That is Good

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”            -Matthew 5:16

This week I have been inspired.  Not by a Hall of Fame quarterback.  Not by an Oscar winning performance.  Not by a Nobel Peace Prize recipient.  This week I have been inspired by a man who I came to know through his death.  Let me explain.  Gregg died last Friday during a senseless and brutal act of violence.  I knew who Gregg was as we attended the same church but I didn’t “know” Gregg.  Over the past few days I have had the privilege and honor to spend time with Gregg’s family and closer friends.  And what I have learned is that Gregg was no ordinary man.  He was a man who believed in serving Christ first and then everyone else.  He believed in teaching and leading his family to make Christ the most important focus of their lives.  He made every day about serving God and showing others what the benefits of that kind of life are.  He made it a priority in his day to share the love of Christ with everyone he came into contact with.  He cared more about the eternal destiny of others than what adjustments he may have to make in his schedule to share the love of Christ with them.  He cared little about his bank account if it meant not passing up an opportunity to encourage another man or lead him to a life of Christ.  Gregg walked the walk.  And I only had the opportunity to meet a few of the lives that he left his impression upon.  I cannot imagine how many more there are.  At first I was sad that a man like this, a man who went out each day with the lives of others on his mind, would no longer be able to make a difference.  I looked to the Heavenly Father with confusion as to why something like this was necessary.  I don’t know the answer to that question.  But what I now realize is that I had it totally wrong;  Gregg hasn’t stopped making a difference at all.  I have no doubt that if a guy like me can be inspired by the path Gregg cleared, then there must be SO many others that knew him much better than me who are now anxious to walk that walk.   We will likely never understand why a death like this happens until the time comes when we meet our Lord.  But I am a firm believer that God never lets something tragic like this happen without good coming from it.  We may never see the good side of moments like these but I will guarantee you, it’s there.  And I can’t say why Gregg had to die young and in this way.  What I can say is that the man that I met, even though it was through his death, has inspired me to walk and live more like another man, whose death did so much for this world.  And that is good.

Happy Trails

 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”                        – Matthew 7:13-14

This is the time of year when I can’t wait to get out on a run.  The temps are cooler, the humidity is lower, the skies are bluer.   For runners, this season means lots of racing events which means lots of training.  For me it also means making a very important decision;  where to train.  When it comes to running there are plenty of “asphalt” options around here.  We have a really nice greenway, there are plenty of subdivisions, streets with sidewalks, beautiful parks, opportunities everywhere!  But man are these blacktop paths tough on the body!  The constant pounding on a surface that isn’t very forgiving takes its toll over time.  More and more these days I have come to fall in love with the trails.   The real trails.  You know, the ones with dirt, rocks, tree stumps/roots and significant elevation changes.  I find that these trails are easier on my feet and ankles, knees and hips.  And I find that I really enjoy being out there in the woods, trekking through God’s creation.  But where I live, it’s very challenging to find these places.  I have to make sacrifices to be able to get significant training time.  If I want to get the most out of this type of training then I most likely have to get in my car and drive a distance which means I have to change schedules etc to make it happen.  It’s hard to do it, and the trails generally are a bit tougher to finish, but I get so much more out of these runs!  Most days it’s just easier to choose the asphalt, even though I know that over the long term, this choice will be more likely to cause destruction to my body.  In life we have to make a choice.  We have to determine if we want to choose the path that the majority will walk because it is much easier and readily available, or to choose the path that requires us to make sacrifices, work harder, and maybe even bleed a bit.  The path that most choose is the one that leads to destruction.  It just makes more sense to most because it is the easiest and least intrusive.  But choosing to hit the trails will not diminish your training.  It will make you better.  It will make you stronger.  It will give you a better life than you could ever have imagined!  It won’t always be easy.  There will be pain.  There will be suffering.  There will be bruises and exhaustion.  But God has promised us that we will weather the storms if we trust in Him.  Those wooded paths are narrow.  And sometimes it gets lonely on them.  But the reward for choosing them is great!  Happy Trails!

