Category Archives: Uncategorized

August 2, 2013 · 7:58 AM

Left With Nothing

Genesis 42 tells the story of Jacob sending all of his sons except Benjamin to Egypt to buy food. The seven year famine was in full effect and Jacob had no other choice but to send his sons to buy food. When they came before their brother Joseph, they didn’t recognize him. They bowed before him and immediately Joseph remembered his dreams. He accused them of being spies and put them in jail. They explained who they were and that they had another brother.

Joseph released all but one, Simeon, so that the others could return home with food and then bring back Benjamin. When they told their father Jacob what had happened, he was upset. In verse 36 he said, “You’re taking everything I’ve got! Joseph’s gone, Simeon’s gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. If you have your way, I’ll be left with nothing.” I wonder if that last line was directed more at God than his sons.

For Jacob’s survival, he had to give up everything including the one thing he was holding back. He’d suffered loss before and didn’t want to release Benjamin. Through his losses, he had forgotten God’s promise to him back when he wrestled with God. In Genesis 35:11, God told him, “You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants.” Now, God was asking him to release all of his sons into the unknown. He thought that if he held onto one, the promise could still come true.

When he agreed to release what he had held back and sent all of his sons to Egypt, then he not only was given food, housing, protection from the famine and Simeon back, he got what was lost and taken from him back. He was reunited with Joseph. He was also able to see the greater picture. Joseph had to be taken from him years earlier in order to ensure the survival of his family so the promise could come true. Joseph endured hardships all those years just so his family could endure the coming famine.

It’s got me thinking this morning, “What is the one thing I’m holding back from God? Have I trusted Him with my whole life, yet held something back as a security blanket? Am I bitter over a loss or a time of hardship?” God’s not satisfied with us giving Him 99%. He wants us to release 100% of what we have to Him. It will only appear that we will be left with nothing. What we will gain is so much more. It just takes faith and trust in God’s promises to you.

What prior loss has still left you scared to trust God with everything? What’s the one thing in your life that you’re withholding from God? Do you feel like you’ll be left with nothing if you give everything to God? You aren’t alone in those feelings. You aren’t wrong to have them. It becomes wrong when God asks for you to let go and you still hang on. Release it all to God today. His hands are far more capable of protecting it than yours. He’s able to return it and all that you’ve lost exceedingly and abundantly more than you can imagine.

8 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 1, 2013 · 8:03 AM

Avoiding the Slow Fade

The question was asked last night at church, “How can staying humble keep you from sinning?” We began to discuss how when you think you’re above sinning that’s when you’re at the most risk. Each one of us has sinned and will sin. None of us are perfect or are capable of living a life without sinning. There are things we can do to help ourselves from making sin a habit in our lives though.

One of the ways you can help to keep yourself from sin is by reading and understanding God’s Word. I Peter 5:9 tells us to withstand the devil. The Amplified version says, “Be firm in faith against his onset – rooted, established, strong, immovable and determined.” When we have our roots in God’s Word, we recognize the truth from lies. When temptation arises, we recognize it and combat it with the Word of God. That’s how Jesus fought temptation, and that’s how we should too.

That same chapter reminds us that the devil is searching for someone to devour. He’s not waiting idly by for us to slip up and fall. He’s stalking us, staying hidden until the right time. He wants to pounce on us when we least expect it in order to cause us to sin and to bring guilt to us. Peter described him as a lion and that’s a great metaphor of how he hunts us down as his prey. He’s not content with you sinning. He wants to devour you, your life, your testimony a d your hope.

That’s why in verse 8 he told us to be alert, “vigilant and cautious at all times.” We shouldn’t let our guard down. We should always be on the lookout for temptations that would come in and seek to destroy us. We shouldn’t think we’re above being tempted in certain things. That’s where the humility comes in to play. When we’re humble, we don’t think of ourselves higher than we should. We recognize our weaknesses and move about cautiously.

