Today I want to continue to talk about Jesus as Messiah. We’ve already talked about Jesus as a man. He really did exist - that is a proven fact. The question of course, is whether he was God. We believe He was. All the fullness of God in human form. 

Here are some questions for consideration (found in the booklet for you to discuss with others):
You may have discussed Jesus as an actual person, but what do you think about the idea of him being God as well?
Who is God to you?
What do you think God is like?
We have talked about living the Golden Rule lifestyle; ultimately, what is driving your life purpose? If you are living a ‘live and let live’ mentality … what is your guide for ‘right living’ so to speak? Why not Jesus the Christ?

Jesus as Messiah and God: Resurrection Ideas Discussed in Sunday's Sermon

1. Central to our faith is the idea of resurrection
   1. Pharisees and Sadducees argued about it
2. Abraham understood it in the story about him having to sacrifice his son Isaac
3. Bodily Resurrection
   1. What implications does this have for how we treat our bodies now?
4. Resurrection visiting with Apostles, disciples, Paul
5. Resurrection and new heaven and new earth
6. Jesus ‘first fruits’

SOME QUESTIONS for reflections or discussion at home

1. What does resurrection mean? How do you understand the idea of resurrection?
2. If there really is a bodily resurrection, what are some things we might think differently about when we think about what we do with and to our bodies?
   1. How about how we treat other people and their bodies?
3. Does the idea of a bodily resurrection give you any ideas or thoughts about the idea of our bodies being holy, or have the potential to be holy?
4. The Bible has a lot to say about sexual immorality. What influence does the idea of bodily resurrection have on the understanding of marriage, sex, and celibacy (or abstinence)?
5. With a bodily resurrection, how does this make you think about Jesus at the right hand of God?

BUT FIRST
Let's recap last week and the sermon series, "Jesus the Dude."
Last week we spoke of what it is to truly live "in our right minds." We looked at how Jesus does not abandon his friends; nor does God abandon us when we've denied him before others. We so often end up doing things on our own, going our own way, become despondent due to failure and life's pressures, and at some point give up. 

The "giving up" point is where we may finally "come to our right minds" and realize that something needs to change if we are going to find success, happiness, or joy. Hopefully, that realization will come with the idea that we can only have those things through God. Many times coming to ourselves means forgiving ourselves, asking forgiveness from others, and giving forgiveness to those who've mistreated us. 

I recently read this about forgiveness from a YouVersion devotional: "Forgiveness is not a gift given to those who deserve it and it is not a promise to never be hurt by the person again. It is a posture of submission to God." What a great quote! In other words, forgiveness is first about you and God. God first! God must be first in our lives for anything to truly happen that will ultimately be favorable for us. 

Jesus experienced everything we have, but remained faithful to God through it all. How might we "come to our right minds" but putting God first in our lives? How have we lived for "me," hoping for God to back us up? What might we need to do in order to shed the old self and take on the new? 

Much of this is handled and answered in a great deal of prayer. So stay tuned for our next series, "No really, Pray."

​From now until the end of the year sermons will be developed around our 101 Booklet for communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The idea is that a conversation would take place where there is an invitation to continue talking over coffee, tea, etc and work through the booklet at your own pace, in whatever order of topics makes the most sense. The questions below are to be considered "conversation starters," and lead into the simple statement of how SUMC understands and communicates what we believe about the given topic.

This Series topic is "Jesus the Man." Yesterday we outlined what we'll be talking about, and started looking at Jesus as a person born into this world just like us. 

This is how we understand Jesus:
Combined historical statements: We believe in one God, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,  and we believe in the Holy Spirit - and they are unified in every way; this means Jesus is more than a man for us, he is also God.

Our way of communicating this: Jesus is God and man combined in order to show us God is real, loves us, and has a different kind of life in mind for us.

Biblical Stories to discuss in this series to show who Jesus was as a "dude"
Birth Narratives
Prodigal Son and Restoring Peter
Jesus Wept
Crucifixion 
Teaching Disciples How to Pray

How or why might this matter for modern Christians?
If Jesus was a real person, it begs the question of not just the impact of his life, but of his true nature …

​Stay tuned for more!

This post could probably be better titled "reason verses emotion" but I believe that as people we are either rational people, or emotional people. I should say that what I am thinking and about to say is based on my own, limited, experience from within myself and what I see in those around me. So with that, I think that there are those who operate their lives in a more rational way, and those who live their lives based on a more emotional approach.

