Many of you who read my blog regularly know that Saturday begins a period of tim in my life that is both exciting as well as grightening. I have so many emotions occuring currently that I feel as though the world is moving in high speed and I am in super slow motion. It is that feeling that causes me the most stress in my life. I sat early this morning wondering about why I am feeling so stressed out. I know God has my back. I know God will provide. I also know that God is there for me no matter where I am. So, why am I feeling so stressed.
I know I am stressed because the only time I ever lose my temper or even have it flair up is when I get stressed about something. That thankfully does not happen all that often. I write this blog after having asked my kids to forgive me for a sharp tongue and my wife for forgiveness for lack of understanding and sympathy on my part. All is well in my home no harm done, but humility on my part is up in my face once again. Amazing how God reminds us ever so slightly.
I find myself counting down the hours now. Eight hours til departure for Southern Iowa. Then 24 hours until departure for Tennessee to celebrate a Christmas that just can't get here soon enough. The Bible says be anxious for nothing and I do believe that is true, but each person regardless position or potential is treated the same way by the enemy. He wants us to fall short in our prayer and study so we have no answers. He wants us to get so stressed and caught up in the things of this life where they be our fault or not. He wants to press our buttons and get us to react out anger and stress rather than love and patience.
Our lives are bigger than we imagine them to be. Satan would have us minimize them but God wants to maximize them. How do we remove stress from our life? We talk to the one who is sure and true. The speaker of peace be still in our lives. God take our stress and heaviness and make it yours. We place it in the shadow of the cross of Calvary and place it under your blood. Give us peace in our mind and quiet the storms in our life. Let us see your mighty hand. Amen.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
A Raised Eyebrow
Today as I was reading in the book of Matthew, I got to a verse that stopped me and caused me to think. In Matthew chapter 7 verse 1 we read do not judge for in the same way you judge you will be judged. The scripture then goes on to explain that we must really look at ourselves before we start to point out what is wrong with other people.
As I was sitting in the coffee shop today I saw a perfect example of the scripture in perfect context. A young man walked past a group of people and as he walked by the entire group gave him a raised eyebrow. After he was safely out of ear shot, the insults and comments about his appearance started flowing like spoiled milk from a defunct dairy. Let me describe the look of the young man and you be the judge.
The young man in question of his character by his appearance had dark hair with a light whitish yellow streak along the tips, a lip ring, and his dress was in Urban Outfitters and American Eagle jeans and shirt with Doc Martin shoes. His shirt was not tucked in and his jeans were ripped, however the jeans in question were manufactured that way. Does this young man's dress dictate his soul and his character? If so then we should understand, the clothing in question was not cheap. The jeans alone were around a hundred dollars and the shirt and shoes were around that much as well. The hair was professionally done and the lip ring was a silver stud. So basically, the young man in question was wearing his best as he was in public. No one spoke to him to try to understand him. No one asked him to join them for coffee. No one offered to mend his tattered jeans. They just raised an eyebrow in discontent with his dress and appearance.
To many time we are guilty of basing our opinion on the superficial rather than the truly meaningful. Could this be the problem with Christianity today? Have we gotten so caught up in appearances that we forget the one we serve was a man in workers clothes and sandals. Would he smell like us today with designer perfumes and hair products? What would we have thought of Jesus at face value? What about John the Baptist? Camel Hair and locusts and wild honey?? Not exactly you Jos A Bank suit and tie that we come to expect from the man of God.
Sadly, this young man walked by not knowing what he was being accused of. The even more disheartening part was that the group of people that questioned his character and even the relationship he had with God did not find out the truth about this young man. He is a Christian and his passion for wanting to do the will of God is evident when you speak to him. This young man simply wants to be relevant to the generation in which he works. It is not the clothes that makes the man. It is his soul and it's relationship to almighty God that truly define him.
If you seek the inner man and look past the outer man then you will find the true man. I wish I could take credit for this way of thinking, but Jesus invented this way of thinking he got it from his Dad. Eyebrows Down People and mouths open.
As I was sitting in the coffee shop today I saw a perfect example of the scripture in perfect context. A young man walked past a group of people and as he walked by the entire group gave him a raised eyebrow. After he was safely out of ear shot, the insults and comments about his appearance started flowing like spoiled milk from a defunct dairy. Let me describe the look of the young man and you be the judge.
The young man in question of his character by his appearance had dark hair with a light whitish yellow streak along the tips, a lip ring, and his dress was in Urban Outfitters and American Eagle jeans and shirt with Doc Martin shoes. His shirt was not tucked in and his jeans were ripped, however the jeans in question were manufactured that way. Does this young man's dress dictate his soul and his character? If so then we should understand, the clothing in question was not cheap. The jeans alone were around a hundred dollars and the shirt and shoes were around that much as well. The hair was professionally done and the lip ring was a silver stud. So basically, the young man in question was wearing his best as he was in public. No one spoke to him to try to understand him. No one asked him to join them for coffee. No one offered to mend his tattered jeans. They just raised an eyebrow in discontent with his dress and appearance.
