The Key to Healthy Faith: Spiritual Supplements

Let me just say…I love to workout!  Especially when I am in the habit of it and schedule it into my daily routine.  I feel more energetic, healthier and I notice that I actually have some semblance of muscles down deep in the recesses of my skin.  However, there is much pain and suffering for those first couple of weeks after taking a substantial amount of time off from my workout regimen.  I know, the key is…DON’T TAKE TIME OFF!  With working out comes nutrition.  With proper nutrition comes the supplement conundrum…what do I need?

I have a friend named John.  John owns his own supplement shop called Max Muscle.  John knows his stuff and is more than happy to answer all of my simple nutrition questions to more difficult ones that are more tailored to my specific situation.  He has a passion for nutrition, physical fitness, personal training and educating people in all of these areas.  John has taught me so much about nutrition and proper diet than he knows.  What is even more amazing is that he has educated thousands of people with the same passion he helped me.

In the same whey…er…way (sorry John), those followers of Jesus Christ should have the same passion like my friend has about sharing a healthy physical lifestyle with people in sharing their faith.  But in order to do that, we need some spiritual supplements.  The Apostle Peter tells us that God gives us everything we need when we accept Christ as our Savior.  Look at what Scripture says in 2 Peter 1:5-9

5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.  8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

Peter had just finished speaking about being saved by grace and the promises that God has given to us that would spur us on in our faith and dedication to Him.  Peter fully expects the people he is writing to grow in their faith.  Growth is a process.  Just like growth in the physical body can be painful, so can growth in faith.  Here, Peter begins to show the process of a growing faith.

He first gives us the “why” we should grow in faith.  It is clear that Peter believes that it should be done out of a response to God’s promises.  He gives a list of supplemental ingredients that will promote health growth in one’s faith.  Those supplements are:

• moral excellence
• knowledge
• self-control
• patient endurance
• godliness
• brotherly affection
• love for everyone

Peter goes on to give the reasons and results of both the positive and negative results of an individual’s decided actions.  The one who chooses to grow in faith becomes more productive and useful in their knowledge of the Lord while the one who fails to develop lack vision and forget that they have been freed from their old sin.

Just as the physical body needs nutrients for proper nutrition and health, the spiritual body needs supplements for proper growth and development.  When one comes to know Christ, He gives to them everything they need to live a godly life.  Part of an individual’s responsibility for spiritual fitness & development, like that of physical fitness & development, is to supplement their growth with proper nutrition, supplements & workouts.

When a person wants to workout their physical body, they go to the gym.  When they want nutrition, they eat.  When they want supplementation, they go to the vitamin shop.  In the same line of thinking, when a person wants to develop their spiritual man and build or work out their faith, they have to put it to action.  Putting feet to our faith involves more than witnessing to someone, it involves developing our faith throughout our body, soul and spirit.

To grow in our faith you need to develop the following:

• moral excellence – developed through habits of making decisions that are just, noble, brave, honorable, fruits of the spirit, etc.
• knowledge – growing in knowledge comes from learning what God has spoken to us through study of HIs Holy Word. Know what He says!
• self-control – develop the ability to control your actions, emotions, behaviors and desires.
• patient endurance – (This one is tough!)  develop your faithfulness.  Faithfulness requires time!  It requires commitment!  Even when you don’t want to and don’t think you can go any further…press on and keep going!  It is a long race you are taking part in, a marathon, keep putting one foot in front of the other.
• godliness – loving, fearing and honoring God.  Being devoted to God and putting that devotion into action (Hebrews 11)
• brotherly affection – love your brother and sisters in Christ.  Discriminate against none of them.  They are your family.  Defend, protect and serve them.
• love for everyone – when your faith is growing, you want everyone to experience what it is that you have found in Christ.  Love people as God loves people!

