Recovery from a "false step."

Have you ever been on a balance beam? Then you know what it's like to begin to lose your balance. The other day I was balancing on the end of my Father-in-laws truck bed attempting to get up so that I could be the next in line to ride the new, super-high, rope swing he had installed. My oldest son was already in the back of the truck and as I came up I began to lose my balance. In the back of the truck there was nothing to grab on to except my son, which I tightly did! He in turn grabbed my arm and a disaster of embarrassing proportions was averted.

In Galatians 6:1 it says, "...if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly, should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path."

As I read this passage I looked right above my computer monitor to a yellow inspiration note that I had stuck there several weeks ago after reading someone else's blog. It is a reminder that the Jews categorized different levels of what we simply call "sin." To the Jew, a "sin" is unintentional and is very different from the other two, rebellious and willful, levels of sin.

So I got out a commentary I had close at hand to look at the original word used. This word, in its original meaning could have made the sentence sound like this, "if another believer is overcome by some 'false step' you who are godly..."

Now, how many of us have taken false steps? I took one getting up into the pickup bed. Perhaps you've twisted an ankle on a false step. Slipped on the ice. Tripped on your shoelace. We take the same kind of spiritual false steps. We look just a little too long at the picture. We think just a bit more about how good he looks. We hold that item we inadvertently walked out of the store with just long enough to claim, "possession is 9/10ths..."

These false steps happen all the time and Paul says that it is the duty of other believers to, "gently and humbly" help the offender back on the right path. This is done so as to restore our fellow believer so that a more serious "sin" is not committed. But it should also be done very carefully because we know that Satan is prowling, he is after all of us!

But I want to look at another issue here. The "sin" we are to restore our brother from is an unintentional sin. A false step. A mistake. A moment of weakness, a slip. From these one can be quickly and fairly easily restored. What Paul doesn't mention is the other types of sin. Willful disobedience and rebellious behavior. For those, there is a completely different way of helping your brother back on the path, much more painful for all involved and not nearly as easy as a quick grab or a subtle shove, to get him back on track.

Living by the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a hard concept to get a hold of in the faith. We often talk about wanting to be led by the Spirit and want our decisions to be Spirit guided. Even this morning I prayed about this. I read that the Spirit did not come because we obeyed some law of God, but because we believed. But often we Christians think that if we "do more good" then the Spirit will be more active in our lives. The reality is that the Spirit is active in the lives of those who believe in Jesus Christ and trust His promises. So if you want to be Spirit led, you need to believe, or have more faith. More faith equals more of the Spirit (not that you get more but you are more aware, more in-tune and more able to follow).

If you want to experience more of the Holy Spirit working in your life, you must work at having more faith. Trusting more. Believing the promises more. Stepping out more, absolutely sure that God can and will provide for the paths that He has laid out for you.

But if you really want to know how much of the Spirit you have, ask yourself these questions:

• How much Love do I show toward others? Toward the unlovely?
• How much Joy is present in my life? Even when things aren't going so well?
• Are you always anxious or most often at Peace? Can you find peace in difficulty?
• Am I a Patient person? Am I more patient than I was 5 years ago?
• Am I Kind to others? To those I don't know or who are not kind to me?
• Would others say that there is Goodness in me?
• Am I Faithful? Faithful to my spouse? Faithful to my church? To God?
• When I get angry am I Gentle? Is that a trait that others can see even in difficult times?
• Am I able to Control my life and desires? Or do I follow ever whim of my heart? Can I control my self? Do I need to have another drag, drink, peek?

If you are asking God for more His Spirit these are the benchmarks you use. Not more gifts of the Spirit. Not more miracles. But more of the basics. Keep a record. Work to improve these areas, with the Spirit's help. And you'll find you've got more of Him and less of you. And that's a good thing.

