Not So Manic Monday

I guess it doesn't come as a surprise to most of you that I am a little different. Most people spend all week looking forward to the weekend and all weekend dreading the inevitability of Monday morning. Not me. I do look forward to the weekend, but to me Monday isn't as foreboding as it is to some.

To me Monday represents something totally different. It represents a new beginning. The mistakes and inefficiencies of the past week are, well... past. It represents a brand new opportunity to be successful, to grow from last week's experience, to be better. There is a renewed sense of hope. I feel refreshed, energized and ready to tackle life.

How about you? How do you approach Mondays? Is it a drudgery or do you choose to look for the positive?

Just Grow Up!

My plan this week was to pray for my church every day based on the purposes. Of course, I got behind. The good thing is that it's never too late to pray.

Today I want to pray that my church family will understand that God doesn't want them to stay where they are spiritually. We were created to become like Christ. I pray that the Holy Spirit will help to change us through scripture to become more like Christ in our conduct and our character. I pray that each of us will become more committed to a daily quiet time where we read, pray, and study.

"As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." 2 Corinthians 3:18b (NLT)

We Are Family

Today I want to take a minute and pray that my church will understand that they were formed for God’s family. God never intended for us to go through life alone. He made us to go through life as a part of a community of believers.

For those that have never taken the step, I pray that they will be baptized to make a public association with the family of God. I also pray that they will see their need to become more committed to our Sunday morning gathering. But most of all, I pray that they will get connected to a small group where they can build meaningful relationships. Where they can laugh, learn, and love with close friends.

“His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:5a (NLT)

Five For Five

The last couple of days the people in my church have really been on my heart. I know they are hurting because our pastor is sick, but that's not why I've been thinking about them. At least, not entirely. The main reason is that I want so badly for them to see all that God has planned for their lives. I don't want them to miss anything that God has in store for them. He has created us for a purpose, in fact 5 purposes.

It just occurred to me (I tend to be slow) that there are 5 purposes and there are also 5 days of the week. So this week I am going to pray for my church and for God's purposes to be played out in all our lives.

Today I pray that our church will know or be reminded that we were planned for God's pleasure. I pray that we will all remember that worship is more than the first 15 minutes of our Sunday service. God is holy and righteous. He is the creator of all things and He wants us to live our lives as a reflection of his glory. We can do the mundane things of our lives every day as an act of worship by doing them as if we were doing them for God and by talking continuously to Him through the process.

"The Lord is pleased with those who respect him,with those who trust his love." Psalms 147:11(NCV)

I'm Sick

Westboro Baptist Church makes me sick. No, not figuratively speaking. I literally get sick to my stomach when I hear a report on the news about them.

The things they say hurts. It hurts the church. It hurts the Kingdom. I have to believe it hurts God. And surely not least of all, it hurts the families whose funerals they protest.

God doesn't hate homosexuals. He hates homosexuality. He hates it in the same way that He hates lies, hates stealing, hates jealousy, and hates gluttony. He hates all those things, but thankfully for me, He loves the liar, the thief, the discontent, and the gluttonous. And, yes, He loves the homosexual.

One of the hardest things for most Christians is knowing the difference between approval and acceptance. You can accept one of God's very own creations, regardless of where they are spiritually, without approving of the lifestyle they have chosen.

I still don't feel any better.

She Loves Me, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.

This morning my wife, Stephanie, told me, "I love you with a heart-stopping love. I mean I literally want to stop your heart sometimes." Even though it was a sentiment that stopped just short of giving me the warm fuzzies, I realized how much that statement really sums up marriage. Marriage isn't easy. When you live with someone and spend so much time with them, the little idiosyncrasies that make up their personality can drive you crazy. I've heard it said that love is a choice, not a feeling and the older I get, the more I understand how true that is. God has blessed me with a beautiful, loving, caring wife and I choose to love her and put myself aside for her. And maybe, just maybe, she'll let me live.

Doggone It

Yesterday the kids and I went hiking at Pilot Knob. We took our dog Sadie with us. She's a Lab/Bulldog mix and is about a year and a half old. It was the first time she had been hiking with us, so she was trying to get used to the leash and the choke collar. But it didn't take her long to learn that when she went too far towards danger, the collar would tighten and become very uncomfortable. Soon she was walking happily at my left leg with the collar draped loosely.

While we were walking, I was reminded of a Chip Ingram tape I heard several years ago. He was talking about God's Laws and how they are not meant to oppress us, but to protect us.

I didn't put the collar on Sadie to be mean or to give her an unnecessary burden to carry. When she learned how it worked, she was perfectly happy to walk right beside of me. She was still able to play and explore the trail we were on while staying away from the danger of the steep ledges.

Many people see Christianity as nothing more than a list of do's and don't's meant to smother us and take all the fun out of life. But the Bible says that there is great freedom in salvation. In fact, it's not really about the rules at all. It's about realizing that all God wants is a relationship with us and the most comfortable place to be in that relationship is right by his side.