Why I shaved my legs.

No I’m not trying to get in touch with my feminine side. The truth is I injured myself training for a race I ran last weekend. I’ve been pushing pretty hard building up my mileage to get ready for an 8+ mile obstacle course race. I didn’t warm up and stretch properly and pulled a muscle in my calf. I was about 100 yards into my run when it happened and instead of turning around I kept going… for 8 long miles. It wasn’t the best life choice I’ve ever made. It was painful to walk on and turned a cool rainbow of colors.

So I was nursing it and doing everything I could think of to hasten the healing process. Hence this story. I purchased some Kinesiology Tape hoping it would help. For those who are unaware this product is basically a next level ace bandage. Physical therapists swear by the stuff. Endurance athletes cover themselves with the neon strips like it is a badge of honor. I figured I’d give it a try. I went online to watch the ‘how to’ video and the first thing they say is to apply it to clean, dry skin. They went on to say for ‘best results’ you should ‘remove all hair from the affected area’ before using the product. Wait? What?! Now I’ve had some friends who were serious about cycling or swam competitively who shaved their legs. Now let me be clear. I HAVE MADE FUN OF EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF THEM!!!

But I was desperate. So much to the chagrin of my daughter I borrowed her razor and asked if she had any pointers. She said, ‘Try not to cut yourself.’ Gee thanks.

Here is my point. I was desperate. I had trained for almost a year for this race. I had spent real money registering for this event. So I was willing to go to take drastic actions to make this happen. And that is what it takes. We have to get to the point that we are so appalled with where we are at that we are willing to do whatever is necessary to move forward. Maybe it’s a recurring sin in our life. Maybe it’s a destructive behavior or addiction or even a toxic relationship. It’s time we got sick and tired of being so sick and tired. It’s time to break the pattern of being broke every month. It’s time to get so fed up that we are willing to swallow our pride, get the help that we need and make the changes that will finally set us FREE! Although hell stands ready to resist our efforts all of Heaven is cheering us on and God is on our side!

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:10 NIV

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” - Romans 8: 31 NIV

““…no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.”- Isaiah 54:17 NIV

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1 NIV

“…and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” – Matthew 16:18b NIV

By the way - my calf did great, I finished my race and now I'm ready to tackle the next challenge. 12-14 miles, 30-35 obstacles, November 4th. Who is with me?

Making A Difference.

Yesterday I had the honor of attending the ribbon cutting for the ‘Little Pantry’ in Sylva. If you haven’t heard about the ‘Little Pantry’ it’s a small box that was recently placed at our Sylva Campus where anyone can come and get food and personal items, anytime, for any reason. If you want to check out the article the Sylva Herald wrote about it just CLICK HERE.

Today I had the honor of seeing it at work. I was taking care of a few odds and ends at the office when I happened to see a minivan park out front. A woman stepped out of the passenger seat, walked over to the ‘Little Pantry’, picked out an armload of necessities and headed back to the car. I don’t know her name or her situation but God does. Today I witnessed someone being loved and God alone getting the glory.

Fourteen years after his encounter with Jesus on the way to Damascus Paul traveled to Jerusalem. He met with the Apostles to discuss his message to the Gentiles because He wanted to make sure that he was on track. They had one encouragement for him -

“All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.” - Galatians 2:10 NIV

James said it this way -

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” - James 1:27 NIV

We have a list of 16 Core Values that make LifeWay well… LifeWay. The first is an Outward Focus. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He also came to serve not to be served. Another Core Value is Gracious Generosity – see ‘God so loved the world that He gave…’ We give because we can, not because we have to. We are gracious because it is who He is and it is who we are! The final Core Value I want to mention is Personal Responsibility. She may fuss but I want to thank Ruby Peoples for making this happen. Ruby attends our Sylva Campus and works with our Children’s Ministry. A few weeks back she came to me with this idea. She had the vision, took personal responsibility and made it happen. Well done Ruby!

Don't wait for someone else to do something that God has called you to do. Focus outward, be graciously generous and take personal responsibility. It will change your life, it will change someone else's life (and maybe their forever) and God will get the glory!

Over the years we have had the opportunity to help launch several ministries that serve those in need including The Community Table, God’s Abundance Soup Kitchen and the Jackson Neighbors’ in Need Homeless Shelter. I am proud to pastor such an amazing church! Well done LifeWay! This month we celebrate 20 years of God's faithfulness as a church and from what I have seen today I am absolutely convinced that He is just getting started here at LifeWay.