4 tips to make your Thanksgiving AND your life a little more enjoyable

So, tell me what your Thanksgiving is like? No, on second thought, let me guess... Everyone shows up at your house like in the movies, it's snowing and the warm glow from the lights in the house make it feel so cozy and inviting. There is not a single cross word spoken and every one's last nerve is tucked away and out of sight. Dinner goes off perfectly, the Cowboys win their game and everything is right with the world...

Wait, that's not your Thanksgiving? Maybe yours looks more like mine. Everybody shows up at least a little cranky because they've either been in the car too long, the kids are out of their routine or you're the one that got stuck hosting, baking, cleaning and being the entertainment coordinator. The food is good but the place is crowded and you have to talk to people you don't really know about things you don't really care about. After you eat, all the good spots to snooze are already taken and you end up talking to that same person about that same subject until it's time to pack up and head home, which you promised yourself would be earlier this year than last!

Well, I've got some tips, directly from Paul, to help address some of these Holiday grouch moods we often get in. As Paul wraps up his second letter to the Church in Corinth he closes with this final admonition.

1. Be Joyful - it's a command to intentionally be joyful. This year there will be lots of reasons to not be joyful; lost jobs, uncertainty about the future, you just got molested by a TSA agent because you didn't want to go through the naked picture machine. You may have every reason to be a grouch. Be joyful. In spite of your circumstances. Because no matter how bad it is here, heaven will MORE than make up for it. Be joyful.
2. Grow to Maturity - the focus here is that there is farther to go, more to aspire to. We are to be "like Christ" and that doesn't happen by accident. You will probably have Thanksgiving with some family member who is older but has never grown-up (if not you may be that one!). We need to grow-up into Christ so that we can be mature and that maturity will help us handle all the little things that used to drive us over the edge.
3. Encourage each other - instead of the alternative. My family are all pros at sarcasm, which is kind of funny at the time, but leaves you with a pretty sour taste. This year, instead of pointing out all the things wrong with everyone, or poking fun at others mistakes and poor choices or circumstances (like who got stuck next to Aunt Margaret!) be an encouragement. This will go a long way toward dealing with those interpersonal issues that will crop up. Encourage this year and see what happens to every body's mood!
4. Live in harmony and peace - don't sweat the small stuff. Someone else wants your chair? The dark meat is gone before it gets to you? Try being a servant instead of insisting on being the master and see how that goes for you. If everyone tried to be a little more kind and less pushy you'd probably experience a little more harmony and peace and that would be nice for everybody!

Four easy tips to make this Holiday Season a little more festive and enjoyable for everybody, including yourself. Thank, Paul for the lesson from 2000 years ago. I'll let you know how it goes! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Could I follow you around today?

Okay, confession time, I'm a Cowboys fan. Always have been. Always will be. So with such a crummy record this year I watch the Facebook posts about the Cowboys and often read the little blurbs to see what's up with my team. Today, this one got me thinking about the Christian life.

Apparently, Wade Phillips (while he was still the head coach) got NFL officials to come to the 'Boys practices. Jason Garrett has continued this practice during practice and has been able to see some improvement. You can read the story for yourself here, but that's not what was of interest to me. Garrett (the new Cowboys head coach) said, "we ask them to get involved. They have to be active. They're not just standing there watching practice. And they understand that, and a big thing for them is not only telling us what a penalty is, but also communicating with the coach and the player as to why it was a penalty and how you can do something maybe differently to prevent that penalty from happening."

What a concept! Dallas has brought in league officials to not only watch the practices but become an integral part of the practice! They don't just say, "yep, that was a penalty." They stop the flow and tell the coach AND the player why it would have been a penalty and what the player could do differently to avoid having a penalty called later. These officials have taken an "active" roll in the practices.

How would you like to have your preacher follow you around all day? Not only pointing out the things that you did or said that would qualify as a "foul" but helping you to know how you could avoid those same mistakes in the future. Wouldn't that be beneficial to your spiritual life? I know it would be to mine!

