Michael Mattis

We all need our pain...

2012-02-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

My friend Jim Glasgow likes to say, "We all need our pain to grow."

The more I live, the more I agree. When everything is easy and smooth sailing there is no need to change, to submit, to adapt, to humble yourself to develop character or long-suffering.

When we encounter pain we have 2 choices:

1. We become proud and exert our own will and right, often alienating those closest to us and isolating ourselves. We don't grow or change we become stagnant like a pool of water with no outlet that begins to grow algae and becomes a nasty place for mosquito larvae to thrive and grow. Honestly, people are no different. When you encounter pain, if you harden yourself, you will begin to get ingrown, stagnant and unhealthy in your internal state.

2. If you humble yourself under the pain, and submit to what the pain is teaching you. In that posture you begin to learn and grow. You change and are pliable in the hands of God to shape your character and your personality.

We might not like the pain that life often brings, we may get angry or hurt or even depressed. But in the end we must learn from it and grow from it so that we don't stagnate.

As humans we have to work to be vibrant and healthy individuals who are able to flow like healthy pure water. So embrace your pain and grow from all the challenges and hurdles in your life. Life is too short and our relationships to rich to stagnate and die!

Like Jim says, "We all need our pain to grow."

go ahead take the short cut...

2012-02-20T15:09:00.000-05:00

So in the course of life, everyone of us stands at the crossroads of the long hard slog versus the shortcut that will get the job done but may you leave you bankrupt for the next one...

It happens in business, in church, with friends, with family, in all walks of life. In church and business I see it all the time. Something goes wrong, and you are faced with a major decision. Do you smooth over the mistake and act like it never happened or do you do the hard thing and rip out the mistake and do it right.

Making something right is painful. It can be costly financially, costly in terms of your time and costly in terms of your pride.

When a relationship goes down or you hit a roadblock do you belly-up to the bar and own the mistakes that are yours or do you waltz on in the dance of life and ignore where you are wrong?

In the end, character counts. In fact, in the end character is all that counts.

The money or time you will save by cutting that corner will never outweigh the loss of trust, loyalty, friendships, business relationships, church constituents or family members that cutting corners and taking the easy way out results in.

So if you are standing at one of those crossroads, take the high road. It will be more costly in the short-term but in the long-run the only road that pays is the road paved with character and integrity.

Betrayal

2012-02-18T09:18:00.001-05:00

Every human being has felt betrayed. It is simply one of those human experiences that if you live long enough you will encounter. Human beings are all fickle and honestly most people tend to put a spin on situations or circumstances that they think will benefit themselves the most. Unfortunately, this means that when you are in a position with another person, they may shift or spin the truth to fit their interests or at least their perceptions.

Most people have a relative resilience to betrayal by those who are outside their immediate circle of intimate friends and family. But when you feel betrayed by someone inside your circle the personal resiliences can come crashing down.

I was just reading about Jesus in the gospels. One of things I love to do in my relationship with the Lord is to simply read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and allow myself to imagine and see what those situations and conversations may have been like. The gospels are full of normal people with normal emotions living in normal circumstance with extraordinary intervention by the living God.

So in my typical fashion I was reading through Matthew and I came across Matthew 26. My mind and emotions were particularly gripped by Matthew 26:56 which says, "All the disciples deserted Jesus."

I began to pray and read about how Jesus stayed the course in the midst of total desertion by his closest friends. We often our Lord's Jesus' time here on earth as one where he was emotionally invincible. ON the contrary scripture says he forsake his deity to become merely man. When he was betrayed by his intimate circle of friends and companions his heart broke. I think of myself and I crumble when I am betrayed or at even "feel" betrayed by one close person and here Jesus was betrayed by 100% of all his close friends and family.

So I began to pray and seek on how Jesus persevered during a total betrayal and here is what I came up with:

#1 Know your mission: Jesus was totally confident in his call and purpose on earth. He was called to come and disciple 12 men and to die as a living sacrifice for the sins of the world. He could not be dissuaded even in the midst of betrayal. As humans we have to grasp our larger purpose or mission in this life and be committed to overcome all obstacles to achieve that mission. If you are not confident of you purpose and God's plan for you life you will find yourself caving in and crashing over things like betrayal.

#2 Look beyond the betrayal: Jesus was also able to look beyond the betrayal of the moment to the loyalty those disciples would one day have to him and good news of the gospel of Christ that he brought. When we are betrayed we have to look beyond the betrayal to the potential positive outcomes even in the midst of what feels uncomfortable and uncertain. Don't get caught in the swirl of negative emotions, instead rise above the negativity and press on towards to goal. That swirl of negative emotions can wreck you emotionally and even spiritually.

#3 Forgive: Jesus immediately forgave the disciples. He did not harbor bitterness or anger on the contrary he let the offense go. Bitterness and anger from betrayal can literally sabotage you life. You have to move on and put it behind you. Anger and bitterness often gives way to loss of vision and motivation and may bring your life to grinding halt.

#4 Keep character First: Jesus did not forsake character in the midst of adversity. He remained loyal to God and he maintained his character. The worst thing you could do in the midst of a betrayal is to lose your commitment to character. In a moment of weakness or bitterness following a betrayal it is easy to lose your head and do or say something you will regret. Keep character at the center of who you are.

#5 Keep moving forward in the face of adversity: Don't let your "what if's" take over after a betrayal. Keep moving. You can "what if" yourself to death and it can stop your forward progress in life.

The bottom line is that you must maintain your humility and forsake the temptation to become indignant in the midst of betrayal. Keep moving forward, no on can sabotage your life but you!

The Bravado Lie

2012-02-08T09:15:00.000-05:00

In our culture you are praised for your ability to manage multiple facets, venues, projects, people, and tasks all at once. We lift up those who can carry enormous burdens of responsibility and control the outcome. We celebrate the person who pulls themselves up their bootstraps and "makes it happen."

I am persuaded that our ability to take action spurred on by our faith in God is biblical. When Peter got out of the boat Matthew 14:29 it required that Peter take action in response to the call of Jesus. Peter had to actually step out of the boat into the raging storm. But here is the problem for most of us; we remained convinced in our western culture that the God of the Bible expects us to "step out of the boat" with total confidence in our ability to "pull it all together and walk on water."

Jesus in Matthew 5:3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." While I don't have this totally ironed out, I believe God calls believers to step out of the boat while we are in trepidation and completely desperate for Jesus. In other words, God does not expect us to "have it all together" or be able to control the outcome. He expects us to be "poor in spirit" or totally desperate for His presence and power in our lives.

When we project the expectations of our western culture on our Jesus and assume He wants us to be self-dependant instead of walking in rampant poverty in our spirit where we are void of any self-confidence and totally overcome with dependance on Him we create problems in our lives.

Jesus does call us to get out of the boat and walk by faith. He does not call us to separate ourselves from total dependence on Him.

I am convinced that at the moment when we find ourselves the weakest (according to our western barometer) we are actually empowered to be the strongest as we walk by faith.

So poor in spirit begins to take on new meaning of being desperate and depending wholly on Christ Jesus.

And getting out of the boat suddenly does not look like "controlling it all" but it begins to look like obeying the voice of God in our lives while clinging whole-heartedly to Him.

Walk on water, get out of your boat, but be totally poor in spirit...

The Disease of Self-Doubt

2012-02-01T23:09:00.001-05:00

I ran across a statistic that said, "The greatest enemy to special forces guys is self-doubt."

In Mel Gibson's movie Apocalypto the final quote is, "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has first conquered itself from within."

Whether you are dealing with a country, a company, a church, a non-profit or a single person; the greatest enemy is always within.

The moment a person caves into self-doubt failure will soon follow.

The moment a country stops believing in who they are and what they can do together decline will follow.

When a company loses heart and doubts the vision and the mission the business will begin to fail.

When a church loses faith in a better tomorrow and stops believing in a common vision it will break apart or decline into oblivion.

In nearly any situation the loss of hope and faith combined with the resulting self-doubt will contribute to failure and decline.

Here are 4 thoughts for beating self-doubt:

#1 Define the WIN and rally to accomplish the goal.
Everyone want to play on a winning team. What does a Win look like for you personally? What does a Win look like for your team. Once you define the Win you can align all resources to accomplish the goal. As you succeed in accomplishing your goals, you will stop self-doubt in its tracks.

#2 Stop negative talk in its tracks. Whether it is negative self talk or negative talk from someone on the team negative talk must be stopped dead in its tracks. If you allow negative talk within yourself or within your organization you will literally begin to break the back of your organization or break down your own personal fortitude and confidence.

#3 Channel negative emotions and self-doubt into forward motivation towards success. If any person or organization dwells on the negative you will become the negative thing you focus on. Instead of focusing on the negative begin to walk in faith and hope towards a stronger brighter future.

#4 Stop Talking and Do it. A sign of self-doubt is talking and talking without action. At some point, talk must cease and action must ensue. Action literally trumps everything. Sometimes you just have to do it afraid or do it as you overcome self-doubt.

Have you seen self doubt block you from your desired future? Have you seen the epidemic of self-doubt attack an organization? Leave your thoughts below.

"Jesus breathed on them and said..."

2012-01-28T07:46:00.000-05:00

We are in the middle of our Life Under the Influence series at Myrtle Grove and on January 15th I had the privilege of speaking at our weekend services.

This message is a raw and honest look at how we live today and how that stacks up against how people lived in the Bible. In total honesty our lives look mundane and totally without power when we look at the way the disciples lived and walked out their faith.

I am not sure about you, but I want to follow Jesus and do what he said. So here goes...

Message on John 20 - "Jesus Breathed on them..."

A worthless friend hits you in the back...

2012-01-27T07:35:00.000-05:00

This week has been an interesting week. Twice, I have had tough interactions with friends. And these are close friends who I trust and who trust me. But nevertheless, on two different occasions tough words were exchanged. For a minute I wondered in my feeble emotions if the friendships were breaking apart. I considered that this might be the end of something beautiful. But in both instances we pulled through. We "put on our big boy pants" and were honest and truthful, even where it hurt. We asked each others forgiveness where we were wrong, then we laughed at the ordeal and exchanged a bear hug and moved on being happier and wiser!

I experientially gleaned three things about friends this week:

#1 There is a friend who is closer than a brother

I have lots of acquaintances and many people in my "social circle" but only a small number of true friends. Proverbs 18:24 says, "A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." In this life we have to have people who will look us in the eye and tell us the truth. We must have people who are faithful, loyal, and honest even when it hurts. Suddenly my priority is not just to get through the day feeling good, but to actually generate personal growth and deepen my friendships. I often avoid conflict but it is in those uncomfortable moments when you find out who your true friends are.

#2 Great Friends Sharpen Us and Make Us Better People

Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

A true friend will literally make you a sharper person. My wife is my best friend, and she consistently acts as a sounding board for my decisions and the way I come across in conversations. She really acts as my first sharpening stone. Then I have a few other people who I know will tell me the truth, even when it does not "build me up" emotionally. A real friend will be there to laugh with you, but will also be there to help you when you need to be held accountable or told the truth.

#3 A Real Friend Will Tell You the Truth When No-one Else Will

Proverbs 27:6 says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy."

In my two interactions this week, I wounded my friends. I hurt their feelings and they hurt mine. I told them some "truth" and they told me some "truth." But here is the deal, I would much rather hear the hard truth from someone who I know loves me and believes in me, than from an outsider who or someone I don't trust. If I am going to be criticized or corrected I want it to be by a friend, not someone I don't know.

My take away on all this, and my challenge to any person who wants to be a dynamic growing person who thrives in this life, is to foster true friendships. Make sure you have people who will tell you the truth. And be there to tell them the "hurtful truth." Real friendships are formed in adversity not while everything is perfect and smooth sailing. Be there for your friends and when you need them they will be there for you!

Love with strings attached???

2012-01-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

In Matthew 10:8 Jesus says, "Freely you have received; freely give."

I like to think of myself as a person who always loves people with NO Strings Attached. But the longer I live and the more I see my own selfishness and how my love is often conditional. I gotta say, it really stinks to realize the love you called unconditional is actually based on what someone else does or does not do.

I see these phases in my life where I am honestly montivated by genuine love and concern for people simply becaue Christ loved me while I was TOTALLY UNLOVABLE. And yet as I mature, it is like the Lord highlights specific areas where my love is self-centered and based on the positive actions of another person.

If someone does something for me, I often like them better. If their project benefits me I am more apt to help them with it. If I get some sort of recognition or a "merit bandage" I am more likely to put my heart and soul into something. If my good deeds are seen by people I am more likely to do them.

Honestly it just makes me sick just how selfish I am.

And Jesus according to Luke 23 says, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

Jesus loves us without condition. He knew our name before we were even conceived. According to Ephesians 1 he chose us and loved us while we still dead in our sin.

Jesus loved with no strings attached, and he calls us to the same...

Jesus hates Religion...

2012-01-19T10:00:00.002-05:00

I hate religion. I hate being told that I "have" to do something. I hate when I feel like I have to modify or change my behavior to impress someone or make someone approve of me. I hate it when I resort to caring what others think of me. I cannot stand it when I feel like my behavior and what I say and do is more important than my relationship with Christ Jesus.

And yet Sadly I fall into the trap of performance and behavior modification - and I hate it.

When I do, I crawl back to the Cross of Christ and remember why I am doing all this to begin with. Because I was blind and He saved me. I was deaf and dumb and He rescued me. He saved me to be free not to lead me into over-spiritualized bondage.

Matthew chapter 22 and 23 are awesome texts that really reflect what I am expressing here. In Matthew 22 you see Jesus sum up all the laws and rules in the old testament with the great commandment to "love the Lord your God wholeheartedly, and to love you neighbor as yourself."

And then in Matthew 23 you see the Lord Jesus take an entire chapter of the new testament to talk about how He HATES RELIGION.

The ONLY people in the Bible who Jesus really go angry at were the Religious who follow the rules while their hearts that are empty of love for Him and People.

Check out this YouTube video, this guy has it right:

Great YouTube

An Unusual Christmas Sermon

2012-01-16T08:00:00.002-05:00

On December 18th I had the privilege of preaching at both of Myrtle Grove's weekend services. I took an unusual look at the Christmas story found in the gospel of Luke and mined out of the story 5 principles for how the Lord wants to speak to us and encounter our daily lives with his purpose and presence. Click the link below to listen.

Dec 18th Message - Michael Mattis

The Atrium project by Mattis Landscaping

2012-01-13T07:00:00.006-05:00

The Atrium is the latest Project that Mattis Landscaping, LLC is at work on! The Atrium is home to Millie Holloman Photography and Salt Harbor Designs.

Abigail and I actually got married at The Atrium so this place holds a special spot in my heart that is rich with wonderful memories of God's grace and redemption in my life.

I am also excited about this project because it is located inside this sweet shabby chic courtyard in an amazing setting. We have already installed some additional climbing fig vine that is beginning to drape the whitewashed brick walls with a lovely green color! It will be gorgeous once it is finished.

We are extending the brickwork patio to accommodate seating of up to 125 people. We are working on decorative wooden benches that will provide the seating. We are upgrading the irrigation system to include drip irrigation to the newly planted fig vine. We are also installing more 8" x 8" wooden beams that are similar to rail ties to break up the brick patio with a rugged outdoor beauty.

We are installing a number of plants and shrubs including: Japanese Yews, a 12' Sable Palm, Mojo Pittosporum, Green Pittosporum, Veriegated Osmanthus, Dwarf Mondo Grass, endless summer hydrangea, Lenten Rose, Japanese Fatsia, A Loquat Tree, several Winter Daphne, Japonica Camellia, American Boxwoods, Wintergreen Boxwoods, a Weeping Japanese Maple, and a coral bark Japanese Maple.

Come to the Atrium to have a look for yourself, which is located at 15 South 2nd Street Wilmington, NC. The project will be finished by late February!

Submit to one another...

2012-01-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

Ephesians 5:21 Says, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

This is a pretty radical verse that is seldom looked at! We often tout the verse directly after this verse Ephesians 5:22 which says, "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord."

