#YOLO

     I heard one of those ministry devotional minutes on the radio this morning. Actually, I didn't hear all of it but just a part. But that part got my attention. The lady said something along the lines of...if this was our only life then maybe we would have a reason to be hopeless. But this isn't our only life or maybe it is our only life but it doesn't end with our final breath. We are unique creations of God. Unlike plants and animals, we have life after life. As a Christian, I have this hope that this isn't the end. 
     YOLO (You Only Live Once) is a popular acronym today. So you should live it to the fullest. Anything goes because...YOLO. Maybe it should be YOLF (You Only Live Forever), so make the decision to follow Christ so that your eternity is at its fullest. Christ said, "I've come that you may have life and life to the fullest."  Just before that He said, "The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy..." Maybe YOLO is a ploy to concentrate solely on this life and ignore the eternity that awaits all of us.
    The lady who shared the radio spot reminded me that even on my worse days, this is not the end. I have a hope, a joy, a love, a Savior waiting for me. Not only waiting but I have all of this now...today. It's all part of the 'I've come that you may have life.' Life to the fullest here and hereafter. 
    Thank you, Father, for breathing your breath of life into my lungs and giving me more than just an existence but truly giving me LIFE!

What If...

Blogging 2 days in a row. I must be crazy...

What if...everyone's opinion is more important than ours.

What if...truth is truth whether everyone believes it or not.

What if...all people matter even if we don't like them.

What if... "love one another" is a command and not an option.

What if...we start thinking before we speak or act or react.

What if...we stop pointing fingers and start looking in the mirror.

What if...God does love the world, not just the USA.

What if...making disciples is our mandate, not our choice.

What if...God chooses to bless the church across town because of their faithfulness, not their worship style.

What if...God uses a donkey instead of a polished orator.

What if...our ladder of success we're climbing is just us climbing out of a hole to level ground.

What if...our humility is honestly pride in disguise.

What if...we live what we believe.

What if...we love as we are loved.

What if...we major on the major things.

What if...we exercise our faith instead of our rights.

What if...black and white are distinct colors and not just a shade of gray.

What if...warming the bench isn't enough.

What if...God is serious about loving our enemies and praying for them.

What if...God is answering our prayers but we don't know it.

Just some thoughts to chew on.

Gru and You

Have you ever done something really dumb? I do something really dumb on a daily basis (I know…that’s not shocking). Have you ever done the same dumb thing repeatedly? I wish I could say I haven’t but I have. In Proverbs 26:11 it says so beautifully “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.” In the movie Despicable Me 3, the main character, Gru, has long left his old life of being an evil villain but he is tempted to return to his old life that he had been called to leave behind. I think if we are honest we can all relate to Gru because if we know Jesus we have been called to leave behind an old life for a new one but we are still tempted to go back to the old life, to return to our vomit.

When temptation tells you to turn back, turn to God. He will never leave you or forsake you. He loves you and desires to see you new and whole. So, let us not return to our “vomit”, instead let us turn and run toward Him with all we have.

The Tomb Is Empty Still

I'm listening to Easter music this afternoon. No real reason. But a title caught my eye. The Tomb Is Empty Now. I have been thinking about that. It is very true. So...over two thousand years ago on that first Easter morning, the women who went to the tomb early in the morning discovered something very unusual. The tomb was empty. Now apparently there were such people as grave robbers because the women questioned where have they taken the body. But then, a heavenly being appeared and told them He is not here. Now if it was a common grave robbery, no one would have stayed behind to tell people the tomb that was occupied is no longer housing its resident. 

Well, that is not the end of the story...you can go to Jerusalem today and outside the city is estimated where Jesus' grave was...and guess what...the tomb is empty still. Thank you, God, for keeping your promise and sending Your Son to be our sacrificial lamb. Our words are insufficient to express our full and unending gratitude for this gift of your unconditional, everlasting love.

2017

It's day 4 of 2017. There are 361 more days to go. I've had several ideas bouncing around my head about this first of the year post. God is doing His amazing work in my life and in the life of my family. We should be having a few changes coming within the next 2 months. After a long struggle with God over His direction for my life, I have yielded to His will and am being considered to be the next Director of Missions for Crossroads Baptist Association, which is our association we have been in the past 19.5 years. This is huge for me. I feel like I haven't stepped out in faith like this in a long time. I'm nervously excited as I anticipate the messengers' vote on February 7. Then if the vote is affirmative, I will begin serving 29 churches, instead of 1, on March 1.

I shared with our church last Sunday what God is doing in our life. Their reaction was so encouraging. They are so supportive although they are not wanting to see me leave my current ministry. No one likes change although we are constantly going through some kind of change. God has been constantly encouraging me and reminding of His plan for my life. I never dreamed I'd want to be a Director of Missions but, the last couple of months, once I surrendered to His plan, my mind has been bombarded with ideas that are beyond my scope of thought. I am thinking thoughts I'm not smart enough to think, or so it seems. 

I don't know if this will be my theme verse for the entire year but for now, Isaiah 43:19 is resonating with my whole being.

Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. 

Do you not see it? 

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.

I have been reminded again of an old song...I may not know what the future holds but, I know who holds the future. So 2017, like every other year, is placed squarely in the hands of God.