Daughters and do-overs

Daughters are a gift from God.

All children are special, but I think daughters, like Eve, hold a special place in our heavenly Father’s heart. From the beginning, Scripture teaches us that Adam was created outside of the garden and in the wild. He was brought into the garden and was commanded to master it and to do the hard work of providing for it. This became much harder after Adam sinned. But Eve was created from Adam in the garden in order to be a helpmate. God also wanted her to make the garden a home. It was to be a place of safety, security and intimacy. While it is true that Eve was seduced by the serpent, Adam was too complacent and distracted to even care. If Adam had been more attentive to Eve and her relational and emotional needs, she might not have sensed the need to “be like God, knowing good from evil.”

I realize now that, in her childhood days, my relationship with my daughter was shortchanged. She was born during a time of uncertainty for my wife and me. For one, we were dirt poor. Second, much like Adam, I was stuck in a season of dysfunction and self absorption. God was putting me through the ringer in every way and my family was caught in the rinse cycle.

I also realize that I could not give my daughter or my wife something I did not have. I could not lead them where I would not or could not go. It wasn’t until I overcame (in Christ) the confusion of my own identity and significance that I become the father I needed to be. The sad part for me is that it took years for me to get there.

My daughter is now 33 with five children. By the grace of God, today I feel that I’m in a position to give to and serve her and her family. I love and am proud of my daughter more than ever.

Maybe you are a father and feel the same regrets I do. Well, God has assured me that as long as I am still breathing, it is never too late to get a fresh start. It is time to give those regrets to God and allow him to give you a do-over. Is God calling you to a do-over in a relationship? Don’t delay!

Imagine the possibilities!

Experiencing God's unconditional love

I always look forward to hanging out with my son. He is 30 years old now and lives in Orange County, Calif. Because I live in Missouri, this limits our dad-son time. I call this precious time together a “Son Day.”

He is married to a beautiful blond-haired, blue eyed lady who is a gift from God. She was perfectly designed to be his wife and the mother of his children. She’s intelligent and has a successful career of her own but chooses to put God and family first. They have one of my four granddaughters, two-year-old Bella, who is also a blond California girl. I see glimpse of my son in her, which makes me love her even more.

When I think about my son, I am reminded of what God told his son when Jesus was in his 30s. God said, “This is my Son, whom I love and in whom I delight.” I wish more dads would tell their sons and daughters this. Everywhere I turn I see and hear people struggling with a huge father vacuum. The only thing vacuums are good for is sucking. That hole in their hearts end up sucking in things (pain, sin, addiction) that will not replace what only a father can fill. We can offer them a religion on Sundays but what they need is an encounter of the divine kind with their heavenly father, who fills every void.

If you have Christ in your life, God loves you and is pleased with you because you are his and for no other reason. Think about it! What had Christ done when God publicly commended him? He hadn’t raised the dead, preached any sermons, turned water into wine or even walked on water. He was 30 years old and still living at home. His mother was a widowed single mom and he had six step-siblings (Joseph was not his biological father, God was). As a carpenter, he was the main bread winner for the family and they lived on the other side of the tracks in Nazareth. But what God said about Jesus on that special “Son Day,” God also says about every one of his spiritual sons and daughters (that’s us!). God’s favor is not based on what you do but on who you belong to. Jesus’ identity and significance were defined by that special day when God claimed Jesus as his own and publicly expressed his delight in Christ. That moment helped propel Jesus to his purpose and potential. God’s favor upon us, likewise, can propel us toward our destiny.

In a few weeks I will be in California with my son and his beautiful wife and granddaughter. I will love him and be pleased with him and I will tell him so. Then I will remind him that he has a father in Heaven who loves him even more, loves him perfectly. I looking forward to the day when I will meet my heavenly father face to face and can hear him speak of us love for me. What a day that will be!

Imagine the possibilities!

Humpty Dumpty was pushed!

Many are familiar with the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

The story of Humpty Dumpty provides a near-perfect allegory to the biblical doctrine of the fall of man. Despite his best efforts, nothing mankind tried could restore his broken relationship with God.

But that wasn’t God original intent. When he created life, God said that everything he had made was “good.” God was delighted with humanity, the apex of his creation and the only creature with a soul. God and man walked freely together and without inhibition.

But the harmony was short lived. Adam and Eve quickly succumbed to temptation in a desire to exhibit mastery over their own lives. Satan, in the form of a serpent, provoked them to make a dreadfully wrong choice.

To return to our nursery rhyme analogy, it’s as if Humpty Dumpty was shoved from behind. His life was shattered because an adversary pushed him in a direction he never intended to go.

But let’s be clear. I don’t intend to suggest that Adam and Eve were innocent victims. They had already received instructions from God about which tree in the garden to avoid. They purposefully disregarded those commands.

Humpty Dumpty, too, must bear some blame. What was a fragile egg doing sitting on top of a stone wall? Certainly he put himself in a place of danger.

According to the Scriptures, we have much in common with Adam and Eve and Humpty Dumpty. None of us are innocent and all of us face the same adversary.

Thousands of years later, mankind still wages an unending spiritual conflict with an enemy bent on our spiritual destruction. Our lives can bear the scars of this battle in broken relationships, addictions and unforgiveness. But there is hope. Maybe even more than you ever dreamed was possible.

This is why Cathy and I wrote our new book “God Loves Do-Overs!” It was written to give you that hope and to help you regain your future through a fresh start with God. He is able to take even the most distressing circumstance and use it for your good (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11).

With a little literary creativity, that hope can even be extended to our nursery rhyme character: “Humpty Dumpty shouted ‘Amen! God can put me back together again!’”

Imagine the possibilities!

Living for the line

I have a friend who is in critical condition in the hospital. He is a man with a heart after God’s own. I am selfish in that I want a miracle. I want him to recover and continue to be my friend. But I am not God.

When I ask God, “Why me?” He normally answers, “Why not you?” When I see my good friend on death’s door, I asked God “Why?” again. He answered this time with compassion, “Trust me. I see the big picture, the beginning from the end. I know what is best in light of eternity.”

Try this: Put a dot on a page and then draw a line from the dot as far as you can to the right. The dot represents our lives and the line represents our eternity. This illustration helps us see that eternity is a very long time compared to our short lives. What we do now either echoes for eternity or simply disintegrates in the dot. Most people spend their lives living for the dot and not for the line.

Here’s a principle: Don’t fear failure. Instead, fear wasting your life on the things that do not matter.

My friend has invested his life in the line. In my opinion he has more to do in the dot, but God knows best. I will keep you updated on what God will do. Either way my friend wins. Thank you for joining me in prayer.

Vision in times like these

The temptation during these challenging days is for all of us to have a bunker mentality and “hunker down” until the good times return. Yet I believe God would have us take the opposite approach. Since God’s plan and purpose are not subject to our limitations, I believe God wants us to “rise-up” and dream! At People Matter, we believe that we have been called for such a time as this.

In this light, we have been wrestling with several questions:
• What is God asking of us that is an impossible mission without his intervention and blessing?
• Why has God brought us on the scene for such a time as this?
• What will it cost of us for us to meet God’s expectation, plan and purpose?
• If we had unlimited resources and complete freedom to fail, what would we attempt for God?

The Bible is clear that without the ability to see clearly, hope is lost. We have learned that when we give God our passion and our heart, then he gives us his vision. When we seek to embrace that vision, we will often come to a place of need, looking to God for the results. He promises to meet all of our needs in his timing. More often than not, the need is not met by miracles, but by the generosity of God’s people.

So have faith in what you cannot yet see. Dream the impossible dream. Soar on wings like eagles. Rise-up to your potential and destiny in such a time as this. We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.

It is going to take that kind of unwavering faith if we are going to see our world transformed!

Imagine the possibilities!

Do we really love God?

Cathy and I have been married over 38 years, but we know that we can’t take our relationship for granted. Recently, we realized that a hectic ministry schedule had robbed us of personal time together. She told me, “Dan, I know you love me. But are you in love with me?”

The question set me back for a moment. I realized that she needed more than my sincere words of love and appreciation. She needed me to love her with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. She knew that I used the word “love” often when referring to my favorite football team, pizza or car (I think we de-value the word love when we use it this way). The kind of love Cathy was speaking of – and that the Bible commends – demands our complete devotion.

