Staying in the game

 In 2 Samuel we read the story about the day King David decided to stay home from battle.

Men are great when we are challenged, or have something to conquer and fight against, when we’re in the heat of the battle and involved with the process of making a difference.  Our Achilles heel is when we have too much free time on our hands. Idol time is our worst enemy.

 King David sent his right hand man to lead Israel into the season of battle while he stayed home. So what’s wrong with taking a day off, right? The issue isn’t a day off from work but a day off from our relationship with God. I work in construction 5 days a week. I’m a Christian Man 24/7. The enemy knows that. He is looking to take advantage of any weak point in my day - every day.

 David found himself alone with nothing to do one day. From his roof he had a bird’s eye view of his kingdom. There must have been a shift in the way he looked at things before he saw Bathsheba taking a bath. Board; his thoughts wondered away from the things of God. What was he doing looking into someone else’s back yard anyway? When we get bored we let our minds wander then we start to take liberties that get us in trouble.  We know where the boarder of danger is only too well, boredom is the Humvee the enemy uses to crash the gates of the boarder. We take the ride voluntarily, we’re never forced. He always makes danger look fun; it’s the forbidden fruit that always looks the best.

 Living Excellent is taking inventory of our lives in light of God, who alone is perfect, and then by the council and guidance of his words in the Bible, we make a conscious effort to make the better choice in every area of our lives. That’s what the Bible calls godliness, knowing the difference of right and wrong then making the decision to live and speak in a way that pleases God, his ways not ours. It’s our choice.

 Acting decisive is moving in a forward direction with confidence, not wavering in our decisions. The ability to act decisive as a man of God comes from making excellence the lifestyle we practice every day, in all we do.

 In Luke 17:20 Jesus says "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation of the gospel.

 Christianity is not a spectator sport. The Christian life is not a part of who we are brothers, Christianity is who we are, and designed to be lived with great passion.

Stay in the Game

Finding Rest

Recently on a trip to Napa Ca. with my wife for a short getaway. We went to a great winery that was built to look like a 16^th century castle. Can’t tell you much about the wine but the castle was fun as we walked around the courtyards and up the stairs through the halls and balconies into the tunnels we imagined what life might have been like to live in the era. As we were leaving we came across some sheep. They were bleating out with loud cries, it was early evening so I’m sure it must have been time to eat. My wife is a lover of animals so she grabbed some nearby grape leaves and fed them. Another couple walked up with who had an older very small dog. The owner told us he had very bad eye sight. She wanted to let her dog smell the sheep but was afraid the sheep might bite her dog. Janice and I have been around sheep over the years so we were accustom their mannerisms. Janice proceeded to inform the lady her dog was indeed safe but to watch her pup because it would be more likely that he would be more aggressive toward the sheep. Janice went on to tell the couple that the sheep were very docile animals and nearsighted and had to flock together or they would get lost easily (not being the most intelligent animals) Then she went on to tell the couple that is why Jesus related to us as the sheep of his pasture because we had the tendency to not be of good eye sight and get lost all too often straying from the paths he set before us knowing what is always best for us.

Today I was reading Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus tells us to come to him when we are taking on too much of a burden when we are worn out and overwhelmed with the involvement of life and we get consumed with the necessary activity of living. He tells us that we should take his yoke on us because his burden is light and he desires to give us rest.

I thought about those sheep at the castle in Napa, about the conversation or should I say the accurate and gentle loving evangelistic teaching of my wife to some strangers that God brought to her that day as she expressed her knowledge of his thoughtful love. I thought of how we like sheep get so involved with the activity that is right in front of us not realizing how heavy we make life by taking on everything ourselves in our strength getting so overwhelmed we burn out then crash and burn. I have been on the verge of crashing and burning for the past few months. Life can be demanding and service

 to others that should be joyful, because usually it’s a passion set in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, becomes nothing but work on top of life, it’s then that nothing is easy. We cry out to God but the last thing we do is take his yoke on us. We continue to shoulder the weight of our load alone.

