The Bread Man

If you are like me… you like bread.

Whether it is a loaf of Italian bread, a slice of sourdough, a bagel, or an organic-whole-grain-gluten-free-no-GMO-cardboard-consistency- taste-challenged slice of goodness…

It is always better fresh.

Sure… there are uses for day old bread.  Like for putting in meatballs, or for use as bread crumbs, or even possibly croutons…

But day old bread wasn’t intended to be a staple of our diets.

At least not Biblically…

The finer things in life

I have never been a “success” as the world would define it.   And I have learned to live in it. (yeah… I said “in” not “with”.)

It’s not that I haven’t done well or held good jobs.  I just don’t seem to fit in all the time.

When you tell someone that you are praying for them and the next visit you get is from HR…

Or it becomes apparent that your convictions are in conflict with expectations…

You realize that God is moving you.

Not judging anyone else… not speaking evil of anyone else…  Just guiding you.

And while it has been a bit unnerving at times…  God has always been gracious toward me.

He has always provided and has always kept His promises.

He gives my wife the necessary skills to make me look good.  When she is done stretching the pennies we can sell it as wire.

I swear I bring two fishes and five loaves in to the kitchen and she tables an amazing feast.

…With left-overs.

And He has given us good friends.  People who He gives through.

So where am I going with this?....

When the devil doubles down...

Deep in to the hand… chips on the table… sweat from his brow…

He thinks he knows you.  He thinks he has got you all figured out.

You aren’t the one he is playing with.


No.

The devil is playing for you…

Not “on your side” for…

You are the prize….  He wants to own you.

He had walked in to the room and saw Him sitting at the table… seated… confident.

So he strolled over and sat down.  I can see him now in his red three piece suit, black fedora, shady moustache, and a tooth pick dangling from his lip.

And then it started… but it wasn’t the enemy who spoke first… it was Him, Jesus… “Have you seen my servant…?”

Game on.

Trial after trial, card after card… dealt.

Satan looks in his hand and sees your failures, your habits and addictions, your past, your weaknesses… and he starts to sneer.

So he doubles down… goes “all in”… figuring that Christ is bluffing…  that he has got you now.

But I have  secret I want to share…

God always has the winning hand.  You know how you can tell ?

It’s the one with the hole in it.

“I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons… can separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus.”

The devil could never take you from His hand.

When satan doubles down… God lifts you up.


SDG

Jesus... Stephen... and You

Have you ever been hurt?

People have hurt me.  Either directly and deliberately... or a bit more subtly... a bit more "I would never do that"... a bit more "I never said that!"

I am sure they have hurt you.  I am sure that at some point the judgment or the jeer of others... the condemnation or accusation...  the exclusion... caused you pain.

Pain you felt you didn't deserve.

Physical... emotional... psychological attacks.

Hoping to be justified.  Hoping that your suffering... your pain... would either prove them right, or in some way alleviate theirs... they lashed out.

You're not the first one.

They did it to Jesus.  While He was on the Cross.  After having to carry it.  Oh yeah... and after He had been beaten, and before that betrayed.

His response, "Father forgive them."

And then there was Stephen. While he was being stoned. After having shared the gospel.

"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."

Forgiveness... true forgiveness... complete forgiveness... wants to see those who hurt us finding themselves in heaven, free from the pain that they tried to pass on.

And complete forgiveness can only be offered when you have had a revelation of how complete God's forgiveness is for you.

You can't cling to the Cross and carry a grudge at the same time.

Sometimes I can not even begin to imagine Stephen's ability to ask God to not hold the people's sin against them. 

Why didn't he ask God to avenge him?  Why didn't he remind them that they would "reap what they sow?" 

Why?  Because he realized that a desire for restitution... a desire for some form of justification... is a declaration that the cross was insufficient... that there needs to be something more for their offense.

As long as we take the position of judge we seek to unseat Jesus.

We want to trust Jesus.  Trust is moving forward with confidence and security in the ability of.

God is able.  Fully capable.  Completely.

We want to move forward.  We want to get passed the past... passed the pain... on to victory.

You can't move forward when you are trying to hold someone else back.

God knows what has happened.  He knows what has been done.  He can handle it.

So...  Add your name to the list.  Jesus... Stephen... and YOU.

You have been forgiven... forgive.

Completely.


SDG

The coming winter

We are told in Ecclesiastes that there is a time and a season for every purpose under heaven.

