Heavy Lifting

Over the past several years I have had a tender heart towards evangelism.  God has stirred something inside of me.  I want to see people surrender their life to the service of Jesus.  I want to see people change. My desire is to see God use me and my gifts to bring others into His kingdom.

Here is the sticky part:  I find my self getting frustrated because I’m not the type of person who has had the privilege of actually “leading someone” to accept Jesus..  In my best recollection, I don’t recall having a conversation with someone and they suddenly have that “Ta-da” moment!  We all know someone who has these amazing stories of triumph for Christ.  They’ll say something like “Today was neat!  I stopped into a Starbucks to get a cup of coffee and the next thing you know I led a whole family of pagan witches to Jesus!”  I’m not that guy, and I find myself fighting back the urge to become jealous of them.

The coolest thing about the Bible is how the Holy Spirit will show you what you need, when you need it.  This happened to me this week when I read 1 Corinthians 3.

Paul was writing his first letter to the people of Corinth.  As people began to follow Jesus, they began to divide themselves into little teams and argue about who they followed.  Some were fans of Paul, others were fans of Apollos.  Paul’s goal was to stress to them that we are all on the same team.  He calls them co-workers.  (1 Corinthians 3:4-9)

He points out to them that he and Apollos were only servants with appointed tasks.  Paul uses the analogy of gardening, saying “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”  In other words, it’s a process.

One encouraging thing is this:  sometimes you do the heavy lifting, other times you get to be there to lead someone to Christ.  Either way, God uses us to bring those He has chosen as His children to Him.  How cool is that!  We are all woven together.

Think of it this way:  It is 556 miles from my front doorstep to Walt Disney World.  If I drive 525 miles to get me and my family home from vacation, and my wife decides she wants to drive the last 31 miles, don’t we all still make it home?

God has given us all gifts to use for His glory.  Maybe someday I will have the opportunity to lead someone else to Christ.  If not, that is ok.  The Lord may only use me to plant the seeds and have someone else water it.  The important thing is to keep in mind that God is the one who makes the seed grow!

Collect Your Thoughts

Imagine yourself in the lobby of God’s “Oval Office”.  If you were granted 5 minutes to discuss anything with God, what would it be?


Post your comment below:

Heckler or Gamechanger?

My wife and I went to a comedy show one time when we were first married.  We were living in Nashville, Tennessee and I won tickets from one of those radio morning shows.  While we waited for the main comedian to arrive, we noticed that there were a group of folks up front that were having a little “too much fun”.  Alcohol has a tendency in some folks to conjure up more courage than they normally would have, and this was no exception.

When the main comedian hit the stage, one of the men who was drunk began to heckle him.  This went on for two or three minutes.  (Side note:  good comedians are extremely smart.  The last thing you want to do is trade word-punches with them.)  Finally, the comedian on stage took off the gloves and began verbally abusing the man to a point of tears.  Needless to say, the drunk shut up and didn’t utter another word the rest of the evening.  I am ashamed to say, but it was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen!

In Matthew 21:23-27 we see a similar story take place.  Jesus is teaching in the temple and the chief priests and elders begin to question Jesus’ authority.   They came to Him and said “By what authority do you do these things?” and “Who gave you the right?”  Immediately Jesus quiets the hecklers by asking them a question too hard to answer concerning John’s Baptism.  Finally they admitted “We don’t know!”

Here are a few points that stood out to me when reading this scripture:

• Jesus was doing His Father’s will and teaching those around Him. 

• This wasn’t the first time Jesus had done this sort of thing.  (Luke 2:41-51)

• The Elder’s and the Chief Priests were supposed to be on His side.  They were a part of the temple.  Instead of listening, learning or encouraging Jesus, they decided to be jealous of Him and heckle.

• If you are doing the Lord’s work and following God’s will, those who are jealous (Christian or not) will mock and ridicule you, even though they have no authority to do so.  When this happens, roll with it.  You don’t answer to them, you answer to God.

• Anytime you are doing God’s will (especially something radical) there will always be those on the sidelines saying “You can’t do that!” or “You shouldn’t be doing it that way!”  Those that are sitting on the sidelines will always heckle someone who is a gamechanger for Christ.

