Wanted to look into a few lines from that great Praise & Worship (?) song….Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford…

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

My thought for this morning was about how truly blessed I am…

I have a great family. My wife is a strong, independent woman who is an incredible mother and supportive wife. She challenges me, supports me, and loves me. Not sure I could want anything more.

My children are fun to be with, very smart, and love me very much. They are thoughtful of others feelings and pray for their friends regularly. God is already is doing great things in them and He is going to do even greater things as their faith continues to grow.

My youth group, friends, and church family are such a vital part of my life. I have enjoyed and been blessed by all of the friendships I have made both here in this time and place and with those I’ve walked this life journey with in the past! You guys have made me feel both special (lots of jokes there) and important in our times together.

Now, to the “Sixteen Tons” reference above…I don’t think I could have a better calling and vocation in life than serving others in Ministry. I am not always faithful and my failings are plentiful and don’t appropriately show my love for my Savior. My prayer is and has been that God would use the lessons He is teaching me to be teaching moments for others. I pray that as trials and tough situations come my way that I would be transparent enough for those around me to see me PRAISE HIM in both my successes and my failures! I do “owe my soul to the company store” but it isn’t a harsh reality, it is a welcomed opportunity!

Ministry IS difficult at times but it is also a blessing! I wanted to mention some situations, without naming names, that stick out in my mind as fun, hard, difficult, happy, and memorable times throughout these eighteen years of ministry…if you have any other memories to mention, COMMENT them here! Help me celebrate my birthday today with some great memories…would you?

*called into ministry on youth trip in Gulf Shores at 16! Great trip! *Preached first sermon, incredible 10 minutes! *Church league volleyball, AWESOME! *Superman, Leethal, and so many others at Christians! *Basketball and pool at Stephenson (?) *First ministry position at Southside *Children’s Choir at Central *Max’s huge heart for others *Fellow Youth Workers in T’dega *Shockwave *High Calling *Trip to Savannah & SC with High Calling *Blowing speakers at Mt.View *Working with abused teenagers *Called to the school for counseling after teen school shooting and car deaths *Community Fathers *AIDB Super Bowl Parties *Wedding & Married Life *Move out of state *Awesome church experience *Alyssa is born *She gets second and third sets of parents (great friends) **worked with first Praise Band *Really watched God move *worked with Katrina victims *Huntsville big city life *More lifelong friendships *More movie quotes and song lines than anyone should know *Seeing many teens come to Christ *One workout *KK is born! *Someone let our balloons go! *Horton’s Child Care *Second calling to same church *Judgment Houses *Mission Trips *Camp Happy Days *Gulf Shores Beach Retreats *Bran-Fuge *Let’s welcome Erin! *Weaver! *10 yr old softball *Road Rulz *Rescue Mission *Committed kids *Good friends! *Catching up with old friends *Severe enema *Great ministry opportunities @ FBC Weaver *more?

Thanks you guys, I love you all.

My thoughts for you all…

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.  Philippians 1:3-11

I know I’m probably not documenting this correctly, but I want to share a quote with you from a book by Erwin McManus called “An Unstoppable Force.” Read the quote then stay with me …

“Several years ago my wife, Kim talked me into going to The Price is Right. I’m really not a big fan of the show, but I’m a great fan of my wife, so I went. We stood in line to get tickets to stand in line to get into the show. This was an all-day affair. If I’d had to stand in line for thirty minutes, I’d have been irritated, but this was close to five hours.

Several hours into the process, we were sitting next to a family from the former Soviet Union. You can only go so long without talking to the people next to you, so we finally stuck up a conversation. The person next to me described her journey as an extraordinary opportunity to come from a place like Uzbekistan and be in Los Angeles. As I talked with her about her spiritual background, I led into sharing with her about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

She asked the question that so many have asked, “How can I believe in a God who only comes to people in America and not to people around the world? What about the person in India or China who has never heard?” I looked at her and asked if she felt that God loved her more than He loved the individual in India that she was concerned about, and she said, “No, that’s the whole point.”

