How Am I Doing Today?

As I was thinking about writing my blog today, I came across a file on my computer entitled "How Am I Doing Today?" On this paper, was simply the days of the week with blank spaces underneath each day. It is a file designed to keep track of accomplishments. As I thought about this page, I thought it would be good to reflect on how I (and you) answer this question.
Now, if we were to compare ourselves to God, and think about how much of creation God created in a day, then we might feel a little sheepish, like our lives don't accomplish that much. But God doesn't want us to compare ourselves to God. God doesn't even want us to compare ourselves to others. God wants us to compare ourselves with what God wants us to accomplish each day.
Now this then leads us to ask the question, how do we know what God wants us to accomplish? And the answer to this is not one that is too specific. I'm not sure God makes a list of things to do (like we might do) for us each day. I believe God has more general goals for us. Goals like "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength." "Love your neighbor like yourself." "Forgive others as God has forgiven you." The Bible is full of really important goals that we should live by.
So, getting back to the question how am I doing today leads me to think that it is not about asking this question to judge myself, but to motivate and energize myself. If I know that God wants me to love others, and forgive others, and do good with my life, then I think I can get excited about the day. But when I have a long "to do" list, I could get overwhelmed before the day starts.
SO, how are you doing today?

Shining the Light of Christ

Life is full of choices; full of us trying to discover God’s best for us. One of the challenges, but I think joys as well, is that God often brings about surprises, blessings, and new possibilities. We can be like Humpty Dumpty was at first and feel like we have to give in to our circumstances./ OR, we can be like apostle Paul in the Bible and follow the call of God on our lives. And what a rich life it was for Paul. While it was true that Paul had trouble in Jerusalem, he let the Lord turn it into an opportunity. He was arrested, but in all things, when he spoke, whether it was to the tribune, or the council, or to Felix the Governor, or to King Agrippa, or in Rome, Paul had many opportunities to tell of his faith and to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others!!
Trouble did not concern Paul like it might concern you and me. Instead of it causing him to worry, Paul knew that trouble was where God’s glory could shine, and where he could preach about Jesus. Paul was committed to living his life for God, NO MATTER WHAT. As Paul said in Acts 20:24, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”/ For Paul, it was all about being faithful to the end. He also said it this way in 2 Timothy 4:7- “…But I have finished the race and I kept the faith, and the day is coming when my Lord will raise me up. I have pleased him.”/ God is not pleased with selfishness. God is not pleased with materialism. God is not pleased with lack of commitment./ God is pleased when we seek Him, and trust Him, and let Him work in and through us, and when we let Him walk us through the trouble that lies ahead.
What is your trouble? Trust God to lead you through. Shine the light of Christ in the midst of your trouble, and see how the trouble becomes a blessing!

Content

Many people are bored with their lives. I believe people get bored easily because they allow their lives to be mundane. They do the same things each day, every day. They have their habits (when they get up, how they get ready, what they eat, etc...). They go to their jobs, do their work, and then go home. So many people live very predictable lives. The older we get, the more we tend to slow down and plan less and get into a rut in the way we live. Now this isn't true for everyone, but I believe it is true in many ways for those who feel boredom.
To avoid this, we need to keep life fresh. But the question is: How can we keep our lives fresh? I think we can do this in a couple of ways. First, we can learn how be content with what we have. As the familiar verse, Philippians 4:12 says, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation..." How many days a week do we wake up not feeling content? How often do we get to the end of the day not feeling content? The answer is often. When we are content with our life, even the simplest of activities can be exciting. For me, just being with my kids, being with my family is exciting; we don't have to do anything special.
Our world pulls us into the thinking that we are lacking something. That is what sales is all about, getting you to think that you need something that you don’t have. And when you get to this place, it is hard to be content. Contentment is being okay with what you have, not thinking that you need something new. We often think we need to have new “things, gadgets, toys” in our lives. What we need is the “newness” of God in our lives more and more each day. This is what will keep us feeling content. Once you go down the road of not feeling content, there is nothing material, nothing even in THIS world that will bring you contentment. Only in God can we be content.

