Overcoming Discouragement

The other day I was thinking about how discouragement is just part of life. There is a part of me that would like to avoid discouraging situations, but there is a part of me that also understands that they can help me in my life. As the Bible tells us in Romans 5:3-4, "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope." It is through our sufferings, through our discouragement, through our trials and challenges that we learn how to persevere, and through this persevering spirit we are able to gain character; we become a better person!
So what has been discouraging me? My son's baseball team. I am managing my son's baseball team, and there appears to be a lack of talent on the team. Consequently, the last 2 games we have lost 10-3 and 7-1 which included countless errors! But that is just a game. Right? So to overcome this, I should focus more on what I can do for the kids to help them improve, than on the score or on winning or losing.
I am also discouraged by the lack of attendance and money in our church. There are many reasons for this, not worth going into at this time. If I were to think about how to overcome this discouragement, I think it would again be focus. If I can focus on those who are coming, and what God is doing in and through my life, and how I'm helping others, then maybe I can be less discouraged. If I follow Romans 5:3-4, and let this trial give me a spirit of perseverance, then I can have the character I need to make a difference as a minister in this church!
The good news, then, is that I can take each issue in my life that causes me to be discouraged, and find a new perspective on how it can challenge me to be better. May I give my discouragements to God this day and every day!!
Tell me what you think.

Transparency

In life it is important to admit the weaknesses, faults, and limitations we have in life. This is important, because until we admit this, we fool ourselves into thinking e are somebody that we are not. However, it is not easy, because to admit these things, makes us feel that we are less of a competent person. But admitting my shortcomings is not about putting myself down. It is about coming to terms with the "real" me. There is nothing wrong with having shortcomings, because everyone has shortcomings.
What this is really about is being transparent. Too often in life we try to put on masks, facades, and pretend we are someone that we are not. The problem with this is that we can never be comfortable with who we are, because we never live the life of who we truly are. We try to be what we think others want us to be.
Where I need to start with my transparency is with God. I know that God already knows who I am, since the Bible informs us that God formed my inward being. But being transparent with God is important, because it allows me to admit who I am to the One who loves me the way I am. A good way to be transparent to God is through journaling. In journaling I can share with God my true and honest thoughts and feelings. How freeing it is to put down on paper what I am, and the emotions that are inside. It is a wonderful release.
Another form of being transparent is admitting my sins. Too often, until I admit my sins to God, it is easy for me to pretend that they are not real. But once I reveal them, I need to deal with them. This too is a healthy practice. In the Bible, in Psalm 32, verse 3, it says: "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away..." Confession is the transparency that is needed when it comes to our sins. When we don't confess to God, our sin stays within us, and creates a guilt that eats at our being.
I am grateful that I can be who God created me to be. I can admit my limitations and faults and shortcomings, because that is who God created me to be. By being transparent in this way I can be more content in my living, because I don't have to pretend. And when I confess, I receive forgiveness from my sin from God and can live as a person who is free of all guilt.
Where do you need to be more transparent? Start today!

Can you really be happy?

Happiness is something that everyone wants in their life. In fact in the Declaration of Independence it says: "...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." People have been led to believe that there is a path to happiness. And yet, as the Constitution says, they have the right to the "pursuit of happiness." Unfortunately, too many people seem to always be pursuing, and never finding!
What is the answer? Well, if I had the answer to a life of happiness, I could be a rich person. I know that in my own life, there is much happiness, but also much that brings unhappiness. Anytime there are problems in life, there are times of unhappiness. This is the reality; problems are a part of life. There is no way around this.
So, we need to discover how we can find happiness in the midst of problems. And for me, the way I do this is to give each day to the Lord. Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Each day is a new day full of possibilities. I try to live my life with enthusiasm and excitement, trying to make it the best day I can. That alone gives me happiness. When the day brings me fun and good experiences, that is all the better, but even when life is hard, and there are struggles, I still try to find the good in it.
Last week I came into my office and turned on my computer, only to find it wouldn't boot up. This has been a major inconvenience, and yet, I give thanks that I have a lap top that I can still use while my computer is being fixed. I can find happiness in knowing that there are alternatives to not having my office computer. We can do this with so many aspects of life.
How do you find happiness in life? Let me know.

