Journey or Destination

Disclaimer: You will probably find this post to be quite vague.

I am in the middle of this debate with myself right now. God's really pulling on the heart strings in me about some stuff, and I am finding it difficult to not rush the process. For many years I have subscribed to the belief that the journey is more important and fulfilling than the destination. However, there have been very few times where I have had to live this out, and is currently proving to be quite difficult.

I am not a patient man.

Instant gratification describes me much better.

It's a battle I've fought most of my life.

Thankfully, God has been patient with me. I am learning more and more how fulfilling focusing on the journey is. It's still hard, because I want to be where God desires me to be in the end more than anything. In that desire, I think sometimes we all fail to realize that maybe for the moment, God wants us right where we are on this journey. I think maybe God is enjoying the process of watching me grow as much as I am enjoying the process of growing.

In my quiet times I feel a constant persistence from God to slow down, a gentle prodding to stop rushing. It feels that God understands my desire to get to the end, but that's not where He wants me RIGHT NOW. He wants me right where I am on this journey. There are some things that we can only learn on the journey.

I just want to thank God today for being patient, for being my Guide, for being a Teacher, for being my Savior, and for being my best friend. I love you Abba!

FORGIVENESS-NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS

Matthew 6:14-15
The Amplified Bible
"For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses."
This is positioned direcly after the Lord's prayer, where Jesus directs his followers to pray to God simply and honestly, while spending time quietly with Him. These two verses are huge, especially if you are one to take this sort of thing literally!
ADMISSION.
Last night, my wife and 11 month old daughter narrowly escaped injury when a gentleman drove his trailer into the side of our van while my wife was buckling our daughter into her car seat. God's protection is the only reason my wife did not get hit. Seriously. When inspecting the damage done, we were just completely shocked. Humanly speaking, we cannot understand how he did not hit her. However, we serve a God who watches over us, protects us, and there frankly is no other explanation. One of the first things this gentleman did upon getting out of his pickup was to start yelling at my wife that she was parked in the street. No apology. No questions as to if anyone was hurt. Just blame. Just rudeness. Just lack of respect. Just lack of concern for the wellbeing of others.
I was inside calling the Sheriff when this conversation went down. Upon arrival of the Sheriff he started in again, at which point I went off. The Sheriff quickly separated us and sent us inside to our friend's house while she filled out the report. The good news is that nobody did get hurt. The bad news............
I am having a difficult time forgiving him. I have struggled with it all last night and all day today. I am ashamed to admit that I am more worked up about his attitude and actions than I have been grateful to God for protecting my wife and daughter.
It's easy to talk about forgiveness until something really strikes close to home. These times leave me thinking and pondering about how much room I still have for growth. I want vindication. I want justice. I want him to feel bad for nearly hitting my wife with his pick up and trailer. However, I am also starting to want him to know that Christ loves him. I want to forgive him. I want to be free of this prison that I've put myself in. I want to be thankful to God for protecting my family. I want to forgive and let go.

TRUST IN WHAT?

TRUST.
POLITICS.
ECONOMY.
GAS PRICES.
GOD.

This is what went through my mind as I took my post-run shower this morning. Deep I know. However, remember in grade school how you were taught not to judge a book by it's cover.........
With the exception of the first and last items in this list, these topics rarely cross my mind. I don't care to debate it with you, that's just the reality for me. So, it is with a heavy heart that these terms even receive thought, let alone mention from me this morning.

My question throughout this post is: Who do YOU trust?

ROMANS 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." What a POWERFUL verse! If we trust in God, He promises to fill us with all joy and peace, and promises us that we will overflow with hope because of the Holy Spirit! This seems like a no-brainer, trust God and you will receive joy, peace, and hope! Who couldn't use some more of that, especially these days?

