Two Sunday's Under our Belt at Real Life's Worship Center

Well, we made it.  Two Sundays under our belt at our new Worship Center, 201 E. Central - The El Dorado Civic Center.  We are so thrilled to have this wonderful space in which to worship.  The city of El Dorado certainly did a great job with this amazing space.  Okay, now that that is out of the way...

Two Sundays down!  We had a great time with a smaller more intimate crowd on the 19th as we remembered the last five years and looked forward to the coming years and God's continued blessing.  Then on the 26th we gathered again to kick off a new message series, had the full band rockin' the house again and was able share the day with 92 of our friends!

Moving forward let me in on what is happening.  We have made arrangements to have more chairs in the worship area so that you won't have to jockey for chairs next Sunday.  We've purchased some large banners to help you get around in the new space and we've stocked up on our guest bag fillers and are working on some children's guest bags!

So come and check out our new (temporary) home at the Civic Center this Sunday at 10am as we hit the second the message in the series Changed - on the book of Philemon.

Inspect Yourself

One of the life complaint I hear all the time as a preacher goes something like, "I just don't know what God wants to do with my life..."  Seems like the vast majority of Christians are just going through the motions waiting for God to dump some incredible, purposeful task in their laps.  I've heard, "I don't know what God is keeping me alive for."  and, "I'm just waiting for God to show me what He wants me to do."

People seem to think, since I'm a preacher, that there must have been this lighting strike moment when God parted the skies and spoke to me A la The Holy Grail.  But it didn't happen like that.  God had been preparing me for preaching my whole life.  I spent some time running from that but God always gets His way.

I think the difficult part is that we all want some great moment when we "know" what it is that God want's us to do with our lives.  But the reality is that what He really wants is you and I to live our lives like Christ, everyday.  Wherever we are and whatever we are doing.

Consider these verses from Galatians 6:4-5.  Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

What a great encouragement!

First, explore your life.  Chances are you are one of few people in your job or school who can reach the group you are with every day for Christ.  Or look at where you volunteer or the friends you hang out with.  These people are YOUR mission field.  Don't look for another job - look for opportunities to be Christ where you are NOW.  Make a careful (I would say that means prayerful) exploration of your life AND the work you HAVE BEEN GIVEN.  When was the last time you thought about your job as the work God had given you?  Have you ever looked at your co-workers as people God had uniquely placed in your path for you to reach?  Sink yourself into your job, your school, your classroom, your organization, your volunteer group, your neighborhood and look at it as your unique field of ministry.  Then be Jesus to those people.  Do your work as though you are doing it directly for God.  Be happy!  Be purposeful!  Be inspired!  Be loving!  Be at peace!  Be consistent!  Be Jesus!

And then work to avoid the pitfalls of working for God.  Don't be too impressed with yourself.  And don't compare yourself with others.  Both of these will lead to failure.  One a failure OF witness and the other a failure TO witness.  Both will keep you from experiencing God's best for you.

Instead, take responsibility for your life.  Be creative as you work, share, love, interact with others.  Don't wait for your preacher to counsel you into some wonderful God work.  Don't wait for God to part the clouds and lead you to your destiny with a pillar of fire.  Chances are, where you are standing in your life right now is exactly where God has placed you to reach people that no one else is quite as capable of reaching.

Inspect yourself, your life, your gifts and talents and then... get to work for God.

Real Life is a Free Life

I have really enjoyed reading in the book of Galatians the last few days as a part of my Bible reading plan for the year.  Especially since I'm reading in the Message version and getting a  fresh perspective on the old truths contained in Paul's letter to the church in Galatia.

Yesterday I was reading chapter five and in verse 16 I was struck by this line, "My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit."

Those who are not followers of Jesus often think that Christianity is the opposite of freedom.  They think that we believers are governed by this huge rule book that sits on the coffee table collecting dust and spells out every single thing that we can't do and then gives examples of what happens to people when they don't follow the rules.

But that couldn't be farther from the Truth.

It is True that the Bible spells out things that we should avoid, sexual immorality, gossip, slander, drunkenness, fighting, hate, murder, you know, everything that doesn't show love toward someone else.  But think of it this way.  Instead of a rule book listing things to be avoided, it's more like an instruction manual for getting the most out of this life.  The things the Bible says to avoid it says for OUR benefit.  God is not some random fun killer trying to keep us from enjoying life, He's a coach trying to get us to live to our greatest potential!

Think of it this way.  Let's say you just got selected for the 2016 Olympic team.  Your dream is to win the gold for yourself and your country.  A coach who drives you hard in practice but doesn't care about what you do when you leave the gym would not be your best choice if you wanted to win.  But a coach who pushed you hard in practice and then helped you understand what things you needed to avoid in your diet, in your leisure time, etc., would be of great benefit to you.  And although you may not enjoy the "rules" once you won the gold you would be so happy that your coach pushed you so hard.

