Skipping Church

This past Sunday I went with a gathering of friends to place in our city, McKinney, and did some remodeling.  It was my favorite part of the remodeling process, demolition.  It is also the part that I am the best at...which isn't saying very much but I digress.  I was in my car driving to the work site when I couldn't help but notice the churches that I was passing as I sped by.  People were moving in and out of the buildings.  Some were sparsely attended and others seemed bustling with activity.  Regardless of what their attendance was that day, they were all similar in the sense that people were coming together at their regularly scheduled time to go to their regularly scheduled Sunday morning church services with most of the same elements that it did the week before.  It was routine.  That isn't a bad thing, in a world of inconsistency it is good to have things like schedules and programs.  I am not anti routine by any stretch of the imagination.  As a matter of fact, I love my routines, I'm comfortable with my routines, my routines make me feel safe.  Maybe that is why it is really healthy and maybe even spiritual to disrupt your routines.

I think when our spirituality becomes routine, it turns into religion.  It turns into a cold, stale and predictable path.  I think we all get lulled into an unconscious faith when we fail to realize this.  We don't venture too far outside of what we expect and we avoid things that are new or outside of what we deem "normal".  This past Sunday I remembered that God cannot be contained within a building or even a program.  He is among and is present among friends that are volunteering their time and efforts to show love to people they don't even know.  The Holy Spirit is there in the "incidental" conversation that you have with someone you just met and yet they are opening up about their painful past and uncertain future.  Jesus is there when you are hammering a nail and tearing up drywall while the neighbors in nearby homes notice your efforts and smile when you walk by (Psalm 139:7-9).

I'm not going all pantheistic on you, I realize the importance of preaching God's Word and singing worship songs together.  My soul is touched when I hear a great sermon, moved when I am challenged by Scripture and my eyes have teared up while singing words of a praise and worship song.  But worship can, and does, happen while you are hammering a nail and sawing a piece of wood.  He is there when we gather in His name, His precious name, and devote ourselves to Him and love each other accordingly (Matthew 18:20).

My encouragement to you is, break your routine once in a while.  Skip church.  You heard me.  Skip church.  Not to watch a game, not to sleep in but to do something else that is devoted to Him.  Maybe it is a service project or feeding the homeless.  Maybe it is to study your Bible in a coffee shop uninterrupted.  Whatever it is, do it because you love Him and want to know Him better.  Peel off that thick layer of religion that has coated your heart for too long and make your walk with Him a dynamic one. 

I'll be honest with you, I almost skipped the service project I'm talking about this week.  I had a pretty rough week as well as a busy one.  I was feeling like I didn't want to be around people very much and like I needed the rest.  At some point God spoke to me, not audibly, and I felt very strongly that instead of skipping it, it was the remedy for my troubled soul this week. I was right.  God rewarded that time by giving me the opportunity to connect with people I had not previously and by getting outside of myself to focus on others.   I remembered that Jesus served others despite the intense persecution He was under.  Despite the fact that He was on a mission to save us.  He had all kinds of excuses for not serving others but He served instead of demanding that we serve Him.  The King.  Thank you Jesus for the opportunity to serve You (Matthew 20:28)!

Matt

I Alone Am Left

Ever had to face a bully? My guess is that all of us at one time or another have been in that position whether we want to admit it or not. Maybe it was at school as a kid. Perhaps the bully was a member of your family or it is not unheard of for the bully to be your boss or a coworker. Whatever the case may be, my story will probably sound in someway familiar to you. It would not surprising to hear that as a kid, I was bullied semi frequently. It would be even more apparent if you checked out a picture of me growing up. The bifocals, toothpick arms and pasty white skin would definitely seal the deal for you. I can remember one specific event when I was walking home from school when I was in middle school.

I was in sixth grade and my family had just moved from Plano, Tx. to Humble, Tx. In my opinion, at least at the time, it was not good timing. I had no friends and as previously stated, I was not going to win any medals any time soon for any sports related event. I was easy pickins. I liken it unto the gazelle that has strayed from the herd with the lion lurking behind the brush like you would see on the Discovery Channel.

