Tag Archives: 4 Pillars

Undeserving and Yet, Still Loved

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Have you ever had feelings where you questions if God truly loved you or us has human beings for that matter?  Maybe you’ve been through some very difficult times in your life or are going through that right now and it becomes difficult to feel His love.  Maybe you’ve been living a life filled with sinful patterns that are completely separated from God and in those times you reject Him by your actions.  Often times, we also put God’s love in the box of a verb and humanize the kind of love he has for us.

Do you know that no matter where you have gone in life and what you have done, God loves you.  In my Scripture reading this morning, it covered the time of Saul’s death.  Saul’s kingdom was taken from him by God when he did not follows the Lord’s commands.  David was then anointed to become the next king.  Saul was tormented constantly from that time.  It would almost seem that God hated Saul by sending the tormenting spirit.  Some may conclude that.  However, this is not God’s way, which as Isaiah said are not our ways.  In Ezekiel 33:11, God says that, “I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people.  I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live.”

What God wants from all of us is to turn from our wickedness.  We are all filled with it.  Every single one of us ever since the Fall.  God is determined though.  He loves us so greatly that He will go through whatever lengths and go wherever needed in order to bring us back.  None of us are deserving of the love that God has for us.  He created us though so that we can glorify Him, and continue pursuing what He’s called us for.  Christ came and went ahead of us to prepare a seat at the wedding feast.  Christ showed us what it meant to fully live for God.  He went through so much torment and temptation himself during His time here, but he eagerly continued where God wanted Him.  So now we have a way to life through Christ.

We in no way deserved that, but God’s love is something different.  Actually, God is Love.  Beth Moore stated, “Love is not only something God does; love is something God is. God would have to stop being in order to stop loving. Again, our temptation is to humanize God, because we are limited to understanding love as a verb. With God, love is first a noun. It’s what and who He is.”  

With that, understand that no matter where you are in life, what you’ve been through, or even how you’ve sinned and lived, God loves you.  God will always pursue you.  What He wants is for us to turn from our sinful and flesh patterns, repent, and turn to Him.  Often times it takes some dire circumstances to bring us back.  It took the sudden loss of my Dad and being lost in that whirlwind to finally shake me and bring me back.  It could be any other of a number of circumstances for others.  Still for some, it simply takes knowing that no matter what, they are always loved.  God created each of us for a purpose and Loves us all the same.  Rejecting His love how we get fully separated from Him.

Like is said in a video I saw on YouTube.  The church is a hospital for the broken.  Often times to be truly saved and returned to God requires a time of being completely broken and lost where we finally cry out to God.  God does not want us to suffer, but He wants to us to turn to Him and learn to love Him and know that through all we’ve been through, all we’ve done, and no matter how much we don’t deserve it, He always loves us.

Free to Live and Free to Love

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I have this sticker that is on the back window of my truck.  It is the image of the Cross with the words “We are set free.”  This comes of Galatians 5:1 where Paul tells us that Christ has truly set us free.  Many may wonder what it means to be truly set free.  What are set free from?  Paul stated that we are set from the law that enslaved the Israelites.  While working out this morning, I was watching a program with a gentleman named Joseph Prince.  I had never watched him before, but got caught up in what he was teaching.  He took us back to the time at Mt. Sinai when God laid out the 10 Commandments to Moses.  Prior to that point, God would come meet with people Abraham, Isaac, and others face to face.  When the Israelites began Exodus, they would often grumble to Moses and God would show grace by parting the Red Sea, raining Manna, bringing water from a rock.  At Mt. Sinai, however, it all changed and when the elders of Israel said they would do all God commanded, the laws were handed down and they became slaves of the law.  For the next 1,500 or so years, we see time after time where people turned from God and then would repent and obey God’s law.  The focus, was more on keeping the commandments rather than on faith in God and loving Him.

Fast Forward now to Jesus.  When Jesus was asked about which Commandment was the greatest, he said that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind.  True faith and love for God had been lost up to that point for most.  People were bent on keeping the law that they lost site of what it meant to be truly faithful.  Through Jesus Christ, we are shown God’s grace and love.  God became flesh and willingly gave his life to die for us and take the punishment of sin that we all deserved.  That is grace and love.  Through this willful sacrifice, we were set free.  Free from sin, free from death when Christ rose from the dead.