We are admonished to be “instant in and out of season” in Timothy.

And in Galatians we are encouraged that “in due season” things will come.

I want to talk about the coming winter… and the promise it brings.

I want to talk about changing the order of things.

In the world… death is the end.  For people.  For the “cycle” of life.

The grave is a final place.  It is the end of the line.  It is hopeless.

In the natural we experience our spring first… new life… fresh perspective.  And then our summer… when we are young and strong… energetic and vibrant.  Next autumn… the harvest… the colors… the comfort of family on Thanksgiving.

And finally… winter.  That cold desolate time.  Gray hairs seem to resemble the falling snow, even if they fall out. Yes it can be peaceful.  And there is a beauty to it… but we knew it was coming.  We were just praying it wasn’t harsh.

Things slow down… We are less “productive…”  Our “glory days” seem to have passed.  It becomes more about the children and the grandchildren and what we might leave them.  It becomes their time now.

Sorry… ain’t buyin’ it.

pReformed Theology

I think a lot about my wife.  I have a special relationship with her. I love her in a unique way.  I would never base my relationship with her on what other people say about her.

I might have considered their comments in the beginning when we had first met (… if you know me… you know I really didn’t… I fell hard for this woman!)…

And as we grow closer, and intimacy deepens… I am constantly seeing her in new ways…  constantly learning more about her…

Falling more in love with her.

It is real.  And it is amazing.

Quick pseudo history lesson… back in the day…  it was a Wednesday, by the way*… the Church went through what has come to be known as the Protestant Reformation.  While Martin Luther is lauded as the champion there were actually six different movements during that time to essentially rethink the views and teachings that were being implemented in Christendom.

One of the schools of thought that came from this movement was known as Reformed Theology.

They were re-forming what had been formed over centuries of growth… assimilation… corruption… complacency… laziness… deep thought… prayer… you name it.

Whatever your thoughts on their efforts or conclusions… consider that their intentions were good.

They didn’t want Preformed Theology.

Cookie Cutter Christianity.

Production-line pastoring.

They didn’t want to base their opinion on God… their thoughts on God… solely on the opinions and thoughts of others…

They wanted to think for themselves.

We are called to look in to the Word of God for ourselves. (2 Tim 2:15)  Cautioned not to teach as God’s word the traditions and practices of men. (Matt 15:9)

We can appreciate them… even practice them… but we need to know why we do.  We need to make a decision… not have it made for us.

I have a lot of thoughts on and about God.  And I share them.  But they are my thoughts.

Get your own ;-)

Seriously… don’t be a preformed theologian.  There are a lot of wrong opinions on and pictures of Who God is, How Jesus loves, What He would do…

Don’t just accept what others say…

Think for yourself.  Get in to the Scriptures.  Build your relationship with Jesus.

Go deeper.

Make it real…

It’s amazing.


*that little shout out was for you DC fans.

SDG

A Seek/Shall Attitude

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Hebrews 6: 15 (regarding Abraham.)

When we have prayers that are unanswered… when we are in difficult situations… when it seems that we are at the mercy of the enemy…

And the enemy shows no mercy…

Do we wonder if the skeptics might be right… that we’ve been left here on our own to fend for ourselves.

Do we start to think of God differently?  Do we think He isn’t the type to bother with us… that there are bigger things He is concerned with… that we should actually be happy that it isn’t worse?

That we were crazy to think that He would do… whatever?

Or do we fight it?  Do we endure?

I admit that sometimes… did I say “sometimes”  I meant to say “often…”  I get impatient with God.

Fruitless fig trees and saying what you would see

You might be familiar with the story of Jesus and the fig tree found in Mark 11:12-25.

 

To summarize, Jesus is hungry and He sees the leaves of a fig tree in the distance so He makes a b-line to it only to find that it doesn’t have any figs.  So what does He do?... He curses the tree.  Yep… He basically says that no one will ever eat from the tree.

 

The next day when He and the disciples are walking back from the Temple they see that the fig tree is withered and they draw Jesus’ attention to it.

 

His response, “Have faith in God.” V.22

 

I’ve always had a weird feeling about this passage.  I didn’t like Jesus cursing things.  It didn’t seem right.

 

I certainly didn’t want Him cursing me.

 

And I am pretty sure with all of their fibery goodness and future fame as part of the figgy pudding carolers desire to be brought… it wasn’t that He has something against figs.

