Joe the fish (You + God = Change the World)

Today I met a dead fish. His name was Joe.

Context: Camp.
Further Context: Middle School Boy.

Do you really want to know more?

Long story short..... the kids buried the fish in the pond where he belongs.

But this fish, as many things do at FLYING DOVE RANCH, reminds me of the Bible. It reminds me of the account in John's Gospel of Jesus feeding 5,000 men and their families with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.

Have you heard this story?

Long from town. Late in the day. Everyone was hungry. Everyone was cranky.

Yet one boy was prepared. Yet some doubted, "But what good is that with this huge crowd?"

Many times we look at our lives and we see "Not enough." We think "Why bother?" My actions and my prayers will surely not make an impact in this world....


Ye of little faith.

If God is in you when you speak the world is changed.

In fact, the world is different because of you. Each moment you are shaping it for better or for worst. Jesus took 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and feed 5000 (plus).

Did he literally feed 5000 people.... I think we miss the point if we get so concerned with the details of the story. I've heard one person claim the "miracle" is the fact that once the young boy shared his food it inspired thousands to do the same... whatever. I don't know? I wasnt there!

The point is God wants to use you to make a positive impact on this world. You have everything you need if you have God in you.

May you know you are enough. May you know you are loved and treasured by God. And may you know that as you demonstrate God's love in this world it DOES make a difference.

Peace out, fam.

A Son or a Slave?

I want to start blogging about music. I cant sing (unless you count the shower). I cant play any instruments (unless you count the air guitar) but I love to worship. There is something about music that connects us with God. So for the next few days? weeks? IDK? However long this lasts, I will be looking at different lyrics from inspired song writers. 

Today. 

"No longer slaves" by Bethel Music. 

I am not going to write down the entire song.... you can look it up on Google or Youtube.

I am going to share what I believe God is saying to me through the song. 

The part of the song I want to look at is 

1) "I am no longer a slave to fear... I am a child of God."

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2) "My fears were drowned in perfect love."

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3) "There's no shadow you won't light up; coming after me" (okay this is from another song but I felt it fit well here!!!!!!)

3 Main Points

1) I cannot be both a son and a slave.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane. Imagine you are a young African-American boy. Your dad is a slave. Your mom is slave. Your brother.... is a slave. And you.... are a slave. 

You were born into it. 

You work hours in the field... meanwhile.... there is another boy. 

This boy is white. He is your age. But he is sitting at the dinner table. He is eating. He is resting. He is a son. 

You see the son of the property and the slave are different. 

Slavery can bind us. We can become a slave to anything. Where do you run when you are hurt? Maybe you run to drugs? Beer? FaceBook? Snapchat? Other people?

If we knew we are Son (or a daughter!!!!!) we will not run to other things. We will not be afraid. Because our Dad owns the property. 

What would the Father of the property think if his son put on slave clothing and started working in the field? He would assume his son was mad. He would run into the field and plead with his boy to come inside. Yet many of us choose being a slave to fear over sonship. 

2) Don't give CPR to your fears. 

In the OT (Old Testament) God split the Red Sea so his chosen nation could escape slavery in Egypt. After they crossed the Red Sea, the Egyptians who were chasing them down were drowned. 

Our fear chase us down but God in his perfect love can drowned our fear in perfect love. 

How silly would it be for you to jump into the water to give CPR to your fears! But we do. After they are almost dead.... we go all baywatch on them and try to give them new birth! How silly! How stupid. LET THEM DIE. 

FLEE from Fear and let God destroy them in perfect love. 

3) Light causes shadows. 

I stole this last one from "Reckless Love" 

David said it this way, "Even though I walk through the valley of death I shall fear no evil.... 

Why? 

....For you are with me!"

You see when we go through tough times God is with us. 

I believe the light of God shines brightest in the darkness. You can't have a true shadow without light. God is light. And His love will always shine in the darkness. 

