A Word for Christian Leaders

"Ministry is tough and the devil hates the church and hates Christians. It is no different than with Jesus, now the devil persecuted the church, His body. The devil's tactic is the same; strike the shepherd and scatter the sheep."

I wrote these words after hearing the testimony of a very famous Christian leader. They had been in a ministry family and were well known world wide. At one point they were very successful and everything was going good. Through a series of events they lost their ministry assets and even the ministry itself. The pressure was so great it even threatened to end their marriage. Thankfully God is faithful and they are together today and still have a ministry and are moving forward together. 

It is a sobering reality when you hear these types of testimonies from successful and influential people. Success and influence come with a fight. I believe the more significant of a work we do the greater the battle gets. I realize in many ways my ministry is built on the victories others won. I am very blessed to start my ministry where others have done so much. Having said that I can tell you that as I have risen in the ranks of church leadership that it isn't easier but harder. The struggles are greater and the challenges are more numerous. 

The comfort I find in all this is that as I have progressed in life and ministry so has my faith. The Bible tells us that we go from faith to faith, strength to strength, glory to glory. Any time there is a repeat of a statement in the Bible it is for emphasis. The beginning of our faith is great. In fact we get saved through it. As we grow in our knowledge and experience with God we get stronger and stronger. 

Be encouraged that God is growing you up. You are not where you used to be. The battles you face today are preparing you for greater things in the future. As you grow stronger you will be able to handle more. Jesus said that if we are faithful in the little things we will be put over much. We all want that growth but don't want the discipline and the fight to get there. Stay faithful and fight the good fight of faith and you will see the faithfulness of God and have a testimony to tell. 

Planning for the New Year

"I have labored most of this day on my message for the weekend. I am supposed to give vision and bring out what the year is to look like. It is tough because I have so much in my heart and yet I am finding it hard to make clear. There are no easy steps to make this happen. There is heart, faith and following the Lord."

The Bible says that there are many plans in a man's heart but the answer comes from the Lord. Looking at a new year can bring on a host of emotions. Sometimes the task ahead can be daunting. Other times the prospect of the unknown can be exciting. We may also find that having a clean slate to work with is a relief and there is a peace that comes with the new year. 

I think the sentiment from my thought from last year is still the same today. No matter how you feel as you approach 2017 know that it can be your best year. The reason is that when you have God giving direction and laying out the vision of what is to come it makes life an adventure. Adventure doesn't mean easy. I couldn't give you three easy steps to the best year of your life. But I can give you encouragement that you can have the best year of your life. 

How can I say that? Glad you asked. 

I have a question for you. 

What is in your heart? 

Do you really want to have a great year? You can have it. God says that if you delight yourself in Him that He will give you the desire of your heart. That shows me that if you really want it you can have it. 

Beyond that what can you believe God for? How big is He to you? What is He able to do? My Bible says God is an exceedingly abundantly above all I can ask or think God. That means my desires and my ability to ask will always come up short of what He is able to do. He will always exceed my expectation! So my faith needs to rise to new levels to have a better year. 

Finally we need to realize the simplicity of just following God as our leader. Again, this is not always easy, but it is simple. 

There have been many times that I have lamented over a member of my family, who will go unnamed (you know who you are), and their inability to make boxed macaroni and cheese. If they could just follow the directions everything would turn out right. But rather than boil the water before they add the noodles I see them dumping the box in water that is just starting to warm up. Oh I warn them that soggy macaroni noodles are on the horizon but do they listen? No. Not until they are eating mushy mac 'n cheese. 

All joking aside I know that God's plan is better than mine. If we could just catch a vision of what God has planned for us and follow His will we would have the best year of our lives. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit for a look in to what He desires for your year ahead. Press in, fast, pray and find out from the scriptures and your personal time with the Holy Spirit what that is. 

My 2016 ended up being an amazing year that when I look back on I am blown away. God is faithful. We can see it behind us and we can believe for it ahead of us. 

Life Support

"Another great day in church! During the first service I had just finished explaining that when you believe God for something the devil will come and cross examine your faith and the power went out. The church roared. We prayed and took authority and I used it as an illustration for my sermon. The power came back on and we were able to have a great rest of the church service. My favorite quote from the message was that we don't need to support our faith, we need our faith to support us."

All of the issues you face every day will crush you under the pressure if you don't have faith. Faith sees past the natural circumstances to a supernatural God and a supernatural result. Faith supports us when we would have fallen down. Faith supplies us where we are lacking. 

You have to see the solution in the Word of God before you can see it in the natural. When you have a promise from God you can believe Him for it. The great thing is you won't be disappointed because God cannot lie. You can know for sure that you will receive from God what you believe Him for. 

