Blessed Are The Meek

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:5

The meek are willing to submit their life to the will of God.  Whatever plans and desires, goals and dreams you have, someone who is meek holds them openly and loosely before God.  It is God’s will they are ultimately concerned with and submissive to.  The meek person finds their joy in obedience to God and is often not a miserable person.  Life may not always seem to go their way, in fact often times it doesn’t but the Lord gives them a promise that the meek, “shall inherit the earth.”  One day God will reward the meek with an unfading crown of glory for their perseverance and faith.  The meek will not only be blessed in this life by so much more in the life to come.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:6-7

The meek are willing to trust their life into the care of God.  How much energy do you expend trying to secure provisions, control outcomes or manage people’s perceptions of you?  The meek trust God’s promises that He will provide, protect, and defend.  We must roll our burdens onto the Lord for He is the only one able to carry them.  Many of us are walking around trying to carry boulders and we need to roll them onto the Lord and trust Him with our messy lives.  God may not always fix our lives but He can carry the burden for us when we trust in Him.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. - Psalm 37:5

Meekness is an attitude of humility, submissiveness, and expectant trust towards God while also an attitude of patience, gentleness, and kindness towards others.  Blessed are we when we submit to God’s will, trust our lives to His care, and show gentle kindness to people we interact with.  A.W. Tozer sums up the meek this way,

“The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority.  Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself.  He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life.  He knows he is as weak and helpless as God declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels.  In himself, nothing; in God, everything.  That is his motto.”

Why I Don't Pray

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. - Matthew 7:7

I can hear the words echoing in my ears; “Why don’t you just pull over and ask for directions?”  If you are a husband you have probably heard these words many times coming from the passenger seat of your vehicle.  Men (and most humans) have a deep desire in us to figure it out in our own strength and wisdom.  Asking shows weakness, it is conceding that I cannot do it on my own.

Prayer is a constant act of humility that is founded on the premise that we need help.  In it we admit our own weakness and surrender to the power of an Almighty God.  Our problem is that too often we simply don’t pray.  So then we must ask the question, “Why am I not praying?”

I don’t pray because I don’t recognize my need

We live in a society that elevates self.  Entitlement rules our thinking which is fueled by marketing that tells us we are special because we are a premier member or holder of a discount card.  When we are lost we prefer to stay lost and figure it out ourselves rather than ask for help.  One of the biggest lies Satan has convinced us to believe is that we are ok, that we don’t need help.  People who pray recognize that God gives life and breath.  That He rules over all and all is subject to Him.  This same God invites us to ask, to come before His throne of grace and lay out our heart before Him.  What a privilege that people once dead in their trespasses and sins would be given access to and help from the God of the universe.

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! - Matthew 7:9-11

I don’t pray because I don’t believe God cares

God cares more about you than you will ever know, however the problem is that we view care from our perspective instead of God’s perspective.  Care defined by us often means that God does what I want him to do instead of God doing what I need.  We know what we want but God knows what we need.  When we feel like someone doesn’t care we don’t share our thoughts, feelings, and needs with them.  Why would we?  We have already concluded that they don’t care so why waste the time.  Don’t allow yourself to make a judgement on God.  Don’t make the conclusion that He doesn’t care.  Trust His person, His character, and His word and allow Him to care for you by developing a heart of prayer.

So today I encourage you to stop for a moment.  Let the world around you freeze.  Sit in the silence and listen.  Now think about all the struggles you cannot overcome, the heart changes that you cannot make, the lives that you cannot transform and ask the God who sits on the throne, the One who calls you son or daughter, the one who bought you with the precious blood of Christ to do far more than you can ask or imagine.  He is able, He is the God who cares.

A New Start

"Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days." - A.W. Tozer

A new year often signals a new start.  That is the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  His grace has given us a new start and continues to give us forgiveness and new starts from whatever failures and mistakes we have made.  We become new creations (2 Cor. 5:17) where the old has gone and His grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in our weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9).

