Apart From Him We Can Do NOTHING!

We all have natural abilities. While we may not be able to play like Michael Jordan on the basketball court, there are certain natural skills that we all possess. Some may be good with numbers, while others may be great at fixing things with their hands. Some may have excellent problem solving skills, while others have a 4 octave vocal range. Some may be great speakers, while others can throw a football 60+ yards. While I would love to throw a football 60 yards, or glide through the air like Jordan, I was not endowed with the ability to do either. Regardless of how hard I tried or practiced, I would never be able to measure up to Jordan or even a bench warmer on the worst team in the NBA.

I'm a musician. While there may be some who would debate that statement having heard my skills, I do play guitar a little. I'm not sure how much "natural" ability I have when it comes to playing guitar, but I have to think there is at least a little bit. Afterall, I have tried to teach some people to play that after a few lessons I'm convinced can never be taught to play. So, my theory is that if you can even play a little bit, there has to be just a hint of natural talent at the least. Perhaps I could become a better player if I practiced more, but the truth is if I haven't reached my peak, I'm pretty close. Over the years I have logged in many, many practice hours on the guitar and although I seemed to improve in the early days, that improvement has either stopped or become little more than stagnant. Kind of like my basketball skills. When I was young, I played and played and played and played and at some point hit my peak. I came to the end of my ability to improve.

I know there is always room for improvement, but let's face it sometimes we just have to come to terms with the fact that there is a pinnacle and once that is reached, all that we do from then on is an effort to stay at that level. So, it could just very well be that as far as my guitar playing goes, everything I'm doing now is simply an effort to maintain rather than increase my skill level. What I need now is for God to breath on it. Actually, from day one, that's what we all need.

We are very good at doing life apart from God. While that is certainly true about unbelivers the tragedy is that it is often equally true about believers. We have these natural skills and abilities and navigating through life without God is not all that difficult. Sure, we claim to know God, but we invite Him in only when we truly need Him. Only when we come to the end of our ability. We walk through life leaning on our own abilities and often trust ourselves more so than we trust God. Ouch! Some would argue that it was God who gave us our gifts and abilities so are we really doing life apart from God? Picture Adam and Eve in the garden. Was is not God who breathed life into them? Was it not God who gave them a free will? And what did they do with it? They chose to do life apart from God with the very breath He gave them and the ability to choose granted to them by their Creator.

We do the very same thing as the two of them. We take our natural abilities and we choose to do life apart from God. If and when we come to the end of our ability then we ask God to get involved. Somehow, I think we are missing the point of how we are to do life.

Picture if you will a famous rock star. Maybe a great guitarist. While it might be true that he has a great deal of natural talent, apart from God, it is nothing but the flesh. He may receive the glory and praise of thousands of followers, but in the end his natural ability, that is void of the life of God, does little more than entertain.

In Scripture we are told of David who was a musician. Now, you can't find any of his concerts on youtube, so we aren't sure how great he was at playing his instrument, but the Bible does tell us that he was a skilled musician. We are told that when he played before Saul, the atmosphere in the room shifted and the tormenting spirits that plagued Saul left. If we aren't careful, we'll make the mistake of thinking that David must have been some awesome musician. The fact is that the atmospheric shift in the room was less about David's skill and more about God's presence in the room. Apart from God's breath on His playing, David would have been unable to do little more than entertain Saul.

Leaning on our natural abilities will always leave us inept at living the kind of life God designed us to live. Scripture tells us that apart from Him we can do nothing. Jesus speaking of Himself makes this statement, "The Son can do nothing on His own." Perhaps one day we'll discover that what is true about Jesus is true about all of us. Whenever we lean on our own abilities and try to attempt life apart from God, then all that we do amounts to zero, nada, zip, the big goose egg, NOTHING! Flesh is flesh. Whether its extremely talented flesh or mildly talented flesh, the result is always the same. On the other hand whenever we determine to do life in such a way that we lean on God and trust in His ability more so than ours, we'll tap into the kind of life He designed us to live.