Just like being a couch potato is a bad decision for your physical man, one doesn’t want to become a spiritual couch potato.  When you fail to develop your faith and grow, your spiritual gifts retard and your Christlike habits are left under-developed.  When you don’t use the spiritual nutrients and spiritual supplements, you are not growing as God intended for you to grown in your faith.  Use everything that God has given to you since you have come to know Him.   Become the person that God has intended you to become!  Put your devotion to Him into action!

Distractions to Worship

I have been dealing with distractions in my life.  Whether they are through work, school, kids, ministry, deer season…it really doesn’t matter what the distraction is, there always seem to be something that can change my focus.  There are always “things” that will compete for our attention.  Some are urgent, some are trivial.  However, the urgent can become trivial and the trivial can become urgent.  I wanted to share with you what I am learning.  I am learning that there are distractions to our relationship with God.  They are nothing new.  I am reading in 1 Timothy and he addresses those distractions.

Scripture:

1 Timothy 2:8-9

8 In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.  9 And I want women to be modest in their appearance.They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.

Timothy charges ALL churches, temples, synagogues with his opening phrase in verse 8.  He doesn’t exempt any house of worship or give special place to one place over another.  This instruction is for ALL places of worship.  It not only deals with the process of worship, but the attitude of worship as well.  Timothy addresses the problems of distractions when worshipping.  He instructs the men to lead the way in worship as they are addressed first.  He admonishes men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God.  Holy, meaning consecrated for worship and service.  Set apart for His worship.  He then goes on to add to the holiness about being free from anger and controversy.  These are things that can entangle the spirit of a man and cause attention to be misdirected from God to the controversy.

After addressing the men, the women are to follow their lead.  However, Timothy understands the nature of men and how they are distracted by the eye.  He admonishes women to dress modestly.  He instructs them to wear appropriate clothing as not to draw anyone’s attention to themselves by they way they fix their hair or the jewelry they wear or the price of their clothes.  He is making sure that they are not the focus of worship as was prevalent during this time.  Women can become distracted as well.  Insecurities creep in about appearance, feelings of inadequacy, and even competition with others.  This was evident back then as it is now.  It stems from goddess worship.  Goddess worship was something that was very real and was trying to make headway into the Church as there were many converts who were now following Christ and mixing the pagan religion with Christianity.  Timothy addresses this and points both men and women to the cross of Christ.  He is the one that is to be worshipped.

When I am confronted with this truth of the Word, I realize that my life is full of controversy and distractions. When my life is full of controversy, it usually breeds anger.  How can one worship God and have anger toward another in his heart?  I wrestle with this. Especially when I become passionate about something.  I begin to think, focus and really go overboard with “proving” my point in my personal need to become right.

In my trying to become right, I have a way that I can become like a rasp and score good people and my relationships with the file that I think will smooth the surface.  In reality, I am doing that opposite.  I am leaving scars on the lives of people I wanted to have friendships with, be close to, celebrate with and do life together.  I believe this is one aspect of what Timothy is speaking to in this verse.  Be free from controversy as to not have divided attention and your attention can be focused on God.

He then goes on to dealing with women.  I believe that this is a twofold meaning this writing.  Timothy knows and understands how men are wired.  They are visual.  Things that men see, stick in the DVR of their minds and can be recalled and played over and over again.  Here, the instruction to the women to not dress immodestly or expensively or with too much jewelry as to become a distraction to others.  This serves a double purpose.

1. It prevents people from being distracted in their worship before God.  This doesn’t just refer to men, but also women as well.
2. It also instructs women not to compete for attention of other people.  It teaches all people to have the attention of God rather than man.  It teaches us to not become distractions to others in their walk with Christ.

When we become a distraction to other people in their walk with Christ, we have elevated ourselves to demigod status and seek to have attention drawn to us rather than pointing it toward Christ.  This is sin!  This is idolatry!  This is pride!

