Props

I had this thought in church today.  I guess you can call it church -- in fact, you might call it church on the rock.  Behind this mountain house where i'm hanging out is this large mound of rocks.  When the weather permits, I have been climbing to the top of these rocks to do some thinking and praying.  The view up there is spectacular.   So being Sunday, I thought I would have church up on the rocks.  Too bad I didn't have any old Larry Lea tapes -- it's easier to pray for an hour when you are sitting on the rocks looking out over the Rockies, time sort of stands still -- or maybe flies -- either way, time is irrelevant!  Unless of course you have a tee time but there are no golf courses up here! 

Anyhow I took my new ipod touch and asked Chris Tomlin to lead worship.  I took my Bible and engaged in one of the helpful things I do with Scripture.  I prayed through Romans 8 again.  I want very much for God to develop in me a Romans 8 spirit.  The only way to do that is to keep praying through Romans 8.  So that was my church today:  Chris led worship -- Paul preached -- I took the offering!  Cheap congregation!!!

And I had this thought:  Paul says that if our minds are not being influenced by the Holy Spirit then they are being influenced by something else that is probably not as holy!  I got to thinking how we all tend to prop ourselves up with stuff.  You can tell I've been alone alot and been thinking about stuff.  One of the ways you can tell if you are propping yourself up with something is if you do too much of it.  Some people drink too much.  Some people think too much about food or their body shape... I'm confessing other people's sins here.  I do too much of some stuff but these aren't my issues.  It is alot easier to preach about other people's issues than it is your own!  So I got to thinking about the things I do too much of to prop myself up.

If I had more time in this blog, I'd tell you what they are, but I'm already too long and I need to get to my point!  Can you tell I miss preaching???  The point is that it would be nice if we didn't need to prop ourselves up but the reality is we are all pretty broken and that's why we need props.  God knows we are broken and need to prop ourselves up so that's why Jesus came and that's why the Spirit came and that's why there is a Bible and that's whey there is the church.  It's a LifeLine thing!  If you prop your life up with the wrong stuff, you are eventually going to fall.  Thank God for props that are truly life-giving.

Paul put it better than I can:  "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace..."

So, think about this:  What are your props?  How can you be more influenced by the Spirit so you can be more alive and more at peace?