The Lord never intended for us to simply connect with Him when we have reached the end of our ability. He wants to be a part of the ride from the beginning. He longs for us to understand that He is the vine and we are the branches and only when we are connected to Him can we experience true life. Doing life apart from Him is pretty much the equivalence of a branch disconnected from a tree trying to attach itself to something other than the trunk in order to find life. All I know is that all the branches in my back yard disconnected from the trunk are dying or are already dead. So it is with everything we attempt apart from our Creator. It all ends up to be death in the end.

While I could spend endless hours trying to get my fingers to play Bbmaj9, I'm thinking it would be more advantageous for me to figure out how to get God to breath on my playing. Afterall, the former would do nothing but stroke my ego a bit, while the latter just might bring glory to God.

Hope

Easter is just around the corner. While the world will be distracted by bunnies and colored eggs, for a Believer this time of year is so much more than that. Its about hope. Its about a few days 2000 years ago when those who followed Christ were shrouded in uncertainty, and captivated by a heaviness which would eventually be drowned out by an event that would serve to once again fill their lives with hope.

The disciples are often looked down upon when it comes to how they reacted when Jesus was arrested. They all jumped ship. It was every man for himself. Each one of them ran for their lives and abandoned this friend who they believed to be the "One" sent from God. Yet, I'm not sure if the sandals were on my feet, if I would have acted any different. I would like to think that I would have gone down with Him. I would love to imagine that while He was being beaten that He would glance over at me and smile as I too were there with Him undergoing the same inhumane torture. However, the truth remains that I feel a bit more like Peter than I do a sacrificial martyr.

I can't fathom the emotions of His followers watching all this play out. Sure, He had told them time and time again about this very moment, but as they took it all in it appears none of it made any sense. This "One" sent from God had been arrested and was to be beaten and brutally killed. Their Hero, their Messiah, the One who had come to save them appeared unable to save Himself. And then, when it was all over and He had breathed His last breath I can only imagine the sinking feeling in their hearts as all hope seemed lost.

Have you ever wondered what their conversations were like in the hours and days immediately following this horrific event? Was there any of them full of hope trying to encourage the others? Or, were they all puzzled and confused by it all? Perhaps, if you would have been there, you would have tried to remind everyone about everything He as said about this event. I'm thinking had it been me, that disillusionment might cloud everything. I'm just being real as I look back at my life and those moments when I've been hammered with circumstances that flooded my mind with questions. Most of the time the uncertainty and disillusionment of the moment blind me to the promises that I know He's spoken. I'm thinking like Peter, I might just pick my net back up and head out fishing.

For three days those followers of Christ were left in that state. Not knowing, not understanding, not certain of anything anymore. Then all of a sudden in runs the women who had just visited the tomb only to find it abandoned. Now, picture yourself in that moment. What emotions are you faced with? If you're still sitting around feeling defeated and playing that part of a victim perhaps you're filled with thoughts that someone has stolen the body. Or, maybe just maybe, your heart starts to pump a little faster and the adrenaline begins to pump through your veins as you think maybe just maybe He has risen just like He said. Running to the tomb your mind is a whirlwind of thoughts and imaginations and when you get there its just as the women proclaimed. Now, imagine seeing Him. Not, dead but alive.

Do you cry? Do you laugh? Do you shout? Do you run to Him? Are you numb? Are you overwhelmed and your emotions take over? Perhaps its all of these and more, at least I'm pretty sure that's my reaction. My Friend, my Hero, my Savior is alive! Hopelessness has given way to an unbelievable, unimaginable hope.

As I sit here thinking, that's just it. I mean, coming back to 2011 that truth hasn't changed. It's as real today as that very moment 2000 years ago. My Friend, my Hero, my Savior is alive! He's alive! That empty tomb speaks hope to me today just like it did to those who followed Him back then. Hope that makes me take on life today. Hope that makes me confident that whatever hammers me today can't overshadow the truth that my Redeemer lives. Hope that whatever is going on in the world around me pales in comparison to knowing that my Savior is on the throne and forever will be. Hope that the sin in my life past, present, and future was carried to the cross and the punishment for it all was laid on Him. Hope that forgiveness has been granted to me, mercy has protected me, and grace has saved me. Hope that who I was, is no longer who I am, and who I am is now completely the result of Him in me. Hope that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Hope that in all things He causes me to triumph. Hope that even in death I win. Hope that freedom reigns in my life. Hope that one day I will see the One who has showered my life with this very hope.