Casting Crowns has a song out called “Slow Fade”. It warns us that our enemy doesn’t just come in and get us to jump into a life of sin. It’s a slow fade from where God wants us to that life away from Him. The enemy comes in and chips away little by little to draw us away. Before we know it, we have left a life of complete surrender to God and have walked into a life that is a slave to sins. That happens when we aren’t being alert and vigilant. That happens when we aren’t humble like God called us to be.

I’ve experienced the slow fade in my life. I’ve drifted far from God because I let myself believe one little lie after the other. I walked a long way from where God had intended for me to be. I had let my guard down, thought I was above certain things and found out I wasn’t. Because I did know God, I knew the way home. I sought God’s forgiveness and repented from the life I had begun to live. I walked away from it. I’m still tempted every day. I still mess up and sin, but I’m more vigilant now. I catch the lies a lot faster and move back to where I belong.

You can too. It’s not too late. You’re not too far away. Forgiveness is waiting. Don’t believe the lies any longer. Get in God’s Word. Learn the truth so you can recognize the lies. God’s Word will help you to stay grounded, firm, rooted, established, strong, determined and immovable like Peter said. Don’t become a victim of that lion who is seeking you. Be aware of who is and where he is. When you do, you take away the element of surprise that he counts on and he leaves you.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 31, 2013 · 7:35 AM

The Psychological Advantage

I like to think of King David as a warrior. He’s the guy that entire armies were afraid of. When he stepped on to the battlefield, it gave his army the psychological advantage. It boosted his army’s confidence and crushed that of his enemy. But that’s not the complete picture of who David was. When you read the Psalms, you see a guy who was worried and afraid at times. You see the thoughts of that brave warrior written down in black and white saying he was terrified at times.

No one can be brave and strong all the time. No one is impervious to the words that others hurl at us. After a while, they get to us. They penetrate deep into our mind and heart. They start to cause doubt. They can cause paranoia to. That’s where David was in Psalm 31. He said, “I’m in deep, deep trouble again. I’ve cried my eyes out; I feel hollow inside… My troubles have worn me out.” Even the great warrior David had days where he felt insecure and alone.

He didn’t stay like that though. He didn’t let those thoughts dominate his mind and keep him in that state. He knew how to get out of it. Verse 1 gives us his answer to getting free of the mindset that is constantly worries. David said, “I run to you, God; I run for dear life.” He knew that God was his fortress and his cave made of granite that would protect him. In verses 14-18 he says, “Desperate, I throw myself on you: you are my God! Hour by hour I place my days in your hand, safe from the hands out to get me.”

Every time the thoughts of insecurity came into his mind, he went back to God. When fear crept in, he called out to God. “Hour by hour,” he said. It wasn’t a daily thing. It was an hourly thing. He knew not to let those thoughts linger in his mind. They’re destructive and counterproductive. They are thoughts meant to pull you away from who you are in Christ. Don’t let them rule your mind. When they pop up, run to God like David did. Call out to Him and speak to who He is.

When we speak to how great our God is, our problems don’t seem so big anymore. When we call out to Him for help, we win the psychological battle. Just like when David stepped onto the battlefield, God steps into our situation and gives us the victory before there is ever a fight. He is our strong tower. He is our defender. He gives us the victory in our hearts, minds and lives. When the enemy hears us call to Him and sees Him co ing to our defense, they know the battle is over. You know the battle is over.

I love how he ends Psalm 31 in verse 24. He says this to you, “Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon.” I don’t know of any better words of encouragement than that. When you call out to God, He’ll be on His way to help you. In the mean time, be brave and strong. Don’t give up or let the enemy win the psychological advantage over you before the battle begins. God is on your side today and He’s on His way!

