Month: October 2014

Monday of this week, I was at one of my favorite quiet places spending some time with Jesus! It is at a park…a river runs through it. It is a beautiful place!

As you can see there is a bridge that runs over the river at the place that I call home some mornings! If you look closely, you will see a big tree that floated down the river and got stuck on the bridge supports that stand in the river! Big bridge, big tree, average sized river!

A lot of things speak to me when I see this scene from the Cedar River.

1. The river is the mightiest element in this scene. It can move the biggest of trees down through its current. It’s final destination––UNKNOWN! But the current of this river can move some big objects!
2. This tree was stopped by a man-made object! Man put this bridge over the river as a convenience for traffic. Then the natural (God) way of life got hindered. Is the bridge bad? No way! If more trees come down the river and get caught, will that be bad? Yes.
3. Even with the average size river that flows through my city, even though there is a big blockage, and even though man put a convenience in the middle of this beautiful God scene, the river still runs through!

I am thinking of 3 verses of life today…

• Prov. 4:23 (NIV) “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Your heart is that river. Average or not, everything you do is important to the well-being of your life!
• John 10:10 (NIV) “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Don’t let the tree build up and destroy the life that God wants you to have!
• Psalm 42:7 (NIV) “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” No matter what tree or man-made convenience has built up in your life, make sure that you hear the deep roar of His waterfall in your life!

By the way, did I mention that this river flows through the town I live in Cedar Falls! You should see some of the waves, rapids, and breakers that happen along the Cedar River––a beautiful picture of this verse!

My prayer for you today, let His River run through YOU!

I have a lot of pictures on the walls of my office. I have a lot of sentimental stuff in my office as well, stuff collected over the years of living life with people (students, families, individuals, teams, etc…). All of them tell a story about people, places, times, victories, and tragedies. All of them are a relic of the past, a license to remember, permission to go back to yesterday!

This week I saw a video of my little 2-year-old son Ian in his Sunday School class. His teachers had some great music playing and he was “cutting a rug” for sure! He gets his moves from his mother, his great looks from his mother… (well––never mind). As I watched this 2 minute video, I thought to myself, “Wow, this is awesome!” I was watching my little Sport live his life to the fullest! He was enjoying it so much, just loving his life!

What if we could somehow put live video feeds up on our walls and replace the static glimpses of the past? What if we could let go of yesterday and let the present be the smile and nod of a great moment; not a memory that we long to go back to? What if the dream of the future was more important than the fading glimpse of yesterday?  What if the rearview mirror was not the portal that we looked through, but we stared with confidence into the wide open windshield of today and tomorrow?

Jesus, said in John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them life and have it abundantly.”

I wonder if too often in our lives we stare at the past and desire to go back? Is that a trick from the enemy to become stagnant and not live life going forward instead of grabbing the promise of Christ to have life and have it abundantly?

Now in the spirit of full disclosure, I will not be going to bare walls in my home or office yet. I will, however, be looking much more intently on finding those moments in life that bring joy and teach me to live a life that is abundant––that teach me to dance! I really can’t dance, but I can and I want to enjoy the moments I have just like Ian! Way to teach your dad, son! I Love You Sport!

Vicki Corona: “Remember that life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!” Dancing can do that for you!

I have really been studying the Apostle Peter over the last several days. I have been moved by the marked transformation that occurs in Peter’s life. As you pick up Peter’s story in the end of the Gospels, you see Jesus tell him that he will deny Christ before the rooster crows. Peter does, then kind of disappears from the pages of scripture for a couple of days. Jesus has died, Peter is grieving and fishing, then as the angels show up on the scene, Peter becomes a hot topic again.

In Mark 16:7, “Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as He told you before He died!”

Then in John 21, Jesus appears to them in Galilee. And Jesus begins to clarify the mission of Peter’s new life…

John 21:15– “Feed my lambs;” Vs. 16–  “Take care of my sheep;” Vs. 17– “Then feed my sheep.”

Literally turn the page to the book of Acts, and just within Chapter 1 and 2, you see Peter begin to lead the remaining disciples and speak to the crowds that saw over 3,000 people make the decision to become Christ followers in one sermon!

Talk about a 180˚ turn! Peter went from naysayer to billboard as to the saving power of Christ! Going from John 18:25, “I never knew the man named Jesus!” to Acts 2:21, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!” There is only one man that can give that kind of change, and that is Christ Himself––the leader of the church, the shepherd of the church, the head of the church – Jesus!

