Got the sniffles . . .
Well, it finally happened. I got the sniffles. I really don’t enjoy having a cold. It’s hard to breathe. It’s hard to get a good night’s sleep. I can get grumpy.
And to think that this inconvenience is caused by a little bitty virus. By just touching something, like a phone, door knob, or countertop, and then rubbing your eyes or nose you can “catch” a cold. Thankfully, the life span of the sniffles is short. I guess I’ll feel better sometime next week.
When it comes to the spiritual side of things, you can catch a spiritual bug that can drain the life out of you. Hanging around negative people can imfect you with an unheathly dose of negativitis. You just might find yourself telling an off-color joke if you spend too much time listening to them.
Those little bitty things we think are harmless can wind up biting us if we aren’t careful!
I Have . . .
a dream! I dream of being the pastor (or staff member) of a church that is more concerned with those not in church than those in the church.
I dream of a church where marriage means something, parents parent, and family matters. I dream of a church that is not afraid to risk failure to impact lives with the gospel of Christ. I long to be a part of a church where children beg their parents to take them to church. I dream of a church where men actually lead. I dream of a church where people matter more than “that’s the way we’ve always do it” or any out-dated tradition.
I dream of a church where everyone is welcome . . . no matter how they’re dressed, what they believe, what have done, what they are doing, or what they intend to do . . . I want to be a part of a church that really welcomes people who are seeking God.
I am dreaming of a church that will do whatever it takes to reach their generation for God.
I have a dream of a church that practices what it preaches. I dream of a church willing to change the way it does church to reach people who don’t do church.
I dream of a church where Jesus really is Lord . . . a place where people celebrate Him and He shows up; a place where sinners find salvation; marriages are saved; dads become dads, moms become moms, and kids love Jesus. I dream of a church where hurting people find hope; forgiveness is more than a word; and relationships are deeper than a shallow creek bed.
I dream of a church where people really love God and people . . . a place where people sing with meaning, shout with excitement, clap with enthusiasm, give money with joy, serve with gladness, and commit with purpose.
I dream of a church that is tired of doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results. I dream of a church that gets out of the building and into the streets. I dream of a church that gets rid of anything that is not helping people become mature followers of Christ.
I dream of a church that brings a HUGE smile to God’s face. That is the kind of church I want to be a part of . . . dear God this is my prayer!
Mini-Sermons Coming Soon
It has been a while since I preached a sermon. I have been wanting to do something on this site, but it has been hard finding time to prepare with my job at Protection One. Of course, that’s just an excuse. You make time to do what you want to do.
Also, I have found it hard to “preach” to an empty room. It’s weird. I really enjoy seeing people. It’s encouraging when the crowd laughs at your stories. When there is no crowd, a laugh track is just not the same. But, when you get down to the bottom of it, this is just another excuse.
So, I’m going to write, record, and publish my first “mini-sermon” later this week. It will be on this site and available on iTunes. These talks won’t the be the same as what I would do in a church setting, but they will be, well, similar. I will teach on a relevant topic for maybe 10 – 15 minutes (instead of 30 minutes).
If you have a topic you’d like for me to talk about, let me know. For now, the first topic will be on the idea of “Read the fine print.”
Taxes Done
Don’t you just love tax time? Like it or not, it comes around every year. I really wish our great union would adopt the fair tax. But, until then, we’ll have to do our taxes every year. I finished mine last night around 11:30 pm (thank you turbo tax). They are e-filed and our federal refund should arrive in our bank account in less than two weeks!
That’s an answer to prayer! My sales at Protection One are down and I like to eat. God is good.
Later and Greater
If you plant a watermelon, corn, butterbean, or okra seed, you’re likely to get a whole bunch of seeds from that one. Now, it’ll take a while for that one little seed to mature and produce it’s fruit. But it will happen.
Later and greater. Charles Stanley (according to his son Andy) may have been the one to come up with the phrase: later and greater. Basically the idea is that there is a spiritual principle set in motion by God that everyone will reap what he sows (see Galatians 6:7). Using the planting analogy, when you sow the seed of irresponsibility (in areas like your finances, credit, sex, marriage, or child-rearing), you will reap those seeds at some point. The seed will take root, grow, blossom, and will eventually produce a harvest for you.
Here’s the bad part: the harvest will always be greater than the one seed you planted. So, if you sowed a lot of irresponsibilty seeds, then you’ll get to reap a whole lot of it later. When that happens to most of us, we complain to God and beg for him to dig us out.
He can’t. He put this principle into motion. If he were to bail you out, then God would have to do the same for others. He still loves you. He just won’t bail you out!
So, the next time you want to do something that is irresponsible, think long and hard about it. Sometime down the road that one little seed will drop at your doorsteps a much greater harvest than you ever expected.
28
28. That’s the number of people who were baptized at Crossroads today. I served on the Connector Team that assisted those who had made a commitment to Christ. It was awesome. Most of the 28 who were baptized had not planned on it. Greg invited anyone who wanted to follow Christ to start by being baptized today. A couple of people did in the first service. But in the second service, a lot of people responded. I lost count. That is what it’s about!
I got to speak with one of the guys whose wife was baptized last month. They had been in and out of church for years. They had experienced some negative stuff at a church. But, they found a place at Crossroads where they felt comfortable and accepted (not only by God but other people). He had a huge smile on his face as he talked about following Jesus. That made me smile.
I really miss the thrill of ministry. Closing River Ridge was hard. I miss teaching the Bible each week and helping people grow in their faith. I miss baptizing people. Even though I miss all of the excitement of fhe ministry, it was a great day. I praise God that I had a chance to serve people today. I hope you’ll get involved in serving God too.
Put that bisquit down!