• Encourage those who are doing God’s work.  They have plenty of hecklers and are in desperate need of an encouraging word!

• Never expect Non-Christians to act like Christians.  They won’t, so don’t get your feelings hurt when they heckle you.  They are lost and it’s our job as Christians to obey God so they can see Christ in us.

• In the previous passage in Matthew 21:22, we see Jesus encouraging His disciples stating “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer!”  What would our walk with Christ look like if we REALLY believed?  No amount of heckling could hold us back!

It’s time to make up our minds!  Are we going to do God’s thing and be gamechangers or are we going to sit on the sidelines and heckle those who do?

I Love You This Much!

My Grandmother Effie & Sister Midge

My grandmother’s name was Effie Merritt.  She was (by far) the most Godly woman I have ever known, and instilled in me the importance of following Jesus from a very early age.


My sister and I used to spend the night with her all of the time.  On any given Friday or Saturday night, you would find us sitting at the foot of her chair (next to the heater), watching her favorite entertainer on television, Lawrence Welch.  We would talk up a storm with her about all kinds of things, and she would laugh at us.  I really enjoyed that part of my life and miss her very much.


One of our favorite games that we used to play was “How much do you love me?"  Every time I was around her, she would always ask us “How much do you love me?”  Without fail, we would hold up our thumb and index finger as is we were holding an eyelash between them and reply “This much!”  She would act as if she was crying or mad because we had just shown her that we just barely loved her. We would burst out laughing.  She would look at us, stretch her arms far apart and tell us “I love you this much!”  This would always end up in a big hug for our Ma-Ma!


I haven’t thought about that game in a long time until I met a friend of mine for lunch a few weeks ago.  We were sharing with each other what God is doing in our lives, and he mentioned that He was being challenged by the Holy Spirit.  God was asking Him “How much do you love me?” 


Are you kidding me?  This guy is a Godly man.  His testimony is rock-solid.  This intrigued me, so I asked him to explain himself.


He replied “Do I really love God more than my wife?  More than my child?  If I lost my house, would I love God more the next day than I did before?”


That hammered me.  Now I was asking myself the same thing.  My honest answer was beginning to scare me.


Deuteronomy 6:5 lays out for the people of Israel one of the hardest laws ever handed down by God.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  In and of itself, that is a tall order.


In Matthew 22, we see Jesus step it up another notch.  The Pharisees saw the Sadducees strike out when they were trying to trip Jesus up, so they decided to step up to the plate.  They asked Him “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?”
Jesus, knowing their wicked hearts replied “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.   And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In other words, Jesus was saying “If you are going to try and work your way to heaven, try this on for size!”  It’s an impossible task on your own. 


This brings me back to my original conversation with my friend.  God is asking us as Christians to play the game “How much do you love me?”


As I examine myself, my answer is changing day by day.  I truly feel I am heading in the right direction, but have a long way to go.  As hard as it is to admit, my love has all kinds of conditions.  Would I love the Lord if He took my wife or children away from me (or both)?  Would I love Him more than anything if He took my job, my friends, my house?  As I grow in Christ, I pray that God changes me into the man that loves Him no matter what.

Old Friends

Isn’t it great to run into old friends!  I had the opportunity to cross paths with a friend of mine that I went to school with years ago.  Clayton King was a year behind me, and one of the most energetic, on fire for Christ people I have ever known.  That hasn’t changed!  He is now a Pastor / Evangelist known world wide!   After hearing him preach today, I had to share my notes from his sermon.  It was that good!

Clayton wrapped up a 7 week series at our church has been going through entitled “Make War”.  During those weeks, we followed David as he stood up to Goliath.

Here are a few notes from today:

1.)    There is always a Pasture before the Palace!

·        David began his humble beginnings as a shepherd, not a king.

·        If we as Christians are not faithful in the now, God will not give us the “What’s next”.

What is the Pasture? 

·        It’s where God places you, even if you don’t understand it.

·        It’s where you get to be “The least of these”.