Then I summarized for her what was so obvious for me in that moment. God had brought me from El Salvador via Miami, to throughout the East Coast, to be sitting in Los Angeles in line at The Price is Right to see a show that I didn’t even want to go to. And here she was from the former Soviet Union, having lived in a small town in a nation-state whose name I could not pronounce. If God could bring me from one part of the world and her from another part of the world and move us to the exact same place at the exact same moment so that she could learn that Jesus Christ died for her, didn’t she think that God was both creative and powerful enough to bring life to everyone who would cry out to Him? There in line at The Price is Right, her heart softened and she turned her life over to Jesus Christ.

Now watch the lesson we can learn here…

The world looks different when you understand yourself to be a child of the wind. You realize that when your sail is up, God’s wind blows you to places you never imagined, at just the right moment for someone else. The apostolic ethos (an actual cultural environment driven by the NT mission of reaching others) is an environment in which all of God’s people are guided by the wind. If all are not apostles, at least all are together on the apostolic mission. At Mosaic (his church) we say it like this: Mission is why the church exists.”

So many times we talk about being anchored and I agree that God’s Word is our foundational anchor. So, I’m not addressing that. I am, however, addressing the fact that life becomes an anchor. Have you evaluated much of what you do and what your family takes part in? I haven’t done enough of that. The trappings, not necessarily bad things, of this world weigh us down. Especially when they keep us from having the time, finances, or insight to be in tune with God and His desires for us.

We need to raise our sails! Allow the Spirit to carry us and lead us into what God has us here for! Would we have been looking for an opportunity to share Jesus with that lady in line or would we have missed the moment? Fresh wind in our sails is freeing. Much more so than dragging around an anchor!

Be free in Christ!

“For if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit,” Galatians 5:25.

11Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.15Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

1 Tim. 4:11-16

They really have “IT”!

Have you thought about that on a personal level? In sports, one might say that someone was “in the zone”, “in the sweet spot”, or “locked in”. But what does that mean for us in our relationship with Christ?
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deut. 6:5
I think the starting point of “IT” is a genuine love for Jesus. That love is fleshed out in service and devotion to Jesus through our personal devotion, family life, church life, and serving the world.

What is “IT” to you? Leave me a comment on the “IT” factor in your life…

I was reading in Craig Groeschel’s book entitled “It” today and found a story about Dwight L. Moody very interesting. I have been in a process of challenge by the Holy Spirit for over a year now. I see so much lazy Christianity in my life. My desire is to be CONSUMED with a holy sense of love and complete surrender to to my Savior! I just sometimes let other things come between that relationship and calling. Here’s the story…
“On Sunday, October 8, 1871, Dwight L. Moody was finishing his Sunday evening sermon when the city fire bell began to ring. Realizing that much of the city was burning, Moody’s first concern was for his family. Rushing to a close, he asked the people to evaluate their standing with God and return the next week. Little did he know, many of them would never return. They would die in the worst fire in Chicago’s history.

Later, Moody agonized, wondering if any of the deceased died without Christ. They were in his church building and he let them leave without confronting their own sin. Broken and changed, Moody vowed to God he’d never hold back again. Every time he stood before a crowd, he would plead with them to follow Christ. D.L. Moody was ruined – in a very good way.” *
I want that heart. I want to be that one who is absolutely ABANDONED for Christ! Ruined for Him! The book is about churches that have “IT” – the unspeakable factor that makes that church a place where genuine Christianity rules the lives of it’s members. A place where the world is a mission field not just a vacation spot. A place where the needs of others are recognized, prayed over, and met. A place where children see their parents and other adults model the love of Jesus and true service. A place where children WANT God to call them into full-time ministry, and are willing to live their lives sold-out to Him in whatever vocation they enter. A place where the Word of God is the deciding factor and the source of all truth. A place that isn’t a business, but is a ministry.

You know what? Those places don’t just happen. They are cultivated and grown through people surrendered to the Holy Spirit of God! May FBC Weaver (and your church) become that place.