A few days ago Rhonda and I had a discussion about fasting. Basically, the purpose of fasting is giving up something to help you hear from God. Most of the fasts in the Bible involved giving up food for a specific period of time. Some fasts in the Bible lasted for a day while others lasted up to forty days. Fasting was never intended for us to manipulate God or to get our way. Some fasts were done by individuals while others were done by an entire nation. Jesus talked about fasting. He taught that it should be done in private without any “tooting of your horn” to draw attention to yourself.
The Bible has a lot to say about fasting. But few modern Christ-followers practice this spiritual discipline. I’m not sure why, and it doesn’t really matter why. We should fast every now and then. There should be something we give up (food, television, chocolate, Starbucks, sex, or anything else we really enjoy) so we can deepen our intimacy with God.
With that said, what should you do when you fast? When I fast I spend time praying, reading the Bible, and meditating. Since the goal is to hear from God and discover who He is and how wonderful He is. how we pray matters. If you’re like me, a lot of prayer time is spent on “God, I want, I need, I hurt, me, me, me, I, I, I.”
Jesus taught us that our relationship with God is far more important than anything else in the world. When we pray we should start with something like this:
“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10, NLT).
If you want to hear from God, you must start with the right attitude (I’m spending time with God no matter how long it takes; I’m not just going to rush through a few words to check “prayer’ off my list of things to do). When the attitude is right, spend the next few minutes focusing on the greatness of God, the kingdom of God (including letting him have the rule and reign of your life), and begging him to fulfill his will (starting with yourself).
How long will that take? Well, that depends on you! God wants us to let go of our lives . . . surrender our will to his will. That may take a few minutes or it may take a few hours.
So, when are you going to “put that bisquit down?” (Or whatever motivates, drives, and fulfills you.)
The Fog Lifted
Sometimes the fog can be so thick you can’t see more than a few feet. Fog you can see is one thing; but spiritual fog is another. As Rhonda and I made the painful decision to close River Ridge Church, the fog thickened around me. I wondered where God was and why he hadn’t shown up (in the way I had expected). I felt that I had placed me on a shelf and was through with me as one of his pastors.
In the midst of my confusion, I recalled Jesus’ words, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27, NLT). I wondered if I had heard his voice. I feared that I would never be able to hear his voice again! That is not a pleasant place to be.
I want to hear God’s voice. Earlier this month Rhonda and I started a 40 day tv fast. Basically, we agreed to give up tv in the evening so we could spend more time in prayer and Bible study. I hate to say to admit it, but she was doing better than me. I am married to a wonderful woman who truly loves God.
Between services at Crossroads today God tugged at my heart. I re-read what Jesus had to say about prayer (check it out here). The 6th verse just slapped me up side the head and lifted the fog: “go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.” (Okay, God did not literally slap me; he just got my attention.)
God is more interested in our relationship with him than anything else. He knows what we need. He just wants us to spend time with him, to get to know him, to talk with him, to listen to him. We focus so much of our prayers on ourselves that we fail to see the importance of the relationship.
If you are having a hard time with life right now, or feel like your spiritual life is going nowhere, or wonder where God is at, just spend some time with him. Get away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and talk with God. The fog surrounding you will lift.
radical action
Jesus was radical. He challenged the religious leaders of his day. He talked to people no one else would. He welcomed everyone.
One of the most radical things Jesus ever did was travel to northern Israel with his disciples to one of the most pagan towns around. In this little town a temple had been built for the worship of a greek god named Pan. Not only was a false god worshiped, it included some vile sexual acts. The people who gathered there believed the cave in the mountain was an entrance to the gates of hades. This was one wacked place for Jesus to visit.
It was in this place that Jesus declared that upon the faith of people like Peter he would build his church and the gates of hell could not stop the movement of God.
Radical action!
That’s what the church needs today. Leaders who are willing to lead a group to do whatever it takes to reach their generation for God. Leaders who care more about those who are not pursuing God than those in the seats (or pews). Leaders who see the utter lostness of people and do something to reach out to them.
Jesus was radical. He cared more about people than tradition or buildings. His passion for people led him to a cross. Again, radical action. He sacrificed his life so people could pursue God for eternity.
I want to be radical. That’s one reason Rhonda and I did a church plant. It may not have worked out like we thought, but I know our faithful obedience helped several people pursue Jesus. Many former River Ridger’s have told me.
That’s comforting. But I’m not ready for the shelf! I want to be radical until the day I die. I do not want to settle for “status quo.” I do not want to babysit a bunch of baby Christ-followers who do want to grow up. I want to reach my generation for God.
Who wants to join me?
Don’t Give Me Those Pruning Shears
I grew up on a farm, but I don’t know much about pruning shrubs and bushes. I’m afraid I’ll trim too much or not enough or cause the plant to grow crooked or something. I fear the shear!
But, I am a married man who loves his wife. I willing and joyfully do things for her that I don’t want to do. Okay . . . when my wife has asked me to prune our shrubs I will complain and mumble out loud that I’ll probably kill the plant and ruin the landscaping. I fear the shear.
I just don’t know how to do it. Nor do I really want to learn if I’m being completely honest.
There is another twist to this whole pruning shear thing . . . God prunes us. He takes out his spiritual shears and starts wacking away. Ouch! Here’s what Jesus said in John 15:1-5 (NLT):
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
Every one of us has some “dead or damaged” branches in our life that needs to “cut off.” Just like a master gardner (I’m not one) who carefully cuts off dead or damaged branches so the plant will be healther and produce more fruit, God does the same thing in our life. When we read the Bible and apply it in our life, we become more like Jesus. And that’s a good thing. So, don’t fear a little spiritual pruning. It’ll do you (and me) a lotta good.