Looking Out the Window

Kick, our cat, is an in door cat and he got out the other day and spent three days in unfamiliar surroundings. He was in all practical purposes lost. Alone and scared to the point of not responding to his master's call.

On the third day I found him hiding in our neighbor's shed. Still too scared to even respond to my out stretched hand but then my fingers touched his head. Instantly his body relaxed and I heard him purrr. Slowly I coxed him out into the open so that I could take him up in my arms. Holding him tight I moved to the house. Now he is safe inside.

This morning as I was having my coffee I noticed Kick was looking out the window that looks at the neighbors shed. It seemed he was longing to be back outside and experiencing the adventure again. I began to think about the times God's Holy Spirit has rescued me from my failings and sin and how I sometimes sit looking at the past remembering the excitement sin brings. I am in constant need of the comforter's arms around my life protecting me from what I am weak to.

God answered my prayers about our cat Kick and if He will answer such a ridiculously little prayer like that imagine what He will do when we pray for the big things in life. Big things like getting to work and home safely, protection for our children, blessings in our labor, healing of broken hearts and bodies and the deliverance and forgiveness of sins.

God will not force Himself on you but when you ask Him to get involved He will rush to action. Be aware though that often how He acts is not what we expect but it is what we need. It is hard sometimes but we still need to believe that He is faithful even when His actions do not add up to what we think we need.

Go ahead and ask Him for something BIG or something SMALL. Wait and see what He does.

The American Dream Stolen

It is true! The American Dream has been stolen and replaced by one of success, fortune and fame. It is not only true about the American society as a whole but it is also true in the Church.

It seems everyone is dreaming of a bigger home, a faster car, more powerful ipod, iphone, or laptop. It seems that success is measured by the clothes one wears, the car one drives or the home or area one lives in.

Let's look at what the founding fathers of the United States saw as measurements of success.

From the Declaration of Independence: "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."

The United States Constitution was written to protect the people from their government taking away those rights.

The American Dream is really about being free and having the security that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness protected.

The American Dream is not found in a bigger home, a faster car or even wealth. Our founding father's knew that a home can burn to the ground, wealth can disappear over night and those can be replaced but freedom true freedom is much more valuable than any material thing.

Today we find mega-churches and other church organizations preaching a wealth and health message instead about the freedom found in Jesus Christ. I believe God is not against good health or even wealth but He detests a life that is focused and measured in those.

I am reading a book by David Platt that encourages us to "Take back your faith from the American Dream". The book is called, "Radical" and is all about Jesus teaching about what it means to follow Him. I encourage you to get this book and read it with an open mind. Let God show you where in your own life you have abandoned Jesus idea of what being His follower is all about. Then if you are Radical enough make the changes to become His disciple.

WARNING!!!! To be a follower of Jesus will mean buying completely into His teachings and selling out to His way of life.

David Platt is the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, which is a 4,000 member congregation so I think he knows what it means to get caught up in the thrill of seeing numbers as success.

Putting Faith Into Action

Last night I had the opportunity to watch two people put their faith into action.

I was with my daughter as a man worked on the brakes on her car. When he had finished putting the new brakes on she asked him how much she owed him. She had been told that the labor for putting on new brakes was about $100 or maybe a little more. She stood there shocked when he told her $40.

She handed him more than he asked and we left.

Now you might be asking what does this have to do with putting ones faith in action and that is a good question.

Here is my take on what happened.

The guy works as a mechanic in a dealership and gets paid for each car he works on. He has a family and one of his children is a special needs child. The day he worked on my daughter's car was a slow day and he spent all day at the dealership and did not work on any cars so he received no pay for that day. Getting $100 for the brake job would have gone a good way toward replacing the income he did not receive that day.

The church this man attends teaches that we are to help the widows, single moms and orphans. He was putting into practice what he was being taught. The roots of his actions are found in James 1: 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

My daughter is a single mom who is working and going to school. Every dollar is needed as she takes care of four children with little other financial assistance. When she heard him say what he was charging she could have given him exactly what he asked for but instead she gave him more although not as much as she thought she would have to pay. She was practicing what the church she attends in paying a man a fair wage for the services he performed. Her actions are based in Proverbs 3:27-28 (The Message) 27-29 Never walk away from someone who deserves help;
your hand is God's hand for that person. Don't tell your neighbor "Maybe some other time" or "Try me tomorrow" when the money's right there in your pocket. Don't figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor when he's sitting there trusting and unsuspecting.

