Cluttered Heart, Inconsistent Walk

My wife and I are not particularly great at keeping up with the chores in our house.  Our main motivation to clean the house, is in response to people coming over.  Luckily we have people come over weekly so the house never gets insanely bad but there have been many times when we have run out of most of our clothes and dishes.  Sometimes our dirty house can be blamed on busy schedules.  Sometimes it is due to tiredness and apathy.  But mostly it is because we are undisciplined and lazy when it comes to maintaining the cleanliness of our home.  As I sit hear planning out the many cleaning tasks I need to accomplish today, the Lord nails me with this question, "Is this the only part of your life that is undisciplined and unkept?"  I shutter knowing that much more than my house ends up dirty and cluttered due to laziness and lack of discipline.

There have been so many times that I have made it through the week only doing what was necessary in my prayer and devotion times with God.  My Christian walk would best be exemplified by a rider on a fast horse barely hanging on as the world rushes by.  I tend to choose TV over reading, music or contemplative silence, and social interaction over intense time alone with God.  I often times substitute a Christian book over reading the Bible and many times prefer sermons to having to wrestle with the truth's in scripture myself.

I do rely on the Lord daily and constantly put my hope and security in Him.  I know that He is daily guiding my life, my job, my friends, and my opportunities for ministry at church.  I wrestle greatly with the scriptures through podcast, music, and books as I seek to walk more like Him.  I love talking to God and seek to know more about Him daily but I tend to fail in the task of listening.  The problem I most suffer from is inconsistency.  One day I will be walking closely in God the whole day and another day I will think very little about Him or my walk.

Have you ever struggled with this?  Do you find yourself missing days and maybe even weeks without thinking about or focusing on who God is and how He is working in your life?  Have you ever taken a self inventory to find that your heart had been filled with things that do not belong there?  Have you ever woke up to the realization that you were far away from the narrow road and in need of much direction to find your way back to the heart of Jesus?  If you can answer, "yes" to any of these, then I am here to tell you, your not alone.

I believe even the most fervent Christian struggles and strays occasionally.  Even Paul said, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."  You are not the first and will not be the last to have times of struggle in your walk with the Lord.  I beg you not to believe the lie saying, "you must not be in Christ if you have struggled in your walk or been tempted."  The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."  Hebrews 12 is also a great chapter to read to help encourage you in your walk with Jesus.


Though our body, minds, and souls are weak at time, there is perfect strength in Jesus.  I find that the days I am closest to Him is when I rely on Him fully for all parts of my day.  We can walk without God daily but we cannot fully live or reach our full potential without God.  He knows what we are capable of and what will bring us the greatest joy in life.  He knows how to lift us up and set our feet in right paths that we may live fully in Him and for His kingdom daily.  If you ever feel like your heart and your walk are a mess, then submit yourself fully to Jesus and allow Him to pick you up, dust you off, and prepare you for a closer walk with Him today.


Blessings,


Greg

Taking off the Mask to Reveal an Authentic Life

To say that today was a difficult day, would be an understatement.  I was scheduled to do an employee training today and the second part of the day focused on workplace violence.  Well our higher-ups devised a role-play to immerse our group in a workplace violence situation.  Let's suffice it to say that it was the most realistic and traumatic role play I have ever encountered.  I do not believe there was anybody in the room who did not fully believe the events that unfolded in front of us.  To make the role-play scenario as realistic as possibly the leadership involved used difficult information that we all were aware of and the trust we had in our leaders to draw us in and help us believe it.  They were most effective, which could be viewed as both a positive and negative thing depending on who you talk to.

For my part of it, I realized how much direct and intense confrontation, like the scenario displayed today, still terrifies me.  I do not like direct confrontation or anything that causes my friends or family pain.  I do not know how to deal with people going off and would rather run away and not have to deal with it than to stand and face the situation being presented.  Today was the first time in a long time that I had to deal with all the emotions involved in a confrontation situation like that.  I instantly felt sick, my heart was racing, and I began shaking, though not enough for others to see.  I was very familiar with the feeling because I had experienced it many times throughout grade school and in my life.

In responding as I did, a flood of memories directly related to conflict both in my family, friends, school, and workplace surfaced to my mind.  I was taken back to all the many times in my life that I had to deal with direct conflict and my reaction was the same most of the time.  I would avoid confrontation at any cost.  You see I hide behind a mask that projects that I am a very strong and powerful person filled with great comebacks and strength but the reality is I hate confrontation and would rather run and hide.  Realizing this about yourself is both difficult and sobering.

I am so thankful that we were in a safe environment filled with therapist and coworkers in whom I trust and respect.  I was able to deal with my emotions and reactions in a healthy way without judgment from those around me.  I felt encouraged in our shared distressed and knew that I could trust each one of the people in that class with anything I was experiencing or dealing with.

My God has blessed me with a job I love, people whom I respect, and a workplace that is safe because of the trust I have in my fellow coworkers.  I was able to see many of my friends and colleagues in a new light today.  I was able to see them at their core.  I honestly have to say that they were beautiful in their vulnerability.  All the masks came off today during this session.  They were real.  They were authentic.  Though not everything experienced was pretty or joyful, it was true.

