Not a care in the world...

If someone told me that I won $5,000,000 (yes, that's $5 Million) and that I would be getting it at the end of the week, there's not a lot of things that you could tell me that would make me worry.

Ummm... I have bad news for you, your car was stolen.
No problem... I'll buy one Saturday!

Your house... it burned down.
Ehhhh... didn't like it anyway. I'll buy a new on on Monday.

You no longer have a job.
That's okay... just have to make it to the weekend...

That, is the feeling of peace that comes from security. Interestingly enough, neither you or I won the lottery today and we don't have a big check waiting for us. Fortunately, as Christians, our peace doesn't come from trusting in man or in money. Our peace comes from our trust in God.

Peace, is another facet of the fruit of the spirit. It's that natural state of tranquility that only comes from having a relationship with God.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:6-8 NLT

We have the ability to pray and ask God for anything that we need. We can look back at His track record and see how He has met all of our need in the past. We can see how God has never failed us. People that haven't experienced it, will never understand it. Honestly, sometimes I don't really understand it either, but I can clearly see God's hand. When I think about that... when I see that truth and think about it... I will be thankful and give praises to God, who is worthy forever and ever, amen.

Let's struggle to remember that God cares for us and that we can pray about everything.

Why are you so happy?

Joy is another aspect of fruit of the spirit. What in the world is joy anyway? When people are joyful, it's usually because of something that happened or the expectation of what's going to happen. In the Biblical terms, we should be joyful because we know that God had bought us back from a sure death because He sent His son to die for us. Because we have accepted this fact, we know that one day, we will be with Him.

Because this life is temporary, we have joy that regardless of the situation that we are experiencing, we have this sure end... that one day, we will be with God in eternity!

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT

See? Jesus endured the being whipped, and even the death on the cross, and the joy of knowing what awaited Him on the other side enabled Him to endure.

10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:10-11 NLT

So... regardless of the situation, let's live a life of joy - because everything that we go through here... good or bad, pales in comparison to what we will experience when we are with God full time! Embrace this joy... and live in it!

Love is always threatened...

I love this picture because it screams of truth. Love... is always threatened by the waves of life. Just like in this picture, the water will overcome love and it will erode away. If love is to exist there again... it has to intentionally be re-written again. In our lives, we need to continually remember to love people including those who are hard to love... those who always wear away at the love you're trying to show them.

Love is important. I'm not talking about this mushy thing that our society embraces - where love is confused with sex or giving in to how someone feels. Love is intentional.

Jesus sums up the 10 commandments in 2 simple thoughts... Love God... Love each other.

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 New Living Translation

Love has to be the motive. If you are doing something for someone because you think they will owe you? You... are loving wrong. If you are doing something good because you want people to think you're great... you, are loving wrong.

I admit it... there are people in my life that frustrate me to no end. I lose patience with them. I love them... but they make me want to scream some times! I admit it... they irritate me and as a result, my interactions with them becomes rude. I look back at things that they've done and it drives the way I look at them in the future. Then, I read this:

  3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:3-7 New Living Translation

I have to ask myself - am I truly being governed by the spirit of God? After all, the fruit of the spirit is love.

Today, I am going to scribble LOVE all over my life... and anytime it gets eroded by the waves of life, try to remember to write it again.

An overflowing basket...

I never really understood the cornucopia. Every time you see one, the contents are spilled out over the table. It just seemed like an inefficient way to carry things. I mean, why not use a basket. When I was in elementary school use to color them. You don't hear about them much these days.

I was always more interested in coloring the fruit and vegetables than the actual basket itself. I wanted the right red for the apple, and dark purple for grapes (because I liked purple ones better than green...), pears, corn, bananas... Were there banana's at the first Thanksgiving? I don't think so... The thing is, you can really put what ever you want to in a cornucopia. Primarily because it's not practical for carrying things and it's just for decorative purposes.

Now... the fruit of the spirit? Those are non-negotiable. As a Christian, we are suppose to be displaying fruit. The interesting thing is that it doesn't say "fruits" implying that you might not have one or some of them. Fruit implies that we should be produce one... that manifests itself in many different ways. Kind of like an apple that can be fried in cinnamon, eaten raw, baked in a pie, made into juice... it's the same fruit... just used different ways.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 New Living Translation

If we aren't producing all of this fruit, then maybe we need to do some pruning in our lives... let's inspect our lives and see if we're missing any of these. God will get the glory if we are! If not, He is faithful to help us get there.