Both the man who worked on my daughter's car and my daughter put their faith into action. Their actions were not acts to be saved but acts resulting from their salvation.

As I walked to my car the Holy Spirit moved me to tears because I was able to watch two followers of Jesus acting in such a way that made the Father smile.

The Traveler's Gift

2010 was a very difficult year for me. It began with me realizing I was in the wrong place for the wrong reasons.

Nine months earlier I had agreed to join a church and to be part of a team for all of the wrong reasons. I let myself be talked into joining the church because I allowed the desire to be in full-time ministry overcome my lack of feeling of being called to become involved. I made the move to make something happen that was not in God's timing.

Over the course of those nine months I became more and more disappointed by my feelings of having been mislead by the pastor I was working under and I began to question his honesty and an apparent lack of transparency. These feeling grew out of what appeared to be the same actions I had experienced from other leaders. Notice I said, "appeared to be."

One day I openly addressed my feelings with him and his response was not one of understanding. I felt instead of listening to me he had turned everything around and told me I was the one with the problem. I then reacted out of the wounds I had received from other church leaders and I did not grant him grace. I did what I had done in the past and ran from the situation. Notice that I said, "I felt".

On this very blog I wrote some strong words about the situation. Although I did not mention any names it was evident if you knew of the situation who I was talking about. I failed to live up to being who I claimed to be, "a Follower of Jesus" and instead allowed old wounds to control me.

Now you might be asking "What does this have to do with the book"? A good question.

I became stuck in a pit last year because of the events that happened to me and the actions I took. It resulted me in being in a pit that I dug for myself. I believe God led my wife to purchase this book for me to free me and lift me out of the pit I was in. This Blog post is for those who are stuck in a pit and feel there is no way out.

In this book by Andy Andrews are seven keys to us getting out of the pit, the rut, the situations we find ourselves in. But it means that you must take the seven keys and actually put them into practice. Andy uses encounters with famous people of the past to make these seven keys. What I will do is list the keys and you must go out and read the entire book to get the full benefit. You can purchase it at your local book store or at Amazon.

Here are the key points of the book that we need to exercise on a daily basis:

1. The buck stops here.

You and I are response for our lives and we should quit blaming others for our failures. I have heard people even pastors blame others for their failures. If we want to get out of the pit we must stop blaming others for us having fallen into it.

2. I will seek wisdom.

You and I need to seek wisdom founded in truth. One definition in Webster's dictionary is: the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships. One of the greatest reasons we fall into pits is because we did not discern the qualities of the people we developed relationships with.

3. I am a person of action.

You and I need to become people of action. So often all we do is talk about our dreams and visions but we never move forward to accomplish them. It might be out of fear or out of what we believe are realities. What we need to do is have the faith to act. We will never get out of the pit by feeling sorry for ourselves. We will only get out if we take action.

4. I have a decided heart.

You and I need to have a heart that is focused on the dreams and visions that God has given us. We must make the decision to move forward and not stay safely in the pit. An undecided heart will keep us in the pit but a decided heart will move us to begin the climb out.

5. Today I will choose to be happy.

You and I need to make the choice each morning that no matter what comes our way we will remain joyful because of the blessing that we already have. I do not care what situation you find yourself in there is someone else who has it worse. Choosing to be happy will help us to endure the pit as we move towards getting out of it.

6. I will greet this day with a forgiving heart.

You and I need to daily forgive someone of their actions. Often the person we need to forgive most is found in the mirror. If we cannot forgive others and ourselves then we will continually find ourselves struggling at the bottom of the pit.

7. I will persist without exception.

You and I need to persist to move forward in the pursue of the dreams and visions God has given us. Unless we do the things that God has planned for us and through us will never be accomplished. As we begin to make the effort to climb out of the pit we will face new obstacles but if we persist each of those will be stepping stones to reaching the top of the pit.