I am thankful that God gives us grace and mercy!  Without His grace, there is no Good News of Christ dying for each of us.  Without His mercy, I am still held accountable for my past transgressions.  I am glad that I have placed my trust in Him and that He is still forming me into what He wants me to become.

Prayer:

Lord, forgive me of my sin of pride.  Take it from me.  Help me to point people to Your Son, Jesus.  Help me to tame my passions of this world and make me more passionate for You, Your Word, Your mission and Your Love.  Help me to not become a distraction and live a quiet, peaceable life that is pleasing to you.  I ask that you would help me and guide me by your Holy Spirit.  I ask that you would bless my family and give them favor.  Help my children grow closer to You and do well in their schooling.  I pray that you would bless my wife in her job and give her favor.  I ask that you would give me favor on my job and help me reach the goals that I have set.  I give you glory and honor.  Thank you for saving me.  Amen!

What are the “things” that are distracting you?

What are you competing for the attention of, God or someone else?

 

Spiritual Clothing

Scripture:

Colossians 3:12-15

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Observations:

God chose us to be holy people.  He loves us.  Because of this choosing and great love, there are attributes that He wants us to clothe our lives with that will speak volumes to our life changing experience in Christ.  These articles of spiritual clothing are:

• tenderhearted mercy
• kindness
• humility
• gentleness
• patience
• allowances for faults
• forgiveness
• love
• peace
• thankfulness

These articles of spiritual clothing are governed by one main piece.  That piece of clothing is love.  Love is the binding thing that produces harmony with other people.  Harmony, in music, complements the other notes being played or sung.  Paul is encouraging the believers to compliment other people by living in harmony with one another.

Application:

When a person has become a believer, spiritual growth is a process.  One cannot be “born again” and be expected to immediately be a “mature” Christian.  Christ wants us to grow in our relationship to Him.  Paul addresses this by giving mature and new Christians alike different spiritual clothing that brings each of us into a spiritual harmony of living with each other and those who are not yet believers in Christ.  When those people who are not followers of Christ see these things, a difference is seen.  It gives testimony not only to the unbeliever, but to the brother and sister in the Lord as well.

In Paul’s list of spiritual clothing, each of the different articles of the heart are the exact replica of what God had toward us.  You are created in God’s image and He wants you to reflect Him everywhere and everyday.   When a person puts on these attributes of God, this person is reflecting the image of God to the world.

What is it that I am reflecting?

What article of clothing am I lacking?

Do I have a wardrobe malfunction?

How do I show love for fellow man?

Prayer:

God, I thank you for this day.  I pray that you would be reflected in my life daily.  I pray that you would help me to clothe myself in the things you want me to reflect of you.  Help govern my life with love for others and remember that when I do govern by love, it produces harmony.  Help me to produce harmony with others.  Bless my family and help me to be a positive influence on the people around me and those who come into my life.  Amen.

A Christian’s Response to World Issues

These are trying times.  Many days I find myself discouraged as I comb through the news of the day.  I constantly find myself gravitating toward the things that I disagree with that are happening in the country in which I live.  America seems to have strayed so far away from the foundation upon which it was created and almost made those founding principles that are based on the Bible, passé.

It breaks my heart as I see a nation, so blatantly, turn its back on the principles upon which it was founded.  However, I also find myself believing in Scripture more today than I ever have before.  If, as a follower of Christ, I truly proclaim that the Bible is my ultimate governing foundation and that proclamation is followed up by how I live, then that means that I have to live in accordance with those Holy Scriptures.  I have to trust God!  I need to trust God!  I need my faith not to fail!

So, with that, I look to Scripture to find that what I am facing today was also evident throughout the times of Christ and the early Church.  There is truly nothing new under the sun.  If I say I believe the Bible and all that is in it, then I have to trust God when He says in Romans 3,

1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.   2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.   3 For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you.  4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.   5 So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

6 Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do.  7 Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.

Paul makes it pretty clear…don’t you think?  My responsibility as a Christian is to obey those who have been put in authority over me.