But the focus of this little blogpost is Ephesians 5:21 which is MUTUAL SUBMISSION out of reverence for Christ. Here are 5 observations about this little verse:

1. Mutual Submission Does Not Mean Submit After The Other Person Has, It Means Submit Yourself First. So I often get to see my kids fuss and argue about menial things. From God's Eternal perspective I'm convinced that MOST fusses or squabbles between married couples look just like a menial fuss between two kids. The thing I see most is that both my kids want the last word. So when I roll into a situation and say, "Stop" or "Let's Talk." They are not willing to relinquish the thing they are arguing about until the other person does. Even with me right there both my kids try to "get the last word in." They refuse to submit to one another. Here is what I see in my own life and the lives of many married couples. I am willing to submit, but I want her to submit first. WRONG ANSWER, MICHAEL. Scripture says, I am to submit first, before she submits. Ephesians is quite clear, husbands are to submit first then wives submit to their husbands.

So stop fussing about the other person and obey Christ Jesus by submitting to your marriage partner. It is a mutual submission - not a conditional submission based on the other person submitting. Don't wait until they submit for you to submit...

2. Carry Each Other's Burdens. Again take a look at two kids. Kids often demonstrate basic selfish tendencies that have not been "coaxed" or "converted" to look socially correct, kind or caring. It is nearly impossible to get a kid or a teenager to look beyond themselves to truly register and empathize with another human being. Carry Each other's burdens means that you attempt to put yourself in their shoes and consider what it might feel like to be them - And then respond in a meaningful way and BE PROACTIVE to carry the other person's burdens. My kids sit back and do their own thing until I put them together and set appropriate boundaries that force them to cooperate and work together. Married couples are the same way. God put's restrictions on our lives that force us to grow up and carry one anothers burdens. What if we really began to pray that God would allow to carry our marriage partner's burdens? What if we asked the our marriage parter how we can help carry their burdens? Just Imagine...

3. Not advancing yourself above your marriage partner. What if we began to lay down our agendas and plans to serve and love the other person? Tim Keller says it like this, "Marriage is 2 flawed people coming together to create a space of stability, love - and consolation. A haven in a heartless world." Unfortunately, we broken and flawed human being often USE people to get where we are trying to go. Instead of attempting to advance yourself what would happen if we really served that marriage mate by advancing what God was doing in their lives?

4. Not Domineering Over One-Another. I simply hate it when I see people focused on verse 5:22 "wives submit." It may be just an attempt for an old patriarchal system to domineer over women. In the new testament we are called NOT to domineer but to lay our lives down. I mean really die to what you "want" in the moment to serve your marriage partner. The moment we begin to do this that old thought rises up that says, "well they have not done _______ " creeps in. And suddenly the cycle of finger-pointing and back-biting and comparing begins. Suddenly the marriage is no different than a business alliance or peace treaty. It becomes an agreement that I will do "this" if and only if you will do "that." The truth is IT IS NOT ABOUT WHAT THEY HAVE DONE OR NOT DONE, it is about serving and laying down your life regardless of the other person. Christ lay down his life for us while we were rotten stinking sinners - Thank God He did not wait until we "had it right" or "did the right thing" or behaved the right way.

5. NOT Making Rules for One-Another. In our society marriage is often portrayed as a business partnership. In other words there is an unwritten (and sometimes written pre-nups) where one partner will fulfill certain duties and obligation IF AND ONLY IF THE OTHER PARTER FULFILLS CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS AND DUTIES. This is NOT the way Christ intends it to be. He calls us to lay down our lives and ambitions first whether the other person ever does or not. Marriage is two people who come together mutually submitted first to Christ and then to one another. There is no room for rules under that blanket of love and submission. So don't go creating a punch list that your marriage partner must achieve in order for you to love and serve them - love and serve them BEFORE they fulfill that punch list... in fact burn the punch list and love them just as they are, because that is how Christ loves us.

So Today, whether you are a husband or a wife you are called to SUBMIT. I mean really submit by laying down your life, the thing you are doing at the moment, your independent thought, your selfish motives, your calling in Christ is to love, serve, and put the other person first. All this goes back to the greatest commandment to love the Lord your God and to Love your neighbor as you would yourself.

Life in Christ is NOT about greatness, it is about service, and dying to yourself and laying down your life. In Christ, be the change you want to see by allowing him to change you. Lay down your life to love your spouse like Christ loved the church!

Wedding Day Contest

2012-01-11T07:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, so Abi and I have been entered into the Lifestage Film Contest for our wedding video. Our wedding film was selected as one of the top wedding films of 2011. In order to win we need some votes, so if you don't mind, click on the link below and vote for ABI AND MICHAEL! Also, all those who vote are entered into a drawing for 4 - $25 Itunes gift cards.

Our wedding day was such a special day, so who knows maybe we will win!

Lifestage Film Contest

A Day On The River In The Port City!

2012-01-10T10:00:00.001-05:00

A day on the river with the family in a pedi-cab!

In love with my wife

So happy to be a daddy

Relational richness is found in the impromptu, the unplanned, the off-the-cuff

Sweet times and Happy Moments

Moments to cherish forever

Smiles and sweet faces that are etched in my emotions for eternity

Laughs and giggles...

Oh life is rich!

And God is gracious and good!

27,000,000 million SLAVES exist in the world today...

2012-01-09T16:07:00.003-05:00

If you have even have half a heart in your chest and have ever stood in one of the Holocaust museums or read a book about Russian or African Genocide something rises up inside of you where you want to yell, "Never Again."

In our cuddly-cozy-soft America we often forget there are people who endure tremendous suffering and hardships.

Estimates of the number of people in slavery today (in 2012) range as high as 27,000,000.

This number includes human sex slaves, bonded labor slaves, and forced labor slaves. Many of these people are kidnapped and forced into slavery. This is no different than the African Slave Trade that kidnapped indigenous African peoples and crossed the Atlantic Ocean and sold those people in the Americas - only it is happening in 2012 when we tout ourselves as "green" and "tolerant" and "aware of minorities" and "socially sensitive."

American may simply be in DENIAL - I know I was...

27,000,000 people in bondage is a heartbreaking atrocity especially while I am laying in my warm bed at night and sitting around my table eating my hamburger and fries for dinner while I sip my chilled coke-a-cola and do NOTHING...

I just ran across a phenomenal organization who is attacking this issue head on. Check out this organization: A21. I just had the privilege of hearing Christine Caine who founded A21 with her husband Nick and together they are the spokespersons and founding directors of this organization.

I am still looking into how to get involved and what to do, (because I won't be able to live with myself if I do nothing) but here is what I know: A21 is rocking and making huge strides in the fight against slavery in the sex trade industry. So start by supporting them through the purchase of a T-shirt or a Bracelet or maybe sign up for an internship with them or even give financially to them.

We have to make a difference and stop this craziness. Slavery is NOT just ancient history, it is happening today right now. In fact, while I have typed this blog another child was stolen and placed into forced labor, another child was raped, another young woman was kidnapped and on and on the list goes.

Each of those people have a name, a face, a body, a set of parents, they are not just a number or a statistic. And people matter to God and I want to be a part of seeing Freedom Brought to the Prisoners.

Join me as I support A21 and do something now...

Creating a Posture of Divine Revelation Part 3 of 8

2012-01-09T10:00:00.001-05:00

So here we are launching part 3 of this blog-series on hearing the voice of God.

I often hear People saying, "I just want to know what God's will is for my life."

Well, God's word is the Bible. That is his love letter to those of us who believe. God's spoken word and God's messages are contained in that letter.

Many people minimize the Bible to just a history book or a book of interesting stories. I often hear particularly scholarly people criticizing fundamentalists or those people who take the Bible as God's literal word to believers.

However, Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) makes it quite clear when it says, "For the word of God is alive 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."

When the author of Hebrews writes "word of God" he if referencing the Bible. So read the sentence again with Bible inserted into it, "The bible is alive and active sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. The Bible is alive and active and by revelation of Holy Spirit you can hear the voice of God through the Bible that apply to your current circumstances.

So principle #3 for creating a posture of divine revelation in your life:

Read the Bible for yourself and listen to God speak to you through it

Try reading an entire book. If that intimidates you try starting with Philemon which is just 1 chapter. Or try getting a bible where Jesus' words are in red and read the gospels. Reading the bible verse by verse is good, but think about reading an entire book or even through the new testament. When you begin to take in the scriptures as a whole you begin to really comprehend Christ's mission and his plan for all of us.

If you really want to hear the voice of God, READ HIS LETTER. It is probably somewhere in your house tonight. It is in the drawer of your hotel. Get your hands on God's word and get reading to immerse yourself into the ultimate posture of divine revelation.

Passion 2012

2012-01-07T22:00:00.003-05:00

I had the privilege of carting a team to Passion 2012 in Atlanta, GA. This photo was taken over the Georgia Dome in the heart of downtown Atlanta. There were approximately 45,000 college students and some additional 3000 volunteers, bands, speakers and staff. An amazing time and you can see from the photo that it was simply packed out.

Louie Giglio and Six Step Records are really the backbone of the movement. My favorite part of this conference is that it is not "Church Lite", it is not a "Feel Good Movement" it really is all about exulting the great name of Jesus. The worship at the conference was profound and the place was thick with the presence of Christ Jesus.

This year they raised slightly over $3 million dollars to end slavery and bring freedom to victims of the sex trade industry and the forced labor slave trade. Imagine this generation of college students banding together to raise that kind of money. It has got to be God!

My favorite part was the emphasis on reading the Bible and hearing from God through the Bible. Louie, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, LeCrae, John Piper actually read line-by-line through the entire book of Ephesians in one of the main sessions. After a section of scripture they would pause and put the phrase, "JESUS, SPEAK TO ME" on the gigantic screens while asking everyone to pause in total silence to listen to the voice of God.

Francis Chan spoke in what may have been one of the most empowering messages I have ever heard. He challenged everyone to "read the bible, take it literally, and do what it says." Such a simple message and yet profoundly powerful and enlightening.

Louie launched the entire event by speaking over the group that God wants to raise the dead and bring people who are dead and dying back to life. Just Brilliant!

While I am not all that impressed with Louie or Chan or their teams, I am impressed by what God is doing through them. There is a wave of revival that is appearing on the horizon and these guys have their eye on it and are participating with Christ Jesus to bring glory to his name throughout the earth!

Charge it to my account...

2012-01-07T10:45:00.002-05:00

Moment of total honesty: if I tally all my wrongs and all my shortcomings I stand in awe of the magnitude of my debt of sin. I am overwhelmed by just how much I owe and how my debt could never be paid. It is over for me, and yet...

There is a passage in Philemon 17-19 where the apostle Paul talks about his friend Onesimus and here is what he says:

..."So if you consider me a partner, welcome him (Onesimus) as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back - not to mention that you owe me your very self."

I love in this passage how Paul literally becomes a type and representative of Christ in regard to Onesimus. Paul takes any debt that Onesimus owes and charges it to his own account. What love.

Can you imagine walking into the mortgage bank of one of your friends and taking over the remaining debt on their mortgage? Or having someone's credit card debt rolled over to your name?

Or maybe rolling into a maximum security prison and giving a pardon to a criminal and getting on death row in their place?

Jeremiah17:9 says the heart is deceitful above all things and no-one can know it.

Truth be known, it is over for ALL of us. There is no hope for redemption. Without Christ we are totally lost in our deceitful hearts and dead in our sin. And yet Christ says, "I will pay it back, charge it to my account."

John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."

So all this comes down to two things:

1. Have you really and truly received that Christ laid down his life in place of yours? Have you truly received that He paid it ALL. Where we deserved death we find only life and abundant life at that...

2. If you have received that Christ has pardoned you, have you begun to lay down your life for others like Paul did for Onesimus? The process of laying down your life becomes your companionship and participation with Christ.

A new years resolution to remember

2011-12-31T20:13:00.001-05:00

I'm not much for major new years resolutions. Often we set such lofty goals and ideas that by early February most of our good intentions have just flopped out. I have set goals about exercise, diet, spending more time with the Lord, being nicer, being more loving, practicing patience, budgeting, not procrastinating and a host of other things but most of them wear thin and get forgotten and broken within a month or two.

It is almost like the more I resolve, the more I fail...

On the other hand I also understand what it is like to have things that weigh heavily on your heart and that you know need to be changed. That is a good healthy process of self-reflection and growth in Christ. In our culture somehow we have deemed that at the end of an old year and going into a new year we must look at our shortcomings and set some goals for the new year.

As you attack your goals (or total lack of goals) for 2012, check out the Message translation of 2 Corinthians 5:16-20:

Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.

What I love about this translation is that you get a look at what it is like to walk into a fresh start with Christ. You get an initial fresh start or new beginning by receiving the forgiveness of your sins through Christ.

But daily in Christ we are in made new by our friendship with God. We don't have to work to become friends with Christ, he is already there waiting to be a friend with you.

So this new years and looking ahead at 2012, my goals are not lofty and my list of "resolutions" is non-existent. I am simply embracing the extravagant joy of walking into a friendship with God.

Christ really makes all things new. Be his friend, listen to his voice, talk to him, walk with him and he will make the changes in your life and in your character as you live.

It is not about forcing changes, it is about encountering his love and entering into that friendship that will forever change you. That is good news and oh so simple.

So burn that "resolution list" and embrace the grace and love of Christ by becoming his friend, he's already a friend with you!

Jan 14th, 2012

2011-12-22T22:55:00.005-05:00

So my beautiful wife is at it again...

She rocked out this crazy new wedding show 2 years ago at Orton Plantation and brought out 800 people to that wedding event. Honestly she has this killer knack for aligning people and making things a win-win for everyone involved.

Anyway, She is revving up all finest talent once again here in Wilmington, North Carolina and is breaking the mold by generating a wedding venue event that has never been done before. Check out this short 3 minute video produced by my favorite local videographers Life Stage Films. (Life Stage also did our wedding) They rock!

Use the photo above or the link below to access the short film/video:

Courtyards and Cobblestones: A Walk Through Wedding Row

Creating a Posture of Divine Revelation Part 2 of 8

2011-12-22T11:06:00.001-05:00

In part 1 of the blog-series we jumped into God's desire to give revelation to his people. In this second part I am going to take a brief look at specific way that God brings revelation. The second principle for creating a posture of diving revelation in your life is:

#2 Open your Nights to God

Song of Solomon 5:2 says, "I sleep, but my heart is awake" Each of us has a spirit inside of us that will live for eternity. Our bodies will grow old and break down and eventually die, but our spirit is really the essence of who we are, and that spirit will live for eternity.

What is simply remarkable is that when our body sleeps, our spirit remains awake. I am convinced through my study of the scriptures that God speaks to us in dreams and in the nighttime hours.

NOW... this does not meant that every dream is from God. Maybe you had anchovy pizza the night before and had fishy-fishy nightmares are a result. Each dream must be viewed through a lens of wisdom and revelation Ephesians 1:17.

In the Christmas story found in Matthew 1 and 2 there are (4) dreams where an Angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and/or the wise men and gives them information and instruction.

There are dozens and dozens of times throughout the both the old and new testaments where God speaks to his people in dreams. One of the clearest passages of scripture on dreams is found in Job.

Job 33:14-18

New International Version (NIV)

14 For God does speak—now one way, now another—

though no one perceives it.

15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they slumber in their beds,

16 he may speak in their ears

and terrify them with warnings,

17 to turn them from wrongdoing

and keep them from pride,

18 to preserve them from the pit,

their lives from perishing by the sword.

This passage in Job clearly articulates that God speaks through dreams. God bringing revelation to his people in dreams may make you uncomfortable - but it is very clearly a significant part of scripture.

I would challenge you to begin to pray that God would speak to you in the night and that ask that he would literally open your heart to hear what he has to say.

Again, God wants to bring revelation to his people but we must posture ourselves to be open to his voice and his revelation.

Creating A Posture of Divine Revelation Part 1 of 8

2011-12-20T11:24:00.000-05:00

A major temptation in my life is to reduce the Christian life to what I can control. In other words, if I can plan it, administrate it, organize it, create a leadership structure for it, lay out a 5 year plan for it, compile a fundraising strategy for it, paint a picture of it with words, and generate a vision for it then I can make it happen.