7 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 30, 2013 · 8:04 AM

Fishing In The Wrong Boat

In one of the classes I teach, I have people introduce themselves and tell me a hobby they have outside of work. It provides opportunities for connection early in the class as well as information I can tie back to throughout the day. Yesterday, while training this class, a guy answered that he liked to play music. I followed up with, “What kind?” He responded with, “Worship. I’ve felt called to lead worship since I was young, but I’ve been too scared to step out and do it.” He admitted in front of our group what so many of us Christians are afraid to say.

God’s call on our life can be scary. I think it’s supposed to be. If it were anything less than scary, we’d do it without hesitation. The problem with that is we would think it was done in our own ability. We need to understand that we are simply vessels to be used by Him. It is He who performs the work, we simply provide the channel. Our inability to do whatever He called us to is His greatest opportunity to do something amazing.

God sees in us what we cannot see. Peter was just another uneducated fisherman when Jesus called Him. He didn’t posses the ability to start the Church. He didn’t have the business acumen to take twelve men, start a worldwide movement and grow it. He didn’t have the boldness to stand in front of thousands to preach. He knew what fear was and it got the better of him from time to time. He denied Jesus and his calling in the same night.

The fear of his calling to be the rock that the church would be built on caused him to go back to fishing when he should have been preaching after the resurrection. He went back to what he knew instead of stepping out in faith to be the rock he was called to be. Jesus didn’t leave him in that boat though. He went to the waters edge in John 21, but they didn’t recognize Him. He called out to them, “Have you caught any fish?” They replied, “No.” Jesus called out, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you’ll catch some.” As soon as they did, the net teemed with fish. Peter recognized the man as Jesus and swam to shore.

Jesus reaffirmed to Peter that day what his role was. He didn’t worry about his failures or inabilities. He worried about his love for Him. Jesus knew that if he truly loved Him, he would obey his calling. He didn’t leave Peter in the boat catching the wrong kind of fish. He reiterated that he was to be a fisher of men from now on. I think that call goes out to you in whatever boat you’re sitting in today. Maybe you’re reading this in the place where you can accomplish things in your own strength. It’s the boat of what is familiar and easy to you. But God has more for you. Have you really caught anything where you are?

I encourage you today to recognize the fear that is paralyzing you and keeping you from your calling. If God called you to do something, it’s His strength and ability that will accomplish it, not yours. Release the fear that sent you back into the boat of the familiar and do what God has called you to do. Faith is about trusting God to do what He said He would do. It’s not about you doing things and giving Him credit. Don’t let fear hold you back another minute. If you love Him, feed His sheep.

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 29, 2013 · 8:19 AM

The Noise of Life

This morning started like most mornings. My alarm went off and I hit the snooze button. I did that three times before getting up. I turned on the light and grabbed my phone to read the Bible. As soon as I did, I heard music. I leaned over and checked the clock radio in my hotel room. It was off, but the music was coming from right where it was. The walls in my hotel must be paper thin. The person on the other side of the wall was waking up too. I couldn’t concentrate so I turned my clock radio on too. I put it on the AM dial and turned to where there wasn’t a station so the white noise would drown out the music.

It was still hard to concentrate as I read. I managed to get through it and find a verse to think about today. Afterwards, I went on my way to getting ready and started praying. It wasn’t long before I heard an alarm going off. It was my clock radio. I went over, hit the off button and looked or a way to keep it off. I went back across the room to pray. It went off again. I turned it off and returned to praying. As I was praying, I kept hearing all the room doors opening and closing up and down the hall. So distracting.

Jesus knew we were going to face distractions when it comes to spending time with Him because He faced distractions. That’s why He went away from the group to pray so often. It wasn’t that He didn’t enjoy their company, it was so He could get some alone time with the Father. He was trying to show the disciples by example how they should be spending time with God corporately and alone. All the Gospels talk about Jesus separating Himself to pray.

Jesus even told them in Matthew 6:6, “When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.” Part of that instruction was so that we won’t be like others who pray so others will hear them and the other part was what I’m facing today. It was to get away from the noise of life that tries to distract us from not only spending time with God, but from hearing from Him too. With all the distractions going on this morning, I had a difficult time hearing His voice. I ended up leaving the hotel to get away from all the distractions so I could have alone time with Him.

