Quick Question: What do the people you lead (and you do lead somebody) do when trouble shows up?
Quick Answer: They do what you lead them to do.
More Thoughtful Question: Do the people you lead (and you do lead somebody) run for the hills or cower in fear at the first sign of trouble, or do they courageously rise up to the challenge?
More Thoughtful Answer: They do what you lead them to do. Not necessarily what tell them to do or manipulate them to do. What you lead them to do.
That reminds me of a story. True story. About a guy named Eli. Now Eli was a soldier, and being a soldier, he had a Commander-in-Chief. And the reason Eli’s Commander-in-Chief was the Commander-in-Chief was because he was the biggest dude in all the land.
You know what the problem is with making the biggest dude in all the land the Commander-in-Chief? Sooner or later he’s gonna run into a bigger dude. And that’s what happened. Eli’s boss went quaking in his boots to the rear of the line because he was staring down the barrel of an overwhelming challenge.
So you know what Eli did? He quaked in his boots too. I’m talking, Give up now. Better fled than dead.
One day later – one day! – that’s Eli with his shield up, his sword drawn, charging headlong into the enemy’s camp and taking no prisoners. What made the difference? [click to continue…]
Wherever you are and whoever your companions this Christmas, wherever your sojourns take you in the coming year, I pray that as you follow hard after Christ, that all your ways be merry and bright…
I pray that you rediscover the glorious freedom that comes in the way of surrender, and that in yielding yourself to Him, you are offering the most significant Christmas gift ever.
I pray that as you embrace the way of worship, you discover new forms, new joys, new expressions and new offerings of honor, reverence and delight in Him as the Dearest of affections. [click to continue…]
Hey. Glad you’re here for the tour. I have something I want to show you. Well, actually, lots of things I want to show you. And it’s a little weird because you know more about this stuff than I do. You see, this building – and all the rooms in it – is actually your life.
That explains why the upper floors are still under construction.
It also explains why many of the lower floors are being renovated.
Yes, it explains why some of the floor and rooms are dark, dark, dark – and why many others are very bright and festive.
Now before we begin the walk-through, I have some things for you to keep with you at all times. First up – your hard hat. Hey, it’s a construction zone. Hard hats are required. Sure, you can call it the “helmet of salvation” if you want. I don’t care what you call it – just wear it.
Safety glasses are also a must. It’s important that you protect your eyes, and also that you see clearly. Some people say these are a rose-colored. I like to think of them as shades of grace.
Also, keep this little container with you. You’ll see why later. Inside you’ll find some bread (unleavened, of course) and wine.
One more thing to notice is the inscription on your container. After all, this is the Gratitude Tour…
always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father (Ephesians 5:20).
Finally, I have a bonus surprise for you. [click to continue…]
I grew up in the Deep South in the 60s and 70s. There, when my African American friends wanted to know my address, they had a unique colloquial way of asking. They would ask, “Where you stay?”
I don’t know where the phrase originated. What I do know is that the question – Where you stay? – resonates on a much deeper level than just my physical address.
Had we lived a century earlier in Great Britain, the question may have been something along the lines of, “Where do you abide?” Or “Where is your abode?” Again, the question has to do with a physical house, but it communicates something much deeper.
It’s a question of the heart, not just the body. It’s a question of your dreams, your company, your vision, your love. It’s a question of what you hang on to and what you let go of. Of who or what touches you for a moment, versus who or what changes you for a lifetime. Of where you turn for security and where your heart finds its permanent places.
Where you stay?
When Jesus Christ invaded history, one of the possibilities He brought with Him was a whole new way of relating to God. [click to continue…]
This just in: God wants your joy to be full.
I know, I know! It shocked me, too!
I was having coffee with a friend a few years ago and he mentioned a quote from Jesus: “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full” (John 16:24).
“God wants your joy to be full,” my friend said prophetically. That resonated with me. Deeply.
“I’ve had many joyful moments,” I confessed, “but I can’t tell you when the last time was I had joy on that level.”
How about you? When was the last time you experienced a joy so deep you could barely contain it?
I’m talking about something that Nehemiah says is your strength – this joy of the Lord. It’s the result of a supernatural exchange, according to Isaiah’s prophecy. The Spirit of God anointed Jesus to exchange your mourning and ashes for beauty and joy. Jesus later told his disciples that they would mourn at his death, but that their mourning would be turned to joy when they saw him again. And, as they asked in his name, they would receive, and their joy would be full.
So… just to make this clear… [click to continue…]
I can’t get this picture out of my head. It’s from Stuff Christians Like, by Jonathan Acuff. Jon describes a scene that took place at the ice cream bar at Chuck E. Cheese when he was in the second grade.
