Information Vs. Transformation

About a month or two ago I was rocked with a statement that stunned me into a deep thought process in which I fully examined my current method of operation against that statement.  After a couple months of reflection, discussion, and adaptation, I think that I have begun the process of being aware of the statement.  The statement was as follows.

"We as followers of Jesus should value transformation over information."  I'm not sure if that was the word for word quotation, but it came from Chuck Mingo in a sermon series at Crossroads studying the book of James.  Also at the same time of that series I happened to be reading through "Present Perfect" by Greg Boyd with my small group.  A part of that book pretty much highlights that whole idea from James about intentional application of information leading to or translated to transformation.

I was stunned for several reasons.  One being that as of late, I have turned into an information junkie.  I have been  soaking up information from so many sources.  I've read 15 books since January, I've been reading through the Old Testament on a year reading plan, Music, TV, Movies, you name it, I've been sort of obsessed with gaining information.  I've even been known to spend hours on Wikipedia just reading and clicking relatable links in an endless forward progression of gaining information.  Too bad I didn't have this passion when I was in school.

My big realization was that I was inputting all kinds on information, but not much was being outputted. I was learning and gaining information, but there was no action.  In a spiritual sense I was understanding more things, but not obeying.  I really took this realization to heart in my faith.  A previous realization for me was being congruent in my life by living and being the same in all facets of life.  Now I realized that I had read the book of James what felt like a million times, yet I wasn't doing anything.  If faith equals belief plus action, I was only at a 50% on faith.  I realize that I can be hard on myself, and that I'm sure that I was doing things in response to my faith, but I just realized that it may have been a little too much auto pilot instead of being fully aware and present.

The response has been varied.  I am now more selective at what information I am inputting.  This does not mean that I only read the Bible and listen to Christian music and do not watch TV or movies.  I think that inspiration comes from all things around me, and can be turned into action.  I have just started paying closer attention.  For example:  Earlier in the year I read a biography on Jim Brown (Football Player).  He had a great athletic career, had some off field issues, and struggles, but what I most pulled out from the book was his dedication to making his community better.  I in turn was inspired to make my own community better, but not having a clue how to do so.  In short, I started with availability.  Now I'm drifting, but that was an example of taking information and turning it into transformation with the value of importance being on the transformation in lieu of the information.

I find myself taking more notes, making more plans, and most impact full has been discussing the information with others.  Talking to people both one on one or in groups about what we are reading, watching, or listening to has become a passion of mine.  Finding out what is inspiring others, and sharing what is inspiring me, and what the plan of action based on this inspiration (information) can look like together or individually ultimately leading to transformation and growth.

Bottom Line - What you put into your mind and body, usually comes out through your actions and personality.

Wise Guy

I am obsessed with board games, especially strategic ones. I am very very competitive when playing, but I do make an effort to not let my competitiveness get in the way of fun for myself and the people I am playing with. There is a game that my wife and I got for Christmas called "Settlers of Catan". If you know of this game or know how to play, please leave me a comment so we can talk about it together, because it became an instant favorite. In the game sometimes you have to make moves that might not get you anywhere at the time, but it will help you get things or allow you to go places later. I thought about this concept while reading about Solomon in the OT.

When Solomon took over, his father David had already bumped and setted the kingship for him, all Solomon had to do was come in for the spike. David conquered all the surrounding enemies, David gathered all of the building materials to build the temple for the Arc of the Covenent of God to reside in, all Solomon had to do was come in and build it.

Then God asked Solomon what He could give him. This is where Solomon made a good move that would set him for life if he maintained his commitment to God. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern God's people in the building of the temple. So God gave it to him, and he used his wisdom to govern the people, and then he used it for a lot more. Solly was working his strategy, but thats when he took it to far and ended up using his wisdom to benefit himself instead of benefiting God. He gained tons of gold and silver, he gained tons of women (700 wives & 300 concubines) many of which were from foreign lands who persuaded Solly to himself worship other gods and allow others to worship several other gods besides his father David's God. God was not happy.

God gives us so many blessings in our lives, some that we ask for and others he just gives us, but a lot of the times we end up taking what He gave us, and using it to get more for ourselves in our selfish ways just like Solomon. By turning away from God we turn our blessings into curses, and we could end up harming ourselves or others around us. Accountability brings consistent focus. Without someone to tell us we are messing up, we would probably keep messing up and not even know that we are messing up until it explodes in our faces.

Bottom Line - Give someone in your life permission to tell you when you are messing up in a loving way. And promise them that you won't get mad at them for telling you that you stink.

3 strikes you're out

In my OT journey I came to the story of David and Saul. Saul was king of Israel and he was jealous and afraid of David and his skills that God gave him. David was a great harp player, and Saul was a horrible spear thrower. Dave used to play harp for Saul and I'll let you read the rest.

1 Samuel 18:10-11(NIV) The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.

Two misses equals two strikes. God had told Saul that he was going to be de-throned, so Saul was fearful because God sent evil spirits to Saul to remind him every day that Saul was going to be punished eventually, and that David would succeed him and be a way better King than Saul ever was. Then a chapter later.

