Yeah, what he said!

These are not my words but I liked them so much I stole them from Dave Kraft and Mars Hill Church to share with you.

Passion Builders & Stealers

Dave Kraft

Leadership Development Pastor at Mars Hill Church

Those Who Fuel Or Drain Us

Allow me to take a stab at defining certain kinds of people, and how they can either further our vision and passion or stop it dead in its tracks. I am thankful for the writings of Gordon McDonald upon which some of these thoughts are based.

1. People who fuel our passion.
   These are our mentors and role models; they are people we can spend time with or whose writing, thinking, and speaking expands and deepens our passion and purpose in life. Someone has observed that what we are tomorrow will be a result of the people we meet and the books we read today. I believe that with all my heart.
2. People who catch our passion.
   These are the teachable and the moldable; they are the people who are hungry for God and hungry to make their lives count. They want to grow, to learn, and to see God at work in their lives. They will take what we give and pass it along to others, multiplying our investment many times over.
3. People who enjoy our passion.
   Most people we know fall into this category. On the one hand, they don’t take a great deal from us, but then neither do they add a great deal. It’s easy to spend a lot of time with these “nice people.” They are fun and easy to be with.
4. People who drain our passion.
   This is where the major energy leaks can occur. These are the needy people, the people that struggle, or the people who demand hours and hours of our energy, but don’t often seem to profit from it. Yet, they keep returning with the same problems and want more of us. They are often the squeaky wheels that get the most, if not all, of the oil of our passion.

The Need Is Not The Call

As a leader, I want to make sure that I am spending most of my time with those in category 1 and 2, and to be careful and prayerful about allowing too much time with those in 3 and 4. With God’s help, I want to be proactive, not reactive. Those in categories 3 and 4 can, and more than likely will, take most of my time if I am not careful.

Nice people are easy and enjoyable to be with, and draining people are so needy that it is easy to allow the lion’s share of time to go to them. This is not to say that “nice and needy” people are not important or should not be loved. However, as a wise person once said, “The need is not the call.”

A Strategy of Investment

To prevent “energy leaks,” I need to determine what good things I am not going to do. It is an issue of the strategy of investment, not the value of people. As leaders, we should be keenly aware of the fact that our energy is finite and can be depleted. We must guard that spiritual energy (passion) and prayerfully dispense it, not portion it out as first-come, first-serve.

Gordon McDonald confessed that at one point in his ministry he was spending most, if not all, of his time with the “nice and needy” people and had little time left over for those who fueled and caught his passion. He thought he was where he was most needed, but realized it was an “error of great magnitude.”

A prayer of mine for years has been based on Jeremiah 42:3: “[Pray] that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” As a leader, is your passion growing and being strategically invested, or have you developed some slow leaks?

Here and There

I've been investing lots of time here. I love spending time here. I have a hunger for a clearer understanding of God's word. I've been spending hours studying it, researching, investigating, and rereading it. I exert a very limited amount of physical energy but nothing tires me more quickly or drains me more completely. Why is it that when I get up from that chair I feel like I have ran a marathon yet I haven't moved more than a few feet? Why is it that I spend hours studying and yet I walk away with more questions, less understanding and a cloudier view of it all? Just when I think I have a passage of scripture or a word nailed down I am challenged or enlightened in a new way that creates more questions that leads to new answers that lead to new questions. Yes indeed His ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. It's so amazingly frustrating, tiring and awesome. I love spending time here.




But I experience different thoughts and feelings of awe and amazement when I am standing here looking out my back door. When I spend time here it all becomes so much clearer. Clearly He is God, and He is powerful, and He is beautiful, and He is in control, and I am abundantly blessed and humbled.

"DO IT AGAIN...DO IT AGAIN"

"Do it again, do it again!!!... Do it again, DO IT AGAIN!!!" That's what I hear every holiday when I'm with my little 4 year old nephew.

You see, when he was maybe 2 years old I taught him how he could do a flip by walking up my legs while I held his hands. This took a considerable amount of time due to the fact that he was afraid of me to begin with. It took time just to coax him from behind his mommy's leg. I had to get down on my hands and knees and reach out my hand. I had to lay down flat and coax him with high pitched "c'mon's " before he would finally come jump on me and pull the hair on my chin. After more and more time playing he became more and more comfortable with me. He would hold my hand and I began to teach him to walk up my legs. He couldn't understand at first but eventually he caught on. He would take 1 or 2 steps up my legs and jump back to the floor. It took time and it took patience but finally he did it. He walked up the legs and I gave him a quick flip before he could jump back down to the floor. Once he did the flip and he experienced the thrill, and realized that I would hold on to his hands...well, he wanted to do it again.

