Lean In

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Lean towards destiny today.

Take a motorcycle rider. If he doesn't lean into those corners he takes, it's over. He'll be more than likely flipped off his bike to his own hurt not to mention damage done to his ride.

The dreams and callings that God has put in our hearts are not meant to be a source of frustration and discouragement, nor are they meant to be ignored. I have seen God's hand, destiny, and guidance in my and my family's lives, and we are hungry for His continued leading. He has been with us and has brought us this far, He will see us through.

Like a good friend of mine said - lean into it. Lean into the dreams in our heart. Lean toward them with destiny and purpose. Do something to move closer to it. Trust that He will bring it to pass.

Just as that motorcyclist must lean hard into his corners, so we must lean into the purposes of God for our life. Let's refuse to wander aimlessly, time is short. I don't want to get flipped off the bike.

So today, I lean...

Let's Play

Pic from ESPN.com, found here.

One of my favorite pastimes is following basketball. No, not college mind you, but pro ball. Though I live in and love the bluegrass state of Kentucky where fans "bleed blue" for their famed UK Wildcats, my enjoyment of the game comes from the National Basketball Association (NBA).

I developed a love for playing basketball as a kid in upstate New York, and began following NBA basketball for fun in probably my high school years. I love the grace, the power, the finesse, the explosiveness, the intensity, the suspense, and the stories of the game.

The popular sports teams where I grew up were out of Buffalo - the Bills (football, of course) and the Sabres (hockey). The nearest pro basketball team was out of state in Cleveland, OH, about 4 hours or so away. Pro basketball didn't have a great following in our area, but then again, it doesn't have the following nationwide that football has either. It's more of a niche market - some impassioned fans, but also many casual or occasional observers, where by contrast, as I heard one analyst say, people shape their lives around the football season here in the U.S.

I guess you could call me one of those "niche" followers then. Either way, there's not much to follow these days. The NBA is currently on lockout, basically meaning that the owners have locked out the players until both the owners and the players come to a more fair collective bargaining agreement, at least from the owners perspective. While the season is on lockout, the owners and players are both losing money, but the fans of course lose as well. The true NBA fans are caught waiting for the season to begin with their breath held.

Recently, the commissioner of the league, David Stern, is reported to issue an ultimatum so to speak, saying that if the current proposal isn't accepted by the players union, the next offer wouldn't be as favorable, with an acceptance deadline of this Wednesday.

It doesn't look promising for an acceptance from the union at this point. I understand that they are trying to do their best to get a fair agreement for their sake and the players coming after them. Some, I'm sure, feel like the offer from the owners is wrong and offensive, and so they are fighting for a fair deal themselves.

I am not in the middle of this fight, so I am not sure which deal is fair or right or if one proposal favors one side over another. But for the sake of the fans I hope that they resolve the disagreements quickly. I hope they can find common ground in the middle of their differences, strike a deal, and move forward soon.

I know it's more likely that not that my voice is not heard in this battle, but if there was any way it could be heard, my thought would be "let's play." And I believe that would be the voice of the majority of fans out there.

Say Cheeeese!

Morning tasks and errands, whirlwind dress-up, portrait pics taken, wind-down with Chuck E. Cheese...

Fun and full day :-)

Ethos

John Piper tweeted the other day, "Your legacy is the fragrance of your life that remains when you yourself are not present. -Daniel Taylor"


This is a fantastic quote that gets our minds on the things that really matter, and reminds us that our lives do not last forever. What will be the fragrance of my life that remains after I am gone?


When I read this quote, I immediately thought of a word I heard a few years ago... ethos.


Erwin McManus had written an article on the word ethos (which by the way, his book Chasing Daylight had a profound impact on my life), and the only thing I can remember is that ethos represents the essence or spirit of something.Or maybe according to the quote above, the fragrance of something.


Consider the ethos of a company, a nation, a leader, a friend, or our own life. If I were to take a poll, what would people say is the essence of my life? What fragrance am I giving off? This question could almost be asked another way - if you had one word to describe my life, what would it be? What is the essence of my life? Sounds like a good exercise.


I would encourage you to consider and ask the same.

Perfect Love

I'm a perfectionist.

I'm trying to come to grips with that :0)

It's hard to know you have a problem when you have lived that way for most of your life. When we have an ingrained way of thinking, it's hard to see outside of ourselves objectively at that way of thinking. Thus the importance of friends we trust who can speak into our lives, and the need to hear the voice that matters most in our lives, God's voice.

I feel that the Holy Spirit is revealing my tendency toward perfection to me (thankfully). Through God's help, and the help of trustworthy friends, He is I believe showing me some of the downfalls/negatives/consequences of that way of thinking.

For one, my perfectionist tendencies lead me to live a defeated life. They drive me to works before God and, of course, my works never add up. I come to God and can only think about the ways I fall short – at least to my mind. It's funny though, in His presence I find freedom. When I am in His Presence, I am accepted. The fear and works fall away.

