Monthly Archives: May 2013

May 17, 2013 · 7:44 AM

What Determines Your Worth?

I read an article yesterday about a server at a Steak ‘n Shake who got a $446 tip. The lady was clearly excited to receive it. She said some of her other tables had been giving her a hard time and she thought that was the reason behind the tip. In the article, she said something that stuck out to me. She said, “I didn’t think I was worth $400, but that customer does.” She valued herself at less than $400. I started thinking, “How many people value themselves so little?”

If you don’t know, let me be the one to tell you that you are worth well more than $400. How you see yourself or how others see you does not change your worth. It may affect your self confidence, but not your worth. You are a priceless work of art created by God to fulfill a purpose that only you can fulfill. You are valued by God above all other created things. Don’t let your mind or anyone else keep you from seeing that.

I can say that because God didn’t sacrifice His son for any other created being. Think of the angels and how highly we regard them. When Satan got a third of them to rebel against God and God cast them out of Heaven, did He pay a price to redeem them? No. Yet for you, He paid the ultimate price of sending His son to this earth to pay for what you and I do against Him.

Why would He do that for you and not for an angel? It’s because you are worth it to Him. Your life matters. What you do matters. Even if no one else around you values you or who you are, God does. Ultimately it’s His opinion that matters. I know it’s difficult to see when everyone around you values you less than $400. It’s easy to get that mindset when you’re verbally and physically abused. It’s not hard to believe that when those you love don’t appreciate you.

It’s hard to fight those thoughts and believe your worth doesn’t depend on others when everything around you is making you feel lower than dirt. I know. I’ve been there. I used to allow others to determine my worth. Not anymore. I find my worth and my value in who God says I am. I’ve learned to combat those thoughts with the Word of God. I’ve had to recognize when those thoughts come in so I can stop them and replace them with who God says I am. It’s a battle, but one that is worth fighting.

Your worth doesn’t depend on a tip, what someone else says or how they treat you. It depends on the price that God put on you and that’s a high price. You can not be replaced. There never has been or never will be another you. This is your time on earth to do what you were made to do. You have a purpose even if you haven’t found it yet. Keep looking. Keep believing. Keep trusting in Him. You are loved beyond measure and worth more than all the gold in the world.

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May 16, 2013 · 8:11 AM

A Deeper Answer

Yesterday at work I asked a question to a group of people. A lady answered, but it was only a surface level answer. I prodded her for more to think about what I was asking. I asked her to give me a deeper answer. She sat there with a blank stare for a minute. I offered the question in a different way, but still letting her know I was expecting her to answer. She gave me a “What are you doing” look. I explained, “I’m asking for more from you because what we’re currently doing is not working. If we are to change our results, we have to change how we think and approach the problem.”

I’m kind of in that place right now where God is asking for more from me. I’m the one sitting on the other side of the table with that blank stare saying, “What do you mean ‘more’?” It’s uncomfortable to sit here and not have the answer. To know that somewhere inside me lies the answer and not know how to get it can be disturbing. Knowing that God is waiting makes the situation even more intense.

I wonder if that’s how Peter felt when they were sitting on the shore of Galilee and Jesus asked him, “Do you love me?” Peter answered, “Yes. You know that I love you.” Jesus responded, “Feed my sheep.” He turned around and asked Peter the same question. I imagine Peter sitting there thinking, “Is He joking? Is this déjà vu?” He amused Jesus by answering a second time exactly as he had the first. Jesus wasn’t content with that. He wanted more. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that He asked him a third time, and again said yes.

There have been many sermons regarding this and I’m not about to preach another one to you. I just want to stop and look at the emotions of what was happening. Jesus was pushing Peter beyond a surface level love. He was ensuring Peter knew in His heart that he loved Jesus because He was about to ask for more. What Peter had done in the past was not going to be good enough for what he was going to do in the future.

If you skip down a couple of verses to John 21:19, Jesus did something I hadn’t noticed. He again called Peter to follow Him. Peter had been called three years earlier to follow Jesus, but this call was different. This “follow me” was into a deeper relationship. One where Peter would be given the responsibility of raising up the early church and leading thousands to Christ. The dynamic of their relationship just changed in that exchange.

That’s where I am right now. Where are you? What is God asking of you? Are you giving Him a surface level answer when He is calling for a deeper more meaningful answer? Are you scared of what “more” means? Me too, but I won’t let that fear keep me from answering His call. I won’t continue to give the answer I’ve always given. I don’t know the answer yet, but I’m willing to follow Him into that deeper commitment until I do.

