Brothers and sisters, I did a foolish thing. The details surrounding it are irrelevant, but I got myself all worked up over something for nothing. I jumped to conclusions (false ones, of course) and in my head I had already determined the course of action I was going to take as a result. I lashed out (in my heart), quickly going from fear to utter, ugly defiance.

Now, obviously the Lord has done a work because I’m writing this. I thank Him for His grace and patience. I am foolish dust but so often think of myself as so much more. He knows better. In this rear-view mirror perspective, let me share some insights that perhaps will help you the next time you are tempted to worry:

I was tired. My schedule was off and I was mentally exhausted when I hit the panic button. (Editor’s Note: Technically, I mashed it to smithereens.) I didn’t wait to consider the matter until I was fully rested.

I did not pray about what I perceived; I just reacted to it.

I didn’t want to hear my wife’s objective (and correct) voice of reason over the matter. (Ed. Note: Yes, I apologized to her too.)

Even if the situation was the way I thought it was, I did not care that that meant the Lord had allowed it, and would’ve done so to ultimately bring glory to Himself.

The most significant wrong thing I did was I forgot who the Lord was. I doubted His nature. I did not stop to remember all that He is to His adopted children: All of His grace, love, justice, power, authority/sovereignty, guiding mercy, pardon, peace, tenderness, care, and on and infinitely on…

So next time a situation propels you to some negative emotion (fear, anger, frustration, confusion, etc.) ask yourself:

• Am I well rested? Is my body ‘off’; weakened by lack of sleep or food?
• Have I prayed about this long enough that I can say I’ve heard the Lord’s take on the situation?
• (If you are married or engaged) What is my (potential) mate trying to tell me?
• Have I acknowledged to the Lord that He may very well be allowing this thing, and if so, so be it?
• Have I preached to myself all the various attributes of God I can think of so I don’t lose sight of Him?

In my situation, the Lord was kind enough to make sure I didn’t act any more rashly than I already had, and nobody was the wiser of the situation before I got clarification about it. Still though, hopefully you can learn from my stupidity and save yourself a hassle down the road.  In short, Don’t Hit That Button!

Posted: July 2nd, 2009 under Devotions, Hope, Learning & Growing, Testimony.
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Obviously lately the news (in America anyway) has been filled with an unusual number of celebrity deaths. Strip away all of the idol worship or even pop culture each one was a part of and who died?

A television sidekick who, for thirty years, was famous for how he said just two words. Both men are now gone from this world, relegated to memories and dust.

A beauty pin-up who symbolized for her generation the same things others had already symbolized for theirs. A different face, a different body, but nothing new. However long she is remembered in this world, it will always descend to the lowest common denominator that she was famous for the fact that millions of men burned with lust at her image, heaping on themselves the due wrath of God in the process. Legally and frankly, her fame and legacy are of “aiding and abetting” in the breaking of God’s laws.

An entertainer for this generation around the world who heaped up all this world’s treasures, reveled Herrod-like, in the praise of his followers, who, at last, died frail, broken and broke.

A man people loved for the way he induced them to buy ’stuff’, hawking wares as wonders, detergents as desirous, and putty as promises. A man who, perhaps more than all his products, sold himself.

My point is not in castigating these people. My point is only to hold them up for recent examples, to suggest a thumbnail sketch of four human beings’ paths in how they chose to spend their lives, so that I can ask you the question I started off with:

WHAT ARE YOU LIVING FOR?

If we are not living for the Lord Jesus Christ, if we are not living to get others to run and fall prostrate at His Omnipotent and pierced feet, we are wasting our lives. Wasting them. All our plans, all our portfolios, all of it will come to be like sand in our mouths and dust in our eyes apart from doing it for His Kingdom.

DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE!!!!

Posted: June 30th, 2009 under Challenge, Potpourri, Testimony.
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words fail me.
pray for Isaac.

Posted: May 30th, 2009 under Challenge, Persecuted Church, Testimony, World Missions.
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While much could be said about belivers on the job, I thought I would just put down a few from my own experiences.  Below are some things the Lord has had to deal with me about over the years.  They weren’t easy, and I have by no means mastered them, but not only have they made me a better employee to my boss, they have allowed me to be a better witness to my bosses and fellow employees; which further glorifies the Lord.

