So for those of you who don’t know, tomorrow is Thanksgiving! As a non-American Thanksgiving was never part of my life. This will be the fifth time I will celebrate Thanksgiving. So today I wanted to blog a list of 10 things I’m thankful for! So here goes:
1. That I’m a man! - Would hate to be a woman. Couldn’t imagine putting make up on, wearing dresses, having to walk in high heels, giving birth, wearing a bra! No thank you!
2. That Manchester United rules! - Yes they are the best ‘football’ team in the world and I support them!
3. That I live in 2009! - I would have hated living in another century. Imagine no phone, computer, internet, TV, deodorant, hair wax or ‘The Office’.
4. That I have a rich heritage! – I come from a long line of preachers, pastors and men and women of God. That is something no-one can ever take away from me.
5. My Mom and Dad! – The old proverb is true, direct your children in the way they should go and they will not turn from it when they get older. This has been true for my parents. I’m thankful for their guidance, direction, friendship and that they are mentors to me.
6. My extended family! - My siblings, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews. I am blessed that I do not only know these people. but that I’m related to them.
7. The call of God! - I am thankful that God chose me and called me to do things that I could not even imagine. I don’t deserve the call God has put on my life, but for some reason he gave it to me.
8. That I have a dream! - No I’m not Martin Luther King, but I do have a dream. I realize I have purpose in this life and that purpose will never be fulfilled until I pursue the God-given dream inside of me! I’m ready to see a dream become a reality.
And I saved the best two for last!
9. My beautiful, hot, loving wife! – Yes, I did it. In the words of ‘Elf’, I did it! The worlds best wife. Congratulations. With her I’d be nothing! She is more than I could ever dream! I’ll be honest words can’t describe how I feel for her and how thankful I am for her. I love you Rocky!
10. The Lover of my Soul! – The one whose name is above all names, Jesus Christ! Because of the unconditional love of this man I am able to have life and life to the full. I am so thankful that a sinner like me has now been adopted into the very family of God! What a savior!
When I read the bible I sometimes find it incredible that throughout the gospel accounts (the first four books of the New Testament) there were so many actions that Jesus did that either were prophesied in the Old testament or reminded people of a saying or phrase from the Old Testament.
One of these phrases is found in John 2:17. Jesus had just been on what I can only describe as a holy rampage! He had walked into the temple only find people buying and selling different things. This got Jesus mad because they had derailed from the purpose of why the temple was built (as a home for God to dwell). Instead of the temple being a ‘holy’ place it had become a place of corruption and deceit!
After Jesus went on his holy rampage which included whipping the animals out of the place, turning over tables and emptying the cash registers onto the floor his disciples were reminded on a verse found in Psalm 69:9. This verse says, ‘Zeal for my house will consume me’.
Jesus was a man whose life and thoughts were consumed with the house of God, or the place of God. He realized the need for a place where God could dwell. I don’t think he was so mad about the physical temple, but about the hearts of the individuals buying and selling int he temple.
This zeal drove Jesus to do something beyond human comprehension, a sinless life and a sacrificial death. The great news for us is that very same zeal that was in Jesus desires to find a place in our hearts and minds. If we just embrace it and use it for the good of God then we can impact the world in a way that also will be beyond human comprehension.
So I ask you today, what is the thing that is consuming your thoughts? If it is the house of God or the place where God dwells you have in you the ability to change your world and the world around you for good!
I love the book of Psalms. It is one of the those books that I find myself wanting to read more and more each day. I’ll be honest some of the books in the bible are hard to digest one chapter at a time but the Psalms are refreshing for me.
The Psalms were basically songs that people in ancient Israel wrote to God. These were sung and played as people elected to use music to bring adoration and praise unto God. One of my all time favorite is Psalm 119. This is a beast of a Psalm. It has 176 verses or lines in it. it takes my about 15 minutes to read it. I couldn’t imagine trying to sing it. It is a good job they didn’t have pentecostal churches back then because they would have sung it once, repeated the chorus, then sang the verses through again, back to the chorus and then adding a bridge before singing the chorus another five times. They would have been their all day, and all night for that fact!
The reason I like Psalm 119 so much is because the guy who wrote it (it is unclear on who the exact author was) got what it means to follow God. So often in our faith we can feel restricted by the rules, regulations and commandments of God. People even refuse to live a life of faith because they think they have to give up all the pleasurable things in their lives.