Now, almost 3 years later, whenever he sees me he immediately grabs both hands and starts walking up my legs. He will do it over and over and each time he yells while giggling, "DO IT AGAIN, DO IT AGAIN!!!" Now there is no fear of me and no fear of flipping. He now likes to hang upside down for extended periods before he finishes the flip. Full confidence in his ability to flip and full faith I won't let go. Total trust.

Yeah, I'm that little boy doing flips while holding the hands of God. It took time, it took patience, and it took alot of coaxing. But I've done a few flips now and there is nothing like the thrill or excitement of putting yourself in a position where you are totally relying on God...where if He doesn't come through, your gonna fail BIG TIME.

Well God showed up again for the holidays and He was yelling my name. "Come here Son, it's time for something new." The flips were scary but it's been a couple years since I did the last one so I was getting pretty comfortable. Now it's time to get uncomfortable again. This time He is throwing me high in the air and letting go. I am praying I don't lose sight of Him. It's gonna take total trust and full faith that His hands will be there to catch me. I know they will be there because He is always faithful. Once I fall into His hands safely I'm sure I'll be quickly yellin, "DO IT AGAIN, DO IT AGAIN!!!"

My Chrysalis

The journey to becoming like Christ takes a lifetime. Along this journey we all will face different seasons, designed by God, for specific purposes. Unlike the seasons on our calenders, these seasons don't necessarily happen in a certain order and it seems impossible to determine how long they will last. Actually I believe the length of the season has more to do with how we respond to the season than anything else. My difficult seasons seem to last a loooonggg time. I tend to be a stubborn, bullheaded one. I believe we pass through the seasons many times on our journey but each time is different. Each time God does a deeper work within us.

No season is as difficult to go through as the season of darkness. As I said earlier my seasons seem to be lengthy and this season of darkness was not an exception. It is painful and there are moments of great doubt, fear, and challenges that threaten to rock your faith. I call it a season of darkness because the pain and disappointment is severe enough to be called death. I believe this season is unavoidable in our spiritual journey. Well, I'm not completely sure "ALL" Christians experience it, but I know many have and those that have know it is real, it is dark, and it is difficult. It is a time of brokenness that eventually leads to incredible change and blessings. It's a time of deep transformation in a place of personal darkness. A chrysalis. I wish I had a more rugged, manly example but I guess this is part of that work of humility.

During this time of darkness and difficulty God is at work. He starts revealing impurities and sin in our own life that greatly affect our relationship with Him. He begins to expose weaknesses in our foundations that need serious attention. This season of darkness, weakness, and suffering reshapes us and begins to give us a new approach or direction to our journey.

Throughout this extended season I have asked God, "Why?" on numerous occasions. God has revealed several reasons why He has allowed this season.

1. to create humility
2. to reveal my weaknesses
3. to prove His greatness
4. to break pride
5. to cleanse my soul
6. to prevent spiritual apathy
7. to teach me deep spiritual truths that I would not learn any other way.
8. to remind me to pursue Him
9. to test me
10. to make me more like Jesus

This season of darkness has created an intimacy like nothing else could do. The difficulties were not the toughest part, it was the surrendering to Him that made the season so long and so dark. Surrender and a willingness to be broken and transformed were/are the keys to this seasons end. In that end the time of pain becomes the source of one of life's greatest blessings...being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

I'm So Thankful For A Few Good Men

Read your Bible, pray and serve. It is great advice and I think it is necessary to grow in faith. I have heard this taught and have had it drilled into my head since the beginning of my christian walk. As important as I know those things are, I think fellowship is even more important. Yea that's right...I said it! Hanging out with other christian men is more important to me than reading my Bible, praying, or serving. (I can feel the tension)

Think about how Jesus started his ministry. He didn't teach the crowds how to study the scriptures or pray. Instead, he chose 12 men and forced them to hang out together. In fact, the disciples had to ask Jesus, "Teach us to pray." Then he gave them the a brief model to follow. Soon he was back to team building.