Where are you today? What distractions keep you from spending time with God? Kids? Spouse? Neighbors? Friends? Radio? TV? Your phone? Facebook? Whatever it is, find a place and time today where you can just be alone with God. Spend time talking to Him and also spend some time listening to His voice. Read His Word in the quiet so you can really understand what He is trying to say to you through it. Get away from the noise of this life so you can concentrate on God.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 26, 2013 · 8:35 AM

Worthy of God’s Love

I’m not sure why I am constantly surprised by the goodness of God. There are times where I am just caught off guard at His faithfulness. I look at my life and I see all of my short comings and wonder why God would choose to bless me and to pour out His love on me. I know that I am unworthy of any gift that He gives, yet He still opens up the windows of Heaven and pours them out.

I think that’s one of the areas where it is hard to understand God because our minds try to rationalize Him as a human with human behaviors. We know the we are spiteful and hold grudges and we expect Him to. When He doesn’t, it blows our mind. I love how the psalmist put it in Psalm 36:5 when he said that His unfailing love is as vast as the heavens and His faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. It is so deep and so wide that we can’t begin to understand it.

I always want to rationalize it and understand it rather than to accept it and abide in it. I want to break it down and figure it out instead of just trusting in it. I think David understood it. He knew of the power that God has to forgive and forget. He relied on it and knew he was in trouble without it. You wonder how can an adulterer and murderer like David be a man after God’s own heart? Well it’s because he understood God’s ability to forgive and to forget.

It’s beyond me how God does it. I try to be a man after God’s heart and I fall short. I try to be like Him and I find I’m more like myself. I try to do what He asks and I end up doing what I want. I start off working hard to please Him, but in the end, I do what pleases me. That’s where God’s faithfulness kicks in. II Timothy 2:13 says in the Amplified version that even if we are unfaithful and untrue to Him, He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself.

How is that possible? How can God remain faithful and true to us when all we seem to do is our own thing rather than His? It’s who God is. He is a God who loves us more than our doubts, our mistakes, our short comings and our fears. He is patient and kind. His love knows no end and is not conditional. He is not human and is not limited like we are. Once we remove those human characteristics of who we think He is and accept His divine nature, we can begin to get a glimpse of who He really is.

There were several in the Bible like David and Paul who got a glimpse of that. I don’t think it is reserved just for them though. God wants to open Himself up to you and me and to give us a glimpse of who He is. We fight and push back because we think we are unworthy. It’s when we finally realize how unworthy we really are that He has us right where He wants us to show His faithfulness and love. Don’t push back away from it. Swim in that river of his love that is as high as the clouds and is as vast as the heavens. His love for you doesn’t depend on whether you think you’re worthy. He thinks you are and that’s what matters.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

July 25, 2013 · 6:55 AM

Get out of the Gutter

20130725-065242.jpg

As I was praying this morning, I began to think back to my teenage years and my early twenties. I saw places where God corrected my path and even prevented me from making decisions that could have affected the rest of my life. At the time, I didn’t see what was happening or know how close I was to making life altering decisions. As I began to thank God for helping me to stay on the right path, I saw this image of a bowling ball bouncing between gutter guards.

I see now that those guards where there keeping me in the lane. My life hasn’t gone down the center of the lane headed for a perfect strike. Instead, it has bounced from one guard to the other. I’ve gotten course corrections all throughout my life. The further down the lane I go, the less I’m hitting the guards. I’m glad they’re still there though. I know I still need them from time to time.

Just like in the game of bowling, the guards don’t always prevent the ball from rolling into the gutter. It happens. It happened. My life did roll down that gutter for a while. I went past the guards that God had in place to keep me in the lane. Thankfully, even in the gutter, God put a course correction for my life. I had the opportunity to bounce out of the gutter and back into where He wanted me.

