One of the phrases that I heard over and over again when I was playing baseball as a kid was, "keep your head up".
Basically, what my coaches were telling me was to "stay focused", "stay aware of what's going on", "be ready"!
In baseball, if you keep your head down, you could end up with a pretty bad bruise, a black eye, and a really bad headache. Making sure that you are aware and ready to act is essential for success in the game.
The same thing is true for our Christian journey.
It is kind of funny, but when it comes to working hard and getting things done, we say the opposite. If we have a really busy day, we might even say, "Wow! I was really 'heads down' today"!
The idea is that, in order to plow through the tremendous amounts of work, we have to ignore the outside world and just keep plowing!
While this may be true in certain seasons of our lives, I believe that living that way day after day can lead to some not-so-great habits. One of which is the subject of this blog.
So many of us today are plowing through life with our heads down. We are so busy that there is rarely time to look up. But what happens when we develop the habit of not looking up?
The next time you are outside, try this exercise. Stand on one side of your yard and pick a point on the other side, a significant distance away. Now look down and stare at your feet for two minutes. Then, without looking up, and starring only at your feet, walk to your chosen destination.
If you stick strictly to the rules of the exercise, you will most likely find that you will miss your target.
Now go back to where you began. Choose your target again, and this time don't look down. Was there a difference? Did you reach your destination?
One last time. Begin again, and this time, look down a few times in your journey to your chosen point. What happened? You were able to not only reach your destination, but you were able to avoid any obstacles along the way.
So often, we spend our days in tireless, heads-down activities, and our evenings in exhausted recuperation. Years later we look up and ask ourselves, "Where am I"?
Even more importantly, we apply the same habits to our journey with Jesus. We allow life to keep us so busy that we rarely have time to discover God's Word and His plan for our daily lives. We just accept traditions as truth and opinions as gospel. Years pass, and a lot of hard work has been done, and we realize that what we thought was right, may be off completely, and we have missed the target.
This is why, as a believer, it is important to "keep your head up". Stay focused, be aware of what is going on around you, keep your head in the game.
We do this by maintaining a steady diet of God's Word (reading the Bible, listening to sound teaching, having conversations with others about our faith, etc.).
We increase the length and sincerity of our prayer life. not just offering recited prayers, but engaging in a meaningful conversation with our creator that involves talking AND listening.
We keep up on the needs of other believers and stay available to help whenever possible.
Most importantly, we know God's Word for ourselves. Through study and conversations, we discover the Truth for ourselves. We don't make up our own truth, but truly discover THE Truth for ourselves and live it.
There will be seasons of "heads down" hard work, but these should not outnumber our seasons of heads-up discovery and focus that keep us on target for reaching our destination.
I love the way the Message Bible shows us this truth in Romans 12:2:
"Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. "
There is so much to learn and do for the Kingdom. Make an effort to stay in the game by forming the habit of keeping your head up!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
2010: The Year of GATHERING
Just before we started the last service of 2009, Kathy and I were sitting in the office talking about the new year.
We were discussing what we were believing for in 2010, and what the theme of the year would be.
With barely a hesitation, Kathy said, "This is the year of Gathering", and the phrase resonated in my spirit. What I mean is that in my heart I knew that what she had said was right!
THIS IS THE YEAR OF GATHERING!
For 45 years many have worked to make our church a important gathering place for believers in our city. Strong friendships have been forged, families have been started, those who were once just children in the classrooms are now leaders in the church.
Renewed passion for the work of "The House of Prayer", "Restoration Tabernacle", and now "family.life.church" has been stirred and the GATHERING has begun!
Yesterday we enjoyed an amazing day of GATHERING as the church family signed-on and committed to a year of faithful service in the church. I believe this was a picture of the beginning of what will be a continuous flow of leaders and workers GATHERING to GATHER the harvest.
Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38, "The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send our laborers into His harvest".
He did not say that the harvest wasn't ready. He did not say that "it's only a matter of time". He did not say that if we wait long enough the harvest will just be brought to us.
He said that if we want the harvest, that we should pray for harvesters, not more harvest. In fact, He says that there is PLENTY to be harvested, now we just need people to GATHER the harvest.
I believe that for the past two years, God has been preparing the people of family.life.church to be GATHERERS. To be the laborers that will go and GATHER the harvest.
