Running With Friends.

My Crossfit coach had been bugging me to run the Mountain Heritage Day 5K for a couple of weeks. I finally relented and signed up late last night. So I was up early this morning heading to Western Carolina University where I met up with several of my friends from the gym. I got checked in, safety pinned my bid to my shirt, warmed up and waited to start. I ran with (more like chased behind) these guys for 3.1 miles of up and down (seemed like mostly up). I didn’t finish 1st or 2nd or even 3rd in our group but I did cross the finish line with the best 5K time of my life. I did pass a 9 year old in the last 50 meters so take that!

The point is these people push me to be a better version of myself. When I am ready to give up they are there to encourage and challenge me to keep pressing on. If you are the fastest/smartest/most successful person in your circle you need to make some new friends. God’s Word has a lot to say about our friends -

“The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” - Proverbs 12:26

“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” - Proverbs 27:17

“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” - Proverbs 13:20

“One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.“ - Proverbs 18:24

“Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”” - 1 Corinthians 15:33

In every area of our life the company that we keep will determine the heights to which we rise. That my friend is one of the reasons why we need to be actively engaged in our church. Not as a spectator, or a consumer but as a connected, contributing participant.

Selah.

I remember.

9.11.2001

On the anniversary of the terrorist attacks I pause to reflect on that day and it occurs to me what I remember. As I scroll through the posts on social media with pictures and flags and memorials I remember.

• I remember exactly where I was.

• I remember hearing the news on the radio.

• I remember seeing the images for the first time.

• I remember that people gathered together to pray.

• I remember that people set aside their differences to focus on what unites us as Americans.

Today I remember that time is precious, tomorrow is not promised and we should love the people around us as if it were our last day. Or theirs. I remember that prayer is still important and I believe it makes all the difference in the world.

I also remember that they enemy's ploy is to divide us - racially, economically, politically, generationally and the list goes on and on. From broken families to a broken nation he is sowing his discord every chance he gets. Even in the church.

The Church is God's plan to share His redemption with all of humanity. Let's fight together - against the enemy and for one another. Let's forgive like we've been forgiven and love like we've been loved. Let's live with faith and not fear. Let's give the world a little glimpse of heaven and live like people's eternities hang in the balance. Let's remember that we matter, and remember that what we do matters.

“This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” – Ephesians 5:14-17 NIV

What's Your Worldview?

As a pastor one of the most painful things to watch is when someone begins to struggle with and question their faith. This is especially difficult when it is a young person making the transition into adulthood. As a parent my GREATEST hope for my children isn’t for them to be successful, rich or even happy. My greatest hope is for them to know and love God.

One of the things that I have noticed over the years is that there has been a radical shift in perspective. My generation largely viewed ‘truth’ as something existent outside of self. It was absolute, unchanging and not subject to personal opinion. For instance the ‘truth’ of gravity really doesn’t care if you believe it or not. It just is.

Today many view ‘truth’ as something personal, internal and malleable. What is ‘true’ for one may or may not be ‘true’ for another. What is ‘true’ today may not be tomorrow. Herein lies the million dollar question…

Do we view God through the eyes of our worldview or do we view the world through God’s eyes?

If God must fit within my worldview then he/she/it is really no god at all; no bigger than my understanding or imagination and no more powerful than I am. This was the realization I had at the age of 18. I had an epiphany that if there was truly a God then He was at the center of everything and I was not. He was not subject to the whims of my emotions or limited to the finite capacity of my mind. If there really was an eternal being that held time and space in His hand then He was the author of ‘Truth’. More accurately He is TRUTH.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” - Isaiah 55:9 NIV

I recently met a young man, newly saved, who had attended church as a teen. Since God didn’t fit within his worldview he admittedly embraced a pagan lifestyle to the extent of serving as a pagan priest. In his desire to break with all things Christian he set up a meeting with a pastor to vent and share his ‘truth’. In that meeting he found love, and more importantly found LOVE. When we stop trying to force God into our worldview and make Him Lord of our lives everything else comes into focus.

I am so thankful that it is not my place to judge God, or anyone else for that matter. I am grateful that ‘Truth’ is constant, because He is constant.

“Do not be deceived, my dear friends! Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning. By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.” – James 1:16-18 GNT