new: me

Love the show on NBC called the "Biggest Loser." In fact, a new season starts this coming Tuesday. Every January people get the itch to start all over, redo themselves, change something about themselves or their circumstances, better themselves. The Biggest Loser is all about people wanting to change their physical look and along with it their mental and emotional state.

We love NEW things. New toys, new movies, new shows, new clothes, new hair styles, the latest looks, trends-- the in thing-- the new thing. Even God is in the NEW business. In 2 Corinthians 5.17 it says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Although you may be familiar with that verse of scripture, do you live it? Do you find it hard to make it a reality in your life? Do you feel like a new creation? What do we have to do to become new?

First step, first... Repent from he OLD. Tell God you are sincerely sorry for your PAST. In Jeremiah 31.19 it says: " I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days." Before moving on to the new you, repent and separate from the old you.

SHIFT

During the Thanksgiving Holidays I had a chance to sit down and put pen to paper. (It's a lot different then sitting at a keyboard.) I sat down in a comfy chair outside The Limited Too in The Perimeter Mall in Atlanta. I had my leather bound journal with me and a pencil. I began to write. It started turning into some loose form of a poem/prayer to God and the word that kept creeping up was "SHIFT." The refrain was "shift me, shift me, shift me oh God to the right place."

I remember Pastor Mike Cowart had defined righteousness as "right positioning." Being at the right place at the right time. I'll add-- with the right intentions.

So my prayer for the past week or so is for God to SHIFT me to the right place. Shift my heart, shift my mind, shift my desires. That everything is in alignment with His will.

On Wednesday night, we will explore this SHIFTING. How does God shift us? Why? Are there benefits to being shifted? Are there negative consequences for not shifting? When does shifting end or is it a never-ending process?

Baggage Claim

When you go on a trip... You pack the stuff you thik you will need. How silly of us if we were going to the Bahamas for summer vacation and we not only packed huge coats and mittens, but decided to take the computer (not the laptop mind you) along with the monitor and the printer, and maybe for the three day trip-- take enough clothes for a whole month?

In our our journey to get closer with God as well as grow to be be more like Jesus, God says don't take any baggage with you. He tells us in Matthew 11.28 "If you are tired of carrying heavy loads, come to me and I will giv eyou rest." And in 1 Peter 5.7 it says "Cast all your cares (anxiety, worry, stress) on God for he will care (he will stress, he will do the worrying) for you."

Before continuing on your trip, give all the excess stuff you don't need to God. Leave all the baggage with Him. he will more than gladly take it from you.

TONIGHT: HOSTAGE

we all struggle with STUFF... sometimes that STUFF gets strong enough to hold us HOSTAGE... how do you get FREE when something controls your every breath?

Jesus tells us you cant take back your life from the STRONGMAN's control until you TIE him up.

Matthew 12:29
"How can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house."

Surrender

This month we have been talking about "Surrender." What do we need to surrender to God? How do we go about surrendering things? Last night, we touched on who helps us when we are in the process of surrendering to God-- The Holy Spirit. His job as a counselor is to teach us and remind us of all things. Read about it in John 14.25-27.

my tv: the biggest loser

I am loving "The Biggest Loser." It comes on Tuesday nights at 8PM and you get to follow 16 or so individuals who struggle with physical and health complications due to weight. What attracts me to this show is the determination these contestants exhibit. They are put through emotional and physical stress. They are forced to admit their shortcomings to themselves-- ON NATIONAL TV!... and yet, they have a goal and those that are not detoured, those that are determined-- make it to the end. God wants us to develop that muscle of determination. If we start something, let's finish it up. I think we find it easier to quit, give up-- but those that are determined to finish get the reward.

my tv: lost: FLASHFORWARD

I know. I know. I've already talked about my favorite TV show before. But it was more than a year ago. And seeing as I'll have to wait till FEB 2008 to see any new episodes-- I think you can bare with me. Besides... The subject matter at hand I think will be helpful.

For three years Lost has followed the lives of these plane crash survivors. And each episode follows the life of one survivor using flashbacks of their life before the plane crash. So for about 66 some odd episodes we have gathered information about these peoples past.

However, in a great twist-- the season finale of season three had us following what we thought was Jack Shepherd's past yet again. But some things were out of wack. And finally, near the end-- it is revealed that the flashbacks we were seeing were actually FLASHFORWARDS of what life is going to be after they get rescued.