Or how about this.  My family used to watch The Biggest Loser television show every week.  If the trainers killed the contestants for eight hours a day in the gym and then let them go back to the homes and eat whatever they wanted we would not see the dramatic results that show produced.  We would not see changed lives.  In fact, when Rulon Gardner was on the show he did not do as well as the others, even though he was at one time a world-class athlete, because he was making poor decisions outside the gym.

God has given us the Bible so that we might know how to wring the most out of this life.  When we decide that our "freedom" means we can do whatever we want we find ourselves, addicted, chained to repetition, miserable because of guilt, hopelessly stuck in a sexual vacuum or simply done trying to live beyond our current situation.  But when you are free, from those "freedoms" that actually confine you, life is so much better, hopeful, happy and you're able to enjoy the freedom you have instead of regretting what you've given up.  Would any athlete claim that their life is not free?  No.  Because they have willingly given up a little to gain what they really want.

I want to live freely - not addicted, confined, forever scraping and clawing to get ahead or stuck in an endless cycle of abuse.  But animated and motivated by God's Spirit, who is my personal life coach.  Helping me avoid the things that will keep me from reaching the goal of living this life to the fullest extent and having hope that when this life is over, real life begins.

Look at your own life without Christ.  Are you free?  Really?  Do you have money to have fun or are you spending it all on your addictions?  Are you healthy and happy in your life or are you strung out and waking up in strange places and can't remember how you got there?  If you don't shoot up or take another hit do you feel better or worse?  The fact is you're trapped - not free.

It's time to be free.

Getting Settled in the New Office Space

Well, thanks to the help of the great folks of Real Life we are up and running now at the new office space at 109 N. Main in El Dorado.  I've enclosed a couple pics so you can see the space.  And you'll also see my desk and stuff.  You can't see it but on the floor around my desk and behind those chairs in the background is blue tape on the floor so we'll know where the walls are going.  There's a blank space where the door is going so if you come over make sure you use it.

God is so good and we not only had a great morning of worship Sunday but we also had a 102 in worship and many stayed to help clean up and clean out our original space and get it all packed and moved over to the new space.

Test Yourself…

Two years ago while training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon I followed the directions in a book called, Four Months to a Four Hour Marathon.  In the book were several benchmarks that were designed to help me gauge how well I was progressing in order to reach the goal of a four hour marathon.
 
Every month or so the book said I should be running such-and-such distance at such-and-such pace.  And I tried to keep up.  Having never been a runner it was not an easy task.  I was grateful for the tests spread out in the book to help me judge how well I was progressing and I was amazed at how fast and long I could run.  In the end I finished the Marathon at 5:17, but I was not too disappointed.  It was the worst conditions they had ever had (47 degrees and raining, including some hail) and, as I said before, I am not a runner.

In the book of 2 Corinthians Paul talks a lot about the Corinthian Christians faith.  The church in Corinth was having some problems.  This whole faith in Jesus thing was new to them.   They weren’t used to their new normal yet and were struggling to put their faith to practice in their daily lives.  In the 13th chapter Paul encourages them to “Test” themselves to make sure they were “solid in the faith.”  I think thought that was a good idea but was puzzled on what a good test for solid faith might look like.

If you were going to make a test to help someone determine if they were on solid ground in their faith walk what would you include?  Would you want to see a lack of sin in their lives?  Do you see a lack of sin in your own?  Would you consider an addiction a disqualification for faith?  What about language?  Would you put church attendance or volunteerism on the list?  What about Scripture memory?  How would you gauge the Holy Spirit’s presence in a life?  Before you consider writing such a test it would be beneficial to honestly look at your own life and consider where you might fall on your own test.  My guess is that you and I would probably fail our own solid faith tests.
 
It just occurred to me that the church Paul was addressing didn’t even have “Scriptures” to memorize!
 
How hard must it have been to maintain faith in the first century?  No Bible.  You couldn’t turn the TV on at any hour of the night or day and watch a Sunday sermon or teaching.  They didn’t have the Bible on CD or dramatic readings.  They didn’t have denominations so it was difficult to know who was from where.  And no Bible colleges or seminaries existed to pump out indoctrinated students of their particular brand of theology.
 
Here’s what they did have, every once in a while, an Apostle would come to town.  In between those visits other disciples like Titus or Timothy might stop by.  And they even got a letter once or twice a year from someone important.  But in the case of Corinth (and probably every other place except Jerusalem) they had false teachers and faith abusers who infiltrated their church and tried to stir up trouble or take advantage of grace.

So what would YOUR faith test look like?