 

I think it was a lesson.  After all, He was being watched by His disciples… those who were trying to learn and mimic His disciplines.

Homosexuals: Sick, Insane, or Something else?

"And such were some of you…” 1 Corinthians 6:11

In court of law, if you want to prove that you had no control over your actions… that your response to a situation, or to a certain environment was somehow predetermined… that it wasn’t your choice to make…  you have only two defenses:

You are either “sick”… meaning that something is physically, chemically, neurologically, etc. wrong with you…

Or you are “insane”… which means there is something mentally wrong with you… that you are not in your “right” mind.

In either case, you are claiming that you should not be held to any particular behavior… that it is OK because for some reason you “couldn’t help yourself.”

And unfortunately main stream society, without many realizing it, have by default judged people who live as homosexuals as being either sick or insane.

That it isn’t up to them… that they were born this way… that there is something wrong with anyone who would actually say anything to the contrary.

But…

If homosexuality is predetermined by some body chemistry… why aren’t the pharmaceuticals developing medications to change it?  They make them for everything else.

Hmmm, so it isn’t that they are sick and they need to take a pill.

And…

You would have a hard time convincing me that someone who lives as a homosexual is insane.  In fact, I might be more inclined to think you were if you held that position.

And I doubt that people who live as homosexuals would be fine with either one of those conclusions either.

So if it isn’t a sickness... and it isn’t insanity… it must be something else.

It must be the same thing heterosexuals face every day when they have impulses, desires, habits… dare I say it… temptations… that would cause them to go against the Word of God.

Ahh yes… it is called a decision.

A decision they have every right to make.

And just as we expect people to respect our decisions, we need to respect theirs… especially when we disagree with them.

I am not saying we should accept homosexuality…  AND… I am not saying we should judge homosexuals…

The first denies the standard of heaven… the second denies the value of man…

Both deny the power of the Cross.

Too often we forget that before, and since, we gave our lives to Jesus we make choices that we shouldn’t.  Who are we to bring the hammer down on others?

Really… it isn’t up to us to determine how they live…

But it is definitely up to them.

They are not sick… or insane… they are faced with a decision.

And they are loved by the One Who gave His life for them.

So when people say “they really can’t help themselves”…

Show them the love of the only One Who can.

SDG

Environmentally Friendly Christians

There is a big push for being “green” these days… for the three “Rs”- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  And it is all about “renewable” resources.

Things that are organic… that don’t cause destruction… That won’t harm the environment.

But if you want to be an environmentally friendly Christian you have to start first by realizing that God is the ultimate in Green.

His mercies are new every morning.  (Lam. 3:23)

We are renewed in Him. (Rom. 12:2)  And that renewing is one that transforms lives.

And His Power has yet to even begin to run out.  While others are trying to figure out how to generate energy, how to produce power…  We have been given the ultimate power… the Holy Spirit… that we not only tap in to… but that is IN us… and yes… we distribute.

We are the grid.

And we need to be distributed to those who need Him.

“I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”1 Col 9:22

Thinking about you...

It is always good to know that someone is thinking about you… that you haven’t been forgotten…

that you matter….

That there is someone out there that wants the best for you… to see you succeed… to see you smile.

Someone who is in your corner… who knows all of your baggage… and is willing to help you carry it.

Someone who seems to always forget your mistakes… but never forgets you…

God is like that.

“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How great the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand…” Psalm 139:17,18

And they are “thoughts of peace and not to harm you, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11

If you were to fill a typical refrigerator with sand… there would be a grain of sand for every second of your life if you lived to be 600 years old.

Are you on God's S.H.I.T. list?

Before there were refrigeration systems aboard ships there were containers marked with the designation…

Ship High In Transit.

These boxes needed special attention.  They carried precious cargo. Things that, if too much time passed… could spoil.

And so, rather than be placed below deck where they might be forgotten… they were stacked on the highest point of the vessel… in plain view… as a constant reminder to captain and crew that they needed to press on…

That time was of the essence.

Constantly checking to make sure one bad apple didn’t spoil the bunch… that bugs hadn’t gotten to the greens… that things were still fresh.

If the cargo kicked… the voyage was fruitless. (no pun intended… but I will enjoy it for a moment)

Was Jesus off the boat?

"The only plan that never changes is the plan for plans to change.”

Sometimes things don’t quite go as planned.   You chart a course… pack your rations and set out.

You are hopeful, excited.  You have purpose.  You believe that He is with you, guiding you.