Conclusion

This blog post feels very scattered tonight. It was probably that Mexican food I had for dinner. But I know that FEAR IS BAD. And if you are afraid I don't want you to be ashamed. 

I want you to admit it so can can equip you to overcome it. 

You cant be fearless without God but with God you can! When you know God is your Daddy and you are his son/daughter you can walk in true freedom. 

 

Are you David or Goliath?

Happy Sunday Friends! I want to use this morning to challenge and encourage you with a few verses from the Holy Bible. I pray that God will speak to you to love Him and love others more through this blog.

It is easy to preach "Be like David." Be an underdog champion. When challenges come your way, you just need to dig deep and overcome! You are the HERO! And I love to be the hero. And you probably do too! Have you ever noticed when we tell stories we do so in a manner that always makes us look better than we actually are..... Just saying.

Back to David.....We often forget that he was imperfect. After defeating Goliath and becoming King his motives went south. He allowed his arrogance/pride/power to lead him to adultery and murder.

It is difficult to get American Christians to want to be like Goliath.

After all he is the "villain" in the story. He is....wait for it....an uncircumcised Philistine!!!!!

He was not part of God's chosen people. But not only that he mocked the God of Israel.

But.... Spoiler alert!!!!!!

David overcomes the odds and slays the Giant.

So Who are you in the story? Are you the hero? Or.... perhaps we are meant to identify with the Goliath.

In fact, most days I feel more like Goliath. I feel 10 (or was it 9) feet tall. I feel like I can do anything until I cant. I feel like everything is awesome, until it isn't. You know. When my pride gets in the way.

We like to quote verses like Philippians 4:13, saying "I CAN DO ALL THINGS!" but we forget that "Apart of me (Jesus) we can do nothing" (John 15).

Maybe we do not have to choice one or the other, but I do know life is a series of choices. I can make a plan for my life and then get upset when things don't go according to my plan or I can lay myself down (Surrender) and allow God to direct my steps. I can allow the detour to upset me or I can see it as an opportunity to learn and grow and be used by God.

Are you a slave?

July fourth!

Independence Day!

Freedom!

We shoot works of fire into the air to remember our independence from England. We were second class. We had taxes but no representation. We still pay taxes but we have at least the right to vote for those that make decisions in DC, in our state govt, and local.

We feel like we are free. Many men and women have fought for us to be free. But I want to make an argument that if we are not careful we can find ourselves slaves.


There is a story in Luke's Gospel entitled, "The rich young ruler" (See Luke 18 for the full story). In the story a rich man approaches Jesusk with a question.

"What must I do to inherit eternal life?"

That's a great question! If you believe in "god" or sometime of afterlife you better make sure you are going to the good place and not the bad place..... right?

So Jesus is straight up with him...... follow the commandments.

I often wonder how sarcastic Jesus says these things. This man led an upright life and in a way he was building him for his fall in a few mins.

Yes. Check. I've done it.

No. Never murdered.
Never coveted my neighbor's donkey.
etc etc etc


This man replies with "Ive done all these since I was a young boy"

As Jesus prepares to walk away he says one more thing.....“You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

That's the only requirement to follow me. Leave it all behind.


This is a sad story. Luke wrote these words next, "When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy." 


What a tragic story. He couldn't/wouldn't give up his money to follow Jesus. 

The point

So what's the point. Sell everything you have. Be poor. Don't work hard. Give it all away.... right?

Kinda.


You see the irony of this story is that man who held the title of "Ruler" was a "slave"

He was a slave to his material possessions. That is why Jesus said, "Sell it all"

We can worship God or we can worship money but not both.
We can love God or we can love things but not both.
We can praise God or praise nationalism.


Each moment of our lives are filled with choices. We can chose to make wise or unwise decisions with those choices.

We can own our things or we can let our things own us....

Once again its a choice.


Conclusion

So....what?

I want to pose a question to see if you are slave to your things.... where do you run when you are sad? When you are disappointed? When you are upset?