I'm realizing that many times my reason for obedience to the Lord is driven by fear. However, under grace, my motivation for obeying His commands shouldn’t be fear and punishment, rather love and thankfulness.

I'm also realizing that the fear and perfectionism I live with, I pass that on to my kids. Though I would never want to admit to this, it's almost as if they are never accepted by me or "right in my sight" unless they are perfect, or do things just the way Daddy would like. But I have to be honest with myself, it’s the way I live before God, and probably how I lived before my parents, so without realizing it, I pass that pressure/fear/perfectionism on to my wife and children. It's not right or fair to them.

The wonderful thing about God is that when He reveals things in us it's not to just point out our sin and shortcomings and then leave us high and dry, rather, His desire is to bring healing and change. So in the midst of learning about my perfectionist mindset, I am also learning about the remedies...

1 John 4:7-21 speaks about the fact that God is love and that perfect love casts out fear. A remedy to my perfectionism is His love.

Another remedy is realizing that my perfectionism is only gain to me. Paul talked about his accolades, yet referred to them all as gain to him, and counted loss for the sake of Christ.


Finally, there is nothing like Romans 3 to dismantle any sort of attempt to work or be perfect for God's acceptance. None are righteous, none are perfect, not even one. We are justified by His grace as a gift, and there is no boasting in our efforts of abilities.


I'm still learning here. But I am thankful I have a loving God who cares about me enough to mold me into the image of His Son, and make me into a useful vessel for His kingdom.

Friend Impact

I've been friends with Tom Zurowski and his family for probably about 5-6 years now. Besides having the opportunity to serve alongside of him with his ministry, Global Response Network, he has been a great friend and has had a tremendous impact on my life.

Tom and his family founded Global Response Network (GRN) over 10 years ago. GRN serves as a prophetic voice to the church, and also as an outreach of compassion to the suffering church around the world. If you haven't ever perused the ministry's site, read his blog, or listened to his radio broadcasts I would encourage you to do so.

I included a powerful message below that serves as the heartbeat of the ministry. Take a look at why this ministry is having a real impact on the world for the Lord.

Blessings...

False Advertising?

A sign caught my attention the other day, it was displaying the slogan/image above. I believe it is part of a campaign for a few revival services to be held in the town where I live.

"Life is better with Jesus." I couldn't agree more.

My life has so much fulfillment and purpose simply because my life is found in Christ. I tasted and saw that the Lord is good many years ago as the Psalmist says. However, I couldn't help but feel like some how this sign is a deception to those who do not know the Lord, and is somehow "jipping" people regarding the real substance of the gospel.

The specific church in our area that is holding these revival services doesn't really matter here because I believe this is a bigger issue in the Church abroad so to speak. Life is better with Jesus, no doubt, yet, someone who sees this sign could view Jesus, based on what the sign says, as an enhancement to my already "pretty decent" life.

Yea, maybe I'll give this Jesus thing a try.

And so they're roped in, told that Jesus can better their life, pray a prayer and maybe get baptized (which is little more than getting wet if there is no true conversion) and can go on with their life as normal, only now with the enhancements.

Problem is, they were sold a bill of goods.

If the world is brought in on a slogan or gospel like what is represented on that sign, those hearing that message are only hearing part of the story. In fact, it's just a half-gospel, which is no gospel really at all.

When do those in attendance hear about the cost of following Christ? Do they hear that it will cost them their life? Do they know that Jesus requires you renounce all that you have to follow Him? Do they know that He is now the Lord and Master of their life, and the Holy Judge to whom they will have to give an account for their life one day? Not to mention do they ever have a revelation of their sinful state before the Lord and their offense toward a righteous God?

Life is better with Jesus. I thought about that slogan being used in a nation where persecution of Christians is prevalent. Life is better with Jesus. Maybe it's in the fine print: By the way, following Him will cost your life. You may get beaten, stoned, threatened, lose all your possessions, be thrown in jail, or even killed by the government or your own family members, but remember, life is better with Jesus.

And, like I said, it is.

And those who are willingly laying down their life for Him in persecuted nations I believe would say the same thing.

The problem here isn't so much with a sign for a church revival service, the problem is that sign points to a lost Gospel, or a maybe an Americanized gospel, where folks can enjoy the benefits of God and still life their life the way they want. Unfortunately, or fortunately, as God saves us from ourselves in many ways, that's not the true Gospel.

I hope and pray that the church using this slogan for their revival services preach the true Gospel as people walk through their door. They may be planning to do just that. If that is the case then I believe they are using a sleight of hand to get people in the door, which is another issue. Either way, my point is with a bigger issue - the compromise of the Gospel of Christ. Shame on us if we do not tell people the weight and penalty of their sins or the cost of following Jesus. We must die before we find life.

And when we do, we find that indeed, life is better with Jesus.