Defend And Destroy

We destroy arguments and every lofty
opinion raised against the
knowledge of God.

2 Corinthians 10.5

• • •

As Christians, we need to be well-educated so that we can win the battle of good over evil. I like how Wintery Knight puts it:

"...if we study everything very well, people will link our intelligence to our faith. They’ll say “if you’ve put this much thought into economics, then you must have a well-thought-out faith, too”. Being well-rounded makes you more convincing, more influential on moral and cultural issues, and more effective at
turning conversations to the gospel."

The reason I bring this up is because it amazes me how we live in a society of so-called tolerance, inclusiveness, and diversity, yet Christians are the only ones who are not tolerated, not included, nor accepted into the diversity club. A prime example of this can be read about in an amazingly well written and shocking article over at Townhall.com, called the Cisco Kid. It's discusses how Dr. Frank Turek, the well-known Christian Apologist, author, speaker, radio host, and leadership consultant, got fired from his position at Cisco, simply because he is a Christian who has moral and ethical values. So it appears the definition of tolerance has been transformed to only tolerating those you agree with...which is an absurdity because one can only tolerate what one disagrees with. I like how Dr. Turek describes how we now see inclusion and diversity being applied:

..."'inclusion' and 'diversity' only applies when an employee agrees with them."

In other words, "it is not inclusion nor diversity when a person is excluded because of his or her different view."

So as Christian who can influence culture, we must take the commandment of 2 Corinthians 10:5 seriously. We nee to educate ourselves and be clear thinking Christians. We need to know how to articulate and how to be equipped to discuss the issues of our time...we need to know how to Defend and Destroy the nonsense that is going on in our culture...Christians need to understand things such as the First Amendment, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act...we must be able to take a stand in the market place of ideas...we must put aside the pseudo-humility and non-involvement so that we can think and take action.

One last note: Do you want to know how the devil is working today? Take a look at our companies who fire Christians...take a look at our politicians and what they legislate...the enemy uses two words to destroy our culture: POLITICAL CORRECTNESS...

So what can we do? Begin by educating and equipping yourself. Here are some great books to get you started on how to transform culture instead of culture destroying you:

Tactics - by Greg Koukl
Moral Relativism - by Greg Koukl and Francis Beckwith
Legislating Morality - by Dr. Frank Turek and Norm Geisler
The Case For Life - by Scott Klusendorf
Christian Ethics - by Norm Geisler
Basic Economics - by Thomas Sowell
Correct Not Politically Correct - by Dr. Frank Turek
Politics-According To The Bible - by Wayne Grudem
Money, Greed, And God - Why Capitalism Is The Solution And Not The Problem - by Jay Wesley Richards
Body & Soul - by J.P. Moreland and Scott B. Rae

4th Of July Challenge

Abraham Lincoln once observed, “The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.”

G. K.Chesterton’s observation about Russia has come true here, “Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God.”

• • •

Great article by Frank Turek, titled Country a Mess? Blame the Church...

I have been very motivated and challenged by this article, and I believe you will be as well. So I would like to issue a 4th of July challenge to all Followers of Jesus Christ...we need to transform culture and society by infiltrating it instead of avoiding it...so...

Let's put an end to the anti-intellectual movement that leads believers to separate from society rather than reform it. Let's reform society by thinking, writing, influencing, and creating.

Let's stop bifurcating life into two separate spheres—the sacred and secular. We need to saturate society with the Truth of Christ, morality, and ethics...not separate from it. And forget about being PC and non-offensive. Our softness is allowing culture to spit on The Cross of Christ.

Let's stop substituting Reason for emotionalism, and thinking that only activities that directly save souls are deemed sacred. A saved soul is wonderful, but we must make the connection that a saved soul is a transformed person...and transformed people lead to a transformed culture.

Eternity is at stake, but so is our present day...May God's Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven...

**Bold captions are derived from Frank Turek's article, Country A Mess, Blame The Church

Losing For A Purpose

...Just read the latest question of the day over at Jesus.org, called, A Gospel for Losers? It really made me think that we need to put such a topic in the proper perspective and in the proper context.