I am not of the thought that we must ignore our past. In most cases, we are the product of what has happened to us. Sometimes that is good (a good upbringing usually produces a well mannered young adult). However, there are times that bad, sometimes horrible things happen and that in turn shapes us as we grow.

In Isaiah 43.18 part b, God says: Do not dwell on the past. Dwell means to to live or stay as a permanent resident. To reside in a place. And God is saying don't live your life in the past. Don't let your mind get stuck thinking about everything that has happened to you (whether it be good or bad). Either way, dwelling in the past has you facing in the wrong direction. Dwelling in the past has you ignoring the present and oblivious to the future.

Instead-- God offers this bit of wisdom in the book of Proverbs: Fix your gaze directly in front of you. Your eyes are in the front of your head for a reason. If not, you'd be stumbling. God wants us to have our gaze fixed on what is coming to us, not what has passed by us.

Is He saying that what happened in the past is not important? Nope. He is saying that it isn't as important as what is going to happen in the future. We need to put our past in perspective. It is what has happened. Now lets' be excited for what is coming ahead.

Instead continuing more seasons of "Lost" with flashbacks, the creator of the show has said that now they have turned a pivotal point. From now on there will be FLASHFOWARDS to show where these characters are going to be in the future.

If a show that has no real importance knows the value of looking ahead and not dwelling on the past-- then we definitely need to learn the benefits of fixing our gaze on what is in front of us.

Tomorrow night...

Threshold

Last night we discussed what a threshold is... a passage from something to something else. In 1 Corinthians 13.11 it says that when I was a child, I talked, thought and reasoned like a child. Now that I have become a man (woman), I have put those childish ways behind me.

As a teen: are you putting childish talk and actions behind you?
As a Christ-follower: are you putting worldly talk and actions behind you?

Are you maturing? When you decide to cross the threshold, you step into harder choices, responsibility, and there is greater expectations of you. However, there are also awesome benefits to crossing over: with more responsibility comes greater rewards, with maturity comes greater freedom.

Read Joshua 1. In it you will see that God tells Joshua, Moses' right hand man, that it is time to stop wandering in the desert and cross the Jordan river into the "promised land." Finally the children of Israel are getting what God has promised them... what they have to do is cross over. Threshold hold again. Stop thinking like they have been thinking for the past 40 years (survival mode) and start thinking like warriors.

Decide today to cross the threshold. To leave the old ways of thinking and doing things behind you. To say that "When I was a child I used to talk, think and act like a child... but now I have decided to put those things behind me."

lemme share something

I was studying for next Wednesday. We will be discussing Moses. And I ran across this and thought I would share:

"Within both Egyptian and Hebrew culture it was believed that a person's name revealed the very essence of one bearing it. It is for that reason that the Bible will sometimes explain a name (such as that of Moses, for example) or it will recount the changing of a name to better reflect a person (such as when Jacob became Israel and Abram became Abraham).
The ancient Egyptians and Hebrews took their belief that a name was to be the exact representation of the person one step further. They believed that to know a person's name was to know that person wholly and utterly, even to the extent of sometimes having power and authority over that person." from the devotion "I AM WHO I AM"

This makes the request Moses made of God even more profound. When Moses saw the burning bush and turned towards it, God called to Moses. He gave Moses the charge to go back to Egypt. AND THEN Moses asked, "Whom shall I say is sending me?" In a nutshell Moses was saying: I want to KNOW you. I want to know the real you. I want to wholly and utterly know God.

This in it of itself is amazing. From the get go, Moses wanted more than a superficial relationship with God. He wanted to know his NAME. His very being. His essence. His power. His authority.

Learn from Moses. Follow his lead. ASK GOD QUESTIONS. Get to know Him. Test Him. Confront Him. Turn around and see the burning bush. And when He calls your name, say "Here I Am."

in sync

Psalms 26.3 says: So I never lose sight of your love, But keep in step with you, never missing a beat. [MSG]

God has a beat. A heart beat. We have to make His hearbeat our heartbeat. When it isn't, then we are off beat and we "sound" bad. But when we listen and learn (from His Word) his rhythm and immitate His beat, then He showers us with blessings (good stuff).

How do we get in sync with God?

