my hands as I type.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down to write, firm topic in mind, and I end up writing something completely different.  And the really cool thing about that, as if that wasn’t already cool enough, I end up learning and growing during the process. 

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And lastly.  Are you an Unlikely Christian?  Were you once far from God and then BOOM!?  Stories are powerful.  I’d like to eventually put a whole page of stories on here.  I’d love to have yours.  Even if you don’t think your story is anything special, God didn’t save you from drugs or keep you from suicide, it doesn’t mean your story isn’t brilliant.  Truth is, God didn’t save most people from those things.  Your story might closely mirror somebody else’s life who isn’t saved yet.  God will use your story to show them how it can all change.  So what’s your story? Send it my way - me@unlikelychristian.com    

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I’m really excited about 2012!  Excited to see where God leads me, how He uses me and I’m excited to share it with you.

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Happy New Year Everybody!  May this year be your best year ever!

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Sincerely,

Bill a.k.a. The Unlikely Christian. 

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Today God called for the Lefty.
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And now my life will never be the same!
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I believe there is a big difference between being a Christian and being a Christian.
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Yeah…..I’m not really following you there.
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Okay here’s an analogy I’ve heard a few times at our church – You can be A man or The man. Which one is better?

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Think about it.
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“Oh you’re A man!”
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or
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“Oh you’re THE man!”
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Trust me, it sounds way better when you’re saying it, especially if you substitute ‘DA’ for ‘The’ as in, “You DA man!”  The point is, it’s better to be DA man as opposed to A man.
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Anyway, it’s the same with being a Christian. You can be a Christian but not really be DA Christian, if you know what I mean.
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Take me for instance, I was saved prior to today. I said the prayer in a Home Depot parking lot 4 years ago.
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In essence, I’d joined the team but I wasn’t really a player yet.
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I was on the team but I didn’t think I was ready to play yet, so I purposely rode the pine or since it’s still football season, I turned my hat backwards and carried the clipboard.
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Seriously, I was a brand new Christian, just got called up from the minors, I wasn’t ready for everyday play. The team couldn’t depend on me yet. I still had too much to learn. So I studied the playbook, showed up to practice, and worked on my mechanics but I wasn’t really contributing much to the overall team. My spot on the roster certainly had no effect on the wins/loss column.  I was on the team but not really a player yet.

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The same could be said about the disciples.  Yeah they were followers of Jesus. In fact they followed Him everywhere He went.  They even performed miracles in His name but their game was still lacking, until BAM! The Game Changer - Pentecost – Acts 2 (The day the Holy Spirit came).
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Today I felt my game change. Today God gave me a wake up call or to stick with the sports analogy, He walked to the mound and called for the lefty. Which means He wants me in the game, NOW. Enough warming up in the bullpen, God just called me to the mound and handed me the ball.
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What happens next, in big league baseball, is the manager then walks back to the dugout, leaving the pitcher to succeed or fail on his own. God is not a big league baseball manager though. He’s our Heavenly Father and when He calls us, He’s not going to leave our side.
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Boom!
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He’s not going to throw the ball for me, but He’s been equipping me to do that already. He’s spent the last several years helping me with the command of my fastball and teaching me how to get a deeper bend in my curveball. He’s also increased my pitching arsenal to include the splitter, the 4 seam heater and a running fastball which will really come in handy in those lefty vs. lefty scenarios.

Today God called for the Lefty and I answered the call with a sprint to the mound.
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Then He handed me the ball and said, “You’re ready kid.”
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“Yes, I am!”
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Today God called for the lefty and my life will never be the same! – Batter up!

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Analogies aside, I feel like I just took the next step up in my walk with God.  Just in case you got lost in the whole baseball comparison.

Got baggage?

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“BRING IT!” - Jesus

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

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Jesus didn’t say,

“Come to me when you get your act together.”

“Come to me after you take care of that thing.”

“Come to me once you put all your affairs in order.”

“Come to me once you kick that addiction.”

“Come to me once you’re a little more presentable, have more to offer, etc….etc….”

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Jesus said,

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28 – NLT

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That includes you and whatever baggage you’re carrying around right now.

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Yeah, I know that’s not the way things typically work when it comes to relationships.

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Typically, most try to steer clear of baggage.

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Hey, guess what?

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Jesus is not typical.

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Got baggage?

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“Bring it and I will give you rest.” – Jesus

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Seriously, aren’t you tired of packing, unpacking and repacking all that junk and then lugging it around everywhere you go?   Maybe you’ve mustered up the strength to put it down a few times and actually walk away but next thing you know, you feel it’s weight on your back again.  That’s got to be getting old.  

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Aren’t you tired of hiding it and pretending you don’t have it?  Oh great, you fooled me.  Hey, congratulations on being baggage free.  What does that do for you?  Does that make your load lighter?

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Give it to God. 

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Drop it at His feet. 

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“Bring it and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

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I love what it says next, in The Message Translation, after you bring it to Him, He says, “…..Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” – Matthew 11:28-30 – The Message

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Rx: Bring your baggage to God and He will give you rest. 

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Repeat when necessary.

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Repeat?

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Yep.  Hey we’re humans.  Some humans come with strong baggage magnets built inside.  Then there’s some that just don’t want to give up their baggage that easily.  They’ll drop it off with God but then get right back in line at baggage claim.  And some don’t follow all the directions on the prescription bottle.  They stop at the “Bring it to Him” part and forget the “Keep company with Him and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

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Bring it to God, whatever it is that you’re lugging around, and He will give you rest.

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Word.