What is Your Plan for Life?

I’ve had multiple conversations in the last month about plans and goals in life.

A couple were strictly a business plan. If our company is at Point A right now where do we want to be in two years?

Sometimes people do not like to set lofty goals for fear of not reaching them. The failure complex. Hearing that not being good enough inner voice. Wave the white flag syndrome and admit defeat.

But just because you don’t reach your goals, that doesn’t mean you are a failure. Who says these goals had to have a timeline?

If in two years you are farther along than you are now, you may be able to still count that as a success.

The beauty of goals is charting the course and mapping out your desired path. There may be detours, but without a goal or endpoint in mind, you could be wandering in circles without realizing you passed the same spot sixteen times.

I was speaking with a friend when his wife spoke up and said, “without a plan you could end up somewhere you don’t want to be.”

Yes. You may think you are striving and moving forward, but what if you’re not. It’s like sailing. In the middle of the ocean you cannot see land. But if you use navigational tools you can figure out where to sail to hit land. You could be sailing blindly south in the Pacific thinking you are making some great strides, but if your destination is California in the East you may be greatly disappointed when you hit Antartica a week later.

So, making a plan and forming a path to your outcome is essential.

Paul writes,

Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly

1 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭26‬a NIV

Are you running aimlessly?

Have you ever been lost and needed to be somewhere in 5 minutes? GPS wasn’t working. No map. Nothing but wandering down an unknown street hoping something will jump out telling you you are here.

That is a bad feeling.

Sadly, many people are going through life aimlessly. They may not be running, but they are going through the same ol’ motions of ten years ago without any idea of where they are going.

They may not have a bad feeling, but most likely, they don’t have any feelings. They are just numb to the unknown state of their existence.

In my heart, I think that may be a worse feeling than being lost. Just the lukewarmness of feeling nothing. The dull emotional state of nothing good or bad.

I’ve been told that Hell may not be fire and brimstone. It may just be a state of existence without God.

I wonder if Hell is like a never ending treadmill of going nowhere. Just walking with no place to go. Nothing to see. Nothing to do. Just a state of moving because that is all you know. You’ve been walking on the treadmill with no questions asked for a decade and you’ll be walking for another decade.

We were made to be more than treadmill walkers with no excitement in our lives. We were created to dream, to go, to move, to inspire, to tell, to do, to share, to live.

If you feel like you’re stuck, you may be.

It’s time to quit living your life in a hamster wheel. It’s time to run with purpose and determination.

It’s time to aim where you are running.

If you need help, I’m here. You don’t have to run alone.

Peace

The Movement

Can you think of any important movements that have occurred in your lifetime?

When I look back in my life at the various movements I can recall, they usually have a common thread.

They were spurred on by the younger generation.

In 1992 the election between Bush and Clinton had a movement. MTV highlighted the Rock the Vote campaign urging their listeners (20 year olds) to vote. Some say this helped Clinton win the election by the surge of new, young voters.

There have been other political movements including the Tianamen Square massacre which was led by student protesters.

But not all movements are political. There are the global climate protests where young people protest to save the rain forest, an endangered species, carbon emissions or other pollutants.

We have social issues involving abortion or marriage rights, equality and racial bias, education and minimum wage. And usually the young people are the ones making the most noise for their movement.

You may not agree with the movements, but you have to agree that the younger generation has an ability to not turn a blind eye when they see something they don’t agree with.

They move.

One of the greatest movements in history was led by a young group 2000 years ago and we still see the impact of their dramatic urge to not remain silent.

The Church was founded by this young group of followers. Many times we picture Jesus’ disciples as grown men, but more than likely they were late teenage boys or early 20 year olds.

Next time you see a group of high school boys picture one of them being Peter, who Christ said he would build his Church upon. Or look for the youngest one, John, who was called the beloved and asked to care for Jesus’ mother after His death. Or maybe James or Andrew.

When you look at a group of 16 year olds do you see the potential? Not for a big future. But a big now.

Sadly, grown adults often don’t start movements. They may participate in them for a short time, but life gets in the way. And then they go back to their status quo of thinking someone else will do it.

But we as the Church should be a part of a continual movement. Always showing the marvelous light of Christ to a darkened world. That light should ignite a spark and blaze until it’s a forest fire. But sadly, we hide our light under the bushel like the children’s song. Because movements take effort.

Movements take time.

Movements often call us to see beyond ourself, and sadly, we are often too self-centered to look outside our sphere of influence.

So we say a prayer. Hoping God will use someone else to spread His message of grace and hope.

But ask a young person who is on fire for Christ, and they would go to third world countries to share Christ love or to downtown soup kitchens. They may start fundraisers to adopt a child in Africa or fast to bring awareness to the sickening business of human trafficking happening in our own backyards.

May we fan the flames to encourage the younger generation to chase a heart for Christ. May we also sit near by and feel the warmth of the flame to melt our sometimes icy heart. Then may we follow their lead and know God didn’t call us to just sit in pews each Sunday.

We were called to Go.