In the same light, what would we say if Jesus asked us, “Are you in love with me?” Before we answer, we must consider that he calls us “to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength” (Mark 12:29-30). In John 21, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you truly love me?” Jesus used the Greek word “agape” for love. This word means “a deep unconditional, sacrificial devotion.” It is the kind of love Jesus had for us when he chose to die on a cross in our place. Peter’s response was, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” Peter, however, used a different word than Jesus. He said that he loved Jesus with a brotherly love. To paraphrase, Peter said, “Yes Lord, you know that I am very fond of you. You’re my buddy.” Of course, Peter went on to grow in his love for Jesus and ultimately laid down his life for the savior. He learned what it meant to fall in love with Jesus.

As believers we must search our soul and ask, “Are we in love with Jesus or are we just fond of him?” I think too many are merely fond of God. They don’t really know him or trust him, but choose to admire him from a “safe” distance. We can’t love a God we don’t know. We cannot give away what we do not possess. So fall in love with Jesus, and the people around you will fall in love with the Jesus in you.

Imagine the possibilities!

You are what you think

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing f your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

Soon after my twin brother was born, my parents learned we both had a birth defect. Our ear passages were blocked and we were incapable of hearing clearly. As we learned to speak, what others heard was not actually what we were trying to say. We could see the ridicule as we became the brunt of many cruel jokes. Even though we were overall quite healthy, that one condition overshadowed everything.

Some years later, after having our tonsils removed, our hearing was completely restored. Although we were thrilled by this miracle, now we could hear the ridicule. However the greatest battle my brother and I faced was not the cruelty, but the lies in our own minds. We later came to the realization that our value and significance was not found in the words or jokes of man but the truth of God. We could not allow our potential or destiny to be defined or determined by a lie or physical condition. God would later use it to propel and compel us to our “Greater Yes!”

When we allow our thoughts to dwell in fear, doubt, worry and self-dependency, we get stuck. God wants to transform us from the inside out. It begins by first transforming our minds. Thought and words have the power to propel or repel. Proper thinking leads to proper speaking, feelings and living – which lead to powerful potential.

The Apostle Paul’s words challenge our thinking: “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” (Philippians 4:8 MSG)

Imagine the possibilities!

Mission possible

I have been studying lately from the book of Esther. God asked her to fulfill what must have seemed like a doomed mission. She was to deliver her people and to represent him. But she faced numerous obstacles. She would have to confront the king and risk death. She would have to persuade him to reverse a previous command. She would also be in direct opposition to the king’s No. 2 man. (Read the whole incredible story for yourself in the book of Esther.) Esther could have starred in the first “Mission Impossible.” Yet all hope was not lost.

Nothing comes into our life that has not first come through the hand of God. His work and plan always have a redemptive purpose because he is in the restoration business.

Like Esther, it is time for believers to rise to our mission impossible. Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, challenged her to rise to her potential and destiny, saying, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will rise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to this royal position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

Instead of choosing self preservation, Esther chose to rise to the occasion.

“Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai; Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done I will go to the King, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:15-16).

If it is true that nothing comes in our life that does not first come through God’s hand (and it is true), then even the disaster that strikes us is intended for our good. God allows adversity according to our need. God is able to take our rejection, shame, distorted thinking, unwise choices, guilt and blame and to use them for his good purposes. If God can turn Esther’s and Mordecai’s crisis into a victory, then he can handle our challenges as well.

What did it take for Esther to fulfill her God-given potential and destiny? And how about us?
1. It takes our passion – we must give of ourselves wholeheartedly.
2. It takes our focus – we must see God’s big picture.
3. It takes our preparation – we must get ourselves ready to face our destiny.
4. It takes our courage – we must take the first step forward.
5. It takes our obedience – we must obey God because he commands it.
6. It takes our risk – we must reach for the fruit that is out on the limb.
7. It takes our trust – we must put our trust in a God we can know.

Imagine the possibilities!

Do-overs R Us

In all the years Cathy and I have been married we’ve never once talked about divorce, yet we’ve needed the forgiveness of God and of one another on so many occasions. In other words, we’ve needed multiple do-overs. God has given us the ability to extend his unconditional love and forgiveness to one another. Boy do I need those do-overs!

With God, a do-over has less to do with our abilities than it does with his mercy and grace. God takes into account that we all need fresh starts. Remember, we cannot “out sin” or outrun his amazing love and grace. In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prayed that his friends would be able “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:18-19). I am over 59 years old and I am just learning this personally. While God’s love is without condition, I find that much of the love I give is conditional.

Too many of us believe that if we could just change our circumstances, we would find true happiness and fulfillment. Now, some circumstances can and should change. But usually God tells us, “No, it’s in the midst of your circumstances that I’m going to change you, and I’m going to use what you’ve gone through to propel you toward my purposes for your life.” God wants to turn our mess into his message of grace, forgiveness and unconditional love.

God allows do-overs in our lives according to our need and according to his plans. He gives us as many as we need. His do-overs are not based on what we have done, but on what he has done for through Christ. God planned for our needs. He never says “Oops.” Peter tells us, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God” (I Peter 3:18 NLT). God wants to transform our character into the character of Christ. In that process, he will give us all the do-overs we need.

Imagine the possibilities!

P.S. If you would like to know more about God’s do-over for your life, check out my new book, “God Loves Do-Overs,” at www.peoplematterministries.com.

Friendship with God

While walking today, I remembered the old hymn, “What a Friend we have in Jesus.” It brought me back to my childhood days on the Indian Reservation in Nevada, where we sang it regularly (my parents were missionaries there). I remember sitting in the front row of our makeshift church watching my mom playing the organ. She would close her eyes and tears would begin to flow. It was clear that she was singing about a friend, not merely mouthing words to a song. You could tell she knew him personally.

As I continued my walk, some of the words came back to me:

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to him in prayer.
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear;
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrow share?
Who knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.

My parents helped me to understand that we can never put our trust in someone we don’t know. Abraham’s greatest claim to fame was not that he was the father of the children of Israel, but that he was a friend of God. I would like to be known as a friend of God, too.

I think this must start with admitting that I have to make more of an effort to be his friend. Friendship demands time. It requires not just talking, but listening. That means tuning out the distracting noises of life to tune into him.

Imagine the possibilities!

Finding fulfillment in a "Greater Yes!"

I recently had an outstanding week of ministry in Florida. One highlight was sharing our new book, “God Loves Do-Overs.” When Cathy and I wrote this book we prayed that God would use it to minister to those who really need to know that God loves them just as they are and that he is longing to give them a fresh start. I know it is hard to fathom, but we cannot “out sin” God’s love, grace and forgiveness. Each day can be a new beginning.

We are also preparing for the second printing of our first book, “Finding Your Greater Yes!”, which sold more than 11,000 copies. Our goal with this book has been to prevent people from wasting their lives on “little yeses” – things that don’t ultimately matter. Instead, they can open their hearts to the “Greater Yes!” that God has prepared for them.

Let me give you an example. I remember when my dad and mom sold everything they had and moved us to a reservation for Native Americans in the Nevada desert. They spent the next 38 years working among a people who would bring them incredible joy, yet demand unwavering courage. The task required supernatural faith, yet brought a God-given completeness. My parents are two of the most fulfilled people I have ever met. Their life echoes for eternity. Do you want a life like that?

Imagine the possibilities!

A sure hope

Guest blog by Cathy Erickson

I have been preparing to speak to a group of women about hope. As I pondered hope, some memories came to the surface. I grew up in a non-believing home, but my grandmother started taking me to church when I was about four years old. Oh, how sweet those memories are. Do any of you remember Sen-Sen? It was a strong licorice mint that came years before Certs or Altoids. If I was quite in church, my grandmother would share them with me. As I grew older, I began to listen to the words in some of those hymns we sang. I may not remember your name, but I can sing many of those old hymns from memory. Some of you may remember this old hymn:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness,
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. It is the only place to put our hope. When it seems the darkness hides His face or the waves are crashing around you, remember that God is our rock where we find true hope. Take heart in David’s question about his own feelings of despair in Psalm 42:11:

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

PUT YOUR HOPE IN GOD! Imagine the possibilities!

