Monday, August 30, 2010

Can You Mess Up God's Plan?

I had a friend today send out an email that really got me thinking. Here's the question that I drew from his conversation:

Can you mess up God's plan?

This topic couldn't have come up at a better time as we (Cape Naz Church) are in the heart of our series on iDentity.

I think that the answer to that question lies not in what we do (the plan) but in who we are. Our society in many ways has become very "do" oriented. We identify ourselves by our jobs. Who we work for and what we do -- that becomes our defining characteristic.

If you don't believe me then think about the last time that you met someone new in a casual, social setting. I'm willing to bet good money that one of the first questions you asked (or they asked of you) was "where do you work" or maybe "what do you do?"

So, we become nurses or engineers or doctors or pastors or whatevers.

I would sincerely hope that for all of us the answer to the question "what do you do" is not the summation of all that we are.

So, back to the questoin of the day: can we mess up God's plan?

That entirely depends on you. Do you think God's plan is simply a "do" or do you think God's plan is more of a "be"?

After all, if God is who he says he is and continues being who he says he will be then we don't have much to worry about.

Do you think your flaws and failings are bigger than God? Why do we so often believe that the God who created the universe, flung the stars into the sky, and gave us breath would be at all surprised or flustered (in other words: rendered ineffectual) by our decision to "do" this or that?

No, God's plan for us is a "be" plan not a "do" plan. Be like Christ. Your "do" is a reflection of who you "are". We show our faith by our works. Our works themselves are not faith.

Can you mess you God's plan?

If you sincerely devote yourself to God and becoming the person He wants you to become, then you can be absolutely 100% completely and utterly assured that God's best will "be" in your life!
You might (scratch that... you will) mess up, but what matters is not yesterday's sins but today's decision to "be" like God and tomorrow's decision to be that way again.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

I'm back!

Hey! It's August! I promised that I would be back in August, and here I am. I'm not really making a post today. Instead, I'm just reminding you that I'm here. I'm ready to write. I hope you're ready to read.

Here's hoping that you enjoyed your summer! Here's hoping that you, like me, took some time away from blogs and businesses and schools and whatnot to catch up with your family.

In the coming weeks expect me to dig deeper into the concept of iDentity, which is our current series at Cape Naz. Who are you in Christ? We'll be talking about that all August and into September.

I'll probably also look ahead to our next two series: Community (yes, like the TV show) and Life (yes, like the board game). Lots of blogging will be heading your direction, so keep your clicker pointed in "The Stomp Box's" direction.