Now we are free to live and free to love God.  In the book Free to Live, by John Eldredge, it states, “Loving God is the centering of your existence as a human being. It’s the restoration of you reason for existence. What a relief it is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. What an utter relief. For then, every other relationship falls into place; every other desire finds its appropriate place in our life. Again, this is why mere “morality” can never substitute for true holiness. You can keep all the rules you think are important and not love God. This is where it all begins, truly loving Jesus with all your heart. Where things are out of whack, that is where our repenting needs to take place.”

Jesus’s first coming was in Grace.  Grace to set us free and to be given an open door to once again be able to know God and learn what true faith is and what true unfailing love is.  Through full faith and trust in Christ, we are free. We are free to love God with all that we are. We are free to live for God’s purpose and His will for our lives. We are free to live. Jesus is Life!

It’s a great feeling to know what the Grace bought through Christ’s redeeming blood has brought us.  Even when we are not deserving, we have the intercession of Christ.  Just as God continued to show Grace to the Israelites through their grumblings in the wilderness before Mt. Sinai, His Grace was again returned to us through Christ even through our fallen state and no matter how much we have jacked up our own lives.  I am just as jacked up as the rest, but know that through repentance and faith in Christ I am redeemed and free from that sin.  We are free to live and we are free to love!

SetFree

Let Christ Rule Your Heart

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Yesterday, I had the privilege of spending some morning Bible Study time with a group of guys where I worship at The Cross in Loganville.  First, what a great time it was.  To be honest, I have never sat down in that kind of setting to just fellowship and talk and discuss scripture with several other believers.  I have had one-on-one conversations many times in the past or with a couple of folks, but never really participated in that kind of Bible Study session.  Let me tell you, it was a great experience.  I got to meet some guys I have seen in passing attending worship, but never really got to know.  What I did learn, was that we all have a great story and testimony of how we came to faith in Christ and often times it came from various trials and difficulties of various kinds.  We all have story.

But getting to the root of the study, we focused on Colossians 3:15-17.  The first thing right out of the gate, Paul tells us to “let the peace that comes from Christ rule our hearts.”  This really struck with me as we discussed the versus and I listened to Tim, the lead pastor, break it down.  All too often in this life, we are quick to take action or speak without thinking.  We can start lashing out in anger or whatever it may be.  Either way, we can often get caught-up not letting Christ lead our words and actions.  This is often the case for many that may go to worship on Sunday, but raise hell the rest of the week.  I’ve been there too.  We need to let Jesus umpire our actions and keep us under control every single day.

In verse 16, it says, “Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.”  As we walk in close step with Christ, we should let all the He is and His message fill us each day.  Let Jesus speak through us also, as we share, teach, and counsel with others.  The line given in the study was “Speak only when spoken through.”  Don’t just spout of opinions and talk to be heard.  Let Christ fill your heart and the Word fill you and speak what is being spoken through you.  I have encountered many people that like to talk just to heard.  They don’t think about what their saying and just ramble on.  Stay away from that, and rather speak life.   In Toby Mac’s song, “Speak Life,”  he says the lines, “Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted; watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope, you speak love, you speak life.”

If we speak from the Good News and the promise for new life and salvation in Christ, its amazing the impact it has on folks.  Especially when they are lost and broken.  When you speak what Christ is speaking through you and through the Word, it will bring them to life.  We are a representative of Christ when we speak and testify and should remember that.  2 Corinthians 5:20 calls us “Ambassadors of Christ.”  I want to live that way and those of you that are believers, I pray that you will as well.  A gentleman in the Bible Study mentioned that the first thing we have in sharing about Christ is our own story.  Our own Testimony to how Christ has transformed our lives.  To be honest, it is one of the most powerful weapons we have as a body of believers.  We all have a story.  We all have taken paths through adversity, brokenness, and many other challenges.  We all have had times either completely separated from God or where we questioned Him.  Share your testimony and be contagious.  By sharing your own story, people can relate and then see just how much Christ has transformed your own life.