Live Intentionally

“And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.”       -Jeremiah 32:39

My family is notorious for setting out on a Saturday evening for dinner with no real idea about where we are going.  We usually wind up driving around town, passing restaurant after restaurant giving reasons why we don’t want this and don’t want that. In a nutshell we forget our purpose; TO EAT! We spend more time whining about what we want and don’t want and eventually end up settling for something that we could have just made at home a lot cheaper!  Sunday night as I was leaving church I passed by a young lady wearing a rather bright t-shirt.  Now this wasn’t anything unusual but this particular shirt caught my attention with two very simple words written in white lettering across the front:  LIVE INTENTIONALLY.  Initially I didn’t think much of it but then I caught myself looking back and reading it again:  Live Intentionally.  What did it mean?  Better yet, what did it mean to me?  I mean, I know what the word “intentionally” means but just for giggles I went home and googled it.  Google is convenient as it gives you definitions, synonyms etc.  So I looked at the synonyms; purposely, deliberately, on purpose, by design, consciously, willfully, wantonly.  And then it struck me how meaningful and powerful those two simple words are to all of us who proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior; Live Intentionally.  To me it meant, quit walking around with your head in the clouds.  Quit pretending like you’re not sure what you should be doing.  Stop acting as if the answer is going to fall in your lap one day.  We often sit around as “closet Christians”.  We see people who need prayer.  We talk to people that don’t know Christ.  But we walk around as if we don’t know what we should be doing about it or we decide to leave the heavy lifting for someone else to do.  God has given us instruction:  Live according to His word.  Worship Him.  Love one another.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  Praise Him.  Thank Him.  Call on Him.  Do this for your own good and for the good of your descendants.  And do these things deliberately.  Do these things consciously.  Do these things willfully.  Simply put:  LIVE INTENTIONALLY!

What’s Behind That Door

“Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?  Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”       -Romans 2:3-4

You’ve likely heard that saying, “Every time you point a finger there are 3 more pointing back at you!”.  But we don’t pay much attention to those.  We would much rather draw attention to the short falls of others.  We are such a judgmental society these days;  “I would never….How can he….If that were me….What is wrong with them?”  We have all been guilty of saying these things in judgement.  And we have likely all been guilty of acting the same way as the person we are condemning.  But we aren’t very tolerant of the behaviors of others, even when they don’t directly affect us.  Deflection?  Maybe.  Why is it that we Christians say we want to be more like Christ, then we start the blame game as soon as trouble knocks at someone’s door?  Thank God that He doesn’t point the finger.  He is “wonderfully kind, tolerant and patient” with us.  He reaches out His arms to give us a hug.  He says, “lets go for a walk and talk about it”.  I recently had a friend who recognized struggles that were taking place in the home of his neighbor.  He mentioned how he had been judgmental in the past and got the “I would never” fever.  But on this day he was asking for prayer for them.  YES!  He realized what most of us don’t until it is too late.  He realized that kindness, compassion, grace and mercy work so much better than our own sense of self righteousness.  And he realized that he had an opportunity to be a light for this family rather than an opposing force.  And, he helped me to see some things that I need to be doing differently as well!  So today, when you have the opportunity to point a finger, remember that there are probably 3×300 of them pointing back at you.  Then take a moment to ask the Director to help guide the path for them.  And you.  Ask Him to open the door of opportunity and to give you wisdom.  You never know what’s behind that door.

What Are You Doing?

 “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”    -Ephesians 4:16-18

I sit, today, ashamed.  Not for something I have done.  I am ashamed for what I HAVEN’T done.  I look around almost everywhere I go and I see that people are lost.  I hear that people don’t have a clue.  I feel that people are in need of help.  Yet……I move on.  I have heard it stated that there are over 100,000 “unchurched” individuals just in my community alone.  And I can’t help but wonder how many of the “churched” folks are just going through the motions?  As a Christ follower, should that be ok with me? Is it enough that we invite someone to church, read a few scriptures during the week, put a 5 in the plate, maybe thank God for our food?  How often do we see someone, a perfect stranger, obviously having a bad day and we either groan about their attitude or conduct ourselves in such a way as to contribute to their bad day?  Wouldn’t a smile and a prayer for them be more appropriate?  Ever known a coworker having struggles at home?  Do you let them know you are there and praying for them, or do you “stay out of their business”?  Or what about in your own home?  What’s going on there?  Do your children know you as a different person outside of the church walls?  You see, I can’t help but look around our world…..correction….our OWN NATION, and see that evil is prevailing.  That’s not pessimism, it is reality.  And as a Christ follower, I cannot be ok with that.  I cannot accept that.  I cannot ignore that.  God has given each of us, that know Him, an assignment;  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15).  He didn’t say that to the pagans.  He didn’t say that to the “unchurched”.  He didn’t say that to the guy across the street who has never even said a prayer.  He said it you and me.  “Christ Followers”.  And preaching the gospel doesn’t necessarily mean from behind a podium on a stage.  It also means in the way we live out our lives;  in our cubicles, at our barber shops, on the ball fields and in our homes.  I sit, today, ashamed.  There is a lost nation right in front of me.  A nation of good people who will miss the Kingdom of Heaven because we Christians didn’t want to get in their business.  We didn’t want to offend.  We didn’t want to be thought of as a “Jesus Freak”.  Our hearts have been hardened and we have become darkened in our understanding.  The hour is upon us.  We must decide that the eternal destination of those around us matters.  So, what are you doing about it?

