Makeover day 4

Makeover week is in full swing. Some of the guys have been putting in 8-12 hour days already. Everyday God has given us some of those timely miracles we needed. Everytime we have come up against an obstacle (including the snake) He has removed it for us. There is no greater sight than the Word of God in action. Keeep up the prayers!

What's lies beneath?

A big thank you to everyone that came out for demo night yesterday at the makeover house. It was a combination of sweat, dust, a little blood, and alot of laughs. A special thank you to Ron Frasier for providing us with the highlight for the 2007 makeover bloopers tape. There were a couple of places in the floor that we tore into and discovered that water damage had been going on for so long it had actually rotted some of the supporting floor joyces. Many times the superficial problems in our own lives that we pass off and ignore lead to deep rooted problems. The longer we let them go, the higher the costs and the more destructive the damage. It will most likely be painful, a little costly, and time consuming, but don't alow the destrucutive things in your life to rot the last few remaining things that are holding you up. Pay a little now or alot later. Continue to keep the makeover project and workers in your prayers.

Step lightly

I am reading through a couple of new books in my study time. One of them has such a great illustration in it, that we are going through and discussing it on Wed. nights. It uses the correlation between satan's tactics and the effects of landmines. In the enemy's cunning tactics to keep us from becoming the person of Christ we were created to be; he will put landmines of temptation and sin in our path. Landmines such as jealousy, pride, sexual impurity, etc. And if we are not listening closely to the voice of the Spirit of God, we can step on one of those landmines. If we do, the impact not only injures us but it effects our family, our relationships, and can even damage our personal testimony. The good news is we have a guide. Whenever we find ourselves in a minefield, God always has a way mapped out for us: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." So today, when you find yourself in a spiritual battle, watch out for those landmines.

Don't stop pointing

Just about everyone, at some point in their childhood, has had their mother or father say that familiar phrase to them. "Don't point, it's not polite." And if your parent was really on top of it they'd follow it up by saying "Besides you've got three fingers pointing back at you." Let's look at at pointing this way...Everytime you attempt to point someone to Christ, rememeber from that moment on they are looking back at you to see what Christ is all about. Are we perfect? No. Is it fair? Probably not. Is it a serious truth? Absolutely. "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:16) Two questions for you:
1. Did you purposely help point someone to Christ today?
2. When they look back at you, can they see you living it out?

Sunday recap

We had a really great day yesterday at TPC. Thank you to everyone who stayed for the luncheon to help support the women's conference. It was a huge success! You know it went well when they're scraping the bottom of the pans for more food. In our study yesterday we discovered it really is possible to go beyond happy and actually live with a full tank of joy even during the rough spots of life. Try putting it into action this week. Remember no matter what, no one and no situation can steal your joy unless you hand it over. Anything God given can't be earthly taken away. Finally, please continue to remember the Extreme Makeover project in your daily prayers. Have an awesome week!

The plane! The plane!

I am not exactly sure of all the reasons as to why so much of my thinking recently centers around being "real". One of the reasons, I am fairly sure about, is that I grew up in the midst of many pastors and spiritual giants being exposed for some pretty horrific things going on in their lives. Yet every week up until they had to come clean, they were still out there preaching the word of God like everything was peachy. I saw so much of that early on, that it actually was a one of the obstacles that delayed me for so long from acknowledging and embracing my call into the ministry. And I really believe one of the reasons that it happened to so many was the fact that they refused to live in and deal with reality. Often times we get our head so far in the clouds talking about vision and what we want to happen, that we jump off the reality ship and start living on fantasy island. Proverbs 28:19 says "He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty." If I am jobless, and I just keep telling anyone that will listen that one day I am going to land that dream job that pays 100k, and refuse to go work another job, I am foolish. We just talked about it last night. God may one day help you land that job. But I certainly do not see any way that he is going to bless you with that until reality is embraced and We're willing to work at the low paying job with all of our heart first. Paul never tried to cover up the fact he was in prison. He embraced his circumstances, his reality if you will, and allowed God to receive glory through it. Not every plane that flies by is our ticket to fantasy island. Let's work hard where we are and allow God to land the right plane in our life.

Why not call it like it is?

From day one of becoming the pastor at TPC I have purposely attempted to create an atmosphere of openness and transparency. In other words, no church hide and seek with what is really going on. So with that in mind, let me share with you some things I shared with the staff today...56-7 will always stay with me because it was the score of the worst football game I was ever a part of and it happened my freshman year in high school. I will never forget that horrible feeling of knowing I could have done a much better job helping my team that day. Most coaches will tell you remember the feeling, but you have to just chalk it up as a loss and go on. So let me get to the point quicker; I felt like yesterday as church we had one really great score as a team when 2 people gave their hearts to the Lord for the first time. It is always worth that. But the rest of the game was a struggle and it starts with me. As the quarterback yesterday, I owe you an apology. Some things had happened and I allowed it to affect my attitude and there is no excuse for that. Sitting in a chair yesterday, probably no one would ever have known. But I had to ask God for forgiveness and I ask for yours as well. I want to encourage you as well with this...Prior to yesterday we have had some just phenominal services. The hunger and desire for more of God has been very apparent. So let's be very careful and not just hold on to that but let it grow. Intensify your passion for Christ by increasing your devotion time and purposely impacting someone elses life. Don't slow the train, push harder. You're awesome!

