Friday, February 27, 2009

The Prodigal...Friend

Today I was listening to Nichole Nordeman's song "Lay It Down", which is based upon the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. If you've never heard the song, you can listen to it online by clicking here....or, if that doesnt work for you, the lyrics to the song are here.

It's been some time ago, but we studied this scripture one time in class at which time I made the reference to the old Tom Bodett commercials for Motel 6...where he always said "We'll leave the light on for you" (a slogan still on the Motel 6 website today by the way). That's just the way it is with God...he will ALWAYS leave the light on for YOU.

Not sure why, but I started thinking about recent discussions we've had in class about Facebook and how since getting on FB, I've had contact with so many "long lost" friends from high school, college, and beyond that I havent heard from in years. I know we've discussed how FB can be a bad thing (if you spend too much time on there and neglect your family for instance), but I also thought about how since joining, I've:

  • discussed /recommended my Church to a friend of a friend who just moved to town

  • traded numerous messages with people about prayer life and God's working in our lives

  • Praised God via my "status message"

  • Let my Faith in God be known on "my wall"

  • joined the group "bet I can find 10,000 Christians on FB"

See, it's much like a lot of things in our lives...it is what we make it and God can and will use it to further his Kingdom, whether we choose to be a part of it or not.

So here's my question to you...listen to "Lay It Down" (or read the lyrics). Is there a "friend" on FB that needs to hear how Jesus Christ has changed your life? Look at your "friend count" next time you login. Out of all those people, wanna bet there's at least one that feels like they're "carrying the weight of most the world" and they'd like to "come back home"? I'm not saying you have to shove it down everyone's throats, but hey...have you thought about things like:

  • Set your status message to something that says "Kevin is always amazed by God" or "Kevin is praying BIG" (you might use your name instead)

  • Put info in your profile that let's people know about your faith. They might ask you about it.

  • You can even set your "website" in your FB profile to be the link to this blog!

Regardless, you get the idea. If you're not on FB, the analogy still works...let your faith be known to those you come in contact with every day. In even the smallest and most "normal" of situations. You never know, you might help bring a long lost prodigal friend home to our Risen Savior.

And finally, go back thru the story in Luke 15. When the prodigal son came home, the father didn't just give him a hug or shout to tell a friend...he threw an unbelievably HUGE party...because the son "who was dead is now alive". Get a sense of what's at stake? KO

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see!
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

Sometimes I'm sad. I know not why
My heart is sore distressed;
It seems the burdens of this world
Have settled on my heart.
And yet I know..I know that God
Who doeth all things right
Will lead me thus to understand
To walk by FAITH ...not sight.
And though I may not see the way
He's planned for me to go...
That way seems dark to me just now
But oh, I'm sure HE knows!
Today He guides my feeble step
Tomorrow's in His right...
He has asked me to never fear...
But walk by FAITH, not sight.
Some day the mists will roll away,
The sun will shine again.
I'll see the beauty in the flowers.
I'll hear the bird's refrain.
And then I'll know my Father's hand
Has led the way to light
Because I placed my hand in HIS
And walked by FAITH, not sight.

Poem by Ruth A. Morgan
God's Little Devotional Book for Women

Monday, February 23, 2009

Walking through the Wilderness

Ok, so: It’s no secret. I’m walking through this valley called the ‘Wilderness’- Most of you know right were I stand and I’m not pretending anymore to act like I’m not hurting. It’s hard for me. I’m supposed to be the one who helps everyone else. The one who is not allowed to hurt because I’m so head over hills for Jesus. You can’t possibly travel this road when you love the Lord this much. It’s just not fair. Yep, that’s right where I’ve been. The closer I get to Jesus, the harder the attack. The bigger the lies and you guessed it- The harder you fall. The last 11 months have been horrible as we have tried to start a family. Well, the first 6 wasn’t that bad until October when my only grandfather died, I mis-carried our first baby, and my father-in-law had a stroke ALL within 1 week. Wow. One week.

