This time of year when we look back at what was and forward to what may be, I received the following text message last night from a best friend.
Happy New Year!
With eyes wide open and my heart fractured, though open, and filled with painful loss, I look forward to a closer relationship with Jesus. He has always been there, and I have always felt his touch inside my soul, always there, patiently waiting with me, and for me.
I know how he misses me for my absence. My life has had an emptiness that dwells inside. It’s like I have been sitting in the front of the class, but never turned around to see who’s there. If I wasn’t so lost in trying to figure out why those in front of me were leaving—and why—I would have turned to Him for Him to console me, to lift me up in this dark season in my life.
It was Him, forgiving my absence. I will seek Him out with more commitment. He has always been there with me since I can remember, and I am sure He watched over me when I neglected his presence. He watched over me then; I feel him surrounding me more than ever. It is only now that I have been the one who has turned around to only find He was always there.
My dear lifelong friend, I thank you; actually I thank God for putting our lives together a long, long time ago. Your input in my life is without a doubt, because of the grace of God.
I love you my brother!
Powerful words. May we all live forward in and through the grace of God.
For those who missed last weekend’s drama at Fellowship Church, The Game of Life is available for viewing this week on the FC website. Click on “Watch Weekend Message” at the bottom left of the home page (messages are usually available until the Sunday following the live date). Go ahead—invest 30 minutes of your life for the rest of your life!
Fellowship Church is presenting an encore performance of The Game of Life this weekend. Several years ago Mike Johnson led this captivating drama. And it was so popular the church re-presented it the following weekend. You do not want to miss this rare opportunity to look back over your life! Services are Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 10am and 11:30am. Please come!
Beyond the poolside barbecues and beach parties we gratefully remember today the sacrifices of so many for so much of what we have. Don’t take today simply in stride. Remember and appreciate those who have given. Thank and encourage those who are giving. And contribute—whether through a letter or package sent to a man or woman in service, through support of their family here, or simply but powerfully through prayer—contribute.
Mike Huckabee well honors those we recognize today. Check out his post here. Happy Memorial Day!
I just finished reading Mark Levin’s well-thought, densely-packed, point-on book Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto. He covers a wide range of critical topics facing us today and exposes the scary agenda of today’s Statist (aka liberal) in a compelling manner and captivating style. I’m in full-on agreement with nearly everything he says. Required reading for anyone who’s worn out by the weary road we, as a nation, find ourselves being dragged down. It’s time to dig in our heels and redirect this country back to the values it was founded upon.
I started yesterday working out at LA Fitness and ended the day working out at Fellowship Church. We had great turnouts for our two Easter Saturday services and I think I climbed the balcony stairs nearly 20 times, making sure we had seats available for our guests who were pouring in. What great ways to start and end the day. Celebrate!
Mark Tapson nails it with his on-target, provoking essay The Post-American President. As our sheep-brained media continues to follows itself off the cliff of reason by reporting only what they think we want to hear, the rest of the world increasingly sees the United States as a kowtowing sissy that wants to play nice because it’s become afraid of the bully in the play yard. And our president is bowing out, stepping in the sheepshit, and pushing this shining city on the hill off the precipice. Nice trifecta. . .
I just finished reading this new book on spiritual warfare. Wow!
I’ve always known (or I felt, at least!) that there was something going on behind the scenes that we can’t see but I was kinda worried about looking into it too far, for fear of crossing some line that God cautions against. But Chip Ingram tackles the subject from a Biblical base, using Ephesians 6 to instruct us how to put on the armor of God in preparation for our defense and offense against Satan and his demonic warriors.
Ingram incrementally, logically and Biblically demonstrates how to use the faith tools we have in our arsenal to fight against an enemy who’s already defeated—and he makes this seemingly inconsistent reality make sense! I don’t want to steal his thunder, but a couple phrases shouted out at me that I hope will inspire you to check out this book:
You are God’s child and have kingdom authority over the adversary!
You don’t have to be strong, super-spiritual, or seminary-educated. You do, however, have to claim who you are and act on what is true.
