Who Are We Fighting?

Whenever you get into some kind of altercation there has to be an opposition, otherwise it isn’t much of an altercation. Even when there is war within a country there is always two sides engaged. When civil war broke out in our country, it was the Union North, against the Confederate South. In a boxing match there is always two guys in the ring standing toe-to-toe, exchanging blows to determine who is going to be standing at the end. Whether it be friendly competition or a war, in order for the conflict to be a conflict there has to be two opposing parties.
As long as you know who you are fighting against and can identify the difference between your opponent and your friend things will be alright. The last thing that anyone needs in any form of conflict, is for even one person to be confused. One person on your side that is confused as to what they are doing, or who is on whose “team” can ruin the whole effort. I can remember when I was in high school playing on the school basketball team. One of our key players got injured and coach called one of the kids who never got any playing time.(No not me, I didn’t even get in that time.) Well, when you don’t get to play much, eventually you stop paying attention to the games all together, because you don’t expect to go in anyway. That night, this was the case. Poor guy was so excited to get in the game that he stole the ball and shot it into our goal. Yes, he scored for the other team! At that moment he was the most popular guy on both teams. Boy was I glad I wasn’t in at that point, and when coach put me in, I knew that there was nothing I could do to look worse than he did. Amazing how relaxed I was playing after that. From that point forward the game had changed. They had the momentum, and getting back on track from that upsetting moment of the game, was just something that we were unable to do. We were the better team, but we just didn’t have enough time to gain our composure again and come back. Had it been in the first half we would have for sure. Had it been the first half though, and it happened again the second half…well, you get the picture. Having to deal with someone on our team continually shooting at the basket we were trying to defend would have made our job even that much harder. Sometimes I feel that way as a Christian. Especially here in New Orleans, because you can go to the French Quarter and see people posted up with signs and big six foot PVC crosses telling people that they are going to hell. Or you can see groups of people during the gay pride festival chanting out “God hates queers!” It is like having to watch out for fire not only from your front, but from behind you as well. Getting shot in the heat of battle is hard enough to deal with, but for the right causes we are proud to. On the other hand getting shot in the back by one of your own, is pretty much just plain crappy.
Who are we fighting against? What is it that we are doing here? Are we here to “scare the hell” out of people? Or are we here to love them into Heaven? It makes it really difficult to talk to people, and show them the love of Christ when you have a bunch of people CLAIMING to be on the same team as you are; wearing the same colors, and sporting the same “logo”, displaying nothing but hate, arrogance, and down right ignorance. I have listened to people talk about going into battle for Jesus, and putting on the full armor of God, but then they use it to “protect” themselves against the wrong thing. They put on this armor and use it to create distance between them and the world. When they do this they put distance between them and the people in the world. The same people that on Sunday morning they claim to have compassion for. Then they come into contact with those same people out in the world and ignore them, or look down on them. Grabbing their children and bringing them closer telling them “don’t look at him” while all he is doing is smiling and waving at the children. The compassion for those people that they speak of in church, is the same compassion that drives them to lie about whether they have change or not. This kind of “Christian” has taken “not of the world” and used it as an excuse to not serve the world. They shake their head in disgust at the homosexual people in the community, or out right show a lack of respect for the person wearing baggy pants and a big shirt with his hat cocked to the side.
It seems to me that we have forgotten who the enemy is. We were right to put on the Armor of God, but wrong in the way we used it. Even better, we were claiming to put on the Armor of God, but it belonged to someone else. The Armor of God will protect you form evil, and the attacks of Satan, and at the same time allow you to embrace the people around you with the Love of Christ. We spend so much time fighting against the wrong enemy, the real one is running free causing turmoil throughout the world, and to make it worse inside our camps. When are we going to figure out that we are fighting the wrong enemy? Why can’t we realize that what we are doing is not hindering the enemy, but helping him? Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that our battle is not against man, but “the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”(Ephesians 6:12b NIV) Our efforts are aimed in the wrong direction, and all that we are doing in killing the people that are caught in the bondage. If your trying to abolish slavery, you don’t go and kill all of the slaves. You go after the one selling them, and taking them to be slaves. This isn’t rocket science. Where did we go wrong? How do we get the slaves to trust us when we try to set them free, when their slave master has hired people to dress like us, talk like us, and look like us, to go in and kill them? The only thing you can do then, is change your look. Put on a new uniform, and bring out the one thing that sets you apart from the other guys. LOVE, true compassion, and an outright attack against the real enemy.
“10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:10-12, NIV

