Step by Step

A Reflection for 2011

2011-12-30T13:20:00.000-08:00

If we are not careful, a year will pass away and a new year will begin without taking the time to realize how amazing it truly was.

· This year, the Lord consistently was present and showed us that He is more powerful than any situation we might face
· This year, the Lord allowed His favor to shine and open new doors
· This year, the Lord gave us new obstacles to overcome, new moments of faith to grow
· This year, while the world was distracted by what they might lose, the Lord was focused on whose heart He might win
· This year, the Lord gave the world many opportunities to repent and surrender before His imminent return
· This year, God healed the broken hearted, set the captive free, and gave hope to the hopeless

These are all things that I personally am a witness to in my own life and in those lives that surround me.

This year, I am thankful for my relationship with the Lord and His unwarranted, undeserved, and incomparable love He has for me.

This is the same love He has for you!

May 2012 begin as a year of surrender to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is the only way to find life.

John 14:6-7

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

A Disciplined Godly Life

2011-09-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

This title has the potential to either cause you to stop reading this devotional or possibly challenge you to evaluate who you are and what you are doing. My true hope is that this devotional is more of an encouragement for you to live out a practical life that honors the Lord and the people that He has put around you.

For me, a Godly life begins at 5:30 AM. This does not mean it has to be this way for you, however, it is a crucial element to honoring the Lord in my life. When I get out of bed at 5:30 AM, I get into my running clothes, tie up my shoes, get my dog leashed and ready, and go for my morning run. This a Godly discipline that is crucial for my cholesterol count, but also gives me the time I need to think through my day and make decisions of who I am going to be. Then after my run, I sit on my patio and read the Bible or one of books that point me towards the Lord and who I am supposed to be. When I finish reading I take a few minutes to pray for those people that come to my mind and heart and ask the Lord to be in charge of my day.

This routine has helped me organize and discipline all of the other areas of my life. This life can truly be an amazing journey for those who turn over the control to the Lord. He not only has the ability to strengthen and guide you, but He also has an amazing way to give me a great joy that is purely and overflow of my time with Him.

I encourage you to find your routine, on a daily basis surrender to Him, and daily strive to find moment-by-moment ways to live a life of honor to the Lord. This means that what you do outside the four walls of the church is as crucial as what you do inside the church. The daily integrity of serving the Lord is and always will be the most important part of this life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

A Witness To My Life

2011-04-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

Looking over the years of this life brings many emotions all at once. It has been a life full of laughter, purpose, new adventures, God’s provision, at times pain and tears, miracles, hope, peace, and joy. I am not only thankful to the Lord for walking with me each step of my past but securing my tomorrow. He also gave me a precious gift that I will cherish for the rest of my days. He gave me a friend that will be a witness to my life. In truth, I can say that we have seen each other at our best and our worst.

The gift from the Lord is not just to have this friend in my life, but that He has given us the grace to weather the storms of this life arm in arm. This friend of mine has been walking with me for half of my life. She is not perfect and yet perfect for me. Melissa and I are coming up on 18 years of marriage this June.

Melissa,

Thank you for being a witness to my life. I love you girl. I have no idea what doors this graduation will open for us. However, I do know that it doesn’t matter as long as we are walking through that door together. Thank you for believing in the goals the Lord has placed on my heart.

Love,

Kristopher

At Rest...

2011-02-26T17:56:00.000-08:00

At rest and pressing forward…

The Lord has continued to bring a deep rest to this heart of mine. The more I press into who He is and what He is doing in my life today, the less I need answers for yesterday. It is a wild concept to be at rest, though life is not slowing down or affording me to take my eyes off of the goals ahead. I am finding rest in what I will call simple trust. This simple trust is actually profound. It stems from the realization that I can only control who I am and I must allow the people around me room to breathe and learn. I will simply trust that the Lord will continue to guide my steps and faithfully protect me from the assault of the enemy when it comes. It is a natural response to be worried about explosions when you have walked through them. However, if one is not careful, the explosion of the past will dictate and control the future. This must not be, as there is too much life to live and too large a purpose to live for. Instead, it is better to simply trust that because of where I have walked, I am now wiser and though explosions may still be a part of this life, it won’t be caused because my eyes are shut to the dangers or the path that led to those atrocities.

Though I still look around and at times don’t understand…
And though some mornings the questions that loom are unanswerable…
And though at times all is too quiet and faint memories of war can be heard…
Instead of allowing these conundrums to control me…
I simply smile, trusting in this simple phrase…

My God is good.

And I am at rest once more…

Psalm 116:12
What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me?

Decision by Decision

2011-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

As I walked out of my room this morning I was greeted by a man child with a deeper voice than mine, who had shaving cream on his face, preparing to meet his high school world. I had to stop and take a double take. My brain was incapable of computing how it is that my son had grown up so fast before my eyes. He is an amazing young man, but he is as tall as I am, driving, and dreaming of a future of college, career, marriage, and one day children of his own. All of these dreams of his do not include me in his life on a daily basis. When did this happen?

I believe this happened day by day and decision by decision. Just yesterday, I was approached with a dilemma of being at my youngest son’s basketball game or in a meeting that was important and was part of my responsibilities. I am happy to say that the wise decision was made and I will be at my son’s basketball game. As I evaluate my life and look at the places where I cannot be replaced, there are very few. No one can have the relationship with my God for me, be a husband to my wife for me, the father to my children for me, or build the relationship with my friends and family for me. If I am not careful, decisions will be made to be at those meetings, run those events, and give away those precious moments that can never be recaptured.

At this point in my life it is with clarity that I can see how quickly a couple of years will go by and my children will have grown and be off and running on their own journey. I pray with all of my heart that the Lord will give me the wisdom to say yes to the right things, as it pertains to the precious time given to me. I hope to walk forward with my eyes wide open and capture every moment given to me with those people in my life that I cherish.

This is a good scripture reminding us to keep our focus on what is right and allowing the Lord to take care of the other needs in our life.

Matthew 6:19-33

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Greatness

2010-12-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

What does it really mean when we say, “God is great!”

Does it mean that He has somehow decided to listen to us and do things according to our opinion? Does it mean that we silly humans have stopped hurting each other and ourselves? Does it mean that we have finally attained everything that we think we should somehow have or deserve?

OR does it mean that we have surrendered our opinions and admitted that we are short sighted and myopic in our views?

OR does it mean we have decided to not allow the roller coaster called life and life situations to dictate our faith in God?

OR does it mean we have come to the conclusion that we need to walk in thankfulness instead of deservedness?

It is only when we purpose to disconnect from the things of this world and put focus on who and what God promises to, will we be able to stand firm in the face of adversity. God is an amazing and mighty God with our without our approval. He is the one who spoke this earth into existence and is the one who intersected our lives with hope, peace, and joy.

How long will we choose to allow this world and the people in it to decide our worth and what goals we should run after? God has called us worthy and has an amazing journey in store for those who call Him Lord. I am challenged today to lay aside my own ideas of what this life should look like and allow the Lord to redefine my motives, my goals, and my ultimate destination.

Saying God is great means that He is big enough and awesome enough to lead and guide me. Saying God is great means that I don’t have to be anything but His child.

Deuteronomy 3:23-24
At that time I pleaded with the LORD: “Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?

It is 5:30 AM

2010-11-10T06:06:00.000-08:00

It is 5:30 AM and I am sitting here thinking about the more important things of this life. The Lord is my #1 thought this morning. He has walked with me since I have been a child teaching me how to best navigate this life. He has stood by me when I have walked down wrong paths and embraced sin and temptation- loving me, healing me, and placing my feet back on the path of truth. He has also placed a barrier around me of peace when the nuclear warheads have attempted to blow up my life. In truth, the scars are very real from some of those bombs that have went off, but as the destruction was set in motion, so was the Holy Spirit’s guiding, leading, and healing touch. As with anyone who lives through life trauma and the dying of something, there are questions that may never be answered, but where I am sitting now, I am thankful for the presence of the Lord. One of the greatest things that has happened in my life in these last years is the ability to find God’s fingerprints where He is working, and at times even get to see Him in action. Today, as I think of my life that is filled with the joy of marriage, children, friends, a purposeful ministry, and a fulfilling job- I am at peace.

Thank you Lord for being the faithful and consistent healer and life giver for my life and family.

I am not sure where this devotional finds you this morning. You may be in the midst of suffering the consequences from your own personal life decisions, possibly facing the ramifications from someone else’s decisions, or at a time of peace from the worries of this world. Whichever situation you are in- be encouraged! Your Lord and Maker is actively present in your life and longs to be invited to draw near into your situation. He has jumped through all of the hoops, built the bridges, and created the paths for you to be able to have a life giving relationship with Him. All you need to do is choose to sit at His feet and surrender.

In Joshua 4, the Bible tells us of a time that Joshua was leading His people across the Jordan and the Lord went before them and made a way for them to walk on dry ground. Though it may seem impossible that God would move in your life like this, He can, and He will. Take the first step to seeing a miracle and turn to Him. He has an amazing way of taking care of His children.

Dear Lord,
It is time for me to start my day and I choose once again to ask the Lord to go before me and guide my day. Please be with my wife and my boys. We need you to be present and active in each of our lives.

Amen

Be Strong- Be Courageous

2010-11-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have to first apologize for not writing a devotional in a few months. The Dahir family has been through quite a few changes and the time factor has become a little difficult to manage. We have started a new church in the Sparks area called Freedom Fellowship in Spanish Springs. The Lord has been bringing us wonderful people to touch and transform our community. I have also become the Vice Principal of Excel Christian School and help run the sports program, teach, and administrate. It has been a blast to be a part of the faculty at this school and get to know the students that the Lord has put in our care. On top of that, I will graduate in May of 2011 with my Psych degree and a minor in Christian Counseling from Liberty University. I share all of this to catch you up on my life and to lead into today’s devotion.

It is easy to look at all of the work, all of the difficulties, all of the despair and become overwhelmed with the work that is at hand. The idea of being strong and courageous sounds wonderful for about an hour and then when the flood of this life does not begin to recede, become taken by worry and fear. The idea of being strong becomes a dismal dream and any hopes of being courageous are a play-write at best.

Joshua 1:7-9
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Over the years when I have read this scripture, I would try to use it as a steroid boost in order for me to be stronger and face my life. When Melissa and I read this for our morning devotional there was a totally different message that was being clarified for me by the Holy Spirit. God is not telling me to toughen up and quit complaining! Though that is a good idea. He is saying to stand firm in the truth and keep your eyes on Him. Nothing that Joshua was being asked to do was going to happen because Joshua made it happen. God was telling Joshua to be strong and courageous and watch what He, Yahweh, was going to do for the people He loved so much. This is such an important message for each of our lives. When you look at your life and believe there is no way you are strong enough to face what is before you. I have to agree that you are probably correct. However, you are strong enough and able to stand as a disciplined child of God and watch God, who is strong enough, take care of you and the people surrounding your life.

I hope you are encouraged to be STRONG and to find your COURAGE. God can and will do wonderful things in your midst. You can trust Him!

God Values You

2010-09-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

This week in church I taught about how God values you as an individual. He does not look at you or me and decide that we are too messed up, broken, or beyond repair. He looks at us and believes we are just as valuable as the day he chose to send His son to this world to take our place. Jesus does not for a moment wonder what compelled Him to step out of the Garden of Gethsemane and accept our place on the cross. There are days that I feel He should have sold the whole lot of us and start over. That brings me right back to the part o the story that I get on my knees and thank my Jesus for sparing me and loving me in spite of myself.

Have you thanked the Lord today? Have you noticed that He is not surprised by who you are? Not the facade you allow everyone to see but the true you. He sees you and values you!

This is why we need to be careful to not allow our personal views of each other to get in the way of how God sees things.

If there is anything I want to leave you with today is that God has such love for you and that alone should inspire you to show that same love to the world around you.

Think about this today.

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Because God made us in His image and in His likeness should that fact alone cause you to treat the person next you a bit different?

Blessings- PK

Judge Not- Grace only

2010-07-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

What a difficult and freeing scripture. Depending on if you are the one that did the hurting or the one hurting will determine how much you either enjoy this scripture or disdain it. What has helped me walk forward in forgiveness and bring my judgmental attitude to a lower level is to take my life and look at the whole picture and not only my immediate surroundings. Maybe the person who has wounded me has truly been a worse friend than me today. However, take the picture of my life from as far back as I can remember to the present day and it is far simpler for me to see that I am just as rotten and diseased as any amount of evil this world has thrown at me. On the days where the memories of the wrong doing are too difficult to handle or the pain is still distracting, I take a walk on the wild side and imagine what my life would be like if I stopped following the Lord and ignored the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is when I can see who I really am and at that point, it becomes very easy to extend grace and mercy to the people in my life.

When we get to heaven and stand before the Lord, He is going to ask me why I did the things I did, adopted the attitudes that were expressed, and walked in judgment towards the people He entrusted in my life. At that point I could try and argue my point of view, but I have a feeling that there is not an excuse that is going to matter. I am responsible for my actions, attitudes, motives, and each and every word spoken. One day I will give an account to the Lord for me, and I pray on that day, that this scripture helped guide each and every moment that He has left me here on this earth.

Lord,
I truly thank you for allowing me to be your representative on this earth. I choose to walk forward with my eyes focused on you and my heart loving each and every person you put in my path. I am only a mere man and have no right to judge another. Please help kill my pride and give me the eyes to see what you see. Instead of brokenness, you see them healed and complete. Instead of despair, you see them beaming with joy. Instead of using drugs, fame, sex, or success to bring fulfillment, you see them robed in your righteousness with a peace on their face that only comes from finding hope in you. I love you Lord and thank you for forgiving me and allowing me to experience your grace. Help my daily life truly represent who you have been in my life. Amen and Amen

True Worshippers

2010-06-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Why is worship so confusing for people?

For those of us who grew up with the concept of singing songs at church it seems to be natural but depending on your background, depending on your gender, depending on your experience, it will have different meaning and may bring a nuance of fears.

As you read through the following scripture I encourage you to ponder the thoughts and questions in bold that I have inserted. Worship truly is one of the main avenues that the Lord speaks to me, calms my heart, and gives me direction. If you need a touch from God, I encourage you to set aside your pride, your preconceived ideas about worship, and take the time to fall on your knees and surrender to Him. He is always faithful to show up.

John 4:4-42
4 Now he had to go through Samaria.
5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”

(For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.
18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

1. People will always use their differences in worship to deflect truth

21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

2. What must be done to worship in spirit and truth?

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
27 ¶ Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no-one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

3. Religiousness will always distract from the heart of worship

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
30 They came out of the town and made their way towards him.

4. Worshipping the Lord will bring empowerment

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.
37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.
38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.”
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

5. We Worship That Which Seems Most Powerful!

40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.
41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”

6. Worshipping the Lord as a lifestyle is the best witness

__________________________________

This is a wonderful song that reminds us to come to God as we are. He loves us more than we can imagine.

Just Come As You Are
By Pocket Full of Rocks

Come as you are
He’s not mad at you
And He’s not disappointed
His grace is greater still
Than all of your wrong choices
He is full of mercy and he is ever kind
Hear His invitation
His arms are open wide

You can come as you are
With al of your broken pieces
And all your shameful scars
The pain you hold in your heart
Bring it all to Jesus
You can come…
As You are
As You are

Louder than the voice
That whispers you’re unworthy
Hear the sound of love
That tells a different story
Shattering the darkness
And pushing through the lies
How tenderly He calls you
His arms are open wide
Oh you can come as you are

You can come as you are
With all your broken pieces
And all your shameful scars
The pain you hold in your heart
Bring it all to Jesus
You can come as you are

As You Are

2010-06-09T08:45:00.001-07:00

Jesus is about bringing freedom!

Luke 4:14-20
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Do you notice that it does not say to pull yourself out of your poverty and then come?

Or get free of your depression, your addictions, your habits, your self destructive tendencies, your sadness, your chains, and then come….

Or heal yourself of your brokenness and then come…

Or overcome the oppression you are feeling and then come…

Instead it is clear that Jesus took care of it all.

Roman 5:6-8
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This is important for our own lives and as we share the gift of faith, grace, and hope with others.

For those of us who have heard this for years it is very easy for us to believe and even possibly quote these scriptures, but have we taken the time to realize how this truth should change how we think, how we act, and who we are?

Here are a few points to ponder. Ask the Lord to speak to you through His scriptures and as you read these questions.

1. How does this affect us?

2. How should we approach God?

3. How should we approach life?

4. How should we approach others?

A Dream Come True

2010-05-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

As most of you know my wife and I were pastors in Las Vegas for many years. Then after 15 years of marriage decided that we must take a step back and take a break from the treadmill of ministry. We moved to Virginia and pretty much disappeared from the world that we grew to love for so long. While in Virginia, the Lord began to heal many parts of our heart that were shredded through years of ministry, personal issues, and relationship deterioration. While we were in Virginia we met some great friends, sought the Lord for our future, and started to discover what next steps the Lord would have for us. During one of the weeks while we were praying and fasting, I awoke from a dream where I was preaching at a church. When I was finished preaching, I went outside to figure out what church I was at. The name of the church was Freedom Fellowship. I then looked to see who the pastor was and came to a startling realization that I was the pastor. I woke up and told Melissa about this crazy dream and then just stored the dream in that place where I ponder the crazy possible ideas that God might be asking of me. Through prayer, good counsel, and seeking the Lord we ended up Reno, NV, where my brother and sister live with their families. We began working at Hillside Foursquare Church with our friends Pastor Louie & Joni Locke and served in whatever capacity was needed. It was during this time that I had the same dream where I was preaching at a church that was called Freedom Fellowship, where I was supposedly the pastor. I did not see how this was going to happen, so once more I shared it with Melissa and a few close friends and then left it alone. In February, the Lord opened the door for me to go back and teach at the church that I pastored at for so long in Las Vegas, NV. I knew that we needed to go back, say thank you, and allow the Lord to seal that part of our life. This was a difficult but healthy process. While we were there, the Lord did wonderful things in our hearts and we truly had a great time with our Las Vegas church family. Do not get confused, there were a lot of tears and difficult situations for my heart and mind, but it also was a time of freedom for both Melissa and I. We love our church family in Las Vegas, but we also know that it is no longer where the Lord is asking us to serve. It was during our time there in Las Vegas that the Lord made it very clear that we were to begin the church I dreamt about. Melissa or myself have never hoped to or thought about church planting. In fact, we would had told you that you were out of your mind if you had told either of us that not only we were going to plant a church, but that we would be excited about it.

There are so many messages sitting in this testimony that will surface over the next many years of teaching. The message that I want to focus on for this blog entry is that God will always bring health and direction. I think of Elijah when he got scared of Queen Jezebel and ran. The Lord met him in the desert, fed him and took care of him, led him to a cave for shelter, and then told him to get back to work. I do believe that leaving Las Vegas was an important step for both Melissa and myself. Many times I felt like I was stranded in the desert licking my wounds and was as lost as I have ever been. But it was during that time the Lord was feeding us and bringing us both back to a place of health. He led us to a place of shelter and rest and now we are standing, refocused, and are looking to our future with expectancy. I personally have never been more sure of who I am and what the Lord is asking of me. Which brings us to the next step of God’s love- He is giving us new directives and asking us to get back to work. We are listening to God’s voice and stepping out into the unknown.

Psalm 27:5
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

We do thank the Lord for each and every one of you who have prayed for us and believed in God’s plan for us over the years. If you find yourself in Sparks, NV, on a Sunday morning please plan on stopping by. The dream that God gave is coming to fruition. The church will be called Freedom Fellowship, and when you come I will be teaching God’s promises for today’s journey.

Any Where... Any Pulpit!

2010-05-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend the opportunity presented itself to go to Las Vegas and teach at a friend’s church. I was very excited to see him and his family and to share a message about the seeds that we sow in our lives to his congregation. I did two services for their church. The first service would be what he called “Street church” and the second was a more traditional church in side of a building. I had no idea what to expect for the street church but my son and I got in our car and drove down to Home Depot to wait and see what we would be doing for that day. Pastor Alex and some of the members of his congregation went around and invited people to come and hear God’s word and eat with us. As the people gathered I was looking for a place to put my notes and bible so I could teach. One of the congregation members said he would be right back with my pulpit. This is when he came running up with a shopping cart and turned it up on its side and created a pulpit for me. We had a wonderful service and I had the opportunity to pray for many people to allow the Lord to soften their hearts and make their hearts fertile for God to grow good things.

As my son and I were leaving we both felt very satisfied and joyful that we were able to take part in this service. This time of teaching reminded me of the scriptures that I read about Jesus and how would walk somewhere and teach along the way. Wherever He found Himself, He pointed people to His Heavenly Father. The evening service was also a neat time of seeing the Lord move, however, the people that we spent time with in the morning keeps coming to the surface of my heart.

