No More Neat and Tidy - Just Foolish!

7 1/2 years ago I moved our family from Southern California to the booming metropolis of Pocatello, Idaho. Talk about your contrasts in cultures. Both Sue and I knew what to expect, culture-wise, because we had gone to school at Idaho State University. Our kids, however, had only visited on a couple of occasions. Luckily for us, they adapted well and really haven't desired to go back there since. (Praise God!)

But the journey to get here was not blessed by many people in our circles, including some of our family. In fact, I even heard the words, "it seems a little foolish" uttered by some. We didn't have a home to move to before we got here, and Sue didn't have a job or even an interview lined up. We left good jobs, a solid church, a roof over our heads - all to follow a 'dream' to come on staff at FBC, Pocatello. Foolishness! Absurd!

Unless you have faith and are willing to be obedient.

See...we, as Christians, think things have to be neat and tidy for us to be able to serve God. We think that things have to all be lined up in a neat little pile and THEN God can use us. The reality is that's what WE think it needs to be. All God wants is our hearts, fully obedient and sold out to Him. He'll take us however we are, wherever we are and use us to do His work.

As artists, we really fall into the 'things-have-to-be-neat-and-tidy' category more than most. We are, to a point, perfectionists. HOWEVER...when we do this, it doesn't leave any room for God to do a miracle in our own lives.
When we, my wife and I, made the decision to follow God to Pocatello, it was seen by some as reckless abandon - and not in a good way. But we didn't care what others thought. We were more concerned about being faithful to Him than anything else. And so we came... and the rest is His story. I believe that reckless abandon for the Kingdom leads to incredible faith building events in our lives.

How long will you continue to live a neat and tidy life YOUR WAY? What will it take for you to suck it up and take that big step of faith that you keep putting off until 'just the right time'? SHUT UP WITH THE EXCUSES! He's heard them all before! I even used some myself. IT GOT ME NOWHERE!

• God, I can't afford to give a full tithe, because I have all this debt. DUH! Get out of debt! You're wasting HIS money, not yours!
  
• God, I can't afford to give my whole life because I like living this way. Besides, I can come to you and be forgiven as often as I need to. "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." (Prov. 26:11) By the way, God does NOT like to be mocked. (Galatians 6:7)
• God, I've been so bad for so long there's no way you could accept me, let alone forgive. "For God so loved (put your name here), that He gave His only Son...so that (put your name here) may NOT PERISH but have EVERLASTING LIFE." (John 3:16 - Karl paraphrase)
• God, if I do this what will other people think? "The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom..." (1 Corinthians 1:25a) Two words - WHO CARES? You'll be spending eternity with Him, not necessarily all of them!
  

Only when I completely surrendered my life, my family, my future to Him - only then did I really FULLY understand who He is and what He wants to do with my life.

Stop making excuses for why you won't be obedient to God. Start taking your relationship with Him seriously today. Get on your knees in prayer right now and ask Him to move you to a new place. Ask Him to give you another chance to be used MIGHTILY for His work. And, commit to do it whatever the risk is. It may seem foolish - GOOD. It won't be neat and tidy (not always) - GOOD! It will be scary - GREAT! He is a BIG God and He won't ask you to do more than He knows you can handle.

So get up, get on your knees, and get after His life for you. It will be foolish to those who don't know Him. I can't think of a better compliment than that!

Being a FOOL for Christ right beside you...