Tag Archives: hope

July 1, 2013 · 8:21 AM

When I Look at a Penny

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I never want to get to the point in my life that I’m too good or have too much that I won’t bend down to pick up a penny. I especially make sure that I pick them up when I’m going through a difficult time. There’s a lot to learn from a penny when you stop and look at it, but most of us toss them aside as worthless. When I look at a penny, I see things in it that help me through tough times.

One of the first things I recognize in a penny is that it costs more to make a penny than it’s worth. The government keeps producing them because they are an integral part of our monetary system in giving back exact change. There are times in my life when I don’t think I’m worth much. When I think of the cross and the price that was paid for me, I realize that it cost more to save me than I’m worth. I then realize that God sees me as worth it and as an integral part of His plan.

I also see on the penny the words “In God We Trust”. Those words are words of comfort in difficult times. They remind me where I need to place my trust when things are too hard to handle on my own. I try to face each trial in my own strength to prove to God that I can handle it. In reality, I feel the trials and tests are there not to test my strength, but my reliance on Him. In difficult times, I can trust in God.

The president that is on the front of the penny is Abraham Lincoln. There’s probably not another president who went through something as difficult as leading a nation divided by civil war. He relied on God to help him navigate that difficult period. One of the quotes I heard that was attributed to him was, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side.” He knew that God’s plan was more important than anything. I can learn a lot from that.

Another thing that stands out to me on the penny is the date. One of the things I like to do when I see the date on a penny is to think back and remember one thing that God did for me that year. When I recount the blessings of what God has done in my past, it gives me hope and strength that He’ll do it again. God has been faithful in my life. I just need to take the time to remember it. When I do that, my confidence in Him is bolstered and I know with Him I can face whatever comes my way.

I know there’s a lot more on a penny than what I mentioned here. You may not have looked at a penny the way I do. I see a lot of value in it beyond what it’s worth because of what it reminds me of. When God looks at you, He sees the same thing. He sees value beyond what you think you’re worth. He sees someone worth dying for. He sees someone worth spending eternity with. He sees what no one else sees, smiles and picks you up when others have discarded you. That’s what I see when I look at a penny. What do you see?

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June 20, 2013 · 8:46 AM

The Blueprints of Faith

In our small group last night, we were reading from Genesis 6 where God gave Noah the blueprints for the ark. He told him it was to be 450 feet long, 45 feet high and 75 feet wide. He told him what kind of wood to use, how many levels to have, how to waterproof the wood, to build stalls and even told him why he was to do it and how it would happen. I got a little jealous of Noah as I read all of that because he got a blueprint of exactly what God wanted from him with each step.

I’d love for God to do that for me. Instead, I feel more like Abraham who God told, “Leave your native land and go to the land that I will show you.” There were no blueprints, no reasons or navigational directions. He was simply told to pack his stuff, leave his relatives and everything he’d known for a land that he would be shown without being given a reason. I don’t know if he felt the doubt, frustration and fear that I do from being in those shoes.

At first, I started to think that Abraham was the one who really acted in faith. After all, he didn’t get a step by step guide like Noah. The more I think about it, the more I see how much faith it took from Noah to accomplish his task even with a blueprint. When God shows you something you’ve never seen or heard of and asks you to do it, that requires a lot of faith. Even with a blueprint, you are venturing into the unknown, the uncomfortable. It requires faith to start building.

Another thing I see with Noah is the sheer enormity of the project God asked of him. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with how much God asks of us, but just like with Noah, it starts with one board and one nail. It took him a hundred years to complete what God asked of him. As our group leader pointed out last night, imagine Noah on year 33. After all those years, he was only a third of the way done. He’s worked night and day every day for over 39 years and only has a little of the project to show for it. Most of us would have quit. By faith, Noah got up the next day and kept following the blueprints.

Whether God has given you a set of blueprints or has asked you to follow Him with blind trust, it requires faith on your part. Faith to pick up that first board or faith to pack your bags and take that first step. Which of these two do you identify with? Has God asked for endurance from you to see His plan through in the face of ridicule and a seemingly lack of progress? Has He asked you to leave everything you’ve known to do something He’ll show you later? Either way, it requires faith and He has faith in you to accomplish it or He wouldn’t have asked you. Take courage and do something today that moves you in the direction of what He asked you to do.

