Carry Out

Had breakfast with a friend the other day that told me about a sight that I think pretty much sums up the state of the State in which we live right now.

He said he saw this nice, newer, Cadillac SUV driving down the road with a Jimmy John's delivery sign attached to the roof.

Now, I love me some Jimmy John's -- #1 ez on the mayo -- could eat those all day long. And there is NO SHAME in being a fast food delivery driver. But this is a combination of sign and vehicle that isn't a normal sight.

Maybe it was a delivery guy that just really works hard & finally got the car of his dreams -- you go crazy delivery guy!!! But more likely it was a guy like so many of us that somehow in the last year or so found himself without a job, or without the income he had previously been living off of.

abc news just wrote an article about the decline of our Sate that is pretty startling. You can read it HERE

Maybe one of the reasons I'm most excited about this E.A.C.H movement is that there is a chance for the only thing that will really create change to actually happen.

What's that thing?

That the people of God would really begin getting serious about bringing the good news & good deeds of Jesus to the community around us. Even if the economy turns around, even if Metro Detroit becomes one of the largest Metropolis areas in the counrty, even if the state began to grow faster than any other state, even if everyone under 30 wasn't flocking to another place to live & work in our country, even if ___________ (feel free to insert your own).

Even if all this and more BUT we still were a people, a city, a state no closer to the living God who made us then do we really win, do we really gain anything other than hay and stubble that will one day burn off?

I pray that what marks a new day for our state is the state of our experience with the living & loving God whose name is Jesus. He is more concerned with our hearts & our souls than with our economy so may HE use this economy to get hold of the other.

Pieces

My lack of presence here at me blog (no that is not a typo, I'm just feeling very Irish this morning) is the result of a life that has just been crazy, nuts lately.

This morning there is a verse giving me comfort that may give you comfort too, especially if you're life feels as nuts as mine does right now. Actually it's not really a feeling of being nuts as much as being in pieces. Lately it just seems easier to be discouraged than hopeful, tired than energized, worried than certain.

If you can relate at all then maybe God will comfort you too with His words.

Luke 20:18
"everyone who falls on that stone [Jesus] will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

There it is, "PIECES", the work of God is to break us to pieces. Can't you feel the comfort flowing now (yes, sarcasm is my native language).

Why in the world would God break us!! I mean I guess we can be thankful, on one level I could say, "well, hey, I guess being broken is better than being crushed!!" but the question still remains, WHY THE HECK ARE YOU BREAKING ME JESUS!!!!!!!

I can't answer that any better than the apostle Paul already has...

2 Corinthians 4:8-18

^"8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³ It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. ¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Something crushed is just gone, destroyed, done, that's' all folks!

But something broken can be repaired or even BETTER, it can be completely rebuilt into something new! Paul reminds us like Jesus that the work of God is not to crush us, and though breaking is painful -- IT HAS PURPOSE, eternal purpose that gives life to us and glory to our beautiful savior. But this also means that the work of breaking is not punishment it's the work of sanctification!

How horrible of a life this would be if God just left us alone and refused to sanctify what He has redeemed.

How great it is that Jesus loves us enough to break us an rebuild us. May we trust His work & be patience with His process in our lives.

He Taught Me To Love Jesus

Judges 2:10

"After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel"

For several weeks now my dad has been in the ICU at a downtown hospital. What started as a cold grew to pneumonia then an infection then began to spread to his vital organs and even shut down his kidneys.

We thought we were going to loose him.

Just a few days ago my dad began to improve. While he still has a LONG way to go he is out of the ICU and there are good sign of a full recovery to come.

The last three weeks have been such a whirlwind of activity and commotion that I don't think the emotion of it all caught up to me until this past Saturday night.

When he first woke up his voice was very raspy and hard to understand but in his half awake state he only needed to be awake for a few minutes before he began requesting a Dr. pepper, milk duds and something called a blimpy burger!

It wasn't long before he asked how long he had been asleep and it was emotional for him and the rest of us when he found out he had been unconscious for two weeks. Then he began to get some of his memory back, slowly. As thoughts returned he started telling us how he was so scared when they put him on the ventilator. He said he was scared because he thought he might die.

My dad is not usually one for a lot of emotion or details of what's going on in his head but for the next few minutes he poured them out to us.

This last Saturday night, almost 24 hours after that hospital room conversation I kept replaying one particular thing over and over again in my head. My dad told us how he was angry at himself that he was scared to die, when my mom tried to console him with "but you didn't, you're here now", he explained more.

