take a step

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.
Martin Luther King

Sometimes we have dreams and ambitions that God has given us that lay dormant in our hearts.

Does God really want me to do that?

It seems like it’s not the right time or season to do anything at all.

Our faith in God is what can propel us over the wall of doubt that can surround us. Our past reminds us of all our failures. Of course, these are impossible to deny because they really did happen.

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal…

Philippians 3:13-14

As you take a step of faith, realize that God knows all about you past mistakes. All of us have screwed something up (some of us more than once). It’s awesome to know that in spite of our shortcomings, God still wants to use us to do something in his name. So learn from your mistakes. Learn how not to repeat them and move on.

Believe God for His provision to do what He wants you to do. It may seem impossible, but that’s just the level that god loves to work in. I think He actually enjoys proving skeptics and doubters wrong. Let’s face it; many of us would to have not believed if it wasn’t for God working a miracle right before our eyes.

Don’t be afraid to take that next step, even if you can’t see it.

peace

JumpStart 05/29

Today is your day.

Sometimes we get caught up in planning for the future so much that we forget about today.

There are some moments that will happen today that will never happen again. Some people you will meet today you will never see again.

Don’t think that moments are insignificant. This could be a life-or-death moment for someone. This day could be the most life-altering day in your life.

I think that this is your day to be blessed and to be a blessing to someone else.

peace

thunderstorms

Here in the Midwest it is thunderstorm season. It seems like whenever the weather gets warmer, there are more storms. I’m not a meteorologist but I think it has something to do with the atmosphere.

Sometimes when there are storms, there is quite a bit of lightning. It flashes through the night sky randomly. You can’t tell where it comes from. Fortunately, I’ve never come real close to lightning. I wouldn’t want it fry my hair.

A lightning rod is something that attracts lightning and carries it away from places where it could do harm It’s amazing to have something that could attract thousands of volts without doing damage to it.
I wonder if we are lightning rods of some sort.

Do we attract people to us or do we repel them?

I know of many Christians who are bible scholars (nothing wrong with that). Unfortunately, they are more concerned with learning Hebrew and Greek than they are with learning how to love people and be a good husband or wife.

I wonder if it is possible to be so deep in the Lord that you can’t see that your children need you.

We seem to major in the minors way too often. We want people to come to our churches so we can impress them with our hermeneutic acrobats.

Don’t get me wrong, it is great to be able to interpret and understand the scriptures. I just think that it is equally important to be able to apply the word of God to our daily lives.

I think that it is our job to compel people to come to know Christ.

Let’s be lightning rods for the Lord.

peace

some thoughts

One of the reasons I started this blog was because I believe God has given me a voice for this present generation. Now that may sound pretty deep to some of you but it simply means that He has given me some things to say and I’m going to say them.

I want to give people something to think about when I speak and write. I want them to go away thinking to themselves…”I never thought about it like that before“.
Not that I’m the greatest orator out there, but I am blessed to do what I do.

I pray that God continues to give me the grace to deliver His word in a relevant, timely fashion.

I want to also continue to push the envelope concerning ministry.
If we had any food in our homes that was stale we would toss it out.
May we always bring God to people in fresh and flavorful ways.

Big props out to LifeChurch.tv, Mark Batterson, Eddie Velez and Holy Hip Hop for bringing it.

These guys continue to inspire me to do more for the Lord.

I am looking forward to doing a full-fledged website, some podcasting and writing some books to inspire and encourage people to make a turn for Christ.

Maybe a DTurn.

peace

it’s okay to be salty

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” 1Peter 2:9

Why are Christians so different from everybody else?

God has called us out of the darkness and He has chosen us to be His people.
By being peculiar we should not bring attention to ourselves, but bring glory to God.

We are chosen to be salt. Deut. 14:2 says that out of all of the people on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession.

Salt is not always visible but it is always noticed

It’s not about how we dress or what we look like. It’s about what’s in our heart.
I Sam. 16:7 says that man looks at the outside but God looks at the heart.

our behavior should be different from the unbelievers

we shouldn’t have situational ethics. We should do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.
We should make sure our motives are pure (James 4:3)

Salt is released when its container is upside down and shaken

Sometimes your life can be turned on its head.
It doesn’t matter who you are, bad things can happen to you.
Whatever we have deposited into our hearts will eventually come out.