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June 17, 2013 · 7:51 AM

Tethered by Faith

A few years ago, some friends and I were in Dallas when we decided to visit an amusement park. This park had things like bungee jumps instead of roller coasters. There was one that took you up in a crane and dropped you several stories into a net. I was dared to do it because we were all scared of that one. Not being someone who backs down from a date, I paid the money, put on the harness and got in the cage. As the crane got higher, I started second guessing my decision.

We got as high as the crane would go and the guy running it asked if I was ready. I got to the door of the cage, my harness was strapped to a wire to keep me from falling and he said, “Just lean out of the cage and the wire will hold you. You won’t fall until I release you.” Even though I knew that wire would hold me, it was hard to get out of that cage. I had to fall out backwards with my face to the sky. I struggled with how to do it. I thought about laying on the floor and rolling out. I even told him to push me out.

I finally succumbed to my fear and decided to trust the wire. I fell backwards out of the cage and sure enough the wire held me. Now I was dangling upside down with no turning back. I thought I was afraid before. Now I was terrified. I was no longer in control. As I spun around I could see Dallas, the highways, houses and more. The guy in the crane said, “Look at me.” I looked up at him and he said, “You can do this. I’m going to count to three and then release you to fall into the net.” I begged for mercy!

He said, “One.” I said, “Hey, let’s talk about this for a minute. Can’t we work something out?” He smiled and said, “Two.” That’s the last thing I heard because he pulled the cord and released me. I was free falling for about 10 stories now. At one point I remember telling myself, “Breathe!” I took in a deep breathe and then I hit the net. My adrenaline was pumping, my friends were cheering and I had a huge smile on my face. I did it.

In my life right now, I’m in that cage tethered to it. God is asking me to fall backwards out of the cage. It’s just as scary now as it was then. I’ve tried bargaining with Him like I did with the guy in Dallas. He smiles and says, “Trust me. I’ll hold you and keep you from falling.” While I struggle with what the best way out of the cage is, I ask, “Can’t you just push me?” Patient as ever, God says, “Faith is not me pushing you out, but you getting out willfully and trusting that I’ll catch you.”

It’s a struggle any of us who walk in faith deal with. We become more secure in the tools He uses than in Him. We are harnessed with the breastplate of righteousness and are tethered by faith yet we are afraid to trust Him to hold us when we step out. When we do step out and we’re dangling, He has us facing upward to remind us to look at Him. If our eyes are on the world spinning below us, we’ll be terrified. If our eyes are on Him, we’ll find peace even if we’re dangling out of the cage and can’t see the net.

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June 12, 2013 · 7:15 AM

The Burden Center

As I was turning into my hotel in Baton Rouge last night, I noticed a sign that said “Burden Center”. I know now it’s an off campus Ag center for LSU, but I started thinking about a real burden center where you could come lay yours down and rest. How cool would that be? If you ever wanted to off load your burdens for good or just make them smaller, you could come to the burden center and do that.

Each of us carry burdens of some sort. Some burdens are so heavy that they crush you. They affect your mood, your outlook on life and even your personality. I’ve heard people say, “That’s my burden to bear.” They have given up hope that anyone will come along to share the load and to help them. They feel like they are the only one who can bear that load, so they carry it.

Usually when I have a load like that, I feel like I have to carry it because no one else can or will. I take the burden on my back purposefully and carry it as far as I can. The problem is that the longer I carry it, the heavier it seems. It’s like hiking up a mountain with a backpack. As I climb the mountain, the backpack doesn’t physically get larger or heavier, but the longer I carry it, the more I need a rest.

I have the option to do that when I’m carrying a backpack, but don’t feel like I do when I’m carrying a burden. All I want to do is rest, but burdens don’t let you. They consume your mind and suck energy right out of you. Jesus knows that all too well. He also knows that we’ll try to carry weights on our own. That’s why He has a burden center. His motto is found in Matthew 11:28. It says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Ahh rest. Such a great thing, especially when you’re carrying a burden. I love how the Amplified version talks about rest. It says, “I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.” Now that’s a promise we should all take advantage of. I know I need my soul relieved and refreshed. When that happens, your outlook changes once again. You get your strength and life back to where God wants it.

What burdens are you carrying today that you think your the only one who can? Are you tired and ready for rest? Bring them to His burden center and give them to Him. If you truly believe He is in control of all things, then surely He can carry your burden for you and cause the outcome He wants. He’s asking for you to give it to Him, but the choice is yours.