Wherever you are in your spiritual walk I can bet you could use a new start.  Today is a new day, commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and he will act (Psalm 37:5).  As a pastor and a person many people look to as a spiritual leader I sit here in desperate need of a new start.  Wasted time, lack of prayer, self-reliance, selfishness, the praise of men and much more have infiltrated my life and relationship with Christ.  As I begin this new year it is a chance to put a stake in the ground and "turn to God in earnest."  To practice discipline this year to develop a deeper receptivity to the Lord.  I believe God wants to do far more in my life and ministry and I believe He wants to do far more in you.  What is God asking of you?  Is today a day to start anew?

God can do far more in your life than you can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20) if you will let Him.  Let go of the world, hold desperately onto God and His Word, and when failure comes repent quickly and turn to God in earnest.

Identity - Live from it not for it

Many of our games we play in our culture today revolve around us acting out something while others guess who we are trying to be.  We often find ourselves living for our identity.  Trying to gain the approval of others so that we may feel accepted.  Our purpose becomes trying to fit in instead of living for God's glory and His Kingdom.  As followers of Christ we have to get back to living from our identity "in Christ" as Ephesians 1 talks about.  We have to remember that a saint is our constant identity while sinner is an occasional activity.

When I was growing up my mom would always say to me, "remember who you are."  I used to hate that because when I was about to go out and indulge in sin she would say that and conviction would happen.  I knew who I was in Christ but my flesh wanted to be someone else for a few hours on a Friday or Saturday night.  I am thankful for a mom who was constantly reminding me to remember who I am.  I hope that today you remember who you are in Christ Jesus and that you live from your identity in Him.

Here is a great resource for those us that may struggle with identity.

Who I am in Christ

Arizona - Update #4

The VBS has been going well.  We have been averaging 40-45 kids which is a good number for our group.  Don and I have been leading an adult bible study during VBS for parents and community members.  Yesterday we had a group of 15.  We are learning to teach slowly so that they can interpret to the older ones who don't speak much English.

The past couple days we have encountered sand storms which was quite a challenge for our group. Winds were 30-40mph with gusts in the 50mph.  We were unable to do anything outside and had to clean out our tents every night.  Sleeping bags, clothes, and whatever was in our tents was absolutely covered in sand.  Even though the conditions were not desirable the group did well to pereservere through the circumstances.

We are learning a lot as a group.  Encountering a different culture, serving in difficult circumstances, and learning to work with each other has been challenging but fruitful.  Each day we have a passage of scripture that we are to be meditating on then we come together as a group to share.  Philippians 4 was the passage the other day.  I encourage you to pick up your bible today and read that chapter.  Take a moment to reflect upon the words of God and allow him to speak to you.

I may look like a gangster but this was my protection from the sand.

Arizona - Update #3

Sunday at Middle Mesa Bible Church was quite the experience for our group.  Church started at 10:00am with a few people in attendance.  0ver the next hour or so people constantly trickled in until the church building was about full.  Part of our group ran a children's church for most of the morning.  The scheduled time for church to end was noon but since the food wasn't ready church just kept going and going and going until the food was finally ready around 1:45pm.  We spent the rest of Sunday setting up and preparing for VBS.

Monday was our first day of VBS.  Jeff and I went out early to pick up kids.  I felt like I was in a Jeep commercial as I navigated what were supposedly roads.  Let's just say it's good thing I have 4 wheel drive.  It took over an hour to pick up kids due to the distance and road conditions.  In some spots you could only drive 5-10mph so you can swerve to miss the really big holes.  Other parts were really sandy like driving on a beach.  We had 33 kids on our first day while Don and I had 5 adults for bible study during that time.

The plan was to visit the Grand Canyon this afternoon but due to 30-40mph winds and massive dust storms we postponed the trip to later in the week.  This has allowed our group for our first rest time this whole trip.  We have been going non-stop since Friday.  They are enjoying the much needed rest.  Please continue to pray for us. Pray for the kids, myself as I pick kids up and take them home, the adults in the bible study, and for our team as the sand storms are getting sand everywhere!

