Motivations

Over the past couple months I’ve been on a journey in my own life of trying to discover the motives behind my actions.  I’ve been at a place for quite a while now that longs to do the right thing for the right reason.  So many times I do the right thing in everyone’s eyes because I want people to think better of me or I want to gain respect.  The motives behind my actions are not always what they should be. 

Jesus spends most of his time teaching about the heart. It seems as though Jesus cares more about our heart than our actions.  If our hearts are in the right place, won’t the right actions flow out of that?  We have some how switched the two. We think doing the right thing means our hearts are in the right place.  I know this isn’t true because there I times I do the right thing for very selfish reasons. 

I have begun asking the question, why am I doing… fill in the blank.  What I have found in my life is that the reason why I do a lot of things is because there has been someone out there that has told me not to.  Let me give you an example.  One day I was at Chic-fil-A for lunch with some friends.  Chic-fil-A has the best milkshakes, so I usually go for a chocolate shake.  This day was no different. The cashier handed me the milkshake and says, “Don’t squeeze it too hard the lid may pop off.”  After hearing, this I didn’t even think - I just instantly gave the cup a couple small squeezes right in front of the cashier.  The cashier looked at me and said, “I said don’t.”  I have this automatic reaction to people who tell me to do something; I just don’t do well when people tell me what to do.

The question then remains, why do I do that?  Why am I so quick to do the opposite of what people tell me?  What is the reason or motivation behind those actions? When we answer these kinds of questions we begin to understand the condition of our own hearts.  But we must evaluate our motivation, not just our actions.  Jesus says, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”  Jesus is constantly telling parables that people think have to do with farming, finding lost things, and being kind, when the more I read them the more it seems as Jesus is trying to get us to see the condition of our own hearts. 

For me answering these questions has shown me that I have a prideful heart at times.  The reason I do the opposite of what I’m told is because I want to prove to people that I don’t have to listen to anyone and I can figure it out on my own.  That’s the truth.  For the last couple months I have been aware of this and have spent a lot of time in prayer about it.  As we answer these kinds of questions it causes us to look straight in the mirror and own our own junk.  It goes beyond our actions and into our hearts.  This is what Jesus kept trying to get the Pharisees to see. Following Jesus is about more than just what we do, but why we do it.  When we answer that question we are forced to stare at our evil and deal with it instead of being blind to it.  We have gotten really good at playing the game and doing the right thing, but all we are doing is fooling ourselves into thinking that we have it all together.  I hope you spend some time evaluating your own heart by finding the motives behind your actions.   

Jake Kline

Hope

What do you do when the world seems to be falling apart?

I don’t mean your world, necessarily, but the world as a whole. Have you listened to the news lately? I keep up with current events, and the past several weeks have been very alarming. Most recently, there was the apparent suicide of comedian Robin Williams this past Monday. I remember watching Good Will Hunting when I was 13, and experiencing the joy of him as an actor. His comedy was unmatched, and his dramatic roles were incredibly authentic. Then, when I heard he committed suicide, I wondered, “How can a man who has brought so much joy not experience it himself?”

Worse yet, there is a growing fight in the Middle East. Before I talk about it, I will mention that I don’t care about the politics of this topic. In the Middle East right now, there is a “new” terrorist group called ISIS. They’re insistent that America is evil and we should all die. On top of that, they have been linked to another terrorist group called the Hamas. The Hamas group is fighting a different war right now. They’re currently based in Palestine, and their hobby of the month is launching rockets from buildings like hospitals and schools at civilians in Israel. There have been many casualties, and even more disheartening is the cease-fire efforts. Both sides attempt to create a temporary ceasefire, just for respite. The first 72-hour ceasefire that was agreed on lasted around 2 hours. The latest ceasefire lasted around 70, but after that it was straight back to killing. What kind of world is this?

Now, I know that practically speaking, my day-to-day life isn’t changed much by both of these events. I am incredibly thankful for that, but there is pain here too. At the top of my list is the recent fact that my grandfather, one of the wisest, strongest, and best men I’ve known, is being decimated by lung cancer, and no matter the treatment, the news is the same. There isn’t anything we can do to stop it.