Memories in bloom

Mother’s Day brought back some wonderful memories for Cathy and me. When Cathy’s mom lived with us, she told us she would love a lilac bush outside her window so that she could smell it when the window was open. So of course, we planted the bush.

Because of Mother’s Day, Cathy had been feeling a little nostalgic. It was not long after we planted that bush that her mother passed away about four years ago. We truly miss her.

This weekend, when we drove into our driveway, we were surprised to find that the lilac bush had bloomed for the first time in its four years of life. Cathy shouted, “Stop the car!” A little bewildered, I immediately obeyed. She jumped out, ran to the bush and began to smell the blossoms, shedding a few tears in the process.

She broke off one of the large blossoms and brought it in the house. Just one of them filled our home with the sweet aroma. At first it made Cathy sad, but then she realized that it was a little “God wink” that this happened right at Mother’s Day and will probably continue every year. It was as if God said to her, “She is with me and is doing well.” It brought back memories of the things she loved; things of beauty not of sorrow, of hope not of despair.

This morning her first thought was to share this encounter of divine kind with her brother and sister. She ran out (in the rain) and took some pictures for them. It makes us happy to know Cathy’s mom may be smelling lilacs or something even better today in Heaven. I hope you share happy memories of your mom too.

Imagine the possibilities!

Do real men tweet?

Well, I have joined the 21st century. I am now tweeting on Twitter. I still can’t believe that real men tweet! But they do. For the uninitiated, Twitter is a text service that sends short updates to your phone or computer (these are called "tweets" -- as in the short chirps of a bird). What will they think of next? What will be the passion of the nation next year, next month?

The phenomenon of social media tells us many things about our culture. It’s not a bad or good thing in and of itself. However, its popularity tells me that – in many cases, people are starving for relationships and are doing anything they can to connect with people. Yet true and genuine friendships only flow when we have a right relationship with God and each other. There are no shortcuts. They take time. The problem is that these kinds of Internet relationships – if they are merely “virtual” – aren’t truly friendships at all. Now, I understand that they may lead to real friendship. But in the absence of genuine friendships, virtual friends are merely acquaintances. Virtual relationships are fine, but we don’t want our friendships to stop there.

Principle: Satan always isolates and insulates. God always brings us together into relationship.

So why did I join Twitter? I continually ask myself, “What would Christ do?” I think he would tweet! Why? Because he would do whatever it would take to reconcile mankind to himself and to his father. He always said, “When you see me you see the father; when you hear me you hear the father; I only do what my father asked me to do.” He realized he was a representative of his father in skin.

So I am to be a representative of Christ in skin. If I am going to make a difference in this lifetime, I have to get some skin in the game. I can use Twitter to represent God in skin.

Imagine the possibilities!

Revealing the masterpiece within

The story is told about the great artist Michelangelo. Before he made his masterful statue of King David, he spent several months staring at a rough piece of marble. Those who contracted him to create the sculpture asked him what he was doing. He told them that he was working – visualizing in his mind what the sculpture would look like. The story goes that, after a few months of visualizing what King David would look like, Michelangelo began to chisel away what did not belong there.

This is a perfect illustration of what God is trying to do in us. He already sees the image of Christ in us and is working to “chisel away” the outer shell to get to that image. Nothing comes into our lives that does not first come through the Master’s hand. He allows difficulties, adversities, failures, successes and victories to chisel away what does not belong there. He allows these according to our need. Sometimes God has to use a sledge hammer to break away the big chunks and a fine chisel to smooth out our rough edges. But the end product is worth the effort.

The Master’s goal is very clear: that we might reflect the image of his Son. He wants us to become a representative of Christ. The Apostle Peter wrote, “And coming to Him as to the Living Stone (Christ), rejected by men but choice and precious in the sight of God (The Master), you also, as little stones (representatives of Christ), are being built up into spiritual houses as a holy priesthood (representing God), to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:4-5).

Why fight it? Cry out to the Spirit within us to do the Master’s work. Bring it on! Be pliable.

Imagine the possibilities!

 

 

 

What's your excuse?

My mom tells me that when I was a young child, I would say “I too tired mamma, I too tired”, whenever she asked me to do something. What is Father God asking you to commit to? What is he asking you to be or do that will require your trust and obedience? What are the excuses that are keeping you from committing?

“Excuses are the crutches for the uncommitted.” – Randy Morrison

Our willingness to make commitments is usually limited by what we see and feel. Expressed positively: Our Vision + Our Passion = Our Response. Vision and passion are twins. When we give God our passion, he gives us his vision.

Mediocrity and complicacy are the fruits of excuses. Evaluate your life. Where do you find yourself complacent? Complacency stalls commitment. God is asking us to possess a holy discontent. We shouldn’t be satisfied with the way things are, either in our own lives or in the world.

It is time to stop making excuses and become the people we were created to be. God will not judge us for where we are, but for what we refuse to become. That takes change, change takes commitment and commitment requires our trust and obedience.

Imagine the possibilities!

Taking God for granted

Do you take your mate, family, friends and God for granted? I know I do. I think I take God for granted the most. Sometimes I feel that he is distant. I get so busy I don’t take the time to talk, touch or taste that the Lord is good. I let myself get too busy, then I wonder why I can’t feel or hear him.

It reminds me of a story about an older couple who was driving down the highway to see their grandchildren. They were listening to the radio, when the wife said to her husband of 50 years, “Why don’t we cuddle like we did when we were newlyweds?” He looked over at her with perplexed but tender eyes and said, “Who moved?”

I wonder if God allows difficulties in our lives to get us to move closer to him. We are speeding down the highway of life taking God for granted, missing the exits that he has designated for us. Sometimes he has to “pull us over” to get our attention. Do we call on him only when we feel lonely, lost or broken? Then we cry out “Where are you God? Why have you forsaken me?” He looks over at us with perplexed but tender eyes and says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am here for you.”

I am convicted that I need to practice the presence of God more faithfully. Put simply, I need to talk to God more often. I know it starts by opening my heart to him. Will you join me?

Imagine the possibilities!

Becoming complete

Do you ever feel inadequate or even defeated? Our conditions, relationships and failings can cause us to think that we are incomplete. We may think that we are not skilled enough, not good enough or not spiritual enough. If you are like me, you dwell on these thoughts all too often. I refer to this as “stinking thinking” (I got the phrase from Zig Ziglar … and I don’t know who he stole it from). The problem with stinking thinking is that it leads to stinking living. What decisions are you making based on stinking thinking?

The only way to overcome deceptive thoughts and feelings is to counteract them with truth. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness or completeness in Christ, who is the head over every power or authority” (Colossians 2:9-10). The Apostle Peter wrote: “His (Christ’s) divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption (lies) in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

Because of the work of Christ, we are totally complete, lacking nothing. Our value (or position) is not based on what we bring to the table, but what Christ has done for us by living, dying and rising from the dead on our behalf. It is both freeing and humbling to realize that I am complete in Christ, yet only because of Christ. Apart from him I can do nothing of eternal significance.
Because of Christ, we have been showered with spiritual riches. In Ephesians 3:20, Paul declared that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

What does all this mean? First of all, we can have confidence that we have right standing with God. He loves us, is for us and wants us to succeed. Now he is asking us to live up to the calling he has given us. He is asking us to grow into our role as ambassadors for Christ, children of God and lights of the world. God wants us to complete in practical living what he has already completed in terms of our relationship with him.

I rejoice when I see God working out of me immeasurably more than I could ask or think. I have to allow his Spirit to do his complete work in me.

Imagine the possibilities!

Failing forward

A Chinese Proverb reads, “The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure.” I have failed so many times that I feel like I have become an expert.

My expertise led me to write a chapter in “God Loves Do-Overs” entitled Failing Forward. Failure doesn’t have to be final or fatal. In fact, God can use your failures to draw you closer to him and realign your life with his purposes. When you stray from God, failure can be the best thing to happen to you. It gets your attention, like a splash of cold water in the face. Your response to a failure — not the fact that it happened — is what really counts.

When you fail, fail forward. When you fall, you can land on your knees instead of your rear end. These “failing forward” experiences can fuel your future. It means that you choose to keep following God’s plan for your life in spite of your failings.