·        It’s where you get to master and develop “The little things”.  In doing the small things for Christ, God will use those times to develop your skills for the bigger things.

2.)    Humility Proceeds Authority.  (1 Samuel 17:20)

·        A good prayer to pray:  God give me the wisdom to know what is right and the courage to do it.

·        If you are too big to do the small things for Christ, then you will be too small to do the big things for God.

3.)    Power is always a result of preparation.

·        Read your Bible daily and be prepared for the big fight.  You can’t enter into the major battles for God when you aren’t “up to speed” with what the Bible says.

·        David was battle ready.  His faith in God was so strong that he knew before hand that God would save the day.

·        To be prepared in the Lord is to practice holiness……even when no one is looking!

4. Sin is brash but grace is bold.  (Proverbs 28:1)
• When you are bold in Christ, then grace will abound.
• When you are bold in your own abilities, it comes across brash and arrogant to others.
• God has a habit of using the least of these to do the greatest things.

5. God’s favor isn’t fair.
• God is God, we are not.  It’s His choice to use whom He wants for His own glory.
• When we see God bless others, we have a choice:  celebrate it or writhe in self pity and jealousy.

6.)    The calm may not come until you commit.

·        You can’t wait for a feeling or “right time” to commit to Christ.  The calm comes after the commitment.  Sell out for Jesus and then you will see the pieces fall into place.

·        Being sort of committed to Christ is the same as saying “I will be sort of committed in my marriage.”  You either are or you are not.  You can’t ride the fence.

For video or Podcast of the “Make War” series, click the following link:  Make War

Soul Cancer

Last week, we went to lunch with some friends of ours after church.  As we were waiting on our food to arrive, an interesting conversation began to take place.  We began talking about raising our children in today’s society.  During this discussion, some interesting questions began to arise.  Questions like:

• Should you let your kids spend the night at someone else’s home? 
• Is there more danger today than when we were children? 
• Are children more at risk now than when we were growing up for being molested? 

Needless to say, the conversation took a dark turn which led to the ultimate question of the day:

• What is going on in today’s society where there seems to be more sexual predators than when we were growing up?

My answer was summed up in one word:  Pornography.

Years ago, pornography was something that you had to go looking for in a truck stop or adult book store.  You had to go out of your way to "see something naked."  With the growth in technology, Satan has seized the opportunity to bring sexual sin into our everyday lives at the push of a button.  Pornography is no longer in the back alley, it's in our homes and our churches.  It's soul cancer!

I did a little research and found some alarming statistics. As Christians, here is what we are up against:

• US Sex Industry $ breakdown for 2006:
  Video Sales and Rentals: 3.62 billion
  Internet: 2.84 billion
  Cable/PPV/In-room/Mobile phone sex: 2.19 billion
  Exotic Dance Clubs: 2 billion
  Novelties: 1.73 billion
  Magazines: .95 billion
  Total - 13.3 billion.

• In March of 2002 Rick Warren’s (author of the Purpose Driven life) Pastors.com website conducted a survey on porn use of 1351 pastors: 54% of the pastors had viewed Internet pornography within the last year, and 30% of these had visited within the last 30 days. 

• More than 70% of men from 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month 

• 87% of university students have had sex over webcams, instant messenger or the telephone.

• The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, when surveyed, said the Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces 

• More than 30% of 1,500 surveyed companies have terminated employees for inappropriate use of the Internet, while only 37.5% of companies use filtering software.

• A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event. 

• 57% of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation.

The internet & our children:

• 1 in 7 children who use the internet have been sexually solicited

• 76% of victims in Net-initiated sexual exploitation cases were 13-15, 75% were girls. "Most cases progressed to sexual encounters" - 93% of the face-to-face meetings involved illegal sex (Journal of Adolescent Health, November 2004).

• 2 in 5 abductions of children ages 15-17 are due to Internet contact (San Diego Police Dept.).

Over a short period of time, people who become sucked into this sinful vortex have to keep “upping the ante.”  Eventually, looking at one thing no longer excites them.  They have to graduate to something more hardcore to “feed the beast.”  Some folks never make it back from this downhill spirial.  (Warning:  graphic content video)  Ask a pedophile where he got started, and 100% of the time he will say “with pornography.”

