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. 

One Year After a Terrorist Attack

"Looking back over today I never would have thought it would turn out as it did. The head of our safety ministry came in to our pastors meeting to tell us that there was an active shooter down the street and that we were locking down the facility. Soon after we started working again our administrator came and asked if we could bring the people from the site to our church while they were interviewed by the police. I immediately thought of the school but then knew that in a time like this we needed to be a light and extend care to our hurting community. We watched some of the news reports and then started preparing for the arrival of the people. We had snacks, sodas, water and coffee available for them. Some counsellors showed up and set up in the youth auditorium. Police and probation officers arrived first. One of the detectives who attends our church showed up with a shirt soaked in blood. I remembered I had two shirts in my office that were samples from Man Day that I went and grabbed. I gave him one and his partner the other one. They were both very grateful. When the people arrived they separated them by who saw something and who was just there. The people had tears in their eyes. They were very grateful we were open for them. When the bus pulled in and parked at the church one person yelled “Thank God we're safe!” One of our members who worked at the IRC said she has never been prouder of her church than today. Some of our other members were there and greeted me as they walked in the building. Many of the officers and peer support personnel were from our church as well. The cafe was packed. They were getting most of their names and pictures and busing them to another site to be picked up. We had a second bus load of people come bringing the total from 200 to probably 400 not counting the hundreds of volunteers, chaplains, police, detectives, and counsellors. They started to ask about if we were going to have a church service. I had told Pastor Luke we would have a prayer service tonight. They were concerned about opening the campus. We decided to move forward and believe God for safety. A guy went to Costco to buy a pallet of water for the people and when Costco asked him what he was doing and found out they dumped chickens and bagels, croissants and bread in his truck to bring. It was great to see pastors from other churches and the community uniting for this. When the sun had set I walked across to get ready for the prayer service. It was God orchestrated. There were 16 salvation's and who knows how many online. We prayed and preached the gospel. That was all. People from all over the world were texting and hitting us up on social media."

One year later after these events I woke up and came to church to pick up Pastor Luke and our Administrative team and we all headed to the IRC for a memorial gathering where they honored the organizations who opened their doors for the people being evacuated. There were somber moments and words of hope given. They presented a plaque to The Rock Church for our involvement and had Dr. Fred Adams, our administrator at the time of the event, say a few words. 

What I think left the greatest impact was the scripture he read from Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

There are many people whose lives will never be the same after December 2, 2015. Fourteen individuals are now gone from our lives. Their families and friends left in the wake of terror. I am sure many questions and sorrows still linger. Only in Jesus will we find rest for our souls. He alone has the answers. He alone can calm our fears and give us peace amidst the storms of life. He was acquainted with sorrows and if you listen to some of the statements He made regarding current events of His day you will find that there was plenty of tragedy and many questions. 

It was the mission of Jesus to point us to and show us the Father. That is exactly what He did when He went to the cross. Not only in that one instance but also throughout His entire life He showed us the Father through his life, His words, the miracles He performed, His emotions and His actions. 

Now He calls us to the same life. He wants us to show others the love of Jesus through our lives. We can share the words of life. We can act in a way that displays the goodness of God. Whether it is through a prayer, a shoulder to cry on, buying a pallet of water at Costco or giving someone a fresh shirt it all displays the love of Jesus.

We will not forget those who lost their lives. We will work towards love and unity in our nation. Over and above all, we as Christians, will show the love of Jesus to a lost and dying world. 

The Journey

"God is taking us all on a journey." 

This past Wednesday marks the one year point that started a new phase of my journey. It was a year ago that I was named the Senior Pastor of The Rock Church and World Outreach Center. It happened in an organizational meeting and no one was expecting it. That night I wrote the words above along with a lot of other thoughts. There was a myriad of emotions that came throughout the day. I remember the feeling like I wanted to cry but no tears would come. I was excited but apprehensive. I had thoughts of what I was supposed to do for the church, for myself and for the family. I felt confident that God would give me grace for the task but had the lingering question of whether He got the right guy for the job. 

This past year has proven that God is faithful and He is in control. He has lead the church from it's inception and continues to do so. Our journey is a result of His perfect plan. He has ordained every step we take and has placed us here for such a time as this. 

