Pray with Action

"Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;

and I will keep it to the end.

Give me understanding, that I may keep your law

and observe it with my whole heart.

Lead me in the path of your commandments,

for I delight in it.

Incline my heart to your testimonies,

and not to selfish gain!

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;

and give me life in your ways.

Confirm to your servant your promise,

that you may be feared.

Turn away the reproach that I dread,

for your rules are good.

Behold, I long for your precepts;

in your righteousness give me life!"

- Psalm 119:33-40

As I was reading this passage this morning the words that are in bold type are the ones that stuck out to me. When you look at this prayer you see action words. It implies that we need God. We need Him to teach us, give us, lead us, direct us, encourage us, and protect us. How often do we ask for the Lord to do these things in our lives? This Psalm and prayer is a reminder of what our prayers should resemble. A humble spirit who seeks the Lord. So today pray with action words, pray with boldness and confidence, ask God specifically to teach, give, lead, incline, turn, and confirm. Allow God to work in and through you, let God be God today!

We Must Not Bypass the Cross

"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." - Matthew 16:21

"As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed." - Matthew 17:22-23

"And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." - Matthew 20:17-19

"You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." - Matthew 26:2

When Jesus was being tempted by the Devil in the wilderness he was provided an easy way out. Satan was offering him the world without the cross. Instead, the Lord Jesus resisted the Devil in perfect obedience and choose the way of the Cross. He knew the pain and agony he must face to provide eternal glory for all of his children. We see four times in Matthew were He mentioned His death. He could have taken the easy way out but chose to endure, persevere, and set an example for his children to follow. We must realize that there is a cross involved in our obedience to the will of God. As Dennis Kinlaw said in his devotional, "Before every step of obedience, we will find resistance that must be overcome, temptation that must be fought." We must not bypass the Cross.

Most of us will never have to endure what Christ did, but in our daily obedience to Christ we will face opposition and temptation. How many times have you been invited to church, a retreat, mission trip, or any God centered event that you knew was going to draw you closer to God but the voice in your head told you that you need rest and need to stay home. Or maybe something less important came up at the last minute and you chose to do that. We must understand that the enemy's number one goal for Christians is to make them ineffective and unproductive (2 Peter 1:8). He wants to keep us from the blessings that come from encouragement and growth in Christ. We must not bypass the cross and take the easy way.

"Iron sharpens Iron, and one man sharpens another." - Proverbs 27:17

I have never liked conflict. I don't like hard conversations. I want everyone to get along and just be happy. God has been teaching me the past couple years that I can't have effective ministry by avoiding hard conversations and taking the easy way out. It also hinders my growth in relationships not only with my brothers and sisters in Christ but with my relationship with God. I am beginning to learn that through hard times, through hard conversations, through conflict we can be made stronger through Christ. Jesus knew this, He knew the power over sin and death that would come by not bypassing the cross. If we choose not to bypass the cross in our lives we can experience victory and freedom. We can strengthen and deepen relationships with one another and most importantly our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23

Setting the Bar

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12

In Paul's letter to Timothy we find this verse that is encouraging Timothy to be an example and to set the "bar" so to speak. Various studies conclude that Timothy was anywhere between his late twenties to mid thirties at the time. I love the charge Paul gives to Timothy for two reasons.

First of all it brings conviction. Think about it. Can you think of a time when someone younger than you set a better example of Godliness in a certain situation? Maybe you lost your temper and someone else didn't. Maybe you had bitterness & unforgiveness in your heart and you saw someone younger forgive and reconcile a relationship. How did you feel? Did the Holy Spirit bring conviction in your heart? It doesn't matter how young you are or how old you are, the point is we need to set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.

Secondly it challenges us to lead. Many of us are afraid to lead because we are afraid to fail. If you are afraid to fail I have news for you, you already have. That is the whole point of why Christ had to come and die. Through Him all things were made new and there is freedom and forgiveness in Christ. We can now rise every time we fall. We don't have to stay down. Through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit we can get back up after our failures, we are forgiven and free and can move forward with what the Lord has for us.

Timothy needed to lead, I need to lead, you need to lead, we all need to lead. We need to set the bar in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. We must not be afraid to fail. We all have people that look up to us in our lives. I truly believe there are many Christians with this intense amount of love, passion, and purpose inside of them and Satan has them bound by fear. The moment you realize that Christ wants you to be alive to shine and you start setting the bar and leading in these areas that bound up passion and desire for Christ will come flowing out. Matthew 6:14-16 sums it up:

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Banana Pudding

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." - Romans 12:10

I was blessed to spend this week in southeast Oklahoma with 30 high school students ministering to a Native American community. We spent our days cleaning, putting up drywall, building a fire pit, and fixing a water line. In the evenings we put on a VBS for a local Native American church. One evening at VBS Don had the youth from Ohio meet one of the locals and find out something about them. One student met a man named Charles and found out that Charles's favorite desert was banana pudding. The young man continued to build a relationship with Charles throughout the night. Snack time eventually came and as the young man came to the desert line he saw banana pudding. There was only a spoonful left. As he put the last of the banana pudding in his bowl he then proceeded to find Charles. He asked him if he had a chance to have any of the pudding. Charles's said that he hadn't been through the line yet so he gave him the last of the banana pudding. It was neat to see Charles's reaction when he saw that the young man remembered he liked banana pudding and gave him the last of it.