Half full?

When I grew up, we would run around outside for hours and hours. We would ride bikes, climb, chase, crawl, roll... that's a hard days work for a kid. "Work" like that will really build a huge thirst. When it was time to get something to drink, there was nothing better than drinking water from a hose. Whether it came out warm or cool, it didn't matter. We just wanted to drink and be refreshed.

At that moment, there was nothing better than the taste of that water. The taste was a familiar rubbery goodness that I will never forget.

Now that I'm older, I can drink whatever kind of water I want. Tap, Fiji, Disani, filtered, Smart Water... The thing that gets me most is that most people that drink water you find a lot of bottles lying around that are slightly less than half full. If people don't finish the bottle, they'll just get a fresh bottle of water. They toss it away and move on to the next cool bottle of refreshment.

Sometimes, I treat the word of God like a half full bottle of water that's too warm. I go from my morning devotion, to my favorite radio ministers, to my favorite online blogs and never really take the time to let what I heard sink in. Think of it like running through a sprinkler. If you're thirsty, you'll never get all the water you need by running through a sprinkler. You have to be intentional, concentrate, drink it in...

So, that's my struggle for today. To take the time and really meditate on a single passage. Meditate on it to the point where it's life changing and not just informational...

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do. (Psalm 1:1-3 New Living Translation)

11I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
12I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
13Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? (Psalm 77:11-13)

The value is what's inside...

I remember when I was in junior high school we had the chance to make clay bowls in art class. We started out with a hard lump of clay that you couldn't even bend or put a thumb print in. You had to add water and work with it until it became pliable. Once the clay would begin to bend to your touch, you would throw it on a pottery wheel that would begin to spin it around in circles. By adding pressure and water you would eventually be able to do things like make the clay rise to unimaginable heights! You could hollow out the inside, shape it and form it into something beautiful.

Once the clay is formed in the desired manner - you put it in the fire to toughen it up. The fire lets the clay hold its shape. Once it's fired, you can add a glaze to make it shiny.

Even with that, it's still a fragile piece of clay.

My bowl leaked. But it didn't keep me from pouring water into it... and as the water slowly leaked out... I would add more water. I was proud of it... it was mine.

Christians are a lot like that piece of clay. We have been hardened by the world into this lifeless lump of clay. We aren't sure what we could be, so we try to blend in with all the other lumps of clay. But God steps in and he adds living water...

37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) John 7:37-40 New Living Translation

God begins to shape us and mold us. Not in any random form... but into a form that looks like Jesus.

4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.  Romans 6:4-6 New Living Translation

God toughens us up by allowing us to be put into situations where we can be sure that we are going to hold on to the form as He has shaped us.

2 Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 1:2-3 New Living Translation

Of course, when God makes something, it's perfect. But through our own strong willed nature, sometimes we become a cracked vessel. But, as long as we stay connected to God, he will continue to pour Himself into us so we can accomplish His will in our lives.

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:1-5 New Living Translation

Let's spend the rest of the week struggling to stay connected to God so we can be vessels of honor that He can use as He see's fit!

 7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7 New Living Translation

Shame

I know this guy that was going to get his security clearance. He asked me if I would be a reference for him. During the course of his life, he had done a lot of stupid things, but he had really changed his life around. For him, the days of drinking too much, womanizing, bar fights were behind him. I asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted me to gloss over. His response was "tell them the whole truth, the good, the bad and the ugly."

I asked him if he was sure, and he said - "yes, I know I've messed up in the past. I'm a different person now. What they want to do is make sure that I've told them everything. That way, no one will be able to threaten me to give out secrets because of something I'm afraid to share. There's a lot of freedom in not having skeletons in your closet."

That really made me think about Christianity for a second. Before we accepted Christ, we all did some crazy things. Many of us are ashamed of those things, and if we're honest... some of us still wrestle with some of those same things!

This... is what our enemy, the devil, uses against us. He will bring up our past, or our mistakes. As a result, we feel shame and withdraw ourselves from those around us. We crawl into our shell. Then, once we are alone, it's easy to walk away from the cross.

