Live, learn, be free

Finding Wisdom

I read a story once about an factory assembly line breaking down.  The factory manager called in a consultant to help remedy the situation. After looking and searching the line the consultant pulled out a hammer and tapped an area of the line and it began to work again.  The factory manager was thrilled and thanked the consultant for his help. 

The factory manager received a bill for $10,000 from the consultant.  The manager was upset and requested and itemized bill from the consultant.  The second bill stated $5 for tapping the hammer/$9,995 for knowing where to tap.

Wisdom is knowing where to tap.  There are times in our lives where we need help and we know where to tap but there are other times when we need help and it requires finding someone who knows where to tap.  We would be fools to think we will always know where to tap the hammer.

The book of Proverbs in the Bible is filled with advice for finding wisdom.  God should be our ultimate source of wisdom.  God has also put people in our lives that will walk with us and tap the hammer for us when we don't know where to tap.

When you need to seek wisdom ask God first.  Proverbs 17:24 says, "a discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth."  Lets be people who keep wisdom in view and not let our eyes wander. 

Following Religion or God?

It is very easy to fall into a pattern of following traditions in our churches.  We get used to doing the things our parents and their parents did in church.  We start to believe that we are following God just because we are following a list of things to do.

If we choose to follow God it is the only thing that matters to us.  Nothing gets in our way of following God.  We stay focused on what matters, God.  We show others we follow God and not religion by the way we live our life.

Following religion will lead us to distraction and take us off track.  Following God leads us to the feet of Jesus.  Following religion can be complicated and rigid.  Following God is simple and brings glory only to God. 

We live in a country where we have many options for the type of church we want to attend.  Pray about where you attend church.  Does your church lead you to the feet of Jesus?  Church should not be about religion but about God. 

Take time to pray and ask God to show you if you are following religion or God.  Take a look at the way you live your life.  Are you showing others you are following God or religion?  God is about love, grace and freedom. 

Depending on God

It can be easy in the world we live in today to say we don't need God.  We can handle things on our own.  We give up on prayer.  We stop communicating with God.  Many say they are just too busy to pray.

It is true that God is all powerful.  He does not need us to pray.  God wants us to pray because it is how we communicate with Him.  We can talk honestly with God when we come to him in prayer.

There are many different ways of praying to God.  Different prayers have different purposes.  Petition, confession, adoration, intercession, meditation, thanksgiving and consecration are the different types of prayers.

Reading through Nehemiah recently I learned about his steadfast prayer life.  Nehemiah was confident in his prayer life.  Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the king.  This means he had to taste all of the king's drinks and food to make sure they were not poisoned.

I can not imagine how difficult it must have been for Nehemiah to go to work each day not knowing if he would be die of poisoning.  He trusted in God and he knew God would hear his prayers.  I like how he describes God as attentive to his prayers in Nehemiah 1:11. 

Nehemiah had to be dependent on God, not only because his job was life threatening but because he loved God.  He wanted others to know God and to know of His love.  Let us be people who are dependent on God, people who are courageous and will be open to participate in His work no matter the cost.

Away In A (Dirty) Manger

On Christmas eve my family takes turns reading the story of the birth of Jesus.  This year as we read it I realized how different the Savior's birth is from any of our birth stories. 

I am a December baby, I was born in New York City and as you may imagine there was a snow storm the day my mother went into labor.  The roads were so bad my father had to pull over several times.  Finally a police officer spotted him and helped escort us to the hospital.  Four days before we celebrated the birth of our Savior in 1973, I was born.  My mom tells me the story every year when she calls me to wish me a happy birthday. 

Can you imagine the Mary recounting the story of his birth to Jesus every year as she celebrated his birthday.  What could she say to him?  She would tell him, "your father and I walked from inn to inn as I was in labor."  "We struggled to find a place to bring you into the world."

Imagine Mary telling Jesus there was no where to put him right after his birth, except for a filthy manger.  A place where animals had eaten their meals earlier that day.  What do you suppose Jesus' reaction was?

Jesus was not surprised at all, he knew he would come into this world the way he did.  He came to this world worse off than any of us.  He came to show us the way.  He came to give us life.  He came to die on the cross so we could live with Him forever.

I am thankful and grateful that Jesus came into this world to give us life.  I want to spend my days letting God mold me into the person he wants me to be.  It's the least I can do, is give my life to him.  Thank you Jesus that you came into this life in a dirty manger to bring us life. 

Running In Place

There are times in our lives when we think we are getting ahead and getting things done but it seems like nothing is happening.  It can be frustrating to feel like you are working hard only to not see the results you expected.

I understand this problem firsthand.  I am an impatient person.  I feel like if I am working hard on something I should be able to see the results.  Things changed for me when Elijah was diagnosed with Asperger''s Syndrome. 

The progress Elijah made was slow.  We were busy driving him around to all his therapies and programs.  He was progressing we just weren't seeing the results yet.  Then I was reading James 5 one day and it dawned on me, God wants us to be patient. 

Now I must say this was not an easy process and still isn't but God has been faithful.  He has followed through with His promise to us about our son.  After waiting patiently for 8 years Elijah is making amazing progress.  He had made some progress over the last 8 years just not the kind of progress he is making right now.

We persevered and now we are seeing the results from running in place.  James 5 warns us about wanting it all right now.  We need to be patient and wait on God, His timing is always the best.  We need to keep running in place and be patient, blessings await.

If you are currently struggling with this problem keep in mind the words of James 5.  Be patient and stand firm.  God will always follow through on His promises.  Keep running in place and your reward will come.

