Slap to the face

I have been reading a book lately that has been challenging the way I think and do things.  One of the ideas it presents is this: 

"It is no sin to consider people's feelings, but if you allow feelings to become the primary consideration when making decisions, you are following something other than Christ."

I don't know about you but that knocks the wind out of me.  I guess I always assume that we must do things that will make people feel good.  Sometimes that is not true.  Obedience to Christ is not the result of an opinion poll.  It is a matter of the heart.  If Christ would have obeyed based on how people would feel about what he said and did, he would have been disobedient to God.  We still have a lot to learn!  

What's Coming Up

I am excited about Father's Day this year. I am asking for all the men in our church that either have a motorcycle or have access to a motorcycle to ride it that morning to church. Also, they can wear whatever they are comfortable riding a bike in. No dress code. I am also guaranteeing that the service will not last longer than 1 hour. So I hope to see you there June 21st! By the way, if anyone has a motocycle they would like to donate to the cause, I have a good home prepared for one.

Busy, Busy

It has been a busy time of the year lately for me. A lot going on, a lot that God is doing right now. Enjoyed bringing the message God laid on my heart for the people in the church I grew up in. It was a surreal experience for me. I also enjoyed speaking at a Men's retreat and challenging the men to step up and be the warriors called them to be. I really enjoy speaking to men who are my fellow knights in God's army. It is a message that needs to be heard and heeded in order for us to be all that God wants us to be.

Grandmother

Last week was a hard one for my family. My 95 year old grandmother passed away and went home to be with the Lord. She left us on Palm Sunday. The last words she was able to speak to me were "I love you so much." I will miss her greatly. Her funeral was on Good Friday, one week ago today. I am thankful for all that she brought to my life. She was a part of my life from Day one. I was born on her 59th Birthday. I grew up in the same town as her. I have so many memories of her and I am grateful for every moment I spent with her. I was asked to give a tribute to her at her funeral. I was honored to be able to do that. At the end of my tribute I read a quote from a book by Mark Rutland. I read these words the day after she passed away. "Behind us, behind each of us, remaining after we make our exit, is what is called heritage, a legacy of life. Even from beyond the grave, lives can be touched, will be touched....... A life lived in the power of Jesus' life is a witness that cannot be silenced. The prayers of the saintly grandmother, the inheritance of a christian dad- these live on." These words summed up my grandma's life.

Love

I am finding that more and more I am learning to value those things that are the most important in my life. God, My wife, my kids, my family. I am not sure if it is because of my grandma's death but I see where love is absolutely the most important, central thing in my life. I read these words during my devotions the other day: Somehow we just can't wrap our minds around the idea of love. We can't nail it down and say, "There, I've got you." Love is weak yet tough, vulnerable yet strong. It chooses to lose but can never be beaten. It puts itself last yet always leads the way. It is mysterious, yet it came in flesh and stood before us. It is death- yet it is life. Must we love? It is like asking, "Must we breathe?" No we do not have to breathe, and no, we do not have to love. But the consequences of both are the same. When we choose to be hardened by the events of life we fail to truly live. I loved my grandma. Therefore, because I loved my grandma, her death hurt. If I would chosen not to love her as much, her death would have been easier for me to take. When we choose to love deeply we open ourselves to be hurt deeply. But if we choose not to love, we choose not to live and miss out on some of the greatest people and relationships God has to offer us. Especially the relationship He offers us through His Son Jesus.

Change up

I am one of those people who believes that for the most part change is good. It is refreshing and helps to keep us alive. One of the ideas I have had this year is to get a chronological bible and read through it this year. So far it has been good for me. It gives me a better idea of how the events flowed along with what was happening in the secular world around them. I had a thought this morning. For the most part people who say they like change don't like tradition very much. I have a question then; Is it possible for change to become traditional?

Margin

One of my biggest challenges is to keep margin in my life. Margin is that place that exists in our daily lives where nothing takes up our time. Where we are able to relax, reflect and just exist. Silence and Solitude exist here. Twenty years ago experts said that because of computers and technology, the average American would only have to work 22 hours a week. Instead, due to the demands to keep up with technology, Americans are working more than they ever have. Time magazine wrote an article a few years ago about kids having nervous breakdowns at 9 years old because of the overload in their lives. We have scheduled ourselves to death. The clock rules our lives. We rush the kids to school so they are on time, hurry off to work to put our time in. Nights are filled with events, sports, concerts, meetings, more work, more to do than we can accomplish in one day. At some point we have to say enough is enough and take time to rest our souls. People are suffering from nervous breakdowns at an unbelievably rate. Doctors offices are filled wit people who have all kinds of physical ailments due largely to stress in their lives. One of the Ten Commandants is to honor the Sabbath. After God created the world He rested on the seventh day. It was not because He was tired, but because He knew the value of stopping, resting, and appreciating what had taken place. We need to find rest for our should. We need to take the Sabbath seriously.