POLITICS. Every 4 years rolls around and I begin to get amused at how people's lives begin to change. Yes, it's important to take this seriously. What a wonderful privilege to be able to have our own say in how things turn out........sort of. Unless your say doesn't jive with the majority of voters that is. But it is a privilege, because so many people in the world don't have that right. Yes, it's important to vote. However, what a shame it is to feel that the choice available is between the lesser of two evils. Every 4 years, and sometimes this carries on for awhile, people's mood rises and falls on politics. If their choice wins, then they are riding high! If their choice doesn't win, then apparently the world is coming to an end. Doesn't sound like they have true joy, peace, and hope to me. Where's the trust?

ECONOMY. It's tough right now. Truly, for some it is tough. For those who have lost their jobs, or are about to within the next 12 months, life is tough. However, for most of us, the economy is still simply an inconvenience. Disagree? Tell that to the rest of the world. We are STILL the most blessed nation in the world, by far. I was speaking with a dear friend the other night about this. How unfair it seems that while I sit typing this, I am in my own house, with 2 vehicles, with so much stuff my garage is used for storage, on my computer with high speed internet, after having run using my GPS watch, listening to music on my iPhone, in my brand name pajamas, while many people, countless millions are going hungry right this very minute, starving for just one bite of food, or so desperate for access to clean water, or any water, that they have to walk 40km a day for it! Does God want me blessed, sure! But at what point does blessed become excess???????? I mean, this question could cause you to pull your hair out! Trust me, I've thought about the ramifications of the present economy. I raise money for a living, so if people have less or no money coming in, guess what, so do I. I know if affects us all. However, maybe we in America have moved from the realm of blessed living to excessive living! I mean, what can you do with a $250,000 that you can't do with a $150,000 house, except have more room to roam?

JOHN 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me." I know the context here. Jesus was reassuring his disciples that while he had to leave for awhile, he would be returning someday. He also filled them in a little on why he was leaving and what he would be doing. What's the point? This world is TEMPORARY! This life on earth is TEMPORARY! Gas prices are TEMPORARY! This has been another one of those issues that just make me laugh sometimes. When the price of gas can cause you to either be depressed or sing for joy, you KNOW there is a problem here! When gas was just short of $4 a gallon, I thought many people might fall off the face of the earth. The reality is that not much changed because of it. Most people did not change their standard of living one bit. The only thing that changed is the topic of what to complain about. However, there were plenty of troubled hearts to go around, proving once again that complete trust in God was rare.

I mean, when in this country have we had to TRUST God for very much. We have so much beyond more than enough. Maybe the current problem is an economic downfall, maybe the true problem is that we live excessive lifestyles, and need to learn to live with less. I wonder how many Christians around the rest of the world, especially in third world countries are upset with God over their current economy? How many of them are mad at God because they don't have a third car, can't go on that cruise this year, maybe need to cut back on the number of times that they eat out. They don't even curse God for the lack of clean water, lack of basic necessities!

We live excessive lifestyles in this country. And that has been our downfall. We have fallen away from trusting in God to be our supply, to meet our needs. These days, we feel like WE meet our needs. Everything we have came from the hard work that WE did. The thought that I EARNED this and that is outrageous. God has blessed us beyond measure, but now has left us to ourselves. We have taken His blessings and perverted them until they have become strongholds in our lives. A little inconvenience in our own lives has become an outrage, while many many millions still lack access to clean water, let alone other basic necessities needed to sustain life. I wonder at the outrage God must feel because of this.

The good news is that God is a God of mercy. His love endures forever. Do not let your hearts be troubled during this time. Trust in God. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. What's the point of overflowing, to bless others! BE A BLESSING TODAY!

INTIMACY or God the character

It's almost 1am, and I can't sleep. I was laying on the couch, just allowing my mind to wander, and landed on this thought of God as the main character of a book. Sometimes I think we struggle with the whole "relationship with God" thing because treat God as just another character in another book. Think about it for a moment. The most interaction that many Christians get is limited to their treatment of Him as a character in the Bible. There is little to no effort in developing a "conversational intimacy" as Dallas Willard puts it. Many of us keep Him at that distance of character, thereby forfeiting the very thing he created us to have.......INTIMACY with Him! Let's all purpose to never treat God as if He is just a character in some book.......let's never fall into that trap of Satan. Intimacy with God takes a lot of work, but also fulfills down to our very core what we were created for! God is living and breathing! Get to know Him today!