In the article, the author speaks of truth, but does not contextualize it...not to do so is a major weak point of any type of teaching. He states the following:"Jesus came to show us that the gospel explains success in terms of giving, not taking; self-sacrifice, not self-protection; going to the back, not getting to the front. The gospel shows that we win by losing, we triumph through defeat, we achieve power through service, and we become rich by giving ourselves away."

But what does all of this mean? When do we do this? Why do we do this? We must qualify statements such as this by looking at WHY Jesus taught these amazing principles. Statements like this that are isolated from a proper perspective simply sound like feel-good slogans or cheesy bumper stickers.

Jesus does not want bumper stickers, He wants bold servants. He wants people that serve while leading, not those who serve simply to lose. I am seeing a lack of leadership in the Christian community (which includes myself) to take a stand against all the moral filth and secularism that is infecting our country. Moral relativism and religious pluralism have invaded every area of life like a bad virus. And one of the reasons this is occurring is because Christians are saying, "well, I need to just stay quiet and triumph through defeat."

Let me digress for a moment and qualify where I am coming from on this issue and state what I am for and what I am against so that my statements are not taken out of context...

What I am in favor of: I am all for The Gospel and believe in everything Jesus said. I firmly believe in Classical Christianity because I am a firm believer in objective truth. I am in favor of the proper Exegesis of Scripture (explanation of then and there) and the proper use of Hermeneutics of Scripture (interpreting for the here and now).

What I am against: I am totally against Eisegesis (interpreting a text in such a way that it introduces one's own ideas)... I despise relativism and the claim that all truth is subjective truth...

...so to get back to my main point, Jesus tells us such counter-intuitive teachings not so that we can look all humble and sweet, but so that we can live for a higher purpose...His purpose. He exhibited this in His own life. He did not simply take a punishment or die on the cross so that we could say, "Wow, what a nice man." Instead, He willingly laid down His life for a purpose. He came on a rescue mission to save all of humanity from eternal torture in order that we could be justified, sanctified, and glorified.

So could it be that all the secularism that has taken over our planet, the removal of school prayer, the corrupt politics and political correctness, the immoral lifestyles, the pro-choice movement, the double standards, and all the filth that we see in the media is because as Christians, we see it happening, but we are too soft to stand up and do anything about it? Is it because we have an improper view of the definition of humbleness? An improper view of what it means to save our lives by losing them?

There could be other reasons of course, apathy for example, or wanting to take a stand but not knowing how...but when it comes to giving and not taking, self-sacrifice instead of self-protection, and winning by losing, it must be in the context of purpose...If we "lose" then we "lose" in order to assure a greater victory...we need to have a context for our convictions instead of a cop-out for our cowardice...

Free Will Or Determined?

When it comes to decision making, are you a believer in free-will or determinism? Do you think our choices matter or is our fate already set in stone?

Why am I asking this question? The reason is because we live in a world of irony. We all want God to tell us what to do, but if we lived in this kind of reality, we would all be complaining to God that we never get to choose. So what gives? Take a look at how the Book of Proverbs sheds insight to this subject:

Proverbs 16.1 says, "We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer."
Proverbs 16.9 says, "A person may plan his own journey, but the LORD directs his steps."

This creates an intellectual dilemma for the human mind. To our thinking, it must be one way or the other, or at least a 50/50 partnership with God...a type of supply and demand relationship, "God I demand this, so you supply it." But Timothy Keller in Your Plans:God's Plans, comments on how The Proverbs teach us that we actually have 100% free will with 100% of the results being under God's Sovereign outcomes.

Despite the intellectual perplexity of such a situation, it actually makes perfect sense. And the reason is that God, in order to know His Will, wants us to know Him...not the other way around. Therefore, He grants us the freedom and the gift of choice, but at the same time, governs the results. Our wisdom to choose is built on The Foundation of our relationship with God. So we now have the solution to the aforementioned question because when all is said and done, would we really want to live in the extremes of an either/or situation. All free will or all determined?