When Christ sent 72 men out to minister (Luke 10) he paired them up. Jesus never sent anyone out alone. Similarly, the Apostle Paul's missionary journeys were taken in the company of other men.

Looking back at my spiritual life, I'm most like Jesus when I'm in close proximity to other godly men. My deepest failures have come when I am alone.

I'm really going to climb out on a limb here: I think a Christian life consisting of individual Bible reading, prayer and church attendance is little threat to the kingdom of darkness. But when two or three or twelve gather to pray, the evil one trembles.

I am blessed to experience this with a few good men in my home on Tuesday nights. That is the place where I feel God's hand molding and shaping me the most. I am convicted, encouraged, inspired , and challenged every week we meet. Both by God and these men. I am so thankful God has put other Godly men in my life. I need them in ways that I can never put into words. The funny thing is that when we gather we open up The Scriptures, we pray, and we serve one another. hmmm...?

Now I am preparing to spend 72 hours straight with God and 60 other men. There is supernatural power in that believe me. At the end of those 72 hours I pray God will add a few more good men to my life and to our Tuesday night meetings. Now I'm gonna go study God's word, pray and serve my wife a cup o'joe!

The Question

Our small group has been going through a Charles Stanley study called "Pursuing A Deeper Faith". It is intended to be a 10 week study but we seemed to have turned it into a 10 month study. Anyhow, one of the questions in this past week's study asked, "What new insights do you have into spiritual growth toward intimacy with God?" My response was the following:

"Spiritual growth has nothing to do with time or years of being saved or going to a church. It has everything to do with love, passion, desire and choices. Everyone is on the same playing field. It just depends on which direction, if any, that you want to go. Some just face the direction they want to go but never move. Others run in circles because they can't let go of the world. Some run in the wrong direction, some run in the right direction. Some walk, some crawl, some just lay down. Many say the want to grow and I believe it. They just don't want to put forth the effort that is required to achieve it. It's not about reading a book. It's not about going to and serving at a church. It's not about praying before every meal. It's about control. It's about giving up total control of our lives to God. It is then that we grow."

After I read my answer at group I just felt like I forgot something. It still made sense to me but it was as if God was wanting me to see something that I wasn't seeing then. I woke up the next morning still thinking about that question. It stayed on my mind for days and then finally it hit me. TRUST!

How can you ever expect to give up control of anything to someone that you don't trust. I think the first key to spiritual growth is trust. I have to trust God enough that He knows what's best for me. This is difficult at times. When things are going smooth I often feel as if it is going smoothly because I'm in control and making all the right decisions and choices. During the tough times I find it much easier to trust him because I have already lost control of the situation anyway.

So, why do I find it difficult to trust God sometimes?

I asked myself this question. The first response in my head was that I've never had to trust anyone with my life. That was a stupid thought. I trust every person driving down the highway at 65 mph only 3 feet from me. I trust every airline pilot that flew a plane I was on. I trusted the person who packed my parachute when I went skydiving. I trust every cook or chef or grill person at every restaurant I ever ate at. I could go on and on. How can I trust a person I don't know, whom I have never seen, and who doesn't love me? I trust them with my life and don't find it difficult. So again, why do I find it difficult to trust God? He created me, he loves me, he has proven himself trustworthy over and over. I know him and I have seen him work in my life and in the lives of many others. He is all knowing, all powerful. He is God. So why?

www.frangipane.org

This really hit home for me. I just wanted to share it. Thank you Francis. You may visit his website at www.frangipane.org I always find some good food for thought there.

The Cup Part One: The Death of Ambition
by Francis Frangipane
(En Español)

When I first came to Christ, the Lord gave me a dream about my future. I thought that everything the Lord said was supposed to occur immediately; I didn't know of the work of preparation and dying to self, of learning patience and maintaining vision through testing, that would occur before God's promise would find fulfillment. Consequently, I was filled with ambition. Ambition is the first motive that arises in the spiritually immature. I was like the disciples who, a few days after Jesus' resurrection, were already asking, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom?" (Acts 1:6).

Ambition is very deceptive. It can seem just like obedience, yet because we don't truly know the Lord, the voice we find ourselves obeying is not God's, but our own. Our vision can actually be from God, but our motive be self. Consequently, where there is ambition, James tells us there will soon emerge "disorder and every evil thing" (James 3:16). Why? Because we begin thinking we can accomplish the will of God through the strength of man. We are seeking a breakthrough; God wants to give us brokenness.