We all fail. But failing does not make you a failure. When you fail, God is still in control and his promises still apply to you. The key to failing forward is in your response. Will you acknowledge the failure, learn from it, and move ahead? Or will you give up and sink back into the mire? Here are 10 lessons I have learned about my own failings:

• God knows we will fail and has made provision.
• God loves to use people who fail; the Scriptures are full of examples.
• Your failings do not have to define you, but can refine you.
• Your failings do not have to be a permanent path; they can turn into steps toward personal victory.
• No failing comes into your life that does not first come through God’s hands.
• God allows failings according to your need.
• Do not fear failure; fear succeeding at what does not matter.
• If you are afraid to fail, you will never attempt something great for God.
• Success is not in the absence of failing, but in how you respond to it.
• Don’t focus on the failing; focus on the lesson learned.

So when you feel failure is at hand, remember that God wants to turn your failing into your future, your mess into your message and your pain into your potential.
Imagine the possibilities!

Victim or victor?

Do you live like a victim or a victor? Too many Christians live their lives full of fear, robbing them of faith and courage. I have been there all too often. Living by fear makes me a casualty to the circumstances and conditions that confront me.

The truth looks much different: “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (I John 5:4).

Victim living reminds me of roller coaster rides. I hate these rides because I do not know who made the track. I can’t trust someone I do not know. When I get into the coaster I go into white knuckle mode and hold onto the safety bar for all my might.

My kids love to sit behind me and laugh at my futile effort to keep the car from going up, down and sideways. All of my struggling only created anxiety and fear. My children and grandchildren, however, let go and enjoy the ride.

“Letting go” is an illustration of victorious faith. The big difference between the roller coaster illustration and real life is that we really can know the creator of the track (of our world) personally. We will not trust a God we do not know. Thank God that nothing comes into our lives that does not first come through the mighty hand of our creator, who has overcome the world.

It’s time to let go and enjoy the ride.

Imagine the possibilities!

Trivial pursuits

On occasion, Cathy and I enjoy playing Trivial Pursuit, even though I must admit I’m not very good at it. I don’t have to win. For me it’s just a moment of leisure. But I’m sure that some people take the game seriously. If only we would take life as seriously as we do games. At the end of our days, we don’t want to look back and think that we spent them in trivial pursuits.

At the age of 35, my father (who had a wife and five kids), sold all of his possessions and left middle America to pursue a ministry to the Paiute Native Americans in the Nevada desert. I recall asking him why he did it. He simply responded, “Eternity is a very long time.”

He chose not to live for self gratification, but for an eternal cause and the eternal souls of men and women. He once said, “I can’t take it with me, but I can send it ahead.” What a contrast to those who put all their fortune in financial investments of one sort or another. The Bible warns that we could pursue all this world has to offer, gain it, and then lose our very purpose and destiny. What is valuable enough that we would exchange our soul for it?

A wealthy young man once asked Jesus what he must do to inherit the Kingdom of God (Matthew 19:16-22). Jesus told him to keep all the commandments. The naive man insisted he had done this. Jesus responded, “You lack one thing. Sell all you have and give it to the poor.” The man walked away because he had great wealth. He had broken the first and most important commandment, to not put anything before God.

I have to ask myself what loyalties I am putting ahead of my devotion to him. Am I engaged in trivial pursuits? I must not fear failure, but succeeding at things that do not matter. Will you join me in this prayer? “Lord, I freshly commit myself to pursue what really matters, and that means seeking you wholeheartedly.”

Imagine the possibilities!

Maximize Your Marriage retreat

Although I seldom use this blog to promote upcoming events, I want to make a rare exception. Cathy and I invite you and your friends to join us at the Maximize Your Marriage retreat on May 1-2.

Are you ready to take your relationship to a higher level of trust, harmony and oneness? Are you tired of settling for conflict and mediocrity? “Maximize Your Marriage” by learning how to break through the barriers that prevent true relational intimacy.

Learn more and register here.

M.I.A. in marriage

Last December Cathy and I celebrated 38 years of marriage. It has been amazing what God has done throughout the years. Cathy is a gift from God to me. It has been an incredible walk of faith for her to live and serve with me.

On our anniversary, I was reminded that for the first half our marriage and family, I was M.I.A. (missing in action). It was about 20 years into our marriage that I got a rude awaking. While driving home, I heard Dr. James Dobson on the radio. He suggested that if you want to know how your marriage or family is doing, then ask your wife. I was deluded into thinking that I had a strong and vibrant marriage. So, without hesitation I asked Cathy, “We have a great marriage, don’t we?” It really wasn’t a question. I was making a statement. Cathy did not even stop what she was doing. She continued washing dishes and said, “What marriage? You have to be here to have a marriage.”

Her response shook me to the core. Cathy was committed to the marriage and would never have divorced me. Yet I had been self deceived, and as a result, I was succeeding at what did not matter. I was finding my identity and significance in a “what” (my job, my career) instead of a “who,” my wife and family and God.

It has taken 18 years to turn things around. I realize now that the more I find my identity and significance in Christ, the more I exhibit his character and seek the things that please him. Where is your identity?

Imagine the possibilities!

Friendships beyond Facebook

I am trying to get with it. My wife helped me to get started on Facebook not long ago. It’s certainly an ingenious way of getting people to make new friends and communicate regularly with old ones. But I also think for some people it is easier to have a relationship over the Web than in person. As one who is seeking to help others as a pastor and friend, I am continually trying to figure out how I can use this medium to minister to people in need.

The challenge I have is that real and genuine communication flows out of our real relationships with God and one other. When we try to fill the spaces of our lives through counterfeits, we remain empty. Authentic relationships with Christ and his people are the only things that can fill that God-shaped vacuum in our hearts. Although there is nothing wrong with virtual communication, meaningful relationships cannot be developed at a distance. It’s fine to have “virtual” friends, but we must have some that we look in the eye, face to face (no, Web cams do not count).

So enjoy Facebook, but do not be two faced. Be genuine. Make sure that your most important relationship – with Jesus Christ – is dynamic and “updated” throughout each and every day. Then our friends – whether “virtual” or face to face – will see the face of Christ in us.

Imagine the possibilities!

Inspecting the fruit

I was thinking about my own life and I have to admit that sometimes it’s full of activities but lacks fruit. I am reminded of the passage in Mark 11:12-14. Jesus saw a fig tree in full bloom yet was lacking figs to satisfy his hunger. Jesus cursed the tree and within hours it had completely withered (vs. 21).

I have seen fruit farmers prepare their orchard by cutting out the old deadwood and pruning back the branches so that they will bear not merely leaves, but fruit.

I am a pretty busy guy – too busy much of the time. I wonder how much of what I do is actually fruitful. God wants us to bear the fruit of a Christ-like life. When God inspects my life, how much of it consists of quality spiritual fruit and how much of it is merely leaves? Good question, hard answer. Only God knows.

I could justify my activities and say I probably have more fruit than most, but that would be shortsighted. I’m not here to compare myself to other people, but to the perfection of Jesus Christ. A Christ-like life requires introspection. Even the good things I do can rob me of God’s best. Mere activity does not equal spiritual accomplishment.

We must allow the Holy Spirit to cut out the clutter from our lives so that only fruit-bearing branches remain. I must not allow the “lesser yeses” of life to rob me of my greater potential and destiny.

We will not be judged today for where we are, but for what we refuse to become. Let’s become trees of life that bear much fruit – fruit that will last.

Imagine the possibilities!

The cure for “stinking thinking”

Do you ever have one of those days when everything seems to set you off? I know I do. Right now some guy is sitting by me in the airport and talking way too loud on his cell phone. Do you ever feel on edge and not know why?

I have come to the conclusion that my response to circumstances originates in my thinking. The Apostle Paul tells us that the key to becoming like Christ is to renew our minds. “Stinking thinking” really does lead to stinking living. But renewed thinking leads us to dynamic living.

We renew our thinking by what we put into our minds. What we put into our minds changes our heart, which drives our behavior and words. I can read your mind when I hear your words and observe your behavior. Garbage in garbage out.

Even Paul must have struggled with his thinking. He once wrote that we can experience the peace of God when we are focused on things that are true, lovely, excellent and worthy of praise. To think otherwise leads to fear, doubt and mediocre living.