What does the Bible say?

In Romans, we see a snapshot of where we are today.  Paul speaks of God “handing over men” to their sinful desires.  He even describes it “as men inventing new ways to sin against God.”  (Romans 1:18-32)

As Christians, we also underestimate the enemy.  In Job, we see Satan licking his chops, wanting to see how far he can drag Job down.  God gives him boundaries as to what Satan can do to test Job.  Bottom line is this:  without Christ, there are no boundaries.  There is no bottom to how far Satan will drag a man down to destroy him.  (Job 1:6-12 & Job 2:4)

Almost every book in the Bible warns us against sexual sin.  If the past has been a sexual backyard pickup game, in today’s time we are living in the “Sexual Sin Super Bowl”.  How do we guard against it?

• First and foremost, confess it!  God promises that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:9)

• Flush it out!  (Important note to women:  if you haven’t point-blank asked your husband if he is looking at pornography on the internet, then the time is now!  Confront them and ask them.  Be ready for their answer.  Approach them out of love and reassure them that you are asking them because you love them and want to help them out of this dark world.  Then support them with prayer.)  The bottom line is Satan grows this sin like mold in dark places.  Once it gets out in the open that is when God begins to heal.

• Accountability!  Every Monday and Thursday I speak with a really good friend of mine about this very subject.  I know that I have to answer the question “Did you look at porn this week?”  Pornography is a huge temptation for me.  I need this accountability in my life to help me stay on track.  Like an alcoholic or drug addict, I have to treat this as if my life depends on it.  (Because it does!)

• Change your surroundings!  If you struggle with pornography, don’t put yourself in a place that will allow you to be tempted.  Put filters on your internet, stay away from places that show suggestive material, run like the wind from it.  If you have to, throw away your computer!  Do whatever it takes.  (Matthew 5:29)
 

• Spend time in the word!  It’s impossible to grow in sin and grow in the Lord at the same time.  If you earnestly seek God through prayer and His word, you will (over time) be able to win this war.

Keep this in mind this week:  Satan will use this to completely ruin your life.  If you are struggling with this sin in your life, do not play around with this any longer.  Run to Jesus and run from sexual sin.

End Of The Line

Did you know that on average it takes 30,000 gallons of water to fill a normal sized swimming pool?  You may be asking yourself “why do you know that?”  It's because last month my wife and I had a water leak at our house that would fill this swimming pool 11 times over.  That's right:  340,000 gallons of water leaked from our water line, and we are now required to pay.

Let me give you some background on our water situation at our home.  When we built our house 2 years ago, we found out that we were literally at the end of the line.  The main water line that services hundreds of houses before us ends with us.  Therefore, due to the amount of pressure, we could have a leak of this magnitude and never know it.  We know it now!

I spoke with the water company and they did agree to knock of a little bit from our bill, but it was still astronomical.  With one last ditch effort, I decided to go before the Water Board and plead my case to see what leniency they would be willing to offer.  They were very polite and listened to my case.

The verdict was this: everybody has to pay, you have to pay too.  (Side note:  this is not a rant against the water company.  They were very gracious and did what they had to do.  I appreciate them working with us.)

The reason I am writing you is that during this process, my mind began to wander.

What if:  a man came along and decided to pay the whole amount for me?  Better yet.......

What if:  a man came along and said "I will not only pay for your water leak, but I will pay you for all the water you will use from this day forward!"  Now we're talking!  But..........

What if:  a man came along and said "I'm not only going to pay for your leak and future purchases, but I will also reimburse you for all of the water you have ever used since you were born!  All you have to do is ask!"

What if:  my leaking water line was really my sin?

Jesus Christ died and paid for our sins, free and clear.  When I accepted Him as my payment, I don't have to worry about going before the Water Board meeting someday, His Father.  That bill has already been paid.  (Psalms 103:11-12)

We walk among people (Friends, family, etc) who have leaky water lines.  There are gallons of sins that will have to be accounted for someday.  The bill will have to be settled.  Why do we find it hard to tell others about the Savior willing to pay for their bill in full?