Looking for the Good

We have all heard the phrase "the glass is half full." When this phrase is used, it is referring to the fact that we are to stay positive; we are to look for the good in every situation. And while there are negative things that happen in this world, it doesn't help to allow our minds to become negative. All that happens when we are negative is we get depressed, or lose motivation, or feel like quitting. Have a "glass is half empty" approach darkens our outlook on life.
As a Christian, I know that the Bible is full of teachings in the regard of living a positive life. In the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verse 4, the writer, the apostle Paul says: "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice." Now Paul says these words not because his life is perfectly wonderful, but because Paul knows that God is walking with him in all aspects of life; the good and the bad. Paul has done some bad things in his life (like killing Christians before he was one himself), but Paul knows that God has given him a second chance, and called him to make a difference with his life.
The truth is, if we don't look for the good in all aspects of our lives, then we will not be able to make a positive difference. We will get caught up in the drama that exists around us, and lose our focus. We will lose perspective of how things can work out for the good. We will fail to put forth the energy that needs to put forth to move forward and live the life God has called us to live.
Life is full of good times, and bad times; up times, and down times. What we do with these experiences will make or break this life we have. If you want to make the most of your life, then you need to follow the example of Jesus Christ, and Paul, and other followers of Jesus, who were able to rejoice always, and who were able to make the most of what they were given. I hope you can do this as well. I know that it is my goal every day.
Let me know what you think!

The Ending of My Story

The blog group I belong to has chosen "The Ending of My Story" to be our topic for this week. As I thought about that idea I wondered what I would like the ending of my story to be. Is it even good for me to think about the end? Aren't we supposed to think about the now so that we don't lose focus?
The truth is, by looking at the end, it helps me to decide how to live now. I believe this idea of the end of my story is similar to thinking about what you might want on your gravestone. It is what you want people to remember about you when you die. And I hope that when I come to my end, people will be able to commend me for what I accomplished for the Lord.
I want my life to be about doing what God has called me to do; love people, encourage people, teach people about Jesus, live out God's will for me. I was created for a purpose, and there are some things that only I can do. I want to be able to come before God and have God say: "Well done my good and faithful servant." I want to be able to know that I did my best in bringing glory to God.
An Omphalos stone is a stone that is placed in what is believed to be the center of the world. Too many people want to be an omphalos stone, where they think of themselves as the center of the world; everything revolved around them. That is getting it all wrong. I want God to be at the center of the world, the center of my world, so that all that I do seeks to please Him.
I hope the ending of my story is a long way off, since I am only 48. I believe God has much for me still to do. And my desire echoes the words of the psalmist in Psalm 37:4- "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." I hope the ending of my story shows that I consistently delighted myself in the Lord. Amen.

How to do more with your life than just exist...

A typical day for me is get up, get ready for work, help with the kids some (although Tami does most of that), take Tiffany to school, go to work, do my work all day, come home in the evening, eat dinner, watch some TV (or play a game with the kids), help the kids get to bed, read them their devotion, put the kids to bed, read some or watch TV a little more, and then go to bed. If you are like me, many of your days are similar to the one before. Day after day runs together, and at times life can seem a bit of drudgery. The repercussions of which are that we feel like we are just existing in this world.
If you ever feel this way, the reason is because we have lost our focus; we have lost our sense of purpose. In Genesis chapter 1 we are told that we are created in the image of God. To be in God's image is not to just exist or live a life of drudgery. And while we can't have extraordinary excitement in our lives every day, we can find excitement in the every day of life. This is because God makes life itself meaningful.
Each moment we have on this earth is a moment to make a difference. We have the opportunity to love somebody who needs some extra love, or talk to somebody who is lonely, or encourage someone who is down. Even in doing the same things day after day we can find excitement. How? It comes from recognizing that we have another day to live. We have experiences in our lives that can bless us, if we see it that way. We have the potential to give of ourselves, or try something new.
Every day doesn't have to be the same. Maybe today you try and change it up by doing something you didn't do yesterday. Maybe you spend some extra time with your kids, or take your wife out to dinner. The other day on my way home, I decided to stop and get Tami some roses and the kids some baseball cards (yes, Tiffany is now collecting baseball cards). When I came home, it was fun to give these gifts away, and fun for the family to receive them.
If you want to feel more than you are just existing, then try to do something unique with your life each day. Reflect on how you have this life to touch the lives of others. Give of yourself, be less judgmental, be more generous, be less predictable. And above all, live with purpose!

