Making a Reset

“The greatest power you possess in life is your understanding that each day life gives you a fresh start any moment you choose to start fresh.” Guy Finley 

  Timanthes was an aspiring Greek artist during the Roman era. While studying under a well-respected tutor, he was nearing completion of a major painting. Upon arriving in the morning, he found the canvas blotted out with paint. Enraged, he confronted his teacher who admitted to destroying his work. His tutor said, “You were spending so much time admiring what you had done, that you were no longer improving. This was a great painting for some, but not for you. You can do much better.”
  So, Timanthes went to work again, energized with anger. But his mentor was right. The new and improved product became one of the most famous paintings of antiquity, Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Thanks to a little-known art teacher who insisted that his student do a reset and start over.
  This time of year, we reflect a lot on the past and the future. Networks carry programs reviewing highlights and low points from the past year. People talk about resolutions and goals for the coming year. It would be wise if we used this time as an opportunity for a reset.
  Now I’m not suggesting that you quit your marriage, your job, or ditch your kids, but you can have a new marriage, new kids, new job, etc., by resetting yourself. Reset being the husband/wife you are, reset your parenting, reset your reputation at work, reset your walk with the Lord.
  Making a reset takes something few are willing to invest. Many have a sense of dissatisfaction with the state of their life, yet they’re so busy doing that they fail to take the time to evaluate what they’re doing.
  2,500 years ago the great philosopher, Socrates warned: Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” Most of us are so busy that we fail to take the time to evaluate our lives. Or, worse we justify what we’re doing because it must be right because “everyone else is doing it.” But what if all of the birds are flying in the wrong direction. Your Mom was right, “just because everyone else jumps off the roof, doesn’t mean that you should too.”
  Making a reset requires taking time for evaluation. For the Christian it means taking some time alone with the Lord, praying, and asking for the wisdom that He’s promised to supply (James 1:5).
  Making a reset requires vulnerability with those who love you and are spiritually mature. For most of us our spouse is our greatest source of insights on where we need a reset. Those who love us the most usually know us the best. Ask these questions: If I could grow in one area this year, what do you believe I should grow in? If I made one change to improve our relationship this coming year, what would it be?
  Then, each of us needs a godly friend who will honestly speak into our lives. Just a word of caution. Sometimes our contemporaries and close friends are just that because there is no friction between us. Either they won’t risk confronting us or they think, value and look at life the same way we do. In others words, they don’t rock our boats. For a reset though we need spiritually mature friends who are willing to rock our boats.
  Solomon had such a friend in mind in Proverbs 27. In verse 5 Solomon writes, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” Verse 6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” and verse 9, “the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” Having this kind of friend means having our world rattled and moving outside of our comfort zones.
  Making a reset requires having an eternal perspective. At this time of year, we’re blitzed with commercials about diet programs and fitness clubs.  Getting fit and physical exercise is important, but it will only help you for this brief life.
  The Bible compares our physical bodies to tents. If your neighbor had a tent in their backyard and spent tons of money redecorating, patching, and changing the colors to keep up with the latest trends, you’d think, “what a poor investment.” Most of us focus on the maintenance of our “tents,” yet neglect our souls.
  1 Timothy 4:8 says, “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Making it a priority to daily spend time in your Bible and in prayer is an investment, not just for this temporal world, but for eternity.
  The average person spends a couple of hours on social media every day, yet we somehow rationalize that we don’t have time for God’s Word and prayer. What’s more important? The latest news or trends or God’s eternally good news that can change your life?
  The Lord Jesus gave His life for us and wants what’s best for us. He wants our lives to count for this world and for eternity. So, like an exercise program start small. If you begin with a Bible/Prayer marathon, you’ll soon quit. Consistency is more important than quantity. Determine to take 10 or 15 minutes a day with the Lord.
  Most find that starting in the morning is best. Otherwise, you find by the end of the day you’re just too tired. The reset many need is to simply start.
  Making a reset requires continually exercising your mind. Wise parents know that they have to teach their children to love more nutritious food than Happy Meals. God gave us our minds to be used. They need to be stretched and prodded.
  The average American reads four books a year. Most of us could easily read a book a month. It would only take 10 minutes a day. You probably spend more than that waiting for trains at railroad crossings. Stretching in our reading helps us reach this world. It helps us think more clearly and have a larger worldview.
  Before we blink we’ll be ringing in 2023. Let’s do a reset and wisely invest this year, making it the best year ever!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

 

Repacking YOUR Bags

“Change, even if unwelcome, forces us to reevaluate what our best options are. Those times of transitions are great opportunities to look for recurring patterns in your life and make adjustments to build on the good and reduce the bad.”  Dan Miller

Have you cleaned and organized the kitchen drawers? How about the attic?

There’s a lot of purging and long overdue projects taking place during this mandated “Safe at Home” time. Our world may never be the same. Hopefully, spiritually and significantly none of us will be the same.