Christ did, even unto death.  Now, don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that He liked it.  In fact, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray about the governing authorities who were about to kill him.  He didn’t like it.  In fact, He actually looked for a way out.  As human beings, we are only revealed portions of God’s will.  We couldn’t handle it all if were dumped on us all at once.  We may not always see the reasoning that those who are in authority are in authority, but make no mistake about it.  God has put them there…for His reasons!  Our response should be simple as it is found in Matthew 22,

19 Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin, 20 he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

“Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

22 His reply amazed them, and they went away.

Give to God, what is God’s…that is YOU!  What I am finding is that the more I give myself to God, the less I worry about the things that go on in the world around me.  I am not neglecting those things in the world around me, rather I am beginning to see things through the eyes of faith in Christ rather than in the raised hackles of anger that can so easily rise.  There is a difference in righteous indignation and anger.  Today, I choose to let faith, hope and love guide me and filter those things that I see happening in this world.  I choose to see with the eyes of faith and ask God, “How can you use me for Your glory through things that are contrary to Your Word?”  I close my prayers now by saying, “Here I am Lord, send me!”

• What filters are you ‘looking’ through while living your life?
• How can you give yourself to God and live under the authorities that God has put in your life, even if you disagree with how they govern?

So Goes the Captain…so goes the crew!

 

Believe it or not…this is the transcript of an actual radio conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. The Radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on Oct. 10, 1995.

US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course.

CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course!

US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA*, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!!

CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

Okay, so that is really an old Navy joke and never really happened.  However, it really is useful as we are starting a new school year here in Texas.  I began to think about this story as I had recently heard it and how to apply it to my life.  I have heard this story many times and wondered why it kept coming back up.  Well, I was in church yesterday and was challenged with a commitment to get into the Word of God on a daily basis.  The challenge was made to not just do it for yourself, but for your family.  As a Husband and a Father, it is my responsibility to be the Priest of my home.  I am responsible for setting the tone for my family, spiritually.  I have to admit, I have done well at this on the personal level.  But in all honesty, I have been very spotty to virtually non-existent in leading my family spiritually, well.  They deserve better.  So, with that moment of transparency and a ‘new’ school year starting, I am making efforts to captaining my family spiritually on the path we need to go.

When I don’t fulfill my role as Priest of my family, there are dangers that can arise that leads to dangerous outcomes.  So goes the captain, so goes the crew…Look at how 2 Chronicles 36:14-16 says it…

2 Chronicles 36:14-16

14 Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. 16 But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.

In this passage, we have the leaders of God’s temple and spiritual leadership becoming more unfaithful to the things of the Lord that they are supposed to be leading in.  Instead of doing the things of God that were prescribed in the Law, they began to turn to pagan religions that other surrounding nations followed.  The spiritual leaders desecrated the Temple that had been previously consecrated to the things of God.  The Lord loved his people and offered them prophets that would come to warn them of the path that they were going down.  He did this out of compassion for His people.  However, the people only mocked these messengers and hated the words that God sent to his people through them.  This resulted in the Lord becoming angry and His anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.

As the spiritual leadership of a family, nation, team or church goes, so goes that family, nation, team or church.  When the spiritual leadership turns away from following the things set forth by God in His Holy Word, it sets into action a path that is not a desirable path.  While God loves his people, He also grieves when they turn from His ways.  This grief turns to anger and eventually God will turn those and its spiritual leadership over to their sinful, prideful ways.  Adoption of pagan spiritual practices that originate from people and leadership that do not follow the things of God, leads to a desecrated Temple.  Today, this is played out more frequently in the form of idolatry.  This idolatry is found in tolerance of pagan religions, relaxed morals, justifications for actions and so on.  These are just excuses for behaviors that are contrary to God’s Word.  This applies to you as an individual because you are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  You have been set apart by God for His service and His plan.  When you turn away from following Him and choose to follow those outside influences of other religions, then you are desecrating what God has set apart.  This turning away and following outside religions in today’s society is called “toleration”.  When you tolerate the practice of other religions, then you have compromised your belief system and ultimately desecrated the Temple of God.  What you tolerate spiritually today, becomes status quo tomorrow.  As followers of Christ we are called to stand out, not blend in.

