Jesus was sent on mission into our world.  God the Father sent Jesus into this world to “seek and save the lost.”[i] As we are made into the image of Christ we are sent too.  From the beginning, Jesus’ desire wasn’t for us to receive his gift of salvation and then be whisked off to heaven.  Jesus’ prayer for us as his disciples was clear and simple.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.[ii]

As Christ followers, we have been blessed with a great gift.  Jesus has trusted us to share his good news with those around us.  This is a beautiful and simple task, but it isn’t easy.  Just as the world was against Jesus, it will be against us.  Jesus didn’t send us into the world alone though.

When Jesus told his disciple to love one another in John 13:34-35, he wasn’t telling them to live in loving community for the benefit of each other (although there are benefits to living in loving community).  It was for the benefit of those around them.  “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”[iii] We are called to share the good news of Jesus through the instrument of community.

There are two areas that can hurt our mission to image Jesus to the world that are found in Jesus’ prayer in John 17:14-18.  The first is if we are part of the world.  Jesus was not of this world.  He lived differently than everyone around him.  He handled money differently.  He handled relationships differently.  He handled work differently.  He handled family differently.  He handled love differently.  Jesus lived a life different from the world around him.  We are called to do the same thing.  By living differently than the world around us, we bring the focus to Jesus who is the instrument of salvation.

The second area that can hinder our mission is if we separate ourselves from the world.  Jesus was different as he was in the world.  He didn’t escape the dirt and evil of this world, but instead dived deep into it to shine His light into the darkness.  He ate and drank with alcoholics, corrupt city officials, prostitutes, self-righteous religious leaders, disease- infested street dwellers, and blue-collar workers.  Who cares if we have the hope of Jesus if it doesn’t make a difference in the world around us?  Like Jesus, we are sent into the world and share that hope.  We glorify Jesus when we are in the world but not of the world.  Spend this week focusing on how you are sent to be a light in this dark and dying world.

[ii] John 17:14-18 (ESV)

[iii] John 13:35 (ESV)

After understanding that everything we do is worship, you will begin to see that one of the biggest idols in your life is stuff.  More than likely, you are a worshipper of stuff.  Your car, house, computer, iPod, phone, television, paycheck, books, yard, clothes, furniture, bike, music instrument, and movie collection all hold a higher place in your life than God.  You spend more time focusing on them than Him.

At heart, we are very selfish and greedy.  This is in direct contrast to God the Father who gave us His Son and the Son who gave up His life for us.  If we want to grow closer in our understanding of God, we need to become generous people.  We need to have the mindset that God is more important than stuff.

Here is the amazing thing.  You can use your stuff to worship God.  Your stuff is really God’s stuff and He can do with it whatever He wants.  When you invest your stuff in the kingdom of God, you start to put God before your stuff.  By being generous with your stuff, you are aligning your heart with the heart of God.  Here are some simple tips and steps for developing a discipline of being generous with God’s stuff.

Tip #1: Make it a priority. You’re not going to be generous until you make it a priority.   For example, when I was in college, I had a moment of enlightenment. I was a poor college student, and I went out to eat with a group guys. At the end of the meal, an older gentleman in the group paid for the meal. I remember telling him how I wish I could do the same thing. He responded with the kindest of words: “If you aren’t generous when you have nothing, then you won’t be generous when you have everything.”  You have to make being generous a priority in your life. There are too many other shiny things that will take center stage if you don’t. Make it a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly task to look for ways to be more generous in your life.

Tip #2: Have a budget. 
You won’t know what to give until you know what you have. This works for both your money and your time. For your money, you should have a budget for every month. This takes away the excuse of saying, “I just don’t have any money to give.” You don’t have money to be generous with because you don’t plan.  Most people will tell you that when you first started budgeting, it was like you get a raise.  When you start budgeting, you are finally able to plan. You are able to make your money work for you instead of the opposite.
 You also need to budget your time. Some of us don’t serve others because we never have any extra time. Here is a tip…there is no such thing as “extra” time. There are 24 hours in a day and that is all you have. Just like your paycheck only has a set amount of money, your life only has a set amount of time. You have to budget your time wisely so you’re able to serve those around you.

Tip #3: Give first. This has two implications. You can take the idea of biblical “first fruits.” This was the commandment given by God that you should give the first of everything that you receive (animals, harvest, children, etc.) to God. The top line of your budget should have a line for a certain percentage of your money that you want to give away. When you get paid you should automatically take that percentage of money out of your check to give away.  If you’re a member of a church, it should go to your church. No questions. No ifs, ands, or buts. Just do it. Then budget the rest to live off of. If you don’t do this, you’ll just make excuses and never be generous with the money you have. This will teach you to be generous. The other implication is if you have the option to serve someone or to do something else with the “free” time in your life, serve. Give of yourself first. Generosity now has the priority. So skip watching TV and go do a generous act.