An Alternate Universe

Our blogger group is tackling the question: If the world was somehow sucked into a blackhole and entered an alternate universe, what would your ideal vision of that universe be? How often have people wondered if this world couldn't be better? I look around and see the evil, the corruption, the pain, the hurt, the lostness that exists. As a minister I am dealing with this in people's lives on a daily basis. Shouldn't we be able to live in a better world?
But what would that better world look like? It might require a serendipitous experience. Meaning, that this fortunate new world might just be happened upon (i.e. being sucked into the alternate universe). This new world would first of all need to consist of people who are sinless, because once sin comes into the world, the ultimate outcome will be the inclusion of pain, corruption, and evil. Secondly, this new world would be an environment of sharing. While ownership has its benefits, it leads to hoarding and selfishness. Thirdly, it would require unconditional love; the desire to love all without condition.
In the Bible, we see an attempt at this in the book of Acts where the people had a communal pot and shared their lives with each other. As Acts 2:44-47 tells us: "44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Here we have an environment of love, and sharing, and the enjoyment of one another.
The world I am describing actually will exist; it will exist in heaven. Either when we die, or it comes to that time when Christ returns, we will join Christ in heaven. There will be no sin. There will be sharing. There will be unconditional love, as we will be in the presence of LOVE itself; GOD. So, I suppose that alternate universe is heaven, and what a world it will be!

Don't Stop Learning

God has created us as learning beings. And from our first day alive, we begin to learn; learn how to communicate, learn how to receive love, and learn how to love. As we get older we learn our a, b, c's, and we learn our 1, 2, 3's. We learn our shapes, and even how to draw (I remember the fun I had with my etch-a-sketch trying to draw patterns and pictures). We begin to learn how to put letters together to form words, and words together to form sentences. We go to school and begin to learn even more.
It is not a good thing to stop learning. In fact, one day I asked my 10-year-old daughter, and 12-year-old son: what would you be like if you didn't learn anything else the rest of your life? And the answer was that they would become very simple and immature adults. We are meant to learn, and to keep learning.
The challenge is that once we stop going to school, the tendency is that we don't learn like we used to. Our learning begins to slow down in many ways, because we stop pushing our minds in the same way as we did in school. We might read, but not necessarily books that teach us or challenge us. We might do puzzles, but not necessarily those that would stretch our minds.
So how can we keep learning? How can we challenge our minds without necessarily having to go back to school? I believe we can do it through many of the same things I mentioned: puzzles (I love Sudoku puzzles where I am challenged in my math skills), or more difficult word puzzles. We can also be challenged by reading the Bible and going to Bible study. By reading the word of God, we are challenged with the most important information, and we have an environment where discussion can spur our thought processes.
Along with that, we can memorize scripture. Memorizing is a great workout for the brain. How wonderful a brain God has given us. A brain that is capable of so much. As Ephesians 5:15 says: "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise." When we choose to not stop learning, we live a very wise life. So how are you continuing your learning process?

All I Can Do is Pray

This morning I was reading Romans 15:30, which says: "I appeal to you, brother and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf." As I read this it made me think of those who say to me: "Pastor, I wish I could do more for the church, but all I can do is pray." All I can do is pray! Why do so many people think that praying is not an effective service to God. Here in Romans 15 the apostle Paul is asking for prayer as he deals with unbelievers in Judea and for his ministry in Jerusalem. Paul believes prayer is powerful and effective. And how about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemene when he takes Peter, James and John to pray with him. And when they fall asleep He says to them in Matthew 26:41- "Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial..." Jesus believes that prayer is important and powerful. So many times in the New Testament we see Jesus taking the time to pray. So my challenge to myself, and all who read this, is that we need to be people who are committed to prayer. Don't let the fact that you can't always see the visible results of prayer keep you from praying. Don't let the thinking that prayer is just a bunch of words keep you from believing. Follow the challenge of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing." Let the first words that you say in the morning and the last words before you go to sleep be prayer. I believe that if more people pray more often, and more fervently, they would experience the love and blessings of God more. And if you need prayer, please write your request on the comment section (which goes to my e-mail address first), and I will pray for you. Let us join together in fervent prayer. Tell me what you think. God bless.