Often times we don't have a problem noticing WHEN we fail in our Christian Walk, but the problem comes in how to avoid the failure in the first place. We get so used to doing life in a certain way that it just becomes how we function. Normal. We can't see any other way to do it, so we continue to get into the same problems over and over again. Then we wonder why we can't get ahead.

Perhaps this is why the Bible tells us to confront each other when we see a failure, to throw a flag and stop the game. But we need to be able to say, this is what happened and this is how to avoid it in the future. The only way to do that is to practice. We are told to practice the commands of God. In fact, Jesus said that He would send the Holy Spirit who would, "teach you all things and remind you of everything I said to you." The Holy Spirit is like God's official who is watching our lives, not only convicting us of the sin we commit, but He's there to help us know how to avoid the same mistake in the future!

Are you tired of getting penalized in life? Are you mad at God for calling fouls? Do you feel like you get ahead only to be called back? Well, have you heard the saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result every time? It's time we as believers took advantage of the official God has given us. He will convict us of sin and point us toward true righteousness. Let the official come to your practice. Listen to Him and do what He says. That's the only way to get a different result. That's the only way to improve your game.

My wife got new eyes...

My wife has always had problems with her eyes. She was one of those cute little kids wearing glasses, though as she got older, and the glasses got thicker, the cuteness factor begins to dip. So a few years ago we were able to get her new eyes. At least that is what she calls them. She now has contact lenses inserted INTO her eyes just above the lens (I think that's it anyway and yes, it was GROSS). She went from being able to see only items a few inches away from her face to seeing at any distance with clarity. Amazing! Now, it wasn't that she "couldn't" see, but that she could only see what was right in front of her eyes, literally only a few inches away. She couldn't see her feet. She couldn't even see her hands... unless she held them up to her face. So, while she could see one thing everything else was fuzzy and indistinguishable.

I was reading in 2 Corinthians 4 and 5 today and think that I have suffered spiritually what she has suffered physically.

It's not that I can't see at all, it's that I often only see what's right here in front of me. That means that everything else is blurry and that tends to make getting around more difficult, and scary.

As Christians we are supposed to "walk by faith and not by sight." That means that we are supposed to walk according to what we CAN'T see instead of what we can. We have to live according to what we believe not just what we see with our eyes. What we see tells us one story, but it's only part of the story. What we can't see is the truth or reality that there is more going on in us, around us and through us. Let me make it super simple. I don't "see" God with my eyes but the reality of God's presence is all around me. So I live by my faith that He not only exists but that He rewards those who seek Him.

Paul put this into a real-time example in chapter 4 when he said, in a matter of speaking, the following, (I've put it into more specific terms for Real Life). Here at Real Life we are troubled by a lack of space, a lack of funds, a lack of resources - people and mechanical. But our Spirit is not crushed, we have not lost hope. We are at times perplexed by what is happening and what we perceive God is doing, or not doing - that we can't understand - but we do not despair because we know that He is always faithful. Satan is prowling like a lion seeking those whom he may devour, but God is not, has not and will not abandon us. Satan at times even wins and we are knocked down. But we are not and our faith is not destroyed.

I believe that nothing is impossible for God... nothing is even difficult for God! The same God that calmed the storm, raised the dead, fed the masses, healed the lame, spoke the truth and made the blind to see is the same God that now watches over you and me!

So, I will get new eyes, spiritual eyes. I will look not at what "I" can see but at what HE sees. I will not call a bill too big, a problem too enormous, a lack of something too great or a person too messed up for God. I will walk in faith instead of standing in hope (as Steven Furtick said). I will determine to focus not on the problem, the short-fall or the negative, but instead keep my focus on the One who is never surprised and never unable. With my new eyes I will see clearly so that I walk by faith in what He is doing in my life and in His church, not by the lies that Satan so quickly brings to my field of vision, (i.e. you don't have enough, you can't, He won't, etc.).

