Category Archives: Inspirational

Inspirational

March 20, 2013 · 8:30 AM

You Are A Ticking Kingdom Time Bomb

I was at a conference a couple of years ago and I recall the speaker saying something that still resonates in my spirit.  He said, “The kingdom of God isn’t about our strongest asset.  It’s about our weakest.”  I wouldn’t say this is something new to me, but it is something I need to remind myself of regularly.  It’s not about my strengths and my talents and what I can do for God through them.  It’s about what God can do in and through me in what I can’t possibly do on my own.  For example…spiritual gifts inventories/tests are really a strength/personality assessment.  What we usually conclude from them is that our Spiritual Gifts are whatever we are good at.  It’s like a false positive.  It may or may not be a Spiritual Gift.  It may just be a talent.

In life it is so easy to rely on our strengths.  Our abilities.  Our talents.  If our worship sounds good and we are feeling the music, we can potentially conclude that we’ve encountered God. But it’s not just about what we can offer God in worship.  It’s also about Him moving in our weakness, our inability, to bring moments of greatness and encounter with Him that go beyond anything we could ever offer on our own.  Birds quickly learn that they can fly higher by catching the currents of the wind rather than flapping their wings faster.  There is a partnership that takes place in the Spirit-filled life that requires us to rely less on own ability and more on God.  It’s not that our talents and abilities aren’t useful, but he struggle is in trusting God. The wind of His Spirit can take us places and do things through us that we’ve never dreamt possible. Sometimes the fear of where He might take us is enough to keep us from stepping out.

One of the pastor’s I worked with loved the phrase, “you’ve gotta do what you can’t!” When I do the things I don’t have the talent for, or even the God-given ability to do, I feel empowered! That’s why I love the healing ministry. I can’t do that. None of it is me. By the grace of God, I can lay my hand on a sick person, His Spirit touches down on human flesh and bam! The Kingdom of God comes in power through my weakness. That’s where grace comes in. I don’t deserve to be trusted with that kind of power, but through God’s great mercy and love He chooses to work through my weakness to make His name known in the earth.

Your weakness is a ticking Kingdom time bomb just waiting to go off. What are you waiting for? Just pull the pin already and get ready for the aftermath. Do what you can’t!

 

3 Comments

Filed under Christian Living, Inspirational, Supernatural

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 19, 2011 · 5:50 PM

Friendship Fears

A few nights ago I had a bit of a revelation about myself.  You know when you’ve known something, but for a while it becomes so real to you from a perspective you haven’t seen before.  That’s kind of what I’m talking about.

It was guys night.  A number of times each year a group of us guys get together and head to the theatre for the late show.  Last night was “Real Steel”.  A robot boxing movie that really impressed.  It was great entertainment.  The guys were going to meet early for wings at a nearby restaurant before taking in the show.  Sounds like a good night doesn’t it.  It was time to get going and I found myself sitting on the couch in the living room with little to no motivation to go early.  I started thinking about maybe just meeting them at 10pm for the movie and skipping wings.  My wife almost had to push me out the door.  Some of you are thinking, “dude why would you not want to go?”  Others are thinking, “man my wife won’t even let me out of the house to go to a guys night!”  Am I afraid of these guys?  No.  Was I opposed to a night of fun and hanging out with the guys?  No.

So why would I not want to go?  Yes, I was a little tired from the long day.  I was comfy on the couch and content.  But the real reason that I wasn’t motivated to go was because relationships can be a whole lot of work.  The movie is easy.  I don’t have to talk to anyone.  But wings…that’s a whole other story.  People I’ve never met before.  Work.

I’m not saying I don’t love and value these guys and that I didn’t have a great time once I was there.  It’s just that sometimes the prospect of the whole evening can be a little daunting.  And all the introverts said…Amen?

I’m know I’m not the only guy who feels this way at times.  Relationships are work and can sometimes be hard work.  Anyone who’s been married or even dated knows this is true!  Heck, how about anyone who’s ever been born?!

One of the hardest things to deal with in the church is relationships.  People come, people go.  The make-up of any given congregation can change drastically in a year.  Then you’ve got the challenge of learning new names, new faces, new children along with their history and personal journey with God (not to mention helping them with their own problems).  It can be quite a bit of work.  I’m not saying it isn’t rewarding, but it can be taxing on a person.

The other side of the coin is that God’s kingdom was never meant to be experienced on an island.  It has always been rooted in relationship.  The gospel has always been about sharing and experiencing the good news with others.