We should take a lesson from this. If we tell each other about our struggles, then we can get help. There is no shame in slipping and falling. We all do it. But when we embrace each other in love... when we band together - there is a smaller chance of crawling into our shell and withdrawing.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:16 New Living translation)

My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. (James 5:19-20 New Living Translation)

There is no need to try and struggle by yourself. If we as Christians were open with each other about our struggles, then we would all work together to be better followers of Christ, instead of pretending to be something that we are not.

Re-story your life

No one is perfect. We all have some issues in our life. For some of us, it was the dysfunctional family that we grew up in. For others, it's bad relationships that we've been in as adults. On some level, we are all dealing with something.

Some people are better at hiding what's going on than others. They're life is like a nicely painted house with a manicured lawn, but on the inside, their foundation is cracked and their doors and windows don't open and close.

What causes these issues? Generally, things that we've heard. Society tells women that they need to be the perfect size. Our national obsession with fashion has gone so far that even the "perfect" models are air brushed to become... more perfect.

For others, it's the voice of their parents telling them that they would either amount to nothing resulting in low self esteem. Others had parents that pushed them to perfection and to obsessive control over area in their lives.

Women are told that they must have sex in order to keep an man. Men are told that they have to sleep with as many women as possible to be a man.

There are so many voices telling us stories about how we need to be, and none of it is really solving the real problem.

Maybe... just maybe, we need to stop listening to the stories that others tell us about how life should be lived. Maybe, we should re-story our lives by listening to something else.

Maybe, instead of trying to live our story, we should live God's story. What does that mean?

3 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:3-17 New Living Translation)

Let's start this week by stop listening to the stories that others tell us about our lives. Let us re-story our lives based upon what God says!

How far are you willing to go?

Sometimes I look at the Christian teachers on television and I ask myself, "Where is the passion?" Sometimes, it seems like Christians have been taught that we are suppose to be docile and peaceful. Passion, screaming at the top of your lungs... anything that is explosive for the most part is looked down upon.

Think about it. We live on a planet that was created by the most high God. An invader came into the house of God and turned his peaceful garden into a place that no longer welcomed their rightful King. Most of the people have been brainwashed and no longer believe that there is a king or that He will one day come back to reclaim his His throne!

This morning, I'm thinking about Jesus who entered the temple, through the money changers tables over, braided a whip and chased people out of His Fathers house screaming at the top of his lungs "My house is supposed to be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" (Matthew 21:13)

34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
35 ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36     Your enemies will be right in your own household!’
37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. (Matthew 10:34-37 New Living Translation)

This is not a call to physical arms. We need to be aware that we are fighting a spiritual battle. We need to be ready to stand up and say what we believe without fear and trepidation. We have the right to express our beliefs. There is a difference between passing judgment on someone and saying "You are wrong in your lifestyle", and saying "I believe homosexuality or sexual relations out of marriage is wrong."

So, how far are you willing to go to stand up for your beliefs against the masses that are telling you that you are wrong?

 

You hold the key...

Every once in a while I see something that catches my eye and it makes me think. This image immediately made me think of "the heart." By nature, every one of us is born with a heart that is hard and does not want God to enter in. It's the sin nature that we inherited from Adam.

Our sin nature is just like this block of stone with a keyhole that you can't even get a key in! There is this thing that looks like a keyhole, but as hard as you try, you just can't get a key into it.

That is the basic state that man is in. Hard heart. No way to change by ourselves.

Jesus says, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. (Revelations 3:20)

Just take a second and remember what life was like before you let Jesus in. Remember that he wants to have an intimate relationship with us... let's remember to spend some quality time with God today. It will change your outlook on life.

The truth is...

Truth is an interesting word. Partially because we're living in an age where truth is... slightly variable. Our culture is teaching us that it's not okay to speak the truth because it can be considered to be offensive to others. It's not so much that it's offensive, but it makes people see that their actions may be... wrong, and people do not like to think about the implications of their actions.

Now, there's a right way and a wrong way to tell the truth. You can yell at someone that refuses to change their ways screaming "You're going to hell!!!" at the top of your lungs. You can yell "That is a sin against God!!" all you want. All it will do is insight an argument.

