Thursday, August 30, 2012

Stepping Into the Fire...

Fire.

Typically, we avoid it.

If someone yells "fire" in a crowded place, it can cause panic!
The threat of a fire in our homes is something we take seriously.
The news reports of "wildfires" are both numerous and tragic.

Sometimes, though, "fire" can be a good thing.

Like a campfire around which we gather our family.
A bonfire that we gather as a community around to celebrate, fellowship, and cheer.
A source of warmth in the midst of a cold winter's night.

There is another kind of fire that is good...yet at times, painful.

It is the "Refiner's Fire" of God.

It is a fire we are invited to enter into--willingly!
It is a fire we not only get near, but are actually encouraged to walk through!

It is this 'refining' that God invites us into for our own good...and for His glory.

In the midst of this refining process, He burns off the excess junk in our lives, so that the 'spiritual gold' that is in our hearts gets more and more pure.

Each time He turns up the temperature, more 'junk', impurity, and excess floats to the top. There He scrapes it off and discards it, making us that much more pure.

It can be a painful process, because some of the things that HE deems as "impurity" or 'excess', we might think of as essentials to be protected.

He--the Refiner--is the One who knows best.

We--the gold--need to submit ourselves to Him in this process--only then can we be made pure.

Yet...for many of us who are Christians, we don't want to hear this...we'd rather not be refined. We'd rather that He allow us to keep our impurities and be 'good enough'. We don't want discomfort, we don't want hardship, we don't want the Refiner's Fire.

And that's one big reason that our faith is so weak and our lives are so uninspiring and mediocre, spiritually speaking.

He wants people who are WILLING to go through His Refiner's Fire!

Are you?


"This [group]I will bring into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” (Zechariah 13:9)


The Refiner's Fire can be uncomfortable. It can be disturbing. It can be downright painful.

Yet, to those who are willing to go through it, they will come through it like Gold that has been purified and refined. They will shine like never before!

Job knew of this fire, and he struggled through it...but willingly stayed in it.

“But he knows where I am going.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
For I have stayed on God’s paths;
I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food." (Job 23:10-12)


Stay strong in your faith. Cry out to the Lord for strength...but DO NOT shrink from His Fire.

It is for your good and His glory.

It IS worth it!

Today, will you join me is saying "Purify My Heart..."?

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Life Lessons from Football and the Detroit Lions

How do we get BETTER?
How do we improve...in whatever we do?

Usually it's through practice and execution, followed by reflection, more practice, and (hopefully) better exectution.

Think about a football team.

They're 'conditioning' throughout the year, they start "practice" early in the summer. Here they learn plays, strategies, and team philosophies. They run their plays against their teammates and try to get better at doing so.

...but it isn't until an actual GAME that they find out if they're on the right track. It isn't until they face opposition--from actual opponents--that they know if they are a 'good team' or not. They must prove it--to their opponents, their fans, and themselves--on the field.

Sometimes this goes well, and they win the game. Other times, it goes poorly and they get defeated--but even in the midst of the defeat, there can be growth and lessons learned, so that the next game can be better.

It takes a willingness to put yourself out there, and to be humbled by your opponent. It takes a willingness to let your opponent show you your weakenesses and your need for improvement. Only then can you learn from the competition.

Sometimes things get so tough that it challenges Who You Are...at the very core! It becomes about much more than football--or any sort of competition.

How will you respond? Will you give up? Will you give in and lose hope...or will you dig even deeper down, into the CORE of your being and REFUSE to give up or give in?

Will you allow competition to make you stronger and more resolved, or to beat you down?

This can be tough!

When the Detroit Lions went 0-16 back in 2008, things looked VERY bleak. They fired their Head Coach, their General Manager, and FINALLY went in a new direction.

They started slow...that first year, only 3 wins. It had to be tough that year, when penalties would hit, or when an opponent would score, the thought of "Here we go again" had to come into the minds of players...as I KNOW it did fans!

Yet, they continued. They allowed themselves to show steely resolve...they took defeats as temporary setbacks, motivation to make them better.

And they got better each year!

In 2010, they went 6-10, hardly a stellar year. However, it was the way they won--winning their last 4 in a row--which led to speculation that they had finally turned the corner.

In 2011, they turned that around and went 10-6, winning several games after amazing comebacks.

They made the playoffs for the first time in years!