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June 11, 2013 · 8:30 AM

Opening Doors

Yesterday my son was trying to open a door that was too heavy for him. He grabbed the handle and pulled back. He was trying so hard that he was squinting his eyes. He readjusted his feet and pulled with both hands. The door wouldn’t budge. He knocked on it, moved the handle some more and started pulling again. He turned his body away from the door and pulled trying to use his leg strength. Finally he said, “Dada” and gave me a come help me look.

I walked over, pulled on the door and opened it. He smiled and said, “Thank you, dada.” He’s learned what so many of us still haven’t. He’s learned to call out for help when he can’t get the next door open. He knows who has the strength when he doesn’t. He gave it a valiant effort in his own strength, but when he realized he couldn’t, he called out to the one who could.

I find myself trying to open doors in my life that I feel God wants me to walk through. In my own strength and ability, I’m not able to. Sometimes I’ll stand at that door knock, pull and readjust trying to open it. In the end, I have two choices. I can say, “God must not want me to walk through this door”, or I can say, “God, can you open this door please?” Too many times I choose the first option and miss a lot of blessings God has.

When I can’t open it in my own strength, I reason that God is somehow not wanting me to go through that door. Jesus told the parable of the man who had someone show up to his house late at night. He needed to feed them, but had not food. He went to his neighbor’s house to get food. The neighbor told him the door was locked and he should go away. Instead of leaving, he continued to knock and asked for help. The man finally relented and opened the door.

Prayer is the power in your life to opening the doors that God wants you to walk through. A life of faith isn’t walking through all open doors or doors that you can personally open. A life of faith is recognizing you don’t have the power and then praying to the one who does. God watches as we struggle and pull on the knobs of the doors in our paths. He’s waiting for us to call out to Him in our weakness. He wants to help, but He’s waiting for us to recognize we can’t do it on our own. We need His help. Then we can truly depend on Him.

What doors are you trying to open right now but don’t have the strength? How long have you been trying to open it? Admit your weakness to God and ask Him to open it. While there is power in prayer, there is more power in fasting and praying. If you’ve tried praying and it’s not opening, go to the next level. Jesus showed us that there is more power when we combine the two. Don’t give up on opening your door, knock harder on Heaven’s door.

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June 4, 2013 · 8:15 AM

The Butterfly Effect

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Going through trials is difficult. It’s part of life and especially part of the Christian life. Jesus told us we would have them. In John 16:33, Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer, take courage, be confident, certain and undaunted for I have overcome the world.” He knew we were going to face difficult times. He faced difficult times Himself. He didn’t want us to be defeated by our problems.

He told us that we should take courage because He overcame. If He was able to, we are able to because His spirit lives within us. We forget that sometimes, especially when we’re in a trial or in distress. We don’t rely on the power that is inside of us to overcome. We worry about the problem instead of focusing on the One who gives us strength to overcome.

I heard it said before that a butterfly won’t be able to fly unless it has that struggle with the cocoon. The difficult battle that it has to emerge from the problem that is wrapped around it is the very thing that will help it to survive once it is free. It can choose to give up in that struggle or it can get gain its strength needed in that struggle. We all have that choice.

We shouldn’t be surprised that life doesn’t always go as planned. We shouldn’t be caught off guard that a person does us wrong. Bad things happen to everyone. We can take courage in our frustrations. We can be confident in our ability to overcome. We can remain undaunted in our mission even though obstacles stand in the way. We can have peace in the storms of life.

Our ability to stand firm in tribulation and to weather the storms of life does not lie in our own strength. If you are trying to stand in your own strength, you will grow tired and weary from the struggle. Zechariah 4:6,7 says, “It’s not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says The Lord of hosts. For who are you, O great mountain of human obstacles?” It goes on to say that The Lord will turn that mountain into a plain.

Whatever mountain, struggle, trial, frustration, distress or tribulation you are facing today, The Lord knows about it. He is building strength in you during this time. Don’t give up or quit. You have supernatural power inside of you to overcome. You have the ability to persevere in this time and overcome because He has and He lives in you. Speak to your mountain today. Ask God to make it a plain in front of you. Keep moving forward in His strength today.

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June 3, 2013 · 8:02 AM

Chopping Roots

My uncle and I built a swing set for my son last week. After building it, we decided to put up a fall zone perimeter around it and fill it with wood chips to protect him. We measured and then placed the boards around the swing set. As we were screwing them together, one of the boards wouldn’t square up right. The ground was raised up and kept the board from being level. I grabbed a shovel and started to dig. It wasn’t long before I hit some roots.