Even when storms come… you are certain you will weather it… that you will get through.

You remember the story of the stormy sea and the Sleeping  Savior… the whisper that calmed the crisis.

When the waves come you enjoy the ride.

Sometimes.

Sometimes you go into the trip the way Paul did.  Yes, Paul.  The one who met the One on a dusty road and never stopped riding.

“Men, I perceive that his voyage will end with disaster, and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” Acts 27:10 emphasis added

Pretty ominous.  I wouldn’t put this in the “most encouraging verses” category by any stretch.  Sounds like Paul thought Jesus was off the boat.

But these were the words of the apostle to his traveling companions as they set out to Rome.

Have you ever had a “Paul” put a damper on your journey?  Tell you that it wasn’t going to go well? Bring you down… hold you back… rather than build you up and watch you go?!

I have.  And truth be told, sometimes,  the nay-sayers could have quoted Paul when he pulled the classic Biblical “I told you so.”…

Magnification Monday

Sherlock Holmes was one of my childhood heroes.  Being a vertically challenged, awkward looking, somewhat shy kid… I gained hope from the idea that being smart could actually benefit you.  And while I couldn’t smoke a pipe at such a young age I could get my hands on a magnifying glass.

What I didn’t realize though was that more than having a magnifying glass…

I was meant to be one.

And so are you.

“Oh magnify the Lord with me…” Psalm 34:3

Magnifying glasses work because of the way they are bent… they have a curve that redirects light in a certain way that does a few specific things that we, as Christians, are called to do…

Magnifying glasses make it easier to see.  Whatever it is that you are looking at, when you look at it through a magnifying glass it brings out the detail… it allows you to see things you couldn’t before.  Technically, it actually changes the angle your eye is seeing at causing you to use more of the surface area of your retina.  The closer the magnifying glass gets to the eye… the larger the image.  The more “bent” the glass is… the greater the curve… the better the image.

As a Christian you are created with a special “bent”… you have a way about you… a gifting… a calling.  God desires that people would not only see Him through you… but that they would see Him in more detail.  Of course… in order to do that… you need to get closer to them.

Make it easier for them to see Him.

Magnifying glasses focus the light.  Raise your hand if you ever started a fire with a magnifying glass! (and yes,  burning insects… or the back of a friend’s neck when they weren’t looking counts…)  When you get out of the way and let the sunlight shine through a magnifying glass it is powerful… it is intense… it can start a fire.

Now… raise your hand if you want let the Son-Light shine through you in such a way that causes not just a spark… but an all-consuming fire!  A contagious… multiplying… wick-lighting… explosive… intense… holy blaze that sets the forest of men-as-trees we call the church into such a roaring flame that the heat of heaven consumes everything around us!

There is a fire you were meant to start… and only you… a way in which the Light will go through your special “curve”… your unique “bent”… and cause just the right intensity of His Love to set things a blaze… to Light them up.

Let it.

Magnifying glasses need to be positioned to work.  When I would act the part of Sherlock Holmes I needed to pick the magnifying glass up for it to work.  It needed to be constantly adjusted… the angle… the distance… in order for it to fulfill its purpose.

If you are to be the magnifying glass you were meant to be… you need to be in His hands.  You need to allow Him to position you.  It might be uncomfortable.  He might bring you a little closer to some than you would otherwise want… He might turn you a bit… adjust your angle… position you…

So that the right amount of Light gets through and the best image of Him comes in to focus.

Today I am challenging you to not just be a window through which others see heaven… today I am challenging you to be a magnifying glass.   Let God use you… your calling… your gifting… your “bent”… to magnify Him.  Get close enough to others so that they get a better… a BIGGER… a more detailed picture of Who God is.

Start a fire.

In Jesus’ name.

SDG

News Relese: ROTC defeats most popular religion

Religion is the act or process of relying upon.

The most widely practiced religion in the world, not just today, but ever… that invades every system of belief… permeates every denomination within Christendom… and beckons every single person to its altars…is the religion of self-reliance. 

The act or process or relying upon one’s self.

People have come to believe that the only one looking out for them… is them.  That in order to prove anything… you must first prove yourself.  That you need to earn and fight for a place… or you will  be replaced.

And so, they have come to rely on themselves for…

Happiness… Success… Pleasure…

by proving of one’s self to be right, by giving in to one’s desires, by defending one’s position…

and all at the expense of others.  Whether admittedly or not… when you look up to yourself… you look down on others.

