Trust and Success

Faith is not just a thought or an emotion, but a constant effort that must be worked towards. Trusting God, really honestly, sincerely trusting God, means an entire release of those things that you feel lift you up and bring you down. It is effortless to trust God with the things that we see as easy and will solve themselves. One of the tests of faith is trusting God with the things that don’t seem so clear or easy to us.

What success is to us and what success is to God can be two very different things. I am a point in my life where I am seeking what God wants for me and my family. As God reveals those things to me, I find my plans conformed to God’s heart. As I seek His heart, I am committing my plans to Him in the process. Seeking my King’s heart is success. Asking God to use me is success. My love for my King is success. A degree is the desire of my heart, and so I know that it is also important to God.

We are told in James 2:14-18 that faith without works is dead. Where do we draw the line between trusting God to provide versus seeking out that provision?

Less is More

Last night was the last meeting for our youth group until Pastor Steve officially starts. It was bitter-sweet really because on one side I am really looking forward to the time off. The last few months since Pastor Eric left have really drained a lot of us. On the other hand I will definitely be missing the students. I am looking forward to meeting with them individually over the next couple of weeks, but I will miss seeing them all together and worshipping together.
We have spent the last few weeks talking about people in the bible. It has totally been a challenge for me to dig into who these people were and I learned a lot about what role they played in the big picture…expanding the kingdom of God. Last night, I talked about John the Baptist. I am pretty much convinced that he was the first missionary. He lived a radical life, challenging authority, living only on what God provided him, and fulfilling the Great Commission before it was the Great Commission.
The start of Jesus’ ministry was a huge turning point for John. He went from being the man, having his own disciples, calling out the Pharisees, and leading a radical life to stepping aside for Jesus. His humility in accepting his role in Jesus’ ministry was awesome. John 3:30 says (quoting John the Baptist) “He must become greater; I must become less.” What a shining example of how we all should be in regards to Jesus!!!
The position that we have been put in is about God’s kingdom becoming greater, not ours. I know over the past 7 months there have been times when I have forgotten that. It was a hard lesson to learn when I started seeing the affects of my own pride and arrogance come before God’s kingdom, and I now pray that I never need that lesson again…the cost is too high. John’s role was that of a messenger and he embraced it 110%!!!! That is our role too, as professing believers of Christ to let everyone know who Jesus is, what He did, and what He is going to do.
I hope you are having a good week, and I am praying that God will put you and me in a position to be that messenger.

The Drive

I love to drive. I know that if you read my tweets during my early morning commutes or during my evening drive home you may find that hard to believe, but I really do love to drive. Wait...hold on....let me be a little more specific. I love to drive on an open road in a car that has some get up and go. I am not that guy driving down the highway at mach 1, but I do prefer to go 70 instead of 55 when its legal to do so. That is one thing I honestly enjoy about my drive.
My drive to and from work is an hour each way and I almost always hit traffic. So, while at work dreading the inevitable rush hour(s) commute, I figured that I would plot out a quicker way home. See, when I first got this job I went to map quest, put my address, put in my new company address, and followed directions the best that I could: 70 <> 270 <> Olive Blvd. That was the "quickest" way. I soon found out that I was wrong! What was suppose to be about a 45 minute drive each way turned into a hour or more each way. See what I thought was going to be the easy way, turned into the hard way.
Kind of a stretch, but God really pointed some things out to me during this time. I plotted a new route, and shaved about 10 minutes off my drive each way, but added about 10 more miles. Sometimes the path of least resistance is actually the hardest way to go, and sometimes the what looks like the best way to go from point A to point B is actually the worst decision you should make. I figured how to get to work, I just depended on something else (map quest) to make my decision for me. I know how to read a map, I just chose the quickest way and it cost me the most amount of time.
Since this lesson, I have found myself examining how and why I do things the way I do. Some people think the status quo is okay. "It is what I have done all my life." I am tired of that excuse. I have also sinned all my life, but it isn't an excuse to keep making the same mistakes. "I don't like change". Then you misunderstand God, because He is the one who called you to turn away from your evil ways, who called you to change everything you know about love, life, and how to be. I needed this fresh look and new perspective. It moved me. It inspired me to find out how to have a better relationship with Christ, with my wife, and with the people I know the most. So...are you taking the quickest way or are you taking God's way?

Watch this....

This is the what the church should be. Forget your sterotypes, who you think steals the spotlight and represents the christian community....this is the church and this is the change the church is fighting for. Watch the video...