Do you run to God or do you run to something else that promises to met your need but never will. Do you run to Facebook for love? Sorry honey that wont work. Do you run to another person? They will let you down....

We have become a nation addicted to instant gratification, addicted to our smart phones, addicted to oneself.

But there is hope.... lay it down. That thing that we are a enslave to.... dont wait for lent to give it up. Give it up now... for good.

And I pray by the power of the Holy Spirit you will learn you cannot be both a slave and free.

To All Fathers

Jesus called God His Father. Actually He came Him, "Our Father."

This was new revelation. A good Jewish boy would have never made God so familiar. But Jesus wanted us to know He is not only our Father but He is a Good Father. Later in Paul's letter to the Romans, he refers to God as our "daddy."


Fathers.... I think in order to be good father we first must learn what it means to be a good son. We can't father sons if we don't know how to be a son of our Father.

There is an amazing illustration given by Jesus of the fatherhood of God. This parable (or story) is called the parable of the prodigal son.

There is a younger son and an older son. The younger son rebels against his father. He asks for his share of the inhertiance and moves to a far country. Meanwhile, back of the ranch, the older son is working hard. "Earning his right as a son." Years go by and the younger son runs out of money. He decides to return home. Not as a son. But as a slave, as a servant. But while the son was a long way off the Father saw him. He ran to the son, not to kick his butt but to welcome him back into the family. The Father then procedded to throw him a party.

Yet the Older Son, in his pride, remains outside the party. The Father goes out to the Son and begs him to return to the party to celebrate his brother who was "Dead and blind" but is now "Alive and can see"

We are left at the end of the story with a big fat QUESTION MARK. What will the older son do? Will he be stubborn or will he enter into relationship?


So Friends, fellow Fathers (and mothers) how then shall we live?


Main Points 

1) Do you know you are a son?

Do you see God has your heavenly father?
Do you see God as the best possible father?

We cannot love our sons and daughters well if we do not know we are loved beyond measure by God himself.

2) Do we know we are welcomed home?

When we screw up, when we sin, etc

Do we know we have a place in our families? Or do we think we are failures? Do we think we need to "earn back" our families and God's approval?

If we are trying to earn approval from God and from others it will never come.


3) And Finally do we allow grace for others.

Or are we like the older brother?

The older brother did the "right thing for the wrong reasons" He did the right things because he wanted to earn favor from the father. He had no room for grace toward his brother because he didn't know he needed grace and forgiveness.


Fathers, I pray this Father's Day weekend you spent time with your families, I pray you ate a steak (or at least hamburger), I pray you played some cornhole.

But most of I pray you will know you are a son. I pray you will know that God can be your Father and as you embrace the Father's heart He will teach you how to father your children.

Try Harder

When I was in Youth Group, Brian and I had an inside joke going for years. When we played hockey or basketball and one of us made a hustle play we would say, "Dude, You try too hard."

We love rooting for the underdog that tried really hard and is where he/she is not because of natural talent but effort. And Effort is important. If you don't try you are not going to be successful at the majority of life.

But what happens when I try so hard that I don't take care of myself.....

Back Pack?!???

Imagine you are wearing a backpack. There is nothing inside the backpack. Just air. It's easy to carry.....

But then someone asks you do them a favor or two... okay... so you add a rock.

Each time someone asks you to do something for them you add a rock.

Not a problem! You are strong person. Until you start placing unrealistic expectations on yourself. And then that ONE PERSON. You know your co-dependent friend. Lay all of their burdens on YOU!

They take their backpack and ask, "Can you carry this for me?"

And of course, you do! You are such a nice person. But being nice can be tiring. And you continue to add more rocks and more responsibility and then.......you have a really heavy backpack.

You get the picture..right?


Back on track.

So what advice do I offer?

Two simple two of advice today for you.

1) Learn to say No.