Here’s some ideas I’ve come up with…
• Can you say honestly that you believe Jesus is the Son of God and your Savior?
• Would you say that you are improving in the areas of:  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control?
• Are you attempting to be in prayer-contact with your Father on a daily and continual basis?
• Are you able to recognize your own sin and seek repentance?
• Would those who don’t know you figure out that you are a Christian if you spent 30min talking with them?

How are you doing?

Moving Is Underway!

Hey folks, we're moving and things are getting put away, thrown away and stowed away in preparation.  I thought I'd upload a few pics of the progress so far - gonna look pretty bare in here Sunday for our last two worship services in our original location.  God is working out the details through His faithful and we are on track and on budget to make this move in just nine days we'll be worship in our new temporary home, the El Dorado Civic Center!

Keep praying and be ready to serve where needed as we take this historic step to see more people find real life through a relationship with Jesus Christ!

I hope that you can make our last worship service at 2405 W. Central at either 9 or 11 but REALLY hope you can join us at our Civic Center launch August 26th!  See you soon!

It Happens on the Inside

Had to be reminded today that God is at work whether we can tell it or not.  I find myself thinking and praying, "God, you promised, why aren't you..." In the midst of working to accomplish what He's called us  to do if He's not working fast enough I tend to get frustrated.  And frustration often leads to asking yourself, "did I misunderstand what God wanted me to do?"  "If you're not going to provide here God I may just give up."

And it feels like our enemy, The Devil has launched a full-on attack.  Personality conflicts, threats, difficult questions, difficult people, difficult situations and there's no easy answer for any of it.  Like Satan has built a wall around us and is only letting that which has destructive possibilities through his blockade.  Whatever God has already planned for us seems to have been hijacked and taken in a different direction.

On the outside it appears that very little is working like it needs to.  And that means that on the inside I am terrified.  Worried.  Second guessing every decision and seeking a way to compensate for God's apparent lack of involvement.

But I came across this little encouragement in my Bible reading this morning, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

We see that even when everything on the outside seems to be falling apart God is always at work!  If it's not visible it's invisible because God's promise is that He will never sleep, so He's always working.  And that work He does is making new life, unfolding grace within us so that we will be able to weather any storm because the troubles and difficulties of this life are insignificant when compared to His abundance.  Good times are coming.  There is hope, even in the midst of trouble so I will NEVER give up and what is unseen now will be what lasts forever.

Here's to hope in the midst of trouble, do you have it?
Only Jesus can provide it.

Am I Competent for the Task?

As a pastor I often wonder how God works out His plan through me (and us)?  How is it that God can take misled, mixed up, malcontents and use them to spread the word about His Son Jesus Christ?  And, how then can He expect that anyone would come to hope in Jesus when the message comes through such messed up people?

The reality is that I, and every other pastor out there, am a mess of sin and striving and insecurity and worry. Find me a preacher completely comfortable in his role and his spiritual life and you will have found a phony.   No one can stand before the people of God to speak His Words and be completely at peace with his own sin.

To make a living and respond to the call of Christ on our lives we must look our own sin square in the face daily and try to deal with it for your benefit.  It is a gut-wrenching task and anyone who says it isn't probably wants you to give them "seed" money... but that's for another post.

I was reading this morning in 2 Corinthians 2 and found a couple verses at the end of the chapter that spoke to this issue of insecurity so perfectly I needed to share them with you.  Here's how Paul dealt with this complexity.

"Is anyone competent to take it on?" (He had been talking about sharing the Gospel) "No— but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can."

You could probably accuse me of a lot as a pastor and as an individual.  But you can't accuse me of watering down God's Word.  I never have and don't plan on starting.  I pray earnestly that God speak through me and use the words that come out of my mouth to bring life to those who hear.  I shudder at times as I prepare and then deliver a message because of the heavy burden to be in Christ's presence and speak for Him (as though He needs me).  But I have no other option.  His Spirit compels me.

So I preach the whole Gospel to the best of my weak and feeble ability and try to stand in the Strength of Christ and look God in the face.  What a wretched man I am and from what a wretched people... who will save me from myself.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus who gives me the victory and the strength.

Real Life is Moving!

As God has grown Real Life over the last several months it has become apparent that our current facility simply is not big enough to sustain any more growth.  Our one kid's room is maxed out, the Pastor continue to share an office with ever-increasing nursery children and although he enjoys playing with the toys during the week the space is getting tight!

So with prayer we have secured a building at 109 N. Main in El Dorado and will begin moving into that space on August 1st.  The building will house offices and a large meeting room for Bible studies and various meetings.  We will also be saving some space at the front of the building for some cool stuff I can't tell you about right now.

Then on August 19th Real Life will have it's first Sunday worship in the Civic Center (201 E. Central), an intimate time of looking back and forward as we remember what God has done and what He has yet to do.  And our official launch at the Civic Center will be on the 26th of August.