And may God use you and I to start that process!
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

1 Timothy 4:6-16
* Quote from “It” by Craig Groeschel. p179. Buy his book. It’s worth the read.

Really? You thought that would be on my blog? But you’re here, right?

So that either means that you knew it was a joke, couldn’t wait to scold me for the reference but had to check it out, or really hoped to see something (sicko)! But my reason for doing today’s blog this way is simple…

Everything we take in through our eyes and ears stays with us. And there are no decisions that you make that are small and don’t affect someone else. The things we take in are building blocks for the next thing in our lives. Simple explanation. I’ll use drinking as an example (I would use dating and it’s dangerous path but there are probably some ears too young to hear what I would say reading this…).

You’ve heard the phrase, no doubt, that “First the man takes the drink. Then the drink takes the drink. Then the drink takes the man.” Every step builds upon the last one. So…

My question would be, what foundation is your character built upon? You know, the part of you that makes the decisions for your actions and why… If your character is strong and based on the Word of God, then you can expect a life that grows closer to Him. If not, you can expect one that consistently moves away from Him. It’s that simple. Who are you when no one is looking? Because the reality is, you can’t hide who you are.

I will close today with this word of wisdom that came out of our youth study “The Battle For Purity” last night. I’n so proud of our guys and the change in their thought processes about dating, women, and following God.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness…But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Romans 6:12-13, 17-18

We had a great time Sunday in worship. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it was an “all smiles, God wants you to smell like daisies, and have no problems” sermon. The best sermons, to me, are challenging through the Word,  force me to take an honest look at my life, and face up to God’s truth.

In Exodus 14, God is delivering His people. They had been a faceless, culture-less,  enslaved people. They were at the mercy of their masters and they were considered a lower class of society. God decided to free them using Moses. God through Moses led them out and they were being chased by all of Pharaoh’s army. They stopped and were overtaken when they camped by the sea. Now…history goes on to say God delivers them by parting the sea and then crushing the Pharaoh’s army. What a great victory!

But let’s back up a step or two. The conversation the people have with Moses is enough to bring major discouragement to any leader! You hear and see three poeple groups…

Group one is the negative and complaining group. This group counted the cost to begin with and didn’t want to move then. Now that they really can’t control the outcome without trusting God, and they definitely want out!

They said, “What, Moses, you think there weren’t enough graves in Egypt? You brought us out here to be killed in the desert?”

TRANSLATION…This is hard. This is scary. I don’t know what to expect. Look at this mess you got us into. What controlling committee am I supposed to be in charge of out here? Why should we follow one man who claims to have heard from God instead of voting and following our majority?

I am not a person who believes in a dictatorial Pastor. But it is evident that as “established” churches, we fear to the point of paralysis things that we can’t put our own hands on and control or fix. So we fear following a man with a God-given vision. God’s vision for His church ALWAYS requires faith steps that we CAN’T do on our own!

Group two is full of those who like things just the way they are. We’ve gotten this far, why push farther? Let’s just eat the daily manna and stay here.

TRANSLATION…We are at a maintaining point. If we stay like we are, we know who our friends are and who does what. If we push ahead then we may have to stretch beyond what we know already.

There is comfort in status quo. But the phrase that comes to my mind is, “If you’re not moving forward, you’re being left behind.” God is always at work around us. When we settle in to doing the same things the same way even when we see attendance fall, commitments failing, marriages ending in divorce, Godly values being set aside, dissensions not dealt with, and the like, we are headed for disaster as a church. Strong leadership doesn’t want to sit back and let life happen to them. They lead into God’s unknown and the body grows through new encounters and lessons from the Lord!

Group three are already looking around for where God is moving and they are preparing for that. In verse 15, God asks Moses an interesting question. He asks, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.” Let’s not sit back and wander. When God gives His man a vision and speaks it clearly, His man needs to speak it plain to the people and in spite of murmurings, MOVE FORWARD! God says essentially, didn’t I already tell you what to do? Stop standing there and move forward.

