Rolling Over

The other night I had the privilege of watching my 4-month-old son Jonah roll over for the first time. That is at least the first time I was able to witness it. My wife has the honor of watching our two little ones and often time gets to see the first's while I am working. Having encountered this for the second time already having a beautiful two-year-old little girl, I was amazed at the life lesson I witnessed hidden inside this little struggle. As I began to revisit the struggle children go through from the time they are conceived up until they enter the world, I began to realize, life's struggles never end. Now I'm not talking about pessimism, is the glass half empty or half full, I'm talking about life's challenges that we encounter every day we are alive. Every struggle has an outcome, and the end result is always good! Let me explain. Jonah hates tummy time. If you have children you may have experienced this same frustration from your little one. When Jonah was born, he was so excited to enter this world that he broke his little clavicle coming through the birth canal. Due to his little injury, Jonah had to refrain from tummy time longer than most newborn babies. We had to wait until Jonah was 6 weeks old to begin what most newborn babies experience in their first 2-3 weeks old. This meant little things like limited time laying on mommy and daddy's chest. Some of the wonderful things you enjoy with your newly born babies. Therefore, Jonah got a late jump-start to the game of firsts. As we fast forward to this past Tuesday, Jonah was getting the oh so loved after dinner tummy time. I laid Jonah on his belly on the carpet, got down on his level and like all good dads, cheered Jonah on to "Roll over." It did not take long before Jonah began to express his frustrations with little whimpers to full out screams. His little head began to turn red and the cute vein that protrudes when he is upset started to come out. After following clear instructions from our pediatrician to "Let them cry it out," I remained calm while Jonah fought feverishly to change his situation. Now think about this for a minute, while I change your focus! This reminds me of myself, to a certain degree stubborn as most adult males. I don't need to go to the doctor; the pain will subside on its own type thinking. We often are reluctant to ask for help, go to the doctor or seek council until the situation is behind our control. We have exhausted all methods of "Doing it our self" before admitting that we need help! Let me explain it a different way, often times getting fired from your job prompts you to go back to school and finish your education. Or find a career in something you are passionate about. The loss of a loved one may move you to forgive someone that may not deserve your forgiveness. It may even cause you to pick up the phone and call that family member or friend and rekindle a broken relationship. We will remain in our painful situation long enough until we either cannot deal with it any longer or become so callused that we grow numb to the feeling of it. Now, for the first time Jonah started to move his knees toward his belly in an effort to roll over. All the while still screaming, Jonah pushed forward enough with his little feet, knees bent he made it. Jonah finally rolled over! I screamed down stairs, "Elizabeth, Jonah just rolled over." Elizabeth's response, "That's great, he did it the other day!" Thanks for sharing that with me; I had no idea. Anyhow to my notice, Jonah's frustration, screams and tears all stopped. The power of his little break through of rolling over brought immediate relief. I want to encourage you today that no matter what you are going through, there is a relief on the other side of your struggle, and it does bring freedom! It may be hard to see that today, as it always is when the storms of life are raining down on you, but know there is a tomorrow. That tomorrow brings sunny days! 1 Peter 1:6 says So be truly glad, there is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.

