"For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)
I am so irresponsible when it comes to tools. I have this one tool box that is just a mess. It has all this stuff in it that I never use and then it is so loaded with nuts and bolts that are justing taking up space. It's so hard to try to find anything in that tool box when I need it most! The other bad habit I have is that I keep losing my tools. I don't put them back in the box when I am finished. I leave them just hanging around or I put them in the kitchen junk drawer where they get swallowed up never to be seen again, kind of like when my couch swallows the t.v. remote. I am also bad about lending out my tools to people with no communicated expectation to bring them back. And of course the other problem is that I just don't take the time to replace the ones that are lost. The result is I have a tool box that is a mess! I need to retool and simplify my tool box! I need just the basic tools in the box and I need to not to lose them or allow them to get buried by a bunch of stuff that I don't need, and I need to tell people to bring back what I lend out! I need to be more responsible with the tools I have.
Life in a church can be alot like that tool box. If we are not carefull we will throw in all these nuts and bolts that complicate things. If we are not careful we don't keep track of our tools and we lend out tools with no expectations or conditions. We put tools in the wrong places and we don't hold ourselves accountable to replace the ones we have lost or misplaced. Wouldn't church life be simpler if we would clean out our tool box and just stick to the basic tools we need with proper accounatbility and responsibility?
That's what I am in the process of doing in my spiritual life and the life of our church: retooling. It seems I have allowed Satan into my tool box and it seems I have allowed myself to clutter things up and get myself to lose sight of the basics of my faith. I have been so focused on the nuts and bolts of circumstances and I have been so irresponsible with the tools I was given. I am not repsonsible with the spiritual tools God has given me...at least not like I should be.
The Bible says. "For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10).
That tells me that God is the master craftsman and he had his tools out, especially the chisel, and he created me with his tools for the express purpose that I would take those same tools and perform good works with them. I just need to stick to the plans he made beforehand and walk in them, which means "do what He does."
Jesus doesn't allow His tool box to become cluttered and a mess. He doesn't like it when the tools he has given the christian and the church become neglected, lost, or misused. Over the course of the next several weeks and months I will be challenging myself to get back to basics and use the tools that God has given me in a more responsible and worthy manner. We are also going to be "retooling" our church and simplifying the tool box so that people are not confused, cluttered, or careless in their good works for Jesus Christ. But for now I want to impress upon your heart three main categories of tools that God has given us to use for His glory:
1. Worshipping Christ
2. Walking with Christ
3. Working for Christ
That's it! Just three categories of tools that we will come back to, discover, and unpack over the next few weeks. But let me challenge you to do something first: Check out the toolbox of your life that God has given you by His Spirit. What are you doing with the tools he has given you? How is that worshiping Christ thing going for you? How is that walking with Jesus thing going for you lately? And that serving Christ thing? How's that going for you these days? What's that? "You've kinda got the tool box of your life in a mess?" So what are you are you going to do about it?
There is only one thing I know that can change your heart and situation. I know this by personal experience: Allow God to inspect the tool box and make a list of basic things you need to get back to. Allow Him by the Word of God and His Spirit to clean out all the junk and retool you for future use because the truth is you can't get the job done the way you are going. You need to simplify your heart by removing all the clutter of sin and their excuses and just get back what you've been missing: Back to worship, back to walking, and back to working. But it all starts with a simple choice: Retool and simplify your life with Jesus. I know you can do it and I know we can do it together. Now where did I put that toolbox? Stay tuned!
For the Fame of His Name,
Pastor Ryan
