Satisfied Outside From The Inside

When I was in the seventh grade, one of the “cool” things the “popular” kids did when they got a headache was put a bandaid on their head. They would prance around the hallways sporting their skin-toned bandaids thinking that 1) the bandaid would really cure them from their headache or 2) everyone else would catch on with the latest trend and they wouldn’t be the only one that looked silly. Using a bandaid to cure a headache is like putting on lotion in order to stop internal bleeding—it just doesn’t work! The “popular” kids were trying to use an external solution for an internal problem.

Many times, the same is true for our spiritual lives. We ask God to provide for us things that will make us seem healthier, happier or more Christ-like on the outside instead of asking Him to help us work on who we are on the inside—which will then affect who we are on the outside. We ask for temporary outward things like new cars, more money, more friends or fame instead of asking for things that will strengthen our relationship with Christ like wisdom, discernment, contentedness, or the passion to seek Him and to do His will.

Luke 16:15 says, “Then He said to [the Pharisees], ‘You like to look good in public, but God knows your evil hearts. What this world honors is an abomination in the sight of God.’” In this verse, Jesus is telling the Pharisees that, although they seem to be good on the outside, God knows who they are on the inside and that the approval of the world is an outrage to God.

Because we live in a world where the way someone looks, dresses, talks, and who they hang out with come across as being the methods for hapiness, I’d argue that this generation has grown up believing that, in order to achieve happiness, one must appease the outside in order for the inside to be satisfied. However, just the opposite is true. In order for us to have a true and meaningful relationship with Christ, we can’t just look like we have that relationship (although, living the life is important), we must also allow God to work on us from the inside.

Do you find yourself asking God to provide for you things that only affect who you are on the outside? While God does definitely provide things for us that are temporary, if we really want to put up a defense against temptation and strengthen our relationship with Christ, we must allow Him to fix who we are on the inside. Sadly, just like the popular kids were trying to use an external solution for an internal problem, many of us focus our energy on satisfying our outward self with temporary solutions. When the outward solution wares off, we wonder and complain to God because we are left feeling empty and misled by the world’s promises. Throughout your day, ask God to help purify who you are on the inside and you will find that the outside will become satisfied.

Clear The Path

The other night I was preparing for my regular ritual of eating multiple bowls of cereal. However, this ritual was interrupted by one of the stools from the bar that just so happened to be right in the middle of the kitchen. Every time I had to move from the refrigerator or cabinets to the bar, I'd have to walk around this chair. Usually, walking around something isn't a problem. However, the space around the chair was really small and it was hard to maneuver through—especially while walking with breakables in hand. You'd think that, since I had to make multiple trips around this chair, I'd just move the chair to save myself the aggravation of dodging it during my later trips. But nonetheless, I didn't move the obstacle in my way.

My reluctance to move the chair was either brought about by laziness or pride. I was either too lazy to move the obstacle in my way or I thought that the object was too easy to overcome to even make an effort of moving it. I believe that, in a spiritual sense, many of us have this same problem. We have temptations or strongholds in our lives that cause us to stumble, yet we refuse to get rid of them in order to clear the path for the future.

This type of behavior is dangerous. If we don't work on the things that are causing our relationship with Christ to suffer, we will ultimately end up feeling aggravated and lonely. We will feel convinced that God doesn't love us because we don't feel Him working in our lives. But, when it comes down to it, the reason why we don't feel God moving in our lives is because we allow the things of this world to get in between our relationship with Him.

Are there times when you're too lazy to work on the things that are causing you to stumble? Does your pride cause you to believe that what you are struggling with is too small to make an effort to fix? God desires to be with us (John 15:16a). He gave up His own Son just so a relationship with Him would be possible (John 3:16). What are you doing to nurture your relationship with Him? Throughout your day, allow yourself to become conscious of the things that are getting in the way of your relationship with Christ and work on removing them. You will find that the more important you make Christ in your life, the more your relationship with Him will grow and the more obvious His presence in your life will be (James 4:8a).