 I am blessed that my individual life is going well, but the world seems to be crashing down around me. It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while I start to feel hopeless. I look at these scenarios and think, “Where is Jesus in all of this?” One of the defining things about ISIS is they hate Christians. Their big thing right now is finding and killing any Christian they can. The hard part is, you know those Christians prayed. They probably prayed harder, more earnestly, and if I can jab at how we talk about prayer, with “more faith” than we have. When I try and empathize, my heart breaks. I want to yell at God, not knowing how He, the perfect loving creator I believe him to be, can listen to those cries and seemingly do nothing.

I hope I have made you feel the tension I feel lately, and I want to share with you the resolution. The first one is simple, but deep. As Christians, we believe that Christ died to make all things new. If that’s correct, that means we must have hope in the face of a world that’s falling apart. That’s the reality. That’s what sin is doing to the world. The cool part is this isn’t the final state of things. Eventually Jesus will fix it all. That knowledge, if we let it take root, gives us hope in even the worst situations. The second resolution is linked. Jesus, while he will eventually fix it all, isn’t content to wait. He didn’t just die on the cross to eventually save us. He died so he could start renewing things immediately.

So what does Jesus’ renewal look like? To me, a renewed world is one that is full of Love. This isn’t cheap, worldly love, which is the word I use interchangeably for music, tacos, and my friends. This is the deep, deep love that God has for his children, like a good father towards his kids. This kind of love isn’t natural. It shouldn’t be able to exist in this broken, sinful world. And yet, this kind of love pokes through into our world like a light through clouds. This is the love that I got to experience this past weekend with my cancer-ridden grandpa. This past weekend was his and my grandma’s 60^th wedding anniversary. My grandpa, his loving wife, their three boys (one of whom is my dad), and all of their grandkids got together to celebrate them. I will never forget that night, or the look of pure joy on my dying grandpa’s face as we sat as a family and watched old 8mm tapes of my grandparent’s vacations, early Christmases, and other big moments. The love of Christ was there. It’s the same love that, in the midst of a country that’s tearing itself apart, is showing up in people. Honestly, I don’t have a specific story I can tell you from the Middle East that tells of how Christ’s love is showing up there. However, I know Jesus. I know that wherever there are Christians, He is there too, meeting people in the midst of their unbelievable pain. He doesn’t avoid the hard situations. He walks towards them.

Jesus wants to renew the world, and he wants to start now. The catch is that he isn’t here anymore. Who do you think Jesus wants to start renewing the world? 

I want to challenge you this week as I challenge myself.  First, we must have hope in all situations. And whether or not the situations around you are big or small, I challenge you to walk into the darkness, the hurt, the confusion, and take the light of Jesus there.

Seeing God in Nature

The sunset last night was beautiful.  Did you see it?  Every night I intentionally watch for 2 things; the sunset and the night sky.  I live in the country so I have a panoramic view of both events.  I have always loved nature but lately I use it as a reminder of God’s created beauty for us…for me to enjoy.  It is intimately given to cause us to ponder the Creator so over the past months I intentionally looked for the unusual. 

In January it was Snow Rollers.  Our property was scattered with random sized snowballs with no footprints marking their creation, just skid marks as they grew in size.  Snow rollers, snow logs or Mother Nature’s snowballs, as they are called, are a rare creation which requires perfect conditions of cold snow topped by wet, loose snow and strong enough wind to roll but not destroy the fragile creation. 

Then in April I set my alarm for a 2am wakeup call with hopes of viewing the first of four blood moons to occur on and between April 2014 and September 2015.  All four blood moons will occur on major Jewish holidays! Cloudy skies prevented any sightings but I anticipate the second blood moon in October.  I will once again set my alarm for the early morning hours.

It is so intentional, God’s gift of beauty and wonder.  I am drawn to Him.  I praise Him, the Creator of my sunsets.  

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. Romans 1:20 NLT

My search for the wonder in nature has renewed my focus on God in all areas of life.  It has become an intimate moment of praise and worship to my Savior where He fills me with joy.  It is so much more than a sunset.  It is a priceless gift that a loving father gives to his child to experience, enjoy, and ultimately draw me closer to Him.

Susie Rosengarten