I love a good bumper sticker.

Some bumper stickers amuse me, some aggravate me, and every once in a while I come across one that really makes me think... or perhaps not.

If we acted on every whim of emotion or every fleeting thought we had our lives would be a train wreck. Let’s be honest - all kinds of crazy ideas and feelings run through our heads and our hearts. We are emotional beings because God created us that way. However we must realize that we are not supposed to be controlled by our emotions. That’s a whole lot easier to type that to walk out!

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” - Jeremiah 17:9 NIV

Here are a few things we can do to climb off of the emotional roller coaster -

1. First figure out what you are feeling/thinking and why. Without this piece of information you are at the mercy of your emotions and thoughts.
2. Second recognize that there is a difference between thought and action. Just because you are justified in feeling or believing a certain way (i.e. hurt, scared, angry, etc.) doesn’t mean that you are justified to act on them. It also doesn’t mean that they are constructive or even grounded in reality (i.e. I was treated badly by one man therefore all men are bad and I cannot trust any man).
3. Finally respond appropriately rather than react emotionally. As Christians we need to submit our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, emotions and actions to the Scriptures. If truth lies within us then it is subjective and relative to the individual and the individual situation. But if Truth lies somewhere outside of us then right and wrong are constant and unchanging regardless of what we believe or how we feel in a given moment. We may have every ‘right’ to be angry with someone but the ‘righteous’ response is to forgive. It is also what is in YOUR best interest!

The world will tell you that God is trying to constrain you when in reality He is trying to set you free. Free to be in control of your thoughts and emotions. Let’s read on -

“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” - Jeremiah 17:10 NIV

God cares and He knows what’s going on inside our hearts. Don’t forget that. When we rise above our own thoughts and emotions to treat others with the same love and grace God showed us it is in that moment we are living our faith. That is the love of Jesus and a life God can’t wait to reward!

Holy Saturday.

Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday lies what is known as Holy Saturday, the day where Jesus lie dead in the grave. It was a day of great celebration for the kingdom of darkness and a day of great sadness for the faithful. I can only begin to imagine the sense of loss and despair the disciples of Christ must have felt. Their leader, their friend and their hope was gone. Everything they had believed in, all that they had sacrificed for was lost. Or so it seemed…

Little did they know that in the midst of death there was life, in the midst of tragedy there was triumph. Behind the scenes God was working out His masterful plan as He has all along. That day must have seemed like an eternity but in reality it lasted just 24 hours. Little did they realize that early the next morning they would encounter an empty grave and a Risen Savior.

In the trials and disappointment we face let us not forget that the same power that raised Christ from the grace now lives inside of us. His victory over sin, death and the devil was won for you and me. If you are walking through a difficult season and it appears as though all hope is lost, if the pain and confusion have caused time to come to a standstill remember this - after every Saturday there comes a Sunday. He is still the God who breathes life into dead place, brings light into darkness spaces and moves mountains for His beloved sons and daughters.

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” - Galatians 6:9 NKJV

His is to battle, ours is to believe.

Little things matter too.

Most people recognize when God does something BIG in there lives - perhaps a supernatural healing, the salvation of a loved one, divine protection in a situation where you 'should have died', etc. But how often do we overlook the 'little' things that He does each and every day? 

Let me put it in another perspective... My wife and I just recently celebrated our 20th anniversary. I cannot even begin to calculate the number of meals that she has prepared, the mountains of laundry that she has washed or the countless other 'small' things she does all the time for our family. Now to be honest I have come to expect to come home to a warm meal and wake up to clean socks just like she expects the grass to be mowed, the cars to be maintained, the gutters to be cleaned... you get the point.

Here is the deal - just because something is mundane doesn't mean it's meaningless.

Ponder that point for a moment. My wife is a GREAT cook for which I am very grateful and I make sure to let her know it. I think that the very least I can do when she takes the time to prepare a meal for our family is to say 'Thank you' and express my appreciation. I think it is my responsibility to make sure that our kids show the same gratitude. And I mean every time. To me the routine doesn't take away from the value but rather adds to it. 'Wow, you cooked another amazing meal?!' FYI 'Please' and 'Thank you' go a long way both with God and with man. 

So back to my first paragraph. I believe that God does big things and little things all the time. Our part is simply to ask and then to give Him the credit (read glory) when He answers.