Think of it like this...given the state of the human condition, would we really want 100% free will to shape our outcomes? NO! And at the same time, do we really think 100% of our life is already determined? Of course not...what would be the point of getting out of bed in the morning?

I like how Steven Furtick puts it, "I still believe God gives us enough ink to write our story in His Story."

This is why I love The Holy Scriptures. Even if one denies the existence of God, they have one problem. They live in God's World. Only the writings from God, such as Proverbs 16.1 and 16.9 can give us such insight to our thinking and our actions.

So here is my final point and why I am convicted of it. If Hebrews 11.6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith, then we are living in sin with indecision. Why? Because indecision is a lack of trust and trust is the action form of faith. Don't let indecision force your hand. Forget the fear involved from making a wrong decision from free-will and let go of the depression of believing that everything is already determined. Praise God for our freedom and trust God for His Sovereignty.

Pray Like Jesus

"Preaching a pagan-style gospel teaches that as long as we
have enough faith in Jesus, then we don't have to be like Jesus."
...a paraphrase from Mark Driscoll,
~ Pray Like Jesus:The Gethsemane Prayer ~

Tired of hearing the pagan practice of the prosperity gospel?...the prosperity gospel is when we use Prayer, Scripture, and experience to try and align God to our will. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is when God utilizes Prayer, Scripture, and experience to align us to His Will.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect,
the prosperity gospel is pagan...

...Mark Driscoll, in his sermon called, Pray Like Jesus: The Gethsemane Prayer, explains (and I paraphrase) that "so much of what we hear today is a brand of theology that will not be strong enough for us when we need it the most."

Christianity is a belief in a person (Jesus Christ)...it is not a coping mechanism or some magic trick for material wealth and prosperous gain...it is a relationship based on a theology that will be everything for us when we need it the most...Driscoll goes on to say, "being a follower of Jesus Christ may not get us around the obstacles of life, but it will get us through the obstacles of life."

At the end of the sermon, Driscoll outlines and speaks briefly on eleven questions about prayer... questions that challenge us to see if our prayer life is in line with God's plan...Below, I have included the eleven questions...but along with those questions, I highly encourage you to either watch Driscoll's sermon or listen to it on the Mars Hill App or via podcast.

01. Do you pray to get from God or to get God?
02. Do you pray to move God or for God to move you?
03. Do you pray to get around pain or through pain?
04. Do you courageously punctuate your prayers with "Your - Will - Be - Done...?"
• We do present our requests to God, but we should always end with, "Your Will Be Done..."
05. Do you pray out of Holy or unholy depression?
• Holy despair/depression = due to sin and its effects
• unholy despair/depression = not getting our way
06. Do you pray in faith knowing that God is not the author of sin, but is the author over sin?
07. Do you ask your friends to pray for you even if you know they will fail to do so?
08. Do you pray to both hear and accept God's will for your life?
09. Do you accept that God will answer your prayers with a "yes, no, or later?"
10. Do you know that knowing God's Will is far easier than walking in it? (Hebrews 5.7-8)
11. Do you know a godly wife who lived like Jesus Prayed? (1 Corinthians 11.3)
• You have to listen to his explanation to understand this question...

"God’s main purpose for you is not what you do. It's who you become."
~ John Ortberg ~

Opportunities Of Faith

Hebrews 11.6, which states the following three things, has given me a framework for living...I know that God is always with us, but at times, it will feel like He is not. Why? Because He wants us to trust Him. Note the following three points of Hebrews 11.6:

1. Without faith it is impossible to please God
2. Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
3. We must believe that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Falling Backwards Leads You Forwards = Knowing and Trusting
You see, even though God is always present and active in our lives, we still must come to embrace the fact that it is impossible to please God without faith...so there is a dynamic juxtaposition of living a life of adventure and opportunity when it comes to following God...a "knowing" and a "trusting."

