Posted in Formation, Hope, Leadership on April 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Have you ever wondered why you were born where and when it happened? I mean, why was I born in Texas in the mid-60’s? Why not in Europe in the 1800’s or Israel in 12 AD?
I read this earlier this morning and it reminded me that God has a plan for each of us.
You were created for a time such as this. God has gifted you, equipped you and called you to make a difference in your world that no one else on the planet can make today! Just you – only you!
Go make your mark!
Posted in Formation, Hope on April 6, 2011| 1 Comment »
I got to the office early today. It has been refreshing to be able to get my day organized and think through some things in peace and quiet. As I sat, thinking about the day ahead, I noticed several quotes I have plastered around my desk.
One of those caught my eye this morning with a strong reminder. Albert Camus said this:
Real generosity toward the future consists in giving all to what is present.
Thinking toward the future is important – I am a big planner. But, tomorrow is built today.
What are you going to do with your today? Will you be completely present? How whole heartedly will you throw yourself into what you do today?
Jesus expects sold out followers. Will that be you?
Posted in Formation, Grace on March 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I have only seen the show a couple of times, but I really like the premise. Undercover Boss – what a great concept. The boss puts on a disguise and tries to blend in with the rest of the employees as one of them.
Typically, the boss takes on jobs within the company working with people he or she has never met. The boss observes the employees and gets to know them.
By the end of the show, the boss has developed opinions about the employees with which he or she has worked. The show wraps up each week with the boss calling each of those employees into her or his office and revealing the plot to them. It doesn’t always turn out wonderfully for the employees, but most of the time, the employee is praised and rewarded for his or her commitment to the company.
Then the final segment of the show includes the boss addressing the entire company, explaining what has taken place. Many times, the boss expresses a renewed passion to make the company a better place to work. The few times I have watched the show, the boss has been emotionally affected by the experience and it shows in his or her address to the employees. The overall result is a strengthened relationship between the boss and the employees because now, he or she knows what it is like to “be them,” and the employees have learned to see the boss as one of them.
As I watched this show for the first time, I could not help but think about how it is similar to what God did 2000 years ago. Obviously, there are areas where the similarities break down – God did not need to know what it is like to be us, God already knows. But, just as in the show, the end result of God coming and living among us was that there is no doubt that God truly wants a relationship with us. We aren’t just random beings on a planet that make no difference to God. God became one of us – to show us how to live and how to love and how to serve. The ultimate undercover boss!
Posted in Formation, Motivational on March 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Last week, our family spent two days skiing at Wolf Creek Pass. It was a great time! We had good snow and good weather. The lines were not long at the lifts and no one got hurt – a few bruises, but nothing serious. Our time together as a family was wonderful!
We had never skied at Wolf Creek before. Overall, we enjoyed our time there. Our only real complaint was the lack of direction on the mountain. The trail map was clear enough. We could look at it and decide which lifts to take to get to the runs we wanted to ski – that was no problem.
The problem came when we made our way off the lift (which is always a major event) and began trying to translate the information from the map to what we saw in person. The map was clear, but without markers along the trails, we never knew if we were on the right path. In a sense, we were skiing without a clue as to where were headed.
We have skied on many other mountains and never have we experienced the lack of direction that we faced last week. In some instances in life, having a map is enough. If you make a wrong turn, you can simply turn around and go back. But when you strap on a pair of skiis (or snow board in Jared’s case) and head down a mountain, one wrong turn can lead you to a point of no return where you are looking down a double black diamond slope with drop-offs and huge moguls. Just so that you know – I have done my fair share of black diamonds but I am the guy everyone looks at from the lift and says, “Wow, that guy does not belong on that run!”
So without markers along the path, not only does the skiing experience take on more of a challenge, it is also very frustrating.
Our spiritual lives are just like that! We have a great trail map to help us on the journey – the Bible. We can see where we are and where we need to go. But where we often get frustrated or side-tracked is in our inability to see the markers along the way that help us to know we are on the right path. Unlike my experience on the slopes last week, more often than not, the markers are there, we just choose to ignore them. There are markers all around us every day – we just need to slow down long enough to pay attention to them.