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Then after the Holy Spirit filled them someone felt the nudge. A nudge that he couldn’t remain silent anymore. A nudge he knew was from God. He may have been just a 20 year old man, but once again, a young person started a movement.

Then Peter stepped forward…

Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And history hasn’t been the same since.

What happened then…can happen again.

May we start to live like the younger generation full of determination and gumption.

We are never too old to live like the younger generation.

Peace

Slippery Slopes

and do not give the devil a foothold. 

Paul – Ephesians 4:27

Is there anything wrong in saying parts of the Bible are nothing more than folklore passed down through the centuries like Gilgamesh, Pandora’s Box, or Osiris? Each of these stories taught a lesson, but is parts of the Bible the same way?

I’ve heard various people say that belief in the story of God creating the world in six days does not matter in the grand scheme of the Bible. It really doesn’t matter if God created everything from scratch in six days or six million days.

Then there is the story of Noah’s ark. Could a man really create a boat large enough to house not just two of each animal, but fourteen?

Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,

God – Genesis 7:2

That boat must have been one large piece of craftsmanship.

But does the introduction of God’s covenant really matter if there were no ark or giant flood?

Then we have the great debate of was it a fish or a whale that swallowed Jonah? Jonah is a foreshadow of Christ’s death, burial in the tomb and ultimately his resurrection. So, does it really matter if there was never a man name Jonah fleeing God?

But I believe that if you start picking and choosing which parts of the Bible you are going to say are factual and which ones are pure fiction, then you are getting ready to find yourself on a slippery slope. Because where is the line? If you say the story of Noah couldn’t possibly happen, then how can you say the virgin birth happened?

Aren’t both of these miracles?

Faith goes beyond logic and reasoning. It confounds the wise.

So, if you start saying some parts of the Bible are just stories like parables that Jesus taught, then is your faith built upon truth or lies? Is your foundation built upon a solid rock or a falling house of cards?

People may say Jesus never confirmed the creation of the world in six days. But he did however say,

But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?

Jesus – John 5:45-47

Moses is the stated author of the creation story in Genesis. If the creation story wasn’t accurate, Jesus wouldn’t affirm Moses’ writing.

Then we have the story of Noah, which Jesus also referenced.

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;  and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Jesus – Matthew 24:36-41

If the flood never happened, would Jesus cite this event? If Jesus was perfect and never lied, could he say this if the flood never happened?

Then we come to the craziest story of Jonah. Once again, Jesus mentions Jonah as well.

The sinful people of this day look for something special to see. There will be nothing special to see but the powerful works of the early preacher Jonah. Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of a big fish. The Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the grave also. The men of the city of Nineveh will stand up with the people of this day on the day men stand before God. Those men will say these people are guilty because the men of Nineveh were sorry for their sins and turned from them when Jonah preached. And see, Someone greater than Jonah is here!

Jesus – Matthew 12:39-41

Once again, if Jonah never existed, and he was never swallowed by a big fish, would Jesus mention it?

If we say the stories in the Bible are nothing more than myths to teach us lessons then we ultimately are saying the book is no better than a book of fairytales.

Many religions admire the teachings of Christ, yet they don’t believe he was who he said he was, the Son of God. So, in essence, they call Jesus a liar. And for Jesus to call himself the Son of God, he must be mentally crazy. If someone today said they were the Son of God, we would label them a cult leader. And we would laugh at the people following their leader with their brainwashing antics.

So, if you are saying some of the stories in the Bible are not 100% true, how can you say Christ is 100% true? And if he wasn’t 100% true, then he couldn’t be 100% Son of God. And if he wasn’t 100% Son of God, then his death was for nothing. And if his death was for nothing, this religion of Christianity is nothing but a fraud behind a curtain.

But…

But if you say the world was somehow created in six days, even as crazy as it sounds, then you can agree with what Christ said when me spoke about the the six days of work in Luke 13.

But if you say Noah built an ark and saved humanity, even as ludicrous as it looks, then you can agree with with the story Christ referenced and also his family lineage in Luke 3.

But if you say Jonah was a real man who was saved by being swallowed by a big, even as unbelievable as it sounds, then you can agree with what Christ said right after casting out a demon in Luke 11.

And that is what I find interesting. Right after Christ cast out a demon, he goes into a teaching referencing Jonah. As if he knew that if you give the Devil just an inch to say that story of Jonah isn’t factual, it could cause you to be looking over the ledge of “what ifs” and “not-so-sures”.

But beware. If you stand too close to the edge you may slip and not even know it. You could be wrapping your faith around false beliefs that sound intellectually correct. Yet, once again, faith isn’t about finding sound answers. It’s about believing in the One that holds all the answers that our mind cannot comprehend.

Peace

I Don’t Like You, But I Love You…Really?

I’ve heard this phrase my entire life. I’ve even said it a time or two. But recently I have really been thinking is this really possible?

Can you not like someone, but truly love them?

My mind cannot grasp this concept. My brain can’t understand many concepts, but this one really befuddles my mind.