So the year of GATHERING is two-fold for our church:
1. GATHERING people and leaders and resources to labor together.
Paul refers to us as "workers together with Him" in 2 Corinthians 6:1. We believe that not only will we work to GATHER the resources, but that resources will GATHER around us. As the vision grows in strength and clarity, so will the passion of people to help accomplish that vision.
We believe that this year will be like no other for the GATHERING of great leaders and workers to accomplish the vision God has revealed for us.
2. GATHERING the harvest.
Harvesting is hard and rewarding work. In many cases, farmers whose fields connect to one another will help one another with the work of GATHERING the harvest.
With all the work that goes into planting and weeding and waiting, it would be easy to get too tired to harvest the fruit of our labor. BUT...
Galatians 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up".
What are we GATHERING?
1. PEOPLE. We are believing that we will see more and more people come to Jesus in 2010 than in the past several years combined. By living the life of true Christians, we believe that others will see and come to that light and life.
2. PHYSICAL healing. We are believing for an amazing year in the area of physical healing. JESUS already made a way for us to receive healing from sickness and disease of ALL KINDS in our bodies, and this year we are believing for a significant increase of healing!
3. RESOURCES. People, money, land, buildings....whatever it takes to advance the kingdom. We are believing to launch new, significant opportunities for kids and teens in our area. That will require all of these resources. We are believing for a major impact for our families and older adults. Again, RESOURCES are needed for what God has shown us.
4. CLEAR VISION. We believe that God has called us to accomplish a specific purpose within the Body of Christ. We will partner with other ministries that are the BEST at what they do, and we will strive to be the BEST at what we do. Rather than taking a "do everything" approach to ministry, we want to be FOCUSED on what God is asking our church body to do. After all, when is the last time you walked on your hands? In the same way, we must understand what God has called us to be and be that to the best of our ability. If we are hands, let's be hands, and not try to be feet as well. We desire a CLEAR vision and unstoppable FOCUS.
There is room for every person to work the fields. Come GATHER with us and help us GATHER the harvest!
We were discussing what we were believing for in 2010, and what the theme of the year would be.
With barely a hesitation, Kathy said, "This is the year of Gathering", and the phrase resonated in my spirit. What I mean is that in my heart I knew that what she had said was right!
THIS IS THE YEAR OF GATHERING!
For 45 years many have worked to make our church a important gathering place for believers in our city. Strong friendships have been forged, families have been started, those who were once just children in the classrooms are now leaders in the church.
Renewed passion for the work of "The House of Prayer", "Restoration Tabernacle", and now "family.life.church" has been stirred and the GATHERING has begun!
Yesterday we enjoyed an amazing day of GATHERING as the church family signed-on and committed to a year of faithful service in the church. I believe this was a picture of the beginning of what will be a continuous flow of leaders and workers GATHERING to GATHER the harvest.
Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38, "The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send our laborers into His harvest".
He did not say that the harvest wasn't ready. He did not say that "it's only a matter of time". He did not say that if we wait long enough the harvest will just be brought to us.
He said that if we want the harvest, that we should pray for harvesters, not more harvest. In fact, He says that there is PLENTY to be harvested, now we just need people to GATHER the harvest.
I believe that for the past two years, God has been preparing the people of family.life.church to be GATHERERS. To be the laborers that will go and GATHER the harvest.
So the year of GATHERING is two-fold for our church:
1. GATHERING people and leaders and resources to labor together.
Paul refers to us as "workers together with Him" in 2 Corinthians 6:1. We believe that not only will we work to GATHER the resources, but that resources will GATHER around us. As the vision grows in strength and clarity, so will the passion of people to help accomplish that vision.
We believe that this year will be like no other for the GATHERING of great leaders and workers to accomplish the vision God has revealed for us.
2. GATHERING the harvest.
Harvesting is hard and rewarding work. In many cases, farmers whose fields connect to one another will help one another with the work of GATHERING the harvest.
With all the work that goes into planting and weeding and waiting, it would be easy to get too tired to harvest the fruit of our labor. BUT...
Galatians 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up".
What are we GATHERING?
1. PEOPLE. We are believing that we will see more and more people come to Jesus in 2010 than in the past several years combined. By living the life of true Christians, we believe that others will see and come to that light and life.
