Life happenings in the storm

I think the way for me to start this Blizzardy day is with some wisdom from Soren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher and theologian from the mid 1800’s. He had a way of boiling down thought into bite size chewables. Here’s one: “There are two ways to be fooled: one is to believe what isn’t so, and the other is to refuse to believe what is so.” He had a way of bringing out modern relevance of biblical figures. He had a passion to renew Christian faith within Christendom in the Danish church. One of his main recreation activities was to talk with ordinary people on the street. He had much to do with the shaping of modern thinking. He had passion. I am convinced that passion is the impetus that we need to use in making our decisions. More than emotion, passion goes to the will. We can choose the will part but our emotions kind of just happen. As life happens for you today, appreciate the passions you have and remember that they are there for a reason. One of my favorite authors, Leonard Sweet says that at judgment day one of the questions from God will be, “Did you have a good time?” Make sure you can have a positive answer.

Thankful for passions

“What are you thinking just now? What is happening inside your heart? Every human being needs a cause in life, a passion. If you don’t have something in your life that can make your heart pound, that cam move you either to tears of joy or tears of sorrow in about 30 seconds, then, my friend, you are not fully alive. Life is too precious to go in such a half awake condition. You can do better. You deserve better.”
Dr. Wes Stafford in his book:
“Too small to ignore”

I read that again this week and have been reminded of the importance of identifying our passions. If I am not careful, I become passionate about things that are not really important. The Bible tells us to "Redeem the time". As I went into the grocery store yesterday I noticed the door is covered by obituary notices. Life is too precious to not be involved in the cause and passionate about things beyond myself. If you see me today, remind me that "it's not about me". We are all in this together. Think about your "Globality" today.

Passion

A couple thoughts about preaching this morning:

W.E. Sangster, in his book "Power in Preaching", says, "some preaching fails in power because it fails in passion". Preaching must be real if it is to be anything. Artificial passion doesn't get it done. I have found that people, especially kids, are experts at detecting pretense. I love preaching but, even more, I really need to love those to whom I preach. I like what Ian Hall wrote about it:

"A real passion for souls is a glow from within; the counterfeit is a shine applied to the outside."

My prayer today:

God, help me to be real today and have a glow from within. Help me to be compelled by the love of Christ.

Passionate goals

A couple of thoughts from the meetings of the last two days:

If our goals are important, but lack urgency, we’ll only get as far as our to do list.
If our goals are urgent, but lack importance, they will be forgotten.

There needs to be a passion in our strategy. Passion will gain attention and will help in getting others to buy in on the strategy. Sometimes a public buy in is not necessary but without it we may lose the capacity to actually implement it.

I was reading this morning in the early chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. As I read about John the Baptist I am always excited about his passion for proclaiming the coming Messiah. Ultimately his passion cost him his life but, according to Jesus, he was right and now centuries later, we are still buying in to his strategy. That kind of passion is bigger than life and only time will prove its validity. John’s passion drew interest from all the corners and gave Jesus the stage to make a statement and God the father to put His stamp of approval on His son.

It makes sense to have a strategy today that is important, urgent and passionate.

Go for It !

In Ron Clark’s book, “The Essential 55” he takes rule # 51 to talk about dreams. As I was reading it this morning, all kinds of emotions and thoughts ran through my mind. The one thing that we do not want to happen in life is to get to the end and find we have regrets about the way we led our life. Here is Rule 51:

Live so that you will never have regrets. If there is something you want to do, do it! Never let fear, doubt, or other obstacles stand in your way. If there is something you want, fight for it with all your heart. If there is something you want to do, go for it and don’t stop until you make it happen. If there is something you want to be, do whatever is necessary in order to live out that dream.”

Keep in mind though that there are always consequences to our decisions. Be sure that the goal truly is something worth going after. The good dreams inside of us are put there by God and are achievable at some level. There are plenty of dream killers out there to give you reasons that you should play it safe and ignore the dream. The Bible is filled with examples of people who were more concerned with going for the goal rather than playing it safe. There are always reasons out there of why not to do it, but the over riding concept in my life is that the only thing that really matters is what God wants. Once we figure that out, we have a green light to go after it.

My favorite Selah song is “Press On”

When the valley is deep
When the mountain is steep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall

When the choices are hard
When we're battered and scarred
When we've spent our resources
When we've given our all

In Jesus' name, we press on
In Jesus' name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on

In Jesus' name, we press on
In Jesus' name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on
To press on

Spiritual Adventure

“… pursuing a God ordained passion, no matter how crazy it seems, is the most responsible thing you can do.”

Mark Batterson

The above quote from the new book, “Wild Goose Chase” catches something inside of me that tells me to go for it. The concept of challenging old assumptions and setting God-sized goals drives my pursuit of spiritual adventure. Enjoying the storms of life is something that will catapult us into a level that is never experienced by those who cower in fear at the prediction of a coming storm.

You can also learn more about the book, “Wild Goose Chase” by following these links:

http://ChaseTheGoose.com and http://MarkBatterson.com

Mark Batterson is the pastor of National Community Church, a thriving community of believers in the heart of Washington, D.C. He has planted an exciting church. That utilizes technology and fresh style to reach many who were falling through the cracks. Mark is in demand as a guest speaker all over the world. I have sat under his teaching several times and have thoroughly enjoyed both of his books “In a pit with a lion on a snowy day” and now “Wild Goose Chase”.

God designed us for spiritual adventure. Let’s take off our sandals and go for it!