The Lord helped show me through this experience how important it is for me take off the masks I wear to be fully authentic in my own walk and life each day.  I am who I am even if that person is terrified by certain things.  I will best minister and affect those around me by owning an authentic walk and life.  Life is not always pretty and sometimes we are dealing with stuff that is difficult.  The Lord showed me that we best honor him by living both our high and low times authentically because He shines brightest to the world in the moments we feel weakest and yet lean fully in Him.  "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10


Blessings,


Greg

Love like a Dog

Have you ever looked at the love and devotion of your dog and wondered if God gave them to us as an example of how we should love Him.  A dog longs for his master's return at the end of a work day.  A dog longs to spend as much time as possible with it's master.  A dog never wants to be far away from it's  master.  I dog passionately defends and protects its master.  A dog lives for it's masters touch and sign of affection.  A dog comes quickly and excitedly at it's master's beckon and call.  A dog truly loves and worships it's master.

I heard a poem once by Taylor Mali called, Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog by Taylor Mali

First of all, it’s a big responsibility,
especially in a city like New York.
So think long and hard before deciding on love.
On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you’re walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love
ain’t no one going to mess with you.

Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.

Is love good all the time?
No! No! Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.

Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk.
It runs you around the block and leaves you panting.
It pulls you in several different directions at once,
or winds around and around you
until you’re all wound up and can’t move.

But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.

Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.

I know it may not be a great correlation but I think it is worth mentioning.  I have learned a lot about love from my dog.  I happen to believe that God is instrumental in teaching me those things through my dog though I have not always enjoyed the lessons.  I love my dog and she loves me and I would like to think that I can better understand how to love and live life in Christ through my dog.  Dog's never seem to run out of love.  Dog's never seem to run out of devotion.  And dog's always want to be near you each day.  We could learn a lot in our relationship with Jesus.  Just Saying.

Blessings,

Greg

Cornered by Time

Have you ever felt like your life is too busy?  Do you ever find yourself getting to the end of your day and realizing that there were so many things that you intended to do and never got to?  I have an intense desire for either more hours in the day our an extended weekend but I know that even if either one of those wishes were granted I would only fill them with other things.  I would like to say that I manage time well but honestly I do not.  A more accurate statement would be that I survive each day by the skin of my teeth and am lucky if I get all I intended to do done.

In all this craziness that is my day, I find myself skipping a much needed quiet time with my Savior.  I spend much of my day at work listening to Christian music, podcast sermons, and audio bible chapters but none of these things qualify as quiet time.  I never seem to take the time to just dwell in God.  I always seem to be busy to worship and relish in His glory.  I wrestle with what He is teaching me and how he is leading my heart daily and yet I spend my rest time in tv, shopping, laziness, and games.

All of these things have contributed to my lack of posts in the last few days.  I get to the end of my day and want to rest.  I want to do nothing.  No chores, no devotions, and no spiritual searching.  Have you ever been there?  I am so thankful that God is gracious to call my heart back to Him.  He is so loving to convict me of my distance from Him.  I find that I have to be able to give all of my life to Him both my work, my ministry, and music, and my rest, my relaxation, and my entertainment.

Lord, help me to focus completely on you.  May I give my all to you.  May I rest in you always.   Please forgive me for my selfishness with the time I am given.  May I learn how to truly be still and know you. I love you and thank you for all you teach me daily.  Amen

Blessings,

Greg

Blessings Amid Pruning

Big Bertha last winter

It feels great to finally be able to lay down and enjoy the last couple hours of my weekend.  This weekend I had the pleasure of my parents visiting our home for the second time since we have lived in the house.  I am so glad that they were able to find time to come up and hang out with us.  My dad even brought up a pole trimmer so we could prune the huge oak tree in our front yard.  Both Dad and I realized very quickly that trying to saw limbs with the pole fully extended is quite a task.  We managed to cut down about a dozen small and medium sized limbs that drastically improved the appearance or "big bertha" as we affectionately refer to her.  We had a wonderful evening and enjoyed spending saturday with them also.  Saturday night, I helped my wife with some of her homework and then we were able to relax a little.  Today has gone by in a blur as we went to church, watched courageous, worked on some yard and house work, and then I was able to eat with one of the young adults from my church ministry.

Needless to say my week has passed by in a flash.  There are definitely times in life where I wish I could slow down time and just cherish the moments I have, especially when it is with family.  It is hard being an adult and living hours away from my family at times.  There is such comfort in spending time with the people whom you have known your whole life.  It is s wonderful to have peace in knowing that they will love you and accept you no matter what.  It is great to know that these people understand and accept you.  That they have known you since you were born and share more memories of your life than anyone else on this planet.  How nice it is to know that you can bring anything to them without receiving judgment.  

I know that not everyone has a family like this available to them and that helps me to cherish that much more the time I have with my family.  For those in Christ who do not have families like this, take solace in being fully accepted into the family of Christ.  We can find peace in knowing the Jesus will always love and protect us.  We have assurance that Jesus will teach and lead us in the right paths.  We can trust that He will always be there to give us strength in the hard times to encourage, strengthen, and uplift us.  We can find security in knowing that even when we feel pain as he prunes us, like I did my oak tree, that He does it for our good and does it for our health and growth.   We can know that He will never leave or forsake us.  We can trust that in our darkest of times, facing even death, He will be next to us to guide us and protect us.  We have a good, loving, and merciful God!  