Relationship or Do's and Don'ts

This has been on my mind for some time now. My relationship with God has always been extremely important to me. I feel like that's one of my strengths as a Christian, and person in general. I've really been putting a lot of thought into this over the past few weeks, mainly because I have found myself getting caught up in the do's and don'ts of religion. Now, when I focus on do's and don'ts, the tendancy is to get all caught up in myself. My Christianity becomes all about works, having nothing to do with relationship. These are the times when I begin to become succeptible to feelings of despair and depression, because let's face it, none of us can ever "do" enough to measure up to God's standards. On the flip side, when I focus simply on my relationship with Christ, everything seems to flow a lot smoother. The issue is no longer about whether I am doing this right or that wrong, but knowing and believing that God loves me the way I am! Now, being a mature follower of Christ is many times about self evaluation, finding out where we are at, and what areas we may need to focus and work on a little bit. We do that because we love God, and want to follow Him as closely as we possibly can. That desire ALWAYS stems out of relationship with Him. I think the key to what we are talking about here is balance. We need to have a healthy level of balance between treating God as the sovereign king, creator, Lord, God that He is with reverance and awe, and allowing ourselves the opportunity to crawl up onto His lap and tell him all about our day, desires, and dreams. My guess is that most of us either fall almost completely to one side of this fence or the other. The is one fence that I think we need to straddle. Recently, my convictions have led me to this thought. Sure I spend time every day with God. However, would I pick hanging out with him over watching a movie late at night after my family has gone to bed? There is nothing wrong with watching a movie here and there, but my point is this. We all have room to grow, and this is where I am at right now. I have done this a few times in the past couple of weeks, turning off the tv late at night and just reading my Bible, or opening up my journal. I've gotta be honest with you, I want more of it! I truly desire God to be the #1 priority in my life! And while that is not the case yet on a consistent level, I am happy to feel as if I am growing more towards that each and every day. Life is not just about do's and don'ts. Life is about a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, where your love for Him grows more and more on a consistent basis. That's the legacy I want to leave to my children and to the next generation. What about you?

CAGED

Safe. Tame. Predictable. Caged. These words describe how I have felt much of my adult Christian life. The pressure is always there, you know, the whole "Don't rock the boat" mentality. When a person does that they upset the natural order of things, the way things are supposed to be, or so we are told. Yet, is this the legacy that Christ left for us? What example did He set for us? Mark Batterson, in his book Wild Goose Chase compares the "rich young ruler with the twelve undomesticated disciples". The rich young ruler turned down Christ's offer because he didn't want to part with all his stuff. He wanted to stay in his cage, where it was safe, tame, and predictable. Batterson notes that the disciples "heard the parables with their own two ears. They drank the water Jesus turned into wine. They filleted the miraculous catch of fish. And they were there when Jesus turned the temple upside down, walked on water, and ascended into heaven." Again, I ask the question, "What legacy did Christ leave us with?" Following Christ wholeheartedly is an adventure! It is unpredictable! It is dangerous! If this does not describe your life, then I propose that something may be off. In the rest of the world, people are dying because they have given their lives to Christ! Yes, it is dangerous to follow Christ! Batterson, who pastors a large church in Washington D.C., profoundly states "I wonder if churches do to people what zoos do to animals." Let's get back to the rich young ruler for a moment. Batterson comments that "I think there was a deep-seated longing within him for something more than simply not doing anything wrong." I think many of us could place ourselves in that category today. Here's the deal then, where do we move from here? We can't play the blame game, because each of us is responsible and answer for the way OUR lives played out. We make the final decisions in our lives. Change is hard; always is and always will be. However, maybe you have just felt over the years that something has been lacking in your relationship with Jesus. I submit to you that what was lacking was ADVENTURE! Release yourself from the cage, allow yourself to roam free once again, untamed, unpredictable, fully submissive to CHRIST!!!!!!!!!! Follow Christ's example and legacy, allow his power and Spirit to work through to do miraculous things! Love people well, change lives, show people Jesus! Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God!