Here three markers we can all watch for in our lives to help us along the way:
1) Am I following the teachings of Jesus in the way I live every day?
2) Am I building relationships with other believers through involvement in a faith community or small group?
3) Am I striving to make a simple difference in at least one life each day?
There are many, many other markers, but I encourage you to think about these today. And never forget, we also have a guide along with us – and that never hurts!
Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on March 22, 2011| 1 Comment »
This morning, I sat down in my chair to have my prayerful reading time (Lectio). I spent some time centering myself in preparation for my time with God – trying to clear my thoughts so that nothing would hinder my hearing what God wanted to say. The concept I focused on to try and clear my mind was the idea of complete surrender. Each time a random thought would enter my head, I would think the words, “complete surrender.”
The passage I read was Proverbs 3:5-15. I struggled as I read. Nothing was jumping off the page at me. I meditated on the verses and then went back for a second reading. Still – not much happened. I meditated on the idea of God’s discipline and on wisdom and then went back for the third reading.
Throughout this process, I continued to think the words, “complete surrender.”
As I closed my time in prayer, I became a little frustrated that I did not feel I had met with God. I did not sense an encounter in which God spoke to me through the words I was reading. I thought back over the passage as I prayed, and I remembered the first words in verse 5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
I began to think about my experience. I had entered into this time of prayer and reading with the expectation of hearing from God. I had entered into this time with the idea that I would be completely surrendered to what God would say. As I thought about my time, I remembered that I may not sense a vivid connection with God each time I sit down to read and pray. That is not to say God is not present or that God is not listening and speaking, but somedays are more clear than others. But complete surrender means I put myself in God’s hands regardless.
Then it dawned on me – that is the trust God expects of me. Complete surrender requires complete trust. I may not always “feel it,” but that doesn’t mean I stop trusting or surrendering.
So here is my prayer for you and for me today:
God, I do trust you. I know that you are present and that you have plans for me today. I surrender myself to you. Use me as you see fit today.
Amen
Be blessed!
Posted in Formation on March 7, 2011| 1 Comment »
I had to be in Dallas this past week for a few days for a board meeting. Over the last few years we have become a family and the three times per year we are together is always a blessing.
It used to be that returning home from being out of the office for a few days was always a killer. There would be phone calls to return and email to contend with along with the piles of mail that accumulate. But now days it is much different. My email comes to my cell phone and laptop. My voice mail at the office is forwarded directly to my cell phone as well. The only thing to deal with on return anymore is the piles of mail (I am not sure how to remedy that situation).
There are certainly benefits to being connected. But it can also be a drain. There is never a point that I am not connected. Sure, I suppose it is a choice – I could turn off my cell phone and leave my laptop at home. Honestly, I have improved my ability to manage this connectivity, but the reality is that it is always there. As long as we have it hanging over our heads, it is hard to be alone with God.
We need times in which we can disconnect from all of the things pulling at us so that we can focus on what really matters – our relationship with Jesus.
Find some time this week to disconnect and focus on Jesus. The other stuff isn’t going anywhere anyway.
Be blessed.
Posted in Formation on March 2, 2011| 4 Comments »
Last night, as I finished a second helping of dinner and Kristi began talking about making cookies for desert, I realized that someone had left the television on in the living room. The show that was on was The Biggest Loser. I chuckled to myself as I thought about the irony of sitting in front of the TV with a plate full of cookies and watching The Biggest Loser. But as I thought about what I was doing, I began to realize how disconnected I have become from what is happening around me (being disconnected from TV is not typically a bad thing). It did not really bother me to watch people struggling to regain control over their obesity while I munched on a warm chocolate chip cookie. One would think that the show would cause me to rethink my eating habits. But nope, I just sat there and continued to eat.
Many times, this disconnect occurs in our spiritual lives as well. We can sit through a church service on the weekend and then live a life contrary to what we just heard about throughout the week. Often times this is the result of compartmentalization. We keep our spiritual lives separate from the other areas of our lives. The problem is, there is no such thing as a spiritual life and a work life and a home life – there is just life. It all flows together, so we need to realize that the way we live on Monday is a reflection of who we really are on the inside. We need to realize that as followers in the Way, we must strive to stay engaged in living for Christ – in striving to live as he lived – and not just on Sunday.