Let Christ rule your heart.

The Road Less Traveled

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I’m sure you all have heard of the famous Robert Frost poem, “The Road not Taken.”  A part we always here is as follows:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
 

There is so much in this related to the path we travel in our faith and how we draw closer to God and where He is leading us in life.  Each of us have a different path we take through life and have to make different choices along the way about which direction to go.  What often gets missed is which path God wants you go down.  Rather people see where the world is leading and tells them they should go and they take that road.

I always remember growing in Sunday School classes hearing about taking the rocky and dangerous road to God or the gold paved path to the Devil.  That is such a real thing for us.  It’s very easy to say, I want to take the way everyone says I should go.  I’m going to jump into this career, I’m going to live here, I’m going to attend this college.  All because it’s what’s expected of them.  It seems like the easy path to success.  It always makes it easy for you to drawn closer to things of this world that are not closer to God.  It can draw you to easy indulgence and sin in any number of areas and can bring about addictions that are hard to shake because they make you feel good about yourself.  All the while down this path you fade further away from God.

Then there is the other road.  The one less traveled by.  This one hits a number of bends and curves and obstacles along the way.  People like to shy away from this path, because it seems so difficult.  For 20 years of my life, I shied away from it.  This is the path that leads to closer intimacy with God.  It is not an easy path by any means and the world will pull you back time and again to go the straight and narrow.  We have to make a choice in life, however of which road we will take.

One thing that many people will not do, which pulls them away from the winding path, is to trust God.  So often throughout God’s word, we are shown were God went out of ahead of His people.  He helped lead them to victory when they trusted and put their faith in Him.  In my Scripture reading today, it talked about David defeating Goliath and how he put his full faith in God to help him prevail.  Jesus went out ahead of His disciples as well and went ahead of us to prepare a place at the wedding feast.  It is shown time again through God’s Word.

What does that tell you?  Quite simply, you should put your full faith and trust in God.  He will be there and will always move out ahead of you if you put your faith and trust in Him.  Doesn’t mean the path will be easy.  Like I mentioned, you will face obstacle after obstacle along the path.  The world and Satan will constantly try to trip you up.  You have to fully surrender and trust where God is leading you.

Trust me, it took me a long time to come to this realization.  I followed the more expected path, other than getting married at 18 and starting my family so young.  But I went to college and started a career.  All the while, I was not letting God lead me.  Now I get it.  God is leading me on a wild adventure right now.  It is filled with twists and turns, but it is so awesome to able to draw closer to His heart each day.  Also getting to share my testimony and use that to testify to all of you about where He is leading me.  I don’t know how far He’s going to take me.  Could stay local, or this thing could go national or global.  I don’t know.  I don’t expect anything in return, but just trust in where He is leading me and leading me to share my story and the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I hope y’all will stay with me on this journey as we see where it goes. It’s going to be quite a ride.  Sure the world will get in my way.  It often does, but I am thankful I get to take the road less traveled to pave to hopefully lead others to Christ and to jump on the less traveled road themselves.

God Forgave You, So You Must Forgive

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It’s so cool how the Holy Spirit will prompt us to different things.  I’ve felt my heart pulling to this subject for a few days and through conversations with Amber, through reading, and through songs I have heard, I had to touch on forgiveness today.  This is a big area for us all.

How often have you encountered people and situations where you felt so hurt and betrayed that you found it to be impossible to forgive?  This could be unforgiveness to someone that cause you and your loved ones great pain by their actions whether it resulted in death or some other tragedy.  It could be dealing with parents that were absent in love and guidance growing up that brought lasting effects as you entered adulthood.  It could be dealing with friends or others that have just wronged you in someway.  These are just a few examples, but certainly areas where people may have trouble finding forgiveness within yourself for those people.  Each and everyone of us have dealt in someone with people that caused brought enough hurt that finding difficulty can be challenging and sometimes feel impossible.

