Flash Mobs are Cool!!

I saw a commercial recently of a dude breaking out in dance and then getting a text saying, “Flash Mob moved to 12:30.”  The term was new to me so I asked Jake, “What’s a flash mob?” I know I am showing that I am behind the times, but my oldest son, Rickey, played a flash mob video on YouTube for me last night.  Flash mobs are cool!!  (See the video below.)

What is a flash mob?  You can look at Wikipedia for a fuller description, but generally it is an organized event that appears spontaneous and is designed to promote a product, issue or just bring joy to the people who witness the event.   It is said that the first flash mob occurred in 2003, but I began thinking and realized it was much earlier, say around 30 A.D.

On the day of Pentecost the Spirit of God was poured out and a group of believers began to speak in the languages of those around them.  You can imagine their amazement!  They spoke of Jesus, who he was, what his death meant to those who believe and explained what they were seeing; a fulfillment of God’s promise.  People’s lives were changed that day and its effect has continued.

Imagine if all who are Christians really began to live in the Spirit of God and show the fruit of the Spirit of God.  Imagine if our pursuits were love instead of lust, joy instead of anxiety, peace instead of chaos, patience instead of quick-tempered, kindness instead of spite, goodness instead of immorality, faithfulness instead of fickle, gentleness instead of callousness, self-control instead of self-indulgence.  The glory to God would be seen and the results would be more impactful than a few hits on You Tube.

Christians, lets flash mob!

Decision Making

Decisions can be difficult, especially when emotions become primary in making them. I have often heard and even said the phrase, “Follow your heart.”  It sounds good, but what if your heart is leading you into a destructive lifestyle? Instead of following your heart in decision making you should lead your heart to understanding (Proverbs 2:2).

How can we know when emotion is dominating decision making?  Usually emotional decision making is identified when we use the word ‘feel.’  “I feel lonely,” can lead to making a bad relationship decision, or “I feel tired,” can be the first step in shirking responsibility.

So, how can we lead our heart in decision making instead of our heart leading us?  Here are a few suggestions from Proverbs 2:1-5

1.      Be intent on making a right decision as opposed to deciding what you want to do.

2.      Discover what God says about your particular decision.  The Bible is filled with counsel for a variety of decisions.  I believe you will find what you are looking for regardless of the decision you face.

3.      Listen to wise, godly counselors.  Apart from the Bible, these are the people that make the biggest difference in my own life.  They are mature believers with a multitude of experience.

4.      Pray a lot!

Learning to be Content

Being bound to Christ enables us to live out God’s passion,by His power for His pleasure.  His passion is to transform us into true worshipers in the image of Jesus His Son.  Honestly, I have a long way to go.  Let me share a story with you.

Lying in a hot, dark room in Haiti was uncomfortable but what we were doing made a difference to a few Haitians who had suffered much from a devastating earthquake.  We were sinking pumps into wells that had been dug by the people.  The days were hot but so were the nights.  We went to bed each night sweating and miserable.  But things grew unbearable when the man in charge of the house we were staying in would remove the battery from the generator that powered our fans to put in his truck.  We complained to one another about the situation and then finally, out of frustration, we demanded that the battery remain in the generator.  Eventually, we bought a new battery so this would not occur again.  Our grumbling about the generator demonstrated our self centeredness and lack of contentment.  We would return to the comforts of our homes in a few days.  These people would remain and continue to struggle against their environment and pain of loss.

To grumble is not loud and outspoken griping. It is the expression of dissatisfaction through continuous complaining.  It’s the chatter of cliques when they talk about others. This seems to be the way churches function often and it is really distasteful to mature believers and ironically, to those who are not believers.  Humility demands satisfaction, or contentment with yourself, your circumstances and others.  Later in Philippians Paul says that he has learned to be content in all circumstances.  Contentment or the absence of grumbling is a learning process.  Once again Paul brings Christ to the forefront and teaches us what he has learned; all things can be accomplished through Christ who gives strength.  With that in mind, here are a few hints toward contentment.

1.      Avoid complaining about anything.  Instead seek the Christ honoring words for the moment and if you do not find any remain silent.

2.      Avoid imagining yourself in a situation you are not in. 

3.      Avoid comparisons of your station in life with someone else.  They are probably thinking you are better off than they are.

4.      Never allow ourselves to wish that this or that had been otherwise.
Rules for Contentment #5: Never dwell on the morrow; remember that it is God’s and not ours.Rules for Contentment #4: Never allow ourselves to wish that this or that had been otherwise.
Rules for Contentment #5: Never dwell on the morrow; remember that it is God’s and not ours.Avoid dwelling on tomorrow.  Today has enough to dwell on.GodG    

5.      You can do all these things because Christ strengthens you to do them. (Adapted from Edward Pusey)

Ethiopia Hunger Relief Effort

Dear Westwood Baptist Church Family,

I want to commend you and thank you for your fantastic generosity and compassion demonstrated in our recent Hunger Relief Offering for the Ethiopian believers in Merebete.  Your contributions totaled $5571.61.  This contribution will feed over 200 families as well as give the churches food resources to assist other people in their communities who are suffering, which opens the door for the gospel to be delivered to hurting hearts.  Your amazing response indicates the depth of your compassion and commitment to these fellow believers. Your beautiful heart is showing in amazing ways and I am overwhelmed by your response and I know the churches will be also. 