What do I do now? Do I just pick myself up and move on or allow myself to be consumed by Satan’s lies that God has totally forgotten about me? Do I believe that God is punishing me? Do I believe that He doesn’t care that I am hurting this badly? God, where are you? Why are you letting this happen? I know, Lord, I have been praying to grow in you for the last year but I DON’T WANT TO GO THROUGH ANYTHING THAT HURTS, ESPECIALLY TO THIS EXTENT. I cannot even begin to tell you how Satan has tormented me. How he has made me feel so inadequate in every way. You know what? That is his specialty. Look at what he did to Jesus when he was in the wilderness. He chose to tempt him there. Satan is not new to this. How do you think he has made me feel? Do you know how Satan has used everyone else’s blessings to make me feel alone, and abandoned and inadequate? He’s great at it. Well, he WAS that is until my blinders flew off. For the last few weeks, I have been praying for Peace. The kind that is above anything I can even comprehend. God is allowing me to see what is happening here. He is showing me what He is doing. He is building me up for something incredible. It’s an everyday thing. I wake up and have an AMAZING time with the Lord-- A time of utter praise and peace and joy. Then, REALITY. Off to work and into the world. One minute I'm fine, next minute back in the wilderness. I can literally end up in the wilderness and NEVER even knew I left the city. Satan is relentless. He doesn’t let up. He is really starting to get pretty predictable quite honestly. It’s amazing the mornings God blesses me through conversation with Him are the days I get attacked the worst. I mean you can just bet on it. It’s been a journey. One that I pray I can use to further His kingdom. It’s not over. I love the Lord so much. I know better than to believe the Father of Lies. Everyone has a wilderness. If you’re not in it, BRACE YOURSELF. It’s coming. You can choose to believe all the lies or you can choose to seek shelter in a storm. I can’t imagine running into the ocean when a hurricane is coming, but people do it everyday. In the mean time, I have to keep my head up and pray my way through it. It hurts and the tears fall every day, but I know MY God is not doing this to me, but FOR me. I don’t yet understand it all. I do know that faith is not thinking He can, but knowing He will. I am trying to rejoice in my suffering knowing that He is perfecting me. For we know, perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18) I can come through this bitter or better. I can run away or to Him. I’m choosing to rest. To rest in the fact that God loves me enough to use me. I feel almost honored that he knows I will not crumble. I feel like Job. I’m going to act like Job. That doesn’t mean it’s not hard. It’s awful. But I’m not doing this alone. Praise to his Holy Name!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Dealt With!



Well, I always believe that if you miss SS class not only are you missed, but you also miss something as well. If you weren't in class today...saying you missed something is an understatement!

Today in class, a member of our class presented me with a package, with a label on the outside that said "Deal With It". Inside the package was the large women's underwear that you see in the photo. You see, this person has said before in class..."sometimes you just have to put your big girl panties on". When it comes to having faith, even in the hard times, the scary times, the darkest of all times...I can say with all sincerity, she walks the walk.

As part of dealing with it, I decided to put the letters that spell "FAITH" across the backside. Yeah, that works. Some girls wear shorts that say "Cheer" or "Dance" on the back...but I think I'll stick with this.

Today I showed an extremely cheesy, horrible quality video slideshow of the Owen family, from mine and Lez's first years of marriage, through one kid, then two kids, three different houses, three dogs, too many beta fish to remember, and as Lezlee noted, a lot of vacations (basically we only take pictures when on vacation...other than vacations there is actually no real proof that our children even exist). Well, I did this because I wanted everyone to see that as we go thru life, we face so many different situations. In these times, we can choose to either "LIVE BY FAITH" or, as I called it, "LIVE BY SELF" (i.e. being guided by our own thoughts and desires). While I think its fair to say that Lez and I didn't always live by faith, especially in those early years, I am thankful that God has not only protected us, but has shown us the true blessings of trusting HIM in life's situations...that is, living by faith. I've found NOTHING more rewarding in life.

I passed out some questions which I hope you'll consider for next week. I'd love to hear about things you've faced in your life. Times you've either lived by faith, or lived by self...and what God has shown you in each. You see, we're not going to get it right everytime. The key is, remembering those times when we actually do get it right and live by faith...and how blessed we are from it!

Assuming I'm still allowed to teach, I'll see you next week. Hold on...Brother Chuck's on the phone...wonder what he could want

Sunday, February 15, 2009

I don't know why, but...

This posting is a bit of a follow up to the one below. Today, when pedaling my bicycle against 20 mph winds there's some things I just couldnt get out of my head related to the marathon example below. Back in November of this past year, I decided that I was going to train to run the Country Music Marathon on April 25, 2009. Since doing my first one in 2006, I had trained for one in 2008 but got hurt before I could do it. However, that's because I was running too fast and didn't train smart. This year, I decided to run slower and train smarter and was happily on my way. I even found some friends who were training to run their first marathon and we began running together, and I was grateful to have friends to run with. I was running slower and feeling great...not even some of the normal nagging issues I can get when running a lot of miles.

In early January, in one of the most freakish scenarios I could ever imagine, I severly hurt my left knee during a run. My doctor told me that while it could take up to 8 weeks to heal, he felt I would probably heal quicker and could run again in 2-3 weeks. Well, after sitting out for 3 weeks, I tried running again and found myself back to square one with unbelievable pain in my knee. Another 2 weeks and I tried again...same result. Basically, I had no shot at running the marathon in April. Meanwhile, my friends are doing great. They did a 20 mile run this weekend and are well on their way. I'm very happy for them, but must admit, I'm very disappointed that I'm not with them. Every time I talk to them about it, I have to admit it bothers me. I just cant help it.

As part of dealing with my disappointment, I decided I would start riding my bike again and train for a race called the "3 state 3 mountain challenge"...to be held in Chatanooga the week after the marathon. I even called a friend of mine, an avid cyclist, to see if he'd join me. He said he'd love to, but that he'd decided to train to run the Marathon and since that's the week before, could not do both. His training is going well and he's well on his way to doing his first marathon. I've also got two co workers who are also training to run the marathon in April, a first for both of them.