In our adult bible study we looked at John chapter 3.  We had some great discussion and eventually started talking about God's unconditional (agape) love.  It was encouraging to hear how everyone there, including us talked about how we are called to love people with the love Christ has lavished upon us.  We can't manufacture that love on our own, in fact we need to die to ourselves, put off the flesh and put on Christ to love people unconditionally.

We found something in common...volleyball!

The kids were a little worn out after a long day.

Arizona - Update #2

On our drive to the reservation we stopped in Flagstaff for gas.  During our stop my wife was cornered by a drunk guy asking for money so I had to come to the rescue.  Then after I filled up our vehicle a man named Jack came and talked to me.  He was an older man driving a beat up Ford Bronco.  He parked at the gas station and had no money for gas.  He was just waiting there for help and you could tell he was embarrassed to even have to ask.  We filled up his tank of gas and while doing that he shared he was in Flagstaff to visit his wife who is in an alcohol recovery program.  Jack said he has been sober for ten years and drove out to visit his wife to try to save his marriage.  I told Jack about our group and that we would be praying for him and his wife Pamela.  Today if you have a few moments I encourage you to pray for them as well.

Our time Saturday at the Camp Meeting was a great cultural experience for our group.  Everyone got to use an outhouse, eat fry bread, and get to know many of the Navajo people.  Some of our group took the kids during the meetings and sang songs, played games, and has some Bible lessons with them.  The rest of us attended the meetings and some even got to sing and share.  In fact, one of the leaders of the meetings asked Don if he knew him during one of the services.  Afterwards they were talking and found out they went to Moody Bible Institute at the same time and did some Native American ministry together back in the early 90s.  It is amazing how connected we are in the Kingdom of God.

The teaching was very challenging.  The last speaker talked about peacemaking and reconciliation.  One issue that happens in Navajo Nation (and also in most churches in America) is that we don't deal with issues between each other well.  Instead of going to the person, then taking two or more witnesses as Matthew 18 calls us to do we just go somewhere else to find peace.  You see, we look to a new place for peace instead of realizing that true peace is dwelling in us through God's Spirit.  That is why God gives us instruction on how to walk through conflict.  Gossip doesn't bring peace, avoidance doesn't bring peace, running away doesn't bring peace.  We need to be the people of God who through much grace and love are honest and direct and strive for peace in our relationships with one another.  He ended by talking about our most important relationship and that is ours with Jesus Christ.  Are you at peace with God?  Are you reconciled to him through the blood of Christ?

This is our home for the week.  There is dust everywhere and in everything!

Our group singing some songs at the Camp Meeting

Arizona - Update #1

Last summer we took a group to El Nathan Christian Camp in Flagstaff, AZ.  We did a lot of work, mainly a lot of painting to help improve the facilities there.  We showed up shortly after the camp had experienced some damage from a flash flood so God's timing was perfect.  During our time there we built a strong relationship with the camp director.  He then introduced us to a Navajo family who invited us to the reservation to do the VBS we are set to do this week.  Jeff, the camp director informed us that this is a rare opportunity and was amazed at how quickly they trusted our group to come.

The journey to the Navajo Reservation began on Wednesday for a few but most of us were up and on the road early this morning.  There are a total of 23 people on this trip.  A group of 4 began driving out with a camper carrying our luggage, sound equipment, camping equipment, food, kitchen supplies, and all our VBS material on Wednesday. The rest of the group is flying into Phoenix then making the 4 hour drive to the reservation.

This weekend is the yearly camp meeting for Middle Mesa Bible Church.  From my understanding the camp meeting is like a yearly weekend revival/family reunion since most of the churches are family churches.  The families on the reservation are fairly large (think Amish) and most churches are small and consist mainly of extended family.  This often times presents a challenge when it comes to outreach but it has been encouraging to see their heart to share the gospel at Middle Mesa Bible Church.

Prayer Points

- Spiritual & Physical Strength: after a long day of traveling many of us will be physically wiped out and we will be entering a spiritually dark place.  Pray that we would be rooted and grounded in the word, praying continuously.