I am so grateful for the loving friends and family I have in my life.  My God has been so generous to surround me with people in who I can trust and depend on.  He has given me a family through my church to help sustain my wife and I for the times we miss home and can't be there.  My Lord has most completely blessed me in my wife and the love and support she gives me.  I am so thankful for her love and the family that I have been given through my marriage to her.  My Lord has graciously provided me a job that I love and a boss who teaches and uplifts me daily.  It feels so wonderful to know you are appreciated at your job and to love the people you work with.  I do not deserve any of these many blessings that the Lord has given me and yet by His grace I have still received them.  

Trust in Jesus today and know that you will never regret it.  You have not known love till you have known Jesus.  You have not known grace till you have known Jesus.  And you have never truly understood or received forgiveness until you have known Jesus.  Trust in Him today if you have not before.  Lay your life at His feet, ask forgiveness for your sins, and walk passionately with Him till you meet Him in heaven. 

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is one many people know.  This passage so wonderfully lays out the beautiful love of our Savior and God.  I leave you with Psalm 23.  Please take the time to read it slowly.  Drink it in, swish it around in your mind, and let it sit there as you take in all the many facets and beautiful pieces of the passage.  

 ¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 ²He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
 ³He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
   for his name’s sake.

 ⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
   I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.

 ⁵You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
    forever.

Blessings,

Greg

     

Holding Hands to Share the Heart of Christ

On my way home for lunch today, I heard a story, on Klove, about a couple who had been married 72 years dying from a car accident.  They had both sustained severe injuries from the accident and were put in the ICU at the local hospital.  The nurses put the couple in the ICU room together and as their children got there they saw their parents holding hands.  Their kids recount how this couple had loved being together and dearly loved each other their whole lives.  The man died a little first and the son recounted that his father had stopped breathing and yet the heart monitor was still beating.  He asked the nurse why the heart monitor was still beating and she said it was because the heart beat of the wife was beating through his hand and being pickup up by the equipment.

As I felt the joy of love and brokenness of loss all at the same time, the Lord laid on my heart how we are all to be like this to those dead in sin around us.  Many times we try our best to stay away from the sinners around us because we are afraid that we will be tainted or brought down by them.  Jesus said the opposite should be true though because we are to be the ones to go out and make disciples and we are the ones who are to be the light and salt of the world.  How can they see and experience the beating heart of Christ unless we share it with them?  We have to love them and share our heart for Christ with this dying world.  It is by doing this that the Holy Spirit can come in repair and restart a sinner's soul for Jesus.

Have you been sharing Jesus with others?  Have you been loving the sick, the sinners, the hurting and holding their hand in the struggle of life.  Have you been showing them the love of Christ that is in you?  Or have you been keeping Jesus' love to yourself?  If you have been hiding Jesus' love, maybe it is because you are scared of what people's reaction will be.  Maybe because you want Jesus' love all to yourself.  Maybe because you do not realize the power of the Savior's heart beating in you.

I once saw a skit where a person on stage received Jesus' love, which they could hold in their hands.  At first they admired it, held it close, and cherished it but when someone else came along they decided to share it.  When they shared Jesus' love, the love of Jesus that the person had shared became almost bigger than they could carry.  As each person went on to share the love of Jesus, they would slowly walk off the stage with their hands overfilled with Jesus' love.  This continued on for three or four people and each person who shared the love of Jesus ended up with the love they had been given being greatly increased.  The final person in this skit to receive the love of Jesus loved it so much that when the next person came along they decided not to share it.  After the last person, who had not received the love of Christ, left the stage, Jesus' love disappeared from the person's hands who had hoarded it.

The point of the skit, as I'm sure most of you realized, is that the love of Jesus can only continue to grow in you when you share it with others.  Jesus said in Mark 2:17, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."  We have to meet people where they are.  We have to love them both by telling them about the saving grace of Jesus and by meeting their needs.  By extending out a hand of love to the hurting world around us, we will be able to share the most important thing we have, which is the beating heart of love and salvation through our wonderful Savior Jesus within us.


Blessings,


Greg

Heart Preparation from Sin's Winter Cold

When I woke up this morning it was cold and rainy. I don't know about you but my body is slow starting on a day like this.  It is completely unrealistic for me to expect that i will wake up and instantly be ready for the day when it is cold and wet outside.  I have to prepare for this kind of day properly to be able to function throughout it. It requires me to get up a bit earlier than usual.  I stand in the shower a bit longer than usual to get my temperature regulated.  I especially need a cup of coffee, on a morning like this, to engage the final start up process in my body and get my engines fully burning.   Can you relate to this?

The Lord got me thinking today about how unrealistic it is for me to also expect that i will fully be able to dive into prayer and worship quickly.   I mean think about it.  If I have been immersed in a cold and sinful world throughout my day or week, would it make sense for me to be instantly ready for prayer, devotion, or worship time?  No!  I need to take the time to reconnect with God.  I have to bring my heart's focus back on my creator and Lord.   Now how long I have to spend doing this depends on how deeply immersed into the world I have allowed myself to become.  But the point is, I will have to do it.

With the understanding that this is true, why do we get so frustrated when we aren't instantly in the zone with God in our quiet times?  Just like when I don't take the time to fully prepare for a cold and wet morning and pay the price, a lack of closeness with the Lord will be the result of me not preparing myself to rest in Him and know Him during my quiet time.  You may be saying about now that I don't know your crazy schedule and the small amount of time you have available for the Lord and you might be right but one thing I have learned is that I always make time for what is important including the time to prepare for the task I want to do.  Can I expect to cook a full meal without preparing the ingredients?  Can I expect my car to stay in good condition if I don't take the time to check my fluids, tires, and brakes?  Can I expect to share a deep intimate relationship with my wife if I never put any time into loving on her, learning more about her, and connecting to her?  Then why would it be any different with connecting to Jesus?