I remember when I was in the second grade watching a fifth grader fall apart at the ice cream bar. The problem he faced was that the hot dog bar was right next to it. While was waiting in line I watched him take a big bowl of pristine white soft serve vanilla ice cream and approach the first condiment dispenser. He pressed down hard and out came a serving of mustard.
It was all over his ice cream and he looked down at it with complete and utter devastation. I felt bad for him but out of nowhere a Chuck E. Cheese employee jumped in and said, “Here, that’s okay. Here’s a new bowl of ice cream. That’s okay. Here you go; have some new ice cream.”
I’ll never forget that little boy’s face as he looked up at the employee and down at his ruined bowl of ice cream. He was so ashamed at what he had done, so embarrassed that he had put mustard on it that he paused and then told the employee, “I’m fine. I’m fine. It’s not a big deal. I’m fine.” And then he started to stir the mustard into the ice cream.
He tried as hard as he could to mix that bright yellow mustard into the bright white vanilla ice cream. Finally it all became this pale emo-yellow-colored mush. He looked back up and then returned to his table, presumably to choke down his mustard ice cream.
What the kid didn’t understand was that when someone purchased his trip to the ice cream bar, they were giving him unlimited access to the ice cream maker. But in his mind and world, “the ice cream is free, but the rest is up to me.”
Reminds me of me. And many Christians I know. [click to continue…]
I.
If you ever wanted to write a forever kind of song
That angels or children or the big choirs sing…
If you’ve ever wanted to rhyme with the heart
Of the One who bends the rainbow
And deserves even more than your finest praise…
Then make your music with a life of passion.
Spell it out with clearly with actions of love.
Dance in the reign of King of the ages.
Promise your steadfast, immovable service,
Then hold in His beautiful power your faithfulness.
Show the whole world His symphony in you.
II.
If you ever wanted to write a together kind of song
Of friends or family or heroes or darlings…
If you’ve ever wanted to love someone else in the music,
Yet knew that your most heartfelt expressions
Were still so short of all they deserve from you… [click to continue…]
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed (2 Corinthians 9:8).
Regardless of the need or the deed that lurks in front of you, the choice that confronts you is a choice of scarcity or of abundance. I thought today it would be a good idea to remind you that whatever God does, He does it abundantly. Even when He’s dealing with you!
Regardless of what you may hear from the Republicans or the Democrats, the courts or the Congress, the economists or the educators, the preachers or the politicians, God is still wonderfully wealthy and lavishly generous. All you have to do to believe that is compare what you have with what you deserve.
God is measureless when it comes to the grace and provision he offers. [click to continue…]
Years ago a group of scientists determined that the minerals and chemicals within our bodies were worth about $.99. Factor in inflation, and that’s probably somewhere around $3.50 or so today.
Viewed in another way, however, somebody estimated that the energy production of the human body, based upon the number of atoms within a 150-pound person, could generate enough atomic energy to be valued at $85 billion.
A hundred and fifty pounds, huh? That would make me worth, hmmm… well, never mind.
The lesson here? Don’t let a scientist try to figure out how much you’re worth!
While you’re at it, don’t build your value on what anybody else tells you.
Not the guys and dolls in Coolvillle.
Not your teachers, important as they are (remember the infamous fourth-grade teacher who send Thomas Edison home, saying he was too stupid to learn?).
Not even the people who love you most, and here’s why: The more you are loved by somebody, the more you tend to expect unconditional approval from them. When they do express frustration or disapproval, it weighs a whole lot more on your heart. I once met a 56-year-old woman who said, “Andy, just once I wish I could hear my [78-year-old] mother say I’d done something right.”
So where do you look to find your value? Here’s a suggestion: [click to continue…]
I have a Master’s degree in Moody. There are some who see the glass half full, and others who see the glass half-empty. Left to my own devices, I see the glass as 100% of whatever mood I may be in.
That said, I’m re-learning (God is such a patient teacher!) a powerful, powerful principle:
Never, never, never pass up an opportunity to say “Thank you.”
Why?
Because gratitude is the gateway to abundance. I am living it.
Gratitude widens the road – at least in the spirit, if not in the circumstances. As I live gratefully, forces line up to move the circumstances. But in the meantime, even while the circumstances are narrow, my soul is broad.
That’s hard for the Master of Moody to accept sometimes. I am capable of such broodiness that disciplined gratitude must be that – disciplined. And I don’t do it well. [click to continue…]
Quick Question: What do the people you lead (and you do lead somebody) do when trouble shows up?