1 Samuel 19:9-10(NIV) But an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.

And its one, two, three strikes your out at the Old Testament game. If people are continually trying to harm us emotionally or physically and it happens three different times, then we should probably do what David did and get away from the person. Dave chose not to strike back or even talk bad about Saul. He continued to respect Saul by not getting back at him because of David's respect for God. I got one more part just to show how bad of a spear thrower Saul really was.

1 Samuel 20:32-33(NIV Jonathan talking to Saul about David) "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Jonathan asked his father. But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.

Bottom Line - If someone is continually throwing spears at you (trying to harm you), you should probably get away from them.

dancing fool

My journey through the OT has brought me to David and the verse from the "Undignified" song that everyone loves.

2 Samuel 6:22(NIV) I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.

I like the message version much better.

2 Samuel 6:22 (The Message) I'll dance to God's glory—more recklessly even than this. And as far as I'm concerned, I'll gladly look like a fool.

I really love dancing even though I'm really not that good at dancing. Dance parties are my fave, especially classic Stegman ones. I like the idea of dancing in worship, but I'm not as bold as David was to dance in the middle of the streets and look like a fool in front of people. I'm not sure why I am scared to dance for God and look like a fool, because I always dance at weddings and look like a fool. I might as well start dancing for Jesus, or as Family Force 5 says "getting crunk for Jesus".

Bottom Line - Hold up, wait a minute, put a little love in it.

short term memory

Have you ever gone on a great vacation and then the next week after getting back in town and back to work you forget all about? Then you see the pictures and it brings it all back? Have you ever seen a great sports game (the Super Bowl two weeks ago), but now you can not remember who even won the game? Have you ever prayed for something so bad, then all of the sudden you kind of forgot that you were praying for it and the next week it turned out that the prayer was answered, but you didn't even realize it because you were on to the next thing?

In the book of Judges from the OT the people basically forget about God over and over again. When I first read some of it I remember thinking, how can these people forget God, especially after He delivers them from slavery by overcoming overwhelming odds and perfoming miracles right in front of their eyes? I couldn't understand how they could forget, but then I really thought about it and remembered that I always forget too.

I look for ways not to forget, and I have found one way that helps through personal experience. If you do not live every second you can in the Presence of God then you forget rather quickly. Living every second in the Presence of God does not mean that you live sin free. Although you can try, you still can't do it, but if you are in the Presence of God often, then you quickly realize and identify your daily sins and deal with them on a daily basis. I often brush through a quick non-heartfelt prayer before I eat dinner because it is what you are "supposed to do". Then I thought, why not try to pray on the spot all day, every day whenever I think of it. I have latched onto this idea for some time now and feel a greater connection in my prayer life instead of waiting for specific times of the day to pray. When I am practicing this, I tend not to forget all of the blessings in my life. I tend not to forget to notice beautiful clouds in the sky on my way home from work. I tend not to forget to be encouraging to others.

There are still times where I find new things to think about, then I fall out of range and I forget about God. There comes a time during the forgetfullness where it hits and you realize the time that has passed since you have forgotten. Then you are crushed and you come running back to return to God. I'm sure this is how the people in Judges felt. I can relate to them.

Bottom Line - The only things we remember are the things we have engrained into our hearts. What is engrained in your heart?

Namesake

I was named Joshua after the Joshua from the OT. As I recently read through the book of Joshua in the OT I realized that Joshua really only did one thing to solidify his leadership skills. He listened to God. Thats it. He got direction from God and he followed through with no hesitation as if it were no problem at all. Without any doubts even though the path may have been overwhelming or the numbers stacked against him and his people, Joshua did exactly what God told him to do every time even though he may have been faced with fear.

Listening for God is tough, and once you hear from God, then acting on it is even tougher. Things usually stand in our path blocking us from following through on what God has set us to do. Fear, doubt, and lack of confidence are 3 of the main ones on my list. In my life I have had major times of hearing from God and not so major times of hearing from God. Sometimes I seek and listen, sometimes I don't seek or listen. There have been many times where I have acted on God's voice and there have been several times that I have not acted on God's voice.

In my entry below we all saw what happens when we choose not to seek or listen. The next step is following through. God usually gives us things to do that we probably hate doing or would be scared or uncomfortable doing. That is why he gives them to us. We must become fearless and put aside our doubt and go for it. Easier said than done, but we can help encourage one another.

Bottom Line - If You say go, we will go. If You say wait, we will wait.

Sam I am

I have been taking a journey through the OT (Old Testament) and recently came upon this quote from Samuel talking to Saul (the current King of Israel)

1 Samuel 15:22-23 - The Message

Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices—
empty rituals just for show?
He wants you to listen to him!
Plain listening is the thing,
not staging a lavish religious production.
Not doing what God tells you
is far worse than fooling around in the occult.
Getting self-important around God
is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors.
Because you said No to God's command,
he says No to your kingship.

Wow, Sammy says that God does not want us to sacrifice just because it is a ritual. Sambo also says that going to church and doing spiritual and religious rituals mean nothing to God if you don't listen to Him. Then Sam even goes to say that hearing from God and not following up on it is worse than getting into the occult. Saul was doing all the right things, but he was failing to listen to God.

I'm sure that after God gave the words to Samuel to speak to Saul, God might have used a line that was stolen from Him and used by the verizon cell phone guy.


Bottom Line - "Can you hear Me now?" (If we choose to say yes, God Replies) "Good"