We live in a culture that wants everything done quickly and with the least amount of hassle possible.  We buy frozen skillet creations instead of fixing a meal ourselves.  We let the mechanic take care of our cars instead of personally tending to it's ?ime it takes to learn how to love them.  Then we wonder why it is so hard for us to connect to God.  We wonder why the Christian book we just read instead of the Bible still seems inadequate.  We wonder why little prayers with no depth or substance are not drawing us closer.

One of my favorite things about Jesus' relationship with His Father, was His desire to go off on His own to spend time with His Father frequently.  Every single part of Jesus' life reflected His relationship with His Father.  The Bible is very clear that prayer and knowledge of the scriptures was incredibly important to Jesus.  If this was so for Jesus, would it not stand to reason that it would also be necessary for us?  Before facing the temptation, Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days.  A fast is intended to be a time of sacrifice to grow closer to God.  Though Jesus was weakened and hungry physically, He had spent those forty days being strengthened spiritually.  Can you imagine the close relationship that Jesus shared during that time of fasting and focusing only on His Father?  Though He was the Son of God, He still made it a priority to spend time away from others and the world to talk with His Father.  

Now winter is upon us and we are all frantically preparing our homes and wardrobes for the cold.  As you do this, think about how you are preparing you heart to meet with God.  Think about how you are insulating your heart for Christ against the cold sin of this world.  Think about how you are putting on layers of scriptures to shield you from the bitter cold of temptation.  We live in a world that seeks to lead us to the eternal wintery torture of Hell.  Have you prepared yourself in the Lord to survive this world?  Are you trusting Him as your one and only guide?  Have you prepared your heart to only follow His narrow way?

Blessings,

Greg

Intolerant Tolerance

In listening to a sermon by David Platt, he spoke on tolerance and got me thinking about the ways of this world today.  I find it interesting that we live in a culture today that champions the idea of tolerance of all religions and yet is intolerant of intolerant religions like evangelical Christianity.  We live in a culture that does not believe in spiritual absolute truths and yet lives by absolute truths daily such as 2+2=4 and the law of gravity.  Does it not seem convenient for the world to make all spiritual truth equal?  This would never work in the realm of science.  If I decided to walk off a bridge because I didn't believe in the law of gravity, I would still fall to my death anyways.  Though this is true of science beliefs the world says that it is not also true of spiritual beliefs.  The problem is that, if in fact Christianity is true, then all other religions really are going to hell without Jesus whether they believe their spiritual beliefs are true our not.  If there is not absolute spiritual truth and we all have to be tolerant of everybody else's beliefs, then none of us has to feel conviction of sin or anything contrary to what we want to believe.  I find it ironic that this world, especially the modern college campus, champions the idea of religious tolerance so loudly and yet seek so passionately to destroy the claims of Christianity.  How can supposed tolerant people be so intolerant.  

In a sermon I was listening to by David Platt  called The Gospel and Homosexuality where he said this about tolerance in our world in all context, "We have created the idea, the belief that every idea in the world is equally right, equally true.  so to disagree with some one is intolerant but the reality is tolerance in and of itself implies disagreement.  If you and I agree on every single thing, I don't tolerate you.  I don't tolerate your beliefs if I agree with all of them.  If you believe that Jesus is the Lord of the universe then I don't tolerate you for that. On the other hand, if you deny that Jesus even exist then, yes, I would passionately disagree with you but it is at that point that I would tolerate you."  Our world has so confused the meaning of words such as tolerance that we all feel we are bad for standing up for our beliefs.  We have come to believe it is wrong to believe in absolute truth.  Many of us have become to scared to proclaim Jesus as the way and the truth and the life because it is infringing on other people's truth.  

We have to be so careful not to be drawn in by the ideas of this world.  If we allow ourselves to not proclaim Jesus due to fear of being viewed as intolerant then we are quietly allowing people to go to hell.  Jesus was not afraid of absolute truth and he was not afraid to challenge those who spoke against His Father.  We have to stand up for our beliefs and proclaim them with boldness and compassion.  We can no longer allow this world to keep our mouths shut or allow this world to scare us into their view on tolerance.  We must be the salt and light to the world and trust that Jesus' truth will ring in the hearts of the people around us.  Stand tall for Christ brothers and sisters and stand for absolute truth in Christ this moment.  

Blessings,

Greg   

Chapter Finished, Experiment Began

Tonight, we finished the book Radical by David Platt. The last chapter of the book challenges the reader to do an year experiment.  The five criteria for the experiment are:
1. Pray for all the nations in the world
2. Read the entire Bible
3. Be apart of a church that supports outreach to the community for Christ
4. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
5. Spend time in another context for Christ
I believe doing an experiment like this could change your world and the world for Christ.  What do you think?  I don't believe completing these criteria for a year will be easy but I believe they will be worth it.  The book is worth a read and the scriptures mentioned in the book are worth your consideration.  Our Savior was a radical man and if we are to be like Him, we should intend to lead radical lives for Jesus.  Is your life, your walk, your witness radical today?