As I dive into the rest of my studies on Peter, I find a really loud theme that runs through his life …GRACE! To go from coward to proclaimer, denier to mouthpiece, from ashamed to leader, Peter’s 180˚ turn is solely attributed to the man he left, Jesus’ grace! Where do you need the grace of Jesus in your life? It is not about what you have done, but want Jesus did for you and I!

I leave with you with this thought from Philip Yancey, “I rejected the church (the representation of Christ in the world today) for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else.” 

Hence, be the church that understands grace, desires grace, and gives grace! Be the church that… “Feed the lambs!” “Takes care of the sheep!” “Then feeds the sheep!” And watch the 180˚ happen in the people around you and you, yourself…Peter!

This morning on my way to the office, (after I had stopped by for my morning cup of “Red Eye” from my favorite coffee distributor), something caught my attention. So much so, that even as I drove past this event, I continued to watch it unfold through my rear view mirror!

I saw a squirrel with 2 cheeks full of nuts, most definitely harvesting for the long winter chill here in North Central Iowa. This squirrel was bounding through someone’s front yard, racing to the street. Now on this street, a certain SUV was clipping along about 40 MPH, certain to be this squirrel’s doom. Not wanting to be the one to end this little critter’s life, I honked. The squirrel applied its brakes, pulled a 180˚ turn, and raced back towards the safety of the oak tree that it had just come from.

As I passed by, I looked through my rear view mirror only to see the squirrel racing back to the street in desperation to cross the road. To its dismay, there was a string of trucks behind me. The little fellow chose not to take the chance and raced back to the tree. I badly needed to know if he made it across, so a few hours later I drove back past the stage of the event, finding no evidence of the little guy NOT making it! Thank goodness!

As I drove past this little squirrel, I thought of the many times I have heard the Lord say to me, “I need you over here!” But my life, full of all the things I think I need, or concerns I have for the journey, or just the emotions that say, “You won’t make it!” cause me to find myself hampered from the race to the other side of the road. In my own wisdom, I’m storing up treasures that the world will corrode with moths of apathy and the rust of self-pleasure. While I am yearning for the safety of sitting in the palms of my God who loves me and in whom I can always trust, I’m still letting the desires of “me” get in the way of the plan from HIM!

As you know, many squirrels don’t make it to the other side of the road. Why? Because they don’t know how to calculate speed, or maybe they have too many things in their cheeks that sap the speed they need to outrun a 40 MPH SUV! Just like many of us don’t make it to the place God has called us to be. However, this morning I am reminded of the words so faithfully spoken through the years, found in Proverbs 3:5-8…

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. ⁶ Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. ⁷ Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. ⁸ Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

We all know verses 5 & 6, but it is in 7 & 8 that the rubber really hits the road. (Sorry Mr. Squirrel, no pun intended…) When we lose our own instincts of self-preservation and self-gratification, we rest in the fear (the AWESOMENESS) of the Lord. And we have health and strength for the journey…

…You know the journey that would begin if we would listen to Him, when He says,

“I need you over here!” Ex. 14:15-18 

“Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up!” The fictional, yet larger-than-life, movie character Rocky Balboa said this. This week I have been thinking a lot about defeat vs. success. I want to succeed! I want to be the best, give the best, do the best, and live the best! I want to be a champion!

A champion retired from Major League Baseball this week––Derek Jeter. 20 seasons of playing shortstop for the New York Yankees with 5 World Series Championship rings along with a host of other awards. What a champion by definition HE WAS! Why, because didn’t give up!

But also this week…

A young boy in a dry and dusty corner of Africa didn’t retire, but breathed his last breath because there was no more health to go on. A young girl in Memphis fought her final battle with childhood cancer, not because she gave up, but because she had nothing left to give up. A young soldier stood this week for the ideals of freedom and democracy only to give his life in a worldwide struggle that has been ongoing for nearly 6,000 years––and he did so willingly. You see, none of them gave up…they gave everything!

2000 years ago a middle aged, Middle Eastern, Jewish man gave everything––His life! He gave EVERYTHING––not in defeat, but in VICTORY! His name…JESUS!

You see, I struggle with the definition of success that the world gives vs. the definition of Christ. I want to be a man that is successful (husband, dad, coach, pastor), yet I see that this definition changes through the lens of Jesus. In Luke 9:24 (NLT) “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 harder I try in my own power gets me further from the place Jesus speaks about; further from the place I long to be. Why? Because it is not about me, but He who is in me. John 3:30, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”

As I continue to battle the definition of success in my own life, I am reminded of the words of Paul in 1 Cor. 15:54-58, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting” 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

So contender, do you want to be a CHAMPION? Then – Never Give Up, but GIVE EVERYTHING! And remember,

“…NOTHING YOU DO FOR THE LORD IS EVER USELESS!”