Revelation

As many of you know, living in Texas often times brings quickly changing weather. If your unhappy hold on to your hat, it will change soon. Over the last couple months we have been experiencing times of great fog early in the morning. It has also reminded me of some very strong biblical truths. About three months back I was on my way to work, as usual one morning I was stuck in traffic praying along my 50 mile journey to the office. I was quite a distance away from downtown Dallas. I could see the high rise buildings, the top of green trees and fog directly in front of the city. As I saw the fog it kind of reminded me of seeing an old castle in a movie and the water mote protecting it from intruders. I began to ponder why the Lord has blessed and protected the city of Dallas for many years. While driving closer to the city I began to listen to the Lord. He started to speak to me about his children entering into their final judgement, standing before him saying, "You never revealed yourself to me." I was blown away at the simplicity of seeing the Lord through his creation. While drawing closer to the city the Lord brought to my memory the very first verse of the bible. Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. The word God in this instance means el-o-heem. It is plural for God, meaning that there was more than just God the Father or Gods present in the beginning. As we go on to read in verse two, it states "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Here we see the second form of God, his Holy Spirit. Lastly, in John 1:1-3 is says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." Also, John 1:14 concludes And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. You may be asking, why I am teaching about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Follow with me for a second. The closer I drove to downtown Dallas the clearer it became as to what the Father was trying to tell me. Right before you drive into downtown Dallas there is a river/bridge that you have to cross over to enter the city. The name of the river that protects the city is called "The Trinity River." When I was passing over the bridge I realized what was causing the fog that I saw from about 15 miles outside the city. There was a small cloud of fog hovering over the Trinity River. The fog was not hovering over anything else other than the river. What an amazing sight to see, as I asked the Father to reveal himself to me; he did not physically show up and appear to me in flesh and blood. To me this was very symbolic to the scripture read above in Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. He revealed himself to me through his creation. The Lord is revealing himself to each one of us every day we are alive. Whether it be through the clouds, sun, moon, flowers you name it. He loves us enough to show us himself in many ways. Remember, the next time you say, "God, if your real then show yourself to me" be careful for what you ask for. He knows the exact way to get your attention. Many Blessings!

McDonalds Generation

I myself have grown up eating fast food. I love the taste of a greasy cheeseburger, over salted french fries and a large lemonade. Now you might be asking, lemonade, really??? Yes I try and get one healthy thing a midst my fat free burger and fries. The greatest thing is that no matter what time of day or night, you can drive up to a fast food restaurant and receive your meal with in 5 minutes or less. Options, we have plenty, especially in Texas. If you don't like what you see on one corner, drive a little bit further. There are restaurants on every corner, right next to the all the churches. Patience has been completely wiped away and left the excess salt the napkin could not get rid of. As I pondered this beautiful scripture I was having the hardest time wrapping my head around it. There is no mystery, it's just so darn difficult to do when everything around us says, give it to me now. If you want to look up where the nearest Whataburger is, Google has it! And yes for all you northerners Whataburger is a burger chain in Texas. Think about this for a minute, Philippians 4:6 says "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Too many times in my life I have prayed Lord, should I take this new job, while I was sitting in the interview. Or Lord, should I buy this new car, while sitting in the car dealership. We want answers to life's questions, problems and mysteries right now! Our generation has lost what it means to be anxious for nothing! I have a hard time driving in the car with no radio on because my thoughts drive me crazy. I hear so many voices, what I need to do for work, oh I forgot to call Mr. Customer back, I need to follow up with... you fill in the blank. The phrase "silence is deafening" is more than true to me in my life right now. Especially when I am trying to hear clearly the word of the Lord for my life and my family. What do you think Paul meant when he said, Be anxious (do not be worried, have any anxiety about anything) for nothing, but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication (definite requests) with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God! Do you think that if we as a generation started to pray about every decision we made the world around us would change? I know from personal experience that if and when I pray and bring my concerns before the Lord, I don't carry around the baggage of stress. The worry of am I going to make my monthly commission quota, how am I going to pay my bills, should my wife go back to work, should I take this new job that requires me to travel more, should I quit my job and move to Africa, well I'm kidding about the Africa piece. But you get my point, what can you lay down at the feet of Jesus that you are carrying around. I really like the way the Amplified version of the bible says verse 7, And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with it's earthly lot of what every sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. When I think of tranquility, I imagine a Japanese garden with rocks and water gently flowing, loud enough to hear the water rushing over the rocks, quiet enough that you have to be next to it to hear. I want you to imagine this, picture your heart, now picture your heart with a wall of protection surrounding it, that wall is as high as the sky and as deep as the ocean, that wall is peace! The God of peace will enter your heart and protect it with his peace when you surrender your anxiety to him in prayer. I want to encourage you this evening as you read this or even in the morning, take a moment to silence the voices that are fighting for you attention. Turn off the radio and tv, turn your cell phone on vibrate and just sit and rest. Let your mind focus on the Lord, let him guard your heart with the peace that truly passes all understanding. I promise you will not be disappointed. With Grace,