It's kind of like the "Trust" drill that you play in team building exercises...you fall backwards into your teammates arms...you know they are there to catch you, but it is still scary to fall backwards where you can not see...all you can do is trust they will catch you...sometimes we must fall backwards to move forwards...

God's Control, Our Opportunity
What this means is that while God is in control, He still gives us the opportunity to take responsibility in being major players in His game plan for life. We can't sit around wanting God to do everything...He wants our involvement...I see this as an honor and a blessing.

The drawback is that it can be scary and daunting and fear will creep in...but this is what I love about following God... He is going to lead us to Opportunities of Faith...we will be scared, but at the same time, we will be excited...I like how Mark Batterson puts it:

"Don’t let mental lions keep you from experiencing everything God has to offer. The greatest experiences will often double as the scariest experiences. The defining moments will often double as the scariest decisions."

Batterson also says a great thing about how blessings come to be: "The genealogy of blessing always traces back to God-Ordained Risks."

God Creates So That We Will Conquer
You see, when it comes to God-Ordained opportunity, God will create them, but He then wants us to conquer them...God was with David, Joshua and Caleb, and Jesus, but at the same time, David had to sling the stone, Joshua and Caleb had to conquer the land, and Jesus had to embrace The Cross...

Your Stone, Your Land, Your Cross
What is it for you? Where do you need to Trust God...where do you need to offer up a faith that pleases The Lord?...Just like David, Joshua, Caleb, and Jesus, and a host of other Biblical heroes, It's the same for us...God has a plan and a will for our lives. We can achieve our best for His Glory if we simply stay on task...Here is a good statement from Rick Warren about God's Will in your life...

"God gives you enough time to do His Will. If you can't get it all done, you are doing stuff out of His Will or doing it a wrong way."

Do the impossible and you will find God. If you crave comfort you will miss out. If things are not working, then re-evaluate. It's Time to Trust and Conquer! Soli Deo Glori!

Overcome Fear of Failure

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
~Matthew 8:26~

Thanks to www.litemind.com for today's posting. It is a portion from part one of a two part blog about how to overcome our fear of failure...Enjoy!

Failing is the only way to go far enough

“If you hit every time, the target is too near or too big.” –Tom Hirshfield

The only way to know that you’ve gone far enough is to go too far. And going too far is called failing.

That means that if you don’t go far enough — in other words, if you don’t fail — you’ll never know for sure where your limits really are.

Race car drivers know this to the bone. They even have a saying for it: “The one sure way to find out if you’re going fast enough is to crash”.

So if you decide to live a life of “playing it safe” — of avoiding failures altogether — you can be safe in the knowledge that you’ll most likely accomplish your goal — after all, that’s a dead easy target to take aim at. Just bear in mind, however, that you’ll never be able to get the most out of your life acting that way.

• • •

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

~Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) ~

Fearless

Max Lucado's new book, Fearless, has been released!

Imagine Your Life Without Fear

He also preaches the book in his new sermon series!!! Watch it now!

Fearless Intro: Why Are You Afraid? from UpWords Ministries on Vimeo.

Trust In God To Make Something Of You!

...make something of me. You can do it;
you've got what it takes — but God, don't put it off
(From Psalm 40.16-17 MSG)

The Book of Romans says that "we call Abraham 'father' not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. (Romans 4.17-18, emphasis added)

I don't know where you might be in your life, but if you are ready for God to make something of your life, no matter what the circumstances, take some encouragement from Abraham...

Here is how it happened:
• Abraham and Sarah wanted a family, Abraham was old and Sarah was infertile...no worries though, because they believed and trusted in The Almighty God

• Abraham dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.

• When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do.

*** We have the choice on what we believe...
we must DECIDE like Abraham
to live on the basis of what God WILL Do!***

• Therefore, God made Abraham father of a multitude of peoples

• Abraham was old and Sarah had decades of infertility...despite this, they never focused on their own impotence and said, "It's hopeless." Instead, God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"

• Abraham did not tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions.
• Abraham PLUNGED into the PROMISE and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what He said.

