Shelled

From guest blogger Chip North.

I was reminded this morning in my quiet time of something that's been on my heart.

Uncle Mike made this statement to me regarding our time of worship on Sunday, "You have really come out of your shell".

I thought wow, I did not realize I had been operating from inside a shell. As I thought about this I realized that prior to accepting the assignment for the first book study from Daniel a year or so ago I had been "in my shell". It was safe in there, comfortable, no one really

expected much from me there, I was "in control". Oh there were some other things in there with me I did not mention, fear of failure, past hurts, insecurity, disappointment in other believers especially church leaders and the regret of my own sin(s).

Well I submit to you my brothers that there was someone or something else that was in control. I was not trusting in the One that called me to repentance and cleansed me for a purpose. Eric nailed it last night when he talked about being saved to help others into the kingdom, not just warm a pew. I am paraphrasing but that is what I heard. This was the same thing we heard at our Local Church Conference last week, we need to be looking outward not inward. This is the same as the Great Commission, Go therefore and make disciples.......

I was created to worship Him! I was created with the exact mix of gifts and talents that God needed for me to complete the work that He wanted me to do. I have been in hog heaven outside the shell! I still have my doubts about my abilities and my own insecurities but I am more than willing to serve Him even if I make a fool of myself for my King. After all He died for me! He died for you!

So I pray for all of us that we apply Proverbs 3:5-6 to our walk today. If you are in a shell of your own. "Put down the books" to quote brother Tony. Cling to God like the robe we talked about last night

(Jeremiah 13:1-11), He has a good plan for your life! He wants to use US to bring others into His kingdom because He loves everyone. He has created us with the exact mix of gifts and talents to complete the work He has for us. He has a purpose in His mind. Trust Him to speak to you, listen for that still small voice. Show up for work brothers!


Serving with you,
Chip

Detox

My wife and I are in the middle of a family experiment. We have significantly altered our family diet... for a specific amount of time. Our family is eating "whole" foods and excluding a lot of things we would normally eat. We are watching how we feel and our children's behavior to see if there are any clear benefits. It turns out there are, but not what I expected.

About a week ago a bunch of my muscles went into rebellion and seized up. I've been in pain since then wondering, "What is going on?" I've come to the realization that I'm experiencing detox.

Your body can cope with a lot unhealthy things and keep moving forward pretty well. It does this by taking all the poisons and junk that it's not sure what to do with and stashing it away in dusty corners.... until cleaning day arrives. Detox is cleaning day.

Have you ever decided to clean your house and discovered that it got a lot more messy during the cleaning process? That's detox. Have you ever sought to right a wrong in a relationship and things seemed to get more wrong before they got better? That's detox too.

Detoxification is when the polluting process is reversed. The goal is to be clean... but the path to clean isn't a tidy path. Whether it's your garage, your body, or your relationships, when you make a commitment to detoxify, know that this process requires effort and will involve some discomfort. Getting it right is worth it.

When you are on a detox path....
- Put Christ first in all and listen to His guidance. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
- Set the right pace. Allow yourself (or a relationship) to be stretched.... but not torn.
- Focus on the basics; Keep your heart grounded in Christ, drink lots of water, consume good things (body and mind).
- Finish what you started - If you leave a bigger mess, you haven't completed your mission.
- Sooner is better than later, because a little detox is much easier than a big detox.

Your body, mind and your relationships will be joy-filled... and more fruitful.

Hebrews 12:2, NASB "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

1 Peter 1:22, NASB "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God."

Matthew 18:15, ESV "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother."

James 5:16, ESV "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

Ephesians 4:32, ESV "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Imagine if...

We all know people on the edge.

Sometimes they appear on the edge of the conversation. We've each seen that person... and been that person. Standing near. Listening attentively.... but not quite in the circle. Picture this person. Who's face do you see?

Some people we know are on the dangerous edge of a cliff, or walking the narrow edge of indecision.   They may be making destructive choices in relationships and in life. They're not even sure they want to be saved because they're not sure they're worth it. Who is this person? Say their name right now.

