How I Sprained My Brain.

Four weeks ago I had an ‘Exertion Headache’ while working out. If you don’t know what that is it’s okay because neither did I. The affects are similar to a concussion and it’s caused by a spike in blood pressure in your brain. Basically I stretched the blood vessels in my head beyond their normal operating capacity. I was on my last rep when what felt like a grenade went off in my head so I dumped the bar and collapsed on the ground. Honestly I thought I blew a gasket in my brain and was seriously considered having someone call 911. After a few minutes the intense pain subsided and left me with a dull, persistent pain in my temples, a stiff neck, sore jaw and an aversion to loud noises. I’m still dealing with the residual effects.

So I did what any normal person would do and diagnosed myself with the medical degree I got from GU (Google University). There were 6 factors listed that can contribute to an Exertion Headache. I think I had 7 of them. The list included Dehydration, Big Movements, Heavy Weight, High Reps, Compromised Blood Flow and Not Breathing. So I was fasting and hadn’t had anything to drink before class, we were doing a bunch of front squats with as much weight as possible, the bar was pushing up against my throat cutting off circulation and I held my breathe on the last two reps. I will say that our coaches stress the importance of hydration and breathing ALL the time. I knew better.

I’ve worked out this hard before, even harder and been perfectly fine. It was just the combination that pushed me and my blood pressure over the edge. It got me thinking that these ‘factors’ might apply to areas of our lives beyond our physical health. Like maybe our marriages, our money, our emotional well-being, our walk with the Lord, etc. 

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” – 1 Timothy 4:8 NIV

Let’s take a look at those 6 factors from a different point of view –

1. Dehydration – We need to be constantly pouring into our lives because we are constantly pouring out of them. God has called us to be rivers not reservoirs of His grace and life.
2. Big Movements – Life ebbs and flows and so do our priorities. If we are not putting the right amount of effort into the right places at the right time we won’t get the right results.
3. Heavy Weight – When we are dealing with a crisis in our life we often see things only from that perspective. Some people seem to live in crisis, going from one to the next. If they don’t have one of their own at the moment they will attach to somebody else’s. Not a healthy way to live. We need to remember this is just a season and God has brought us here for a reason.
4. High Reps – Sometime we don’t appreciate the wear and tear of the daily grind. If we’re not careful our routine becomes a rut and we’re crazy busy but not making any headway. If something isn’t working more of it might not be the answer.
5. Compromised Blood Flow – Blood flows from the heart, carrying life giving oxygen and food to every cell of our body and carrying away all the junk that needs to go. When we lose heart it’s not long before we lose hope.
6. Not Breathing – Speaking of hope sometimes we hold our breath hoping that something will pass. Hope should produce faith and faith should move us to action. Ultimately action is what will get us to our goal.

Very rarely do we make one decision that’s so bad it causes catastrophic results. Usually it’s a combination of things, over a period of time that is our undoing. My advice is to listen to your coaches (people that are winning), watch for warning signs along the way and take preventative measures so you don’t end up sidelined with a Marriage/Money/Anything Else Exertion Headache.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” – 2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV

Hunger and Thirst.

Have you ever been really hungry or thirsty? I’m not talking about a meeting ran a little long and you’re late for lunch hungry. I’m talking about the kind where you’re weak in the knees and have the shakes kind of hungry. Or where your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth and you have a splitting headache from dehydration. The type of hunger and thirst that pushes everything else aside. Last month the Oxford English Dictionary added ‘Hangry’ as a newly recognized word. Here is their definition –

"Bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger."

You know who you are! Hunger and thirst will cause you to do things that you normally wouldn’t do. Often when we are starved (overly hungry due to excessive need in some area of our life) it makes us prone to temptation. It’s no wonder that the enemy tempted Jesus after He had fasted for 40 days and nights. This is one of the reasons that fasting is such a powerful experience for believers because it reveals and redirects what’s driving you.

• Esau sold his birthright for a stinking bowl of stew (Genesis 25).
• The Israelites complained against Moses and God in the wilderness REPEATEDLY (Exodus 16, 17, Numbers 11, 20, 21).

 We often think of hunger and thirst as a negative thing resulting from a place of great need. But it can be a great motivating factor in our lives. Maybe a different way to think about it is a craving or strong desire - I’m not hungry right now but I sure could destroy a piece of cheesecake!