Whether they are fighting for a spot in the corner office… or time at the pulpit…

To lead a business… or a ministry…

When it is done in their own strength… they are priests of their own altars… exalting their own selves… covered in the filthy rags of their own righteousness… practicing self-reliance.

Believe me, I know.  I was ordained in the religion of self-reliance.  And I was not alone.  Pride was with me.

So what does the ROTC have to do with this?  How can it help us to seek relationship rather than religion… to move from self-reliance into the place of God’s Grace?

A "sworn statement of witness"

I am known for telling stories… again… and again… and yes… again.

It can become redundant.  And as good (in my humble opinion) as these stores can be there are times when people slump their shoulders and give me the “not again” look.

I gained 30 pounds just by promising to first take and finish a bite of food before I started to tell a story.* (Of course, it was mainly to distract me while people fled the room!)

I love a good story.  Whether told by myself or someone else.

But even more than stories... more than carefully crafted commentary or perfectly prepared preludes … I love testimonies.

“Sworn statements of witness.”

Things that people have witnessed for themselves… things that they would swear to.

Christian Graffiti

While others might call them vandals… they call themselves artists.

Street Artists to be exact.  And their claim to fame… graffiti.

Not only do they transform the appearance of cement, brick, and metal structures they do it in incredible time, against incredible odds…

And often at incredible heights.

Some just “tag” things with a symbol or a signature… perhaps an act of rebellion… or a cry to be noticed.

Others… they truly do produce works of art.

And while we can understand why the owners of the buildings or the people living in the neighborhoods want them to stop…

We can also understand why they do it.

The power of "again"

Every trainer and coach knows the power of the word “Again.”

It tests you… increases your ability… pushes you to your limit.

Just when you think you are done… just when you think the set is over or practice is finished… they say it,…

“Again!”

For the one being coached or trained “again” means pain… sweat… exhaustion… frustration.

It can cause you to question the motives of the instructor.  It can get you to wish you never joined the team or decided to compete.

But you did.

You committed. 

The Worship Decision

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him” Matt 2:11

Every day…  every moment… you are faced with the choice.

The choice of Who you respond to.

Because worship is a response…  a response to who someone is.

A response that inherently places you in a position of subjection, submission, humility… a response that declares whom you serve.

Praise, on the other hand, is a response to WHAT someone does.

Like cheering when a player scores a touchdown, a musician plays a song, or your wife puts an amazing meal on the table. (I especially cheer at the last one!)

When the wise men came and visited Jesus as a child the scripture does not say that they gave Him praise… but rather… they worshipped Him.

Living a Search Optimized Life

SEO is a term you may have heard. It stands for Search Engine Optimization.

The art and science of being found.

As far as websites go it is about a doing a few things well…

It is about keywords… words that best describe or define what is being looked for.

It is about the context…. Or… what else is happening on the site… Like products for sale… or advertisements…

It is about the quality of the content… about how much time seems to have been put in to it… how much of it actually relates to what the keywords are… about how one reinforces the other.

It is about who else is “linked” to you… who else is noticing… who else is talking about you and what you are saying… about what is being said about you.

So let me ask you this…

Are you living a Search Optimized Life?

Do you have keywords that people would use to define you?  Words that come to mind immediately when your name is spoken?

What does your life endorse or “advertise?”

How much of what you say is actually what you live?

Who are you connected with?  If people found the people who know you… would they send them your way? … and for what?

Which “searches” would you come up in?

Are they the ones you would want them to be?

Christ did not give His life for us to waste ours.

He wants to live through us.  He wants our life to be optimized in such a way that people can find Him in us.

He wants us to receive Him… to receive His Spirit so we can live…

A Spirit-filled fruitful life.

Tap in to the Vine… and you will bear fruit…

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control…” Gal 5:22-23

Those are some pretty good key words… wouldn’t you agree?

SDG

 

 

 

Be like the blind man...

“Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.” John 9:32

These were the words of the man who was born blind… but whom Jesus gave sight to.  (And I tend to think that when he said it, it was a little sarcastic… a little “right-back-at-ya”.)

I would imagine that over the years this man had heard the opposite quite a bit.  There must have been quite a few well-meaning people who felt they needed to be “realistic” with him…

“Listen, I’m sorry, but there is no precedent for your healing.  No one has ever received their sight when they were born blind!”

“This is just your cross to bear….”  “God doesn’t do that anymore.”