We really are like sheep that need constant care. Our eyesight is not the best and we get disillusioned thinking we have the ability to go it alone instead of always staying under the yoke Jesus offers us, that is easy and enjoyable to ware. Jesus wants to give us abundant life in this life as well as in the next. He wants us to have a joy that is complete, found in him not in our own ability and strength.

I am thankful today that he is a present help in a time of struggle and need. I think he lets us struggle at times for us to learn lessons and grow up as it were. I thought at my age most of the growing up was over, but in light of eternity we will always be growing up and learning in this life. We learn more about who he is and gain an experiential knowledge of his presence in all things.

Something interesting caught my eye in the Matthew11 passage this morning. After Jesus invites us to come alongside him under his yoke, he says “LEARN OF ME”. We are so use to being under the burdens of life that learning a new way of  living with joy in the midst of trial or burden because he is foreign to us…well it takes a lifetime of learning.

School is in; let’s enjoy life together we can help each other learn about his light burden, finding his rest.  

Growing in your knowledge of God

It pleases God when we grow in knowledge of him.  Our understanding of growing in knowledge of anyone is based on our concept of acquiring information of a person. As true as that is and necessary to aquire information about someone to get to know them, That is only a starting point. The apostle Paul had a different concept in mind when he said “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.           

Take a look about a couple of examples of the way God looks at things. He says he has chosen the foolish and weak things of this world to confound the wise and strong. Our concept the opposite position. “Only the strong survive, there is power in knowledge.” These things are true but they refer to a life dependent on who we are and what we can accomplish, instead of a life of dependence on God alone. God also says “the last shall be first’ and ‘to be great you must become a servant.” Again this sounds opposite to what we were told when we were growing up.

I’m not advocating living a life shrouded in ignorance nor living an unhealthy life style or avoiding strengthening our bodies. That would be ridiculous.

  If we grow in the academic aspect regarding our knowledge of God alone we create in ourselves the distinct possibility of self pride, arrogance and religious piety that will equal that of the Pharisees and Sadducees that Jesus spoke so strongly against during the first century when he said “beware of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.”

When we are taught to grow in the knowledge of God it's not an academic by itself but relational through experience. This idea makes me think of a time when I was chasing my wife. Yes I said chasing. I wanted to learn everything about her so I could impress her and learn to please her. I wanted to spend time with her. I wanted her to want to spend time with me. I figured if I knew what made her happy, figuring out what made her smile and laugh she would do everything she could to get more time with me. Soon I wanted to know how she thought and what motivated her to act the way she did. I wanted to avoid what made her mad or fearful. I wanted to know what her dreams and aspirations were. I wanted to know what made her who she is.

 This kind of knowledge is both academic and relational. The relational knowledge was and still is only found out by experiencing her, by spending time with her and studying her. After 32 years of being married to my wife, the same holds true today as it did 32 years ago. As we both change through the years it requires me paying close attention to her and her needs, desires and dreams.   

In Mark 4:35-41. Jesus had the disciples get in a boat with him to set sail across the Sea of Galilee. As we pick up the story Jesus is sleeping and there is a squall that forms as they are in the middle of the sea. The wind is blowing and the waves were big enough to sink the boat. The disciples panic, consider that these guys were seasoned fishermen. Some small amount of wind and waves wouldn’t have frightened them, Mark records that these fearless young men were afraid for their lives. They wake Jesus out of a dead sleep, he immediately takes action and calms the storm, the waves subside and all is calm. He says to them “why are so afraid, do still have no faith?” Growing in the knowledge of God will cause us to call out to him first instead of panic first. Spending time with him in prayer and in his words, the Bible, we learn how he actually feels about us. We learn we can trust him to keep us safe in all things.

God’s desire is always relational. He wants us to know everything there is about him. That’s why he put his Spirit in us. John 16:13-14 says: “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak from his own thoughts or intentions, but whatever he hears he will speak; and he will reveal to you what is to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is from me and will place it in your hearts making it known to you.”