- Kids: for them to come to VBS and that their hearts would be open to the Gospel

- Team: that we would represent Christ in a way that demonstrates His power and His Spirit. That the people we encounter would know that we have been with Jesus.

Please pray for us! I want to share with you something for to meditate on.  It is from John Piper and was an encouragement to me reading this on the plane.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

God did not spare his own Son, because it was the only way he could spare us. The guilt of our transgressions, the punishment of our iniquities, the curse of our sin would have brought us inescapably to the destruction of hell. But God did not spare his own Son; he gave him up to be pierced for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities, and crucified for our sin.

Kenya - Update #3

Each day we learn more and more of the African culture.  Last night we went to the midweek church service.  The church is downtown on the third floor.  It is difficult to describe the downtown experience.  It is the craziest driving I have ever been a part of with vehicles, motorcycles, and people everywhere.  Don spoke at church and was a huge encouragement to the people who came out.  We met a young man named Joseph is Kenyan and works for the church.  He ended up spending the day with us as we went to Mwangaza Africa International Mission.

Mwangaza is a an orphanage and school but also has a farm with cows, chickens, and sheep.  They grow food for themselves and the community.  We were able to share during their devotion time.  They sung us a Swahili song which was amazing.  Then we attempted to sing some songs with them, myself and Amy shared a testimony, and Daniel Thomas shared a short message with them.  After that we got a tour of the grounds and heard the vision for where they want to go.  In the afternoon we were able to spend time playing with the kids.  They loved playing red rover, climbing all over us guys, and getting their picture taken.  We got to talk with many of them and hear their stories and find out their passions.  Below is a picture of Boyi who says he wants to be a pastor.

Please be in prayer for us as we discuss how we individually and us as a church can partner with Mwangaza in the future.  They have a great philosophy in how they operate their orphanage.  They have two homes with two house parents which are families who live with the orphans.  Ideally they would have 12 orphans per house but they are overcrowded with 16 in one and 17 in the other.  They would like to build 2 more homes ASAP.

Thoughts for the day:

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thankfulness and joy are abundant among the children we met today.  Their singing and prayers were passionate and you could tell they loved God.  These kids get the will of God much more than I do at times.  Having little allows them to be thankful for so much more.  They don't have a sense of entitlement, they are just so happy to be loved.  My prayer is the I would live out the will of God as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells me to.

Kenya - Update #2

Yesterday we made the 6 hour journey from Nairobi to the Samaritan's Purse compound where Nate & Stephanie Thomas live.  Along the journey we got to first hand experience of the Kenyan culture.  For instance, alongside the road it was normal to see donkeys, cows, goats, zebras, baboons, men peeing, speed bump fruit salesmen, and much more.

We spent the evening getting settled in and then had dinner with the Thomas family.  It just so happened to be their son Ben's 15th birthday so we got to celebrate with them which meant cake and ice cream!  We were excited to finally be with them and they were really excited to see some faces that they knew.

Today (Thursday) Kyle had to leave at 5:45am to go ride along on a Samaritan's Purse mission to South Sudan.  I guess when you are an airplane mechanic you get certain perks.  He got to serve as the 3rd crew member on a DC3 plane and got to see two refugee camps, one which had over 100,000 refugees.  The rest of the group spent the day helping a Kenyan man named Reuben.  He has been blind since the age of 3 but God has done a tremendous work in his life.  Reuben had the opportunity to study with Ravi Zaccharias in the USA and now has an Apologetics and Radio ministry called Word of Truth.  Mark was able to help him with some IT issues at the radio station and Sadie was put to work with her interior design skills to help them better lay out the space.  The rest of us fixed a swing and got most of the library reorganized.  We ended the day by Reuben making us some traditional Kenyan Chi and singing worship songs.

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

During my time in Kenya I have decided to really dig into 1 Thessalonians.  As I began this morning I couldn't help but be struck by the three things Paul remembers before God about the Thessalonians.  My prayer is that these things would be a legacy of my life.

Work of Faith: that my life would be evident of faithfulness to God and dependence upon Him.