What is your plan for leading your family spiritually?

What steps can you take personally to prepare to lead?

How can I help you lead?

1063 Degrees Farhenheit

I have been pleasantly surprised here in Texas this Summer.  We actually have had what I call a milder summer.  By this time of year, we are usually in a countdown to breaking the record of days over 100 degrees. However, this year, we are constantly in the 90s and even had a cold front come through that dropped us into the 80s.  It has been great!  However, the 100s are predicted to make a comeback tour in North Texas.

I love to watch the weather.  I love to see how people respond to weather in different parts of the country.  I saw just a few weeks ago how the Upper East Coast of the US were experiencing a heat wave…they had temps in the 90s!  We call that Summer down here in Texas and to be even more specific, we call that a cold front.  Now, don’t think I am just spouting off about how we can handle the heat.  On the other hand, when snow and ice come our way in the Winter, we shut down…yes, for 2 inches of snow/ice.  The entire area shuts down, schools are closed and if you want to see crazy drivers…come to North Texas in an ice storm.  I don’t even want to talk about how people can’t drive in the snow.

I started thinking about these weather changes and how the temperatures affect our lives.  Sometimes, we experience temperature changes in our lives that are more internal than that of the weather outside.  Sometimes, we can actually feel the “heat” being turned up in our lives.  It may be on the job, at home, with our spouse or children, neighbors, car troubles, etc.  You name it, life seems to have a way of turning it on when we don’t really need it or expect it.  Sometimes, we can even begin to crack under the heat that has been so unwelcome in our lives.  As I was thinking about this, I came across a passage of Scripture found in Proverbs 17:3,

Proverbs 17:3

3 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.

Precious metals, when refined, are put to the test of fire.  When those metals are heated up to a specific temperature, then impurities rise to the top of the liquified metal.  It is called dross.  The purity of silver and gold are measured by the amount of time on the refining fire and the amount of dross that is pulled out of the metal.  When testing the metal, the purity is determined by the amount of dross left in the metal.  Metal’s purity it tested by physical properties alone.  God tests humans by the heart test.  He searches and reveals impurities of the heart.  God unveils impurities or sin of the heart through His refining process.  He is more concerned with a person’s heart than their physical appearance.

Gold is refined at 1063 degrees Fahrenheit.  Purity of gold is determined by the refining process.  During the refining process, the refiner keeps a constant watch upon the fire and the gold that is being refined.  Like the refiner of gold, God refines our heart.  Sometimes the heat will be turned up in our lives and it is a process of God testing our hearts.  He is refining our lives.  He is keeping careful watch over what we can handle and won’t give us more than we can handle without providing a way for us to escape.  God wants our hearts to be pure before Him.  Just remember, when the heat is turned up and the impurities of your life are rising to the top, God is keeping a careful eye on you to remove those impurities so that you can be the priceless gold He designed you to be from the beginning.  He loves you!

What area of your life is the heat being turned up in now?

What impurities are you discovering about yourself?

How can you recognize the times of heat and know that they are God testing your heart?

3 Lessons from the MLB All Star Game

Last night, I watched, in amazement, the Major League All Star Game.  I learned some valuable lessons by watching Mariano Rivera enter into his office, the pitcher’s mound, in the 8th inning.  In fact, I rewound it and watched it a second time with my son.  Mariano Rivera is retiring from the game after 19 years in the major leagues.  I remember when he started playing.  He came into the New York Yankees organization as a set up man for their then closer, John Wetteland.  Now, when he enters a game, the song “Enter Sandman” blares from the stadium speakers as his job is to put the other team’s batters to sleep by getting them out and ending the game.  He has over 600 saves credited to his account in the major leagues.  Awesome!