• Listen to what The Bible says next: "Abraham was declared fit before god by TRUSTING God to set him right." (From Romans 4.19-25 MSG, emphasis added).

We must go through training in athletics, studies, work, etc in order to be declared fit for those specific endeavors...if we want God to trust us, we must trust Him...allow your current circumstances to put you "in shape" so that you can be declared fit before God, ready to PLUNGE into the PROMISE that God has for your life!

Final note: From this same chapter, The Book of Romans says, "It's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we EMBRACE and BELIEVE The ONE who brought JESUS to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God."

Our salvation is set, Praise Christ!...Jesus has made us fit before God...now, if we want to live the abundant life God called us to, we must trust and believe like never before...Hebrews 11.6 says, without faith it is impossible to please God...

Trust Him, Worship Him, Believe In Him, Praise Him...The same resurrection power of Jesus Christ is available to us today, it's time to resurrect, roll away the stone that has been keeping you locked up, take off the bandages, and become what God has PROMISED for you!

Trust in God, He will make something of you!

Reconditioned Reflexes

A reflex action*, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus.

Why am I telling you this? Because our reflexes in life determine our destiny. We have all types of stimuli bombarding us on a daily basis, and our response, our reflex to such stimuli will determine our success or our failure.

When faced with challenges, sometimes we do not even think, we just react. Fear strikes and we either shrink back or attack forward. It generally comes down to our conditioning. Have we been conditioned to always give into fear or have we been trained to go forward despite any challenge we face?

Our response to challenges is much like the "knee jerk" test the doctor applies during a routine physical exam. The doctor is testing our reflexes. Specifically, the doctor is testing what is known as our reflex arc.

The Reflex Arc
A reflex arc* is the neural pathway that mediates a reflex action. In higher animals, most sensory neurons do not pass directly into the brain, but synapse in the spinal cord. This characteristic allows reflex actions to occur relatively quickly by activating spinal motor neurons without the delay of routing signals through the brain, although the brain will receive sensory input while the reflex action occurs. The main source of the reflex action is through the bottom muscles.

In short, when a response is given, the input is so quick that the signal bypasses the brain and goes straight to the spinal cord and then back to our muscle, and that is when our "knee jerks." We don't even have to think about it. It is instantaneous.

Stimuli of Satan
The enemy, satan, loves to hit us with his stimuli. He fills our minds with lies, with doubt, guilt, fear, discouragement...he tries to make us think we are not good enough, that we are too old, too young, undertrained, overzealous... and depending on how we have been conditioned, we will either believe his crap instantaneously or we will defeat him with The Word of God.

In his awesome book, "Wild Goose Chase," Mark Batterson mentions how Jesus has come to recondition our spiritual reflexes. Batterson says, "Satan uses guilt to turn us into reactionaires. Jesus came to recondition our spiritual reflexes and turn us into revolutionaries for His cause.

So here is your homework. Whenever you are hit with a stimuli of satan, like fear, doubt, guilt from the past, lies, etc, focus instead on God's Word, God's Promises, Scripture that you have meditated on, memorized, and internalized. Remember how God has worked in your past, how He is working in you in the present, and how He will grant you victory for the future.

Allow God to recondition your reflexes so that your new automatic/instantaneous response and reflex is to move forward in God's Strength and for His Glory!

"Our courage directly affects the speed at which the future unfolds."
Erwin McManus

*source: wikipedia.org

God's Direction

God is fair and just;

He corrects the misdirected,

Sends them in the right direction.
Psalm 25.8

Jonah ran away from God...God put Jonah in the belly of a fish and brought him back! What I have learned through Scripture study and life experience is this:

God will re-direct our misdirection

How? We must follow His "mile-markers." We must count the cost, we must be wise, we must be strategic, but the freedom in knowing that God will re-direct our misdirection gives us an ability to have a 'nothing-to-lose' attitude if we are following God...If we are following God, the path takes care of itself...If we are following God, then we can be fearless...we can take sanctified risks and we can have a reckless abandon for God! No matter what road we travel, all we have to do is watch for God's "mile-markers" and road signs to either keep us moving forward or to re-direct our path...look how Psalm 25.10 says it:

From now on every road you travel

Will take you to God.