And the world is distracted by bunnies and colored eggs. What a shame when there is so much more. Hope, that's what this season is about. It's about an empty tomb that screams hope to whatever you're up against and wherever you are in life. It's not just a religious holiday, its a celebration about the One who Was, and Is, and IS to come. Nope, this weekend isn't about a bunny, it's about a Lamb and a Lion. It's about the Lamb who was slain and lives again. It's about the Lion who's return is moving closer with each passing day. As far as I'm concerned the world can have their Easter and I'll take the empty tomb and the hope it speaks to me!

It Makes Me Appreciate And Value Life

Over the last couple of weeks, as I've watched the news, I've been taken back by what all has happened. Thousands of lives have been lost through tornadoes, cyclones, and earthquakes. Just think about it, people were going about their everyday lives when all of a sudden it was all over. It's pretty sobering to me. It makes me appreciate and value the life that I have. Let's face it, none of us have been promised tomorrow. I'm not trying to spread doom and gloom here, its just reality. Actually, death for a believer is hardly doom and gloom anyway. The point I'm trying to make is that this life we live is so temporal and in the grand scheme of things, even 70, 80, or 100 years is still quite short. Scripture says our life is but a vapor, here one day and gone the next.

Death for us is certain, unless we are of the generation here when Jesus takes us out of here. The truth is death could visit us today, tomorrow, next year, or it could be 10, 20, 50, or 70 years from now. But rest assured, it'll visit us. Ok, I know this is not my usual encouraging, inspiring BLOG, but stay with me.

Life on this earth is precious, but in comparison to eternity it is extremely short. What we do in that short amount of time is extremely important though. When I hear news like I've heard the last couple of weeks, it makes me think about what I'm doing with my life. It's not a condemning thing, just a gut check. It makes me ask the question, "how engaged am I with my family?" It makes me want to spend quality time with those I love most. It makes me want to put the things that need to be on the back burner on the back burner and put the things that need to be in the forefront in the forefront. It makes me want to play air guitar with my kids even when I've got a list a mile long of the things I need to do. It makes me want to spend time with my wife, and cherish each moment we have together. It causes me to evaluate the things I value and why I value them.

Years ago, my grandmother who was well advanced in years knew that death was getting closer with every passing day. She was a feisty lady and was never shy when it came to speaking her mind. Of course, that often led to her not having the greatest relationships with others, including some of her kids. From time to time she would get to thinking that she would hate to die and not have a clear conscience so she would get on the phone and start calling people. She would call one person after another asking them to forgive her if she in anyway had offended them. I just wonder how our lives would be different if we would not wait until we are in our 80s or 90s before we did something like that.

The truth is that a moment wasted can never be recaptured. We need to make it a point to say the things we so often wait too long to say. We need to forgive those who we often wait too long to forgive. We need to spend more time with those most important to us, and we need to love as if there's no tomorrow.

Of course, the most important thing is not to fall too much in love with this world here. When all is said and done, the stuff here will be gone and the only thing we take out of here is our relationship with our Creator and our relationship with one another. That's it. Nothing more , nothing less. If we travel through this life trying to capture as much stuff as we possibly can, in the end we will be grossly disappointed. I'm not saying that having stuff is bad, just that if it becomes our main pursuit in life, we will realize in the end how worthless that pursuit truly was.

I am convinced that loving God and loving others is the only pursuits in life that are the only things that are truly rewarding. Perhaps its just me, but I just believe that if I'll focus on that, when death comes knocking, I'll have no regrets and can welcome it with open arms. Of course, I'm talking in about 60 years or so.