3 Ordinary Guys

So I’m reading through the book of Ezekiel and come across the following passage –

“Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals, even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.” – Ezekiel 14:13-14 NIV

Basically God is talking to the prophet about how sinful Jerusalem has become. What stood out to me were the three names. I mean there were dozens of righteous men and women who had lived before this time that God could have chosen. Why Noah, Daniel & Job? I’ve been praying and pondering on that for a few days and this is the conclusion I’ve come to –

God does extraordinary things for ordinary people who are radically devoted to Him.

Noah built a huge boat… in the middle of the desert… when it had never rained before. He was radically obedient. God saved Noah, his family and all of humanity because of it.

Daniel refused to eat meat sacrificed to idols… and prayed to God even though it might cost him his life. He was radically committed. God promoted him, protected him in the lions’ den and destroyed his enemies.

Job praised God… when he lost his wealth… and his children… and his health. He was radically faithful. God paid him back double for everything that the enemy had stolen.

We often think of these guys, and other men and women like them in the Bible, as super-saints. The reality is that they were ordinary people in difficult situations who chose to trust God in spite of the world around them.

Noah was ridiculed by everyone around him and had to do a ridiculous amount of work. What God asked him to do made absolutely no earthly sense.

Daniel was carried off into captivity to serve an ungodly king and was sentenced to death for doing what was right.

Job lost everything he had, then was unjustly accused by his ‘friends’ and tormented by his wife just because God pointed him out to the devil.

We can be radically obedient, radically committed and radically faithful even though we are just ordinary people. And I believe we will see God do extraordinary things in our lives and through our lives because of it.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” - John 14:12-14 NIV

‘I’m just human’ isn’t a legitimate excuse for those who know Jesus to settle for ordinary. God expects us to be the Noahs, the Daniels and the Jobs of today so that He gets the glory and we get the rewards!

Am I crazy?

I overheard my wife having a conversation with my daughters the other day and she finally said, "Everyone else is crazy. I'm the only sane one!" Of course being a fantastic husband (and not being an idiot) I had to agree. The context of their conversation was the current state of our culture and what is considered 'normal'. My wife and I were born in the 70's, raised in the 80's (best decade), graduated in the 90's which makes us Gen Xers (and therefore cool by default). So Boomers still think we're kids and Millennials think we're ancient. We’re not really old but we’re not really young either. But we are old enough to remember a time where things were different. VERY DIFFERENT.

So much of what we see today wasn’t even a thought 20 years ago. I look at some of things my daughters are facing in school and realize that they weren’t on the radar as recently as 5 years ago. The garbage that is so prevalent on prime-time TV wouldn’t even have been allowed on late night, or HBO for that matter, when I was growing up. As a matter of fact the current trend is that what was ‘normal’ when I was a child is now considered abnormal and closed-minded.

In the 17^th chapter of John Jesus clearly teaches us that we are, ‘not of this world.’ Maybe I’m just naïve but I still believe that how we live our lives matters. The little choices we make do make a difference both in our lives and in the lives of those around us. I don’t think that you can effectively preach the Kingdom of God while practicing the kingdom of this world. If I’ve learned anything from reading the Bible and form practical experience it’s that the crowd rarely gets it right. It kills me when my young daughter asks me to explain a vulgar T-shirt or bumper sticker and I just have to say, ‘They’re just a moron sweetie.’ When did we lose respect for one another? When did we quit caring about the innocence of our children? And when did being vulgar become something to celebrate?

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” – Isaiah 5:20-21 NIV

Please hear me. I am not speaking to society. I am talking to Christians who are being lured down the same path in the name of ‘liberty’. So here is the point I’m trying to make… If you are a follower of Jesus Christ DO NOT let culture dictate your sense of right and wrong. Let the truth of God’s Word and the voice of the Holy Spirit be your guide.

““Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”” – Romans 3:4 NIV

That was quick!

I assume that most of the people reading this post are Jesus followers. Therefore I assume that most of us believe in the power of prayer. Now that that’s settled –

I usually begin my day by reading the Bible and praying. First things first right? I pray for all kinds of things, whatever is on my heart. But yesterday I had a burden to pray for very specific people in very specific ways. And so I did.