Experiencing God's Love 2

A few months ago I did a blog on "experiencing God's love." However, this topic is so big, that I wanted to explore it some more. I realize that I am not able to express completely how, or in what ways we experience God's love. There are so many ways that this is true.
I would like to share again some thoughts on this, because I believe it is such an important topic. We tend to take love for granted; especially God's love. We forget that God's love is unconditional. Even though we don't deserve it, God showers us with His love. As I was thinking about more ways I find this to be true, I came up with a couple more I wanted to share; children, and forgiveness.
I believe that God gives us children to help us to love and be loved. Before I was a father I would see my friends with their children. They would care for them, and be there for them, and talk about how much they loved them. But I could never fully understand this until I was a father. The love I have for my children is impossible to explain to others. I love my children completely. There isn't anything they could do that would cause me to stop loving them. And the love I receive back from them is truly priceless. In this experience, I have learned so much about my relationship with God. I can understand God's love better by understanding the immense and unconditional love I have for my children!
A second way I realized I experience God's love is by the forgiveness God gives to me. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "for we all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory." But, God doesn't leave us in our sin. Christ gave His life for us on the cross so that we might be forgiven. Therefore, we are told in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, then He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness." What does this mean? Well, as Psalm 32:1, "Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." We are able to experience happiness because we are no longer weighed down by sin and guilt!
I asked some friends what they thought, and this is some of their responses:
When the congregation at church greet each other with hugs. I experience God's love through my family and friends.God shows his love during times of trial in my life when I don't even realize it and He is working things out for me. God provides what I need and not necessarily what I want. Through sunshine, birds chirping, flowers, and nature. I'd love to know how you experience God's love.

Life is full of Challenges

When golf balls were first manufactured, they made the covers smooth. However, it was then discovered that after a ball had been roughed up, they flew further. So, they started making them with dimpled covers. This is how it is with life, that by going through the challenges of life, we might get roughed up, and we actually become stronger.
Have you ever felt that when you go out into the world, you are like a sheep amongst wolves? You try to be nice, and kind, and loving, and giving, only to find that others take advantage of you, or are unresponsive to your generosity? And this can be frustrating and can get us down.
I know that all too often I focus on the potential rejection and suffering that might come to me, instead of focusing on the protection and provision of God in our lives. The Bible speaks of how when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are filled with the Spirit of God, and have the power of God within us, and working for us.
Many times I am asked how I know what to pray. And my answer is always the same: "I don't think about it, I just let the Spirit of God guide my mind and my words and speak through me. It is the same when we are called to go and live through the challenges of life, we need to let the Spirit direct us and speak through us. It is believing that God will provide for you and me what we need in the times that we need it.
Even though the world can seem like a jungle, full of ferocious animals, it is the wisdom, and innocence, and power of God that will protect us and carry us through it all.
But in the midst of it all, we do need to be careful. In the New Testament, Jesus, in Matthew 10:21, gives us a warning about people: "Brother will betray brother...and a father his child, and children will rise against parents." In our world, you have to be careful who you trust and what situations you put yourself in.Again, this comes back to letting the Spirit of God guide your thoughts and your actions.
I urge you to focus,not on the fact that there are challenges and untrustworthy people, but rather that we are called to be "in" this world, and God will guide us in regards to who we can trust, what we should do, and where we should go. Remember, the challenges actually serve a purpose, to make us stronger, and to help us actually make a difference.
Join with me today in giving thanks to God for the challenges we face, and to seek to learn and grow from them! What do you think?