A Leader Into Battle

Some might notice a pattern of thought in my latest “notes” or “blogs”. My focus lately has been the focus of the Church. Having found my self convicted of my desire to “plant a church”, God has brought me to a place where I am really looking deep into the root of where that desire comes from, and also what that really means. One of the things that I have said lately is that I am not called to be a “church planter”, I am called to make disciples. I am not claiming that planting a church is not one of the ways that this might happen, all I am claiming is that God has revealed to me the way that He wants me to do it. Part of this is the fact that God has caused me to rethink some of the things that I believe about His Church, my purpose, and the mission. Also, this new journey has given me the ability to sit back and take a different perspective on the way the church functions here in the United States. (In my circles anyway)
While sitting back and looking at the church I have noticed a few things about the way we do things, and the things that we teach. I hear a lot about going out and being “doers of the word and not just hearers.” Pastors and teachers calling the charge to go out and work in the mission field that you are in everyday. These things are great, and true. I love the fact that they are being taught, but the problem I have seen is that though the battle cry has been sounded, there is no one to lead the charge. I can’t pretend to believe that no one in the world is “leading the charge”, but I can tell you that in the majority of the “churches” I have visited, or been a regular attendee, the cry is sounded every week, yet no one leads it. There are always a few in the congregation that want to, or talk about it, but are soon discouraged because of the resistance from the leaders.( I know right!!!) So the teaching is good, the battle cry has been sung, but the person making the cry is stuck in the pulpit, and pleading for the people to go and live dangerously. Jason Dukes, in his new book “Live Sent” writes “ It’s not what you teach, it’s what you emphasize. Being a missionary, loving your neighbor, and getting involved in discipling are all great things to teach and push people toward. But they are more importantly great things to emphasize over and over again in more than just words.” His emphasis is on emphasis (you see what I did there?) and we should all be emphasizing that. We preach and teach what we should do, but then don’t actually do it. We sound the battle cry and then just sit there and wonder why nobody is charging. Robert E. Coleman writes in his book The Master Plan of Evangelism, “One living sermon is worth more than 100 spoken ones.”
Jesus not only sounded the battle cry, but he lead the charge. He not only invited His men to become fishers of men, He showed them how to fish. He not only told them to love the world, but showed them what it looks like. Jesus not only taught what to do, but He emphasized it every day. A real leader rallies his troops and then leads them to the fight. A real leader sounds the battle cry, and then is the first one to charge. A real leader says he is willing to die, and then doesn’t shy away from the opportunity to do so.
We can teach all day what it means to be a disciple, but only when we show them what it looks like to be one will they ever learn how to.
“Something is not being emphasized when it is just talked about. It is emphasized when its message influences both what is said as well as what is done. Something is emphasized when the practical day-to-day strategic purpose of a specific group reflects that emphasis in everything they do.” Jason C. Dukes. Live Sent