My favorite tv shows are crime shows like CSI and NCIS Las Vegas.  There can be some pretty grim stories, but what brings life and warmth to the show is that the investigative team is presented as a “family”.  They don’t just work together.  They are intimately involved in each other’s lives and really care about each other.  That doesn’t just mean “during work hours” either.  Their relationships always flow over into after hours.  That’s really what makes them click with people.  The writers reach into your heart, grab a string and begin to pull on something you need and long for.  Community.

Last night I was struck once again with how much we need each other.  We need opportunities for others to speak into our lives.  We need opportunities to speak into others lives.  If we don’t encounter others, we don’t have to change.  If we don’t have to change, we’re probably not growing either.  And soon we find ourselves aimlessly wandering the corridors of life looking for a way out of the numbness.  That’s not a road I want to go down.

I thank God for friends and family of faith to share the journey with.  Cheers!

4 Comments

Filed under Inspirational, My Life Journey

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

October 4, 2011 · 3:23 PM

The Answer For Hopelessness

“Every area in your life, that doesn’t glisten with hope is an indicator that you believe in a lie!” – Steve Backlund”

That is one scary quote!  I have seen it’s truth played out in my life over and over.  For years I believed that I wasn’t good enough.  My walk with God was associated more with the day to day struggle with holiness than to a relationship with a loving God.  I never felt good enough because I failed the test over and over.  It was drilled into my head…”You missed the mark!”  Over and over again those words would prevent me from overcoming and developing a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Why?  Because it eroded the essential nature of the new creation I became at Salvation.  What I ended up with was a salvation that wasn’t complete enough to make me holy.

We talk about self-esteem in the youth and in the schools and how our children have it so hard today.  It’s a fight for worth and meaning that causes our teens to do anything to gain validation and respect from their peers.  It can get pretty ugly at times causing teens to finally end it all in hopes of finding peace from the hell that is their life on earth.  I believe that for the most part, this struggle does not change the moment a teen turns 20.  It continues and some portion or element of the struggle will often continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives.  And this very thing is rampant today in the church.

I believe that this is one of the biggest lies the enemy uses today to paralyze the church:  “You missed the mark!  You’re not good enough!  You’re not worthy!  You’ll never amount to anything!  You’re a good for nothing sinner, just accept it.  You’ll never be pleasing to God.”

And what has been our historic answer to the struggle that people face?

“Just try harder!”

Most of the time the people who are telling others to try harder may have some great story of how God helped them to become better people.  They may have had an element of victory in their life, but they are still not living from a place of worth and value instilled by God.  When working harder to be righteous is the answer, we’ve missed the foundational teaching of Grace…”I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.”  Who am I trying to impress?  Usually we end up trying to kill the flesh instead of living according to the Spirit.

Lack of confidence, fear and shame regularly sit in our churches week after week without being confronted.  Where do these strongholds come from?  Lies built-in to our past.  Somewhere in our history we learned that we weren’t good enough.  Somewhere in our history we learned that we weren’t worthy.  It may have come through friends, parents, siblings and even the church, but until we begin to believe otherwise we will forever be chasing after a carrot at the end of the string.

John 8:31, 34-36 says, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free…everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Jesus counted you worthy enough to die on the cross for you in order to deal with your sin once and for all.  To bring you out of slavery to sin into the family of God as a son or daughter of the King.  Sin no longer rules you.  Loving relationship with God is the order of the day now!

If we take a look at our lives and are honest about our struggles and the hopelessness we feel at times, I’m convinced we’ll find lies lodged in the fabric our past.

It has taken me a few years now, but each day God is replacing lies with truth that set me free to enjoy relationship with him instead of trying to work harder at pleasing him.

For years I let other people’s opinions of me rule my life.  I let the devil’s opinion of me paralyze me with fear that kept me from the destiny God had lined up.  But what do you do when you discover a lie?  They’re not always that easy to discover either because lies are meant to be believed!  They always sound believable.  It’s just their nature.

One thing I’ve learned is that the best source of truth is God.  Ask God what lies you are believing.  He’ll show you.  He wants you to be free!  And when he shows you the lie, renounce it.  Remove agreement with it and then say, “God, show me Your truth.”  He will show you.  Once you get God’s truth into your heart and begin believing it, your life will truly begin to change.  I’m still growing and at times I find myself looking for worth, but now I’m a little quicker to clue in and realize there’s a lie that got past my firewall somewhere and like a virus it infected my heart.

Just want to leave you with a video from a new band called MIKESCHAIR.  This song expresses the heart of this post in a way that will move you in one of two ways.  It will either cause lies you’ve believed to come to the surface and be exposed or it will affirm what you already know and believe about yourself…YOU ARE WORTHY.

1 Comment

Filed under God's Love, Inspirational, Theology, Videos

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,