Engage! Part 1

There are two moving I like that have the same word yelled loudly. The first is in the movie "The Incredibles". The dad (Mr. Incredible) is focused on his job and his daily struggles and forgets about what is happening right in front of him in his dining room. The kids are going crazy chasing each other and the mom is trying to get things in order. The mom finally yells out "engage", hoping he'll do something. Finally he does snap back to life and sets that back into place.
We get that way sometimes. We get so focused on our struggles and daily living that we ignore the life that is going on around us. I feel that this world is going to hell in a hand basket and many Christians are worried about the seating arrangement or the music being played. Luke 12:17-27 Jesus talked about a farmer that had a huge crop and he was worried what he was going to do with it. So he tore down barns and built bigger ones. Then the farmer is told he is a fool and that his soul would be required of him. What was so wrong with that? The farmer was more concerned about taking care of himself then the world around him. The next verses says "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat ; neither for the body, what ye shall put on." Our focus is to be on the Kingdom of God and not on the things of his world. So in the words of Mrs. Incredible: Engage!
I share about the other movie in the next post. Have a Kingdom minded day!

A billion dollars

I heard a commercial yesterday where a girl was singing how she wants a billion dollars so bad. I thought, how many people wish for that same thing? But my next thought was how sad it would be if they got it. What am I doing with what I have? That's the biggest and best question I can ask. Jesus once told a parable about a three guys. (Matthew 25) They were each given a certain amount of money. One that was given 5 talents made 5 more and the one given 2 talents made 2 more. But then there was this one guy given 1 talent. He sat on his. It didn't do him or anyone else any good. The leader who had given these men the money, told the first two that made more money that they had been faithful over a few things, they would be in charge of many things. The one who didn't do anything, what he had was taken away. This tells me that Jesus was a capitalist. This also tells me that He expects me to do something with what I've been given. In Luke 12:48, the Bible says that if we have been given much, there will be much required. This tells me that whatever we have been trusted with, we better have something to show for it. We have been given 24 hours a day and they same power that Jesus had. What will we have to show for it? Will we be faithful with what we are given? 1 Cor 4:2

Taking over

One of my Dad's favorite stories is about a shoe salesman sent to a small village on the other side of the world a long time ago. He didn't sell anything and telegraphed back that there was no need for him to be there since no one wore shoes. The company flew him back to the US and a couple of years went by when the company sent another salesman to the same area. The new salesman telegraphed back to send a whole warehouse full of shoes, because no one had shoes there.
Many Christian's perception is like the first salesman, in that, there are so many people around us that need Christ that we don't have anyone to share Him with. Our world is full of lost people that need Christ and are waiting for the real Christian to stand up. Our mission can be overwhelming. But we need God's vision.
I believe God has called me to this place to take over. He didn't call me to start a small ministry to sit around and stay small. A healthy organism grows and increases, gets stronger to reach it's full capacity, reproduces to make other healthy, strong, growing organisms to repeat the process. My pastor has a great statement: what multiplies takes over. Think of a cockroach. If you see one, you know there are many hiding. They will multiply and take over if they aren't stopped. Our vision should be to multiply ourselves until we take over the area. 2 Timothy 2:2 should be at the forefront of your ministry. Don't look at the lack of God around you as downfall. Take the opportunity to take over.

Pain receptors Part 2

Okay, so I didn't name the first one part 1 really, but after looking at it again, I realized there is so much missing. So here is the second part of it.
I have problems like everyone else. Some are painful things from the past that don't just shake off very easily. I have asked myself (as some people have indicated) if I am just being to sensitive about it. The answer is "no". It was a real hurt and I needed to take care of it.
This reminds me of a story. I was working one day with a friend who spilled some grease on his foot. The boss told him to hurry up and take care of it so he could keep working. He didn't take care of it till that evening. The grease had gone right through his shoe and burned his toe. The next day he had to go to the hospital to have part of his toe taken off due to gangrene. I know this is gross, but the truth is, if he had taken care of his foot right when he hurt it, he would have been in better shape.
God is the healer of all things. We try to put the ole "if it's God's will" spin on these things, but I'm sure that when you go to the alter and pray for God to come into your life that you don't question if it's His will or not. God's grace is sufficient for you. Today, God wants to heal you. You might ask what you have to do. Most of the time, you just let him. The next step will be given, but the first thing is a total surrender to Him. Don't wait for an invitation or things to be just right, because they never will be. Then tell someone. The pain inside is not something you can keep hiding and letting it gets worse only makes things harder.

Pain receptors

What is it about pain that we don't like so much? Pain is something that is natural and is put into our body to know if there is something wrong. I have known people that have a problem because their pain receptors aren't working correctly. For some people these days it causes them to make everything painful. Just touching them can hurt them.
I have also known someone that they didn't feel pain very much. What was so wrong with that you might ask. He went in complaining of a stomach ache one day. Immediately his parents got him in the car and took him to the hospital for the fact that they knew he had such a high threshold for pain. Turned out, he was having an appendicitis (his appendix where about to burst).
So many times we wish we didn't feel pain, but it's part of life and it's a sign that something is wrong. If your feeling pain, whether it's emotional or physical, try figuring out what is causing the pain before just masking it. Is your pain receptors working correctly? If they are, then seek the problem and what it takes to solve them. So many times we are just covering up the problem instead of facing it.

Begin again

WOW! It's been a long time since I posted anything. Let me know if you read this and what you think.
Today is a new day. A couple of weeks ago, we started a new year. It's always exciting and we think of how we would like to change things every year. Many times we start out good, but it doesn't take long and making the change doesn't happen like we wanted it to so many times. Here's why and it's a problem we all have. We want everything to change quickly. I think the best way to see things really change is to make it one small step at a time. Make the big change a target and make a small step plan to get there. Sometimes it has be micro steps. The Bible says to not be weary in well doing for we will reap if we don't give up (Galatians 6:8). If you realize that the steps your taking aren't taking you the right direction, change course. The worst thing we can do is see the ice burg and keep heading for it. So what are you doing today that will change things tomorrow, and be a treasure that will last for eternity?

Results

My family and I went to the Grand Canyon a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome. The guide that was there was talking about the theories of how it came about. I was standing there half listening and wondering if they can actually believe some of their ideas. The truth is we don't know exactly how it happened that there is a 7,000 foot hole in the earth that has mountains, valleys, and a river. But what we do know is that some of it took a long time to happen. My belief is that it started at the time of the flood and the rest is the result of a few thousand years.
Destruction doesn't happen over night and neither does construction. I think of a farmer that sows a field. He works on what he hopes to happen. It doesn't start at planting the seed, but the preparation of the ground. If the ground isn't ready then the seed won't grow right and there won't be a good harvest. Many people get discouraged and give up somewhere between the preparation and harvest.
When I was a Youth Pastor I learned to only see the harvest in my vision. Keep envisioning the future of the young people I was dealing with and working toward that goal. As a parent and missionary, I have to remind myself of that focus. Getting people to follow that vision is not always easy. Everyone wants to see the results. In fact, many people will not support a missionary that is not seeing results. Because of that, they will loose out on the harvest. If your not seeing the harvest that you have planted, Galatians 6:9 says that you will reap if you don't give up. (NIV).
Whatever you do, don't give up on your vision. Results will come.