 God wants us to learn about him and experience him through an ongoing daily relationship. Growing in knowledge of God will be very shallow if all we do is acquire information about him and don’t know how he feels and thinks about us and everything around us. The depth of God is way too great for us to limit our knowledge of him to simply an academic study of the Bible and not delve into the depths of who he is personally. The written words he left for us will always keep us from getting off track with him because of our emotions. Our emotions are a gift from him so we can experience intimacy with him. He is very balanced and will always keep us balanced if we stay consistent in our full knowledge of him and always gaining more knowledge of who he is. Growing in relationship with him daily the way he intended with us the way he always desired from his early walks in the cool of the garden with Adam and Eve.

Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will make your paths straight.

Focusing on what is right with us

 Funny how when someone is coming to visit or you're having a party things get done around the house that are normally let go. My wife and I just had another couple over for dinner. We spent about four hours in the back yard and then another couple of hours in the house that was already clean, we cleaned and arranged things in hopes of making our dinner guests more comfortable.

 The evening was nice so we set up outside on the deck in the back yard. My wife cooked a fabulous dinner and made up a great desert. Conversation was easy. The night was a success. Our guests have been friends for some time and today I am happy say we are better friends. Time well spent without a doubt.

 My friend is a contractor and some of our conversation was about some of the homes he had built and how his father was a contractor. From the stories I gathered his dad was quite the craftsman. They enjoyed our home which made me feel pretty good because we actually did most of the physical work in the remodel of our house. The only problem with you doing your own work is you always focus on the imperfections and the things you wish you would have done differently or more of.

 Something struck me this morning as I was looking out the bay window into the backyard. I reflected on conversation from the night before. Realizing much like my thoughts of the imperfections in my home because of my construction abilities. The encouraging words from our friends made me realize my focus was on imperfections not on what was positive and functional.

  Many of us view our lives by looking at our shortcomings and our personal imperfections. Paul understood this concept as he wrote in Philippians 3:13 “Brethren. I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.”

 I remember years ago my wife and I went to a performance of a Christian comedian. He told the story of not wanting to become a Christian before he got saved. He said “I always thought the Bible was full of don’ts, then he realized after he became a Christian if he focused on doing the do’s he wouldn’t have time to do the don’ts.

 I suppose the idea is we all have amazing things that make us who we are. We all have abilities and gifting that are unique to us. And guess what? It’s good!

  If we focus more on what is right instead of being hamstrung by what is wrong life will be more enjoyable and we will become comfortable in our own skin, the way God meant for it to be. If we compare ourselves to him instead of everyone else around us we will find he is very gracious, he is our present help in time of need. He is at work in us both to will and to do for his good pleasure. If he is for us who can be against us?

 There is so much God wants to do with and through us, his choice is to use us for his purpose. He places us strategically in lives of the people who we can speak to, because they can relate to us. Who we are is no mistake but accurately designed by God for his pleasure.

 We need to learn to enjoy and embrace who we are and how we’re made as we grow in purity and holiness. Paul also said if we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Doing the do’s and focusing on what is right with us instead of being frustrated about the don’ts and magnifying what is wrong with us will make life more abundant.

  Life is fun and should not be missed because of looking at what is wrong with it. The journey is what we make it.

Don't sit on the sidelines,  get in the game. 

Have a blast!

Today’s Fire is Not Found in Yesterday’s Ashes

Have you ever seen a great movie followed up by a sequel that was a bomb? Or listened to a CD that was amazing and turned out to be a Grammy winner only to be followed by a CD that no one wants to buy by the same artist?

I was recently involved with helping coordinating a men’s gathering. This was the second year I've been involved. It was unanimous that last year’s men’s event was over the top amazing. This year fell short. The event was good but not great. The planning seemed much more difficult and the attendance diminished from last year.

 The sequel was good but not as good as the original. I was puzzled. As good as it was, and yes God did show up, men accepted Jesus as their savior, I still felt disappointed. The speakers were better than last year; the worship in song was good
.

After months of planning and putting things together, this week was a good time to get some time to get caught up on things around the house. Today (Saturday) I mowed the front and back lawns. Then it was time for some weeding. I sat alone in the quietness of my back yard pulling weeds enjoying the sunny afternoon. I love the quite, it allows me time to reflect and process things. Alone with my thoughts I began to speak to God from my heart.