Now I am not a New York Yankees fan by any means or stretch of the imagination.  I am a Boston Red Sox fan and of course, Texas Rangers fan.  But what I witnessed last night was a champion entering his last Major League All Star Game ever.  He will be a Hall of Fame inductee without question.  However, what I was able to teach my son last night through the game of baseball was even greater than his last game.  You see, Mariano Rivera is one of the most respected players in the major leagues.  In fact, the person that he is caused his peers to do and exemplify some amazing character traits that each of them have at a time when the world wants each of them to scream, “Hey, look at me!”  They screamed, “Hey!  Look at Him!”

You see, both the American League team and the National League team stayed in the dugout and it was just Mariano Rivera and the catcher out there to warm up.  Not even the position players took the field.  Those players taught a me some valuable lessons and gave me opportunity to teach my son.

3 Lessons that I Learned from the All Star Game.

1. Respect those Who have gone before you.
2. Honor those who deserve honor.
3. Humility is best worn when Pride is desired.

Those players paid tribute to a man who has gone before them and set a benchmark in the game.  They honored him by staying in the dugout to give him the big stage.  And in a day and age where humility is left for those who are usually never seen, they set aside their pride and wore the uniform of humility to show honor and respect.

Who has gone before you that is worthy of honor and respect?

What is stopping you from showing them?

How can you set aside your pride and wear the uniform of humility to show that person or persons respect and honor?

It is only fitting that I close this writing, in honor of Mariano Rivera by saying,

GO SOX!

He would appreciate it!

Spiritual Trading Cards

It is a good thing to have things in common with your kids.  When I was a kid, I used to collect baseball cards. I would save up my money and ride my bike down to the corner store and buy as many packs as possible.  I will never forget the anticipation of paying for the cards and rushing outside and opening those packs, grabbing the concrete piece of bubble gum that was inside each pack and shoving it in my mouth to begin the cavity process.  4 out of 5 kids recommended Donruss bubble gum, but I was a Topps man!  I would then smell the cards…yes, I was a weird kid.  I loved the smell of the cards with the scent of the bubble gum.  I remember looking through the cards in search of my heroes.  It would only be a few days and I would have them ordered, alphabetized and put in my shoebox for proper storage.  I would then memorize the stats on the back of each card and do the math to check to make sure that Topps didn’t make any mistakes figuring out each player’s stats.  I was a stat junkie!

My son, Cole, has started collecting cards.  In fact, I don’t remember myself being this excited about cards.  However, he is searching Ebay and looking up values and if we ever get separated at the store, I can always go to the baseball card section to find him.  He has them all separated by team and in a binder with protective pages. He takes his cards and trades them with our neighbor’s kids and rushes home to ask me if I have ever heard of such and such a player.

Cole loves the history of the older cards and the players that are depicted on them.  He has a respect for the game and realizes that there are those who played baseball long before he was even born.  He asks why Jackie Robinson’s number is retired at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX, because he knows he never played for the Rangers. I love it!  His passion for those cards and collecting them take me back to a place when I loved being a kid.  The only thing I notice about today’s cards are that they don’t smell like bubblegum…what a tragedy!

I was reading in Romans and cam across a series of Scripture that reminded me of trading cards.  The passage is found in Romans 1:21-22 & 25.  This is what Paul wrote to the Romans…

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.22Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 

 

25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

When Paul was addressing the Romans, he spoke to them like the people had knowledge of God.  However, just knowing  about God doesn’t imply worship or facilitate the implementation of worship.  People have a will, that means they have a choice to worship God or not.  They would not even return thanks to God, much less worship Him.  They began to concoct their own interpretations of who God is and what He was like.  This takes place today.  Some may refer to God as a woman or say that God is in everything or God is who you want Him to be.  Some may even believe that all gods, Allah, Buddha, Hare Krishna, the various Hindu gods are all the same.  This is called polytheism.  As a result of these beliefs, people’s minds can become confused and darkened to the light of the Truth.  In their wisdom that they feel the gain from this wide spectrum of religions/gods, they instead become fools.  A fool is one who says in his heart that there is no god.