“The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.” – Proverbs 16:26 NIV

There are people at my gym that are hungry. They are there every day and show up early, they work up a sweat before class even starts and they stay after to run an extra mile before they leave. They’re the ones making the big gains – losing weight, adding muscle, hitting new personal records each week. They want more. The people who show up a couple times a week, 5 minutes late and exercise their jaws during the warmup – not so much. But we have to want the right things in order to get the right results.

“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.” – Matthew 5:6 AMP

Just like when God satisfied the Israelites with water from the rock and manna from heaven He is looking to fill His children who are hungry and thirsty today. The question is do YOU want more?

The legacy of a country boy from North Carolina.

The Reverend William Franklin Graham Jr., known to the world as Billy, finished his race today. He was 99. He was often referred to as ‘America’s Pastor’ and his ministry reached untold millions of people. As we remember the legacy that he left I can’t help but reflect on what made him who he was.

He was humble. Born on a dairy farm in North Carolina he never forgot his roots. In a day and age where Pastors and Evangelists have become their own ‘brand’ and market themselves like a Fortune 500 company the only brand Billy was pushing was Jesus.

He was persistent. His ministry spanned 7 decades. It took him around the world, brought him before kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers. Long after others would have settled down he pressed on.

“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 3:13-14 NIV

His message was simple. Jesus died for your sin. Faith in Him is the foundation of forgiveness. More than political influence, fame or fortune Billy wanted people to know that God loved them and Jesus came to save them. That straightforward message allowed him to cross cultures, denominations and political aisles.

“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV

His character was uncompromising. I’ve never heard anyone criticize Billy Graham’s character. He conducted himself with honor and integrity. He successfully navigated the pitfalls of lust and greed that so many ‘superstars’ have found themselves in. He was known for taking extreme measures to ensure that he wasn’t disqualified along the way.

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” - 1 Peter 2:11-12 NIV

A great man went home to be with the Lord today. But I can’t help but think that the things that made him great are all things within our grasp. We can be humble. We can persist. We can share the Good News of Jesus. We can live with honor and integrity. See I think we estimate his worth by the multitudes that he reached when God esteemed him for the man that he was. God saw a man who was faithful with little so He entrusted him with much. God chooses which doors to open. It is up to us to be ready and willing to walk through them when He does.

*Biographical information was found at www.billygraham.org/about/biographies/billy-graham/

Paradise lost?

“So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” -1 Corinthians 15:45 NIV

When Adam was first created he had it made. A perfect relationship with God, a perfect relationship with creation, a true partner in life and a purpose in life. He and his wife were entrusted with dominion over every other living thing. But first things first - Adam was created on the 6^th day meaning that his first full day of his existence was a day of rest. Adam was complete God and therefore could rightly relate to everything and everyone else in life. His worth was in his being rather than his doing.

Fast forward to the fall. Adam had it all and then chose to give it away. His single act of disobedience set into motion a chain reaction that radically affects the world we live in today. This was the result –

“To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” – Genesis 3:17-19 NIV

Ever since that fateful day man has been trying to work his way out of his brokenness and back into his picture of paradise. The problem is that in the end it all leads to death. Unfortunately many Christians today have yet to find that place of rest, that place of peace, that place of being because they are so busy doing. See it’s in our first Adam nature to strive and to struggle by the sweat of our brow trying to earn our way back into His grace. But the Last Adam has opened the door for us forward into relationship, forward into significance, forward into rest.

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” – Hebrews 4:1 NIV

Do not confuse rest with inactivity. Adam had great responsibility before the fall. In reality he had GREATER responsibility but that was not the essence of who he was. He was defined by the fact that he was created in the image of God. Out of that security he was free to be who God had created him to be. When we learn to ‘be’ then we will be empowered to ‘do’ - wonderful things, impossible things, eternal things.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

Dr. King & The Divided States of America

Today, as we remember the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., my heart is heavy for our nation. The United States of America has become the Divided States of America and I have never seen us so fractured. We are split along racial lines, generational lines, political lines and gender lines just to name a few. And the church is not immune. We fight over anything and everything from the color of the carpet to which translation of the Bible Jesus used. All the while the enemy sits back and laughs as he watches his plan unfold.

Jesus said it like this -

“Knowing their thoughts, He told them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls.”” – Luke 11:17 HCSB

Our nation needs healing and I believe the Church has the message of hope the world so desperately needs. But we must do more than just preach a message of unity, we must live it. We must move beyond tolerance into love, treating others with the same grace and compassion that Jesus has shown us.