I never set out to be a pastor, let alone a Sr. Pastor, on my journey. I was just a teenager who fell in love with Jesus and started following His lead. If my plans had been followed I would have been a rock star and maybe later in life done some ministry in the church once my platform had been built to speak from. God had a much greater plan. He has lead me around the world and across the U.S. through mission. He lead me to the love of my life, Jessica. He lead us together to Bible College, young adults ministry, and made us the parents of three amazing children. 

More recently God lead me to the place of being the Executive Pastor of the Rock Church and I couldn't have been in a better place in my opinion. I loved the place of supporting the vision and mission of our church and carrying out the direction from Pastor Jim. I got to lead, to serve, to preach, to be amongst the people and make ministry happen. 

Today I see after this year that God had been leading me through all those experiences to got me to the place where I am today. It was no accident. 

Hopefully as you read this blog you aren't discouraged that God hasn't lead you to where I am at. That would be tragic! Why? because God has a plan for you individually. He is leading you on a journey of your own. If everyone had my story where would all the other stories be? How bland and boring! 

You were specifically designed by God with a purpose. With that purpose in mind God has lead you through every trial and triumph. All the growth you have experienced over the years has been to the end that God intends to use you for His glory. Sometimes the process is painful and grueling. Other times you don't even know God is at work. 

Be encouraged today that God is taking you on a journey. Fall in love with Jesus and follow His lead. As you do God will take you on adventures and take you places you never would have imagined. The story He wants to write about your life will be far greater than your best laid plans. 

2 Decades of Good Times

"What a crazy ride it has been!" 

In these words I sum up twenty years of my Christina walk. I never dreamt that God would take me around the world preaching the gospel when I said yes to Jesus. I never dreamt that God would have me pioneer ministries, teach in a Bible College or pastor at one of the greatest churches on the planet (which I believe is the greatest but I am a little biased). I never dreamt that God would bless me to have the family that I do. I look at my wife and children in amazement. 

All of this is not to brag. All the praise goes to God. I couldn't have done any of this by myself. At best I would have been playing guitar in a coffee shop somewhere hoping someone would like my version of an old song and they would give me a tip with paper money rather than coins. How miserable. 

Every morning I wake up with the words 'thank you' on my lips. I think God smiles when we say thanks. He knows He is good but loves a grateful heart. The words 'be thankful' occur on several occasions in the New Testament. I guess we have to be reminded. If you look around you will see the hand of God on your life. 

I could tell stories of how I should be dead. How people on my street pulled guns on me and my friends while we were playing basketball. I could talk about car accidents that never happened and I don't know how they were avoided. To be honest there was one time in San Timoteo canyon I closed my eyes when a truck crossed over the double yellow lines on to my side of the road and when I opened them again I was just fine. Or when I rolled my car in Reche Canyon and told God on the way over "Here I come!" (That accident did happen but I was fine. Maybe I should stay away from the canyons?!)  

As I look forward to the next twenty years I wonder at what God will do. What victories are in store and what tragedies will be avoided or withstood with grace and joy? No matter what comes good or bad I do know that two words will be on my lips; "Thank you!" 

What has God done in your life since you said yes to Jesus? How grateful are you?

Day 365 - We Did It!

"This is my 356th entry! I did it! At least I can say I am disciplined and consistent and follow through with my commitments.

It has been a good year. I am very blessed. We made it through many trials. I believe that the plowing and sowing we have done we will see come to pass in 2015."

Truly on New Year's Eve we can look back over a year and see the faithfulness of God. I see how through all the hard times we encountered God was making us stronger. In all the good times God was showing us His goodness. In the silence we were learning to trust. In everything God is all in all. 

When you have God in everything then everything becomes good. Even the bad God works our for good. It is truly amazing how from tragedy and trial spring forth testimonies of God's goodness. Some don't share this opinion. I read over some of the 2015 year in review articles on the web and found pessimism, criticism and sarcasm. None of those ever got me any closer to God. 

What makes a good year is when you set your heart to trust God. Look for His faithfulness. If you draw near to Him He will draw near to you. Your goals and plans, when submitted to Him, will come to fruition. Maybe not in the way you wanted but if not God has some thing better for you. (Just see yesterday's post for more on this.)