Where We Go

In the face of danger we have this natural instinct to go and hide. When a hurricane comes we board up our windows, and take shelter. Those of us here in New Orleans, pack up and leave. We flee in order to keep safe. The same thing happens when we are challenged. The natural reaction is to back down, to submit to your normal ways, and not move forward. This is the natural way, however most of us have come to accept challenge and move forward to face these challenges. Sometimes when we chose to face the challenge we come victorious, and others we fail. Natural reaction would be to give up, not continue to try, just move on to the next. Some however have come to the place where they can continue on until they arise victorious and have defeated that challenge. Most people shy away from change as well, we don't want to go outside of our comfort zone, and comfort is more often than not the same thing that everyone around us is doing. If we do as others do, we fit in, skate through life un-noticed and don't stand out. We can move through and be accepted by one group or another. A fad can soon become reality, and your new way of life. Some people don't grow out of different stages in their life, they find comfort and come to believe that this is the only way. Where do we go? We go wherever life is comfortable, and convenient. How many people do you know have taken on a way of life, or a philosophy and chose to take it as their defining thought process? They find something that fits their personality, and take it on as their way of living. Trying to show this person that they are wrong is useless sometimes, because they have been sold out to the idea that their comfort is what is most important. How many times have you heard someone say, "I don't know, it just feels right."? It just feels right! Since when did the thing that "feels right" become the right thing. How often is the thing that "feels right" in all actuality wrong? I would have to say pretty often, at least in my life. I have come to see that more often than not the things that feel right are the things that I know are wrong. I don't know about you, but if it comes natural to me then I know that I need to evaluate that and see what is at the center of that feeling. To often people walk away from what they know the bible says because they don't agree with it, or because they aren't comfortable with the way it makes them feel. If you are one of those people who aren't comfortable with the way the bible makes you feel. GOOD! Keep reading it, that feeling is what is going to probably save your life. Jesus was full of teachings that didn't sit right with people, because a lot of what He taught went the opposite directions from their traditional way of thinking. They couldn't fathom that what He was saying about Himself was true. "How dare he speak of himself that way", they chose not to accept Him. They would follow Him as long as He was doing things for them. They sat and listened to Him teach while He was healing their sick, they ate the food that He miraculously gave them, but when He started to teach the hard to swallow stuff, the stuff that was hard to imagine as true, or took them away from what they thought was right, they turned their backs on Him. We do this a lot don't we. I remember hearing someone say to me once that they don't believe everything that the bible says. WHAT?!? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This is a person who called themselves a devout Christian. But this isn't their fault, they listen to their feelings, that is what they did. They read some stuff they didn't like because they felt that it challenged some of the stuff they were doing in their lives, or in the lives of love ones and thought they would just choose not to accept it. This is what we so often do, we feel like this is wanting us to change who we are. We don't want to have to sacrifice who we are, who we have made ourselves to become. It is natural to shy away from change, to be scared of being someone that is different from the things that we know. "Does this mean I have to stop...?","I don't have to change _______ , do I?" We fear change, we hate change, we can't accept it in our natural state. Because of this natural reaction to change, people have perverted the truth. People have changed the Bible's teachings to fit their lifestyle. They begin to fool themselves, or choose to follow a teaching that doesn't require them to change. I would have to say that if there is a teaching that doesn't require who you are to change, then I would suggest that you re-evaluate yourself and really look to see if change is in fact what you need. I would say that we all need change, we all need to become different people than we are. "I can't change, I have been this way for too long now." I know. This is true, YOU can't change, but the great part about all of this is all you have to do is recognize that you can't and submit yourself to the forever changing and saving power that is Jesus Christ. The chances are that there are a lot of things that need to be changed about all of us, but the difference between me and some others that I know, is that I am willing to allow Jesus to change those things about me. I know that I am not perfect and that once He changes one thing there will be something else that needs to be changed, and I am okay with that. I am ready for Jesus to change who I am everyday for the rest of my life, to break away the peaces of rock that formed the person who I was, and carve in me a new life, making me a new creation. One that does not crave the things I once did, a creation that is free from the bondage of "comfort" that I fell under. I am ready for the things I am currently comfortable with to be uncomfortable to me. I don't want to be in a comfort zone, I want to be in Christ, where I am always changing and being prepared to be comfortable in the place He is making for me. " 60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" 61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit[e] and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." 66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:60-68We to often hear a tough teaching that hits us right where we are, and makes us get up out of our comfort zone, and choose to walk away, to turn our backs. We chose to follow what makes us comfortable, not willing to accept the teaching God has given us in His perfect word. Where do we go? We go to a place where no change is required. Where should we go? I mean, Jesus has the words that leads to eternal life. Where else is there to go?