When it happened, I was in the most vulnerable place I could possibly be in junior high. You guessed it...P.E. My affectionate term for the class was "Juvenile Detention" for obvious reasons. It was one of the few places where absolute lawlessness reigned and adults seemed to turn a blind eye to bullying chalking it up to "boys will be boys" or "it will toughen him up a bit". But I digress. I was sitting on the bench in the locker room, the most terrifying of places for a middle school boy in my position, when it happened. His name was Paul and it was widely known that he smoked pot and ate sixth grade nerds for breakfast. He seemed to be six feet tall, had a Magnum P.I. mustache and as I remember it, his knuckles scraped the ground.

I was sitting alone on the bench, trying to avoid eye contact and looking straight ahead nervously hoping that today's activity might be something like "pick your own activity day" or "read your favorite comic book" and certainly not "dodge ball" or "wrestling". Paul, smelling blood in the water, walks straight up to me and leans over right in my face and gave me the ultimate insult. I could feel his hot stinky breathe on my face when he uttered the words "YOUR MOM!". Of course he got the usual high fives from his cronies around him and nervous laughter erupted in the locker room. I know that "YOUR MOM" by today's standards is not that bad at all and if I had known that at the time it wouldn't have stung that bad but...it did. Even though I had nerdy friends at the time that were facing the same persecution, in that moment I was alone. I alone had to face that trial. Sure, we would get together after the fact and share how bad the day had been, talk about our common interest and console one another but in that moment I was alone facing that test.

If the truth be told, it was not the last time I had to face a challenge like that in middle school and even to this day, I face challenges where I feel like...I'm alone. Don't get me wrong, I am in community with other believers but there are certain struggles and challenges that even though you have support and encouragement from friends and family, there is a degree in which you face that challenge alone. I was going through my reading plan for my time with God and came across this passage in 1 Kings 18 with Elijah the prophet. He was facing the Prophets of Baal and made this statement:

v22Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal's prophets are 450 men."

Now, later in the book of 1 Kings, (19:10) Elijah will make the same statement but I think it has a different edge to it here. The latter verse Elijah is basically saying that he is literally the only prophet left to face Jezebel and her prophets was him. This passage I think he is aware that there are other prophets because Obadiah, another prophet, had just finished telling him as much. Later he conveniently forgets this fact in his despair. He exaggerates his condition. However, here I believe the statement he is making is that he alone must face the prophets of Baal and possible annihilation.

There are times in each of our lives where we are faced with an extreme challenge. We can find community and get encouragement, which you absolutely should. You will not be able to stand in the face of this challenge truly alone. But, I do believe the burden of conquering that challenge and the physical act of standing up to it, rests on your shoulders...and on God's. You see God uses those moments to strengthen your faith. St John of the Cross calls those moments "The Dark Night of the Soul'. I love that phrase! It accurately describes the turmoil that you experience during those times. It is not your run of the mill challenge. It is not the typical suffering that you experience in every day life. This challenge is a Goliath sized problem. At first it may send you reeling, grasping for something to pick yourself up by. But before you are able you are hit yet again by the same challenge. It is indeed a crisis!

In those moments, God is your only anchor (Hebrews 6:19). He alone will face the challenge with you if you draw near to Him (James 4:8). It is in those moments that your faith is solidified or broken hopelessly. God will strengthen you and allow you to face that challenge only in Him and not in your own strength. It is a blessing but in the moment, it certainly doesn't feel like it. If that is you right now, let me first encourage you by saying, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are other Christ followers right now that stand along side of you who are facing their "Dark Night of the Soul" as well. Find comfort in community. But please do not rely on them primarily, make God your anchor. Here are someways that God provides us to face those moments.

1. Gain Strength from God - Cry out to Him in your pain but also in comfort. Make Him your close friend and ally. Learn more about Him through His Word and in prayer.

2. Gain Strength from Biblical Community - Find a group of Christ followers that is dedicated to yielding their lives to Him and learning more about Him. A group that lives our their faith and reaches out to those that don't know Him. People that serve in the community and love Jesus.