The problem is that this is just a series of sophisticated leadership strategies that the uber-successful corporate world utilizes. And while I am all for learning from the corporate world there is a huge danger in reducing the Christian life to exceptional leadership techniques. In all honesty, I am much more comfortable with what I can control. And yet there was nothing in Jesus' life that was "controllable." The life of Christ was supernatural from beginning to end. I am persuaded that God wants to impart the supernatural life of Christ into our lives - today, right here, right now!

In my own life, I am exploring God's divine revelation through Christ Jesus and this series of blogs will be a simple overflow of what I am learning. God wants to speak to his people. Throughout the history of the Bible and the church God has spoken to his people. The bigger question is as God's people, are we creating a posture in ourselves to receive his divine revelation?

In this 8 part series I am going to unpack some scriptural principles about God's revelation to his people. Here is the first principle:

#1 God Wants to Impart Revelation to Every Christian

Let's look at some revelation in the Bible:

In the book of Daniel, we see Daniel praying for his people and God gave him a profound revelation. Daniel 10:1 actually begins to unpack the revelation Daniel received in the form of a vision.

When Nathan the prophet went to King David after his sin with Bathsheba the Bible refers to Nathan's message as "revelation." Both 2 Samuel 7:17 and 1 Chronicles 17:15 document this. God gave Nathan revelation on David's sin.

The apostle Paul in the New Testament talks about his "great revelations" in 2 Corinthians 12:1 and 2 Corinthians 12:7 as well as in Galatians 1:12 and Galatians 2:2.

In 1 Corinthians 14:26 Paul talks about what the church ought to look like and says EVERY believer should bring a revelation.

We could go on and on with all the references in the Bible to God's people receiving revelations from him but the purpose of looking at these scriptures is to begin to generate a paradigm in which we as believers actually believe and walk in faith that God wants to speak to his people.

If you have never walked by the Spirit in such a way to believe that God wants to impart revelation to you then you can start today. Simply ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you for not believing that he wants to speak to you and give you revelations like a friend John 15:15.

And ask God to begin to speak to you and that you will know his voice like Jesus describes in John 10:14-16.

God wants to bring revelation to his people...

To Drink or Not to Drink...

2011-12-19T10:17:00.002-05:00

The new testament contains some seemingly contradictory things that work together to create this beautiful crescendo that leads us to Christ.

My paraphrase on Matthew 11:18-19 goes like this, "John the Baptist came abstaining from alcohol and the mob said, 'he has a demon.' Jesus came drinking wine and hanging out with prostitutes and sinners and the mob said, 'he is a glutton and a drunkard.'"

The beauty of the new testament is that Jesus fulfilled all the rules/laws in the old testament. Jesus became the fulfillment of the Law.

The fact that John came abstaining from alcohol and Jesus came drinking demonstrates to us silly human beings (who want to create rules to follow by which we might be saved) that you cannot be saved by following rules. You are saved through Christ alone.

IT IS NOT ABOUT FOLLOWING THE RULES.

Galatians 5:4 says, "You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."

Christianity is about receiving and walking intimately with the person of Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit.

If there is any external transformation that takes place, God will work that out in due time. But to focus on external changes and obedience to a set of rules is ANTI New Testament.

God changes the heart and the rest of the person always follows. Man changes the outside and hopes desperately against hope that the changes will affect the heart.

Today, be free, and engage in deep friendship with Christ... He will take care of the rest.

Jesus said...

2011-12-17T09:00:00.001-05:00

In Matthew 10:8 Jesus says to his disciples, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give."

What do you think he meant? Did he mean that we should heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons? Do you think he meant that the his early disciples should do it and then those gifts would CEASE to exist after those disciples did it?

Do we have church all wrong and backwards?

Have we made church all about strategy and leadership and organizational momentum and NOT nearly enough about Holy Spirit?

Do you think Jesus intended us to do what he said, or just to listen to what he said and never do it?

Do you think those things he called his disciples to just ceased after that generation of followers died?

Hmmm maybe we should obey what Jesus said...

Steven Furtick's Blog on "Stop the Hop"

2011-12-16T09:00:00.004-05:00

I just read Steven Furtick's Blog called "Stop the Hop" and it is a good read! Here it is below or you can hit the link above to be-rerouted to his site.

Stop the Hop

Looking back at 2011, I’ve decided to post some of my top viewed blog posts of the year that really seemed to make an impact in people’s lives. Check this out.

Stop the Hop

One of the things that really troubles me about the church today is the phenomenon of church hopping and church shopping. It’s a consumeristic mindset towards the body of Christ that grieves the heart of God.

It’s time for us to stop the hop. This isn’t Christianity. Jesus didn’t die so we could sample different churches like varieties of meat on a party platter. Jesus died to establish His church as the most powerful entity on the planet.

We are alive at the greatest time in history for the advance of the gospel. We have so much going for us.

We have the ability.
We have the resources.
We have the people.

What we don’t have is them committed to a place where they can actually be used for their God-ordained purpose.

If this generation doesn’t make the impact it should, it won’t be because it didn’t have the resources. Or even the passion. It will be because it was too busy hopping to different churches to stop and commit to one where its resources and passion could actually find an outlet.

The church is the change the world is waiting for. God help us if we keep the world waiting for us while we try to find the perfect church for us.

If you’ve fallen into the trap of church hopping, let me encourage you: embrace your place somewhere where God can use you. At the end of your life, God’s not going to be impressed or pleased that you saw what He was doing at ten different churches. He’s going be more pleased that you were a part of what He was doing at one church.

And you’re never going to find the perfect one, so give up looking. If the church you’re visiting doesn’t have what you’re looking for, it might be because God wants you to provide it.

Let’s all commit together to begin a campaign to stop the hop.
Find a place to get planted. Embrace it. And start changing the world.

The question of our day isn’t if God wants to do incredible things through the church. The question is will we be in place to experience it?

Ban Cell Phones While Driving????!!!!!!

2011-12-15T09:00:00.002-05:00

National Transportation Safety Board recommends full ban on use of cell phones while driving

Texting and driving is dangerous and becoming more so as "texting" becomes more and more popular and more accepted by people of all ages.

As painful as this is, I'm going to stand behind it. I have to stop using my cell phone and driving. Truth is, that I have had a few close calls just cause I'm trying to save 5 minutes or something by texting and driving.

Cell phones aren't just flip phones like they used to be, they are now fully functional computers capable of everything from CNN updates, to weather, to twitter, to facebook to texting your friends and family. Using a hand-held computer while driving is just plain STUPID.

Let's save some lives and prevent some accidents, I agree with the ban!

STRESS

2011-12-14T09:00:00.002-05:00

Christmas and the entire Holiday season are a funny time of year. Christmas has the ability to be one of the most joyful and beautiful times of year and then Christmas has the ability to be one of the most painful times of year.

When your family is gathered together, old songs, comforting food, Holiday smells and sights, lights, and familiar experiences can create this bountiful amount of happiness and joy.

And yet Christmas can remind you of a loved one, or lost relationship, a family member who has passed away. Christmas can remind you of mistakes you've made or maybe the loss of a job or a stream of income. Christmas can be painful if you are not able to purchase the gifts you would like because of financial constraints or limitations. Christmas this year may be challenging because there is newly diagnosed disease or chronic illness that is a reality in our life or the lives of one of your family members.

For most of us, Christmas is double edged sword. It is full of tremendous happiness and yet there are some tears and some pain.

We always do Christmas Eve at my grandmothers (Meem's) house. When we are at Meem's house I am filled with Joy and yet I am also reminded that we lost my grandfather and my uncle. So in the middle of my great joy there is a chronic lump in my throat...

Here are a few ideas for eliminating some stress during this Holiday season:

1. Remember the most important thing in our lives is PEOPLE. It is NOT things and gifts. The one who dies with most "things" still dies and leaves it all behind. Cultivate the most important part of your life - your family and your friends.

2. Grieve the losses that create that "lump" in your throat. Cry, talk, emote to a friend and allow yourself to grieve the things that cause you pain this holiday season. Stuffing down pain and living in denial of something that is breaking your heart creates Stress. Somehow we humans think that if we would only deny our pain then it will go away. But in truth when we deny pain it creates deep internal anxiety and stress. So get a cup of hot tea and sit down with a friend and pull the plug on your emotions. This is really cathartic!

3. Focus on what you HAVE not what you have LOST. This is a simple perspective change. Once something it is gone, it is gone. So grieve and cry appropriately then put it behind you. If you get caught in the vortex of depression and anger over a loss or at a person you will become trapped to the past and unable to truly live in the moment. Attempt to put the past behind you and celebrate what you have not what you have lost. You may have lost a child and you may focus so much on your loss that you end up ignoring and alienating the children you have left. Grieve, morn even wail, but then put it behind you and celebrate what you do have!

4. Make Christmas about what you can GIVE not what you will GET. We live in a society that has become a sick, "ME, ME, ME society" where everyone is focused on what they will get and how fast they will get it. True emotional and relational riches comes from looking at those around you and asking yourself, "how can I give to them?" or "How can I honor and bless them?" I find that "I GET" the most when I am not looking to "GET" at all. And yet somehow when I am focused on honoring those around me and giving to them I end up rich inside my own heart and mind. My internal state of happiness and joy just runs over!

So this Holiday season beat the STRESS and enjoy the moment!

Chauncey Billups and the Amnesty Clause...

2011-12-13T10:31:00.001-05:00

Chauncey Billups was just released by the New York Nicks under the NBA Salary Cap and Amnesty Clause.

Amnesty according to webster is amnesty |ˈamnistē|noun ( pl. -ties) an official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offenses

As I was reading about Chancey and the New York Nicks I could not help but consider the Amnesty we have been granted by Christ Jesus. In Romans 3:21-23 we see the full implications of the amnesty we have been granted. God through Christ grants us amnesty apart from the rules or the law. The righteousness of Christ is given by faith not by works or good deeds or by obeying all the "rules."

The word Amnesty has its root in Greek meaning amnēstia or ‘forgetfulness.’ Isaiah 43:25 declares this beautifully, saying that God remembers our sin no more. God literally forgets our sin under the blood of Christ.

That is really what Christmas is all about. The birth of our savior Jesus Christ through whom we are granted amnesty and gain entrance into the full rich relationship with God.

Maybe today you are a person who has never accepted Christ into your life. If that is where you find yourself then consider what Jesus said in John 3:1-16 where he describes how a person must ask Christ into there hearts and be born again by the Spirit of God.

Maybe today you are a Christian who has forgotten the Amnesty that we have been granted through Christ Jesus and you find yourself working for your salvation or attempting to "do good things" to keep your salvation. I would remind you that there is nothing we can do and no rule we can follow to be saved or to keep our salvation. Salvation is by grace alone and is a gift from God received by faith in Christ.

This Christmas season whether you have accepted Christ or not, claim your amnesty in him. Living in that Amnesty and Grace is where we can live FREE AND FULLY ALIVE!

Embarrassment, guilt, shame...The last 10 years of my life

2011-12-10T09:50:00.001-05:00

The last number of years of my life have been killer hard. I mean there have been times where I just wanted to curl up and die - literally. There have been moments where I have been so smothered by shame that I could not even look someone in the eye. There have been times where I did not even have money to eat or a place to live.

Moments have come and gone where I am so embarrassed I have actually wished that I had never been born. I have been falsely accused of some things that made me want to move to Alaska and become a mountain guide and never face the public again.

I lost my house - literally had to hand the keys to my house over. That was one of the hardest most embarrassing things I have ever done. I had to sit through litigation that just about eroded every bit of who I was and threatened to shipwreck the tiny bit of self-respect and dignity that I had left. I was part of a business that crashed due to stupid decisions - that still mars my self-image. I dropped out of college with 16 hours left until I earned my degree. I actually went back 7 years later and earned my degree and that was embarrassing.

I think worst of all, has been my own goals and expectations for my life. Today I am 30 years old and I had huge expectations and aspirations that I wanted to accomplish by age 30. Honestly I have accomplished very few of those expectations and goals, and my failure to accomplish those things still plagues me.

Shame and embarrassment are funny things. They cling to your mind and your emotions and they get down inside your being and infiltrate your very essence. They can actually become part of your identity. Kind of like fighting off the "Tar Baby" is what it is like to get free of guilt and shame.

A lot of the hardships in my life were the by-product of my own stupid choices. And a lot of the hardships were a result of the other people in my life.

But in the end the only one who can shed guilt, shame, embarrassment, and false accusations is me. No one can really help you with that, you gotta conquer that mountain all by yourself.

One of the scriptures that has been a lifeline for me during this time is:

Philippians 4:8 New International Version (NIV) Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

There is nothing good about thinking and living in embarrassment or shame. The tar baby of embarrassment and shame is the enemy of freedom and life.

The truth is that if you will change the way you think, and change the things you think about, you will change your life. You will really become what you think about. If you dwell on embarrassment and shame you will become like a turtle and pull your head into your shell. If you are able to set your mind on good things you will begin to experience good and lovely things in your life.

Once you have taken your sin to God and repented for those things you have done wrong you are called by God to leave those things at the cross. I have discovered that it is NOT "praiseworthy" to beat myself up for some mistake I made in the past. It is not excellent to let my thoughts and emotions dwell on my embarrassment or those who have accused me falsely. It is not admirable to live in the past or replay my old mistakes over and over.

Life is about TODAY, life is about where you are going TOMORROW. What you have done YESTERDAY cannot define who you will become in the future.

A lot of my guilt and shame and embarrassment is in my own head and in my own heart. Honestly, I am not sitting where I thought I would be sitting by age 30, but who cares. I might be sitting there by 35 or 40. And through the difficulty of the journey I like to think that I am learning some humility and some dependance of God. I know I am learning to love and to depend on those who love me...

Whatever your shame, whatever your guilt, whatever your embarrassment, today is the day to leave it at the Cross. You see my God makes all things new. Yesterday is gone. The future is yet unwritten.

Don't let your regrets and embarrassment destroy your future!

Let the tar baby die...

And the Angel said, "you will be silent..."

2011-12-09T13:45:00.000-05:00

This morning I was reading the gospel of Luke's account of the birth of Jesus in Luke chapter 1 and 2. The angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah and tell's him that his wife Elizabeth will become pregnant with John the Baptist. Gabriel tells Zechariah the full call and purpose of John's life and who this baby will become. And Zechariah looks back at the angel and says, "How can I be sure of this? I am old and my wife is well along in years?" Gabriel rebukes Zechariah and strikes him mute until the day of the baby's birth.

While I was reading I was struck by several things:

1. FAITH is a RESPONSE and a CHOICE. Zechariah was full of doubt and had NO faith. The older I get the more I find myself measuring the future by what I can SEE and what I CAN DO in my own strength. In other words if I can generate a plan and execute that plan then I will have "faith" for the future. But if I cannot see it and plan it and control it then I have zero faith. How often does God have a purpose and a plan for my life that I reject and refuse because I cannot receive and believe God for it. I have to actively receive what God is saying about my future and His call on my life. If I am unable to receive it and believe it and ultimately walk in it then it will never happen.

2. You can refuse FAITH in the midst of a miracle. Zechariah was looking at the angel Gabriel (WHAT A MIRACLE) and still refused to believe what he said. My entire life is miracle - literally. God redeemed my life from a pit. In the middle of the miracle of my life I still often refuse faith for God's desired future for my life.

3. There are consequences to our refusal of faith. Zechariah was struck mute. I am convinced that if we refuse to walk by the Spirit in faith we can miss God's design for our lives.

I have made a choice to more actively receive God's gift of faith and for my future and his design for our lives. Where is your faith today? Are you failing to see the miracles in your life? Are you refusing to believe all that God has for your future? Will you receive God's promise like Mary did in Luke 1:38 or will you be filled with doubt like Zechariah in Luke 1:18?

So join me in letting go of all the "buts" and "what if's" and "how can that be" and let's actively receive God's plan for our future and walk in it by faith!

Bite the bullet...