Here are a few things that the Lord is showing me through this experience.

1. Do not wait to make a difference. You do not need a building or the ability to pay for electricity to share the truth of Jesus’ word. Simply be available to share those truths that the Lord has shown you.

2. It is important to meet people where they are. If people have to come to church they may never hear about the amazing gift that Jesus has given.

3. The best pulpit just may be a shopping cart. I have spoken for many different styles and sizes of pulpits over the years. I have to say that the Lord did something very special in my heart that morning that we took a shopping cart, God’s word, and shared the truth.

Question for the day
What pulpit has God put in your life that He is asking you to use to share His truth?

Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

Reflection

2010-05-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity yesterday to hang out in downtown Reno, feeding the homeless, giving away waters, doing dramas, and praying for people, with a group of students from a local Christian school here in Reno. I was so proud of them. They each stepped in there and let the Lord use them.

One of the main conversations that we kept having is how this type of outreach is more of a lifestyle of kindness and availability than something that must be planned as an outing. By the end of the day, it seemed that many of the youth truly understood and were ready to see how God might use them on a regular basis.

As I was teaching and sharing about being an ambassador for Christ, the Lord reminded me that I needed to make sure that these are not just words to share but a life to live. Am I being a good reflection for others as I stand for my God?

Here are a few qualities of an ambassador…
#1 Ambassadors treat others the way the person they are representing would

#2 Ambassadors make decisions that honor the person they are representing

#3 Ambassadors understand that each thing that is said affects more people than just the people in their life- they affect anyone that is somehow tide to the person that is being represented.

#4 Ambassadors take great honor in the role they have been given

I pray that as we walk forward and live for the Lord that the world that is looking for a Savior can look to our lives and see a true understanding of how much their Creator loves them.

2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

A Melancholy Heart

2010-04-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up with emotions of joy, sadness, and a longing to press forward. I had a dream that involved many of the youth, men and woman that the Lord has brought into my life and allowed me to teach and train over the years. There was joy because I was able to see some of the wonderful things that were now being accomplished because of the seeds that were planted in their hearts, through our relationship and how they have grown. There was also sadness because some of those seeds did not grow properly and some of those people in my dream were struggling and making bad decisions. I remember in my dream beginning to cry. I truly cared for these people. Each of these decisions they were making were showing the world the condition of their heart. Then before my dream was over, one of the youth that I pastored for some time stepped forward and encouraged me by showing me his life decisions. I found those tears of sadness began to be tears of joy and I felt a pull to step forward and make sure that I planted more seeds.

This was an interesting dream because as much as I have dreamed in the past and the Lord has used these dreams to speak to me, I can never remember feeling these emotions before.

I do not know where you are at or what you are doing but please allow my dream to also encourage you.

#1 Remember that the Lord puts each person you come in contact with there and you have an opportunity to plant good seeds of who the Lord is.

#2 Not every seed planted will grow correctly, but the Lord sill continue to guide and prune each of those people’s lives. He cares for them enough to give His life and has a great plan to bring wholeness and redemption.

#3 The actions we partake in give those surrounding us a very accurate view of the condition of our heart. Work on the heart and the actions will change!

#4 Keep pressing on! If you have had disappointments, do not allow them to stop you from doing what God has asked of you!

#5 Do not allow yourself to stop caring for people as a defense mechanism. Sometimes when we get hurt it is easy to shut down and not allow people within arms reach. While you and I are still alive we have a responsibility to point people towards the only place to find hope- Jesus Christ. This can only be done if they are close enough to see what is really happening in your life.

It is weird because I am still being touched by a few of those emotions that I felt in my dream. For those of you who have allowed me to speak into your lives over the years, I thank you for the trust and pray that there have been good seeds planted that have pointed you toward your Creator. If it seems your life is not where it supposed to be, it is never to late to run to the Lord and allow Him to once again shape and direct your life. I believe the emotions I am feeling are just a small understanding of how God feels towards each of us. He has great plans for us and I encourage you to run to Him. If you feel lost, I hope you are comforted by the fact that the Lord is with you, just waiting for you to turn and surrender once more.

Matthew 18:10-14
"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

True Wisdom

2010-04-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

John 8:9
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there.

This is such an amazing story and I think it is significant to point out that this is not parable or a story told by Jesus to cause people to think. This was an actual true-life account of just one of the situations that Jesus encountered while on this earth.

The story begins when these Pharisees found a woman caught in the act of adultery. Yes, this whole scenario is a bit strange, if she was caught, then where is the man that she was with. However, to continue with the story they dragged her in front of Jesus in order to find a way to trap Him in His message of love, hope, and mercy. The Pharisees knew the law stated that she was to be stoned to death and had every intention of seeing it fulfilled. It is important that we do not get stuck on the sin of adultery. Yes, adultery is a very difficult sin to deal with that has far reaching repercussions but if we were to equate sin to poison it doesn’t matter which brand of poison is chosen as it will all bring death. How did the Lord deal with all of this sin? The sin of adultery of the woman and the sin of pride and arrogance from the religious men were all sitting before Jesus awaiting His judgment. He took a moment and wrote in the dirt. No one knows for sure what He wrote. I wonder if He drew a cross, wrote some of the Pharisees sins, or maybe just needed to put Himself in a time out in order to respond to these Pharisees, as He should. After looking up from His doodling Jesus made one statement that would cause the whole group to disperse.

“If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Then Jesus went back to drawing his picture in the dirt.

This is where we see Jesus’ words break through the hard hearts of these religious men. Scripture tells us that beginning with the older ones each of the accusers dropped their rocks and walked away. Now why do you think the older ones were first? I see only one true reason for this response- they have lived longer and have had time to realize their own shortcomings and sinful moments.

After all of the accusers left there was only one person there who could throw the stone with a clear conscious and He chose to die for the woman’s sin instead of allow death to rule. Jesus did tell this woman to go and sin no more.

So what lessons of wisdom can we walk away with from this story about Jesus and His love for you and I?

#1 Jesus is very serious about the love and forgiveness He has for us

#2 Do not be so quick to pick up stones and throw them at others- we all have much more in common than we like to admit

#3 Jesus’ love does not give us the freedom to do what we want- He made it very clear that the woman was to go and sin no more

#4 The freedom Jesus gives is to be able to walk forward in a peace that only comes because He gave His life away

#5 Notice the story does not say that the woman picked up the rock and began stoning herself to death- she accepted Jesus’ forgiveness as should you and I

Dear Lord,

Please help us understand, accept, and embrace your love and forgiveness. Protect our heart from becoming arrogant and judgmental. Fill us with your Spirit to the place that if we are cut open that we will bleed of your love and mercy. Thank you for your love and for being patient with us in those moments where we take our eyes off the hope that you created for us as you gave away your life.

Amen

In God's Time

2010-03-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

At this they tried to seize Him but no one laid a hand
on Him because His time had not yet come.
John 7:30

During this life there will be moments where we find ourselves basking in the radiant sunshine only to turn the corner and feel entrenched in the darkness of shadows. There are lessons to be learned during each of these stages. However, it is crucial to our existence that we have the understanding that in both situations our God is present and unchanging.

On many occasions the Bible speaks of situations where the main characters in the story were about to be killed, maimed, and wounded, but the Lord did not allow the destruction to befall them. Scripture after scripture speaks of times with Jesus where He was able to walk untouched through the crowds of those who desired to harm Him. Other examples are Daniel, Gideon and his army, King David, the three brothers Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo and many others. Have you ever thought of adding your name to that list? That long list of heroes of the faith, that though they were human, loved their God and served Him valiantly. Adding your name to that list has nothing to do with the word hero or the rush of pride that comes with that title. The ability to add your name to that amazing and miraculous list has everything to do with our God and His most wonderful love. In truth, there is not one person mentioned in scripture, besides Jesus, that deserved the love that God offered them. They each had sinful desires, moments where fear overtook their faith, acts of disobedience, and a tendency to self-destruct. Our God did not look at them and disqualify them. Instead, He took their weaknesses and used the person in spite of themselves. Their name is on that list because God made it so and made the decision to love the unlovely.

Though I hope this conversation brings you to a sobering realization of what we are really made of, there is not a stone of judgmentalism hidden behind my back waiting to be launched. This realization should bring each of us to our knees and remind us of our need to run to our only hope. I am so thankful that the Lord has placed my name on His most protected list. This doesn’t mean that the lion’s cannot devour my flesh or that I will not be burned in the fiery furnace. But it does assure me, that like Jesus, there is no one or nothing that can overtake or consume my life until the right time- which is God’s time. And when that time is to come it will not lead to destruction but to a perfect graduation.

Scripture also gives us many examples of God’s people laying down their own desires, painful moments, scarred memories, and ultimately, their very lives, to follow and honor their God. As I have grown older and served the Lord, my biggest fears are not found in the possibility of losing this life or the pleasures that surround it, my fears are wrapped up in the idea of whether God is or is not in control. On those days where I can bask in the rays of His presence and I am able to sense His guidance, my fears are subsided and I can raise my head high. However, on those days where the voices that are hidden in the shadows keep screaming my name and the waves of fear seem to be rising higher than the foundation I am standing on, my faith begins to crumble. As I read out of John today the Lord reminded me that my life is in His hands- even in those moments where my worries have blinded me to the truth of His overpowering protection.

Whether you feel that your life is basking in the sun or walking ominously through the shadows, nothing can steal you away from the loving arms of God. Run to Him! Allow Him to renew your hope and give you strength. He is an amazing God with an amazing plan. The shadows that may seem to be controlling your life may only be there to remind you how desperately you need the sweetness of God’s embrace.

You do not want to leave too, do you?

2010-03-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Has the Lord offended you?

Are there questions that have gone unanswered?

Have you been pushed to the limits of your faith and understanding and had to make a decision to still hold on?

In John chapter 6, Jesus finishes sharing a difficult teaching for his followers to understand and many people begin deserting him.

Verse 66
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

This is a very strong life statement. What happens in someone’s life that would cause them to make a decision to turn and run from the Messiah? There is a part of me that has always thought these people must be crazy. However, once life begins to take more than you were you were ready to give and you find yourself standing on ground that is foreign, it usually always seems like a good time to run. The Bible guarantees that we all will face these types of struggles in one fashion or another. So, then how do we stand strong during some of the hardest times in life? How do we follow the admonition of Ephesians 6 that tells us to keep standing and ward off the enemy?

I believe we find the answer in verse 67 and 68 of John 6.

You do not want to leave too, do you? Jesus asked the twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know you are the Holy One of God.”

The disciples did not even think of running anywhere else because they were sold out and had nowhere else to go. This doesn’t mean they were stuck with Jesus, but that they put all of their stock in the person and message of Christ. This is a way of serving the Lord that is not lived out very often. Most of us trust the Lord, but have a plan B, and C- just in case he doesn’t come through. There is a big part of who I am that has always relied on my own skills and ability to get me through if the Lord didn’t function like I thought he should.

This pride has been my folly. This pride assumed many things over the years that were nothing but seeds of destruction. I long to be like the disciples and when the weather shifts and life begins to get scary I have nowhere to run but to God.

If the Lord allowed the worst to happen and then asked me
“You do not want to leave too, do you?”
that I would be able to say in response,
“Lord, to whom shall I go? I have placed all my hope in you and trust you for my survival.”

Thought for the day
It is safer to be in the most difficult storms resting in the arms of God than to be sitting in what may seem like a safe harbor far away from God.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your guidance and for your word that reminds me of who I am and who I need to be. Forgive me for my pride. Please continue to strip me of anything that does not allow me to place my whole trust in you. I know the safest place I can be is in the "Lion’s Den" with you sitting next to me.

I love you Lord,

Kristopher

Looking for a Sign

2010-03-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

John 6:25-27

When they found him on the other side of the lake , they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “ I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

This scripture brings to light a very sad part of our humanity that if we are not careful can and will easily rule our lives and poison our relationship with our creator. Jesus had just finished doing an amazing miracle where he took five small barley loaves and two fish and fed 5000. There was even enough food that people were full and there were many baskets left over. Following this miracle, many of the people believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

What happened between the day before, where the people were ready to believe in the person of Christ, and the next day, that Jesus himself felt the need to point out that those present were only their to fill their stomachs once more?

#1 Time
We tend to forget so easily how amazing the Lord is.

#2 Hunger pains
Too many times those things we hunger for will only mislead us. This is why the Bible tells us to hunger for righteousness.

#3 An easy way out
This is a hard truth but the longer I live the more that this can easily rule my day.

Before we begin to judge and think of how crazy these people must have been, let’s take a look at our own lives and evaluate how and why we run and look for our Savior. To begin the introspection, please allow me to share an example out of my own life where my broken humanity tried to win the day and rule my motives.

The Lord has sustained our family in some of the most amazing ways. He has shown us grace and mercy, provided solid friendships, lead us through turbulent waters, opened the hearts of friends and family to give us a roof over our head and food on our table, and at times even given us what we needed before we knew we needed it.

If the Lord did all this and more, then why do I keep running to him and accusing him of being distant and non-responsive. Just the other day I was taking a quick peak into my checking account and was saddened by the numbers that were present. I went to the piano and began playing one of the songs that I have added to my personal worship favorites, We Will Remember, by Tommy Walker. As I played it and sang this song to the Lord, (I was trying to draw near to Him) I felt the Lord ask me a poignant question.

Would you be seeking me like this if you did not have a need?

He then said something like this to my heart…

Kristopher,
I love you and have been with you every step of the way. I have no plans on leaving you. In fact, I am hoping that we can continue to grow in relationship and walk this path of life together. However, please come to me because you simply love me and enjoy my presence and not just because you feel desperate and have run out of places to find hope.

This was a shameful and real God conversation for me. As we seek Jesus, may it be with pure motives. Jesus is not our meal ticket, He is our creator, redeemer, savior, and friend.

He longs to spend time with us and allow us to understand Him in new ways that will help stabilize and strengthen our lives.

My challenge for today…

Spend time with Jesus, simply because He is Jesus.

Taking a Step back

2010-03-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with a group of youth and watched how the Lord started breaking into the lives of these young men and woman. He started by getting them to take a 2-day hiatus away from the regular routine of their life. Then while away from the stronghold of habits and familiarity, He began His work. The youth went from staring at each other and the leaders, to smiling a bit more. They went from a distant look of a person who knew of a God that loved them, to a group of people who believed once more that God is walking with them. The Lord touched lives on all levels, some in small ways and I truly believe that some of the youth decided to walk on a whole different path after they had this time of drawing near to the Lord.

So what can we learn from this group of youth?

How can we take their experience and be reminded of who we are supposed to be?

#1 Make the time for God
We cannot keep running around in circles claiming that God is our source of strength without setting aside a part of our life to actually spend time with Him.
#2 Take moments away from the familiar and comfortable
I believe strongly that finding ways to break our daily routine helps us from being stuck in places that we do not even realize is a trap. When you take time to retreat and ask to show up the most wonderful thing will happen, He will show up.
#3 Allow the Lord to help you take that next step
When we look at the lives of youth it is easy to somehow think we are more mature than they are and that we deal with real problems compared to them. These youth that I spent time with are no different than you and I. They are dealing with life and watching their humanity attempt to control them. Does this really sound any different than the normal grind of your day? Each of these youth are on their own journey and God is asking them to not worry about the whole journey- just take that next step and when that is done then deal with what is around the corner. I believe He is saying this same thing to you today.

When is the last time you have asked the Lord what step He would want you to make in your life to honor Him and look His ambassador? I promise when you do their will be ideas that arise of what the Lord might just be asking and has been asking for some time if you were listening. Once you feel that that you know of a couple of things then pray and ask the Lord for clarity and strength. He will guide you and strengthen you to step into all that He has for you.

While Jesus was on this he often took the time to retreat and renew His mind and heart. What a great example to follow.

Mark 1:35-37 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"

Dear Lord,

I thank you for each of the youth that were at camp this weekend. I pray that you keep their hearts soft and their eyes focused on you and what you are asking. I also ask that you help me, and those reading this, to truly seek you and allow you to guide our steps. When we want to make excuses of why we are running in circles please find a way to get our attention and bring our focus back to the path that you have laid before us.

Amen

Living Out Our Faith

2010-02-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

This morning, my wife and I read in James chapter 2 and pondered on the idea of what it means to have faith with deeds. This idea of needing to watch our deeds causes a problem for many people.

If we are saved by grace and the Lord has truly done everything that was needed to bring wholeness, what deed must be done, besides surrendering to Him?

Can we somehow make God’s redemption better by our actions?

The answer is easy.

There is nothing you can do to be more complete in Christ once He has miraculously taken your brokenness and made you whole and pure.

If this is the case, then why are deeds important? Another way to look at this is to understand that every moment we are alive and each breath we take is living out our faith. If my deeds are honoring to the Lord and the amazing commitment He has made to me, then it is the direct result of a faith that is strong. If the actions of my day and the attitudes that I form dishonor the Lord then that also speaks very clearly of what my faith looks like and will only prove that my faith is faltering.

For example, this week as a family we are going to tithe and give to the Lord as He has asked. There is a part of my brain, that if I allowed it to rule, may talk me out of tithing and spend the money on one of the many “needs and wants” that we have. If I chose to do that, the Lord will still love me, but it is a good litmus test of where my faith in God is and if I truly believe that He can supply for my life better than I can. Then, let’s say that I do tithe. This does not make God love me more or less. Remember, the Lord loves us completely right now with every doubt, attitude and problem that may be present. The action of tithing this week will only be the faith that is already resident lived out.

This is important as we grow in the Lord. I hope and pray that my life will daily shine as a man who doesn’t just speak about faith or profess faith, but whose actions speak louder than anything said. May the Lord help each of us increase our faith, so the actions we put our lives to will honor the amazing love that God has given us.

James 2:14-19 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Keeping to the Simple Things

2010-02-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Why do we make it so hard to serve the Lord? It seems the more simple I keep my obedience the Lord is able to move and affect me and my families lives.

The choice…

Trust like a child…

Pick up my cross daily…

Keep my eyes focused on Jesus…

Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you…

If I give away my life then I will find it…

Embrace and allow the Holy Spirit to be your guide…

As you go make disciples of all nations baptizing them…

OR

As I go make this life about me and let worry about the lost…

Embrace this world and its desires and let it be my guide…

Hold on to my life and guard it- after all I am #1…

Forgive if they somehow deserve it…

Keep looking at the storms…

Live daily for self...

Walk in fear…

The choice…

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

This scripture changed altered my very existence when I was 17 years old. Now 20 years later it is still such a powerful reminder of who God wants me to be and what He has for my life. We each must decide on a daily basis- will we serve the Lord, our flesh, or the world. There is only one of these that will bring hope, peace, and joy. Who and what are you serving?

Live it Loudly

2010-02-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Who do you say that I am?

This was a very important question that was asked to Peter by Jesus in Matthew 16:13-20. The answer that Peter gave is what put his life on a course that would honor the Lord and make such an impact that 2000 years later his life is still used as an example for all to see.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

As stated in this scripture it was this very confession that allowed the Lord to give Peter such an amazing authority and future. My hope and prayer is that the decisions of who I am and what I do scream so loudly that this world knows that I confess Jesus as the Son of the Living God.

Dear Lord,

Please take my heart and purify it. Take my faith and strengthen it. Take my resolve to serve you and intensify it. I pray for my life and each person who will read this, that you challenge them today to confess you are Lord. Not just by attending church on a Sunday or somehow slowly leaking that you are their Savior when it is convenient, but that each of our lives will be a banner to your promises and truth.

God be with us.

Facing the Monsters

2010-01-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

I remember when my kids were young and their imaginations would look into the darkness and conjure up the scariest monsters. We would talk with them and tell them that there were no monsters and that they were safe. But it wasn't until we actually turned on the light and the darkness was gone that they would settle in and trust that everything was going to be OK.

One of the biggest lies that the human race falls into is the belief that facing difficult situations and the unknown will somehow bring pain and death. When the truth is as we face those situations it is like turning on the light in a dark room. It is only scary as long as the light is off. However, when the brightness shines out and brings truth, fear is no longer part of the equation. When the light is turned on and all can be seen it is time to deal with the truth. There are times that I have turned on the light only to find a huge mess and how I wish I could just turn off the light and it would all go away. This is not reality or what God has asked of us. The only spiritual beings that dwell in the shadows and darkness are Satan and his minions. Why is it that we so often want to join him with our secrets and shadowed corners full of pain and fear?

