3.30.09

My prayer for today:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth to eternity

Song: Hosanna
By: Hillsong United/Brooke Fraser

Hosanna is one of my favorite songs. I heard it last year sometime and can't get it out of my mind and my regular rotation of songs on itunes. Anyways, hosanna basically means a cry of praise or adoration to God. I love that because everytime I hear this song that is what I do. Really look at these lyrics and ponder them today. Make this be your prayer as it is mine today. Take it as a challenge and see what happens. See how God answers your prayers.

3.21.09

2 Corinthians 5:14-15
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

I know, I know it has been a long time since I last updated my blog. To be honest with you, I haven't had a real desire to blog about anything lately. Although, God has been showing and teaching me some things since my last blog, they just didn't compel me enough to blog about them until today. I was on my riding mower cutting the yard this afternoon and God just kinda nudged me and told me to start blogging again because I believe he wants to use me to reach others through my daily experiences and circumstances. I think that is the whole reason I started this blog in the first place.

Anyways, what I want to blog about today is my life verse. Do you have a life verse? I am not sure if most people have one or not. I think it is pretty cool to have one though. I actually heard Rick Warren talk about his last year at a conference and that inspired me to find a better one that fits me. I use to have Psalm 23:4 as a teenager but kinda drifted away from that. I like it as a verse of encouragement but not as a life verse. To me, a life verse should be almost like your personal mission statement and that is why after reading 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 a couple of weeks ago I found mine.

Paul (the guy that wrote the book of 2 Corinthians) really made me stop and think about the statements "Christ's love compels us" and "that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." Paul nails it here. He made it so easy to understand what we are suppose to be about. We no longer live for ourselves but for Christ who died for us.

Now the question becomes...how does this translate in real everyday life? It could mean treating people better than you treat yourself or think of it in terms of how Christ would handle a person or a situation. About a month ago I was at Sam's Club getting supplies for church and as I was leaving I was approached by a total stranger about jumping off her car. I hesitated for a second but said ok Maybe I am just a nice guy or maybe I felt compelled by the Spirit. Either way, I helped the lady and actually gave her my jumper cables and didn't ask for them back. I know I didn't have to help this lady but I knew what Christ would do and how I would feel pulling out of the parking lot and doing nothing to help her.

Ask yourself the question today...does Christ's love compel me enough to no longer live for myself but for Christ who died for me? If you answer yes...start living it today. Don't wait a single minute. Life is too short and you will never accomplish the mission and goals God has in store for your life if you don't.

8.14.08

Catalyst Conference 2008

Last week we took some Journey leaders to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta for some leadership encouragement and cutting edge praise & worship. I think everyone who went left with a better idea of leadership and how it can be applied at The Journey in our different areas of focus. Anyways, here are some things that stood out to me:

1. Pastor Steven Furtick. He had an incredible story about planting Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. They started out with roughly eight families and now are running 3,500 people on Sundays at two (high school) campuses in just over two and a half years. He challenged us to remember the promise God gave us (in our case planting The Journey) and not to forsake the process (where we have been over the last two years and now) so that one day you can enjoy the payoff. The process is always the toughest part but Pastor Steven encouraged us to be faithful during the this time and not to give up. Oh, by the way, Pastor Steven is under 30 years old just like our Lead Pastor. Coincidence? I think not!
2. Pastor Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church in Atlanta talked about moral authority. Moral authority occurs when what you say aligns with what you do. He said you usually lose your authority and influenece with others when your creed and deeds don't align. He then talked about having moral authority in three key areas: forgiveness, family, and finances. We can't ask people to forgive if we are not forgiving. We can't ask people to spend quality time with their family if we are not. We can't ask people to give money to our organization if we are not.
3. Jim Collins author of Good to Great spoke to us about how good is the enemy of great and many other fasinating leadership topics. He said that greatness is not a function of circumstance, it is of choice and discipline. He also said that you need to ask the question who before every what. The thing that really stuck out for me is when he said that time is finite and work is infinite. To me, this means I need to spend more time with my family and friends because life is short and the work will always be there for someone to manage.
4. Dave Ramsey, world renown financial help author and radio host talked to us about the enemies of unity. He said few churches or organizations ever experience real unity. The five main enemies of unity are poor communication, gossip, disagreements, lack of shared purpose, and sanctioned incompetence. He also said that a successful leader develops and maintains a culture in which negatives are handed up and positives are handed down. Finally, he said that for the sake of unity in the organization, the leader must go to battle early and often with any of the enemies of unity.