He said in that moment he had to ask himself, "ok, do I REALLY trust Jesus and trust that I matter to him no matter what happens", he went on to say that he finally answered the question "yes, yes I trust the Lord Jesus Christ with my life". It was at that point that he said he relaxed and that was the last thing he remembered until waking up the other night.

I've always known that my dad loved the Lord but until the other night I never understood that it is BECAUSE he so deeply loves the that I do too.

Depending on your relationship with your parents growing up, it may be difficult to figure out what to put in the, "I am who I am because my parents______________" blank.

After the other night I know what to put there now. I am who I am because my dad has always so deeply and authentically loved the Lord Jesus Christ!

The only reason I am not as ignorant to the love & existence of God as the generation of children in Judges, a generation that needed the judges to come and painfully remind them, is because of my dad & the ways his love for Jesus was modeled to me & passed on to me.

If we fail to love Jesus in front of our children then we fail as parents. No matter what things you will do wrong as a parent, if you teach your kids to love Jesus by how you love Him, so will they. If you give them EVERYTHING else but not this, you've given them NOTHING.

Thanks for all your prayers & concern. Please keep praying, he has a long way to go still.

And, thank you dad for loving Jesus, I do because you did.

Please Pray

Late last night my dad was admitted to the hospital with sever pneumonia, I would appreciate your prayers for his health.

This Sunday at Paradox we will continue our series "f-bomb". My dad was going to be coming in to share on stage with me how we took steps years ago to mend our relationship through forgiveness.

I'm praying his health return quickly & fully and that you'll still be able to meet him on Sunday.

Thanks for your prayers.

What's Your Faith In

In the opening pages of the book of Luke you can read the bullet points details of a story that has so much more going on behind the scenes.

Zachariah, who is a priest is married to Elizabeth who is the cousin of Marry, the mother of Jesus.
The bullet points that we see in the first chapter are...

• Zechariah is a priest
• He is a priest in a group of priests that have existed for many years and find their roots in the grandson of Solomon
  
• He and his wife lived lives that pleased God
  
• They have no children
  
• They wanted to have children and they have been praying for a child for a long time
• They are old now and well passed the years of having a child
  
• Zechariah never gave up on God; he keeps serving, he keeps praying, and he keeps living upright.

There is a line of thinking in the church that says when we ask God for something then, "have faith". You know, ask and then just believe that eventually it will happen.

Have faith that ...

• the relationship will turn around
  
• you will get pregnant
• the money will come back
  
• she will get healed
  
• you won't loose the house
  
• when he gets out of jail he'll finally get cleaned up
  
• you get the idea...

But here's the thing, I don't think Zechariah had faith that his wife would one day get pregnant. Or let me say it this way, I don't think that's what his faith was in.

This guys has been doing everything right, he has the right heritage, he is serving as a priest & he is good priest & a good man. Perfect, no, but upright in the eyes of God.

He's the kind of guy that seems like the perfect candidate for God to bless, but God remains silent to Zachariah's prayers, year after year after year -- silent.

Now, he & his wife are old & the dream is all but dead. Then in the final chapter, God speaks & he says yes & He gives Zechariah & Elizabeth a son, John; John the baptist that is who if you haven't heard, was a pretty big deal!

So, is that the point, just hold out and God will eventually say yes?

NO

See, if that was the point then I'm pretty certain that long ago, Zechariah would have given up. I mean the data is in; YEARS of unanswered prayers, two bodies that are now old & passed their ability to have a child. Even if Zechariah was holding out to the last possible minute for God to obviously come through, well, that minute has long passed. And yet, Zechariah is found here still serving the God who seems to have ignored Him and His wife all these years.

I'm going to suggest that Zachariah's FAITH wasn't in God doing what He had been asking for, but his faith was simply & solely in the PERSON OF GOD no matter what He did or didn't do.

When we were kids we had a point where we realized that our parents giving us stuff or not giving us stuff wasn't the full measure of their love & goodness. My son may have questioned that for a minute this Christmas when he didn't open a wii. When we mature in our development to realize that their love for us can not be based on what they do or do not give us then we start to understand that gifts are the product of love not the proof of it.

But what if my son only ever loved me for what I gave him and for the times I said "yes" to him. May i suggest that he would never really love ME but instead would just see me as someone to use.

Zachariah's faith was in the person of God so much that even when God said "no" or when God seemed silent or when his good life went unrewarded, he still loved and pursued God, and HE TRUSTED HIM even when the circumstances would tell him not to!!