How to stay positive

Often times our lives can feel like a tug-of-war. We are being tugged against by so many negative influences in life. There are the expectations that others have of us, there are the responsibilities we have from our spouse, our children, our job. There are the people in the world that are a negative influence. And we are in a spiritual warfare that tugs at us. As the apostle Paul said in the New Testament, Ephesians 6:11-12, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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." How are we to stay positive in this environment around us?
As a minister I regularly have this discussion with people. One of the biggest challenges is the influences we allow in our lives. I am surprised to see how many negative influences people allow into their lives without realizing the draining affect it is having on them. We can limit the contact we have with people who drain us, and demand from us, and who bring us down. We can choose to surround ourselves with people who encourage us, and bless us, and lift us up. This alone will go a long way to helping us be positive.
A second way we can stay positive is to live out our passion. We all are passionate about something; God has created us this way. When we discover our passion and seek to live it out, it is an energizing activity for us. We all want to feel like we are doing something in our lives that makes a difference, and living out our passion makes a difference in our lives and those that we are seeking to help.
Lastly, we stay positive by knowing that the power of God is with us. In the same Ephesians passage it starts out in verse 10 saying: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power." We have the power of God with us, and we have the armor of God protecting us. Knowing that God is walking with me and will never leave me gives me great reason to stay positive in my life. Even more, when I serve the Lord I am energized and feel excited about life.
It is important to stay positive. I hope you can implement these thoughts. Blessings.

If I Were Abraham

(Our topical bloggers topic this week is to pick a Bible character from the Bible, and write from their perspective. My character is Abraham)
Today I am being asked by God to go where God directs me, not knowing where that will be. This is quite a surprising request, since I am used to making the decisions of my own life. To do this, I will have to give up control; I will have to walk by faith. I suppose I have been chosen because I am a person of integrity. This is an honor and a challenge. Will I give myself over to this? I believe I will, since I do want to follow God with my whole heart, mind, and strength.
So off I'm going, me and my family toward Canaan. I'm a little nervous, and excited. Nothing like an adventure, and God will be walking with me. In fact, God has promised to bless me and my family, and has told me I will be a blessing to others. What more could I want with my life? The choice was really to stay where I was at and continue to do the same old things, or to set off on this new venture for God.
Each place I arrive at I stop to give thanks to God. I build an altar to remember that God is with me, and then God speaks to me some more. How wonderful and awesome it is to be guided by God Himself. How humbling to know that I am following the path God has for me. What adventures I will see, and experiences I will encounter. I give it all to God, because I do not know the outcome!
As I wrote this from Abraham's perspective, I realized that all of us are given this charge from God, to go to a land where we know not. We don't know what will happen today, tomorrow, or next week. But if we fcllow the Lord's leading, walking in this adventure, guided by God, God will bless us and allow us to be a blessing. I truly am like Abraham, called to follow God, give glory to God, and live for God. I hope that you feel the same excitement that Abraham felt in his journey.

What must I do to be saved?

Our blogging group this week is tackling the question: What must I do to be saved? This is an important question, because it is a question that deals with not only our life here on earth, but also with what happens to us when we die. When Jesus was on this earth, he was asked that very same question. It's in the Bible, in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 19. A rich young ruler comes to Jesus and asks him: What must I do have eternal life? They proceded to talk about keeping the law, living for God. The man thinks he's doing all the right things, and pridefully thinks that he's kept the law and thus is deserving of heaven.
But then Jesus shows the man how his thinking is off by telling the man that he then needs to sell all that he has, give it to the poor, and then come and follow Jesus. What Jesus is saying to the man is that his riches and his pride and his position are keeping him from living the way God wants him to live; living for God. In the Bible, Jesus made it very clear, there is only ONE way to be saved, and that is by accepting Jesus as our Savior, believing that Jesus' death on the cross is what removes our sin, and allows us to be in a relationship with God. As Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ."
We think that the life we have is supposed to be about what we want. But this thinking is wrong, just like the thinking of the rich young ruler was wrong. We were created to be in relationship with God first, and then with others. We were created to give ourselves fully over to God, and let God lead us in a way to care for and help others. As Jesus summed it up: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself."
This is challenging, but it is life saving. For our life here on earth, and our life to come!

