Sacrifice and What I do...Derek Webb and Thoughts

God is good...Let me start with that.

It was a rough day at work today...just alot of things going on, people being discouraged, etc. But all in all, I love every day being a challenge, and I love adversity, because it gives us the opportunity to persevere through it, and rely on things greater than ourselves...which, in my opinion, is essential to living a fulfilling life.

Anyways...got a call from one of my roommates LANEYYYY at about 5 pm asking if i wanted to go to a Derek Webb concert, and I then said "I love Derek Webb!" and agreed to go...of course I'd only heard the song everybody has heard by him (Wedding Dress) so I wasn't sure after hanging up the phone why I'd said that...but Oh well. I have pictures, maybe I'll post them up later. HE actually played through his entire new album, called "Mockingbird" - it really was amazing, and is worth buying.

It was a great show...He is a very talented musician. He wrote some great songs that I will probably write about later, but Lane was talking on the way home about some things that I just found myself nodding my head about...Sacrifice and the absence of temptation. Webb's songs spoke lots of sacrifice, and the giving up of possessions

Sacrifice

What does it really mean to sacrifice?

Jesus tells men 3 different times in the gospels to sell their possesions and follow him.

Matthew 19:21 - Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Mark 10:21 - Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Luke 18:22 - When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Let's think about this - what did it mean to sell all your belongings and follow Him? Did He really want these men to sell EVERYTHING they had and follow God?

I got to thinking about what it would mean today...Think about it. Think about the TREMENDOUS confidence you would have to show in God to be able to do this. To sell EVERY possession you had - your car, your clothes, your TV, your IPOD! your computer(that's right, no instant messenger), even your house. No money, no savings, no accumulation of wealth - and give ALL of what you had to the poor. And just taking what you have and following. Now that is trusting God. That is saying to yourself, "God, None of these things are things I have for the right reasons...and none of it matters. They are yours, you gave them to me, and I use them for my pleasure, and I am giving them back...

I AM TRUSTING YOU TO PROVIDE FOR ME AND MY FUTURE"

Think about how MUCH you would have to trust God to do that - And I need to do this more than you let me make this clear. Flat out, I can't do this right now. In my mind, I don't think I can do this. And thinking about actually doing it, sounds ridiculous doesn't it? "It's a different time then back then...bla bla bla." But is it? What do you think Jesus meant by this? Should we accumulate any wealth at all? In me putting money in my savings, saving for the future, am I really saying -

"Sure God, I could give this to you now, but I'm not confident that you'll always provide me with what I need, so I'm gonna have a backup plan just in case there is something I want or need in the future that you can't provide for me."

When I thought about this, I got scared, because, is this true?


I was listening to Laney talk about going down the right path, and the wrong path, and he made a great point. If we are doing what God wants us to do in our lives, we are not doing what god does not want us to do in our lives.

If we are doing what God wants us to do in our lives, we are not doing what god doesn't want us to do in our lives.

Think about a dot...there are 2 lines, going in opposite directions. You can't be going in both directions at the same time right? The same goes for us. If we are truly seeking what it is God wants us to do and ACTUALLY doing it, we can't fall into temptation, we won't be doing what God doesn't want us to do. Sounds so simple doesn't it?? Think about that though...maybe it really is that simple.

And what about action? I find myself SO many times in my life saying to people, "Yea I screw up occasionally, sure...but for the most part I don't steal, I don't lie, I don't kill, I treat others well, I'm nice. I'm a Christian."

Sure I am. I do all of these things...well, I don't do all of these things...but think about love. What about love? Where is love in that equation? Where is loving your neighbor? Where is feeding the poor, trusting God, Sacrifice, and so many others. Where are they in that statement I always say to myself to convince myself I'm doing the right things...but here is the underlying question I'll leave for you to answer...or, I guess for me to answer...After I've decided what I don't do, which makes me a Christian, I have to start thinking -

What do I do??

Maybe We should sacrifice SOMETHING - take what we have, sell it, pack a bag, FOLLOW HIM, and go out and do something "stupid" - like Trust God...But can I really do that??>>>>