2011-12-02T16:26:00.000-05:00

Life is full of hard decisions. Disciplining the kids, putting yourself on a budget, starting an exercise program, changing the way you eat, asking someone to forgive you, paying your tithe, reinventing yourself our of necessity or any of dozens of other tough decisions and circumstances that life throws at you.

But this is what I know: the faster you make the hard decision and do the thing your are dreading, the faster life will get better.

Don't deny, don't procrastinate, don't sit around and hope it changes. Go ahead and make the tough decision, change the way you do business, bite the bullet, do the hard thing.

When you bite the bullet the uphill climb begins but you immediately start to feel better. When you exercise it is not always fun in the moment but you immediately begin to feel better. When you go on a budget you might not buy as much as you used to, but you immediately see changes in way you spend and your savings account grows.

So here it is: stop procrastinating and do the hard thing! In a few months you will be glad you did.

I don't want to die

2011-11-30T09:19:00.000-05:00

"We die to ourselves, first when we repent and believe the gospel, and later as we submit to His will day by day. Subordinating ourselves to Him, however, is radically safe, because He has already shown that He is willing to go the hell and back for us. This banishes fears that loving surrender means loss of oneself."

-Tim Keller

The truth is that I don't want to die. I'm to proud and to self-serving to die to my own wishes and desires. It is an eye opening experience when I really let the truth of the gospel sink down within my being that I am called to die to all my desires and all my dreams and all my ambitions and all my self-centeredness and let His glorious life live through me, in me and as me.

And yet suddenly as I die day-by-day He awakens new desires and new dreams that by the power of His Spirit will live and thrive.

Jesus in John 12:23-36 says "unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies" - we are really called to lay down our lives and die to our own selfish ambitions.

I find that God's greatest gift to me in helping learn to lay my life down is being a husband and a father. It is those relationships that I see most clearly my own bankrupt state of selfishness and self-will.

So the question is can we really trust God as we "lose our lives" like Jesus references in Luke 17:33. He actually says, "Whoever loses their life will preserve it." He is actually saying whoever dies to their own self-interest will find life and life abundant - That is Amazing!

So my question is this: Are you refusing to die to your own self-intersts? Does your self-will reign supreme? Even when you "serve" is it rooted in meeting the needs and interests of your own self-centeredness?

My guess is that if you are like me, and you are refusing to die, than you are NOT fully experiencing the profound richness and extravagant goodness of what God has for you. God has so much for us than we experience because we fight to hold onto the little bit of self-will that we are convinced will meet our needs.

Yes, it is radically safe to subordinate ourselves to His will, but it requires that we die day-by-day.

Have you experienced His extravagant goodness today? Have you died today?

Not me, but Christ...

when structure turns wicked...

2011-11-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

When I put my kids to bed we have this little routine. The routine rocks. We sing a few songs and share some highlights of our day. We have a few silly songs and a few serious songs. The silly songs make us laugh and we tease and tickle and have some fun. The serious songs let us know that I'm not Justin Bieber or Frank Sinatra and so we giggle some more. Sometimes we say the 23rd Psalm and tickle some more. The routine is a little different with Eve than it is with Stephen Michael but basically it is the same.

But here is what I noticed: as they are getting older they need less structure. In other words they need the freedom to talk to me, to bring up things that are on their minds, to tell me something that is bothering them, to discuss something that happened at school or whatever. They need time just "to be" next to me. This is a bit hard for me cause I tend to be a structure guy - but I've learned that too much structure can stifle.

So here is what I'm doing, a little bit of structure gives us a loose direction and yet leaves room for changes and just good old fashion spontaneous fatherhood. Too much structure can snuff out the most intimate father-son or father-daughter moments. You cannot structure or plan the richest moments, they just happen. But you can starve-out those moments out by over planning and over-structuring.

Today, with some of my employees at my business I did the same thing. In a moment of structure we had some un-structured time. It was awesome. Everyone loved it. In the past I would just make it over-serious and over-structured and really just kill spontaneity and fun. I saw my employees moral rise today - and that is just crazy. Just because we had some unstructured time just to talk and hang out. Then the craziest thing happened - they got up and went back to work with more speed and resolve. I could not believe it.

WOW - I'M LEARNING SOMETHING.

So my commitment with what I've learned is this: whether it is in my marriage, my parenting, my business, or my church - I'm going to plan some unstructured time. Too much structure kills relationships and can turn wicked, it's like control. An appropriate structure with some time to allow freedom and spontaneity might be the perfect thing to allow all relationships to thrive.

Is there a structure in your life that has turned wicked?

Graphic Design

2011-11-21T10:00:00.007-05:00

I wanted to give a nod to my friend Brent Holloman. He is a super talented graphic artist. He has designed three logos for me and each logo is simply RAD. I love this guys work. If you need a logo designed - USE HIM. I have never even had to go back to Brent and say change this or tweak that. He is like a great chef that seasons things perfectly. He just has a great artistic touch.

Here are the three logos he designed for me! Thanks for your beautiful touch Brent. Friend Brent on Facebook and you can link to all his logos and graphic art.

I can control the final outcome... :-D

2011-11-20T07:46:00.000-05:00

I have always been a person who begins with the end in mind. I am never sure how to start something or how to make decisions if I don't know where I'm going. The endpoint is like the map that guides me to my final destination.

BUT... recently I have gotten discouraged about the final outcome. Like disheartened that that I cannot control the final outcome. When you put your heart and soul into something and the final outcome is NOTHING like what you thought it would, be you immediately get dejected and down. You know what I mean, it goes like this: I thought I'd be doing better at work by now, I thought my relationship with my kids would be different, I just new that venture would be a success, I cannot believe that initiative missed the mark, I cannot believe our budget has not worked out like I planned, I cannot believe I lost my job, why has this health issue destroyed our lives, I thought with this diet I would lose more weight... and the list goes on and on.

Here is what I learned, I do need to capture the Lord's vision for the future. It is my job to begin with the end in mind, BUT IT IS NOT MY JOB TO CONTROL THE FINAL OUTCOME.

I cannot control the final outcome. I can work and be diligent and move toward and end goal, but the results are His.

Are you slaving over something in your life attempting to control the final outcome? Maybe you outght to join me and repent for attempting to control the final outcome and then appropriate some the gift of faith and begin to pray and believe that God will change the final outcome.

The story is NOT over yet! God has the outcome under HIS control, do you have the faith to walk beside him and believe for what is not yet seen?

Why do the young lead revolutions?

2011-11-18T11:33:00.000-05:00

Why is it that the young are the ones who always lead revolutions?

Voltaire was in his mid 20's when he began writing the social reform documents that led to the French Revolution. Consider that George Washington was 42 when he became the predominant military and political leader in the American Revolution. Martin Luther led the protestant reformation and made his first confrontation with his 95 thesis when he was 34 years old. Jesus began to break down the religious system of the pharisees when he was 30.

The list goes on and on. Revolutions are led by those in the 20-40 age bracket. The question is why? What are the catalysts in the young that them to see what others don't see? What are the factors that allow the young to take risks others refuse to take?

1. The youth have nothing to LOSE. You see, the greatest problem with success is the risk of losing all that you have gained. Success tends to dull ones ability to think outside the box. Comfort can create apathy and the refusal to risk. Success often gives land, money, houses, businesses, employees, power, authority, position and respect. A person with those things will NEVER lead a revolution. A person with those accouterments is content and comfortable.

2. The young have everything to GAIN. When you have nothing to lose you have everything to gain. Putting everything on the table and gambling with your future is easy when you have nothing. The best thing about rock bottom is you cannot get any lower. Youth have nowhere to go but UP.

3. The youth can see the defects in the current system. Once you have succeeded in the current system of thinking you are often unable to get out from the confines of that system. Most people who have aged into success and comfort are not able to see the defects. It takes someone on the outside to look inward to see the defects.

4. They have courage to make a difference. Somehow the tendency towards apathy increases with age. It is hard to find the courage to make a difference - to shift the current way of thinking. Going up against the "powers that be" takes guts and the realization that failure may be imminent.

5. The young have the passion to make the necessary changes and bring in something new. The refusal to make any decision or move forward can be couched in "thoughtfulness" or "wisdom." But the refusal to choose is the choice to fail. At some point the bold move must be made. The new entrepreneurial venture must be made, the business proposal must be enacted upon, the new idea must be proposed, the new location launched, the change in staff implemented. Those who are satiated and comfortable will not have the catalyst or the passion to make those changes.

The young generations always lead some sort of a revolution. Each generation eventually becomes saddled and saturated with their way of thinking and "business as usual" results. The next generation breaks out of the box and cycle of revolution begins again. Occasionally the current "box" is so BAD that major revolution and revolt results.

Today maybe you are part of the older generation watching the younger revolutionary minded people struggle to establish a new way. Or maybe you a young person who is brittle and angry and wants to make a NEW way. Either way changes will be imminent.

The only sure thing in this life is change. You can either embrace those changes and join into the revolution or sit back and fight against the changes that will be made.

Someone will lead the next revolution...

when a problem arises...

2011-11-17T12:36:00.001-05:00

In life, relationships, business, ministry and even parenting problems just arise. Life happens and stuff gets messy really fast. One minute everything is perfect and the next minute the milk has been spilled, the plate has been dropped, the balance sheet has gone awry, a snafu has erupted, or the funds have gone missing. You almost have to sit back and laugh cause life just gets crazy and it seems like when things are good, well they are really-really good and when things get bad they get really-really bad.

So here are some things I have learned about what to do when a Problem Arises:

1. Confront it quickly. As humans we tend to deny the problem or pretend it does not exist. Sometimes we tell ourselves it is really not that bad. But denial and procrastination just prolongs the inevitable. When something adverse happens or you make a mistake confront the mistake quickly and begin the process of dealing with the repercussions.

2. Ask the right people to help. Most of the time when I am in a bind, I don't even know what I don't know. I don't know the right questions to ask or how exactly to begin to remedy the situation. Knowing who to ask for help and doing it quickly before the situation hemorrhages into a worse situation is crucial.

3. Call a spade a spade. Whoever spilled the milk cannot hide from the fact that they dumped the milk and whoever got milk spilled on them cannot deny that were in the wrong place at the wrong time and now they are covered in the mess. It is what it is, just get over it and get on with admitting the problem so you can begin to generate positive forward momentum. Finger pointing and blaming is beneficial to NO-ONE. If you have someone who wants to remain in denial and blame-shift or scapegoat you need to move them out of the way as quickly as possible so you can get to the business of correcting and gaining positive traction. A person who is unable to take responsibility for there actions and move into gear correcting the issue and resolving the problem really should be removed or at least corrected.

4. Seek to make restitutions BEFORE you are forced to make restitutions. In other words be proactive. Don't wait until you are backed into a corner to come out and admit the mistake and deal with it. I was working for this company and I took a truck and ran over a new shipment of supplies. No one was around and I really wanted to hide it, but I did the tough thing. I immediately called the branch manager and got the fix in motion.

5. Don't Lie to protect anyone. Your dishonesty will find you out. It just never works - at least not for long. So go ahead and put the truth out there and let it all fall where it will. The faster you admit the truth and people can begin to take responsibility and focus on correcting the problem instead of hiding the problem the better off everyone will be.

6. Think future health and life for the family, the organization and the individual. Move on from the past and focus on the future. Dwelling to long on the past help no-one. Get off the blame game and get on with the focusing on the future. The past is OVER, it is DONE, nothing can be changed so everything is about what you do from here forward. Someone who dwells on the past becomes an ineffective navel gazer. MOVE ON!

7. Forgive quickly. To often people hang on to old wounds that just fester and infect the one who is hanging on to them. Forgiveness is really for YOU not for THEM. Whether at in business, family or organizational leadership choosing to let go of the mistake and move on is in the best interest of everyone involved. Harboring resentment and bitterness just poisons you and will ultimately keep you from actualizing your full potential.

8. Own what is yours. Stop pointing the finger and just belly up the bar, put on your big boy pants and take it like an adult. There is nothing worse than someone who won't suck it up and take responsibility for the repercussions of their actions. We often think if we really take full responsibility for that dumb thing we did that we will never live it down and we will somehow become the laughing-stock of the office or the organization. People do not respect people who are perfect. People respect people who are humble and can admit they are wrong and growth through their weaknesses.

9. Do everything in your power to make it right and then let it go. After you have done all you can do there is no use losing sleep over what you cannot change. Once you have done the work to remedy to the best of your ability, let it go. You will never please everyone so STOP TYRING.

If you have a story or a comment please feel free to leave it below!

Peter's Post...

2011-11-16T08:23:00.002-05:00

No blog from me today, just a nod at a tearjerking gut wrenching post from the brother whom I love more than words can ever express.

Peter wrote, "My brother is one of the most crazy stories I know. No joke, not exaggerating. I have watched the cadences of his story that climb mountains and trace the paths of death through valleys where dawn has no name. But the dust from those paths quickly turn into the sand on shore as we dive into oceans of grace that known no bottom. My brother is redemption and I see more of the Lord in Him than most people I know."

Peter helped me cross the chasm of doubt and led me over the bridge from isolation to connection. He was in many ways my lifeline when there was nothing but darkness, fear and isolation. He helped me find light when I was lost, dead, blind and deceived. Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Here is Peter's Blog Post. It will move your heart...

Peter's Post

Right now I sit and cry...I love you Peter.

I thank God that through the cross He makes ALL POWER available to save those who are un-savable!

If you have a thought or comment about God saving the un-savable leave it below!

Wedding Day Highlight Video...

2011-11-15T14:27:00.021-05:00

Here is a 4 minute video of our wedding! This is supernatural grace and great redemption.

Michael and Abi Wedding Video

I want to thank Matt and LifeStage Films for the remarkable job they did on this project. I laughed, I cried and I thanked God for our story. But Matt and his team captured that story on film. They are really artists and beautiful artists at that. They are not just filming and slapping that film on a DVD, these guys storyboard the entire project and capture the sweet moments.

Take the moment in the film where Stephen Michael and I are putting on cologne, that part just melted my heart. And when Abigail is reading the letter I wrote her and they use her voice over as they show different scenes. Talk about brilliant.

I also love where Abi and I repeating our vows and Dad's voice comes through. It is like LifeStage caught the sweetest most beautiful parts on film and weaved them together to make this tapestry that represents our lives and our wedding.

I am so happy and so grateful!

Crazy Love - After the tree crushed the house...

2011-11-14T10:00:00.001-05:00

I took this photo while excavating a house. The photo is of Francis Chan's book Crazy Love. The book was soaking wet and thrown in a pile of garbage. I had hauled it there and thrown it into a dumpster right next to baby clothes, furniture, and the lives of these dear people. It was heartbreaking.

Two days before a storm rolled through in the middle of the night. During the storm a fluke wind sheer or tornado or downdraft rolled through and knocked a massive oak tree that was 3 feet in Caliper down and the tree smashed into the house tearing part of it down to the foundation. The tree was perfectly healthy and there was no sign that it could fall.

The first miracle was that the husband woke his wife up in the middle of the night and said, "There is a weird wind outside, we need to get out of this room." They walked out of the master bedroom and the wife began to walk toward the office to get on the computer to check the weather. The husband stopped her and said, "No don't go in there right now." Within seconds the tree fell and destroyed the entire office where she was headed. I actually carried out the shattered pieces of the desk and computer that she would have been sitting at looking at the weather. AMAZING.

The second miracle was that they were standing next to their babies room when the tree hit. The master bedroom was smashed, the office was 100% destroyed to the foundation and a 10" caliper branch went through the babies closet and stopped 12" from the crib. The branch literally stopped 1 foot from the crib - what a miracle!

I asked the husband about getting them out of the master bedroom and keeping his wife from going into the office. He responded that he had a sense from the Lord but was not entirely sure why he did what he did. A HUGE MIRACLE.

If he had not heard the Lord's nudge and responded quickly to get his wife out she would have most likely been in the master bedroom or sitting at that computer. If she had been sitting at the computer she would not lived to another sun rise.

That is Crazy Love!

Duty or Delight?