As a result of these actions, people traded the truth about God for a lie.  The Truth was in the form of Jesus Christ and the lie believed is the lie that there are many ways to heaven so worship whatever you think to be god.  Instead of worshipping the Creator, they worshipped creation.

The first commandment that God wrote on the tablets for Moses on Mt. Sinai was,

“Thou shall have no other gods before me.”

This is the most important commandment.  You must always put God first.  Many times you will be confronted with ‘possibilities’ that God is found in all and in everything.  However, don’t buy in to the lie that there are many ways to heaven.  There is one way, that is, through Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10).  Make sure that idolatry doesn’t creep in and focus is diverted to the attention of what man has created over the Creator himself.  Remember, confusion doesn’t come from God.  Worship God for who He is…first and foremost…the Creator.

What is that “thing” you are trading for your reverence to God?

How can one find comfort in the realization that there is ONE way to heaven, that is, through Jesus Christ?

What are the things, idols, that you are putting in front of God that competes for His rightful place in your life?

4 Essential Ingredients to Finding God’s Will

I love to cook!  My wife likes me to cook.  She likes for me to cook because she doesn’t have to, plus, I clean up as I go along so there isn’t a huge mess!  The other day, I pulled out some meat from the freezer to cook for dinner in the good old crock pot.  Yes, we are meatitarians and crock potters.  I then went to the spice rack and began to pull different spices like thyme, cumin, paprika, bay leaves, and my go to ingredient…Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning.  It makes everything better and gives it a shot of Emeril Lagasse’s “BAM!”

After I pulled the different spices that I liked, I decided to start adding them to the mix.  The only problem was, I wasn’t sure how much to put in of each one.  I didn’t have a recipe to follow.  My mom had never prepared what I was making and didn’t know where to start.  So, I thought of where to search for my answers…GOOGLE!

I found it!  The recipe was there before me.  I could print it out or close the window and just wing it.  I decided to go with the recipe.  Why?  Why not wing it?  Well, it’s the recipe that keeps me on the right track.  The recipe is proven.  I mean, it had 5 stars from other users…so it must work…right?

I started thinking about this dinner and the process that I used to find the best way to have a great dinner and how that process applies to our lives when we are seeking direction for our lives.  The Bible teaches us that God has a “will” for our lives.  He reveals that will to us bits at a time.  I believe that there is a perfect plan for each of us.  Now some may think this is crazy, but I think it is adventurous.  We don’t always know what is the perfect will of God until we search for it.  I came across a time when King David was searching.  He felt overwhelmed and lost, like he needed a recipe for finding out God’s plan for his life.  Here is what King David Said in Psalms 5:8,

Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me.  Make your way plain for me to follow.

God is not a god that will force you to ask for His help.  He is one who wants to have relationship with you and interact with you.  Here, David, asks for leading because he is being pursued by his enemies and he doesn’t want to make a false step or it could be his last.  So, he relies on the Lord to lead him.  When you ask for God to lead you, He will make your way plain so that you can follow.

Yogi Berra, former catcher for the New York Yankees, had a famous saying that went like this,

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Throughout your life, God will need to continually speak to you regarding His will for your life. God’s will isn’t something that will surprise you, it is usually right there before you all the time.  God’s will is designed for you never to get out of, but through Adam, there are now off ramps that we can choose to take. Sometimes, we can get off that path on a tangent, parallel path.  Sometimes, it may seem like you are on his path, but you find yourself being pursued by your enemies or old situations of failure that haunt you.  Those enemies may not be the same enemies that you face like David did when he had people trying to kill him, but you may have enemies of pride, financial issues, unfulfilled dreams, discord at home, etc.  The recipe for distinguishing the will of God for your life is found here in this passage and contains 4 essential ingredients to finding God’s will.