Life will try to kick our legs out from under us. If you have faith then you will be held up through the problem. Otherwise the pain or trial would have laid us out. We would have given up and quit except that God is real and true. 

Finally Faith supplies us where we were lacking. Whether it is strength we need or resources or whatever else, the reward and final result of our faith is that we will receive what we are believing God for. It takes time and patience but it will happen. Watch and see. 

Whatever you launched out in believing God for in the new year stay after it. Put your natural effort in to it and God will put His supernatural ability on it. Faith sees, faith supports and faith supplies. 

What are you believing God for? What scriptures can you believe God for in that are of your life? 

Day 318 - Hurdles on the Road

"At lunch Shane and I went and got the author copy of the book and we were disappointed. The quality was sub-standard. I now have to go through another round with them to get it right. I am trying to stay in faith and stay positive. Hurdles on the road."

Let me introduce you to my illustrator Shane. The guy is brilliant. His drawings are top notch, his graphic design has no equal, his wit and humor...hilarious. He has been a friend and a great encouragement in the ministry and now with the children's book Sarah's Silly Sock Day. 

It has been a journey of faith to produce this book and I could not have done it alone. My wife has been a constant encouragement. My children's excitement has often fueled my drive to go on. Which brings me to Shane. When we hit the hurdle we were pretty disappointed. Our long awaited book was not what we wanted it to be. 

It turned out that the problem was with the transfer of files. Layers of the images were being lost and others were pixelated. We had to go back through part of the process and it was lengthy and difficult at best. 

What really helped was Shane's positive attitude and quick wit. He saw what I saw in faith. He had a book in mind and knew the quality he wanted to see. After months of going back and forth we got it right and now have a real quality book with beautiful images that capture the imagination of children (and adults!). 

Stay in the fight if you are encountering problems. Hurdles are not something to stop you. They are to be overcome. Surround yourself with faith filled people who will take the hurdle with you. It makes the journey better and the trial more tolerable. 

What hurdles are you encountering and how do you intent to overcome them? Who is around you that can be a faith partner to encourage and go on the journey with you? 

Day 275 - Starting Wrong Ending Well

"It was a crazy morning!"

I have had many crazy mornings. Some turn out well and others...well...

All puns and joking aside it is not how you start but how you finish that matters. You may get out of the gate and stumble but in the end with the race. A day may seem crazy or start bad but you can finish well. 

It takes a few factors to finish well. First is the attitude factor. You choose how you view and respond to your circumstances. If life is crazy you can have a range of emotions. Some choose anger and blow up on people. Some choose sadness and remove themselves from the situation. Some choose joy and laugh. Others choose focus, resolve and attack the situation with determination to overcome. All these emotions have a time and a place but remember we are trying to end well. Choose to walk in the Spirit and the right fruit will be produced. 

The second factor it takes to finish well is faith.  Even crazy mornings can work out to a great day. The proof of that is in how my crazy morning ended with productive meetings, children taken care of and loved, conversations had that were necessary, and God moving mightily! I had to choose to push through in faith and live with it in mind that a crazy morning didn't mean a crazy day. It did however mean that I was faith focused and was believing God for a great day that ended well. 

The final factor is the God factor. We believe in a God who makes all things work together for our good. He is working behind the scenes for good things on our behalf. He will make it turn out right. We have to trust Him and follow His lead. He has the final say because He is not only the Author but also the Finisher of our faith. 

How can we choose the right attitude for a crazy situation? Which of these factors do you utilize the most or least? 

Day 266 - Hope

1 Corinthians 9:10b “…he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.” 

"Sometimes I forget hope in my work. My work is lighter and better when I see my hope by the eye of faith ahead of me. Like the last leg of a race or the final turn before I get home there is a joy before me of hope that carries me and energizes me."

Some people don't like hope because they don't want to hope and not ever attain. The Bible agrees that hope deferred makes the heart sick. But we do not hope like the world does. Our hope is in an unchanging God who cannot lie. 

If we will allow ourselves to hope we will be carried further. Our faith will be stronger; remember that faith is the substance of things hoped for. Hope is the blueprint that faith goes to work on. 

You can have the greatest hope that doesn't disappoint. You will be a partaker of that hope like the verse says. Set your hope in Christ and on His word. Faith will take over and grace will work with you to get the job done! 

Do you have a hard time with hope? How can we have a healthy hope? 

Day 250 - No Other Way

"Faithful, faith filled and faith focused."

These are three points from a sermon my brother in law preached last year. They are life long lessons. We are constantly adjusting and correcting our course to stay with these three areas. 