2011-11-12T10:00:00.002-05:00

Whether you serve the Lord out of Duty or serve him out of delight it generally looks very similar. In fact, it is nearly impossible to discern the motives of a person. Apart from the revelation of the Lord is difficult to determine your own motives.

When we serve God out of duty there is an anxious drivenness at the core of our activity. When we serve the Lord out of delight it is really not service at all, but it becomes a life of participation with the Lord in accomplishing his will on the earth.

The only way to truly serve others (in companionship with him out of our own delight) is to experientially grasp God's love for us and his pursuit of us. He is really not interested in our serving him, after all he is God. He is interested to us responding to his love and working alongside him to serve and love people.

Really only a slight difference, but that difference will determine whether you become a shallow, prideful religious person or a genuine, humble, relational person who is really in Love with God.

So do you have the courage to ask the Lord and begin to engage in some self reflection? Do you do what you do out of Duty or Delight?

one of those moments...

2011-11-11T10:00:00.001-05:00

You know the kind I mean, when the sky looks gray and bleak. When the storm clouds look ominous and overwhelming. When everything seems to be against you. When even your friends don't understand you.

It those horrid moments that determine who we really are and also define who we really depend upon.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says,

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
  in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight"

In the weaker moments we really see who rely upon. In the broken moments we see who we look to for help and hope. In the dejected moments we see who we cling to in the storm. When thing are bad we see who we submit to and who we lean upon.

Do we look to our savior and the "hope of glory" Colossians 1:27 or do we try once again to pull it all together all by ourselves and pull ourselves up by our boot straps. Do we rely upon those that God has put into our lives, our communities of believers or do we go it alone.

I don't know where you are but I am ready to honesty and truly trust in the Lord with ALL MY HEART. Not some of it, not even most of it, but all of it.

So when the clouds roll in and all looks dark and threatening who do you look to?

Long since dead...

2011-11-10T10:00:00.003-05:00

Sometimes we humans hang on to things that died long ago. Changes in life and development are constant and ongoing in this life. And yet we often refuse to move on and hang on to what amounts to reminiscing about the bygone days. Matthew 8:22

It is funny, but the more we reminisce about the "good old days" instead of focusing our attention and efforts on today, the more we build something grand out of what was. Interestingly enough I think we often recreate the "old days" to be better than they actually were.

People develop these attachments to patterns or things like a relationship, a business, a living situation, shame, guilt, emotional crutches or other little vices. Instead of cutting off those things are long since dead we hang on and hang on hoping against hope that a rebirth will occur and we will find that the "good old days" have returned at last.

Those days are gone. What is left is today - no more and no less.

What are you hanging onto that needs to be severed from your life and discarded? A relationship? A habit pattern? A thought pattern? Guilt or shame from the past? A business?

What are you dong with your today?

Mary had it right...

2011-11-08T23:12:00.001-05:00

Jesus showed up at Martha's house in Luke 10:38-42. It is this great story and every time I read it I find myself in it. It is like a mirror held before me that enables to see my weaknesses a bit more clearly.

I work so hard and juggle so many different things that it is almost like at some level I am still working to win God's love affection or approval. I suppose it could also be that there is a success associated with ministry that I am driven to achieve, but either way I always find myself reflected in this story.

So Martha decides to invite Jesus and his followers into her home. Hosting Jesus and his notorious disciples may have been quite the daunting task. Jesus had no home and had to live off the generosity and love from those he ministered to. His disciples were the very same way. Having a group of 12 hungry, tired and dirty guys come into your home would for dinner would have been quite a job. So there is Martha bustling around all worked up with all the tasks before her. I can see it quite clearly in my imagination, it is like as Martha works she is getting more irritated and more irritated with Mary who is just sitting at Jesus' feet listening to him. Finally, she can take it no more and requests that Jesus scold Mary and tell her to help Martha with all the preparations.

I can almost imagine Martha's almost pious position, confident that she is in the right and that Mary is being slothful and insensitive. Oh how often I find myself in Martha's shoes.

Without missing a beat, Jesus looks right at Martha and will all authority says, “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

How often I am worried and upset about many things and miss the one thing that is needed. Time to sit in the presence of the Lord Jesus and listen to his words.

Martha's pious rightness is immediately vanquished as she realizes that it is not her sister that needs correcting but her. And so like Martha, I as I get "worried and upset about many things, when only one thing is needed" I remember the one thing. Time with my Lord.

It sure seems like Martha had it right, but Mary did the one thing!

Are you upset about many things today or are you sitting calmly at the feet of Jesus forging a relationship with him and listening to his words?

Deception...

2011-11-04T09:41:00.005-04:00

The human mind can calculate and figure something out and be completely convinced of its rightness and yet be totally deceived and wrong.

In American we generally elevate the human mind to being able to discern truth from a lie and good from evil. We are convinced that the human mind in all its brilliance can calculate the truth with complete accuracy.

Hebrews 4:12 talks about the word of God or the Bible. Interestingly in America we have really elevated our human minds to the point of being able to discern and discover truth in all situations. Here are a few things to consider:

How did the country of Germany become convinced that it was "right and good" to exterminate 6,000,000 plus people?
How did 909 people in Guyana under Jim Jones leadership become convinced that it was "right and good" to commit suicide?
In America how did we become convinced it was "good and right" to enslave a people group because of the color of their skin?
In American in the 1950's how did we become convinced that it was "good and right" to use Jim Crow Laws to shame and control a people group?

Yes, deception is real despite the common belief here in America. Depending on the authority above you and the people your surround yourself with, the human mind is quite frail and can easily be convinced that gross atrocity is "right and good."

Do you have the courage to face the reality of deception and the possibility that individuals, groups, and even countries can be deceived?

the greatest thing you will ever learn...

2011-11-03T10:00:00.003-04:00

"The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love and be loved in return" this was a quote in a movie I just watched.

And honestly I would agree. I would turn the quote around and say, "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to be loved and to love in return."

Honestly, that is what the Christian life is all about. Receiving the love of Christ, loving him in response and loving those around us is the essence of the Christian life.

It is funny how hard it is to receive love. It is like it takes us out of control, it takes us out of the drivers seat and makes us depend on another. Yes, receiving love is the greatest thing you will ever learn.

So have you learned to receive His love?

the disease of complex christianity...

2011-10-29T10:00:00.003-04:00

Humans like rules. We love rules because basically we are all control freaks. Christianity is no different. We don't trust Christ to do the work of conforming people into His image so we impose external rules on how people should look and behave and we call it Christianity.

Most American churches require that you conform to their rules before you can belong to their fellowship.

"Clean up, change you clothes, take that hat off, cut your hair, put out that cigarette, dump the booze down the drain, clean up you dirt bag."

Christ was the opposite, He called people to belong and to connect with HIM and He never imposed any external changes or rules. He knew that as people fell in love with Him they would naturally begin to be conformed into His image.

Rules often clean up the outside and leave the heart desperately sick.

If we are not careful, then the external rules we impose make Christianity no different than the by-laws of any social club.

That is why Ghandi said, "If it were not for you Christians, I would follow your Christ."

We make external rules and applaud those who abide by them calling them Christians, and yet too often, the heart stays sick and non-conformed to the image of Christ.

What if as Christians chose to really love people where they are? What if we let Christ do His work of conforming people into His image and we stopped demanding that people look and act a certain way to join our churches.

What if we really loved? Maybe churches would stop closing their doors and start growing under the power of the Holy Spirit.

95% of the thoughts you will have today are the same as yesterday...

2011-10-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

So it's true, psychologists tell us that 95% of the thoughts you have today are the same as the ones you had yesterday.

What a total bummer... when fear of the unknown and fear to take a risk overtakes us we basically become boring creatures.

The American dream is a great dream, but it can catalyze your ability to take risks and think outside the box.

So BREAK that statistic. Do something DIFFERENT. Break the MOLD. CHANGE a detail in your life. Embark on an ADVENTURE. Start up a CONVERSATION that you would normally avoid. Schedule a big trip to somewhere CRAZY and start saving today. Take up a new HOBBY. Start making ART. Try something that SCARES you. Get out and take a RISK.

Otherwise the monotony and sameness just overtakes you and kills your creativity! As long as you are alive and breathing it is not too late!

Sieze the DAY!

in life the refusal to change = death

2011-10-25T10:00:00.001-04:00

Life is all about change. And in fact, true and consistent success in life is about our ability to adapt and change with the world around us. Throughout history the survival of men and woman has been about adapting to change quickly and efficiently. Those who spot the need to change early, survive and those who wait or refuse to change often die out.

The principle of change and adaptation holds true in business, life, relationships, organizational leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Consider Blockbuster: When Netflick's and Redbox first came out they confidently sat still and did nothing. And consequently, they have almost died. How many locations near you have gone out of business?

Interesting about Blockbuster is that they are now offering an online DVD service much like Netflick's, but the change may be too and little, and it is certainly much too late.

The point is this, as humans, we resist the inevitable. We ignore change, we deny the need to change, we flat out refuse to change and sit back in our bravado mindset that "business will always continue as usual."

Today if you are in a business, a personal relationship, organizational leadership, or an entrepreneurial venture, scan the horizon for the next wave because the wave you are now riding will die out.

Change Happens -- Will you be a change agent or will you refuse to change?

does God speak?

2011-10-23T10:00:00.001-04:00

^{In 1 Kings 19:11-13 God says to Elijah the prophet, "Go stand on the mountain for the presence of the Lord is about to pass by."}

^{Elijah goes and stands on the mountain. As he is standing there, a powerful wind like that of a hurricane comes and tears the mountain apart and shatters the rock. After the wind, there was a massive earthquake that moves the mountain. But the Lord was not in the wind or the earthquake. Then a great wildfire sprang up but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper. Elijah covered his face with his cloak when he heard the whisper.}

^{Our lives are filled with powerful forces like that of the fire, the earthquake and the wind. But God's voice comes as a whisper.}

^{God speaks. Do you listen?}

I dare you to follow your PASSION...

2011-10-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

Truth is most people don't ever follow their Passion. In all honesty, most people spend their lives trying to fight against their passion. Many of us are convinced that PASSION = SIN. And if Passion = sin then passion is really evil and should be avoided at all costs.

In our culture of Christianity, we have bought into some sick lie that our Passions leads to sin. The more I walk with the Lord, the more convinced that as I am passionate about God, God directs my heart and leads my passions.

Therefore, if we devote ourselves to God with all our mind, soul and strength God will direct our Passions. See in Christ, we can trust our Passions.

Consider this:

How did David decide to attack Goliath?
How did Paul decide to minister in Ephesus?
How did Timothy know what to speak on when he addressed his church?
How did Peter know how to lead the church in Jerusalem?
How did Matthew, Mark, Luke and John know what to write in the gospels?
How did the woman with the issue of blood know she would be healed if you she touched Jesus' garment?
How did Elijah know he could pray that the rain would stop?

The point is that most of these people did not KNOW FOR SURE. They trusted God by faith to align their hearts and their PASSION! Then they followed their God by following their Passion!

Give it a try, open your heart to Passion. Open your heart to allow God to lead you by trusting him to lead your Passions. Then have the courage to follow your Passion...

Just wait and see what God will do in your life if you really walk by faith and let Him direct your Passion!

That is the worst new idea I have ever heard...

2011-10-17T10:00:00.003-04:00

Your new idea, yeah you think it stinks don't you? Guess what, your new ideas aren't so impressive to you cause they are in your head, but what about someone else. Someone who has never thought of that idea.

I look at other peoples ideas and I am always like, "Wow, incredible! I could never think of something like that."

The other day someone came up to me and said, "You know that idea of yours, well that was just incredible. What a great idea. I cannot believe you thought of that!"

I was dumbfounded cause I thought the idea was totally mediocre at best. In fact, I'm pretty much convinced that I have never had an original idea. But here is what I learned, my ideas often seem mediocre to me, but might seem brilliant to someone else.

So I have decided to keep putting my new ideas out there, and who knows maybe one day I will have a brilliant one! And truth be told, you should do the same. Put your ideas out there. I mean even those new ideas that you think just stink, you never know when you idea might just be brilliant to someone else!

So put yourself out there and keep those ideas flowing!

I'm to Scared to decide...

2011-10-15T10:00:00.002-04:00

Sometimes fear locks us up. I mean totally locks us down. Like you cannot think logically and make decent choices cause you are so anxious and afraid.

You can pray and pray, but sometimes the fear just does not go away. The best advice I ever heard on fear was, "Just do it Afraid." Move forward, make the decision, cut a new path, take a risk and if you have to - well, just do it afraid.

As you move down the path the fear will dissipate and you will begin to move confidently!

So if you are locked up on something, make a decision and move ahead. You cannot steer a parked car, so put your life in drive and start to move even if you are afraid. Even if you go the wrong way you can make a U-turn if your life is in drive. But if your life is in park you are stuck stuck stuck!

As you begin to move forward, the mountains may just become molehills and you might even start to have fun!

In 1998 we almost lost a truck off a cliff in Baja Mexico...

2011-10-13T21:34:00.000-04:00

We are in the middle of a the UN-stuck series here at Myrtle Grove. It is a 5 week series and I got to preach part 2. The title of my message was UN-stuck: gaining traction.

I started the message out with a great story of nearly losing a truck off a slippery muddy cliff near Punta Cabras in Baja Mexico! We lost traction and the truck started slipping. I was down in Baja with Scott and Pam Thigpen in search of a great wave. It was 1998 I believe...

Regardless, this was fun sermon! After the story I jump into 1 Samuel 17 about David and Goliath and give 8 principles for getting UN-stuck.

Here it is! Happy Listening!

UN-stuck series part 2: Gaining Traction

sweeping things under the carpet...

2011-10-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

I am going to meet with an old friend today. A friend who I had to go and ask their forgiveness for sin against them. I have mixed feelings about our meeting. Anxiety, fear and yet some excitement. I have already asked their forgiveness so this a meeting about celebrating what God has done in our lives. This is a meeting about celebrating freedom and faith in Christ.

Sweeping sin under the carpet never works. It just creates a hidden lump in the carpet that you or someone you love will eventually trip over. Talking about things, sharing your emotions and honestly putting your feelings out there is all part of true biblical restitution.

Restitution is painful. It is much easier to just ignore something, pretend it is not there or it never happened. But there is no freedom in that, only bondage.

I am committed to living free and fully alive, and therefore I am committed to not only not sweeping things under the carpet but to addressing those things that have been swept under the carpet in the past. You see your secrets make you sick.

Does the underside of the carpet in your soul need cleaning?

PAIN

2011-10-11T10:00:00.003-04:00

Sometimes my heart just feels like it is going to break. Like it will split into a million tiny pieces.

Hebrews 5:7-8 says, "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered "

What if God allows pain to point us to Him?

You know when my kids refuse to listen to me, sometimes I have to allow pain in their lives to help them learn obedience. We have this little green bowl that we creatively call, "The Green Bowl." :D

The Green Bowl is filled with cards that represent all the wonderful things the kids love: the pool, bikes, skateboards, art, dessert, bedtime story, gum, the park, and a host of other good things. When they refuse to listen I will remind them that if they cannot listen, they will have to choose what they will lose. In other words they will have to pick an item out of the Green Bowl. This is painful for them, but they are learning to obey. They are becoming responsible kids who don't act up and throw kicking and screaming temper tantrums. (at least not as often as they used to :D)

After they lose something they almost always shed a tear or two and then crawl up in my lap and we talk about their choices and why they lost something. We talk about next time, we hug and share a sweet moment.

If Jesus himself learned obedience through what He suffered, how much more you and I. So in moments when my heart is just broken, I am learning to crawl into the lap of God and look into the eyes of Jesus and find solstice and comfort. To learn obedience through my pain.

Make no mistake, God is not interested in pain for pain's sake, but He is interested in us taking on the character of Christ. Sometimes that is a painful journey, but the journey is worthwhile! So press into the pain and take on the character of Christ!

Azusa Street

2011-10-10T10:00:00.003-04:00

Luke 4: 17-21 "Jesus stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

   “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
   because he has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
   and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
   to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

What is anointing? Is it just a word that charismatic Christians throw around too much? Is is just a figment of our imagination? Or is it a very real yet unseen reality that God puts on some people.

