Some Good Advice

"I told him to stay humble, stay teachable, forgive quickly and apologize quickly. It is good advice for all of us."

There are times I know God is speaking through me to others. I am sure any of you readers who are Christians can identify a time when you were used of God to speak to someone else. At times we find that those same words God speaks through us are spoken to us. 

In the case of what I said to my friend as I wrote it down that night and now a year later as I read it today it applies to my own life. 

Humility is a misunderstood word. In our present society we think of humble as it relates to things. People will call a small house a humble house. Some would say that someone without means in the natural is living a humble life. This is not the humility that God wants from us. 

True humility is depending on God. Moses was said to be the meekest man on earth. Did you know he wrote that about himself? Most of us would say he was prideful. Not so if you have the right definition of humility and meekness. All Moses was saying about himself was that he was the one who depended on God the most. 

In order to succeed in life we need to stay humble. That means we continually depend on God. Depend on Him for everything. For wisdom, direction, strength and whatever else you need. If we can stay humble then we can know that God will pour out His grace on us. God opposes the proud be He gives grace to the humble. 

We should also endeavor to stay teachable. It is a personal goal of mine to be a lifelong learner. The crazy thing is that the more I know the more I realize how little I know. Especially when it comes to God. The more I know of Him the bigger He gets. 

When we realize we don't have all the answers it frees us from pride and helps us to stay humble. Then we get back to the place of grace. Being teachable will also help us to navigate new areas of life. 

Finally we should all be ready to forgive quickly and apologize quickly. Jesus forgave us. That is reason alone to forgive others. If fact, we are commanded to forgive as God in Christ forgave us. 

Pride will stop us from both forgiving and apologizing. When we are prideful we hinder relationships and hold on to hurts. It is that ungodly spirit that insists "I was right and they were wrong!" that wont let go. A spirit of humility depends on God to forgive and apologize; even when you don't think you were that wrong. It doesn't matter as much as following the way of God. God's way is forgiveness. He showed us that in Jesus Christ. 

This is just a short list of things that will help us in life's course. Can you think of any other good advice that you would add to this list? 

Back to Work

"Back to work. It was a normal day in the office. Normal meaning that I sat and intended to pray and study and get some of my desk cleared and didn't do anything that I set out to do because of meetings and pressing ministry needs that arose."

Can you identify with my quote from last year? I am sure you can in one way or another. You had plans. You intended to get something done. You were going to make it happen. 

Then you got busy. 

It happens to all of us. We get distracted with the day and pressing things interrupt our best laid plans. This is okay every now and then. We need to be flexible. Stuff happens. The problem that we all know far too well is that this is a regular occurrence. It becomes the norm. 

So we live with our dreams and desires on the shelf we label "When I have time..." and there they sit collecting dust. 

Or not. 

Isn't it time for a change? Aren't you sick of living an unfulfilled life? I know I can't stand having dreams and desires that look like empty rooms in my house. (This expression comes from the fact that I really need to print some photos on canvas and metal and decorate the house I have lived in for a year and a half so it looks like someone lives there...too much info?) 

So how do we change it? Glad you asked. 

It starts with the priority. How valuable is that dream or desire? If the desire is to have a prayer and study time in the morning with the Lord before you start your day you better lose some sleep or go where you can't be interrupted. I recently fasted two hours of sleep every morning for ten days and gave that time to the Lord. It totally revived me. I had fresh prayers, my journal was filled with insights from the Lord and I just had better days. In fact I made breakfast for the family two mornings in a row. Not just cereal either, it was bacon and eggs and then Dutch Babies on another day. (If you don't know what Dutch Babies are you need to start living.) Sure I was tired but the benefit far outweighed the loss of sleep. 

Our priorities will drive our actions. This means saying no to things that would distract us. This also means strategic planning for what we want. I had a plan to wake up early. I am still waking up earlier than I was before my fast and putting the priority on giving God the first part of my day. It was like a reset for me. 

For you it may be a different time of day is when you set aside for your priorities. Maybe it is setting aside time to be distracted. What a thought! If e-mail is a distraction why not give yourself an hour just for e-mail and then discipline yourself to stay away for the rest of your day? It just might work. 

The staying power of all this is consistency. The commitment without consistency is not a real commitment at all. It is just a dusty whim on the shelf. Stay after it. If you get off then get back on. Don't beat yourself up but rather discipline yourself. There is a huge difference. On defeats and deflates you the other will propel you and pump you up. 

Take some time to dream this week and write down what you really want from life. Is it more time in the word and prayer? Is it more family time? Is it a more productive work day? Whatever it is, and it may be a lot of things, place numbers or values next to the items you listed in order of priority. Then ask God to help you with a plan of action. Look for the distractions and overcome them before you get distracted by them. Also you may want to involve a spouse or friend as an accountability partner to keep you focused. I know I need that in my life! 

This year let's not stay with the norm, let's grow to new heights!

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. 

True Direction

"...love believes the best so I am going against what I think."

If we are going to stick with what is real and true then many times we will have to go against what we think and feel. I was reminded of two songs from the 90's recently that both carried the idea that if something feels good then we should do it. In the flesh we often place our immediate happiness and gratification ahead of what we know to be true in God's word. These songs just reinforce our natural tendencies towards sin and comfort. God knows where we are at and has a way of bringing us around to His truth. 

What I think doesn't always line up with God's word. I have felt at times that I was right about someone or about a situation only to find out later I was wrong. Thoughts, feelings and emotions will present themselves as the authority on reality. But when I look over my life I can see in hindsight that what I feel for a moment can change, my emotions are like the tides of the ocean and my thoughts change as I get more information. It isn't about what I think or feel but rather about what God says. 

It is important to continually study God's word so that it gets inside of you. When you have it inside of you and a situation arises that jars you then what is inside will spill out. Jesus teaches it is out of the abundance of what is in our hearts that our mouths speak. If I can stay full of God's word then I will speak it in the face of opposing factors. What we say ultimately guides our lives. James used the illustration of a bit in a horses mouth and the rudder of a ship turning and steering the life. So it is with out tongues. The words of our mouths show what is in our hearts and guide our lives. 

Believe the best. God's truth is the best for your life. When you look at others view them as God does. Let God's love flow through you. Allow the truth inside to spoken out of your mouth. Speak it over your family, your coworkers, neighbors and community. It is easy to say negative things about what we see and feel. Many times we repeat thoughts that aren't even our own. It makes all the difference in the world when speak God's word and let His love guide us. 

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?