A Great Spiritual Trio

I am not just talking about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When the combination of God's word (the Bible), the Power of the Holy Spirit (who leads us into truth, convicts of sin etc.) and our own open/teachable hearts intersect, amazing things happen! Life changing and world impacting! Seriously, it is an amazing trio! One without the other is still amazing and great, but if you are not open and teachable than God's word and the Holy Spirit will not always do what they fully meant to do in your life. If you are open and teachable, but you are not interacting with God's word, than it's still not enough. You get the point! Or do you?
Many people who are born again do not take their next steps and it becomes a bit of a loss because they do not become all that God desires, and other people are not effected by the fruit of the changed life either. I think it's one of the reasons so many Christians get stuck. Is that you? I want to encourage you not to give up. You probably know of some other Christian who has had the kind of relationship with God that you long for yourself. If you looked at some of the reasons why this is true, I think you would see that they read Gods's word consistently, they allow the Holy Spirit to do whatever He wants, and they are open and teachable to keep growing and living in a way that fulfills them and points others to God.
Find that person you know who has a fulfilling walk with God, approach them and ask them to help you get into the Bible more, guide you to a better relationship with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and ask God to help you be open and teachable. Before you know it, you will be one of those people being sought out to help others out of their stuck place.

Got A Second, Make A Choice

Everyday we have choices to make, lots of them. Maybe too many choices! Growing up in a small town we had 2 grocery stores, 2 Gas Stations, 5 TV Channels and 5 Churches. Choices were limited, and our minds were not inundated with constant thinking through which things to choose, and not too much about the consequences.

Today, there are so many choices, from a million products in grocery stores, 500 TV Stations 24 hours a day, more churches than you can shake a stick at. With so many choices we just get stressed out by them. At McDonald's there was a hamburger, a cheeseburger, coke or orange, and Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Shakes. Not today!

People do the same with God. Many follow Him only when there is a crisis, at holidays, when someone dies, or when it's popular, which it isn't too much anymore. But God chose us while we were sinners, enemies of the Cross, He created us, saved us,

loves us, is crazy about us, empowers us, surrounds us, lives in us, is for us, never leaves nor forsakes us. He even sings over us, has a special new name and body for us, gifts us to serve and proclaim Him and even lets us represent Him. I just have a quick question, why would you not choose Him?

Foundations are tricky things, I am no construction or engineering guy, but I have heard wild stories of houses, buildings and roads where the foundations weren't solid and it meant disaster. Billions of dollars of worth of destruction happened because of poor planning/research, or acts of nature.

Our lives need foundations because disasters will happen. These disasters may not even be our fault, but something may go wrong because of either poor planning or a natural disaster. We will need a strong foundation in order to survive and thrive. Take some time to think about what you are building your life on that is strong enough to count on. Most people will say family, friends, health and traditions. Those are good, but let's face it, family and friends are NOT 100% reliable. People die, get sick, move away or there is a disagreement that divides.

Those of you reading this know me well enough, (I think) to know that I have built my foundation on God and the Bible. They have stood the test of time and truth! The truths found in them have sustained people for thousands of years. I admit there is controversy in some parts of the Bible regarding slavery, religious wars and the mistreatment of people. People are flawed and that's why we need God. People come and go, philosophy's become out-dated, historic buildings and even modern ones that supposedly are indestructible have fallen! Building your life on top of God and His truth will be the best thing you can do.

I close with John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father (get to Heaven) except through me". You don't have to crumble when disaster comes, God is for you, He will never leave you, He is faithful! People and organizations will let you down. There are many wrong things said about God, the Bible and the church all under the subject of "organized religion", but part of the reason Jesus came was to get rid of religion and have people live in freedom and love. A local church is full of people who are in process, but as God takes over our lives people will see a difference. A life filled with love, forgiveness, generosity, unity, and crosses barriers that prove God is a foundation worth building upon.

Keep Focused or Find Trouble

I am a pretty free spirit, those who know me know this to be true, but, I have a very disciplined side that allows me to be the relational free spirit I am. Who I am is a personality thing (free spirited, relational), what I must do to thrive is practice disciplines. Disciplines are really protections - when I miss exercise and eat poorly I am not protecting my health. Bible reading, prayer, and listening to the Spirit are spiritual disciplines that keep me intimate with God and protect me from sinful tendencies. What disciplines do you consistently practice in order to maintain the kind of life you want? What are you passionate about that will make a a difference in other's lives, and make your life a legacy? I contend we must live balanced and disciplined lives in order to be all we are meant to be, and do all we can to make life worth living. The Bible says not to run around aimlessly but focus on the prize of Christ. I want my life to be a joyful experience that God is proud of and others are drawn to because of Him over-flowing from me. The same is true at work, I have a list of Non-Urgent/Highly Important tasks to stick to on a daily basis knowing that there will be appointments, interruptions, crisis, projects non-scheduled items and so on, but if I stay true to my list I thrive, and the ministry does as well. It's not always easy but disciplines are crucial!

The disciplines I practice consistently protect me from aimless living.But when I fail to practice them trouble finds me and I find frustration. How about you?