There is no other way to please God than by faith. There is also no other way to do life than by faith. You have to have faith to be a Christian, have friends, make marriage work, raise kids, build a business etc. 

We are faithful when we show up consistently for our duties. We are faithful when we are loyal and won't get off track with something or someone. Our commitment is no commitment at all if it isn't consistent. That is where faithfulness comes in. We must be able to be counted on and trusted. Are we faithful to our families, to our marriages, on the job, to our friends, and most of all to our God? 

If we are going to be faithful we need to be faith filled. We need to get as much of God's word inside of us because that is where faith comes from. Otherwise without the Word of God we will believe anything. God has ways and thoughts that He wants us to hear and be a part of. We will only get there and be filled with faith when we get into the Word. 

All this happens with a faith focus. What we give our attention to is what matters and what is produced in our lives. With the same measure of attention and interest we give it will be given back to us. It is very important to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and look to Him for what we are in faith for. Seek the Giver and you will have no lack of gifts. Seek the Lover and you will be loved. Seek the Healer and you will be healed. 

What are you believing God for? Which of these areas do you need to grow in?

Day 222 - This Post Will Not Be Popular

"Jess had seen a report from CNN about the Christians in Iraq who were being told to convert to Islam or die. They were systematically beheading children, raping and murdering women and hanging men."

Keep reading if you dare. 

We need to take this seriously. There are people dying all over the world for their faith in Jesus. We need to do a few things to honor them and to help them. 

First, if you want to help then pray. Not just religious dead words but really pray for the persecuted church. Daily we need to be lifting them up to the Lord. The Bible says we should pray for them like we were chained together with them. Allow your heart to be linked to those that are suffering persecution all over the world. Pray for their health, strength, encouragement, deliverance and however else you are led to pray for them. 

Second, if you want to honor them then we need to live unashamed. It is a shame to hold back the gospel in our land when people are dying in foreign lands for the sake of the gospel. It is a shame to hold back the truth for fear of offending someone when they have preached to their own imprisonment. If we are to honor our persecuted brothers and sisters then we need to share in their sufferings. We won't be popular but that isn't why we are here. Jesus said He came to bring a sword and would divide households. Indeed that is true where sons and daughters have been murdered by fathers and mothers for their faith. 

Oh, I might add, get ready. These are only the beginnings of the birth pains. We will make it to glory through trials and tribulation. He who endures to the end shall be saved. 

How can we pray for the persecuted church? What can we do to get our hearts ready for the coming persecutions?

Day 214 - Prayer Works

"It was raining most of the day. Hopefully the kids were able to have a dry camp!"

Two of our children were up at a camp last year. Obviously we prayed for them to have a good time and to be safe. We did not realize how our prayers were working. 

They did not have a dry camp. It rained most of the time they were there. In fact on our way up to the camp there was a news van filming the clouds over the mountain. Not a comforting start to camp. They actually had to change the events and schedule of the camp because of the rain. 

On the last day of the camp all the parents were supposed to pick up the kids and there was a one hour window to pick them up in. Weather advisory warnings were all over the news. We raced up to get our kids and get back down the mountain. Every parent got their children and our team came down and just minutes later a flash flood ripped through the camp sending feet of mud into the buildings and destroying several structures. 

Our prayers were answered. As simple as a prayer for protection was it was equally as effective. God isn't looking for eloquence, He is looking for faith. Trust Him enough to give Him your cares, requests, needs and your every day. 

Have you had a simple prayer answered in a powerful way? What happened? 

Day 195 - One Mold, One Measure

"1 Kings 7:37 Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of the same mold, one measure, and one shape. 

The mold that our lives are cast from is Christ. He is our measure and our shape. He is our portion. He is the one who shapes our lives. Intense heat and pressure are applied until we come out looking like Him."

We see the concept of one throughout the Bible. One God, one body, one faith, one baptism. Unity is essential. 

I love the imagery of the carts in the temple. They have the same mold. Ours is Christ. He is our example. Then the same measure. We have been given the measure of faith. And one shape, we are being conformed to His image. 

God takes ordinary things and makes them extraordinary! Press into Christ and allow the light of His countenance to mold you into His image. 

Where else do you see this concept of one in the Bible? How can we be formed into the image of Christ?

Day 181 - The Proper Order of Things

"I had some prayer and Bible study time and then went down for breakfast."

If only every day could start this way. In a perfect world we would be able to set our life in order and have the right priorities in their place. 

The reality is that our spouse may have been up earlier than we were and has something on their mind to tell us when we wake up. Or we woke up late and our prayers are said in the shower. Sound familiar yet? 