The Kingdom

This morning in church the pastor preached a message titled "His Kingdom Never Ends", and as I was sitting there God kept laying different passages on my heart, and different illustrations, so I had to come here and write a little note about it. The focus passage was Hebrews 12:28-29, where the author writes " 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire." When he made his first point he was talking about the "kingdom that cannot be shaken". Here it really hit me, God spoke to me loud and clear. The kingdom of God is here and it is not going anywhere, nothing anyone can do is going to break the walls of God's kingdom down and infiltrate. God is too strong and His kingdom will always be. This truth is not just so in the life we are living here on this earth, but it will continue for ever, through out all of eternity we are going to be living in the Kingdom of God. Not weapon, not man, not science, not Satan himself will be able to destroy the kingdom.Jesus came and started preaching this all around, He came saying " repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near", He spoke parables trying to paint pictures of what the kingdom is like. The kingdom is like a mustard see, like a man who sows good seed, like yeast that was mixed into flour and then made into dough. He commanded us to seek first the kingdom of God, he explains who will have the hardest time making it into His kingdom. He explains the type of person that will inherit the kingdom. Jesus focused a lot on teaching of the kingdom and I feel like we neglect to understand, or even think, or more importantly focus on this kingdom that God has built for us. Well, what is this kingdom Jesus spoke of, where is it? The same Jesus who teaches us what the Kingdom is like tells us where it is, well Heaven of course, but how is it that I can say the Kingdom is here now? Because Jesus tells me in His word that it is inside of me, and all of us who believe in Him. Luke 17:20-21 " 20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within[a] you."Here is where my strength is found, this is why I know that I am indestructible. Sure you may be able to take the breath from my body, but inside me lies the kingdom of God, the kingdom that cannot be shaken, and for that I am thankful. I am a part of the kingdom that has endured thousands of years of people and powers and principalities trying to break down the walls, trying to persecute to the point where nothing will remain. The kingdom I am a part of survived great persecutions from the Roman empire, under Nero and Domision, countries leaders like China and Russia try to keep the kingdom from being preached in there nations but were unable to stop it. China is said to have the strongest church, the most active and full body of Christians in the world. Why? Because you can't stop it," the kingdom of God is too big to hide" Dr. Thomas Strong. The word of God is too loud to silence, the truth my friends has set us free, from any bondage, any chains that this world can put us in. I am reminded of a story in Acts 5 where the Apostles were in Jarusalem and they were performing all kinds of miraculous signs, and all of the believers were meeting in a part of the Temple called Solomon's colonnade, and the high priest and his Saducees became jealous so they arrested them. They were wanting to persecute them, but along came a teacher of the law named Gamaliel and told them " "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." And here we are! Still strong, still unshaken, un able to be contested. All of these people who try to stand against the Kingdom of God find themselves defeated and unable to silence God's people. And one great and glorious day will come when we get to be in this kingdom that God is preparing for us, a place that we can't even beguine to imagine. This is the place where I have made my home, this is the place that I get to spend eternity with my Savior. " 15The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[a]in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits[b] thick,[c] by man's measurement, which the angel was using. 18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[d] 21The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. 22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." Revelation 21:15-23 This is where we will be, let's not neglect to introduce as many people as we can to this stronghold, this unshakable kingdom of which we are citizens.