Going to church on the weekend and listening to Christian teaching with no intention of acting on it is just like sitting in front of the TV watching The Biggest Loser while stuffing your face with food. If we are truly to make a difference in this world, we must remain engaged – we cannot allow ourselves to become disconnected.
I challenge you today to take a few minutes to analyze your life and then make it a point to reconnect to Jesus.
Posted in Formation, Hope on February 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »
How does God speak to you? Yesterday, I mused about the possibility to God communicating with us through text messaging – how cool would that be?
I have been wrestling with this topic for the past week. I think God speaks to us in many ways. God uses the Bible to inspire and teach us how we should live. I have felt God moving in me through the words of pastors and teachers. I have heard God through the wise words of friends. I have felt God’s presence through nature. There are many, many ways God speaks to us.
Regardless of how God speaks to you, I know two things for certain. The first – scripture must be the test of what we feel God is saying to us. God will not tell you something that is contrary to what is in the Bible.
The second thing I know for sure is this: you will never hear a thing if you aren’t listening. How well do you listen? Do you make time to slow down long enough to hear?
Listen to this passage in 1 Kings 19:11-13, about Elijah hearing from God:
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
I love the phrase, “for the Lord is about to pass by!” What a breath-taking image. God is about to come near – are you ready? As Elijah was waiting to hear from God, there were a number of amazing things that happened and Elijah looked for God in those things but God was not there. Elijah finally heard God in a gentle whisper.
Sometimes God has to shout to get our attention. But more often than not, God speaks to us in gentle whispers – nudges – simple impressions, just to let us know we aren’t alone.
God is about to pass by – are you listening?
Posted in Formation, Hope on February 22, 2011| 2 Comments »
How lazy I have become. Yesterday, our youngest son had gone to spend some time with a friend. When it came time to pick him up, I drove to the house, pulled into the driveway and picked up my phone. I sent him a text to tell him I was there. As I keyed in the message, “I am here” I thought about how lazy I am that I can’t get out of the car and go to the door. But that is how we live our lives these days.
As I have thought about the message I sent my son yesterday, I began to wonder about a world in which God communicated with us through text messaging (I know, my mind is a scary place sometimes – you should live in it!). What would God say?
As I pondered this thought, I came up with what I think would be God’s most common text message to the world – “I am here.” Unlike me, who was too lazy to go to the door and needed to announce that I had arrived, God would send the message to remind us that He has never left – God is always with us!
No matter what you are going through today – never forget that God is with you. Call out to God – the response will be “I am here.”
Be blessed today!
Posted in Formation, Grace on February 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Who are you? Have you answered that question before? Typically when we meet someone for the first time we introduce ourselves. We offer our name and then what normally comes next? I would estimate that 80% of the time, the next question is “What do you do?”
We often define ourselves by what we do – “I am a teacher” or “I am a business owner” or “I am a student.” But is that who we really are?
A couple of years ago, I read a book that I still refer back to occasionally. Joshua Choonmin Kang is the author, and the book: Deep-Rooted in Christ – The Way of Transformation. In his book, Kang says this:
God is more concerned with who we are than who we think we are. He doesn’t care how many tasks we do or how big they are. What matters is that we become what God wants us to be. Until that time, God won’t take delight in our activities.
Who we are becoming is more important than who we are – or think we are. As followers in the Way, we are to become who God wants us to be – and the picture of that desire is Jesus. We are to strive to be like him. It takes work. It takes discipline. It takes time – a lifetime in fact.
It begins with a commitment. A decision that only you can make to follow Jesus – his teachings and lifestyle. This requires spending time with him in conversation – daily. It also requires spending time studying his teachings. It requires actually living out the lifestyle you have adopted. We can’t say we follow Jesus if our actions don’t reflect his actions.
Hebrews 12:1-3 says this:
1 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, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
When you think you can’t follow through with your commitment of becoming, stop and think of Jesus. Becoming like Jesus is more than a Sunday morning activity. It is a lifestyle. Just remember – who you are becoming is more important than what you do. God is more concerned about who you become and that should be all that matters!
Who are you becoming today?
Clay in the Hands 