But you see… since he couldn’t see… he listened.

I can imagine him at Passover hearing to the stories.  In his world that was completely dark… he could see what others couldn’t.

“Wait!,” he may have thought…

Had anyone ever seen the sea part before?...  Or the Nile turn red?...

Or was anyone protected by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of smoke during the day?...

Water flowing from a rock… Bread from heaven…?

Ever? 

Yoda was a Christian

“For thus loved God the world, that the Son, the unique One, He gave… For did not send God the Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that might be saved the world through Him.” John 3:16a, 17

Throw a little Yoda “hmmm…” after that and it could have been a line from Star Wars®.

The Greek grammar and sentence structure of the Bible is different than our English.

The verse above is in the actual word order of the original Greek text.

Yoda knew what he was talking about.

I am not saying that the author intended it to be a “Christian” work but so many themes in the Star Wars® movies and books hovercraft dangerously close to being Biblical.

Take the term paduan which not only seems quite close to the Greek paidion but is used correctly as far as the Greek definition goes.

Certainly there are things that are way off.

But ultimately… the battle between right and wrong,…

NASCAR Christianity

I remember reading or hearing somewhere that more people watch a single NASCAR® race each week than do the Super Bowl.

I don’t know if you are a fan but until a few years ago I didn’t even know what the acronym meant.  So I went into the maintenance shop where I used to work and asked.

About eight guys simultaneously let me know…

National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing.

With such a massive following you have to ask yourself (or at least I did)…

What can the Church learn from NASCAR®?

The big question... If there is God then why...

Do I even need to finish that question?  Wasn’t there a something on the tip of your tongue or the top of your mind?...

If there is a God…

… why do bad things happen to good people?...

… why is there so much suffering in the world?

Hmmm.  Good questions?

Have you ever sat beneath a tree on a sunny day and asked, “Why is there shade here?”

Often the answer doesn’t rest in why something is as much as in what something is.  The questions as to right or wrong, good or evil, joy or suffering lie in the definitions –at least within a biblical context – of each.

Shade is the evidence that the light from the sun is being blocked.

Shade itself could neither exist without light nor without something to block it.

Suffering is an event, situation, or experience that affirms that evil is still present.

A good spotter never takes all of the weight...

“…but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.“ 1 Cor 10:13

Jim was a strong guy.  He could literally crack a walnut with his chest.  At the time (many, many years ago) I weighed in at about a buck-fifteen soaking wet.  So when I heard Jim say, “Gimme a spot,” I had to do a double-take to see if he was talking to me.

Do you know what 325 lbs looks like on a weight bench?

Pretty intimidating.

After a few reps he was slowing down… but he was determined to finish.

I was getting nervous.  I thought I was in the clear after ten… with his veins popping and his face red. Then… he said it…

“One more.”

I was sweating just worrying about having to lift this.  So I kicked in to “motivation” mode.

“Let’s do it!” I said, as if I really had anything to do with it.

I must have yelled “Push it!,” “Come on!,” “You got this!” more times over the 5 seconds it took him to lift that bar than I have since.

I knew I could never lift that weight.

But being a spotter isn’t about showing people how strong you think you are…

It’s about showing people how strong you think they can be.

God would never put you on a bench with more weight than you can bear.

I know that.

So I know that when it looks like you are struggling…

When we find ourselvs being replaced.

One of the most uncomfortable things to go through is change.  We find comfort in things being predictable… manageable… the same.

While we may appreciate a challenge here and there… maybe in certain areas… or certain things… it is good to know that something is secure.

That there is something we can rely on.

Too often, that “thing” is our “place”… wherever it might be.

We begin to find our identity… our security…  in that place and we become established.

Maybe it was a job that you were in for a long time.

A church.  Or a ministry.  Perhaps it was a group of friends that you spent a lot of time with.

And then, what seems like “all of a sudden” it changes.

You no longer have that “place”… that security.

But when change comes… and it will… we need not look at what we might be “losing” or where we may have been…

When you start to see red

I think that one of the ways the enemy manages to cause people to try desperately to earn God’s love and approval through religion… rather than realize His love and approval in relationship through Jesus… is that he fails vocabulary.

He has taken every word of the Bible and deliberately and cunningly redefined them so that when people read the Word apart from the Spirit they get a wrong impression and understanding of Who God is.

There are many… many examples.  But today I want to look at one name of God… one attribute… one facet of His character that so demonstrates His love for us that the devil has spent millennia working against what it really means.

