In Times Of Uncertainty

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.  My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.  Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8

I don’t know what you are facing these days, but we can all use this simple reminder.

Where does our hope come from? 

Our hope comes from Him!

What storm or uncertainty are you facing in your life?

Homes For The Holidays

The Christmas lights are going up on many of the houses in my neighborhood.  Our family usually picks one or two nights during the month of December to drive around and admire the creativity of homeowners in our area.  To be honest, it’s also a time when we ask each other how much these crazy homeowners must spend on the lights and the electricity for some of these elaborate displays.

In the northern hemisphere where I live, this is also the time when the temperature gets a little chilly.  I’m reminded how nice it is to have a house with electricity, heat, and running water.  I’m not sure if this is really a right, but home ownership with these amenities is an expectation here in America.  Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for many in the rest of the world.  Countless people sleep in deplorable conditions throughout the world.  They are unprotected from rain, from thieves, and from general privacy.

What if we could do something this holiday season to change this for a family or two?

This year, my church‘s Christmas offering is going towards building two houses in Haiti.  Last weekend, they showed this video:

Christmas Offering 2014 (Haiti) from CHRIST’S CHURCH OF THE VALLEY on Vimeo.

The video inspires me as I consider helping to change the lives of families in and around the village of Santo Domingo Xenacoj in Guatemala.  For some reason, God gave me a dream to build 100 houses in Guatemala.  If you are keeping track, I’ve helped to build three houses so far.  Only 97 more to go.

I love the faith and vision of this video.  This video was shot early this spring by a couple from our church.  They have a dream to build two more houses for the families shown in this video.  And they had the faith to put it out there for our church to help out.  This summer, our church will be sending a team of fifty teenagers to Haiti to realize this vision.  It’s a trip that will change the lives of these two families, and it’s a trip that will have a major impact on the lives of fifty teenagers.

We need to have this kind of vision.

We need to have this kind of faith.

It’s not just about building houses though.  It’s about bringing glory to God.  I can see it in the faces of Keena and Mike Huss (the couple in this video).  It’s not about personal gain or fame.  It’s about pointing people to Christ.  And this is what inspires me more than anything about this video.  This is what it means to have a mission mindset.

If you want to help out with the Haiti project, click here.

If you want to help out with building more homes in Xenacoj, leave a comment or send me an email by clicking here.

What is your vision for the future?  How does it involve changing other people’s lives?

Lost

As I was reflecting on our search for this thing we lost, a story from the Bible came to mind:

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Luke 15:8-10

The woman in the story throws a party after finding her lost coin.  Maybe that’s a good idea.  If we find our lost item, maybe we should have a party.  What do you think?

Actually, the story is referencing something far more meaningful than a coin.  The story is meant to remind us how exciting it should be when someone returns to Christ after a “lost” journey.  Each month at our church, our family had an opportunity to see this fleshed out when we attend the baptism service at our church for individuals who decided to believe, repent, and be baptized.

Do you want to talk about a reason for celebration?  This is it!

Getting back to our lost item, it still hasn’t shown up.  I’m sure it’s around somewhere, but we’ll have to keep looking.  Oh well.  If nothing else, our lost item taught me some lessons along the way.  First, always pay more attention when setting down an item you want to locate later.  Second, God cares way more about people than things we lose around the house.

What have you lost recently?  Did you find it?  If so, how did it feel?

Where are you on your journey?  Are you lost?  Or has there been a celebration for your return?

Permanent

There is nothing permanent except change.

What is permanent in your life?

I remember when I was a kid.  It was a big deal to lose my baby teeth in exchange for my permanent teeth.  I was told these new teeth would last forever.  I had my first root canal last year.  This tooth isn’t completely gone, but most of it has been replaced by other material.  One of the managers in my office is getting to new front teeth which will replace his “permanent” front teeth.  What happened to permanent?

When I was a kid, I was threatened by adults by the addition of something to my permanent record.  Nobody wants something on their permanent record.  When I was twenty, I was caught speeding.  I hired a lawyer, and the charges were reduced.  My permanent record was safe.

The other day, I used a permanent marker to write something down.  This should last forever, right?  Did you know, you can undo a permanent marker by writing over it again with another marker?  Look it up.  So much for the marker being permanent.

People get permanent tattoos.  They last forever.  Unless, you want to go through the painful process of removing them.  Then I guess tattoos aren’t so permanent after all.

Women get permanent to straighten or curl their hair.  You would think it would last forever, but it doesn’t.  They have to go back again to keep their hair straight or curly.  A permanent isn’t all that permanent.