Tip #4: Have a separate checking account. This is a little trick that my wife and I learned when we weren’t part of a local church for a while. We didn’t have a place that we could write a check to for a weekly tithe. So we opened up another checking account and we transferred a percentage of our paychecks into the account every time we got paid. Then we knew we could use this account to be generous whenever the opportunity presented itself without having to worry about whether we were using money that was needed to pay the bills. When we became members of a church, we started giving our tithe to them. We still transfer the money into the account so we don’t get it mixed up with the rest of the money we have, but we enjoyed having the freedom of the extra checking account so much that we transfer an additional amount of money into it every month so we can be generous when the Holy Spirit presents us with opportunities.

Tip #5: Give first and ask questions later. Now this might sound like you’re to give money to anyone on the street who asks you for it, but this is different. What this means is that we have the tendency to ask the question “Why?” Why should I be generous with my time and money? The reality of it is that you can’t understand the answer to that question until you start being generous. You could read scripture. You could hear stories from other people’s lives. You could see a vision of heaven coming to earth. But you won’t get it. You won’t get it until you take a homeless guy across the street to Arby’s for lunch. You won’t get it until you mow your elderly neighbor’s yard without them asking or paying you. You won’t get it until you help your wife’s single-mother-coworker pay her rent. You won’t get it until you pay for lunch for you and your friends, knowing that you might not be able to eat dinner. If you decide that you aren’t going to be generous until you understand why, you’ll never be generous. The reality is you need to give first and then ask questions, because by giving you’ll find a lot of the answers.

Jesus continuously worshiped God the Father.  Depending on your background, the word worship could have a lot of baggage with it.  Some view worship as a meeting time once a week.  Some view worship as a music genre.  Some view worship as doing a set of prayers/chants/mantras.  Some view worship as singing some songs.

While all of these are forms of worship, they all fall short of a full understanding of what worship is.  Worship at its core is giving value to something or someone.  In his book Unceasing Worship, Harold M. Best defines worship better by saying that, “worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god.”[i]

Human beings are worshipers.  Everything we do, says, think, or feel is an act of worship.  At the heart of everything we do is giving value to someone or something. We are born worshiping and we never stop. The only thing that changes is what we worship.  God is the only one worthy of worship.  God’s original design was for us to continuously worship Him, but sin entered the world and we started worshiping lesser things.  We started to worship created things (ourselves generally being at the top of the list).  We started to worship idols.[ii]

The reality is that at the heart of all sin is an issue with worship.  Romans 1:24-25 puts it this way, “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”[iii] Because of sin, instead of continuously worshiping God, we continuously worship created things.  Because of sin, we have had no desire to ever give glory to God.

Now that we are being made into the image of Christ, we are able to glorify God with our lives once again.  Jesus used everything in his life to worship God.  He is the only person to perfectly worship God, and through the power of the Holy Spirit we can do the same. Instead of worshiping money, we can use money to worship God.  Instead of worshiping our jobs, we can use our jobs to worship God. Instead worshiping our families, we can use our families to worship God.  Instead of worshiping all of our stuff, we can use our stuff to worship God.  In Jesus, we have been freed to worship God.  Spend this week focusing on how you are called to worship God with all your life.

[ii] An idol is anything that we worship that isn’t God.

[iii] (ESV)

So I got this in the mail yesterday from my niece with $100. She decided to have a bake sale to raise money to help support me going to Re:Train.  I have to say it is completely humbling the support that I’ve gotten.  I’m literally speechless.

I’ve had a few people just come up to me and give me a wad of cash.  I trust in God’s providence, but I don’t have a clue as what to do when it happens.  It’s hard to put into words the emotions that I’m feeling of joy, thankfulness, humility, grace, mercy, and provision.  I simply bumble through my words and say thank you.

By the grace of God, I have received just short of $1,000. In a little over two weeks, God has provided for 1/5 of my total needs for Re:Train.  He’s used friends, family, and complete strangers to help support.  I’ve also had countless people tell me that they are praying for me too.  There are times in our lives when God seems to pour our His grace in a greater measure.  This is one of those times.  I thank God for His provision and for the people He is using.

[If you would like to help support, you can use the Chip-In Widget below.]

photo by: arriba

This just happened to be one of those months were Murphy decided he wanted to visit our family. We had over $1900 in additional costs that came up this last month. Shannon had to get a crown on her tooth, the water pump had to be replaced on the car, we had some additional travel expenses come up, we owe money on our taxes, and various other little things that were not planned for popped up this month.

Now we don’t have a lot of money saved up for rainy days. Shannon and I had no idea how we were going to pay for all these added expenses, but the reality was that God had things already planned out. Within the last 5 days we have received two checks totaling over $1100.

We had an idea that we might be getting one of the checks (but even the amount of that one was a surprise), but the other one came totally unexpected. For the past few days, we had been worrying about how we were going to make ends meet. We were going to have to dip into our emergency fund, until Shannon checked our mail on yesterday. Shannon came to me with tears running down her face as she held a check for over $500.