Now, they are on the right track...headed in a positive direction. Allowing their opposition to be a measuring stick, allowing setbacks of defeats--or even poorly executed plays--to be motivation for improvement next time.

They have now changed the mindset--from "not losing" to "winning".

In 2012...will they advance? Will they stay ahead of a resurgent Chicago Bears? Will they finally slay the big green dragon that is Green Bay? Will they make the playoffs again and win a game...or two...or more?

Who knows?

...but one thing we do know: This team has learned to learn from their past, put it behind themselves, and move forward together in a powerful, unified way!

Their resolve is tested every week...and because they embrace those tests, they improve steadily.

May we all learn that "Life Lesson" from football!

Go Lions!


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Count Your Days, and Make Your Days Count!

Some of you may know...I turn 50 today!

The big 5-0!
Five DECADES!
Cinco Decados!

Whoa!

Hard to believe I've been around 'that long'! 50 used to seem so old!

When I think back about some of the memories, from childhood growing up in a HUGE family to the teen years of my rebellion and searching, to finding real faith which turned my life around, I appreciate my early years. When I add to that the pleasure of finding and marrying my wife, growing in my faith, being blessed with 6 amazing kids, and pastoring Kalamazoo Community Church, I am humbled and blessed.

Have there been challenges? Yes!
Have there been hard times? Of course!

But through it all, I've come to understand that God was with me, even when I was trying to run from Him. I've learned that He uses ALL of it--the good and the bad--for my good and His glory.

If, that is, I'm willing to turn it all over to Him.

On a day like today, I get reflective.

What have I done with my life so far...
Have I made a difference in this world?
Am I doing everything I can to love and follow Him?
Am I showing real love to my wife and kids?
Do I prioritize relationships above 'stuff', and let people know that I care?
Do I consistently point people to Jesus?

Yet, on days like this, I also realize how blessed I am, and I'm truly humbled and thankful.

I fully intend to live the rest of my life--however long--Honoring God, Loving my wife and kids, serving others and spreading the Good News about Jesus to everyone I can.

I want my life to matter...and these are the things that give it meaning.

Moses wrote, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

Teach me, Lord, to realize that I don't have an infinite number of days...
and that the time to 'live' is NOW!
Teach me to define 'living' not based on this world's values, but on the Word of God!
Teach me to value You, God...then my family, then others...and to live that way!

Teach me wisdom, Lord.

Happy Birthday to me...all glory to God!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Mickey's Magic--with video!

If you've ever been to Disney World, you know one thing: When Disney does something, they do it RIGHT!

This company has "excellence" written all over it!

Some of our family went to Disney World a couple of weeks back. We were there to pick up our daughter Bekah, who had been working there since January in the Disney College Program. She LOVED her experience there!

While we were there, we had the opportunity to check out several of the parks, along with the great rides, interesting exhibits, and so on...but the light shows and fireworks shows are a big part of the Disney Experience!

One show in particular, Disney's "Fantasmic" which shows at Hollywood Studios, was pretty amazing! The theme is basically good (in the character of Mickey Mouse) triumphing over evil (in the character of Malificent). The way they do it is very impressive, though--with fire, water, video, fireworks, lasers...it is an amazing production! When Mickey finally triumphs in the end, the cheers of the crowd are deafening!

The cynics would say something about this being 'just a mouse', and some of the Christians I've known might get offended and call it 'idolatry', but I think it's something more: I think the Imagineers at Disney have tapped into the drive each of us has within to know that Good WILL triumph over evil...and to cheer when that happens!

It's the same thing you see in all the great stories...the Lord of the Rings; The Chronicles of Narnia; even Harry Potter! One of the reasons these stories are so powerful is because of the struggle of 'good' to triumph. Disney has worked this formula into almost every one of their hit films over the years, with powerfully successful results. ...and the Mouse is the hero! It's pretty cool...(see video)

However, ultimately, it is just a story...and the real 'GOOD over Evil" scenario has been played out in harsh reality, on a cross, and in an empty tomb! Jesus conquered satan, sin, and death, once and for all.

"Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet." (Hebrews 10:11-13)

THAT is the victory of good over evil that people need to understand, embrace, and cheer for!

The Mouse is cool. Disney does a great job of touching that desire we all have to see good triumph, and they do it with EXCELLENCE!

But make no mistake: There IS real evil out there, there IS a real villian, and there IS a real hero--Jesus IS Lord!