Please continue to be in prayer for this move that God will provide everything needed to make it happen and that we will not only continue to see lives changed for God's glory but that we will be able to help many more people find real life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I am so blessed to serve and work with you and look forward to an even greater harvest as we take this step together.

Corey.

Apology and Excuse...

If you follow this blog... I think there are like five of you... I want to apologize for not posting much lately.  Real Life has been growing, it is summer and we're planning some major stuff happening in the next four to six weeks.  So, please accept my apology for limited postings and I hope my excuse is well received!  We are excited about what God is doing - it just takes some doing!

Living Life in the Matrix - begins this Sunday

Did you ever think about how the Apostles lived and the incredible things they did and want have that kind of life?  To be in tune with the Holy Spirit and see the impossible take place?  It's not a big secret that only a few are aware of, it's just learning to live by God's rules.  We are to be in the world but not live as the world, we're to live differently and with God as our Father and the Holy Spirit living in us we SHOULD be different.  This new message series will help us live by God's economy.  It's HIS world, He makes the rules.

God Bless America

I was thinking early this morning while doing my Bible reading and prayer time about how blessed I am to be an American. I could have been born in a third-world country with nothing. Instead, I was born in a country of freedom and peace. freedom and peace that has come at the expense of the lives of my countrymen. A price that I have not had to pay because others were willing. My family and I enjoy the freedom to worship, to move about the country and live in relative peace.
I thank God for my country and pray that not only will God bless America but that America will come to bless God. I'm not naive enough to believe that this is a Godly country, but it is a country in which I am free to worship God.
So on this Independence Day, I acknowledge that I and we have attempted to exert our independence but are not and never have been independent from God, but that we have and always will be dependent on Him for all good things come from God
So enjoy your independence day and celebrate that God has not left us alone.

The Enemy Within

In Psalm 84 Asaph is considering an impending attack from Israel's enemies.  He lists them all, nation by nation, talking of their plans to wipe Israel off the map and take their land.  He's praying to God for help and protection and asking God to deliver His people from this threat.

I was thinking about the condition they must have been in.  Nations preparing to battle.  Fearful of the future and seeking God's protection.

It's hard for us to understand the feelings and thoughts that must have been pounding in their hearts and heads.  We are at relative peace.  I wonder sometimes because I've been watching shows like 24 and Jericho and The Walking Dead and they make you wonder if we really are at peace.  But at least for normal Americans like me, I do not feel threatened.  I don't think my way of life is going to end any minute.  I'm not fearful of the end of life as we know it.  It's hard to understand the feelings Asaph and the people of Israel must have had.

Then something occurred to me.  We are not threatened by external enemies who want to crush us, but that doesn't mean we are not threatened.  Our enemies don't have names like Moab, Amalek, Philistia or Ammon.  Our enemies are named Lust.  Greed.  Fear.  Hate.  Anger.  Depression and hopelessness.  These enemies aren't physical but they are just as real and just as able to destroy us.

Satan uses these internal enemies to attack us when we are at our weakest.  They lay in wait until we are tired, fed-up or stressed out.  Then they attack with no conscience.  No feeling.  No compassion.  Satan's plan is and always has been to steal, kill and destroy.  He'll do that anyway he can.

So Asaph's prayer can still be our prayer.
"My God!  I've had it with them!  Blow them away... Knock the breath right out of them... bring them to the end of their rope and leave them dangling, helpless."

I may not be attacked from an exterior, physical enemy but I am attacked - this week in fact, so this prayer is personal for me.  God, do to my internal enemies, the enemies of my mind, my peace, my hope, my faith what you did to the national enemies of Israel.  Destroy them and let me stand.

The Coup d'état of God

I'm a Christian.  A Christ follower.  A believer.  A fanatic.  Whatever you want to call it my primary function in life is to know Christ and make Him known.  At Real Life we remind ourselves often that we want to connect with people so that we might connect people to Jesus.  Our mission is to help every person possible find real life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Sound easy?  It's not.

Right now there are several "irons in the fire."  I'm not at liberty to discuss what our Elders and I have been praying about, discussing and working towards, at least not yet, but it is all about being able to connect and direct more people to God through His Son Jesus Christ.  And since that is why we exist, it's cool.

I'm excited about what God is doing and how He is directing and providing and leading this whole process called church, but, to be honest, I'm frustrated.

I'm one of those people who wants to make a decision and then get to work.  I don't find pleasure or joy in the journey.  I want to know what we're doing, where we're going and then get after it.  I know this about myself and so I try to balance.  Take a breath.  Seek guidance and direction.  And then get back to to the work of making it happen.  And therein lies the problem with me.


I was reading in Romans nine today and had to stop what I was doing and think and pray about what I had just read.  In verse 33 Paul quotes from God's revelation about Himself to Isaiah the prophet when He says, "if you're looking for me, you'll find me ON the way, not IN the way."

