You Must Speak…

There are times when the simplicity of something in the Bible just smacks me upside my dense, overly analytical head.  Today, I was reading in the book of Ezekiel.  In Chapter 2, I came across this in verses 6 and 7:

“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.”

God was sending Ezekiel to speak to a people who were openly rebellious, pursuing other Gods, and often antagonistic to God’s message.  In the midst of that environment, God gives Ezekiel the encouragement to not be afraid or terrified.  He knew that Ezekiel needed the confidence that God was with him.

God has sent His church to speak to a world that is openly rebellious, pursuing other Gods, and often antagonistic to God’s message.  In the midst of that environment, God has given us the encouragement we need that He is with us as we speak His truth to the world around us.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

If God is with us, and He is, what do we have to be afraid of? My reminder for today is:

You Must Speak….

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

What is my life story? What is there worth remembering? How will my children or grandchildren describe my life? These questions and many others swirled through my mind as I finished Donald Miller’s new book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.”

Consider what your life is telling is important to you. Is there anything memorable? Are you taking any risks? Have you been out on any limbs lately?

In the book, Miller uses the backdrop of turning his memoirs into a movie screenplay to reexamine his life. What he discovers about the elements of a really memorable movie are what makes up a really memorable life. He shares a very personal metamorphosis that takes him through territory familiar to most people: family, relationships, contributions to society, and others.

The book was excellent! Not only does Don take us into his life, but I closed the book challenged about who I really am and excited about what the possibilities are! His background as a writer makes this book especially interesting to those who use the business end of a pen but equally interesting to anyone! I highly recommend it! I reviewed the book as a book review blogger for Thomas Nelson Publishers! http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

Fearless by Max Lucado

The new offering by prolific author Max Lucado is in a word – Courageous!  Max approaches a common malady with the wit, insight, and biblical base that readers have come to expect. In Fearless, the subject of fear is dissected and analyzed, and the cure concocted and applied from the author of authors – Jesus. He takes fear after common fear and brings the reader to the answer for that particular phobia in the pages of the Bible.

I was absolutely thrilled with this book. I didn’t even realize how timely it is. I personally found myself dealing with some fears that I wouldn’t have even characterized as fears!  Time and time again, I found the answer in the Word of God!

I was especially pleased that the follower of Christ wasn’t painted as having a “No Fear” sign on their back. He addressed fears for believers and non-believers alike! As Max says, “Don’t Christ-followers enjoy a calendar full of Caribbean cruises? No!”

Fears are not drowned in the lake of psychology or positive thinking, they are put in the perspective of a holy, loving God who has the answers for our lives. Today. Now.  The book is inspirational and practical and so relevant to the world in which we live. I hope that it is read by many and that each is pointed to the Savior who is it’s hero!

Fearless Cover Page

MMAD Week 2009

Here is the video from the Multimedia, Music, Arts and Drama Camp 2009 performance entitled, “Why?”

Please enjoy these young people using their talents for the Lord and I am sure you will be blessed by the message.

Training for the Big Wave

Alright, I know that blogging on the beach is really geeky! But I am relaxing! I have my comfy chair, shade, family, ocean breeze… you get the picture. Anyway, the whole setting really gets me to thinking..Check this out:

We have been coming to the beach for years, it is a place we all love to be. My son Gabe is 13 and growing into a young man. I am watching him facing big waves breaking near the beach head on. Sometimes from a sitting position he watches the wave and knows just when to duck so he doesn’t get pounded into the sand. Other times, he is standing and facing the oncoming tsunami in training with confidence and dives under the breaking edge only to emerge on the other side unscathed. How did he learn to do that?