3. Face Your Trial - Don't avoid the confrontation that you are facing. Charge the hill! Run into it knowing that God is with you and get support from your local body of believers. Know that we are all in the same boat and you are not alone. Realize that regardless of how painful what you are experiencing is that God is in you and with you. He will never leave you or forsake you even if you feel forsaken. God is faithful because that is who He is.

Gracious Authenticity

About a week ago, I was looking for a Starbucks to study in. I was going to deliver a message the following Sunday and I needed to find a place where I could be fully caffeinated as well as get away for a few hours. I found the perfect location. It was only five minutes away and it was constructed in a mediterranean style with a cobble stone walk way. It was perfect! It was the closest thing I could get to a retreat while still being close to home. I ordered my coffee, a grande drip no room, and sat down to begin the caffeination process. As I picked up my coffee and downed my first gulp of coffee, I glanced out of the window at a Walmart that was across the street from the coffee shop. It one instance the entire illusion of a retreat, of sipping coffee in a pseudo mediterranean village had been shattered. One glance was all it took.

I fear that sometimes the church is a lot like my experience at that Starbucks. People approach the church building with a lot of expectations. The hope of entering a place that is about forgiveness and acceptance. A place where they can be known without fear of judgment. The problem is that many times that illusion is shattered with just one visit, just a glance. They enter the building and are often times met with unwelcoming stares or worse, no acknowledgment at all that they were even there. At other times it is more subtle. They join a small group and open themselves up to hypocritical criticism. Instead of being authentic and gracious, members of the group have chosen to wear "holier than thou" masks and hide behind Bible verses and religion instead of sharing their fears, struggles and failures.

The other problem that we encounter in church is that we swing to the opposite side of the spectrum. Instead of pretending to be something that we are not, we use the word "authenticity" as an excuse not to grow or to embrace a lifestyle that is contrary to the message of the gospel. Instead of wearing the mask of religion, we wear the mask of disobedience and use the idea of acceptance to to hide our refusal to grow in Christ.

If you look up "Authenticity" in Websters one of the definitions that is given is "being actually and exactly what is claimed. It implies being fully trustworthy as according with fact." This is a great definition of what it means to be an authentic Christ follower or to be "Graciously Authentic". According to this definition we need to be careful what we are claiming to be. We can't claim to be overly "religious" and we can't claim to be a people that accept Christ and then end up being a "waste of grace".

I love Paul's stance on this in 1 Corinthians 15:9-11. He says this:

“For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

After reading this passage a few things impacted me greatly.

1. Paul Received God's Grace - "least of the apostles" Paul's realization that he was guilty of destroying the church while the 12 had been busy at building it up. It wasn't that his authority was any less than theirs, he spends time in other passages defending that fact. He was simply honest about who he had been and made no bones about the fact that he was a work in progress (Philippians 3:12).

2. Paul Reflected God's Grace - "But by the grace of God I am what I am" Not only was Paul acutely aware that God had been merciful to him, he was also aware that he had begun a good work inside of him. He was in the middle of transforming him from the inside out. Paul reflected the grace (unmerited favor) that God had shown to him and his life was evidence of this.

3. Paul Released God's Grace -

"and His grace toward me did not prove vain;" The word "vain" there can literally be translated to "empty". Paul is saying that grace that is poured out onto you should be then poured out onto others through you. Don't be a "waste of grace" by withholding grace from others. He also says that as a result he "labored" more than the other apostles. The word "labored" holds significant weight. It's meaning is that he worked to the point of exhaustion. It was no incidental thing. Paul worked tirelessly to show grace to those who didn't know Christ without being a hypocrite.

The application in your life should be obvious. Think about yourself in view of God's grace. Have a healthy view of yourself in view of the cross. A sinner saved by grace. But don't spend all of your time dwelling on it because the person that you were is no longer the person that you are. God has transformed you.