What Do We Fear

What I'm about to say is based off of my own convictions, and of the response to the same question by some other people. I would have to say though that based on the average response this is probably one of the general reasons that people don't spread the gospel. Having said that, why don't we do a better job of spreading the gospel? The answer I think is because of fear. We are afraid of our knowledge, or lack there of. Another question for those who don't fall into this category is for the leaders of the church. Why does you congregation not grow, or what is the reason your people aren't spreading the gospel? I say the answer is the same, fear. I know as I came up I was afraid to share my faith, afraid to go up to people I didn't know and strike up a conversation about one of the two topics that people were reluctant to talk about.(religion and politics) "What will I say?", or "What will they say?" The average person that attends church, or even serves in the church doesn't really understand, or think that he/she has the words to say in this kind of situation. Why? Why is there this fear? Is it because of our leaders? What are you teaching in your pulpit? Are you preaching blue skies and rainbows, or are you attempting to "fan into flame, the gift of God" (2 Timothy 1:6) Perhaps they don't even know that they have these gifts. Are the leaders of the church igniting the burning coals of passion that are smoldering in the bellies of believers, waiting to ignite and proclaim the gospel of the resurrected Christ from the roof tops.Why do they fear? They fear because they don't know enough to know that "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) They fear because they don't know that the foundation on which they stand in Jesus Christ is solid rock and nothing can shake the ground under their feet. That though our lives may be taken, and this body in which we live may be put to rest our spirit is in the grasp of the All mighty God, protected by the impenetrable walls of His grace. I fear that today's leaders of the church may have lost that passion, that burning desire to step outside of the confines of the church building and go mix it up, and pick a fight with Satan himself. Are our leaders out at the front lines ready to lead the charge, or are they giving their students the basic knowledge and a sword and sending them into the charge, while they sit safely behind the protection of their office. I tell you the truth, if this be the case we are not dealing with leaders, but we are dealing with cowards. Jesus said that "the kingdom of God is forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it."(Matthew 11"12) A line from one of the movies I love so much "Remember the Titans" said "attitude reflects leadership" if this is true and the church today shows the attitude of timidity, where are they getting it from. Because I know for a fact that the spirit given to us by God to dwell in our bodies is the spirit of a warrior. Bold, and forceful, passionate, and true. "But God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7)What are you teaching? Look at your congregation and ask yourself what attitude are they reflecting from their leader? Hear the battle cry, and LEAD the charge.

Staff Support

Today in Sunday School we talked about Hur. For those who don't know who Hur is, this isn't just a misspelling of "her" this is an actual person in the Bible. In Exodus 17:8-16 you'll find the story. The Amalekites attacked the Israelites, and Moses told Joshua to get some men together and go and fight them. He said that he would go to the top of a hill with the Staff of God in his hands and Joshua and his army would defeat the Amalekites. So that day Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the hill. As the Israelites fought the Amalekite, Moses held the Staff up in the air, and as long as he was doing so Joshua and his army would be winning, but if it came down they would start to lose. So Moses had to keep this Staff up in the air. Needless to say he got tired and was unable to keep it up, so Aaron and Hur got a stone for him to sit on, and they each grabbed an arm and held it up till sunset.This is so cool, you see here what an important role Hur played in this key event. I think we discovered that Hur is only mentioned one more time in the Bible. Aaron we know is mentioned more, and he plays some big roles in the Story. Hur on the other hand did to. This goes back to a great sermon series I heard called HIStory. This was a teaching about the roles we play in the story of God. This whole life and history is a story God is writing and He wants to cast us. What role will you play? I look at Hur here and see that there is absolutely no role too small, and no role in this big story of life that can't have a big impact on the kingdom of God. We all have a part to play, some are big mega evangelists and others are pastors of mega churches. Some are Sunday School teachers, or small group pastors. Still some are missionaries that go to far off lands and spread the Word. Others stay here and head up organizations to fund and supply these missionaries. Still again others set up chairs, and run I.T. equipment for corporate worship service. Some clean the bathrooms, drag trailers, and take out the trash. There are people who hand out bulletins, and sharpen pencils. All of these people from the greatest to the smallest have a role in the big picture of the will of God. All are important, and none should be overlooked.I can remember when Whispering Pines Community Church(now known as Anytime Church) in Port St. Lucie, FL launched in an Elementary School cafetorium. People were all over the place, setting up, and greeting people. Some brought the coffee, and doughnuts, others set up the chairs, others set up the sound equipment, KidZone, and nursery. Hospitality table was always manned and the result was worship service. At the end people stayed behind to tear down and make sure that it was left the way we found it. I remember there even being someone who every week took charge of making sure that the trailer got packed up in an orderly fashion. If you have ever stood in the back of a trailer that has been closed outside in a Florida summer for a couple of hours, you would get it.The point is that some people lose the passion, and the interest in doing these things because they feel insignificant. I know this isn't so for a fact, because I have seen at that same church the level of help go from everyone to a need for people to commit. Every person in that community that pitched in from the biggest job to the smallest, from preaching to music, to set up, to setting out the coffee straws, made a big impact in the bigger picture that God was painting. Outreach was possible, the gospel was taught, and worship was something that was never missing. So, we need not lose the passion, we need to see that just as Hur was mere "staff support" he was a key player in the winning of the battle. So I say grab an arm, take hold of the HUGE job God has for you, pitch in and allow gospel to reach the ears and hearts God has prepared. Just as important as preaching and music is for reaching the lost, so are the people who are big enough to do the small jobs.