Character

Some people are characters, and others have character. Character is the evaluation of an individual's moral qualities. Character includes qualities like honesty, integrity, loyalty and courage. It has been said that character is who you are when no one is looking. In other words, we might be honest in front of people, but dishonest behind their back.
As I deal with people in the church, it is interesting to see how some people can be trusted, while others cannot. Some people can be counted on and stay true to their word, but others go back on their word like it is nothing.
As a minister, character is not just part of my life, it is an important part of my job. I am called to be an example in who I am for others. I am called to be honest, and loyal, and trustworthy, and above reproach.
But as I say this, shouldn't this be true of everyone? Shouldn't everyone be expected to have good moral character? Why do we expect some people to have more character than others?
Life is full of experiences that not only test our character, but actually develop it. We see this expressed in Romans 5:3-5, "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Character is born through our life experiences. As we face suffering in our life, we learn perseverance and fortitude; we learn how to push through the difficulties and not give up. This persevering spirit gives us character, because it gives us a strength that could not be developed by life being easy. We learn the importance of being disciplined and committed and trustworthy, so that we can make things happen. We learn that being trusted by others is a valued quality, because we probably have had people come into our lives during the time of struggle who we trusted, and helped to get us through.
If you were to evaluate your character, how would you do? Are you trustworthy? Honest? Loyal? Responsible? Loving? If not, where do you need to improve? It's not about knocking yourself down, it's about evaluating so that you can improve your character, because none of us is where we need to be. But there is probably little that is more important than having good character.

Being Useful

I think that all people want to feel useful in life. There are definitely times when we mess up and don't feel useful. I remember when I was a kid, and my dad would be doing some work, and I would go over and want to help him, and he might even let me try, but if I failed to do it right, he would step in and take it away from me. Those times caused me to feel not so useful.
Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever struggled with something, or failed at something, and because you did you didn't feel useful? It is not uncommon to go through periods in life like this. The key is not to believe these negative voices.
The Bible tells us that we are very useful. In Ephesians 2:10 we read: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Did you catch that? We are God's workmanship. We have been created to do good works.
Even more, we are reminded that when God created Adam and Eve, after God had finished creating them, God said: "It is good." We are created with the capability to be good, to do good, and to be useful. The key is finding what you are good at. Maybe it is writing, or drawing, or organizing, or resolving conflicts. Then once you have an idea of what you are good at, seek to find a place to put this to use. It may be your job, it may be your church, it may be at your kids' school.
I am thankful for the times that I can be reminded that I can be useful, because this helps me to break the spell that my struggles, failures, and negative voices have put on me. Refreshing my mind in this truth lifts me up and sets me on the path to "good works." I hope this encourages you as well. Share a comment, and encourage someone else.

How To Celebrate God

Have you ever noticed how we celebrate so many things in life? My birthday is coming up in September, and I am excited about being able to celebrate this event with friends and family. We celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, birthdays. Celebrations are great, because they are not only fun, but they help us to remember special and important times of life.
This week I came across a blog that talked about how we so often fail to celebrate answered prayer. Here is a quote from that blog (http://www.wackyweavers.blogspot.com): "How often we pray intently for God to reveal/answer us and then when He does, we have almost lost interest in the subject because we have already gone onto another desire to pray for. We don't take time to celebrate in His answers." As I thought about this, I realized it is true.
Not only does this happen in my life, but it happens in the church as well. How often do we lift up prayers to God, but we fail to celebrate the answers; we fail to celebrate with others. And yet, having said this, I am glad that our church did this just last week. We had been praying for a while for someone with cancer, and we found out that the cancer is gone! So we shared it at church last week, and everyone applauded; we celebrated as a church family!
So, the question is, how do we celebrate more? Well, I think that it is important to make a habit of sharing not only your pain and struggles with others, but share the blessings that God is doing in your life. I need to make sure that I am praising God for all that He does, but even more for the fact that He cares about me personally and walks with me. As the psalmist said in Psalm 72:18-19, "Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.

¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen."

Making Big Decisions

The Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken" starts out with these words: " Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;"
In life we have decisions to make. Sometimes there are only 2 choices, sometimes there are more than two. Sometimes we have small decisions to make (i.e. What clothes should I wear today?), and other times the decisions are bigger (i.e. Who should I marry? OR Should I get a new job?).
The question I want to ask is this: How do you make a big decision? What criteria do you use to make what you feel is the right choice? Most people choose by what feels right, or what's most convenient, or what gives them the greatest reward in return. Sometimes people will make choices on a whim, or out of anger or frustration. Often times, people don't put the thought and energy into it that a big decision requires.
For me personally, I like to start with prayer. I believe that God is a personal God, and cares about my decisions. Even more, I believe God has a plan for my life, as Jeremiah 29:11 says: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." As I have learned to listen to the voice of God, through times of prayer I feel God leading me to the right decision. Secondly, I will talk to other trusted friends. I believe that God has given us trusted people in our lives to help give us wisdom. Maybe we're too close to the decision, or maybe our emotions are tied up, or maybe want to make a decision based on a selfish desire. My friends can help me to be more objective in making the decision.
I believe God has a plan and purpose for my life, and for yours. The challenge is making the right decision when the choice comes. And as Robert Frost says at the end of his poem:
"I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
I'd like to hear your thoughts. :)