How do you care for people? Are you listening to them? Are you encouraging them? One thing that God taught me this week is that God doesn't forget about anyone. He cares for everyone everywhere no matter how desolate the place. He also cares that we care. Would I have ate the banana pudding or would I have thought to give it to Charles? I guarantee that Charles's will remember the kindness and thoughtfulness of that young man sharing the banana pudding with him. My prayer for myself and for you today is that we would be children of God who outdo one another in love for each other. That we would encourage one another and care for people.

Just Smile

Seriously, just smile. Right now, do it! A big cheesy smile. How does that make you feel? What emotions are associated with your smile?

I tend to be a driven person so when God really grabbed a hold of my heart I have had this intense desire to be God's boy. I also tend to be a mind person more than a heart person so I often have spiritual battles in my head. Recently Satan has been hammering me with feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and confusion. Today I was getting frustrated with everything going on in my head and just had to get out of the house. I went to the track and decided sprints would help. With my Ipod on I began sprinting as fast as I could around the track. As I was running (and eventually walking) I was praying and just asking God to take this feelings and thoughts. I wanted to submit them to Him. After a few laps I just felt God say in a calm whisper, "just smile."

All those thoughts in my head disappeared and I had this big smile on my face as I kept running. I kept running for about 15 more minutes and the whole time I was smiling. As I continued on I was convicted about my lack of trust in God. All the thoughts and feelings in my head were flowing out of situations that I wanted to control. Since I didn't have the answers I wanted, Satan was using that to make a mess in my head. God had to bring me back to the simplicity of faith. I had to ask myself, "Do I trust God?" My answer out of my mouth was "yes" but the answer "yes" that I need is from my life. Am I living a life fearlessly? Is my trust in God evident in my decisions, choices and lifestyle? In those things I can't control can do I believe God is working it out for my good?

We are creatures of control. We want to control our circumstances, our future, and ourselves. If you are like me you want everything to be planned out. The enemy wants us to forget that God is in control and wants us to think that we are. The reason we need to "just smile" is understanding and knowing that we are not in control. Think about it. Doesn't that relieve a lot of pressure? YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL! Is that scary for you think about? Logically think about it. If you could pick anyone in the world to be in control of your life who would it be? Would you pick yourself or God who created you? The problem is God has created us to be submissive to His control yet we fight Him for it everyday. You ARE in God's hands, not your own hands. Isn't that a refreshing and comforting thought? How can that not make you smile?

Today I had to seek God and ask for forgiveness. I needed to turn and repent from a Travis centered life to a God centered life. Today let God be God and just smile knowing that God is in control, that He loves you unconditionally, and you are His!

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

The Service of Passionate Devotion

Today I was reading from my favorite devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. I wanted to share some thoughts from that devotional from June 19th with you.

• Jesus did not say to make converts to your way of thinking, but He said to look after His sheep, to see that they get nourished in the knowledge of Him.
• Jesus Christ calls service to be what we are to Him, not what we do for Him.
• Discipleship is based solely on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on following after a particular belief or doctrine.
• So many people are devoted to causes and so few are devoted to Jesus Christ.
• Our Lord's primary obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of people - the saving of people was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father.

Putting On Forgiveness

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive." - Colossians 3:12-13

Do you realize that you are a chosen one of God? Did you know that you are holy and beloved by the God of all creation? Seems hard to believe doesn't it? The truth is we must believe this, we must know that we are chosen, holy, and beloved. The reason we must know this is so we can act in accordance to what we are. Everything that Paul lists in this passage are characteristics that flow out of us when we are believing the truth about who we already are in Christ. The problem is when we forget or start listening to the world's perception of who we are and not God's truth. Many times we create labels about ourselves that hide the truth about what God has already said about us. One thing that is hard for many of us to believe is that our mistakes can't label us forever, we are forgiven and free in Christ Jesus.

Of the list that Paul lays out Forgiveness in my experience seems to be the hardest for many people. We tend to have a hard time forgiving ourselves as well as forgiving others. Is it hard for you to forgive? If the answer is "yes" have you then asked yourself "why?" How often do you think about the cross? Are you constantly reminded or do you feel the weight of forgiveness that Jesus Christ gave to us? Or do you have a sense of entitlement? America has taught many of us that we deserve to be treated a certain way, that we have rights, and that we have the right to justice. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if we really want a right to justice that means we all deserve to go to Hell. If it would not be for the grace of God shown through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2). When we truly feel the weight of the grace and mercy of God and that we are chosen, holy, and beloved already forgiveness becomes part of our nature. We actually look forward to suffering and showing grace to others because that is what Christ did for us. Many times we want mercy but don't want to give mercy.

My challenge for you today is to put on forgiveness. I learned a few years back to stop saying "I'm sorry." That is not a Biblical response to a sin you commit against someone. A Biblical response is to admit the sin, repent and ask for forgiveness. It is more difficult to ask for forgiveness than to say your sorry. Asking for forgiveness vs. saying your sorry may be more difficult for you but it will build Godly character and strengthen relationships. Today remember the one who forgave you and then put on forgiveness.