Life happens at a rate that we have to fight for our priorities. We have to know what is important and keep it at the forefront of our lives. Not only does life happen but the devil doesn't want us to keep our priorities either. That fact makes it all the more important to stay after our prayers and studies. 

Fight the good fight. Keep the faith and finish your race. 

How do you keep a regular prayer and study time? How do you fight against the distractions that war against your time with God? 

Day 170 - Money Is Annoying

"Money is an annoyance right now. Worry would try to creep in but I know better. To trust in The Lord is a safer and better option."

Have you ever felt like wherever you turn there is a problem that the only solution is money? I can tell you from my own experience that there are times when it is so consistent with money needs that I almost want to run out of my office and home screaming. 

I have also noticed that as time goes on and as I have been graciously allowed to prosper that what I was concerned about in the past financially is no big deal today. On the opposite side of that last sentence though is that what is a big deal today is a big deal today. The needs have only grown and the amounts that I have to believe God for have too. 

Even with all that I know better than to worry. If God can take care of the universe He can certainly take care of my financial needs. When worry, doubt or fear tries to come in I give myself a little pep talk and remind myself of two things: God's word and God's faithfulness. 

God's word is true and His faithfulness proves it. Money might be annoying, fear might be creeping, but God isn't moving on either of those. He is moving on our faith in Him to provide. 

Has money ever been annoying to you? Do you ever give yourself a pep talk? Why or why not?

Day 169 - The Greatest Tool For Raising Kids

"Praise God we have such good kids."

The greatest tool for raising kids is not discipline even though discipline is necessary. The greatest tool is not care even though care is essential. The greatest tool for raising kids is faith. 

If not for God I don't think I would be sane when it comes to my kids. I would worry and fret about every decision. Should I get shots or not? Public or private school? How do I discipline? 

With God all the worry and fear have no place. My faith in God and His Word answers every parenting question I could ever have. Through the Bible and prayer I never need to wonder how to raise children. The best Father has already given me what I need. 

Ultimately they are not my kids, they are His. If I truly trust God then I trust His ability to raise my children is better than mine. I am here as a parent to give the children the direction to God and His ways. He will take care of them through all the trials of life. 

How does your relationship with God affect your parenting? What scriptures talk about child raising? 

Day 156 - God's Desire

"God desires faith in us." 

There is no other way to enter into relationship with God than by faith. There is no other way to please God than by faith. There is no other way to get things done on the earth than by faith.

God not only desires it in us He requires it of us. Right in the middle of a talk about eating vegetables or eating meat in the book of Romans the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle to write a small sentence with huge impact. He says "Everything that does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23b)

Far be it from me to sin against God. That means that if I want to stay out of sin I must stay in faith. It may seem cruel because believing doesn't always come naturally to us so why require it? Here is why, sin comes natural to us. Doubt, fear and unbelief come naturally.

So how we start is how we will sustain and also how we will finish; in faith. God desires it.

How can we build faith? What are you believing God for right now?

Day 112 - Coming In Hot

Last year we were at one of our favorite restaurants and the following took place:

'A lady came in with a bunch of kids and her littlest girl was screaming and crying. Our waitress looked over and said “That can't be good, coming in hot already!”'

Maybe you can relate. You are enjoying your day and suddenly it is interrupted with something coming down the pipeline. It could be a person or a situation. News, especially bad news, can travel in this way. You could say like our waitress 'That can't be good. Coming in hot already!' 

It doesn't take much to set us on our guard or get us worried does it? I know personally I see certain people with a concerned look on their face and I know the next words out of their mouth will be 'I need to talk to you.' While my flesh would like to respond by saying 'Oh boy, here we go. What now?' I know that the right response is far different and ultimately far better. 

When we respond in faith saying 'We can do it' or 'I know whatever comes God has this' it makes for a much better experience. Even if it is really bad, and believe me, there are times when it has been really bad, God doesn't work on complaints, fear, doubts and unbelief. God works with faith, courage, hard work, love and uprightness. We choose where we respond from. Fear or faith. Complaint or courage. 

What is your reaction when you see problems coming your way? How can we switch from the negative fleshly responses to a faith filled response? 

Day 109 - Priming the Pump

"You have to get the pump primed sometimes. It takes faith."

My Pastor, and father-in-law, has often said of faith that it is like going to the fireplace and saying to it "Give me heat!" It doesn't work. You have to put the wood in first and then the flame and you will get heat. Faith is what we put in first and then the fire of God comes and brings us heat or results if you will. 

Our faith is expressed in our words and actions. The Apostle Paul quoted a scripture in 2 Corinthians and applied it to the believer today that we believe therefore we speak. Our words should reflect what we are believing God for. Similarly our actions should represent our faith. Just like Noah building an ark before there was ever a drop of rain we need to act on our faith. 

