Focus on your goal, not your obstacle

Have you ever received a phone call in the middle of the night? If you are like me your first thought is not a good one. I immediately think something must be wrong. I even hate to answer for fear of what I might hear. The news has to be bad.

Or Someone says to you, "There something very important I need to talk to you about." I immediately think, "this can't be good." But often it wasn't at all what I thought it was and most often not near as bad as I had figured it would be.

Why is this? Why are we so negative in our thinking? Well, it's not just you and I that do this. It seems that everyone does this as we can clearly see from several passages in the bible. Must be the way God wired us. It must be because we simply can't see what God knows. He knows already what the call is about. He knows already what's so important on the mind of our friend that needs to talk. When we face difficulties that overwhelm us... we can't see our way out, but God simply speaks and the problem is solved or goes away. So saying all this and understanding that we are weak and He is strong. The only way we can overcome those obstacles that are in the way of our goals would be to depend on God to remove the obstacles in the way of our goals.

Trust in God's provision and power is the answer. I'll give two examples in the bible, one being a lack of trust or understanding of God's power and the inability to see how the goal or objective can be obtained while the other being one of faith and trust that everything will be worked out even though we may not know how.

Doubt... This illustration comes from the book of Mark 8:1-4 The disciples were concerned about the well being of the large crowds that we're following Jesus.

(1) About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them,
(2) I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for days and they have nothing left to eat.
(3) If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. or some of them have come a long distance.
(4) His disciples replied, "How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?

The disciples did what we do. They couldn't see past their own intellect of what was before them. Jesus is saying we need to feed them, but they say, we can't. We don't have food out here... it's not possible. But Jesus did it and he did it with only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. By contrast look at this next passage of scripture...

Mark 16:2-4 These women had their minds set to anoint the body of their crucified Lord.

(2) Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb.
(3) On the way they were asking each other, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"
(4) But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.

Not knowing how they were going to roll that huge stone away from the entrance of the tomb, they went anyway. It could have been very easy to see the impossibility of the task and just stay home and say it's not possible. But they did it, they went! When they arrived the stone was already moved away so they could enter. God took care of it for them. The obstacle was not their focus but rather the objective or goal was. That's how they were able to stay the course and press on even as they wondered among themselves how it was going to be possible.

It's too bad that so many times we go forth, only when we clearly see how it's possible. We need to keep our eye on the goal and less so on the obstacles in our way. We need to see past the obstacle. We need to peak over or look around whatever it is that blocking our view and even then we still may not be able to see or understand how. The good news is... God sees it. He can get you to your goal. There is nothing that stands in the way of God, and when we have God's power with us, that means we have nothing that can not be overcome that prevents us from accomplishing our goals or objectives. Lean not on our own understanding, but instead trust in the Lord.

Witness without saying a word

Today as I was driving to work I heard someone on the radio say something that hit me like a ton a bricks. Being Sunday morning the program I was tuned to was a message about spreading the "Good News" of Jesus Christ to others. Whoever was speaking this morning Quoted a person that said...

"Go ye therefore and spread the Gospel to all the ends of the Earth, and if necessary use words."

Our actions do speak louder than words don't they? How we live for Jesus says a lot about our commitment to our Lord doesn't it? It's important to know how to tell others about Jesus using our speech but to live for Jesus gives credibility to our words. Often we don't have to speak at all for others to see Jesus. Our loved ones and friends pick up real quick that we're different and although they may not fully understand they see it and they are curious about it.

As I said earlier, this message hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. Yes, a reminder that I'm not living my life for Christ as I should. I think it's important to understand that there's not a magic list of do's and don'ts that define me as a Christian. What defines me a s a follower of Christ is my realization that Jesus loves me and He wants to save me. It's my knowledge that without out Christ's forgiveness of my sin I'm a lost sinner destined for the fiery pit of Hell. Sure it's good to tell people about Jesus, but I believe it's better to show them Jesus. One things for sure, it's really confusing if we say one thing but live another. If our life doesn't match up to our beliefs , then how effective are we really? What kind of witness are we?

Look at the skies, they display the craftsmanship of God almighty. Without even a word spoken God is made known just by looking around at all that He created. Do we, through our lives, make Him known?