This can be a difficult subject for many people.  It is very easy to hold on to pain and anger towards others for a long time.  Holding on to it so much that it consumes you and brings out more anger each time you think about it.  I’ve certainly dealt with my share of difficulties.  If you wanted my Testimony video, you hear me touch on this briefly.  After the loss of my Dad, I had a long bout of anger toward the individual that hit his commuter van, resulting in it losing control and causing his death.  I was very angry for some time.  I did not want to forgive and held a lot of hatred.  For the longest time, I did not know how to manage with that difficulty and if I could ever find it myself to forgive.

Around Christmas, 2011, I picked up a book called “The Shack,” written by WM. Paul Young.  If you have  not read this book, I highly recommend it.  This book turned my entire mindset around.  I finally found what it really meant to forgive.  It turned my views into understanding that I had to forgive.  I knew that I could no longer selfishly ask God why such things could happen also.  It was not His will that brought about that tragedy.  In this fallen world, however, we are not immune to evil and tragedy.  We have to embrace God’s love through that difficulty and know God for who He is. When we embrace His love, we learn what it means to forgive.

This same thing holds true through any difficult challenges we have with anyone and any situation.  God loves us through all of our pain and tragedy and even when we do wrong ourselves.  I read a great C.S. Lewis quote this morning that said, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”  Each of us has the responsibility to learn how to forgive others through any circumstance.  God loves each of us, so much that He was willing to do whatever it took to win us back, no matter how much we were consumed by this world and our offenses toward Him.  The book, “The Sacred Romance,” highlights that God loved us before creation and before the fall.  He has never stopped pursuing us and will go where ever it takes to get us back.  He loved us so much, he came into this world through Jesus to pour out his blood to forgive us all and secure our seat at the wedding feast.

Look to Jesus’s parable of the prodigal son.  Even after his son left and lived a wild and carefree life, when he reached the point of brokenness, the father welcomed him with open arms.  That is the type of love God has for us.  No matter where we go, He will always forgive and pull us back with open arms.  With that much love for us and that willingness to forgive, how could we not forgive others.

I know this can be a difficult subject for many.  You may be faced with the struggles of dealing with a situation that you may hold so much anger toward and have challenges with trying to forgive.  If this is you, spend some time in prayer and Scripture on this.  Understand that God loves you through everything you have done yourself and no matter how much you fall short of His glory.  He will always pursue us through our faults and sins.  God forgave us, so we must also forgive.

Having Faith in Where God is Leading You

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Have you ever had those moments where you felt like you were called to do something radical and different?  You sat and pondered the idea and felt like it was something you needed to act on.  Then in the midst of preparation and putting that idea together and bringing it to life you fall back and start having thoughts pulling against you.  Thoughts that may the result of fear and anxiety over what you are about to do and then quiet often, fear over what others might think of it.  Then you start to question your own motives and often questioning God’s motives and wonder if you can really go through with it and where He may be calling to go.

I’ve definitely had those moments.  Many of you saw my last post “My Faith Testimony,” where I stood in front of the camera for the first time and shared with everyone my personal faith testimony and journey of how I came to building a relationship with God and Jesus Christ.  Those reading my blog will know that I first posted about this idea over a month ago.  I knew that was going to be a big moment for me and faith journey and knew God was leading me to take that step.  Over the last month, time and time again, I questioned myself and even prayed if this was what God really wanted me to do.  It would pull me away from the idea and took me some time to finally get up in front of the camera to do it.

What you don’t know, is that it took three efforts of recording to finally get it to where I wanted.  After the first time through I was so caught up in critiquing myself and was so scattered that I almost scrapped the idea.  I felt throughout the days after that something was trying to stop me and I started thinking very negative about it.  After a few days of prayer and discussion with my wife, I was motivated again and trusted that God was leading me down the right path.  Since posting, I realized that it was the right thing.

Sharing my story and journey took a lot of guts for me.  I am quite the introvert.  Very reserved and am not one that goes out to seek attention and conversation.  God was telling me that I needed to take a giant leap of faith though.  I realized from this that when He is calling on you to do something new and big, you just have to trust Him.  Trust where God is leading you and have faith in the results.  I don’t do any of this, writing or the videos for my own sake and glory.  For me it is all about God.  It is all about drawing closer to God’s heart and helping to lead people to draw closer to God as well.