Here's to new eyes, renewed vision and walking in more faith.

What is a blessing?

I want to expand today on something that the Holy Spirit revealed to me this last weekend as I practiced the message before an empty room. I began a series on the concept of being blessed (it originated down in OK with Craig at Lifechurch.tv) and spent about the first half of the message just talking about what a blessing really is.

See, I think in today's Church culture there is a real misconception about what a blessing is. Talk to very many people and you'll find out that while we say we're blessed with health, good kids or a happy marriage, most truly consider God's blessing as having fallen on those with a new something... car, home, boat, RV, etc. In fact, most of our prayers could fall under the heading of, "give me this, please." God bless me with a new car, mine has a scratch, or a worn tire or a rip in the seat. God, I need a bigger house, bless me so that I can have an extra room for the new 1080i flat panel you just blessed me with.

I wonder if those things could be considered blessings at all! Here's what I think the Holy Spirit was speaking to me. We know that God's desire is for a stronger, closer, deeper relationship with us, His people, His children. So it would make sense that His leading in our lives, or His blessings in our lives should have the goal of drawing us closer to Him.

But it occurred to me that many times the "big" things I ask God to bless me with actually pull me AWAY from Him instead of drawing me closer and deeper into that relationship. The new car, house, boat, job... they take me away from worship, prayer... I don't need to trust God to get me to work, I've got a new car! I have this boat and the only time I can get use it is on Sundays, doesn't God frown on me having this expensive boat and then not using it? I have a new house and bigger payment so I have to work more... you see where this is all going, don't you?

I think this must be why the Bible says, consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds because the end result is spiritual maturity, a closer walk with God! When my car might break down on the way to work I pray hard all the way there! When I can't make my house payment I seek God's help and provision! When my job is more of a problem then a gift I spend time with God to work through it! But if I had everything I thought I needed, and have been asking God to bless me with, I wouldn't need Him anymore!

So the end result is this. Maybe the blessings we thought were from God, really came from Satan so that we might need God less. And maybe the things we thought were Satan trying to "keep us down" were really God trying to draw us closer! Maybe we ought to pray that our relationship with God grow instead of our bank account. Perhaps we should seek God as much as we seek "stuff FROM God." What if all Christians stopped praying for blessings and started praying for a closer walk, more workers for the field and an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with someone who is hurting?

I guess we might loose a few "Christians" if they realize God is not here to make us happy but to make us whole. That's alright, we'll let 'em go. Because I'll bet we could get a lot more accomplished for the Kingdom with fewer people sold out to God, then with a bunch of people who have simply sold out.

the Every Person Possible principle

At Real Life here in El Dorado we have a vision... I know, nothing new, everybody has one these days. But I think ours comes with a principle that finds its heart directly in the Scriptures. It's not some fancy precisely worded thing that God gave me one a cruise (actually heard a preacher say that's where God to spoke to him... I've never been on a cruise, yet.) no this just comes, like Real Life itself, from livin' this stuff every day.

Here it is; at Real Life we want to help Every Person Possible find real life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Not too fancy. I'm sure you know every word in that sentence and that it makes sense the first time you read it. But there's more. Some might say that we are "over reaching" because we want to help, every person possible and that it just makes the focus too big or blurry or whatever. But I think it's exactly the heart of God.

The every person possible principle should be played out in our lives every day. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:19-27, that he willingly subjected himself to the customs of the people around him so that he might have the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. He said, "when I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ." Paul wanted to connect with everyone so that he might have a moment to tell them about Jesus. But he didn't connect with everyone. Acts is filled with people who turned their back on Paul. Who didn't like him because of what he said or how he said it. He didn't reach everyone, but he did reach many and got to watch Jesus change their lives.

