Last Touch!!!

Our family has a game we play, well probably not specific to our family but I will say we don't mess around! The game is "Last Touch" and in case your not aware the entire concept of the game is to not get touched last (duh)...I guess the title was self explanatory! It is all about just going back and forth until the other person, or people, give up. Last night Jana and I played a game of LT and let me tell you I thought it would never end. We went back and forth and ran all over the house, the girls would at times be on my side holding Jana and at other times on Jana's side blocking me so she could get me. It really was a lot of fun and exhausting! Last nights game was interesting because we decided to play (it is more spur of the moment really as opposed to scheduled, which makes it more fun I guess) as we were trying to get the girls to bed. We ran and ran and then would try and get the girls to stay in their rooms, but of course they wanted to be apart of the excitement. They just wanted to be apart of the fun, because they saw their mom and dad laughing and having a good time.
Last Touch really is a fun game, but it is addicting because the whole concept is to not stop or give in until someone else surrenders and that likely never happens. I went into our room and locked the door claiming I was the champion with Jana outside the door asking me to help her get the girls into their beds, but I knew what she wanted...she wanted me to open the door so she could get me (I am not that stupid!). So I cracked the door and told the girls to get into bed at which time Jana stuck her fingers in the door so I could not close it. Needless to say, being the loving husband I am (big smile) I kept letting her get her hand the her arm then her hip and finally her whole body through the door all because I did not want to smash her, even though she was putting herself in that position. Just never give up no matter how exhausted you are or how never ending it may seem...that's the idea!
I just want to take a little of that drive for LT to my spiritual life. Never give up, no matter how tired I may be or how "endless" the challenges I seem to face. Just don't give up, don't give in! James says the same thing in chapter One that those who persevere will lay hold of the crown that has been set aside for them. What sweet victory, what a great goal. And all the while it is God calling out to me from the heavens, "just don't give up, I am with you and will see you through!"

Lean on Me!

A song written by Bill Withers in 1972. A song that inspires and takes people back. A song that has so much depth but still a simplicity and just makes you smile. I will never forget Morgan Freeman standing in a high school auditorium as one of his teachers sang that song, watching him with pride and an err of success just sway back and forth. What Morgan Freeman was able to do with a high school that was more than just out of control it was about to be shut down was simply amazing and inspiring. I think about the words of that song that had so much meaning for what Morgan Freeman had done. Yea it took some hard stances and some difficult decisions but when faced with any challenge the greater the challenge the greater the reward.

"Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on"

I mean how true, we all need people we can count on we all need shoulders we can cry on or a word of encouragement but the song does not end there and this is where it hits closer to home for me and probably for MANY:

"If there is a load you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call me

So just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on."

Yea we all have burdens and loads that are too heavy and Jesus calls us to cast them upon Him for He cares for us, but what does that entail. I have come to believe that God will place people in our lives, if we will look for them, who can help us, who can be there for us and just be a physical presence of the Lord in our lives. How great a comfort it is to know that we can live in this trying world with all the pressures and temptations around us and have peace that God HAS placed someone around us who we can lean on and share our loads with.

One of the most encouraging things is when I realize those people in my life and actually lean on them and feel the release of the burden of carrying a load all on my own. Do I believe that I don't then need God, NO, I believe that it is God who placed them there and we can be an encouragement to each other as we share our common struggle and burdens. I believe that when I battle the most and have the hardest time I need to listen for the voice of God calling to me from the Heavens, "I am going to deliver you, and I am going to provide a source of strength and encouragement I just need you to step aside, stop trying to do it all on your own and just Lean on Me!"

Life to the Fullest!

This last Sunday our preaching minister spoke from John 10, a section where Jesus says: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way." He was talking about the blessings of the Christian life and how we share those blessings with others.
I was watching some TV with Jana the other night and usually skip right through the commercials (thanks DVR), but was not paying attention and happened to miss skipping through a commercial. It was a commercial for some drug that is supposed to help you feel better and give you "brighter days"...a good thing right? Well it sounded great that is until they got to the section about side effects. I was blown away as I listened: "may cause drowsiness...heart attack...severe head aches...etc, etc...even death!" Even DEATH, you have got to be kidding me. How in the world does this company expect people to take their product, that is supposed to make things better by the way, if it might severely impair you or even kill you. And yet, there will be thousands of people who purchase the product because they are longing for relief in specific areas of their lives and are willing to take a chance on the side effects.
This got me thinking!!!!
When we think about "life to the fullest", we realize that Jesus wants us to hear about this great "product" (if you will allow me that analogy) and to understand some of its side effects. Yes we know that in the world there are troubles, for everyone as long as your alive. In Christ though we have something more, something that takes us above these things...we have a peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). We have a promise of an inheritance that can never be taken away from us (1 Peter 1:3,4). And we know those things, but we have more...much much more!
I spoke with a friend the other day and we were talking about life and the struggles we face and it came to my mind one of the greatest blessings of living the Christian life (while on this earth), is that we have a commonality, a source of support that the world is desperately seeking! People every day are turning to drugs, alcohol and medications (to name a few) to try and cover up the pain of imperfection, the sting of their pasts and even their present lives. People walk around looking in corners and every nook and cranny hoping they will find something, anything that can help take away the pain. This is what the cross was and is all about...it is about taking away that pain. it is about connecting people together under the common bond of imperfection, a gathering of people that don't have to pretend to be perfect of unfazed by life but who can remove their masks and just say, "I am broken". This is where real full life begins!
I wonder what it would be like if we made a commercial for Christianity...something to promote the "product" that we live by and we use every day. I have to believe that commercial would draw more people not because we can promise total bliss, but because we can promise that when things are not going good, we have a source for peace and deliverance. As I think about that great commercial I realize that we are all daily commercials for the Christian life. We can show people that even Christians have troubles and difficulties, but we have an anchor of strength in the Lord and a source of support in the family of Christ that helps us rejoice!
Sometimes when I get focused on the negatives of the world I am forced to pause and I try and hear the voice of God calling through the noise saying that He is able to deliver me if I would just step aside and let Him do His work! God is good!

Amazing Grace

Jana and I were reading last night in the section of the Old Testament that is so often overlooked and skipped for application sake. It was the listing of the laws concerning food and what is clean and unclean. We laughed often at the repetitive nature of the commands and how it would be scary to take bites of food, wondering if you read the law right.
I came into the office this morning and received an email from a friend with four men singing "Amazing Grace" and as I watched it, in amazement, I was struck and the contrast between what I read last night and what the message of the song was. At one time there were rules and regulations that would give even the most studied person pause (to be sure they were not missing anything and doing everything just right), but now God has showered His grace upon us...a grace we have not earned or deserved, but a grace that takes all our mistakes and failures and removes them from our ledger.
Our preaching minister said something Sunday that fits with this thought. "Some people look at Christianity as though they need to be found innocent, but the story of the cross is about being pardoned...having already been found guilty Christ steps in on our behalf and clears our record." It was the law that proved we could never do it on our own, and it is the blood of Christ that gives us the way to be made clean.
Sometimes I find myself trying to make sure I do everything right in order to please God, and while striving for a right life is where God wants us, my motivation needs to not be that I make myself clean...I hear God saying to me as I struggle and feel inadequate, "Let the work I have already done for you be enough, just step aside and watch what I do for you".