Now comes the hard part. Show that same grace to others. Work tirelessly at it. Don't wear the mask of hypocrisy and pretend to be better than you are and don't give up and embrace a life of disobedience pretending to be open minded.

To be an authentic believer in Jesus Christ, you must receive, reflect and release God's grace to others.

Poking Jesus in the Eye

A few years ago, our family cat was really sick due to kidney failure. We visited the vet and we were told that she didn't have much time left but we could buy her some time if we would feed her an IV and give her fluids. I had decided that we were not up for that because we had young kids and I am a needle phobe but before I could inform the vet, my wife said "We'll do it." She did this for a few different reasons:

#1. She really loved that cat and it had been with her since college.
#2. She is a much better person than I am.

After a few months of treating Maychen (our cat) it was evident that she wasn't going to make it much longer. The treatments weren't having the desired effects that they had once had and we new that she was suffering. So we made the difficult decision to have the vet put her to sleep. It was very sad but we knew that it was time. Though that was a difficult time, we were not prepared for the conversation with my daughter about our beloved cat.

We pulled Savannah aside, who at the time was about 5, and broke the dreaded news to her. "Savannah, you know Maychen is sick right?" "Right". "Well, today we took her to the vet and she couldn't help her any more. They couldn't give her any medicine that would make her feel better. So Maychen died today." Savannah: "So she's with Jesus." Me: Long pause. "Yes sweetie, she's with Jesus." Look, theologically I've always been taught that this will not be the case (because animals can't accept Jesus)but PLEASE! You try to tell that to a 5 or 6 year old. Bottom line, I'm not sure what God is going to do with that. There will be a New Heaven and New Earth right? I digress. Savannah's face teared up and she bawled for about five minutes. It was gut wrenching. Then suddenly, the tears stopped abruptly. Her face hardened and her fists clenched. I asked her "Honey, are you sad?" Her jaw tightened and then she spun around and said the following words that will forever be etched in Snellings family history: "I'm not sad. I'm MAD at God!" I bit my lip trying not to laugh (yes I know it is a very sad situation...its my coping mechanism). Jenn cupped her hands over her mouth in utter shock.

Savannah then said, "When I get up into heaven, I'm going to walk up to Jesus and POKE Him in the eye." To her that was one of the worst things you could do to a person. In all honesty, it does really hurt. But to recap our reactions from before: Matt biting lip and Jenn in utter horror. Jenn is thinking "we've ruined our daughter forever" and I'm thinking "A theologian is born!!!" I think that it is really important to let kids express what they are thinking about God without judgement but there is a line. Savannah had a really strong grasp on the situation. She knew that God allowed this to happen to our cat. It was not outside of His grasp. God is sovereign. Maybe she wasn't thinking those exact words but she got the concept. I then began to explain to her that poking Jesus in the eye really isn't a great idea especially since He died for our sins and everything. She calmed down a bit but it was a teachable moment and legendary to boot.

Handling news like that is really difficult. Maybe we haven't said those exact words about Jesus but we've thought something simliar. Maybe upon hearing about a relative passing or a loved one getting the news about a a life threatening disease, we've thought. "God, I can't believe you'd do this to me." or "That's it, I'm not going to church anymore, I'm not serving, I'm not reading my Bible anymore because of this." Unconsciously we've subscribed to a theology that we probably wouldn't admit to. It is this: I do good = You give me what I want. We are treating God kind of like a cosmic vending machine. The truth is, God gives to us because He loves us, not because we earn His favor (Matthew 7:8-10). Its called grace. God's unmerited favor. It is how He imparts His salvation to us and how He preserves us until He returns. his unmerited favor (Acts 15:10-11; Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 2:8-10); . Nothing that we've done earns that gift. Conversely, bad stuff doesn't happen to us because we've colored outside of the lines (John 9:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:9-11). Sure, He wants us to obey Him (John 14:21), but He isn't waiting around for us to fail so that he can give a love one cancer or make us lose our jobs. A loving Father doesn't do that.

