Getting it Right

"From the Word: For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.” (‭I Chronicles‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ NKJV) King David recognized that the outbreak of the Lord when Uzzah was driving the cart and put his hand out to steady the ark was because they were not doing what God wanted the way He wanted them to. There is a proper order in life and in our approach to God. Nature shows us proper order. There is a proper family, church and social order. When we try to do these things out of order and say we are doing what God wants we lack the wisdom of doing it the way He wants and displease the Lord."

God knows how life should work. He is the Author of life after all. Doesn't it make sense that we should listen to how He would have us to do life? 

We make two mistakes when it comes to getting directions. Either we don't get any direction or we get the wrong direction. 

Without getting any direction the auto pilot of our flesh will take over. The flesh will go where it pleases. I don't think I need to tell you where we end up when this happens. We could trade shameful stories about what happens when the flesh takes over. A quick study of the letters to the church will also show more of where the flesh wants to go. 

When we get fed up of going only where he flesh wants the natural place to turn is to people. Family and friends or coworkers are easily accessible and some are even happy to help. No matter how well meaning and knowledgeable they may be unless they are sending us to the Word of God they will often give bad or wrong directions. Some of what they say may be good or might even get you through to something better than the flesh. But just because it is better doesn't mean it is right. In the end a wrong direction will get you to the wrong place. So we wander. 

A lot of mistakes and pain in our wandering will send us to God for direction. Now we have what King David called the proper order. Life works when we have the proper order. We won't follow the flesh or wander in the opinions of well meaning people. Most importantly we will have God working for us and not against us. That is called blessing by the way. 

If you have been getting the wrong direction take some time to pray and seek God for direction. Read scriptures that deal with your situation and start putting things in the proper order. 

I would love be to hear any testimonies of how life worked out when you found out what God's directions were. Feel free to post in the comments. 

Day 325 - No Rush

"I am still considering what I want to do... We will see."

Not every decision should be rushed. In a rush society where we are pressured to purchase it is difficult to slow down. In fact you will most likely be made to feel bad if you don't pull the trigger right away. 

There is a time for quick decisions. When things are clear, conditions right, seasons full then go ahead and pull the trigger. You can make a quick decision when you know the will of God. But when you don't know what to do it isn't always best to shoot first and ask questions later. 

So what do you do when you don't know what to do? First of all pray and ask God. The Holy Spirit will reveal which way to go. Second, give it time. What will it really hurt if you take time to pray and think or watch the conditions? Third, seek Godly counsel from people you trust. Especially people who are older than you and who have gone down the paths you are facing good or bad. 

Finally if it comes down to it you either are going to do nothing or just make a decision and own the results. Make the best decision you know how and trust that God has your back. 

How do you handle delays in your decision making process? Are there other things we can do while waiting to help our decisions?

Day 287 - Lament

"No one wants to watch strength fade and soundness vanish away."

Reading the journal entry from last year was tough today. It brings back memories of a time where two grandparents were fading from this life and another one was ill. Today is a better day since those two are in Heaven. More difficult days are ahead. I have family on both sides that are close to their end of days here on earth. My greatest comfort is that they are Godly people and will be in Heaven soon. 

Death is never easy. Death is as much of a part of life as life itself is. Unless Jesus comes in our lifetime we will all have to pass through a physical death. For those who are Christians it will be a passing from glory to glory. We discard this old tattered tent and put on our eternal dwelling. 

The pain of that process is not for those who are gone but for those who remain. We all feel the loss of someone we cared for and valued. It is necessary to grieve and shed tears. When we do we heal and are able to move forward in life. 

I have had two men that I deeply cared for pass on too soon. Both left a profound impact on my life. One was a high school friend named Marcus. He was kind of a quirky guy who always had something to say. We would love to have him around as a friend and life of the party so to speak. When he truly gave his heart to the Lord he traveled with a missions group and shared the love of Jesus with everyone he met. One day he put on a new pair of roller-blades and grabbed the back of a friends car and went for a ride. Little did anyone know that would be his last act on the earth. 

Our youth group took it hard. We prayed, cried, gathered and talked. We comforted one another that Marcus was probably talking Jesus' ear off and was running around Heaven having a good time. I learned that life is short and we have to stay focused on our mission while we are here from Marcus. 