I thought about the men’s advance last weekend and the unsettled feeling that remained in my heart. I thought about the time and effort that went into preparation. All the sudden my mind was filled with the thought “Today’s fire is not found in yesterday’s ashes.” What? No really what the heck does that mean? Then I thought about how the men’s event of 2010, it was so good and 2011 felt mediocre. Then the thought came again “Today’s fire is not found in yesterday’s ashes.” Exodus 16:4 says: “Then the Lord said to Moses, I will rain down bread from heaven for you." The people were to go out each day and gather enough for that day, on the sixth day they were to collect twice as much so they could have enough for the seventh day and not gather manna on the Sabbath.

One of the teachers at the retreat spoke about authority in Christ; he said authority doesn’t come through just knowing about the name of Jesus but through intimacy with him. That intimacy is a daily issue.Yesterday’s connection with the touch of the Spirit doesn’t fill the need for today. A lot of Christians try to be filled and live on Sunday’s sermon all week with no contact with Jesus at all during the week. No Bible study, no fellowship, and especially no intimate prayer time in his presence. The problem is we become famished and malnutrition sets in. We begin to live in what the teacher called soul famine. The funny thing about someone who is starving, almost anything begins to look good to eat, even things that will cause harm. A person adrift at sea dying of thirst will drink salt water, eventually it's the salt that dehydrates him and will kill him. When our souls are starving if we don’t take in what we know to be nourishing for a long enough period of time we will try to fill it with things unimaginable. Things that would normally be obvious to us as unhealthy to our spirit. Things that are not supported in God’s word. All because we are starving for the things of God but we don’t go to him to find what we need. If we try to just live our Christian life from Sunday to Sunday we will eventually see other things as better than the eternal promise offered to us. Our experience will become like the manna that was kept too long and would begin to smell foul and turn to worms.

We need a fresh daily portion of intimacy with Jesus to live in the power and demonstration of the Spirit who wants to live in and through our lives.

All we need is found in his presence.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things will be added to you.

Today’s fire is not found in yesterday’s ashes.

Stay close to him, the entry point is found in a prayer closet.

It's your choice

The choice we make could be the difference between life and death.

On Saturday I was getting ready to meet a friend for breakfast. My day was scheduled pretty tight, as usual there was way too much to do. I was running a little behind, not having called my friend the night before I thought a call on the way was a good idea. My friend couldn’t make it. So I turned the corner heading for the freeway and figured my day would start a little earlier than expected. As I turned the next corner in the distance was what looked like a guy lying in the street. Approaching the guy I saw a woman walk up next to him and bend over to talk to him. Now on the scene I saw the pool of blood under the man’s head and the woman who was talking to him had on latex gloves and she was holding his head.

 I have been First Aid and CPR trained for two years now but never used my training. I jumped out of my truck and ran over to help. As we went through the procedure the memory of my training came right back. I found myself knowing what to do next. I would assist the woman who was on the scene first. Calling out to the young girl on the cell phone and giving vital signs with basic information to the 911 operator. Another man arrived next to me and we gently rolled the man, who was the victim of a bicycle accident, on to his back. He was seizing when I arrived but now showing signs of being alert and coming to consciousness. The woman, who was a nurse, braced his neck with her hands as I restrained him from grabbing at his facial wounds. The other man who helped me roll him left the scene and another showed up, He was asked to help with traffic control so no additional injury’s would take place. The paramedics arrived. As one took my place I made my exit, too many people involved may have caused unnecessary confusion.

The whole event was surreal and was over very quickly. As I began to reflect I was very thankful for the training I received.
As I thought of my full day and having missed a breakfast I was really looking forward to, all of my plans seemed insignificant in relation to what took place.

 I began to think about a couple of things:

 I thought of the Psalm that says that a man plans his ways but his steps are ordered by the Lord. We always make our plans but need to be sensitive enough to the move of God’s Spirit to allow our plans to change for his plans to be carried out through us. I began to wonder why do we push through staying on task so we can complete our daily routine? As we usually do how often is the desire of God to use us missed, causing our journey to come up short of valuable experiences filled with the glory of God that becomes part of our story. I wondered if it would have been a still small voice that prompted me to reschedule breakfast and go around the block to head for the freeway, instead of a phone call,  would I have listened?