The spiritually immature do not recognize their immaturity because they are immature. Thus, they become impatient, fearful and demanding. Because pride blinds the ambitious, we presume we are ready for greater assignments in God. In fact, we become a harder assignment for those who work with us, for our actions continually generate strife.

Ambition seeks to put to death what stands between it and spiritual fulfillment. Yet, it is ambition itself that must die to reach fulfillment. Webster's tells us that ambition is "an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as wealth or fame, and the willingness to strive for it." The word translated "ambition" in the NAS is rendered "strife" in the King James. Truly, ambition is a major cause for strife, church splits and conflicts within the church.

I thought having a promise from God was the same thing as receiving a commandment from God. I did not understand what I personally lacked in character or what I needed to attain concerning faithfulness, becoming a bond-servant, and possessing a grateful heart. These things needed to be worked in me before God would truly begin to fulfill His larger promises and opportunities. What I became for God was more important than what I did for Him.

Today, I am living in the spiritual substance of what was just a dream thirty-eight years ago. My ambitions have suffered greatly, yet my dreams are being fulfilled. While I have not yet arrived at the greatest aspects of my calling, I understand the difference between ambition and true leadership and it is this: Ministry is not a call to lead, but to die.

Every advance that I have made spiritually was preceded by an opportunity to die to self. The power in my life comes from where I have died to self and now live unto Christ.

Do you want to advance spiritually? The gateway to resurrection power is crucifixion. God will arrange opportunities for you to die to self. You must discern them. Dying to self and its ambition is the means of reaching true spiritual fulfillment. If you react to the opportunity to die with fleshly anger or resentment, you will fail to reach fulfillment. However, if you can maintain your vision even while your ambition dies, you will succeed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Please feel free to forward this message to others; acknowledging our web site would be kindly appreciated.
www.frangipane.org

Reprint Agreement
Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is permitted provided that complete source and website information for the Ministries of Francis Frangipane are included, unless the article is an excerpt from a book by another publisher. If so, please contact the cited publisher for reprint permission. Likewise, publications that are sold need written permission. Finally, material may not be taken out of context to slander or defame this ministry.

Stay

I was doing the spring clean-up thing today in our landscape. Twenty years in the nursery business doesn't make it any more fun, maybe just a little quicker and easier. We just moved to our present home last September so I haven't spent much time working on the outside of our house. There is a big island in our front yard. It has several mature trees and some HUGE rocks and a small pond. There are all kinds of shrubs, perennials and herbs planted throughout the island. I was pruning, trimming, weeding and raking out the fallen leaves from last fall. As I was working in the landscape John 15 just kept coming to my mind. I understand it so well but applying it, not so much.

John 15:1-5
¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

God is our gardener. He gets his hands dirty working in our lives. It is the hands of God that plant, water, weed and prune. Hands that are intimately familiar with the dirty soil of this world. Hands that dig in deep, that hold up straight, that carefully inspect and provide every need. God does not garden from a distance. It is in his intimate presence that we grow.

He then watches and works, cuts and prunes. Cutting and pruning causes pain and loss. Sometimes this seems so cruel and careless, but it is essential. Fruitless branches steal nutrients and energy that the rest of the plant needs. Healthy, fruitful branches need to be kept in check so they remain strong and in turn produce more fruit.

Next comes our job. It couldn't be any simpler. Stay connected to Jesus, the vine. STAY. Before we go, we stay. Before we grow we stay. The Vine knows exactly what it must do. The Gardner knows exactly what he must do. All the branch needs to do is stay. It is when we stay that we will know. Our job couldn't be any simpler. All we have to do is stay. Remain, abide, stay. It's amazing how I struggle and strive and stray when all I've been asked to do is stay. The promise is clear. Stay with me, connect with me, draw your life from me and you will grow and bear fruit. When that happens we have something of worth to offer this world. We have grown, we have changed. We are not supposed to be the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That's God's job!
Our job is to stay in Him, grow and give what has been freely given to us.

The Gardner's job is never done. Just when things begin to grow and bring life, disease enters in, weeds sprout up, rain doesn't come, and to top it off, a dog comes and pees all over me. It's not just the elements and the environment. I know I don't help much. I refuse to stay still. I refuse to grow. I refuse to remain. I refuse to trust the gardener.