Follow the Covenant signs;

Read the charted directions.

Bottom line is this...We must "hit the road." We can not be frozen in fear and stuck in over analyzing what direction to take...If we are truly following God, seeking Him in Prayer, reading His Word, and trusting Him with all of our heart instead of leaning on our own understanding, then whatever road we take, His signs will be there to direct our way...this gives us the freedom to attack life head on!

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he's the one who will keep you on track.
Proverbs 3.5

God Resides In Faith

"God resides in Faith... He "hides" in Faith."

Jentezen Franklin

In his sermon, "Destiny," which I mentioned in the last post, Jentezen Franklin talks about the fact that if we want to see God in our lives, then we must find Him where He resides. So many times we have probably thought, "God, where are you hiding?"

God is "hiding" in faith...God does not do comfortable. God does not do the "easy" life. If we want to know where God is, if we want to receive His power, then we must be stretched...we must take a step of courage and do something that requires faith...

...now I'm talking about stupidity, I'm not talking about doing something crazy, even The Bible says to count the cost (Luke 14.28), but the Lord tells us in Hebrews 11.6 the following:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

A few points to wrap up:

1. God wants us to be content (Philippians 4.11-13), but God does not want us to be comfortable (Hebrews 11.1)

2. To please God we must have faith and be Holy

3. Discerning God's Will:

• Are we living a chair-rocking, lazy-boy-lemonade-sipping-all is cozy life? Then we are probably not on an assignment from God.

• Are we being stretched in our faith to the point where we let loose and take a leap of faith, so much to the point that if God does not come through than we are through? Then I can almost guarantee we are on an assignment from God...

4. If Jesus was stretched out on a cross, then I want to stretch my faith. Through Christ, we have the power to face anything! (Phil 4.13)

God wants us where we trust Him most. He wants us to hold on to Him for dear life. If we want to see God then we must live a life of adventure and find Him residing in Faith! By finding God in Faith, we discover who He calls us to be!

"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,

"I'll get you out of any trouble.

I'll give you the best of care

if you'll only get to know and trust me.

~ From Psalm 91.14-16 ~

Five Stones

Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:40

In his "One Prayer" message, Jentezen Franklin spoke on the title "God Is Able." Cool thought about the David vs Goliath story. From the above Scripture, you can see how God provided David with FIVE smooth stones.

David only needed one.

God gave David Five Stones. Jesus gave 5000 people enough food to eat and even had 12 baskets of left overs from only FIVE loaves of barley and Two pieces of fish.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4.19

"Go, and the LORD be with you."

The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear

will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

1 Samuel 17:37

Remember God's past blessings to give you hope in His future Power!

Become Wise By Walking With Whe Wise

Become wise by walking with the wise;

hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces
~ Proverbs 13:20 ~

A few days ago I read a great article about Tyrese Gibson (singer, model, actor, and star of Transformers. He worked his tail off to achieve success. Then he started hanging out with the wrong crowd. He lost his motivation, gained weight, and the downward spiral was on...

But then one day he ran into another actor, Will Smith, who told him this:

"The five people you spend most of your time with will dictate how far your life and career will go. Slobs will make you a slob."

That's all it took. Tyrese began listening to Will Smith, started hanging around more positive influences, turned his life back around, and the rest is history. This parallels the wisdom we receive from Proverbs. We must have a circle of influence where we push others to achieve their best and where they push us to achieve our best.

Are the people you hang around pulling you down because they are afraid to stand up? And what about you...are you encouraging and influencing them in positive ways? Take a quick inventory and do some evaluations. You can determine their influence on you and your influence on them simply by looking at the "fruit" that everyone is producing...it is either ripe or rotten.... Are you better or worse because of their presence? Are they better or worse because of your presence?

