What is important?

I sat on Sunday night in disgust of the way the Packers played.  A team that is 15-1 in the regular season comes away one and done in the post season.  How does that happen?  I started looking at the stats to answer that question… THREE fumbles (should have been four but the refs were gracious)… FOUR sacks given up (one of which was a ½ second from being a touchdown)… EIGHT dropped balls (a handful of those that could have been a Touchdown and another few that would have kept the Pack from punting)… and without having to go any further, that right there summed up the loss.

I stewed on that (as if it were me actually losing and I had say in how to fix it).  I lost sleep on Sunday night.  I woke up Monday with it still on my mind and turned on the radio in the car only to hear Mike and Mike (ESPN Radio) discussing all that went wrong.  I headed across town to attend the Baptist Convention of New Mexico’s Executive Board Meeting to get hit in the face with another statistic… and this one helped me remember what is important.

As I sat in the meeting, Dr Joe Bunce told us about a possible upcoming partnership with the country of Kenya in Africa and the Southern Baptist Convention of Kenya’s Houses of Hope.  Here are the stats that stood out to me from that meeting… Kenya, a country the size of Texas, has 40 million people living in it (census 2009).  Of those 40 million, SEVEN MILLION of them are orphaned children who have lost their parents to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Do you realize that that is more people than the metro area of Phoenix Arizona… that is over three times more people than the ENTIRE state of New Mexico!  SEVEN MILLION orphans.  SEVEN MILLION!!!  (And I was worried about the Packers sloppy play keeping them out of the Super Bowl)

The reason for the ministry of Houses of Hope is to take James 1:27 and put it into practice… “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”  For $400, Houses of Hope builds a house, takes a widow from the area, places her in the house, and put a number of orphans in the house as well – teaches them basic life skills, helps with planting a garden at the house, and a number of other things.

I love sports.  I am a big fan of the Packers (NFL), the Diamondbacks (MLB), the Coyotes (NHL), and Suns (NBA).  I love college sports as well.  It amazes me how wrapped up I can get in my teams performance and how excited or disappointed I can be because of it.  I was heartbroken on Sunday night… but why?  Is it really that important and life changing if “my team” wins or loses?  When the Pack won the Super Bowl last year, did I see any royalties for being a fan?  Did I get to be a part of the parade or go to the White House… and an even better question… did it make any difference in my life (or anybody’s) a year later?  Teams win and teams lose and then it all starts over again next year.

The stats that matter are outside of sports and many times outside of us.  People are dying because they lack proper nutrition, proper medication, and proper protection from insects in their area… and what are we doing about it?

We live in a generation that has plenty and is doing little about distributing it.  We need to focus on what is important and if something is going to break our heart, lets throw the football and baseball aside, and be heartbroken by the fact that 7,000,000 Kenyan kids are orphaned (and those stats don’t get reset at the beginning of next season).

Websites to look at…   Reject Apathy - Houses of Hope does not have a website up yet but there are many other organizations that are connected with them... so just Google "Houses of Hope Kenya" to see more.

Its about time... again.

This week, Christy and I were sitting and watching some old home videos we had taken back when Camden was 2 and 3 years old.   It amazed us how much we had all changed over the last eight years… and what was just a funny, was to also see some our friends in those videos that we still see and how they have changed as well.  Each day we get older… our kids grow up and we are one step closer to eternity.  How are you investing your time?

Matthew 16:25 – Jesus said…

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

The possibility of losing their lives was very real for the disciples as well as for Jesus.  Read discipleship implies real commitment.  It means pledging our whole existence to His service.  If we try to save our physical life from death, pain, or discomfort, we may risk losing our true eternal life.  If we protect ourselves from pain and discomfort, we begin to die spiritually and emotionally.  Our lives turn inward and we lose our intended purpose.  When we give our lives in service to Christ, however, we discover the real purpose for living.

As you read Paragon's “book for the month” Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado, I hope you will be challenged to understand you ONLY have one life… do something with it.  Don’t be that person that grinds through life and dies without ever asking "why does God have ME here."

