Jars Of Clay

Today was a good day at Discovery Park Church On The Streets.

The faithful Discovery Park team was amazing as usual with their bright loving smiles and inviting hello’s when greeting everyone.

 I have the blessing of being one of the members who gets the privilege of talking with everyone who lives in the park. These have truly become our friends. It has been an interesting transformation from ministry to a relational interaction at Discovery Park.

 Today I had the honor to speak to two men, Bob who I met for the first time today and Robert who I have become friends with over the past year.

 Bob is a Vietnam Veteran. He told me he still has problems staying inside due to his problems with Agent Orange exposure. He just feels more comfortable outside. As we talked he told me he was married and had two sons. He lost his wife, he didn’t tell me how. He lost one son who died in Afghanistan who was a Navy Seal. His other son died in Iraq. Bob also told me he and his wife use to work with displaced kids. Who were homeless for one reason or another. He told me how the two of them loved changing the lives of lost children who had nowhere to go and no hope. I was moved. There was a sincerity of heart. He looked deep into my eyes, almost piercing through, as he told me about how he and his wife were almost like shepherds and guardians for the children they loved and worked with. After his wife died that all came to an end.

 He told me about how he was spit on and scorned when he came back from Vietnam. How he was so confused that he and other men who put their lives on the line to serve their country were treated like they were the enemy and not heroes when they came home.

 The conversation I had with Bob had some amazing sagas to it. It had the makings of a good auto biography or even a short film. But there was one thing missing. As he related his experiences there was no life to his stories. I don’t think Bob was fabricating anything, I just believe he was tired .

 He told me he suffered loss from the Agent Orange exposure in Nam, now with one lung, and one kidney. He also told me he was an Army Ranger so he was tougher than the Agent Orange and it wouldn’t get the best of him. Bob was empty in side. When I asked him if he ever went to church he said he wasn’t ready yet. I was able to hear Bob’s story today and interject that God indeed loved him through all his life’s situations he described to me, that the Lord was with him through the atrocities he endured through war, the loss of his wife and both sons. How he was able to experience the heart of God being expressed through him and his wife as they reached out to a hopeless situation when they helped the homeless children. So he could hear of the love God had for him today. Bob acknowledged my remarks. I was able to pray with him before he left and I believe the God of love touched a man who got caught up in the hardships handed out by life, and I am firmly convinced that God in his infinite wisdom touched Bob’s soul today. Bob will think about the things we talked about.

For that I am grateful to the Holy Spirit.

 I also talked to Robert today, my friend of a year now. The sense of thankfulness carried through from my conversation with Bob. It amazes me that the more of God’s word we have in the reservoir of our hearts and minds God is able to go from one conversation to the next, both unrelated and he draws from that reservoir ministering in each situation.

 Robert is one of the local guys who always shows up for our COTS gathering, every Wednesday and every third Sunday of the month. Robert one of the friendliest men there. He has usually had too much to drink. The conversation usually stays on the surface, not going too deep. Today was different. God had other plans for Robert today. We sat saying hi to each other and talking about the where abouts of other men we’ve made friends with. Then the sun broke out through some clouds. Robert made a comment of how good it felt. I was telling him how thankful I was about having the ability to experience God with all my senses. Then I was reminded about the 10 lepers in Luke 17:11-19. Jesus healed 10 lepers only one returned to give thanks. Robert listened intently as I told him the story. Then I told him about the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. I told him my story, how I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior when I was 18, and how thankful I have been each day since. I told Robert, who was sober as a nun today, how I cared for him, his safety; and for his health. Then I asked if he had ever asked Jesus into his heart the way I did when I was 18. He told me he had. I believe him. I got to pray for him that God would keep him safe and draw him to his heart and into an intimate relationship with him.

 Today was a good day. I looked around and saw others being prayed over. The Good News of Gods loving heart was being handed out today. Prayers were being answered today.