Imagination

Imagination. The dictionary gives the meaning as: "The formation of a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses." To imagine something is to think about bringing into being that which doesn't exist. As I think about this, I am immediately drawn to the creation story of how God brought the world and all that is in it into being. God imagined it, and then made it happen!
In respect to me, I think about the text in Genesis 1 that says that people have been created in the image of God. As part of God's image, I have imagination, and can bring into being that which does not exist. This is especially true for me to think about in regards to ministry. I love to imagine what our church can be, and what the people in the church can become. It is exciting to see a person blossom into the being God created them to be, and know that I had a part in this.
But the challenge comes in that the older we get, the harder it is to imagine. It could be that we don't believe that what we imagine can happen, so we stop imagining. It could be that we get caught up in the concreteness of life, and stop imagining. But I think this is an unfortunate occurrence when we limit our imagination, because without imagination we lose hope and the excitement of what could be.
If you could imagine without limitation, what would you imagine? What do you want to see happen, that isn't in existence right now? I know for me it is to see the people in the church unified with one purpose and reaching out with God's unconditional love. Once we imagine something, we need to take one step at a time to try and make it a reality. I hope you will let yourself imagine, starting today. Tell me what you think.

Loving Your Neighbor

One of the best known phrases from the Bible is the words of Jesus, where He said: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Now this sounds good, but what does it mean, and how are we to live this out? I ask these questions, because I know that it is easy to speak the words, but if I don't know what it looks like, then I probably won't be doing it in my life.
In the Bible, after Jesus said these words, He was asked the question: "Who is my neighbor?" That is a good question. If we are supposed to love our neighbor, then it would be good to know who our neighbor is. The obvious answer might be the person that lives next to us, or on the same block as us. But Jesus wanted us to understand that it is much broader than that. In short, Jesus told a story about a Jewish man who was attacked, robbed, and injured. He was injured so badly that he couldn't walk to get help. As time went on a couple of different people walked by, and not wanting to get involved, they passed by on the other side without helping. Finally, a Samaritan (one who didn't get along with Jews) walked by. When he saw the man was injured, he felt compassion for him, and so he carried him to a place where he could get help, and paid for the man's care.
In telling this story, Jesus was making the point that our neighbor is anyone we come in contact with that needs our help. It doesn't matter the ethnicity, the social status, or the way the person looks, to "love our neighbor as ourself" means to care for those who we can help. This is challenging, because it is easy to keep to yourself; to not want to involve yourself in the problems and concerns of others. But life needs to be about giving ourselves away.
As a minister, I have many opportunities to do this. And when I help another person, I need to do it without the expectation of getting anything back. If I do it with that kind of an attitude, then I will have selfish motives, and it will limit my capability to love genuinely. So when I see a need, and realize that I have the means to help, then I reach out in love and help that other person. In this way I am "loving my neighbor as myself." How about you? Where have you been able to do this? I would love to hear your story.

God for a Day

If I were God for a day/week/whatever, what changes would I make in my life?

As I think of this question, I have two reactions: one, is that it would be great to have all the power in the world. The other would be a fear of the damage I might cause. This question takes me back to the Jim Carey movie “Bruce Almighty.” Bruce thought it would be great to be God, but then realized the great responsibility that came with such great power, and how he messed everything up by granting everybody their requests. But of course the question limits the power to changing myself; what changes would I make in my life?

To answer this question presupposes that I have the knowledge of what is best for me. Of course we live our lives thinking that we know what is best. But as I have lived my life, and seen the mistakes I’ve made, I’ve come to understand that I don’t know what is best. So to be God for a day I would need to have the wisdom and insight to know what is best. I suppose that I would want to create in me a better capacity to love people unconditionally. As Christians, we want to love unconditionally, but it is oh so hard. Whenever we are wronged or taken advantage of, we want to put forth our anger to others. We might say we forgive someone, but we hold the grudge deep inside. So secondly, I’d change myself to be able to forgive for real.