However, in Psalm 119 we see a man expressing how he as fallen in love with God and the rules, regulations and the commandments of God. He says time and again through this huge Psalm that he loves the commandments of God. He writes how a man who follows the law of God is so blessed and he even goes on to say multiply times, ‘revive me according to your commandments’, basically saying, breath new life in me, but this time let my life be set on the foundation of your commandments.
The writer of Psalm 119 had a different perspective on the rules and laws of God. He realized it wasn’t there to restrict him, but they are put in place to protect him, preserve him and also to give him the freedom to live a life that is full of pleasure but not consequence.
So often we can view God as the Grinch! Instead of doing that, view God and his rules as a guideline and boundaries that will lead us into a life that is so incredible and awesome you’ll realize his law was for our long-term good and pleasure!
I am someone who naturally works, leads and lives through my strengthens. By this I mean I know what I am strong at and I spend most of my energy concentrating on what I think I am good at. The things that I am not very good at or I believe I am weak in I either leave to someone else, or find someone who is strong in the area I am weak at to help me try to keep a standard of excellence and quality.
However, the problem with knowing your strengthens and leading out of your strengthens is that you want to shy away from your weaknesses and not address them. I have found the more I lead others the more my weaknesses are highlighted. The more I see how inadequate I am in a situation the more I want to bury my head in the sand and hope that it goes away.
I am discovering everyday that it is important to lead out of your strengthens but this does not mean you ignore your weaknesses. We all have weaknesses, but the people who are truly successful in life are the people who are willing to tackle situations and problems head on whether they are a weakness or a strength.
I have also discovered that some of my best moments and wins come as a result of my weaknesses. Let me explain. If you already don’t know, I am a Christian! Someone who follows and has devoted his life to following Jesus Christ. When I am weak it is at this time that I look to God, ask him for help and then let him work in my life so that I can handle problems that I feel I’m weak at solving. It is amazing, but very often the result is better than if I had been strong in that area and tried to do it myself.
The Apostle Paul had a similar situation. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 he said that he in fact delights in his weaknesses, because when he is weak that is when he is strong. He is strong because he has put his faith in God.
We all have weaknesses. Do not bury your head in the sand, do not worry when there are problems you can not solve. Look to God and don’t let your weaknesses hold you back, because it is at that moment you have the ability to become strong!
It’s not often I get on my soap box, but today is one of those days! I try to be as positive as possible on this blog, but there are just some things and some people who get me a little irritated! So before you read any further, if this offends you, it’s not meant to, but please see my heart in this!
Have you ever had a leak that you just can’t fix? I remember a few years back we had a gas leak in our little ‘ghetto car’. I could see how the gas was leaking out of the tank onto the road. So I got some special ‘gas leak tape’ and tried to stop the leak with the tape. The only problem was that the leak would stop for about 10 minutes then appear somewhere else. After several hours of taping the bottom of the car I realized it was time to invest in a new gas tank. Whatever way I tried to stop the leak it would just resurface somewhere else. This was because I failed to get to the source of the leak.
I feel Christians can be like this at times. One thing I have seen over the last couple of years is the rise of a problem with pornography amongst Christians. I’m not sure if I believe all the statistics, but if they are true then the average Christian man in America has some serious problems!
T0 combat the growing problem of TV and Internet porn many organizations and companies are coming out with TV and Web filters. These filters are installed on your computer and when you visit a questionable site up to five people who you have designated, get an email to say you visited that site. Seems like a good idea? Well I thought so as well until I remembered my gas leak story. We are urging our men (and women) to filter everything, from our Computer, to our TV to our phones but we are substituting dealing with the source for these ‘tape’ filters.
I’m not against web filters, in fact I think they are a good idea. They created accountability and make someone think twice about going to a certain site. However, I’ve come to the conclusion, if you need a filter on your computer then you have a problem that a filter can’t solve! Just like the leak, eventually your problem will find another way to leak out!
I think the same with marriages. Many marriages have lost the passion and intimacy that made it special. So what is the answer? Date night! If you’ve lost your passion in your marriage, a date night is just a band-aid and won’t solve the problem.
I think we like to find quick fixes to our problems. If you have a problem with pornography put a filter on your computer. If you have a problem with your marriage, schedule a date night! Short term fixes don’t solves long-term problems.
If you are struggling with pornography, you need to seek help, help that will enable you to find the source of the problem. If you are struggling with your marriage, you need to seek help, help that will enable you to find the source of the problem.
So I got a new gas tank and never had the problem again. I found out the leak was in an area I would have never been able to fix on my own. I had to seek professional help!
The following is a guest blog by my friend Chuck Strub. He can articulate thoughts way better than I can, so I wanted to highlight something he wrote and hopeful we’ll see more of him in the future!