Work Berserk? Pray Away!

It's not unusual, in this day in age, for people to pull numerous all-nighters per week just to make sure they get their work done. In fact, I myself pulled two all-nighters last week to make sure I met a deadline. Although for me this is an unusual occurrence, with the technology we have, we are able to do more in smaller amounts of time than we would have been able to do before. This, however, causes us to believe that, if we'd just grit our teeth and work a little harder, we could get even more done.

It's easy to feel overwhelmed and unappreciated with the amount of work many of us have. In fact, sometimes, in order to feel respected, we compete with others by comparing the amount of work we've completed in the little amount of time we've been given. However, I assure you, although we think we are busy, the amount of work we have is child's play compared to the amount of work that was given to Christ (Check out what Jesus says in Luke 5:23; there are way more sinners than righteous people! He was a busy man!).

Even though Jesus was constantly called upon by many and there was plenty of work to be done, the Bible says in Luke 5:16 that He "often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." You see, Jesus knew the importance of getting away from the troubles of this world by going to places of solitude and communicating with God. Jesus was showing us that, no matter how busy we think we are, we're never too busy to put God first.

God is aware of everything that takes place (Matthew 10:29-30, Psalm 139:1-16) and He knows that we can become stressed with what we have going on. In fact, the Bible tells us that God knows what we need even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8)! God’s been gracious enough to provide for us 24 hours in a day. The least we can do is make time to communicate with Him and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Are you spending too much time on worldly things and not enough time with the Creator? Has your life become a hypnotizing schedule of work then sleep, work then sleep? Be mindful that God is the maker of time and provides for those who call upon His name. Get in a habit of taking time out of your day to go away by yourself to talk with God (Matthew 6:6). By doing so, not only will you find refuge through His love from everyday strain, God will reveal to you where He wants you to be (Psalm 32:8).

Remember To Remember

Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation with someone and right when you began to speak you forgot exactly what it was you were going to tell them? Or maybe you were going to use a word that is common among everyday words but for some reason it was stuck on the tip of your tongue? Memory is a funny thing. We know what we want to say, and we’ve been speaking since we were younger, but even fundamental things like words or phrases seem to escape us every once in a while. Sometimes the things we want to remember are forgotten and the things we want to forget stick in our minds. In fact, our memory is so funny that during times of trial we forget the many wonderful things God has done for us and the untrumpable power He possesses.

1 Chronicles 16:12 says, “Think of the wonderful works He has done, the miracles, and the judgments He handed down.” At first glance, David’s song of praise seems very simple and maybe even shallow compared to the many deep eye-openers provided by the Bible. After all, remembering what God has done for us in order to be reassured of His unfailing love seems like common sense. Nonetheless, many times we still forget that, no matter what happens, God is in control.

This verse, however, goes much deeper than remembering the many ways God has provided for those whom He loves. In the last part of the verse, David instructs us to remember “the judgments He handed down.” A great defense against the hardships of times of trials is remembering all that God is capable of, but any great defense must have an offense and remembering the standards that God calls us to meet and then following them is just that!

Do you take for granted the feelings of security produced by the thought of God’s amazing power by forgetting to follow His commands? While remembering all that God has done for us truly provides a sense of safety and a faith facelift, we mustn’t forget to follow the commands God has given us. For the love of the Lord remains forever with those who have respect for and are obedient in God’s standard (Psalm 103:17).

Who Do You Say He Is?

Imagine you are a representative of a company whose President has given you the duty of attending an important meeting with several other companies. In this meeting, your job is to convince these companies that their future relies on their decision of whether or not to merge with the company you represent. If they decide to merge, their business is guaranteed 100% success; if they decide not to merge, their business is destined to be a failure. You willingly accept the job you've been given and you attend the meeting. Everything goes well in the meeting until you begin to openly distort the image of your company and its founder. You start cussing and lying, blaming and scamming, and, because of the way you are negatively representing your company, the other companies decide that, even though merging with your company would guarantee them success, they would much rather accept their fate as a company destined for failure.