On the ride to take the kids to school we prayed together for the day ahead. As we do most days. Then I asked my girls if they thought that prayer made a difference. I got the right response but maybe lacking a bit of the whole-hearted conviction I had hoped for. It was after all morning and they were on their way to school so I’ll cut them a little slack. So I said, ‘If prayer makes a difference then let’s ask God to put someone in our path today that we can pray for specifically.’ So we did.

No joke we didn’t even get to the drop off at the school and God answered our request. Less than 2 minutes after we prayed someone we knew was walking through the parking lot so we jumped at the chance. We stopped the car, rolled down the windows and just prayed a simple blessing over her day ahead. On a side note she was getting ready to substitute teach at an elementary school so you know she needed prayer! We no sooner said amen to which she heartily replied, “I’ll receive that!!!”

Two things happened in that moment –

1. God answered our prayer by specifically placing someone in our path to pray for which built up our faith.
2. A sister in the Lord was strengthened and encouraged unexpectedly just as her day was getting started. You could see in her face and hear in her voice how much that little encounter meant to her.

So here is where the rubber meets the road. If you are a Christian then you are a minister of Christ. So ask God TODAY to specifically put someone in your path TODAY that you can pray for TODAY. Then do it. Right there, right then, out loud. You never know. God just might show up because after all prayer makes a difference right?

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” – James 5:16b NIV

That's your prayer!

100%

I have a good friend who recently asked me what the key to giving God 100% was. He said he felt like he had given 95% but couldn’t quite get the ‘old man’ to give up that last 5%. I’ve given it a lot of thought and this morning I responded to him. I thought it might be something others would find helpful. This is what I sent him –

“I get this sense that God still has more for you so don't ever settle into 'the routine' and think that you've 'arrived'. I've been in ministry since 1996. I've pastored since 1998. All that matters is today. Will I pick up my cross today? Will I follow him wholeheartedly today? Will I press into relationship with him today and seek his will today? I think that is the key to 100% surrender. And do we live out of the finished work of Christ on the cross or are we still trying to prove something as if that wasn't enough.”

At 18 I rededicated my life to Jesus. I guess to describe it more accurately I submitted my life to him as Lord. I cannot remember a time in my life where I did not believe in Jesus and recognize my need for his forgiveness. I liked the idea of not going to hell as much as the next guy. But I also liked being in control. Therein lies the conundrum – how can he save us if we won’t allow him to?

“And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” – Mark 8:34 NASB

It’s been almost 25 years since I became a Jesus freak; 20 of those in ministry. I’ve read the Bible dozens of times. I’ve preached hundreds of sermons to tens of thousands of people and shared the Gospel on five continents. I’ve had the honor of leading countless people to Christ and witnessed more miracles than I can remember with my own eyes. And with all of that I can only ask myself, “What does God desire of me today? How can I express my love and devotion to him today?”

The friend I mentioned is a full time missionary. He and his family left the American Dream behind to chase after something greater. Most people would see that as giving 110%. But for those who are passionate about being passionate yesterday’s encounters will never satisfy today’s cravings. It’s not about rules and regulations or jumping through a bunch of religious hoops. 100% is all about relationship. I think maybe that’s what the apostle Paul was talking about when he wrote the following passage -

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:12-14 NIV

By the way if you want to learn more about my friends and their ministry you can CLICK HERE and you can support them with an online gift you at mylifeway.net. Just choose the ‘Bunnows in Papua New Guinea’ option. Thanks and God bless!

Good Friday.

Good Friday. When we reflect on what happened some 2000 years ago it seems anything but good on the surface. Jesus was falsely accused, convicted and condemned. He was ridiculed, beaten and executed without mercy. On top of all that was abandoned and alone. The word ‘good’ seems to be sorely out of place. Except that he endured all of these things so we wouldn’t have to.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” – Isaiah 53:4-6 NIV

Separated from God by our sin there was no other way to bridge the chasm between God and us. Justice demanded a judgment and the debt was just too great for us to ever repay. So God in his great mercy and love took it upon himself to settle the account. All of the brokenness of mankind Jesus carried to that cross and it was buried with him.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

Take a moment to recognize today that you, YOU, are the joy that was set before him. Take a minute to reflect on all that Jesus has done for you, and how much he loves you. See it’s not just Good Friday; it’s the Best Friday ever!