Jesus had this way of simply telling people the truth. He didn't do it with a sense of arrogance. He simply stated a fact.

When this rich young man came to Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do to be saved, Jesus cut to the heart of the matter as only he could and told him to sell everything that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus (Matt 19:20-22). He told the man the truth. Your trust will not be in me because you have a fall your riches to fall back on. If you want to follow me, then trust me. When faced with the truth, he had to decide what his next steps would be!

When Jesus met the woman at the well, Jesus asked the woman to get her husband. She replied that she didn't have a husband. Without judgement, Jesus said "you're right, you've had 5 husbands and the man you're living with now isn't your husband." (John 4:17-19)

The interesting thing is, Jesus didn't run up to people and start telling them truths. it happened naturally in the course of the conversation. Maybe we should take a lesson from that. Maybe, we should make ourselves available to those who are lost. Listen to their story, then as God's Holy Spirit convicts us, we should share the truth with them. Not in a judging or condescending way... but in a way that says "I understand, I struggle with sin too." Then... they may want to know how we deal with it... because the truth is - they need something to hope in.

I've met people that chase relationships because they think there's happiness in it... if they can only find the right person. The truth is, they are looking for love, and that unconditional love can only come from a loving heavenly Father.

I've met people who drink to lose their inhibitions in order to have fun. The truth is, they are trying to hide their sadness, and they are afraid of a love that can only come from being vulnerable.

I've met people that through themselves into their work. The truth is, that's the only place people will acknowledge them and appreciate that. They need to understand that they are accepted and being accepted, they can accept others.

Let's spend the week listening to others and telling the truth in love.

Will power will only take you so far...

Will power is an amazing thing. It can be used for both good and bad. People can use their will power positively to work out every day, or not eat fatty foods. People can use their will power in negative ways to reduce the amount of food that they eat until it becomes anorexia. People can also use their will power to care about other people or be a morally good person. Others use their will power to stop talking with people.

You really can accomplish a lot of things if you put your mind to it.

Of course, there are a couple things that you can't do by will power alone.

You cannot convince God that you are a good person by will power alone. We are all marred with sin, and the only way to be reconciled with God is by accepting the sacrifice that God made on our behalf - the substitutionary death of His son on the cross for our sins.

 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. (John 1:12-13)

You have to accept Him. He then gives the right to be adopted into His family. It's not by birthright, human passion - or will power. You can't devise a plan for it. Salvation is one of those things that you have to accept as a free gift from God.

Of course, if you can't "save yourself"... is it possible to live a holy life by your own power?

 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

Let us struggle this week to not try to do Christianity be self control. Let's rely on God and see how things change!

Is it in you?

When I was in junior high school I tried to run track. I wasn't really fast, so they put me in distance races. At practice, we would have to run a 3 mile loop. I absolutely hated it. I hated it because I wasn't ready for it. The first mile would be easy. Then I would hit this thing called "the wall." The wall is this "block" that runners hit where they don't think they can go any further. Their body is fatigued, and you just cannot go another step.

The thing about "the wall" that most experienced runners know is that if you can press through, you'll get your second wind. You'll be able to continue to press forward.

This metaphor carries over into other aspects of life. Math has a wall. Learning an instrument has a wall. Sticking to a budget has a wall. Eating healthy has a wall. The only way to be successful is to endure and press through!

The Apostle Paul realized that.

 24You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! 25Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. 26I don't run without a goal. And I don't box by beating my fists in the air. 27I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others. 1 Cor 9:24-27 Contemporary English Version

One of the reasons why runners press through to the end is because they realize that if they stop... they may never be able to get over that hurdle and finish the race. He also understands that what we are running towards is an eternity with our savior. As a result, he keeps this in mind. He presses forward.

Keeping the race metaphor, at towards the end of his life Paul tells Timothy,

 6Now the time has come for me to die. My life is like a drink offering being poured out on the altar. 7I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful. 8So a crown will be given to me for pleasing the Lord. He judges fairly, and on the day of judgment he will give a crown to me and to everyone else who wants him to appear with power. 1 Timothy 4:4-6 Contemporary English Version

It's like a Gatorade commercial for Christians. Paul stands there having given everything he has. He has left it all on the field. He has been faithful to the faith... and God is standing there with the proverbial Gatorade to refresh him and give him his reward.