Why am I so intent on taking care of myself when I'm told I can do nothing apart from Him? Why do I work so hard trying to create a life that is safe and comfortable? Why do words like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control seem more like good ideas than actual realities in my life? Why do I find it so difficult to trust the one who planted me and desires what's best for me? Why don't I just stay?

Rubber Band Man

I like rubber bands. I don't know why but I always have. I used to make rubber band balls when I was a kid. I always kept the ones they put around our newspapers. I still keep rubber bands when I find them. They are so useful for so many things. Sometimes I will just put one on my wrist for no reason. People always tell me I shouldn't do that but I don't know why. Sometimes I just like to mess with it in my hands. You know stretch it , snap it, or wrap it around my sausage-like fingers. Sometimes I like to shoot it at some unsuspecting target like my son. Other times I organize our junk drawer and wrap it around the 127 pens and pencils we have in there.

Rubber bands are versatile and flexible. They come in all sorts of colors. Some are big and thick some are small and thin. Some can be stretched far and some will break easily. They all have their purposes. The one thing that is true about all rubber bands is that they have no power and very little purpose or value until they are stretched. They have no power laying in the bag loose. When I stretch it though, I transfer my strength into the rubber band. It then has the power to move forward in whatever direction I aim it. The rubber band laying loose in the bag has no purpose until I take it out and stretch it around something. It exists and has potential in the bag but is not really fulfilling the purpose it was created for until it is stretched. I believe the same is true for me.

I like comfort. I like to hang out with my friends and people I'm comfortable with. I like my routine and doing the things I know I can do. I seem to think that me being comfortable should be a high priority in living my day to day life. I guess you could say that if I was a rubber band I would prefer to lie loose in the bag. Don't stretch me it makes me uncomfortable. Yet at the same time I profess how I want to grow in Christ and how I want to be used by God. God's power and my value as a tool to be used by Him is limited when I'm living loose in the bag. I'm not living out the purpose that I was created to live when I'm laying loose in the bag.

When I desire and allow God to stretch me I begin to grow. My world suddenly expands. It is no longer all about me. God's power is transferred into my spirit. I now have His power to move forward in the direction God wants to use me. My value for God's kingdom has just multiplied. I can now get closer to living out His purpose for my life. This is often very difficult and quite painful.

At times I have felt like God was going to stretch me until I snapped. God knows better. He created me. He knows how far I can be stretched and in what direction. I need to remain flexible. In one season I was stretched in one direction and the next season in a new direction. He knows the direction He wants to send me. He can choose to send me and use me in ways that I think I'm incapable. He made me versatile even though I can't see it. He created me with a certain color, size, shape and strength. It is a perfect design for the purpose He created me. I might not know or understand His ultimate purpose for my life but this much I know. I wasn't created to live loose in the bag. I need to be stretched. I'm a rubber band man.

The Road

I have felt led to revisit the scripture about the two believers traveling on the road to Emmaus. As Hagg and I were on our way home from sending off the men for their Emmaus weekend last Thursday, I told him I was going to go home and read it. I have read, reread, studied and meditated on it daily for a week now. I would like to share a few things that stood out to me.

Luke 24:13-35

First off I notice Cleopas is not on the journey alone. I relate that to our spiritual journey. We are not meant to walk it alone. Our faith walk is not meant to be lonely or a solitary journey. We need fellow believers to walk along side of us. I need my men's group and small group to study the scriptures with me. I need to share my points and listen to theirs. This helps me to grow and to be stretched. I need to talk with fellow believers about the day to day things in life. They give me new insights, fresh perspectives, and deeper meanings to the events in my life.

In verse 21 Cleopas said, "but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel." I immediately questioned why they had hoped and not trusted. The KJV set me straight. That was the only version in my parallel Bible that used the word trust. Are hope and trust the same thing? I would love to hear your thoughts on that one.

These two travelers made it clear to me that knowing does not always translate to understanding. They had seen Jesus and heard what was to happen yet could not understand what was taking place. They knew yet doubted. Sounds an awful lot like me! Sometimes I think I should have all the answers and understand all that's been put in front of me. These people walked with Jesus and didn't have all the answers and didn't understand all that was happening in and around them. I often need revelation from God on things that I know but don't understand. Or is it that I just don't know and can't understand that I don't know? Ha! Love to hear your thoughts on that one too.

