Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Sep 12

The Day After September 11…

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Yesterday marked the 11 year anniversary of perhaps the most tragic day in U.S. history. Throughout the day I reflected back to that fateful day 11 years ago. I thought about what I was doing, what I was feeling and what I was hoping. Just like most of you, I will never forget the events that unfold early that September morning. They will forever be etched in my mind.

I know many of you did the same thing yesterday. You thought about what you were doing and thinking when you learned of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Many of you posted via social media outlets how you would not forget, how you were praying, how you wanted God to bless the United States of America. I wanted to “like” everything I saw on Facebook and Twitter that dealt with memories of that tragic day and prayers for the victims who lost their lives.

Yesterday was truly a day of rememberance and prayer, but what about today? What are we praying? Are we praying? I remember the days following the attacks, our nation stood up proudly as Americans, we cried out God bless the U.S.A., we prayed heartfelt prayers, we asked God to comfort and bless the families who were directly affected and we asked God to turn our hearts and eyes towards Him. Unfortunately, weeks and months after doing all these, we fell back into our “routine” ways of life. We stopped reflecting and remembering, we stopped praying and asking God to bless and heal our country, we seem to have forgotten all the things we once hoped and prayed.

Today is September 12, 2012. It’s been 11 years and 1 day since our country was rocked by terrorists. My question for you is…what are you doing, remembering and praying today? The prayers we offered yesterday, the pledges we made publicly should continue on today. Let us never stop remembering, reflecting and praying for our great nation. God bless America!!!

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this palce.” (2 Chronicles 7:14-15)

Now that’s Something to Thnk About!

 

Sep 05

In His Own Eyes

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The book of Judges is an exciting book to read but a sad reflection of God’s people. The book ends with one of the saddest verses in all of scripture: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jgs. 21:25). These very words are clearly seen from the outset (Jgs. 1:27-2:5) when Israel failed to complete the conquest of Canaan by not driving out the inhabitants of the land. This failure led to Israel’s unfaithfulness and set the course for what would be the pattern throughout the entire book of Judges; 1) The people turned their back on God, 2) God punished them by raising up their enemies against them, 3) The people cried out to God for help, 4) God raised up a judge to deliver them, 5) The land had a period of rest, 6) The cycle is repeated.

As I reflect on the book of Judges, I can’t help but wonder, “Are God’s people today committing the same sin as the people of Israel did in the book of Judges? Are we doing what is right in our own eyes?” To answer these questions honestly, each of us must answer a few underlining questions about our lives.

1)    Do I fully desire to live out God’s will for my life (Eph. 6:5-7)?

2)    Do I fully desire to live according to God’s standards, even when they conflict with my own desires and interests (Rom. 13:12-14)?

3)    Do I fully desire to honor and worship God the way He has commanded (Jn. 4:24)?

4)    Do I fully desire to please God above everyone and everything in my life (Gal. 1:10; Jn. 13:42-43; Acts 5:29)?

5)    Do I fully desire to give up and sacrifice my rights, my privileges and my desires because I want to be totally devoted to God (Gal. 2:20)?

Friends, if we answer NO to any of the above questions, I’m afraid we are guilty of doing what is right in our own sight. The book of Judges is a tragic display of self-destruction.  When God’s people begin doing what is right in our own eyes, we open our lives up to a huge mess!

Aug 14

Dream Great Dreams Pt. 4: What Great Dreams Require

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If you haven’t read the first three posts of this series, click below.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

As I conclude this series on “Dream Great Dreams,” I want to talk today about what great dreams require. Everything worthwhile in life requires something. If you want to lose weight, you have to exercise and eat right. If you want to bulk up, you have to hit the gym and push yourself harder than you have before. If you want to have a great marriage, you have to work at meeting the needs of your spouse. If you want to become an expert in a certain field, you have to study hard…a lot!!!

If we want to accomplish our great dreams for God, we have to do the unordinary. We have to be willing to do what few people will do. Take Abram as an example. God told him he would be abundantly blessed and that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. All Abram had to do was leave his homeland and go to the land God would show him. There was a catch though. When Abram left, God hadn’t told him where he was going…Abram simply had to trust God (Gen. 12).

It’s easy to think we would have been willing to do what Abram did. However, if we answer honestly, I’m not sure we could say we would have done what he did. You see, Abram did the unordinary. Very few people would have been willing to leave their homeland, their family and their friends, in order to be led to some unknown destination. Yet, that’s what Abram did…he did the unordinary and was greatly blessed.