So feed your mind and your heart with the truth found in God's word. Then you will be able to enjoy a life that is not limiting but is truly dynamic, explosive and powerful.

Imagine the possibilities!

Fear vs. faith

Did you know that both fear and faith motivate? I think many of the decisions being made in our country right now are being motivated by fear. Fear is driven only by the facts in front of us, while faith is driven by believing in what we cannot yet see and the promises of God. This faith is not blind because it is based on the fact that God can and will do what he says.

When people look at your life, do they see fear or faith? Fear drives people to try to meet their needs through their own devices, to be the god of their own lives. That only leads to a temporary and limiting solution. Faith puts our trust in God, who opens us to eternal and unlimited solutions and potential.

The little boy with the five loaves and two fishes had enough to meet his own temporary need. He rather chose to put his trust in a God who could turn his limited lunch into a limitless miracle. If the people had not eaten until they were full, the miracle may never have ended. They might be still distributing bread and fish even to this day.

God is still in the miracle business. He has not grown tired and weary. Is he not ready to do abundantly more than we can ask or think? Is he not more powerful than our fears?

So get your head up! As God told Abraham (this is my paraphrase), “Do not allow your life to be limited by what you cannot yet see. Let the light of my stars give you faith that all things are possible to those who would believe.”

Imagine the possibilities!

We've been bailed out

It's impossible to turn on the news without seeing a story about some sort of bailout. Without taking sides on any of these political issues, I'm reminded of how fortunate I am that someone came to my aid with a bailout.

In Luke 7, Jesus says that "the one who had the bigger debt canceled" loved him the most (see the context here). God has provided us with the biggest bailout of all time by offering us complete forgiveness through Christ. This should make us both thankful and humble. But it doesn't end there. Because we have been relieved of our spiritual debt, we are now free to serve God and others more fully. To use a business term, we are back in business! It's time to seize the day. Will you join me?

Imagine the possibilities!

Making parenting excellent

GUEST BLOG from Doug Erickson

As a high school counselor, I spend a majority of my day sitting with kids, sharing in their joy, grieving in their loss, and guiding them the best I can. High school students have a keen sense of position in their school, community and world. Some “fit” in, some are “awkward,” and others find themselves somewhere in the middle. One thing I have noticed about all teenagers is that they want be great at something. They compare themselves to their peers in sports, performance arts, academics, SAT’s, you name it. Young people are searching for a way to stand out from the crowd and get attention; and with attention, comes praise. In fact, my high school’s core values are excellence in Christian character development, academics, and athletics and performance.

Following a conversation with one of my students that involved many of the issues of excellence, I started to think about how this applied in my own life. I began to realize that I would never be a professional tennis player, elite runner, or world-renowned researcher, although these are activities and interests that I would like to excel in. Unfortunately, most of these aspirations involve much of what I cannot control. I am of average height and build, no one would describe me as particularly athletic in nature, and I don’t love competition. Fortunately, I believe there are some things that I can control – aspects of my life where I can excel even if I am not naturally gifted to do so. Have you ever asked someone, “What are you good at?” I have, and I usually get a number of responses, most of which involve something artistic, athletic, or vocational in nature. Writing, painting, cycling and finance are examples of this.

After work last week I was sitting with my one-and-a-half-year old daughter, as we do every evening for family time. As I sat there singing and playing with the two individuals whom I love the most, I was struck with an idea. It hit me like a bolt of lightning! This is what I can be good at! I thought for a minute and wondered if I asked 100 people what they are good at, how many would say, “being a dad” or “being a husband.”

We are all looking for ways to be set apart from our peers and grow our talents. I just wonder what kind of community we could have if we focused on excelling at those things that really mattered. What kind of world and people would we be if we made it our mission to grow and nurture our children and to make this the thing that really brings us joy?

As I get older, grow a family, and assume more responsibility for growing that family, I wonder how my family will remember me. Will they think of me as a graceful and skillful athlete, a clever financier or an intelligent researcher? I hope not. I hope when someone asks my kids about their father, they say that he was not a good father; he was a great father!

Imagine the possibilities!

Marching to a different drumbeat

Some people choose to stand out from the crowd and deviate from the norm. We say that they march to the beat of a different drum. I think this is what the masses must have said of Jesus Christ. Is that what they say of you and me?

I had a good friend once say, “Some men happen to influence while others determine to influence. Mediocre men settle for good, which is most often the enemy of the best.” I don’t want to settle for mediocrity. I want to stand out by being God’s very best. I want to pursue his excellence in everything I do because I am reflecting Jesus Christ.

The drumbeat I am marching to will determine who and what I become. Maybe that is why Christ spent so much time with his father. And that is why he could say, “When you see me, you see the father. When you hear me, you hear what the father tells me to say.” Christ marched to the drumbeat of his father. Whose drumbeat are we marching to?

Imagine the possibilities!

Frustration with a purpose

Do you ever get frustrated? It seems to be part of the norm for me right now. These frustrations can be triggered by people or circumstances. They can make you want to say, “I don’t need this right now!” They seem to come at the worst possible time and happen outside of our control.

The last couple of weeks have been like that. I was preparing to deliver a message for a church when I realized that water was running in my basement. I went downstairs to find that most of the basement was under an inch of water. If that wasn’t enough, a few days later my laptop computer melted down.

Yet I know that God allows frustrations in our lives according to our needs. Behind every problem or crisis we face there is an unmet need. I look back now and I know God is using these circumstances to make me more patient. To use a physical parallel, it is similar to when I am consistent with my workouts. Faithfulness in exercise builds endurance so that we can face even greater challenges. God is at work through these trials, readying my character for what is ahead.

So, I thank God for loving me enough to allow frustrations in my life according to the purpose and plan he has for me. So bring it on!

Imagine the possibilities!

Rising to the challenge of adversity

Right now you are likely to be experiencing adversity or are at least tempted to be worried about finances or your job. The economic challenges that beset our nation and our world are serious. But let's remember that God calls us to live above our circumstances. He can use tough times to accomplish good, even if we can't immediately see what the good is. In addition to many Bible passages, two quotes come to mind that illustrate this point:

"Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are." (Arthur Golden)

"Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors." (traditional proverb)

Don't get me wrong. I don't want you (or me!) to lose a job or a home. But even in the midst of these trying times, we have the opportunity to be transformed by God and to know him better. As a result, people will see Christ in us and God will be made known.

Will you join me in praying that God will be glorified in our lives in this time of great international uncertainty?

Imagine the possibilities!

Pure motivation

What motivates us to do what we do? I watch our politicians and they seem to try to motivate us by power or fear. These negative motivators drive people apart instead of bringing them together. Satan knows that if he can get us isolated from each other and from God, then he wins and we lose.

In Genesis 3, Satan motivated Adam and Eve to disobey God with the notion that they could be like a god, knowing good from evil. They had only known good, so knowing evil could only disconnect them from God. This led them to hide from God out of fear since they were now exposed and ashamed. Before, their nakedness was seen as pure and holy. Now it had become shameful and corrupt.

I have to personally evaluate whether I am trying to hide anything from God out of fear. If I am hiding anything, it will cause me to become disconnected from the source of real power that can give me life worth living.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will motivate me to come clean and to allow the light of God’s presence to expose what is not genuine, truthful and pure. Give me the courage to come out from behind my rock and to step into the light.

Imagine the possibilities!

Are your friendships merely “virtual?”

I was recently encouraged by my wife to join Facebook. Although I’m reluctant to dive into the realm of social networking, Facebook does seem to be a way to network with old friends and make some new ones. I commend the inventors for their endeavor.

I connected with one person who claimed over 500 “friends.” I am not sure what this view of a “friend” would be. I think for some it is just a contest to see who can get the most online pals. In this redefined view of friendship, millions of people are claiming “friends” who are in reality only occasional correspondents in cyberspace.

The real world of friendships is much smaller. Based on my experience in ministry, most people do not have one close friend with whom they can share personal matters. It’s much easier to gravitate toward those who allow us to live at the surface level, whether in person or online.

I know how much I appreciate the true friendships I have. They are hard to find and even harder to maintain. Life seems to get in the way.

How is your “true friendship” quotient? Would you be able to identify a true friendship if you saw one? Let’s take a look at some of the biblical qualities of a true friend.