Blessings,

Greg

One Body Under Jesus Christ

Tonight we had a prayer service in the community where our church plant is.  It's purpose was to pray for all those involved in the school corporation of the community.  All of the churches in the area decided to unite together for this cause and to pray together as one body of Christ.  I believe tonight was a beautiful display of what Christianity was intended to be.

Though I completely agree that there has to be parameters set on who qualifies as a Christian body, I believe we are doing a great injustice to Jesus by arguing over who has the better church.  It is important that foundations of Christianity be set as criteria between the denominations and some of the parameters that would be included is the belief in an inerrant Bible useful in modern day teaching, Jesus as the one and only savior of the world and the only way to heaven, the acknowledgment of sin in our lives, and the acknowledgment of the Holy Trinity to name a few.  The devil has weakened the church so significantly today through our division.  We are all one family in Jesus Christ.  I do not believe that there will be different denominations in heaven.  I do not believe that Jesus looks upon denominations with happiness and joy.  I also do not believe we will ever reach the whole world for Jesus Christ as a separated and divided religion.  Jesus' own words in Matthew 12:25 are, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand."  


Are we not followers of Jesus living to proclaim and extend the kingdom of Christ?  So can Jesus' words apply to us?  We have got to learn to work together instead of spending all our time coming up with jokes and reasons magnifying our own differences.  I believe that Jesus' words in Matthew 7:3-5 also should be haunting to how different denominations treat each other today saying, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye."  Folks, I understand that there are certain denominations that have no resemblance to Biblical Christianity any longer but we need to focus on the brothers and sisters of other denominations that share many of our same beliefs and come together to reach our communities and world for Jesus.  We can't do it alone and no denomination has figured out the one and only right way to be a Christ follow, contrary to popular opinion in certain denominations.  


I guess I write all of this tonight because I see so many instances of Christians working against each other instead of working together.  Why do you think the world doesn't want to know Jesus?  Could it be because they are truly watching us and they have enough dysfunction in their lives without needing to add Christianity to their list.  Both Jesus and Paul warned of false witnesses but I don't remember anywhere in the New Testament where divided churches were written about positively.  I don't remember Jesus saying, "go out and make your own sect of disciples and then enlarge your own sect as much as you can making sure that people understand that your sect is the best."  I don't believe that is in the great commission.  


As to the picture I posted for this blog, my wife came up with this analogy, "We are all the beautiful feet of Jesus.  It is just that there are many different shoes represented across the world.  Therefore we need to quit worrying about the different shoes someone else is wearing and focus on getting down and dirty spreading the gospel of Jesus to the world."  The centralizing theme in our lives should be Jesus and Jesus only.  Lets drop the labels of "denominations" and embrace the label of  "Followers of Christ."  Now I know that these things that I just said can be abused and people can twist these words and ideas for other things that are unbiblical and un-Christian but the main idea here is that we are all family as Christians and we need to start acting like it.  We need to start loving our brothers and sisters whether they are apart of our denomination or not.  We need to start working together instead of trying to get credit for an event as our own.  We need to remember our priorities again, which is simply to win souls to Christ for the enlarging of His kingdom and His glory.  Let's lay down our prejudices, traditions, and human stubbornness at the feet of Jesus and let Him begin to do a great work in us.  I believe if we could just do this we would see a revival and winning of souls across the world larger than the world has ever seen.  


Blessings,


Greg

Forever Friends

Have you ever had a friend in whom you could trust with your deepest of secrets?  Have you ever had a friend that you could trust to keep you accountable in your walk and help you grow closer to Christ?  Have you ever had a friend that just gets you and in whom you can truly be yourself?  Have you ever had a friend in whom you knew that even if you were a world a part your friendship would remain?

I don't know about you but I spent 25 years of my life believing that a friend like this didn't exist.  As a preacher's kid, I grew up in a family that never lived in the same place longer than 7 years.  One thing that became incredibly clear to me in all those years of being transient was that once you left, most of your "good" friends would no longer write or keep up with you.  It seems to me that for the most part we live in a world that enjoys friendships of convenience.  Most people do not want to go through the struggle of having to maintain contact through messaging, email, phone calls, and scheduled get togethers.  It seems most people choose to love the people in whom are close and convenient.

Well about 4 years ago I met a guy who became the brother I never had.  God completely brought us together and blessed our friendship.  He developed in us a friendship that will be able to stand the test of time.  We both love to hang out and do adventures, which includes paintball, kayaking, biking, hiking, and much more.  We both love Jesus and want our lives to reflect our passion for Him.  We both are married and want to be the best husbands we can possibly be.  We also both have a passion for ministry and have partnered together many times to reach people for Jesus.  The Lord has truly blessed our friendship.

Now don't get me wrong, we have definitely had our disagreements and our friendship hasn't always been easy but the Lord has been gracious and helped us to grow closer through our struggles.  It has been amazing how much both of us have grown in our walks with Christ and half of our friendship has been with us being continents apart.  I personally believe that there are certain people that the Lord places in your life that will bless you more than any other person can.  My wife and my best friend are two of those people and I am incredibly happy to have them in my life.