The second man that impacted my life was named Martin. He was a small African American with a gold tooth and corn rows that ushered at our church. He had a scratchy voice and a personality much like Marcus. That is probably why I liked him. When people would get saved at our church he would go get them and bring them to the altar. One time two kids got saved and Martin had one under each arm and had the biggest laugh and smile. 

When Martin passed from health issues I remember how surreal it felt. I had the privilege of doing the funeral. The only problem was that I had grown to love Martin as a brother in the Lord and when I went to speak at the funeral cried through most of my words. During the funeral they showed a video that they had filmed of Martin at our Food Distribution Center. He was giving his testimony about how he actually died in a hospital and had an encounter with Jesus. He knew better than what he was doing and the Lord gave him a charge to live for Him for the rest of his days. Martin's next words still ring through my soul; "I left this earth a fool and came back a preacher." Indeed he was and he did live for the Lord whole hearted for his time here on the earth. 

In Ecclesiastes it says there is more wisdom in the house of mourning than in the house of feasting. The living take to heart their lives in the light of eternity when confronted with death. It isn't easy but it is a place we can grow from and take comfort that God is good no matter what. 

What lessons have you learned in times of mourning? Are there scriptures that give you comfort when facing death and eternity? 

Day 260 - History is on Repeat

"The church service went well with a good message on where strength comes from and working with the strength of God in humility, holiness and happiness. Afterward we opened it up for the baptism of the Holy Spirit."

At 260 days into this blog and after keeping a journal for 625 days I have noticed that History is indeed repeating itself. I used to think of it in terms of the same thing happening in a different time with different people and different circumstances. What is really tripping me out is that in my journal with the same people in the same places and roughly the same time, only one year apart, the same things are happening. 

Case in point; last year's quote shows that on the Wednesday night this day a year ago the topic was "Strength" and we opened it up for the baptism of the Holy Spirit after church. I just got home from Wednesday night church a few hours ago where the topic tonight was "Strength" and at the end of the service we opened it up for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

This isn't the only occurrence of this type of thing happening. I have seen through my journal that for the most part I have preached the same days, did activities on the same days and even fought with my wife on the same days. This is either a crazy coincidence or God is getting our attention in the details. 

Moses prayed in Psalm 90 to the Lord to teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom. This year I have seen that as I have numbered the days and stayed faithful to my commitment to journal and blog I have gained wisdom. I have seen the truth in the statement that hindsight is 20/20. I am also going into the future with greater confidence in the Divine Providence of God. 

Our steps are ordered of the Lord. It is obvious when I see things like today's entry. God knows what He is doing and He will give us the wisdom we need each day. 

How have you seen history repeat itself? What wisdom did you draw from it? 

Day 239 - Does It Have To End?

"Oh the joys of going back to school and summer ending. I love summer. I wish it could be the endless summer of the movies traveling around the world crossing the equator in search of the perfect wave. But instead I have to send my kids back to school. Not so bad when you think of their education, social life and special times of the fall winter and spring. This morning we had the pre-school year Dr's visit. The kids were cute as they got their height, weight eyes and ears checked. It was a lot like a new fun game for them. I had an appointment so I left and Jess said from then on it turned. Suddenly there was the small room with three antsy children in robes and underwear climbing all over the place. Jess said that they were in there an hour."

One of our pastors on staff at the church who is very wise shared a bit of wisdom with me during the change of a season. He said that God gives us the seasons and times in order to bring to light different truths. He went on to explain that we should use the times and seasons to teach and understand more about God. 

This season has been amazing. I look over what we have done this summer alone and I am amazed. Expand that to this year and I can hardly believe everything that has taken place. We pack into one year what some may take decades to accomplish. I am not bragging it is just the reality of the fast paced life we live and the church we are a part of. God is doing an abundance in our church. We don't even know the half of it. 

When the seasons change it is the natural tendency to mourn the loss of what we are enjoying or resist the change of pace. When I find that I am in that state I remind myself that there are blessings of each season. Even though summer is my favorite season and I like heat more than cold I can't resist smiling when I think of playing in the snow with my children. I would never enjoy those blessings without a winter. 

Whatever season you are in be sure to enjoy it. If your season is changing don't worry. Get excited! There are specific blessings coming to you in the season that is ahead. 