 I also thought of the passage in the Gospel of John…Jesus speaking about the Holy Spirit says “he will remind you of the things I already spoke to you.” Like my training I remembered when I needed it ,the Holy Spirit will remind us what we have already learned from the words of Jesus, they will come during times of confusion, persecution, when we need guidance or comfort. Also the book of Galatians says: “The mind of the flesh is death but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. I know, you might be saying what does that have to do with this situation? I’m glad you asked. I thought, if we daily make the choice to set our minds on the things of the Spirit of God we would live much more sensitive to the leading and promptings of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 16 that he (the Spirit) would not speak on his own but take from what the Father gives him and make it known to us. He goes on to say “and he will show us things to come.”

Being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit takes walking in the Spirit and living as a daily sacrifice. Not an easy task because we need to learn to get past ourselves. I had a choice on Saturday. There was no requirement for me to stop and help. My day was very full. Yes it was the right thing to do, the thought really never entered my mind not to stop, but the choice was there for me to make, there were a lot of people who passed by and even more who stood looking on but didn’t help out. Walking in the Spirit is a conscious choice. It doesn't just happen because we are born again or church goers. We have to put in the effort to walk with him and avoid what causes his voice to become silent to our hearing. 

How will we live our daily lives, what will we tell the Father when we stand before him in light of Ephesians 2:10. He made us glorious and set good works in front of us to do, all for his glory.

Life with purpose. Life is larger than living for only ourselves.

I can't move!

 I am in the construction trade. The other day I was in the process of repairing a leak in a basement of a commercial building. It was necessary to dig outside the building below the ground surface down far enough to find the problem and fix it. The area we had to work in was about 5 -6 feet below ground level. The work area was confined to about a 2 by 3 foot area.

 Pressing into that confined space made me think about how life can press us into places that feel like we can’t move. Those times when the only prayer that comes out of our heart is “God.” It’s not even the beginning of a prayer but more like your last breath before you begin to sob uncontrollably.

 That spot comes in various forms…a lost job when you are in your late 40’s or 50’s and no one will take a look at you to hire you at a new company. The news that your son or daughter has been found D.O.A. after being rushed to the hospital because of a hit and run accident. The doctor comes into the exam room and delivers the news that you have inoperable cancer and your time is short, or we couldn’t save the baby your wife was caring because lungs, heart or other vital organs were undeveloped.

 The “oh my gosh what do I do now" moments in life when despair floods your thoughts and emotions.

 That’s when the Holy Spirit groans for us, when there are no words. When prayer is far too much effort, when it feels like silence is the only thing that can give comfort and everything else is just white noise.

 I have been in that place, when pain and confusion are too deep for words when tears flow with no sound. It’s right here when the Spirit of God cries with us. He is in pain exactly like we are in pain.

 Romans 8:26 tells us the Holy Spirit actually groans for us in intercession. He fills our hearts and minds with peace. He is the dearest friend who will sit and say nothing but cry with us in our pain, until only his words are placed in the perfect place at the perfect time, because no one knows better than he does. When peace can’t be found from any other person, he is like a healing balm that sooths and touches the deepest spots inside who we really are, that person we hide from everyone, the person no one else sees inside of the exterior we show the world around us, the little boy in the toughest men, the little girl in the woman who only shows the solid exterior of strength and confidence to everyone around her - that place deep in our souls that no doctor can reach.

 The Holy Spirit rescues us in the time of our greatest hour of need. The rescue mission of intercession by the Spirit of God is supernatural. Romans 8:26 tells us that he helps us in our weakness, when we don’t have what it takes to help ourselves. The idea Romans paints for us is that he crawls into our situation with us. We are never left alone in desperation. The Holy Spirit – God living in us – is right there with us. He is our rescuer in the time of our greatest need. He is always there; he always sees the condition of our hearts. And he is always able to rescue us.

The Holy Spirit in us is an amazing, supernatural gift from a father who loves us so much he gave us all he is.