There are also people on the edge of giving up.... which, perhaps, could also be the edge of reaching breakthrough. We know these people too. The good person that never seems to move forward. The gifted person whose talents go unrecognized and unused. You've felt their pain.... because you care about them. You know their name.

These are people we care about. Why would we standby and let them fade from the conversation, slip off the cliff, or stay stuck?

Imagine if your circle of conversation were a little bigger and how much richer it could be.
Imagine if the risk taker chose life instead of death, and left the edge of the cliff forever.
Imagine if the discouraged and weary person that has so much to offer found a family where they were received, celebrated, and encouraged.
Imagine if they were part of life at the Outpost.

Leave behind fear. Remember what's at stake. Call those on the edge into the circle. You have the power to change someone's life with a simple invitation. Who are you bringing to dinner?

The smell of the evening meal is hanging in the air. The fire is warm, the room is bright. The family is gathering. Come... don't leave anyone on the edge. All are welcome at the Outpost.

... that not one would be lost

"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Matthew 18:12-14

Paul the Babbler

An observation that I've made is that the Lord's way often looks upside or backwards (or both!) when you are seeing it from a worldly perspective. That's because, if we are looking from the world's perspective... we are upside down.

When the Apostle Paul rolled into Athens... a few years back... Athens was no longer the peak of all civilization it had once been. But it was still an important place, especially if you liked to have ideas and think thoughts. Idea having and thought thinking was all the rage in Athens. The idea-havers and thought-thinkers would tell you they were pursuing ultimate truth. From what I read in the Book of Acts, I think they were deceiving themselves. They had long since confused actual, immutable, real, truth with very new zingy and trendy or really old and important sounding.

Acts 17:21 - "Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new."

The idea havers and the thought thinkers fell into two main groups (and lots of other smaller groups). There were the Epicureans and the Stoics (Acts 17:18).

The Epicureans basically believed that life is about what you feel... and because they weren't totally dumb... good feelings were better than bad feelings. So, if something felt good, that meant it was true-ish. Many of the Epicureans valued good food, good company, good humor, and good stuff. They wanted to keep from feeling too cold, or too hot... because neither feels very good.

The Stoics were basically very... stoic. Life is not about feelings at all. Life is about rational thought. You must follow reason and logic and remain completely unmoved by your feelings inside or your circumstances outside. (Something tells me there were more Epicureans running around than Stoics) The Stoics didn't even enjoy being stoic, the two founders of the Stoic school even took their own lives.

These two mindsets weren't new then and have continued on under many names and behind many defenses since Athens. They were upside down then... and they are upside down today. Both are deeply focused on self... and by extension leave little room for any real love.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 - History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

Then Paul shows up.... and he carries a message of truth that IS different. To an upside down world, Paul's message sounds... totally upside down!  Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler say?" (Acts 17:18)

Paul, the babbling idiot, had come to tell how God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life. Paul explained that the Son he was talking about is Jesus... and the proof of the message is that after Jesus was unjustly killed, God raised Him from the dead. (Yes, this is an unprecedented event... which is why it is suitable proof of something happening that was totally unique.)

Later in his life, Paul sends a letter to some of the neighbors in that same area. He writes, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." - 1 Cor. 1:18 When he wrote this, it could be that Paul was remembering when he was called a "babbler" by the idea havers and the thought thinkers of Athens.

Does the gospel seem upside down to you? Does the message of the cross of Jesus Christ seem backwards? If so, check your perspective. Are you standing in the world... or among those who are being saved?

After hearing Paul, the idea havers and thought thinkers said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." But it never happened. They didn't hear Paul again... perhaps they weren't truly listening in the first place. This is how the idea havers and thought thinkers of Athens missed out on the REAL truth.

The busy world of idea having and thought thinking can be a wilderness. In the wilderness, it's easy to get turned around, inside out, and upside down. Sometimes we may feel sure of ourselves or think that we are correct... and be walking away from the Outpost, instead of towards it. Being confident is not the same as being right.

... Maybe I'm just babbling...

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.”