What is your favorite season and why? How can we enjoy the season of life we are in? 

Day 199 - When People Think You're Crazy

"When we drove back we saw six deer on the side of the road. As we were stopped looking at the deer a guy on a bike rode by and was looking at us like we were crazy. Then after he passed us he looked over and saw the deer and turned around to get a photo."

People will think you are crazy from time to time. That is okay. Any good person who is doing something right, innovative or new will seem crazy. 

These days right is being portrayed as wrong and wrong as right. Don't let that deter you from doing what is right. People may think you are wrong, stop and stare or even tell you what you are doing is wrong. Don't let that deter you from doing right. 

Eventually you will be vindicated. Hopefully they will see the wisdom of your actions and follow suit like the man on the bike who saw the deer we were looking at and stopped to admire them himself. Your job is to stay the course and remain faithful. 

What are some good things we do that will be misinterpreted by others? Have you seen people who have come around to wisdom after thinking you were crazy? 

Day 192 - You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do

"Jess came a bit later due to managing the women's conference over the phone."

We took a vacation and we're having dinner when this happened last year. I have often had text messages to read an e-mail while I was out of the office. Similarly I have had to take care of personal business from the office and have had to leave work to take care of my family. 

Life has a way of intruding on our perfect lines we have made to protect our work and our family. We need those lines and need to respect our work and protect our family. But we also have to do what we gotta do. There will be times we have to take care of business at dinner time. There will also be times I have to leave work to take care of my children. 

Wisdom and integrity will guide us in this area. Wisdom will say stay or go, now or later, too much or too little. Integrity will say stay late since you took care of personal business, or, take the family out because you have given so much to the job. 

Our families don't have to suffer nor do we have to slack on the job. We can not only balance but have a wise approach that maintains our integrity at work and at home. 

How can we better balance the needs of the home and the job? What helps you to manage both? 

Day 95 - The Mind of a Child

"We finished our time at the petting zoo. I used to go there as a kid and I guess I didn't realize how plain it is there. It seems in my mind I had built it up to be exotic with a wide variety of animals. The variety was in sheep and goats. To their credit they also had a variety of chickens and some llamas and alpacas."

There is a running joke in the movie "Indian Summer" where one of the campers at a summer camp returns and continually is amazed at how different things look now that he is an adult. He loudly remarks at the different places around the camp that he remembers it being so much bigger. By the end of the movie the other campers who returned with him are all up to their ears with his comments and yell back at him that they know and he can stop with the comments. 

Life has a way of changing our perspective as we get older. This can be good and bad. Good in the sense that we realize what is important, valuable, right and true. Often our perspective on what we fear changes. But it is also bad in the sense that we lose some of the wonder of life. We can miss moments and let stress, pressures and new adult fears keep us from childlike faith. Risk, bravery, art, laughter and a slew of other wonderful things become calculated or die as we age. 

As I look back on last year's thought I think I need to lighten up. I didn't include my sarcastic remarks about the cost of the entrance to the petting zoo because although they were humorous they aren't worth repeating. What is it worth when my children remember that daddy took them to see the animals? What cost can you place on holding their hands and seeing them feed a chicken or a llama from their hand for the first time? 

When we step into smaller shoes and look through the lens of a child the world becomes a fascinating and wonderful place. Partner that with the blessings of age and wisdom and you will have a brilliant life. 

What do you remember from childhood as wonderful or fantastic? How can we become more childlike without being childish? 

Day 79 - It Just Works

"We laid hands on her, prayed and anointed her with oil."

We see in the scriptures ways of doing things. There is a way of God for every way of man. Before we ever made a way God made a way. Marriage was God's idea and He designed a way for marriage. Economy was designed by God and He speaks much about business, economics and finances in His word. 

The great this is we don't have to go at it alone. I couldn't do what I do without the Bible and the Holy Spirit. Gos not only tells us what to do but then empowers us to do it. 

Now, to my thought from last year. The woman we prayed for went to the doctor and had a miraculous report. The point is that when we do things the way God wants them done we get the results God designed for us to get. The laying on of hands and anointing with oil is prescribed in the book of James with fervent prayers of the righteous. We are told that these types of prayers are answered. The testimony of this woman last year confirms it. 

What have you done God's way and had God's results? What areas, if any, can I help you find God's way in the scripture?