I think that if I was able to make these changes, I could truly love, and encourage, and minister to others around me, and I would be able to help people experience the love of God. I know that many people long for true, unconditional love. How wonderful it would be to give them a taste of this.

This answer may not seem profound to some, but I think that love and forgiveness is at the core of who God made us to be, and is what allows us to have deep, meaningful, ongoing relationships.

How about you?

Taking It Easy

I am here on vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota with my wife and her family at a family reunion. The scenery is amazing! I love being with my family taking it easy. As I reflect on this time I am having, I think about how difficult it is to "take it easy" in life when we are not on vacation or in a place like the Black Hills. And I began to wonder how we can have this same "take it easy" attitude every day.

What is it that allows me to take it easy while on vacation? For one, there are no worries. We have set aside money for the trip and we have no definitive schedule. BUT, even on vacation, things don't always go as planned. My wife and her parents spent last night and all of today sick with the flu. NOT FUN! And yet, I still have this sense of taking it easy.

The apostle Paul I think says it best in Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious for anything, but with petition and prayer, make your requests to God, and the peace that surpasses all knowledge will guard your hearts and minds." What a wonderful thought: every day we can give our worries to God and have a take it easy attitude. Every day we can know that God's peace is there for us. Every day we can experience the life that God has for us to enjoy. We doubt it, but it is true; it is promised to us by God.

What is keeping you from this "take it easy" attitude. Maybe giving it over to God on a regular (and I mean even every minute of the day) basis will allow you to experience the beauty God has for you to enjoy this day and every day. What do you think?

Want vs. Need

When people see a church, they often think that it is there to meet a need that they have; churches are for helping people. And to a certain extent this is true. But this is not the only truth, or even the primary truth. Churches are there first and foremost to lead people to God and to help them become disciples of Christ.
This was actually an ongoing issue with Jesus while He was here on the earth. People would come to Jesus with a perceived need (to be healed) and Jesus wouldn't offer them healing at first. For example, in the Bible, in the New Testament, in the book of Matthew, chapter 9, some people brought a paralyzed man to Jesus. What was Jesus' initial response? Let's read it in verse 2: "When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven.'" Jesus forgives the man of his sins.
In this passage we have the issue of want verses need. The man wanted to not be paralyzed any more. The man wanted to walk. The man wanted Jesus to heal him. But Jesus knew that his greater need was to be saved from his sin, so Jesus forgave the man of his sins. This doesn't go over too well with the people, and Jesus realizes that they don't understand, so to help them get to a place where they were open to having their need met, Jesus took care of the want and healed the man. With this, verse 8 tells us: "When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God..." In the end, God is glorified, and faith is strengthened.
In an article entitled "How Responding to People's Needs Hurts the Church," by Elizabeth I. Steele, she says: "This trivializes the church, its mission, and its outreach. It eviscerates the heart of the church’s message and cuts the church off from its identity as the people of Christ." When the church seeks to always meet the needs (which are usually wants) of people, it creates people who only think about taking, instead of developing disciples who want to give. Christ came to "serve and give His life as a ransom for many." As Christ's followers, the church should be about helping its people learn how to give of themselves. When this happens, the needs will be met all the more.
The church is called to create disciples, not sponges. What do you think?

Listening to God

Those who have the ability to hear have been given a great gift. It is easy to take this gift for granted. One way we take it for granted is by using selective hearing. Selective hearing is when we only hear what we want to hear. People do it all the time. Maybe they are in a discussion, and they are not listening to what the other person is saying because they are thinking about what they want to say. Or maybe they are distracted (like when I watch TV) and don't hear what their spouse is saying.
I know there are many times when I try and say something to my kids, and their answer is, "What?" even though I am standing right next to them. And then when I don't repeat what I said, and they think about it, they realize what I said.
Our hearing is really an amazing gift, because without it we would not be able to communicate. If you only talked, and didn't listen, there would be no communication. And yet this is what we do to God all the time, and we call it prayer.
When we come to God in prayer, we usually do all the talking. And most of the time our talking is just asking God for things, or asking God to do things. We don't take the time to "listen to God." And then we get discouraged when our life doesn't go the way we want it to.
Now granted, it takes practice learning how to listen to God, but it is possible. That why Jesus said in the Bible, in the gospel of John how He was the shepherd, and His sheep hear His voice. We can learn to hear (discern) the voice of God. Think about it this way, there are people who call you on the phone, and with hearing only one word from them you know who it is, because you know their voice.
When I pray, and I quiet the thoughts in my head, I will hear a "still small voice" speak to me. This is the voice of God. And as I have learned how to listen to it, I can be guided by God's speaking to me. Prayer is so much more wonderful now that I can listen to God; now that I can have full communication with God (talking AND listening).
I encourage you to practice listening to God. It will make a difference in your relationship with God, and it will make a difference in how you live your life. What do you think?

