How Do You Work Remotely For Christ?

This week I experienced my first-ever “snow day”. My office closed due to snow because we are

located in the South where the states and people aren’t accustomed to handling such weather.

This did not mean a day off, however; we would work from home on our company laptops.

Everyone seems to idolize the idea of working from home and those who do it. The fact of the matter

is, it is a huge and difficult test for those who do. It is a time to see if we can live up to 1 Corinthians

10:31 that says “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”.

Or, alternatively, if we will fall to the temptations that come from having zero accountability

because we lack our boss and coworkers.

It is easy to get distracted when working from home. You see the dishwasher that needs to be

emptied, the laundry that is waiting to be done, and maybe you have an insatiable urge to go walk

through the freshly fallen snow (ok, well, I did anyway). Oh, and on top of all that, suddenly your

social media accounts are all vying for your attention. Keeping your mind and actions focused on

the task at hand is a challenge when you don’t feel like you’re in the “work zone”.

I feel all of this is similar to our lives as Christians, too. Even when Jesus was on earth, his disciples

had a hard time staying focused on Him and building His kingdom. Now that Jesus isn’t physically

with us, we as Christians are left to work remotely for the kingdom and it has become even more

challenging to remain centered on living for Him.

We are surrounded every day by distractions that make us tempted to live for self-gratification rather

than for our Creator. This is why it is important that we have the church and fellowship with other

believers: they are our co-workers in Christ. We need to hold each other accountable for the remote

work that we are doing for God and challenge each other to be working at our full potential to honor

Him in all that we do.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is

faithful. And letus consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not

neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the

more as you see the Day drawing near.”

- Hebrews 10:23-25

Whether spiritually, for an earthly workplace, or both, how’s your remote work going? Are you staying

focused on the mission God has placed before you?

The Over-Glamorized Life of Creatives (Aka: beware of envy!)

There tends to be this idea that the life of people who work in entertainment and media production is glamorous. Over the past year, I've been learning that this is not at all the case. Yes, media creation can be fun. Yes, it can feel really cool to have an audience and get compliments on your creative work. But the life of those who produce media and music is not all glory, fun, and sparkles. That is just the part we get to see.

In reality? My friends in video production spend more time tediously editing footage, hunting for inspiration, and keeping up with sponsorship connections than they do acting and filming. My friends in the music industry have endless practice sessions and constant nights sleeping in rented tour buses and hotel rooms. It takes an entire day for the team to set up for concerts and then they might stay up half the night loading crates into trailers in the rain. The writers in my life have to devote huge amounts of time to marketing their work while they hope and pray it sells enough for them to make a few dollars. And me? I just spent a solid six hours editing a single podcast episode and am about to start hunting down web links for the show notes.

It's easy to assume someone's life is all fun and games when you look at the surface. It's easy to envy someone when you make assumptions. But as Christians, we are to break away from envy.

Galatians 5:19-21 states envy in the list of lifestyles that are displeasing to God and uncharacteristic of His children:

"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Not only that, but envy even has the potential to drive one into poor health, according to Proverbs:

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. - Proverbs 14:30

What or who do you envy? Is it truly worth it?

A Biblical Lesson in Modern Art

Last night I was at an art walk. One of the exhibits was a small room with a single window. Inside of this room, the artist had hung fluffy black fabric everywhere. From the walls, the ceiling, creeping in through the door. It obstructed the light coming in through the window and gave the room a very eerie feeling. 

As I stood there taking it all in, it hit me: this is an unfortunately perfect picture of life sometimes. We allow all sorts of things to take over our lives and eventually they choke out our view of Christ and his influence in us. Some things may be perfectly fine, other things may not be. Everything has the potential to obscure our perspective if we aren't continually refocusing and choosing to make God a priority in our thoughts.

Honestly, that is why this blog is a day late this week: I was lacking inspiration because I had been failing to look for it. I let all sorts of little things pile up over the week that took my mind away from seeing God's work and wisdom. You've probably experienced (or possibly are experiencing) something similar. It's easy to let distraction take over. Let's clear our minds and reset our focus this week, shall we?

How can a young man keep his way pure?

    By guarding it according to your word.

10 

With my whole heart I seek you;

    let me not wander from your commandments!

11 

I have stored up your word in my heart,

    that I might not sin against you.

12 

Blessed are you, O Lord;

    teach me your statutes!

13 

With my lips I declare

    all the rules of your mouth.

14 

In the way of your testimonies I delight

    as much as in all riches.

15 

I will meditate on your precepts

    and fix my eyes on your ways.

16 

I will delight in your statutes;

    I will not forget your word.

- Psalm 119:9-16

What Kind of Peer Pressure Are You Experiencing?

Peer pressure can be used both for good and for ill. In one instance last summer, I was thankful for peer pressure. My friends and I discovered this abandoned house. I've always had a fascination with abandoned places, but never had the opportunity to go into one before. This time, the chance had finally presented itself. The thing is, I almost didn't have the nerve. Lucky for me, my friend did. He went in first and gave me just the push I needed. As a result, I got a collection of neat photos, fun memories, and a story to tell!