To many time we are guilty of basing our opinion on the superficial rather than the truly meaningful. Could this be the problem with Christianity today? Have we gotten so caught up in appearances that we forget the one we serve was a man in workers clothes and sandals. Would he smell like us today with designer perfumes and hair products? What would we have thought of Jesus at face value? What about John the Baptist? Camel Hair and locusts and wild honey?? Not exactly you Jos A Bank suit and tie that we come to expect from the man of God.
Sadly, this young man walked by not knowing what he was being accused of. The even more disheartening part was that the group of people that questioned his character and even the relationship he had with God did not find out the truth about this young man. He is a Christian and his passion for wanting to do the will of God is evident when you speak to him. This young man simply wants to be relevant to the generation in which he works. It is not the clothes that makes the man. It is his soul and it's relationship to almighty God that truly define him.
If you seek the inner man and look past the outer man then you will find the true man. I wish I could take credit for this way of thinking, but Jesus invented this way of thinking he got it from his Dad. Eyebrows Down People and mouths open.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Diamonds In The Rough
Diamonds are some of the most precious stones on the planet. The are hidden in lumps of earth that are not much to look at. As pressure increases so does the brilliance and beauty. As we look at times in our lives of pressures and friction know that God wants to make us all the more brilliant and beautiful. Just like the lumps of earth that are not much to look at, we are lumps of clay that aren't much to work with. Christ in His infinite love chose to work with us and mold us into something beautiful. The bad things that happen shape us and as Romans 8:28 says that in all things God works for us and works it for our good. Just as diamonds are hidden so to are we as Christians often hidden by circumstance and our brilliance dulled by the dirt of sin. God uses it all for our good. God's love is bigger than my imagination and his concern for me is far beyond what I deserve.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Victim or Victor?
Several days ago I was given news that left me feeling numb. I was told that the church I had been a full time youth pastor of for six years could no longer afford to pay two full time pastors. I was given two options by the powers that be in the church. I could take a half pay cut and lose all of my benifits, i.e. rent, and health insurance for my wife and I, or take a severence package that would basically be as though I was still working but collecting my same benifits for 30 days. I at once began to seek the face of God as to what we needed to do and in that moment God revealed to me that it was time to go.
My heart was saddened. I had poured almost 6 years of my life into a church and had created something that was showing signs of flourishing. I began to feel a rush of feelings I had never felt before. There was disappointment, anger, failure, and others I cannot even identify. Then, I had to share with the youth the decision I had made. We had teens that night tell us we will get another job so we can pay your rent and also offered up all sorts of solutions to the apparent problem. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.
Now it has been a couple of weeks and I find myself at a new place in my mind and spirit. I find myself excited. Ready to see what God is going to do in our lives. God promotes to bigger and better and we can choose to view things from a victim standpoint or we can look at it from the victors point of view. As a minister, I want to finish strong. How I finish determines how I start the next assignment. Many people have asked me are you angry? I tell them I can choose to be angry or I can choose to be an over comer and be blessed by God. The latter is better. God wants us to walk in victory and Satan wants us to be hung up in ourselves and play the victim. Then, he can get us depressed and stressed to the point of even turning our back on God.
My family and I choose to be the victors. We will not lose hope and be faint of heart. God has never left us or forsook us. He will lead us and we WILL BE BLESSED. David never saw the giant he always say the bigger picture. David Imagined the victory and God mad him bigger than his imagination. God is truly great and greater than anything that we may face.
My heart was saddened. I had poured almost 6 years of my life into a church and had created something that was showing signs of flourishing. I began to feel a rush of feelings I had never felt before. There was disappointment, anger, failure, and others I cannot even identify. Then, I had to share with the youth the decision I had made. We had teens that night tell us we will get another job so we can pay your rent and also offered up all sorts of solutions to the apparent problem. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.
Now it has been a couple of weeks and I find myself at a new place in my mind and spirit. I find myself excited. Ready to see what God is going to do in our lives. God promotes to bigger and better and we can choose to view things from a victim standpoint or we can look at it from the victors point of view. As a minister, I want to finish strong. How I finish determines how I start the next assignment. Many people have asked me are you angry? I tell them I can choose to be angry or I can choose to be an over comer and be blessed by God. The latter is better. God wants us to walk in victory and Satan wants us to be hung up in ourselves and play the victim. Then, he can get us depressed and stressed to the point of even turning our back on God.
My family and I choose to be the victors. We will not lose hope and be faint of heart. God has never left us or forsook us. He will lead us and we WILL BE BLESSED. David never saw the giant he always say the bigger picture. David Imagined the victory and God mad him bigger than his imagination. God is truly great and greater than anything that we may face.
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