#2 is better than #1

“It’s not about me anymore.” A friend of mine said that recently. It’s had me thinking about life ever since.

The reality for so many of us is that we haven’t figured out that life isn’t truly about us. We want it to be about us. We dream it is. We hope it is. We wish it was. But it’s not.

My dad and I were talking about life and church lately, and he said something that I thought was pretty profound. He said, “it’s not what we want, it’s what they need.” “They,” meaning the people that are around us. And yet that’s seemingly such a hard concept for people to adopt as their own philosophy for life.

And for the life of me, I don’t know why it is. I mean I know sin and evil exist. I know that selfishness and narcissism are present and at the core of every person. But why is it so easy for people to get to the point where it’s hard to see the forest for the trees?

This isn’t an issue that’s come up recently in society. It’s been an issue for thousands and thousands of years. King Herod wanted it to be about him, so he sought to kill Jesus (see Matthew 2). During Jesus ministry, Martha (Jesus’ friend) showed a moment of selfishness when she confronted Jesus about why He didn’t come as soon as she called for Him so Lazarus, her brother, wouldn’t die (see John 11:21). King Herod’s grandson, Herod the Great, wanted it to be about him, so he had James killed, and Peter put into prison (see Acts 12). And I could go on and on.

The truth of the matter for all of us, is that Jesus always makes things right. His plan always comes through. We can stand in the way, and God will remove us, or we can be instruments to take Christ and His grace, mercy, love, joy, peace, patience, forgiveness, etc. into the world.

Let’s choose the latter. Let’s choose to let Jesus take control of not only our lives but the lives of our churches. Let’s choose to trust Jesus and even just one His many promises. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We don’t have to fear the future! Jesus is for us, and not against us! All we have to do is decrease, so He can increase.

This means we have to become #2.

King Jesus, help us make it all about you and not about us. In Your Name, Amen.

when all else fails...

Nothing has gone right recently. Things have been super tough. Emotions have been high. Have you ever had a week like that?

The reality for me is that when times get hard, it’s difficult for me to stay focused on what I need to be focused on. When trouble comes, my natural response is to try and fix everything and make it right. In my “fix-it” mode I can work myself into a mild depression and away from the God I love and preach about.

Recently, I have had an epiphany of sorts. I’ve been reading a lot in the Psalms, and I have realized that David’s response to hard times was praise and worship. Every time troubles came up he moved to worship, and out of his worship he became confident of his future.

This past week, I have tried to do the same thing. When the tough moments have shown up, I’ve gotten out my guitar or played some music on itunes and just worshipped. I don’t fully understand it, I can’t fully explain it, but my confidence has truly increased in the Lord as I have begun to live a life filled with worship.

I guess the reason for it, is that when we worship we place what’s being worshipped as the #1 priority in our life. As I have made sure my relationship with Christ is in order, Him being #1, everything has began to fall back into place. Don’t get me wrong, my life isn’t perfect, and I’m definitely not perfect, but I think I know why David was a worshipper – he knew he needed God first.

The fact of the matter is we too need God to be first in our lives. If He’s not, my suggestion is to start with worship. It has worked for me. Praise Jesus it has worked for me.

Christmas Carol

The other night I went out to watch the movie A Christmas Carol at the IMAX theater here in Nashville. Once I found out it was 3d, i was a little worried that it would be cheesy. However, I eventually got lost in the whole story as it developed, and by the end of it I have to say I was pretty impressed.

As I left the theater I seriously wanted to go more out of my way to treat people nicer (Isn't it crazy that movies can have that kind of affect on you?). The movie reminded me that much of our own happiness comes from helping make others happy. It's crazy how that works, but I guess it's the same idea that things don't really mean anything until you give them away. For instance, to learn the true value of love, you must give it.

Have you watched any movies lately that reminded you of some great truths for us to live by? If so, which one and what?

anonymous

Recently I have received several comments on my blog under the name “anonymous.” Because I don’t know you, I looked you up in my dictionary to understand you better. According to the dictionary on my Mac dashboard you are someone who, “has no outstanding, individual, or unusual features; unremarkable or impersonal.” Because I don’t want to believe this about you, I have written this note specifically for you:

Dear anonymous commenter,

Why do you choose to be anonymous? Are you scared of revealing yourself to the Internet world? Do you know how to fill your name into the box that says “name”? Are you in too big of a hurry to get to the next website you read? Are you trying to be funny? Or perhaps rude?

Whatever your answers to any of these questions are, anonymous, I want you to know I love you, and better than that Jesus loves you. Often times I do think you are funny and chuckle at some of the words you use, like Pee Wee used to do when someone said the infamous word of the day. However, because of my love for the other individuals that read my blog I can’t always allow your comments to be known.

I do want us to be friends, anonymous, but you’re making it quite difficult. Let’s bury the hatchet. I’ll go first. Hello. My name is Matthew Costner. So good to meet you…