The main thing that confuses me is it really Biblical? I hear Christians say this all the time, but do all Christian’s really mean it? Or is it a cop out response to seem like they are following Christ’s teachings?

Did Jesus not like some people?

I understand the reasoning of not liking the sin some people do, but still loving the person. But if I’m truly honest, I fall into sin daily. Yet, I still like myself.

So can we as flawed beings hold to that sentiment when a sin is a sin is a sin?

Jesus can say it, but can we really say it in good conscience?

But I don’t think most people dislike people because of their sin. Many times good Christian’s will give grace to those in sin. So I believe most people dislike people for other reasons.

So if you dislike someone for their political status, religious beliefs, personality, how can you then in the same breath say you love them?

Some people would say Jesus didn’t like the Pharisees because he was calling them out. But I think you can still point out peoples weaknesses and still like them.

I lead a group of high school guys that do things I do not agree with. There are moments when I have to gently tell them they are doing something wrong. Just because I am correcting them, I still like and love them.

I think the reason I have such a hard time with this statement is that we are supposed to love people as Christ loves. And Christ compels us to love sacrificially.

So, if you don’t like someone, would you die for them?

That may be extreme, but Christ’s love was extreme. And if we can’t carry on a conversation with someone for a few minutes without our temperature rising, would we be willing to sacrifice ourself for that person?

Some people have told me there are different types of love. But we are called to love as Christ loved. That is the type of love I am speaking about here. Love that went to the cross and died for everyone.

Then some people have said there are different levels of love. But if you can’t say you love someone 100%, what would that other percentage be considered?

Can you truly say you love someone if you pick and choose what you would sacrifice for that person?

If you love someone 99%, what is the other 1%?

If it’s not love, is your 99% somewhat tainted?

I believe in black and white, and this phrase seems like it resides in the land of the grey.

I think I have a hard time with this saying, because when I don’t like someone, I rarely would go out of my way for that person. And if I have a hard time, I would think most people would have a hard time as well.

I would rather people say, “I don’t like them, but I’m trying to love them. I may not be there yet, but I’m trying.”

What are your thoughts? I’m interested in hearing them.

Peace

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

John‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Flip the Switch and You’re Perspective

It’s been a challenging few months…well, maybe years. It seems like there is always a deadline in the near future and not enough hands on deck to meet it.

But we always meet it. We always make the deadline. We always leave looking ahead at the next looming deadline heading our way.

There are moments when I wish I had a month or two to breathe. Recoup. Regroup. Refocus.

But would I really?

Or would I waste that brief break with meaningless time wasters? Knowing me, I would find a nice time waster to fill that void.

I was talking to some people the other night and we were discussing stress. It seems like everyone has something that causes them stress.

Everyone.

It doesn’t discriminate against age or race. It doesn’t pick and choose based on social status or wealth. You can walk into a room of 10 diversely different people and I can guarantee they will each have something that can cause them stress.

So, we all have it. What do we do with it?

I heard someone say one time, “you cannot choose your circumstances but you can choose how you will proceed with it.”

Will you let that darkness dictate your endless possibility future?

Will you let that bump in the road trip you up so much you want to quit?

Will you let that negative comment grow and fester in your heart until that is all you can feel?

Life is all about choices.

And sadly we don’t always make the right ones. Sometimes the situations we find ourselves in are from our own demise. One bad decision can topple the sturdiest of our man made towers.

But the beauty of life and the circle of it is that most of the time it can be corrected. Reconciled. Redeemed.

There are only a few things that cannot be rectified, mainly health issues.

But mistakes you made don’t have to haunt you forever.

The poor choices you fell for can be a learning curve for a dynamic future.

Skeletons hold no power, unless you give them the power. They are dead. They are fragile. They are bones decaying to dust.

So why do the dead things of this world hold so much power?

Because we give it the breath to carryon. We give it the flesh to grip its skeleton fingers at our heart. We unknowingly give it the credence to keep us up at night. Because once again, they aren’t the things lurking in the night.

Your shackled memories are.

So turn on the light. See the skeletons for what they are worth. Expose their flaws in their fictional tale that there is no grace for you. Dissect into their marrow and see there isn’t anything good in there anymore.

Dwelling in the past is only good for when you are seeking guidance for your next move. So you don’t fall into the same pit you fell in before.

So if you are dwelling in the regrets of yesteryear, all I can ask is, what’s your next move?

Life is too good to be partying with dead skeletons you keep locked up. It’s time to bury the past and explore in the world of the living.

The world of second, third, ninety-nine chances.

The world where light shines to bring both healing and correction.

The world where grace is freely poured out. No ifs, ands or buts.

The world where stress will always be, but someone is also there to help bear the load.

There is a table waiting for you to come and commune. Nothing is needed, just come empty handed and you will be filled up til your cup is running over. He longs to commune with you no matter your past. Because He already knows it. And He still sits and waits for you to dine with Him. He’s holding a place especially for you.

So, what’s your perspective?

Are you brave enough to flip the switch and run into the fields of grace and forgiveness for yourself?

Perspective…it’s a good switch to flip.

Peace