Paul said that he wanted to find, "common ground" with everyone and that he desired to do "everything" to spread the Good News. That's what we're about at Real Life. We know that not everyone is going to connect with what we're doing, how we're doing it or with me, or the band or the children's teacher... But we do what we do to connect with every person possible. For some, it just won't be possible for us to find any common ground. Differences is worship styles, music, dress, my preaching/teaching style, the building, etc. these are all things that might make it difficult for us to connect with some people, but we don't have to reach everyone, just every person possible.

We simply want to do what is best for others so that, like Paul says (in 10:33) "many may be saved." That's every person possible! We're on a mission. We're not going to reach everybody but we want to reach everybody we can. For the cause of Jesus Christ and the glory of God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe one of those from the Every Person Possible group might be you... let us know if it!

Dealing with Sin.

This morning my wife left the house looking especially beautiful. She always looks good but today she just really stood out and I was thinking about how God had blessed me with a wife who was as attractive on the outside as she is on the inside. Later I called her on the phone and I told her that I thought she looked really good today and that she was, "like a virus, easy to catch but hard to get rid of." I know, cheesy. I'll accept that, I'm head over heels for her. So, go ahead and laugh, I'm use to it. When you're a romantic you just have to live with it.

But in my reading today I came across something that seemed to fit my little pick-up-line (can you really use a pick-up-line on your wife?!) in 1 Corinthians 5:6 Paul says that sin is like, "a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough."

See, sin is that virus that is easy to catch but hard to get rid of... do you see it now?! That is why sin is so damaging, it takes over. It wants to control. To slither its way into every aspect of your life so until it has infected every corner. It wants to posses you. Control you. Destroy you.

When you get sick, the sniffles or sinus or aches and pains you know something is wrong and you go to the Dr. who gives you a Zpack or something and you take care of it. But often with sin we think, "I can handle it. I don't need help. I'll be able to overcome it with time.

In one of the new Batman movies (I really like Batman begins - hated number 2, the joker was just too evil for me) there is a line that goes something like this, "evil thrives on the tolerance of the good." I think that is true. When we don't deal with sin, don't call it what it is, don't point it out and condemn it, we aren't being kind... we're being stupid. That little sin will work its way through our lives, families and churches and destroy us from the inside out. We have to deal with it. That's what Paul was saying. Don't tolerate it, go after it, destroy it or it will destroy you.

Happy hunting to erradicate that sin! Maybe there should be a group in every church with brown jumpsuits and big bibles on their backs and we could call them the "sin busters"! Okay, that was dopey... who ya' gonna call?

What is the Christian Life all about?

What is Christianity all about? Do you suppose people who are not believers ask this question? Do people look at us and think, "I don't get it?" What's the big deal about being a Christian. Surely there are people out there who believe there is a God but don't get Him, or care about Him or what He wants... Maybe they don't understand what He's all about?

I'm guessing, since I've been a believer all my life, that people who are not think that we are just like mindless robots. We do whatever some quack in a robe tells us to do. That "God" just wants to control us and keep us from having any fun or experiencing all that life has to offer. I think we Christians must have done a horrible job of explaining the christian life.

Giving your life to God doesn't mean that you lose your freedom, your ability to choose what you want to do and when you want to do it. On the contrary, the christian life is marked by freedom. I can choose to do what I want when I want. I just have to recognize that there are consequences for what I do. If I choose to smoke or take drugs I am free to do that... but there is a high likelihood that I will become a slave to those things (that's why it's called an addiction). I lose my right to choose when I become addicted to alcohol, drugs, sex, violence...sin. Actually, that sin I commit begins to control me! I HAVE to have a another drink. I HAVE to take another drag. That's slavery.

But when I give myself to God through His Son Jesus Christ, what I get is freedom. He will never FORCE me to love Him. He will never MAKE me worship Him. He will never TREAT me like a slave, in fact its quite the opposite, He treats me like a SON.

