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Archive for the ‘Hope’ Category

Just Minding My Own Business

Posted in Formation, Hope on August 24, 2010| 1 Comment »

Late yesterday afternoon, a very dear friend of mine was involved in a car wreck.  She was sitting at a stop light when a tanker truck tried to make the corner too fast and rolled over and hit her car.  She is fine, but as a I stood with her in the emergency room and listened to her relay the story to me, she said on more than one occasion: “I was just sitting there minding my own business.”

How many times are we involved in less than desirable circumstances at no fault of our own?  It happens all the time – it is a part of life.  Bad things do happen to good people.  What drives me crazy is when the commentary on these occasions sounds something like this, “Well, I guess God is testing you.”  Or, “God caused that to happen to get your attention.”

I do not propose to know or understand the mind of God, so I suppose I could be wrong, but my view of the God of scripture does not include a God who would deliberately cause injury to a person to teach them a lesson.  I believe bad things sometimes happen to good people as a result of living in a messed up, fallen world.

I also believe that what God expects us to do is rise to the occasion and handle these experiences with faith, grace and love.  Each experience is an opportunity to grow in our faith – if we allow it.

So the next time you find yourself in a less than desirable situation at no fault of your own, try to grow through it.  God will walk with you through the whole ordeal.

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Power Is Available

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on August 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

In yesterday’s post I told you about my car troubles on Sunday, and how it took me quite some time to get to church due to the fact that my car thought it was over heating.  Yes, it is a little spooky when a car can think on its own.  But it is down right frustrating when it makes stuff up.  At any rate, that is not where I am going with this post.

The Reduced Engine Power light came on which, as I said yesterday, is a safety feature to prevent any damage to the engine due to over heating.  The result of the reduced power was reduced speed.  Yesterday, I reflected on the fact that even at a reduced speed, as long as we are headed in the right direction, we will eventually get where we are going.

Today I want to think about this power issue.  I experienced first hand what reduced power means.  It was frustrating to try and get where I was going with only a portion of the power that I knew should be available.  It took forever to get where I was going and on more than one occasion, I held others up as they waited for me to pass by or they waited for an opportunity to pass me.

How often do we neglect the power that is available to us through the Holy Spirit?  Francis Chan’s newest book, Forgotten God, deals with this subject (you can read more about the book here).  As believers and followers of Jesus, we are promised by Jesus himself, that we will have the very power of God residing within us.

Do you live your life as if the Spirit of God is alive and present within you?  Today is the day that you must begin living your life boldly as a true child of God.  The world is depending on it!

Be bold!

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Creeping In The Right Direction

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on August 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday morning I went out to my car to head to church.  I had a meeting at 9 and I was on schedule to be early.  I got in the car and the battery was dead.  So I pulled my wife’s car around to give my car a jump.  My car started right up so I removed the cables, pulled my wife’s car back into its spot and got behind the wheel of my car to head to my meeting.

As I pulled out of the driveway, I noticed a new warning light I had never seen before.  It said, Reduced Engine Power.  I had no idea what that meant (other than the obvious) so I looked in the manual.  The manual told me that it is a safety measure the engine is programed to perform when the car is over heating.  Of course my car had been sitting for over 12 hours so I knew that could not be the problem.  Under that explanation was another that said, it could just be that the sensor telling the motor that it was overheating could be faulty.  That made more sense.  So I headed off to my meeting with Reduced Engine Power.

What I did not know was that Reduced Engine Power translated into Reduced Engine Speed.  I think I topped out at 7 miles per hour!  I was nearly late to my meeting.  In fact, at one point it dawned on me that I could walk faster than my car was moving.  But at least I was creeping along in the right direction.

As I have reflected on that experience, it has caused me to think about my spiritual progression and the speed in which I progress as well as the power it takes to get there (more on the power idea tomorrow).  We talked about that subject last week.  We often get in a hurry to get where we are going.  We easily grow impatient and think we will never “arrive.”  We need to remember that where we are headed is much more important than how fast we get there.  I have heard it said, “I have no idea where we are headed but at least we’re making good time.”  Where we are headed should be the bigger concern.  If we are a followers of the Way, then as long as our focus is on becoming more like Jesus and pleasing God, then the time it takes to get there is not nearly as important.

God knows that as humans, we will never be Jesus, so I believe God is not so concerned about whether or not you and I “arrive.”  God is ultimately concerned about who we become.

So today, make sure you are headed in the right direction but don’t panic if you don’t arrive by lunch time.

Be blessed today!

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Tracking Progress

Posted in Formation, Hope on August 13, 2010| 1 Comment »

I ordered some books a few days ago.  When they shipped, I received an email telling me that my package was on its way.  In that email there was a tracking link so that I could follow the progress of my order.  On the day of delivery, a few minutes after the box was placed on my desk, I received another email telling me the package had been delivered and even told me who signed for it.  Amazing!  Technology allows us to track an order practically every step of the way.  We can see when our order leaves its point of origin.  We can see the stops it makes along the way and we can even see when it should arrive.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have that same ability to track our spiritual progression?  It would be interesting to be able to see how we have progressed and grown to be more like Jesus (or maybe how we haven’t).

Unfortunately, there is not a technical way to track our growth.  But you can give the idea some reflection.  Ask yourself some questions about how you have grown.  Questions like: Am I more patient and forgiving today than I was a year ago?  Am I more committed to setting aside time to spend with God in prayer today than I was a year ago?   Do I love more freely than I did a year ago?  You get the idea.

Do some spiritual tracking today – it could be very insightful!

