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Soaring Like Eagles or Falling like paper weights?

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

I’m not sure where you’re at today in your spiritual walk with God, but I do know that there are days when I feel emotionally and spiritually spent.  My hope in God isn’t where it should be. There are days in which my compassion level is at an all time low and my apathy level is at an all time high…and that scares me.   It’s in those moments that I am reminded of the Eagle:Image

On a number of occasions, while driving, I have looked out my windows of the van and seen amazing sights around me…on a couple of instances as I’ve looked out into nature on such a drive, I have glanced up at the trees and witnessed the majesty of soaring Eagles.  Eagles don’t flap as much as other birds, their wing spans are very large and because of it, once they reach a certain height in the sky, they let the wind currents do all of the work as they spread out their magnificent feathered wings and glide high above it all.   But how do they get up there?  First, of course there’s the leap from their nests or perches, then the initial exertion of flapping broad wings to reach the necessary altitude for soaring.  These Eagles know where to find the wind currents, they understand it will be there but they have to do the initial work of getting there first…

As followers of Christ, if we want to be mature Christians, reaching new heights and allowing His Holy Spirit to ignite us and spur us onward into our world, we first have to do the initial work of faith and belief.  There can be no doubt left that God will be there for us.  He is constant, He is faithful and He wants us to soar…but we have to make the climb.

Isaiah 40:31 is a powerful verse, one of my favorites, but did  you catch the initial sentence?  But those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength.  When we launch outward and up, there has to be an element of faith and hope that the Lord is there for us.  If we launch out and up with grains of doubt, tinges of mistrust in Him, we most likely will launch, fall and land flat on our faces.  To be empowered, ignited by God and His mighty strength, we have to first believe and place all of our hope in Him.  Then the soaring can take place.  Only after we Hope in the Lord can we achieve such heights.

Before we can soar, before we can be renewed the initial work of stepping or launching out and up  we have to make a decision, to play it safe – remaining in our nests or perches and eventually starve spiritually; OR – Hope in the Lord, trust in His mighty power and leap out there knowing He will be there to help us soar.

So what will it be?  Will we play it safe and never expand, grow or even soar?  Or will we launch outward and up as we confidentially and boldly trust in His mighty power?

May we all find our soaring altitude…thanks be to God!

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Comfort, Peace Crammed into a Crazy Busy Schedule

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Do you sometimes feel weak, disappointed, alone, uneasy?  Don’t worry, you’re not alone.  According to some research on the topic of anxiety, some 40 million adults over the age of 18 struggle with anxiety and anxiety disorders in the U.S. alone.  That’s a lot of people feeling depressed, anxious and afraid.  If anxiety reigns in our lives, it has been proven that anxiety can lead to other sicknesses and diseases because the body and its immunity has been compromised from the outside in.   

This simple verse from Isaiah says something to you and me that we should prescribe to our bodies, souls and minds like medicine to an ailment.  Our Father in Heaven wants us to lean on Him for strength, support and assurance.  In this verse alone there are 5 assurances for us from God himself: 

1) I (God) am with you!

2) I am your God!

3) I will strengthen you!

4) I will help you!

5) I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

What I have found in my life is that every promise God gives to his people – He keeps it!

He loves us that much, and He does not want us to fail, despair, or doubt Him!  

Are you at the end of your rope today?  Are you lacking confidence, assurance, hope?  God comes to us and says; “I am with you don’t be afraid!” Lean on Him, know that He is there for you through thick and thin…but faith is a two way street…you have to place it in His hands.  

So go ahead, find comfort and peace in your crammed, crazy busy schedule today, by realizing this verse in your life…I dare you!  Image

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John 3:16 (More than a Church thang, it’s a love thang!)

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John 3:16…

“For God so loved that world that He gave His only son, so that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life”

we needed saving, we’re hopelessly lost, our life is literally going to hell in a hand-basket and what does this passage of scripture tell us?  God loved us.  It’s like giving your watch to a bank robber…it doesn’t seem to make sense.  We don’t deserve such grace, and yet grace is just what we get with God.

God gave us His one and only son…so we wouldn’t have to die eternally…so that we could once again have a relationship with our Creator.  This Son of God’s, was perfect, without sin, and He sacrifices his life for ours…so that his blood now covers our ocean of sin.

I’m not sure about you, but when I read this passage of scripture I don’t just think, “yeah I’ve heard that passage many times in church and Sunday school”;  but I now think “Wow…I don’t deserve it…and yet it’s there for me!”

Christmas just came and went.  and during that holiday season – kids will be kids and ask for so many things that it drives parents crazy, yet we know that we love them and we desire to give them what they need not what they want.

In God’s case, however, he gave us what we need and what we will want for all time.  To be loved.  The next time that you feel unloved…think again.  You may not have your friends or family around you at that moment, it may hurt, the circumstances around you may not be great, but YOU ARE LOVED!

I want to challenge you to cry out to God in your times of need and in your times of plenty.  Know that you have been thought of from the beginning of time and God wants a relationship with you!

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At the Ski Lodge

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In the Ski lodge

Fried food lingers

to pores, plaster

and particle board walls

it’s a teenage wasteland

of sorts

acne and cells phones

tightly wrapped

in Northface coats

down knockoffs

mittens and scarves

and blistered feet

are engulfed in boots

too tight

strapped, locked in

and ready for

another downward

plunge.