Labor of Love: an unconditional love towards people that often times leaves me weary & tired.

Steadfastness of Hope: to remain, stand, and endure through the trials of life with a hope unshaken.

- reorganizing the library

Kenya - Update #1

So if you haven't heard I am in Kenya.  A group of us from church traveled here to encourage, support, and serve alongside the Thomas family.  They left our church almost 2 years ago to work with Samaritan's Purse in Eldoret, Kenya.  The trip has had its challenges so far but God has been faithful.

We left Ohio 11:00am on Monday morning and arrived in Nairobi at 10:00pm Tuesday night.  Our first challenge was that Amy needed some medication and most pharmacies were closed because of Memorial Day.  We were able to find one that was open and still make our flight in Pittsburgh.  On the drive there we almost hit a deer and when we got there the ticket agent was stressing out trying to get our bags checked in time to make the flight.  For some reason it took 30 minutes just to get our bags checked.  We flew to Newark and met up with Don and Mark.  After sitting in the plane on the Tarmac for 2 hours while they fixed a mechanical issue we were off to Brussels, Belgium praying that we would make our connection to Nairobi.  When we landed we were pressed for time and rushing to our gate.  Kyle and Sadie were told to go the wrong direction and got separated from the rest of the group.  We continued on determined not to get on the flight till we found Kyle and Sadie.  They ended up having to go through security again but got to the gate before we did.  We were happy to see them and make our flight.  God is good in the midst of our worries and stresses at airports.  We are learning quickly that no matter the obstacle God will work things out.  We don't need to worry, just trust.  When we don't think things are going right God is letting us know that He has got it in His hands.

During our travels I was reading A.W. Tozer's book "The Knowledge of the Holy."  Here is an excerpt I will leave you with for today.

"Man is a created being, a derived and contingent self, who of himself possesses nothing but is dependent each moment for his existence on the One who created him after His own 

likeness.  The fact of God is necessary to the fact of man.  Think God away and man has no ground of existence.....As a sunbeam perishes when cut off from the sun, so man apart from God would pass back into the void of nothingness from which he first leaped at the creative call."

We need to understand our need for God for each and every moment of our lives.  We need to stop elevating ourselves, holding on to control, and not trusting in God's care for us.  Today may we trust in him, lean into him, and hold on to him.  Would you pray that for you and for us today?

"Trust is The LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

- breakfast in Nairobi

Cast Your Cares Upon the Lord

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 

- 1 Peter 5:6-7

Control is deceptive and powerful, like a chameleon it is always changing what it looks like to blend in.  Our fleshly desire to control fights against us casting our cares upon the Lord.  We often times are taken to a point where we realize we no longer have control and our only option is to cast our cares upon the Lord.  Often times God humbles us instead of us being obedient to 1 Peter 5:6 and humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God.

We do this because we don’t believe two important truths 1 Peter tells us.  First of all we need to believe that God cares.  Our God is covenantal, which means He is committed to us and doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6).  The lie we fall into is believing God is out to get us.  That he doesn’t really care.  Depending on if God handles the situations in life how we want, we determine whether God cares or not.  Look what we just did, control snuck in there again and had us thinking we control God and us defining what it means to care.

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” - Romans 8:32

God cared and continues to care.  He will always care about His children.  When we look at the cross how can we not know that God cares and is waiting for us to cast our cares upon Him.

Secondly, we must believe that God will lift us up.  No matter what storm comes your way, no matter how deep your pain, God is ready and able to lift you up when you humble yourself under His might hand.

Have you been walking with your head down, looking at your feet?  Have your eyes been looking at your past?  Jesus comes along and lifts our heads up so we are looking at Him.  When we look upon Jesus all the storms, all the pain, and all the worries disappear in the light of His glory.

Are you looking to the future?  A future redemption is coming.  We will be lifted up into eternal glory with Jesus Christ.  All the cares and worries of this world will be gone and we will be in the presence of our Lord.  So cast your cares upon the Lord and ask Him to lift our eyes to Him.