Salt should bring about a thirst

After eating a bag of potato chips or popcorn, our throat becomes desperate for water.
Our lives should be such that people yearn for the living water (Jesus).

it’s okay to be a little salty.

peace

JumpStart 05/22

One of my favorite T.V. shows growing up was The Lone Ranger. It was always exciting to watch him and his sidekick Tonto take care of the bad guys. Whenever someone started trouble, the Lone Ranger and Tonto would be there to stop them and run them out of town.Every episode ended in victory.

Sometimes as human beings, we attempt to take up the mantle of the Lone Ranger. We want to take on every challenge we see, kill all the bad guys, and conqueror new territory all by ourselves.

Many men have a superman complex where we insist that we are tough and strong all the while hiding our innermost fears and insecurities.

Women also try to be a type of superwoman. They work 40+ hours a week, take care of their homes, children, and husbands. The burden is heavy but they feel that they must carry it because “somebody has to do it”.

God did not design us to go through this life alone.

It is an old cliché but it is true; “no man is an island”.

We all need family, friends, coaches, and pastors to help us navigate this life. But even if all those people fail us we have one that never will.

God said that He will never leave us or forsake us (Det. 31:6).

So when life is hard and the burden you carry seems too much even for the Lone Ranger, turn all your cares and worries over to Jesus.

He won’t let you ride alone.

peace

i believe i can fly

I got this from my guy Chris Cree.

Superman

Superman 70% Spider-Man 70% The Flash 55% Robin 37% Hulk 35% Batman 30% Supergirl 30% Iron Man 30% Green Lantern 25% Wonder Woman 20% Catwoman 10%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

cracks in the concrete

This morning I was going for a walk and noticed how many cracks were in the concrete on the sidewalk.

Concrete cracks because it has no flexibility to it. The weather changes and the concrete can’t take the movement so it breaks.

It is my prayer that the church begins to realize that seasons have changed and many of us are still trying to hold our place in yesteryear.

If we take the unchangeable message of Christ and deliver it in a form that is culturally relevant we can be much more effective. If we are rigid and immovable in our delivery, we will see the cracks develop.

peace

no excuses

I just saw an article on Yahoo about a double-amputee who climbed Mount Everest. Read it here.

I wonder if we know how much God wants to accomplish through us in spite of our limitations.

Even with our frailties we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

peace

practice what you preach

We live in a country that was founded on Christian principles, yet somehow Christianity is just tolerated in our society. Some of our citizens only acknowledge God when there is some type of national crisis.

We, as a church, need to get beyond words and into action.

We live in a country where 10.2 churches close everyday.

195 million people are unchurched (they don’t go to church regularly).

We need to renew our passion for God and increase our compassion for souls.

There is a cry out in our land for a people who will act according to their words. We must have the integrity to practice what we preach by following these guidelines:

1. see the invisible

We can sometimes limit ourselves by what we can see with our physical eyes.

By relying on our own abilities, we fall short of God’s plan for us.

What is impossible with man is possible with God. Luke 18:27

Our ability so see can sometimes be hindered by what we believe (faith). If you don’t have the faith there is no way to see certain things.

Allow God to speak to you through His word and by His Spirit. Then allow your faith the opportunity to give you the vision to see His plan.

2. walk on your tongue

Our tongues can be used for good and evil. It can be used to build up or tear down.

James 3:5-6 says that “…the tongue is like a fire…”

There have been words that have destroyed many long-standing friendships.
Wars that have led to thousands of lost lives, have started because of damaging words.
We should let the Holy Spirit guide us in controlling our tongues.
We can create a positive atmosphere just by what we say.
We have power in our tongues.

3. live out of your heart

There is no better way for an unbelieving so see God at work than having His church love people.

Our hearts can hold many things in it like anger, pain, jealousy and strife.It can also hold peace, joy, compassion and love.

You don’t have to look very far to see an opportunity to share the love of God.

God Himself has chosen us to be vessels of His love. We have not been given this role to sit ourselves on a shelf and look pretty (gathering dust).
It is our duty to spread His love wherever we go.

True community rehabilitation occurs when people’s lives are changed, not when new homes are built.

This can only happen by the power of God’s love.

If we can practice what we preach, we can change our world.

peace