Both have positives, both have negatives. I'm not going to do a comparison game here, all I am going to say is that when it comes to living our lives we need to be aware of which 'mode' we operate in most of the time. For me I think I tend to be more emotional (I almost said rationale here - but I've learned my lessons!). I tend to be an over-thinker - like ... a way over-thinker! But thinking a lot about something doesn't make me a rational person. It makes me an emotional person, I believe. 

Think about it! lol.

I am overthinking because I am emotionally invested somehow and am thinking so much about it because I am so emotionally invested. But talking with others helps me see things from different angles, and I feel better. So talking with other people about something they are not as emotionally invested in like I am helps me see more reason from an objective point of view. I balance out. 

And we need balance in our lives! 

This balance comes from true friends and family. We have gotten away from this for a huge variety of reasons, but the root reason, I think, is that we just don't really pay attention to it. Our attention is diverted in so many ways, and it isn't always because of social media - that has just exacerbated the issue. 

Let me ask you a question: in the last week, have you felt that you have had a real conversation with a family member or friend in person (or by video). 

The follow up question is: so what have you spent most of your time doing? Are you happy about how you've spent your time?

For me, I usually spend my time with things that distract me because I don't feel like doing other things that I know I need to be doing. So I operate and am motivated by how I feel, rather than goals I set. If you are a goal setter, make it a goal to have a good, personal conversation with a family member or close friend (in person or video) this week. Talk about stuff going on, what's on your mind, and see how they are doing and discuss their "stuff" too.  

We need to stop tending toward one way or the other because we have closed ourselves off to learning and understanding how to react with one another, especially those close to us. And we need to stop allowing ourselves to get distracted away from those who ought to be close to us. When we start having those conversations, when balance comes, when we get the 'other perspective' we need, I truly think that will help us learn to talk with those who are further and further outside of our inner core.

And that is a good and wonderful thing.


​

Every once and a while I think about what it would be like to be famous, and then I watch films like Notting Hill or see some interview of a celebrity talking about privacy and the difficulty of fame. I change my mind real quick. Of course, that is just one aspect of fame.

I also wonder how many people are driven by fame and see being famous as a measure of real success. To me, that is not reality and will end up leaving someone more empty than full. This should be common knowledge by now by sadly it isn't. And fame, or the desire for fame, can come at any level and in any place. Social media and friends is usually the "go to" example where people feel like having a lot of connections will make them feel good and popular, but then end up with the constant refrain in their minds of "no one really knows me, I am so alone." 

For me, that right there is the rub - "no one really knows me."

I want to be "famous" with my family and a few close friends - that's it. To me fame and success come when my family and close friends (inner circle) know me, know what bothers me, know how to motivate me, know how to talk to me, know how to receive me, know when to let me be, and know how to love me at all times. My hope is that our society will begin to yearn for this kind of idea. 

The best way to think about how to live your life is to think about what the end of your life might be like. If at any moment you should die, who would know about it right away? Who would be at your funeral? Who would stick around with one another after you are gone? Who would easily 'replace' you and who wouldn't? 

Those questions really help me to focus. And I should say that I don't ask myself these questions in a negative way. As if I am asking these questions with an attitude of melancholy. Nor should you. But really ask these questions and hone in on your inner circle, but be open and gracious and loving to everyone you meet. But dedicate your time, attention, and affection to those who are doing the same for you - especially within your family. 

And if you have had a rotten, crap experience with your family - still try to find the siblings, parent, cousins, aunt, uncle, etc that you can stay connect with that will be that love you yearn for - don't leave your entire family because of the "garbage." Be the change in your family. Be the foundation of a friendship. And be willing to be love and to love everyone. 

To me, that is an attitude that will breed real success. Real fame.

I'm sure there are many of you out there that thought you would have accomplished more "by now." And "by now" I mean that you are probably at an age where you think this thought. But, a quick google search for "age of successful people" will bring up at least twelve people right away who found 'success' later in life. I've graduated with women in their 70s each time I progressed through my college degrees. It was quite motivating to see. 

This is because you can accomplish anything, at any point, at any time, in any walk of life. Most of the motivational messages I have heard, seen, or read deal with changing our perceptions. 

So the blog today is simple. Ask yourself, how can I change my perception of where I am now to motivate me to focus on a passion I have?

Notice in that question there is no thought to success of any kind. Do not think about "how can I be successful." Success is a by-product of focus and consistency. 

Stay focused.
Stay consistent.

Success will find you. 