Zoe

One of my favorite authors is Leonard Sweet. He wrote several of he books on my list of favorites. My latest book from him is “The Gospel according to Starbucks”. In it he makes the following observation,:

Let’s be honest: Life is a loaded word. It can mean everything from resignation (“well, that’s life.”) to exhilaration (“I love life”). The ancient Greek language helps us here. ..The EPIC life is “Zoe” It means flamboyant, passionate life. Jesus said, “ I have come that they may have zoe and have it to the full.”

When I read things like that, I am reminded that God is interested in presenting a sensory feast to His creation. Passion and meaning is the bottom line of real life. God offers them at every level.

Enjoy your sensory feast God has prepared for you today.

A frog at the garden waterfall

I read verse out of “The Message” this morning that kick started my day:

What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.”
- Psalm 104:24

Yesterday afternoon, I was listening to a frog next to a small garden waterfall. He was croaking for all he was worth. He seemed to be expressing his emotions. The owner said he had put in the garden waterfall the day before and the frog just moved in. I could have stood there for hours just listening.

Sometimes there are just not words to adequately convey our emotions. I think that when the psalmist wrote that verse he was overflowing with awe. He regularly spent time near to the heart of God.

“He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.” Isaiah 40:11

Some of the greatest hymns of the church came out of emotional times.
Cleland B. McAfee , in 1903 wrote the following words af­ter two of his niec­es died from diph­theria. The Park Col­lege choir sang the new hymn out­side the quar­an­tined house.

Near to the Heart of God

There is a place of quiet rest,Near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest,Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before TheeNear to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,Near to the heart of God
.A place where we our Savior meet,Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before TheeNear to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,Near to the heart of God.
A place where all is joy and peace,Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before TheeNear to the heart of God.

Catching Passion

Here is a thought worth pondering I read this morning:

What people around us will catch is not what we believe, but what we are passionate about.

I need to ask how the way I spend my time and money is communicating my passions to others around me. I need to look at my dependence levels. Who or what I depend upon says volumes about where I am in my faith. A healthy understanding of God’s desires will only come as I learn to depend on Him. Outside of that dependence, I have tension-filled days where I worry about stuff that is totally out of my control. Transitioning to the place of dependence of God takes us through unfamiliar territory at times. Israel needed a “time of testing” on their way to the promised land. ( Hebrews 3:8 ). Moving from our comfort zones is never easy, but it is necessary as the stretching causes growth. As we move away from those comfort zones, the doors gradually shut behind us and retreat possibilities disappear. We are in a wonderful new season with new levels to launch from.

Not enough words

A year ago I wrote the following blog entry about one of the great hymns of the church. I have been thinking about this hymn and decided to once again put down all nineteen verses instead of the four we usually sing.

First the story of the lyrics:

They were written by Charles Wesley to commemorate the first anniversary of his conversion to Christ in 1739. The words were placed to music and have come down through the ages as a standard to those who feel that words are not enough in our adoration of our savior.

O for a thousand tongues to singMy great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroadThe honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,His blood availed for me.

He speaks, and, listening to His voice,New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,The humble poor believe.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,And leap, ye lame, for joy.

In Christ your Head, you then shall know,Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,And own that love is heaven.

Glory to God, and praise and loveBe ever, ever given,
By saints below and saints above,The church in earth and heaven.

On this glad day the glorious SunOf Righteousness arose;
On my benighted soul He shoneAnd filled it with repose.

Sudden expired the legal strife,’Twas then I ceased to grieve;
My second, real, living lifeI then began to live.

Then with my heart I first believed,Believed with faith divine,
Power with the Holy Ghost receivedTo call the Savior mine.

I felt my Lord’s atoning bloodClose to my soul applied;
Me, me He loved, the Son of God,For me, for me He died!

I found and owned His promise true,Ascertained of my part,
My pardon passed in heaven I knewWhen written on my heart.

Look unto Him, ye nations, ownYour God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone,Be justified by grace.

See all your sins on Jesus laid:The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering madeFor every soul of man.

Awake from guilty nature’s sleep,And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep,And wash the Æthiop white.

Harlots and publicans and thievesIn holy triumph join!
Saved is the sinner that believesFrom crimes as great as mine.

Murderers and all ye hellish crewIn holy triumph join!
Believe the Savior died for you;For me the Savior died.

With me, your chief, ye then shall know,Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,And own that love is heaven.

The Passion for Gusto

Thomas Edison once said, “When you see everything that happens in the world of science and in the working of the universe, you cannot deny that there is a captain on the bridge”.

What a ride!. One of the blessings in my life is to be around people that are passionate about their relationship with God. People who have decided that the only thing that really matters is what God thinks about it. They have also decided that the Bible is true so they have a basis for knowing God’s opinion on issues. I hope I can develop the kind of passion that understands the significance of the impact I may have on someone’s life by the things I say and do around them. The option of missing the boat or seizing the day is real. The Bible calls it making the most of every opportunity. If you are a reader of this weblog, please understand that I do not take lightly the fact that I have been allowed to enter data into your life. I like to look at these as divine appointments rather than chance meetings. One of my favorite authors is Leonard Sweet. He once wrote that time spent exploring inner space is as important as time spent exploring outer space. So it’s not so much ,”What am I doing today?” as it is “How Am I doing today”?I hope in these daily notes to answer the how as much as the what., Let’s get after it with gusto. The Psalmist wrote,”This is the day that the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it”