I was talking on the phone today to our good friend Pastor Otto.  He shared with me five questions regarding taking personal inventory of our own lives.  As we talked I tried to write them down the best I could and maybe you will find them helpful.  I’m not sure if these are original with him or out of something he is reading.  Either way they’re good.

1. What do I celebrate?  What makes me laugh?
2. What causes me to lament?  What makes me cry?
3. Into whose life am I investing & why am I doing it?
4. From whom do I learn & what am I learning?
5. Is anyone holding me accountable?

We would all do well to take some personal time and work through that.  Another aspect of this he was sharing with me is looking at these questions in terms of "community" - others not myself.  For example do I celebrate just when I win? Do I cry only when I am on the loosing end of something? Do I invest in others or learn from others only for what I can gain from it? 

We all know that our culture is highly focused on a "what’s in it for me"  mindset.  As Christians how are we living our life around what is good for the whole.  How do we flesh that out within our New Hope family?

This morning I am reading Isaiah 53 from the Message.  I can’t write it all out here but it would be worth you getting your copy of the Message out and reading the whole passage.  It is the supreme record of the immense love of God and such a great example for all of us today.

Jesus suffered for nothing he did -  it was our pains he carried - our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us… it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him…

Jesus suffered for all not just some selected ones - we’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.  And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him.

Jesus TOOK IT - listen to these phrases… but he didn’t say a word…he took it all in silence…he died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody…he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch

It was God’s plan - God’s way, and that is so obvious because none of us would see it as a plan at all.  But God’s way was and continues to be the way to life.  life, life and more life.

Reading this always reminds me of the love of Jesus for me and renews my appreciation and thankfulness but today I see even more meaning as I think of how I can apply and live this out in my own life circumstances.

There are times when (I) (you) will suffer for nothing we did ourselves.  God doesn’t give us the luxury to select the people we are willing to "take it" from.  It may be the people we have the least possible patience with.  Maturing in the Lord often requires us to take it in silence without thinking aobut our own welfare or personal defense.  And as we grow we come to see that yes, even this, is what God had in mind all along.  He designs life in such a way that we discover real life infused into our being when we learn to keep our mouth shut and "take it."

Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it…

Today I am reading Hosea 12 (from the Message) which talks about the tribe of Ephraim and how well they felt they have pulled off "success" and keep their personal sin covered up.

(v8) look, I’m rich! I’ve made it big! And look how well I’ve covered my tracks: not a hint of fraud, not a sign of sin!

This is a pattern that repeats itself generaltionally among us humans. It is in this verse that you see that telling phrase - sold his soul to get ahead.

(12) Are you going to repeat the life of your ancestor Jacob?  He ran off guilty to Aram, Then sold his soul to get ahead,  and made it big through treacherty and deceit.

I wonder about that.  At what cost do we get ahead?  What do we sell of ourselves?  How good do we feel if we can keep the surface looking good inspite of what is really going on underneath?

As always God has something to say about the matter. (9) But not so fast!  I’m God, your God!

God lays out two important truths:

The first should be obvious.  Whatever seed we plant will come up to harvest. (14) now he has to pay for his life-destroying ways.

The other truth is less obvious but so vital to grasp.  Often the path you take is life is not the real you and most certainly not the person you have the potential to be.  God has something else in mind.  The passage says your real identity is formed through God-sent prophets, who led you out of Egypt and served as faithful pastors.

This really is the role God has given me to play.  My job is to be a faithful pastor that helps you form your real identity.  So what kind of person does God want you to be?  Is getting ahead more important to you?  Stop selling your soul because in the end it will not pay off.

I enjoy reading from the "Message" and wanted to share something with you for today.

So often I bring out to all of us the truth of what a battle living the Christian life is, especially in terms of our culture and our personal preoccupations.  I don’t do that to make us feel bad but to impress on each of us now critical it is for us to be making good decisions.  Remember that a preoccupation has our attention so that we miss something else in the process.

Luke 12:29-32
What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with GETTING so you can respond to God’s GIVING.  People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.  Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions.  You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.  Don’t be afraid of missing out.  You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

We see that our preoccupation causes us to miss out on what God wants to give to us.  We are caught up in the fuss over things what we feel we need and what we are afraid we will miss out on.  This preoccupation is defined as the very thing that is keeping us from God meeting our needs.  We are called to change our preoccupation to God himself. 

He puts this in practical terms in verses 33-34. 
Be generous.  Give to the poor.  Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on.  It’s obvious, isn’t it?  The place where your treasure is, is the place you will want to be and end up being.

The practical steps for moving our focus from the fuss over getting to allowing God to give includes:

• relaxing in terms of what we making such a fuss over & fearing we will miss out on
• saturating ourselves in God stuff - what’s real about him, the initiatives God is up to, the things he gives in life
• becoming a generous and giving person yourself -

The final sentence teaches us so much.  Whatever you are pouring your money, your physical energies and your emotional energy into will be where you are going to want to be and where you will be.  It will win out no matter how much you say it won’t.  As a law of reality, whatever it is will end up coming before God.  There is so much God wants to GIVE to you up to and including his eternal kingdom.  It is a battle to not become so preoccupied that we miss God’s gifts.  Relax the "fuss" and think about this today.

I was communicating with someone recently about their life.  We were going back and forth about the particulars.  Then, at one point I said the only thing I could possibly think to say and it was only two words: Humpty Dumpty 

You and I, like the egg are fragile though we think we are strong.  The wall is not a good place for us because it is a place of risk and when Humpty climbs up on the wall he is asking for it.  But, knowing the danger he climbs up anyway.  This is the tragic flaw in our humanity.  God’s plan calls for us to be hero’s but we believe we can do ___________ (whatever it is in your case) and get by with those choices even though no one else can pull that off. 

Then, predictably we fall.  Our lives come crashing down. We who love you can sit and cry for you, even with you, but we cannot put you back together again.  The delusional part of all this is that we think that whatever happens we can just get up and keep going on without lasting consequences. 

No one can put it together again for some things are lost forever (innocense, trust, reputation, character, relationships)  Forgiveness is certainly possible.  A future is possible but it will be a different one than the one you could have had because some things are lost forever. 

I read these words recently - the pain of discipline is easier than the pain of regret…  think again before you loose the opportunity to be a hero…