  It was an ultimate adventure to a realm very far away and deep within. Richard Leider led a walking safari in Tanzania. Looking like a walking advertisement for some American outdoor retailer, he was delighted when his new friend, Thaddeus Ole Koyie, a Maasai village elder, expressed a fascination with seeing the contents of his impressive backpack. Proudly, Richard began to lay out all of his high tech essentials. After several minutes of just gazing at everything, Koyie asked with great intensity, “Does all this make you happy?”

  “Does all this make you happy?” During this period it’s a question that we all should ask. God has given us a gift of time for reflection and change. With that simple question Koyie captured the essence of the questions that weigh so heavily on many of us. What am I carrying? What will make me happy in the next phase of the journey? What is the good life to me?

  Both the implications and the importance of Koyie’s question were immediately apparent. In a split second, that question caused Richard to consider all he was carrying and why – not just on that trek, but through his entire life.

  We’re at an important crossroads in our journey through life. We’ve been given a gift to evaluate on how to proceed, what to take with us and what to purge. The Bible talks about that. In John 15:2, Jesus said: “ Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” More and more, many of us wonder what to bring along and what to leave behind, what to acquire and what to give away, what to do and with whom to do it. It’s time for us to repack and take a long, hard look at what we’re carrying and where we are headed.

  As those who have committed our lives to Christ, we have a different destination. This world is not our Home. It’s not where we are headed. We’re merely passing through. Our destination, because of the cross and God’s grace, is an eternity in heaven.

  Being a Christ-follower means that not only is our destination drastically different, but our journey must also be different too. Yet, we easily put “stuff” in our lives because everyone else does. This is a time to reevaluate our lives in light of eternity and what has true significance. Let me suggest some areas to re-evaluate. None of these are evil or wrong, in and of themselves. As Christ-followers though, our approach to them must be very different.

  Materialism. If you haven’t received it already, stimulus checks are on the way. As the country begins to figure out how we “open back up,” powerful forces will try to convince us all to get back to “normal.” Billions will be spent on advertising, messaging, and media content to make you feel comfortable again. Every brand in America will come to your rescue to help take away that darkness and get life back to the way it was before the pandemic. And there’s nothing wrong with nice things. God wants us to enjoy the gifts of this world, the things of this life. It’s just that they don’t ultimately satisfy. We all know folk who have beautiful, immaculately furnished homes and drive luxurious vehicles, yet have empty souls and lives, and are miserable. Material things are tools, not end products of joy and contentment.

  Accomplishments. God designed us to be “human beings,” not “human doings.” Too many only feel success if they’re moving up the corporate ladder or have their “To Do” list checked off.

  We need daily times with our Heavenly Father. We need intimate times with our spouses, families and friends (and that’s not in a car on the way to the next event). God didn’t design life to be a Facebook post. One of the most violated verses in the Bible is: “Be still and know that I am God.”

  Sports. Idolatry is the replacement of God with something else, the yielding of our primary devotion and chief affections to anything or anyone besides the Lord. God’s Word consistently speaks of sports in a very positive way. They play an important role in our lives. They bring people together, encourage health and fitness, discipline and provide an array of life lessons. They can be a wholesome source of entertainment. Sports, too, are a gift from God. It’s noteworthy that there seem to be more Christians in professional sports than other avenues of fame in our culture.

  Yet, our culture has turned stadiums into temples. As Christ-followers, if we’re not careful, the gift replaces the Giver. Sports are great but make a terrible god. So, while you’re re-evaluating your life, please ask: Do sports hold a higher priority in my life than Jesus? Is God on the sidelines of my heart? Has the Lord’s Day (Sunday) morphed into just a sports day?

  Leisure. Prior to the Fall, Adam and Eve were given what’s known as the “Creative Mandate” (Genesis 1:28). God gave us strength, talent, and intelligence to be utilized for His glory. God never designed us to be emotively driven. Sadly, what has lost even in the Church, is the ability to do critical thinking. Listen to how often you hear or yourself say, “I feel” instead of “I think.” I wonder what the angels in heaven must think when they observe Christ-followers watching “Tiger King” or the “Kardashians” to name a few of the worst. After all this most will look at a cruise with more of a jaundiced eye. We are ignorant of Scripture and a biblical worldview if we live for the weekend and see work as a “necessary evil.” And then, we rationalize that we don’t have time to read God’s Word, memorize it, serve Him, or reach out to our neighbors. 

  The real question isn’t: “Does all this make you happy?” but “Does this please your Heavenly Father?” When we live in a way that pleases our Heavenly Father, He blesses us with joy, peace, and contentment…to name a few of His countless blessings. God has given us a gift of time for some needed reevaluation. May we use it wisely. It’s an opportunity for us to reevaluate and redirect our lives.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.