     "You do not have because you do not ask God." - James 4:2b NIV

See I believe that prayer should be our first response, not our last resort. When it comes to big things we are willing to ask but what about the simple things? I ask Him for grace and favor all the time and guess what - I get it! You may think it's silly but I pray for great parking spaces and get them (front and center at Walmart on Christmas Eve baby!). On the same note when God does something huge we often give Him the credit but what about the 'little' stuff (not that anything is little when God is involved)?

Let's make sure our expectations don't devalue our appreciation!

So I want to wrap this up by giving God credit for a little thing. My wife and I and two friends were recently snorkeling in the Caribbean when she lost her snorkel. She headed back to shore and when I got there she told me what happened. I asked here where she lost it and she pointed toward the ocean and said, 'somewhere out there.' We had probably covered the area of 3-4 football fields so the likelihood of finding it was pretty small. Nevertheless I simply asked God to return it to us. My friend and I headed back out to continue snorkeling and after ten more minutes of enjoying the coral and fish we decided to head in. We turned around, swam about 20 feet and right below us was her snorkel sitting on the ocean floor. I might add in a location that was shallow even to dive down to. Good luck? I don't believe that for a second. God's love? Absolutely!

You never learn anything from the 2nd kick of a mule.

This is the time of year where I usually get myself into trouble. You would think that I would learn but evidently you would be wrong. Tomorrow is Election Day and I have a few thoughts that I am going to pass along.

1. Politics is not the primary means by which we can affect social change. Jesus is. Even God Himself could not legislate righteousness (just read the Old Testament). The only true hope for the depravity of humanity is a heart transplant performed by the Holy Spirit.
2. With that said I believe we have a right and a responsibility to vote our Christian convictions. We can and should make a difference in our communities and in our country. Voting is a great opportunity to be salt and light in this great nation we live in. I am ever amazed at the people who choose NOT to use their voice during the elections and suddenly find it after the fact. Complaining doesn't fix things, however, getting involved can!
3. Now after all is said and done we need to remember that our first commitment is to His Kingdom. We are called to reach people from every walk of life and every political camp. Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Independents all need Jesus and it is up to us, the Church, to share Him with them. As for me personally, I care more about someone’s forever than I do their political affiliation (or my own for that matter).

Now who should you vote for? That’s simple. Pray for wisdom and take time to educate yourself on the candidates and the current issues. It’s your vote and I encourage you to use it.

I’m Michael Abbott and I approved this message.

Just Another Day In Paradise.

Growing up in sunny Southern California had its benefits. Swimming during Christmas break, beautiful beaches just a short drive away, running into celebs at the local hangouts were just some of the things we took for granted. But there were also some drawbacks.

The home I grew up in was burglarized SIXTEEN times during my childhood.

That’s right - 16 x’s! Once while we were asleep and another time twice in a single day (I guess even thieves get a lunch break!?). We lived in a decent neighborhood in the ‘Valley’. We had bikes, tools, electronics, cameras, jewelry stolen and eventually just accepted that it was the price we paid for living in ‘paradise’.

I was telling this story the other day and realized what I was saying - WE ACCEPTED IT! Like it was some unalterable fact of life! The truth is that we could have bought a vicious dog (our Boston Terrier didn’t get the job done), hired a guard or dug a moat and filled it with laser equipped sharks. But we didn’t. After all, that is what we had homeowner’s insurance for.

Here in rural western North Carolina people often make fun of me because I lock everything, every time. In a town where people still leave the keys in the ignition when they run into the market I’m sort of an anomaly. Oh well, some habits are hard to change. And then I started thinking about how this mirrors our spiritual life. I love how it’s worded in the Amplified Version -

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” - John 10:10

And here we are trudging through life allowing the enemy to steal, kill and destroy. After all we are saved (homeowner’s insurance). I wonder what we have ACCEPTED that isn’t a part of God’s plan for our lives? I wonder what doors and windows in our lives are unlocked providing easy access for the enemy? Possibly the words we use, the thoughts we entertain, the things we watch or how we spend our time & money? It might be time to DECIDE that being robbed on a regular basis ISN’T an acceptable way to live. 

I grew up watching Godzilla.

Last May our Sylva Campus Pastor Josh LaVere and I led an International Ministry trip to Ghana, West Africa. We had an amazing time with a bunch of great people and were honored to be a part of what God is doing around the world. But that’s not the point of this story.