My friend is in the country for a couple weeks on a furlough to pickup visas and my wife and I had the opportunity to hang out with him and his family today.  I made sure to pack up both my bike and my kayak so that we could have an afternoon jam packed with adventure and heart connections related to who we are as men of Christ.  We had a wonderful afternoon kayaking on a creek near my friend's house and even had the pleasure of having a walnut war in our kayaks.  We both shared how the Lord is working in our lives and discussed struggles we have had in our walks.  It was wonderful.

I write all of this as an example of the importance of a close same sex friend and accountability partner to help you develop and grow your walk.  I believe this is the example that Jesus was portraying in the 12 disciples.  You also see a friendship like this in Jonathan and David in the Old Testament.  Paul and his many companions also reflected similar friendships.  These men experienced everything together whether joys or sorrows and through their experiences they became close and grew in their maturity as followers of Christ.  It is so important to have someone in your life in whom you know you could say anything to and not feel judged.  It is important to know that you are loved by someone so much that they are willing to ask you the hard questions that help you have a deeper walk.

If you do not have anyone in your life that resembles this picture, I highly recommend you pray that the Lord would bring someone like this into your life.  It may take a while but I know that the Lord has someone like this for each person.  For some, you may already know who this person is in your life and if so, I suggest you praise God for knowing who they are.  For some, you may feel like I once did and not  believe a person like this exist.  My advice is to be faithful and trust that the Lord intends for you to be able to share a friendship like this, that will help you grow leaps and bounds in your walk.  Our God is eternally and completely faithful, as I have said in many of my other blogs.  Trust in Him and he will bring someone like this into your life at the time you most need them.

Blessings,

Greg

Technological Feat

Tonight I am posting from my new iPhone 4s. I hope to be able to use this wonderful device to further the kingdom of Jesus. It seems to me that all this technology is worthless if it can't be used to enhance your walk and witness. Remember that nothing should come before Jesus and nothing should be more important in your life than Jesus. The iPhone, and any other pieces of technology, has a real risk of becoming an idol if you let it. Keep you eyes on Christ in all things.

Blessings,

Greg

Gasoline

(Disclaimer: This photo was not taken the same day as this story)

Today as I was out doing my errands for work, I ended up getting sprayed with gasoline while filling one of the mower containers.  I had not put the tip of the dispenser far enough into the container hence it sprayed everywhere when I pulled the trigger.  A pretty decent amount of gasoline covered my left hand, my left arm, and my left leg.  I was none to pleased, of course, and proceeded to figure out a way to remove it from my clothes.  I found that there was nothing I could do till I got home and could change to wash the clothes.  It turns out that it is easy to be covered with gasoline and yet difficult to remove it.  I noticed that the fumes from the gas were quite noxious and I ended up with a hurting throat by the time I made it home for lunch to change.  I had visible stains on my clothes and anyone passing by could immediately tell that I was not someone to stand close to.


When I was covered by the gasoline I was embarrassed because of the mistake I had made and worried about how people would perceive me.  The gas had soaked through my clothes in the places it had sprayed me and I had to also wash my skin to remove the substance and smell.  I could not just use soap and water to remove the gasoline.  I had to use a special soap to remove it from my skin and clothes.  While I had the gasoline on my skin and clothes I was a walking time bomb.  All it would take was a spark to severely hurt or possibly kill me.  All I could think about till I was out of the clothes was what would happen if I came across this spark or flame.

Isn't interesting that many of the parallels of gasoline work also with sin.  It is easy to get in to but hard to get out of.  It affects you body, mind, and soul.  It requires the Lord to remove the soiled parts of your heart for a deep cleaning.  It affects those around you and put off an aroma that typically repels them from you or in sin's case maybe entices them to you.  Sin invades your thoughts and clouds your judgment.

The Bible says these things about sin.  John 3:20, "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed."  Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Jeremiah 2:22, "Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord God."  Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."  Romans 5:8-10, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."


Sin is something we have all be covered with.  No one can remove it but Jesus, who has conquered all sin.  All we have to do is ask forgiveness for our sins and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and He will come in and cleanse us of our sin.  Though we are justified, which means we are presented as completely spotless and worthy of heaven before God because of Christ, it takes the rest of our life's to be sanctified, which is the Holy Spirit completing a continual work in us to bring us into a closer and closer likeness to Christ taking the rest of our life and only being completed upon our arrival to heaven.  I hope you will lay your sins at Jesus' feet today and trust Him to do a good work in you and produce spiritual fruit in you for the rest of your life.  If you choose to do this or choose to recommit yourself to Christ today, remember what Jesus said to His disciples at the end of Matthew about how we should live as followers of Christ, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."   


Blessings,


Greg

Many Blessings

Today was a normal day.  I enjoyed being productive as I drove our zero turn and mowed the property.  I enjoyed listening to music and sermon podcasts while I worked.  The Lord taught and blessed me through the sermons I listened to today.  I shared a sermon with the youth and I think they enjoyed and learned a lot from it.  The Lord showed me that there are just certain times that it is best to let someone else teach.  I enjoyed playing guitar in our worship practice tonight and was glad that practice went smoothly.  I ended up being pleasantly surprised as our young adults stuck around a while to play hang man, hang out, and listen to some crazy fun music.

I am so thankful for a job I love working with some of the best people I have ever met.  I am thankful for a completely awesome God centered wife.  I am thankful that the Lord shows me what I need to teach our young adults weekly.  I am thankful that He has raised up Christian men in my life to mentor and instruct me on how to become a stronger man of God.  I am thankful for young adults who truly soak up the word of God and want to live more Christ centered lives. I am thankful for being able to have friends who love the Lord and love to hang out with us.  God is so good.  