I took the shovel, placed it against the roots and jumped on it to break the roots. Sometimes that worked and other times the shovel didn’t move. As I broke some roots, I had to grab the ends of them and pull until they came all the way up or until the were far enough away that I could chop them and get no future trouble from them. As I looked back at the area where they were, it was now soft soil and I could easily pull the dirt back and place the board on level ground.

I started to think about my life after that. When I try to line things up, they don’t always come together the way I think they should. No matter how hard I try, it just doesn’t work. There are roots below the surface that affect things in each of our lives. We may not always see them, but they’re there. They create uneven surfaces in our lives and have a way of messing things up from time to time.

A scripture that always comes to mind when I think about roots is Hebrews 12:15. It says, “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you.” We’re all susceptible to these roots because life isn’t perfect. Things happen that we can’t control and we allow roots to grow in our lives beneath the surface. They get nourishment from the feelings we keep hidden. They grow until we deal with them and cut them out.

Some roots cut easily because they are young. Other roots will take a lot of strength and effort to remove from our lives because they’ve been there so long and haven’t been dealt with. It’s important that we recognize when roots are trying to take hold in and then prevent them. Hebrews said we need to watch out so that the root doesn’t grow. Understanding and knowing what situations cause roots like this to grow is the first step in preventing their growth.

You have to mentally determine not to let them grow up in you. If you are susceptible to them growing in trials, be on your hard during those times. If you are susceptible to them when someone dies, make a determination not to be angry or bitter. Whatever the case may be for you, it’s important that you do what you can to prevent them. In my trials, I consciously pray, “God, please don’t let a root of bitterness spring up in me so that this situation affects me in the future.”

What roots do you have in your life that you need to put the shovel to? Dealing with it now is better than later. You need to kill it at its source so that it will not continue to grow and affect your life negatively. You need to dig it up, pull it out and chop it off. Afterwards, you’ll notice that the soil in your life is a lot softer, more even and able to have something better planted in its place.

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May 31, 2013 · 8:50 AM

Faith and Fear

One of the things I’m teaching people in the business world is that fear comes from a lack of knowledge. We are often afraid of those things we don’t understand or have little knowledge about. When our knowledge is low, so is our confidence. When our confidence is low, our fear goes up. That fear causes our demeanor to change and then our actions reflect it. We begin to act out of fear than out of a confident faith.

To act out of confidence, we need to increase our faith. There are a couple of times in scripture that I can think of off the top of my head that tell us about that. The first was in Mark 9:23-25 when a father brought his son to Jesus for help. He told Jesus, “Have mercy on him if you can.” Jesus said, “What do you mean, ‘If I can?’ Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father replied, “Lord I believe, but help my unbelief.”

When is the last time we’ve prayed that prayer? I believe God honors prayers that grow our faith. Some people are afraid to pray a prayer like that because they think it’s like asking God to help you be more patient: you’ll get a lot of opportunities to grow it! God always desires that our faith and trust in Him will increase.

Another instance that talks about growing our faith comes from Romans 10:17. That says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Are we taking time each day to fill our hearts and minds with the Word of God. I don’t mean just reading a chapter to check off a box. I mean really getting into God’s Word and reading it to search for Him and what He says to us personally through it.

Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed are those who trust in The Lord and have made The Lord their hope and confidence.” You may not have much confidence on your own, but you can have it in God. You can have a boldness like you’ve never had before in Christ. It comes when you’ve learned to trust Him. That trust is learned when you’ve done all you can do in a situation and finally say, “God, I can’t do it. I need your help.”

I think that sometimes God sits back and waits on us to get to that point before He steps in. He needs us to understand that we weren’t made to do everything on our own. If we could, there would be no need for faith. Our confidence would be in ourselves and not in Him. That’s not what God desires. He told Paul in II Corinthians 12:9, “My strength and power are made perfect and show themselves most effective in your weakness.”

It’s in our weakness that we begin to allow our faith, trust and confidence in God arise. It’s not so He can have an ego boost. It’s so we can learn dependence on Him in our lives. It’s so we can have confidence in Him and His ability to supply our needs. It’s so when an impossible situation arises, we don’t have to ask Him if He can, we will know that He can. You can act out of a confident faith rather than fear today.