When life rolls into the gutter, it’s easy to forget that you can get back into the lane God has for you. It’s easy to think that you’ve somehow messed up so bad that God can’t fix it. Your mind tells you that you should just stay there and keep rolling all the way to the end. It’s a hopeless place because so very few exit the gutter. But even in the gutter, God is still ready to put us back in right standing with Him. He knows that even when He rescues us from it, our lives will still bounce back and forth.

What I have found is that God is patient, kind and forgiving. He never stops loving us even if we go past the guards He set up in our lives. He’s constantly waiting for us to call out to Him for help. He’s looking down that lane to see if we’re ready for a course correction. I think He delights in getting us out of the gutter and putting us back into the lane where He wants us. There’s nothing that you or I could ever do to keep Him from loving us and wanting to put us back where we belong. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 24, 2013 · 7:38 AM

Praise in Prison

Our associate pastor was talking this past Sunday and brought up Paul and Silas. He was referencing the time when they were in prison and were shackled down. At midnight they began to praise God and to sing. During that time of praise that all the other prisoners could hear, an earthquake hit under the prison and freed all the prisoners from their shackles. Instead of leaving, every prisoner stayed put. The pastor then said, “Sometimes God will free you from your chains, but leave you in the prison in order to minister.”

That has stuck with me this week. We’ve all heard sermon after sermon about praising God in your midnight, but I never heard anyone talk about what he mentioned. We’re so eager to get the chains off that when they do fall off, we run out of the place God had us. We never stop to think that just because we’re free of the chains it doesn’t mean we’re necessarily free from the prison. There may still be work to do there.

The prison guard heard the chains fall off. He knew the prisoners were free and that he was no match for them. He assumed they had gotten away or were going to. If that was to occur, he would be killed. As his mind raced through every negative scenario, he decided to take his own life. As he drew his sword and held it up to kill himself, the very men that were set free called out to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We’re all here!”

The guard called for lights and went down into the dungeon where Paul and Silas were, fell on his face before them and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” The quake that night wasn’t about freeing the prisoners, it was about saving a soul. Paul and Silas were in tune with God enough that they knew not to run in their freedom. Instead, they used their freedom in that dungeon to minister to someone who wouldn’t have listened to the Gospel any other way.

The guard got his family so they could hear the message. They too were saved. Then he took Paul and Silas into his home, cleaned their wounds and fed them. The next morning they were freed from the jail by the city. Even though the chains that bound them had been released, they were still prisoners until the night was over. Had they fled when the shackles fell off, they would not have been legally free and would have been considered fugitives. The story would have had a different ending.

How is your story going to end? We’re all prisoners to something. When we’ve learned to praise in our prison and we’ve been set free, we shouldn’t be so quick to run out of the prison. There may be others who need to be set free as well while you’re there. God can set us free from the things that bind us in order to minister in the place He has us. Where does God have you now? Are you so concerned with getting your chains off that you haven’t noticed others who need your help? Ask God to teach you to open your eyes in the prison you’re in and then start to praise.

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 23, 2013 · 7:28 AM

The Performance Paradox

I work for a company who pays for performance, but serve a God who doesn’t. It’s difficult not to let my work mentality slip into my spiritual life. I try to tie my value to God based on what I do, not on who He created me to be. I think that the more I do for Him, the more He will love me or reward me, but that’s not true. That’s not how God sees me or values me. He loved me sufficiently before I could ever do anything for Him and did what needed to be done for my salvation.

I got a glimpse of that when my son was born. Before he was even born, I loved him. Before he could take me by the hand and say, “Come on, Dada. Let’s go play,” I loved him. My love for him is not based on what he does, but on who he is. It’s the same with God. Before we were born or had any knowledge of Him, He loved us deeper than we could ever know. He paid a price for us higher than anyone should have to pay.