1. Ask God to lead you.
2. Listen for His direction.
3. Look for signs of His will unfolding.
4. Follow the path He has marked before you.

You may have other ingredients you can add to your recipe to customize it and that is fine.  However, if you will constantly and consistently do these things, God’s will becomes more evident and a life that is pleasing to Him becomes a purposed, happy life.  So, how does one search for God’s will?  How do you find it?  I mean, there is no GOOGLE option for God.  There is, its called prayer.  Believe it or not, you can communicate with the Creator.  Yes, you…one on one.  In fact, He wants to speak to you and hear every detail of your life.  This is how I prayed and continue to pray for God’s will..

God, I pray that you would lead me.  I pray as David prayed, that your will for my life would unfold and that your path for my life and my family would be laid out before us.  Give me the courage to follow your path that you mark before me.  Help me not to stray from your will.  I ask that your unfailing love would envelope my family.  I pray that we would always work at following you and our lives would be pleasing to you.  Bless my family this week and prosper us according to your will and Word.  Help me reach my goals at work this month.  You know my needs, I ask that you would help me to meet my needs in order to follow your voice and leading.  Amen. 

This is my prayer for you…that God would reveal His will for you.  Amen!

Triumph in the Truth

Over the past couple of weeks I have done something I never dreamed I would do.  My son and I built a backyard chicken coop.  We are chicken farmers!  I am pretty proud of the job we did and hopefully the chickens are comfortable in their new home.  Yeah, right, they don’t even know the difference…they are chickens!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are true carpenters now!  So we got the coop built and these pictures prove it.  I know, they have nothing to do with what I am writing about, they are just shameless father/son bragging photos.  You know, we built a chicken coop and you didn’t kind of thing.

Cole and I spent all day, literally, on a Saturday working on this project.  It was hot!  We were tired!  He had never built anything before.  However, the time that I got to spend with him working on this project was more profitable than anything or any other sporting event or planned activity we have ever done.  We got to hang out and just talk.  It was during this time that I got to question him on somethings that I found out he did that he had no idea that I knew about.  They weren’t really bad things, but they were what I call marginal things that could get him in trouble depending upon how he responded to my inquisitions.  I wanted him to tell me the truth the first time I asked.  I assured him that he can tell me anything.  Now, for females, this type of conversation is more comfortable than with males.  Guys are not used to talking.  We have a harder time ‘sharing’ our thoughts or feelings…especially when confronted with a potentially awkward situation.  Cole stepped up and owned up to my questions.  I was proud but still had to deal with his answers and be the parent.  It was a great teachable moment for me and my son.  I shared with him the wisdom he showed in telling the truth and even the confirmation found in Solomon’s Proverbs where it says,

Proverbs 12:19

19 Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.

Truth always stands the test of time.  Lies may be accepted as truth in the beginning, however, a lie will run its course and the truth will be exposed and told. When truth is set forth, its own integrity is what it stands on.  When someone lies to you, the message that the person telling the lie conveys to you is that you aren’t really worth the truth to them.

It has been said,  

“If a person will always speak the truth, they will never have to worry about remembering what it was they said.”

Truth will stand.  However, one who tells lies will continually be employed by trying to remember what they said and hoping it will never become exposed and they, found out for who they are.  Truth is held on to, built upon and infallible.  Lies are like a house built of cards and can all come crashing down at the slightest breeze of the truth.  Sometimes, the truth hurts but a lie always injures!  Fortunately, Cole learned a lesson as did I, expectations of the truth breed truth.  Now, I have a foundation of truth with my son, happy chickens and a chicken coop to boot!

 

Is your foundation built on truth?