Jesus said in John 10:9,10 that, Satan "comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that (those who believe) might have real life, eternal life, more and better than they dreamed" (MSG). More life? Better life? Seems pretty far fetched. But look at what Paul says about the Christian life in Romans 14:17, "the Kingdom of God...is a matter of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Does that sound like slavery to you?

What does God want from us? He wants us to willingly choose to give our lives to Him, not as slaves (because we can always choose to do what we want) but as sons and daughters we do what He asks because we love Him. What do we get in return? Life.

God wants you to be able to experience real life. Would you say that your life is marked by goodness? Even if you are a "moral" person, would you say your life is full of peace? That you are joyful? 90% of the time? 50%? 10%? As a follower of Jesus and a child of God my life is not marked by lots of money, a big house or fancy cars. I still face money problems, marital problems, kid problems, pain and sorrow. But in the midst of all that I see the goodness of God displayed all around me. I have peace that surpasses my ability to understand it and though I struggle I have the joy of knowing that this is all temporary anyway.

Do you want to experience Real Life, more and better than you ever imagined? Do you want to live free from the slavery to fear, doubt, addictions and sin? You can have what I and other Christians enjoy. Choose to give your life to God through Jesus Christ. Be free. Experience the real life that only God can give. What have you got to lose? You will always have the opportunity to go back.

wow, I am humbled...

Just checked and saw that in the last month people from 13 different countries either viewed this blog or watched one of my video messages on the message archive blog. Crazy. Hey, let's do this, if you view this blog or the message blog why not comment on whatever your viewing and let us know where you're reading/watching from?! Come on, it will be fun!

Thanks for allowing me to actually be used by God! I hope it blesses you!

Have you considered God's Love?

Have you ever wondered why God even gave Adam and Eve the ability to chose in the first place? I mean, come on, wouldn't it have been better for us if Adam and Eve would not even have been given the ability to eat from that one stinking tree's fruit?

From that point on we (humanity) have been, as Romans 11 puts it, "imprisoned...in disobedience." Romans 3:23 says it this way, "all have sinned and fallen short of God's perfect mark." It means that we're all in the same boat of sin, unworthy and hopeless. But did you ever think that through that sin, our sin, God has been able to make His mercy known to everyone? Mercy is NOT receiving what you DO deserve. If we all have sinned then what we deserve is death (Romans 6:23) because the wages of sin IS death. But God's mercy, through our sin, is made available to everyone because everyone has sinned.

Here's why this is so incredible. If God only showed His love/mercy to those who deserved it... none of us (yes you... and me) would now experience God's love. Do you have a car? home? job? family? anything good in your whole entire life? You didn't deserve it because you're a sinner. You and I don't DESERVE anything. Honestly, you're not so wonderful that you deserve what you have. Neither am I. If we were honest we'd have to say we've all 1) lied at one time or another. 2) Taken something that wasn't ours... even a post it note or a cheap pen from work. Tell me you've 3) never, never had a dirty thought in your life (see #1). So we're all at least lying, adulterous thieves.

So God shows His love to everyone regardless of whether they deserve it or not. You may say, "I haven't experienced God's love..." Oh yea? Did the sun come up this morning? Did the rain fall on the crops that produce the food you eat? Did you take a breath? Another, and... another? Matthew 5 says that God makes HIS sun shine on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. That's what makes His love so incredible! It's NOT based on whether or not you and I deserve it! We can't live like that. I love those who love me more than those who I know don't. Sad, but true. But because God doesn't show favoritism it makes His love so much better, complete, holy and more perfect than my love!

He loved us first. And He has made His mercy available to everyone just the same. Have you considered God's love lately? Does it make more sense that God tells us to, "love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us"? It's because that's what He did with you and me. We were once, like so many others today, enemies of God because of our sin. We persecuted Him when we committed sin, called something He had created, ugly or trashy. Considered worthless the good things He gave us and rejected Him as the source of what we had.

We have all spat in the face of God because we wanted more. But his love STILL was made available to us. Think about it.