Today speak words of faith. Today act according to your faith. As you do the results will come. 

What steps of faith have you taken when you didn't see the results? How can we change our words to reflect our faith? 

Day 90 - The Unseen Character

"The last part of 2 Samuel 11:27 says “But the thing that David had done displeased The Lord.” For the whole narrative of David and Bathsheba we see all of the earthly characters of the story involved; David, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab, servants. All the while we are down in to the drama unfolding. Lust, adultery, lies, betrayal, murder, and a cover up. It is like most Hollywood movies today. But here at the end there is one character we have forgotten as David did. The Lord is watching everything and now weighs in with His judgement. He is not pleased. David's actions are sinful, unjust, and displeasing. The man after God's own heart has gone and sought his own desires. God is not happy about it. Consider my soul, see the Lord's face looking on your life. His eyes watching your actions, His soul knowing the motives of your heart. Am I pleasing to Him? Do I make Him smile or frown? What is the outcome? What will spring up from the seed which I have sown? May my life be pleasing to Him!"

We know this story all too well. As familiar as we are with stories like David and Bathsheba God always has a fresh revelation for us if we will listen. Here in this story God reveals His heart. Sin is not pleasing to Him. 

We can learn positive lessons in negative situations. For instance; if sin is displeasing to the Lord then we can conclude obedience is pleasing. On the other hand we can learn what not to do when we know what to do. If faith is pleasing to God then we learn that anything outside of faith is sin (see Hebrews 11:6 & Romans 14:23b). 

With these lessons we must ask ourselves the tough questions. After reading this thought from last year I looked inside and asked the questions from the end of my journal entry again. I would encourage you to do the same. Take some time and do some heart searching and ask the tough question; am I pleasing to the Lord? 

If your answer is no then it is time to make some changes. Dive into what it means to obey God and have faith. Talk to your pastor or someone you respect as a mature believer who can help you to make the changes you need to. 

If the answer is yes then continue in those things that your are doing that are pleasing and watch out for the pitfalls David and others have fallen in to. 

May it be said of all of us that our lives are pleasing to Him! 

What are some other ways you see in the Bible that are pleasing to God? How can we avoid the pitfalls that will displease God? 

Day 81 - With God's Help

"We all have obtained help from God. Nothing would be possible and we would do nothing unless He helped us. To this day and every day by the help of God we stand. Without His help we would surely fall and fail."

Today as I stood in front of our church a year after I wrote the words above I can say that God helped me. As we were singing I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He was telling me to give the altar call right after praise and worship. So I stepped out in faith and invited people to give their hearts to Jesus. It wasn't a long exhortation. It was simple and direct. God did the rest. People just started walking the aisle to give their heart and life to the Lord. I take no credit. God did the work. 

It is no different for you. Whatever God is whispering in your ear to do He will help you with. And by help I mean mostly that you are along for the ride. Step out in faith and trust God for great things because He can do no less. He is God! He is supernatural! He will help you! 

What is God whispering in your ear? How has God helped you in times past or recently?

Day 63 - The Feeling

"I could feel the presence of God."

We aren't led by feelings.I know when I go to church that God is there. It is after all His house. God promises to inhabit the praises of His people and wherever two or more are gathered in His name there He is in our midst. I don't need feelings to know God is in church with me but it is nice to have feelings accompany what I know. 

I believe that God enjoys giving us those feelings of happiness and excitement to partner with the fruit of faith and joy. It is in these moments that our cup runs over. We would have been satisfied with the fact or the faith but God gives the feelings as an overflow. 

How sad love would be without emotion? How cold and impersonal relationships, family and life in general would be. Live by faith, make wise decisions but don't miss out on the icing on the cake.

How do you balance fact, faith and feelings? Have you ever felt the presence of God and it confirmed your faith or blessed you? 

Day 57 - Agents of Change

"I love the example of being a thermostat instead of a thermometer. We don't react to our environment we change it!"

We decide the atmosphere around us. We can either react and show the climate that surrounds us or we can set our hearts on God's truth and speak in agreement with His word until our surroundings change. Some would say we are just full of hot air and my response would be in this case 'exactly'. The more hot air we push out the more the cold world heats up. We are agents of change. 

Have you ever been in the midst of a heated argument and cooled it down with a kind word or an apology? You were the thermostat. A thermometer would only let its heat levels rise until it blew it's top. 

Rather than react lets respond with faith filled words and loving actions. As we do we will see the change in the world around us. 

Have you experienced being the thermometer or the thermostat? What advice would you give to someone wanting to be an agent of change?