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May 30, 2013 · 8:13 AM

Flight Attendants and Preachers

I’m sitting on an airplane this morning as I travel for business. I’ve been flying for years and over the last few, I couldn’t count how many times I’ve flown. As we all sit here, the flight attendant is giving safety instructions should anything bad happen. I’ve always noticed how few people pay attention. Maybe because it’s a canned speech. Maybe because it’s something they’ve heard before. Maybe because they don’t care.

It’s got me to thinking how many of us go to church and do the same thing. Many of us have been going to church for years. As we sit in the pews, the preacher gives spiritual safety instructions. Like the people on the plane, we sit there, eyes glazed over and we rarely pay attention. Maybe because they aren’t a dynamic speaker. Maybe because you’ve heard this before. Maybe because you don’t care.

A pastor is a shepherd. Their job is to protect the flock that has been given to them. They preach, not because they have to, but because the safety of your soul compels them to. They are called to watch over you and give you what you need for spiritual protection and to show you the path to Heaven. Yet many of us sit there and play on our phones, talk to our neighbor or sleep. I say, “us” because I’m guilty too. I look at my watch and wonder how long it is until noon too.

Are we going to church because “it’s the right thing to do”? Are we going to be seen by others? Are we going to church because we want our kids to know this stuff? Or are we going so that we can adopt the culture of the kingdom? I realize that the building itself, while we call it “church” is not the church. You and I are the church. The Bible says that we should not forsake the assembling of the brethren. That means we should not treat being with other believers lightly.

Whether you go to a Mega church like Lakewood, a home church in someone’s home or anywhere in between, we are to go and get as much out of it as we can. It’s not the preacher’s job to feed you. When you go, expect to learn something. Expect to gain wisdom. Expect to build relationships with other believers. Expect God to move in your life. Expect to leave different than when you showed up. God’s desire is to meet with us daily, but most of us only give him a couple of hours on a Sunday. Even then, we aren’t giving Him much because we’d rather be doing something else.

What I tell people every day is that you will get out of this meeting what you put into it. The same is true for going to church. Are you there to participate or are you there to observe? Participate in worship. Participate in the sermon by taking notes and writing down your own thoughts of how what’s being said applies directly to your life. Don’t just go to church to go. Go to receive and to participate. Go to meet God and be prepared to be met by Him.

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May 21, 2013 · 9:07 AM

An Uncontrollable Fire

There are some lyrics to a song we sing at church that keep burning inside me. They say, “Set a fire down in my soul that I can’t contain and I can’t control. I want more of you, God.” We had sang that song at church many times before, but on a balcony in Haiti, it became my prayer. As we were having a time of worship in Gonaives, we sang that song and I started listening to the words. I began to internalize what they meant. I began to sing the song with more of a passion than a compulsion.

What does that look like to have a fire set in your soul? What does that feel like to have it burn without being able to control it? What would happen to me if I truly wanted more of God in my life? Do I really, truly want that and what is the cost? We sing songs and read scriptures a lot without giving much thought to the words we are saying or reading. We rarely dig down deep and plant those words in our heart and mind.

A fire that burns uncontrollably takes out what it wants whereas a controlled burn only takes out what I want. Have I given God real control in my life to take out the things He wants to or do I have protected areas that I’ve not let Him touch because I’ve tried the control burn method? If I truly believe that my life is not my own, why do I try to control what God can and cannot do in my life? Why do I fight to keep the things I want instead of taking the things I need from Him?

It’s a struggle that many of us fight. We want to be used by God. We want to give Him our lives. We want to trust Him. Our actions show differently though. Our mouths say one thing, but our actions show something completely different. I don’t want that. I’m not content with that. I can’t be, not if I’m praying that He will set a fire in my soul. Not if I’m willing to let that fire burn out of my control. Not if I want more of Him. Not if He wants more of me.

God gives Himself to us to the extent that we allow room for Him. Too many Christians are like the inn keeper in Bethlehem. They have no room for Him, but they want Him, so they put Him in the stable of their lives. He doesn’t just want to be in your stable. He wants the entire inn of your life. He wants to come into every room you have locked up. He wants to fill you up, but He will go where you put Him. Are you only offering Him a room in the stable?

For me, I want more of Him than I have today. I want to give Him the keys to my inn. I want to kick out the guests of control, security, lack of faith and fear. I want to give Him those rooms in my life too. I want Him to set a fire in my life to burn the things He wants to burn. I want Him to use that fire to purify me, to cleanse me and to make me who He wants me to be. Will it hurt? Probably. Will it be easy to do? No. Will it be worth it? Absolutely!

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