PSALM 19:1-4
(19) The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftmanship.
(20) Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.
(21) They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.
(22) Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, forgive me for living my life without putting you first. May your Spirit fill me today and overflow to others through my actions and love. My I spread the Gospel to everyone I come in touch with without even saying a word. Thank you Lord Jesus, Amen.

4 man scramble

Yesterday I played in a golf tournament to help raise money for the local Lions club of Smyrna TN. The idea was to have several 4 man teams to go out and play their best ball for each stroke of the game. Usually this is a lot of fun because surely one out of the four people on your team is going to hit a good shot and this allows the others to pick up their ball and shoot from the spot where the good shot landed.

I'm not a very good golfer. On my best day I might shoot an 85, but usually I shoot bogey golf and end up around a 90 most days. I just don't play often and as with any sport you have to play and practice to get better and more consistent. When I signed up to play in this tournament I wasn't too worried however about my score or my inability to really score high, because I knew this was a team effort and although I may not be consistent... occasionally I do make some great shots, so I'm sure I could help the team once in a while.

Well, when I got to the tournament, all the teams showed up except for the other three individuals on my team! Ouch! I waited till the last minute hoping that maybe someone else's team would be short a player then I could play with them. No such luck. Everyone showed except for my team. This left me with a unique opportunity. I was my own team.

It was decided that I would be allowed to hit the ball twice and take the best of the two shots to play. Ok, I'm thinking, hey this might be a lot of fun. I mean how often do you wish you could play that swing over again. If I only could hit that ball again there's no telling how much better my score would be! This was going to be great!

One of the Lions club members felt sorry for me riding around the golf course by myself so he decided he would ride around with me to keep me company and be my driver. I got to know Leon very well and I was thankful I had someone to visit with for the next 18 holes of golf.

After about 3 or 4 holes, I realized one very important fact. I don't like myself as a partner! You'd think my partner would have helped me out a little better than he was, but you know what... He shot about as inconsistent as I did. I'd hit it poorly, then he'd step up and do the same thing. I hit a shot to the left side of the fairway instead of the right side of the fairway, and he'd step up there and hit it the very same direction... no help at all to our game. I'd take a stroke to sink that putt and just barely miss the hole, the next stroke he'd leave it short. Yes, I realized that I made a very poor partner for myself. It was funny really. While other teams were achieving scores under par, my partner and I kept getting bogeys! I finally ended the game close to the score that I normally shoot when I'm playing by myself.

The good news was this... I went into this tournament without any false hopes of winning it big anyway and I also had a lot of fun playing golf and getting to know Leon, my new best friend.

As I think about this experience, I realized how important it is to have other people than just yourself on your team. I've always heard that the team is only as good as it's best performer. The team usually can not rise above the level of the best talent among the group. In my case my team was me. To prove that a team is only as good as it's best player... I did that! It's amazing that my score reflected what I was and how I normally played. Shocker? No, not really, but how often do we forget that we need other people to help make us better? I think sometimes we think we can do things on our own. But the truth is, if we want to improve our game, we need others on our team that are better than we are, or it just doesn't work. So what did I learn from this little golf outing today?

1. If you want to become better, then surround yourself with better players. Maybe I want to be a nicer person, then I should hang out with nice people. Maybe I want to develop a better work ethic, then I should surround myself with ethical people. You get the point, figure out what you want to become, and get people that represent that on your team. When you play with them, you become better. Not only in your own skill level, but in your social group as well.


2. To apply this to my Christian walk... How can I become a better Christian, if I'm playing all alone on my team? How can I become more like Christ, if I don't walk with him daily, if I don't surround myself with other Christians? The sad truth is... I won't change. There's very little I can do by myself. To be more like Christ, He's got to be on my team. I must watch Him and learn from him, and the best part is... even though I still have a long ways to go with my own skill level and abilities, I win because of who's on my team. Once in a while I get in a good shot or two, but at the end of the tournament of life, I'm going to be better, and a winner, because of my association with Christ.

So I ask you this question? Who's on your team? I certainly hope you aren't playing by yourself. It's not very pretty and the outcome is not good. God bless you in your life adventure and don't forget to surround yourself with other great players.