Bottom line? We’re equipped to fight evil—we just gotta learn how to better use the weapons God has given us…
Friends & I spent last weekend in Crested Butte skiing some awesome snow and (when it got too darn cold to ski!) watching football in the ski lodge. If you question the value of watching football over skiing consider that the temperature was -24° (yes, below zero) when we left Monday morning…
As we were driving home and listening to Fox News on XM Radio, the debate over the “battle for Christmas” was being discussed—how some retailers are capitulating to unreasonable demands to change all references to Christmas to something more “benign” so as to not alienate non-Christians. Nobody seems to want to discuss the issue that many retailers count on Christmas sales for their annual profitability but I suppose that’s another point…
Christmas references are being replaced by terms like “Seasons Greetings”, “Merry Winter” (doesn’t that just roll of the tongue?), or “Holiday Sales”. That’s fine. Whatever. I never enjoyed shopping at joints like Wal-Mart and now have a sound reason to boycott them. Our culture’s obsession with this whole gift-thing is out of hand, anyway…
But I noticed that many towns on the interminably long road from Crested Butte, Colorado to Grapevine, Texas had “holiday” scenes with angels, nativities, stars, and other symbols of what we celebrate this month. And as we were passing through Clarendon, Texas a small church on Highway 287 had this message on their signboard:
Merry
Christmas
Christmas
Christmas!
It’s reassuring to know that in the heart of the country, the meaning of this “holyday” remains strong.
Atheist David Newdow, known (sadly) for his lawsuits to remove any reference to God from government-related institutions, is filing a new suit to have the phrase “In God We Trust” removed from United States currency. In an interview on NBC news this morning when asked why he was so optimistic that his cause would succeed, he responded:
“People sometimes say to me, ‘don’t you feel this is David and Goliath?’. Yeah, I feel like I’m Goliath! I have everything on my side: all of the law, all of the principles, everything.”
I found the power switch on my truck radio the other day—and turned it off. Thought I’d spend a few minutes in conversation rather than surf the XM channels for the right tunes.
I was running kinda late and didn’t find (or make) time that morning to talk to God. So I figured I’d take advantage of the time I had in transit… Then it occurred to me just how natural that conversation felt—and how that’s just how it should be.
A little background: I tend to have rather unpretentious talks with God; I lean away from styled language and I simply talk—respectfully—but simply talk to Him.
But that morning as I was praying/talking to God, I found myself distracted a couple times by traffic and had to suspend my thoughts for a few seconds. As I refocused, I continued our conversation much as I would if someone were sitting in the seat next to me (which, of course is true, right?). Our conversation ebbed and flowed, just as if I was talking to a friend (which I was, right?). We continued for a while: me talking out loud, God’s Spirit expressing through thoughts infusing within me. I enjoyed our impromptu time together and suspect He did, too!
I’m not suggesting we give up structured time and reverent devotion in quiet time with God. He deserves that commitment and even honors us when we make time to make him the priority of our day. But I also think we squander opportunities when we could simply talk with the most important Friend in our life in simple, natural conversation.
Ed Young delivered a powerful message last weekend about establishing controls in our lives to keep us insulated from the coercive power and attraction of sexual sin. He explained how his own set of “ten commandments” establishes boundaries and guides his behavior in this difficult area. The visual impact of watching Ed move from the ledge of the stage where he ran the risk of falling off, to the security of the inner stage as he read each of his personal commandments drove his point home—and got me to thinking about another analogy (although Ed’s illustration is pretty good!)…
I love being outdoors and in recent years have spent some time sailing. Take coastal cruising, for example, sailing along a coast or among a chain of islands. Whenever I’m enjoying the thrills and relaxation (yes, they do mix!) of coastal cruising, I’m always careful to take preemptive action to protect the boat, my crew and myself. We’re always aware of where the wind is coming from, whether it’s changing in strength, and what our course of action options are. We want to know what to do and where to go before the winds of change blow.
When anchoring for the night, we anchor in the leeward side (away from the wind) of an island or point. While this sometimes means giving up attractive anchor spots, we know that winds can be unpredictable and anchoring in the lee of some protecting force is the only responsible thing to do. Sometimes you give up what looks good for the better choice of safe ground.
Seems to me this anchoring discipline applies to everyday life, as well. Before the winds of life try to blow us off course (and they will!), we should protect ourselves by seeking shelter in the lee of God’s commandments. But even with these clear-cut guidelines in place, I’ve found that I can’t seem to hold my course without a few Christian influencers in my life. Make sure you have people in your life—a spouse, a close friend, an authenticity partner, someone—to help you live life God’s way. Then hang on for the adventure!
Beyond the poolside barbecues and beach parties we gratefully remember today the sacrifices of so many for so much of what we have. Don’t take today simply in stride. Remember and appreciate those who have given. Thank and encourage those who are giving. And contribute—whether through a letter or package sent to a man or woman in service, through support of their family here, or simply but powerfully through prayer—contribute.
When anchoring for the night, we anchor in the leeward side (away from the wind) of an island or point. While this sometimes means giving up attractive anchor spots, we know that winds can be unpredictable and anchoring in the lee of some protecting force is the only responsible thing to do. Sometimes you give up what looks good for the better choice of safe ground.