1. They are motivated by unconditional love.
They love their friends as themselves (John 15:13).

2. They are trustworthy.
They are loyal, dependable and reliable.

• “Friends love through all kinds of weather and like families stick together in all kinds of trouble” (Proverbs 17:17).
• “Many say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is really faithful?” (Proverbs 20:6).

3. They are truthful.

• “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses” (Proverbs 27:6).
• “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17).

4. They are compassionate and quick to forgive.
They stand with you even when you blow it. They don’t just pity you but are willing to enter into your pain. They accept you as you are but love you too much to let you stay the way you are.

• “We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters” (I John 3:16).
• “Be quick to show love” (Proverbs 10:12).

5. They are encouraging.
They call the best out of you. They bring you energy. They won’t lead you astray.

• “A sweet friendship refreshes the soul” (Proverbs 27:9).

6. They talk to God for and with you.

• “I urge you, brothers … to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me” (Romans 15:30).

I realize that, if I want a friend like this, I need to be a friend like this. Facebook illustrates how badly people want friends. Are we willing to do what it takes to have real friends instead of only the virtual kind?

Imagine the possibilities!

Respecting and cherishing on Valentine's Day

I thought I would do something unusual for this blog. Cathy and I have been busy working hard on a talk that we are doing on Valentine’s Day called “Cherishing Your Mate.” If you want to bring stress and strife, try to do this type of work with your mate! Satan loves to attack relationships when they are trying to do something good for God. Just expect it! However, this does not mean you should not try! Just be conscious that it will come.

I wanted to share the results of our work for our blog readers. The following are elements that stood out for us on how to cherish your mate. Paul calls it a mystery. Here is the outline we are using.

The meaning of cherish: To care for tenderly; to keep fondly in mind; to embrace with interest; to foster with tenderness and to soften with heat. As you cherish your mate, it warms her heart and softens her attitude toward you.

Key: How Christ loved the church is a picture of how husbands and wives ought to cherish each other.

Ephesians 5:25-28, The Message reads:
“Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church — a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor — since they're already "one" in marriage.”
Husbands, you cherish your wives by…

Giving: A love marked by giving, not getting. Cherishing your wife involves self-sacrificing.

Saying: Your words evoke her beauty and bring out the best in her.
Cherishing your wife involves engaging her.

Doing: Everything you do and say brings out the best of her.
Cherishing your wife involves doing acts of love.

Ephesians 5:22-24 The Message Reads:
“Wives understand and support your husband in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides (servant) leadership for his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.”
Wives, you cherish your husband by…

Respecting: Brings with it admiration and esteem.
Cherishing your husband involves trusting his leadership.

Affection: Meaningful touch with feelings of fondness and warmth.
Cherishing your husband involves expressing your love emotionally and physically.

Supporting: Thinking the best and giving encouragement.
Cherishing your husband involves words and actions that build up not tear down.

Ephesians 5:21, 29-33 “The Erickson Version’ Reads:
“Submit to one another out of your respect for Christ. No one abuses their own body, do they? NO, they feed and pamper it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man or woman leaves father and mother in order to cherish each other. No longer two, they become ‘one flesh.’ This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church, which provides a good picture of how each husband and wife is to love and cherish each other.”
Husband and Wives you cherish each other by…

Submitting: Out of a respect and reverence for Christ.
Cherishing each other involves mutual surrender to God and each other.

Honoring: Seeing each other as more precious and valuable than anything or anyone else.
Cherishing each other involves making the other feel like a priceless treasure.

Forgiving: The faith to cease to blame and feel resentment.
Cherishing each other involves releasing the other from a fault and trusting again.

Committing: The knowing that the other will always be there for them.

Cherishing each other involves keeping yourself only for God and each other.

We also recommend Dr. Gary Chapman’s book on “The Five Love Languages” and Bob Record’s book on “Beneath the Surface” as a resource guides for further discussion between the couples. Check out these and see if they are helpful in understanding the mystery of your mate.

Imagine the possibilities!

Rejecting compromise

I was speaking with a man the other day who insisted that we have to interpret God’s word in light of our culture and each individual circumstance. This philosophy is called situational ethics and contends that what is right for you may not be right for me. I kept asking him, “What do the Scriptures say?” I unintentionally provoked him to the point of frustration. He could not believe that I would not compromise.

Compromise seems to be the byword these days. Some think that compromise is best for our marriage, families and country. I am weary of compromise. When do we make a stand? When is right simply right and wrong simply wrong? It is when God says so.

The line has been drawn. Whether I agree with it does not really matter. Satan has used the same strategy since the garden. He twists the truth to bring doubt, which leads to compromise and disappointment. Let's review Genesis 3:1-3:
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

You can see that Satan distorted God’s command and tried to impugn his trustworthiness.

The bottom line is that Satan deceived Adam and Eve into believing that if they compromised, they would somehow escape from the prudish restrictions that an unfair God had arbitrarily imposed upon them. What did their compromise get them? Nothing but heartache. They rejected the commands that God had put in place for their protection. Some compromise.

God later gave the 10 Commandants, which have now become the 10 suggestions, depending on your point of view, lifestyle or feelings.

It is not time to compromise, but to take a stand. We have to stop the spiritual downward spiral, beginning with our personal lives. Let’s start a new bandwagon, a new mantra: “If God says it, I obey it, no compromise.”

Imagine the possibilities!

Alien encounters

When things get scary and it seems that life has more turmoil and strife than peace and contentment, I cry out to God. I often sincerely ask him, “If I can’t trust you this time, then take me home now because I will not spend my life trusting in anything but you. I tried the other way and it does not work.”

I have to continually remind myself that this earth is really not my home. The Bible says we are like aliens and strangers here. Our ultimate and eternal destiny is with God in Heaven. I have to remind myself that I must not take up the culture, customs or costumes of this world. I do not want to fit in, but to stand out. Instead of being conformed, I want to be transformed so that I can change this world.

If we were put on trial for our faith, would we be found guilty of being different from this world? Paul says we are members of the household of God. God’s spirit dwells in us. It’s time to stand out.

Imagine the possibilities!

What is your grid?

I was thinking the other day about what I base my life upon. What are the principles that drive my thinking, feelings and actions? Principles are the foundation of our lives. They become the grid through which all decisions and actions are filtered. I often see people who have based their whole lives on principles that are invalid or shortsighted at best. Stinking principles lead to stinking living.

Principles are like the wire lines in a grid. The grid filters out what does not belong. Every line in the grid protects us unless it is faulty. A faulty grid allows the impurities to infect the whole. Filtered water can bring life. But when impurities are allowed in, the same water can bring death.

A friend of mine once said, “The more we base our life upon godly principles and less upon man’s personalities, the straighter and purer our course in life will be.” I think our politicians and religious leaders are making too many of their decisions based on a personality rather than on what is best for our country morally, economically and spiritually.

Instead of basing our lives on shortsighted, fleeting ideas, we must make Jesus our grid. We can count on his way being right, his principles being certain. We inculcate Jesus’ principles into our lives through the Scriptures. If our politicians, religious leaders (and you and I) would base our thinking and actions on Jesus Christ and the Scriptures, we all might be spared from a world of hurt.

What would Jesus do?

What does the Bible say?

Will you join me in asking yourself these questions in daily life?

Imagine the possibilities!

Faith to forgive

I am recognizing more and more as I work with people who are in conflict that unforgiveness is at the root of their troubles.

I was recently reading from Mark 11:22-25, which is related to this topic. The passage starts off with a bang: “Have faith in God.” We can have faith in God that his promises are true, that he does not lie.

As I read on in the passage, Jesus said that if we simply believe and refuse to doubt, we can move a mountain. Now, Jesus is not encouraging us to try and move large objects. His point is that mountains can move in our lives when we pray according to his will, purpose and plan. And when we pray, he said, we should do so with confidence.

Jesus then warns us of an ever-present danger that will hinder our prayers of faith: unforgiveness. He says that if we are praying and are reminded of someone we need to forgive, we should stop praying and forgive that person immediately. We are to do whatever it takes to forgive that individual. Other related passages say that we are to go to the offending (or offended) person and make things right.