So... that's my struggle for this weekend. Press through. Push towards God. Just because it seems tough, don't give up. No Excuses. Bring it. Be tough. The beauty is, when I get tired, the shed blood of Jesus Christ  is there to refresh me. I have a high priest who knows that I have gone through and He will give me strength.

14We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. 15Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. Hebrews 14:14-16 Contemporary English Version

Turning 40

There are certain milestones in life that people look forward to. Turning 18 is the first step to adulthood. You can vote, you're either about to graduate high school, or you have graduated. Turning 21 is the next big step because in your mind... you've made it, you are an official adult. 30 is big because you're no longer in your 20's,  there's an expectation that you should be able to take care of  yourself by now.

40, although people say it's the new 30 are only saying that because they're starting to be faced with their own mortality. For most, it's the first time in their life when they start noticing little aches and pains. They might not move as quickly as they did previously. Even for people who are in top shape start noticing little pockets of flab that aren't so easy to get rid of.

50, that's when the doctor really starts wanting to run tests... and you begin to wonder if the bad eating choices that you've made in your life are really going to catch up with you. You are fully aware of your own mortality and you prepare to fight for longevity.

Christianity, doesn't have these milestones. You can accept Christ in your youth, be "totally on fire for God" (as they use to say in the olden days) and then you can drift away. You can come realize that you've drifted away, then come back again. A lot of times, people drift away, and they don't even realize it. And once they are away, they are either ashamed to go back, or really aren't sure how to find God again.

Have you ever felt like the guy in the picture? In the picture, the guy in the picture is actually in Africa. The street that he's on literally has no name! It's a bad feeling to not know where you are or how to get back home.

Let's have a little spiritual check up! Let me ask you a few questions.

• How's your heart? The Bible warns us not to harden our hearts against what God would have us do. How do you respond to the Word of God?
• How is your blood pressure? The Bible tells us that we have been bought with a price, and that price is the blood of God. Are you living life like you've been cleansed from sin, or do you make excuses?
• How is your temperature? Or rather... how is your lifestyle? Is it balanced? Is it moderate? Is it excessive? Have things replaced your time with God?
• How are your reflexes? When God prompts you to move... do you move? If you have a chance to share what you believe, do you do it with cat like reflexes... or do you hesitate?
• How is your vision? God says that the steps of the righteous are ordered by Him. Can you see the way or are you stumbling around in the dark?

I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that there is no little pill that can improve your spiritual health. The good news is that a little exercise will help... spiritual exercises. Turn off the t.v., radio, computer. Put the book down. Spend some time in prayer and in your Bible every day. Re-read the "stories" from when you were a child. Get excited about what God is saying and doing.

See you again next year for another annual checkup.

Who? Me?

We live in a very interesting time. For the first time in history, it's not anybody's fault! It's not my fault that I am slightly overweight... it's Burger King, and McDonald's fault. It's not your fault that your kids are disobedient... it's the fault of television and the teachers in the school. It's not her fault that she's has an eating disorder... it's the fault of the media who tells us that only thin women are beautiful. It's not his fault that he acted out violently at school... it's the music that he was listening to.

See? It's no ones fault!

That was sarcasm... someone close to me told me that I was very sarcastic. Sorry... not my fault. It's this messed up world we live in.

You don't have to read the Bible very far to understand that the "it's not my fault" excuse doesn't go very far with God. In the 3rd chapter of Genesis, Adam is faced with a moral dilemma. He disobeyed the will of God by eating a fruit that God told him not to eat. When asked what happened, Adam yelled out "It's the woman YOU put here with me. SHE gave me the fruit and I ate it." (Genesis 3:12)

God asked Eve and she said "it's not my fault! - the SNAKE tricked me, and I ate the fruit!" (Genesis 3:13)

Adam and Eve chose to disobey, and in 30 seconds blamed God, the other person, and a snake. Very quickly, God explained that this... was unacceptable, and held each one of them personally responsible.

A friend of mine made a profound statement yesterday. She said in her prayer time, God impressed the following thought in her mind - "If more people were honest about their sin, I would have more followers."

