June 10, 2008 24: A Day With God Part 2

24: A Day With God, Part 2
by James Rogers
Credit give to Dan Fields, Youth Resource

2 Corinthians 13 "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you. If not, you have failed the test of genuine faith."

(Using the same backpack representing 'Faith'.)

We want a genuine 24/7 faith.

Mature faith is able to recognize those times in our lives when we are most likely to drop the backpack. When we are tempted, shove God to the side or turn our backs on Him. We recognize and change our actions from dependency on our own will to dependence on God's Spirit.

Are we looking for a quick fix, to just live it, then quickly close in prayer? We want to live it, but it's tempting to just drop the backpack.

'24' living; Recognizes when we set down the backpack.

Look at this real life example of what happened after 9/11. Setting down your backpack in an airport causes a chaos with guard dogs, sirens, FBI and over zealous guys with a hand wands. You didn't think it was a big deal, but there are consequences for dropping our backpack.

Do we drop out backpacks when" integrity is required? When you think nobody is watching? No one is really going to notice.

1. Do we slip the backpack on one arm and laugh at a racial joke?
2. Do we arrive late for an appointment because of procrastination and leave the backpack in the car and tell them in the meeting 'it was the traffic, I couldn't do anything about it"?
3. At the hotel on a business trip do we leave the backpack in the hallway to watch movies we know we shouldn't?
4. Do we leave our backpack in the trunk of our car to go to a business meeting where there is a lot of drinking, because it doesn't go with our business suite?

Integrity and faith are connected. When we compromise our integrity we compromise our faith.

1 Chronicles 29 "I know, my God that You examine our hearts and rejoice when You find integrity there."

Proverbs 11 "The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but He delights in those with integrity."


For the sake of money and success do we lay down the backpack?

1 Timothy 6 "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil [it's not just money, it's the love of money]. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.'"

Money is not evil, it's what we do with the money that causes us to drop the backpack.

Ecclesiastes 5 "Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness."

We drop our backpacks in the fast pace and fatigue of our lives. We are depleted of our capacity for compassion and connectedness, in exhausted, dominating obligations, and obsession with work and money. Ministry, service and connection with others and our ability to have genuine faith are compromised in the absence of our energy and freedom.

For the sake of success we turn our backs on on families, spouses and children. We're really saying God, I'm too busy for You. What I'm doing is more important than what You want to do with, in and through my life. No one on their deathbed will say 'I wish I would have spent more time at work. Your pace is your choice.

This is our one and only life. there are no dress rehearsals. Make the tough choices where needed.

Find others that you can say to them 'this is where I am tempted', 'this is where I tend to drop my backpack', 'Will you come alongside of me and would you help me?'
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So with this next section I leave it as this. Some paraphrased some verbatim, but all so necessary to think and process our 'faith walk'.

When the backpack is heavy don't be afraid to ask for help. When it starts to slip off your shoulders, or even falls to the ground we can always find a way to pick it up. Find someone you trust, someone who reaches out to you with compassion and who will do the loving thing and help you find 'faith' when it is slipping or falls or maybe you totally lost it.

Our God is an all knowing and loving God. He knows what you go through day after day. His amazing grace is sufficient. What would we do without it? Because the reality is, we all forget, leave and drop our backpacks sometimes, if not in our actions, our thoughts.

Thank You God, as I put my hand in Your hand and hold on tight, my 'faith' (backpack) won't hit the ground because our hands are connected.

He's reaching for your hand, take His hand.

Video & Song
'Grace' Michael W. Smith
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YRXDsbRQNlA&feature=related
Here's one that touches me so deeply I can hardly finish watching it.
His Grace, How can we really understand?