We can worry all we want, but in the end God provides for his children. God ran into Murphy in dark alley this week, and God kicked Murphy’s @##.

I just watched this video thanks to mxbx.wordpress.com and dustindkk.com. I must say the John Piper is right on the money. The prosperity gospel is not the gospel. Any gospel that makes us focus on anything more than Jesus is nothing short of heresy. What hit home the most with me is how much I live the prosperity gospel. I could easily point fingers at others, but I realize that I’m the worst of all sinners in this area. How often is my life filled with the pursuit of stuff.

Forgive me God and give me the strength to make you my highest pursuit.

Shannon and I came across Dave Ramsey a few years ago when we were starting to go down a slippery slope financially. Dave Ramsey changed our lives. Since then we have saved a small emergency fund, gotten out of debt (I know it’s hard to believe…but we don’t have car payments), and been able to help others do the same. We love to buy his book and give it out to whoever we can. The following is a short video that explain Dave’s principles. Check it out and then check him out.

The following is part 5 of a 5 part series. Go here for Part 1 

I started to head to the security check point that I came through the first time about 500 feet down the hallway.  My mind was racing.

I remember putting it in my back pocket.  Maybe it fell out when I sat down at Starbucks.  Maybe it’s in the men’s restroom.  How the hell am I going to get it back?  Their not going to let me in and I’m going to be stuck in Seattle for ever.  I don’t want to be stuck in Seattle I just want to home and see Shannon.

“Excuse me sir…I think I might have left my driver’s license here when I came through security the first time.”
“We have a driver’s license that we found.  What’s your name?”
“Greg Qualls”
“Let me go look.”

Why the hell did I go get Diego’s Bible?  They could have mailed it to him. If I had just stayed in the airport I wouldn’t be dealing with all this right now.  God why didn’t you just have Diego not forget his Bible in the van…I would be probably sipping on some coffee right now still reading my book…

But I wouldn’t have realized that I didn’t have my driver’s license…then I would have to go through all the crap to get a new driver’s license.  And I would have to pay the money for the new driver’s license.  And I would have to deal with the DMV.

So I guess it is a good thing that I did go and get it. Thanks God for having Diego forget his Bible in the van…wait a second.  God why didn’t you just make sure that Diego didn’t forget his Bible and make sure that I didn’t loose my driver’s license.  I would still be sitting in Starbucks reading my book.

“Here you go sir…just sign hear and print your name her.”
“Thank you sir.”

As I walked to the TSA agent and finally handed him my driver’s license and boarding pass for the second time in the last hour, I began to think to myself…God really does work in mysterious ways.

And I heard in the quiet of my heart, “Yes I do…and I’m good.”  I don’t know why God had me go through this little adventure.  There could be several reasons.  All I know was that, in the end, I felt the hand of God working through all of it.  I felt His plan being worked out in my life and I felt drawn closer to Him.

At least He knows what He’s doing, because the majority of the time I don’t have a clue.

As I finally handed the TSA agent my driver’s license and boarding pass for the second time in the last hour, I began to think to myself…God really does work in mysterious ways.

This thought…no…this realization didn’t come through the easiest of fashions.  At about 12 today, I was walking back to Diego’s and my table at the restaurant from going to the bathroom (and this had to be one of the cleanest airport restrooms that I’ve been to so far).  Diego was frantically looking through every pocket in his backpack.  Zipper after zipper was flying open as I sat down at the table.

Diego looked up at me and told me that he had to go. 

“Ok…why?”
“I left my laptop at security.  And I left my Bible in the rental car.”

I thought it was a reasonable thing to go do and he had plenty of time to go get his stuff and still make his plane.  So he threw some money on the table, finished his drink, and headed out the door.  I thought that would be the last time I would see him for the day.  But God had other plans.

So Shannon and I like to go for walks in the mall. If you leave your wallet and purse in the car, it’s actually pretty fun. We get out of the cold and you can always stop for a fresh pretzel.

There is one thing that is mandatory in our walks at the mall. We have to stop at Brookstone and use the iSqueez. The iSqueez is a foot massager that does more than the usual moving nodules and vibrations. As the name states, it actually squeezes you feet.

At first this might sound like a cheap gimmick, but then you try it and you are stuck (literally and figuratively). There is a reason it is $399. Because people will pay that much for a few minutes in heaven (two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven). It has taken a lot of self control to not pony up the money right there on the spot (and from the look in the salesman’s eyes…he expects me to).

Shannon and I actually planned on buying it (on ebay for much cheaper) as our Valentines day gift. It didn’t work out though. So now I’m thinking about trying to register for it for our baby shower. We registered for a 50″ plasma screen TV (what else is the kid going to watch Baby Einstein on). Why not this?