As Christians, we have been given the duty of telling others about Jesus (Mark 1:17). Our job is to get other people to accept Christ and to “merge” with the Holy-Spirit so they may be guaranteed eternity with our loving Father instead of being destined for isolation away from Him in a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 13:41-42). Our responsibility to represent Christ well is a very important one then, since the eternities of many people rely on whether or not they accept Him. However, many Christians don’t seem to carry out this responsibility, or at least consider it important, even though we are commanded to do so!

In Luke 9:20, after Jesus finished asking His disciples who others claimed He was, He asked them who they believed He was. In response Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” Like Peter and the other disciples, many of us have no problem proclaiming that we believe Jesus is God’s Son who sacrificed Himself on the cross so that we may live with Him forever. However, many forget that as Christians our actions have just as much, or more, impact on the way people perceive Christ. We can proclaim Christ is Lord all we want, but if our actions do not represent Him correctly, those who need us the most--the souls of those who have not accepted Christ--could be forever turned away from Him because of the way He was perceived through us.

Are the things that you say, do, or participate in good representations of Christ? Are others able to tell right away that you have Christ in you? As Christians, we are called to be set apart from the ways of this world (Romans 12:1-2). If others see a distorted view of Christ through you because of the worldly things you do, your ability to carry out the duty of bringing others to Christ will suffer. For too long, the name “Christian” has been considered just a title for those who claim it; we must all make a conscious effort of representing Christ in a way that will attract others to Him.

It's What's On The Inside

Have you ever been given a box of chocolates as a present? I have and most of the time it is a great gift. However, there are certain boxed chocolates that come with assorted chocolates filled with many mysterious concoctions and you are given no clue as to which pieces of chocolate are filled with what you actually like. Each piece looks great from the outside, but when you bite into it and you find out that the chocolate has been filled with dark chocolate lemon cream with a touch of fake fruit syrup, or some other gross filling, you quickly realize that the chocolate’s outer beauty was misleading.

Like these assorted chocolates, many of us portray ourselves as highly religious and extremely moral people, but on the inside we are no better than anyone else. In fact, some go as far as to believe that, because of their “perfect” outward appearance, their path to Heaven is different than any “normal” person. In Luke 11:27-52, Jesus criticizes the religious leaders of that time for doing just that. In verse 39, Jesus says, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are still filthy—full of greed and wickedness!”

It is easy to put up a holy front without actually practicing a holy life. In fact, Peter, in 2 Corinthians 11:14, tells us that even Satan himself pretends to be an “angel of light”. But, as Christians we are called to be set apart, or holy, just as our Father in Heaven is holy (Leviticus 19:2).

Is your relationship with Christ only a front? Or are you actually working on allowing God to polish you from the inside out? If we want to live an abundant life through Christ, we must work hard at getting rid of the gross “concoctions” that are within our “chocolate shell”. In order to do so, we must constantly strive to be more like Christ by spending time in prayer and diving deep into His word. No matter how “clean” you are on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that speaks truth about the condition of your relationship with Christ.

Learn Then Do

Wow, my 100th post! I'd really love to hear from those who read thecoblog to see whether or not it makes a difference in their lives. What do you like about it? Has it impacted your relationship with Christ? What would you change? Do you have a subject you want me to write about? Do you have any friends who'd love to read thecoblog? Don't hesitate to send them a link! Thanks again! God Bless!

When I was younger, I used to race pinewood derby cars. My father and I would spend time together in the garage building, sanding, painting, weighing and testing the cars until everything was perfect. We’d check to see what the best placement of the weights was and how much graphite was the best amount. We’d even make one of the front wheels higher than the other so it would decrease the friction between the car and the track (yes, it was legal).