On the flip side, peer pressure can be a terrible evil, as it was in the life of Samson. At the start, in Judges 14, it merely involved him giving away the answer to a riddle that would cause him to lose a bet and some belongings. The second time, things took a far worse turn:

After this, he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her,“Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.” (Judges 15:4-6)

After a lot of pushing from Delilah, Samson gave in to her pressure and told his secret. Promptly, the information was used against him. "The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison." (Judges 16:21)

Next time you are being pushed to do something, stop and think. Is it good? Is it helpful? What is your motive in your choice to follow or disregard the pressure? Is it something that will be pleasing to God?

Will you take what's yours?

“So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?“ - Joshua 18:3

I was surprised upon reading this passage. After all of the years the Israelites had spent getting to and then waiting for the promised land, knowing full well that it was their inheritance given to them by God, when they finally got to the edge of it, some of the tribes just sat. Over the prior few chapters of Joshua, these tribes had seen God give their relatives victory in battle as they took their shares of land, so they had no reason to fear opposition. They knew God had promised the land would be good, so there could be no doubt about how well the land would suit them. In fact, Joshua 18 gives no reason why these remaining tribes put off taking their land at all. It simply states that they didn’t move toward what was theirs until they were pretty much ordered to.

Why would you sit and stare at a good thing that has been promised to you, but not take it when the opportunity is right there?

As I contemplated this fact, I realized we do the exact same thing today. Not with land, of course, but with God Himself. In the new covenant, God is our portion. To all those who come, He has promised eternal life and reconciliation and communion with Himself. Yet, we sit. Even those of us who have come to the Lord often put off spending time learning about and communing with Him. Some things about humanity just don’t change, eh?

Are you going to come and enjoy that which God has promised to you? Or are you going to sit around until circumstances force you to pursue what you’ve been promised?

Life: Too hectic for God?

We all get this feeling eventually: life is hectic! For some of us, it means going to work and trying to take care of as much at home as we have time for in between shifts. For others it means trying to keep up with their children and families, or perhaps working super hard to do their best in school. All of these pursuits are great, when framed in the context that we are doing our best at whatever we are doing because we want to represent the kingdom of God in every piece of life. Sometimes, however, that context is difficult to keep in sight.

Sometimes we wake up late and are scrambling to keep on top of everything; we let the stress of the day take over and push out any thought of God's hand in it all. We don't even bother trying to seek the kingdom of God because currently our kingdom is going to fall apart if we don't do something! 

Once in awhile, it's good to stop and refocus. Matthew 6:33 says "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." That seems to hold up. I don't know about you, but I notice on the days that I consciously stop and take some time to focus on God before getting caught up in the tasks of the day, often those end up being my most productive and fulfilling days. 

Do you ever notice that in your life, too?

Trail of Danger

To one side of you there is a rock wall, to the other, a several hundred foot drop into a small, rocky river. One option will scratch you up, the other will likely end in many broken bones or even death. So, you keep to the skinny path that separates you from both fates, taking care to watch where your feet fall so that you do not slip. 

Hiking that trail felt like the perfect visual example of Proverbs 4:27, "Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil." Allowing yourself to fall to sin is as serious as careening down that trail in such a careless manner that you stumble over the edge. The only difference is that when you are swerving on the path of life, you often don't realize how close you are to falling until it is too late. 

How do we keep ourselves from harm? Let God's words in scripture guide our actions, illuminating where we ought to place our feet. How do your actions and lifestyle look in the light of scripture?

The DOL Line

Recently I had to get my drivers' license renewed. You likely know the feeling of sitting in that sparsely decorated room full of plastic chairs, staring at the walls as the desk attendant works at the DOL's iconic rate of speed. A fifteen minute wait can quickly feel like an eternity. It's places like these where we learn about patience, and whether we have it.

It's easy to become impatient. There are only two people ahead of you- how in the world can the desk attendant process them so slowly? There are so many things you could be getting done. You go over your to-do list, tapping your foot anxiously, hoping nobody annoying or smelly walks in the door and sits near you to make the experience any more grating.

Deep breath.

Patience.

Yeah. That thing. Let's do this. 

"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men." 1 Thessalonians 5:14

Sin and Temptation (is there a difference?)

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." - James 1:12-15

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23

Two facts: 1.) We all have temptations which draw us towards particular sins. 2.) All of us at some point have sinned by giving into those temptations.

Those temptations can manifest themselves in a myriad of ways; we can be prone to a bad temper, discontentment, or gossip; we could be lustful towards other people, whether they be the opposite gender or the same as us; we can even have strong urges towards theft, manipulation, or murder. The list can go on and on! It isn't a sin for us to have such temptations plaguing us in our lives- it is, in fact, unfortunately normal, due to humanity having a sinful fallen nature. It does, however, become sin when we act upon those urges that pop into our minds and cause us to break God's law.

A frequent problem I notice among Christians (and have even had myself!) is to take note of the more obvious types of sin and temptation we see in others' lives and decide in our heads (and sometimes even out loud) that, "Nobody who does that could be a child of God." But what right have we to do that? We may be tempted and sin in different ways than other people, but remember, James 2:10 states that "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." What's that mean? You and whoever you're looking at are in the same place. Stop trying to hold a moral high ground and pray for both them and yourself. Treat them how you wish to be treated, no matter what kind of person you observe them to be, remembering that you're both people made in the image of God. Be a genuine example of true Christlike love. Encourage positive change in them, and even more importantly, be changed more and more to the likeness of Jesus yourself.