S= be saved. This is the first, most basic step. The only way you can hear Him is to be a part of His family. You have to confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

Y= begin to yield. The Holy SPirit live sin you and is constantly speaking to you. Teaching you. Guiding you. You have to stop and listen to the still small voice. The more you yeild to his voice, the stronger it gets.

N= never give up. Even the most tight bands get off beat at times. It happens. When you get off beat from God, don't give up. Decide right now that no matter what you will strive to stay on beat. And if you have a set back, it won't stop you.

C= become contagious. People who are in sync with God are simply contagious. They have an inner peace and joy. They don't care who ridicules becuase having God's heartbeat makes them confident.

this & that

The story goes as follows: God promised Abraham that his family would be so big-- you couldn't count 'em. Abraham waited what seemed like forever for the promise to come true. Finally, when Abraham and Sarah were very old, they had a son, Isaac. Then God decided to test Abraham. He told Abraham to give up his son.

Can you imagine the three day trek Abrham had to take to the moutain where he was going to sacrifice his son? There must have been tears. The inner turmoil.

God wants us to get rid of our "this" to make room for God's "that." Abraham's "this" was his son. God was testing him to see if his "this" would get in the way. Did Abraham love his "this" more than his God. Becuase Abrham did not spare his "this" then God promised to bless (good stuff) him tremendously.

When we get rid of the "this" in our lives then God's good stuff has room. He wants to pour in to our lives with limit... but we have "this" things that stand in the way. "This" things take up our time, our energy, our money, our attention. Some examples of "this" things are...
Attitudes: Rebillious attitude. I-Don't-Care Attitudes. We need to break 'em. We need to dispose of our "this" attitude becuase God wants to give you good stuff like peace, love, joy.
Habits: Things we do over and over again. It may be web sites, chat rooms, relationships that do not advance our life as Christians. In fact, they detour us from our journey to be more like Christ.
Hobbies: Not every "this" in our life is necessarily bad. But some of us have so many things we doing that they push God further and further down the priority list. Evaluate your activies, you hobbies. Are you doing things that are just busy stuff and push God out of the way.

I challeng you to get rid of one "this" thing today. Just one! It can be the easiest thing. And when you get rid of that "this" thing in your life, you will realize that you are have made room for God's "that". His "that" is so much better. Perfect even.

Ziplock God

My wife uses ziplock baggies for everything. Obviously for food-- sandwiches, crackers, fruit, vegetables-- but also for traveling-- jewelry, clothes, toiletries. She uses the plastic bags to separate, protect and keep things safe.

God is a ziplock kind of God. In John 10.27-30, Jesus says that no one (especially the Destroyer and Thief) can snatch them (sheep) out of his hands. When we put our life in God's hand, we know we will be protected and safe no matter what.

So how do we get in God's hand? Verse 27 says we must "listen and follow" him. To be underneath God's umbrella of protection, we must listen to Him and follow Him. We can listen to Him by attending church serves (like the turnaround on Wednesday nights and Sunday morning). But we don;t have to go to church to listen from God. We can read His word, meditate on Scripture, sing songs that praise Him.

How do we follow Him? Put what ever you "heard" while listening to Him into practice. The word "follow" is an action verb. So put your faith in action. When confronted with a choice between doing right and doing wrong-- chose to do right. To follow Him means to be like Him, do what He would do, speak like He would speak.

Personally, whenever I am disobedient or don't listen and follow Him, I step from underneath His umbrella of protection and feel vulnerable. Get under God's umbrella, ella, ella-- ehh ehh ehh.

ziplock god

John 10.27-29

the turnaround

Coming Up...

Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night we'll conclude our series on "A Daily Dose Of..." with KINDNESS. To recap tho, we talked about FORGIVENESS on the first Wednesday of this month. Remeber: Un-forgiveness builds a wall of anger, bitterness and hatred. So forgive (free one from consequence, blame or guily) like God forgave us through His son. Last week we compared our life to a boat in FRIENDSHIP. We all have a boat and depending on who we allow on our boat will determine if our boat sinks or floats. Throw over board those that cause you to act, think or speak in negative ways.

That brings us to tomorrow night and KINDNESS. The only thing I want to say is that you hear a Bible story in a new way...

Tonight

Tonight

Wednesday, April 4th at The Spot

Do you remember the Scripture that says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared...
Galatians 3.13-14 [MSG]