I guess it can all be summed up with this quote from the classic 80’s movie… Ferris Bueller’s Day Off…  when Matthew Broderick’s character (Ferris Bueller) says

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

TIME

It has been over a month since my last entry on this blog.  I started thinking… why?  Why has it been so long since my last post?  It wasn’t for a lack of things to talk about…

I mean – thanksgiving fell during the blogging sabbatical and there is always plenty to discuss when it comes to us giving thanks. 

There was also the big snow storm that came and then froze.  I could have written about how the snow is so clean and makes everything look great until humans get there hands in the mix and dirty it up and make everything look gross (sounds similar to God cleaning us up… you know what I mean). 

There was also the cold that came with that storm and how ungrateful I can be when I have a warm house to sleep in and money to pay the heating bill for the month.  I realized that fact when I went out to my car that I parked outside and my water bottle from the day before was frozen solid.  (Some family probably slept in their car the night before because they didn’t have the aforementioned items).  A bit of a reality check… definitely could have blogged on that.

So why has it been so long since my last post?  It boils down to an excuse so many of us have yet really isn’t true.  “I just didn’t have the time” or a better phrase this time of year is “I’m just too busy.”

I’ll be honest with you – I hate it when people use the excuse they don’t have time – or they ran out of time or anything do to with being too busy.  In all reality… we all have the same amount of time, and blaming the fact that we didn’t get it done because “I didn’t have the time” really is a nice way of saying – it wasn’t a priority (or it really wasn’t important to me) so I didn’t get it done.

Think about it for a second… if it is important enough, we will find the time to do it won’t we?  If a famous actor or your favorite sports athlete called and wanted to stop by for a meal and hang out with you, you would not be too busy.  If you were offered a chance to do something fun that you may never get the opportunity to do ever again, you would definitely rearrange your schedule.   Time is an unusual thing.  We all get the same amount – we have to spend it all – we don’t really “save” it – and it really does make a difference how and where we invest it.

On New Year’s many of us will make a resolution or two – something to do with weight or addictions or health… but I would challenge you to begin to think about how you spend your time.  Over the last year, how much time did you waste?  How do we keep from doing that again this year?  How many times did you put off something until tomorrow assuming tomorrow was going to come?

Our time is valuable – spend it and invest it wisely!

Paul tells us this very thing in the book of Ephesians… chapter 5:15-17 (NAS)

¹⁵ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of your time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

We will talk more about the management of our time on Sunday, January 1.  We would love to have you there.

Gratitude... This Sunday

When the kids are unhappy about something... we always tell them to think about "what is something that you are thankful for?"

It is a lesson that I think I need to follow more.  The more I have studied for this Sunday's message, the more spoiled I realize I am.

2-9-0.  Any idea what those numbers mean?  That is what I paid for gas when I filled up yesterday.  A few years ago, I would have thought I was being robbed blind if I had to pay 2.90 a gallon... now I am totally excited.  I honestly never thought I would see a gallon of gas cost under 3.00 in my lifetime.  It is amazing how quickly our perspectives change and how our thankfulness and gratitude is dependent on our situation (when it shouldn't be that way).

Come this Sunday (or visit the website on Monday to download the message) as we discuss gratitude.

A Sunday Follow Up (10/30)

 The message yesterday was… “Is Jesus Enough?”  The obvious Christian answer is “YES” – but do we live like it?

Until everything is taken away, I guess we will never really know.  Because we have so much and rely so much on everything that we have (and that we need/want) – can we really know for sure that we are living like Jesus is enough?

Yesterday, we went quickly through acts 20 (with our focus on verses 22-24) and looked at the challenge that Paul faced in leaving his “comfort zone” and his stuff and the things that he surrounded himself with and then head to Jerusalem where things weren’t so comfortable – where it would really be “just Jesus and him”. 

“And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that

the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.  But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”

“And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again.  I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault,  for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know."