In the old testament before you became king a prophet would anoint you with oil.

I have had some experiences in my life that have tempted me to shirk back from moving confidently in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Honestly, they have tempted me to become a full cessationist.

But regardless of my point of view, God still shows up and changes people. The Azuza Street Revival did happen. The Welsh Revival did happen. Smith Wigglesworth did walk around in full of the power of God. John Wimber did minister in the power of Holy Spirit

Christ himself said, "...the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me..."

You see I was blind and deceived. I was living in darkness. I was broken and in bondage with no hope of life and freedom. Christ began to speak to me. Christ reached down and rescued me from total depravity and deception.

I have decided that I will not refuse the work of the Holy Spirit simply because of some brokenness and negative experiences in my past. I have repented. More than anything I want the Spirit of the Lord on me, I want His anointing on me. I don't want to minister in my own strength but in the power made available through the finished work of Christ.

So here I am, open and seeking the face of God.

Daddy...

2011-10-09T21:12:00.001-04:00

Daddy...

Bike rides

early morning hot chocolate

Oatmeal and tender talks

Piggy back rides

Wrestling in the grass

Scraped knees

Big hugs and butterfly kisses

Tears and laughter

Bunk beds and couch forts

The tickle monster

More laughs and more love

Daddy come help me...

Daddy, why?

Questions, questions and more questions...

Bedtime stories

Long walks

Saturday morning cuddles

Kisses and sweet talks

Building a swing together

Racing each other

Riding tandem on the skateboard

Helping them learn to share

Learning to love

Learning to admit they are wrong

Learning to forgive

Reading Books

Reading the Bible

Discoveries about life

New friends

Cousins and Family

More laughs

More love

School and homework

Birthday parties

New teachers

Climbing trees

Playing in the mud

The roar of the ocean

The thrill of finding a shark's tooth on the beach

Sand in the eyes

Shells and crabs

Little fusses

Little fights

All fade with the power of love and joy

Looking at the moon

In awe of the stars

"Daddy, are you bigger than the moon?"

Being a Daddy is one of the highlights of my life

Being a Daddy has taught me so much about God's love for me

Being a Daddy is about what is eternal not what is temporal

Being a Daddy is my most treasured job!

Elizabeth Eve I love you with my whole heart, you are my precious joy

Stephen Michael I am so proud of you and treasure you as my son, I love you

-Daddy 2011

Hanging Rock!

2011-09-28T17:23:00.000-04:00

Hey All,

We are headed to Hanging Rock State Park for our Fall Camping Retreat Oct 28th-31st. We will arrive about 6pm on the 28th. The 29th we are doing a high and low ropes course at YMCA Camp Hanes, the 30th we are doing a 6mile stretch of the Dan river which is class 1 whitewater in kayaks and canoes, and the 31st we will do a waterfall hike/slide and then head for home about 1pm. Cost is $150 which includes all meals and activities and a sweet longsleeve shirt. We have room for more! We would love to have you all!

His,

Michael Mattis
michael@myrtlegrove.org
910.791.6179

Scoundrel

2011-09-28T10:00:00.002-04:00

Jephthah in Judges 11 is a pretty wild guy. Scripture says he was a mighty warrior. His Dad was a mighty warrior and his mom was a prostitute. His half brothers kicked him out of their household because he was not born of their mother but born from a prostitute.

Judges 11:3 says, "Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of SCOUNDRELS gathered around him and followed him."

Now Israel was attacked by foreign invaders and the elders of Israel specifically seek out Jephthah to lead them and be their commander not only into battle but to lead them until his death. Jephthah was shocked and yet he graciously chose to be their leader and command the armies of Israel.

In Judges 11:29 is says, "Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah."

Quite clearly and quite simply God chooses to use scoundrels for his glory and his purposes. God is no respecter of persons or position. God looks at the heart.

In 1 Samuel 16:7 God says, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things human being look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

How do you measure people? How do you measure yourself? Where is your heart?

OUTRAGEOUS

2011-09-27T14:20:00.000-04:00

We try so hard to be safe and secure. We save our money, we invest, we budget our dollars, we keep a calendar, we priorities our day, we answer our phone calls, we respond to our text messages, we make being NICE the highest priority in our life, and we have bought into the lie that to be at the very center of God's will means everything is NICE and SAFE and SECURE and RISK free.

Take a look at David and Goliath, you know that age old story in 1 Samuel 17. We all know that David kills the giant and the Israelite people are liberated from potential tyranny and oppression at the hand of Philistines. And we say YAY for David and we tell this story in sunday school for our kiddies.

In the moment David approached the front lines with 5 smooth stones and a leather sling to fight to the death with a giant who was 10 feet tall, His armor weighed 125 pounds, the point of his spear weighed 15 pounds and some guy with a shield always stood in front of him what do you think David felt?

Was that a logical action? Was it prudent for him to charge the line with 5 rocks? Was it based on earthly wisdom that he thought he could kill a guy that was covered in bronze? Do you think his parents would have approved? Do you think his teachers at school would have approved? Would the elders and leaders at his church approved?

I see in myself this tendency to make "safety" the measuring stick by which I determine if it God's will or not. And I see those in the Bible who walked in the very center of God's plan for their lives and they were anything but safe and secure.

David had no assurance that he would not be pierced by that spear and die on the field that day. God did not speak to him. We see nowhere in scripture that God told David to go kill Goliath or even promise David that he would live.

No, David charged the line that day with the full knowledge that death was certain apart from God's intervention.

In 1 Samuel 17:37 David says, "The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."

He knew if God did not rescue he would perish.

He was not SAFE by human standards. He was not SECURE by human standards. If we as contemporary Christian America sat down with David we would CERTAINLY tell him NOT to charge the line because God would never want to endanger his life.

And on the contrary, God is looking for men and women who will charge the line in faith that God will deliver them. David was "SAFE and SECURE" in life or death that day when he charged the line because he was in the CENTER of God's will - not because he was physically, financially, or relationally safe.

I have made a choice to stop defining the "will of God" by my paradigm of safety. Our God is not safe, He is a Consuming Fire.

Do you need a new paradigm?

People of the Lie

2011-09-24T10:00:00.004-04:00

So I'm reading People of the Lie by Scott Peck and wow, what a remarkable work on a subject that most people try to avoid. Resident human evil is not only real but it exists all around us and maybe within us.

I'm only on chapter 3 and it has already transformed some of the way I view life and people. In three short chapters I understand more about myself and my experiences.

Peck's assessment of what evil is and how and why it exists is simply phenomenal.

I spent most of my life NOT truly believing that evil existed in the world. Oh, I would say it existed. I would even talk about it from time to time. But to truly experientially know it existed, well that way beyond my knowledge or belief.

I was raised in an evangelical Christian home with a wonderful childhood. My parents both loved me and we had everything we needed. The only down side to my experience, was that I was a bit sheltered and unaware of the resident human evil around me.

Over the course of my life, I have had some experiences that have convinced me beyond any shadow of a doubt that human evil is very real and very present in our time.

In fact the capacity for human evil resides in every single one of us. The question is when we daily stand at the fork in the road which direction will we take? Which path will we choose?

One of the greatest revelations so far in the book comes from ch 2 pp 71-84:

"If evil people cannot be defined by the illegality of their deeds or the magnitude of their sins, then how are we to define them? The answer is by the consistency of their sins. While usually subtle, their destructiveness is remarkable consistent. This is because those who have "crossed over the line" (to human evil) are characterized by their absolute refusal to tolerate the sense of their own sinfulness. ...

All sins are reparable accept believing one is without sin. ...

A predominant characteristic, however, of the behavior of those I call evil is scapegoating. Because in their hearts they consider themselves above reproach, they must lash out at everyone who does reproach them. They sacrifice others to preserve self-image of perfection. ...

Scapegoating works through a mechanism psychiatrists call projection. Since the evil, deep down, feel themselves to be faultless, it is inevitable that when they are in conflict with the world they will invariably perceive the conflict as the world's fault. Since they must deny their own badness, they must perceive others as bad. They project their own evil onto the world. ...

In other words, the evil attack others instead of facing their own evil. ...

Strangely enough, evil people are often destructive because they are attempting to destroy evil. The problem is that they misplace the locus of the evil. Instead of destroying others they should be destroying the sickness within themselves. As life often threatens their self-image of perfection, they are often busily engaged in hating and destroying that life - usually in the name of righteousness. The fault, however, may not be so much that they hate life as they do NOT hate the sinful part of themselves. ...

The evil are utterly dedicated to preserving their self-image of perfection, they are increasingly engaged in the effort to maintain the appearance of moral purity. ...

They cannot or will not tolerate the pain of self-reproach. The decorum with which they lead their lives is maintained as a mirror in which they see themselves reflected righteously. ...

The essential component of evil is not the absence of a sense of sin or imperfection but the unwillingness to tolerate that sense. ... It is only one particular kind of pain they cannot tolerate: the pain of their own conscience, the pain of the realization of their own sinfulness and imperfection."

My sister Anna...

2011-09-23T10:00:00.003-04:00

My little sister Anna Raines has become one of my hero's. She is the mother of three. Three adorable and oh so precious little ones named Noah, Kaitlyn, and Warren. As adorable as these little ones are, they are also a handful. She is the wife of David Raines who is such a great match for her. I have such respect for David and his love for Anna. And such respect for Anna as I have watched her as a mom.

There is a verse in 1 Timothy 2:15 says, "Women will be saved through childbearing."

This has always been a hard verse for me. This phrase can appear sexist and possibly even derogatory.

But I have watched Anna grow and become more beautiful as she has cared and loved her little ones. It is like every good part of her personality and life has gotten better as she has become more self-less to care and love those kiddos. Her sweet personality has gotten gentler and kinder. Her happiness has increased. Her love of people all around her has increased. Her love of her husband and their marriage has increased and her overall vitality and passion for life has increased.

I enjoy being around Anna more than I ever have! She has come into her own, and her journey has had something to do with my niece and two nephews.

Raising little ones is hard any way you cut it. Raising three little ones who are so close together, well that is even more difficult.

But in Anna's life, it is like the challenge of being a mother has made her more beautiful!

I honestly think something in Anna has been made more magnificent through having those three precious children.

So Anna, I love you and am so proud of you and woman you have become!

And I have finally made peace with that verse in 1 Timothy! It is such a great thing that He is God and I am not!

Can anyone understand their own way???

2011-09-22T07:29:00.001-04:00

Proverbs 20:24 "A person's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?"

I spend so much time attempting to understand my own way and plan out each step of my life and my future. Whether it is ministry and church, business or even my own family. It is like I have bought into the lie of the world, that I can, and am expected to evaluate and plan out every step we will ever take.

What a farse! To think I actually believe I can plan out each step and then to put on myself the expectation to do so.

Think about it:

Budgets
financial forecasting
5 year-plans
business assessments and valuations
ministry models
vision and mission statements
infrastructure
personality assessments
"How To" and "Self-Help" books
and the list goes on and on... ad infinitum

Don't get me wrong, I will always set goals and plan for the future. I believe that is one of my God-given responsibility as I lead an organization or my own family. And yet I have had to get out form under the weight of having to have everything figured out.

Truth is that we can plan our way, but God will direct our steps. With my limited view of life and the future my plans are often futile and wrong.

So... I will plan and I will prepare, but I will also leave the future and even my step's in the hands of the Lord!

The More Words, The Less Meaning

2011-09-18T10:00:00.002-04:00

Ecclesiastes 6:11 says, "the more words, the less meaning, and how does that profit anyone?"

I find myself inundated with words.

Written words
social media words
words on websites
google searches and pages and pages full of words
wickepedia words
conversations with people all around me overflowing with words
arguments over words
disagreements over words
4 books full of words sit on my desk right this minute and 3 bookshelves line my office
reports full of words

The information age is upon us and the written and spoken word is so prevalent that it can become like noise that drowns out the rest of life. Since the invention of the printing press by the German Johannes Gutenberg somewhere around 1440, information and words have become more and more prevalent at an ever increasing rate.

The danger is the compulsion to secure more and more words and digest more and more information makes our lives meaningless. The excessive nature of words and social media can strangle our human relationships in a vicarious way without our knowing it. The overwhelming books about the subjects of God and even Jesus can smother our actual relationship with him.

To me the greatest danger in this age of ever increasing information age is the risk of losing relationships.

Today I have made it my goal to slow down and listen. To listen to the heart of people around me. The listen past their words to the essence of what their heart is really saying.

Today I am attempting to slow the stream of words from my mouth in an attempt to quiet my soul to find and listen to voice of God as He whispers to me.

Join me and resist letting the abundance of words, even good words, cause the rich relational meaning of life can be lost.

Silence in a loud and crazy world???

2011-09-17T08:25:00.001-04:00

Matthew 14:13 says, "Jesus withdrew by boat to a solitary place to pray." I realize that life is busy and crazy and crazy and busy. And yet without finding that secret place between you and God you may be destined to live a life of reaction to the circumstances and people around you. Finding that quiet spot, that place to meditate, to turn off you cell phone and email, to sit quietly in the presence of God you may never find true peace.

I find that if I make decisions out of the busy craziness of life I am often just reacting to the whims and circumstances and pressures of people and life. While if I am able to find some moments of silence in which to sit and reflect and pray, decisions come from a place of peace and strength.

If your life feels out of control, then my challenge is to find 30 minutes and quiet yourself TOTALLY. No phone, no facebook, no twitter, no computer, no email, no interruptions. Maybe a quiet place at a park or the beach, or maybe you can shut the door to your office and find tranquility. Wherever the place seek total quiet and rest in the presence of the Lord. Choose to stop the worry and anxiety and strife and look into the face of the Lord Jesus.

Try making decisions from a solitary place of relational strength with God instead of reacting to the chaos around you.

This just might transform your life!

The Front Door: Helping Outsiders Become Insiders

2011-09-16T10:00:00.002-04:00

I just got to preach at our weekend services on helping outsiders become insiders and the absolute beauty of reaching those who are far from God! Here it it!

The Front Door: Helping Outsiders Become Insiders

leather work ... lost art!

2011-09-14T10:00:00.002-04:00

So in my free time, I do a bit of leatherwork. Most people have never heard of leatherwork. I get most of my supplies from Tandy Leather. It is an art form that I love. You literally order a side of tanned cow hide and cut the hide into strips or whatever you are making. In this case I made 2 bracelets and 2 belts. Once you cut the belt or bracelet strips you put the leather on a block of granite and after wetting the leather you take hand tools and actually hammer the tool into the damp leather. You put different tools together to make a pattern or a picture.

In the above photo, the top piece is a bracelet with a floral design in it. The middle piece is a belt with a similar floral design. The bottom piece is a belt with a basket-weave design and initials in back center of the belt.

In the above photo, I made two different styles of bracelets out of a used horse bridle. Horse bridle leather is supple oil tanned leather that makes great long wearing items. The center piece is a belt that I made for myself. And the bottom belt was actually made from a horse cinch. I got the horse saddle cinch and the brindle leather when I was out at the The Lost Valley Ranch in Colorado.

Here is another photo of the tooling that I did on center belt.

These two items are bracelets. Once I stain them and wax the edges with beeswax and shellac them I will put a brass snap on these and they make killer bracelets.

I also make bible covers and guitar straps. I just purchased a pair of chaps that I wore out in Colorado and plan to do some leatherwork on those as well.

Here is a photo of my beautiful wife Abigail and I on horseback out in Colorado! Notice that she is rocking her chinks and I am rocking my chaps!

Happy Trails!

for my best friend Abigail!

2011-09-13T17:54:00.002-04:00

For my best friend and the love of my life!

Here is to the moments we have shared

and the moments we have ahead of us

You are the one I get to awaken next to at the dawn of each new day

the one who loves me when things are good

and stands by me when things are bad

who shares coffee at dawn and snuggly moments as the sun sets

who smiles when the sky looks ominous

who holds me close when the horizon in foreboding

who seeks diligently to find the gem in the mud

who waits patiently for the diamond in the rough

who finds the good and overlooks the rest...

here is to our quiet moments

our friendship

our love
our flirty glances across a crowded room
our bike rides
our quiet conversations
our fun times
our bumps along the way :-D

here is to what God is doing in our hearts and lives
Here is two becoming one!