Today, we make decisions.  We think they are permanent, but I’m not so sure.  When I was in college, I worked for a medical billing company.  One of our clients was in Schwenksville.  I used to tell people, “Who in the world would ever live in a town called Schwenksville?”  With this, I was making a permanent decision not to ever, ever live in Schwenksville.  Now, I live in Schwenksville.  I guess my decision wasn’t so permanent.

People say the only thing really permanent (or certain) is death and taxes.  This may seem true to most of us.  What if we could find permanence somewhere else?

There is part of us that longs for the permanent.  Sure, we make embrace change as necessary, but I think there is something in all of us that longs for some type of permanence in our lives.

The Bible tells us that God’s love never changes – it endures forever.  Psalm 136 repeatedly reminds readers “His love endures forever.”

God’s love for us is permanent!

In a world where change seems inevitable – where permanence seems to be a thing of the past, I know where to look to find something that will last forever.

What is something in your life that didn’t last as long as you expected it to last?

Mission Mindset – From The Mind To The Hands And Feet

Is a faith without action a sincere faith?
Jean Racine

Faith is nothing without action. I can believe until I’m blue in the face, but it’s nothing if I don’t follow through on it.

All talk and no action is like listening to the teacher in a Charlie Brown comic, “Blah blah, blah blah, blah blah.”

I don’t want to be like this.  I want my belief to be coupled with action.  I want my life to be more than just words – “Blah blah, blah blah, blah blah.”

A mission mindset can’t stay only in the mind.  At some point, it has to move into our hands and feet.

Walk across the street.  Shake hands with a stranger.  Spend time with a neighbor in need.  Reach out to widows and orphans near home and abroad.  Don’t just sit on the couch.  Decide today to take action on your faith.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.  James 2:14-26

What action can you take today to put hands and feet on your faith?

Burden

Sometimes feeling overwhelmed is part of what it means to be a Christian. You can’t bear somebody else’s burden unless you are taking something of their load and it’s weighing you down a little bit.
Kevin DeYoung

My heart is heavy.  I carry a load.  I feel the weight on my shoulders.

I so desire the hope, the health, the success, and the well-being of those around me.  But it is not mine to provide.

I am but a vessel and perhaps a reflection of the hope, the love, and the healing of our God.

I want to fix things.  I want to throw a bandage on the wounds that others carry.  And yet I know it’s not up to me to ultimately bring restoration.

My hope comes from God alone.  He carries my burden.  He lightens my load.  I can face the future knowing He wants what is best for me.

Meanwhile, I cry out to God, “Use me and my brokenness to point others to You.”

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.  Psalm 55:22

What is weighing you down these days?

Home

We have a chain in our backyard.  We use it to keep our dog from running away when he is outside.  One end of the chain is attached to a stake in the ground, and the other end is attached to a metal loop on his collar.

The other night, I put Iso (our forever dog) on the chain.  He likes to go out in the backyard to take care of his business and to sniff around for a while.  I came back in the house for a few minutes while Iso was doing his thing.

When I went outside to bring Iso back in the house, he was gone.  The chain broke, and Iso was wandering in the dark of the night.

My heart sunk as I feared I would struggle finding him in the dark.  I quickly ran inside the house view the back patio door, and I quickly ran to the garage to get my shoes, a flashlight, and the box of Milk-bones.  These are the tools necessary to go on a hunt for your runaway dog.  Before I opened the garage door, I quickly looked out the mud room door.  As I turned on the light, I was relieved to see our black dog standing at the side door steps with the other half of the chain following behind him.

I can remember panicking as a child whenever our family dog, Snickers ran away.  She was a beagle, and her instinct to chase rabbits made it challenging for my parents to contain her even when she was tied to a stake in the middle of a fenced in backyard.

It’s amazing how dogs can capture our hearts.

I’m thankful Iso knew to come to the side door.  He knew where is home was.  He could have run around the neighborhood or even run away, but he desired the safety and comfort of home.

We all have a yearning for home.

Sometimes we don’t realize it.  We run away.  We chase after things that lead us temporarily away from home.  But after our running and chasing, our instincts call us home.  And when we get there, our loving Father is standing at the door waiting to welcome us home.

Are you wandering?  Are you running away?  Are you chasing after things that lead us away from home?

Turn back now.  Your Father can’t wait to welcome you home!

Where is your home?

Increase Impact By Decreasing Impulse

Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
George Elliot

When was the last time you did something impulsive?