Courage and Commitment

Matthew 4:18-22
18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him. 21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

After I came home from basic training, I remember going to a restaurant to eat with my some of my family. I went my my new class A uniform, ready to show off what I had accomplished. In between bites of food that I was eating faster than what most people could blink, an older man came up to me, grabbed my hand and said, "Son, you're a courageous hero. Thank you for everything you do." I in turn thanked him and went back to my meal. I was 19 at the time and had no idea what he was talking about. I hadn't done anything besides miss some sleep. I didn't understand and to be honest I still don't understand it. When people say those things to me, I just thank them back and go on about my day.
I spent years ignoring my call into ministry. It was either "I'm too young." or "I can't handle that kind of responsibility.". I was really good at coming up with excuses. If you want to see courage, take a look at the verses about when Jesus called His disciples. Man, now that is courage. There have been many times where God has called me to do something, and I blatantly ignore Him. That isn't courage, that's cowardice. The Army taught me how to fight, how to survive, put me through the training and told me when I was ready. God, in his infinite wisdom, calls you to something, already knowing you are ready and just wants you to say yes.
A couple of months ago, I finally gained the courage to say yes to God. I met with my local church board (not nearly as scary as I thought it would be), who prayed over me and committed with me to hold me accountable for my decision to follow God's calling. I ask that you do the same thing. The next four years are going to be difficult for me. I, just like the disciples, have no idea where the next step are going to lead to for Sarah and I. I do know that God has enough love and wisdom to call me to ministry and that I need to answer that call.
I have started the application process to a couple of universities, and I am overwhelmed with paperwork already, a minuscule problem given the importance of what God has trusted me with. I will spend the next couple of weeks meeting and praying with men of God who will encourage and push me. I know there will be times when I will try to step in for God, and I know there will be times when I fall flat on my face. More importantly than all of that thought, I know the love that God has for me with get back to where I need to be and to keep running the race.
Quick side note, please be praying for Sarah also. This is going to be a difficult time for her as well. There will be times when my studies or ministry will have to come before our marriage and her patience and understanding have blessed me and kept me going so far. Thank you for your time and prayers.

The Next Step

Well, it has certainly been a while since my last post and I apologize for that. A lot has been happening since my last post...joined the army again, preached my first service at "big church", said goodbye to some very close friends, bought a house, painted said house, moved into said house, and still managed to keep Sarah from wanting to hurt me! Now down to business...
Five years ago I joined the army in hopes of being involved in something that was bigger than myself. I wasn't sure what the meant really, but I did know that God was leading me into that direction. I found myself in a world that was totally strange to me, forced to do things that I didn't want to (every kid's worst nightmare), really away from my family from the first time, and totally unknowing of what to do next. What I found was painful, lonely, and something much bigger than myself. I was put into situations where I didn't feel I was ready to lead, but somehow God moved through me and looking back I know that I can see lives were changed.
When Jesus called his disciples, it was very clear. He said to them follow me, and they got up, and did it. I wish I could have had this kind of courage. God has been calling me for many years to do something, something in my mind I am not qualified for in any way. However, it is time that I stand up, and respond to that call.
Starting at the end of this year, I will be attending Indiana Wesleyan University online to obtain my degree in Christian Ministries, which will allow me to fulfill God's call in my life, to become a full time pastor. This is a huge step for me, and to be quite honest I am very scared and humbled by this. I am already over-whelmed by everything that needs to be done to achieve this goal...there is a lot. I know that God will guide my steps through this and that I am within His will for my life.
Please please please be praying with Sarah and me. I have already talked with the lead pastor at the church that I go to, and the next step will be to meet with my local church board a week from Sunday. After that, it is a meeting with my district board and somewhere in between A LOT of paperwork. Thanks for being patient with me in announcing this.

In the quiet...

I spent this past weekend at the third annual church camp out that WWC holds with about 130 in attendance. At first I was a little hesitant. I am a very social person, but find myself overwhelmed by too many people. I am more of a small group kinda guy. I had a good time over all and am very glad I went. You can read more about it here or here.
I had the awesome opportunity to do nothing on Saturday while most everyone else was out floating and making tie dye shirts. Before you ask, nothing tragic happened to me as a kid or anything like that. I am just not a big fan of being in the water. So, instead I took a nap, and awoke to find an empty campsite, surrounded by God's creation. I woke up, cooked a pizza lunchable over the campfire, and really enjoyed the time to myself. Sometimes I find myself so busy between work and learning how to be a good husband that I forget that God is waiting for me. In that peaceful quiet with the birds singing and the fire burning I remembered, painfully remembered, that God is waiting for me.
I took some time to pray to God. I really prayed. I haven't spent that kind of time with God in a while and it really broke my heart. I had become so accustomed to being involved in ministry, being a husband, working, and being with my friends that my priorities had fallen drastically out of place. I have been putting my wife and other relationships before God, and God finally got a hold of me.
I didn't bring a bible with me so as I was being convicted of this, I asked God to just speak with me. I spoke to God and He spoke back and the best way I can describe it is peaceful. God reminded me of the story when Jesus sent His disciples ahead of Him on a boat, so that he could be alone. He reminded me that even the Son of God needed time to be alone, to refocus, to pray, and spend time alone.
I love that God is not insecure. I love that He will allow you to fail, not because God is angry or hurtful, but because He loves us and wants us to learn from our mistakes. I hadn't taken time for me to spend with God, and I hadn't taken time for my wife and me to grow together. I have failed in that up until now. There are times and I need a holy boot to my backside, but God knew this was not one of those time. In His own way, he gently pushed me and showed me where I was coming up short.
So, if you are reading this I would like to challenge you. Where are you missing an opportunity to be with God? He is waiting in the quiet, in the stillness...