O Lord, You Know Everything About Me

As I look over the span of my life thus far I stand in utter awe of God's presence in my life.  The multitude of times that His hands have guided and directed my path are simply astounding. Many of them I did not recognize at the moment they were taking place but when looked at through a course of a lifetime they are easily seen.  Whether it be through the decision of a young mother to carry a baby she was not ready for to full term, or through the decision of that same young mother to give that child (me) up for adoption, or through the decision of a young family to foster a child in need, or through the decision of another young couple to allow God to pair them with a child and adopt.  These are just a few examples in a sequence of life spanning 41 years thus far.  I think that is why Psalm 139 is one of my favorite passages.  To me it speaks of the Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent qualities of God.  All through the beginning of this passage the psalmist it declaring God's presences and hand on our life.  So many other sequences of my life confirm this to me.  The childhood friendships made.  The braiding together of my life and the life of my spouse.  My call to ministry.  The blessing of three healthy children.  Just to name a few.  What life sequences of yours confirm the Psalmists description of God in Psalms 139?

Story Time

We shouldn't be, yet we are surprised when the things the Lord has a hand in so easily come together.  In Genesis 24, Abraham's servant dots all his I's and crosses all his T's, yet, was in awe when God showed up and everything came together.  I love several facts in this story.

1. When God shows up, Abraham's servant's first reaction was to worship. It was not out of duty or ritual that he worshiped it was out of shear awe - he knew that he knew he just had witnessed the hand of God move in his life.  A few weeks back I had been wrestling with some life issues.  I admittedly was confused and frustrated. I felt that God was leading me to do something yet was unsure and probably a little scared.  I ask Him to confirm what He was telling me. Well, long story short, as I was golfing with a mentor/person I looked up to, and sharing my heart with him when in our approach to the 4th green God used him to deliver that confirmation.  I want you to know that it wasn't kind of like the confirmation I had asked God for, it was word for word.  I broke down and cried - I had no choice - I was in awe.  I knew that I knew that God had just moved.
2. When God scripts a story it begs to be retold.  As the events unfolded right in front of his eyes, Abraham's servant had to respond.  I love that when he is talking to Rebekah's family he retells every detail of the story to them.  He could of just simply stated his business and let that be that, but no, when you see God moving like that you can't help it, you want to share every detail. Abraham's servant   gets the privilege, I really believe he counted it as one, to share this story multiple times.
3. When God shows up He delivers the details.  When you really think about it Abraham's servant does nothing.  The only thing he brings to the story table is obedience; he came, he sought, he found, he delivered.  God filled in all the rest of the details.  Some years back, the family and I went to Coco Beach, FL.  I could not believe that with all the stuff there was to do there the thing the kids enjoyed the most was this little magic shop that we found in an out of the way corner of this community.  Granted it was a neat store.  The owner, who showed us a lot of tricks, was a christian and we had great conversation, but, really a magic store. That's the place the kids wanted to spend two hours?  Anyway, we picked up this neat little coloring book that we can use to tell the gospel story.  when you hold the book in one position all the pages are blank, when you hold it in another it shows outlined images and in its third position all the images are colored in.  As I think of this book, I think about how often in my own life I have tried time and time again to color in my own life pages. To no avail, I might add.  You see God wants to deliver the details in our story.  He doesn't expect us to color in our own pages.  He just wants us to be obedient and leave the rest of the details up to Him.

I see the need in my own life to pay a little closer attention to the story that God is scripting around me. I need to stop trying to color in all my own pages and leave the details to Him.  Maybe you find yourself in the same spot today.  Let's pray together and ask God to help us see a little clearer the story that He is scripting and that He might give us strength to leave the details to Him.

In Christ,
Pastor Mike

Giving My Very Best ..... Really!

^"Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment."  Matthew 22:37-38

Over the past few weeks and months I have been wrestling with the thought of what it truly means to give my very best to God.  I am a little ashamed to say that I have not always kept a clear presective on this subject.  It is a thought that requires one to dive deeper than just the surface of life. It is far easier to simply remain mediocre or to simply coast from one moment to the next.  I desire more than that in my life, how about you?

To give my very best to God means I must learn to intentionally live out Matthew 22:37-38.  I must love God with everything and in everything.  I must give my passions and desires to him.  I must give way to His will over mine.  I believe this to be a life long journey that requires intentionality.  In other words, I can not love God with all my heart, soul and mind by accident.  I must wake every morning with a fresh focus of loving God with my entire self and put some action steps behind that focus.

This is my desire and I hope it is yours too.  Let keep each other lifted up in prayer so that we might be able to "Live on Purpose" and give God our very best.

"That's A Do Over!"

When I was a kid I remember playing all sorts of games on the playground.  Some days we played four square, some we played dodge ball and other days we played kickball.  The one thing that stayed consistent no matter what game we played was the infamous call out for a "do over".  If you didn't like a call or you were less than satisfied with your kick or maybe you just didn't like the losing track you were on you would simply call out --- "That's A Do Over" - and the hope would be that you would get a second chance.

As I scan over my life thus far, I can easily note several moments that I would love to have been able to shout out "Do Over"  and give it another go.  However, the thing about "Do Overs" is that unless something in the equation of that moment has changed the outcome is, more often than not, going to be the same. Now I suppose that there is some truth to the old adage "Practice makes perfect", however, that trial and error route also causes a lot of wear and heartache. (This I well know.)

I believe that God wants to be that change agent in the equations of our life, especially the areas we desire to "Do Over".  Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." (NLT)  God is definitely a god of second chances, however, if we are going to make our "Do Overs" count we must trust Him completely and not go it alone.  We were designed to be dependent on Him.

So, wherever you are at in your life right know, whether you are looking at current situations or desiring a "Do Over" in an old situation, trust in Him who is able to do more than you could ever think or imagine.  Depend on Him and allow Him to be the change agent in your situation.

Pastor Mike The Blogger --- Take #2

Well I am going to take another stab at this whole blogging thing.  I am not sure why I have not been able to keep this practice consistent.  It should really resonate with me.  I enjoy journal writing and I find the idea of blogging interesting, but I have yet to succeed at keeping it up. 

In this second attempt, I desire to see this site become an on going dialog that promotes healthy spiritual growth for all who participate with it.  I invite whoever may come across this blog to feel free to engage in a healthy dialog in hopes that we might assist one another in gaining a clearer understanding of who God is and what His vision for our lives might be.  My goal is not so much about giving answers with my blog posts but rather to ask good questions that may help lead to some answers. 

Lord, may you use this resource to bring whoever participates with it into a closer relationship with you.  Guide my heart and my mind as I write and seek your face.  Keep not yourself hidden from me but give me a clearer understanding of who You are and who you created me to be. ~ Amen