A Clear Path

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”         -Hebrews 12:1

There is a local park just down the street from my home that has a great 4 mile running trail.  It is a rather technical trail with a lot of rocks, tree roots, mud and about 650 ft. of elevation gain.  A few mornings ago I went out to hit the trail about 6 a.m.  and enjoyed having the woods all to myself.  Problem was that no one had gone in front of me to knock down all of the spider webs that had been spun throughout the night.  As I set out on my run on this day of about 80% humidity, spider webs began to collect in my mouth, around my ears, across my eyes and on both arms.  At first I was getting annoyed but laughed it off.  Within a short period of time I began to get frustrated, especially as the sweat began to build up which made it even more difficult to shed them.  I even got so focused on the dumb things that at one point I realized I had stepped off the marked trail and had to figure out where I was!  Eventually I had to stop all together and take time to get rid of all of these pesky, entangling silky strings.  And then I began to laugh out loud because one of my favorite Bible verses fell from a tree limb and hit me in the head.  And as I continued on my run…….I began to pray.  As Christ followers we are not immune to problems.  There is no vaccine to keep difficulties away.  And as we go out and follow the path that Christ has laid out for us, those spider webs can latch on quickly.  Anger, bitterness, resentment.  Worry, fear, doubt.  Conceit, discontentment, self-righteousness.  Before too long we find that we are losing our momentum.  We have slowed down and messed up our pace. We may have even lost focus to the point that we find ourselves on a different path and are lost.  So if you are on the trail today but feel like those spider webs are entangling you and they are causing you to slow down or keep you from running the race that God has marked out for you, stop, take a breath, call on your Heavenly Father,  and let Him start removing all of those things that are hindering you.  Then you can see that the path is marked clearly, and you can, again, run with perseverance!

God Bless The United States of America!!!  Happy Independence Day my friends!  

Contentment

“If they obey and serve Him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.”  -Job 36:11

These days we are able to communicate better than any other time in history.  We have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and a plethora of other services.  Social media allows us to say more things and show more things than we need to sometimes!  I’m even using social media at this moment to put out my thoughts and feelings to whomever cares to read.  As you look through the daily posts, are you ever guilty of the “I wish” syndrome?  How about the “they must have” syndrome?  Or, there is always the “if only” syndrome.  You know what I’m talking about; our lack of contentment.  “I wish I could get that car they got”.  “I wish I could be at the beach all the time”.  “They must have all kinds of money”.  “They must have the best family life”.  “If only I could get a job like he has”.  “If only I had the opportunities they have”.  See, we put our lives out there on social media.  But let’s be honest, we generally put the best parts of our lives out there.  We don’t normally print the baggage.  Now, before I make my next point let me give my disclaimer;  I’m not suggesting that if you have lots of stuff or lots of great opportunities it means that you have great troubles in your life.  What I am saying is that perhaps the next time you scroll through your favorite social media site to see all the great things that are going on, and you start thinking of how much you wish you had “that” life, consider that there are sometimes things going on in some of those lives that you may not want to trade for.  There may be someone with a great deal of “stuff” but they are suffering from painful depression.  She looks so happy, but what we don’t see is that she is a victim of constant physical abuse.  He is always smiling, but the alcohol addiction is taking its toll.  They have a beautiful family, that is soon to be ripped apart by divorce.   What I am saying is that it’s ok to want things. Heck, we ALL want things.  But if our focus is on God, obeying Him, serving Him, then He promises prosperity and contentment for the rest of our days!  So scroll on through todays social media posts, and be happy for those that are happy.  Celebrate with those that have much.  Be in prayer for those that you know are struggling.  Then, thank God for the life and the path He has put YOU on.  Be obedient to Him.  Serve Him.  And get ready for a lifetime of prosperity and contentment!