Pray in the Spirit

In Ephesians 6:18 it says, “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.” We read these words, and our tendency is to focus on the word pray. While this word is important, I think we need to focus on the phrase “in the Spirit.” What does it mean to pray in the Spirit?
Praying in the Spirit is about letting God's Spirit lead you to constant prayer. Often times we only pray when there is a crises, or when we have something specific to pray for. But we are called to "pray without ceasing," and this can only be accomplished when the Holy Spirit is directing us to pray. Second, praying in the Spirit is about praying with grace. We often bring judgment into our prayers. Instead we need to leave the judgment to God and simply pray with love and concern. In fact, Jesus did tell us to pray even for our enemies.
Third, praying in the Spirit is about learning how to let God’s words flow from us. This comes from knowing God deeply. The deeper we know God, the more we will know what God wants us to think, and wants us to say, and how God wants us to pray. For example, we may want to pray for healing for someone, but God may be using that sickness in the person's life to teach them to trust in Him, or for them to be an example to someone else who is sick. As we open ourselves up to God’s Spirit, God’s Spirit will help to lead us how to pray.
Lastly, we are to pray in the Spirit in all of our prayers, and all of our supplications. Even the simplest of prayers need to be offered through the guidance of the Spirit. This reminds us that God is concerned with even the minute aspects of our lives. To leave the Spirit out of any prayer will lead us to pray in our sinfulness and selfishness.
So let's try and incorporate this fuller aspect of prayer into our lives. If we do, we will pray with more power!

Taking Up Your Cross

In the Bible we read about "taking up your cross." Literally it could mean carrying around a cross. But the phrase is not to be taken literally. We find this statement by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8, verse 34. In this chapter Jesus is trying to teach the people what it means to give of yourself. Jesus is trying to help them understand that He came to this earth for the purpose of giving His life so that all would be saved through Him.
As the disciples heard Jesus talking about having to be killed, Peter tried to tell Jesus this wasn't going to happen. In doing this, Peter was not able to see the eternal perspective. Peter was more concerned with having Jesus with them than trying to understand the powerful ramifications of Jesus dying on the cross. So Jesus seeks to go a step further and explain the concept of self-sacrifice.
As Jesus was going to give Himself on the cross, He teaches us that to really follow Jesus means that we must deny our selfishness, our self-indulgence, and give ourselves over to serving God through serving others. It is only in giving up our wants and seeking God that we can ever really live for God.
The problem is that we get caught up in what we can have in this world. As we see all the materialistic goods around us, we lose sight of Jesus, and the cross. In fact, Jesus has turned into an expletive for many, instead of them seeing Him as Lord and Savior. How far people have turned. How can they take up their cross, when they don't even see their need for the cross?
And that's where we come in, because as we take up our cross and love others for Jesus, we begin to help people understand the full extent of Jesus' love. All the more, as we take up our cross, and deny ourselves, we begin to live a life of fullness, and richness, and blessing. In doing this, we receive more blessing than we could imagine; more blessing than the goods of the world can supply.
What do you need to give up for God? It's a great question. I hope you take some time to analyze and answer it!

Love one another, not judge one another

It seems so easy to judge others. Maybe it's because it makes us feel better. Maybe it is because it keeps us from having to look at our own faults and weaknesses. Maybe it's because people are just unhappy, and want to take it out on others. But whatever the reasons, people are very quick to judge.
The Bible warns us against such attitudes. In the book of James, chapter 4, verses 11-12 we are told: "Do not speak against one another, my brethren. If you speak against a brother or judge a brother, you speak against the law and judge the law. There is only one judge and lawgiver, the One who is able to save and destroy." In other words, we are not to be the judge of others, God is.
But there you have the challenge, because we like to play God. We think we know what is good and right. We think we have all the answers. We think we have the best plan; at least a better plan than God seems to have. And so we put ourselves in the place of God. And once in this place, we can play judge!
But all the more, we are told in Matthew 7:1-5, " 1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." These are powerful verses. They remind us that we have faults, and because we have faults, we cannot put ourselves in the place of a judge.
The better way to live is by loving others. It is better for them, and better for us. It creates a better environment in which to live, and a better countenance. We will enjoy life a whole lot more if we are so full of love that we have to share. Love keeps you thinking in the postivie. Judgement keeps your mind on the negative.
Let's regale ourselves with the excitement of loving people. I'm sure going to try.