Idle chatter coats

The tables and chairs

Like syrups of soda

Spilled, layered and sticking

To everything it touches.

 

Youth lined in coats of safety

Safely glance, withdrawing

And glancing again

Lacking confidence

Coughing nervously

Courageously trying,  failing…

Picking themselves up off

Of the powered snow

Brushing off illusions

Of rejection, injecting

Infected bruised pride

With another shot of

Laughter, red faced

Not just frost bite

Teasing the cheeks and nose

This is living

ski lifts, hot cups of cocoa

Steaming , engulfing souls in this

Wasteland,

retrieving mitten hands

Gathering up scarves and hats

Destined for that big jump

That may or may not come

Accompanied with chances

Of bruised pride, ribs and

Collar bones… those that

Are free, full of fried food

Ferry up the slope again

Fighting off such feelings

Of failure,

It’s all downhill

from there.

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Community…love it or hate?

Let’s be honest, living in community isn’t easy. We all know it, but we don’t say it because it’s kind of a sensitive subject…it effects you and me. We live in community with a lot of people whether we know it our not. Your co-workers – community. Your family – community. Your church – community. Your Neighrhood – yeah still community.

How we interact sometimes depends on how a particular relationship is at that time…if there’s been a falling out or disagreement that community might be strained or awkward. But no matter how you slice it we live in community…unless you’re a hermit in the woods.

With that being said, community can either be a positive or negative experience. Just look in the bible at Acts chapter 2 for an excellent example of a positive experience in community. After the day of Pentecost the early followers of Christ began an amazing house church community in which things thrived and exploded. They shared everything with one another such as food and financial resources. There was harmony and the sense of love was overwhelming. This was and still is one of the most amazing examples of community working, active and thriving in all of history.

I could give examples of unhealthy, negative communities but all one has to do to see this is to flip on a reality television or even experience it (possibly) in a co-worker dispute or family disagreement. It happens.
We are all susceptible to selfish ambitions and pride…the question is do we want to change? Is change possible? Can we grow?

Community isn’t easy, blow outs take place…but is it possible to exist in an Acts 2 community in our world? I believe it’s possible, but in order to get there we have to take off our mantles or pride and selfishness and adopt an attitude of Christ-like selflessness and humility…when or if we ever get there watch out because THAT community will be a magnet to many who witness it.

But first…compassion, selflessness and humility. -Micah 6:8

Just a thought.

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Crushed, Mushed, Yet Persistent

crushing your head

Ok I admit it, I used to love this sketch, but today it reminds me of something more than just comedy…although HA! This sketch still makes me laugh.

“In every way we’re troubled, but we aren’t crushed by our troubles. We’re frustrated, but we don’t give up.”

(2 Corinthians 4:8)

This has been one of my favorite passages for a long time, and I’ll tell you why…one word ‘Hope’.  Not ‘hope’ in the sense of wishes, like “I hope it will be warmer tomorrow”, but rather the confidence in something so much more absolute and dependable.  The hope that is conveyed here by the apostle Paul is a confidence in God and in the mission of this great truth of Christ.

If someone who had been beaten for his faith could relate to such an emotion as hope, then there must be something to it for us as well.  Paul had been obsessed with eradicating these heretic followers of Christ when he was known as Saul, before the blinding celestial lights on the highway to Damascus came on.  His experience there transformed him into a “won’t back down” kind of missionary and evangelist.  He wasn’t in it for fame, certainly not fortune because there was none and his political and notoriety took a nose dive following his decision to declare Christ’s message to the known world.  Paul knew that this road he was on would lead him to his eventual death…yet he didn’t take the next exit off this highway.

It kind of boggles the mind doesn’t it?  This dude was beaten for his faith; he had been put in chains, and was serving Christ in various house arrests, ship wreaks, and eventually his ultimate sacrifice of execution.   If there was ever a “who’s who” of hard-core Christ followers, Paul would most definitely be on that list!  Yet in his difficulties, in his personal struggles and leadership struggles, he writes this letter of encouragement and hope to a church he hadn’t seen in a year.

The very first chapter he writes; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in ALL our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, which the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”(2 Cor. 3-4).

Not only was Paul confident in this hope that was in God, but he wanted others to know this comfort, confidence and hope too.  His love for others placed him in danger yet he didn’t quit, withdraw, or deny his allegiance to God through the Messiah Christ Jesus.

Have you been crushed, pressed on all sides?  Do you feel discouraged, let down, torn by life circumstances?  Have you considered throwing up the white flag and giving up?  You are not alone!  I’ve been there, might be there again tomorrow…I don’t know.  But what I do know is that this message that Paul wrote a looooooong time ago, is for me and you too!  We may not face certain death for our convictions or declarations of faith, but we do face trouble because of it.  Your struggle might be spiritual, physical or a little of both.  Whatever you’re going through today, you are not alone, and God does NOT want you to give up either!

I’ve never been or wanted to be on the “who’s who” list of Hard-core followers of Christ, but I know still today, God calls us to take giant stands for Him, and whatever comes of these convictions and proclamations…we won’t back down or quit.  This isn’t some call to arms, or some strange militia rant, this is a declaration of faith, and the knowledge that God will comfort you and me even in the most difficult of circumstances.

So stand firm, be bold, and don’t give up!

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