When God’s voice is clear, MOVE! When people speak against God’s move, listen, respond with encouragement and MOVE! When people talk of the difficulty of change and the ease of maintaining, restate God’s vision, and MOVE FORWARD!

Just as one of my blogs last week spoke of hard truths being necessary, hard leadership decisions are also necessary. We can feel ok with just getting by or we can MOVE and watch God work in tremendous ways that bring Himself much glory!

We need to be vision driven and follow through. I pray strength and wisdom for you in the ministry you are a part of. I pray the same for myself. May the world be changed by leaders who are God focused, have God-given visions, and God-strengthened efforts!

I’m watching my recently turned 5 year old make goodie bags for her birthday party. She is so excited. She is working hard on these so that her friends who choose to come will have something to take home. Don’t get me wrong, she is your typical youngster who can’t wait to play with her friends, and the idea of presents is circling in that brain too! But she wants to be with her friends even more than her concern for presents. Now later today, that could change. But right now, her friends are the best part of this party!!

I imagine that God, after sending out his invitation for us to be his children and his friend must feel some of the same things! He has already prepared our “goodie bags” but they are eternal and we get them now. They include things like His daily Presence, His guiding hand, His Word for understanding His character, a new heart, a new set of desires, and an eternal home with Him! He is definitely excited about our acceptance and commitment to Him. He shows us His love each day through His gifts to us and then has prepared a place for us that is better than anything we can imagine.

While I’m excited about seeing so many of our friends and the party that will take place, I am way more excited about the one that God has planned for His children! Thank you God for loving me enough to send your Son for me!

I firmly believe that prayer is our first, most powerful, and most heart driven action we can and should take for the needs of others. I am coming with a prayer need for you this morning.

Heather’s Uncle Donny is having a biopsy this morning on a huge mass in his abdomen. The biopsy will help determine whether it is cancerous or not. It does not look good. But the Word says that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Would you pray today? I’ll post more info as I find out more….

I am thankful that “I will never thirst again” because of the incredible Savior who provided streams of living water for me…(John 4:14, my verse for this morning)

Nothing else really spiritual today. Thought I would share my laugh with you this morning. Maybe it will make you smile…Blast from the past…

I’m sitting in my recliner today. Not because I wanted an off day, but because I have a sick little one and no other option. But she is on the mend and I’m very thankful for that. Isn’t it amazing how God created our bodies with the ability to fight off sickness? Sometimes we forget that our bodies are in constant battle for health. Just because we get sick for a few days doesn’t mean our body isn’t doing it’s job. Just ask someone with an immune system that doesn’t work right. Several days of sickness every once in a while would be a great trade for constant sickness and medication.

I think sometimes being sick is helpful for us. It reminds us to take care of ourselves. It shows us that we aren’t as invincible as we think we are. All it takes is a well-placed (or not so well-placed) tiny little virus or bacteria to take down our big strong bodies. Simply amazing…

Spiritually, it reminds us that the small things can take down our overall walk as well. It is the balance of a well-lived life that keeps us focused, growing, and healthy spiritually. Sometimes it is the things we don’t do that weaken us as much as it is the things we do that we shouldn’t. Apathy toward the things of God will lead us to inconsistency. Inconsistency will be followed by a feeling of defeatedness. And feeling defeated turns our eyes and hearts inward to a feeling of pity for ourselves and anger at God not “showing up” in our lives. How quickly this can happen!

His desire for us is restoration and repentance. He wants to restore the relationship that was broken by our sin. But repentance for our walking away is necessary. We need to confess our unwillingness to trust and love himand the sin that followed. We should then turn from that attitude and direction and run full speed into His arms. Our relationship will then be healed and He can set us back on His path for our life.

Healing is a welcome blessing. Both physically and spiritually. Today may God bring about a confidence in you for what He is doing in your life. Trust Him. He is our Healer and the hope for our days to come!
 

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. Psalm 30:2

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Pslam 147:3