Understanding you're not alone

I’ve never been one who needed other people to agree with me or to be part of a large crowd. Because of that I’ve always been a deep thinker, often feeling that elusive spiritual connection with my Savior that others seem to miss but the older I get the more I realize the importance of relationship with others. In the 1998 movie “The Mask of Zorro” with Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins you learned there wasn’t just one person who was the hero but through generations this responsibility was handed down. In one scene you see Zorro teaching his protégé about the training rings. Starting and ending on the outer most ring tragically is where most people stay. It represents the many people he knew but had little influence with. As he advanced the rings got smaller but his influence increased and so it is with us, if you follow God’s calling. We know many people but the relationships where God seems to give us the most influence are few. For the parent God gives influence with the children, for the leader God gives influence with the constituents, with the married God gives influence with their spouse, with the skilled God gives influence with the those who have questions, and the list goes on. Always remember this, though you are given influence with certain relationships you are only a steward but God is the source! Therefore, you are not alone – God is with you! Your children don’t belong to you but to God. One of the most difficult things I’ve had to learn as a husband, father, and leader is that I am not in control and I’ve found when I am doing my best my will is aligned with His. However, when I try to take control that is when I feel the most secluded. If you listen carefully you’ll come to understand the more your will is aligned with His the more influence you’ll be given and thus the more He will supply your needs. He will never forsake you regardless of the amount of faith you walk in but know this He has a purpose for your life and He intends to grow you up spiritually so don’t be surprised when you feel like you are being stretched – that is your opportunity to trust Him more!

Your story

Your life is unique and as such the telling of it can be used to glorify Christ Jesus and what He means to you. Don’t take this the wrong way but if you know Christ no matter what you’ve been through your story has purpose. God places you in contact with others who need to hear how you made it through. You say but you don’t understand I was abused as a child or I was neglected and left alone or maybe drugs and alcohol controlled you. You may say that sickness or poverty controlled my life – how can that glorify God? Allow me to clarify something that doesn’t keep you from having a great testimony rather it shows how great Jesus Christ is! I grew up in an ordinary, every day dysfunctional family who went to church. I knew what it meant to be saved at an early age and at the age of nine gave my heart to Jesus, still there were many inward battles and as Father God led me through each one I built an altar of remembrance like Abraham did as God led Israel out of Egypt. God wants you to remember your journey so that at the right time you may share it with others who are currently going through the same things you have been through. You see contrary to popular belief this life is not all there is. If it was I would be upset that I wasn’t born rich or well educated or had the same opportunities others have. Instead this life is preparation for what God has prepared for us. It takes a lifetime for us to understand God’s love and mercy and when we understand that then we are ready to meet Him but somewhere between this understanding and seeing the Author of our Salvation there are people to help. We have a duty to point the way so that they may also taste salvation and know God’s goodness! This brings to light the meaning of this verse: (Romans 8:28 MKJV) “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Know your battlegrounds

Life is funny; it is all too easy to get caught up in the things going on around you that have no eternal value. Sometimes it feels like wading through a swamp or something. You know where you want to be – God centered, passionate for people to find Christ in every day situations, your family, co-workers, and friends. You see common occurrences in the lives of those closest to you that need God’s Word spoken but rarely do we speak it, even more so occurrences in our own lives where we hear the whisper of God’s Holy Spirit yet we ignore it and then we are reminded why Jesus said, (Matthew 7:13 NIV) "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”

As God’s children we have an enemy that would like nothing better than to see us fail. When we let down our guard it not only affects us in that moment but the same enemy will remind you again and again, lying to you about who you really are so that he may assure himself a victory over you but God’s Word calls us by name. It is at this point we have a choice to make, we can live defeated lives, saved but of little purpose or we can shake off the lies of the enemy and walk out the life God has called us to. By choosing to place our feelings behind us and press on in Jesus name we are living a life of righteous obedience. Sometimes it doesn’t feel good, especially as the enemy reminds us of past failures but those who choose to trust God knowing that they are forgiven, through the work Christ Jesus did for them know His grace is sufficient and His purpose for their lives are bigger than how they feel.

It is then God allows us to see our battlegrounds. For me I know I am to fight for my wife and children through daily prayer, that they might know God’s goodness in their lives and that their hearts will be tender and ready to receive what God has for them, this is one such battleground. There are times when what you say will not be accepted but prayer is always effective. To know you own weaknesses and to prepare yourself through God’s Word, no longer ignoring them wondering why you are fallen by the same problems time and time again but to pursue the enemy in order to gain back the ground he has stolen, this is another battleground. To live a life that is rich with God’s purpose so that He may impact the lives you come in contact with, this is another battleground. You say how can I, an ordinary person do these things? It is not you but Christ living through you that makes you more than a conqueror! Life is difficult but God is good! We can step out in obedience trusting that God will be with us or we like the servant who buried his talent out of fear and maybe laziness or indifference, being caught up in everyday things and miss what God has planned. Only through obedience will we fully understand God’s love for us. There are no super humans, only ordinary people who choose to walk in God’s purpose and these are the ones that have purposed in their hearts to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Do something!

(Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV) “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

Many times fear of failure holds us in our seats. Have you ever watched an “armchair quarterback” yelling at the TV because he knew a better way to move the ball down the field or an over-zealous dad yelling at his kid to play harder, as if he was living out his dreams through his son? When the person yelling directions doesn’t have an area in their own life where they’re the person getting their hands dirty you can bet to some extent a fear of failure is holding him back. God never intended for us to live our lives through others. It doesn’t matter how much we know if we never try (and keep trying) it profits nothing! Through doing we become – what we plant we shall also reap. If we plant bitterness and strife we can expect it in return but if we invest in others, freely giving God’s grace, and living righteously we shall reap joy beyond understanding and blessings beyond measure. For we cannot out give God but we must be active in our faith. If we mean it when we say that we love Him we will be compelled to do His will. Jesus spent his time here on earth giving tirelessly of him self and pointing the way to the Father of Lights so that others may know the only thing that matters – salvation full and free! We too are to be busy about the Father’s business and when we do that faithfully God is faithful to change us into vessels set apart for His use. To hear Father God say, “Well done good and faithful servant.” when we enter the kingdom of heaven will be worth it all. Yes pain will come and loss will be known but without these things we would never know the depths of our Father’s love. He awaits your steps in obedience what will you do? Play it safe and miss it all or live the life He intended, it is up to you! Know this we have a Father who loves us unconditionally and no amount of failure could keep us from Him – He loves us beyond comprehension!

Wonder and worship

(Psalms 99:5 MKJV) Praise Jehovah our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy.

“We don’t worship God because He needs it but because we do.” To worship something greater than us is natural because that is the way we were created. Look at any people group and you’ll see it, even here in America despite our “self-made” position with working professionals or our self-reliant attitude with the wealthy we still worship things such as sports, our jobs, money, our ability to influence you name it! When we worship God our eyes are taken from the lesser things and placed upon the one thing that deserves our praise. God has done many wondrous things but it is not these things that we worship but Him and Him alone! When this is our attitude our eyes are opened to just how wonderful He is. This leads to us living the abundant life not because we have money but because we know He is taking care of us, not because people have high opinions of us but because we hear what the Creator says about us, and not because we have built an empire but because we have built our lives upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ and this life on earth is just preparation for what is to come! When our perspective is right then we live as God’s kids – giving out of His abundance, not ours! Worshiping God is key to living the life we all want to live, even though at first it feels awkward. From my experience I know singing in front of a large group can feel awkward to but when you finally let go and give it all you’ve got it can be very rewarding. It is the same way with worshiping God and keeping a holy reverence towards who He is, only so much more! Worship and thankfulness go hand in hand and many times you don’t know what you have been given until you are about to lose it. Could it be this economic down turn that we are all feeling is God trying to get our attention so that our hearts are once again turned towards Him? If we believe life is over when we die then this economy is tragic but if we believe this life is preparation for what He has prepared for us then we begin to see how He can use it to shape us into something greater than we were before and when you understand that worshiping Him is no longer awkward but natural.

Your work matters to God (part I)

(John 5:17 MKJV) But Jesus answered them, My Father works until now, and I work.

Many times I have viewed work the wrong way, as a necessary evil so to speak but God wants me to give my all as if I were doing it for him, even if those I work for are not Christ like. I cannot go into details but I can say this, there is purpose in every area of you life and God wants to work through you to speak to others and to develop your own character. If we are found faithful then we put ourselves in a place that is rich with God’s blessings but if our attitude is wrong we will spend our lives in a dead-end job wondering why God never used us to do something great! I don’t want that for my life so I will work diligently as unto the Father of Lights, trusting that He knows best and His plan for my life is far better than anything I can come up with on my own.

What is your attitude toward your child?

(Luke 15:20 MKJV) And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

When listening to the story of the prodigal son many times my thoughts have been on the son and how he acted but as I get older my attention is maybe more on the father. The father did everything right, still the son refused to listen. The father had the opportunity to turn his back on his son as so many fathers do, after all there was nothing more that could done. The son was taught right from wrong and he made his choice. However, the father saw beyond the moment, the disrespect, and shame in order to win the heart of the son. I don’t mean he became a doormat to his son but that he was able to separate himself from the heat of the moment to see the bigger picture, knowing that one day the son would come face to face with the result of his choices and if the father stayed on track now he could in advance win back the heart of the son. I pray that I am that type of father and I know the closer I am to God in my daily walk the closer I’ll be to that goal.