Rear View Mirror

Have you ever found yourself starring in your rear view mirror while driving? I spend on average 3 hours a day in the car driving back and forth to the office and running appointments. I realized that I spend a lot of my time looking in the rear view mirror. Constantly I am looking to see what cars are near me, how fast are they going, what kind of car are they driving. I will speed up or slow down to keep someone else from moving forward. All the while not paying as much attention to what is in front of me as behind. As you can imagine this is extremely dangerous. It is important to know and understand your surroundings but not to the extent of not paying attention to what is ahead! The reality is, it's easy to get side tracked by what everyone else is doing, the speed they are going and how they are driving instead of staying your own course.

Have you ever jumped in the fast lane to pass a car that was traveling slower than your desired speed? Upon entering the fast lane you realize a car behind you is going faster than you anticipated, now your accelerating up to an unsafe driving speed to get out of his way. You struggle to move out of the fast lane because your speed is prohibiting you from moving back to the pace you were at before that slow poke got in your way. When you exit the fast lane your heart is racing, hands clenched to the steering wheel and in a place you never wanted to be. Now your checking your rear view mirror to make sure there are no cops chasing you. The only problem is you actually liked driving that fast, the speed made you feel strong. In your heart you know there could be a couple outcomes of driving so fast, maybe nothing happens, you could get a ticket, crash and worst case scenario die. Such is true with sin in our lives. We often times jump into something we just want to try, and it takes us down a path faster and longer than we ever initially intended. The end result could be just a ticket, a small crash or we perish living that life style. All along we just intended to jump in the fast lane to pass one car. Sin is powerful, the end result for all of us that continue to live in sin is death.

During one of my adventures to the office a couple weeks ago the Lord started speaking to me about living in my rear view mirror. Not only was I looking in the rear view mirror of my car, I was living in the rear view mirror of my life. I was focused on my mistakes and short comings, the disappointments and failures instead of the wonderful blessings and successes. I was allowing my short comings to consume me, therefore living a paralyzed life in the past. Knowing well and good that the Lord has accounted for all of my mistakes I have struggled with forgiving myself. It's was easier for me to live in the past then look forward to the wonderful things God has in store for me.

There are a couple scriptures I would like to share about looking back. In Genesis 19:15-17 the story talks about the Lord destroying Sodom and Gomorrah as we read, ["At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!” When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don't look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”] The story goes on to say that Lot's wife did not obey the commands of the Lord and she was destroyed for Looking Back.

I am not saying that you should not ever reflect on your life or enjoy the memories that have been created. What I am saying is don't dwell on the way you use to live, the mistakes you have made or the disappointments that have brought you to your knees. Fix your eyes on the future, the blessings you have right now in your life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." Do not let your past control your future, you do not have to live in your rear view mirror. God is powerful, majestic and wonderful, he has designed us to fix our eyes upon him and his beautiful kingdom. When we do this, we receive his power to move forward and write new history. I want to end on this beautiful note, yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a present. Live now in the moment, rejoice and remember these final words, Romans 8:38-39 "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." God Bless

The Cleansing Fire

Here in Dallas we reached 40 consecutive days of plus 100 degree heat. We fell two days shy of the record set in 1980 of 42 days. If you drive down any of the highways or look at lawns the grass is burnt and dieing. With the extreme temperatures also comes extreme draught conditions. Therefore the likely hood of seeing fires is very high. I noticed the other day there were small patches of black grass on the highway. Obviously there was a fire and it burned a small patch of the grass. Thankfully it did not spread. You may be asking why am I talking about this? Each day I drive by this same section of highway, I see the same dead burnt grass. When I get to the section that was burned by fire amazingly enough there is green grass growing back quickly. Each day it shows that it can survive and thrive because of the positive effects of the fire.