I believe that right now through this Blog post God is speaking to you. I do not have a clue what He might be saying to you but you do. I know the fears you might have, I know the feelings of doubt you might have and I know that the Creator God is SO much BIGGER than your fears and doubts. Let's begin today to truly trust Him and use the seven keys above to bring Him glory by moving forward to accomplishing the dreams and visions He has given us.

If we will do this I can promise you 2011 will be a much better year than 2010 was.

Which is a Greater Miracle?

Last Sunday at New Life we had a guest speaker and his sermon was based on Mark 4: 35-41.  

Mark 4:35-41 (The Message)

The Wind Ran Out of Breath
 35-38 Late that day he said to them, "Let's go across to the other side." They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?" 

 39-40 Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?" 

 41 They were in absolute awe, staggered. "Who is this, anyway?" they asked. "Wind and sea at his beck and call!"

His points were: 

1. You are in this storm by God's appointment.  (Mark 4: 35)

2. You are in the storm in His presence. (Mark 4: 36-38)

3. You are in the storm for His purpose. (Mark 4: 39-41)

He pointed out that the disciples went on to move from being cowards in a storm to preaching the gospel even to in the face of certain death.

Someone who is reading this is either suffering from an illness or knows of someone who is dying. The question for each of us is this: "Which is the greater miracle, being healed or being calm even in the face of death?"

By applying Psalm 46: 1-3 to our lives we can face any storm and remain calm.

1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Our Creator, our Savior, our Comforter promises to always be there for us.  We may die but He will not leave us in the grave. In Hebrews 13: 5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,  “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

If you are facing a storm in your life no matter how small or how big know this our God cares. He more than cares He wants to provide you the strength and the comfort to remain calm even in the darkest night.

I hope this has provided you with a step towards trusting God in your storms.

What is required for you to experience healing?

I believe that God heals today and that He can do it in a dramtic way or He can do it through the hands of a doctor.  Several elements need to be in place for healing to occur and we find them in the following scriptures.

Luke 5:17-26 (The Message)

 17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. The healing power of God was on him. 

 18-20 Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn't find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, he said, "Friend, I forgive your sins." 

 21 That set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. "Who does he think he is? That's blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins." 

 22-26 Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, "Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: to say 'I forgive your sins,' or to say 'Get up and start walking'? Well, just so it's clear that I'm the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both. . . ." He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: "Get up. Take your bedroll and go home." Without a moment's hesitation, he did it—got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way. The people rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, "We've never seen anything like that!"

The first element that has to be present is the power of God to be on a person who is going to be the instrument that God uses.

The second element is faith that God is going to heal us.

The third is we have to act.

Sometimes the faith is ours and sometimes the faith is found in our friends who are praying for us but it always is found in Jesus.  Often people will sit back and wait to see the results of the prayers of others.  They wait and wait hoping to receive healing.  

Here is what I suggest: If we are physical or emotionally sick we need our friends to do what these guys in these scriptures did.  They need to slip before God and seek healing for us especially when we lack faith or the ability to go before God with them.  We then need to act on what was requested and thank God for what He is going to do.

In this story the Holy Spirit was on Jesus for healing to take place.  We also find a group of men who believed that their friend would be healed by Jesus.  They would not be denied getting their friend in front of the one God was using for healing.  The man on the mat was lowered in front of Jesus and it must have been somewhat uncomfortable with all of the people focusing on his paralyzed body.  He probably heard the whispering that was going on and the looks the Pharisees and teachers were giving Jesus.  And then he heard Jesus say, "Rise and take up your mat and go home."  He no doubt was momentarily stuned but then he moved and stood.

Healing often does not come until we take action.  Waiting can be an act of unbelief and actually delay our healing.  We have to take action with thanksgiving for what God is doing before we realize that He healed us.

So my challenge for you with this post is to take your emotional, your physical and spiritual wounds before God and lay them at His feet.  If you lack the faith to do that then get your friends to do it with you.  Then accept God's healing by acting as if it were so and then tahnk Him for it.  Your healing may not happen immediately but I doubt it will happen if you wait for it to happen.