God's way is the HIGH way

If you're like me you find yourself confused and uncertain sometimes of what God's direction and will is for your life. We all try to understand and piece together what God's word is saying to us, how we should apply His word to our lives, and how we should live or what we should do. So many people interpret scripture in so many different ways. Just look at all the commentary on particular verses by bible scholars and you'll see even they can't agree on what scripture is saying to us. But this should not be at all surprising. God's ways are not our ways. His ways and His thoughts are so much higher than ours. God says there are somethings we just won't understand or know.

Have you ever heard anyone say, "It's my way or the highway!" Usually that person means to say that it doesn't matter what you think or want, we're doing it my way. If you don't like it, hit the road! Well God doesn't say it quite like that, but basically the same is true. God's way is the high way. His way is far above and beyond what we can even imagine. So no wonder we argue over the meaning of scripture and see things differently than the next guy. God's thoughts are way beyond us.

Isaiah 55:8-9
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

God's word always produces fruit. God's word always does what God wants it to. God's word always prospers. In spite of our differences and our misunderstandings, God's word cuts through all that and accomplishes what God wants it to accomplish. (Isaiah 55:10-11) God promises that we will live in joy and peace. His word is so powerful that mountains and hills will burst into song, and trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12) Kinda weird isn't it to hear God say that mountains and hills will sing and trees will clap their hands? Might not make a lot of sense to you and I. We might all have different opinions as to what this scripture means, but one things for sure. The world of God is nothing like anything we can imagine. We are so limited to our own understanding and we often limit our understanding to our own personal experiences. But God says... our ways are nothing like His ways, our thoughts are nothing like his thoughts. The good news is, we can take comfort in knowing that God knows our weaknesses. He knows of our very limited ability to comprehend and understand his ways, and yet... His word accomplishes all that He wants it to in us.

Back in the day, the people of Israel were foolish and they acted as if they knew what God was thinking and planning. Today we have to be careful not to do the same thing. God's word tells us that we don't know His ways or thoughts because they are so far above and beyond us. We have to be careful not to fit God into our mold or our limited box of understanding but instead, be willing to fit ourselves into God's plan.

I thank the Lord that God's provision and plan for me is not dependent upon my ability to do anything or understand His ways or thoughts. God's word accomplishes all He wants it to and that's all I need. I will live in joy and peace as will you, simply because we've put our faith and trust in Him. So lets' live life with joy in knowing that we don't have to know what tomorrow holds for us. God knows! We don't have to understand how everything works out, because God already knows. All we have to know is... God.

Do Not Fear

Because you belong to the Lord, you don't have to fear anything. Sure we may be concerned, or even uncertain of our future, but fear should not have it's grip on us because we are the Lord's child.

Isa 43:1-3
Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; and you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you; when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

My children (my sons) have both grown up and are now adults. They both still live at home and even though they hope to move out soon and be on their own, in today's economy, well it's tough. Now as their father there's no way I'm going to let them fall on their own. I'll always be there for them and as long as it takes until they are on their own, I'll help them out and provide a safe haven for them. Even when they leave, if they need help, I be there. They are my children and I will always be there for them.

Isaiah 43:1-3 helps us to see that the Lord is our Savior and Protector. No matter what we go through, He's always there with us. We won't be swept away by the rough waters. We won't be carried down the stream of the raging rivers we face. Even fire won't be able to burn us. Why? Because we belong to the Lord, our God, our Savior. We've been redeemed and He knows us by name, we are His.

Just like I will always watch out for my children, imagine how much more our Lord watches out for us. So the next time you face difficulties in life... remember who you belong to. Remember that Jesus gave his life for you and God would not give His life to save you only to let you slip away and perish. Don't fear! You are the Lord's Child! You are protected. Go in faith and live life without fear of tomorrow. Even though you never know what tomorrow brings, one thing you do know is that you are God's child and He will be with you always, leading, guiding and protecting you. What love He has for us that we can live without fear of tomorrow, what love He has for us that we don't have to fear what happens after death. What love He has for us!

Everything changes... but God, Hebrews 13:8

The truth be known, everything changes but God. God is always the same. He's never changing. We can trust in Him and his faithfulness. We can believe in His promises in scripture. He's trustworthy, all knowing and Holy. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So in this constantly changing world we live in, we can rest assured that God is unchanging. He's our anchor in the storm, our rock on which we build our lives. Although the world changes moment by moment, God doesn't and that's comforting.