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Culturally Ingrained Inefficiency

Posted in Church, Hope on August 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I heard an interesting story in a workshop a few weeks ago and I have been pondering it off and on since that time.  I did a little research and it appears to be valid.

It is the story of the development of the typewriter.  The original layout of the keyboard had to be altered because of the design of the machine.  If the keys were laid out logically and efficiently, the potential typing speed led to stuck keys.  Thus, the keyboard had to be designed in such a way as to separate the frequently used keys so that it would slow the typist down enough that the keys would not stick.

With the invention of the electronic typewriter, this design flaw was remedied, but by then, the keyboard layout was ingrained in our culture and any change to make it more efficient has been defeated.  Now days, we don’t even use typewriters anymore.  We sit at computers and type onto a screen.  But guess how that keyboard you are typing on is laid out – you guessed it – the same way it was over 120 years ago.

Here is the question:  Why is it that even when we know a change would be beneficial and make us more efficient do we resist the change?

Can this reality be seen in the church?  You bet!  We get comfortable and the “way we have always done it” gets ingrained in our culture.

Here is the challenge for today:  If the church is God’s plan to offer hope and love to a hurting world (and we know there is no plan B), then shouldn’t we do everything in our power to be constantly striving to improve how we minister?

Something to think about.

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A Little Rap in the Desert

Posted in Community, Hope, Missions on August 9, 2010| 1 Comment »

This past Saturday, I tagged along with our students to Rock the Desert.  It was hot and a little dusty, but it was worth it.  Last year was my first experience with the event and I was so moved that I made sure to make it a priority this year as well.

We heard a lot of different artists at the concert – December Radio, Decypher Down, Remedy Drive, Family Force 5 and Hawk Nelson just to name some.  But the one that made the day for me was @lecrae.  He is an unashamedly Christian rap artist – but I have decided that he is really a youth evangelist who has found that he can put his sermons in the form of a rap to reach kids.

His words challenged me to stop and rethink God’s call on my life.  It’s not about me but about what God wants to do through me and ultimately that is to reach a hurting world with the hope and love that only God can give.

That call is the same for all of us if we are followers of the Way.

So how are you going to show God’s hope and love to those around you today?

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The Avalanche of Life

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on August 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

On the way to the office this morning, I had the radio on (as usual) and heard a familiar song from @Manafest called Avalanche.  I had heard the song before, in fact, I have it on my iPod.  But for some reason, it struck a chord with me today.

The song speaks to a condition I am sure we can all relate to – that of being the prodigal child of God.  The words that caught my ear today were these, “Cause I’m the prodigal man of this avalanche, I’m going down, I’m going down, down.”

I suppose the reason these lines hit me is because I can relate them to times in my life when I have allowed my relationship with Jesus to stagnate and have felt the hopelessness of being all alone with little hope.

But the song moves the listener to hope with these lines, “Watched you chase a man down, watched you raise a man out, mercy on me, forever I’m free.”

I am reminded that regardless of how far I roam or wander, God actually pursues me and is there to offer mercy and grace and welcome me home into a renewed relationship.

Maybe today, things for you are great – your relationship with Jesus is just as it should be – if so, wonderful, file these thoughts for later use.

But perhaps today this song describes you.  Maybe today you feel caught in an avalanche of life, sliding farther away from where you want to be with little control or ability to stop it.  If that is you – take heart – Jesus wants to lift you out.

That is the wonder and beauty of mercy and grace.  It’s never too late to turn back to Jesus.

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A Little Slow Getting Started

Posted in Formation, Hope on August 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Do you ever have one of those days when it’s just hard to get going.  Maybe your tired or stressed, but for whatever reason, it’s just hard to get moving.  Today is one of those days for me.  We just got back from a week long vacation and you would think I would be rested and ready to go but I am dragging this morning.  Maybe you have those days too.

Here is what is helping me this morning – read this.

God has a plan!  I can have hope in knowing that today is going to be filled with God-given opportunities!  Wow!  That helps get me moving – even if it is slowly at first.

Seek God with your whole heart today – if you do, you will receive hope and a future, but most importantly, you will find God!

Be blessed!

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A Week Off

Posted in Formation, Hope on July 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I will be taking a week off from the blog this next week.  I will be in prayer for you throughout the week.  I ask that you pray for my family and me as we have some time to be together.  The primary need in our lives right now is refreshment and renewal.

I look forward to being back at the keyboard in a week and let you know about all the things God does this next week.

Be blessed!

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I Don’t Recommend Gargling With Shampoo!

Posted in Formation, Hope on July 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Last night I had a very strange thing happen to me.  I have been battling strep throat since last Thursday.  I am on the downhill side, two shots and several pills later (thanks again Greg!).

As a result of the sore throat and the medication, I have some sores in my mouth as well.  I was getting ready for bed and after brushing my teeth, I decided I needed to rinse my mouth with mouthwash.  Key point to the story – I had already taken out my contact. I looked through my shaving kit and found some trial size bottles.  One said “Wash” in big letters and I could not make out the smaller ones.  I suppose my first clue should have been when I had to really squeeze to get the contents of the bottle to drop into my mouth.  Unfortunately for me, I had a mouthful before I realized it wasn’t mouthwash.

Yeah, in case you are wondering, shampoo is not a good substitute for mouthwash – I think I could still blow bubbles if I really tried.  All because I couldn’t see clearly.

How often are you caught off guard because of faulty vision or understanding?  The great thing is that as long as we take the time to spend in God’s word and in contemplating God’s leadership in our lives through prayer, we will have clear vision and solid understanding.

Take some time to work on your vision today – trust me, the alternative is not pleasant!

Be blessed today!

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