I've thought this so many times


Reflect on how far you've come
What habits got you to where you are? Are you only seeing and thinking about the negative outcomes? Andy Stanley has a great video series that may help some of you called Starting Over. This helped me when I was working for a college that was ... well it was just awful. I thought it was going to help me achieve my goals, but those goals were more like having to pay for medical tests you don't really need to rule out what the problem might be. For me, I knew God wanted me to solely be a pastor, but I wanted to be in academia. I was constantly starting over, just in the wrong area of life that I needed to be in. Thanks be to God, he brought me around through a major ordeal of humility. 

I often think about starting over in the gym. I really hate missing more than a few days, and I (at this point) have not been consistent for a month. I need to start over again ... and I just don't want to go today to do so. 

But I am.

You should too in whatever it is you have been too scared, or lazy, to do.

One small course correction
Make one tiny change in your routine that you can do every day that will make you feel like you are making some progress rather than no progress. I could even be just making your bed (see this great video). Find something you could do each day to start the journey toward your goal. If you don't have any goals, then start writing down some off the wall, crazy ideas that you feel you can never do. Save those. Then after a couple weeks re-read them and see if there is a common theme, talent, dream, idea, thought, etc that you see in those wild-eyed fantasies. You just may see something forming that you begin to believe you can actually do. 

Then start watching some videos online in the area you see with your ideas. Hopefully, that will be enough to get you dreaming again, then turning your day-dream into a reality. Search my archives for another blog post on that thought.

Just do it
Great phrase nike came up with. Sometimes our feelings get in the way of what we need to do. The more we can focus on a goal, or something we want, and do something small each day to reach that goal, the better we can become at managing those feelings that lead to thoughts that make us feel stuck. 

Here's the stone cold reality. You are stuck because you choose to be. 

You may also be stuck because you don't know what you don't know. If you do the same old same old each day, you remain ignorant of your potential. Therefore, you won't know the potential you have - and you do have it - because you remain ignorant of what is "out there." So start searching.

Again, what it is that you are searching for? If you are searching to be happy, searching for a feeling won't do anything for you! Feelings are today's fantasies. It's the work that brings reality. So work for what you want, that's the only way to achieve it, and feel good about it and yourself. 

So get out of your feeling-though-rut and choose to do something today, and tomorrow, and the next day, etc. 

I did it. Others did it. You can do it. You have a brain and are created in the image of God - the CREATOR. Allow him to move in you, allow Him to refocus you, and perhaps ask Him to work with you through something rather than do something for you. One day after I prayed for Him to work with me rather than just outright do something, things began to happen. 

Allow God to work with you! 

​Press on my friends.

Tedious: too long, slow, or dull; tiresome or monotonous (dictionary.com)

Sometimes our workouts ... and our life ... can seem pretty tedious. We can feel like we're doing the "same old thing" and nothing is happening. Chances are nothing is happening with your workouts, but with your spiritual discipline it could be that you are on the verge of something. Either way, you may need to ramp some things up in both areas of your life. 

Ramp it up
If you're workouts seem tedious and you are doing the same old thing, it's time to change what you are doing. There are so many things that you could do - here are just a few: 1) Superset; 2) Shorter rest periods; 3) Combine an exercise with some cardio; 4) Superset with no rest for one minute; 5) Do HIIT; 6) Change the number of reps you do; 7) Add more weight; 8) Any combination of 1-7.

For your spiritual life, you may need to step our of your comfort zone. I am perfectly happy sitting in a room reading and praying, with the occasional meditation while listening to praise music. Those kinds of habits and disciplines are great - for the introvert. I have a hard time "going and doing" (believe it or not). Often times if our spiritual life seems tedious we may be needing to step out and actually do something! Or, God might be nudging us to do something that we've been ignoring. That could be quiet time if your more extroverted, or it could mean going out and serving somewhere and talking to people if you're more introverted. 

Motivation
Sometimes we simply lack the motivation to do things. With fitness and spiritual disciplines, we sometimes need to feel like we have to give ourselves a little pep talk to stir up some kind of passion to do what we feel like we must. This is where I start thinking about all those moments in recent past where I have thought, "If I only had done (such and such) like I thought and planned ...". Usually situations where that thought happens come up for me frequently, and so I get motivated to do the tedious task because I know the pay off will come later. 

With our spiritual lives, Paul tells us to focus on things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. This guides our life on earth until things are remade and we have new bodies. We focus on heaven and Jesus because we are going into eternal life.

Honestly, sometimes that's not motivating for me because I talk about that every week and every day. It makes me understand the wandering in the desert a little more! 

But that's where we need to start thinking about what we are grateful for and what God has done for us. This stirs me enough to plod along and continue the walk with and toward Christ. "Come Holy Spirit" is the prayer, and then set your mind to the task. 

And finally - sometimes we just need to get out of our own heads and start getting busy.