I think the danger many churches fall into is assuming that since God doesn't change, we as a church shouldn't change either. Sometimes it seems that to change the way we do church would be, well, sinful in some way. Is our church here for (the body of Christ, Christians?) or for the lost (unchurched, living in sin without Jesus as their Savior?) You answer the question. If we as a church are here to reach the lost, then should we not structure ourselves to be able to actually reach the lost. The ways of the past won't work today. Some of yesterdays traditions might still work today, while others will not. Differences in generations make these changes a challenge. Most people resit change and if we resit changing when change is happening all around us, we run the risk of living in the past where no one is anymore. I know the older I get the more of a challenge it is for me to accept change, but I know it's necessary and vital that I always be prepared for change and even strive to see ahead of it if at all possible. Think about the differences in society today verses just a few years ago.

Families are not just husband and wife and children anymore, they're broken up! Divorce is common place and single parent homes are very common. Today we might stop and pick up something to eat on the way home from work rather than cook supper at home. We as a society have become very tolerant of diverse backgrounds, sexuality, cultures, and even religion. Years past only one person worked to bring in the household income where as now, everyone in the household works and the hours are not Monday through Friday with weekends off and businesses closed on Sundays so everyone can go to church or have family gatherings. Instead we're working evenings and weekends. With technology today we live inside more than outside as in the past. People are displaced and living all over the US and the world. Living in the same town your whole life is a rarity anymore. Loyalty to one Company or vocation is a thing of the past. Everything is fast paced these days compared to the slow and steady pace of yesterday. Communication is instant through the media and Internet. I could go on and on. Change, whether we like it or not or whether we agree with it or not has happened and I think it's safe to say, will always happen.

Why would we not change things as we see things change? Probably because we like things the ways they are or even better said... the way they were. Problem is... those days are gone and the reality is this... how effective are we today with yesterdays programs? Is the church growing by people giving their lives to Christ? Are people being baptized? Are we meeting the needs of not only church members, but of the community as well? Are we a light in a dark world? Do we have a mission statement that aligns with God's word and relevant for today's society in our community? If not, how long do we expect to carry on? If we live in the past, eventually we die and so do all our old programs and procedures. There's nothing wrong with traditions that work and are effective for today's issues, but hanging onto them because they worked in the past is not a good reason to keep it. If it's not working today, it needs to be challenged, and re-evaluated.

Think about these things...

Too many programs that the church can't support... we try to do it all rather than focus on the programs that we have enough volunteers for and supports our goals and mission statement as a church.

Visitation... it doesn't work like it did then. Going door to door and visiting is not as effective as it used to be. People don't want you coming around to their homes. Many will not even let you in and in today's society, who blames them. Maybe we need to think about this differently.

What do we offer for the divorced person, the recovering addict, the single parent, the unemployed, the depressed, children or youth... etc. These are the people that need the body of Christ in their lives.

Do we hang onto the King James version for our benefit, when we know that many folks today don't understand it? We say we don't want to destroy the true meaning of scripture by changing the translation, but we all know that King James was not the original translation of scripture back in Jesus day. So even our Kings James version is a translation of scripture and the reason it was translated to King James was so that more people might be able to understand what they were reading. Yet we won't accept a new translation of scripture now, so that people today can understand what they're reading? Where's our focus?

What about dress... do we dress up in suits and ties for church when our neighbors or those in our community don't even own a suit? Are we like the Amish who would rather make people conform to us rather than us conform to them so we can be accessible to say to them... Hey do you know Jesus? Or are we trying to protect our way of life, rather than give others new life in Christ? The latter is scary, because when we we bring in people that are different than us into our church, guess what, the church changes and are we ready for that?