Today, be the light.  Tell someone about Christ and what He has done for us.   

8 Seconds

Every weekend, somewhere in America, there are a group of men who gather together and compete in one of the craziest sports that has ever been invented.  The call themselves “bull riders”.  Has there ever been anything more insane than one day deciding “Hey, I know what I’ll do!  I’ll climb on the back of a 1,500 lb. angry animal and see if I can ride it?”  If you aren’t familiar with the sport, click on the video and let Justin McBride show you how it's done!

The PBR (Professional Bull Rider) cowboys travel every weekend, criss-crossing the country to get to the next event.  Their primary goal is to stay on the bull’s back for 8 seconds.  Bulls with names such as Voodoo Child, Uncle Buck and Code Blue.  If you ever meet one of these gentlemen, you will find that there is one thing they all have in common; they live life wide-open.  They live for 8 seconds.

James must have had the same mindset as a bull riding cowboy.  In James chapter 4, he refers to our lives as a mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes.  James was fully aware that in the grand scheme of things (God’s time table) we are only here for a brief moment.  The King James Version of scripture compares our life as a vapor.  Have you ever taken a breath outdoors on a cold winter day?  You’ll see your breath for a split second, and then it is gone.

Why would James write something like this for us to consider?  In chapter 4:13-17, he is basically saying to others “you make all of these plans to go here and do this or that but never take into account what God’s will may be.”  He even goes further to state in verse 17 “Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”

So many of us live our life as if we are going to live on this earth forever.  Our main focus in life is getting enough money to do this or that, to live here or there, to become this or that.  We even make all kinds of plans for retirement when James is saying “WAKE UP PEOPLE!  You might not even be here tomorrow!”

We have a short window of opportunity to make a difference for God.  We have only a hand full of sand in the hourglass to do something on behalf of His kingdom.  We are only on the bull for 8 seconds.

Start today!  Stop thinking down here, and start thinking up there.  Quit worrying about the small stuff and get busy living for Christ. 

Daddy, what are we doing?

As I was tucking my son into bed the other night, we continued our same nightly routine:  we said our prayers together.  This night ended a little differently.  As we finished, he looked at me and said “Daddy, what are we doing?”

I asked him what he meant.  He replied “Why do we talk to God if He already knows what we are going to say anyway?”

Thinking on my feet I asked him “Why do you talk to me?”

My little boy replied “You’re different:  you don’t know it all!”

We talked about it for awhile, and as I walked back down the stairs I realized that he had just asked a really good question!  Why do we pray if God is sovereign, all powerful, all knowing and has His own agenda (His will) in place?  Why bother?

Here’s what I know from scripture:

• Jesus did it.  As the Son of God, Jesus spent countless hours in prayer with His heavenly Father.  Matthew 26:36-39

• God tells us to pray.  If you are a child of God, God longs to hear our prayers and petitions.  Ephesians 6:18

• Prayer isn’t designed to change God’s mind, it’s designed to change our hearts to be in line with God’s will.  Genesis 18:16-33  (Good example:  God’s will was to destroy Sodom but allowed Abraham to pray on their behalf.  God’s will was done but through prayer he showed Abraham his will.  Like a father with his own child, he was patient with him.)

• Just because we don’t understand it doesn’t mean it doesn’t work?  God is God, and we are not.  Job 41

• God accepts the prayers of His children.  Psalms 6:9

• It brings us closer to God, not God closer to us.  If you belong to God, then He’s already there.  We are the ones who wander off like lost sheep.  Prayer brings us back.

• It completes the other half of the equation.  God speaks to us through scripture and prayer (our talking with God) brings our heart in line with Him and helps us hear what He is saying.

• Prayer allows us to see God’s hand at work.  In return, we grow in our faith which makes us more like Jesus.

• He's not only our Father, but our Daddy.  Galatians 4:6-7  The word "Abba" literally translates as "Daddy".  As our Daddy, there is absolutely nothing that we are not allowed to say to Him.  God already knows our heart.  Why try to put on a different face when you pray?  Tell Him what is on your heart.