God is…

Judge.

How can it be that this term demonstrates His love?  How can we reconcile the times in scripture that we are told to not judge… and then too judge… with God as Judge… and constantly dealing with people who are judgmental?  (More mental than judge :-) )

Don’t go to the dictionary… not in this context.  You can’t expect to fully understand the things of God from something with a copyright claimed by man.

You need to look to the Word and apply what it says to what it saying.

What the heck is an enmity any way?

“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God…” Romans 8:7

What is an enmity?

Is it an “itty-bitty” enemy?

Not quite.

The Greek word for enmity is ἐχθρός (echthra / echthros).

Elsewhere in the scriptures echtrha is translated as  enemy, enemies, enmity, hostility, hatred.

Of course, if you know me, you know I have to challenge it …. at least an itty-bitty bit.

The immediate context within the passage is the distinction between being spiritually minded and being carnally minded.  Using the word enmity to mean hatred or hostility, though, paints a picture that I think can be confusing when taken in the greater context of the scripture and our position in Christ.

In our carnal mind are we enemies of God when the scripture has declared us to be friends of God?

If when I am hungry… and eat… have I become His enemy?  If when I am cold… and cover myself… have I become His enemy?  If after giving my life to Christ… I give in to  “carnal desires”… have I undone the work of the Cross?

When God looks at His children… is it with hatred?

Calling your shots

If you have ever played a game of H-O-R-S-E you know that the shot only counts if you call it. I had one friend who could shoot the eyes out of the net.  He called every shot a “swish” before he took it and, sure enough… nothing but net.

Sure, he could just shoot and make it, which would mean that we could bank it in, or have it bobble around the rim, and as long as it went through the hoop it would count.

But he called it.

And we couldn’t argue it.

What he did is what he intended to do.

Because he said it before he did it.

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up….he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.” John 2:19, 21-22

How’s that for a shot?  You can’t just hope that one goes through the hoop.  You can’t call it luck.

Chuck Taylor, Dr. J., Jordan, Iverson, Lebron … they had or have skill… but no one, I mean NO ONE has ever or will ever call a shot like that.

Professional Fighters

““Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12

We all know that Rocky is going to win.  We know how the story ends.

But it is what he is up against… what he goes through… what he is willing to endure… to lay on the line…

That is what makes us watch…  what makes us relate.

It is the fight that draws the attention.

Having an unanswered prayer list

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13

Wouldn’t it be much easier if He had said “that will I do… on Mondays… or in one week… or immediately?”

I don’t like the Christian caveats or liturgical loopholes that make it OK to wait for prayers to be answered. And I hate when they have something to do with me.

“God must be doing something in you.”  “You aren’t ready to receive it yet.”  “There is sin in your life.”  “You can’t ask for that.”

While those things may be true… they don’t have to be.

God can give me a hold-over.  He can give me the thing I ask for until the thing He has for me arrives.  It is not outside of His ability.

And the verses in the Bible that show persistence in prayer producing results often lean too much to the idea that I can do something more or better and then I can deserve the answer… that I can earn it.

Shouldn’t asking once be enough?  Does got not hear?  Am I supposed to prove something to the One Who knows everything?

Is it that He can’t remember?

Or…

Body Odor

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)

We aren’t talking about the “smell of victory” that lingers in the locker room after a game or in the socks of the marathon runner… for weeks.

This is different.

It isn’t just body odor… it is Body Odor.

When we as the Church, the very Body of Christ, face life having already triumphed over death through the Blood of Jesus…

When we surrender to the Spirit and allow Him to comfort others through our hands and our hearts with the same comfort that He has comforted us with…

When we recognize that His grace is amazing… that His mercies are new every morning… that His love endures forever…

When we choose not to condemn… but to encourage…

Not to hate… but to love…

Emergency Service Call

Right now I work for a door company.  We sell, install, and service all types of commercial doors.  And every so often (more often than our techs would like) we get an emergency service call.

 

Someone needs something done right away and they know to call us because we have a dispatcher always ready to answer the phone.

 

Who the he reaches out to for making the call all depends on a few things:

 

The expertise needed

The location

Their willingness to take the call

 

Sometimes it can take a few tries before the dispatcher finds someone willing to take the call. Someone who is willing to say, "Send it over... I'll get my keys."

I am changing my name to Lo

I have had a number of long hectic days backed up against one another and have spent a lot of time driving each day to and from work.