"...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)

The Magic of the Mouse--With Video!

If you've ever been to Disney World, you know one thing: When Disney does something, they do it RIGHT!

This company has "excellence" written all over it!

Some of our family went to Disney World a couple of weeks back. We were there to pick up our daughter Bekah, who had been working there since January in the Disney College Program. She LOVED her experience there!

While we were there, we had the opportunity to check out several of the parks, along with the great rides, interesting exhibits, and so on...but the light shows and fireworks shows are a big part of the Disney Experience!

One show in particular, Disney's "Fantasmic" which shows at Hollywood Studios, was pretty amazing! The theme is basically good (in the character of Mickey Mouse) triumphing over evil (in the character of Malificent). The way they do it is very impressive, though--with fire, water, video, fireworks, lasers...it is an amazing production! When Mickey finally triumphs in the end, the cheers of the crowd are deafening!

The cynics would say something about this being 'just a mouse', and some of the Christians I've known might get offended and call it 'idolatry', but I think it's something more: I think the Imagineers at Disney have tapped into the drive each of us has within to know that Good WILL triumph over evil...and to cheer when that happens!

It's the same thing you see in all the great stories...the Lord of the Rings; The Chronicles of Narnia; even Harry Potter! One of the reasons these stories are so powerful is because of the struggle of 'good' to triumph. Disney has worked this formula into almost every one of their hit films over the years, with powerfully successful results. ...and the Mouse is the hero! It's pretty cool...(see video)

However, ultimately, it is just a story...and the real 'GOOD over Evil" scenario has been played out in harsh reality, on a cross, and in an empty tomb! Jesus conquered satan, sin, and death, once and for all.

"Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet." (Hebrews 10:11-13)

THAT is the victory of good over evil that people need to understand, embrace, and cheer for!

The Mouse is cool. Disney does a great job of touching that desire we all have to see good triumph, and they do it with EXCELLENCE!

But make no mistake: There IS real evil out there, there IS a real villian, and there IS a real hero--Jesus IS Lord!

"...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)

Friday, August 10, 2012

I Want My Life to be about this...

We all have purpose in life.

We all have goals, aspirations.

Each of us, whether we realize it or not, live our life as though it is "about"...something!

The only question is, "What?"

What is YOUR life about?

Money?
Success?
Family?
Good looks?
Leisure?

None of these things are 'wrong', per se.

But I think there's a better way: One which really transforms our lives from those that are all about the here and now, to a life which is all about something that will last--forever!

What is it?

Living for the glory of God!

Living to give Him glory and praise is really the only goal which will outlast the next generation or so.

Who are we kidding? For many of us, we live in such a way that the impact we leave behind is VERY short-lived. A couple of generations after we're gone, there may be no real impact from our years on earth.

After all, not many people have hospital wings named after them. Not many people are able to fund ongoing scholarships.

But each and every one of us can live for the glory of God! We can each point people toward the love of God, as seen in Jesus Christ, and enable them, through faith, to have ETERNAL life!

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

Hard to think of anything that will outlast that!

HOPE...in the midst of a messed up world (video by Skillet)

There is no shortage of pain and tragedy in this world, that's for sure!

Disease wrecks lives and devastates families. Tragedy mars our planet and ruins communities. Relationship chaos threatens our peace and tranquility.

How do we not give up?
How do we keep going on?

For some, it's simply a matter of 'putting one foot in front of the other'.
That is, they think "What choice do I have? I keep plugging!"

But is that all there is?
Is there any way to actually overcome these things?

The Scriptures says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." (Proverbs 13:12)

So, when we're facing "Hope deferred", how do we overcome and get to "a longing fulfilled"?

I believe it is in the power of the Gospel--the "Good News" of Jesus Christ.

There is nothing better for overcoming the pain, tragedy, and chaos in this life. The fact that Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life but then laid down His life to make the payment for our sin...then followed it up by rising again...and now offers US new Life...is "the HOPE of the world"!

It is the One truth that can change everything!

Our health problems, our natural disasters, our relational wreckage...all can be forgiven and 'redeemed'--remade--because of our faith in Jesus Christ.

The HOPE that this faith relationship can give us enables us to not only 'survive' this stuff...but to overcome it!

We can experience some of that overcoming power in this life...as the Scriptures say, "We are hard pressed on every side, but we are not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Ultimately, the key to overcoming is in 'perspective', Keeping the ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE in life is key to overcoming this stuff!

