Positioning Yourself Correctly

John 20:24-28 - "One of the twelve disciples, Thomas, was not with the others when Jesus came. they told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in His side." Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. "Peace be with you," He said. Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!" "My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.

This is an amazing story Jesus tells us about here. I used to think it was all about the doubt part, but I think this story is another picture of how we are to position ourselves as followers of Jesus. We have been discussing Hospitality and how it is a lifestyle and not a meal. It is an attitude not and action. This portion today I want to take the approache that it is how you position yourself with those you come in contact with. I believe the attitude of hospitality towards the Holy Spirit and towards the world should be one of curiosity and a desire to know.

The culture we live among and with does no longer connect to some story or idea about what God has done or a story of who God is... they want to experience it. They want to feel it, they want to see it, they want it to be tangible. This is what this story is all about with Thomas.

It wasn't that he didn't distrust the other disciples and waht they saw or experienced, but he was tired of the stories about what Jesus hs done for others and he wanted to experience it for himself. This is a beautiful description of our culture today. They have heard the stories of Noah, or Jonah, and Gideon and David, and they have heard about this Jesus and yet they are unbelieving... why? Simple, because they have not experienced the cross and what it stands for and represents. Most non Christians experience distnace and judgment for not believing the stories we Christians tell. They feel likethey have to join some club and say they believe something they don't in order to belong and this is not what Jesus desires. Jesus wants us - "THE CHURCH" to position ourselves in such a way that non Christians can experience the grace and forgiveness and freedom and acceptance that the cross represents.

How do we do this? Let's look at this story of Thomas. Thomas hears the story and does not believe yet he is invited into the inner room, the locked room, the safe place where the other believers are. In this place Jesus shows up and allows Thomas to literally experience the cross. He has the chance to touch, and feel, and see the wounds that Jesus endured specifically for him. We as "THE CHURCH" must beginto position ourselves in close proximity with those who don't believe the way we believe so that in the living we can help them experience the grace and forgiveness the cross represents. In order for us to do this effectively we must create a peaceful enviornment for them that is not judgmental. When Jesus showed up in the locked room the disciples were in there in fear and very anxious about what was next. Many non Christians feel this way when they are put in a circle of Christians and we must not only position ourselves in close proximity, but we must do it in such a way that they feel at ease or at peace. Then as you live alongside them in proximity where peace exists, they then have the opportunity to experience the cross in it most tangible form. Through this you and them both get to experience the Holy Spirit working in your hearts.

Through positioning ourselves correctly I believe we will see more and more people experience the Jesus the way He designed it and we will see more and more people speaking the words Thomas spoke.... "My Lord and My God!"

Go out today and begin positioning yourself correctly in this world.

It Means You May Die

1 Kings 17:8-16 -
"Then the word of the Lord came to him (Elijah) saying, "Arise, Go to Zarephath which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold I have commanded a widow there to provide for you," So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, "Please get me a little water in a jar, so that I might drink." As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand." But she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in a bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold I am gathering sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die," Then Elijah said to her, "Do not fear, go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and your son. Thus says the Lord God of Israel. 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall your jar of oil be empty, until the day the Lord sends rain on the face of the Earth.' " So she went and did according to the word of elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not exhausted, nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

WOW!!! What a story of faith, hope, and provision! Like I have said before... Hospitality is not simply serving others... it is also the opening up your heart to what God has in stroe for you. The Scriptures here tell us that God commanded a widow to provide for him and when Elijah gets there it does not seem like she really has an open heart to the idea of giving up ALL she has to him. God may have commanded her, but she was still reluctant to give her ALL... HER EVERYTHING... HER LIFE. It is not until she decides to trust and give her ALL to this stranger that we see the miracle unfold of provision.

I truly believe God wants to give us all stories like this in our lives.... HE deeply longs for His glory and power to shine through to this world, but it will not happen until we as follwers of Jesus open up our ALL and give everything we are and all that we own over to His control. This means surendering everything even in the face of losing your life and the life of those you hold dear. Being a follower of Jesus is far more than just a prayer or an idea of trusting.... it is opening up your heart and giving EVERYTHING... I MEAN EVERYTHING OVER TO HIS CONTROL.

Luke 9:23-27 - "And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save His life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He come in all His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."

Let me encourage you to open up your life COMPLETELY to God's control and watch as HE begins to build an amazing palace out of your cottage!!

Open Heart = Open Lives

2 Corinthians 6:3-13 -"We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also."

This scripture speaks of giving up everything you are to follow Christ, to be part of His family.
You can not give up everything if your heart is not involved.
Allowing the Holy Spirit to invade your entire heart is the key. The Holy Spirit never forces His way into the parts of your heart that you do not what to open up. He never picks a lock or kicks down the door... He simply waits for you to open it freely. He may stand and knock, plead or beg you to open it, but it is never forced.
The essence of Hospitality is rooted in this principle of opening up your heart to the Holy Spirit to come in. The previous verses paint the picture, rather graphically, on how to open up and what must be given up. When we as followers of Christ do what Paul and others do here.... "Opened wide our hearts, not with holding any affection"... then we are able to express this openness to others. This openness is the essence and key principle in hospitality.
I believe Hospitality is not something you do... it is an attitude we have. It is an attitude that does not come naturally and that is why Paul commands the leaders of the church and overseers to "practice" hospitality. Over seers and leaders of the church are to be given to the practice of hospitality according to the New testament. When the leaders practice this heart wrenching attitude, it can't help but effect, encourage, and glorify the body of Christ.

Where is your heart today?
Is it open?
Are you wanting to open the door of your heart fully to the Spirit of God yet are scared of what He will see?
Until you open your heart to God, you will never open it to others. I believe it is a ratio thing. The amount your heart is open to the Holy Spirit is directly proportional to the amount your heart, your home, your lives are open to others. Is the ratio pleaseing to the Lord?