I found it comforting that these two people were struggling and Jesus came and walked with them. Christ not only walked with them He spoke and joined their conversation. He applied the words of scripture to their situation. When we face doubt, fear, and pain He is there with us. Christ brings comfort and clarity as we journey through life's struggles.

Finally, these two travelers recognize who Jesus is. Their spiritual eyes were opened. As soon as they realize this is Jesus, He disappears from their sight. I seem to experience this same thing in my journey. God is working in my life and I am blind to it. By the time I recognize Him working, He disappears from my sight. I then say, " How could I have not seen God moving and working?" The answer is simple after the fact. I was focused on my problem and not Him. In the end all I can do is praise God and testify to His love and faithfulness just like Cleopas and his friend.

The road we travel is hilly and curvy, full of obstacles and hazards. I thank God I'm not traveling alone.

Emmaus Mountaintop

I went to a closing ceremony for a Walk to Emmaus weekend on Sunday. Thirty-five men stood up, one by one, in a room full of people and expressed what the weekend meant to them and what they were going to do as a result of the weekend. Every single man spoke of how awesome, healing, restoring and emotional it was. They spoke of how God's love was revealed to them in a new and powerful way. Most said they couldn't explain it with words. I understand because I have had the privilege to experience the weekend first hand. My best description would just be a "spiritual mountaintop".

When stating what they were going to do as a result of what they experienced, the answers were full of passion and from the heart. Many were going to be the hands and feet of Christ. Others were going to evangelize with a new passion. Some mentioned adjusting priorities and being better husbands and fathers. A few said, "I could tell you I'm going to do all kinds of things but I won't. Just watch me." All of these are great things to do and apply in our lives. I would classify them as visions on the mountaintop.

We have all experienced those mountaintop moments. Times when God speaks clearly and we see things from His viewpoint. (if that's possible) Whenever I've been there I just wanted to stay there. God never allows that. Those special, rare moments are meant to encourage and inspire us. They are teaching moments. God speaks and unveils himself. We see his Glory on the mountaintop. I believe He reveals himself and teaches us something so we can comeback down to the valley and live out what he revealed to us. God doesn't just want to teach us He wants to transform us and use us through these experiences.

It is in the valley that we live. (work, school, bills, the regular routine) It is there that we must live in the glory that God revealed to us on the mountaintop. Satan and the world try to rob us of that. The distractions and temptations surround us. Our faith is tested in the valley. Our character is tested in the valley. Will we begin to forget or doubt what was just revealed to us? Will we try to do it on our own? I know I have doubted and feared and tried doing it on my own. It never lasted. The vision was lost. I have also remembered and had faith and relied on God to bring the vision to a reality. I wrote it down, I prayed, I pursued, I believed. It happened.

I'm going to do the same for the men I knew this weekend. I've just wrote it down, I'm going to pray for them, encourage them to pursue their vision, and I'm going to believe it is going to happen through the will of these men and the power of Christ. Decolores.

Looking Back

Yesterday I shared about anticipating the future. About how I was always looking ahead and missing what was going on in the here and now. As I was writing/typing, God began to speak to me. Of all things, He began to reveal to me my next post. I couldn't wait to write/type it! :) How ironic.

I began to realize that looking ahead and anticipating what was to come is not my greatest time waster anymore. I no longer look forward with anticipation, I look back with regret. I look back and regret looking forward. Wow I really confused myself there.

I look back and regret those years I wasted pursuing the party, the money, all the things of this world. I look back and regret the choices I made as a teenager. I look back and regret how I disrespected my wife. How I didn't appreciate her or love her the way I've been called to do. I look back and regret how I treated my children. The lack of patience, understanding, and time invested in their lives. The example I set for them to follow was not honorable. I look back and see ways that I was disrespected, hurt, and wounded deeply. It is so easy to look back with regret, anger, resentment, bitterness and let it consume you.

Looking back is like a cancer. By dwelling in the past you allow the past to control your present and direct your future. It will consume you. It will devour you. It will chew you up and spit you out. I need to let it go. (Isaiah 43:18 Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past.)

Precious seconds, minutes, hours, days and months have been consumed, wasted and lost because I have been looking back. Wrapped up in things I can't change. I can't go back and fix it. Time continues even when I stop.

God didn't give me today to dwell in yesterday. I need to press on and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. I need to fight the good fight of the faith TODAY!