Isaiah 42:16

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

Ephesians 5:8-14

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

Both of these scriptures bring a promise to those who step into the God’s truth that the Lord will guide, protect, and love them while they walk this journey called life. This does not mean that the journey will always be free of mountains to climb or dangerous obstacles to overcome. It simply means, that as we take each step, we can do it with all of God’s direction, grace and truth. Here are a few steps for you to begin walking into the light and allow the Lord to give you strength to face the truth.

Pray- ask God for strength, this light can only be turned on by the Lord and what is found should only be faced with His empowerment.

Read and memorize scripture- Even when Jesus was facing His largest temptations head on he did not simply rely on His resolve. He quoted scriptures that brought light into the darkness and ultimately overcame the plans of Satan.

Go and Talk- This is so important. I know many people who struggle with the first two steps and make it to this step and then shut down. I believe without this step the darkness will prevail. We need to confess our sin. Face those who have hurt us or those we have caused pain. This time of facing the darkness is not to pick up stones to throw or position your self to be pelted by stones. This time of facing the darkness is to set you free and allow the light to shine into the darkest areas of the heart. This is the place where true freedom will be found.

Trust the Lord- Ultimately in the end it is all about trusting the Lord and allowing Him to guide us. We must not believe the lie that we can handle these situations alone.

I hope these steps are encouraging to you. There is nothing easy about facing the monsters that try to rule this life, but I promise you that as you face them the truth is never as scary as your imagination. The release you will find as you take away the unknown factors will produce seeds in your life that will lead to living in hope and joy once more.

May God bless you on your journey…

A New Year and a New Perspective

2010-01-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

What is it that causes you and I to be joyful and happy or walk in despair and sadness? At large it seems to be the results of what we have done and/or the results of what others have done to us. I am being challenged to focus on the results of what the Lord accomplished for us when He sacrificed His life to give us a hope and a future. To focus on the Lord is no easy task, however, this is truly the only way that we can look beyond our surroundings and walk in joy.

This last week I was evaluating my year and where the Lord has brought me. At first a nice smile came to my face as I thought of my wife, children, family, friends, and all of the other blessings that the Lord has brought into my life. Then as if on cue the voice of despair began reminding me of things that have been lost and mistakes that were made. Quickly the smile began to depart from my face and tears began to well up. At that moment, I asked the Lord for strength. After praying, The song, The voice of Truth by Steven Curtis Chapman, came on the radio. This was very significant and helpful in allowing me to recognize what was happening in the spiritual realm. This song challenged me to listen to the voice of truth instead of my own voice and the whispers of despair that try to bring bondage to my soul. As the song was playing, I asked the Lord to help me hear the voice of truth. After praying, I slowly felt that the whispered lies I was listening to fade and the presence of the Lord and of what could only be angels reassuring me. I sensed that they were surrounding my car as I drove, protecting me and bringing a light to the darkness. At that moment, all of the feelings of despair washed away. I would love to be able to tell you that I have been on some strange spiritual high since that happened. Instead, I will tell you the truth. The very next day I woke up in fear and began the process of tuning into the frequency of truth sent out by the Lord all over again. This only confirms to me that the Lord is consistent and I am the broken one. How is that I am able to go from the feeling that God’s presence is enveloping me to being scared and fearful of what might be out there?

If I find the answers to this question, I promise to let you in on the secret. For now my hope lies in the fact that every time I run to the Lord, He is faithful and makes Himself known in a way that redirects my thoughts and emotions.

1 Peter 5:5-11
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen

I do thank the Lord for each of the blessings in my life and plan to keep my focus on Him. I believe that as I do this that I will know best how to love my bride, my children, my family, my friends, and whoever the Lord decides to bring upon my path.

May God Bless You! I hope that 2010 is full of much laughter and smiles.

Jesus Came to Our Chaos

2009-12-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

Luke 2:4-12
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

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I drove by a live manger scene yesterday and it looked so tranquil and pleasant. As if Joseph and Mary were so happy to be placed in a barn to have their child that was supposed to be a blessing from God. The animals were there (gross, dirty, stinky animals) and the shepherds giving their praise (gross, dirty, stinky, shepherds). I have a feeling that the scene that we have painted is missing a few important key elements that might help us understand what was really happening on the evening our Lord and Savior was born. Elements like a king who was searching for and trying to kill the child, questions from Joseph-- such as, why is it that his wife has to give birth to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in a stable? Is this Jesus really all that He has been promised to be? Then there is Mary who is very excited about following the Lord and when she looks up to see who is knocking on the door to visit this wonderful, miraculous conception. Mary, like any of us, would be looking for a confirmation that she really did hear from the Lord and this miracle would bring her to a better place in life. As she looked up she did not see Kings or wealth (that did not come until Jesus was around 2 years old), she saw dirty, possibly toothless, shepherds and animals. This great promise that was given her did not necessarily change their world in a positive way. Instead, they were on the run from an army that was bent on killing her new born, Joseph had lost his job, their new friends were peasants and barn animals, and their future was as uncertain as it had ever been.

This is the world that the Lord chose to enter into. It was a world full of chaos and unknown factors. So, does this encourage you? Does this help you feel better about Christmas, now that you see a new perspective?

It helps me. Let me explain. Jesus came to bring peace into a broken world. He did not come into a perfect world and try to make a difference. When Jesus takes part in our lives it is the same. He is not coming into a perfect life and asking the person if they are interested in help. Just today, I asked the Lord to come and touch my heart and make His dwelling more significant than it was yesterday. I would like to say that Jesus is getting a good deal. But the truth is He is getting a man who walks in fear every day of his life. He is getting a person who has questions about the promises that have been told to him and why does it seem those promises are not on the horizon. He is making his dwelling in a heart that has expectations of a life that is supposed to look a certain way and on a daily basis has to surrender those emotions and feelings so they don’t overtake his will and lead him to destruction. He is receiving a man that has been blessed on a constant basis from the Lord with favor and has been provided for every step of the way, but still questions and doubts if God is big enough to keep His end of the bargain going. When Jesus agreed to dwell in my heart this morning he received a human; that at his best is still doubtful, fearful, and broken.

I am not proud of any of this, but find myself thankful for the manger scene. The scene is a child of peace that entered the world of broken people and gave His very life to see them find hope and peace.

Lord,

I accept your peace and hope and pray that you mix those two miracles and create a joy in my heart that makes me a better human. Forgive me for my doubt and fear. I wish that there were a way to kill that part of my heart and mind. Possibly, you placed it there to assure that I would run to you every day. Thank you for stepping into our chaos and bringing life where there was once death and dismay. Thank you for my marriage, for my children, for my family, and for my friends. You have truly blessed my life and I ask that you help me look around the stable of my life and be thankful.

I love you Lord. Kristopher

New Mercies I See

2009-12-01T06:39:00.001-08:00

I awoke at 5:00 AM this morning. Usually, when I wake up early it is due to bad dreams, hard thoughts, or me being worried about someone. This morning, as I sit here, I do not feel any of those negative fears or tumultuousness. There is a peace in my life right now. A peace that has nothing to do with circumstances and yet everything to do with circumstances. Let me explain. My wife and I have been on an amazing journey this last two years. Throughout this journey excesses in our lives have been stripped of us. This has not been an easy road to travel, however, the Lord has walked every step with us. We are now in the part of the journey where we begin to rebuild. As I look at relationships, finances, living quarters, forms of transportation, a place to serve the Lord and teach others about Christ, and a church family for my kids and marriage to grow with, it seems the Lord has put everything we need in place. There are many days that we are tempted to look back into the past and allow what I call spiritual vertigo to set in. (When the whole world starts spinning and you feel like getting into the fetal position.) Yet, those days seem to be farther and farther away and what is in place today is beginning to speak louder than the difficult steps of the past.

As we begin to rebuild our lives the most important thing that I have learned is to simply surrender to the Lord and allow Him to piece it together in His time. You see-- it is not my job to build anything or to hold it together. That job description belongs to the Lord and He knows exactly what He is doing. So, on this fine morning I sit and watch my darling wife sleep, I ponder on my meetings of the day and wonder who I might meet or encourage, and I smile knowing that I am not in control.

Lamentations 3:22-26
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

Dear Lord,

I thank you for touching my heart and teaching me to trust you. Thank you for each blessing in my life. Please use me today and allow what you have done and who you are in my life shine through me. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning.

Your son,

Kristopher

Overflowing Thankfulness

2009-11-22T07:57:00.000-08:00

The traditional time of Thanksgiving has arrived. Families will be gathering and giving an extra little smile, bellies will be full from eating too much food, and hopefully there will be a pause in the rat race of life and joy can be found in what blessings we do have instead of things we do not. For this weeks devotional entry I took a few of the main points out of a recent teaching the Lord prompted me to give to our new church family at Hillside. I hope you are encouraged and challenged in your reading. My prayer is that God blesses you and that your heart will overflow with thankfulness during this holiday.

Before we come to our scripture it is important that we all arrive on the same page and discuss what the word thanksgiving means.

Main Entry: thanks·giv·ing
Function: noun
1 : the act of giving thanks
2 : a prayer expressing gratitude
3 a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

The meaning of this word falls apart if we leave it as a noun and do not make it a verb in our lives.

Today, we are going to begin in Colossians 2 and then focus on tangible goals that we can set in acting out thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-8
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

For a moment let’s talk about what it means to overflow...

To be thankful gives the connotation that we simply fill a glass to the top and if someone happens to bump into it then maybe they will get wet and experience what is inside, but then scripture takes it a step further- we must be overflowing with thankfulness.

What does this mean?

How does this work in our society?

How do we do this in a world that seems to be pointing the other direction?

Let’s take our scripture and turn it upside down

• If you want to overflow with thankfulness…
• Be strengthened in your faith as you were taught…
• Continue to live in him…
• Be rooted and built up in him…
• Receive Christ Jesus as Lord!

Being thankful is that warmness and the overflowing is that warmness touching others if they are around you!

Different ways that this can be played out…
1. Using my actions
• How we react
• Who we help
• Who we don’t help
• What we give to
• What we don’t

2. Using my words
• What we say
• What we don’t say

3. Using my attitudes
• How we say it
• How we allow our feelings to affect our demeanor

4. Using my decisions
• Every day we have decisions to turn left or right that can potentially shift our lives forever
Marriage
Jobs
Kids
Relationships

5. Using my time
• People fill their day with all types of things
• Christmas Outreach
• Doing the dishes
• Giving a back massage
• Listening instead of talking

Max Lucado devotional - Saying “Thank You”

Thank the Lord because He is good. His love continues forever. Psalm 106:1

Worship is when you’re aware that what you have been given is far greater than what you can give. Worship is the awareness that were it not for his touch, you’d still be hobbling and hurting, bitter and broken. Worship is the half-glazed expression on the parched face of a desert pilgrim as he discovers that the oasis is not a mirage.

Worship is the “thank you” that refuses to be silenced. We have tried to make a science out of worship. We can’t do that. We can’t do that any more than we can sell “love” or “negotiate peace.” Worship is a voluntary act of gratitude offered by the saved to the Savior, by the healed to the Healer, and by the delivered to the Deliverer.

Looking Into the Eyes of Your Blessing

2009-11-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

Why is it so easy to rejoice one day about the situation that is unfolding before you and then find that the next day the joy is not as easy to find and has been replaced by anxiety and fear? Maybe I am the only one who walks in this schizophrenia, but I have a feeling that if we were each evaluated for this diagnoses that there would not be enough white rooms available to hold us. I must say that at this moment we have seen more love and care then we have ever expected from those who have linked arms with in Reno, NV. The feelings that flow through me of fear and anxiety stream directly from my inability to keep focused and to trust in the Lord and His plans. I hope that as we look at God’s word together and find some answers for our humanity that not only I can refocus, but also that it will help you the next time you feel that blood pressure raising and your mind start wandering.

I entitled this devotional “Looking into the Eyes of Your Blessing”, because the feeling in my stomach reminds me of a feeling that I had when I was younger and was talked into walking a tight rope that was about 50 feet high. I was in high school and when I first looked at the challenge I was not worried at all. That was until I actually was standing up on the rope. They had me strapped in and there was no way that I could get hurt, however, that did not change all of the imaginary ways that I was about to die. I walked about half way out and then made the biggest mistake and looked down. All of a sudden many parts of my physical body began to shut down (some of them should not be written down). The person on the other side of the tight rope kept yelling at me to not look down, but that I should look them in the eye and they would help me make it to the end. It seemed to take a lifetime for me to convince myself to take my eyes off of the ground below. As I changed my focus from the ground to the person standing at the end of the obstacle, I was able to put one foot in front of the other and complete what seemed to be impossible. We have the option today to look at the difficulties before us and allow them to freeze our faith or we can look at the Lord and the many blessings that He has provided and allow them to give us hope to make to the end.

Here are some thoughts from some of Bible heroes when they faced their own tight ropes and needed to find creative ways to stay focused.

Joseph
Genesis 39:2
The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

Joseph had every reason to become bitter and focus on fear instead of His God. The Bible tells us that wherever Joseph found himself that the Lord was with him and gave him favor. For a good portion of his life he played the role of a slave and a prisoner. This is strange to focus on God’s favor while we look at a man who has been stripped of so much, but it was through those years that the Lord prepared him for a much larger task. Joseph focused on the blessing of God being by his side instead of the fear of his surroundings.

David
Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

David is our classic schizophrenic. He goes from trusting the Lord with everything he is to asking the Lord why He has left him. In the end of his songs and conversations with the Lord he always runs back to the Lord and resubmits to believing and following in his God. This particular scripture is placed between some of David’s own life difficulties.

Verse 3 speaks of an army attacking him and war coming against him and verse 5 speaks about when the day of trouble coming. David focused on God’s beauty instead of the circumstances surrounding him.
Apostle Paul
Philippians 3:13-15
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Each time I read about Paul and his focus on the Lord and the task and purpose that the Lord has given him, I find myself inspired to follow in his shoes. One of the most difficult tight ropes that we face is not our future but our past. Paul chose to focus on God and the prize of eternal salvation instead of being frozen with fear over his past.

Dear Lord,

Help my life be a testimony of a man who was able to keep his gaze on you during each season of life that unfolds before him. I would ask that you cure me of my schizophrenia, but I am learning that it is this very problem that keeps me running to you. So I accept the condition as a part of my personal war and as the reminder of how badly I must run to you on a daily basis to surrender. Thank you for walking with me each step of my tight rope and I commit to keeping my eyes focused on you.

Amen

Masks

2009-10-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

Today is Halloween! Children are getting excited about candy and what costume they will wear and parents are getting ready to brave the cold as they walk their children around to go trick-or-treating, or maybe the family is going to a harvest party. There are also those who will shut themselves away because a belief that Halloween is not a place for those who love Jesus.

Just a quick side note before we dive into our weekly devotional. This night that some avoid and others embrace will be full of your neighbors coming to your door giving you an opportunity to show a love and compassion that they may not see anywhere else. If we shut our doors and turn off our lights to boycott this evening are we missing an opportunity to show our world a truth that will change their forever?

Whether you choose to participate or not, this evening you will see people walking around with all kinds of masks. I was walking through Savers looking for a costume for my children and my son walks up to me with the craziest mask on. I remember asking myself, “Why in the world would anyone choose to wear a mask like that?” That is when the Lord began asking me questions about my own masks that I wear at times even on days when it is not a Holiday or costume party. There are times that I take my true self and feelings and hide it behind this false wall so people won’t be disappointed in me and in order to fulfill what it seems they are expecting. As I have gotten older, the Lord has challenged me to peel away these masks and for the most part I have learned how to be real in each situation that He has placed me in. Yet, even still there are times I am tempted to hide my feelings and thoughts instead of being honest with those around me. Why do we do this? What is in us that is so scared of being ourselves? Here are a few thoughts that might go through your mind that has kept you fearful of taking of the masks.

• If they only new who I really was!

• Nobody really cares to know the truth anyway!

• It won’t hurt anyone!

• Why disappoint?

• I don’t even like myself- How will they like me?

I am sure there are more thoughts that you can think of as to why you wear the masks that you do or are tempted to. Part of maturity in Christ is being able to take of the masks and stand in a crowded room simply being you. Here are some beginning steps that will help you peel away the false self and introduce to everyone who you really are. It might be scary to take these steps. Be brave and courageous! God did not create you to be hidden away.

1. Start by being honest with God.
This may be the hardest step of the journey, but it is the most important. The Lord already Loves you and has accepted you for who you are. As you wear these masks it breaks His heart because He has created you to be so much more brilliant and amazing than that mask you are wearing. I find that it is through worship that the Lord is able to strengthen and encourage who Kristopher is and who God has made me to be.

2. Then be honest with yourself
Look at what you are doing and how you are acting. Is this really you? Is this who God made you to be? It is always nice to think everyone in church really are as happy as they look on Sunday, but some of the loneliest people are sitting next to you on a Sunday morning. Take some time to dream and ask the Lord to show you how to be real. There maybe some that are reading this that have worn their mask for so long that they would not recognize themselves if the mask was taken off. Trust me! You can only begin growing in your walk with the Lord when you face the real you. Taking off the mask is step #1 in maturity.

3. Find one person that you love and trust and be honest with them
Choose wisely who this might be. If you do not have that type of friend then go to your pastor or a counselor. However, being honest in front of other people will allow you to feel better about yourself. Having integrity always will have a better result than lying. It may be difficult at first, but it will get easier. When I am struggling I go to my wife. She helps remind me that all I have to be is what God has made me to be.

4. Begin living this daily in front of others
There may be some of you who try to say that this is not a problem or it isn’t a temptation for those in the church. Even Peter, who was to be the rock that the church was built upon, dealt with this issue. As Jesus was being beaten, the Bible tells us that Peter was watching from the courtyard and three different people came and asked him if he was a follower of Jesus. Peter at that point pulled his mask on tighter and tighter and emphatically denied Christ. There is a cost to walking in this type of integrity, and yet I believe the cost of keeping our masks on is far greater and much more damaging.

Psalm 139
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

If this scripture is true and I believe it is! There is no reason to hide. Make a decision today to take off the mask and be who God created you to be. Whether you choose to take part in this Holiday or not, today is the day that the Lord has made and I encourage you to rejoice in it.

Joyful Attitudes?!?!?

2009-10-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

“So how am I supposed to respond when you tell me something that I do not like? Do you want me to act like I am happy?” Noah Dahir

This was a conversation that spawned over some very important decisions that were made in the life of an 11 year old. It was late and we were coming home from football practice and I told him the week before that if he did good at his football game that I would buy him a large slurpy. (Yes, we do bribe our kids sometimes.) Like I said, it was late and I didn’t want him to get sick off of too much sugar. I told him that he could have a slurpy now, but it would have to be a medium or he can wait and we will get him a large one. All of a sudden he went from being my happy go lucky child and began turning into an 11 year old who did not get what he wanted. I told him that I did not like his attitude and then he asked me the profound question that began our devotional for the week.

You may ask, “What does this story have to do with you and I?” Think for a moment to the last time that you did not get what you wanted. Maybe it was a situation at home, at work, with a friend, or even a decision that it seems the God of this universe has made. The large slurpy represents how you think things should be or what you feel you deserve. It is crucial that we do understand that it does not mean that the large slurpy image is actually better. It simply represents what we think would make sense. The medium slurpy represents the door b and what could be the Lord’s plan from the beginning of time.

Here was my advice to my son and what I am trying to learn for my own life.
1. Don’t let an unwelcome answer or unmet expectation poison the possibilities that are available.

2. It is important to express your disappointment, but make sure it is the right time, right place, and to the right person

3. If you find yourself getting a bad attitude, fight it and be in control of your actions. You can never control what someone else says or does, but you can control yourself; or at least you should control yourself.

4. Trust that somehow, someway the Lord will fulfill all of His promises. Usually the worst will come out of us when we begin to think that we cannot trust the Lord with our personal needs and dreams.

In conclusion:

You can either look at your life and focus on all of the things you did not get, that have hurt you, or areas that were unfair, and let that set the tone for the day or situation you are about to face or you can learn from those things and decide to enjoy the good that is placed in front of you. I personally believe that even the simplest things can be turned to gold when touched with a heart that is joyful and knows how to trust in the Lord.

Romans 12:11-13
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

This devotional was used with permission of my son Noah. Thank you Noah for allowing us all to learn along side you. You are a wonderful young man and I love you very much. He did want you all to know that this story has been copy written and can not be used again without Noah Kristopher Dahir’s personal written permission.