Worship agenda and style, music style or theme, times of worship or discipleship training or teaching methods, evening worship effectiveness, all these things and many more are subject to change. Who says we need to have worship from 11-12 noon. Maybe if worship was at 10am instead of 11am we could get people home to watch the ball game they want to see on TV at noon? You see we don't thing about what people are doing or thinking, we just automatically think they should come to church when we have traditionally had church services. Maybe we should ask this question. What time is best for our targeted audience, those we are trying to reach? Why are we still having church in the evenings when we only have 20 people come and they are already Christians? maybe we could meet another need in the community during this time. Is it a sin to not have evening services and just spend time with our families instead? Maybe we need to ask why don't people come on Sunday evenings like they used to? Are we still doing an old program rather than identifying why we should change, what we should change, or how we should change?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that when it comes to the church, we should never compromise the word of God. We must build on Christ our solid unchanging rock, while at the same time changing constantly to meet the demands of today's society if you really want to reach the lost. Thinking this way will not only help us to look at new ways and new structure, but also understand that the things we do today won't be the right things in even four or five years from today. We must be ready to change again as society changes. We can not miss this. We need to take God's unchanging word into an ever changing society. We can still reach the lost, but we need to go where they are if we really want to tell them about Jesus.

Would it not be a shame if our unwillingness to change, prevented people from coming into a new relationship with our Lord and Savior. How can we answer to Jesus for that? "Well Jesus... I knew you would expect me to hold fast to your word and protect the church at all costs so we were very careful not to change anything this way upon your return your church would be just as you left it. I think Jesus might say... you wicked lazy servant, you knew that I would come back looking for my church to be effective and growing. You buried what I gave you under a rock yet look at these other churches. They took what I gave them and reached out and multiplied reaching those that needed help and bringing them into my family. I'll take what I've given you and give it to the churches that are effective.

Let's be the church of today with an eye on being the church of tomorrow. We can not be the church of yesterday... it's gone and over.

To mow, or not to mow?

I wrote this about 2 months ago when we had lots of rain... it's quite different now! When I wrote this devotion, it spoke to me as most of my devotions do and I've been going faithfully to church every Sunday since then. Kind of sad when I have to write myself a devotion to get me motivated isn't it? Anyway...maybe these words are just the words to motivate you as well.

To Mow, or not to Mow


The grass gets higher and higher with each passing day. Everyday that passes I think to myself, "I need to mow this evening after work, or it's really going to be a tough job." Then I get home and begin to relax and visit and the next thing I know, it's too late in the day to begin mowing because it will get dark halfway through. I'm not really that disappointed though, almost relieved in a way that I didn't get to it. So I convince myself I'll get to it tomorrow!

The next day it rains, so I can't mow anyway... again relived really because I didn't really want to mow anyway. Again rain the next day... I'm beginning to realize that all those other days that I should have mowed are catching up with me, I now regret not mowing when I had the chance... I should have never procrastinated. I make a commitment to myself that tomorrow I will mow after work, I've checked the weather forecast and it's not going to rain... I even tell my wife my plans (maybe this will help hold me accountable you know). I don't get off work on time and work late, when I get home it's time to eat. My son Ryan shows up with his girlfriend and we all begin visiting... You guessed it! Too late! Can't mow now, it's getting dark. I WILL MOW TOMORROW!


It's Sunday morning and I'm sleeping in rather than going to church. I wanted to go and even told myself I was going to go, but then I slept in instead. Last week the same thing. It's kind of like my lawn. It's needs attention but I'm not doing anything about it. It's easy to find excuses isn't it?


Luke 14:16-20
(16) Jesus replied with this story: "A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.
(17) When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guest, "Come, the banquet is ready."
(18) But they all began making excuses. One said, "I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me."
(19) Another said, "I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me."
(20) Another said, "I now have a wife so I can't come."


As in the case with this story found in Luke 14:15-24 our excuses can really hurt us. This parable of the great feast shows us how our excuses can keep us from joining in the feast that Jesus has prepared for us. Eternal life is ours if we'll simply accept the invitation and go. But too often we give excuses as to why we can't go.


If you don't know Christ... it's not to late! The invitation still stands today. All you have to do is say yes... I'll come. If you do know Christ as your Lord, then your place at the table is secure, the feast awaits you. However... if you make excuses like I do, then you'll miss out on the blessings that God had in store for you. What did I miss by not going to church today? Did God have a word for me today from the Pastor? Who may God have had me interact with today? Could I have helped someone, could they have helped me? I'll never know because I made an excuse not to go.


Dear Lord Jesus, forgive me when I fail you, forgive my disobedience. May we all realize and know that time is short and may we make the most of every opportunity and not procrastinate. Amen.