Where's your focus?

The following is an excerpt from "This Day With the Master", a devotional written by Dennis Kinlaw.

"We often tell people that they should receive Christ. Yet we must remember the words of Jesus: "Follow Me." The two appeals have very different connotations. The first appeal implies a certain need in us, an emptiness, a guilt, a lostness. The center of concern is the human self and the fact that Christ can meet each person's need.

The connotation of "Follow me" is quite different. The central focus is on Christ, not on ourselves. It means refocusing our lives, not around ourselves and our lacks, but around him and his call. It speaks of our losing control and yielding to him. Suddenly our whole horizon changes, and it includes the Cross...

...Beware of any presentation of the gospel that stops with receiving and does not talk about following. Salvation is not in an experience. It is in Christ, and we must walk with him if we would experience that saving power. Salvation comes through his presence..."

Where is your central focus? Is Christ your center? It is so easy in life to allow ourselves to become the center and lose sight of the Cross of Christ. The command to "Follow me" is not an easy one, it requires constant refocusing of the center of our lives because of flesh fights to be the center. I want to encourage you today to take time with your Savior. Evaluate where the center of your focus has been and ask God to help you keep him at the center of everything you do.

Desperate

Yesterday Lincoln and I were driving and we were both in the mood for some rap music. There is very little good rap music out there in my opinion. One guy I really enjoy is Lecrae. His lyrics are rich and real and it sounds awesome. As we were driving the song Desperate really hit home for both of us and I wanted to share the lyrics with you. Maybe you have felt like he is describing in this song, I know I have.

[Verse 1]
Woke up this morning too depressed and shamed to leave my bed
Cant stand to see my own reflection so I hang my head
feel like a disappointment like the scum of the earth
I'm so hurt I know you see I cant cover my dirt
my souls dying hearts weak and I cant even cry
I'm sposed to run to you but WHY I'm such an evil guy
The sun's shining but for me it's the darkest of days
Try to pretend it never happened but the guilt remains
I leave the house it feels like everybody knows I did it
Feel like they reading my mind and know the sin I committed
Through your blood I'm aquitted but my heart doesnt get it
Oh God I'm desperate for Help cause I'm grieving your Spirit
I couldn't sing in the sunday service, Lord I felt fake
and when they started communion I just made an escape
I'm in need of your grace/ feels like you hid your face
Lord Lead me back to cross and show me my sins erased

I'm so desperate, I can't believe I've sinned against you
Create in me a clean heart (I'm so sorry)
Your mercy is what I need

[Verse 2]
I'm waste deep in my pity Is Satan tryna trick me
and tell me you wont forgive me cause it's startin to get me
Jesus help me quickly I hate the wrong I've done
I know we all fall but I feel like the only one
Feels like I should be shunned should I punish myself
I know it's dumb cause by your death all my sin has been dealt
But my sin is been felt I didn't want to do it
but what I want to do I don't I swear I'm goin through it
I'm tryna open up my bible need to read your pages
need you Lord but my guilt has got me feeling so faithless
Help me see where grace is take me back to the basics
help me find my joy in you and not people and places
my sin is ever before me I turned my back on you
Oh father break and restore me to bring me back to you
my sin is ever before me I turned my back on you
God break and restore me to bring me back to you

[Verse 3]
have mercy on me God according to your steady love
wipe away my transgressions and wash me in your blood
Create in me a clean heart renew a right spirit
Don't hide your face from me God your Presence keep me near it
I'm waiting patience on you Lord I know you hear my cry
Restore your Joy in me for you alone I live and die
It's you I Glorify cause you don't want my sacrifice
you want me broken and contrite trusting in the Christ
I confess to you my sin and you show me mercy
I turn away from it demonstrating that you are worthy
over lust, over pride, over all sin
is my affection for Jesus who died for all them
I was lost now I'm found I was toss to the ground
My sin weighed on me heavy but I am no longer bound
As sure as Christ wear the crown I know that grace will abound
And even when I feel lost I know in You I am found

Under the Wings of God

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

- Psalm 91:4

Have you ever pictured yourself under the wings of God? Have you come to take refuge under them? I love the picture of God covering us with his feathers and us taking refuge under his wings. It lets us know that God is ultimately in control. That we have security in Christ, that we can trust in him. The word refuge means a shelter or protection from danger or distress. In the hard times or in our struggles often times we run away from the wings of God. This could be for a number of reasons but many times we just don't trust God. We don't believe that he will protect us from danger or distress. It is in these times we need to run under the wings of God. We need to ask him to help us believe and trust in him and to know he is in control. John Piper in his book "Sweet & Bitter Providence" writes,

"When you believe in the sovereignty of God and that he loves to work mightily for those who trust him, it gives a freedom and courage that isn't abandoned in hard times."

Today I challenge you to picture yourself under the wings of an Almighty, Loving, Powerful God. A God who forgives sin and remembers them no more (Jeremiah 31:34). My prayer is that you will find refuge under the wings of God!