First, if someone came up to me and said, “I really like you man, but I just can’t stand your wife”, I would probably punch that guy in the throat! Well, maybe not, but I would certainly think about doing it. Now, I know Jesus is much kinder than me, but something in me says that hating on Jesus’ church, which the Bible calls his bride is not a good idea. Jesus died for the church, He gave His life for the church. He prayed, and prays for His sheep. He patiently draws and loves and protects his own. The Bible instructs husbands in Ephesians to love their wives like Jesus loves the church, to be willing to lay down their life for their wife, as Jesus laid His down for the church. Bottom line, the church, as dysfunctional as she is at times, is full of people that Jesus loves and is committed to leading into an obedient and worshipful relationship with Him. When Jesus said to Peter, “I will build my church and the gates of hell won’t prevail against it”, I believe he meant it. So, don’t find yourself on the side of the “gates of hell”. Jesus is building the church, and nothing in this world or underworld is going to stop it, not even your “gloriously self-entitled opinion”!

The next thought I have is this… If people are saying, “I love Jesus, but can’t stand the church”, could there be a lesson the people of God could glean in that albeit arrogant and hypocritical statement? I am one who tends to think, in most criticism there is a shred of truth that is hard to find, but to those who are willing to listen and find it, they are better off because of it. In this scenario, I think that if the church, was more in love with Jesus, than their “church” very few people would have the audacity to say they “love Jesus, but can’t stand the church”. If they really love Jesus, and we really love Jesus, doesn’t simple logic stand to reason that we would love each other? Bottom line, as the church I need to unashamedly be in love with Jesus, I need to trumpet the victory of Jesus! We need to focus on the centrality of Jesus and let Him be the dividing line, not our preference of style or church program.

In an ideal world… there are two kinds of people. Those who love Jesus, and consequently love the church, because the church is Jesus’ Bride, his chosen possession. And those who hate Jesus, because of everything He stands for, and consequently hate the church, because the church is full of people who love Jesus! Now I know the world is not ideal, but maybe if we held an image in our hearts of how it could be, of how it should be, it would be a whole lot more like it on most days than not!

That is simply amazing… if you keep reading through Job however, you start to see confusion and discouragement set in to Job as he converses with his “friends” trying to understand why this just happened. Interestingly, after “much talk” has transpired, God breaks into the situation in Job 38 and begins to declare who he really is. Layer after layer, he just declares his might, power, and sovereignty. He tells Job to brace himself like a man, for he will question him, and he wants Job to respond. WOW! Who ever thought God doesn’t know how to talk to men, that is direct!

God begins by showing Job all that He has created asking Job if he “knows” how He did it, or how it is sustained. Obviously Job is clueless, he doesn’t know. Finally after many, many declarations from God concerning who He is, Job responds with repentance and he says, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. ”You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

So Job repents for speaking of things he did not know, for trying to “get to the bottom of it”. When we face things in life that we can’t understand, that don’t seem fair, just, or understandable we must remember this story of Job. The problem that occurred here in this story was that in their despair Job and his friends spoke of God incorrectly. At the end of story, Job’s friends were told by God to repent and ask Job to make sacrifices for them so God would not deal with them according to their folly. And what was that folly? They saw, and portrayed God incorrectly. They had an inaccurate God picture. 

What is your God picture? Is it shaped by scripture? Or is it being shaped by popular literature? (they are plenty of “border-line” books out today that are trying to re-shape and re-imagine God) By experience? By your obsession with having to totally and always understand?

What about after you experience pain, loss, failure, and trial? Has your God picture descended into the realms of human opinion? What is your God picture right now? And, what will your God picture be tomorrow and for the future? Fight for a biblical God picture! God is sovereign, good, just, gracious, merciful, and mighty, even if my circumstances, my flesh, and emotions are wanting to say otherwise.