Pleasing the Lord

2009-10-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”- Psalm 19:14

This is my goal. To simply speak good wholesome and encouraging words, that the things that I ponder upon, put my brain juice and personal emotions towards, would please my Lord. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? Did someone who affects your world wake up on the wrong side of the bed? This morning I was helping babysit my nephew and niece and watched how one of them wanted nothing more but to hang out and enjoy a day of toys. He had no regard for what happened yesterday, definitely was not thinking about tomorrow, and was just enjoying the moment he was in. That is until my niece decided to share some of her little grumpiness with her brother. It was funny because I sat here and watched her decide that if she was going to be a grump then for sure others should join her. I would like to say that this is a child-like behavior and that we grow out of these actions and habits; but we don’t. I might even be brave enough to say that our children learn some of these behaviors from us.

Whichever position you find yourself in today, our application to this weeks devotion is very simple- refocus on things that are pleasing to the Lord. He has taken care of the details of our day that bring life. All of the other sources we run to for hope will ultimately bring confusion.

Take the time to stop and write down the top ten things that bring joy to your heart and then thank the Lord for them.

Here are mine…

1. A secure place to find hope. Running to the Lord has always brought me back to my feet and gave me the strength longer than I thought possible.

2. My Melissa, I love waking up and having her in my arms.

3. Watching my oldest son take each step of life and becoming such a wonderful young man.

4. Standing with my son Noah as he dreams about his future with sports, friends, and life.

5. Being able to see and be with my family here in Reno. The kids are loud at times but we sure do love being around to see them grow.

6. Knowing that I have friends who pray for, believe in, and want the best for me and my family.

7. Being a part of helping other learn how to take steps towards the Lord and find the same hope and peace that I get to walk in.

8. I get to take my wife out tonight. Yay for dates!

9. Taking classes in school and doing well. It makes me feel like my life is moving forward to accomplish something that is bigger than myself.

10. Having a Guinness!

Walking Miracles

2009-09-25T07:09:00.001-07:00

Isaiah 11:1-5

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

It is now time to step into a world that most people avoid. It is the world of Godly judgment and righteousness. Most of society love to hear about how God loves them no matter what and that God’s arms are open so wide, how He has closed His eyes to their short comings, and how He doesn’t even smell the stench that has entangled their lives. All of these things bring a great smile to my face and they are even fun to preach about. However, we must remember that the God of this universe, as laid out in scripture, is also a just God and is full of righteousness and truth. God has not closed His eyes to your sin and yes, his olfactory (the smelling part of a nose) is not broken. He sees it all and smells it all, but has chosen to not make you pay the consequences by allowing Jesus Christ to die for our short comings and take on the punishment for our depravity. Sin is not to be looked at lightly and the fact that we are human does not give us a get out of jail free card whenever we choose to jump into the deep end of the world and its muck and mire. God has made a way to continue relationship and yet, we will always suffer the consequences for our sin.

I saw this article that made me laugh, as the person writing it was a bit extreme and possibly is the type of person who has painted his car and his house with messages of God’s destruction. But this title was so true and it brings into the light the balance of how the Lord’s forgiveness and love is applied.

What Happens In Vegas
… Is RECORDED In Heaven!

Being from Vegas myself and watching the gaming business exploit people and find ways to tempt its visitors and residence with destruction has been very sad and heart breaking. While I was a pastor in Las Vegas, there were many prayers sent out asking the Lord for direction of how to make a difference in a place that is trying to drag everyone to the pit. I do believe that God is doing wonderful things in Las Vegas and some of the most wonderful people I have ever met have been placed there to help keep the Lord’s name shining bright.

The point of this man’s article is based out of the book of Revelations.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” -Revelation 20:12

I cannot even begin to explain to you what this will look like or mean to each of us. However, I do know that there will be a time to give an account for every word that has been spoken, attitude formed and action agreed to. This scripture is not one that has a lot of popularity today and I would be shocked to see it placed in a church growth book of messages to get more people in your church. And yet, the fact that the God of scripture is loving and righteous at the same time must be up held for all to see. He does care about the sin in your life. He does want you to be a good husband, wife, father, mother, child, friend, neighbor, employee, boss, and stranger. Choosing to follow the Lord in these areas does not earn your way into heaven. He has already taken care of that part of the equation.

Ultimately, the goal is not based upon anything we have or experience here on this earth. It is based upon that future time in heaven with our maker. There are many horrible decisions that I have made in my past and will have to stand before my God and face those head on. But starting today, right now, right here, I can make decisions to be able to stand in front of the creator of the universe and hear the words spoken in Matthew 25:21.

“Well done, good and faithful servant!”

And so can you!

God does love you and has a great plan for you. Even if yesterday was full of great shame and self-disappointment. Today is a new day; full of new opportunities to honor the Lord and be an example for others to see what kind of miracles our God is capable of. Your life is that walking miracle!

What Do We Fear?

2009-09-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

The next portion of our study, out of Isaiah 11, brings us to a subject that seems to only bring confusion for the Christian of the 20th century. People are taught about a loving God that is only full of good and promises. If this is all that is to our God then why do we need to fear Him? Why did Jesus delight in the fear of the Lord? There are many religions out there that take pieces of scripture they like and create the God that makes sense to them and that is comfortable. As Christian men and women, we do not believe that is an accurate action to take. We believe that we take scripture and apply it to our daily life- even if it causes us to be uncomfortable. I believe that part of the problem in the church and with those who call themselves children of God is the casualness by which God is approached and revered. Yes, God is called many things in scripture and longs to have an intimate relationship with each of us. His hope is that His children will feel comfortable to rest in His mighty arms to find the rest and healing needed. But He is also our Almighty God, who deserves the respect and honor that brings a natural fear and awe upon approaching His very presence.

After people watching for the last 37 years and evaluating my own heart, I have learned that people worship what they fear. This may sound strange, but take a moment and see if it applies. When someone learns that they have a debilitating disease or find themselves in a relationship or financial crisis, a fear begins to set in of the future. If they try to carry it on their own then this fear begins to consume their time. That which we give our heart, mind, and time to is where our worship is given. However, if those same people believed that the Lord was more powerful than the financial crisis, health issue, or relationship turmoil, then they would keep their focus on the Lord and not spend their days reeling and tormented by the circumstances in place. Over the years, I have lost my focus many times and have begun to be consumed by the disappointments of the day instead of being faithful to trusting the Lord. I thank the Lord for His guidance and for staying faithful to me, even when my eyes become blinded to His amazing power and love.

Isaiah 11:1-5

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt

I challenge you to stop and evaluate what gets your worship.

Are you more afraid of your present circumstance than you are of a life absent of the presence of God?

If it has been some time since you have spent time with the Lord, He does not have a whipping stick that is prepared for you. He is waiting for you to choose Him once more and He has nothing but good, honest, fulfilling love in store for you. Be careful. Approach the Lord with the understanding that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but also as His son or daughter. When you begin to step into His presence you may feel out of place or as if you do not deserve to be in that place and will be tempted to run. These feelings are fully understood and should be followed; that is if the Lord had not paid the price for all of our shortcomings. Spend some time with your Jesus today. He has given His very life to be able to have that personal time with you. You do not need to run and hide anymore...

Why the Holy Spirit?

2009-09-11T05:28:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 11:1-5

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

This scripture tells us about our Saviour who came to this earth to bring us life and be an example for those who choose to follow. The key elements that I see in this prophecy about the coming Messiah are the Holy Spirit and His affect, the fear of the Lord that He not only walked in but he delighted in, righteousness that affected every decision made, and a faithfulness that was always present. This prophecy, that was just read, has been fulfilled in every way by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I hope to take the next few weeks to focus in on these qualities of Christ and help make sense how we can apply them to our daily decisions.

This week I will focus on verse 2.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD –

What does it mean to have the Spirit of the Lord rest upon Him? Is this some type of strange ethereal concept or is this a practical possibility for you and me?

To answer this question let’s look at more scripture and the words of Jesus himself.

Acts 1:4-5
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

Jesus himself came to this earth and showed us how to be led, filled, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then made it very clear that His disciples should not even think about being a part of any ministry until the Holy Spirit does His work. This is the same mandate for us today. Jesus didn’t function without the Holy Spirit guiding Him and so what makes us think that we should be making any decisions that are not first submitted through the filter of our Counselor, the Holy Spirit?

Isaiah 11:2, tells us that Jesus walked in the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and fear of the Lord. This all came through the fact that the Holy Spirit rested on Him. At this moment, I am praying for the Holy Spirit to fill me, rest on me, guide me, and if necessary, hog tie me- so I can walk in that same wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and fear.

How about you? I encourage you to look at each of these results and that were evident in our Lord’s life and see if you need to press in a little more and ask the Holy Spirit to guide more of your life than you are letting Him. Take a moment and pray over each of these areas. i would love to hear what the Lord is saying to you. He will guide you and encourage you if you ask Him.

Wisdom

Understanding

Counsel

Power

Knowledge

Fear of the Lord

Stop Trusting in man

2009-09-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

“Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?” Isaiah 2:22

This is the message that the Lord is screaming at me today. I say screaming because I think it is the only way He has found to get through my thick skull. This week’s devotional has nothing to do with anyone, but me and my walk with the Lord. I blame no one for the way I act or for the attitudes that are created inside of my heart. They are all just a rotten overflow of a heart that must learn how to yield and trust His creator. I know that I need to quit looking around and comparing my life to others. I know that God has placed so many blessings in my lap and that I should be thankful and show gratitude and joy for His continued healing and support for the battles this life has brought, but instead I get angry and want to shutdown. I feel like the Lord is telling me to grow up. Remember when you were a child and when things did not go correctly in your world and the other children were being nasty. It was then as a child we would just simply run and tell on them. I currently live with my sister and her family, which we are so grateful for. In this home, including my two boys, there are 7 children-- 5 of them being under the age of 11 years old. Let’s just say that there is a lot of tattling going on. I find myself saying on a regular basis. “Go away and worry about yourself. If you keep spending all of your time worried about them your life is going to be very sad.” What a great quote to live by! Quit worrying about other people and what they have and what they do or don’t do. Most of what you think you see is a façade and should not be trusted anyway. Worry about what is front of you and live for the Lord. Last night, I found myself wanting to shutdown and run to God to tell on everybody for the things that I think are not happening or at least when I want them to happen. I believe that He tried to talk to me last night, but I was not in the mood and so I went to bed with all of these swirling emotions- hoping that when I awoke that the Lord would be paying attention this time. Well, I was right. He was paying attention and He told me pretty clear. .

“Worry about yourself! If you keep spending all of your time worried about them your life is going to be very sad. Stop putting your trust in man and put it in me.”

Dear Lord,
Today, right here, and right now, I repent. Please Lord, forgive me, help me keep my eyes focused on you and be grateful for who you are in my life. Help me see those people and situations that you want me to step into and be an example for you. I know that when I am looking at everyone else and allowing attitudes to form that I become blind to the real purpose that you have placed me where I am. I love you and apologize for acting so childish at times. Please help my faith and trust grow.
Love your broken child

Meekness

2009-08-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

“But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.”

What does it mean to be meek? Usually this word reminds me of a little mouse that scurries by and just tries to not get stepped on. He doesn’t make much noise or have much influence on people. He is simply little, cute, and uninspiring.

Let me paint a different picture for you- a Biblical view of meekness.

Greek word for meek is praus
a. Used to describe a soothing medicine.
b. Used by sailors to describe a gentle breeze.
c. Used by farmers to describe a broken colt.

What do all these definitions have in common?
They all describe great power under control.

Imagine a ferocious lion that is sitting and waiting in place. The many different animals of the jungle may perceive him as week because the birds are landing on his head and even some of the small rodents get brave and begin to build there nest underneath his paw. There are even a few vultures that have stopped by and have begun to circle because what a meal this large lion would make and just think of the bragging rights of eating the king of the jungle alive. Most spectators would quickly come to the conclusion that this lion must be a coward or broken in some way. However, this lion is not broken as some may think. He is submitted. Meekness and humbleness have everything to do with power reserved. One command from his master and that lion would make ground meat out of these animals that would dare mock such a mighty creation.

You and I are this mighty creation. Like this lion we have been called to submit our own comfort and instincts to our master. We sit and wait for our Lord to tell us when to react and how to react. There are times in this life that you will feel that the vultures have shown up and have began eating you alive. You may feel like you have been stripped of your self-respect, but let me encourage you. There is no greater place to be waiting than in the presence of the Lord and no better voice to be waiting for, but the voice of your creator. As you wait for His guidance, let your life be one of meekness and humility. Reserved for the moment that the master gives direction. Then in that moment be ready to express the full power that God has placed inside of you, as it is in that moment that the Lord will get all the glory.

Don’t be confused. Personally, I rarely have ever felt like that great lion that I just spoke about. However, scripture is very clear that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and that God Himself lives with us and in us, as does the power that He wields.

The quote at the beginning of this devotional comes from Psalm 37:11. It is placed directly after we learn that David was walking through a season of his life where he was being hurt and he felt that there were some unfair situations surrounding him. He took it all and left it at the feet of the Lord. He trusted that God was bigger than the giant of confusion that he was facing.

Psalm 37:1-8
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.

The Lord does have great plans for you! Simply trust in Him…

Lord,

I pray that you help each of us to keep our eyes focused on you and our hearts and minds submitted to your orders and not those actions that seem so natural to our own personalities. Like the ferocious lion that I spoke about earlier, help us submit to whatever you are asking of us. It is in that submission that we carry our cross and begin to look more and more like you.

Amen

Perseverance

2009-08-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

What does this word "perseverance" mean? Does it mean that you run until you get tired? That you stand only until your feet hurt? That you hold up that responsibility only long enough to outlast the guy next to you?

Let me introduce you to Scrat, a fictional, saber toothed squirrel, who finds his life purpose in chasing after this nut. No matter what problems come his way and want to eat him, mame him or chase him, he does not lose his desire or hope in attaining the goal of capturing and eating the nut. Scrat is a wonderful picture of perseverance.

per⋅se⋅ver⋅ance [pur-suh-veer-uhns]
steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Perseverance does not even begin until your feet are sore, your back is hurting, the rope is cutting through your hand, and the load just seems impossible to carry. I think the closest understanding I have ever seen to what true perseverance looks like was found in watching one of my friends walk through a debilitating disease. Even though it was full of pain and promises of death, she stepped out of bed each day and played the role of wife and mother. Yes, there were some days where getting out of bed for took a little longer than the day before. But she pushed through, lifted her face to God for strength, and persevered through her day. I have always liked the verse out of Ephesians 6 that tells us to stand firm, and when you have done all that you can do to stand and are getting tired of standing, then stand some more. Jesus gave us a great example to follow. No matter what he faced while on this earth He would go to his Father, our God, for strength, wisdom and perspective. When He was about to face His most difficult challenge, the cross, He submitted His life to the will of the Father and asked for strength.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4

So many times I get to the place where I want to panic due to my weakness and lack of faith. It is like holding your breath under water. At first you feel confident and everything seems easy. But as time passes and it doesn’t seem that a breath of fresh air is on its way, our minds try to take over and tell us to panic. It is in these moments that I challenge you and encourage you to close your eyes and allow your faith in the promises of God to take over rather than the emotions that are telling you to be afraid and freak out.

This scripture also helps us answer what I have found to be the toughest questions. The questions of “Why me?”, and “Why did God allow this to happen?”. We are made complete by being broken and reassembled. It is a difficult process to fully grasp and or appreciate, but in all of my reading of scripture, experiences in life, and time spent with the Lord, I have found that perseverance is the equation to completeness. This does not mean that we have a God that is sitting there watching us, just dreaming up ways to sabotage our plans so we can learn to push through. It means that we live in a broken world and the Lord will use everything that comes your way to break you down and teach you how to trust in Him. For it is in that trust that completeness and godly maturity is found.

Dear Lord, please give us the strength to be strong and courageous as we face each obstacle that this life throws our way. Like the definition of perseverance states, please help us not quit when we are discouraged, but to take that time to dig deep and submit our lives once again to you. In that hour where we want to run and hide, please help us run and hide in your arms, as it is the only place we will find hope, acceptance, and strength. Amen

Remember that God Loves You Anyway

2009-08-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

“All of those reasons that pop into your head of why God could not possibly love you are valid. We do not deserve the love that He is offering. However, He is still offering it! He loves you anyway. He is looking beyond what you look like right now. He doesn’t just see you as something broken, tarnished, and falling apart. He sees what you will look like once he is able to piece you back together and fill you with His love and purpose.” (Step by Step, June 19, 2009)

When all else fails and the question that is stuck in your head is, “How can anyone love me?”, be reminded that God does. He doesn’t love you because you are perfect, or said the right thing, or did the right thing, or finished that project, or got an A+, or have somehow conquered your most recent vice. He loves you simply because you are His. He chose you and gave His life to assure that nothing could steal you away. The only way that He will lose that which He has purchased at such a great cost is due to the freedom that has been granted to that which has been purchased. You have the freedom to walk away. For me personally, I think this is the worst part of the deal-- and yet, the most important. At times I wish the Lord would allow me to sign my life over to give up my will and my freedom of choice. Then I could serve Him and not get lost in temptations, fear and selfishness.

This is also important to remember as you walk through this life
There are people out there that will let you down and hurt you. At times the wounds that are created can be so painful that even breathing is difficult. However, just like God loves you in spite of yourself, He also loves that person that has done a terrible thing in hurting you. To be completely honest, I am very excited to know that God loves me no matter what I do, but I do not always like that God loves others in the same way. I am embarrassed to share this hidden and selfish part of me. There are times that I would like to see the Lord bring retribution on those who have let me down or wounded me. These thoughts immediately cause me to realize that there is so much more that God has to do in my life. I need to get out of the way of myself and my own wounds and pray that the Lord will show His love and forgiveness to each of His children- even the ones that have not always acted like I think they should.

I am so grateful that the Lord loves me in my broken state and it should bring a smile to your face that He loves you just the same. Run to the Lord and allow Him to guide, shape and transform your life. He has a great plan for you.

These lyrics are a wonderful reminder that God’s love is not based up on what we have done but what he has done. Thank God for what He has done!

What If --Jadon Lavik
What if I climbed that mountain, what if I swam to that shore
What if every battle was victorious then would you love me more
Would you love me more
What if I were everyone’s first choice, what if I went farther than before
What if I stood high above the rest than would you love me more
Would you love me more

You say I belong to you apart from the things I do
You say I belong to you I’m in awe of why you do
Why you do, why you do, I’m in awe of you, ooh

What if I ignored the hand that fed me, what if I forgot to confess
What if I stumbled down that mountain then would you love me less
Lord would you love me less

What if I were everyones last choice what if I mixed in with the rest
What if I failed what I passed before then would you love me less

Lord would you would you love me less, oh no oh no oh no

You say I belong to you apart from the things I do
You say I belong to you I’m in awe of why you do
You do you do you do

What have I done to deserve your son sent to die for me
What can I give I want to live give me eyes to see
In a world that keeps changin’ there’s one thing that I know is true
Your love is stayin’ there’s nothing else I’ll hold onto

You say I belong to you apart from the things I do
You say I belong to you I’m in awe of why you do
Why you do

You say I belong to you apart from the things I do
You say I belong to you I’m in awe of why you do
I’m in awe of you I’m in awe of you

The way you love me, the way you do
The way you do , the way you love me, you love me , you love me
The way you do the way you do the way you love me,
the way you love you love you love

Remember that God Paid Your Ransom

2009-08-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

"There will be many moments along the journey where you will be tempted to stop and look at all the reasons that you are not worthy of allowing God to bring great blessings. It is one of the wages of war from the enemy of your soul to remind you of your failures and shortcomings. It is essential that each and every time you begin to feel that you are out of place and should be rummaging through the junk yard instead of enjoying God’s “five star service,” that you remember how Jesus came to this earth and paid your debt. You can raise your head high and look people in the eye with confidence. This is not because you have found a way [on your own] to overcome. The freedom and purpose that people will read in your eyes is a direct result of the price that Jesus paid for each and every one of us." (Step by Step 6/19/09)

Imagine that you live back in 50 AD. You were once a free man, but through a few bad decisions and some unexpected life turns, you are now a slave. You wear chains on your wrists, ankles, and one attached to a ring around your neck. Every day of your life is spent remembering the bad decisions and dreaming about what would had happened if you had opened “Door B” instead of “Door A” and made better decisions. Though the chains are heavy and painful, you wear them as if they are a part of who you are, as it is your belief that you have somehow earned them through the mistakes of the past. That is, until today. Today, your life has been interrupted with the chance to be challenged and changed forever. A new master has shown up and has paid for your debt; however, this master is different. This Master wants to take the chains off of your neck, arms, and feet and set you free. This Master has only one job for you. Instead of slave labor, this new Master requires that you show the same love you have been shown to those who surround you and for you to tell others about this new Master.

So, now you have a choice... What will you do? Will you live like a free man? Will you show others the love that was shown you? Or will you take the chains that have been removed from around your neck, arms and feet and put them back on?