The enemy will try every way he can to stop you.  That is where the doubts and fears come from.  You begin to worry about what the world will say if you answer that call; if you make that big change or do the task thrown before you.  You start to stress about potential consequences and start hearing conflicting thoughts in your own head.  I dealt with those same thoughts.  I often deal with those thoughts when I write too.  That feeling of hesitancy before hitting the button to publish.

Simply put, trust in God.  Have faith in where He is leading you.  Have the confidence to take the leap.   You’re going to always have naysayers.  You’re going to always contend with some kind of negative trying to slow you down or prevent you from doing what your being called to do.  Spend time in prayer.  Listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  Know that God is using you for His purpose and have faith that your efforts draw you closer to Him.  Give God all the glory.  The results may not always be what you expect, but trust what God expects and what He’s doing.

You have a choice in it all.  God gave us that will to make the choice.  He knows where He wants to move, but we have to decide if we follow where He leads or go our own way and where the world tells us.  Have faith in Him.  Saint Augustine said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”  Your faith will bring about great reward in the end.  Hold tight to that.

Is Your Heart Thirsty?

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This week, I began reading a book called “The Sacred Romance – Drawing Closer to the Heart of God”  This book was written by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge.  Now, for those that have followed my writing, you will notice that I often quote information from Ransomed Heart Ministries and books from John Eldredge and others.  While I just started this book, I felt prompted already to begin sharing.  I look forward to uncovering what else they have in this book and I’m sure I’ll be motivated to share more as I go along.   I don’t do this to copy what they doing, but I do this because I believe God has called me many times over to reach other men and beyond in their own pursuit of knowing God’s purpose for their life and pursuing life in way that is close to God and glorifies Him daily.  That’s what we are all meant to do.  To glorify God in all we do, whether the outcomes are good or bad, we have to give glory to Him.

Now in this book, the very first chapter speaks to the promptings of God through the Holy Spirit.  How He speaks with us throughout our lives to help guide our actions and where we go.  Any of you ever hear that small voice inside telling you that you need to listen to your heart because their’s something more?  It asks you if you’re thirsty for something more.  I certainly have.  No, it’s not a midlife crisis.  It’s prompting from the Holy Spirit saying letting you know that your were purposed for more.  There is something missing.

Often times, when we hear that voice, we brush it aside because we have so much more going on in our crazy lives.  We don’t have time for those thoughts.  However, later it comes back again.  You continue to hear it nag at you, so to speak.  It’s trying to get your attention until you finally stop and pay attention and decide to take action.  This voice is calling you to more.  Calling you to a life that walks closer to the heart of God.  God is always pursuing us.  The Holy Spirit, whether we walk with God daily or not, will always be there to try to get our attention.

Listen closely.  That voice will speak to you at varying times.  It may be in the middle of the night when you’re farthest away from the busy life you have during the day.  It could be at anytime.  Stop and listen.  God is talking you.  Yes, you.  He wants everyone of us to draw closer to His heart and walk in His purpose.  He wants all of us to be contagious for His Kingdom and share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.  He wants all of us to fully come alive through glorifying Him and purposing the purpose He created us for.  When we choose to change course and pursue a life that aligns to God’s purpose for you, you will see a great difference in your own life.

When the Holy Spirit asked if I was thirsty for more, the answer was most definitely yes.  “Thirsty hearts are those whose longings have been wakened by the touch of God within them.” – A.W. Tozer.  God has wakened me and where I am going.  I’ve chosen to plant the seeds and start on the path He called me for.  I pray that each one of you will do the same in your own lives.  Listen to the voice within.  Don’t let the craziness of this world cloud you and keep you from seeing what God purposed you for and what your calling is.   Maybe it is time for a big change to come.  Will you be strong and courageous enough to pursue it?  Are you still thirsty?