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May 15, 2013 · 7:59 AM

Participating in the Impossible

I had some extra time before dinner yesterday, so I went down to the bay side in Pensacola. I climbed over some rocks so I could get away from the road, people and noise to be close to the water. As I sat there, I decided I wanted to read some scripture of when Jesus was by the water. I went straight to John 6 where Jesus was on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. There were thousands around Him hanging on His every word. It was evening and the people were hungry, much like it was for me.

Jesus asked one of the disciples where they could buy food for so many people. Andrew came over and said, “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with such a huge crowd?” He had everyone sit down, blessed the bread and gave it to the disciples to distribute. Later He had them go pick up the leftovers.

I know you’ve heard this story a thousand times. I have too. As I was reading, I started thinking about how He made the disciples distribute and pick it up. Jesus had the ability to perform the miracle by Himself, but He involved the disciples. I wonder what went through their minds as He said, “Go give this to the people.” That wasn’t enough food for the disciples, let alone thousands of people.

I believe their obedience activated the miracle. It’s Just like the widow who used her last bit of oil to make bread for Elijah. It was her obedience that activated that miracle. When she poured out the oil to make him bread, there was more in the bottle for her and her son. Another instance was when a widow approached Elisha for help with her debts. He told her to borrow as many jugs as she could, fill them up with what little oil she had, sell the oil and then pay her debts.

God does not need us to perform miracles, but He chooses to allow us to participate. Our acts of faith allow us to be a part of His plan. When He asks us to do the Impossible, He’s really looking to see if we’re willing to believe or are we going to question. The disciples took the food from Him and started distributing it. I imagine as they went from person to person, their grin and their faith got bigger.

Then Jesus went a step further and asked them to pick up the left overs. They went from not having enough to feed twelve to feeding thousands and having leftovers. Our God does exceedingly more, above and beyond all we can ask or think. He has the ability to meet the needs you face today. He has the desire to do more than you can even imagine. Do you have the faith to believe? Do you have the courage to step out in faith to participate in the impossible?

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May 14, 2013 · 7:55 AM

Fire Drills and Escape Routes

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Have you ever been in a fire drill? I’ve been through plenty in my day. The worst one was when I was 32 floors up in a skyscraper. Walking down 32 flights was not easy for me. Why do offices, schools and other building conduct those? As much of an annoyance as they are, they’re to teach us what to do in case of an emergency. The Fire Marshall knows that in a panic situation, you may not make the right decision unless you’ve rehearsed in your mind and with your body what you are going to do.

It’s really a great concept when you look at the reason for it. It’s got me thinking, “Why don’t we have spiritual fire drills? Why don’t we rehearse what we’re going to do when we are tempted?” We need to think through our evacuation route from temptation. We need to have them posted on the walls of our heart, look at them often and rehearse in our mind and with our body what we will do when temptation comes.

Temptation shows up anywhere and it’s typically unexpected. We are rarely prepared for it which is why we give in to it so easily and so often. Each of us are tempted. Each of us sin. Some temptations we are good at resisting and others catch us every time. If you think about the ones you are good at overcoming, they’re the ones that you’ve prepared an escape route from. It’s the ones that catch us every time that we haven’t prepared for.

I Corinthians 10:13 says, “But with the temptation He (God) will always also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.” God has provided an escape route from every temptation there is. How does He know the route? Hebrews 4:15 says we have a God who was tempted in every respect we are, yet without sinning. He’s been in our place and rehearsed the escape route for the sin that easily ensnares you. He’s calling out, “This is the way out.” Because we haven’t prepared, our focus is moved from the escape route into the sin.

How do we prepare then? Jesus demonstrated one way out of temptation and that was to quote God’s Word when we are tempted. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Knowing God’s Word is the primary escape route. Placing it deep in our heart and not just in our mind is the important part here. When we fill our hearts with His Word, we are able to win the battle of the mind.

The alternate escape route is to run. Yes, physically run. If you find yourself in an area that breeds temptation, run. Get out of there! Don’t stick around and see how close you can get to the fire without getting burned. That’s just stupid. In Proverbs 7, Solomon is looking out his window and sees a naive (void of good sense) man walking down the street where he knew a prostitute was. He crossed over to walk on her side. He didn’t turn around and run. In verse 22 it says, “He followed her like an ox to the slaughter.”