So why do I tie my value to Him based on my performance? Like I mentioned earlier, I think it has to do with letting my worldly mentality interfere with my spiritual mentality. It’s hard to separate the two. For so much of what I do in life, I’m rewarded based on how much I put into it. There is a value placed on what I do and a monetary reward that supplies needs and wants for my family. The more I do, the more I’m valued.

In God’s kingdom, my value is not based on what I do. Ephesians 2:9 says, “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it (NLT).” No matter how much “good” I do, it’s not good enough to pay the price He had to pay for my salvation. I don’t have to do “good things” to get to Heaven. I simply have to receive what He’s already paid for.

Because I have received that gift, I now show my appreciation by doing “good things.” The difference is that I have to change my mentality from thinking I’m doing them to earn something He gave to me freely into an expression of love. My performance is not to increase my value to God, but to increase His value in someone else’s life who doesn’t know Him. Once I understand that, the “good things” I do are done out of love and not out of obligation. They are done to give and not to receive.

Have you been in that same place where you thought your value to God was based on what you did? Have you let your worldly mentality infect your spiritual mentality? It’s not too late to change course. God values you and loves you more than you can imagine. Even if you feel there is nothing you can do for God, He still places a high value on you. His love for you and your value to Him are not tied to what you have done or will do. He values you simply because you were created by Him. Hold your head high today and don’t let anyone who didn’t create you tell you what you’re worth. God determines your worth based on what He did, not on what you’ve done.

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 22, 2013 · 6:45 AM

What Are Your Priorities?

In order to teach people to prioritize their time, I do a little demonstration with them. I have them hold a paper plate and then ask them what all they are involved in or have going on in their lives. Each time they name something, I place an object on the plate they are holding. Sooner or later one of two things happen. Either the plate slips out of their grasp or it buckles and everything ends up on the floor.

It’s a great demonstration of what happens when we’re involved in more things than we have time for. We either need a bigger plate, fewer things on our plate or to find a way to prioritize the things on our plate better. Each one of us lead busy lives. We have more demands on us than ever before. The question is, “What falls off your plate first when life gets crazy?”

For too many of us the answer is God. We get so caught up in making a living that we forget why we are living and what we were created for. Our goal is not retirement. I’m not saying don’t save up for retirement. I’m saying it shouldn’t be such a priority that you fail to give God your time. I know what it’s like to work so hard that on your only day off you want to sleep in instead of going to church. It’s also easier to hit the snooze button than to wake up and pray.

The problem is that we’ve not made God a priority. I heard someone recently say, “We’ve made God a luxury and not a necessity.” When that happens and things need to be cut in our lives, He’s one of the first things to go. God must become a priority in each of our lives or the balancing act with the plate is all for nothing. Job 1:21 reminds us that we were naked when we came into this world and we’ll be naked when we leave. If we can’t take it with us, why have we made it such a priority in our lives?

What we do take with us is our soul. Romans 14:12 says that each one of us will give a personal account to God for what we’ve done and how we’ve lived. What we do on earth for God will echo in eternity. He should be our number one priority in life followed by doing the things that matter for eternity. We still have to provide for our families and to do the things necessary to live. It’s finding the right priority that is the key to living the way God intended us to live. There is a way to balance the things in your life without having them fall on the floor.

It starts with having God at the center of your life. When you make Him your number one priority in your life, you begin to see what matters and what doesn’t. You learn what matters for eternity and what doesn’t. You begin to see where things belong in your life. You find the balance He wants you to have. You may have to let go of some things you have as a high priority right now. You may find you’ve been focusing on the wrong things and need to put different things on your plate.

To help you determine how you prioritize things in your life, I ask again, “What falls off your plate first when life gets crazy? What falls off last?” The answer to these questions is where you currently have your priorities. What order do you want or need your priorities to be in? What changes can you make today to begin to put them in the right order? Putting God in the center will help you to find the balance you’re looking for.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,