I know that it sounds crazy to think that anyone would even entertain the idea of re-chaining themselves to a life of slavery. And yet, this is what happens to Christian men and women on a daily basis. Jesus has set them free and they no longer have to carry their past debts, but like an earned trophy, they take their freedom and set it aside to wear the familiar bonds of slavery.

Listen! Jesus came to this earth and died to set you free. All of the mistakes of your past, from the smallest of missteps to the most gruesome atrocities, have been paid for. QUIT WEARING YOUR CHAINS!

Luke 4:16-21
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them,
"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Remember that God Has A Great Plan

2009-07-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

"Trusting is so much easier if you

will just close your eyes!"

"To be honest, it is the thought of the future that has been the source of much of my turmoil. There are things of the past that have pain and hurt, but most of those wounds are healing quite well. There are situations I face daily that have the potential to create some difficult moments, and yet, the Lord seems to continually guide me through and equip me to handle those obstacles. But looking down the unknown hallway sometimes feels like I am in a scary movie and I just don’t know what is going to happen. Why is it that my mind always wants to revert to the memory of a scary movie where there is something dark and terrible wanting to eat my flesh instead of the idea that God has such a great plan? The end of the hallway is a definite unknown but the character and heart of God for is unchanging and is full of goodness. There is no need to fear!" (Step by Step 6/19/09)

Here is what I do on those days when my eyes become transfixed on the worries of tomorrow instead of God’s faithful promises.

1. Read His Word

It is sad that so few people lean on God’s handbook for this life. People feel comfortable running to so many different sources to try and attain wisdom for tomorrow and find every excuse in the book as to the reason they do not read God’s book. I personally believe that most people don’t run to the Word of God as often as they should is that it requires something of them instead of allowing them to feel sorry for ourselves. You see, scripture does not try to make sense of our problems. Scripture works on our heart and helps us look at our lives differently. It causes us to change, then, because we have changed we look at life’s issues differently.

2. Begin to Worship

This may sound like a strange thing to do and yet it is where I go when life is too heavy for me to carry. I wish that I could compare myself to Paul when he rejoices about his suffering, but I cannot. Usually when life is difficult, I run to the Lord to worship Him. Many times it is with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. He then finds a way to calm my heart and helps me to begin to trust in Him and His plan once more.

3. Surrender My Feelings and Fears Through Prayer

Not only does God want to hear from you, but when you take the time to have relationship with your maker you will find personal wholeness. The more time you spend with the Lord, the more you will trust Him and understand His role in your life. To love the Lord means to daily lay down your feelings, your rights, your ambitions, your goals, your everything. The laying down of these things will help you remember who is the Master and who is the child. The most confusing times in my life have come from me forgetting that the Lord is the one in charge and I am not.

4. Speak Out Loud My Fears

It is very important that you find someone to talk to. I have found that I confide in my best friend, my wife. She gets to hear of my sadness, my jealousies, my anger issues, and my disappointments. She gets to hear about my fears. There are times that this is difficult for me to do, but I thank the Lord to have a trusted friend for me to share with. If I try to keep my fears inside, they seem to mix with my imagination and grow into a beast that haunts my present day life. Usually after I speak my fears out loud and shed light on them, they shrink and lose the power to control me.

5. Find Something Positive to Do

This final step is very important. You must not sit around and focus on fears. Take that energy and find something positive to do. No matter what has happened or is happening in your life, we still have a responsibility to show the love of Christ to a broken and hurting world. Get out there and love someone for Jesus. I know it is the last thing you want to do when life is in turmoil. It feels much better to curl up in a fetal position and suck your thumb than to go and help anyone or care about someone else. Scripture commands us to love those around us. It does not say to love those around you only when your life is going perfect and you are happy with all of the circumstances of relationships, finances, and emotions. We love others simply because Christ loved us first.

I hope these practical steps out of my own life help you. The Lord is not waiting to find a reason to smite you. He has a great plan and has already put many of the pieces together to bring His blessings into your life. So close your eyes. Quit looking around and making decisions about God and His strength based upon what you see. Trust God with your life based upon His promises and unchanging love.

Remember that God Is Always With You

2009-07-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

“There are days that go by where it seems God is hiding from me or has possibly left the planet. Then I press in and play the spiritual game of hide and seek and begin to see that God’s fingerprints are on everything and that He has been with me everywhere I have gone. He has been there the whole time-- loving me, holding me, strengthening me, caring for me. I am never alone!” (Step by Step 6/19/09)

This week I have began to walk through a study of the life of Joshua. Moses is dead and now Joshua is left to lead God’s people into the Promised Land.

Joshua 1:1-5

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

After the Lord tells Joshua what He expects of him, He then gives Joshua the formula to complete what has been asked. I am sure that with Moses’ death that Joshua had many feelings of fear and confusion, and more questions than answers to be found. For example: After all of the miracles that took place why did you let Moses die? Did Moses mess up and now, if I mess up, are you going to replace me? Who am I to lead these people? Has someone made a mistake? Have you made a mistake?

OK. There is no guarantee that Joshua had any of these questions. But I am 100% sure that these would be the type of thoughts that were flying through my mind and causing me to doubt and question God, His ways, and if He really understood what was going on.

In this next part of the dialogue from the Lord to Joshua it almost seems that the Lord is answering Joshua’s questions before they are spoken. If Joshua was not going to deal with doubt, fear, discouragement, and insecurity, then this portion of the conversation would had been unnecessary.

Joshua 1:6-9

6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Word’s to live by in order to succeed and be prosperous…
1. Be Strong

2. Be Courageous

3. Be Careful to Obey

4. Meditate on God’s Word

5. Do Not Be Terrified

6. Do Not Be Discouraged

7. GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO!!!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your promise to always be there no matter what I am facing. I ask for you to fill me with a faith and determination to not only read of your provision but to live it. Help me be strong and courageous. Please forgive me for my doubts and fears and allow me to be an example of a mighty warrior for you.

I love you- AMEN

Forget About Chasing the Perishable

2009-07-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

"I want it all, Daddy and I want it now!"

“It is crazy to watch our society try to function in a world where they can’t just go and buy everything their hearts desire. If you take a moment to look around you will see fathers who rationalize working too much to provide their child with unneeded toys and a house that is too large to keep clean without a maid. You will see mothers talk themselves into giving away precious memories that will never be able to return again in order to have the newest items. Marriages that can’t grow because no one is taking the time needed to invest intimately, and a world that is crumbling around us as they look for something that will last. Everything this world offers is temporary and it is high time we start putting our energy and precious commodities into things that are eternal.” (Step by Step 6/19/09)

2 Corinthians 4:18

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

This is not a very easy scripture to follow when it seems every commercial, billboard ad and store we drive by is telling us to give our lives in able to have as many possessions as possible. Please hear me! Most possessions that people buy are not the problem. There is nothing inherently evil about your big screen TV. However, there is something quite sinful about what we are willing to sacrifice to get these things that we “need” and allowing our possessions to distract us from the Lord and His kingdom. The next time you are about to make that purchase or decide that you really have a “need," stop and take a look at what it is going to really cost. I am not referring to the money. I am referring to the time spent away from those we say we love to pay for this purchase, the faith problems that arrive when we take our eyes off of Christ, and the energy spent keeping up with the rat race of new technology, bigger homes, and items to entertain our brains.

Last month, the boys and I had a garage sale where we were able to sell, and pretty much give away, ¼ of our belongings. We then took the rest of our worldly belongings and placed them in a trailer that is being driven across the country to our new residence in Reno, NV. There are a few nice pieces of furniture on board, a wonderfully huge BBQ, clothing, a couple of televisions and then boxes full of the most important items we have. The contents of these boxes are truly the only things that we care about. They are the pictures of our families and friends, love notes from when Melissa and I first started dating, home videos of our boys from when they first began walking and talking, and pictures drawn by our children that say “I love u momi and dadi”. As Melissa and I locked the trailer and drove away, knowing that we would not see our accumulation of stuff for a week, our biggest concern was for our precious memories.

This world is in one of the strangest financial crunches of our lifetime and there are many people looking for hope and searching for answers. Let’s be a witness for our surrounding spectators of godly wisdom and an eternal perspective. This would mean that we invest most of our time and energy into the more important things in this life, such as a daily walk with our Lord and Savior, building strong marriages that will survive the storms that may come, growing children who replicate this style of living and know the God we profess to serve, developing genuine friendships that are built on honesty and trust, and being available to serve the Lord and His purposes when He brings a person or a need across your path.

Forget Titles That Define You

2009-07-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

"This has been one of the biggest lessons that I am learning during this season of life. Since I was a child, there have been many titles given to me, and adjectives used to describe what other people see in me--some of them positive and some of them negative, some of them unfair and some of them earned, some that are honoring and some that are embarrassing. I am learning that no matter what titles are wrapped around my neck, the only voice that I need to listen to, when it is time to begin defining who I am, is the voice of the Lord. He has called me precious and more importantly, He has called me His own." (Step by Step 6/19/09)

If I were to ask you who you were and what are you made of, the first thing you would probably do is start telling me things you have done in the past, habits you partake in on a regular basis, and probably a few titles that you wear like a badge to proclaim to the world around you just who you are. I am writing this to tell you that none of those things tell me who you are. Who you are has to do with the thing inside of you that makes you tick. That secret that was spoken between God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit about the purpose they created you for, and what special features they would give to you.

WHO AM I???

When you slow down enough to ponder about this all delicate question, "Who am I?", do you think of God and what He has made you to be? Or do you think only of your failures and your achievements, allowing the world to create a name, rank and serial number that was never yours to carry? This world has no way to look into the depths of your heart and see what is waiting to bloom; and so it truly has no authority to name and label you. But God looks beyond your crap, beyond your personal achievements, beyond what you see in the mirror, and looks into the seeds that He knows are waiting to grow. He knows they are there because He placed them there. He created you with that purpose in mind.

Imagine making bread. If we stopped in the middle of making bread and truly thought that the process was finished, we would most likely decide to throw it out and title it a waste because it is messy, gooey and has no real use. That is until you let it rise and fall and then place it in the oven. Then when that is all done and it is finished… mmmmm good! Fresh bread that not only smells great, but brings a comforting smile to my face with each bite I take. I love fresh bread and have to say compliments to the chef for not stopping in the middle of the process to name and judge the food that was being prepared.

We are all still in the process of becoming that which God has planned from the beginning of time. The next time you are asked who you are, or are looking in the mirror and deciding what label you are going to place around your neck, ask the Lord what He sees. You will find that He sees a child who has been fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. He loves you and simply wants you to know that you are His.

Jeremiah 1:4-5 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Remember to Forget the Dissapointments of Others

2009-06-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

The longer we choose to hold on to grievances and wrong doings the more emotional pain we allow to linger in our hearts and mind. Imagine being rushed to a doctor and they take out the bullet that was shot at you. It is a miracle that you are alive. Then as soon as you get enough strength you take and look at the bullet and then shove it right back into the whole. That sounds crazy! It is exactly what happens if we do not forgive and release the bullets from our past wounds.

Psalms 55:4
"My heart is sore pained within me; and the terrors of death are fallen upon me."

I write this to you without any illusions of the task of letting these things go. It will hurt. It will take time and just when you think you are going to be OK, something will remind you of the pain. Then, if you are not careful, the whole wave of grief can topple you and bring you right back to the starting point. What I am learning from situations in my own life is to make sure there is someone to talk to when those thoughts and feelings begin to rise. Make sure you have a trusted friend or counselor that can hear your thoughts and allow your heart to bleed without allowing you to jump off the deep end. It is in those moments that some of the biggest mistakes in life are made if not tempered with good friends who help point you back to the foot of the cross.

Here are a few easy steps to take when you are feeling the waves of grief and pain…

1. Breath
Your brain must get proper oxygen to think clearly. When you are upset your breathing is strained and will always alter your ability to walk in wisdom.

2. Slow down
When we get upset we say things like, “Fine then!”, “Well then I will just…” and we begin making rash decisions that will usually bring negative consequences not only to you but to those loved ones that surround you.

3. Pray
There is nothing more important than to run to God. Do what ever you have to do to get away and spend a few moments, hours, or days with God. It is crucial that you find Jesus in your situation before you make any judgments about the situation. Jesus is truth and will bring a light into the darkness that will always change how you look at what is in front of you.

4. Read and recite God’s word
It will be natural for you to want to run around and hear what everyone thinks about your situation and pain. When looking for wisdom it is important that you are first anchored in the Word of God. He will keep you on course in the fiercest of storms and help you decipher the advice that others are giving you. This world will try to pull you hard enough to loosen the anchor. DO NOT LET IT! God's word is truly the only thing that will keep you from wandering around lost in the darkness.

5. Talk to a trusted friend or counselor
It is crucial that you find a way to get the thoughts out of your head. If you do not have someone to talk to then write it down somewhere safe. If you leave it in your head it will begin to bounce around like a rubber ball that will only cause more damage and pain. Find a way to get it out of your head so you can look at your thoughts at face value and not through the lenses of the many emotions stirring inside.

I am here to proclaim to you that healing is possible and it will not always be as difficult as it may feel right now. God has His plan in motion to bring healing to you and to your situation. Your job is simply to run to Him and trust. If you are brave enough to take that first step, He will bring to your aid all of the resources of heaven to see you cared for. He loves you!

1 Peter 5:10-11
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

Remember to Forget your Past Failures

2009-06-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

There are many things we must learn from our past failures; however, once you have learned those lessons, it is crucial that you do not keep mulling over the mistakes. It will keep you stuck in bondage even though Christ has done everything needed to bring you freedom. Again, we must use our past to learn from our mistakes and bring wisdom to our present day or we will just keep making the same mistakes over and over. The problem comes when we keep stabbing ourselves with those mistakes or when we shackle ourselves to the wrong-doing and allow it to haunt our daily lives and disrupt our future.

The chains of our past are difficult to lay down. It is interesting to me how so many people are walking around feeling like they are in bondage though they are not. It is like taking someone who has been in chains since they were very young, then after 30 years, taking the chains off and telling them that they are free. They do not even know what that means and they definitely do not know how to act. I was watching an old movie on television the other night--you know those movies that come on so late and you should go to sleep but it is just interesting enough to keep you on the couch. It was a movie about an old prisoner who was supposed to serve 50 years for his crime. He was so comfortable in his jail that he had now been there for 56 years and the new warden wanted to set him free. This prisoner was so scared and did not want to go. He would rather stay put with the chains and the comfort of the known obstacles than face freedom and the unknown things it may bring.

If you have surrendered your life to Christ then you have been set free and do not need to stay in your jail. Maybe you have even been forced to leave your jail but still feel the weight of your chains. It is a façade! Jesus made it very clear what His purposes were in His coming to this earth as a man. There is no amount of stubbornness, habitual living, memories, evil deeds, prideful moments, back stabbings, criminal activity, hurtful words, or mistakes made that can derail the purpose or vanquish the promises that God has put in place by sending His son Jesus Christ to love you. He who Christ has set free is free indeed!

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Maybe you are reading this devotional and you have never been set free. If you are in this jail and have chains wrapped round your heart and mind that are constricting you from becoming all that God has planned for your life- today is the day for you to be set free. Run to Him! Stop what you are doing and fall to your knees and surrender! There is a peace for that storm, healing for those wounds, and a most importantly, a purpose for your life. I encourage you to ask the Lord to be your Savior and allow Him to be your Lord. He will change the way you look at everything that you touch and give you a new perspective about where you have been, where you are at, and what is ahead in the future. He truly loves you!

God Bless

Remember to Forget… and Don’t Ever Forget to Remember

2009-06-19T07:07:00.001-07:00

This last couple of weeks has been full of ups and downs for me.

I would like to blame a person, circumstance or maybe even God for this instability. However, the Lord has shown me that the emotional heart spasms were a direct result of forgetting the things I need to remember and remembering and dwelling on the things that I need to surrender to the Lord and forget. Over the next 8 weeks I will take the time to give you a glimpse of how I am trying to apply this encouragement from the Lord. It would be nice if this teaching could explain how I crossed the finish line and have succeeded in applying and living each of the truths and challenges that I am about to write. Though, it would be nice, it is not something I can say, as each of these points have different battles attached to them that are still being faced.

Why does it seem that as I try to focus my eyes on the Lord and follow His ways it seems that the human factor keeps pulling me in different directions. I am praying that as I share these truths with you that the Lord will cement them into my heart and bring encouragement to yours.

Forgetting...
Forget Your Past Failures
There are many things that we must learn from our past failures, but once you have learned those lessons it is crucial that you do not keep mulling over the mistakes. It will keep you in bondage. Christ has done everything needed to bring freedom. We just need to walk in that freedom.

Forget Disappointments of Others
The longer we choose to hold on to grievances and wrong doings the more emotional pain we allow to linger in our hearts and mind. Imagine being rushed to a doctor and they take out the bullet that was shot at you. It is a miracle that you are alive. Then as soon as you get enough strength you take and look at the bullet and then shove it right back into the whole. That sounds crazy! It is exactly what happens if we do not forgive and release the bullets that caused our past wounds.

Forget Titles That Define You
This has been one of the biggest lessons that I am learning during this season of life. Since I was a child there have been many titles given to me and adjectives used to describe what other people see in me, some of them positive and some of them negative, some of them unfair and some of them earned, some that are honoring and some that are embarrassing. I am learning that no matter what titles are wrapped around my neck the only voice that I need to listen to, when it is time to begin defining who I am, is the voice of the Lord. He has called me precious and more importantly, He has called me His own.

Forget About Chasing The Perishable
It is crazy to watch our society try to function in a world where they can’t just go and buy everything their hearts desire. If you take a moment to look around you will see fathers who rationalize working too much to provide their child with unneeded toys and a house that is too large to keep clean without a maid. You will see mothers talk themselves into giving away precious memories that will never be able to return again in order to have the newest items. Marriages that can’t grow because no one is taking the time needed to invest intimately, and a world that is crumbling around us as they look for something that will last. Everything this world offers is temporary and it is high time we start putting our energy and precious commodities into things that are eternal.

Remembering...
Remember that God will Always Walk With You
There are days that go by where it seems God is hiding from me or has possibly left the planet. Then I press in and play the spiritual game of hide and seek and begin to see that God’s fingerprints are on everything and that He has been with me everywhere I have gone. He has been there the whole time-- loving me, holding me, strengthening me, caring for me. I am never alone!

Remember that God Has A Great Plan
To be honest, it is the thought of my future that has been the source of much of my turmoil. There are things of the past that have pain and hurt, but most of those wounds are healing quite well. There are situations I face daily that have the potential to create some difficult moments, and yet, the Lord seems to continually guide me through and equip me to handle those obstacles. But looking down the unknown hallway sometimes feels like I am in a scary movie and I just don’t know what is going to happen. Why is it that my mind always wants to revert to the memory of a scary movie where there is something dark and terrible wanting to eat my flesh instead of the idea that God has such a great plan? The end of the hallway is a definite unknown but the character and heart of God for me and my family is good. There is no need to fear!

Remember that God Paid Your Ransom
There will be many moments along the journey where you will be tempted to stop and look at all the reasons that you are not worthy of allowing God to bring great blessings. It is one of the wages of war from the enemy of your soul to remind you of your failures and shortcomings. It is essential that each and every time that you begin to feel that you are out of place and should be rummaging through the junk yard instead of enjoying God’s “five star service” that you remember how Jesus came to this earth and paid your debt. You can raise your head high and look at people in the eye in confidence. This is not because you have found a way to overcome. The freedom and purpose that people will read in your eyes is a direct result of the price that Jesus paid for each and every one of us.

Remember that God Loves you Anyway
All of those reasons that pop into your head of why God could not possibly love you are valid. We do not deserve the love that He is offering. However, He is still offering it! He loves you anyway. He is looking beyond what you look like right now. He doesn’t just see you as something broken, tarnished, and falling apart. He sees what you will look like once he is able to piece you back together and fill you with His love and purpose.

Dear Lord,

I pray that each of these points will touch our lives and help us get out of the way so you can direct and protect us. Show us the things that we need to submit to you-- allow you to carry and help us remember the truth and promises that you have set in place. You are a great God, with a great plan, and we long to get close enough to you that we know your voice and can stop doubting your love.

Amen

1...2...3... JUMP!

2009-06-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

"Trusting the Lord, at times, is like sky diving with only an umbrella."