Here are just a few timeless quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -

"The time is always right to do what is right.” See what’s right has nothing to do with what’s popular.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Too many people are quick to point out a problem and too few are willing to be a solution.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” We must be the peacemakers in this moment of crisis, dousing the flames instead of fueling the fire.

Fifty years ago Dr. King gave his life for a dream that I still long for and believe in today. Some 2000 years ago Jesus gave His life to break down the walls that divide us.

“Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6 HCSB

Dr. King led in his generation, it’s time for us to lead in ours.

Here comes the BOOM!

I was spending some time with the Lord the other day and I heard the Holy Spirit speak 2 specific things to my heart –

1. You are tougher than you think. 
2. God is bigger than you can ever imagine.

 The word God spoke to my heart wasn’t just for me. In God’s providence I trust that if you are reading this then it’s a word of hope and encouragement for you as well.

Let me expound. Some of us don’t feel very tough. As a matter of fact some of us feel like we are barely holding on by a thread. But here is the deal – we are still holding on. We are still alive and the devil has yet to defeat us. Despite his very best efforts here we are. We may have a taken a few licks but we are still in this fight. If there is still breath in your lungs then there is still fight in your bones!

And when we feel like we are on the ropes, when it seems like the enemy as the upper hand, when it seems like life is spinning out of control remember that the God who holds the universe in His hand is in control. Absolutely. Of everything. We may not see it with our eyes but we have to see it with our spirit.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV

It’s time to get back in the fight. It’s time to get prayed up, praised up and fight for what’s ours! The devil is a liar and he’s already been defeated. Jesus is victory and his Spirit lives inside of those who believe. His blood is coursing through our veins and His plans for us will come to pass!

“Don’t interfere with good people’s lives; don’t try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long; soon they’re up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces.” – Proverbs 24:15-16 MSG

So let me say it one more time – You are tougher than you think and God is bigger than you can ever imagine!

Out of Gas

If you have ever run out of gas then you know the feeling. And it’s not a great one. I’ve run out of gas twice in my life. The first time I had just bought a ‘new’ 1967 Camaro project car. My wife and I headed out for a short drive with what I thought was a quarter tank of gas. I thought wrong, or at least the gauge lied. The best part of the story is that my wife was pregnant with our first child. So I had to leave her with the car, jog back to our other car, drive home to get a gas can, drive to the gas station and then back to the car. It wasn’t one of my best moments!

The next time was legit though. My wife and I were headed home from a conference that was on an island just off the coast of South Carolina. We had enough in the tank to get a ways down the road where fuel would be significantly less expensive. We set the cruise control and headed inland. When we drive we talk; about everything and nothing and this trip was no different. We got involved in some deep conversation and the next thing I knew the cruise control kicked off, the car sputtered once and then we coasted to the side of the road. At least she wasn’t pregnant this time! Fortunately we made it to the shade of an underpass but there was no running to the nearest gas station. I climbed the embankment to see what was around and the only thing I found was some barbed wire hidden under some vines. So back to the car I retreated with a hole in my pants and a matching one in my thigh. We called roadside assistance and waited an hour or so before we were back on our way.

So here is the lesson. The lower the level in your tank the greater the chance you will run out. Obvious right? I know people who seem to perpetually drive around with the gas light on. I also know people who start looking for the nearest station as soon as they get below a half of a tank. Running out of gas is more than a minor inconvenience. It costs time, energy, money (yours and sometimes others) and has the potential to cause greater damage. When you run a tank down to the last drop you often suck up trash that can clog filters, lines, injectors, etc. And that costs LOTS more time, energy and money.

You might be getting the idea that what I’m getting to isn’t just about cars. See we have all kinds of tanks in our lives. Health tanks, love tanks, relational tanks, emotional tanks, financial tanks, spiritual tanks and that’s just scratching the surface. And when one of those tanks runs out bad things happen. And often they don’t just affect us.

Just like cars we have to fill those tanks up on a regular basis to keep running. And we have to fill them up with the right fuel! So let’s take a minute today and look at the levels in our tanks. Some may be full which is great, some may be running a little low so let’s make sure to get those filled up and some may be completely dry (which is called a crisis). Not all crises are avoidable, but some are. And when our tanks are full we are definitely better able to handle them when they do come our way.

One last quick thought – Did you know that you can fill other people’s tanks? That’s right! Some of what God has given you doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to Him and He has entrusted you with the responsibility and privilege of passing it along to someone else.