I Have A Confession

I was reading Colossians 2 recently during my quiet time.  As I read through this passage I realized that I needed to stop being concerned with what others thought of me.  I have to admit not just to myself but to God, that I am a sinner. 

We all sin and we all fall short of God's glory.  The problem comes in when we allow others to judge our sin.  When we become concerned with what someone else thinks about what we are doing.  Colossians clearly states for us in verse 16: "therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to a religious festival". 

We can not get in the game of measuring our sin by what others think about it.  We are all sinners and sin and sin.  There is no bad sin and good sin, it's all short of God's glory.  Colossians goes on to tell us that we are made alive in Christ and He has forgiven us of all our sin.

God will always be faithful to us, we need to be faithful to Him.  We are not perfect and we can not pretend to be.  I admit I do strive for perfection but not by the worlds standards but by God's.  I long to bow before Him at the throne and hear Him say well done good and faithful servant. 

Let us all put aside our sinful nature and commit to walking with God.  Confess to God and trust that He will be faithful to you.  There is no big sin and small sin, just sin.  God is in control and He will free you from bondage if you just ask.

Til Death Do Us Part

It is very disappointing to see how many people give up on marriage.  Til death do us part seems like an old wives tale in today's society.  In order to make a marriage last I think you need to have a God sized dose of patience. 

The thing many couples leave out of their marriage is God.  Without God we have no hope, no need to persevere.  Lets show others what it looks like when God is in control of our marriages.  Rob and I have only been married for 14 years.  In the large scheme of things that is not long at all but we have made the commitment to staying in this til death do us part.  

Society today treats marriage like a business transaction.  It is crazy to think that anyone, regardless of how much money they make have, needs to have a pre nup agreement.  We as Christians need to remember we are in the world but not of it. 

We need to let God take His rightful place in our marriages and let us show the world what it looks like to stay married for a lifetime.  First of all we need to ask God to help us as we choose a mate.  If God is not involved from the beginning then we set ourselves up for possible failure. 

We must be willing to do whatever it takes to stay married once you are married.  Please understand that I am judging you if you are divorced, just know what God has to say about marriage and divorce.  Don't give up and let God take control of your relationship. 

God designed marriage and wants to see us succeed.  Pray and trust God will help you in the tough times.  Take heart and be patient.  God wants the best for you trust Him. 

Hebrews 12:12

Earlier this year I ran the Flying Pig Half Marathon.  I trained for 6 months.  I worked hard and I planned.  I overcame injuries during training.  I was still caught off guard when my a new injury came up during the race. 

Perseverance and endurance are important in times like those.  My runner partner and I persevered and we finished.  The real joy is just finishing, I knew there was no chance of winning. Some people asked why even try when you know you can't win?

To me running is about my body beating out my mind.  If you have ever done some running you know your mind can get the best of you.  Your body can do the work but your mind talks you out of continuing.  That is what Hebrew 12 is all about. 

Staying in the faith race until the end.  We can have many stumbling blocks in our way but we can overcome them.  We need to stay focused to continue running the race.  Think about what hindrances get in your way.  Hebrews 12 gives us encouragement and support for those times. 

Our biggest struggle for many years has been Asperger's Syndrome.  We have trusted God and prayed for our son.  We have endured and persevered and God has been faithful.  What is your struggle?  Pray and ask God to help you, and He will.  God has given us great hope for our son.   

Busy for Jesus

I will admit I have busied myself with the things of God and my relationship with God has suffered.  It may sound weird but sometimes we get so wrapped up working for God that we forget to spend time alone with God. 

God wants to know us intimately.  In order to do that we need to put down some of the things we are doing for God in order to spend more time with Him.  I realize this seems counter intuitive but it is true.  When we over volunteer for the kingdom our intimacy with God suffers.

As Christians we are the  body of Christ, we all have a part.  Each person needs to step up and do their part.  Just because we see a need does not mean we should fill it.  We need to be a little more selective in what we do for God.

I am guilty of having done this in the past.  I over committed myself at church and my time with God suffered.  I didn't have time to spend with God because I was too busy doing the work of the whole church.

Are you doing too much for God right now?  Take some time to sit and evaluate what you are doing.  Is God calling you to do all those things?  What do you need to say no to in order to say yes to God?  If you are too busy for Jesus than you must take some time to build that relationship back up.

If you are looking for a way to work on building intimacy with God, please check out this link.  It is a book I wrote called In Pursuit of God.  It is a study guide and journal.  It will give you information on the spiritual disciplines.  Whatever source you use remember: working for God and and working with God are two different things.

Marks of Jesus

Peer pressure still gets us as adults, we call it "keeping up with the Joneses."  What we wear, what we drive, and where we live can all be influenced by those around us.  Even our vocabulary can be affected, have you spent any time in the south?  That sweet southern accent can rub off in a second.

We are often tempted to change our behavior in order to be accepted by others.  This lifestyle has a very high price tag.  We need to figure out who's approval is worth it.  We all feel cultural pressure around us.  We must lay every pressure around us at the feet of Jesus. 

Sometimes you may even be tempted to hide your Christianity to make a good impression.  It is important that not matter what comes our way we bear the marks of Jesus.  These are marks of Jesus are the evidence of our faithful service to the King.

Do you have marks of Jesus?  Let us purify our motives in this life.  Let's not go after the approval of men, but let's chase after the approval of God.  The good news is we don't have to run as long or as hard to get God's approval.  He loves us just the way we are, all we have to do is run to him. 

Read through Galatians 6:11-18.  You have already made a good impression on God.  Wear your marks of Jesus with pride.  Give up chasing after man's approval you have already been accepted by God.