When is the last time that you had that feeling in your stomach like it has dropped out and it took your breath away? When I was a kid, there was this hill a couple of miles from our house that we would always ask our parents to drive down. It was really steep and the drop was so fast that my stomach would feel like it was doing flips. When I received my driver’s license I made that road a regular part of my trip home. It seemed the faster I went down that hill the more exhilarating it was. So, if I enjoyed that feeling so much as a child, why is this feeling in my stomach uninvited. We have less than a month before Melissa and I pack up our lives once more and journey into the unknown. It is a wonderful feeling to know that their friends and family on the other end of that journey, but there are still many unknowns. What will I do for work? How does this move fit into the plans of the Lord? Will the new school system be good for our kids? Is there a pastor position awaiting me? It is funny because all of these questions remind me of my children. They can’t handle getting in the car without knowing what is going on. So they ask us all of these questions. Questions I usually don’t answer because I want them to just relax and trust that we as their parents have their best interest in mind and they don’t have to know what is going on. Let me turn this conversation around on myself. The Lord is in the driver’s seat and we are not. He has asked us to get into the car and buckle up. Now, I am reverting to a child like state of control, fear, longing for information, the need to know. I believe with all my heart that the Lord has a big smile on His face and wants me to just relax. He has already made the way for our family and the story is not a horror film. It is a story full of adventure, drama, comic relief (thank you Noah and Exodus), some tears, some battle wounds, and in the end victory.

I do not know where you are at right now. Maybe the Lord is asking you to jump and you don’t know what will happen. You might even be questioning if this is the Lord. What kind of God asks us to step into the lion’s den, or in a fiery pit, or travel into the unknown, or drop your known career and follow him, or give away the little bit of food you have to feed thousands of people, or to stand when all you feel like doing is to fall? This kind of God is one that knows who He has created you to be. He knows what kind of strength lies inside of you, if and when you submit to Him and allow His strength to flow.

Philippians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

This scripture does not say that we can do all things through our own wisdom, strength, knowledge, gifting, or skill. Yes, it is Him who has given us all of these wonderful gifts but the miraculous will never happen until we are willing to lay those ideals down and let Him take control. In truth no matter how hard we fight for control, it is never an element that we will be able to capture and become the master of. It will only create an illusion that will ultimately bring destruction to those who have been tricked into building their lives on such a weak foundation.

A New Chapter Begins

2009-06-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Wow! It feels so good to be able to write you and tell you that Melissa and I have come to a decision that we both have a great peace about and seems to be the next step that the Lord has for our family. We are moving to Reno, NV. We miss our family very much and are excited about being able to reconnect with a portion of our loved ones after a long time of distance. Our last year and a half of life has had many lessons for both of us and we know that there is still so much more to learn. However, we do thank the Lord for always standing by our side and bringing us to a place where we are moving forward as a family into the next chapter of the Dahir Story. These last 19 days of faith have also been an important time for us. We have had the idea of moving to Reno on our hearts for over a year. You may ask us why we took all this time to seek the Lord and pray if we already knew the answer. Hearing and knowing God’s will for our lives is not about us just doing what we want or what we think is correct. It is about taking and submitting our decisions, our motives, and our desires to the Lord and allowing Him to change and tweak anything that does not fit into His plans or honor Him. Here are a few lessons that we learned over the last few weeks of pressing in to seek direction from the Lord.

#1 Life is what happens while you are waiting for life to happen
This is one of those deep thoughts that came out of the insights of Melissa. During one of her times of thinking about our life and seeking the Lord for our future, she was reminded of the movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” Do you remember that one? He spent his whole life thinking that life was going to turn out a certain way and, because of that, focused on his specific and particular goals, finding himself often frustrated by the various interruptions that came his way. However, it turns out that while he was looking in the other direction, his life was touching people and shaping their lives. Towards the end of the movie he was disappointed because he thought that he never amounted to much. He then had the chance to see many of the people all in one room that his life had somehow connected with. His impact on the world around him took place while he was waiting for his life to happen. It is OK to have dreams and goals; however, there is not a dream that should cloud your vision so much that you can’t see the miracles happening every day of your life.

#2 Our emotions will bring us to many places but it is the surrendering of those very emotions that will bring you to the heart of God
Emotions are triggered by so many things and so it is important that, though we decide to pay attention to our emotions, we must not give them the power to control our lives. How we feel about things is simply that. It is how we feel about them right now and, believe it or not, that feeling could change as the wind changes. That is why it is crucial that we anchor our lives to scripture and to a walk with the Lord. That combination of guidance in our lives will keep us from running around in circles and allowing our moments of extreme emotions to rule our day.

#3 Wait. God’s timing will rarely fit into your time table
This part of the equation has not been fun, and yet because we waited and sought God like we have, it gives me a freedom to not second guess the decision we have made. If we would have simply jumped on the first idea we had and assumed it was God speaking to us, I think we would have questioned the “what if’s” for many years. Trust God! Walk forward in His timing and don’t allow those feelings of urgency to push you into a decision.

#4 The Lord will use many situations and people to confirm His purposes
There have been many people in our lives, movies we have watched, songs that we have heard, scripture that we have read, and nudges from the Holy Spirit that have confirmed for us that the next step we are to take is to go to Reno. If we would not have dedicated this time to allow the Lord to confirm this, it would be difficult to walk with confidence into the unknown.

So here is what we know! Our last Sunday at the church in Virginia is June 28th and we should be in Reno, NV by July 13th. Now these are the plans that we have at this time and though our “19 Days of Faith” are over, this does not mean our daily walking in faith has stopped.

Dear Lord,
Please take these plans that we have and continue to guide us. We lay our past, present, and future in your hands and ask that you use it to glorify you and expand your kingdom. We ask for your strength and wisdom for each step that is ahead. We love you.

Amen

Day 1

2009-05-31T06:46:00.000-07:00

We are looking forward to what the Lord has and are excited to see how things will unfold. It is funny because this process reminds me of when I used to play with dominoes as a child and put them in rows where, after pushing over the first domino, it was a matter of time until one by one, each of them would fall over in sequence, until the last one fell. The only difference is that this set of dominoes goes in slow motion. Each day that goes by brings different conversations, a myriad of feelings, and so many new possibilities. So we thank each of you for being spectators of our lives and praying for the Lord to be in charge of where the next domino falls. I always hated when one of the dominoes fell wrong and would stop the chain of events that were about to take place. My prayer is that the Lord is the only one who has the opportunity to interrupt or change what will happen next in this game of life dominoes.

Tomorrow is our last day before we begin making some decisions about our immediate future. Wow! I wonder in what direction this domino will fall!

If you feel at times like i do, that things are moving too slowly and the answers are just not coming quickly enough, here is the scripture that the Lord has pointed out to me and maybe it will encourage you as well. It is in His time that all things become possible. In our time, we only cause confusion, pain, and unneeded destruction.

1 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Day 2

2009-05-30T03:57:00.000-07:00

We are packing boxes, selling furniture on Craig’s list, and beginning to say our good byes to Virginia. It is funny to have such anticipation for the unknown. We have many friends, family and even people we have no clue who they are, encouraging us and telling us that God has something great just around the corner. Yes, it is frustrating to not know what is going on and yet, it is also freeing. In a very real way, Melissa and I have done everything we know to seek the Lord and hear from Him.

We have taken special nights and weekends to just pray, worship, talk, and seek God.
We have our devotional together on a daily basis and try to regularly hear the heart beat of God.
We have removed things from our lives that may bring distraction.
I have fasted on many occasions to show the Lord that I am serious about these prayers.
We have sought council from trusted friends and Foursquare leadership.
We have included our children into these times of prayer and seeking God.
We have told the Lord that we are available to whatever He has.

The reason I share all of this is to be transparent with you. I hope that in these writings you get to see the physical decisions and miracles that happen, but also how the heart pumps during these times. On too many occasions I have heard people tell others to trust God without the proper warning of the war of doubt and faith that will go on inside of their mind. This war is very real, however, if you will diligently stay focused on the Lord and not the screaming storm then you will have the chance to see God do His miracles.

This next portion is an excerpt from a teaching I taught many years ago…

Keeping Our Eyes Focused on Jesus

Matthew 14:22-33
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
33 Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

1. No Matter what we are facing we must not take our eyes off of Jesus.
What are some things that you may face?

Finances
Health
Relationship
Having to move your church
Ministry

2. Miracles will happen when we keep our eyes on Jesus
Peter did walk on water

3. We must obey even if it does not make sense
What if Jesus told you to step out of the boat? Would you do it?

4. We must not hold on to our life or we will have doubt and fear
The only reason Peter fell was because he was scared of the wind and the waves

5. We will always trust Jesus if we keep him as the all powerful
Throughout our world people will worship that which is the most powerful

If it was the Sun… they worship the sun
If it was money… they worship money
If it is a position… they worship the position
If it is their Lord…they will worship their Lord

Day 3

2009-05-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

We have spent a lot of time over the last year, and especially in these two weeks of our faith countdown, speaking of faith and hope. However, the Bible is very clear that the greatest of all of these is love. This is what my heart is choosing to focus on today. Faith and hope have been very important stabilizers for our family over this last season of life. We are thankful to the Lord for these pillars to lean on that produced peace in some very stormy times. But the treasure at the end of this journey of ours has everything to do with this word that creates so many different responses in people--LOVE. First and foremost, we are thankful for the love that God has shown us. We are so undeserving of His consistent compassion and grace. He truly loves us as His children in spite of who we are and what we do.

I know that we are only human and our love is incomplete and has flaws. If you have not discovered that humans are flawed in this way, then get ready for the scariest ride of your life! However, flaws, wrong attitudes, mistakes and all, it is this love we share that drives us back into each other’s arms. It is this gift of love that reminds us that the Lord has placed a small understanding of who He is right inside of our home.

In conclusion, we still have no idea of what tomorrow holds for us and as far as I am concerned the Lord can do whatever He wants with that. But here is what I do know. There is a lot of love shared in my home- right here and right now. So even if we end up living in the craziest of situations, my main prayer is that love will always be at the center of our goals.

Day 4

2009-05-28T05:10:00.001-07:00

Today has been a good day in so many ways and at the same time difficult because we are letting time tick by and still we wait. We don’t even get to wait in silence. We wait in the gloomy rain! A lot of our everyday lives will begin to shift very soon and we will start packing, giving our notices at work and preparing our hearts and mind for the unknown. Melissa and I keep referring to the scriptures that speak of Abraham and Sarah and their journeys. In Abraham’s journey they also were asked by the Lord to move their family to unknown destination with the promise of God’s blessing. I can honestly say that I have never sought the Lord so intently over any decision I have made in my life and it still feels that there are no answers. There is actually an answer and it is a simple one—“Listen and wait!”

Proverbs 8:33-35
Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.

Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.

For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the LORD.

Day 5

2009-05-26T12:08:00.001-07:00

“We live by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7

Melissa and I have spent the day asking each other, “What does this scripture mean?” and “How do we apply this to our lives?” Typically, we (Melissa and I) make decisions by praying and asking the Lord to help give us wisdom, taking a look at all the details in front of us and then, by processing that information, we make the best decision our human wisdom can come up with. This may seem like a good way to make decisions, but is it really walking in faith?

The more that I have thought about this question I come to the conclusion that faith has more to do with how you handle what is in front of you at this moment than what is going to happen next. Walking in faith and not by sight means that I must stop looking around and allow the situations and painful things of life to form ungodly attitudes or emotions, as it is those very feelings that will stop me from taking that next step that God has asked of me. One of the examples that came to my mind was the story of the prophets out of 1 Kings 18 that were hidden in caves away from King Ahab and Jezebel. They were being hidden away as part of God’s remnant and as God is talking to Elijah, He tells him that he has set aside a number of people who have not bowed to Baal, and part of this number were the 100 prophets that were being hidden in caves. Well, I can’t help but wonder if these prophets actually felt so lucky and loved. Did they understand that God had placed them there and now were they excited about having to sleep on the rocks and hide for their lives? Did they know that in another cave not so far away that the creator of the universe was bragging about them and was proud of them? I would put money on the fact that many of them were scared and felt like God abandoned them. They just watched so many of their fellow prophets be put to death and now they have been ushered off to a cave to wait. In truth, they don’t even know what they are waiting for! King Ahab may rule for the next 50 years and the cave might not only be their new home, but their last home. These men had the choice to either face this situation and decide to trust in a God that seemed so far away, or join the crowd of faithless men and woman that ran around in fear. Praise the Lord they chose to give us an example of walking by faith and not by sight.

Have you done much cave dwelling? Or, should I say, have you found yourself stuck in places where you feel like you are standing still, awaiting for the Lord to give you direction? Maybe you are there by mistake and God has a different place that you were supposed to reside. Or maybe… just maybe…God has placed you there. Maybe, He is even in another cave not too far away excitedly bragging about you and your faithfulness.

Day 6

2009-05-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

As my day is coming to a close and I am wondering what to write about and what amazing insights I have received today-- I am at a loss of what to write. In all actuality it has not been a profound day of faith, but it has been a day full of enjoying the little things in life. We spent times with good friends, went to a mall and walked around and shopped a little, ate at Panda Express, bought my boys each a new shirt, and am now sitting on the couch eating ice cream with Melissa asleep on my lap. Maybe I am clueless to what tomorrow will hold, but today was full of enjoyment and fun. I thank the Lord for the little things. They make life worth living. Did I mention that my ice cream was very good?

If you are dealing with the heaviness of life and have not taken a break from thinking so deep and hard about what you can’t control— I challenge you to take a day and just enjoy the good things that are surrounding you everyday. Believe me when I say that I understand how important big decisions can be and the process of making those decisions needs to be taken seriously and with much prayer. However, if you don’t stop to enjoy the little things in life then you are waiting to live life. We do not know if we actually will have a tomorrow. Take the time to enjoy your today!

James 4:13-17 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Day 7

2009-05-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

We only have one week left and I would like to say that Melissa and I are as solid as a rock in our faith and emotions and that we have no doubts—but I can’t. It is a difficult process when you decide to trust the Lord with your life. Thinking to our past, I know that we have been in many positions where we had to trust the Lord. Why is it that it is so difficult to trust Him--especially when He has been so faithful in our lives up to this point?

The blog for today will hopefully give you an honest look into the hearts and questions of two people who are trying to be where the Lord wants them. We know that He wants us to move and that our time in Virginia is coming to a close. It is the writing on the next page of our story that seems to be difficult to grasp or comprehend.

Here is what we know!

1. We value our family and want to either be close to them or have the ability to see them more regularly.

2. It is important to us that Melissa does not work so much and can be home to keep all of our lives in order.

3. We both feel that senior pastoring a church may be that next step…. (Only God knows!)

4. We want the kids to be in good schools. Adam is going into Sr. High and Noah is going into Jr. High. We would love for them to be able to stay at the same schools as to allow them to develop friends and get prepared for college.

5. We have enjoyed learning how to slow down and be a family and do not want to lose this new lifestyle of having time to enjoy each other and grow together.

Here is what we feel! (These emotions may seem contradictory, but in all truth, our emotions change moment by moment and day by day.)

1. We are excited to see what doors the Lord will open

2. We feel frustrated that we have not heard anything with true clarity

3. We are nervous that we are going to make a wrong decision

4. We are experiencing a sense of freedom as we seek the Lord daily and trust in His guidance. I do not remember a time in our married lives where Melissa and I have sought the Lord as diligently as we have during this season of our lives.

5. We feel thankful for all the blessings that are sitting right in front of us (each other, wonderful kids, great friends, jobs, a good church)

6. We are hoping and praying that God will take all the details that we care about and place us exactly where He sees fit.

I am not sure if this type of writing actually helps you as the reader or if it is just therapeutic for my mind and soul. However, when I started writing every day, I felt that the Lord wanted to use our experiences for this 19-day countdown to encourage others by displaying the raw, at times emotional, faith that we are attempting to walk in. If you are reading this and you have come to the conclusion that Melissa and I are human and at times seem lost in our faith or what I like to call “spiritually schizophrenic”—you have evaluated us correctly. I have never been so aware of how broken my trust in God is as I am today. As much as this should make me sad and question my own sanity, I find that the more I realize that I am broken and need God, the more He is willing to bring comfort.

Philippians 4:4-9
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This is the scripture that I choose to focus on today. I long for the peace of God to cut through my anxiousness and doubts and focus my mind on what is excellent and praiseworthy. I pray for you today, my friend, that the God of peace will truly guide you and comfort you.

God Bless

Day 8

2009-05-24T05:43:00.003-07:00

“Hey Dad, did you know that silent and listen are spelled the same way?” Noah Dahir

I have always known that my children say some profound things and this particular thing Noah said did not mean much to me until I woke up last night dreaming about it. One of my biggest questions to the Lord during this season of life has to do with His silence. Why does it seem that days will go by without any direction from the Lord? It is in these times that the quietness becomes so daunting and life begins to feel like a ghost town. Yes, there are friends that check on us, and people in our lives that show concern; however, the only fix for this silence is the voice of God. He doesn’t need to say much. I just need to know that He is still there and what next step I should take.

When I dreamt about this conversation I felt that the Lord wanted me to see that it was Him speaking through my son. It wasn’t just one of those random conversations that my son plucked out of the air and spoke. The Lord wanted me to know that the silent times have great importance. For without these moments when the air is stilled and the distraction of extra noise is at bay, I would not have the ability to listen to the still small voice of God. During this last season, it has been easy to see the fingerprints of God on our life and I am thankful for Him leaving us small breadcrumbs reminding us that He is around, but I only have few recollections of hearing from Him directly. It does seem that He has been silent. Like a host that has invited you into the house, and although He is taking care of every need you might have, your true hope is to be able to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with this person who has invited you to stay at their manor.

I am trying to be patient, endure the silence, and put my focus on listening to the Lord. This is not easy and yet I know that if I just focus on living for Him moment by moment, when He does speak, His voice will be so loud and clear that I will not have to wonder whose voice it was or what He was saying. It is against the backdrop of silence that the chirping of even the smallest cricket seems to be amplified through a megaphone.

1 Kings 19:11-13
The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

day 9

2009-05-23T03:50:00.000-07:00

Some years ago a young man looking for work approached a foreman of a logging crew and asked him for a job. “It depends,” replied the foreman. “Let’s see you take this one down.” The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled a great tree. The foreman was impressed and exclaimed, “You can start on Monday!” Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday rolled by. Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, “ You can pick up your pay check on the way out today.” Startled, the young man asked, I thought you paid on Fridays.” “Normally we do,” answered the foreman, “but we’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. Our daily charts show that you’ve dropped from the first place on Monday to last place on Wednesday.” But I ‘m a hard worker,” the young man objected. “I arrive first, leave last, and I’ve even worked through my coffee breaks!” The foreman, sensing the boy’s integrity, thought for a minute and then asked, “Have you been sharpening your axe?” The young man replied, “Well, no sir. I’ve been working too hard to take the time.”

This story is one that I believe can apply to each one of us!
• As a Christian
• A boss
• A father
• A mother
• A husband
• A wife
• A son
• An employee
• A friend

We must continue to grow and sharpen who we are or we will find that what we do becomes dull.

Ways To Sharpen Who We Are!
1. Never Stop Learning

2. Never Stop Serving

3. Never Stop Seeking

4. Never Stop Focusing On Character

“In the end of it all- it is our character and integrity that will speak louder than any word we say!”

Day 9 has been a day of focusing on staying sharp and keeping focus. I pray that the Lord will always bring things into my life to sharpen me and keep me equipped and prepared to face any situation He brings into my life.

Day 10

2009-05-21T13:14:00.001-07:00

Today, I write to you about the word possibility.

pos·si·bil·i·ty
n. pl. pos·si·bil·i·ties
1. The fact or state of being possible.
2. Something that is possible.
3. possibilities Potentiality for favorable or interesting results: The idea has great possibilities.

Mark 9:21-24
He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can. “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

I thank the Lord for this scripture. Jesus sees this man’s unbelief and encourages him to believe in the impossible. Then after challenging him, He turns and heals the man’s son. He doesn’t wait for his faith to grow or for the man to jump through the correct hoops. He loves this man and his family in spite of doubts that were obviously present. There have been many times through this season of life where I have stopped and said things like, “Lord help us, if you can!” He then tells me things like, “If I can! Anything is possible for a man who believes.” I will bet that you know what my response has been. “Lord, please help my unbelief!”

I am standing here today as a testament to the amazing love and care that our Lord has for anyone who calls out to Him. If you have found yourself in a place that seems hopeless and dark, Jesus is only a call away. He will take what seems like an impossible situation and bring about possibilities. He knows of your broken and wandering faith and loves you still.

There may be some of you who are reading and would say that you have tried this, and yet, the darkness never went away. I have felt like this myself on some days. However, it is also on those days that I am so occupied and entranced by the darkness that my gaze never really shifted to looking to the Lord. The belief that is needed to walk through difficult valleys will not be found in your own strength. It comes from the Lord Himself. Stop staring at the black hole in your life and take time to focus your gaze on the Lord. You will find that He has amazing possibilities for you and your future.

