A God Blog

What do you do when you are going through hardship? When there are no easy answers in sight? Where do you go when things are beyond your control and you just don’t know what to do anymore? What do you think that God would want you to know?

I’ve been thinking about these very questions because lately I have seen a number of my friends and family going through some very difficult things: Awful family problems, severe health issues, financial turmoil, and even personal demons they are wrestling with.

So I thought that if God had a blog today, He might want just remind us all of what He’s already said in the Bible. So, if you’re personally going through some tough stuff or know of a friend who is, then take a good long look at these passages of Scripture and just let soak in your mind. I’m confident that the Spirit of God will speak to your heart as you give Him the chance. Enjoy!

God is:

• FOR ME
  “Since God is for us, who can stand against us?” Romans 8:31
  
• WITH ME
  "When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you." Isaiah 43:2
  
• BESIDE ME
  "The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade." Psalm 121:5
  
• BENEATH ME
  "The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you." Deuteronomy 33:27
  
• AROUND ME
  "Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects his people, both now and forever." Psalm 125:2
  
• BEHIND ME
  "Your God will walk before you, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind." Isaiah 58:8
  
• WITHIN ME
  "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you." Romans 8:11

I'd love to hear what you think and about how this may speak to you. Leave a comment; it might resonate with others!


www.realitychurch.com

The King of Pop, Dies

Could it be any clearer what God says about death?

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. Psalms 116:15

As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live… Ezekiel 33:11

Whichever camp the king of pop (Michael Jackson) was in, we don’t know. It was only he who could ultimately know whether or not he had a personal relationship with the forgiver of sin, Jesus Christ. What we can know is two things: [1] God takes no pleasure when a person to dies without Christ’s forgiveness because of sin’s penalty – what God calls “eternal death” (eternity without Him) and [2] God tells us it is precious in His sight when one of His children leaves this life (they will be forever with Him).

To be sure, Jesus doesn’t see everyone as children of God (John 6:66), nor does everyone possess everlasting life (1John 5:11-13). There will be many who think their way is right, but it only ends in death for them (Proverbs 16:25). Jesus claimed (and ultimately proved it by resurrecting from the dead), that he was the only way to heaven (Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6).

Michael Jackson’s premature death at age 50 proves how vulnerable and frail our physical lives really are. It also shows us that, in the grand scheme of things, life is fast & furious, evaporating before us like the morning mist.My hope is that those of us who know Jesus personally and love people would take any death, but especially MJ’s death, and be stirred more than ever to share the awesome news that God wants to make us His friends through what the J-man (that’s Jesus!) did for all of us on a wooden cross some two millennia ago.

In just 100 short years, nearly all the 6.8 billion people on this rock we call Earth will die. So, why do we as Christ-followers shrink back from sharing the Good News? Is it because we don’t think it’s newsworthy to share or perhaps it's because we are fearful of slight rejection? Or possibly it has to do with the fact that we don’t really believe that people want to hear about Jesus – even though in a recent national poll, the one person in all of history that most people in America would like to meet is none other than Jesus Christ.

Whatever the case, people’s eternities lay in the balance…and you and I get to be used by God to possibly be the “tipping point” that alters their decision to choose Christ as their personal savior.


www.realitychurch.com

Titles and Bosses

In case you might forget, Barbara Boxer is a senator.

The feisty California lawmaker felt the need to remind an Army brigadier general of that fact recently during a hearing before her Senate Committee where the military officer testifying had the apparent gall to call Boxer "ma'am."

Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was testifying and began to answer one of Boxer's questions with "ma'am" when Boxer immediately cut him off.

"You know, do me a favor," an irritated Boxer said. "Could say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'"

"Yes, ma'am," Walsh interjected.

"It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it, yes, thank you," she said.

"Yes, senator," he responded.
Sad, isn’t it, when someone has to prop themselves up in front of others. You’d think someone of the mature age of 68 would not be so needy.

Too often and in a similar way, many pastors and ministry leaders enjoy the feeling of power and control that comes from an “I’m in charge … I call the shots … I’m the boss around here,” mentality.

There is a scene that took place in Luke 22 which speaks to this subject. In this account, there was a power struggle going on among Jesus’ disciples. They were discussing who the “greatest” was going to be when Jesus came to power. Knowing this was going on, the Lord began to share some Kingdom lessons about what being great was really all about…and it wasn’t about titles.