I begin to reflect on what may have occurred that day the fire broke out. I imagine it burned for a short time, fireman came and used water to contain the fire and extinguish it. Shortly after we begin to see new life begin to grow. Is this not the same thing that happens to us when we allow our heavenly father to burn off all of our old ways of living. If we are willing to let him, he begins to burn off all of the chaff, he thoroughly cleanses us from all of our sin and shame. During the fire it may not be exactly what we expect or want. I imagine it is not comfortable by any means. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." However, as soon as the father puts out the flames he floods us with his Holy Spirit to fill us with his presence. Ephesians 5:25-27 says Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

As I studied the effects of forest fires and there positive effects it is truly amazing that some tree buds do not even open until they are exposed to extreme temperatures that can only happen during a forest fire. We see the visible effects immediately after the fire is extinguished. God is always working this out to bring about new life. Remember that intense heat truly brings to life who you are in Christ. I leave you with this thought, next time you feel like your in the fire, rejoice, knowing that this is temporary. You will be able to stop and look back at how our awesome father in heaven was willing to make you more like him.

God's Voice

Ever since the beginning of time, the serpent has been creating doubt in believers minds about the voice of God. If we start in the beginning with Eve in the book of Genesis 3:1 it says, Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" If we stop to reflect on our own lives it's easy to question whether we are hearing from the father or not. The devil would like nothing more than to bring confusion to us in regards to God's will for our lives. The Lord is constantly speaking, directing and guiding our lives. We must choose whom we are going to follow. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. It's imperative as believers that we focus on the truth. God's word will always direct our paths. If we know that the devil will come after our thoughts to try and bring confusion we need to use the sword in our defence. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. That scripture says two things, we must protect our thoughts and we must learn to attack versus being on the defense. See Christ gives us the most powerful tool on earth, his written word! When we speak out the written word of God, mountains tremble and the earth shakes. When our father created the heavens and the earth he SPOKE the world into existence. Therefore, we have been given tremendous power to use the sword, the word of God. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, his response to each of his commands were, IT IS WRITTEN!!! If Jesus spoke the word to the devil, why do we not stand on the word of God with faith? Hebrews 4:12 says For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. God's word is alive, it is powerful and everlasting! When we question in our heart if we are hearing God's voice, open his word. John 1:1 says In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. When we speak the word into our situation, we actually speak God into the situation. We literally speak life when we speak the word of God!
So the next time you question are you hearing God's voice, stop and open his word!

Matthew 4

Matthew 4 gives us the ultimate story of Jesus being the conqueror over all temptation. Jesus our Lord shows the exact way to fight against temptation. After being in the wilderness 40 days he was hungry. At this time of vulnerability Satan came to tempt the Lord in the wilderness.

Much like us after we have been called there is usually going to be a season of manifold temptations. 1 Peter 1:6-7 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Jesus gives us the greatest example about how to overcome these temptations. He combated the devil with the Word, It is written! This is a great example as to why it’s so important to have the Word ready and hidden in our hearts for that day of trial.
We are never given more than we can handle. 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. The difference here is fighting with the Word or trying to fight the devil in our flesh. When we fight with our own power we are not using all that Christ has given us. Too many Christians live lives defeated because they are always on the defense and not on the offense.
Often times when we are tempted about something, we have two choices, fight or give in. First you have to know that you are being tempted. We may live in sin for so long that it is no longer a temptation as much as it is second nature. It becomes part of our sin nature. Nevertheless, if you are a follower of Jesus you will not be without temptation. Once you recognize this, the devil will often try and enter through the way of your thoughts. Paul gave a great description of the spiritual battle that goes on constantly. Paul also gave us a strategy to fight. 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Jesus does not allow us to be tempted so that we can fail and live a defeated life. He allows this so that we may be purified and tried by the fire.
How can we play on the offense in the Christian life and battle over our souls? Read with me Ephesians 6:10-17. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Does that not encourage you to live your life with confidence in Christ Jesus that he is able to deliver you from all manors of temptation? Not only does Christ want to deliver you, he wants you to be an over comer in the faith. Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.