Day 11

2009-05-20T19:10:00.001-07:00

As Melissa and I have prayed about our future, we have found it has been easy to become so focused on what might happen tomorrow that all of the things we are thankful for today do not get the proper attention. To trust the Lord means that we hand the reigns over to Him and wherever He guides us, stops us, or brings us, is met with excitement and anticipation. Tonight in a meeting I was leading, there was a woman who prayed for us as a family, and prayed that we would get excited and look to God with anticipation for the things to come. As she prayed, I felt convicted because, instead of looking to the future with enthusiasm, I have been holding my breath waiting to breathe when God moves us forward. This is not contentment! I hope that, beginning right here and now, I can start breathing and stop holding my breath as if God is not big enough to take care of the Dahir family.

Melissa and I spoke about the idea of contentment and decided to write down a list of some of the things that have brought us joy over the last year of living in Virginia.

Kristopher
• I have enjoyed the color green. It is amazing how green everything is
• The slower pace of life
• That there are very few fences
• Being able to cut out many unneeded activities in life

Melissa
• The college town atmosphere and how everyone is one, we are all Virginia Tech Hokie fans and we stick together.
• Chick-Fil-A
• Living in a neighborhood where people are always out and about walking their dogs and hanging around outside.
• Friendliness of strangers

Adam
• Weather (Melissa does not agree ☺)
• The church and youth group and the relationships built
• Getting Exodus (our doggy)
• Fresh start for life

Noah
• School--Good teachers and fun
• Football--good coaches and players
• That it snows!
• More family time
• We have new friends

Our Prayer
Dear Lord,
Please teach us how to be content and trust you for our future. Forgive us for the times that our lingering doubts and lack of faith distract us from the thrill of the adventure that you have set before us. We once again give you the reigns of our lives and ask you to guide us wherever you want us.

Thank you Lord,

Amen

Day 12

2009-05-19T18:51:00.001-07:00

I have been praying about what to write on for Day 12 and I was taken back to a devotional that Melissa had sent me from one of her web sites she likes to read. It spoke about the idea that in many of the older movies they always had an intermission. The devotional points out what would had happened if these movies would had stopped at the intermission and did not complete the story? There would be many lives unfulfilled, many loves that were never found, and many wounds never healed. It was in the second half of the story that all the lessons learned in the first half came together and created a beautiful picture in the end. Melissa and I have had many great years of marriage and have learned a multitude of lessons along the way. We are believing with all of our hearts that the Lord will take the accomplishments, the failures, and the lessons learned to make the second half of our story come together and glorify Him even more than anything we were able to be a part of before our intermission. The following part of this writing is an excerpt out of the devotional called Intermission written by Sharon Jaynes.

“I don't know what you're facing today. Perhaps your life has taken you to an unexpected place. Perhaps, like Moses, you've made a poor decision that resulted in you running from God and from man. Perhaps like Elijah, you've allowed someone's threats to put fear in your heart and you're in hiding. Perhaps like Jonah, you've obeyed God, but feel duped because your obedience didn't bring the results you'd hoped for. Perhaps like Samuel, you're depressed because someone you oversee (a child, for example) didn't turn out like you had hoped. With your dreams burning in the background, perhaps you've stood on the hillside with fist raised in the air making declarations to God. If you see yourself on the screen, can I encourage you sit down, take a deep breath, stretch, and regroup. The story's not over yet. Perhaps you're just at an intermission. As someone once said, we shouldn't put a period where God put a comma.” Girlfriends_in_God@crosswalkmail.com

So whatever it is you are facing, remember that what you see today doesn't have to be the end of the story. The Lord is always waiting for you and I to surrender. There is a hope and a future because of His redemptive love. His version of "happily ever after" is way better than any director's cut!

Day 13

2009-05-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

How do you react in a crisis? Or, to ask an even more revealing question, how do you react in the minor irritations of everyday life? The answer is not a matter of what you say you believe. It's a matter of your familiarity, even intimacy, with your Father. As much as we say that He is trustworthy and true, our tower of strength and our shield, those are only words until they are tested. And in this world, they are tested often.

have you ever known Christians who believe the right things about God but who panic at every difficulty? It's hard to believe that someone's belief in the sovereignty and faithfulness of God are more than skin deep when his panic sets in. The truth of our relationship with God comes out when the heat is on. We discover whether we really trust Him or not when we're put in a position of having to trust Him. A belief in God's providence mean little until one lacks essentials, and a belief in God's strength means little until one is completely helpless. Then the truth comes out.

Those who have not put their trust in the Refuge, who ignore Him and go their own way, are wicked, according to the Bible. That may seem harsh, but that's the true assessment of the human rebellion. And those who do not really trust Him will be brought down by every calamity. Those who do trust Him can't be brought down by anything--even death.

So where do you stand? Do you have a shallow belief in God's faithfulness, applying His promises to others' situations but not to your own? We are called to live in a different dimension than we once lived in. We must know who our Fortress is. We are not to become strong; we are to find our strength in Him. We must let His peace speak louder to us than our trials do. God stands firm when everything else moves. Can you?

This is the devotion from Chris Tiegreen, titled Unshakeable. As Melissa and I read his writings this morning, we were reminded of the importance of staying close to the heart of God in order to successfully follow Him and stay strong during this season. We are facing many large decisions that require us to seek the Lord regularly to renew our faith. We are actively seeking Him as individuals and as a married couple in hopes to see our trust in God and His promises to sink into the core of our being and not just on a surface level.

I think the funniest thing about being unsure about tomorrow and wanting some sense of direction is that there truly is not one of us who have any idea of what tomorrow will hold. If your world has began crumbling then take a moment to ask the Lord to plant his faith deep inside your heart and not just on the outside where others can see.

Day 14

2009-05-17T18:56:00.001-07:00

I had the great pleasure of loafing on the couch today and watched a Harrison Ford movie called "Clear and Present Danger." OK—for those who know me—I did fall asleep during part of it, but there was a part of the movie that encouraged my heart today. In the movie there were men that were left behind and Harrison Ford and the other general were going into the enemy's lands to get their men out. Harrison Ford turned and asked the general, “Where are the men?” The general quickly answered him in a protective and determined voice and said (paraphrased), “They are not just any men. They are MY men!” Then they did amazing feats of running, jumping and shooting and saved the men. As I watched this part of the movie, I was encouraged because the Lord calls us His own. He loves us and wants to protect us so much that He gave His very life to save us out of our mess. Harrison Ford may show us what feats a man might go through to protect the people he cares about, and yet, there is only one story in all of history that expresses the love our God has for us-- the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When Melissa and I left Las Vegas to come to Virginia, we knew that this was just the beginning of the path the Lord would use to create health and strength in our marriage, family, and in our personal lives. He has put amazing people in our lives every step of the way, placed us in a church that had something special for each member of our family, helped us find the perfect home, good jobs, good friends, and a whole lot of great memories. With all of these wonderful things that He has done in the last year, why is it that, at times, the thought of tomorrow is overwhelming? I wish my brain wasn’t so broken! He has called me his own and cares more about where my family lives, works, and plants roots than I do. I could imagine God having a conversation about us and telling that second party, “They are not just children, they are MY children!” It helps my heart and brain so much to know that I belong to my God and He has taken interest in my life. Which also means He has taken care of every day of my life and I just need to be obedient to Him.

Matthew 6:30-33
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Day 15

2009-05-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

On this day, there has been no particular leading from the Lord in one way or the other. Today, I enjoyed my wife by taking her out on a date, enjoyed my children, and enjoyed the town the Lord placed me in by participating in a racquetball tournament. None of these things may seem like faith issues or spiritual insights that are worthy to put into writing, but I beg to differ. One of the things that I have learned about faith and living for God is that there are some days where His fingerprints seem to be on everything I come in contact with and then on other days the voice of God seems very quiet. However, those quiet days do not mean that it is time to get lost in the silence and make decisions based upon fear. Instead, it is time to stay focused and enjoy the blessings that are sitting in your everyday life.

Now I look at this and wonder what does this have to do with God speaking to us about our future? The conclusion to which I have arrived is that my future is going to be filled with many normal days of building a strong marriage, encouraging my children, and taking part in the lives of our community. I would go far as to say that if you want to test a man’s faith, then you would do well to watch and study him when God is at His quietest. It is those moments of solitude where true faith is not only built, but has an opportunity to shine.

Has God been quiet today? If He has, it does not mean that He has left you to your own demise. Perhaps it means He is taking a moment to examine what is going on inside of your heart. Will you let Him?

Day 16

2009-05-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

This morning, Melissa and I awoke to the after-effects of a crazy Virginia storm. I got up, dressed and walked downstairs (where my closet is) to get my shoes. As I stepped onto the basement carpet with socks on my feet, I found that our bottom floor was soaked in at least two inches of water. Our basement and garage had flooded and what a mess! Now, to be honest, I was clueless on what to write about for Day 16 of Faith. All I could think of was what a pain in the backside this is going to be to get all this cleaned up. So I asked Melissa what she thought I should write on and she reminded of the story of Noah, or Evan Almighty (the Holllywood Noah!) who was asked to build an ark because the flood was coming. It seemed like a ridiculous request at that point, because who really hears from God to do something so crazy, right? Then as we related these stories to our own lives, we begin to believe that God is maybe up to His old way of doing things again. We both feel that our time in Virginia is coming to a close but we do not know where are going once we leave. However, we do know that we need to pack and we need to get ready. So, like Noah, we have been packing and looking to the horizon to see what the next step will be in this crazy journey we call life. Anyone feel any raindrops?

Lord,

Please help us trust you even though we do not know the next step. Scripture is full of stories of how you asked people to step out and make life-altering decisions before the path for that decision was clear. We commit to your love for us and we ask that you give us an extra dose of strength and faith to make it through this season.

Amen

Day 17

2009-05-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today, I am reminded of the feeling that takes place before you go on a roller coaster ride. You are strapped in, committed and even excited about the journey ahead. You look at the person next to you, in my case that is Melissa, and give them a smile to say that you know it is all going to be OK, but, if we die in the next two minutes--know that I love you. Then you feel and hear the clicks of the roller coaster as you start going higher and higher. Each of those clicks represents a couple of things. It represents how fast and furious the ride is going to be and it also tells us that the ride is about to start. Both of these messages then cause your stomach to flutter and your heart rate to rise because there is no turning back. You will either enjoy whatever is to come or close your eyes and hope it goes away.

As you all know it is “Day 17” and the countdown continues. We are very thankful for what the Lord is doing right here today and are also excited about what tomorrow holds. Like the roller coaster illustration, Melissa and I are locked in and committed to this journey from the Lord. Each of the days that go by is a click on the ride of life and soon it will be time to open our eyes and hearts to wherever the tracks, which have been laid out for us from the beginning of time, will take us. We have received many words of encouragement from our friends and family and we thank you so much for your prayers.

So, for now, the Lord seems to be saying,

“Hold on to your seat and get ready for the ride of your life!”

Proverbs 5:21

For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.

Day 18

2009-05-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Originally I had something else that I wrote for today that looked a bit more like a devotional and I was ready to put the finishing touches on it and send it to you. As I took some time in worship I feel that the Lord has something else to say to me and to anyone that wants to hear. This is the worship song that the Holy Spirit led me too and it is the theme song for “Day 18”.

Awesome in this Place
Dave Billington

As I come into Your presence
Past the gates of praise
Into Your sanctuary
'Till we're standing face to face
I look upon Your countenance
I see the fullness of your grace
I can only bow down and say

You are awesome in this place Mighty God
You are awesome in this place Abba Father
You are worthy of all praise
To You our lives we raise
You are awesome in this place Mighty God

As I was playing this song and singing to the Lord I felt that God was asking me to be content with just Him. Is my God awesome enough by Himself that there is not a job, a person, or a material item that could possibly fulfill my life like Him?

My heart longs to be at this place while my mind feels like a million miles away.

Here is my response to the Lord…

As I come into your presence
With my doubts and disgrace
Into your sanctuary
Where I try to hide my face
You look upon my countenance
And give the fullness of your grace
So I will bow down and say

Thank you for your love Mighty God
Thank you for your grace Abba Father
You are worthy of all praise
To You our lives we raise
You are awesome in this place Mighty God

Day 19

2009-05-12T11:52:00.001-07:00

There are some of you who read this that know Melissa and myself very well and maybe a few of you that have never met us. We have been married for almost 16 years, have two boys that are getting ready to go into Jr. High and High School and have been on a sabbatical from pastoring a church for the last year and a half or so. I am currently working at the wonderful church called, The Bridge Foursquare Church, and substitute teaching and Melissa is working at Virginia Tech and Starbucks. The Lord has used these jobs and the people in them to give us encouragement and love us during this great time of pause in our lives. It is now time for Melissa and I to hear from God and make some large decisions about life. We feel very strongly that it is possibly time for us to step back into the pulpit and are taking the next 19 days to hear from the lord and make our decisions. I am sharing this with you, because on my blog, for the next 19 days I want to write to you about what the Lord is doing and how we are walking this path of trusting in the Holy Spirit to guide us. I feel that putting this out to you as the reader creates an accountability for me to stay focused on trusting in God , will help you as you face big decisions in life, and will allow God to be glorified for what He is about to do.

You may ask, “Why is it important to have an answer in 19 days?” There are many details to our life that has pointed our decision making to the end of May—you will just have to trust me when I say it is time to make a decision and we long to hear from God. Please be praying for these 19 days and let’s all together sit back and be amazed as the Lord takes the unknown and brings clarity and hope.

This morning began by Melissa and I having our devotions. Our devotion today was titled Why Not? , and was based out of Psalm 9:10.

“Those who know your name will trust in you,

for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

This devotional was pretty much about trusting God and quit trying to come up with all of our plan B’s. I don’t want to settle for plan B! I want plan A! Plan A represents us being exactly where the Lord has placed in doing exactly what He has asked of us. It is funny because I was having a hard day yesterday in that I was trying to form all of my different plans. It took my wife to stop and me and remind me to trust God. I encourage you to do the same in whatever situation you are facing. God knows exactly what He is doing and today, Day 19, I feel encouraged. I can’t wait to see what Day 18 will hold for us!

Pay Attention!

2009-05-07T07:55:00.001-07:00

Hebrews 2:1-4
1. We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3. how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

When I was a kid in school it was always very difficult to stay focused and to pay attention to what was being said. It seemed that even the best topic had a limited ability to keep me from wandering and begin dreaming of the things I wanted to be doing instead of sitting in that class room. It is now 20 to 30 years later and I am finding the same problem occurs on a daily basis. The Lord is longing for my attention and focus but I keep taking my eyes off of Him and dreaming about what I would rather be doing. The older I get the more I also spend time day dreaming about my past and thinking about things that should had been changed and lessons that have been learned. I wish that I was not so easily distracted. This scripture out of Hebrews is a great reminder to me to pay attention.

There are too many people that are falling into a daze, only to find when they wake up they have been adrift for some time. May this not be! Jesus came to give us life. He has brought salvation for you and me at a great cost.

Ways to Pay Attention
1. Slap Yourself- Put yourself in situations that will force you to fall on your knees and ask the Lord for help.
2. Exercise- Yes, I am talking about physical exercise as well as exercising our faith. Both our bodies and our faith will become sluggish if we do not keep them active.
3. Worship- Being in God’s presence is like dumping a bucket of cold water on life. The Holy Spirit will keep us alert and focused.
4. Search God’s Word- Read it daily! Allow Him to speak into your life through the amazing power of His word. It is like getting an electric shock. I need one of those on a daily basis.

Lord,
Please help me pay attention to you and what you are doing. I keep looking around at the chaos, pain, despair, and brokenness and it seems to put me in a trance. Then while in this trance I begin drifting. There are too many important things in my daily life that need attention for me to begin drifting. Please protect my marriage. Help me raise my children. Give me the faith to keep giving- even when finances are scary. Show me how to be there for my friends—especially those who are struggling. Thank you Lord for loving me though I lose my focus so easily.

Love your boy!

Hero Training

2009-04-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

I have read about the lives of the faithful men and woman of God in scripture since I was a very young man. I have longed to be like them and hope to think that my life somehow will encourage others in a similar way. At times, I start thinking of all of my times of doubt and questions that I have, and think that it is such a mistake to try and compare my life to the lives of these heroes depicted. While I was reading the Bible, the Lord spoke something into my heart that did not bring me to the level of a hero, but brought the heroes to the level of this human. In Hebrews 10, there is a call to persevere that begins in verse 19. It speaks of confidence through Christ, drawing near to God and walking in faith and purity. Then in verse 23, the author of this inspired book begins letting us in on the truth of the humanity of the early church and what it means to live for Christ.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25

Why do you think this portion of scripture is written?

Is it because these people always walked in faith and hope without falling?

Is it because they always loved others and did good deeds?

And do you really think it was because they were always faithful to meeting together and sharing life with fellow believers?

I believe this is written because it was as much a problem then for the humans trying to serve the Lord as it is for us today. Think about it! When I leave the house in the morning, if my children are still asleep, I will write them a note and remind them of all of the things that they so easily forget. I have to tell them to turn off the lights, watch the dog, do their chores, flush the toilet (they are gross boys), and oh yeah, don’t ever forget that your daddy loves you. Scripture is written in much the same way.

The Lord is using the author to help the Christians of time past have a checklist of how to persevere though the journey of life.

Hold on to hope because, if we don’t pay attention, it will slip through our hands.
Don’t forget--God is faithful!

Make sure you kick your brothers and sisters in the butt every once in a while and challenge them to do the right thing. If you don’t, you will notice that they get lost very easily. You will also need to find a friend or two to give you a kick every once and a while.

Make sure that you consistently spend time with other believers. When you get down and depressed, you will want to avoid everyone, but don’t! It is one of the main life vests that God has given you to keep you floating when you grow tired and weary.

Jesus is coming back! Don’t get distracted between now and then!

Never forget how much God loves you and what He has done to give you hope and confidence.

Keep your head high. You are His child.

You see, we are not so different than the heroes of the Bible. They were on a journey of a lifetime, allowing their God to lead them, break them, heal them, complete them, and hold them up in difficult times. The next time you look at your life and think that you are so low and that maybe somehow God has given up on your case, take a look at the ones He calls his beloved. He constantly found ways to redirect them, save them out of their messes, and remind them of who He is and what He has planned for their lives. You are a hero in the making on the same obstacle course and training regiment they were on. Keep running to Jesus and allow him to lift your countenance. He is faithful!

Made New

2009-04-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

This week I am late posting my blog and it was not because I have not tried working on it. It seems every time I would sit down to write that there were good ideas to share but nothing that I could say I wanted to put in writing from the Lord. Yesterday, my wife and I were reading our daily devotion out of Walk with God by Tie Green, and this portion of his writings struck my heart and caused me to reevaluate my approach to the Cross.

“The beauty of the Cross is its ugliness. God left us no aesthetic religion to idolize, no self-effort to perfect, no Law to fulfill. He completely undid us by doing it all Himself. The way to become godly now is not to become godly; it is to declare our ungodliness and cast its cost on Another. The way to become pure now is not to be pure; it is to declare our impurity and ask for the heart and mind of Another. The way to live is not to seek life; it is to die and let Another live in our place. We thought the wisdom of God would be to make us better people—through works, service, intellect, philosophies, religion, and more. But in His wisdom, Jesus did not come to make us better. He came to do away with the old entirely and to birth something new. We take hold of that by embracing the ugly, ignoble Cross. Only then can newness come.” Tie Green

In all honesty, this year has been a year that has tested my faithfulness and trust in everything I have ever believed, taught, and attempted to live out. As the parts of my life that I thought were solid began to shift and look like they were crumbling it caused many new emotions to form in me; some that I truly never new were so strong and controlling. I think for the first time in many years, I could say that I was afraid. Being a “good” man of God, I am very aware that fear is not from God, but is weakness and lack of faith. So, to combat that, I tried to walk in faith and make decisions that would battle that fear that lingers inside of me. Just this week I was talking to my sister about my families future and all of the options we were looking at. I did not tell her I was afraid. Who admits that? We were just talking and encouraging each other and later that day she sent me the scripture out of Isaiah 44:1-10.

Verse 2 This is what the LORD says—
he who made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

The whole scripture spoke directly into my heart and she picked up on something that I was trying to mask. She saw the fear in our conversation and the Lord used her to speak into my life. When Melissa and I were reading this devotion I knew the Lord was speaking to me again. Here is what He said to me. God may not talk to you like this, however, He is pretty straightforward with me and this is how one of our most recent conversations went.

God- Kristopher. Kristopher! KRISTOPHER! (I am hard headed and it usually takes a moment for Him to get my attention.)