Here’s the dialog:

“Within minutes they were bickering over who of them would end up the greatest. But Jesus intervened: ‘Kings like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves fancy titles. It’s not going to be that way with you. Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant. Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the dinner? You’d rather eat and be served, right? But I’ve taken my place among you as the one who serves.'” Luke 22:24-27 (THE MESSAGE)

Some may not recognize the difference in values between the worldly “boss” mentality and the biblical “leader” mentality. If someone were to ask me what each typically connotes, I might spell it out like this:

A boss creates fear
A leader creates trust (1 Thessalonians 2:10-11)
A boss serves himself
A leader serves others (1 Corinthians 9:19)
A boss aims to make himself successful
A leader aims to make others successful (1 Timothy 4:6)
A boss says, "I"
A leader says, "we" (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)
A boss fixes blame
A leader fixes mistakes (Philemon v.18-19)
A boss knows how
A leader shows how (Exodus 18:17)
A boss makes work a grind
A leader makes work worthwhile (Nehemiah)
A boss drives
A leader leads (John 10:11-15)
A boss wields authority
A leader empowers people (2 Timothy 2:2)
A boss relies on the power of authority
A leader relies on the power of servanthood (Matthew 20:25-28)

If we’re needy of titles or props, we’ll always fall short of greatness in God’s eyes. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Everyone can become great because everyone can serve.” If I could add an postscript to that, it would be “…everyone can serve without the need for titles.”


www.realitychurch.com

Hornet Attack

No joke. I ran as fast as I could to get inside the house like a little kid running from a neighborhood bully. Today (Tuesday) was my day off and I’m outside in the back of the yard, power-washing our screened Gazebo. As I’m doing this, I realized that I’m hitting some hornet nests that are tucked away in the corners of the structure.

I should have looked first to see if there was anything hidden in these corners, but after stuff started dropping I thought I would take a look. Stink! There was way too many of them around all sides of the Gazebo for me to safely spray them away, so I took the hose inside the Gazebo and began my assault from there. Problem was, the door had about a one-inch gap the hose made where angry hornets could get in and retaliate.

As I began spraying a huge chunk of their hive came tumbling down and boy were they ticked. In a matter of a few second they were on the screen wanting a piece of me and my power-washer. Long story short, I made a mad dash out of the Gazebo, turned off the machine and the hose as fast as I could and ran to get inside the house as quickly as I could. My adrenaline was cranking.

When I got inside, I was actually shaking. But I’d rather take on the top two neighborhood bullies than mess with angry hornets.

What captures my attention most about this episode is it parallels so well with what Ephesians Chapter 6:10-17 is all about. It says we are constantly assailed and assaulted by the devil and his gang of evil spirits trying to bring ruin and destruction in our lives. What’s protecting us is the spiritual armor that God gives to us. And it’s this armor and this armor only that can’t be penetrated by Satan. When we learn how to apply God’s armor to our daily lives, we are safe from harm. In order to put on His armor, three major life applications must be practiced:

[1] Live life with integrity. [2] Practice right-living. [3] Learn to know God’s Word.

When you start messing with territory that the devil thinks is his, you can be sure that he’s coming after you; but again…he can’t win...he actually loses—as long as you’ve got the armor on that God provided.


www.realitychurch.com

Offended

I had someone walk out on me this past Sunday at Reality Church as I spoke on a very touchy subject (part 5 in the Life Swap Series). This person was ‘hot’ to say the least…offended at what I had said and from the front, stormed out of the building briskly walking down the middle aisle uttering, “I’m not listening to this.”

But should we actually be surprised if this happens if we’re proclaiming God’s Word? And, still a bigger question is, “what if the person offended is another believer…should we be stunned then?” I don’t think so.

You see, we need to remember that we’re all on different levels of maturity in our journey with God. So it should come as no surprise that a person—even a believer in Jesus—will be offended at different stages and occasions in their Christian walk. It even happened to Jesus, recorded for us in [John 6:60-66] when his followers were offended at what he said. Many of them left him and never followed him again.

One of the things we must be careful of, though, is how we’re presenting the message of God to others. It’s possible and even easy to offend someone in about 10 second just by the way we say things.

Why am I writing about this? Because you will undoubtedly have an opportunity to share God’s truth with both those who believe and even those who don’t. And, sometimes, people get offended—even if they love God. What’s important is that we don’t add any unnecessary offense to the message of Christ. It’s imperative that we learn to “speak the truth in love” to our friends, family, and co-workers, but we make sure we are not compromising what God says for the sake of keeping everybody happy.

We’re not in a popularity contest, so keep speaking the truth in love to everyone every opportunity God gives you and don’t be surprised if some are offended or worse. Sometimes the truth hurts!

http://www.realitychurch.com/

A No-Hitter

On this date (June 11, 2009), exactly 19 years ago, one of baseball’s greatest pitchers, Nolan Ryan, pitched his sixth “no-hitter” in his career as he and the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland A’s 5-0.

As a former “pitcher” with a semi-pro team, I know just a little about how difficult it is to throw that all-elusive no hit game. Ryan got the best of his opponents for a number of outstanding reasons…one of which is the fact that he worked at being the most effective pitcher in the Major Leagues. He went on to retire with 5,714 strikeouts and 52 additional major league records in his twenty-six years in the big leagues.

One thing I know; whenever you work exceedingly hard at something or for something, usually, that hard work…that diligence, pays big dividends. It’s like the person who asked an amazing concert violinist in New York’s Carnegie Hall how she became so skilled. She said that it was by “planned neglect.” She planned to neglect everything that was not related to her goal.