Enter my youngest son, Noah. He is an energetic 8 and also loves the beach – sort of. You see on his last outing, things didn’t go so great. He too was facing the waves, but without Gabe’s confidence or experience. When the big wave came – he wasn’t watching, his back was turned. I’m sure you have seen the result; there he went, head over watersocks, tumbling at the will of the breaking waves. His body parts taking turns being slammed against the ocean floor; soft tissues bruised, skin scratched, air knocked out of his lungs, until finally he struggles to his feet apparently having escaped the clutches of the relentless wave bent on his destruction. Almost. Just then, he is painfully reminded that he is tethered to a well-meaning, fun-focused boogie board. Said beach “friend” is continuing to be tumbled, twisted, and pummeled by the force of evil – and Noah is attached. Down he goes again, more bumps, more bruises, more scratches, until he drags up the beach feeling thoroughly defeated.

Today, he wasn’t so thrilled about the waves. The boogie board never left the sand. Noah? He had to be coaxed to even go near the water. But go he did, coaxed by Gabe, and then I saw something really beautiful. Gabe left the excitement of “Big Man” waves and came to the relatively unexciting little waves where Noah was. The training had begun. As I watched, I could imagine what was being said. “Keep facing the waves, you need to know when they are coming. Duck under now – yes, step toward it as it breaks. Timing is everything and I am right here, nothing is going to happen.”

How did Gabe learn to face the big waves? The same way Noah was learning to, by facing little ones.

1 Peter 1:3-9 says:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (NIV)

Peter says that temporarily we are going to have to suffer grief as we face trials. Like Noah, we go through faith training as we face trials. Sometimes we go for quite a tumble. Sometimes we are dragged down by a misguided friend. As we do, we gain confidence that will help us face the bigger waves of trials as they come. Practically, it is much better to train side by side with someone who has faced trials like we are facing. The result: for Gabe and Noah the waves get faced together with ever-increasing confidence. For all of us, as we face down the waves of life together, our confidence in the Lord, our faith, is proved. Our faith in God’s way of approaching life is validated.

Doing life together, we call it community. We plan for it, program for it, pray for it.

Thankfully, my kids just do it. Thanks guys!

The Offer You Shouldn’t Refuse

If you watched the movie, you can’t forget Marlon Brando in the Godfather saying, “We’re going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”  Of course, he was speaking of a “Do or Die” kind of choice issued to someone opposing his “Family.”  The truth is we have offers made to us on a daily basis.  We are offered opportunities for work, recreation, relationships, purchases, plans, etc. and we always have a choice to make.  For those just entering adulthood, dealing with with these choices can be a little overwhelming.

The apostle Paul is talking about offers in Romans 6 as well.  In Romans 6:13, the Bible says,

“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

So, as followers of Christ, we have been made an offer we “shouldn’t refuse.”  It is in those choices we make everyday, are we offering ourselves to God, using our bodies as instruments of righteousness; or are we offering ourselves to Sin, using our bodies as instruments of wickedness?  We are the ones who have the choice.  Part of our new life in Christ is making these difficult choices.

We have the ability with the help of God to chose the best.  We shouldn’t allow ourselves to get caught up in the thinking of, “I just couldn’t help myself,” or “I had no control.”  When we go down that path, we slap in the face the God who even made the choice possible.

So how do keep the fact that we have choices to make everyday in front of us?  It is easy to say time spent with God, it is much harder to make this a daily practice that guides the rest of our day.

How do YOU do it?

Are You Sure?

Surely you remember the feeling?  For me, I first felt it when I had to admit to my parents that yes, I had done something wrong. There was the time that I was kicked off the bus in First Grade because I had discovered that my paper folder made a really interesting “Whack” sound when it struck the head of the unsuspecting child seated in front of me. Unfortunately, the bus driver and Mom didn’t see it that way.  There was also that time when I convinced my three year old brother that the dead flies on our back porch tasted just like raisins.  Mom didn’t see that my way either.  The feeling? Ashamed.

You know, that tightening in your belly that goes with distressed thoughts in your mind.  The feeling that under normal circumstances makes you want to hide your face, go away from people, and make it right.  In abnormal circumstances, it is the feeling that seeks to be numbed by alcohol or other substances or ended in suicide. Ashamed.  Most of us have felt it, and none of us want to again.

