Archives for April 2006

Given February 4, 2006
My wife sent me to the store recently to get a certain grocery item. I had it in my mind that it came in a blue box and that’s what I was looking for, but couldn’t find it. As frustration began to mount, I thought, “Maybe it’s not in a blue box. Focus on the name.” Well, right there it was, in a red box! I had focused so much on blue that I missed what I was looking for, the real thing.

Could it be, in the same way, we’re looking for God in the bonfire but He’s in the candle? We’re listening for the shout and He’s speaking in a whistper? Or, we’re looking for God in the world and He’s in our hearts? It happened to Elijah too. “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:11-12“

I try to see God in many things; nature, music, the Word, people. He reveals himself in many ways but it’s not usually the way we’re expecting. Look in some different places and see what you find.

Have a blessed day!

Given April 1, 2006
We are called to be doers of the word, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22” Jesus said, “.… I must be about my Father’s business. Luke 2:49“. Some of us are called to leadership positions in the church and all of us are called to tell the Good News in various ways. But how much is too much?

I was reminded this day of the Father’s love for me and His desire to fellowship and talk with me. But sometimes I get so busy, I can hear the Father asking, “Son, where are you today? And I answer, “I’m rght here Dad but I’ve got to take care of some church business right now. I’ll talk to you later.” I don’t know if God gets sad but, as a father of four sons, I get sad if one of my boys doesn’t have time for me.

It reminds me of the 1974 song by Harry Chapin, “Cat’s In The Cradle”, in the last chorus it says, “When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when, But we’ll get together then, dad. You know we’ll have a good time then.” We surely don’t want this scenario to unfold with our kids and God doesn’t want it either. Go talk to Him now.

Given March 25, 2006
As humans, we are a needy people. As Christians, we are a needy people. It seems we pursue lots of things we think we need, and many of them, we do. On this day, I got this picture of the things we pursue.

Picture us on a road making our way toward Jesus who is up ahead. We are sick and need a healing but the healing is off to the side of the road. So, we take the exit and pursue the healing. Or we are controlled by something and need a deliverance but our deliverance is off on the other side of the road. So, we move off the road to pursue our deliverance. Or, we might even be seeking blessings and see a sign to them on exit 3A.

In each of these cases, we are seeking the healing and not the Healer; the deliverance and not the Deliverer; the blessings and not the Blesser. Is this what we do? Do we take our eyes off Jesus in pursuit of what we need? Think about it.

But the final frame of this picture shows the right way. If we turn from our pursuit of the things we need, focus on Jesus and fall into His loving arms, I see Him holding us close to His chest but motioning to the healing, the deliverance, and the blessings saying, “Come on over here. My son needs you.” ” But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33” Oh, it’s goose bump time!

Given March 29, 2006
” A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Luke 6:45.” This verse is pretty clear. What is in your heart, is usually what you’re going to be talking about. But, some people are good at saying the right things according to who they’re around. You know anybody like that? They cover up what’s in their heart pretty good.

I heard this analogy the other day that made it more clear to me. This guy said, “Whatever you’re full of is going to spill over when you get bumped.” Now, I can see that! If a glass is full and you bump it or shake it, it’s going to spill over and everyone around will know it. When we, as Christians, are bumped, jostled, hit, jolted or in some way tested, whatever we’re full of is going to dictate the reaction we’ll display. If we’re full of God, we’ll react correctly, we’ll be a good witness to those around us and God will be pleased. If we’re full of something else, we’ll probably embarass ourselves, be a bad witness and have to repent.

Think about it; how do we react when someone doesn’t move right away when the light turns green? Or when we hit our toe on the couch leg? Or when someone falsely accuses us or wrongly mistreats us? If we’re sloshing junk over on those around us, we need to repent and ask God to empty our dirty vessel, clean it up and refill it to overflowing with Himself. That’s what I’m doing!