There is another truth at play during times such as these. God is with us. One of the names that Jesus is given is "Immanuel" or God with us. No doubt you talked about this name during the holiday season. Jesus has told us that "I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) God promises us His presence to walk us through these times. He also promises that victory has swallowed up death (1 Cor. 15:54-57). By Christ's work on the cross, Satan's power is nullified and death is not the final word. It isn't the final word for the one dying nor is it the final word for those left to deal with the aftermath. Victory is the final word. Death's power has been nullified. Christ conquered it. Take that with you this week. Impart the power of life to someone else that you know. Speak life into your conversations and be a life giving agent to someone you know. Peace.

Matt

I Press On

To say that I am not the most athletic person on the face of the planet is understating my situation by a longshot. However, I did have a brief track career running the mile in Middle School. And I don't mean to brag but there was once or twice that I didn't come in last. Stand and be amazed! Running the mile is not the easiest race to run either. You have to find a good and steady pace and push through a lot of pain to outrun your opponents. My dad gave me a good bit of advice in running this race. He said "Matt, just give up." Kidding, he didn't say that but he did say, "Breathe through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Then pick a point on the field and fix your eyes on it and don't look away from it." It turns out, that was really good advice.

I was reminded of that piece of advice when I was reading through Philippians 3:13-14 the other day.

13"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,"

• Having Laid Hold of It – Paul does not consider himself as having arrived. But arrived at what? What is it that Paul has not yet grasped? In lieu of the previous discussion (v8) it would seem that Paul is talking about the value of knowing Christ. Knowing Him, for Paul, was not just head knowledge because he made it very clear in verses 2-6 that at one time his intellectual knowledge was superior to anyone’s but more about a relationship with the Jesus he had come to know. He was still pursuing an active relationship with Christ that would only be perfected when he saw Him face to face at the resurrection. That relationship was being perfected through suffering and consequently knowing the power of His resurrection. Because you can’t fully understand real life until you know what death is. So it is important to Paul in this passage that the reader realizes that even though Paul has had superior training, mountaintop experiences and has endured extreme suffering for the sake of Christ, He has not attained some “special knowledge” about Christ. In Christianity there is no “nirvana” that you can achieve. It is a constant work in progress.

• Forgetting is the opposite of remembering . I know, I’m brilliant right? But think about this, remembering from a biblical perspective is an active, intentional act. It is not incidental. I will repeat that. Remembering is intentional not incidental. You set aside times to remember. You make a point out of doing it. So if forgetting is the opposite of that, you don’t actually wipe your memory clean do you? The memory is still there but you need to take an active part in forgetting. You set aside times to forget. You don’t hold grudges, you set those aside. You don’t blame people for setting you back, you forget all of that nonsense! There may be real pain in your past (abuse, neglect or wrongdoing) but you must set those things aside (learning from them) and move on to the next part of this passage, so that you can truly know what it means to reach the prize.

• Reaching is essential in seeing fruit in the Christian life. Of course you can’t get here until you have realized the above two. That you will never fully attain some level of perfection. Consequently you must also forget things that might hold you back from your true focus. In Scripture that is called “sin”. Hebrews tells us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” When we do that we can “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, “ (Hebrews 12:1).

14 press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

• I press on! Once you are resolute in what the goal is, you can begin to pursue it whole heartedly. There will be times, as Paul was well aware of, that you will be met with resistance. Whether it is your schedule, difficult people or even your own flesh, you can be sure that it will happen. When those times come, you must push forward. You are caught in the grip of master passion and no substitutes will quench your thirst once you truly realize this. The perfect job will not suffice, a relationship with a significant other cannot satisfy, and financial goals are useless unless they are all put into subjection to your one major passion which is to KNOW Jesus and make Him known to others.

The verb that Paul uses here for “press” is dioko which means to “hunt” or pursue”. It by no means is a passive act. You don’t do this in your free time, this is your entire schedule! This verb is also used when talking about a foot race. When running a race, your goal is to win right? So when you get to the finish line you will lean in to the finish line to get that half a second that is necessary to win over your opponent. The gospel is to be pursued like a race (1 Cor. 9:24). You must go after it. There is training involved, there are times when it is tough to keep going. When that happens you have to do what my dad said at the beginning. No, not the breathing through the nose part. You have to fix your eyes at a point, that point is Jesus because He is the prize (Hebrews 12:2).