It occurred to me that at times in our doing of THINGS for God we forget to actually LOOK for God.  Instead we tap Him on the shoulder and politely ask Him to get out of the way so we can continue our doing of things for Him.  The problem with this is that when we try to get God out of our way we are actually starting a mutiny of the Spirit.  A Coup' of God.  We're trying to take charge of a ship we couldn't possible be capable of running!

A Coup is the sudden, illegal deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state.   I (the small group of the EXISTING state) forget that God IS THE WAY and treat Him as if He is only IN THE WAY. Think of it this way, an elementary school basketball team trying to overthrow their coach, Larry Bird.  It's not possible!

At times in my life find myself quickly trying to move Him out of the way so I can get back to His work.  Do you see how ridiculous that is?  Look folks, God IS the goal.  He IS the thing we're after.  It is on our way through this life that we connect and interact with God.  But when we try to put our goals, dreams and aspirations ahead of Jesus as the goal we find that He is in the way.

Father, help me and this church to always seek You.  To find You and walk WITH You on the way to knowing You more and loving You better.  It's all about YOU.  Help us to keep our focus on You even as we move ahead for You.

GOD: In Surround Sound

This morning I was in my regular spot doing my prayer journaling and Bible reading.  Almost everything was the same this morning except that last night I installed a new rack and raised the our television up about 18 inches on the wall.  So as I sat down to journal I looked up and noticed the TV and couldn't help but consider where I was going to mount the surround sound speakers.  Since we moved several months ago I have yet to put up the little speakers that give me that "movie theater" feel.  Instead, four of the six are just sitting on a stand under the TV.  Not the same effect.

As I thought for a moment about where the best placement for the best sound might be my mind jumped to something I had read in Henry Blackaby's book, Experiencing God (have you noticed yet the rapid attention shifts that I constantly struggle with?).  Blackaby said that we hear from God in the following ways, or that He speaks to us in the following forms,

God speaks through the Bible - as we read or listen in an attempt to know Him more.
God speaks through prayer - as we talk to Him He aligns our wills with His.
God speaks through circumstances - as doors shut and open He guides the steps of our lives.
God speaks through the Church - or others that we have contact with who are also led by and listening to Him.

I have been wrestling with several decisions where our church is concerned and how to best proceed and accomplish His will and as always I have been praying that God would confirm His will in these specific areas in a way that I am able to understand.  He is doing just that through other believers I talk to, through the circumstances He leads us to and in my prayer time.

So as I was sitting there thinking about my surround sound speakers and placement and then switching to hearing God through the various forms He uses to communicate to us it struck me that my desire is the same for hearing God as it is for hearing the "real life" movie sounds that surround sound speakers provide.

I want to be in the sweet spot.

With my surround sound I want to position the speakers in such a way that where I sit provides the greatest effect of the system.  All the speakers working together to so that they hit my ear and make me feel like I am right in the middle of the action.  With God I also want to find that sweet spot where all of the ways He communicates with me are working together to confirm His will in my life and the life of His Church.  I want to in tune and be in the right spot spiritually so that His Word, my prayer time, our circumstances and what I'm getting from others all hit me together.  I want to be right in the middle of the spiritual action.

How has your communication with God been?  Are you hearing from Him through only one speaker?  Then you may be getting an incomplete picture of His will for you on a specific subject.  If you are praying but not reading His Word you've got a speaker out.  If you praying and reading but not connected with other believers on a regular basis who are helping to keep you accountable and plugged-in then it's a lop-sided message you're getting.  If all you listen for is what is happening to you (circumstances) then your missing out on the full-message from God on the subject.

Work to find the sweet spot where everything points to the same conclusion and gives you the feeling that you are right in the center of what God is doing in your life and listen to ALL the speakers not just some.

Think I'll put the rest of my surround speakers up this weekend and find that sweet spot in my living room and in my life.

6 Ways to Ruin Your Life

I had the opportunity to preach to the men at the Union Rescue Mission last night - what a great mission they have being the hands and feet of Christ.  Truly a blessing to get to be with them and share God's Word with them.

I preached from Luke 15, the parable of the prodigal son, but when I got home I started thinking about another way to approach that passage different from the way I felt God leading me to share with the men last night.  I began to see a progression in the young son's attitude and actions that led to his own ruin.  Let me point out the six ways to ruin your life from the parable of the prodigal or wasteful/reckless son.

1.  TAKING WHAT YOU HAVE NOT EARNED.
     Luke 15:12 - the younger son said, "give me my share of the estate."  It's significant that the younger son demanded this from his father.  First because younger sons didn't typically receive a portion of their father's estate, it was reserved for the first-born.  And secondly, as the younger son he had not yet contributed to the estate as much blood and sweat as his older brother or father had.  This younger son was demanding something that he had not earned.  And as we'll see, because he did not earn it, he did not fully appreciate it.