All these things make me think about the old hymn called, "Count Your Many Blessings."  Thanksgiving is going to be here before we know it.  This year take the time to take inventory of the many blessings and things to be thankful for in your life.  Remember the one who gave each thing to you and thank Him above all else.  As I sit here, I wonder where I would be without the Lord and I shutter.  He has been so good to me.  I know that sometimes it is hard to see blessings in your life but please remember your circumstances shouldn't determine your thankfulness.  No matter what situation we are in today, we can always be thankful for the wonderful love, grace and forgiveness our God has bestowed upon us.  Also remember that there is always hope in Jesus as Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Blessings,

Greg  

God

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12  The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.  Proverbs 16:9  Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!  Psalm 31:9  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  John 3:16-17

Sometimes I get lost in the vastness of God.  How incredible it is that God, who is infinitely mighty, infinitely great, and created everything in this universe, desires to have a close and intimate relationship with me.  God has created things that we, as humans, will probably never understand.  God is infinitely greater and more righteous than I yet He still chose to send His Son to die on the cross for me and the rest of humanity.  God is completely self sufficient, needing absolutely nothing to be complete, and yet He still saw fit to give me an opportunity to truly know Him.  He gave me the ability to learn about Him in the Bible.  And He gave me the ability to be led by Him through the Holy Spirit.  I am so humbled by the greatness and goodness of God.  I hope you will take time to dwell in the majesty, sovereignty, and goodness of God today.

Blessings,

Greg

Fixer of the Heart

This picture beautifully displays how I feel most of the time when I encounter struggles with people.  Part of who I am and how I have lived most of my life is as a fixer.  In my current job, I am a maintenance technician and if something is broken then I fix it.  If I have any problems at my house, I fix it.  If my car is broken, I fix it.  I think you get the idea. ;)  I get so frustrated when I have issues with friends, family, coworkers, and my wife where I can't instantly fix their problems, which is often.  I don't like tension in my relationships.  I don't like to see someone else hurting and not be able to fix what hurt them.  I don't like to have arguments that don't have immediate resolutions.

When I was younger, I was never able to understand why people are so much harder to fix.  In my mind, most people's problems seemed simple enough.  The Lord has taught me a lot through the years on how to better depend on Him when I encounter struggles with others.  The hardest lesson He has taught me, which I admittedly am still trying to learn, is I am not going to be able to fix the other person's problem.  I am going to have to put the situation in the Lord's hands and trust that He will resolve the situation in His time.

God has shown me that the situation is not always going to be fixed the way I want it to.  Sometimes I am going to have to watch and endure the pain of my friend or family and just support them with my love.  Sometimes the Lord has to show me that I am the reason or a part of the problem.  Occasionally the only resolution to the problem comes in my heart being able to forgive and accept the other whether they change or not.  Many times it takes me surrendering all of my desires and worries to the Lord and resting in His sovereignty.  I don't know about you but I don't like giving up complete control and I especially do not like to wait once I have.  I want things fixed now.  I have to admit though that I have learned so much about myself, my God, and the people involved when I fully trust in Jesus to remedy the situation in His glorious timing.

Romans 12:12 helps put into focus how we should act when facing trying times with another, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."  This verse speaks to me greatly and stings quite a bit because often times, I am anything but patient during tribulation.  1 Corinthians 13:4 takes patience to another level by referring to it as being a quality of love.  This verse helps me to see that I am hurting people by my impatience instead of loving them by trying to remedy the issue quickly.   Many times I feel as though I am being loving by resolving what is distressing me quickly.  I guess that is truly the crux of the matter.  Often times when I want something fixed it is because it is causing me pain not because I care about the needs of the other who is having trouble.  Whenever we face trouble, we have to learn to be loving by approaching the situation appropriately.  James 1:19-20 says, "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." When you combine Romans 12:12 and James 1:19-20, you begin to get a better idea of how God wants us to acts during situations like this in our lives.


I am so thankful that the Lord is continually working in my heart to make me more like Him.  He is the ultimate fixer of the heart as he works to fix us from the inside out.  I am thankful that I can place the problems I encounter in His hands and know that He is trustworthy to take care of them.  Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."  I am a witness to God's faithfulness and worthiness to trust in Him.  There is no problem too great for God and no situation too difficult for Him to handle.  


I must admit to you that many times the problem won't disappear instantly but have faith and He will bring you peace as you entrust the problem to Him.  Pray constantly for Him to do a work in you and the person in whom you are struggling with or supporting in their struggle.  He will bless you and keep you daily.  He also will continually work on your heart and the heart of the other person.  He will teach you how to love better no matter the situation and you will grow immeasurably in your walk through trusting Him with your struggle.  


Blessings,


Greg  

www.realchristianwalk.com

Reminiscent Night

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend a wedding of a friend from my high school days.  His wedding was beautiful and unique.  The wedding was performed with no attendants and in the exact same place as the reception while we were all sitting at the reception tables.  The ceremony was simple, quick, and beautiful.  Afterward, we all were able to enjoy a lovely meal followed by a great time of fellowship and dancing.  I also got to see other friends from my high school days and it was good to see that they are all doing well.