The Daily Battles of This World

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Everyday of our lives, we are faced with numerous battles that we must confront and deal with.  Living in this fallen world, we are faced with things that try to pull us off track, challenge our faith, challenge our passion, and try to eat at our lives.  These battles, if we let them, can start to tear at who we are, destroy our lives, our relationships with family and friends, and cause us to turn away from God.  These can be things that simple as negative thoughts toward something or someone.  It can lustful temptations of all kinds.  You name, we all face it.  The issue we all face is how do we deal with it.

Now, it can be easy, very easy to give in.  Many people do this daily.  It can be easy to get pulled into negative of this world.  Give in to negative thoughts, give in to sin, give in to Satan and his demons.  In reading an article in a new online magazine that launched this past week called And Sons Magazine, there was the topic of good versus evil.  The article took the example of the movie “Man of Steel.”  From that movie, he pointed to a line spoken by Kevin Costner’s character, Jonathan Kent.  He said to Clark, “One day you’re going to have to make a choice—you have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be because that man, good character or bad, he’s gonna change the world.”

Our actions and how we decide to deal with the battles and temptations we face each day can have lasting consequences, good or bad.  You may think to yourself, it’s just me, how can I have a lasting impact on others.  Trust me you do.  In my daily reading in Scripture this week, part of the focus is on the Book of Joshua.  Joshua, led the Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, conquering Jericho and beyond with God’s angel leading the way.  In Joshua 7 & 8, we learn what happens to Achan and his entire family when he sins by keeping items set aside for God.  His own sins and brought death to his entire family from stoning.  His sins had a lasting effect on others because he fell to worldly temptations.

Going back to the article, we now look to Jesus.  Often times Jesus is seen as peaceful and tranquil. However, what we do not often see taught is that Jesus was preparing us to battle the evil that will confront us daily.  John 10:10, Jesus tells us the “The thief’s purpose is to kill and destroy. My purpose is to bring them a rich and satisfying life.” Matthew 10:34, Jesus says, “Don’t imagine that I come to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” Then verse 36, ” Your enemies are right in your own household.”  Jesus came to lay down His life for us, to set us free from sin and death.  His mission was to also prepare us for what we will face on a daily basis.  The enemy will constantly be trying to destroy us from within.  We have to take a lesson from Christ and make the choice to take up the battle for Him.  If we don’t and we give in, then we face the consequences of Achan as our own sins and passivity to this world will have a lasting impacts not just on us, but on those around us.  Likewise, if we choose to battle the evil of this world and battle for God’s Kingdom by proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, then we can also change the world that way.  We can be contagious and change the world, but we have to choose which way to go.

C.H. Spurgeon said, “Look to the Cross, and hate your sin, for sin nailed your Well Beloved to the tree. Look up to the cross, and you will kill sin, for the strength of Jesus’ love will make you strong to put down your tendencies to sin.”  When you find yourself faced with a challenge today or any day for that matter, look to the Cross.  Jesus poured His blood out for us to be set free from sin.  When trials come your way, turn to Cross.  Nail them at the feet of Jesus and let Him take those troubles from you.  Jesus told us in John 16:33 that we will have trouble in this world, but take heart because He has overcome this world.  Jesus can take all of that trouble and those battles away.  When the evil comes knocking, let Jesus answer the door.  It is that simple folks.  Jesus Is The Answer!!!  He can pull us through every battle we face if we put our full faith and trust in Him.  Trust me.  He has done wonders for me and I have seen what He has done for many others who have struggled, but trusted in Him.  Be a warrior for Christ and look to Him for all your troubles.  He is the armor and the sword that you need.

SpiritofPower

 

Unleashing Your Real Talents

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I’ve been blogging and writing for many years.  In addition to the different blogs I wrote, I also did a lot of writing through my many years of schooling through graduate school and doctoral program.  I never really found it to be a real strength, if you will, but rather just something I did.  I am a very reserve and introverted person.  Writing became a channel for me to talk about things that weighed heavily on my mind.  Never really thought of it as much of a talent, but something i just liked to do and began to do regularly.  Now, as you all know, I don’t blog every single day, but rather when something inspires me and a thought comes across that I feel needs expressing.