2.  DOING SOMETHING SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU CAN.
     Verse 13 tells us that, "Not long after" he received a portion of his father's estate he, "Set off for a distant country."  There seems to be no good reason for this trip other than the fact that he had some money burning a hole in his pocket.  He had the means to travel and do what he wanted, but as long as he was home he would have surely been expected to pull his weight around the farm.  Something he was apparently no longer willing to do.  Since he already had the money there was no incentive to obey, or to stay.  So he left, not because he had to or needed to, but simply because he could.

3.  SQUANDERING WHAT YOU HAVE ON WHAT YOU DON'T NEED AND CAN'T KEEP.
     Verse 13 goes on to say that this young man, "Squandered" his wealth in, "Wild living."  This is surely something that he would not have had a very easy time doing while still at home.  His father and mother were probably constantly on him about investing and not wasting his money.  Saving for the future and building on what he had so he would have more.  Instead of listening to their wise counsel he left home, taking all that he had been given and then blew and had nothing to show for it.  At times I cringe and have even pulled out of drive through lanes because it burns me to simply eat $5 knowing I'll be hungry again in a few hours.  This boy ran quickly through all his money and then tried to figure out where it went and couldn't point to anything of worth.

4.  BEING FORCED TO DO WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO DO BECAUSE YOU DID WHAT YOU WANTED ALREADY.
     Luke 15:15,16 tell us that things got so bad for this young man, out of money, out of friends, out of food, that he had to hire himself out to slop the pigs.  This was a horribly degrading job for a Jew, but hunger makes you re-evaluate your standards and force you to do things you never thought you would.  Because the young man did everything HE wanted to do when he had money he was now forced to do what he didn't want to do just to survive.  I wonder how many times he thought, "If only..."  But it was too late.  Sometimes getting you way now means having to give up your way later.

5.  REALIZING WHAT YOU ALREADY POSSESSED FOR FREE YOU'D GIVE ALL YOUR POSSESSIONS FOR NOW.
     Verse 17 starts out, "When he came to his senses."  Everybody comes to their senses sooner or later.  But it usually comes only after you've been compromised in some way.  No one ever thinks they'll end up where they do.  That's the problem with sin.  Sin always seeks to destroy the sinner.  Take him captive.  Make her suffer.  It's always enticing and promising going in but the result is always the same, steal... kill... destroy.  As he considered how well the dirty, nasty pigs were eating (from the same mud and muck they had been defecating in) he realized they were eating better than he was and had an abundance of food compared to him.  What he had in his father's house, aside from the rules and the work, he'd now give anything to have again.  Too bad he couldn't see that before he ran off.

6.  GOING BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM WITH NOTHING TO SHOW FOR WHERE YOU'D BEEN.
     This young son went back to his father with nothing, even though he left with everything.  He had nothing to show for his time away or for the fortune he took with him.  He left with maybe half of all that his father and brother had worked to accumulate and he came back alone.  He was only hoping that perhaps his father would have enough pity on him to hire him as a servant.  Funny how he was now begging to be a servant under the command and thumb of the man he once thought too strict as a father.

There you have it, six ways to ruin your life.  But did you know that there is only ONE way to restore it?

Once the son came home in repentance (it means he changed his mind about the way he was living and "turned around" and went back to his father) the restoration was quick and complete.  He now graciously received what he hadn't earned, his father's love.  He now willing gave his life to his father as a servant because he could.  He gave up the pitiful life he had for a life he desperately wanted but couldn't earn.  He would then do what his wanted because of what his father did for him (the signet ring signified this).  He discovered that he ALWAYS possessed what all his possessions couldn't buy him, love, acceptance and a home.  He came back to where he belonged as though his past didn't exist.  The sins from where he had been did not follow him to where he belonged.


Wherever you've wandered, you can never go too far to come back home.
Whatever you've done, you are never beyond the boundary of His forgiveness.
and Whenever you return, you will be accepted and loved as though you never left.


It takes a while to ruin your life, but it only takes Jesus to restore it.

How to Judge a Day.

How was your day?  

This is a question that is often asked but seldom answered, at least honestly, that is unless you're answering yourself.  When someone asks this question we often default to a simple reply like, "Just fine. You?"  We rarely tell anyone how are day really went.  Unless we're sitting in the silence with the soft glow of our computer screen in the darkness, alone, finally, with Facebook.

Every day someone is posting a status about how their day went, whether they were asked or not.  And it seems like we are more likely to share the result of our day if we consider it to be a bad day.  We use words like; Terrible.  Horrible.  Want to just crawl in a hole.  Will this day ever end?  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.  I'm not sure if people are hunting for sympathy, conversation or just using social media like it was group counseling.  Either way I think we need some perspective on how to judge a day.