John and RK left yesterday afternoon to take the money you gave and begin buying and distributing food.  They will return Friday, August 12.  We will take time during our morning worship services on the 14^th for John and RK to report on their trip.  The time they will spend on the ground is more than they will need to distribute food, so they will also be making preparations for the two upcoming trips in October.  Please pray for their safety and their usefulness in the expansion work of the kingdom of God. 

Feeding on His grace and your fellowship,

Rick Dees

God's Passion, Power and Pleasure in Our Humble Attitude

Our attitude toward one another is significant in the eyes of God.  Jesus repeatedly told the disciples to love and serve each other.  Then He demonstrated the command through the greatest of love and service by offering Himself as the sacrificial Lamb of God.

It seems evident that Paul had this thought in mind when he wrote Philippians 2.  Through the truth of God becoming flesh, His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, Paul teaches the attitudes Christians should live toward each other and the means of doing so.   Let’s first look at the example Paul gives for his command, “Have this mind among yourselves” (Philippians 2:5).

The example is Christ.  Paul says this about Jesus, “who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (v.6).  The front of this verse states that Jesus existed as God, ‘form’ meaning of the same essence.  The last part of this verse affirms the first.  He was so truly God that it was not a consideration in His mind to be concerned with losing any portion of being God by becoming flesh. So at no time did Jesus cease to be fully God, even when He became flesh, the God-man.  An illustration may be helpful in understanding the humility reflected in Jesus becoming flesh.

Suppose Usain Bolt, the fastest human, were to agree to race with me in a three legged race.  In doing so, he would be in company with one of the slowest humans on earth.  In agreeing to tie himself to me, Bolt would be accepting my limitations.  The same is true for Jesus, who by becoming flesh accepted the limitations of flesh for the sake of our redemption.  In doing so, Jesus considered others significance over His own.  Paul’s encouragement to us is to be humble as Christ was humble.  How can we apply this principle to our life?

First, God is at work in you.  This is by the Spirit of God. His aim at working in you is to propel out of you spiritual fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control), for His pleasure.  Setting our minds on the pleasure of God rather than our own breaks out into the greatest pleasure we can experience.  It equals the opposite of the above illustration.  When we bind ourselves to Christ, He enables us to live out His passion, by His power, for His pleasure.

In my next post I will share three qualities that move humility closer to becoming habitual.

Defining Pride

Pride is a killer of relationships, especially the relationship between us as believers and Christ.  I need a daily dose of humility and found it today in a quote from Augustine:

“Pride is the craving for undeserved glory.  And this is undeserved glory:  when the soul abandons the One it should cling to for sufficiency and becomes self reliant.” – Augustine, City of God, 14.13.

What are the significant quotes, both of Scripture and others that remind you to rely on God?  Leave yours in the comment box.  Like I said, I need a daily dose so your reminders will be helpful to me and hopefully to others.

What if the Man in the Arena is Wrong?

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from the late former President Theodore Roosevelt. It is from perhaps his most famous speech, Citizenship in a Republic.


“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face in marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly…”

Everyone imagines themselves as the man in the arena. But, if I am honest I often find that I am the critic. It is a great quote, but what if the critic is right? What if all the labor the ‘man in the arena’ is doing is vain? Does the critic have the right to express that opinion?

Certainly we have a right, or should I say an obligation to express truth. The trouble we find ourselves getting into is how that truth is expressed. Does it profit and build up or does it provoke and tear down? So the question that really needs to be asked is: “How should I express truth?” For the sake of clarification, let me give a couple of definitions, out of many, for criticism:

Critic – 1) one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique

Criticize - to consider the merits and demerits of and judge accordingly

Notice the balance in criticism. It measures the merits and demerits of and then judges accordingly. As a Christian, our standard of measure is the Bible, rather than our opinion. This is the first lesson in expressing truth. Express truth from its source. Now, what is the aim of criticism? Paul gives at least three goals of criticism (Ephesians 4:29).

First, criticism should be expressed in a way that demonstrates the good fruit of a believer. No rotten words should come from us. Instead what we say should come from a heart that is purified by Christ. Second, the criticism should build up rather than tear down. Third, it should give grace or joy to those who hear it. This last one may be delayed. Joy may not come for a while. Just as discipline does not seem to be good when we are going through it, we are grateful for it in the end.

Do you find yourself critical?  Seek wisdom from God and apply it to your responses.  James gives is the character of the wisdom of God along with the result of the one who applies it.

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" (3:17-18). 

If we apply these characteristics to our criticisms, I am certain both we and those we seek to build up will find much more joy in our living.