Through school, writing was different.  It became something that was more forced and to write about things that really did not matter much to me personally, but rather because it was assigned.  I find that writing comes much easier when it is something I feel strongly about and really stands out to me.  If I don’t feel the passion behind the writing it’s hard to focus strongly on it.  You can ask my wife on this.  There were many nights she would see me at my computer just trying to force out a paper.

This year, I began something a little different.  I started writing post-game blogs for my son’s middle school baseball team, the Jefferson Dragons.  I did not write huge articles on the games, but rather game recaps with a touch of dramatics to add excitement for the readers.  The players and parents loved it.  In the readership and response I received and my wife received for her pictures that accompanied, it I realized that this is a real talent.  There is something really here.  I knew God gifted me with the talent of writing, but its cool when you can see the reaction that it gives others and it helps really solidify that something really is there.  I’ve been writing for so long, but it never really occurred to me that it was a talent God gifted me with until the last year or so.

My whole point here is that every single one of us has a talent that God gifted us with that we can use to do some pretty awesome things.  Many of you may have already figured out that talent and are realizing that today.  Still others of you may not have figured out exactly what that talent is.  What is it that God gifted you with to bring to this world?  I promise you it is there.  It may be very subtle or it may be something huge.  Either way, you have to find it within yourself and pray on it so that this talent can be unleashed and put to work.  Don’t let someone else define it for you and tell you what you are good at.  Know what you are good at and ask God to lead you into works that will help you realize its potential and give Him all the glory for it.  Once you put that talent to use to do what God tasked you to do, you will see awesome things happen.

Having the Courage to Change

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I have written many times over the past year since I started this blog about changing our life’s direction and changing ourselves and where we go.  We often times find ourselves on paths that don’t seem to make a lot of sense to us and therefore can get ourselves caught in a life of complacency and not motivated.  We simply just coast along and see where the chips may fall.  Trust me, I have been in that position many times.  A life with a mindset that is complacent and not sure what needs to happen next.

I’ve also written that we all have a purpose in life.  God created each and every one of us in a unique way and with a unique purpose and path.  All of our paths are meant to glorify Him, but the path that we take are often times very different.  Ultimately, however, no matter what assignment God inspires us to do, we are meant to complete those assignments in a way that brings Him glory and continues to share the Good News of Jesus Christ through our works and how we interact with others.

What about you?  Do you find yourself fixated on the purpose of glorifying God?  Do you feel that where you are right now is doing work that God purposed you for or you do you find yourself in a spot that seems to suck at your soul and keeps your heart and mind not fixed on God.  Max Lucado said that, “You change your life by changing your heart.”  If you don’t find that God is that center, then you need to change your heart so that He is.  Once He is, then you are more prepared to do the tasks He purposes for you.

People will often sulk because their not happy with their job or where they are in life.  They sit and complain, but don’t plant the seeds they need to plant in order to move.  They don’t talk with God to see where He wants them to move and sit in misery.  Again, I’ve been there too.  You can get yourself out of cubicle world or out of that job or task that simply has no purpose or value.  Don’t let that keep you from realizing what it is God purposed you for.

Now, I know for many, change can be very difficult.  Change is hard on anyone, especially if it means doing something dramatically different than you’ve ever done.  For me, I’ve found my story has taken me on a path that enables me to share and relate with both worlds.  I know what it is like to sulk and feel life wasting away in meaningless work doing what I thought was the right thing.  Since I’ve been reborn and now see where God is leading me, I can share just how glorious that is.  No, I’m not all the way there.  It’s a long road that can be often times difficult and even test you when the world tells you what your doing is not right.

In this case, I look to Joshua 1:9, “This is my command – Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Even if we cannot see what the end result will be, and I surely don’t know how far God will lead me on this path, I know that I have to strong and courageous.  God will be with us through everything we do.  We need to not turn from Him, but rather let Him lead us.  He will always be there.  If you hear Him say it’s time to move, have faith in where He leads you.  While it may not make much sense on the surface.  He has a purpose for it and following through will show His glory that much more, not just to you, but to the world.