If Christians are going to accomplish great dreams, Christians are going to have to do the unordinary. We are going to have to step out of our comfort zone and trust God to make things happen. We have to believe God can take our dreams and make them a reality. Unless we do this, we will never fully accomplish all that is possible.

Friends, God is inviting ordinary Christians to dream great dreams. He wants us to dream big when it comes to making an eternal impact. God does this not for the glory of Christians, but for His glory. Throughout this series I have asked, “What’s your dream?” As you contemplate this question consider this: “The size of our dreams reflects the size of our God!” The only question that remains is, “How big are you dreaming?”

Now that’s Something to Think About!

Aug 09

Dream Great Dreams Part 1: Unlimited Resource

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On August 28, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood and proclaimed, “I have a dream.” His dream continues to live on today. Presidents of major companies have been successful building from the ground up because they started with a dream. Ask anyone who has accomplished great things in life; it all started with a dream. It has been said, “The greatest poverty is not when you don’t have a dime, it is when you don’t have a dream.” My question for you is simple…what’s your dream?

What would you do if you had unlimited resources? I know, this sounds almost too good to be true. However, the truth of the matter is we do have an unlimited resource, we have God. Paul said, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21). God is able to do far more than you or I can even think or imagine!

What’s keeping you from dreaming great dreams for God? Fear, failure, disappointment, laziness, time restraint??? Are these or anything else for that matter good enough reasons for Christians to not dream great dreams for God? No, of course not! The problem is, for far too long Christians have stopped dreaming of the eternal impact they could have on the lives of others. It’s past time for us to start dreaming great dreams again.

God invites His people to dream great dreams. Listen to the words of Jesus to His disciples; “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:12-14). Did you catch that? We will do the works that HE does and even greater works! Think about all the amazing things Jesus did. He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind and raised the dead. Yet, Jesus tells His disciples they will do greater things than these. How can we do something greater than healing someone who is physically blind? We could open the eyes of someone who is spiritually blind to Jesus. How can we do something greater than healing the deaf? Imagine opening someone’s ears to hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How can we do something greater than raising someone from the dead? Imagine raising someone who is spiritually dead!

God invites Christians to dream great dreams because God is able to make those dreams a reality! Jeremiah prayed, “Nothing is too hard for you” (Jer. 32:17). The angel Gabriel told Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk. 1:37). Jesus said, “Nothing is impossible with God” (Matt. 19:26). Over and over and over throughout scripture, God makes it clear…NOTHING. IS. IMPOSSIBLE. WITH. HIM!

Friends, it’s time Christians stopped settling for the status quo and started dreaming great dreams. Imagine the difference the church could make if God’s people took this to heart! We have an unlimited resource why not start living like it. What’s keeping you from making an eternal impact in the Kingdom of God? It’s time to start dreaming great dreams!

Now that’s Something to Think About!

Aug 01

Dealing With Difficult People

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As a Christian, several things can be classified as hard. For example, evangelizing a lost friend or neighbor might be considered hard by some. For others, finding time alone with God is tough. For me, one of the hardest parts of my Christian walk is dealing with difficult people. I find it hard to deal with people when it seems their sole purpose in life is to make my life difficult. Whether it is a friend, boss, neighbor, relative or even a member of your church family, it’s never easy to deal with difficult people.

The good news is that God’s Word gives us insight in to dealing with difficult people. Consider Paul’s words to the church at Rome when describing how the gospel should look in the life of believers: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all” (Rom. 12:18). Paul told the Christians at Rome to live peaceably with all people if possible. Don’t you suppose difficult people fall in to this category as well? I do. Yet, even though they may be difficult, Paul teaches us to strive to live in peace with them.

Jesus had to deal with difficult people too. Some people opposed His ministry (Mk. 5:1-17; Lk. 4:16-29), didn’t believe He was who He said He was (Jn. 12:35-37), and some even sought to kill Him (Jn. 7:1-25). It doesn’t get much more difficult than this. Yet, Jesus preached, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12). Notice Jesus said we are to treat people the way we want to be treated, not the way people treat us.

The next time you are annoyed by the difficult people in your life, remember how the Bible teaches us to deal with them. Strive for peace and treat them in the manner you want them to treat you. Situations with difficult people will always occur, but our actions should be pleasing to God and that’s what’s most important.

Now that’s Something to Think About!