What I believe God is saying is, if we realize that we have a sin problem and that we are powerless to overcome the sin in our life, we would realize that we need a savior.

So... that's my challenge for the day. I am going to stop making excuses. I understand that I need a savior, and that in every area of my life, if I am going to overcome wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, gluttony, I can only do that with the help of a Holy God who cares for me and sent His only son so we could overcome... but only through His son, Jesus the Messiah. (John 16:33)

Like Father, like son...

When my oldest son was about 4 years old, we use to do something called “store training.” I would take him into a toy store and give him specific instructions. “We will stay here as long as you obey this one rule. Don’t pick anything up. If you want to see something, ask and I will give it to you. Then put it down when I ask you to.”

We would stay in the toy store walking up and down the aisles for hours. I always thought it was funny because he would try to walk like me. If I clasped my hands behind my back… he would do the same. If I put my hands in my pockets… he would do the same.

The whole purpose behind the trips to the toy store was to teach him that obedience would be rewarded and that disobedience had consequences. Even at 4 years old, I tried to teach him these truths from a biblical perspective. Obey your heavenly Father and you will escape the consequences of sin.

This was on my mind because I’ve been reading 1st and 2nd Kings for the past few weeks. There are a few key phrases that are mentioned about each one of the kings – one of the phrases that was heartbreaking you see too many times is “He followed in the ways of his father.” Usually, this was talking about the son making the same mistakes as his father.

We are impacted by the things that our parents did. Our lives our truly governed by what we saw when we were growing up, and many of us make the same mistakes that our parents made!

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way. There were several kings who broke the cycle. They heard the true word of God and they changed the way that they ruled. They decided that they were going to follow the word of God instead!

No one is perfect. Our parents weren’t. We aren’t. But we can break the cycle and not repeat the same mistakes that we have in the past. Habits can be broken. Lives can be changed.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone’ a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. (2 Corinthians 5:16-18)

God has entrusted each of us with the responsibility of helping people understand that even though their paternal father or step-father may have messed up, we don’t have to live that same way. Even if our maternal mother or step-mother may have made mistakes – we don’t have to carry that burden.

For people that accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior… we can view them as Christ views them… accepted. Not because of anything that they have done, but because Jesus died for their sins and they are no longer under the curse of sin, but have a new life. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Today… let us struggle to stop seeing ourselves through the eyes of our earthly parents. Let us live like people who are loved by our heavenly Father, and let’s share this love with others so they too can be adopted into this family.

Hope... is closer than you think

We live in a world where there is no hope and where people who hope... hope for the wrong things. I know people that hope that they will fall in love one day. I know others hope that the economy will one day become better. People hope... The idea of hope has been on my mind due to a news article that I read earlier this week. The article was about 2 people in Italy that set themselves on fire because they had lost hope. I don't think I have ever seen this much hopelessness.

Christians have hope. The funny thing is that people look at us like we are crazy because we say we believe in Jesus, the son of God. We believe that God loved the whole world - that he gave his only son so that anyone that believes will not perish, but will have everlasting life (John 3:16) We believe that Jesus, the son of God, died for us and was raised again. Because he was raised again, we will be with Him in eternity... if we accept this free gift.

4-5But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God's wonderful kindness is what saves you. 6God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7God did this so that in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. Ephesians 2:5-7 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

We can embrace this hope because we remember how our life was before we obtained this great salvation. Because Jesus freed us from serving sin - we know that He is true to His word and that we will be in heaven with Him one day.

Do I understand it? Quite honestly, no. Do I believe it? Yes... 100%.

Because I believe this, I worship God and serve him as Lord of my life. I always am ready to share with others why I hope and what I hope for. Never in a way that condemns people if they don't understand, but in a loving, patient, kind way. Although this sounds cliche, it's because "I may be the only Jesus they see."

I am not saying that I am equal to Jesus, at all. But I do want to live my life in such a way that when you see me, you see the grace of God shining through and you understand that my life is only possible by the work that Jesus did on the cross, and for that reason, I willingly submit and serve the Living God.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT

As we go into the week, let us remember where our hope lies... and when we see others who are hopeless, be mindful because that may be our chance to share the saving love of God with someone who needs something to hope in.