9.12.08

1 Corinthians 16:13
"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong."

Today I was encouraged by the actions of a bird. Sounds strange right? Anyone care to take a guess on what kind of bird this is in the picture? Well, it is a Turkey Buzzard. I saw a Turkey Buzzard this afternoon eating a dead possum in the exact middle of the road on Central Pike in Mt. Juliet. I take Central Pike all the time and see dead animals and buzzards from time to time but they never intrigued me until today. I guess it did today because I was open to letting God speak to me through what I saw. Anyways, as I thought about that buzzard more and more it hit me.....it takes a lot of courage for that bird to weave in and out of the road when the cars were passing by. It faced almost near death every time it went to take a bit out of the possum. That is why I appreciate that buzzard because it was determined to eat some of that possum no matter what the cost.

See I think God calls us to be just like the Turkey Buzzard. To be strong and courageous during times of trouble and even in the face of death to accomplish the mission. Sure, its not easy to do that but just meditate on what God is telling us through Paul in this verse to the Corinthian church thousands of years ago. Make a decision today to stand firm in your faith and God will give you the strong and courageous part when you need it.

8.14.08

"Bruce...do you know why we fall down? So we can learn how to get back up again." -Thomas Wayne in Batman Begins

If you recently saw the Dark Night movie at the theater and you haven't seen Batman Begins, you need to rent it. It explains the whole story of how and why Bruce Wayne became Batman. Somewhere in the beginning of the movie a young Bruce Wayne falls into a deep well and is spooked by millions of bats flying around him. Well, he eventually gets out of the deep well with a little help and his father shares some valuable advice with him. He says, "Do you know why we fall down? So we can learn to get back up again." I thought this was one of the most profound statements in the movie.

See, I believe God allows us to fall down from time to time so we can learn to get back up again. You can learn from the good things that happen to you in your life but usually you will find that you grow more as a person when bad things happen to you or when you fall down. This not only builds your character but it hopefully leads to more faith or dependence in God. Proverbs 24:16 says, "for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes." Even in this verse, God's word tells us that those who live a life pleasing to God (righteous) will rise even after multiple falls.

7.18.08

Proverbs 12:18
"Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing."

I found this verse today because it is a fitting reminder of what could have been for me. When I was in grade school, I use to make fun of a girl because she had some mental and physical disabilities. No excuse for it....I was just young and dumb and didn't realize that the tongue was so powerful. I never got the chance to apologize to her because I recently found out that she passed away at the age of 28. I feel horrible about what I did because I probably made things hard for her in school and had no idea what it was like to be in her shoes for a day.

Looking back on that time in my life, I realize that as the verse above says "the words of the wise bring healing." What if I would have given her a compliment or a how ya doing every once in a while to let her know that I cared about her? Could it have made her life easier? I don't know but I would rather live with that question than the guilt of knowing that I messed up and can never give her a hug and say I am sorry.

If you have the chance today, build someone up instead of tearing them down. You never know what a word of encouragement just might do for them and yourself.

6.30.08

Proverbs 22:7

"Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender."

Last Saturday night, on the way back home from Hartsville, me and my wife were listening to one of our favorite radio talk shows on 99.7 WTN. It is called "Handel on the Law" with Bill Handel a lawyer from California. People call in with all kinds of legal problems and Bill typically answers their questions in literally 10 or 15 seconds. That is how good he is. Anyways, a lady called in and said that her and her family were partners in a business that recently went under and she wanted to know how she could get out of paying for all the businesses' debts. Well, Bill told her should couldn't if she had signed papers personally guaranteeing loans that the business took out.

The reality is this lady just couldn't understand the concept of the borrower is servant or slave to the lender. She signed her freedom away when she signed the note for the loan. Now she regrets her decison and wants instant forgiveness. Instead, she must live with her decision and repay the debt. This is similar to when we sin and want God to forgive us instantly. But sometimes God makes us live out the consequences of our sin just like this lady is going to have to by paying back this loan over many years.