Not only did the relationship between my father and I grow during the weeks that it took for these cars to be built, I was also able to learn how to use the tools that were required to build them. Similarly, when we go to Church, we come together to fellowship with each other, to connect with God and to be equipped to do what we have been called by God to do.

Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “[Christ] is the one who gave these gifts to the Church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the Church, the body of Christ.”

The people who are the leaders in your Church have been given a vision from God in order to carry out their ministry for Him. According to the passage above, their responsibility is to take this vision and use it to equip people to do God’s work. Sadly, many who attend Church fail to realize why it is so important. They don’t see that when they go to Church they aren’t just listening to a sermon or singing songs, they are being taught how to use the “tools” God has given them in order to be best used by Him.

Because they don’t realize that they are to use what they’ve learned to do work for God, they begin to have a self-centered walk with Christ. By this I mean they go to Church wanting only to be fed instead of using what they’ve learned in order to feed others. This would be just like me not using the tools my father taught me how to use; if I didn’t use the tools, the cars would have come out ugly, or worse, they would have never been completed. Likewise, we must not only focus on learning more about Christ, we must use what we’ve learned at Church to improve our relationship with, and to more effectively bring other people to, Him.

Are you allowing yourself to be equipped by the messages that God speaks through the leaders of your Church? Are you using the gifts that God has given you for His kingdom, whether it’d be at your Church volunteering or witnessing to others? Just like my goal of winning the pinewood derby races required using tools that I learned how to use, as Christians we must strive to win the race that God has given us by doing what we’ve been equipped to do. Our prize, however, is not some small gold plated medal, our prize is eternity with our Creator (1 Corinthians 9:23-25).

I Showed You So

Have you ever had a conversation with someone that ultimately resulted in an “I told you so” moment? There have been many times in my life where I have given someone advice on how they need to handle a situation and, even though they wanted my advice, they chose to do the complete opposite. Many times, after the situation had passed, they’d come back to me and tell me that they wished they had followed the advice I’d given them. Sadly, many of these conversations have been with people who are not followers of Christ and they ultimately make a huge mistake that they wouldn’t have made if they would have listened to the advice I’d given them from the Bible.

Since it is God’s Word, the Bible is the source for guidance on how He wants us to live our lives. Every word that you read from the Bible is useful for learning (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and shows you how you need to live your life. God promises us that He wants what is best for us (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28); all we have to do is live according to His purpose.

As Christ-followers, we already know that living our lives according to God’s will is the path to a more abundant life through Him, but the concept of living by someone else’s purpose is a hard one to accept by those who haven’t experienced the life-change Christ brings about.

Many times we try to talk with non-Christians about the difference there will be in their lives if they would just accept Christ, but our words prove to be useless in bringing them to Him. We become frustrated because we want them so badly to see that Christ is the way, but they continue to think that the message of Christ is foolish (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Proverbs 23: 9 says, “Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice.” No matter how hard we try, no matter how long we hold our breathe, there are just some people who are so hard-headed that they will not listen to the loving advice we give them about Christ. It’s in these cases that we have to live a Christ-like life so that they will see the difference in us. Instead of constantly telling them that they need to accept Christ, show them the life-change they are missing out on. Show them Christ through how you act in your every day life.

If someone that didn’t know you tried to guess whether or not you were a Christian, would they be confused as to where your allegiance was? If someone had been told all of their life that Jesus was the way, yet they constantly refused to accepted Him, would the image of Christ through you be the key to the door of their heart? When our words are considered useless, we must rely on the way Christ is perceived through us to lead people to Him. Live your life according to God’s standards for you and remember that “I showed you so” will ultimately reach more people for Christ than “I told you so”.

On Track

Millions flock every year to their local amusement park to ride rollercoasters. Even though the cars on these roller coasters reach high speeds and altitudes, many ride without fear because they are certain that the cars will stay on the path laid out for them. What would happen though if these cars were to get off track? The result would be devastating; people would either be killed or badly injured. As Christians, it is just as important that we stay on track with what God expects from us.