I think most people work something like this.  Today may be a bad day because something bad happened - a single event like a flat tire - or because there were multiple small bad things that happened that give you that overall feeling.  But it could also be a bad day because nothing good happened.  You didn't win the Publisher's Clearing House big prize, for instance.  You got your hopes up because you were one of the top finalists but they didn't pick your name.  Darn.  Bad day.

It's probably safe to say that the judgement of our day is highly varied and depends not so much on what happens (or doesn't happen) but on how we feel about it.

I struggle with this too.  Everything could be going great for me.  Good morning, lots of stuff accomplished, feeling good about myself and ministry and family and then BOOM!  Flat tire.  Critical email.  Someone in my church puts something unbecoming of a follower of Christ on their status and all the sudden my good mood goes on a cruise.  

I don't know why we feel the need to judge each day based on events, circumstances or feelings.  Shouldn't there be an objective basis on which to judge our days?  Wouldn't that be so much easier?  Well, maybe, but even then it's different for each person.  Let's consider what might be on the list.

Obviously, if someone close to you dies it's a bad day. Right?  But what if they were suffering?  Or if they were a Christian and Heaven was waiting for them?  Then that death might be a cause for celebration instead of tears.

Someone might want to put the stock market crashing as an objective determinant of a bad day.  But someone is always making money on the stock market.  Up or down somebody is getting rich, it's been designed that way.  So bad day for one is still a good day for another.

What if we just said, regardless of what happens today, it's still a good day because I'm alive.  Even that is difficult for me because if I die I believe I'll see Jesus and that will be the best thing ever!  So being alive is not even a good measure by which to judge my day.

The writer of Psalm 118 simply said, "This is the day the Lord has made (or worked), let us be glad and rejoice..." 

Wouldn't it be wonderful to judge your day in this way?  This is the day that God ordained and knew about before the foundations of the earth were laid.  Before you took your first breath of air, whether in a hospital in the US or a hovel in a third world country the Lord knew your life before it was created.  The events of our day are not good judges - we aren't even good judges of the events themselves!  So why not say, "Today is another day of life that God has given, therefore He must have a purpose for it that I may not even see.  So, until He calls me to heaven I will rejoice in each day and be glad that He has called me out of darkness and into His wonderful light - regardless of the events of my day - it's a good day."

I hope that today, whatever day it is, is a good day for you.

What Can You Do Through Christ?

It seems like not a week goes by that I don't hear someone quote the verse, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).  It's a good verse.  We use it often because we think it is encouraging and will help someone get through a difficult situation.  And I suppose it does (though we often use it in a way it was not intended, but that's another post).

I've been wondering what would happen if we put a different spin on this verse?  We know, because God is God and He can do anything, that He can give us strength to get through all of life's difficulties.  But how much do we trust God to do just that?  A child may trust her father but if she never jumps, and gives him the opportunity to catch her, does her trust make any difference in the real world?   I don't think it does.  See we Christians talk about trusting God a lot and how He will get us through the difficult times but I don't think most of us actually live that in our real lives.

Let me give you a hypothetical scenario and see what you would do...

Let's say that you absolutely believe that the Holy Spirit is directing you to go to a foreign country as a missionary.  My guess is that the first thing you would do is start looking for Him to confirm this for you somehow.  You'll look for "open doors" or things others may say that support your decision so that you feel more comfortable that you've heard from God.  And let's pretend that He begins to open the doors for you to go so that you feel even more confident that He is orchestrating this step in your life.  But then, as you begin to make the final preparations to leave, or perhaps are now on your way, God sends people into your life that begin telling you what will happen to you when you get to your destination.  Someone comes and tells you that the Holy Spirit informed them that when you landed you would be detained and jailed.  Later someone else comes and tells you that you will not only be jailed but you will be tortured and bound and imprisoned in this foreign country.

How do you feel now about God's call on your life?  Are you still absolutely sure that God wants you to go?  Or are you now questioning your decision, er, God's decision?  Are you saying to yourself, "maybe this was just a test... maybe I missed something... maybe God meant to talk to someone else."  Often, when the doors don't open or the road gets tough we begin to assume that God must have been mistaken or that we "miss-heard" the call on our lives.

In Acts 21 Paul is heading back to Jerusalem absolutely convinced that the Holy Spirit is leading him there.  He meets one believer after another who tells him that when he gets to Jerusalem he will be bound and imprisoned and that he should not go to Jerusalem.  They beg and plead with him not to go because they believe that he will die when he gets there.  (By the way, the Holy Spirit never said he would die and never intended that the people who prophesied would try to keep him from going.  The Holy Spirit was simply trying to inform Paul of what awaited him so that he would know what was coming and find comfort in the fact that God was in charge!)

After all this here is Paul's response, "The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience..." (MSG).