Temptations are around us every day. It’s part of life. How you prepare beforehand determines how you will react when they come. If you wait until the time of temptation to react, you will more than likely fail. If you prepare by putting God’s Word in your heart and knowing how to react when temptation shows up, you will escape. What escapee routes do you need to plan for in your life? What are you doing now to prepare for the ones that get you every time?

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May 13, 2013 · 8:12 AM

Death of a Dream

Yesterday at church, we did something that we haven’t done since I was a kid. We had people share their testimonies. It wasn’t like it was back then either. I remember as a child sitting on the pew as people would get up and share what The Lord had done in their lives. This wasn’t quite like that. This was a pre planned time of testimonies built into the sermon that went along with it. I thought it was very good.

The sermon was about people in the Bible who’s dreams were crushed, changed or died. We can relate because we’ve all had dreams in our lives that have met similar fates. It’s hard not to get discouraged when that happens. We often think we’re the only one who has dealt with the death of a dream. We feel alone and isolated. Defeated.

That’s where I think testimonies are the biggest help. It shows people in the church that there are others like them who have gone through something similar. It builds a point of connection. It shows that the church isn’t full of people who have it all together. It shows we’re human. It also helps us to overcome. Yes, overcome. Scripture says that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. It’s when others hear what God has done for us that they can become encouraged to keep fighting.

Yesterday, I heard stories of parents who raised their kids in church and how they have quit going. In tears, these parents poured their hearts out to the congregation telling them the struggles they faced during those times. Some had returned while others had not. After reaching the point in believing the dream was dead, God revived the dream and there is hope again.

Another shared of the struggles of expecting to be married by a certain age. They shared about their feelings of worthlessness and that no one wanted them. They shared that they had to let their dream of what they wanted for their life to die, so that God could show them His dream. When we release our dreams and embrace His dreams, we don’t have those feelings of worthlessness and failure anymore. We learn to depend on Him for our sense of worth and not what someone else says or does.

I got to share my own dreams that died. Dreams of a picture perfect life where I had it all. I was poised for a comfortable life and had laid the foundation for a bright future for myself and my family when suddenly it was all taken from me. I shared how there was no hope, no joy and no future. But God, in His mercy, came and met me in that dark place and replanted a dream in me of who He wanted me to become. He gave me hope and restored my joy. I came back from the brink of suicide and murder to a place where He can use me.

Where are you? What dreams have died in your life that you are holding against God? It’s time to let go of them so you can embrace His dream for your life. We can become bitter when we look at Jesus like Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and say, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother (my dream) would not have died.” It’s when we release those broken, crushed and dead dreams that God can plant a new one in you. It will be greater than the dream you had before. When you look back, you will be thankful he let that dream die because the new one is so much better. I can say that with confidence because I’m there right now.

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May 10, 2013 · 7:37 AM

Handling Disappointment

How do you handle disappointment? Think of a time recently when you were really wanting something and then it didn’t happen. Did you cross your arms, stick your bottom lip out and stomp around? I know that’s how kids handle disappointment, but are we really that different when we grow up? We still like to have our pity parties when things don’t happen the way we think they should. We may not be stomping around on the outside, but we are on the inside!

Jonah is a prime example of how a lot of us handle things. When God was able to get him to obey and to go to Nineveh, he was hoping they wouldn’t repent. When they did and God showed mercy on them, he was furious and threw a temper tantrum. In Jonah 4:5 it says, “He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk.” While he was sulking, God arranged for a leafed tree to grow up to provide him with shade from the blistering sun.

That night, God sent a worm to eat the leaves. The next day was hot. With the shade gone, Jonah sulked even more and said he was better off dead. I love verses 10-11. God said, “How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted it or watered it.” When I read that, it made think, “Do I really have a reason to let my disappointment turn to anger?”

Disappointment is a part of life. What you do with it is your choice. You can choose to sulk, stomp around, be depressed about it or you can learn from the situation, see it from a different perspective and move forward. Some of the greatest people in history faced huge disappointments. It was how they handled it that made the difference. They took the opportunity to learn from the situation rather than to be upset.

While we cannot control the circumstances around us, our attitude is our choice. We choose whether to stomp off like Jonah or to say, “God, that isn’t how I saw that happening. I’m not happy how it happened. What can you show me in this situation to help me in the future?” It’s ok to not be happy that things didn’t go according to plan. It’s not ok to throw a pity party and think that life is over because it didn’t.