I Will Not Be Afraid

Fear is real. We all have areas in our lives where we are fearful. I am afraid of heights. I also have a fear of failure. But the problem with fear is that it causes us to not live life to the fullest. Fear causes us to hold back. And while President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "the only thing to fear is fear itself," the reality is that we do allow ourselves to have fear.
Fear can be paralyzing. It can rob us of our peace and joy. It can keep us from stepping out in faith to do what we know we should do. If you were to look at the life of King David (from the Bible), you would see that David had many opportunities to fear. As a shepherd he regularly encountered wild animals threatening his sheep. He had to overcome his fear to fight them off. He ended up fighting a giant named Goliath, who was much bigger and stronger than he was. He had to overcome his faith as he defeated Goliath with a sling shot and 3 stones.
In the book of Psalms, David wrote a very important Psalm in regards to conquering fear through prayer. Let's look at this prayer in Psalm 27:1-3:

"The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? ² When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. ³ Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident."

In this prayer David declared that even when evil was around him and threatened him, he would remain confident because God was there to protect him. As David said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation." Where do you feel some fear? I know I need to trust God to help me to be successful in my endeavors as I trust him to lead me even when others around me attack me. How wonderful it is to know that with God I can overcome my fear!

High Gas Prices

How have the gas prices affected you? These days everybody is fed up with the rising gas prices. It's not just that it seems so wrong to have the prices be so high. It's that it affects us in every aspect of life. Because of the high prices, we see airline prices going up, food prices going up, consumer prices going up.
As I was reflecting on the affect it has had on my own life, I realize that it has caused me and my family to make some changes. My wife and I are regularly trying to work out our schedule so that we can use one car at times, instead of two. This makes it difficult, because we often have different schedules and places to be. And even though we seek to live on a budget, most of our spending money goes to money for gas, instead of going out to eat, or driving somewhere for an outing. And while spending time at home can be a healthy family discipline, it can be a bit much some times.
The high gas prices is causing a lot of anger these days. You might have read the article of the Danville woman who was accused of setting 2 gas stations on fire in protest. There are gasoline protest meeting groups online. There are attempts to hurt the gas companies (like the effort to encourage people not to buy gas from a particular company, or on a particular day). Or how about Bob Oyster, who was told by Shell he was going to have to pay higher prices for the gas, so he jacked up the price well over $4.00 (that was when it was selling in the mid to high $3.00 range). He did this to make a statement. As Oyster says: "I got fed up. It makes a statement, and I guess when people see that price they also see the Shell sign right next to it.''
While things are tight financially, I am still able to pay for gas. But that doesn't mean I want to give all my money to the oil companies. And what about those who can't afford the gas anymore? What are we to do? I'm not sure I have the answer, but I do know that as consumers, we CAN make a statement by trying to limit our gas purchases. After a while, it WILL begin to send a loud statement to the oil companies. By doing this, we also are seeking to be good stewards of the money we do have.
I ask again, how have the gas prices affected you?