The prize is already but not yet. It is knowing Christ in this life and looking forward to the time when you will see Him face to face. You have to have both of those to endure successfully. Knowing Christ here and now will make you useful to others (salt and light). Realizing that the community here and God’s kingdom here is not perfect will help you stay sane! In the end it comes down to realizing you haven’t arrived, forgetting what’s behind, reaching forward to what’s ahead. Then, in times when it gets difficult, PRESS ON to win the race. God bless.

The Vagabond Warrior

I have heard it said before that we are living in the toughest job market/economy since the Great Depression. I don't know if that's true but it can't be far off of the mark. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistic, the unemployment rate for September was 9.6%! The sad thing is that September was actually an improvement over the previous months. A year previous to that the unemployment rate was at 9.8. That is totally insane!!! Almost 10% of the adult population in the United States was without work. That's pretty scary. Especially for someone who is without work and LOOKING for a job. To be honest, right now that's me.

So I totally get the frustration that a lot of men are feeling during this tumultuous time. I know that men aren't the only ones feeling the crunch right now but it is the only perspective that I am qualified to speak from. Single moms and wives of men out of work also feel the pinch but I will let someone else more qualified speak from that perspective (maybe my wife will write a post in the next few weeks???). This is one of the hardest trials for a man. As men, we thrive off of providing for our families and taking care of them. I know, some might say that this is an archaic, primal instinct that we have outgrown but I personally believe that God created us/hardwired us with that instinct and it is a big part of who we are. So, as men, when that ability to provide for others is taken away, our identity is in question or at the very least takes a hit.

If you are going through this right now, I want to challenge your perspective on that. Over the past week, I started to think about another part of our identity as men, the warrior. I really believe that as men, we have the desire to fight. All you have to do is look no further than your kids to fully understand that. My son, Kaiden, is not even 2 yet. His favorite thing to do right now is punch, kick, hit and bite things to see what reaction he gets. The cats now know to run in fear when they hear his tiny footsteps. I call him, my little barbarian. ALL HAIL KAIDEN THE CONQUERER! He's a total beast.

All that to say, from the moment we are little boys, our dreams are of being soldiers, knights, Jedis, and pirates. We love the idea of going to battle over a just cause. If you are out of work right now, let me challenge you to summon your inner warrior. Strap on your shield and buckler! Just because you are not working right now doesn't mean that you don't want to or that you are somehow less of a man.

Look at it like this, as a warrior, there are times when you fight with the best of weapons and are well taken care of. You fly F16s, you have kevlar vests, you have robot drones to scout out the enemy, you have night vision goggles and plenty of backup. Then there are times when you are out on the battle field and you are cut off from support. Your shoes have holes in them, your clothes are threadbare, your AK47 jams once in a while, your rations are low and you aren't sure if you will return home. There is a verse that I've been chewing on the last few weeks here it is:

Philippians 4:11-12
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

Just think of the apostle Paul in a cold, dank jail cell penning this letter. He is waxing elequoent about joy and contentment with holes in his shoes and ragged clothes. This vagabond warrior is resolute in his mission and even witnesses to the jailer that watches him. What perseverance! Paul who calls others "fellow soldiers in Christ" had also taken a few hits. He was "beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;" This same soldier for Christ had learned the secret to winning the battle. First and foremost he let God go before him. Secondly, he learned that a fierce warrior must learn how to be okay with his circumstances regardless of his environment. Warriors train in a variety of settings so that they can be ready for anything. That includes their financial situation. Paul had experienced some pretty amazing highs and some exceptionally bad lows.