Philippians 3:13b-14 Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

FEELING THE HEAT

The last week was another week full of blessings and challenges. The blessings seem obvious. A God who saved me from myself. A beautiful, loving, godly wife. Two healthy, gifted and grown children. A job. A car that gets me to that job. The health and ability to do a job. A warm home with hot water, a fridge full of food and a pillow to lay my head on. These blessings are some of the ones I recognize and thank God for regularly. There are so many more that I take for granted. I know I am truly blessed none the less.

The challenges ahead never seem obvious. I go through them daily but at times I think I've passed the test. God puts the challenge in front of me, I eventually recognize it, I eventually accept it and finally work through it to the point where I feel I've overcome the challenge, learned the lesson, or withstood the fire. The heat seems to lessen and I celebrate the victory. I praise God for it and I scream "I GET IT!" I'm so excited. The time of testing is finally over. The refining fire is turned down to a warming plate and I feel content and relaxed. Ready for a new season of rest. Little do I know God has just scooped me off the skillet with his spatula, only to flip me over to cook the other side! OUCH!

I was flipped this week. I thought I was cooked to at least medium well. I was right. Medium well isn't always enough cookin' for a dish that's tainted with deadly bacteria. My heart was marinated in the things of this world for so long it has needed tenderized with God's hammer, pressure cooked repeatedly, deep fried for a season, grilled to flavor and now fried on both sides to be safe to share with others who I've been called to minister to. This could be a lengthy process but I know He can take this "old hot dog" (bun size at least) and transform me into a ribeye. I know God has begun a mighty work in my life. Many who know me well can testify to that. He has renewed my mind. He has removed many addictions and idols in my life. God began a restoration project in me in 2002. But He is not finished. It seems the heart is where the toughest transformation takes place. It is the core of who I am. I filled it with so much trash it's amazing anything good could come from it. God is amazing. So this is my prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Where I Have: me . . . . . . . . . . . . I desire: you
Where I Have: bitterness . . . . . . . I desire: grace
Where I Have: resentment . . . . . . I desire: mercy
Where I Have: anger . . . . . . . . . . . I desire: love
Where I Have: pain . . . . . . . . . . . . I desire: healing
Where I Have: hurt . . . . . . . . . . . I desire: growth
Where I Have: doubt . . . . . . . . . . I desire: trust
Where I Have: rage . . . . . . . . . . . . I desire: peace
Where I Have: revenge . . . . . . . . I desire: acceptance
Where I Have: apathy . . . . . . . . . I desire: passion
Where I Have: fear . . . . . . . . . . . .I desire: security
Where I Have: grief . . . . . . . . . . . I desire: hope
Where I Have: anxiety . . . . . . . . .I desire: faith
Where I Have: emptiness . . . . . . I desire: you
Where I Have: lies . . . . . . . . . . . .I desire: truth
Where I Have: deceit . . . . . . . . . . I desire: honesty
Where I Have: unfaithfulness . . . . I desire: commitment
Where I Have: promises . . . . . . . I desire: integrity
Where I Have: temptation . . . . . . I desire: strength
Where I Have: tears . . . . . . . . . . . I desire: joy

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Colossians 3:12-17

GOT ROOTS?

Wow. I guess I'll welcome myself to the 21st century. This should be interesting. I've never been consistent writing down my thoughts, so hunting and pecking 1 letter at a time ought to encourage me to do it more often.

The picture I chose not only fits the name of my blog, but it fits with how I've been feeling in so many ways. First of all it has been a season of solitude. Not because others have left me, but it seems that God has called me from them. It has been a season of strong storms. Winds and rains that have tested me and my faith. It has been a dormant season from all outward appearances. I haven't been producing much fruit in the last 3 months, but there has been tremendous growth under the surface. Growth in the inner man. My roots have grown deeper and reached farther to find more living water and fertile soil within the rock on which I am planted. The outward growth is always the most impressive, but without a healthy, strong root system, anchored in stable, solid ground the mighty tree is sure to fall. God knows what is best for us. He knew of the dormant season I needed, even though I didn't. He created it even though I didn't like it. He brought the storms even though I didn't want them. He knows how to grow us. He knows how to test us. It's so easy to praise and trust Him when the sun is shining and the cool breeze blows. How do we react when the sun scorches us and the the cold winter winds are relentless? I believe the answer lies under the surface. GOT ROOTS? If so what are they rooted in? The shifting sands of the world, (hope it wasn't in your 401k), or the NEVER changing God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Get rooted on the ROCK.