I love you with all my heart.

Your MMM for as long as we both shall live!

Do something NOW!!!!

2011-09-12T10:00:00.001-04:00

I had the opportunity to see Len Schlesinger speak at the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. His thoughts were so profound. He systematically debunked the idea that successful entrepreneurship is about some mysterious charisma or hidden talent that few people have and most of us "normal people" could never aspire to achieve. Instead he boiled successful entrepreneurial ventures down to just one thing: consistent action.

Successful entrepreneurs in business, churches, nonprofits, or any organization just take action. They move forward and are not stopped by failure. His book Action Trumps Everything takes an in depth look at his theorem.

I walked away so encouraged by the profound simplicity of his message, take action! Make a move. Get started. Stop waiting. Don't let failure stop you. Just go for it!

So today, whatever your goal, whatever your quest, stop waiting for the perfect idea or the newest concept. Instead take faithful steps forward every day. Because you see, the key to greatness in any endeavor is constancy to purpose!

fatal flaws and damaging trends...

2011-09-11T09:35:00.001-04:00

So I realized something about myself. I am uber responsible, really over-responsible. Maybe like OCD over-responsible. And I began to see this trend in my own life.

The trend looks like this: I work really hard and good things happen, I take credit for the good things that happened because of my hard work and subtly I begin to get proud, independent and self-sufficient. You might not think that is so bad especially since much our capitalism and American dream is built upon this premise. And yet it takes God completely out of the equation.

Let's look at the other side of the coin: I work really hard, and nothing good appears to happen. I work even harder and still nothing good appears to happen. I take credit for my perceived failure and become discouraged and depressed.

Consider Psalms 3:3, 113:7, 145:14, 146:8 all tell of how God LIFTS the weak and oppressed. It does not say, "I worked hard and lifted myself from calamity." All of these verses also show that God is a God who lifts lose who are bowed low in humility. I am convinced that the scriptural definition of humility is not a sullen woe-is-me attitude. I believe true Biblical humility comes from total dependance on the Lord.

My over-responsible attitude that takes ALL credit for my successes and ALL credit for my failure. This is NOT HUMILITY. There is no dependance in the Lord in that attitude.

So I have taken this trend to the Lord knowing that it produces an independence and self-sufficiency in me.

Matthew 5:45 says, "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

God choses to lift one up and choses to put another down. God is far more sovereign over the affairs of the earth than we often give him credit for.

I made a choice to set a new trend in my own life, a trend towards humility and dependance on God. I will continue to work hard with diligence and responsibility, but the results are his. For he alone governs the affairs of mankind. Maybe you need to join me today in setting a new trend in your life. Maybe you are taking all the responsibility for your own successes and failures and you need to turn away from your self-sufficiency and turn towards trust and dependance on God.

Join me as we set new trends for our lives and future!

A lost dream re-visited!

2011-09-10T10:00:00.003-04:00

So I dreamed of climbing Mount Rainier in Washington State since 1996. In 1999 I actually flew over the mountain in an airplane and committed to stand on the summit one day! There were some sad occurrences in my life in the year 2000 and I gave up my dream to summit the mountain. I gave up ALL my dreams. In all honesty, I actually sat at my desk with a map of the great mountain sprawled out before me and I cried and gave up my dream. I never thought my dream would live again.

While in Virginia Beach last year, I reconnected with an old friend of my mine. I had lost touch with my friend Brian "Hutch" Hutchinson for nearly a decade and we came back together to summit this mountain!

This is a photo of Hutch and I while we were guiding for UNCW's Discover Outdoor Center in 1999. Finally, this past June we got to climb Mount Rainier via the technical ice shoot called the Kautz Route! I have been dreaming about climbing Mt Rainier in Washington state since 1996.

Above is a photo of Hutch and I celebrating on the summit of Rainier amidst 55mph winds and 4 degree temperatures and -26 degree wind chill! And below is a great photo of the Kautz Ice shoot!

It was a dream re-visited for me. Sometimes dead dreams live!

So let your dreams free and have the courage to follow them! Even when you think they are dead and gone, take heart and gather your courage to chase down your dream!

life = risk (which sometimes equals failure)

2011-09-09T10:00:00.001-04:00

Someone just quoted Erwin Mcmanus to me. Check this out, it is very impactful!

1. You cannot fail without risk.
2. If you have never failed you probably never took a risk.
3. Failure is often the context of miracles. We all want miracles but we try to avoid needing them.
4. Failure is a part of God shaping our character.

Men and women who would seize divine moments must be willing to embace failure as part of life. You can EXIST without ever failing, but you can't ever really LIVE without being willing to face it.

______________

These thoughts encouraged me so much! So I made a decision that I would continue to live in a place where I need to see God's miracles. I decided to continue to live in place where failure is possible and sometimes imminent. I am going to continue to step and be bold as I follow the leading of God!

Yes, I have failed. And yes I have seen God do miracles in my life. And yes I am going to continue to risk big and walk in big faith and hope to see big miracles!

Join me in the great adventure! :D

New Beginning or same ol' thing???

2011-09-08T10:00:00.001-04:00

Each day we get up and face a choice. Each new day we choose one of two paths.

The one path is the path of least resistance, the easiest road to follow. We just keep plodding along in the same old rut we have walked down every day prior to this one. It seems easy and without conflict and struggle. It takes little creativity and no courage. It is a familiar road, one that we know all to well.

The other path is scary, it is marked by risk and the unknown. This path is the path of new ideas, new plans, new dreams, and new passions. This is the path that is wrought with both great failure and great success. This path leads to new life and new vitality in every area of our life. BUT... this path is a risk.

Human nature is a funny thing. We just naturally tend towards to most familiar road. Think about it a minute:

Instead of risking a "new" restaurant we often eat at the old place we know
Instead of ordering a "new item" on the menu - we stick with what we know
Instead of purchasing a shirt with a new design or logo we get the same old thing
We tend to vacation at the same spots
We tend to purchase and drive the same type of cars
We are more comfortable sticking to whatever level of education our parents received
We are more comfortable operating within whatever socioeconomic group we are currently in
We rarely try a new hobby or sport
We are not interested in new ideas
We stick to the friends we have always had
We stay in the area of town we are most comfortable

Jesus encountered the woman at the well in John chapter 4:1-25. He brought an offer of NEW life to what was this woman's old way of living. He asked her about her choices and her lifestyle. He offered her life and living water. He offered her a way out of the sin she was stuck in. He bridged the gap of her own sin and shame and he offered her REAL LIFE.

In John 4:39-42 We see the woman at the well choose a new path. She made the hard decision to change her life, to change her decisions, to change the ones she associated herself with. She made the tough decision to get out of mire of a life of bad decisions.

In verse 39 we see not only did she change her life, but she shared her experience with her friends and many in her town chose new life as well.

In your life, family, business, or ministry choose the more difficult yet more rewarding pathway. It may not be the easiest pathway but it will no doubt be the most rewarding path. Think outside the box. Dream big. Go someplace new. Get out of the old ruts of life. Find Christ like the woman at the well and make some drastic changes! God often changes the old to make something new and different - but if we will walk with him and submit to him he has good things in his heart for us and for our future! Take courage as you follow the Lord out of the old and into the new!

Berean

2011-09-07T10:00:00.003-04:00

In Acts 17:10-15 the apostle Paul talks about the Berean Jews. In verse 11 it says, "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica. Fort they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Often in our western culture we praise and encourage those who simply take everything as true that someone in authority says. For example, take a college professor, a police officer, a pastor or an author. Often times we are told to take everything they say as true and right without examining the thoughts for ourselves.

Well, that is not so with Biblical Christians, we are encouraged to examine everything under the authority of the scriptures and the messages of Christ. We are encouraged to be Berean.

There are several instances in my own life where I regret not being Berean. I regret not examining the message for myself instead of just taking it as "TRUTH."

Today if there is something you are wondering about. Something you are just not so sure about, choose to be Berean. Examine the message (no matter who it comes from) with thoughtfulness, prayer and through the lens of the Bible.

falling flat

2011-09-06T10:00:00.006-04:00

Recently I have put my heart and soul into two totally different things and both things have just fallen flat. They really have not failed, but they have not succeeded like I had hoped they would and honestly it feels a lot like failure to me.

In our western culture we have this expectation that everything will always go "up and to the right." You know kind of like the stock market in a good year. Somehow we just expect that everything will always go well and always get better.

As Christians we often live in the same paradigm. We just assume that God will automatically make our lives go "up and to the right." It is funny, but we really take our assumption more from our culture than from the scriptures.

The Bible does promise that if we are in Christ, we will spend eternity free of tears, pain, suffering and misery. So the "up and to the right" concept does hold true for our eternal destination.

However, in scripture many people suffered to advance the gospel. In fact, in Hebrews 5:8 it actually says that, "Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered."

Wild as it may be, as we learn obedience through what we suffer, we actually can become more intimately acquainted with Christ. The greatest pleasure and peace on this planet is found in that relationship with God. Sometimes our gracious God uses difficult circumstances to draw us to him.

So if everything in your life is not clearly going "up and to the right" sit back and begin to ask if your spiritual walk and your character development is going up and to the right.

Sometimes adversity is the most fertile soil to cultivate a heart that is wholly devoted to God! And a heart wholly devoted to God is where the greatest riches of peace, hope and prosperity are found.

The Mask...

2011-09-04T18:07:00.000-04:00

"We come to Christ because we know ourselves to be sinners, and yet sadly we often spend the rest of our lives trying to prove that we are not."

In your life and in your relationships choose today to be real. Take off the mask. Choose to stop performing and attempting prove your worth. Rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation in Him, and yet you will still sin and fall and fail. Life in Christ is not about perfection. It is about a relationship of constant dependance on Him. It is a relationship where our imperfections are constantly made new in Him.

Join me in the journey to authenticity!

I'm so stressed out...

2011-09-03T20:52:00.003-04:00

So we say it all the time, "I'm just so stressed out." Or, "I have so much to do that I will never get it done." How about this one, "They put so much on me that I just cannot handle the stress."

It is a real moment in time, when you take a step back from your life and begin to seek where the stress is really sourced. Finding the source of your stress and eliminating it is imperative if we are to get out from under the absolute OVERLOAD!

I am more and more convinced that the majority of our stress is self imposed. Yes, we live in world of deadlines for reports, projects, payroll, bills being due, and the like. And yet no one can create internal stress and chaos in you.....But You.

Christ repeats throughout the gospels do not fear, do not worry, be anxious for nothing. And yet we find ourselves filled with fear, worry and anxiety which really is the core of stress and overload.

What if all the pressure we feel was created by us. What if this stress was mostly self imposed pressures and overloads that overwhelmed us?

It is almost funny but I see people respond in primarily two ways to the pressures and stresses that they feel internally. Some people take the over-respoinsible road. This is the road that the world praises and recognizes at "good and right." This is what "responsible" citizens and employees look like. Often times this is what parents push their kids to become. And yet I am convinced that this road is filled with people who carry enormous personal stress and live mostly overwhelmed miserable lives.

The second road you see people take is the total irresponsible road. No worries, no cares, no responsibilities, often no assets and frequently no job. Often the ailment you see in these people is an inability to commit and to devote themselves to something. They lack depth and run from relational intimacy. This is the worst fear of most parents, that their kids will refuse to grow up and just continue to be "big kids." And yet I'm not convinced that being totally irresponsible is such a worse ill than being utterly over-responsible and stressed out.

As I live my life, I don't want to be over-responsible stuffy, stodgy and stressed out. And yet I refuse to be an irresponsible flake who lacks commitment and followthrough. So the question is, does another alternative exist?

And I believe in Christ we can rest confidently in His care for us, and yet be fully responsible for our lives and our families. Not for the total outcome, not for the illusion of complete control but responsible to love and to lead. We can stop creating our internal stress, and self inflicted pressures. We can stop trying to please everyone and begin to live life intentionally. We can take our stress and our fear to God through prayer and supplication according to Philippians 4:6. We can let our Creator and our Father carry all the stress of life.

So you don't have to be a stuffy over-responsible person nor do you need to flake out on responsibility and life. Instead, turn to Christ who makes all thing new and lay down your fear and anxiety at the Cross. Today through prayer, begin to carry hope and faith and love instead of worry and fear and anxiety.

The greatest gift of all

2011-09-02T10:00:00.002-04:00

When someone gives us forgiveness it is a great gift. I just got off the phone with a couple who could by all intents and purposes be very angry with me for some choices I made several years ago. I still look back with regret and sadness over some of my choices. I suppose if we are honest, we all carry some regrets. When our choices negatively impact the lives of those around us it is so sad to me. This couple was negatively affected in terms of their job, their marriage, their social life and at their home church. It is amazing enough that Christ forgives me, but when a person whom we have truly wronged forgives us it is just amazing. To me, this is a true testimony of God's Great Grace. And it is a miracle that shows that God is really working in their lives. Even more amazing, is that today they wrote me to encourage me for my blogging and how much these simple little blogs have meant in their lives... now that is a genuine miracle!

Is there someone today who you need to call and extend your love and forgiveness towards?

I want to spend the rest of my life building bridges and not burning them. Love is so much more powerful than anger and hatred. Let's practice forgiveness stop harboring resentment. Join with me and let's be builders of bridges and strong relationships. Life is way to short to nurture bitterness!

Dark Night

2011-09-01T12:48:00.002-04:00

No matter how dark the night and how dismal the circumstances the dawn still comes. Pain and loneliness seems so ominous at night. Night is somehow the literary picture of all that is unknown and scary in our lives.

It seems that in the nighttime hours our problems loom so much bigger and more menacing. Lamentations 3:22 says, "His compassions never fail, they are new every morning."

No matter how dark your night, remember the fingers of dawn are already creeping across the night sky. God's mercies and compassions are new each day with the rising sun.

And suddenly like a heart full of hope the sun breaks forth from beneath the horizon and chases the night away. In those moments the foreboding and fear of the night is gone and the hope of the morning has come.

Take heart, your dawn is coming! Night will not last forever!

Live in Peace -- As far as it depends upon you!

2011-08-31T08:55:00.002-04:00

Romans 12:17-18 "Do not repay anyone evil for evil, be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends upon you, live at peace with everyone."

Sadly enough, it may be impossible to live at peace with everyone. I tend to be a people pleaser and over-responsible at that. I can be a bit OCD about making sure everyone is happy with me and pleased with what I'm doing.

And yet at some point you stop and realize that running around trying to make people happy is no way to live. Scripture says, "If it is possible, as far as it depends upon you, live at peace with everyone."

There have been times in my life where I have experienced breakdowns in my relationships on all fronts. I mean ALL fronts, including personal, business, parents, friendships and even in church. My first response after a relational breakdown is to search my own heart and seek the heart of God for where I am wrong. No sense in pointing out someone else's shortcomings if you have not announced yours. In most relational breakdowns both people are wrong to some degree or another. There have been times in my life where I believe I was totally responsible, but by and large it takes two to tango!

After identifying my wrong, I have actually gone to that other party and asked their forgiveness only to be mocked or ridiculed. In those instances you must walk away and must know that "As far as it depended on you" you have lived in peace with that other person.

After you have gone (not to accuse) but to take responsibility for your wrongness, you have done everything in your power to make things right. So let it go...

If there is someone in your life where things are broken and painful, maybe you need to go and ask their forgiveness for something you did. Remember don't go to point out their shortcomings, go to deal with you and your shortcomings. And honestly, the issue is not their response, the issue is that you have humbled yourself and attempted to live at peace!

Choosing to forgive another person, and asking forgiveness from another is about our freedom. And secondarily it gives that other person a chance to walk toward freedom and life themselves.

Live at Peace, but ONLY as far as it depends upon you! Leave the rest in God's hands.

Build Bridges: A poem from the heart!