Going through Hell

 So why am I using a song like this on this blog?  Well, this song speaks about life in a way that I cannot make.  I have faced times in my life when it seemed like nothing was going to turn out right and I was hurting.  When I allowed the hell of life to control me I seemed to get stuck there.

This songs tells me to go through those hellish moments without complaining and making a big fuss about what I am going through.  The bigger the fuss and the bigger the complaint the more Satan will hear me and keep the situation hellish.  Let's not stay stuck in the stuff of life but keep moving forward toward what God has in store for us.     

Father, someone today is reading this and they are facing difficult times.  They may have a problem with drinking too much or are addicted to drugs.  They may be facing a divorce or the loss of a loved one.  They might be unemployed and on their last dollar.  They might not know You and that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to be their savior.  They might have heard of Jesus but never experienced His power in their lives.  Father, move your Holy Spirit now in the lives of those reading this and guide them as they go through the hellish things we face here on earth. We pray this in the power, the authority, and the name of Jesus Christ. amen

God does not care about how much you know...

Yesterday as I sat listening to our senior pastor, Mark Warner, deliver his sermon, "Do You Know More than You Do?", based on James 2: 14-26 I tried to answer some of the questions he was stirring in me. To listen to his sermon click the title and you will be directed to the Vineyard Church sermon page. I began to ask myself is my faith truly genuine based on the following three areas.

Was my faith more than words?
As I thought about this question I kept saying to myself, "Yes! I am doing more than just talking about the truth."

Was my faith more than doctrine?
As I thought about this question I also kept replying to myself, "Yes!" I not only know doctrine I am putting it into practice.

Was my faith a lonely faith?
Here I answered to myself, "No!" My faith is backed up with serving.

One of the things Mark said that keeps ringing in my ears is, "It is not the truth you know that sets you free and saves you but the truth that moves you to action."

I felt pretty good about how I was living up to those three areas until I woke this morning and answered a phone call from one of my friend's wife. She was calling to let me know that Jeff had died last night. After hanging up the phone what kept going through my mind was those three areas? Did I really show genuine faith in regard to my friend who has for 4 years suffered unemployment, sickness and depression? Was my faith more than words with Jeff? Was my faith more than doctrine in regard to what Jeff faced? Was my faith a lonely faith or did I combine faith and works in regard to my friend, Jeff?

This morning the Holy Spirit convicted me that maybe I was not doing so well in these three areas after all. Maybe I was a little too quick to answer yes when I should have been asking how can I improve.

The point of this post is not to admit I did not help Jeff or that I failed to be there when he needed someone to talk to. The point is I was self righteously answering yes when I should have been asking God to show me how I could improve.

I once heard someone say, "People do not care what you know, they care about whether you care." I think we could change that to "God does not care about how my much you know about His Word, He cares more about how well you put into practice His Word."

This morning the Holy Spirit woke me to the fact that I sometimes think I know more than I do and I definitely do less than I think I do.

What about you? Are you more talk than you are action? If so then I encourage you to quit putting off that visit to a nursing home, that visit to a friend, that involvement with a homeless shelter or whatever need someone you know has and put your faith into action. Tomorrow you just might wake up to a phone call reminding you that it is too late.

Don't Give Up and Give In

James 1: 12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

I once heard that it isn't important what happens to us but what happens in us when things happen to us.

For years I reacted to the circumstances that life brought my way which almost always placed me in an even more challenging position. I was either running away from relationships or failing in them.

When I became a Christian in 1982 after 32 years of running and failing I began to place trust in God to move me forward in life. I slowly began to grow up in the faith of Jesus. I spent 17 years growing but never getting beyond my past failures. In 1999 at the age of 49 I began to attend the Vineyard Church in Overland Park, Kansas. I discovered a relationship with my savior and a deeper involvement with the Holy Spirit. Over the past 10 years I have received healing for all of my wounds and failures.

Today's sermon by Mark Warner based on James 1: 12-16 brought it home for me. I no longer always give up and give in. I encourage you to visit the Vineyard Church sermon page and listen to this sermon.

I believe Nick Vujicic is a great example of what it is like to be a possessor of the faith and not a professor of the faith.

