Advice?

Have you ever had a conversation with a close friend, and they tell you about a situation they're in, and you give them your advice? Sure, we all do. It's human nature. We want to help our friends realize the things we see, but they may be blind to or in denial about. Has God ever put you in a similar situation just a few days later? Do you follow your own advice? It's easy to tell others what to do, but really hard for us to tell ourselves what to do. Why is that?

What should I do?

What if you were out for your early morning walk or run in the park and noticed that someone had wrapped all the swings around the top bar of a popular swing set? It's too high for children to reach or even most mothers for that matter. You're on a tight schedule and have to be somewhere right after your run.

Or what if your walking through church before service and you notice that someone has dropped a gum wrapper on the floor?

Or what if you find out, a woman you have never met, who lives down the street has been diagnosed with cancer. Her husband has been laid off, and her job is their only source of income. She will need surgery and chemotherapy. They have 4 children all under the age of 12.

What should I do?

I have to ask myself this question hundreds of times a day. The choices I make can make a difference in someone's life. Do I continue on my run, or do I stop and get the swings down so the kids can play? Do I step over the gum wrapper, or do I pick it up so that the church is clean for a newcomer? Do I drive by my neighbor's house and shake my head with pity, or do I get some of the other neighbors together and cook meals for these people in need?

The answer should be easy but it's not. I'm running late, someone else will pick it up, wow that is so sad, these are excuses that pass through my head all the time.

What would happen if I did get the swings down, pick up the wrapper, and get the neighborhood to help out?

What would happen...

What would happen if every Christian man in America took a stand for who he believes in?

How would you make this happen?

What are your answers to these questions?

Think and pray about your answers and post your thoughts.

This is not a platform for political views or religious doctrine. It's a way to open discussion about the impact we as Christ followers could have on the world if every one of us drew a line in the sand and took a stand for our Savior.

Press On

This past Sunday I had the pleasure and honor of leading worship with my friend Seth Bible at his home church in Archbold OH. Archbold Evangelical Church opened their new facility about a year ago and have seen some really incredible growth. God is doing great work in their community. On Saturday night they hosted a worship conference lead by Lincoln Bewster. Seth played a warm up set before Lincoln and then lead worship on Sunday morning. Adrain Taylor who plays bass with Seth couldn't stay for Sunday so Seth asked me if I would fill in, and I am so glad I did.

I love how our God Works, He cracks me up at times and this is one of those times. For the past few days I've been in a bit of a funk, just a little out of sorts. It seems like now that my trip to India is over there isn't any "big" event to look forward to and I'm just coasting along.

At AEC they have 2 services, traditional (8:30am) and contemporary (11:00am). I didn't need to be there until 9:30 for rehearsal but I'm up early anyway and decided to make the 2 hour drive over and get there in time for the 8:30 service. They are finishing up their building pledge campain and God has blessed them with exceeding their goals. So they are moving into the next phase of pledges to pay down the debt of the new building. This phase is titled "Press On".

Pastor Jesse Kahler's sermon was about pressing on as far as the importance of the congregation stepping up and continuing on the path to the goal. Even though they had met the goals set by the finance committee, there is still debt that needs to be repaid. So he talked about how to press on.

Here's the funny thing. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Not the importance of the pledges, but the importance of pressing on. As he was talking to his congregation about something total opposite of what I was thinking and feeling God talked to me. The was a parallel there. They had met the goal set up at the beginning of their building project, and I had met my goal of going to India. The whole point of his sermon was to keep moving, keep working, there are new goals to be set, and this is not the time to coast. It's really easy to put your feet up, relax, admire your accomplishments and say that was great, I can take some time off now. But here's what happens; we get complacent, we spend too much time looking at the past, we relax and forget that there is still work to be done. That is exactly what I've been doing, and that's why I've been a little off base. I need to press on to the next adventure, what ever that my be.

These are the notes I took from Pastor Jesse's sermon:

A person who presses on

- has a sense of spiritual incompleteness. They are always seeking to be more like Jesus, and they become more humble the closer they get to Him.

-refuses to dwell on the past. They learn from their mistakes and victories but look to the future.

-exerts enormous energy toward the goal.

I love how God works. I had a choice, I could have told Seth that I didn't have time to spend a good part of my day or the expense of driving over there, but I followed what I felt in my heart.
If we listen He leads us, talks to us, puts things in front of us when we least expect it. Thank you Lord for a great day.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)

I'm no saint

Someone left an anonymous comment on my post "Processing". I left a generic reply but I feel that I need to comment further.

Here's the comment:
As I read your blog on your trip, I can't even imagine all the emotions that you are feeling. All the thoughts you are trying to process. Not sure I feel worthy of your friendship as I am certainly in no way far along in my walk with God that you are. May NEVER be! Reading that you just take "time with God", "time to read the Bible", just "time" in itself. Sometimes I feel I am on the right track but I always get detoured by something/someone. What a wonderful and Godly person you are. You do have so much to give to others thru God and that makes you an awesome man! Jealous sometimes I feel of people like you. Shouldn't feel that way. I do feel blessed with what I have and my healthy kids. Something is missing though.....

my reply:

God loves us right where we are. And once we realize that and surrender ourselves to Him, He does the rest.

further comment:

But here's the thing, I'm no saint. I don't read my Bible everyday, I get distracted very easily, I disappoint people, myself and God. I spend way too much time obsessing about trivial things. I make bad decisions. I procrastinate, I tend to let things slide, I don't plan for the future. I make mistakes just like anyone else. So knowing these things about myself I have to make a conscious effort to do the things that I should do. I pray every morning. I ask for guidance, strength, courage, hope, love, understanding, and wisdom. I pray every night before bed, I thank the Lord for a good day (even though it may not have been). I read Christian "self help" books (check out the recommend reading). I do read the Bible but not as often as I should. I go to church every week, and I volunteer there on a regular basis. Even though it appears I have it all together, there are times I'm totally screwed up. Those are the times that I really need to spend time with God, read my Bible and just spend time alone.

I wanted to share these thoughts a little more in depth because I think it's important to understand that it takes a lot of work and effort to surrender and walk with God. I am willing to put forth the effort.

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Luke 11:9-10 (NIV)

Debrief

We had our first India team debrief last night. It was great to get back together with my team mates, most of them I hadn't seen since our return. As I looked around the room into the faces of these men and women that dropped everything they were doing to set aside 10 days of their busy lives to make a difference for a small village of people on the other side of the world I saw something. I saw changed lives.