Kristopher- Yes- You talking to me?

God- Why are you afraid? Have I not been faithful to you all the days of your life? Why are you trying to hide that you are scared? Do you think that you will be less than? Do you think I won’t love you and maybe I will only fulfill my promise to those who can fake me out? Son, I have an amazing future for you and your marriage, for you and your family, for you and your finances, for you and the ministry you put your hand to. Quit trying to fake me out. It will never work. You cannot even fake out your baby sister. I do not need you to find a way to not be frightened. All I need you to do is to admit your fear and run to me. I will not alter your fear or even make you strong enough to handle it. I will make you new! I will give you a new perspective and a new faith. Like the manna that I gave to the Israelites, I only gave them what they needed for the day. They were not allowed to take more. You are in the same situation. The faith that you have had for the last 36 years of life is no longer enough to get you through this next season. You must come to me- run to me- and be made new again. You must receive the faith that I will place in you that will sustain you for today-- a Faith that will allow that fear to dissipate. Then tomorrow, you need to come back and do it all over again.

Kristopher- (tears)

God- I love you boy and have the best for you.

Kristopher- Help me believe. Make me faith new. I am scared.

God- I know. Your fear does not scare me. Here is your portion of faith for today. It will be exactly what you need.

Kristopher- Thank you.

God- Now, I do expect to see you tomorrow. There is something new that is going to happen tomorrow and what you have today is only there to help you face the challenges of today.

Kristopher- ☺

No More Fear

2009-04-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Matthew 28
1-4 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned; Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move.
5-6 The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.
7"Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message."
8-10 The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."

One of the most debilitating emotions we have is fear. So many times I have believed that if I could just have Jesus standing here in the flesh all of my problems of lacking faith and walking in fear would subside. As we read scripture this obviously is not true. Jesus and His angels had a clear message to Jesus’ disciples, “Don’t fear!” I like how it is worded in this translation of scripture, “Don’t be afraid like that.” There is a healthy fear of danger, fear of falling, and fear of the Lord that should always be in place. However, none of those fears bring us to the place of frozen debilitation. Those fears keep us safe from harming ourselves and those we love.
What are you scared of? What is causing you to stop in your tracks and decide to not take any more steps forward into God’s promises? Is this distraction really too big for the Lord to handle? I have noticed in my own life that I will always worship what I think is the biggest and strongest. In other words, that which I fear the most gets my attention and energy. Think about it. Who or what gets your best attention? Is it the damage in your life or the one that can heal the damages? Is it the state of the economy and the promises of our nation’s leaders or the truth that has been written from our Creator?

Dear Lord,
Help me run to you and trust you. I long to be a man of faith that does not fear the past, present or future-- Teach me to take that that next step of faith even though everything inside of me tells me to turn tail and run. Your resurrection was only the beginning of the wondrous life you have for those who call on your name and follow your voice.
I love you Lord!
Amen

Looking To The Future! You Can DO IT!

2009-04-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

Philippians 3:12-15
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. “

I have heard this scripture thrown around in many teachings and devotions. I have personally used this verse to try and give hope to people who have difficult past experiences with the goal of them replacing the sadness I see with a smile of joy. However, there is a portion of this scripture that is as sobering as a bucket of cold water on a hot day. When Paul is writing to the Philippian church he is not trying to gloss over their lives with a coat of paint and trying to brain wash them into thinking that the damage in their lives never happened. Paul is reaching deep down into the hearts of his audience and challenging them to press through their past, focus on the future, and withstand the pain that it takes to strain toward what is ahead.

About a year and a half ago I had the opportunity to run in a half marathon. The training was a bit gruesome and took a lot of time, but, nothing compared to the strain that was on my body for the last 4 miles of the race. For the first 9 miles I truly felt invincible. I was passing people and keeping a pace that I thought for sure would break world records. OK, not really! But I was going faster than I ever practiced. I remember thinking at the 7 mile marker, “If this is going to be this easy than I will do the full marathon next time. “ It was not 20 minutes later that I was pleading with my God to stop the pain, help me breath and let me be finished. It was not until I hit that threshold that I began understanding what it means to strain forward. Every step I took was painful and all I wanted to do was disappear or take some really strong pain relievers.

My muscles were beginning to cramp, my joints were screaming at me and my poor feet felt like they lost a slapping match with the pavement. It was time to stop thinking about the finish line and focus on taking each step that was in front of me. All I wanted to do was to stop! No more steps, no more straining!

I am not saying that the rest of our days have to be as painful as the last 4 miles of my half marathon race, however, there are times that this journey will bring pain. There are times that running after what God has for our future and forgetting about things in our past is arduous and painstaking. It is also worth it!

If you have fallen and are trying to get back up… Do it! If you are running forward and the past seems to be haunting your next step… look to your Creator and He will give the strength to go forward! Don’t give up! Don’t give up! You can do it! Just a little farther! When I think of this scripture I see it cheering me forward and telling me that God has great plans… Don’t give up!

Strength In Weakness

2009-03-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

7. Be available for God to use your weakness as a strength

Hebrews 11: 32

“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.”

The idea of allowing God to use the areas that we are most ashamed to glorify Him and bring life instead of death is one of the most bewildering concepts to understand. Where the enemy of your soul would like to bring shackles and tie you down, the Lord plans to use those short comings to set others free from their constraints. The dedication of walking forward in our weakness is not natural. When we are hurt and wounded, whether it was self inflicted or not, most of us would rather curl up in a ball and lick our wounds. Think about it… The Lord longs to take someone who is a thief and use them to bring blessings. He has goals of taking the promise breaker and liar and turning them into a solid example of purity and integrity. Think of the worst sin and pain that you have created and after you are done wanting to hide and cower away, think of how much glory can be brought to the Kingdom of God when He is able to use you in your brokenness to bring life. There are many things in this life that I am ashamed of, and do not like to even think about. The Lord has asked me to not only face those horrible memories of pain, but, to allow him to cleanse them and then use them as a testimony of how great His love is. It has never impressed me to watch someone love a person who is perfect and has it all together. They are loveable! However, it amazes me when someone can look directly into the pit of sin and stench and make a decision to love in spite of everything they are seeing and feeling. That is the love of Christ. He looks even

deeper than the junk that everyone sees and He takes a look at the core of our heart. He looks at our motives. I believe that my motives and attitudes are the sewer pipes of my life. These are areas that I don’t want anyone to see or to know about. The Lord not only sees all of that-- He died for all of that!

Dear Lord,
I thank you for not closing your eyes to my sin but for embracing my sin and loving me for the broken person I am. Thank you for not giving up on me. Please use my life to honor you and help me not run and hide from my past. There are times that I feel if everyone knew what was going on deep down in this prideful heart of mine that they would want to throw stones. Thank you for not throwing stones. Please help those that read this teaching allow you to perform the miracle of taking their brokenness and use it as a guide and a support to help others avoid the same pitfalls. Help them use their failures to bring you glory instead of allowing the enemy of their souls to keep them chained.
Amen

Complete Joy

2009-03-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

6. Make it a point to tell others about what God is doing to repair the brokenness

Acts 20:24
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.”

Why is it so important to allow others in to see our scars? I call them scars because they have been healed and cared for and although there may still be moments where memories sneak up on you, the pain of the open wound is no longer present. These scars must be shown for three main reasons: 1) To remind yourself of how the Lord has taken your broken self, reassembled your life and given you a future once more. 2) To encourage others and show them that the hands of God are amazingly skilled at the healing process. 3) To worship God.

In 1 John, chapter 1, the scripture is speaking of sharing the wonderful things about the Lord and how, in the end, they do it to make their joy complete. There is something about the dynamic of sharing our life, broken and scarred, with others that will solidify our own personal hope, peace and joy. It reminds me of my relationship with my wife. Over 16 years ago, our friendship began and we fell in love. What if I did not tell anyone of our love for each other? That would have been a short-lived relationship and probably would not have lasted more than a few months. As I tell people about who she is to me, show people her picture, tell of our story and how God is a wonderful guide for our marriage—it is then that what I am saying settles in my heart and begins to cement. Yes, I also have the choice to focus on difficult conversations and desperate times, but why would I want those things to cement and take residence in my heart?

I am here to proclaim to you that God has taken a broken man and is healing him. Where there were wounds, scars are forming. God is taking my life, my marriage, and my family and leading us into a place where we will be more whole than we have ever been before. As I am typing these words, there is a gleam in my eye and a smile on my face. Not because the wounds did not hurt, but because God is amazing and has used the healing process to confirm His hand in my life. I share this with you to make my joy complete.

Thanks for listening…

I challenge you to take a step of faith and share about the scars in your life. I think you will like the results!

Uncovered and Exposed

2009-03-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

5. When you feel the problem re-growing quickly expose it for others to see
John 3:21
“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

What is it about darkness and things that are hidden that have so much potential to bring spiritual disease in the life of a believer? I remember one time when my wife and I were in the jungles of Panama and it became necessary to use the restroom. For those who are faint of heart, you may want to skip this part of the story, but the visual is too perfect for what it is we found in the darkness. As it was, my wife was a little frightened to use the restroom because of all of the horrible stories I have told her from around the world. So she already was holding on to my arm to protect her, even though she had no idea what I should had been protecting her from. This particular bathroom was an outhouse and was set back in the jungle a few paces. We had to walk about 100 feet from the room that we were going to be sleeping in that evening. It was dark. Now when I say dark it is a different dark than we experience when we turn the lights out at night. It is the kind of dark when you are in the middle of nowhere and you know you could not turn on the light if you wanted to. Maybe it all is the same in some scientific way but emotionally it is just not the same. So…we take our walk to the bathroom. We walk on boards that create a bridge from where we are at to the small outhouse hut. As we begin walking down the pieced together bridge, I am shining my flashlight all over the place to try and let Melissa see that there is nothing to fear. I was also laughing a lot, but I tried with all of my might to hide my giggles since Melissa felt there was nothing funny at this point. I walked her all the way up to the door, gave her the flashlight and was going to sit in the dark as she took care of the important issues in life. When she opened the door and shined the flashlight inside of the 3x3 hut used for the toilet, there were all sorts of critters trying to escape the light. Some ran down the floorboards and many of them went right down the toilet.

This is where the story ends and my teaching begins. Partly because neither of us had the need to use the restroom for a few days after that and, well, let’s just say that my wife had no intention of stepping foot into that outhouse again for the rest of our stay.

What would happen if we came up to your life? Walked across the bridge that took us to the crap that is hidden in the darkness and shined a bright flashlight revealing the truth about what was hidden behind the secret doors? All of our lies, falsities, broken promises, hellish habits, bad attitudes and anything else you can fill in the blank with, would try to flee. They would run and try to find a new place to hide. This is why once you have decided to submit your life to Christ and allow Him to transform all of you, not just the places that people can see; you must keep the lights on and the doors open. Sometimes, it takes years to convince oneself to allow the Lord, or anyone else for that matter, to know that we even have these dark areas of hidden sin. Once we have them exposed, they do not disappear forever unless we are active at keeping the doors of our outhouses open and the lights on. I am not talking about enough light to meander around the room. I am speaking of the intensity of God’s holy light formed by the presence of the Holy Spirit and God’s word.

My Personal Goal
I hope to live a life that is exposed for all to see. Not just in the areas of public service, but also in my private life. This is a goal for me because I have made a stand in my marriage, to my children, with my friends and to this world, that I am a man who will live for my God. I hope and pray that others can look to each part of my life and have an example of a genuine walk with the Lord. Please do not be confused. There are times when what is exposed is ugly and is crawling with bad attitude. At times my heart is infected with unforgiveness and pride. The example I hope to be for those God has put in my life is that of a real person, with real problems, who really lives for His God. May my ugliest parts of my life forever be exposed and tell the world of God’s love, hope, and grace.

Forgive me...

2009-03-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

Ask for forgiveness to those you have wronged
Matthew 5:23-24
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

From my earliest recollection of getting in trouble this part of the equation is the worst. It was always so much easier to not have to look into the eyes of the wounded and remind myself how badly the bomb that I dropped hurt them. One of my childhood memories was when I was a young teenager and my brother and I went to a Chucky Cheese all-nighter. It was awesome! They gave us all of the coins we wanted. We ate pizza, drank soda and played video games all night long. I think we were in heaven; except for the fact that this large mouse bigger than my dad, named Chucky was running around the place. I don’t think there will be large creatures like that in heaven. As the sun was rising and we had to start cleaning up our mess, they made an announcement for us to bring all the coins to the front desk and to return them. It was at this point that I knew what I had to do. My brother and I looked at each other and without saying a word we started collecting everyone’s extra coins. I would like to say that we were being helpful, but, in truth we had no intention of giving this treasure back. We stuffed all of these coins into our backpacks so no one would see them, and waited for our parents to pick us up. What an incredible opportunity we had before us. We were going to come back and play as many video games as we wanted. This was when Chucky Cheese had some of the best video games in town. Our plan worked well and we made it all the way home. That is until our mother decided to help us clean out our backpacks; without our permission, I might add. She found this huge stash of coins and started asking us silly questions, like, “Where did you get these?” Well of course we were intelligent enough to come up with a story of how they were extra and they said we could have them. At the time I didn’t realize that my mom was smarter than we were and already knew we were lying. As she called around and found out the truth, we were busted-- which wasn’t that big of a deal, because my brother and I always got into trouble. We would get punished, feel bad, and then life went on. This time was different though-- she went crazy on us! She made us go and meet with our Youth Pastor Rick Ouimet and with the manager of Chucky Cheese and tell them what we had done. I had to face these people with tears flowing down my face and tell them we had stolen at least $500.00 dollars in coins. It is funny because for the life of me I cannot remember what punishment we received from my parents but the scar of having to face those I had wronged has never left me.

So now the questions that we all ask come to the surface… Was it really necessary to go and meet with my pastor and the manager? If the Lord forgives me, why do I have to go back and remind that person of the wrong I have done? Haven’t I already caused enough damage? For sure there is timing in all that we do and depending on the offense maybe it is good to give some space to the wounded. Those details will need to be worked out with much prayer and wisdom. However, in time the Lord will show each of us when the moment has arrived to step up and face the wounds we have created. I assure you that the Lord’s heart for you and me is to find reconciliation with one another. I have to pause right now and become brutally honest with you. There is nothing about this part of the equation that is easy or is possible without strength from God. I do not even like writing this segment of my thoughts down! However, this ingredient of the forgiveness process is crucial- not so God will forgive us, but, it will allow life to flow once more.

Hard Truth #1
If you are the one wounded it is important to find resolve to
avoid bitterness and poison to the soul.

Hard Truth #2
If you are the one who caused the damage, then, before you
can truly move forward and offer all that you are to God, you must
take this final step of humility.

Lord, please help us as we deal with wounds and infections in our hearts. Some of these wounds are self inflicted and some have been caused by the carelessness of others. The cause of the wound will never change the plan you have to make each of us whole and complete once more. Please help us learn how to lay our life before those we have wounded and ask forgiveness and allow us to forgive those who damage us. Not one of us deserves forgiveness, but, you gave your very life to assure that each of us will have the opportunity to find healing and health. Please forgive us for our stubbornness and give us strength to face the unfaceable. Show us how to look past all the pain that we feel to be able to see what you see when you look our way.

I love you. Amen

Confessions...

2009-02-23T19:27:00.001-08:00

James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Does this scripture apply to you today? Why do we need to confess? Do we confess our sins to each other so the Lord will forgive us? Didn’t Jesus already die for my sins and now nothing can separate me from His Love?

I believe with all of my heart that this scripture is for today as much as it was for the day that James inscribed it on his tablets. However, this scripture was never meant to pertain to forgiveness. It is talking about being healed. Of course the Lord will forgive- it is a promise He has made that was sealed with His very life. Confession is purely for the sinner to find health. If we keep all of our thoughts, ungodly cravings, and temptations to ourselves, it will only be a matter of time until we are not strong enough to withstand the pull of these painful acts. When we take the time to confess what we struggle with, it will invite God’s holiness into the situation; like light into a dark room. This will not be a comfortable transition, but it is a necessary step in fighting the schemes of the Enemy. For a moment, think about those times when you wake up early in the morning. Your eyes have been closed all night and they are used to the darkness. That is, until someone walks in the room and flips on the light. In that moment your brain feels pain and your eyes will wince as they attempt to adjust to the extra doses of light that are present. This is exactly what happens when we begin being honest and confessing our sins. The light is turned on and, though it is a little painful, all can be seen and future problems can be avoided. Can you imagine if you have been living the darkness for more than a night? Imagine it has been 20 years of darkness and now it is time to light up the room. At first, it is going to hurt, but the Lord has a way of taking the pain and bringing comfort in its place. It is through the displaying of who one really is that healing for the soul will take place. Just imagine all of the things you will not have to trip over when you can see where you are walking!

Now a note to the one who just heard the confession…
Let’s say you just sat with your best friend and they confided in you the shortcomings they have struggled with. Some of them may be hurtful towards you or you may find yourself shocked at what is going on beyond the façade that you have watched every day. Your response to the honesty is almost as important as the confession itself. You will need to be honest and upfront about how you feel and what you think. It is at that moment that your chance for honesty has arrived. This is also where forgiveness is looked at and is granted. The miracle of confession does not result in all of the problems disappearing. The result is truth. There still will be temptations and difficulty from day to day. However, the strength of that craving will be much weaker and can be dealt with as you stand with your friend in prayer and support. Too many times people confess sin and it turns into a time of shock, fear and judgment instead of the healing that God intended. If we are honest with ourselves, we will be forced to admit that we are as broken as the person sharing their failures. My encouragement is for you to take the opportunity to be honest yourself about some of your own areas of secrecy and pain.

I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to show you who you can trust with the real you. This may not be the first person that comes to your mind. Whoever it is that you decide to confide in, bear in mind that it is a priority to share the true you sooner instead of later. The longer you sit in the darkness with your temptation, the more control it will have over you and your loved ones. I have been told that there is an anonymous website out there that allows you to confess things you have done or how you really feel about something but no one needs to know it was from you. This type of web site may be insightful, as it will show you that when we strip away all of the masks that are worn by people every day, we all have the same brokenness inside. We all have the same need for a savior. The problem with this site is that confession only brings health when there is relationship, because relationship will immediately cause accountability and accountability brings health. Take some time today and ask the Lord if there are hidden areas in your life. You may be surprised at what wonderful miracles happen when the truth is told and you are no longer living in the dark.

Make a Personal Decision to Change

2009-02-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 15:34
“Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.”

The message for this week may seem too simplistic to some but it has served me well for the last 20 years of attempting to live for the Lord. The message is: Stop what you are doing long enough to make a decision of who you want to be. Over the years I have had many people step into my office with problem after problem looking for answers. There are very few of them who considered what it would cost for the changes that needed to take place. They would feel horrible for their sin and walk in depression because of their habits, and due to the pain, decide that changes are necessary. However, those changes meant they would need to shift their daily schedule, alter the people they call friends, and quite possibly do a total 180 degree turn in more than one area of their life. I hope to not distract from the amazing power of God to transform our lives, in order to explain that without making a decision to change, life will continue to spin out of control and eventually will drive you off of a cliff. God has given us this amazing gift, which is truly the most loving present imaginable and quite possibly is also the most dangerous. It is the gift of free will. He will never step in and decide for you what you should do or who you should be. He promises to give you the answers and the strength if you run to Him and submit at His feet. But, He will not force you to do things that should be done. He loves you that much!

So Let’s Take a Closer Look At The Cost Of Change
1. You must be honest with yourself and those around you.
2. You must be wise with you who you allow to speak into your life. People who have walked with you down the wrong roads will always have the chance to bring you down those roads again.
3. You cannot hide your wounds. This does not mean that the whole world needs to know all of your mistakes but it does mean that the right people need to know. Take the time to figure out who those people might be (i.e. your pastor, a counselor, a mentor).
4. Face the consequences. Usually there are consequences for the rebellion that we take part in and true change only will take place as you accept those consequences.
5. Replace the habits with new activities, thoughts and attitudes. The best definition of insanity is when someone repeats the same actions over and over and expects different results.
6. Read your Bible daily! It is a light unto your path. Do not walk in the dark anymore!
7. Allow the Holy Spirit to be your guide. If we submit to the Lord the Holy Spirit is always there to show you the next step. You just have to take the time to listen and be patient for the answers.

I am sure that you will be able to add more practical steps to this list, and I encourage doing so. If you notice on my list of things for you to accomplish, none of the points encourage you to carry the burden or be strong enough on your own. The Lord accepts you just how you are and knows that you are not strong enough to walk on your own. If you will submit to Him your daily life and decisions, then, He will give you the strength to endure through any hardships you will face and He will perform the miracle of transformation.