Jesus is saying that God’s will is for us to freely offer forgiveness to others, just as God has offered it to us. Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” It may take a great deal of faith for us to release someone through forgiveness. This may be the mountain that you must move.

If we carry unforgiveness, it is we who suffer. Our relationship with God suffers. Our relationship with others also becomes strained because of the latent anger within us.

Is God revealing someone whom you need to forgive? Don’t bury it or put it off. Instead:

• Have faith in God.
• Consider those whom you have not forgiven.
• Confess them to yourself and to God.
• Tell God about your hurts and release them to him.
• Personally receive God’s grace and forgiveness.
• Verbalize your forgiveness to God for those who offended you.
• Release yourself and the one who offended you.

God will not judge us for where we are, but for what we refuse to become.

Imagine the possibilities!

Forgive or forget it

I have been working on a message for our church that deals with generosity of the heart. In the message, I will ask the question, “What is the one thing God will not do?” If you have read the Lord’s Prayer recently, you will find that the answer to this question is this: God says he will not forgive us if we do not forgive others. That is pretty sobering.

I didn’t see the extreme before until now. I could tie the very hands of almighty God by simply not forgiving. That doesn’t seem fair at first glance. When I hold back my forgiveness I actually put myself in bondage.

It reminded me of the time many years ago when I took my first church in Fort Apache, Ariz. I worked my tail off for three months for this pastor and he up and fired me with no just cause. I carried the bitterness around with me for years. I was in denial because I would self-righteously say I had forgiven him, but it kept coming up in conversations. My wife finally had enough and told me to get over it and move on.

She was right as usual. I realized that I could not forgive until I personally asked for his forgiveness. I had dragged the hurt around with me for over 10 years, defaming them in the process. So I loaded up the wife and kids and spent hours driving to the pastor’s community. I thought it would be great for them to meet the kids and catch up. When I got to the door I was greeted by an elderly gentleman who happened to be the one who had fired me. He said, “May I help you?” I told him who I was and that I had once served under his ministry and I wanted to get a few minutes of his time. He looked at me with bewilderment. He said that he had no recollection that I had ever served there. He said, “You must be mistaken,” and he called his wife. She also said she had no recollection of our time with them. Even with that response, I asked them for their forgiveness, which they hesitantly gave.

I had dragged these people around with me for over 10 years and they did not even remember me. As I walked away I thought, “Who has been the fool all these years?” It had been me. My unforgiveness had kept me in bondage, but now I was set free. I walked away delivered. I had been obedient, but my obedience did not release them. Instead, it released me. I went back to the car and had a joyous afternoon with my family. It is amazing what can happen when we finally let go!

Imagine the possibilities!

Touching lives in a "Ghost Town"

I am not necessarily recommending this movie, but I just rented “Ghost Town.” This comedy is about a rude, lonely and insensitive bachelor dentist who cannot stand the people he works with or his patients. He has a near death experience which gives him the unique ability to see and interact with ghosts. These ghosts are people who are wandering New York City waiting to be released to their ultimate destiny. Despite his window into the spiritual world, the dentist doesn’t treat the ghosts any better than the living.

The ghosts keep trying to communicate to the dentist that unresolved personal matters are keeping them in limbo. They seek his help in making them right. As long as these issues are unresolved, their destinies are on hold.

The dentist had a unique opportunity to help both the living and the dead resolve issues that were keeping them from moving on to their potential and destiny. I know it may sound crazy, but I think God had a spiritual lesson for me in this movie. Since I am a child of God, I believe God wants me to see and feel for people as he sees and feels for them. He wants my heart to break over the same things that break his heart. He wants me to help people find their ultimate meaning in Christ.

If this is true, then I need to pray not only for daily encounters of the divine kind, but I need to ask God to reveal people’s unmet needs. Those needs are keeping them from moving on and experiencing Christ’s abundant life (John 10:10). They need to know that their needs are met through Christ.

I don’t want to be like the recalcitrant dentist who refused to get involved with people and their needs. So I pray, “Lord let me see your people, both the lost and the found, with your eyes and feel with your heart so I will respond with you love, care and compassion.”

Imagine the possibilities!

Still while moving

As I journey this year I want to know the face of God in a greater way. Scripture says that if I really want to know him, I have to become “still.” That is difficult for me. I realize that when my heart becomes crowded with the cares of ministry, finances, family and life, my spiritual “ears” get plugged up. In order for God to get my attention, he can no longer speak in the “still small voice.” He has to interrupt my routine with difficulties and adversities. I now realize that God allows them according to my need.

I have wondered what it means to “be still.” Is it just sitting and meditating like a monk at a monastery? I know that stillness should include some of those times. But what I think it really means is that I need to slow down enough to see and know the face of God in every situation, even when life is busy. Every situation is an opportunity to know God better. When I relate to God from a posture of humility and dependence, he can change me from the inside out. He changes me not just for the purpose of change but so that I can know him better. I am realizing that my busyness is an act of arrogance on my part. Who made me God that I should be so busy?

Paul wrote that our spiritual perception is murky, like viewing a cloudy image in a mirror. I want to see God clearly so that I can reflect him more accurately to the world around me. I think this is what Jesus was alluding to when he said that we “are the light of the world.” In order to be illuminated by Christ, we must first be still before him. In knowing God, we become fully alive and bring light to the world around us.

Imagine the possibilities!

Fear vs. trust

Do you ever feel fear? I know I do. The Bible says “fear … is the beginning of wisdom.” It also says “fear not.” I wish it would make up my mind. Both are right. Actually the Bible says, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” And since we can put our total trust in God, we can “fear not.”

I have a doctor’s appointment for a health problem and I’m battling fear instead of fearing not. You can say believing is the beginning of trusting. It all depends on what or in whom you believe. By the way, God’s trustworthiness is not contingent on whether we actually trust him. Our unwillingness to trust does not change the fact that we can trust him completely. We do not have to fear any evil.

I know my fear is in direct proportion to my trust. The more I trust, the less I fear. The more I fear, the less I trust. It’s not rocket science. Trust says that nothing comes into my life that does not first come through the hand of God. I realize that he will not allow anything in my life that he will not give me the courage to confront as I walk with him. Trust defeats fear. It is not trust in myself or doctors (although he uses them), it is in God. So life, bring it on. I will show you my faith by my trust, not my fear.

Imagine the possibilities!

A familiar face?

I am not very good with names, but I hardly ever forget a face. While I have a friend who remembers everyone’s name, I have a hard time hanging on to this information. I make excuses about why I can’t remember names, but I am coming to the conclusion that I don’t remember names because I don’t really know the people behind them. But if I know you, I won’t forget your name or your face.

This caused me to consider my relationship with God. While I know his name, “God, Lord, Savior,” I am not sure I am that familiar with his face. Faces tell us a great deal about people’s personality, age and attitude. The same is true of God. Although I cannot see God’s physical face, I can get to know him personally similar to the way I can get to know another human being.

When Moses saw God up close, Moses had to cover his face because of the intensity of God’s radiating glory. As a result, Moses’ face beamed with divine radiance (see Exodus 34:29-35). God is most glorified in me when I seek his face. I wonder how often I have missed knowing God because I am seeking other things, even good things. I must realize that the face of God is found in encounters of the divine kind. It is important that I seize the moments I have to get to know God in a personal, genuine way.

I wonder if that is what Christ meant when he said, “Let you light shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your father in Heaven.” That light is the face of God shining through us.

Just about the time I got my last line typed, my 2-year-old grandson ran by me laughing, having a joyous time. God’s Spirit whispered to me, “That is my face. Can you see me?” God’s presence was evident in the innocence and pure joy of a child.

The next time my grandson came around, I grabbed him and hugged and kissed and told him how much I love him. I heard the Spirit of God whisper again, “Thank you I love you too!”

Let’s seek his face in every circumstance.

Imagine the possibilities!

Finding satisfaction

I was recently intrigued by a quote from pastor John Piper: “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him.” Wow! What a statement. This is my prayer for this coming year. You cannot have one without the other.

You could also turn it around and say, “I am most satisfied in God when he is glorified in me.” Or you could say, “God is most glorified as I find my satisfaction in him and I am most satisfied when I give God all the glory.” There is so much truth in so few words! There really is no true glory apart from him.

I thought, “How do these words motivate me to change, to live at a higher level of faith and power?”