As I thought about past memories of times spent with my friends, I came up with both happy and sad stories.  It is amazing how much simpler those times were.  I remember feeling like I knew everything and yet not worrying about anything.  I knew nothing of paying bills and being careful to stay out of debt.  I had no idea what it took to be married and yet I so desperately sought a mate back then.  I honestly knew nothing about what it meant to truly follow Jesus with all my heart.  The focus of my days was earning money so I could hang out with my friends.  I worried about being accepted, having fun, and hoping I could graduate.

Also as I look back, I remember a dear and loving friend that we all lost along the way.  His name was Daniel Thomas and he died last year, around Christmas time, of liver failure.  As I talked about him with a close friend, who had flown in from Colorado and was staying at my house, we both agreed that Daniel had been a best friend to us all.  Each person in our high school group had loving stories to tell about close friendships shared with Daniel.  Daniel loved each one of us well.  We each felt he was a special and loving friend.

Daniel held a important spot in my heart because he was a pastor's kid like I am.  We were able to talk about our fathers, our beliefs, and our shared experiences.  I remember spending many late hours talking about our passion for God at Denny's restaurant.  I remember when Daniel rode with me all the way to Colorado for a friend's wedding that we were both in.  Daniel had dealt with liver trouble for many years and knew that an untimely death was possible.  We talked about God and death on that long trip to and back home.  Daniel knew who he was in Jesus.  He loved Jesus very much and he inspired me to seek an intimate relationship with Jesus also.

These were a few of the things that were brought to my mind during the wedding last night.  It helped me be able to see who I once was and who I am today.  I was able to gauge if my life has changed any since I was younger.  I was able to give thanks for the many blessings the Lord has placed in my life today like: my wife, continued relationships with my H.S. friends, a steady job, a home, and a close and constantly deepening relationship with my Lord and Savior.

As my wife, friends, and I drank in the love that was shared in the beautiful wedding last night, I felt great joy and thankfulness for where I am today.  I cherished the moments of conversations, shared meals, vows, and dancing together.  As we look back on life, we are able to focus on the things that really matter in this life.  Our Lord is so faithful to bless our life's as we trust in Him daily.  He is constantly working and moving to draw us closer to Him and to transform us in to mature followers of Christ.  It is so important to show you friends and family love by sharing Jesus with them.  There is no greater act of love that can be shared with your loved ones.

A wedding always reminds me of our Savior's beautiful love for us.  He has promised to love those who will trust and put their lives in His hands.  He will always be faithful and kind.  He will be with us in sickness and health, in our ups and downs, and in every situation we encounter in this life.  I hope you will take a look back and see how far you have come in your walk with Jesus today.  Take time to thank Him for all He has done in your life and I hope your love grows ever deeper for Him as you see how loving a Savior and Bridegroom He has been.

Blessings,

Greg

Echelon

These lyrics from the song Echelon by Pillar sum up what is on my heart tonight.  Please read them closely.  


You know it's time for us to step it up
Another level now 'cause we finished warming up
So we rise up elevate to maintain fill up with octane
And fan the flame we regain all the names
The enemy took away
And like a green beret we will lead the way
Into battle so have no fear we will draw near
So that we can persevere like a gondolier
We headed straight to the top nonstop
Set shop at the top of the Rock
You'll feel the aftershock after we rock the spot
Cause you forgot these soldiers won't turn and walk
We take hard knocks come back for more
Cause we're hardcore we fight for the One who died for (you)
And like Saigon we're on the frontlines
And we carry on to the end times

[Chorus]
Now that it's on, we're out in the front of this marathon
With our armor on, stay strong we drive on (drive on)
Our echelon pressin' on 'til we reach the top
And you know we don't stop (our echelon)
Now that it's on

We're on the enemy's hit list
I'm hopin' you get this
You're takin' a risk when you resist the one who made you exist
Evolutionists we got love for you too but we're breakin' down
Walls seeking out the truth
I'm a soldier in this army of One
Like I told ya the battle's already won
So about face move outta the way I gotta pray for you
And this is how we do


Do you believe these words?  Are you ready to live like this?  We are at war folks but our war is not against our fellow humans.  Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  We have got to remember why we are on this planet.  We have to remember who our allegiance is to.  In a war you don't just walk back and forth between the enemy and the ally side without consequences.  


In a war, you must choose sides or die.   In Revelation 3:16, Jesus says this to the church at Laodicea, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."  There are spiritual consequences to trying to ride the fence.  The absolute worse place you can be in life is indifferent, apathetic, and passionless.  Jesus says that being these things is even worse than being cold, which means hostile to Him and the Gospel!  So are you ready to stand up and live out your love for Jesus so people can see it?  Does Jesus burn in your heart tonight?  Is He truly the center, the passion, and the desire of your heart?  If not, please take the time to seek out why.  There is nothing in this life that matters more than passionately following Jesus.  


I hope you believe this is true tonight.  I hope you life will display this truth daily.  I hope you will talk to me if you struggle with believing this.  I would love to pray for you if you are struggling with Jesus being the center of your life.  We, as humans, are driven by our passions.  We will be passionate about something whether it is family, work, politics, money, hobbies, the environment, technology, Jesus, etc.  I hope Jesus is at the top of your passion list.  If he is not, maybe it is time to reorganize your passion portfolio.  Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  What is your treasure and your passion tonight?  Who's side are you on?  


Blessings,


Greg