Dangerous Prayer

Statistics show that many people pray. In fact, for a good number of people, praying is as commonplace as going to a baseball game. You go, you watch, the game finishes, you leave. It isn't necessarily an exciting experience, but something to do. It doesn't change your life, but occupies your time. Or you do it because you were invited to.
But what if we took prayer seriously? What if we actually prayed in a way that was exciting? Dangerous? What would that look like? What kind of prayers might that be? Jesus, in Matthew 7:7-8 said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
However, Jesus gives us some qualification in John 14:13-14 that what we ask for needs to glorify the Father.
And so we are encouraged to ask boldly, to ask dangerously, about many things: such as God exposing you to your sin and weaknesses; that God would break you so that you would rely totally on Him; that God would use you beyond your current boundaries or expectations along the lines of the well known prayer of Jabez: "Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh that Thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast [territory], and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!' And God granted him that which he requested." (1 Chronicles 4:10)
Unfortunately, we want our lives to be comfortable and easy. So we don't pray seriously. We don't pray dangerously. We pray selfishly. We pray for ourselves or those close to us that all or problems will go away and that we will have no worries. We don't pray in a way that might inconvience our lives in any way; that might change how we act or how we might serve the Lord.
However, if you want to have spiritual depth, if you want to make an impact on the kingdom of God, then you need to pray dangerous kinds of prayer and be ready to be challenged and stretched by God.
God created us to live dangerous lives in faith. God desires for us to have ever expanding ministry boundaries. I encourage you to let yourself be challenged in this way, and stop being safe in your prayers. The excitement of God's working in and through you will be great. Amen.

Pride

While it is important to think well of yourself, there is a danger to think too highly of yourself. The Bible speaks a good deal about pride. In the New Testament, in the book of Romans 12:3 we are told: "...Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." This is good advice, because thinking too highly of yourself will lead to pridefulness, and with pride there comes many problems.
So what are the problems that arise when one is proud? One issue that can arise is disgrace. Proverbs 11:3 says, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Disgrace comes because at some point in the process, when someone is prideful, they will tend to misjudge the situation or problem, and fall short. With this there is great embarrassment, because the person went in spouting off words of great confidence. Second, there is conflict. Proverbs 13:10 tells us, "Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." Pride leads a person to think that they know it all. When this happens, they fail to seek or accept advice from others. If others try and give them counsel, it often turns into a conflict because the person shuts themselves off from the knowledge given by people. Third, it can lead to destruction. Again, looking at the book of Proverbs, we are told in Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." To be proud will lead us to have the wrong focus. We focus on ourselves, our own desires, our own plans. Because of this, we lack the wisdom we need to succeed, and thus will experience a fall.
So how do we keep from being prideful? I believe the answer is accountability. We don't practice accountability much anymore, but it is very beneficial in spiritual growth. Accountability is like having a sidekick. You might remember how Ed McMahon was a sidekick to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. Every so often McMahon would put Carson in his place with a nice little jab. These little jabs would keep Johnny from getting a big head.
Because pride keeps us from being godly, we need to let God lead us to those who will keep us accountable and will encourage us to be godly. We need to have others who can point out the pride in us, and challenge us to be more humble, and to rely on God more. It is difficult to admit we are prideful, and to see that pride in ourselves. Ask a trusted friend if they will help you with this. It will make a big difference in your life.