“Fall is my favorite season for three reasons, first; the hot and humid days of summer have past and cooler, drier weather has moved into the area before the cold winter has settled in. Another reason fall is my favorite season is I love the musky smell of the newly fallen leaves. The third reason fall is the best season, are all of the colors. The leaves turn from green to wonderful shades of yellows, oranges, reds, and browns.
What is not commonly known is why the leaves change colors. Do you know why? I did not know until last fall, I was listening to the radio when the D.J.’s posed this question to their audience. The calls came in and most of them said what I had always thought, “the leaves are dying.” I thought to myself, “That is what I have always thought. What else could it be?” A few callers later a science teacher phoned in and said, “That is not why the leaves were changing colors.” I was shocked here I am 32 years of age and I have been totally wrong about this. He went on the say that leaves have other pigments in them that are present throughout the year but you cannot see them because the chlorophyll masks them. But as the sunlight lessens in the fall the chlorophyll fades away and reveals the beautiful fall colors.
Reflecting on this the last few days I began to think; as God causes the leaves to reveal their hidden colors He also works in us to bring out all of the beautiful colors He has put in us. Though at times we may have things in our lives that mask these colors; Philippians 1:6 still applies, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God is working in us and will continue to work out the plan He has for us. Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Just as the leaves cannot change on their own but are dependent on God, I am reminded that I cannot change on my own but I am dependent on God for that change. “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
How is God working His plan in your life to reveal what He has put in you?
Rely on God and trust in Him, for in doing so you will rise up on eagle’s wings and walk on a straight path. Isaiah 40:31 Proverbs 3:5-6′
By Chuck Strub
There are some things I can see clearly and other things I can’t see at all.
Two of my friends have just bought a house which they got for dirt cheap, but they are going to have to do a lot of work to it to make it into a home. Last night I visited their new house for the first time and couldn’t help but laugh when I walked inside. They had told me it needed a little work, but I did not imagine that much work!
As I walked around their new investment I had a hard time envisioning what it would look like after the work had been finished. I tried to imagine, but couldn’t. You see I was so overwhelmed with what the current situation was that it had blurred my vision. Now if my wife had walked in there I know for a fact she would have been able to envision a beautiful, fully furnished home, not me!
My two friends could see the finished article. They didn’t worry about the current state of the house and knew exactly how to work so that house would become a home.
This reminds me of God. He doesn’t see us in our current situation, but he envisions us as the finished article once he has done his work. I am amazed that the God of this universe would take a wreck like me and choose to invest his life in mine so that I can become a home for him to live. Pretty amazing!
So my friends are going to turn this wreck of a house into a beautiful home. I can’t see it, but I know them and know they have what it takes!
I’m glad God has what it takes to turn our lives from wrecks into beautiful homes! Ephesians 2:1-9
Today is part four of a five-part post regarding the impact a Leadership Development Bootcamp had on my life last week.
We have already discovered how God uses a variety of people, how we need a coach and some mentors and also how a vision needs to be God sized and given time to grow.
Today I want to focus on the people around you, so here’s part 4:
4. You Can’t Go it Alone
We all know there is no such person as Superman! Sometimes I wish I was Superman and sometimes I act like I think I’m Superman. You see I have a little problem that many Pastors and Leaders have. I think I can handle everything myself and do everything myself. The problem I have found is that if I try to do everything myself then I end up doing nothing!
Yesterday we talked about having God Sized visions. Well if your vision is God Sized then you are not equipped to pursue it by yourself.
Last week we did a few different personality tests. One particular test was called the DISC test. I won’t go into the details of the test but each letter stands for a type of personality and each personality is needed in a team and organization. I discovered last week I am a high ‘I’ and a pretty high ‘D’. I also have some ‘C’ in me but I have no ‘S’ what so ever. In layman’s terms, I have energy, direction, I like the details somewhat and I am a little impulsive, but without ‘S’ I am a little shallow and I don’t have the time for people as what I should.
I discovered more than anytime in my life last week that for me to pursue the God Sized vision I have that I need a lot of ‘S’ people, many ‘C’ people and a few ‘D’ people to come alongside me and partner with me on the way. Basically saying, I can’t do it alone!
You maybe pursuing this life all by yourself. If you do that you probably will not get very far. You need the help and partnership of others along the way. Don’t be a ‘Lone Ranger’! Western movies are not fashionable anymore and John Wayne characters will never get anywhere in the 21st century.
Who do you need to help you pursue your God Sized vision? Find them, invest in them and empower them! You may just be surprised one day to find that dream become a reality.