I have learned I better if I can give 100% at the thing I am doing. If I cant give my all I try to say No. I am not perfect at this and I am still learning but as we pray and discern and think about our prioritises we can say Yes to important things and no to the less important.


2) Lean on Jesus

"Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."- Matthew 11:28


As we learn to say "No" I believe Jesus walks besides us and will take those dirty rocks out of our backpack. He will give us peace and rest in his presence.


Conclusion

We are steep in American Culture. Try Harder. Do More. Than you will be happy. But why be happy? Happiness is limited. It is short lived. Instead learn to be content. Content with your life. Content with what he is doing in your life and what He wants to do with you.

Yes, following Jesus, but not striving but relying. Not reaching but resting.

I pray that as you read this blog you are experiencing the peace of Jesus this summer. And if not I pray that He will teach you what it means to epxerence his goodness this summer! Amen.

"Who You Say I Am"

Hillsong wrote a song called, "Who You Say I Am"


My favorite part of the song is the bridge.....

"I am chosen. Not forsaken.
I am who you say I am.
You are for me.
Not against me.
I am who you say I am.
I am who you say I am."


But this is hard to believe right? As humans we make mistakes. We fall short of the expectations of others and of our own expectations.

But God values you. He doesn't just love you He likes everything about you.

I can be confident in who I am because I know who my heavenly Father is.

To look at this a little deeper we need to look at an amazing Old Testament Story: The story of Gideon.

The Story of Gideon 

In Judges 6, we find the Israelites doing evil in the Lord's sight. This phrase usually means they forget the goodness of God. They find their significance in things outside of God. We continue to do this today. Many find their worth in their relationships while others find their worth in their job. But these things can change in a moment.

That person you love could cheat on you, could divorce you, could die.
That job you love so much... well you might get fired, you might not love it any more, or it might get replace with technology.

That thing you love so much can and might let you down. Im not saying this to be a "downer" or say I don't do the same exact thing but to warn us to lean into the presence of God as our sole treasure and worship Him instead of false idols that promise to bring life but leave us empty.


After almost dying of starvation, God's people return to Him. SAVE US!!!! We are sorry. Like a child that is only sorry after they are caught Israel returns to her mother. But God is soooooo Good! Even when our motives are impure He welcomes us back 100%. Yes! You have always been my child.


But God works through people. And He chose Gideon. Gideon doesn't think he is worthy.

"How can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!"

He said, "I cant do it!"

And to that the Angel says AMEN! But God can do it through you!


Listen to what the Angel says to Gideon, "Mighty Hero, the Lord is with you!"


I think you have the wrong person. Mary, the Mother of our Lord, probably thought a similar thing years later. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." Excuse me. I am a virgin. I am poor. I am 12 years old..... I am not ready!!!!!!!!


Can God use you? Yes! Can God chose you to do amazing things? Yes


The first step is to remember who He calls you to be!

We look at our past failures or future worries to define who we are. But God doesn't do that. He defines you by who you truly are: A child. His child. His beloved Child.

And He declared Gideon a "Mighty Warrior"
And told Mary she was "Highly favored"

He looks at you and says, "Don't be a worrier, be a warrior."

Who does God call you? Ask Him. Spend 5 mins in silence. Ask him to reveal his love toward you. What does his face look like when he looks at you. Do you think he is disappointed or proud?

Conclusion

St Paul wrote, "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16)

Does this verse mean if I sin God is disappointed in me? No.

My son is learning to walk. He has not mastered it yet but he desires to run so badly. But He needs to learn to walk first. He will take a step and a half and fall down. But I am right there when he falls. Helping him up. Allowing him to grab onto my pant leg as we walk.

I believe this is a perfect picture for our Christian Walk. God has given us his spirit because He knew if we try to walk on our strength we would fall flat on our face and get discouraged.

But God says, "Child, I love you. Follow me. Believe in me. But also believe in yourself. Believe that me in you is enough to change everything."



Side Bar: I don't think I made it far enough through Gideon so there might be a part 2 to this blog.