A New Look

Sometimes a new look can help us out, I have a saying; "predictability breeds boredom". I get bored pretty easily so it helps to change things up every once in awhile. Karyn and I often change the furniture in a room, we just changed what was a spare bedroom into a family room and Karyn just changed her hair style a bunch. I can get bored going on the same running routes, the way I drive to work, my workouts, etc. Rarely do people take the time to get perspective to see where change might be good, do you? I am going to switch gears to our spiritual lives (I am a Pastor after all). Are you stuck in a rut spiritually? Do you read from the same Bible, write about the same things in your journal, pray the same way day after day? It's good to change things up to keep our relationship with God fresh. I encourage people to read a different version of the Bible every so often, read books on spiritual disciplines to get new ideas, listen to the Bible instead of reading it only. Sometimes a new look is a great idea!

It is Well with My Soul - or Not!

I grew up in the Midwest in the 60-70's and my family attended a Main line Denominational church where we sang hymns Sunday after Sunday. Most of them I didn't understand or even question, I just sang along like everyone else. I became a born again believer right before graduating from High School and headed off to one of the Best Christian Universities in the United States,(www.taylor.edu) and we had Chapel Monday, Wednesday and Friday's at 10:05 in the morning. This was long before the Modern Praise music era we have now, and so we sang more hymns, accompanied by either the piano, the huge Pipe Organ or both. Sometimes for a special treat, the brass ensemble would join in giving the hymn a sort of regality about it. One of the many hymns I remember singing was "It is Well with My Soul". As I said I was a new believer, and I hadn't yet learned to stuff down or hide my duplicity when I came across a hymn that wasn't true of my life, (that would come later). I remember a specific chapel one morning and singing the chorus "It is well, it is well with my soul" when I stopped singing, I stopped because it wasn't true. I couldn't sing the words because my soul was in anguish over many things, instead I pushed the huge lump in my throat down as far as it would go, fought tears but finally gave in. I didn't wail but my face had a slow stream of water streaming a straight line under both eyes, down each cheek and dripping off of my jaw. I hoped no one saw me, I was a college wrestler after all, and a guy. Never mind that last sentence. I knew I had to do something about this and not singing this hymn in the future was not the answer. I needed wellness of soul. I wasn't sure how to get it, was there an Rx for that? Yep, come to find out there is. 1. Be open, honest, transparent and admit it to yourself, God and a trusted friend. Psalm 32, 51 and James 5:16. 2. Figure out how you got there in the first place. 3. Remove the source of angst, lack of peace - Get right/nearer with God! 4. Do your best not to repeat it again, and choose to live under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit and by living out the Bible. Now on Sunday mornings at church and whenever I listen to praise/worship music I occasionally come to songs I know are not completely true of my heart/soul/life. Rather than continue singing them, it's best for me to address the issue. I don't want to live with a lack of peace when I do not have to. Proverbs 4:23 says to

" guard your heart/soul above everything for it is the well-spring of life."

The important thing for me was and is to be honest and get to the heart of the matter and never give the enemies a foothold by waiting until later. It is also important to be well in my soul because I need peace and it's available. Living with peace also allows me to show those I come in contact with what it looks like to be at peace for others lacking peace. And today there is a lot of robbing, killing and destroying of the peace God desires for us. (see John 10:10).

How to Take Daily Vacations For Free!

Joy - what comes to your mind when you read that word? It's important so take your time. That word is mentioned at least 242 times in the Bible, and is one of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. John 10:10 Jesus says; "The Thief comes only to rob, kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, life to the full." Satan is a joy robber! He is, just look around, even most Christians lack true joy!! Joy is a happiness that is NOT based on circumstances. That's a great thing because most of the circumstances of our world are not good. It seems like the weather is almost always extreme, so is the economy, the job market, the stock market, the daily headlines and the political arena are tragic and full of evil. The Joy Robber is nearly everywhere. But I emphatically believe that true believers in Jesus can and should be experiencing Joy everyday, in fact several times a day. Joy is not based on your personality type by the way. Those of you who know me, know that I am a glass half full kind of guy, in fact I would go as far as to say my glass isn't just half full it's over-flowing. To God be the glory on that! Joy comes from so many things!!! It's an appreciation of what God does in nature that is there all the time, yes, stopping and smelling the roses is a joyful thing. Looking at the clouds, watching a baby discover something, a ski run down a steep trail, being with friends, learning something new from the Bible that you never saw before, watching someone get baptized, a worship song, it's so many things. That's my point, JOY is nearly everywhere and we are to experience it frequently, but....the Joy Robber is doing all He can to rob, kill and destroy our joy. How's he doing with you? I mentioned in my last post the concept of daily vacations and this is what I was referring to. I practice certain disciplines that protect me from the joy robber but I also run into several opportunities everyday to be robbed of joy. People I counsel who are in really rough spots, physical pain that seems to be my constant companion, friends and family who are experiencing tough times, or finances that are not where I want them to be and could scare me when I think hard about the future. But, the abundant life Jesus talked about has so much to do with JOY. In fact check this out from Luke 10:21. 21 "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do." Do you see it? Jesus was full of joy and said we need to be child-like to experience joy. To me, joy is like a daily vacation. It's not worrying, but finding the joy in almost anything. Psychologist and Medical Doctors agree that those who laugh several times a day are healthier and live longer. I want to exhort you to live in JOY, let JOY flow out of you and you will not only experience daily vacations, your life will be so much better and full!