(Acts 20:22-27) NLT

Here’s what I took from the message last Sunday (and the studying all week)…

First, we need to be open and honest with God and sit quietly to listen to Him and his leading (through the Holy Spirit).  When God calls, it is time to go.  No matter the uncertainty, no matter the resistance and no matter the cost.

We can blame the thought of not knowing what is next on why we don’t go… but look at all of the Biblical examples of people who followed when they really didn’t know the outcome… From Moses, Abraham and Noah all the way to the disciples and Paul.   What can we learn… When God calls us, we are to be obedient and leave the details to God.  (It’s called “taking a step of faith”)  Yes, you will have questions and you will most certainly have critics… but if we truly believe that Jesus is Enough, we are willing to follow Him no matter the cost… because He is everything and I am nothing.

A Follow Up to Sunday

 It’s Wednesday.  I am not sure about you but all week I have been thinking about Sunday’s message.  If you weren’t there, we talked about Choosing Intimacy with God. (it’s up at www.paragonchurch.com or you can download it at iTunes).

On Sunday, I had a hard time with the message for whatever reason.  Maybe you did too.  It was about being open and vulnerable to God and being willing to let Him love you fully and loving him the same in return.

It seems like an easy thing to do – and we all know it is something that we should do, but do we do it?  Do we choose to really KNOW God and allow him to really KNOW us?  Do we choose intimacy?

This might help answer that question… Intimacy with God begins when we radically pursue Him with our whole heart.  The book of James tells us that in chapter 4 vs 8 - Come close to God, and God will come close to you. That verse goes on to say Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

Radically pursuing Him with our whole heart – all the time… not a part time thing.  We can’t be pursuing all the things of the world and God.

Is our loyalty divided?  Is my loyalty divided?  Is that concept what makes it so difficult to be intimate with God? What are the things that come in the way?  What are the things we are more intimate with than God… what do we know better and give more time to?

As I looked around, I see all sorts of things that get in the way – take more time – I know better.  Much of it seems to revolve around technology… iPhone, computer (especially social media), TV, Radio, Video Games, and the list goes on.  I would bet that those are things that get in the way for you too.  But what are we to do?  We NEED those things to survive… DON’T WE?  I mean, twenty years ago, people were so lost without unlimited mobile to mobile minutes and texting, right?  40 years ago there were only 5 channels to turn to… oh the humanity!  70 years ago, people didn’t even have TV’s, just scratchy low quality (standard definition) radio broadcasts – how could you live in such a culture?

Can you imagine a day without Facebook, Twitter, emails, texts, or phone calls?  A day without TV or your MP3 player or some other noise distraction? Even a couple of hours is hard, isn’t it?  Honestly, it has become so difficult for some that Southwest and other airlines now offer free WiFi on select plane flights.  Frontier has DirecTV built into their head rests.

And we wonder why it is hard to be intimate with God… it is because we are never pursuing him with our whole heart… we are never “still and know that He is God” – how do we get to the point where we can choose to be intimate with Him, without distraction.

Here is my challenge (to myself included)… Take time and fast (to take time to be without).  Take a day a week – take a day a month – or you could even start small and just take an hour.  Unplug from the world and plug into God.  Don’t worry about everything else… yes you will survive.  Do it in the morning when you wake up… do it before bed… do it at lunch… to start - unplug for an hour or two.  Sit quietly (it may be the first time you have ever done that in your life).  Pray to God.  Listen to God.  Read His Word (from the actual book, not your iPad).  See what happens.  Let that time grow into a special time between you and God.

Give it a shot.  It may seem weird at first but I bet you will like it before long.  So many people tell me that they never hear God… but how can you with all of the other “noise” in your life.

Pursue God.

Another quick thought from Mr Jobs...

I saw this on the Fox News website...  A quote from Steve Jobs (right before I graduated High School)

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me.… Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful—that’s what matters to me.—CNNMoney/Fortune, May 25, 1993

How do we have that same attitude toward life?  How can we grasp the understanding that it (life) isn't about the money... that it (life) isn't even about me at all?

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/05/steve-jobs-in-his-own-words/#ixzz1ZyI2jcc9