When I look back at a year of blogging my thoughts from last year I realize it has been a healthy journey. It has taught me a lot about myself, God and others. I want to say thank you to those of you who have taken the journey with me and have posted comments here and on other social media sites. It has been fun and I have had great pleasure reading about your thoughts on the topics discussed. 

As I look forward to next year I plan on continuing to blog my thoughts but with some changes. I don't want to reveal everything here but I am going to update the look and feel and will probably go weekly instead of daily. It's tough! I have lost a lot of sleep because I was up writing. Also  I felt at times that I was reaching for topics and felt that I could deliver better content if I had more time to look over, prepare and write. (Or maybe even edit, who would have thought?!) 

I also plan on being in the face of God to do His will, growing as a husband and father and staying after my passions in life. By the grace of God I will do all this and more. Happy New Year!

No questions today. Feel free to write some of your thoughts from this last year and/or any goals for the new year. 

Day 354 - The Little Things

"I bought a St. James Island pine while there which I planted tonight."

My wife loves the St. James Island Pine. They are nice trees I must admit. We had a tree die in our front yard and she was waiting for that perfect St. James Island pine to take its place. When I finally got it and planted it she was so happy. 

It is the little things in life that often make us happy. Our favorite song on the radio, the colors of the sky, the verse on the Christmas card that we just happened to read the day before. All of these little things make for a smile and a better day somehow. 

My wife and I were watching a Christmas special with lots of big name recording artists and all types of beautiful Christmas music when suddenly they broke into the song "My Favorite Things." I am still trying to figure out how The Sound of Music is Christmas but I enjoy the song so I wasn't mad at them. My wife broke out into song and sang along for a few bars. Not to be outdone I joined in the chorus and we sang all the way through the song to the end. I didn't realize I knew all the words. I must have learned it as a kid for the Christmas pageant at school. (That was a joke in case you missed it.)

The funny thing about that song is that it lists some pretty good things that make us happy. Some of them, like raindrops on roses, you may actually find on my Instagram feed. In any event we were happy after we sang it together. You would have thought we just got off a Broadway stage with the smiles we were wearing. 

In the Bible it says that a happy heart produces a happy face (I'm paraphrasing) but a sad heartbreaks the spirit. There are many broken people around. In the worst of circumstances I have seen some of the happiest people. Like the homeless man who shared with a smile that the Lord had never let him miss a meal. Or the children who were living in the dumps of Mexico but were so happy that people from a church would spend time with them. 

Dwell on the little things that make you happy, and if there are big things that make you happy dwell on those too. It will make your face brighter and your day better. 

What are some simple things that make you happy? Have you ever seen someone happy in adversity? Why were they happy? 

Day 100 - Growing Forward

"Thank God for spiritual progress! Not only in people but in me! I don't want to ever stay the same. May I grow and may my prayers grow with me."

This is an appropriate entry for the 100th Thoughts From Last Year post.

I started this blog for a lot of reasons. Little did I know God had His own reasons. I am amazed that after only 100 days of this blog that thousands of people from dozens of nations spread over 6 continents would have visited and read my little thoughts.

Even with all that it is not the end of what God is doing. He is doing something in me. I am growing through this process of writing and sharing these flashes of inspiration from last year. I see how history really does repeat itself. I see that hindsight really is 20/20. I see that if we don't deal with an issue the right way that the issue will come back to deal with us. I also see how God is in and through every part of our lives.

God often takes what we do and makes more out of it. That is growth!

When you look back on last year until now how have you grown?

Day 61 - Think About What You're Thinking About

"It was good to see salvations and what a great church we have."

I am not bragging by posting this thought. What I am doing is showing that we can direct where our attention goes. We can dwell on negative thoughts or positive thoughts. This day I preached three times and could have thought afterward how tired I was or about comments or prayer requests that came my way. Instead I was looking at the salvations and the good things that make our church great.

The Bible says a lot about our thoughts. Paul told the Philippian church to think about things that are good, things that are lovely, things that are of a good report, things that are praiseworthy or admirable. We are supposed to set our minds on things above where Christ is seated. We choose where our thoughts go. Go positive. Go Godly. Go to the Word and believe the best!

What good things have you been thinking about lately? How can we keep focused on good things in our thought life?