2011-08-21T11:46:00.000-04:00

In the moment of adversity: stop and wait

In the midst of pain: be calm

In the firestorm of panic: be still

In great fear: look to heaven

In tragedy: let the tears flow

In argument: maintain openness

In triumph: remember those who were trampled

In great victory: remember the losses

In moments of smooth sailing: watch the horizon

In the midst of the storm: know the sky will clear again

In peace: build bridges

In remorse: find God's grace

In loss: grieve deeply

In peace: look inward

In travail: seek justice

In prayer: doubt not His love

In deeds: show lavish kindness

In character: cling to integrity at all costs

In battle: forget not your frailty

In life: look to future

In love: practice patience and kindness

In the dark of night: know the dawn is coming

As a parent: pursue passionately

As a lover: open your heart

As a teacher: instill passion for learning

As a brother: be available

As a date: delayed gratification

As a friend: be there for adversity

And when you fail: receive God's forgiveness

And when you hurt another: take responsibility

And when you triumph: Celebrate

Love God...Love People!

Be Happy!

Live Life!

"Blows and wounds cleanse away evil" - WHAT?

2011-08-20T08:54:00.001-04:00

Proverbs 20:30 says, "Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being."

This is a difficult Proverb for me. As I have meditated on it, I believe that King Solomon the author of most of the proverbs is talking about personal suffering. It is interesting what personal suffering can do to ones character.

Hard times come in many forms. Relational breakdown, financially difficult, occupational challenges, health issues, death, or even a loved one moving away. When we undergo hard times we have several choices. We can become hard, bitter, resentful and angry. Or we can choose to forgive, let go of the pain and rise above the suffering even if it is at the hand of another human being.

A few years ago I was roofing a house in the middle of the state of North Carolina in mid-July. It was blistering hot, nearly 100 degrees with high humidity and no breeze. We had several guys working with us and the heat was miserable. There was one guy with us who kept whining and complaining. It began to be obvious that he was holding up the process. We all just wanted to finish up and get off that black tar paper on the roof and this guy was slowing us all down. I will never forget it, but one of guys looked at me and said, "That guy has had life too easy. He must not have gotten his tale busted enough while he was growing up." (The guys said this to me in slightly different language, but you get the point).

I remember standing there on the hot roof pondering the funny comment this guy made to me. And somewhere along the way it hit me. Suffering and hardships really do produce a mature confident person -- if you bear into the suffering.

Consider Nelson Mandella. Part of who he was, was forged during his 27 years in prison. He became a quiet confident man who opposed any type of violence and sought reconciliation not revenge and hate.

When we embrace our hardship and our suffering, even when it is at the hand of another, we become stronger. We often become kinder and gentler and more forgiving.

I have made a commitment to turn my wounds and beatings into forgiveness and kindness. Love always wins the day - even if it takes a while. Against love and forgiveness there is no law and no argument.

Whatever your wound, wherever you feel beaten or abused - gently let the Lord work forgiveness and life into the depths of your soul and choose to rise above bitterness and anger. Suffering really does purge and forge the inmost being!

The Wise Person and The Fool...

2011-08-18T23:04:00.001-04:00

You know human nature is quite funny. When the truth comes to you there are only two possible responses. You change yourself or you can manipulate the truth to look like something other than the truth. What you do and how you respond when the truth finds you really determines the type of person you are.

Recently I had the privilege of seeing Dr. Henry Cloud and he inspired these thoughts!

So let's take a minute and explore how "truth finds us!" Truth can come in many ways, shapes or forms. In business, truth might come by way of the balance sheet or Profit and Loss statement. In a family, truth might come by those most close to you with an honest confrontation or vulnerable sharing time. At work, truth might come in the form of feedback or a written report about your performance. On the road truth might come in the form of a traffic ticket. Among friends truth might come in the form of jest that carries some truth. With our young children truth comes when they refuse to listen and respond to us. But however your truth comes, we have moments of truth each and every day. The question is will you embrace the truth or deny the truth...

When the truth comes, the fool attempts to change the truth. They will shift the reality to make what the truth is revealing look better or at least less negative. They will blame everyone other than themselves. They refuse to take any responsibility and simply reinterpret the facts or the data to get the focus off of themselves. When you bring the truth to a person through a confrontation or bit of feedback the fool will often react with anger, resentment or may even mock you.

When the truth comes to a wise person, they recognize and accept the truth and begin the process of changing themselves and adapting to the truth. A truly wise person will accept the truth will welcome the feedback even if it is painful. The wise person actually looks for truth and seeks to grow and change. The wise person will never totally sidestep the truth, instead they will explore the truth that has found them in an attempt to discover where and how they need to change.

If you are reading this and realize you have played the fool, it is okay, you can begin the journey to becoming wise today. I have played the fool. I have changed the truth to what I want to see and hear. Today if the truth is finding you, let it shape you and seek to discover how you can change and grow through the truth!

Life is a journey, and I have chosen to make the journey as a man who is becoming more and more wise. it is my hope that you are willing to face your truth on your road to wisdom!

Technorati claim token XJVCAEGG772C

2011-08-18T22:10:00.001-04:00

Technorati claim token XJVCAEGG772C

So I am getting registered with technorati which is a very interesting website that sort of manages and keeps up with the new blogosphere which has really come alive in the last 10 years.

Amazing!

Happy Reading!

We are not in the garden anymore...

2011-08-18T07:58:00.000-04:00

A wise friend just looked at me and said, "Michael, you are not in the Garden anymore." I stared back at him with a blank expression. And after a moment or two I asked, "what do you mean." He began to unpack for me that we are not living in the garden of Eden anymore.

In other words, life is no longer perfect. In truth, I'm a perfectionist. I strive to make everything I do just about perfect or at least as close to it as I possible can. While that can be good, sometimes life is just broken and our perfectionism can drive us crazy.

So the question is, when life is not perfect do you shut down? Are you immobilized by life's imperfections and things beyond your control?

I have been on a journey to accept those things that I cannot change. To realize that some things in this life will be difficult for the duration of the journey.

Sometimes life being an imperfect place is just too much for people. They cannot handle the brokenness and the pain.

But here is the deal, we all have the opportunity to accept the redemption and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And while we will never be perfect, our situations and relationships will never be perfect, His love and His saving grace is the only thing that is perfect.

Today the question is not how will you deal with the imperfections in life, but instead can you throw yourself and your life on Christ and find peace in His Grace being sufficient in your weakness and your brokenness.

In some ways life will always be broken, but it is precisely through those breaks and cracks that the love and light of Christ Jesus can shine through.

And no we are not in the garden anymore, but we are made perfect in His immeasurable grace!

Heart Move...

2011-08-17T15:56:00.000-04:00

In Ezra 1 King Cyrus makes a proclamation. King Cyrus was the most powerful King on the earth at the time and this was not just any proclamation...

Ezra 1:1 says, "...the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm..."

Brief Background: Cyrus did not know God, but it did not matter because God Knew Cyrus. Cyrus was holding the Israelite people captive and they were living in to total despair and bondage. God moved on Cyrus to release the Israelites from captivity so they could return to their homeland and rebuild their homes, temple, and lives.

It is God who stirs up the heart to do things. It is God who raises up leaders and puts thoughts and vision into the minds of men and women. God directs and influences the world by influencing the hearts of mankind. God changes the will of humans and directs our judgements. God is very much alive and well today.

Consider Isaiah 45:4 (which corresponds with Ezra chapter 1) says, "I(God) summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me." King Cyrus not acknowledging God did not change the fact that God was implementing His sovereign will through Cyrus!

Today find rest and comfort that God directs your heart and your life even if you refuse to acknowledge him. Christians spend so much time asking for God's will and direction instead of simply walking in faith that of course as you submit your life and future to Christ Jesus, He will direct your path.

Maybe today you are emotionally hanging by a thread and feel far from God. Maybe you feel at the mercy of someone else and their decisions. Maybe you feel like your life is a random set of accidents and fate is the one who wickedly determines your future.

Whatever you plight and whatever your turmoil, breath deeply. God directs peoples hearts like channels of water. He puts thoughts into the minds of men and women. Maybe you are pondering a big decision - trust that God has His hand on your life and will direct your path.

You are not alone - even if you wish you were.

God knows your name even if you don't know His. And God is directing hearts both yours and those around you, even if you don't see His hand.

Sick Accusations from the Original Accuser!

2011-08-16T17:11:00.000-04:00

It's funny because I can receive 10 compliments about a message I gave or something I led and one criticism and yet the 10 compliments just disappear in my head and the 1 criticism stands out like a sore thumb throbbing in my mind and heart.

We spend so much of our time and our day thinking about what we have done -- in the past. Regret just oozes out of most people. And with each passing decade it seems that the regret piles higher and higher. Lost opportunities, missed relationships, overlooked people, childish pursuits. On and on the list of regrets goes.

The accuser comes to get us to spend all our time reliving the past. Wishing we had made a different decision...

If only I had not gotten angry at my kids
If only I had not gotten involved with that person...
If only I had finished my schooling.
What if I had not missed that opportunity at work
I wish that I did not lose my cool and say that...
Why did I do I do that?
What was I thinking?
Why did I get drunk or stoned...
What if I was popular in high-school...

Revelation 12:10 references Satan as the Accuser who accuses day and night.

Next time he starts accusing don't dwell on it. Don't let him take you for a walk into never-never land or will he will check-mate your future. Instead agree that you are not Worthy, you don't measure up - but remind yourself IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU. It is about what Christ has already done! Christ paid it all, he covered all your sin. The sin you have already committed and sin are going to commit.

1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. So the next time you feel accused and stop moving forward because of your guilt and shame -- confess and latch onto the purity that comes from Christ!

So stop living in the regret of the past and start living in the current reality that in Christ you are righteous. And while God is still molding you into his image you are already cleansed and perfect in his sight. Don't let the Accuser put your life in check-mate!

What is done is done. The past is the past. It is over. There is nothing you can do about the past. But you can change your future. You can make decisions from this day forward and participate with God in creating your desired future!

God has a plan and future for you. He has in His heart to give you a hope and a future!

Cut lose and follow God!

nosebleeds to the stage...

2011-08-14T08:44:00.000-04:00

So I am on my way back from the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit. The funniest thing happened while I was there. I was sitting way up in the nosebleed section of the main auditorium. You have to understand, at Willow Creek, the main auditorium seats like 7200 +/- people or something. It is far more like half of the Coliseum in Rome than a church auditorium. In fact if you stand down on center stage you feel like you are front and center of the gladiator pit, it is crazy.

Anyway, I was sitting there in the nosebleeds, and main speaker is like 1.5 inches tall and way off in the distance. Honestly you watch the speaker more on the gigantic monitor screens than looking at the actual speaker way down on center stage.

So as I'm sitting there, this great family friend sends me a text message. The text says, "I have seats for you, so come on down." I figured the seats might be better than mine, So I made my way down to the three floors to the main floor. And to my total shock, I discover that they had reserved seats front and center on the second row! I mean, I could casually toss a paper wad and hit the main conference speakers. While up in the nosebleed section you actually watch the monitor more than you watch the person, in the second row you watch the person because there is nothing else to look at. You are right there in the middle of all the mayhem that goes down on center stage.

So I sat though the second session on the second row. Each session was rad by the way. Killer conference! After the second session, someone came up to me and asked me to sit near the speaker on the main stage.

I mean, honestly I could not believe it, I had gone from the nosebleed section to the second row to main stage in less than 2 hours and I did not do a thing. I did not ask anyone to move, they invited me, they pursued me, and they initiated towards me.

As I sat on stage, where I could reach out and touch the main speakers and worship leaders, I was overwhelmed by a thought, "This is just like Christ and his pursuit of me." I was totally lost in the nosebleeds and He came after me. I did not do anything to earn it, he just brought me from the very back to the very front and sat me next to Him - just because He loves me.

This is my story and it is all of our story! Christ comes after us and pursues us wherever we are, He gets us from our lost place in the nosebleeds and brings us down front to sit with Him. He pursues us not because of anything we have done, but because of His great love for us!

He makes ALL thing new!

Amazing - From the nosebleeds to the stage! I went from Eternal separation from God to eternal connection to God through Christ Jesus - wow what a picture. We are now seated with Christ...

Brilliant!!!

GroupThink: 450 sheep jump to their deaths in Turkey

2011-08-13T10:18:00.002-04:00

450 sheep jump to their deaths in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported. In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported. "There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted," Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam. The estimated loss to families in the town of Gevas, located in Van province in eastern Turkey, tops $100,000, a significant amount of money in a country where average GDP per head is around $2,700. "Every family had an average of 20 sheep," Aksamquoted another villager, Abdullah Hazar as saying. "But now only a few families have sheep left. It's going to be hard for us."
_______________________________________________________

This above excerpt was an article recently published in the USA Today.

The Bible consistently refers to human beings as sheep. I have to say, from my experience I believe left to own devices that we, and apart from the enlightening power of Christ Jesus, are very much like sheep.

I once went down the long dark road of GroupThink. It cost me several years of my life.

It all boils down to two determining factors. 1.) Who you submit yourself to as an authority in your life and 2.) Who you surround yourself with as your peers.

I believe in absolute truth of the Bible through Christ Jesus. (John 1)

And yet truth lies in our experience, in our beliefs, in what we say is true and what we collectively believe. We can tell ourselves just about anything. And if we are telling ourselves something and the ones in authority over us are telling us that same thing, and those around us are telling us the same thing, then that which we are telling ourselves can become "true" to us in that moment.

Consider for a moment how Germany in 1928 went from being a very solid nation morally and ethically to exterminating a people group by 1944. I don't believe for a minute that they got up one day and decided to give power to one of the most atrocious dictators in history, knowing that he would lead the nation to kill 6,000,000 people with their full or at least passive support.

No, Germany was in a difficult place — they were in the middle of a great depression. And Hitler came with promises of a hope and future. The German people needed hope and they needed it desperately.

And so little by little GroupThink began. It was slow at first, with small changes and shifts in the way people thought and the way they were required to live. And the economy was getting better so the people overlooked the changes. Their leader and their peers all told them it was fine, and that everything would be okay. But it was not. 6,000,000 people were brutally murdered.

I would assume that when the 1,500 sheep who saw the 1 sheep jump off the cliff they were somehow startled or believed it was the right thing to do. And they all jumped to their deaths. This is so sad, and yet history is replete with examples of humans doing the same thing.

So be careful who you submit yourself to and who you surround yourself with. And always look before you leap.

When a Dream dies...

2011-08-12T08:18:00.000-04:00

Life is about dreams and hopes. When a person loses the capacity to hope and dream and to believe in a better tomorrow they lose the very thing that gives them vitality and makes them human.

Every person has the capacity to have hope for the future. Somehow as human beings we all hope for positive change and growth. (Joel 2:28)

The most courageous people hang on to those hope and dreams. Frequently with age those dreams can be written off as the "foolishness of youth" or audacious and outlandish.

And yet sometimes due to circumstances or situations beyond our control our dreams die. Sometimes our dreams die due to our own foolish decisions or careless actions.

I had a dream that died.

My dream was vibrant and colorful and my heart was full of passion to see that dream come into reality. And yet my dream still died. It died in part because of my foolish choices. It died in part because of decisions those around me made. Some of it died as a result of actions that were taken against me. But the how is not all that important, what is important is that my dream died.

Your dream may have died. Someone you loved and respected may have written it off as impractical or foolish. Someone may have done something that hurt you and the wounds and bitterness that were left inside of you left you unable to fulfill the dream. Circumstances beyond your control may have dictated a change and your dream died as a byproduct.

Today I am asking God for a new dream - His dream for my life and the life of my family. I am asking for a new mandate from heaven — new marching orders. I am asking Christ Jesus for a new vision for my life and future. You see I made all my decisions based around accomplishing my dream. When your dream dies it is very difficult to make decisions.

If you are like me, and for some reason your dream has died. Join with me and ask heaven for a new dream. A new passion to run towards.

Pray with me today that God would bring His Kingdom into your life and His will would be accomplished in your today and in your future. Pray with me for a new Mandate from Heaven! (Acts 1:4-8)