Life, Death, & Eternity

This past week my friend and co-pastor lost his only son in a motorcycle accident.  His son was 29 years old, six months younger than me.  As I flew to Alaska to spend time with the family and attend the funeral I had a lot of time to process and think about life, death, & eternity.

Life is a gift

"He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities."

- Psalm 103:10

Has anyone ever asked you, "How are you doing?"  I want my response to be, "better than I deserve."  What a perspective change, isn't it?  Our culture tells us all the time how much we deserve.  Nothing is a gift anymore because we justify in our heads why we deserve it.  Have you ever thought about the fact that the reason you are still breathing is because God allows you to.  Each day we are given here on this earth is truly a gift from God no matter how good or bad that day is.  God blessed Ryan Beachy with 29 years on this earth before he was called home.

Death is a transition

"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep..." - Acts 13:36a

God created each of us for a purpose.  Our life should be us living out that purpose for the glory of God.  When God says we are done, we are done.  After that comes the transition.  Most transitions and changes in life are met with challenges and difficulties.  Whether it's a new addition to a family, a loss of someone, or an organizational or church change.  We must continue on serving the purpose of the Lord in our generation that God has placed us in.  Ryan did just that with a humble spirit and now the friends, family, and community must continue on keeping their eyes firming fixed on Jesus.

Eternity is unfathomable

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." - Romans 8:18

The more I read Scripture the more I start to realize I have no idea how glorious eternity will be.  It is unfathomable.  I can read passages like Revelation 21 and be brought to tears but that still is only a glimpse of what is to come.  The sufferings in this life aren't even worth comparing to the glory that is coming for those who know and follow Jesus.  What an amazing truth to understand and know.  Ryan now understands the fullness of that truth.  He is enjoying an eternity that is unfathomable to us.

Mt. Everest

As you read through the book of Psalms you come to the Mt. Everest of the book at chapter 119.  This chapter is an acrostic poem composed of 22 sections, each containing 8 lines.  Each sentence in each section starts with the same Hebrew letter.  There are 22 Hebrew letters, one for each section, starting from the beginning and going in order.

The most obvious observation for me after reading this Psalm was how much the Word of God dominated the life of the Psalmist.  From before sunrise to after sunset his thoughts, prayers, and perspective were constantly on God's truth.  I encourage you today to pick up your Bible and read Psalm 119.  Allow the Word to speak to you and focus in on a few verses that really connect with you and commit them to memory.

Living Our Priorities

"...God gives me enough time to do what God wants me to do.  God never calls us to do something and fails to give us enough time to do it." - John Ortberg

Are you living your priorities or are you just trying to do guilt management?  Many of us are missing out on the life God is calling us to live because we are just too busy.  It is often said, "If the devil can't make you bad, he will make you busy."

We can find ourselves in guilt management when we pray, read our Bible, or go to church just enough to appease our conscious.  When we live like this growth rarely happens, our faith is dull, and our lives are weak.  The early church did not reproduce like we see in Acts because they figured out how to reduce worship, prayer, serving, and community into tiny, small commitments that fit in around life as usual.  These were their priorities.  They were of first importance and the world was changed because of it.

When we look at our calendar we see a lot of squares.  The question we must ask ourselves is, "How will I fill these squares?"  One day will be your final square, will you have lived your priorities?

It All Goes Back In The Box

I enjoy playing board games.  One of my favorites is Ticket To Ride.  Each time we set up the board my goal is to plan my routes strategically so I will accumulate the most points at the end of the game.  As I observe life, I notice we live it very similar to how we would play a board game.  John Ortberg explains it this way,

"It's not bad to play the game.  It's not bad to be really good at it.  It's not bad to be Master of the Board.  My grandmother taught me to play to win.  But there are always more rungs to climb, more money to be made, more deals to pull off.  And the danger is that we forget to ask what really matters.  We race around the board with shallow relationships, frenzied schedules, preoccupied souls.  Being smart or strong does not protect you from this fate.  In some ways, it makes the game more dangerous, for the temporary rewards you get from playing can lull you into pretending that the game will never end."