And usually, unless there is some incalculable event that would prevent me from walking the dog… I spend some time alone at night as well.

I am one of those types that needs time alone to recharge.  But being alone too much can get lonely.

So I am changing my name to Lo.

Because there is a promise for Lo.

Talkin' 'bout glory days...

If you are from NJ… or are even familiar with Bruce Springsteen… you might have thought about his old friend who was a great baseball player… back in high school.  He could throw that speed ball by ya… make ya look like a fool.

If none of what I just wrote made any sense to you…  you might want to save this email until a little more water has run under the bridge.

I recently read an article about trees.  It was always thought that trees grew more and faster, that they were more productive… when they were young.

Turns out… that isn’t exactly true.  Trees grow more, and are more productive the older they get.

They top out in height… but their reach continues to expand.

They produce more oxygen.  Which is their purpose.

It is easy to think that our best years are behind us.  That our glory days are in the past.

That things will never be the way they used to be.

And that is partly right.

Things are meant to be better.

A man of understanding

It is one thing to understand something… or someone… a situation.. or a problem.

But to be a man of understanding…

That is a spiritual thing.

“a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.” Proverbs 17:27

There are so many things I want to understand.  There are so many reasons… biblical reasons.. why I want to be a man of understanding…

“a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:” Proverbs 1:5
“a man of understanding hath wisdom.” Proverbs 10:23
“a man of understanding walketh uprightly.” Proverbs 15:21

We are exhorted by the Word of God to “get” understanding.  In fact it goes a step further and says, “with all thy getting get understanding.”

With every possible resource… with all of your effort… with all of your energy…

GET.

Bringing the embers together

Sitting in front of the fireplace, watching as the wood burns… you can learn a lot about the church… and how important it is to make sure we remember to come together as a body...

About what can happen if we do.

As I sat on the couch staring into the fire the embers lie beneath the grate, spread out below the logs that were losing their flames.

Small bits and pieces each glowing that distinct orange.

If you approached the embers you could feel their heat.  But there was no flame.  No roar of the fire.  No light.

That is… until all the embers were gathered together in a pile and the glass doors to the fireplace were opened just enough to let some air in.

Suddenly… a spark.  And then a blaze.

The flames danced over the embers and climbed the logs above.

It was beautiful.  It lit up the room.

T-20 Torx Driver

It started when the top rack of the dishwasher wasn’t getting any water to it.

Not really being in the position to… or even having the desire to… bring in an appliance guy I did what seemed obvious and when that didn’t work I went on YouTube.

The repair seemed easy enough and nothing that I couldn’t do except for one little potential snag…

the screws I had to remove to get to the problem were “special.”   They weren’t the typical Phillips or flat-head screws.  In fact, in my limited experience, I had never had to remove one before.

To try to get them off with a standard driver bit would destroy them.  It had to be a T-20 Torx bit. (Kudos to those of you who know exactly what that is… I didn’t.)

Wouldn’t you know it… in the set that my wife had gotten me as a gift there it was… a T-20 torx driver bit.  That poor, lonely, never-been-used, “special” bit.

But I wouldn’t have been able to do the job without it.  No other bit in the case would work.

This was the T-20’s time to shine.

Case Closed

Sometimes I have God moments that get me psyched.  Not just in awe of God… not just excited…

Psyched!

I get pumped up when I get empowered.

And when God put the following on my heart… I felt empowered.

The enemy might bring an accusation against you…

                                                      But he has to leave with it too!

Oh yeah!  That’s right.

He can say whatever he wants… he can bring ever manner of accusation against us… but you know what?...

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

Condemnation: the act or process of executing judgment against

That means EVEN if it is true…

Where were you last night?

I think one question that Nicodemus didn’t want to get from his friends, colleagues, family… or whoever… the day after he met with Jesus after hours was, “Where were you last night?”

He had gone to seek Jesus when and where he felt safe.  And in order to do so he must have trusted that Jesus would not have given his little secret away.

“Why don’t you ask Nicodemus… He and I have talked!” was not something that the gospels record Christ saying in any of his subsequent conversations with the Pharisees.

Jesus respected Nick’s privacy.

He treated him as valuable.  He listened to him.

He answered him honestly.

Nick didn’t seem the type to falsely deny to encounter.  He must have carried the conversation with him wondering if it would ever come up.  Had someone asked, he would have to admit it.  And with that admission came the risk that he would be an outcast.