Walking along the narrow path

Matthew 7:13-14 (New International Version)
The Narrow and Wide Gates 13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
I was a girls gymnastics coach for quite some time. I was fortunate enough to see some great gymnast practice and compete. These girls are so incredible to watch. They have the strength, stamina, and focus that I could only wish to have. These girls put in countless hours at the gym. This sport requires years of training and practice to become great. Dedication and perseverance are as important as natural ability. These girls start when they are very young and spend more time at the gym than most people spend at home. Their entire social life revolves around that facility. Their friends are their team mates, and their influences are their coaches. Being a gymnastic coach in my opinion is more than just teaching them about the sport. You develop a personal relationship with those kids. You instruct them, discipline them, and encourage them. The skills that they do requires a lot of concentration and development over the years. As they get older, and more mature in the sport they are able to reach higher levels of difficulty. Out of all the apparatus the one event that intrigued me the most was the balance beam.
The balance beam is 4.1' high, 16'4" long, and 4" wide. Not very easy to walk on, not to mention preform acrobatic skills. It is so interesting to me to watch the development of a girl who is training on this apparatus. When they start out as a young girl they have to learn how to walk on it, back and forth, over and over. This sometimes takes months or even years to be able to do comfortably. Then they progress to turns, and leaps. Eventually to cartwheels and handsprings. Then to tucks, and layouts(flips). One of the keys to being able to effectively preform on one of these balance beams, is where your focus lies. When learning to walk on these, they are taught to keep their heads up and not to look down. "Look down, fall down", that's what I used to tell them. When first getting comfortable with this apparatus, looking to one side or the other will cause you to fall that way. This reminds me so much of the narrow path we as Christians walk on a daily basis.
As disciples we are constantly maturing, constantly growing, and learning. We start off born again as new creations learning and growing as infants do. We learn how to walk on the narrow beam of salvation. As young gymnasts do we look left, or right, and stumble on the beam. When a gymnast first learns how to walk they start on what is called,"the low beam". This is done because the coaches know that they will fall off. This keeps them safe, provides them with confidence to walk down the narrow beam. Often the coach will walk next to them holding one of their hands to give them confidence and talk to them, encourage them correcting their mistakes. We as Christians have the same luxury, the blood of Jesus Christ gives us the confidence that tells us when we fall we will be allowed to get back up on the beam. God puts mentors in our life to hold our hand at first and show us the proper form in which to walk a successful beam. Just as gymnasts progress, the coaches change, coaches that are able to mold you and teach you how to use the gifts God has given you in order to walk the beam in a way that the Judge will be pleased with. As you progress and mature, your strength grows and your balance. You learn how to focus on the end of the beam in order not to fall. Some times the skills that are required, the elements that are in the routine cause you to stumble, or even fall. The good news is that unlike the judges at a gymnastics competition our Judge doesn't deduct for our falls. He allows us to confidently jump back on the beam to finish the routine.
The point is, that you don't put a five year old girl on a balance beam and expect her do an Olympic caliber beam routine. It takes time, and training to be able to comfortably walk down that narrow path. Gymnasts fall, over and over again. They get discouraged, and frustrated when they don't get the skills quickly. It is the coaches job to encourage them, and train them to focus on the future. To show them that in time they will be able to walk the beam and do skills on the beam with ease. As it is with us. We will fall and stumble, we will get discouraged and frustrated. We need to look to our Lord, our focal point so that we can learn to walk the path comfortably and with confidence. We need to keep our mentors close by and look to them for encouragement and wisdom. Paul had to encourage and instruct the churches, and Timothy. We need to stay in God's word in order to keep our eyes focused on the future. We stay in the Word so that we don't forget our basics, our foundation, our strength. The path is narrow, the journey is hard, the reward is glorious.