That passage goes on to say, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (vv. 16-17)

The key?

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (v. 18).

Keeping your eyes in the right place--NOT on your circumstances, but on your LORD, who enables you to overcome those circumstances--is key.

Today, I don't know what you face...but I do know that, if Jesus is the One giving your life direction...if HE is your hope, then your hope will enable you to overcome!

"Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:21-23)


Monday, August 6, 2012

"I LOVE being a Stripper!"

I don’t get to travel much with my family, but occasionally we do, and when we get a hotel room, we hope for the best.

Sometimes the experience is really good. Other times, not so much. This morning while travelling, I could not sleep.

Rather than wake my wife and the kids with me in my room up with my restlessness, I finally got up about 4:30 and went down to the hotel lobby to read, write…whatever.

I got a cup of coffee and started to read the Word. I read about Spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6, and “Putting on the belt of Truth”, picking up the” shield of Faith”, so that I could extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. (I believe that this was part of why I was tossing and turning—I was in the midst of a bigger spiritual battle within my life—but more on that in another post.)

As I was reading, the elevator near me opened and out stepped 3 large men with 2 very attractive women. The women were dressed very provocatively, but what caught my attention was the voice of 1 of them. She stepped out of the elevator saying “I feel like I just touched my soul”!

I wondered what she could have been doing to ‘touch her soul’ @ 4:30 in the morning…was it an all night prayer meeting? A stirring revival service?

The bottle of vodka in her hand clued me in, but her next words surprised me:

“I LOVE being a stripper!”

As the 3 guys chuckled, she seemed to revel in their company and, as she walked by the hotel desk attendant, she reached out and said quite loudly, “I love you! Can I just give you a hug?”

The attendant recoiled a little, but the woman persisted: “Just one little hug” (and, as if to reassure the attendant), “I’m not a bad person”.

She gave a hug, and the 5 of them walked out.

The attendant and I met each other’s eyes with a look that said “What just happened”?
“Someone’s drunk!” she said.

“At least!” I said.

But it left me with a Question: Was the stripper right?

Had she “just touched [her] soul”?

Is she “A good person”?

Is it possible that a young, attractive woman who is out all night drinking and—apparently—stripping for a group of men (more came out laughing and hooting in the moments that followed) had, in fact, ‘found herself’?

Was it a good thing for her to be a stripper?


Some would say “Who are YOU to judge?” “If it works for her, what’s it to you?”

And that’s the problem.

We are so ‘open minded’ in our society, so committed to being non-judgmental, that we can’t say that even obvious evils are, in fact, evil!

The scripture says that we are to have the belt of TRUTH buckled around our waist.

Jesus said that we would know the Truth, and the Truth would set us free.


Question: If you were this young women’s friend, and she came to you that night and said ‘Last night, I touched my soul! I stripped for a group of young men and drank all night in a hotel in Nashville, Tennessee’…would you say ‘Good for you! I’m so happy for you!’, or would you say something akin to ‘You, my friend are off track, believing a pack of lies, and headed for real trouble?’

I submit that the latter would be the real friend, not the former.

Funny thing about the Truth. It really only makes sense in contrast to lies.


Jesus said of satan that he was “A murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

I believe that satan—the father of lies—has succeeded in getting our culture to ‘buy into’ a lie—that there are no boundaries, there is no such thing as ‘right and wrong’, ‘good and bad’…it’s all ‘whatever works for you’.

This is a lie!

…and the sooner we allow the Holy Spirit to break through the fog of lies that he’s encouraged in our culture, the better off we will be!

Our culture, as a whole, is headed the same place that young stripper is headed—tragedy, pain, disease, abuse…destruction!

But some would rather we not say anything.

After all, that’s being judgmental.

Wouldn’t it be better—more loving, in fact, to help her see the crash course with tragedy she is on, and help her find the One who can lead her to LIFE—real, new, grace-filled LIFE?

I prayed for her, her friend, the men…I hope and pray that someone is able to speak the Truth into her life…that someone with an opportunity and a relationship with her has the courage to tell her the truth, and to point her to Jesus.

“The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; but I have come that they might have LIFE—Life to the full!” (John 10:10)

Do YOU know anyone who’s headed for tragedy?

…are you willing to lovingly tell them the Truth, and point them to Jesus?

May God forgive us for the times we’ve kept quiet and stir us to speak up!