Christians are slaves to the Lord.  Period.  Not downtrodden slaves, but joyously, gladly submitting to His Authority.  Everything the Lord allows at our jobs (that is not an outright violation of His commands, of course) can be used of Him to teach us.  Loud cubicle neighbors; course language in the office; grumpy, misanthropic coworkers; inefficient, bureaucratic procedures, etc. are all like different size chisels.  Some bother us more than others but each one can be used by the Lord to fashion us into His image.  Best to pray for an attitude of submission to Him and those things.  Besides, in His time each one will eventually move or change.

How we handle interruptions from others speaks much to commitment to this God we say we serve.  Do we get visibly annoyed or short with people?  Our Lord never did when He was interrupted (which was how most of the stories in the gospels begins–while Jesus was doing something else someone comes by).

What is your conversation like?  Do coworkers know not to bother trying to tell you a dirty joke?  Do you use profanity?  What about “only when I get really frustrated”?

How much do you know what’s going on around the job?  I don’t mean business, but personal things?  If you know everyone’s business, that’s a good indicator that you probably aren’t paying enough attention to your own.

How about grumbling or complaining to coworkers about bad policies, “stupid” coworkers or customers?  Phillipians 2:14 may be the hardest verse in the Bible, “Do all things without grumbling or complaining.” (Check out 2:15,16 for the rest of the sentence: to be witnesses for Jesus.)    Do you think , for instance, the Lord ever complained to Thomas about Peter? or to James the Less about the Sons of Thunder?  Then what right have we to complain about others?  It is a bad witness and a poison to others’ morale.

We’ll talk about time use, attention to details, leadership, self-goverenance, stewardship, customer service, etc. in a future post.

Hey, if I haven’t said it lately, THANK YOU for coming by!  I hope you are blessed and the Lord is glorified!

Posted: January 22nd, 2009 under Learning & Growing, Testimony.
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Matthew Fountaine Maury (1806-1873) is known as the Father of Oceanography.  Using Psalm 8:8 as his guide, he was determined to learn what “the paths of the seas” were, and he did just that, discovering what we call today ocean currents.  Even Wikipedia notes his complete reliance up on Scriptures for his endeavors, “Maury lived by the Scriptures; he fully and unconditionally believed in what the Holy Scriptures stated; he hardly ever spoke or wrote without the inclusion of scriptural references; he prayed every day.”

Hear what the man himself once said.  Maury’s daughter wrote a book in 1888 about her famous father and recorded these words:

“I have been blamed by men of science, both in this country and in England, for quoting the Bible in confirmation of the doctrines of physical geography. The Bible, they say, was not written for scientific purposes, and is therefore of no authority in matters of science. I beg pardon! The Bible is authority for everything it touches…The Bible is true and science is true, and therefore each, if truly read, but proves the truth of the other.”

Posted: December 2nd, 2008 under Creation/Evolution, Scriptures, Testimony.
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Isaiah 43:6-7 says, “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth- everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.”

We were created for ONE purpose:  for God’s glory.  To magnify, to glorify God.  Our whole lives, everything we do everyday, should be done with that goal.

Why would God want this?  Well two reasons: 1) He deserves it 2) He has been so kind to save us who rebel against Him daily.  (there are zillions more reasons)

So…I don’t need a degree for my career; I’ve been doing IT stuff a long time.  I don’t need or want more money, I thank God for what He has already provided.  BUT…I am going to college.  I work full time and go to school full time.  I have classes, papers, presentations, reading, and learning to do those in addition to private prayer and Bible study and learning/trying to be a godly husband.

Why?  I’m doing all this so that, one day, if God wants to use me for his glory as a missionary or a teacher or a manager, or a whatever and it so happens that the role would require someone with a degree, well, I’ll have one in my back pocket.  That’s it.  I’m doing all this just to have the piece of paper in my back pocket in case God sees fit to give me work to do in the future.  And I do all of it because He saved me….I was dead, I was an enemy of God, I *hated* Him…but He pulled me out of death, cleaned me up, and gave me life.

How does this apply to your situation?  Well how do you think you can you best use your life to give God the credit He deserves?  How can you best serve him?  Is it through math?  Praise God!  Is it through communications?  Praise God!  Is it maybe not even college at all but on-the-job training?  Praise God!  The important thing is thinking and living in such a way as to make good decisions that ultimately accomplish God’s goal (Is 43:7) of glorifying Himself.  When we surrender our goals to get on board with God’s goals that’s when we know we are truly His.

Thanks to John Piper for his powerful exposition of that verse.  It has really helped shape my understanding of a lot of things and was the inspiration for this post.

Posted: September 26th, 2008 under Challenge, Testimony.
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