Paul knew that God had called and arranged for him to go to Jerusalem.  He also knew that whatever happened to him there would only be what God allowed to happen to him.  So whether he would continue to live and share the message of hope and salvation through Jesus Christ or was killed and went to be with Jesus face-to-face, the outcome was still up to God.

So what are you willing to do in the power and strength that God provides you through His Holy Spirit?  He is only limited (as if it were possible to limit God) by our willingness to trust him, to jump as in the earlier illustration.  So if God can do anything and everything through you, what are you willing to do through Him?  Are you willing to trust that He knows what He's doing even when you don't?  Even when the doors don't open and the windows fall closed?  Will you still believe Him even when He "seems" to be telling you something different then He did before?

You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength, but can He do all the things He wants to through YOU?

From Zero to Hero

There are all kinds of movies about kids (or even adults) who have a miraculous transformations.  Usually from a nobody to some super popular person who then has to apologize for his/her friends for being a jerk, etc.  Did you know God has been turning no-body's in to somebody's for a few thousand  years?

Probably most of us know the stories of Noah - nobody knew who he was, well, they knew he was a quack and thought him crazy because he didn't live his life like anybody else around him (or on the world at the time for that matter!).  But you and I are here as a direct result of this nobody.  Or what about King David?  He was the youngest in his family, scrawny and got picked on and mistreated by his brothers.  He ended up killing a bear, a lion and Goliath before becoming King of all Israel.  Then there is Gideon who was a frightened young man hiding out that ends up leading a band of 300 against 30,000!

But I've got another zero to hero story for you that doesn't get a lot of press.  In Acts seven there is a situation in the early church where there is a complaint lodged against the Jewish Christians.  whether it was an oversight or intentional, the non-Jew widows felt like they were getting left out when the food was distributed to those who needed it.  The complaint went to the Apostles who apparently were  asked to handle the situation so this would not happen in the future.  The Apostles realize that if they took on this ministry of distributing food it would take them away from their primary role of preaching, teaching and praying.  (By the way, this is a good thing to remember when you get pulled in different directions - stick to your gift and your calling.)

The Apostle's decision was that seven men be chosen to oversee this ministry.  That sounded good to everyone so they agreed upon seven guys who are listed in that chapter.  Up until that day none of these men are mentioned in the Bible. And let's face it, this ministry, not very high up on the list of super wanted ministries within the church.  Anyway, they accepted the role and began to oversee the dispersal of food to the widows.

That should have been the last we heard of those guys.  Not very important guys doing not very important work.  But in the very next chapter of Acts one of the seven guys is so courageously preaching the Gospel that the religious leaders take note of him and decide he needs to be shut-up.  Now remember, Stephen was a nobody who is a contemporary with Peter, James and John!  These "super-Apostles," as Paul calls them, were also preaching and teaching in the same places and at the same time but Stephen stands out enough that he is singled out!  And the result of that focus?  Stephen becomes the first Christian Martyr in history.  His story only takes a portion of two chapters but has a huge impact on the church.

And that is not all!  In Acts 21 another one of these seven nobody's pops up in the story.  A  guy by the name of Philip.  When Paul and Luke get to Caesarea they stay at Philip's home.  How Philip and his family got from Jerusalem to Caesarea we don't know - only that they find him there.  Luke tells us that he stayed in the home of, "Philip the evangelist" who was one of the seven chosen in Jerusalem.  And that he has four unmarried daughters who prophecy. I think that is amazing!  Not only has this nobody became a somebody but he's the second one from a group of only seven who went from a little forgettable story in Acts seven to have a huge impact on the world for Christ!

Here's the reality even for us today.  Nobody knows what God is planning for their future.  We have friends who never had any kind of a desire to be missionaries who are now in their third year of a five year church planing mission in Koper, Slovenia.  Their work will have a huge impact on the kingdom for years to come.  Before becoming missionaries he was an engineer and she was a stay at home mom.  Honestly, nothing super-special about their lives, and they would tell you the same thing!

What you DO NOW is not an indicator of what God may do through you in a week, month or year. Who you ARE NOW is not who you may one day be.

So here's the rules.
1.  Release your future.   Don't get too hung-up on your past - Free yourself to God's plans.
2.  Be ready for God to use you.  Don't think that God can't or won't - that's what David, Noah and Gideon thought.
3.  Allow God to have the freedom to shape you into anything He desires - then let Him work.
4.  Always be prepared to be used as He sees fit - don't rely on yourself to figure that out.

Who knows, the next chapter of your life could be a completely different story from the first.  God will never give up on you.  Don't ever give up on Him.

Latest Message Is Up on Site

Check out part 4 of the Identity Theft series at Real Life - we address the lie, I am what I do.

http://rlccmsgs.blogspot.com/2012/05/identity-theft-part-4.html