The words of Winston Churchill are a perfect way to end this post.

"Never Give In"
"This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

—HarrowSchool, 29 October 1941. It is commonly believed that Churchill stood up, gave the three-word speech, "Never give in!," and sat down. This is incorrect, as is the suggestion, variously reported, that the speech occurred at Oxfordor Cambridge. It was on his first visit to his old school, Harrow, where he would continue to return for the annual "Songs," making his last appearance in 1961.

What impact are you making?

The young man rushed home with the letter he just received from his favorite mentor. He was full of excitement about what his friend would say but also a little fearful of any correction he might give. You see this young man was a leader who was under the age of what the current society thought a leader or teacher should be.

Imagine the relief and delight he felt as he read these words, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope; to "Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

With those words ringing in his head Timothy no doubt became even more interested in what his mentor, Paul, would have to say. Paul goes on to share instructions for the church, for women, for elders and personally for Timothy.

Let's focus on the personal instructions to Timothy because I believe for those of us who call ourselves, Christians or followers of Jesus, Paul's words to Timothy are for us as well.

Let's begin in 1 Timothy 4: 12 "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."
13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.
14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift, within you, which was bestowed upon you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.
15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all.
16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

Here are fie things I find Paul is telling us today through his instructions to Timothy.

Timothy was probably in his late 20's or early 30's and the tradition of society at that time was that you had to be older to be a teacher or leader. First, Paul encouraged Timothy not to let those who judged him for his age not to become a discouragement. No matter what your age you are to pursue the calling God has given you. The nature of being a leader makes you a target so do not let the arrows shot at you become your focus.

Second, Let your speech, conduct, love, faith and purity be an positive example for those who you come in contact with. These are the things people will be influenced by and remember about you.

Third, Do not neglect the spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit has brought to you. When you accepted Jesus and received the Holy Spirit you also received a spiritual gift that God wants you to use in service to others.

Fourth, We are to be obsessed with doing these things. They are to fill our lives and be evident in everything we do.

Fifth, The action of our lives and what it teaches can bring salvation not only for us but for those who observe us.

My questions for all who read this today are:
Is your life reflecting what Paul shared with Timothy in this scriptures?
Are you being a witness of Jesus through your speech, your conduct, your love, your faith and your purity?

If you answered no to those questions I encourage you to find another person you can trust and ask them to become your encouragement buddy and both of you begin to be a light to those around you through your speech, your conduct, your love, your faith and your purity.

I have to be honest and confess I do not always reflect Jesus in my speech, my conduct, my love, my faith or my purity. I have to daily examine my life to make the course corrections to move me to being a better example. I have hope though that when I rely on the Holy Spirit instead my own strength I am more likely to be the example God wants me to be.

If we will do this we will one day stand in front of the Creator of all things and hear Him say, "Well done my servant, welcome to my Kingdom." and then we will see those who came to Jesus because of our speech, our conduct, our love, our faith or our purity.

Please share your comments about how God spoke to you through this post.

For years I feared stepping outside of the box I had allowed others to place me in. I believed it when they told me I could only achieve a certain level of success. I listened to them when they told me I was not talented enough or smart enough to be anything but average. I believed the lies that I developed about being too shy to speak in public and that I could never be a leader.

As Casting Crowns sang I lacked the faith to step out of the boat onto the crashing waves. I believed it when voices would tell me, "you will never win"!

For years my giants of insecurity, abandonment, lack of self-worth laughed at me.

Then one day I began to believe that the Creator God actually loved me and I began to listen to His Holy Spirit as He told me "do not be afraid" and "your life will be for my glory". I began to believe a different story.

Realistically I will not be a Rick Warren, a Bruce Wilkinson or a Mark Warner. I will not write and give great sermons like Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards or Billy Sunday. But I can be the best Larry Clark that I can be. I can discover and refine my gifts and my talents and use them to make the passions and dreams God has given me come alive.

What giant are you facing today? I encourage you to lay it down at Jesus feet and let Him carry it. Discover your gifts, talents, passions and dreams and then use them to bring glory to God.

Facing Giants at ChristianBooks.com
Casting Crowns at ChristianBooks.com