Job 1:20,21 ”Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

New Macbook

Now this makes me want to spend money! I am an unashamed Apple fanatic! I love their products and love their design. This is the new Macbook in all of it’s glory… just let it sink in… let it woo you… let it draw you TO GO into debt! No, just kidding… it starts at a decent $1299. The big feature is the WAY faster graphics card and the “unibody” design. I have to admit, the idea that this piece of beauty was entirely crafted from one single piece of aluminum is quite a design and engineering feet.

Bottom line, I am impressed I like it… not just for the outside… but for the inside too!

Check me out…

Me in the 50's

Me in the 70's

Me in the 80's

Me in the 90's and very overweight

So, that is how vacation started, but it ended much better than that. We made it home safely, everyone enjoying the week we had spent together. On this vacation, as I mentioned earlier, there were many things that could have “stolen” the joy. Like the weather, car accidents, and fussing children. I wish I could say that it was never a fight to keep a right attitude, it wasn’t that easy. But, the lesson is clear. We chose fun, and we had it. 

Getting back in the swing of things now and excited to be back!

No great words of wisdom, except, enjoying life is a choice. We have had some crazy weather up here, not very summer like. However, it has been fun and relaxing, and that is the choice we made.

Remember that cheesy saying, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. It is a choice. I want to choose fun!

So make your choice today!

Regardless, these pre-season games are helping to warm me up to football season. The greatest sports season of the year! Go Hawks! And… after that… Go Patriots!

(No bad comments… I DO like the Patriots!)

If you are in ministry, or desire to be, listen up. The devil has, will, and will continue to “prompt” people. He will continue working in his dark ways, and unfortunately people will get caught up in it. It is sad, but it is fact. I notice here that Jesus had no stress over it, he undoubtedly loved Judas, but he “knew” what was going on. Instead of focusing on the enemy and his unceasing activity, Jesus focused on His Father, that fact that He knew Him, that He had a mission from Him, and that ultimately His destination was to be back with Him. I love this example from Jesus.

Instead of focusing on what the devil is doing, Jesus focused on what the Father was doing in and through Him! What an example! Here is the deal… there are going to be casualties, in your ministry, in your circle of friends, even Jesus saw one of “his 12″ fall to the enemy. Jesus could get down about it, lose his confidence, think He must be a bad leader, and get depressed. Or, He could choose to focus on the Father and His identity within that. From that point of decision, to focus on who He was in the big plan, He gained the necessary motivation to serve, give, and continue to lead on by example for those who were following Him. 

Is there something in your life that you could focus on that could bring you down? The answer is YES… the devil is working, with some people you lead, it may look like he is winning! But don’t let that stop you from focusing on your identity in Christ, in the grand scope of the Father’s plan. Lead on, serve on, keep on giving, with all you got!

I was privileged to hear Paul Scanlon, pastor of Abundant Life Church in Bradford England. His message of the love of God was inspiring and challenging. His point that Christ lived an inclusive life, his grace was without condition, and it changed people’s lives. He stressed that we not be “selective” in our approach to sharing the gospel, but that like the sower of the seed Matthew 13, we need to cast the seed everywhere, irrespective of what may come of it. For how do we know who will respond, and who deserves a second chance?

Along with Scanlon, Craig Groeschel, pastor of lifechurch.tv was at the conference. His message on vision and the markers along the way to a God-vision was practical and insightful. He shared about the Spirit Prompting, the Certain Uncertainty that follows that leading, the predictable resistance the is brought by the enemy, and finally the uncommon clarity that comes when we press through and see what God sees. I want to be a leader with great vision, with a greater clarity on how God sees things. How about you?

Drafting… is the main illustration. When a car gets in close right behind another and drafts them, they are using the strength and speed of the one ahead of them to help them in the race. Or, the peleton. The peleton is the mass of bikes in the Tour De’ France. I know no one cares about this, cuz all these bikers cheat anyway, but still the illustration applies. When you draft others by staying in the peleton, you increase your chances of success because you are better together, than apart.

I follow blogs that are for me, this very thing. I draft others to help in the “race”. I believe that we are better off together than apart. What do you think?