God sees your life beyond today. He sees the path ahead of you and often allows things to happen in our lives to help us get to the destination of His choice, not ours. When our plan doesn’t match His, disappointment is the result. The good news is that God still loves us when we are disappointed or even disappoint Him. He still has a plan for us and uses those times to shape us into who He wants us to become. So, again, how do you handle disappointment?

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May 9, 2013 · 7:12 AM

You Are Not Forgotten

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I was talking to a friend last night at church about how he was doing since returning from our trip to Haiti. He, like many of us who went, has had a hard time readjusting to life here. He said, “In the first few days back, I kept trying to process the poverty and devastation that I saw there. It was overloading my mind and I couldn’t take it. I finally had to quit trying to process how people just like you and me live in that devastation and still get up, get dressed in a shirt and tie and go to work.”

He’s right. I’ve been to a lot of third world countries and seen poverty. Haiti was somehow different. I don’t know if it was the worst I’ve seen or that it just seemed like the worst because most people there seemed to have no hope. The unemployment rate is above 50% and the ones that do have jobs only make between $2 and $5 a day. Most of us make more in an hour than they will all week.

With hopelessness comes the thought that God has forgotten you. People here experience that. I know I have. You probably have to at some point in your life. If you are there right now, you’re not alone. Not everyone has been in your exact circumstance, but plenty have felt that they’ve been forsaken by God. Jesus felt that way too. When He was hanging on the cross, he cried out, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?”

I’ve never given much thought to Him saying that on the cross because I knew what was going to happen 3 days later. He wasn’t forsaken and neither are you. He had to go through that so that He could identify with us when we feel forsaken. I Peter 4:1 says, “Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like Him.” He knows what it’s like to think you’re alone in this world and to even be forgotten by God.

Since He knows what you’re feeling, He won’t leave you in that place. What I learned in my own life is that had I not gone through that time of thinking He had forgotten me, I couldn’t fully rely on Him now. Psalm 139:7 tells us that there is no where on this earth that we can go to get away from God’s presence. Even if you can’t feel or see God, He’s there with you in that dark place. He has not forgotten you. He has not forsaken you. Rest in the hope that He will bring you out of that valley and bring you into His marvelous light. He did it for Jesus. He did it for me. He will do it for you.

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May 8, 2013 · 9:36 AM

Burning the Plows

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Lately I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Elisha’s calling in I Kings 19. The Lord spoke to Elijah to anoint him as his successor. When he arrived to anoint him, he found Elisha in a field plowing. He was doing his daily duties when the prophet of God walked up to him. The Bible doesn’t show that Elijah said anything. He simply walked up to him, put his cloak on him and walked away.

I don’t know if they ever met or if Elisha knew it was Elijah, but something in him knew this was a significant moment in time. He ran after Elijah and said he would follow him, but wanted to say goodbye to his mom and dad. He then broke the yoke and plow to use for firewood, slaughtered the oxen he was using and cooked a feast for his family. After that, he followed Elijah everywhere.

It’s got me wondering how many times has God tried to approach me in my daily life to call me to do something. Elisha wasn’t looking for God to call him to leave his family. He was minding his own business doing what fed his family when God called him. What if he had said, “Let me finish this field before I follow you,”? What if he had said, “I can’t leave right now. I’m doing something important”?

Are we too busy doing “important” things that we miss God’s daily calls to us? Are we so tied up doing what doesn’t make a difference for eternity that we can’t stop and do what will? I know we have to make a living, but do we take time throughout the day to shine our light so we can lead others to Christ? Ultimately what matters is what we do for Christ. Our bank accounts, our retirement fund and jobs are temporary. What’s done for the Kingdom is what will last.

What changes do we need to make in our lives today to change our focus from our earthly retirement to our heavenly retirement? When God asks us to do something that matters for eternity, will we be willing to do it? I hope I am. I want to be ready and willing to burn my plows when God calls. I don’t want to be the one who keeps plowing when He calls. I want to be willing to follow when and where He leads.

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May 7, 2013 · 7:22 AM

He is

I had the opportunity last year to meet William Paul Young, author of “The Shack”. In that time, he shared his heart and how that book came about. He also talked about the controversy that was created when in his allegory the person who represented God was a female. His message was simple, “Don’t put God in a box. He is who we need Him to be at the moment of our need.”