It's funny, last year pretty much everyone I talked to said I was crazy for trying to run a full marathon, and I never came close to having friends to train with me. This year, it seems everytime I turn around someone I know is well on their way to doing what I desperately want to do myself, but cannot.

Why did God decide not to allow me to do this? Why are so many people around me able to do something I cannot? Honestly, I don't know, but...I do know this: God is doing something here...something for my good... and, one of these days, I'll get to see what it is. In the meantime, I'll just keep pedaling against the wind and I'll cheer for and encourage my friends.

I BELIEVE THAT GOD IS GOOD.

"Let's go in together..."

Today in our class we continued our study on The Full Armor of God by talking about the "shield of faith". How would our lives be different if, in every situation, we fully trusted and believed in God to protect us, no matter what? What if we faced every single day with the complete confidence that God was there for us and would in every way provide for our good? In other words, what if we had absolute, everyday, unwavering, PERFECT FAITH?

I think no matter our situation, no matter what life brings us, we all face one or more times in our lives where we struggle with our faith. Sure, we believe in God...but like they say, do we really BELIEVE GOD? Like everything else in life, even our faith gets tested. So why can't we have perfect faith?

First of all, let me say that nothing else about us is perfect, so why should our faith be? Once again, we try to do things all on our own, even our faith, and then get frustrated when we fall short. Secondly, Hebrews 12:2, tells us that Jesus is the "author and perfecter of our faith". Like everything else, our faith is dependent on our ability to fully rely and trust in God AND WE CANNOT do it on our own. In fact, we looked at Mark 9:23-24, where a man, when told by Jesus that "everything is possible for him who believes"...simply replied "help me overcome my unbelief!". Sometimes we just need to pray for God to help us with our faith!

Since my role seems to be to provide silly examples, I gave the illustration this morning of one of the hardest physical challenges I've ever faced. Three years ago this week, I ran my first (and only thus far) marathon. As I got to about mile 23, I was (to say the least) exhausted, hurting EVERYWHERE, and not sure I would be able to finish. A guy who had been a little bit in front of me for some time, waited for me to get up to him and said to me "Let's go in together". He proceeded to talk to me (as much as talking is possible at that point) about this being his third marathon and how the ending is just this way and that we'd make it together. Yeah, I made it across the finish line.

To me, that is like my Savior, who has run the ultimate race and paid the ultimate price for every person who ever has and ever will step foot on this earth. He is there for me even when all I have left in me is a simple prayer for my unbelief! No matter where I am, he'll always say "Let's go in together".

Peace out.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Silver...

This was provided by a member of our class...thanks!

Malachi 3:3 says:

'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:
'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy --when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Must be the shoes...

This week we continued our study on The Full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) by talking about having our "feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" (verse 15). Since we're fitting our feet, we'll call these our Battle Shoes.

So what is it about shoes? I know one person that has over 90 pair of shoes! My 5 yr old son basically has 2 pair...his tennis shoes covering approx 99.5% of his life and his "stompin' shoes" which we occasionaly can get him to wear to Church.

So what benefits do shoes provide?

Protection
Comfort
Traction
Performance ("I can run fast in my new shoes")
Support

Ever run to the mailbox on an aggregate driveway with no shoes? Ouch!

But what does it mean that these come from the "gospel of peace"? Well, we get our peace through Jesus. Check this out...Romans 5:1-2

So it sounds to me as if in order to put on our battle shoes, we need to find peace in our lives. The question is, how do we find peace in our lives?

1) Choose Him - we're always seeking peace in so many other things than God. We look for peace by pouring ourselves into our jobs, friends, money, hobbies/material things and then wind up disappointed when there is ultimately no peace. Putting on our battle shoes starts with choosing God in our lives. Like the bumper sticker says: No Jesus No Peace. Know Jesus Know Peace.

2) His Word - remember, the belt of truth we talked about? (see Warrior Bugs post). Take a look at Psalm 119:165. That's right, the Bible brings us peace!

If you're like me, you may be saying..."I try hard to put God first and I often read and study the Bible...but I still don't always have peace". Why is it that there are times in our lives when we can't find peace? Why is it that sometimes we feel as though God is nowhere around? Honestly, I don't know. But I do know that there is one more source of peace that we need to add to this list...a word that ultimately determines our peace...

3) Faith - probably the best way for us to understand faith is given to us in Hebrews 11:1. Notice the key phrase here..."evidence of things not seen". Quite frankly, it doesn't take a lot of faith for me to say I believe something that I've already witnessed. Sometimes that's where it is for us as Christians...we don't know why things are the way they are...why we feel the way we do...why we don't have the answers...why we don't know what the future holds. Sometimes OUR FAITH is all we have...and all we need!

Think of FAITH as the "shoe horn" that helps you get your battle shoes on...even on days when it feels like they just won't quite go on.