See on the last day of our trip we do our souvenir shopping at a local outdoor market and then stop by the mall in the capital city of Accra before heading to the airport. Don’t hate me ladies but as far as I’m concerned if you’ve seen one mall you’ve seen them all - even those in another country. This was my fourth trip so I’ve pretty much bought all the trinkets I need. There is however at the mall a pretty decent coffee house, ice cream shop and a movie theater with serious air conditioning. We had a couple of hours before we needed to leave so Pastor Josh and I decided to catch a movie - Godzilla.

We (I) did the math and we had more than enough time. Well it turns out we didn’t. They didn’t start the 30 minutes of previews until about 10 minutes after the show was scheduled to start. We hadn’t factored that into our plans. We were scheduled to meet the team and head for the airport so we had to walk out during the final battle scene. We knew that the end had to be close but we just couldn’t stay any longer. During the trip home we came up with several possible endings since neither of us knew what really happened.

Tonight I found out. I was finally able to watch the whole movie and it turns out there was literally 30 seconds left of the big fight. Another 5 minutes and the story wrapped and the credits played. I kid you not. We walked out with 30 seconds to go! It made me think of a favorite verse of mine -

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” - Galatians 6:9

Here’s the deal. I don’t know what you have been and are going through. I don’t know how long you have been at this and I don’t know how much longer is left in your big fight. But I do know two things with absolute certainty -

1. You have never been closer to breakthrough than you are right now at this very moment in this fight.
2. No matter how close you are to winning if you give up now you lose.

My advice? Hang in there, the finale God has in store for you is worth the wait.

Dealing with Discouragement

I recently taught a message about 3 sources of defeat and I'd like to elaborate on the first one.

DISCOURAGEMENT

I see it everyday. People read a book, attend a seminar, have an epiphany that is going to change their life and then... a few days, a few weeks or maybe a few months later are back living in the same old rut. What happened? Well most times we simply became discouraged along the way. We have great ideas, even great intentions but sorry execution. We have been conditioned to respond to and expect instant gratification. I want what I want and I want it right now. I'm all for efficiency but great meals aren't made in a microwave. They have to simmer.

Great lives are much the same. It takes time to make changes and even more time for those changes to take effect. Think of it this way if you will - many of us have spent a lifetime doing whatever it is in our lives that's not working the wrong way. We have a lot invested in our disfunction. We change an attitude today, an action tomorrow and expect different results yesterday. Unfortunately that's not how the world works. When we don't see the rewards for our efforts immediately we get discouraged and tell ourselves that it's not working. The truth is it's just not working yet. Don't give up so quick because breakthrough is ahead (it's certainly not behind!).

We also get discouraged at times because we choose to listen to the wrong voices. The key word is CHOOSE. A while back I got verbally reamed by someone close to me. It had a profound effect. I'm talking loss of sleep, anxiety attacks, digestive problems and other stress related issued. Yes pastors struggle with these things too. I was talking with another pastor about my situation and he asked me why I allowed this person to talk to me like that. My response was, "What choice did I have?" The truth is that I had several and the one I chose didn't work well for me. If I'm presented with a similar situation in the future I will CHOOSE to walk away. No fuss, I simply won't participate. Hey, the deal is, haters gonna hate. There will always be people who will see (and say) the negative side in every situation.

In 1 Samuel 30 we have an interesting story about David dealing with discouragement. It would do you well to take a couple minutes to READ IT and let the reality of God's Word speak to you. David had lost everything and in that moment of discouragement everyone turned on him. Well almost everyone -

"But David found strength in the Lord his God." - 1 Samuel 30:6b

In the midst of our mess it feel like forever and it feels like we are alone. Neither are reality but they are real feelings. And feelings have to be dealt with. Get alone with God and get a proper perspective. Get around some good and Godly people who will build you up rather than tear you down. Don't let discouragement take root in your your heart and begin to bear fruit.

Think of the word for just a moment. Dis-Courage-Ment. The prefix 'Dis' means apart, asunder, away or having a reversing force. The suffix 'Ment' means the action or process of doing something. As we dissect the word it wouldn't be a stretch to define discouragement as - the action or process of reversing courage. You have to have had courage at one point to be discouraged at a later time. It's time to rediscover our courage. If we don't deal with our discouragement it will eventually lead us to defeat. You're victory is attainable. The only person who can stand in the way of you possessing God's promises for your life is you. Strengthen your resolve in the Lord and push through to victory. A great life is waiting for you on the other side of whatever obstacle or opposition you are currently facing. After all, God believes in you, if He didn't you wouldn't exist!