Imagine

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”         -Acts 10:3-6

In my men’s Bible study we are talking about the disciples travel and how the Jesus story began to reach so many people outside of Jerusalem.  For the first time people all over the place began to know about Jesus and by the thousands were yielding their hearts to Him.  One of those people who yielded to Jesus was Saul, who we come to know as Paul.  As Saul he was a violent, murderous, Christian-hating maniac.  But while he was traveling to Damascus, in an effort to put Christians in prison or to death, Jesus interrupted him and redirected his path.  Saul later became known as Paul.  He also became known as one of the most important figures of that time, preaching the gospel of Christ and leading unknown numbers of Jews and Gentiles to know the love of Jesus.  At 3:28 a.m. this morning, I woke up and sat straight up out of bed.  I didn’t know why, at first, but then I heard God speak to my heart (no, not in an audible voice).  I have written before about how God will use the “average Joe” for His glory.  Saul was not an average Joe but a mighty, powerful man who used his power to persecute Christians.  But then God redirected him and look what he did!  I felt that God was asking me why I am not praying for Him to redirect the paths of others? Let me explain a little better.  See, if you are like me, you are probably not a big fan of the extremism and the persecution of Christians that is taking place around the world.  Heck, it’s happening more and more right in our own back yards!  But those people that are leading the fight against Christians are no different than Saul was.  Is it impossible that God could redirect their paths as well?  I don’t have to remind you that “all things are made possible through Jesus”.  So I don’t mind sharing with you that my prayers this morning were a little different than normal.  I seem to have forgotten that as a Christian, it is my responsibility to not just be angered by what I see on the news or read in the paper about the way our world is turning it’s back on God, but I have to pray for those people who are leading the persecution.  Imagine how different the day if the modern day “Sauls” of the world had their paths redirected.  Imagine how different the day if Christians all over the world began to pray for that very thing.  Imagine, then do.  Happy Weekend!

So Much More

“So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.”    – 1 Peter 4:1-3

Some time ago I read where someone posed a very thought provoking question and it has stuck in my brain ever since.  The question is very simple:  If you knew that heaven and hell were no longer in the equation of how you live your life, would you still choose to follow Jesus?  Would you still choose to do the will of God or would you “spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires”?  Now, I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer here because if you are a believer you know that there is, in fact, a heaven and a hell.  But the question has challenged me to explore a bit deeper into my relationship with Christ.  Why do I follow Him?  Is it because I can get free fire protection?  What if we examine some other passions in our lives?  How about exercise, I love exercise!  If we knew that exercising would not really make any difference for us in the long term, would we keep doing it?  Do you hate doing it or does it give you a “high”?  Any sports fans out there?  Guilty.  Ok, so what if you knew that the VOLS (or whatever loser team that YOU like) would not win a national championship ever again?  Would you forget about them all together, or are you still glued to the television on Saturdays?  Do any of you ever drive faster than the posted speed limit? (me either)  What if there were no penalties for speeding?  Would you drive around at 110 mph everywhere you go or do you still have a few safety concerns for you and your family?  So are you only living for Christ because of the end result?  Or do you find that living for Christ provides daily blessings that you would never choose to live without?  Do you find that living for Christ is really just an annoyance or does it bring you great joy? I believe that if we are honest with ourselves, even if we found out in the end that there was no heaven or hell, wouldn’t it have been worth it to live for Christ anyway?  Wouldn’t it have been worth it to call him Father, Friend, Lord?  Wouldn’t it have been worth it to stand for Him rather than stand for evil?  Thank God that there is a GREAT reward for those of us that choose to live for Him!  But living for Christ is not just about the heavenly rewards.  No, it is so much more!

Happy Weekend!

Take A Walk With Him

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”    -Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

I like to read different translations of different scriptures.  I’m not necessarily the brightest bulb in the box so sometimes reading passages from The Message really opens my eyes to things.  I love this passage and the simplicity with which Jesus is speaking.  He is saying to us, “Hey, following me isn’t always gonna be easy but I will take care of you.  Just watch me.  I will teach you how to do it and as a result you will live freely.”  Being a Christ follower isn’t always easy.  Sometimes it feels like taking the other path would just make more sense.  Then we get caught up in religion;  Who teaches from the right translation of the Bible?  Who sings the right songs?  Who plays the right music or who plays music at all?  Should the pastor wear a robe?  Should the men wear a suit?  Do we drink the juice from a little plastic cup or from a wine glass?  Do we worship only on Sunday or will God still show up to church on Saturday? Then we add, on top of all that, the burden of trying to obey all the rules so God will smile on us.  We get tired, worn out and burned out.  Jesus tells us to quit worrying about all of those things.  Following Him really comes down to one thing: commitment.  He wants all of us.  He isn’t concerned with doctrines and rules.  He is concerned with mercy and grace.  He is concerned with love and compassion.  So if you are feeling worn out today, forget about the rules.  Forget about religion.  He wants to show you how to do it. Take a walk with Him.