Reading List Update

I set for a goal this year to read 50 books. As of today I have completed 9. The last book I read was called When Character Was King. It is the story of Ronald Reagan. It was an amazing book. I grew up in the shadow of the presidency of Ronald Reagan. I can still remember the day that He was shot, watching the reports showing the event over and over again. I remember being in Science class in the 8th grade and hearing the radio reporting that the Space Shuttle Challenger had just blown up. I can still remember the speech President Reagan delivered, closing with, "They had slipped the surly bonds of earth and touched the face of God." I am not so much a fan of politics as I am of the the character and content of those people we have as leaders. I like to sift through the hard decisions that they make and find out what convictions lead them to those decisions. Reagan was a man that I believe will be judged as one of our greatest Presidents in the history of this nation. He was led by convictions, by a sense of right and wrong. But more important, those convictions were forged by a Christian mother and a life of prayer. Many times he took heat for snoozing during important times but in reality he was praying during important times. He didn't allow popularity to guide him, it was God who gave him direction and that is who he followed. I think it is ironic that he never knew his impact on history due to Alzheimer's disease. I think it also a paradox that an actor become one of the most real and transparent presidents we have ever had. He left us with so many examples of what it meant to be compassionate, loving, caring, in a nutshell; A Christian man.

Website Close

I have been looking at the proofs for the website this week and we are getting close to launching soon. Hopefully by the end of March we should be up and running. It will give us better ability to keep in touch with everyone and let people know what's going on. You will also be able to subscribe and download the sermons from the website. More details soon......

Current Book

I am currently reading a great book by R.T Kendall called The Sensitivity of the Spirit. What a powerful, insightful man of God he is. The introduction begins with a quote by Billy Graham. "My greatest fear is that God would remove his hand from me." I think this is my worst fear also. It should be every believers fear. It's scary to think about the mighty men and women of God who through the years thought that the hand of God was on their lives when it in fact had departed. Most of these once great people didn't recognize that the anointing had left them. I know of a pastor who felt led by the Holy Spirit to speak over a man, "Ichabod. The spirit of God has departed." How sad to hear that. I don't know enough of the situation to know if it was correct or not but what a dreadful thought to think that everything I do could be without the hand of God on it. Here is how R.T. Kendall puts it; "I can displease the Lord and feel nothing. It is very possible that I could spend years doing what I presumed was God's will- preaching, teaching, witnessing, and being involved in church work- when God was hardly present in my efforts at all. I may even have the applause ad respect of people the whole time, and they not have a clue I have moved ahead of Jesus." I don't know about you, but I need the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit, the special presence of God, in my life. I want everything I do to be drenched in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I can't live a day without Him.

Sunday's Service

God has been moving in so many ways in my Spirit lately. Giving words or direction, correction, and affirmation. Sunday was an overflow of what He has been doing in me. I just feel that as God speaks to us His truths for this day, we must take time to soak it in and apply it to our lives. If we feel that God is desiring to do greater things among us we must take the time to wait on Him for the greater things. As we pray for the greater things to takes place we must take the time to Listen and hear from the Holy Spirit about what greater thing He wants us to focus on. But it doesn't stop there. Then we must be ready to participate in the greater thing He desires to do. The christian faith is not a passive faith but an active faith. It requires that we move or act in a way that shows we believe the greater thing will take place. God always requires action to our faith. So the question for the day is what greater thing are you believing God for and what action steps are you taking to make it a reality in your life?

Greater Things

There is a thought or a theme that the Holy Spirit has been playing over and over again the last few weeks in my spirit. Greater things you will do, greater things are still to come, greater things than what you have seen before. Greater things than what happened in 2008. Greater things are on the way. This week for me has been an amazing week. So many things have happened to confirm God's leading in my life. Some of you know a few of the details but they are only the beginning of what God is doing in my life. God has a plan and at times I feel like I am on the most exciting roller coaster in the world. I love roller coasters. I love the thrill. I love the unknown. I know that God is taking me on a ride I will never forget. I have listened to the song God Of This City 26 times and counting in the last 2 days. Read these words: You're the God of this city You're the King of these people You're the Lord of this nation You Are For there is no one like our God There is no one like our God Greater things have yet to come Great things are still to be done In this city Greater things are still to come And greater things are still to be done here You're the Lord of Creation The Creator of all things You're the King above all Kings You Are You're the light in this darkness You're the hope to the hopeless You're the peace to the restless You are You're the strength in our weakness You're the love to the broken You're the joy in the sadness You Are Greater things have yet to come Great things are still to be done In this city Where glory shines from hearts alive With praise for you and love for you In this city Greater things have yet to come Great things are still to be done In this city Greater things are still to come And greater things are still to be done here Powerful words..... But more powerful are the words of Jesus in John 14:12 "The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father." The song count is now at 28.....