 We are blessed to be trusted to handle the only words that give life to a lost and dying generation. In all our frailty and personal struggles, the creator of the universe makes the choice to put such a treasure in jars of clay. What an unspeakable honor we have been trusted with. Look for every opportunity to give away what has been freely given to each one of us. His love.

Happy are the feet of those who bring good news.  

Creative Thought

I have a friend in Church who referred to our minds and hearts as a reservoir. Her statement was “We need to fill our reservoirs with God’s word.” That was the first time I heard that term regarding to storing God’s words in our hearts. That’s the perfect term because that is exactly what our minds and hearts are. We store knowledge and experiences in our hearts and minds, from there God will minister to us and others through us. Daily life is then lived out,  then new things and experiences are gained.

 Our minds and hearts are designed to be like a reservoir. Whatever we take in we speak and live out. If we store God’s word in our hearts meditating on it we will begin to live it out. God knew that when he said “study to show yourself approved’ and ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”, because a man will draw out of his heart what is stored up in it, either good a or bad.

 I recently read an article about creative thinking from a business blog. I won’t go into detail about what the author wrote but I do want to express some thoughts about what the Lord revealed to me through it.

I don’t want to ramble on so I’ll get to the point.

 In John 10:10 Jesus speaks about life in abundance. The term abundance reflects different ideas to all of us. So for argument sake let’s use two definitions for abundance.

Abundance from the Free Dictionary by Farlex on line:

a·bun·dance  (-bndns)

n.

1. A great or plentiful amount.

2. Fullness to overflowing

Abundance from the Greek New testament:

per-is-sos'     Adjective

Definition

1.               exceeding some number or measure or rank or need a.            over and above, more than is necessary

 So why am I writing about abundance and creative thought, joining them in the same article? Because one leads to the other. I found that when there is an abundance of life in me, when God’s word is alive in me, according to Colossians 3:16, joined with a balanced amount of service that I am involved in (James 2:14 -18.) Then comes creative thought. God is amazing for many reasons. I love that that he gives creative thought when we spend time with him and in his word. God is very relational. When we are in a relationship with God he loves to share his heart with us showing us his creativity in what he has made, things we see and what we don’t see. According to John 16:13 God placed his Spirit in our hearts for the purpose of showing us what is in his heart. God isn’t selfish and doesn’t have a cloke and dagger relationship with us. He wants us to know him and the things he loves. He gave us 5 senses because he wants us to enjoy what he has created. He knows what speaks to each one of us. According to Psalm 39 he knows each of us intimately because he created us uniquely as indivuals who relate to him. That’s why he calls us personally. The call to be born again into new life is never a corporate decision but always a personal decision.

·        We read and study God’s word, filing the reservoir of our hearts and minds.

·        We meditate on it by talking about what we have in our reservoir with God (prayer) and each other (fellowship).

·        We play out what we are learning by putting it into action (James 2:14 -18 and Matthew 28:19.) 

·        God’s Spirit moves his word 18 inches from head to heart and we begin to see it through revelation Ephesians 2:17.)

·        God’s words become alive in us according to Colossians 3:16 and our relationship with God is transformed to more than just words we hear on Sunday morning in church and become personal.

·        Life becomes abundant with the richness of more experience and revelation, my wife calls this a flowing cup, she draws that term from Paul in Philippians 2:17.

 That is when creativity comes, through great thought and action. God begins to drop his thoughts in our minds and hearts. This is the place that great ministries are born, books are written and art is expressed through the very expression of a relationship with the maker of all things. All gifts come from above. There are no wrong gifts just miss guided gifts. Depth and abundance comes from relationship with God who knows us intimately because he created each one of us uniquely the way we are. He alone knows the depth of each heart.

 Abundance and creativity go hand in hand but not in a way that is expressed by a void of a relationship with God who burns to lalvish his love on us and through us because he all about relationship, he always has been and always will be.

Abundant creativity comes through him and having a relationship with him. It’s never too late to get started.

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.