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?

A Tribute to Extra-Biblical Revelation

This week I learned the strange story of the largest known treehouse in the world as I traveled through Tennessee. This enchanting and eerie structure is the result of so-called extra-biblical revelation. 

The architect who built this treehouse says that he did so due to "a vision from God and a promise from Him that he would not run out of wood until the structure was completed". The 97-foot tall treehouse was modeled to be a church inside. The problem? This "revelation from God" did not meet building safety codes and was condemned by the fire marshal. It now stands alone at the end of a dirt road, surrounded by a huge fence and signs that say "danger" "no trespassing" and "do not enter". When I told a friend of mine about it, he chuckled, "What, so God told him to build this thing but didn't know to tell him the building regulations?"

This is one reason we ought not to add to God's word. In the end, our best efforts fail and when we say that "God told me to do it", it leaves Him to take the fall for our wild ideas.

"Every word of God proves true;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words,
    lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar."

- Proverbs 30:5-6

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?

Examining Each Other

God’s working can be really ironic sometimes. Yesterday morning, part of my Bible study time involved a brief part about judgments. It quoted Matthew 7:2-5, in which we are told that we ought to fix our own issues before looking at the issues of those around us.

Shortly thereafter, I was messaging a friend of mine. At one point I made a remark about his tendency to procrastinate. Pausing for a moment, I shook my head at myself. “Like I’m one to talk, seeing as I should be working on a project right now”, I added. He replied “Who has the speck and who has the plank? Because I feel like I could have either one.”

Isn’t that just the way it goes? We read a biblical truth, nod our head in agreement, then promptly forget it. Then, God tosses the lesson right back at us again.

Today, let’s focus on our own issues rather than those of our neighbor. On top of that, let’s thank God that He is patient with us in our ever-so-slow process of growth in Him!

“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” - Matthew 7:2-5

Avoiding the Thistles

I was out hiking earlier this week. As I went along the trail, I carefully kept to the center to avoid the plethora of dried out thistles that had grown up around the trail. Where had they all come from? I didn't remember a bunch of thistle plants being there a month ago. How could they have grown as tall as me and then died all in such a short timespan?

As I got to the top of the hill, something caught my eye. A little sunflower. I thought it was growing up out of the thistle patch. Then I noticed: the sunflower was coming out of the stem of the thistle plant. That didn't make any sense! How could it be? Simple: all of those huge "thistles" were actually out-of-season sunflowers.

I chuckled at my mistake. Then it hit me: we do that kind of thing a lot in life. We see something that looks unpleasant at a glance and try so hard to avoid it that we don't realize what it really is. Sometimes God uses the ugly things and circumstances in life to help us learn and grow.

"For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven" - Ecclesiastes 3:1

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

Doing What Feels Good

"You can't eat donut holes for breakfast, Sarah," my friend Matthew said, staring down at me. We have a running joke that he is my dad, and occasionally he lives up to the title. This was one of those times. "Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes, shoving another TimBit into my mouth, "And what would you suggest?" "Eggs! You should start your day with protein," he informed me. "Okay, sure," I grinned, and continued to devour the donut holes. He was right, though. Later that day I found myself hungry, low-energy, and somewhat irritable. 

Isn't that such a perfect picture of the human state? We are told what would be good for us, we know deep down what would be good for us. Yet we charge forward doing what feels good in the moment rather than slowing down and living by the knowledge we are given. It has been happening for all of history.

Romans 1:28 says, "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done." -- This is the result of letting our desires rule us. God will let us do what we want, but will it truly benefit us? Will it end well? Sometimes God sees our strong wills and decides it would be best to let us learn the hard way. 

What about you? Do you read of God's desires for us and do them, or do you charge onward to pursue your own way of life because it's what feels good to you right now? Be careful, my friend. 

Are you prepared for the deadline?

I woke up and stared at the number on my dry-erase board. 1. That was the number of days I had until I needed to turn in my class projects. I'm usually not the last-minute sort of person, but this month I've been traveling a lot and didn't have enough time alone to work on everything. Even when I did, I'd been distracted by other things, such as packing, work, and other little duties. Where had the time gone? It felt like this deadline hit me out of nowhere, and I had to rush to catch back up. In the end, I made it. Just barely.

While our earthly deadlines can be a big deal and occasionally a matter of great stress, there is another deadline that matters more: Christ's coming. Emphasis on the "dead" of that deadline- because if we are not prepared for that one, dead is exactly what we will be. The thing about this deadline, however, is that we have no set date for it. As a result, it is "out of sight, out of mind" for many people, even some Christians. 

Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica and said, "For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Nobody expects a thief, and likewise, when the Lord comes, it will take even those who are eagerly awaiting Him by surprise. 

You can stress over and run after your earthly deadlines constantly, knowing when they will hit. But are you prepared for the one deadline that has no final submission date? Do you know where you will stand in God's eyes on the last day? And does the reasoning behind your answer match up with what the Bible says?

Are you casting away the messenger?

This was my view at church on Sunday. Currently I am staying in the Nashville area with a good friend of mine, who happens to be part of the video crew. Coming from a basic no-frills church of about 30-40 people (including kids and babies) to a massive church of 1,500 was a bit of a culture shock at first. I feel like a lot of small-church people tend to judge those from the larger groups, making the whole lot out to be somewhat superficial. Sure, they have a lot more lights and flair. Due to size, people do tend to get divided up more so than smaller congregations. They have a much bigger music program, and projectors instead of hymnals. But you know what? We share the same Bible. We share the same God. As long as the church is faithfully teaching exactly what the Bible says, people can learn and grow in Him just as well in a large setting as others can in a small one.

It’s easy to judge in a split second based on appearances, but let’s slow down. When you encounter something new and different, take some time to listen and observe. Don’t be like the Pharisees, who cast Jesus away because He didn’t fit their preconceived notions of what seemed right. Check the message for truth before disregarding the messenger.

When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say. - Luke 11:53-54

What rewards are you getting?

Today I celebrated a recent win - I picked up the gift card that was my prize and used a little of it to get myself a cherry empanada. Victory can be sweet. Literally. But you know what else it is? Fleeting. Very fleeting. It was a delicious celebratory snack, but it was gone in 5 minutes.

As I ate, it hit me what a contrast that is with the reward that we as Christians will have at the end of time. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” and in John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Are your rewards temporary? Or are they everlasting?