I SMELL GAS!

I thought that might get your attention. No, I am not going to gross you out. Those were the words I said to Mindy when we turned in last night. ( I guess I really better explain quick now) God protected us again last night. We opened up the house due to the cool weather and because of that I was able to smell the large natural gas leak coming from our meter. The gas company spent several hours repairing it. So thankfully all that was lost last night was several hours of sleep. Thank you God for the countless time.

Had enough sheep comparisons?

Last night we took the kids to see the circus; The Greatest Show on Earth. I have never been a big fan of the circus, probably because I usually associate them with carnivals. And carnivals have always left a bad taste in my mouth. I wasn't crazy about the ticket prices or paying $5 for a coke if you wanted one. (This was a great opportunity to show my kids how to drink out of the faucet in the restrooms. Just kidding.) However, everybody had a great time and it it was pretty entertaining. During one of the acts, God showed me something really simple but right on. While the elephants were performing at the commands of their trainers, the announcer made a comment that stuck with me. He said these elephants are only performing movements that they would do in the wild. I had to laugh a little. I am no expert on elephants, but I seriously doubt if in the jungles of Asia there are a herd of elephants standing on their trunks and doing ballerina spins on small stools. But then God showed me this; those elephants are acting just like we have at times. How often do we compromise and act just the way the rest of the world tells us we should. In Christ we are mighty in power just like those 4 ton elephants. But we find ourselves trying to perform for the world. It is unnatural for those elephants to act that way, and it is just as unnatural for we as Christians to be cowering to the crack of the whip of the world. I wanted to run down to the floor and scream at those elephants to take off those costumes and start acting like elephants. And I believe often times the Spirit of God cries out to us to take off the ridiculous masks and start walking in the authority of Jesus Christ.

Reality check

My wife and I have this same discussion many times. It is about the difference between being optimistic and being a realist. Sometimes when I say something she says I am being a pessimist. But I maintain, no I am just stating fact. So this morning I heard a pastor on the radio that really helped me clarify this issue. He said you as a Christian don't need to be a pessimist or an optimist, you need to be a realist. Why? Because until we are willing to fess up to how things really are with us, we'll never get what we need to fix the problems of life. Yes we are to live a life of faithful expectations in Jesus Christ; absolutely. Speaking those things that are not as though they are is putting our faith into action. But it is not denying the reality of right now. Peter told Christ he would never deny him. But Peter was not being realistic about his spiritual maturity and eventually he had to come to grips with it so he could continue to grow. If I am driving down the road and have a flat tire, I can deny that reality as much as I want. But if I don't stop and change it, I am going to suffer much more damage. If we never admitted to God we are sinners in need of a Savior, we would never receive salvation. If you want to change your life for the better, be humble enough to admit your reality and then ask God for the solution. There are only three reasons I know of that cause us to deny our reality: pride, insecurity, and fear.

Our new arrivals: Tires and babies

First of all, I want to sincerely thank all the guys and the wives that came together to purchase a new set of tires for my truck. When I received the call last week and was told what you had done, my heart was overwhelmed. My old truck drives like a sports car now (well maybe a 3/4 ton sports car). I am so blessed to not only be your pastor but to have you as friends as well.
Secondly, congratulations to Tim and Jessie on the arrival of their daughter Lydia Paige. She is a 7 lb. 12 oz. beautiful miracle. Mom, baby and daddy are all doing terrific.

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes

My sons are going to become teenager in just about a month. I have already begun to notice some suttle changes in them. Not so much the physical changes like the dramatic Peter Brady voice over, or a major need for deoderant. But the 7th. grade discussions on how was your day are leaning towards involving more girl names and less about trading finger skateboards. There is one change I have noticed that may cost me 10 years less of my life, and that is their lack of focused listening. For the first 12 years of life, they very rarely missed a beat when they were given instructions to do something. Now, they are dangerously close to the realm of selective listening. After the incident today, code name "dishwasher", I tried to explain to them that when you fail to listen to all the instructions, it not only affects you, but it affects people around you. That fact will always blow up in our face when it comes to listening to God's voice in our own lives. Christians, especially pastors, many times have this tendancy to convince ourselves that due to our "spiritual maturity" we already know what God would say in certain situations. So we begin to tune more of His voice out and put more of our spin on our decisons and thought process. However, when we use selctive hearing with God's voice it is always going to affect more than just our own lives. Listen to God's voice in your life and don't get in a hurry to walk away with only part of His instructions.