Proverbs 4:25-27 says, “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.”

Sadly, many times we fall into the same sin over and over again. This proverb tells us that it is important that we look ahead and fix our eyes on what lies before us. This means that we need to be aware of our surroundings and the impact it has on our walk with Christ. Like verse 26 says, we must mark out a path to follow and then stick to it. The earlier we decide what we will do in certain situations, the more likely we will follow through with our decision.

Verse 27 warns us not to get sidetracked. It is very easy to follow the path that everyone else is following, especially since it is so wide, but it is imperative that we stay on track so that we will not conform to the evil of this world (Romans 12:2).

Do you find yourself doing what the world says is right? When you are around people who aren’t believers, do you end up doing what you know the Bible says is wrong? Like Proverbs 4:25-27 says, it is very important that we stick to the path that we are called to follow as Christ-followers. This path has been mapped out for us through God’s Holy Word so that we can live an abundant life with Christ. When we don’t follow it, our life is filled with evil and our relationship with Christ suffers, but if we follow the path, our lives will be filled with the joy of the Lord.

Get A Life

We live in a world where everyone wants to do what makes them feel good. As Christians, we know though that what makes us feel good isn’t necessarily the right thing to do. We also know that God calls us to be set apart from the ways of the world so that we may live an abundant life with Him. Even though God’s plan for our lives isn’t always easy to comprehend, we know that His plans are perfect. How though, can we come to have true life through Christ?

In Mark 8:31-38, we read of a time when Jesus taught His disciples three very important lessons about living their lives for Him. In verse 31, Jesus tells His disciples that, even though He was God’s son, He would suffer, be rejected by many, be killed by those who opposed Him, and then three days later He would rise again. In verse 32, Peter pulls Jesus aside and tells Him not to say things like that. Jesus realized that Satan had a grasp on Peter and in verse 33 He sternly says to him, “Get away from me, Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Just like Peter did in verse 32, there are times when we try to tell God what He can and cannot do. We want Him to bless us but we don’t want to live for Him. We claim to love Him yet we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to direct us. And we limit our loyalty to Him for times only when we feel content. As humans, our comprehension is finite (or limited) and therefore God’s ways are far beyond our understanding (Isaiah 55:8-9). The first lesson on living our lives for Christ is we must learn to accept God’s authority and let Him be in control (Psalm 46:10).

In verse 34, Jesus calls together His disciples and the crowd over to listen to Him. He tells them that whoever wants to be His follower must put aside their selfishness, pick up their cross, and follow Him. What does Jesus mean by this? Jesus is giving us a second lesson on living our lives for Him. He is telling us to be selfless. Jesus wants us to sacrifice what the world has to offer and show Him our undivided love by following Him.

In verse 35, Jesus gives us His third lesson on living our lives for Him. He goes on to tell the crowd and His disciples that those who try to keep their lives for themselves will lose their lives, but those who give up their lives for His Kingdom will find true life. Our lives are not our own, we were created by God for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11). If we try to rule our life, even though it is not ours, we will for sure lose it, but if we give it to God so that He may use us in order to further His kingdom, He will give us true life. Indeed we must be slaves to Christ (Romans 1:1).

Are you putting importance on the things of this world? Are you storing your treasures here on earth or in Heaven (Matthew 6:20)? In verses 36 and 37, Jesus reminds His disciples that if they try to gain the whole world they will lose their souls in the process. We must not be ashamed of Christ or the Good News He brings (Romans 1:16). If we are, Jesus tells us in verse 38 that He will be ashamed of us when He returns. As you go throughout your day, meditate on the three lessons Jesus was teaching us on how to live our lives for Him. Remember that our time in this world is only temporary (2 Corinthians 5:1) and if you aren’t living for Christ, you need to get a life.