Think for a moment by how we learn best...we model those we want to be like and then insert our own gifts to the mix...For instance, the disciples "did life" with Jesus. They walked with Him on a daily basis. Resident physicians follow and walk side-by-side with the Attending Physician to learn everything about medicine/surgery, etc. Athletes, musicians, artist, business people, etc train with the best, work with the best, live with the best.

I love how Jesus puts in Matthew 11.28:

Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.

One last note, Erwin McManus writes in his book, "Seizing Your Divine Moments," the following about the power of influence, and how influence is contagious:“People who are influential pass on what they have like the flu. They’ll sneeze all over you...We pass on not just who we are, but who we genuinely desire to become.

Escape quickly from the company of fools;

they're a waste of your time, a waste of your words.
Proverbs 14:7

So What!

Read a cool article the other night...it was about the U.S. Woman's Softball team and how they incorporated Navy SEAL training to prepare them to win the Gold Medal...specifically the utilization of "Rugged Mental Conditioning."

They latched onto a few phrases they learned from the training that they continued to use throughout the Olympic Games...One of my favorites is:

"So What."

As the softball team and the SEALS went through their training, the woman of the softball team would routinely hear the Instructor's say, "So What," if one of the SEALS was complaining of being in the ocean for 24 hours straight or undergoing intense training to unbearable measures.

Unbearable Measures
I would love to have the mind of Christ as He was being so brutally tortured to unbearable measures. The flogging...the dehydration...the sleep deprivation...the shouldering of the cross up a hill...the crucifixion...

With each flogging, I can just about picture Him saying, "So What!" I can picture him taking the nails through His wrists and feet, feeling the pain and the agony, but saying "So What!" I can picture Him internalizing, "By My stripes, they will be healed!" How and Why could Jesus be so brutally tortured? Because Jesus had a purpose. He had a mission. He came to do The Will of God. Nothing would stop Him!

Jesus in His own way said "So What" and became the Savior of The World!

The SEALS say "So What" and become protectors of our nation.

The U.S. Softball Team said "So What" and brought respect and honor to our country.

Power From Within
The Holy Spirit lives with in us. We are The Temple of The Holy Spirit. And as Christian taught me, The Holy Spirit's Power with in us overpowers the external pressures outside of us. So we to can overcome any adversity and say "So What" and live the Victory that Christ calls us to live!

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them,
because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
1 John 4:4

Pearls From Luke: "But How?"

Mary said to the angel, "But how?"
Luke 1.34

I want to follow up with the last post, Pearls From Luke:Embracing Fear, with another response that Zachariah and Mary gave when in the presence of The Angel of God. The reason for this is because it is so important that we believe God can do anything, therefore we must measure our response to His miracles!

Zachariah's Response
Zachariah had his prayers answered when Gabriel, the sentinel of God, told him that Elizabeth (Zachariah's wife) would give birth to a son.

Zachariah said to the angel, "Do you expect me to believe this? I'm an old man and my wife is an old woman." (Luke 1.18)

Zachariah's Prayer was answered, but he did not believe. So the angel responds by saying, "I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won't believe me, you'll be unable to say a word until the day of your son's birth. Every word I've spoken to you will come true on time—God's time."

If we are faithfully praying and staying true to God's Word, we must believe that He will "surprise" us on His Time---God's Time.

Mary's Response
God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin named Mary. The Angel Gabriel had a surprise for her. After he told her she would give birth to Jesus, she responds:

"But how? I've never slept with a man."

You know, sometimes the problems we face may not be that God is not listening, it's that we are not believing. God may hand us the answer to our Prayers on a silver platter, but then we respond, "But how?"

I love how Gabriel answers Mary:

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. (Luke 1.35)

And then we see one of the most faithful verses of the Bible, a verse to find out what we really believe, a seven word verse that we can hang our trust on:

"Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."
From Luke 1.36-38

Our Response
So here is the question. Can you and I now have a response (see below), like Mary after hearing those seven words?

Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.

Let it be with me just as you say. Luke 1.36-38

No more hesitation. When God speaks it is time to act. No more excuses, no more "Do you expect me to believe this?"...no more "But How's?"

Ready To Serve
It's time to believe that Nothing is impossible with God. It's time to stop questioning and start serving!

Lord, I see it now: Here I am ready to serve you...let it be with me just as you say!

Put your love on the line

In his book, "The Gospel According to Starbucks," Leonard Sweet* tells a story about a man, a Franciscan priest, who put his love on the line for another. He had what Sweet calls,"holy boldness." His name was Maximilian Kolbe. He became known as "The Man for Others."

The man Maximilian
In the summer of 1941, a prisoner escaped from Kolbe's cell block at Auschwitz. Normally, when one person escaped from a cell block, it effected the others as well. The guards would randomly select 10 prisoners. They would do one of two things: (1) Line them up to be shot for everyone to witness or (2) Send them to an underground bunker to be starved, severely beaten, and executed.

When Father Kolbe heard that one of 10 selected was a husband and a father, he acted with "holy boldness". Maximilian Kolbe, the one who would become known as "The Man for Others", took the selected prisoners place in the lineup and was sent to the starvation bunker. Two weeks later he was killed via lethal injection of acid.

THE MAN JESUS
Before Maximilian Kolbe, there was Jesus Christ, "THE MAN for others". He took our place in the lineup. "We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put His love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him." (Romans 5:7-8;MSG)

Be the man...Be the woman!
May you and I be the "man" or the "woman" for "others". Let our cry today be, "Holy Boldness!" Let us put "our love on the line" for someone today who can't pay us back. Exist for someone else besides yourself!

*The Gospel According to Starbucks," Leonard Sweet, page 89

Lay Hold Of God = Triumph

But Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Yes—and if you embrace this kingdom life and don't doubt God, you'll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you'll tell, 'Go jump in the lake,' and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God." ~ Matthew 21:21-22 ~ (emphasis added)

A few points:
1. Lay Hold of God...everything else falls into place.

2. Embrace The Kingdom Life and don't doubt. If we ever find ourselves doubting what Christ says, then we need a reality check. I believe sometimes that the main reason we doubt is because we begin to think that we are God. We must remember God is our creator, we are not His.

3. Triumph - look, if Jesus says we will have triumph over huge obstacles, then I am going all out and will take every challenge head on. Who are you going to believe? Jesus, yourself, culture?

4. Jesus pays attentions to details. He says "Absolutely Everything, ranging from small to large." Next time we think something is too small to pray about or that God has other concerns on His mind than us, then we must repent for putting our limitations on God...then we must Praise Him for His abilities and bring our request to Him for His Glory!

5. Believe when you Pray. It is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11.6). We must believe in Him.

Go

"Go. What you believed could happen has happened."
Matthew 8.13

Jesus Astonished
I want to have Jesus "taken aback" by my faith. I want Jesus to be "astonished" by my faith. In Matthew 8.5-13, Jesus was "taken aback" by the faith of a Roman captain. The captain's servant was sick and needed healing. The captain knew that all Jesus had to do was give an order, that Jesus did not even have to be physically in the presence of the captain, and that he would be made well.

The captain goes on to say, "Just give the order and my servant will be fine." That is when Jesus was "taken aback." And then later Jesus says, "Go. What you believed could happen has happened." At that moment his servant became well.

At That Moment
Today could be your moment. Today could be the day that Jesus is astonished and taken aback by your faith. Today could be the day Jesus tells you to "Go. What you believed could happen has happened."

Where do we need Jesus to "Just give the order..." in our lives? Or maybe the questions should be, do we really believe? Is Jesus astonished by our faith? Where are we holding back?

Let's "Go" forward with the faith of the Roman captain...Let's live our lives from this point forward to where Jesus is "Astonished."