Called Out

I don't read Steven Furtick's blog often, but I stumbled across this post, Ignoring What They Said, from him today:

Ignoring What They Said

Jesus is in the middle of performing a miracle in Mark 5:36, and some doubters start to voice their cynicism.
To describe Jesus’ reaction, Mark uses a phrase that ministered to me deeply last week:
“Ignoring what they said…”
Then, of course, Jesus goes on to heal the little girl, in spite of the surrounding doubt, teaching us a valuable lesson:
In order to witness the miraculous, sometimes you’ll have to ignore what they said.

Maybe some people are perpetually misjudging your motives, and nothing you say seems to sway their verdict.
Ignore what they said.

Perhaps someone in your past filled your head with insecurity about who you could never be, and what you could never do. (Several people told me adamantly I’d fail as a church planter.)
Ignore what they said.

Sometimes the voice of doubt is internal-and we struggle to tune out the static of condemnation, faithlessness, and worst case scenarios.
Ignore what they said.

If any voice is raising itself in contradiction to the will and Word of God concerning you, be like Jesus.
Practice selective hearing.
Ignore what they said.

That resonates with me and my life. I don't want to be ignorant, but, sometimes, I just need to ignore what they said. Instead, I want to listen to what God says. After all, it's His opinion that really matters . . .

I love music. It's really that simple. I'm by a computer most of the day and more times than not you'll find Pandora opened up in one of my Firefox windows. Not familiar with Pandora? You need to become familiar with Pandora. Free, customizable, internet-based radio. It's like having your own personal DJ that brings you your favorites and few welcome surprises as well. LOVE it. Just saying . . .

A couple of nights ago, we had K-Love on at our house. (My son loves to listen and dance to music, and K-Love is the one station that we don't have to worry about him picking up unfortunate additions to his vocabulary. Not to mention, they play pretty good music.)

I was just playing along having a good time with my little man, and the song "Free To Be Me" by Francesca Battistelli came on. Ever heard it?

Here's a link where you can hear the song and see the lyrics: Free To Be Me

You can also listen to the song via the video below (it's really just audio with a picture, so click play and move on):



As some of you know, I've been on a bit of a journey over the past couple of months. In a sentence, God has been showering these Grace-filled words over my heart: Ben, you are enough. Just be you.

Francesca's song speaks to that.

If you've known me for long, you know that I love people. I love to be around people. I love to be with people. I love to invest in people. But, there's a dark-side to that too. I love to be liked by people. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with having friends. But, I'm a recovering "approval addict". I had years of my life that were dominated by the felt-necessity for all people to like and love me. And so, I would chameleon myself to fit into whatever situation I was in.

I didn't tell extravagant lies or go do things that were way outside of my character. But, I would change simple things: the stories I told, the music I liked, the words I used, the clothes I wore . . . all in an effort to be liked. If I was already liked, I wanted to be liked more. I would even go so far as to compare how much people liked me with how much they liked others. I wanted to be the "most" liked.

It's sick . . . I know.

But, I've been in recovery on that issue for a few years now. For several years, I've been striving to be real, genuine, authentic. I began to speak my piece and move on.

But, if I'm honest, I didn't believe deep-down within me that being me was enough. I had to be more.

Here's what I feel like God is teaching me.

1) God made me.
2) God doesn't make junk.

Therefore, I'm not junk. I am, in fact, God's masterpiece. His fine work of art.

So are you.

The Bible even supports it. Check out the words of Ephesians 2:10 (from the Amplified Bible)

For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

We are God's handiwork. In other words, God made you. God made me. And when He was done, He stepped back and said, "Dang, I'm good." Then, He called over an angel or two just to show off. After a round of high-fives and chest-bumps in celebration of creating me, he created you and the celebration happened again.

No matter where you've been. No matter what you've done. God loves you . . . as . . . you . . . are.

It's just that simple.

I'm resting in that these days. The powerful, life-altering reality of Grace.

I'm free to be . . . me.

AND, you're free to be . . . you.

The alarm clock rang, I pulled myself out of bed in the dark, flipped on the light, and opened my Bible to John 1. Here's what was awaiting me there this morning . . .

A few verses really stood out to me. Especially v. 12-13, v. 14, v. 17, and v. 46. Great stuff there!

But again, the theme that stood out to me is that of identity.

Who am I? Who are you?

According to v. 12-13, anyone who receives and welcomes Christ, anyone who believes in His name, is the child of God. In other words, if we put our trust in Jesus, if we rely on Him in our lives, if we adhere to His ways, God has given us the right (the privilege, the authority, the power) to be called a child of God.

So, who are you?

I think I too often lose sight of this identity in my own life. I am the son of God, the carrier of the family name and family traits.

I know that may not mean a whole lot in our culture, but we don't have to go back far into our history to find a time when ancestry meant a TON to people. In fact, your ancestry often defined who you were. And even today, we often carry our family names (aka - last names) with us our whole lives. And, as a carrier of the family name, you also carry the family reputation and way of life.

Do you think there are expectations if you're a Kennedy or a Bush? How about a Hilton (ask Paris) or a Simpson (ask Ashley)? Do you think Michael Jordan's kids had abnormal pressure as athletes? (You bet.)

Our family, our heritage, often helps to define who we are. So, here John writes these profound, yet simple, words: "he gave the right to become children of God".

Phenomenal.

Whose are you?

That's a question I need to wrestle with every day. And every day, I need to be reminded that I am the son of God.

Emphasize the "am".

It's not that some day you will be or could be or might reach the level of the son of God. It's who you are today. Plain and simple.

I get distracted by thinking about what others might say or think or do. I get distracted by my own messed up ideas of what I need to do or accomplish to be successful, loved, and accepted. I get distracted by my own pride and sense of self-sufficiency.

Bottom line: I get distracted. But, even in all of that, I am the son of God.

What distracts you from believing that you're the child of God?