When you have been to great depths, something crazy happens. You think to yourself, "I have lived out the worst case scenario...and SURVIVED!" It allows you to realize that you don't have to play it safe to succeed and as a matter of fact it shows a lack of faith to live your life in that way. Suffering need allows you to hunger for the right things and gives you a proper perspective on life. In the times of prosperity he will remember the times when he was hungry and not take it for granted. So that whatever circumstances they are dropped in, their environment won't effect the fight.

What battle are you engaged in right now? Do you feel ill equipped to handle the Enemy? Do you feel his hot breathe breathing down your neck, unable to defeat him? Remember that God is with you. Remember that He is for you and no one can be against you. (Romans 8:31) Remember that a vagabond warrior isn't reliant on his weapons of warfare but the General that fights ahead of Him and trust that He is with you. Trust that He is working "all things together for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) Don't let your circumstances destroy God's plan for your life. Fight and know that the best chance of survival that you have is to stay close to the Lord of Lord's and King of Kings.

Fresh Start

About a week ago I was on my way to a meeting and needed to check some details of the appointment. Fortunately I had my laptop with me so I cracked it open so I could check the notes that I had made earlier. A weird message popped up and it asked me if I wanted to start the recovery process. Feeling like I wasn't ready for such a big step, I quickly closed my computer and went to the appointment. It should be no surprise that when I got home the problem did not go away and I was confronted with the same dilemma of picking which type of recovery I wanted the system to perform. I picked option three. Much later when I went to the Geek Squad at Best Buy the technician behind the counter was kind enough to tell me that I should have picked the first option. That information really would have been helpful to me THE DAY BEFORE!!! It would have been helpful because instead of "recovering" my information on my computer, it actually wiped my computer's memory CLEAN! No, I hadn't backed up all of the files but some, I emphasize SOME, were on an external hard drive. However, a large amount of information had been completely lost and I was later told that it was "unrecoverable".

I wish I could say that at that point I quoted Romans 8:28 "God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose." but instead, I FREAKED! I had spent all summer working on various projects, collecting quotes from various people, taking notes on books I've read and all of the details of jobs I was interviewing for were on the computer (not the hard drive). For about a day I stressed over the lost information and postulating over what could be done to recover it. I blamed the computer, the company that created the computer, congress, my kids who probably touched the computer and Miley Cyrus. Sorry for that last one, I just needed a reason. So I pouted, sulked and waxed eloquent to my wife Jenn about the intricacies of warning messages and how this company could improve its service to their consumer base.

The very next day, something weird happened. It was like the day before I had purged myself of my dependence on all of the information that was deleted. After talking to the helpful man at the Geek Squad I was completely and totally calm. I was free! I no longer had to worry about how much money I needed to spend to make the problem go away or where I had stored a particular document. There was nothing to recover! A bizarre sense of satisfaction came over me and I actually felt "lighter" for lack of a better word. I had a chance at a fresh start for my computer. I could organize the files a little more coherently, I could collect better quotes and I could install better programs on my computer.

Its pretty relieving to get a fresh start isn't it? Its nice to get a "do over". If there is a really important relationship in your life and someone has forgiven you for the hurt you have caused in their life..."do over". If you have royally screwed up at work and your boss gives you another chance at a big project..."do over". Maybe you have just moved to a new house and you have another chance at being good neighbors..."do over". God gives us second chances every day. In Lamentations 3:22-24 the prophet Jeremiah writes:

"The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."

This verse occurs in a book, as the name might indicate, of pure lament and sorrow. Jeremiah has been faithful to the Lord to preach His message but hasn't seen fruit from his dedication and persecution. Yet, he is able to write this verse and say that God's mercy and love is new every morning. If that is true for him, it is definitely true for us. As many have said before me, God is a God of second chances. Every morning that you wake up is a new day and a day that you can set things in the right direction, despite what turn they took the day before. God is relentless in His love for you and allows you to have a fresh start. What do you need to let go of so that God can wipe the slate clean for you? What do you need to ask Him forgiveness for so that you can experience His mercy? Go to Him in prayer and ask and then know that you can be free from the guilt and darkness that seizes you. Pray for power to be obedient to Him and serve Him and others the way that He wants you to as a result of that freedom.