I pray that as a church, we will all respond to God's invitation to go deeper in Him this next year. For many of us I am certain that going deeper in Jesus will mean that we learn to place our trust purely & solely in Him and not in the deals we make with God...

• I'll trust you if...
• I'll go to church if...
• I'll live upright if...

When our faith is in His "yes" or His "no" or His gifts then we completely miss the point, frankly, we completely miss Him. Remember, the best God has to offer you is likely better than even the best you can think to ask of Him. The best is us getting more OF HIM not getting more FROM HIM.

Where is your faith and what is it in?

Top 10 To Stay In 2010

As the new year kicks off I though I'd give you my list of the 10 things I wish would stay in 2010 and not make their way to the new year.

Unfortunately, I don't rule the world so I'm not sure I'll get a vote on these, but if i had it my way, these things would just disappear like Captain Kirk getting beamed up to the Enterprise.

1o. The McRib - I know that some of you will hate me for suggesting this one but you know its' not real meat, right?

9. Political commercials and ads - we are all SICK of them!

8. Dudes wearing skinny jeans - what the heck!

7. People living outside of Michigan ripping on the Metro Detroit area -- umm I know we got our issues, but this is my HOME!!! If you don't stop accusing us of being so violent then we're going to loosen the lug nuts on your car! And kwame wasn't MY mayor, I actually like the changing weather, we finally have a new Governor, and we still make cars for all of you that don't live here!

6. Ryan Seacrest - need I say more...

5. Poor customer service - seems like a virus that's growing more each year, whatever happened to, "the customer is always right". So, get off your cell phone, drop the attitude and act like those of us in the other side of the register matter.

4. TMI (too much information) on facebook -- we don't care what you ate last night or who you don't like anymore. We don't want to see your public arguments, or your pictures that show off way too much skin (excepts for fb browsing pervs, but their opinion doesn't count, because they're pervs)

3. Butt crack showing jeans - for girls or guys, we are all tired of seeing that side of you, trust me.

2. Crippling hurt - we all have some, a hurt that could kill our hearts, our hopes, our dreams & just generally suck the life out of us. The new year has new hope not because it's a new year but because God RULES the days we live in, and the bible tells us that His mercies are new every morning. May we all live with new hope & new energy that is a product of us growing in Christ this year deeper than last.

1. Hate & fear - hey I said it's MY list so i can dream can't I. I know theses won't be left behind in 2010 but they will be left behind when Jesus returns. This is why I'm both hopeful & thankful for the day of His return when peace & love will reign for ever as the ONLY way to live.

But & Butt

I've been trying to think this last week of what one word do i want to define my life, family & ministry this next year, I think I have my word.

However, as I've been thinking about this word's implications I've e had another word keep creeping into my mind, the creeping word is the word "BUT".

Being a parent I have come to HATE this word because it seems to accompany nearly every request i make of my kids...

• Get ur coat on it's time for school -- BUT I want to say goodbye to the dog
  
• Finish your diner -- BUT I don't want to
• Time for bed -- BUT I want to stay up
  

When my kids use the word but it's a word of both disrespect AND disbelief. The disrespect is obvious but the disbelief is that in that one little word what they are saying is,

• I don't believe you know best
  
• I don't believe you love me enough to know what's better for me than i do
• I don't believe there are consequences to ignoring you
• I don't believe there is life in obeying you

The word but isn't just disrespect, it's a conscious choice to DISBELIEVE.

As my one word for the year 2011 sets into my mind & my prayers I feel the but trying to push it out of the way. I have strong feelings about what God wants to do in and through me & my family and my ministry this next year & so does the but. And so it whispers to me...

• But you're not smart enough for that
  
• But you need more money for that
  
• But you have to much junk in your life still
  
• But it hasn't happened yet, so why this year
• but But BUt BUT -- kinds like that, each time it gets bigger & louder.

And you know what the but ultimately leads you to do -- NOTHING! It pushes you, in your doubts, away from God and His promises & your hopes & dreams in Him & has you sitting on your BUTT doing nothing!

The thing is, it's not just disrespectful to God when we say BUT, it also shows our disbelief in Him and His power too. It's disbelief in His plans, His protection, His prosperous nature, His wisdom, His sovereignty, His love, His everything!

What's your word for 2011 that sums up what you want to see God do in your life, family, relationships, & ministry? And what are the buts that are trying to push you to your butt.

Believe this year that God wants to do amazing things in you, through you, to you and around you. Believe this year that He knows, and that He knows BEST.

Begin to ask the Lord Jesus to define this year for you in a sentence or in a word & whatever He says to you

BELIEVE it and DO it!!!