Maybe for you, there are some less important things in your life that could stand some planned neglect so that you can give yourself to the purposes and plans of the God who holds your future in His hands.

So, what will it be; business as usual for you, or is there something for which you know you were created and that you must pursue?

I think Nolan Ryan would say, “Go for it!” I think that accomplished violinist would say, “Go ahead and neglect the myriad of things that don’t propel you to your goal.” But most important of all is what God would say to you. And what do you think that would be?


www.realitychurch.com

Kids at Every Stage

What are you learning these days? That terrorism is real and close to home, or that government intrusion in our lives is happening more and more, or perhaps you’re witnessing the truth God tells us in the Bible…that we must not trust in the uncertainly of riches…especially in these harsh economic times. We dare not hide and say it’s not true…it is, but it’s also hard to swallow.

There is another thing that’s hard for me to swallow, maybe you too; and that’s the training of our kids. To do it well and to do it consistently is hard work. But it’s more complicated even than that. These days, I’m learning that wisdom from God is at a premium. Sometimes, I’m at a loss as to know how to do it. Thank God for my wife. Without her insight, input and practical wisdom, I’d have ruined most everything by now.

As my kids are getting older, I find that I have to deal with them in new and unchartered ways; ways that I’m unfamiliar with. And I’m having to rely on insight from God’s Word more than ever.

My point is that parenting is certainly rewarding, but it’s also difficult to do well, especially without divine guidance. Maybe that’s why God made it so complex. Maybe it’s because He wanted us to finally call on Him and draw from His vast resource of wisdom, and do it often.

So, go ahead, if you have kids, no matter their age – admit the difficulty of it and then just call out to God for help. If you’re serious, He’ll probably surprise you with helpful truths from the Bible (just make sure you’re reading it!), as well as from other more experienced people.

www.realitychurch.com

Your Gig

Let me set the stage. Every Monday happens to be the day when we as a staff spend a few hours on the creative programming aspect of an upcoming series. Our next major series is one we’re calling “Joosey Froot.” We pray, and then jump in; sharing our thoughts from a media perspective on the big idea I want to communicate on a particular Sunday. No idea is sacred. Every idea is potentially viable.

But this particular Monday was to be different; maybe just for me to see the power of God at work. Here’s what happened. Our Media Director, Dave, hooked four of us up on TokBox , a video chat tool that connects people online no matter where they are located. Anyway, what normally would take us many hours to determine the kind of video to shoot and how to pull it off, took us only about an hour… and that’s for a nine week summer series! It’s going to be hot stuff too. And here’s the reason: The primary giftedness that God gave these “creative types” were being used. It’s the main gig God has for them. And they were making the most of it.

Can I ask the question, “What about you?” Do you know your primary giftedness that God has blessed you with? If you do, please utilize it for His purposes. Don’t wait to be asked personally, just do it. God tells us this in the Bible: “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” –Romans 12:6-8 (NLT)

If you aren’t sure or don’t know what it is that God has wired you for, begin by [1] asking God to show you, [2] ask others who walk closely with God what they see in you, and [3] roll up your sleeves and get involved with something good and you will start to see what you like and dislike. Eventually, you will narrow the choices down to doing something you love and are made by God to do. Kind of like those creative types I began writing about in this blog.

You were created for so much more than you know or realize. Do the three things I mentioned and your result will be intense joy and a purposeful life.

www.realitychurch.com

A Powerful Drug

God’s Word seems to always prove itself right. Time and again it’s on the cutting edge of what modern man is finally figuring out. What I’m talking about is the medicinal effects laughter has on the human body and psyche as a whole. Solomon, the wisest and probably the wealthiest king in the history of the world wrote about laughter. Here’s what he said: “A cheerful disposition is good for your health…” (Proverbs 17:22)

Today, after getting home from an awesome church service, each of our three kids invited a friend over the house. After lunch, Joy, my youngest, was upstairs in her room with her friend and all the while they are playing, they are giggling…basically non-stop. I got such a kick out of it. It was awesome to listen to them have so much fun.

But what happened to us adults? Why don’t we laugh like we did years ago? Care to guess what percentage adults laugh as compared to younger kids? Half? One quarter? How ‘bout 4.5%. Kids laugh on average per day about 400 times. The average adult, a meager 17 times per day.What I’m getting at is that we should laugh more—far more than we do. Whatever keeps you from letting loose with laughter (busyness of life, tiredness, taking yourself too serious), has to go.

Check out what laughter can do for you:

Laughter strengthens the body’s ability to fight disease; it’s a natural stress-buster; it can lower your blood pressure, increase energy levels, help us bond better with other people and is even a way to exercise. Laughing 100 times roughly equals 15 minutes on an exercise bike? Vigorous laughter increases the heart rate deepens the breathing rate, and uses muscles in the face, stomach, and diaphragm.

Think about it. If laughter does all these things and it’s free, why not choose to laugh more and laugh at yourself more. Choosing to laugh instead of acting all dignified or stuffy will really help the quality of your life improve.

Ha!

http://www.realitychurch.com