There is a connection between our emotional scoring system and our behavior.  We tend to compare, compete, or climb.  The danger is that we will spend our lives comparing to others, competing against others, or climbing over others.  None of these emulate the call of a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Actually, Jesus came down, humbling himself by taking on humanity and becoming a servant.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." - Philippians 2:5-8

When the game is over it all goes back in the box.  Life one day will be over and all you have accomplished, worked for, built, etc. will go back in the box.  The challenge for us is will we arrange our lives around what matters most.

Thoughts on Boston

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

- 2 Corinthians 4:4

As I reflect on what happened in Boston yesterday I see something more dangerous than a terror attack, I see the deceitfulness of sin.  You see, the terror attack is an obvious manifestation of a sinful, corrupt, depraved generation that is devoid of God.  We have seen this first hand in America over and over again in the forms of shootings, bombings, and attacks.  While Satan has us looking at the tragedy that is on the news we miss the real tragedy.

This is what I like to call the cycle of deceit.  Follow me for a second; a bomb explodes and people die, then the nation unites, seeks justice, and starts to reflect on life which raises spiritual questions.  After the initial sting of the event and maybe a visit or two to church it slowly becomes a faint memory.  Most people continue on in their lives blinded, unable to see the light of the gospel and glory of Christ.

We need to pray for Boston, but most importantly we need to pray the the eyes of people's hearts will be enlightened to the gospel and glory of Christ.  Pray the scales will fall from their eyes and the deceitfulness of sin will no longer rule their lives, that the Spirit of God would fall on them to see the glory and majesty of Jesus.

Many people want answers, many people want hope.  We as followers of Jesus Christ have been given the privilege and responsibility to be the hope givers.  May we rejoice that our hope is built in nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.

Overwhelmed

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

Do you ever feel overwhelmed?  I have a tendency to stay under control and not get too high or too low.  At times though, I can find myself carrying a heavy weight, a weight of unmet expectations, failures, and trying my hardest and not being good enough.  The burdens of life can very quickly press hard on us and begin to crush us.

The problem is that I begin to carry the weight and don't seek rest in the Lord.  When I labor and am heavy laden I must remember to find rest for my soul in Christ Jesus.  As hard as we try to succeed, as much as we try to please people and meet their expectations, we will always come up short.  We must remember to come to Jesus, to learn from Him and experience the rest that only He can give.

Eye Contact

"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." - Psalm 34:5

Eye contact is one of the most telling forms of non-verbal communication.  We communicate in non-verbal ways all the time throughout our day.  Positively or negatively our body language communicates a lot to people.  Sometimes we don't even notice how much it effects those around us.

Have you ever thought about your non-verbal communication with God?  What posture do you approach prayer, worship, & devotional time with?  Are you making eye contact with God and allowing Him to make eye contact with you?

The outward evidence is on the faces of those making eye contact with God.  They are radiant, they are in awe of the glory and majesty of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Our sinful flesh keeps deep hurts, pains, and lies trapped in our soul.  When we just stop and make eye contact with our God our soul is detoxed.  We understand that God sees into the depths of who we are; our fears, our worries, our pain, and the longings of our heart.

In relationships you know the fellowship between two people is good when they can look each other in the eye.  Many times our sin makes us look at the ground because of the feelings of shame and guilt.  Know the steadfast mercy and love of God, receive the forgiveness found at the cross of Christ and in turn look to Him and you will become radiant!

#uncomfortable

This past Saturday we had our men's discipleship conference.  I was blessed by the men who came out and their desire to follow Jesus.  Here are some of the notes from the conference...

Desire without discipline always leaves you wanting.
- Is your desire to follow Jesus greater than your desire for comfort?

Excuses are rooted in our desire to be comfortable.
- What excuses do you find yourself making that are rooted in the desire to be comfortable?

We must be intentional in our conversation if we want to be purposeful in our relationships.
- What relationships do you need to be more intentional in?

We make time for what we value most?
- How much do you value time with Jesus?