As I was reading the Bible this morning, God directed me to Ruth. As I was reading about Boaz being the kinsman redeemer, my mind went back to an old song called “He Is” by Aaron Geoffrey. In my mind, I heard them sing, “In Ruth He is our kinsman redeemer.” The song goes through every book of the Bible and says who God is in that book. All of a sudden it clicked. God truly is everything we need Him to be for us.

To confine Him to a box of male or female would be ridiculous. That’s the point that William Paul Young was trying to make. He was forcing us out of limiting who God is in our lives by trying to define Him with something that has limitations. Our minds want to grasp who He is, but don’t have the ability to so we try to compartmentalize Him. We try to make Him fit, but we can’t.

The song illustrates that in the Bible God is who each person needed Him to be. All throughout the scriptures God is sufficient to meet the needs of the people. He is sufficient today to meet your needs as well. He is more than able to be who you need Him to be when you need Him to be it. To David, He was a strong and mighty tower when His enemies came after Him.

Who do you need Him to be today? Are you worried and stressed out? According to Isaiah, He is the Prince of Peace. Have you lost your dad and are in need of fatherly advice? Psalms 68 says that He is a Father to the fatherless. Are you in desperate need of healing? He is the God that heals you. Are you in need of forgiveness of things you’d rather not talk about? He is the God who not only forgives, but casts your sins into the Sea of Forgetfulness.

The Bible is full of scriptures that show God as the One who can be who you need Him to be. Wherever you are, whatever you need, He is able to be and do abundantly above and beyond all you could ever ask or think. He is not confined to be only the God of the box we try to fit Him into. He is the King of Kings and The Lord of Lords. He is deeply concerned with your life and knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows what you’ve done and what you’ve been through and still loves you. He is all you will ever need. He is.

Here’s a link to the YouTube video of the song I mentioned.

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May 6, 2013 · 7:51 AM

The Paradox of Christianity

One of the great paradoxes of Christianity is that we’re to learn to be satisfied with what we have, but not with where we are. Our human nature wants that to be backwards. We like to have the comfort of routine, but are never satisfied with what we have. I’m in that awkward state of making the switch from my human nature to what God wants. I’m learning to be satisfied with what I have, but not where I am. There’s this uncomfortableness inside that says, “There’s another level to go to.”

I think that’s where Abraham’s journey started. God told him, “Get up and go to a land that I will show you.” I’m sure he loved the comfort of where he was. He had everything he needed. He knew the land and the people. But that’s not what God had for him. He asked him to move away from those things that held him down. He challenged him to pick up his roots and to move.

It had to be confusing too. Where was he going? What land was he going to be shown? How long would it take to get there? Would he ever be coming back? When God makes you uncomfortable with where you are, He doesn’t always answer those questions. He expects you to trust Him and His plan. If we knew the details, we’d probably try to alter the plan. I know I would.

So where does that faith come from that allows you to just pick everything up and move? How do you spiritually pack up and move to a deeper walk with Him that requires more than you think you have to give? I don’t know how to get there, but I do know that it starts with just one step. One act of obedience. One decision to make a change. It’s not the easiest thing to do. I think that’s why so many Christians wander in the wilderness and rarely make it to the promised land that God has for them.

Our fears and doubts keep us from experiencing all that God has. Our logic wants to see the whole path. Our faith doesn’t need to see it. We get to choose which of the two we listen to. When spying on the Promised Land, Caleb and Joshua chose to believe their faith. The other spies chose to believe their logic. Because of their choice, an entire generation was kept out of where God wanted them.

So what’s my choice? What’s your choice? Do we continue to go with logic that says we should stay where it’s comfortable and where we feel secure? Or do we go with faith that tells us there is more and is making us uncomfortable in this place? That’s the beauty of who God is, He gives us that choice. He allows us to decide whether we pack our things and walk by faith or stay in the wilderness and camp where it’s comfortable.

As for me, I’m going to pack my bags, pull up my tent stakes and start walking. I don’t know where the path is heading. I just know that I can’t stay here in this place. I’m being drawn into a deeper commitment, a deeper relationship and a deeper walk with God. He is making me too uncomfortable with where I am. He is pushing me out of this place that I’m in. I don’t know where He is leaving yet, but I choose to go with my faith instead of my sight.

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