FOOLISHNESS

Read 2 Samuel Chapter 6….King David was bringing the ark of the Lord to the city of David, and his wife despised him for she didn’t see it fit for a King to leap and dance before the Lord. “..Danced before the Lord with all his might...”

Watchin the ol’ television set the other day, I saw a college basketball game where some goofy white Ronald Mcdonald lookin dude threw up a last second 3 pointer for the win and skillfully banked it in. Without hesitation, his teammates leapt off the bench in merriment and scooted around the court like FOOLS.

Man…I wanna be a fool for God! I want to follow God with love. I want to be lead by passion and stop worrying. You know when….well….I’m not gonna use any examples because we each have our own personal times when we’re scared to be a fool. So take a few minutes and think about times in your life when you restrain your passion for God because you don’t want to be judged or measured or categorized.

What if those basketball players held back their celebration? Imagine the game winning shot going in and a guy on the bench thinking to himself, “wow that was close, I almost started to get excited. Good thing I didn’t…I woulda looked like an idiot.” Pretty dumb huh?

We previously talked about our Joy in our salvation, and finding our Acceptance in God. That allows us to be fools, spread the joy of God, and not worry about looking ridiculous. Yes it is good to keep in mind what others think, but let us not mistake that for our own pride. David sure didn’t care, and he was a King! He jumped and danced in the streets, yet he didn’t mind if even his own wife lost respect for him because all his jumping and dancing out of love for God.

Why the crap should I care if the kid sitting next to me in class thinks I’m some kind of freak for asking him to come to church? I love Jesus; I’m excited and I want him to experience what I have experienced! I will be a fool in my walk with God (I like to call mine a scamper)! Don’t let your scamper with God be defined by hesitation, and most definitely don’t ever let your passion be muffled. If you are sharing the good news of the gospel with true passion, you will look like a fool to non-believers. I’m not saying maybe, or sometimes, or if you aren’t good at it....I’m telling you that you will look different or idiotic. Therefore we must suck it up, become men/women, and learn how to bring praise to our Lord by being a fool.

Does this make sense or am I talkin like a fool?

Stagnant Mr. Douglas

Mr. Douglas grabbed his bag and keys, and left the office. This used to be his favorite part of the day; with a hand out the window and the music blasting, he would sing as loud as his lungs would allow until his car reached the garage. But he didn’t enjoy this as much anymore, he had accepted the fact that some parts of life inevitably become stale.....It was Tuesday, so of course he didn’t have any plans. But dinner was something to look forward to and then he could unwind before going to bed. I wish I had enough energy to spend time with God, Mr. Douglas thought to himself. It’s ok though, at least I’m reading that Christian inspirational book every once in a while. Plus there’s not much in my life that I need to pray about, and I’m not mentoring anyone so I don’t really need to be on the top of my game spiritually.


In his book *The Life You’ve Always Wanted* Ortberg writes, “Sometimes, although I am aware of how far I fall short, it doesn’t bother me very much. And I am disappointed at my lack of disappointment.”


So last time we talked about being accepted by God and allowing Him into the depths of who we are. But there is another side to it; passionately pursuing the depths of who God is (the Father, Son, AND Spirit). Our passion for God should be powerful! We cannot let that relationship become stagnant in any way, as if we are burnt out from following Jesus. This is a serious problem in most Christians lives. We should consistently be hearing God’s voice, learning from Him, and giving Him a permit to transform us.


I want you to spend time thinking about these questions.
· What in life are you passionate about? Are you pursuing those passions?
· How has God recently transformed you? If He hasn’t, why not?
· What in your life is inhibiting your desire for the Lord?


The most frustrating thing in the world is when you are trying to teach someone or get them excited about something, and all they present to you is apathy. Do not let that be you. Do not believe that lie. Take every measure required to change everything in your life that you aren’t doing to your full potential. If you are going to lead people to Christ, people must follow you. Nobody wants to follow someone like Mr. Douglas, or anybody who remotely resembles that kind of person.


What helps me is to ask God to challenge me, even if it is in areas of my life I’m scared to be challenged in. “God put challenges in my daily life that give me an opportunity to step up and live for You.” A lot of times I fail….but to me that is better than becoming stagnant.


What gives you passion to be like Jesus? How do we find that passion, and once we find it how do we keep it from becoming a stale routine? Share what helps you personally.

Accepted

First off let us talk about confession. For anyone like me, confession has a sort of eerie feel to it. The type of confession I am referring to is the act of admitting one’s faults. Nobody enjoys mapping out the darkest spots on their soul and then handing that map over to the people next to them. The vulnerability of that is almost scary, but I argue there might be something that tops that on the scariness gauge.

The more I think about it, the less hesitant I am to call it the fear of rejection. What is more terrifying than presenting the best of who you are to the person you admire the most in this world, without knowing whether they will accept the real you? I will say it again…if you are anything like me…as soon as you read that question you thought something along the lines of, “that isn’t that terrifying,” or, “I don’t care what people think of me.” Regardless of the excuse that was made in your mind, it cannot be argued that this is difficult; to say…this is what I am the most passionate about, these are all of my talents, this is what I am best at, this is my potential, and this is what I truly enjoy for no other reason than the fact that this is who I am! Here’s an example: I like to drink tea. I like tea to the point that my brother bought me a tea set for Christmas and it wasn’t even a joke. So what! I like to drink tea and I don’t care what you think. Or maybe I do.

So now that you are about to quit reading because of the endless amount of words, here is my point. All of our acceptance, significance, and assurance is found in God. We don’t need to prove to anyone in this world that we are significant. The only audible words recorded in the Bible that are spoken to Jesus from God the Father are found in Luke 3:22, “…You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” This is like Jesus’ acceptance; Jesus’ significance is found only in God. God accepts each one of us individually and assures us that He will always love us. God wants to have an eternal relationship with our true being. It is disrespectful to God to be ashamed of who you are because He made you!

The result of God accepting us is power; God’s glory can be radiated through us. We can be confident in our talents, regardless of circumstances, outcomes, or what people think. Instead of letting others dictate how we act, we can express ourselves in a true and real way. Our lives become worship to God simply by living the way He has intended us to live, without being ashamed or unsure. This power allows us to strip off our pride and say to God, “I don’t have anything to prove to anyone, work through me in whatever way you desire.”

Despite what God has done for us, we still search for acceptance by others. We continually question our significance. Is that wrong? Is it a sin to go to others for our assurance, significance, and acceptance? How do we find our acceptance in God? Think about your own life. What does it mean to you to be accepted by God and how should that change one’s life? What don't you agree with??

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