Yet…

I listened to a sermon today by Dr. Mark Scott on the book of Habakkuk that really got me thinking. The entire sermon was incredible, but the part that really made me think was in chapter 3 after God told Habakkuk the Babylonians were going to seize the Israelites. Because Habakkuk didn’t understand what God was doing. He didn’t understand why He was going to allow such a nasty nation to take His people captive.
But in spite of his confusion Habakkuk prayed these words: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, YET I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
Come to find out all the stuff about the fig tree, the grapes, the crops, the sheep and the cattle are all part of God’s original covenant with His people. So what Habakkuk is really saying is “God, even though you aren’t doing what you said you would do…YET I will rejoice in You…”
The question Dr. Scott asks during his message is so simple, even though it has faith altering implications. He asks, “Do you have guts to pray ‘yet’ even when you don’t understand what God’s doing?”
Personally, sometimes I do. But there are plenty of other times I don’t. It’s not that I don’t want to. I do. I do want to say in the midst of chaos and pain “YET, in spite of my circumstances, I will rejoice in You, I will praise You, I will trust You.”
Can you imagine how this could change our faith?
So…what about you? Do you have the guts to pray “yet” even when you don’t understand what God’s doing in your life?

Here’s a link if you would like to watch the entire sermon.

http://vimeo.com/49596991

On The Line

The past several days I’ve been studying the difference in being a Christian and being a Disciple. The interesting thing is the word “Christian” is only used 3 times in scripture and is never defined. In fact, each time it’s a derogatory name given to people involved in the “Jesus Movement” by people outside of the movement. This is why when people think of being a Christian a thousand different things come to mind. Instead, in Jesus’ day they didn’t call themselves “Christians” they called themselves “Disciples.” The word “disciple,” meaning a follower, or student is used 261 times and is clearly defined.
When it comes to being a Christian, depending on who you talk to, there are any number of ways to become one. Some will say you must pray a prayer, or be baptized, or raise your hand, or go to a class, or just feel really bad about the bad things you’ve done. But when it comes to being a disciple it’s simple. You do what Jesus did.
I love how Andy Stanley put it when he said “Being a Christian is about what you believe. Being a disciple is about what you do.” We all know it’s entirely possible for us to label ourselves as Christians and have our lives look nothing like Jesus. Why? Because we have no idea what a Christian is.
So, what separates a Christian from a Disciple? I’m sure there are many things, but I’m just going to mention two.
1. Unconditional Surrender
Being a disciple is giving up your rights, your identity, everything. The one word job description of a disciple is OBEY. Following Jesus isn’t just something done with our thoughts and words, but it must be done with our lives.
2. Love
Love is likely the number 1 thing that distinguishes disciples.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – Jn. 13:34-35
It sounds so simple, but imagine the impact if we would just get it right.

My hope is we won’t settle for anything less than the abundant life Jesus has for us.