Are you sure?  Am I? Because there is one circumstance of being ashamed that we really don’t want to think about, but it may be the most common reason for shame.

In Luke 9:26, Jesus said,

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

So, are you sure? Are  you sure you aren’t ashamed of Jesus and His Words?  What would that look like? Possibly denying the power of Jesus to change someone?  Maybe denying His Words by not obeying them? Conceivably denying Him by not responding to someone with His truth?

However, we do it, I DON’T WANT TO! and I am sure you don’t either.

So, how do we ensure that we are not denying the Lord or His Words? Please share your thoughts.

Chasing the Sunset

Several months ago, I had to take a plane trip from the east to west.  Due to some delays, we ended up traveling just around sunset.  Because of the direction, we were heading, we were literally “Chasing the Sunset” for about three hours.  No matter how long we flew or how fast, we just couldn’t catch the sunset. It was a beautiful sight to see a sunset, normally fleeting and temporary, last for over three hours! It was both beautiful and ironic.

It caused me to think. Many times, I believe this is how we live our lives.  We spend much time, energy, and finances planning for some future sunset time when we will have enough, have done enough, etc. so we can enjoy the sunset.  Then we will have the money to give to God like we want, then we will have the time to serve Him like he deserves.  It all sounds really logical, the problem is when you chase the sunset, you never catch it!

When we put off serving the Lord like He deserves, most of us will continue to find a reason to put it off.  So while chasing the sunset might seem noble, exciting, and prudent; serving the Lord TODAY is what pleases God!

How will you serve the Lord today?  Share your thoughts.

Attitude Is Everything

I am sure at some point you have heard the phrase, “Attitude is everything.”  Perhaps in the realm of sports you have heard a coach use “Attitude is everything” to help his team face the seemingly invincible opponent and try to think of them as a group of drooling toddlers.  In business “Attitude is everything” might be used to help face the impossible sales goal with all the confidence of the Super Bowl Champions facing the Little League champions.  Apparently, God uses “Attitude is everything” as well.

In Hebrews 4:12-13, the Bible says:

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (NIV)

To God, “Attitude is everything” is His encouragement that our attitude is what He is most interested in.  By the judgement of His Word, He judges our innermost attitudes. Contrast that with the fact that we often put the emphasis on our visible behavior and actions, and it is no wonder that we are sometimes in a quandary.

Consider these two examples:

• Your actions toward someone appear to be loving and righteous, but your attitude toward them is one of hatred.
• Your actions toward someone were misunderstood as harsh or judgmental, but your attitude toward them was motivated by love and compassion.

Which one is more desirable?  If we are out to please God, then having the attitude right should be the most important.

So how do we work on that attitude?  We need to keep our focus on the one who will be judging it.  My suggestion is to start with some good communication: Let God speak to you from His Word and speak to Him in prayer.

Remember, according to God, Attitude really is Everything!

Prayer and Bible Study are just a starting place. What do you do to keep your attitude right?

Mad Church Disease

I am really glad to be partcipating in a group blogging project covering Anne Jackson’s book, “Mad Church Disease” There is a whole group of bloggers participating in this project.

Check out Day 4 by Kevin Martineau and check tomorrow for Day 6 by Adam Shields

Chapter 5 is about the symptoms of burnout. I read with interest, shock, and a little guilt as I saw symptom after Holy Spirit resisting symptom being pushed in my face. Although it scared me to see how dangerously close I had come to burnout, what bothered me more was the familiar characteristics I have seen in my colleagues. Yet, shamefully, I have never opened my mouth. Why don’t I care enough to try and make a difference? Wouldn’t I want someone to confront me? The fact is, many are burning out, leaving the ministry, and even leaving the Lord while insightful “friends” watch silently. So my challenge for you is this:
1. If you see these symptoms in the mirror, DO SOMETHING!
2. If you see these symptoms in someone else, DO SOMETHING!

Individuals, families, ministries, churches, and the very reputation of the LORD is at stake!
Anne, thank you for bringing this very important subject into the light of day with clarity, insight, and compassion!