Turning Bad Into Good

Life is full of bad experiences. Bad things happen all the time, to good people as well as bad. Bad things can even happen to Christians. There are many who wonder why God doesn't protect them from the bad things in our world. But think about this, the bad things that happen to us are either our own doing, or a product of the bad in our world.
First, we sometimes create the bad which happens to us. We don't always make good decisions, and some of our decisions lead us into situations that cause bad to come to us. Those who choose to smoke will have to deal with this addiction (maybe for a lifetime), and for some they will get cancer and die. If you choose to lie, and get caught in your lie it can cause you trouble. If you go out for dinner all the time, even though you don't have the money, you might find yourself short when it comes time to pay the bills. Our bad choices cause bad to come into our lives.
Second, sin creates bad things in our world. Romans 3:23 tells us, "For ALL have sinned and fallen short of God's glory." You don't have to read far into the newspaper to see all that bad that exists in our world; war, rape, robbery, kidnapping, drugs, gangs, and on and on I could go. Since we live in this world, there are times when this bad affects us and impacts our world. Maybe you don't live in a safe neighborhood, maybe something bad like this has happened to you, maybe you are afraid to go out into the world.
But there is good news. God wants to bring good out of our bad. Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." The Bible promises us that when we trust God, God can take the bad that has happened in our lives and work out good from it. I know that in my own life, the struggles I have gone through have taught me important lessons, or prepared me for something else I was going to do in my life later on.
There is an interesting process that you can go through that helps you to discover this. What you do is get a bunch of yellow and pink sticky notes. On the yellow sticky notes write all the good that has happened in your life, and on the pink sticky notes write all the bad things that have happened. Then put them in chronological order. When you read through your time line in this way, you will discover that much of the good that has happened follows the bad; God used the bad to prepare you for the good that was to come.
So, what should you do? Trust yourself to God. Believe that God will bring good out of your bad. Don't give up living. Be passionate about life.

Childlke Faith

In Matthew 18:1-5 Jesus says, "At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" ²He called a little child and had him stand among them. ³And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Here we have a situation where the disciples were wanting to be great. We see ego; pride; selfishness. Jesus surprises them with these words.
What is Jesus saying here? Greatness comes not from physical strength, but from spiritual strength; a humility of spirit. Kids are humble. They believe what you say. They are not hard hearted. They are persistent. They believe in miracles. They have a capacity for wonder. And if we are going to be great, then we need to have a childlike faith.
When we do not have a childlike faith, we try to be in control. We think that we have to have all the answers. We think that we need to take care of all of our needs. We think that we have enough strength to do what needs to be done. But in the end, we become predictable, because we usually do what is expected of us to do.
Predictability and faith cannot coexist. What characterized Jesus (and ultimately His disciples) was unpredictability. The things Jesus said and the things Jesus did was always surprising those around Him. He ate with sinners, hung around tax collectors, prostitutes, and lepers, and healed people on the Sabbath. In fact, when Jesus was present, everyone was uncomfortable because they didn’t know what to expect.
This is what childlike faith does for us; it leads us to do the unexpected because when we follow God's leading, it usually is not what is expected. I know in my life when I follow my lead, it is nothing new or profound, but when I have faith like a child and trust Jesus, then it is very profound.
I challenge you to think about how you can be more childlike in your faith. What do you need to do differently? Where do you need to let go? Where do you need to trust more? What miracle do you need to ask God for?

Spiritual Warfare

Have you ever wondered why people attack you? Do you feel like you have extra trials? Are you having trouble in your relationships? Do you feel depressed? These issues can all be related together by the issue of spiritual warfare. As the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12- "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. "
Often times we are attacked because people are attacking God. They do this without knowing the deeper issue. This can especially happen when we seek to step out for God, and in our serving God, or doing the work of God, attack will come our way. And in these times, we can let ourselves feel beaten down and frustrated, or we can walk in the light of God (John 1:9- "The true light, which enlightens everyone...").
We need to understand that Satan is real and trying to disrupt our lives; Satan is trying to keep us from the joy of the Lord. In his book "The Screwtape Letters," C. S. Lewis talks about this attempt to derail our lives from God. It is a wonderful rendering of the deceitful ways in which Satan tries to blind us to the reality of how beneficial it is to live in the love and presence of God, instead of following the ways of the world. As Satan attacked Eve so deceitfully, he seeks to confuse and disorient us into letting the temptations of the world and trials of life overwhelm us.
When we walk in the light, we put ourselves in a place to have the armor of God available to us: "¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
We are called to stand firm in what God gives to us. When we live in this way, we can live in the joy of the Lord as we know that we are strengthened by our faith, our righteousness (which comes to us by Christ), the Bible, our salvation, and prayer. We can indeed overcome the struggles of life, and learn to enjoy life in the midst of life's difficulties.