There are many other reasons to pray that I haven't listed (confession, offering thanks, etc.)  These are just a few that come to mind.

Don’t get me wrong!  I truly do not understand how it works, but it works.  God’s will is perfect.  It is so cool how a Holy God allows us to approach him like a child, pouring out our heart to our Father!  Don’t miss the opportunity to speak with God.  The Bible promises us that He is listening!

Kickin’ & Screamin’



Michelle and Midge Cole

 I often think about my niece Michelle and smile.  She is a trip!  She has an incredible personality, an infectious smile, she is REALLY FUNNY, and she’s beautiful all the way to the bone.  My sweet little niece is all of these things, but until recently she had a huge need in her life. She needed a family.

The reason I smile when I think about her is that in God’s big picture, I am Michelle too!

Michelle now belongs to my sister and brother-in-law.  She was adopted from China.  When they decided to make Michelle a part of their family, they went through great pains to get her.  First of all, the adoption process was expensive.  They had to save their money and pay dearly to adopt her.  They also had to wait on her.  It took a long time for everything to be approved through the adoption agency and the US Government.

Then they had to go out of their way to get her.  China is a long way from here, and although it was a hassle, they loaded up their entire family and went over to China and found her in a small, run down orphanage where she lived.  Her home in China was “out in the country” so even after they arrived, they still had to travel a great distance to get her.

When they finally met her, I often wonder what Michelle thought.  Maybe it was “Why me?  I don’t want to go….” or “Leave me alone, I’m happy here!”  She may have even gone out the door kickin’ and screamin’!  She had no idea what was in store for her back at her real home, the home my sister had prepared for her.  When she returned back to the United States, Michelle would hide food in her pockets because she was afraid she wasn’t going to get any more to eat that day.  Little did she know that she there was an endless supply of gifts and love waiting for her everyday for the rest of her life!!!

Paul writes to those who belong to Christ and describes the exact same scenario in Ephesians. (Eph. 1:3-14)  He explains to them that if you are in Christ, you are adopted…….chosen by God as His children.  You are valuable.  You mean the world to Him!

You are also expensive!  Your adoption cost our heavenly Father the blood of His only Son. (John 3:16)  He literally went to the Hell and back to adopt you, and He’s not letting go! (Rom 8:38-39)

Life here on this side of eternity can be tough.  Ask my sister and I’m sure she’ll agree that it was an adjustment for Michelle.  Our lives in Christ are a major adjustment too!  In God’s time, we will all see that our heavenly Father has an endless supply of gifts and love waiting for us.  Walk in that assurance today!

The Measure Of A Man

Over the past several years, I have seen the Lord answer my prayers in the craziest of ways.  Last month was no exception.

To bring those of you that may not know me or my wife, we changed churches the end of last year.  It was a major move for our family, but we felt that we were obeying God and following Him where He wanted us to go.

As we began to worship with our new church family, I began to pray and ask God “What next Lord?  What do you want me to do for you now?”  I didn’t expect such a quick response.

The very next week my Dad called me up and informed me that he had a book that he wanted me to read.  It was entitled “The Measure of a Man” by Gene Getz.  The whole premise of the book began from a Men’s Bible study that Pastor Getz led years ago.  He began studying the 20 Christ-like attributes that Paul laid out for Timothy and Titus in his letters to them.  From that Bible study, he wrote the book and has since sold millions of copies world-wide.

I asked Daddy why he wanted me to read it?  He replied “You never know……you might lead a men’s bible study yourself someday and be able to use it!”  God joke #1.  (God’s sense of humor in speaking with me)

The very next day my best friend informed me that “if you ever teach a men’s Bible study, I’ll come.”  Within 24 hours I had heard from two different people the same thing.  God joke #2.

Two days later I had two other guys mention that we should get a men’s group together in our area.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, I started to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

We begin next week and without advertising it, we have 12 guys that have come out of nowhere and signed up for a 20 week Bible study of this book.

God is so awesome.  Please keep us in your prayers as we dive head first into this material.  From the looks of things, I expect God not to only show up……but show out!

I highly recommend this book.  If you would like to purchase “The Measure of a Man” please click the following link.