End Times

Our blogger group this last week decided on the topic of Matthew 24: What's that all about? As you look over this chapter as a whole, you will see that Jesus is not trying to alarm anyone, or gratify anyone's curiosity, but rather He is trying to inform His disciples, and ultimately us, that the world will come to an end. He gives some signs of the end of the world, but we see that the signs are general enough that the time can't be pinpointed. So if and when anyone does try to pinpoint the end of time, we can know that they are false prophets, which Jesus speaks of several times in this chapter.
One of the keys of this passage is for us to be prepared by the way we live, to be prepared for Jesus, but to also be prepared for life, because we should live every day in essence as if it were our last. Our life should be about living for God totally and at all times. As Jesus says in Matthew 24:44- "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." The only one who knows is God, as we are told in Matthew 24:36, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
I believe another reason that Jesus is not specific, is because we get caught up in these great scenarios so much so that we lose track of every day life. We begin to worry about that which should not concern us. If we are prepared for the day of Jesus' return, then it need not be a worry to us. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus knows we have the tendency to look past the present to the future. So Jesus tells us about the fact that the world will end, and that there will be troublesome times, but He still wants us to focus on what we are doing today. This is why Jesus ends the chapter by giving the analogy of a slave who is found hard at work when his master returns. Jesus wants us to be focused on the work that we are given to do, the work we can accomplish, rather than that which we cannot change (i.e. when the end of times will come).
Let us seek to be faithful followers of Christ, working hard at what God gives us to do, and making a difference with our lives today!

Don't Lose Your Dream

If you were to think about your dreams, they may be real, but a little hazy, like looking down a road that has fog. We have lots of dreams when we are young. My 12-year old son dreams of playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers some day. He might be; this year he batted .625! My 10-year old daughter wants to be a school teacher, a librarian, and a mom. These are laudable dreams. Not necessarily out of reach.
So why is it that we so easily lose our dreams? I guess I am making an assumption that most people have lost their dream. I am making this assumption, because as a pastor I see so many people just living their life out, not really pursuing any particular dream. I also have the oppotunity to mentor many people, and it is a challenge to not only have a dream, but take the steps to live it out.
So how might we keep from losing our dreams? I would suggest we write it down somewhere where we can regularly see it. The dream should be something that you are passionate about; that you feel God has put in your heart and mind. Then you need to break it down to see what are the reachable goals in the present and not too distant future. And finally, you need to tell your dream to someone. This can be the hardest part, because as we get older it seems that it isn't as acceptable to have dreams. By telling it to someone, you not only make it more real, but you can have a trusted friend who will help you remember the dream, and keep you on track.
But even more, I believe that we need to give it all to God. God gives us the desires, and can help us attain them. God has plans for us to live out (Jeremiah 29:11). As Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." If we delight ourselves in God, then our desires will have come from God, and God will bless these desires; these dreams.
Don't give up on dreams, just because you are older. Don't give up on your dreams because you are busy. Don't give up on your dreams just because you have commitments and responsibilities and feel like your life is set. Give your dreams to God and let God help you run with them!!

Gaining Peace

If truth be told, we all want peace in our lives. We search for peace in many ways. Maybe we search for it by having a problem free life. Or maybe we search for it by having a job, and home, and possessions that help us to feel secure. Or maybe we search for it by having a conflict free life. Again, we want peace, and seek it out in many ways. The problem is that life is not problem free, conflict free, and we don't always feel secure. What are we to do? How can we gain peace in the midst of the turmoil and uncertainty of life?
The quick and easy answer is that we gain peace by seeking God. But what does that mean? How does seeking God bring us peace? Jesus tells us in John 14:27- "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." Jesus promises us peace in our lives if we seek Him. Jesus tells us that this peace is not like anything the world can give us. Jesus tells us this peace will help us to not be troubled or afraid. Sounds good, right?
We get some more insight on this by reading the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." For some, turning to the Bible seems superannuated. They believe the Bible is outdated and not fitting for our contemporary problem. But the truth is, our lack of peace in life really comes from the worry in our life. We worry about our problems. We worry about our conflicts, we worry about whether or not we have enough money and things in our lives. Most people would admit that their worry does nothing to help their situation. And the worry causes extra stress in our lives which is unneeded.
So can prayer really help you gain peace? I believe the answer is YES! In prayer, we realize that we have the God of creation working with us and for us. In prayer, we put our problems in perspective to the rest of life. In prayer we can understand the role we are to play, and the role others play, and the role God is to play. In prayer we are able to take a step back and gain perspective on our lack of peace. In prayer we are invoking the power of God, which is the only real power that can take care of our situation.
When I seek God, I gain peace, because I know that there is someone out there big enough to handle my life; the One who created me. I hope you find it in yourself to seek God, and gain the peace God has for you; the peace that surpasses all understanding. And as we gain peace, we can pass this peace onto others!