I was reminded of Paul when he wrote that all other worldly loyalties must not compete with the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. He said he would have to count them as rubbish in order that he may gain Christ. He did not say that all that he had accomplished or inherited was rubbish. However, he would not find his satisfaction in these things (Philippians 3:7-11).

Like Paul, I will never experience complete fulfillment in this lifetime until I find my complete satisfaction in an intimate relationship with Christ. I must understand that I will never be completely satisfied until I identify with Christ both in his death and his resurrection. The paradox for me is that when I do this I’m really gaining everything.

Christ wants the work he is doing in me to overflow into the lives of those around me. I want to please my Father this year by becoming more like Christ. That will give him glory and that would satisfy me to overflowing.

Imagine the possibilities!

Confidence in God for the year ahead

I will never use my blog to ask for support for our ministry, but I will use it to give thanks. God is always faithful and he will meet every one of our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. With God it is never a provision issue. For us it is either a vision issue (seeing what we cannot yet see) or a faith issue (believing that God can and will do what he says).

When it comes to God, we can truly believe that the check is in the mail because he will and can do what he promises.

Our ministry has been running about 15 percent below budget for the last few months. Someone recently said that our shortfall was due to what is happening with the economy. When I heard this, it disturbed me to think that my provision would be conditional to earthly circumstances. I just don’t believe that. It is a lie from the evil one. Satan continually brings doubt. I have to combat his lies with the truth by saying, “God promises this. I believe it and I will make my decision accordingly.”

John 6:6 reads, “He (Christ) was testing them (his disciples) because he already knew what he was going to do.” Jesus had told his disciples to go and feed 5,000 families. He commanded them, “You feed them.” God wants to do miracles in our midst. He wants to do miracles through us. I am not going to flunk God’s test. I look forward to the encounters of the divine kind. God says, “Try me and you will find me willing and faithful.”

This year will be the greatest year of our life and ministry. I can’t yet see what God is going to do, but I know it is in the mail. Our ministry was running a deficit, but we recently received an unanticipated gift of $10,000. You too can put your confidence in the One who sees it all, knows it all and can provide for it all. To him we give thanks for what he is going to do.

Imagine the possibilities!

Investing in what is priceless

I was looking through some old baseball cards and I found a picture that stood out among them all. It was mixed among players like Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGuire, Pete Rose and Barry Bonds. It was a picture of my son when he was about 8 years old in his A’s uniform. It brought back a rush of memories.

It reminded me of the MasterCard ad campaign that lists many purchases we could make, but calls the time we spend with our loved ones “priceless.” I finally found a commercial I can agree with.

That picture of my son is truly priceless. I guess as I get older, people become more important than money or things. I tell my kids, “Have all the babies you want. I only have so much money, but I will always have enough love.” Whether they know it or not, people desire love and attention over material possessions. Too many of us use people and love things instead of the other way around.

My son is now 29 years old. He has his own daughter. He must have taken 100 pictures of her during Christmas. He knows what is priceless. We must invest in relationships in order to have priceless memories that will echo now and for a lifetime.

Imagine the possibilities!

You can have a fresh start in 2009

As I reflect on moving into 2009, I hear people wishing each other a “Happy New Year.” There was a great celebration on New Year’s Eve as the ball dropped in New York City. Cathy and I have our own tradition. We watch the grandkids as my daughter and husband celebrate with friends.

Do you ever wonder, as I do, “What is the big deal?” It is just another year. One day it is 2008 and the next day, within the same 24 hours, it is 2009. Do you know what I think? I think for one day at least people realize that they get a fresh start, a new beginning. Their circumstance will not necessarily change in the 24 hours, but it seems they get to start life all over again. I like to say that they get a “do-over.” We hope that we can forget and forgive their past and look forward and celebrate a better future. Remember, when the past lives in the present it robs us of our future.

For many, 2008 was far from happy. Happiness is always based on happenings. Many people are carrying fear, worry and anxiety into a new calendar year. I want to carry over a renewed hope of knowing without a doubt that there is a God who is in complete control and will and able to finish what he has started. He never says, “Oops!”

So in 2009 I want to trust in and depend on God more. I want there to be less of me and more of Him and others. I want to serve, love and cherish my wife, my family and friends more than ever. I want each day to be a celebration of God’s grace, love and mercy. If it ends up being the year Christ returns or I get promoted, I will have no regrets because I gave it my all. I can say, “I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith and now there is an eternal crown waiting for me.”

Imagine the possibilities!

Christ’s birth marks us as his eternal family

We had a great Christmas Day. Our two kids with their families, including six grandchildren, made the day exciting and joyful. It is one of the most important times for our family in the entire year. As I was sitting with the trash bag in hand watching the kids open gifts, I reminded myself again that Christmas is really all about family.

It has never been about shopping, trees or gifts. While these are fine, they can throw the focus off of God’s original purpose for the birth of Christ. I was reminded that when mankind was separated from God by sin, God did everything he could to bring us back into relationship with him. To use a family analogy, this would be as if one of the members of my family would have nothing to do with me. It would be painful and leave our family incomplete. I would do anything I could to restore that relationship. That is what God did.

Christmas evening we had a big dinner with ham, jams, scallop potatoes, fruit salad and – my favorite – pumpkin pie. Someday all the family of God will be together for the first time at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. There will be relatives from the past, present and future. There will be Christ and the Father sitting side by side and the Holy Spirit’s presence hovering above it all. Can you see it? I saw an earthly version of it last Christmas night. It will be the greatest celebration!

So as I put away the trash and helped clean up the dishes while the grandkids played, all I could do was smile while a few tears trickled down. It was a day I wish it would have never ended. Someday it won’t!

Imagine the possibilities!

Looking to the light this Christmas

Growing up as a missionary kid on an Indian Reservation had some interesting challenges. One responsibility that fell on my three brothers and me was to ride along with our dad when he transported those with no cars to and from church. Our job was to help the women out of the van and escort them to their homes. Few houses on the reservation had electricity at that time, so it was important to make sure they arrived safely.

One Christmas Eve, when a glance at the sky was the only weather forecast necessary, we tried to outrun a fierce snowstorm. I was the son on duty that night. We worked quickly, but by the time we had loaded the people into the van, the snow had started. As the snow continued falling, the night became darker and darker, and the dirt road we drove in on completely disappeared under a white blanket.

On our return to the church, the snowfall increased, and so did my fear. This was no “white Christmas” – it was a blizzard. My dad could not tell where the road was, much less where we were on it. Finally, he shut off the engine, looked me and said, “We’re going to have to leave the van and walk.” It is one thing to drive on dirt roads in a snowstorm, but to walk? I thought it was crazy, but I also knew we had no other choice.

As we began our dreadful journey, my dad prayed for protection and clear direction. I was just praying we wouldn’t freeze to death. He knew that as long as we did not end up in the sagebrush, we would be walking on the right path. Dad kept trying to encourage me by saying calmly, “Stay close to me and look for the light, look for the light.”

When our makeshift church was constructed out of logs and plywood, a cross with a light was raised on the roof peak. He wanted the light to continually shine from the cross throughout the darkness of the reservation. That light was to be a beacon of hope for those who were lost.

As we trudged through the snow I tried to be brave, but I was scared. I think my dad must have sensed my fear because he drew close and put his arm around me. I don’t know if I felt any warmer, but his arm around me was comforting nevertheless. He kept saying, “It’s going to be OK. Stay close to me and keep looking for the light.”

After what seemed like hours, we glimpsed a tiny beam of light from that old rugged cross breaking through the storm. Now my father said to me, “Keep moving toward the light, and keep your eyes on the light.” I noticed that as I got closer to the cross that the light got brighter, my walk got swifter, my body got warmer and my heart found hope and peace. It wasn’t long before we were running toward the light and we found the warmth of a safe haven. We laughed with relief and joy.

Life will bring opportunities and challenges of all kinds. Some we can control and others we can’t. Christmas represents hope, like the light on the old cross. As the shepherds did so many years ago, we must learn to look to the light found in Jesus who was once wrapped in humanity but is now preparing a place for us. The peace and joy of life are found in the Christ of Christmas. Our Father in Heaven will never give up on us or forsake us. We can trust He knows the way.

Imagine the possibilities!