Going out for ice cream is one of my most favorite impulsive things to do.  But I’m sure I’ve done some other pretty impulsive things.  After I graduated from college, I impulsively leased a Limited Ford Explorer.  This was such a dumb move.  Many of my impulsive moves involve stupid purchases.  For example, I bought a set of books about the worlds greatest inventions.  I only had to pay for the 30 volumes in 15 “easy” payments.  What was I thinking?  I’ve barely cracked open these books.

When was the last time you did something impulsive to develop yourself?

This is a bit more of a challenge.  I’ve probably signed up for a race or two on impulse, but it required a lot of work to prepare for the race after I signed up.

Developing yourself doesn’t happen by impulse.  It happens by discipline.

Discipline isn’t often very fun.  It requires focus and determination.  It requires stamina.  And it requires a vision for the end which happens after hard work.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Hebrews 12:11

This is true in many areas of our lives.  If I want to be a better runner, I have to put in the practice.  If I want to be a better speaker or writer, I have to do it repeatedly.  When we reach our goal time in a race or when we publish something worthwhile that we wrote, we can see how discipline pays off in the end.

Why don’t we realize this when it comes to our relationship with God?

Growing closer to God does not happen by impulse.  It happens through a series of repeated small steps.  It happens by discipline.

If we want to have a mission mindset, we have to be focused first on our growing closer to God – we have to live a life of discipline.

Do you consider yourself to be impulsive?  In your life, how has discipline led to greater rewards?  What steps do you need to take to grow closer to God?

The Key Ingredient Required For Realizing Your Vision

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.
Helen Keller

God may have given us a vision, but this is not all we need in order to fully achieve a mission mindset.

If we go full-out in an effort to realize the vision we have been given but we fail to cultivate our relationship with God, we will be useless.  We will be missing out on the key ingredient of a mission mindset.

In Exodus 2:11-25, we see Moses who has been given a vision to save and protect the people of Israel.  As a young man, he goes after this vision with pride and perhaps self-absorption.  He kills an Egyptian who is mistreating an Israelite.  His reputation among his own people quickly deteriorates.  It seems that Moses’ initial actions towards achieving his vision is done so without God.  Next, he heads into the wilderness where he lives for 40 years.  It is here, he meets “I AM WHO I AM” in the burning bush.  His wilderness experience provides an opportunity to be re-centered on God and to be personally humbled.  Only in this state can Moses lead effectively and can he appropriately approach the vision he had originally been given to save and protect the people of Israel.

I have a vision to write a book about short-term missions and mission mindset.  Last year, I spent a lot of time outlining this project and working toward this desired outcome.  I sent the outline out to some trusted friends and advisers who gave me incredible feedback and confirmation regarding this project.  I put the project on hold for several reasons.  In a way, I felt like Moses being sent into the wilderness to meet “I AM WHO I AM.”  I needed to be humbled and re-centered on God before I could effectively go after this vision.

As I’ve pursued my relationship with God more intentionally, this vision has been reignited and the content creation has become much richer and deeper than I originally outlined.  In fact, the outline which I spent so much time on last year is being altered based on my reinvigorated pursuit.

I don’t know what vision God has put on your heart, but I’m sure it’s exciting and worthwhile.  In the pursuit of realizing this vision, don’t forget to pursue God first.  This is a decision you will not forget.

What vision for the future have you been given?  What is preventing you from realizing your God-given vision? 

Hitting The Right Stride

“The test of a man’s religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on.”

Oswald Chambers

I am nearly six and a half feet tall (six feet five and three-quarters inches to be exact), and I have long legs.  With long legs, comes a long stride.  If I’m walking down the hall at my office, there are many of my co-workers who simply cannot keep up with me.  Their legs are too short, and they cannot match my stride.

In Genesis 5, we meet Enoch.  He is part of the genealogy between Adam and Noah.  There is not a lot shared about him in the Bible.  We know his father’s name is Jared.  We know he had a son named Methuselah.  And we know he lived 365 years.  But this isn’t it.  Enoch walked with God.

Does this mean Enoch had long legs and a huge stride?  I doubt it.  My guess is that Enoch was probably fairly short compared to today’s standards.  Most likely, he had a complete, intimate focus and relationship with God.  I get the feeling Enoch knew God.  The Bible doesn’t give us any other details about his life.  He didn’t invent the wheel.  He didn’t rule the land.  He didn’t do anything spectacular as far as we can tell, but he walked with God.

In today’s world, most of us have a thirst for adventure.  We want to achieve greatness.  We want to be well-known.  This becomes our focus and even our god sometimes.

What if we changed our focus?

What if we really pursued a relationship with God?

At the end of my life, I would love to be remembered as a man who walked with God.

How about you?

How would your life be different if walking with God became your first priority?