2. PHYSICAL healing. We are believing for an amazing year in the area of physical healing. JESUS already made a way for us to receive healing from sickness and disease of ALL KINDS in our bodies, and this year we are believing for a significant increase of healing!
3. RESOURCES. People, money, land, buildings....whatever it takes to advance the kingdom. We are believing to launch new, significant opportunities for kids and teens in our area. That will require all of these resources. We are believing for a major impact for our families and older adults. Again, RESOURCES are needed for what God has shown us.
4. CLEAR VISION. We believe that God has called us to accomplish a specific purpose within the Body of Christ. We will partner with other ministries that are the BEST at what they do, and we will strive to be the BEST at what we do. Rather than taking a "do everything" approach to ministry, we want to be FOCUSED on what God is asking our church body to do. After all, when is the last time you walked on your hands? In the same way, we must understand what God has called us to be and be that to the best of our ability. If we are hands, let's be hands, and not try to be feet as well. We desire a CLEAR vision and unstoppable FOCUS.
There is room for every person to work the fields. Come GATHER with us and help us GATHER the harvest!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Did You Know?
One of our family's favorite shows to watch together is America's Funniest Home Videos. We laugh hard as we watch the crazy situations people get themselves into.
One of the questions I often ask out loud is, "What were they thinking"!?
I get an extra kick out of wondering what some people must have been thinking when they realized it was all going wrong. Most likely there is no time to think about it, but you know they are looking back and asking themselves, "What just happened"!?
Can you relate? Have you ever been in those moments in life when everything took a turn for the worse? Those moments when you realized that things were not what you thought they were going to be?
I know I have. I remember one time in particular when I was just a kid. I was jumping a ramp on my bike. It was basically a piece of plywood propped up on about 4 bricks and a couple 2x4's. Super stable, right?
About the second time I went over the ramp at full speed I pulled up to lift the front wheel into the air and both of my hands slipped off the handlebars.
Needless to say, my bike went straight off the end of the ramp, front tire first. Not exactly the perfect type of take off. for about fifteen feet I did a wheely on my front tire.
To this day I do not understand why I did not crash. I'll have to ask my Angels some day how they pulled that one off. All I remember is thinking, "CRUD!" and my eyes watering like someone had just thrown a handful of sand in them. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground, on two tires, riding off to safety.
What do we do when we realize that what we thought was going to be is not what IS going to be?
How do we respond when we are confronted with a new truth? One that demolishes our traditions and requires a new response, new habits and a new attitude?
What do we do when we go to jump the ramp of life and all the sudden we've lost our grip and we have to accept that things will never be the same?
What I am referring to is a revelation of truth that has been there all along, but we are only now realizing. There is one of these moments in Matthew 28.
After Jesus lived his life, gave his life and defeated death with life, he appeared again to his followers. The next to last sentence that Matthew records from the mouth of Jesus is this, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and TEACHING THEM TO OBEY ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU...."
WAIT?!? WHAT!?! Teach them ALL you have commanded us?
I can almost see the disciples looking at each other like, "I HOPE you took good notes!"
They are now on one wheel, hoping to land safely. But what about us? Jesus' modern day disciples? How many of the commands that Jesus taught do we know and obey?
At family.life.church we are on a quest to learn and make a part of our everyday life, living the commands of Christ.
The best I can see so far, there are about 49 general commands that Jesus gave. And the only way to obey them is to know them. I believe that one day we will be tested on how well we did these commands. And if we are going to teach others to obey them, then we must be about obeying them ourselves.
Over the next several weeks, this blog will outline the commands that we are reviewing in our church. Our hope, is that by understanding what it is Christ wants to us to do, that we can take confidence in the truth we are following.
Not just assuming that the ramp is steady, that we have a firm grip, and that the bike will land perfectly, but KNOWING that we are pursuing TRUTH, abandoning assumption and doing everything in our power to get it right!
So jump on, let's discover this truth and let it transform our lives.
One of the questions I often ask out loud is, "What were they thinking"!?
I get an extra kick out of wondering what some people must have been thinking when they realized it was all going wrong. Most likely there is no time to think about it, but you know they are looking back and asking themselves, "What just happened"!?
Can you relate? Have you ever been in those moments in life when everything took a turn for the worse? Those moments when you realized that things were not what you thought they were going to be?
I know I have. I remember one time in particular when I was just a kid. I was jumping a ramp on my bike. It was basically a piece of plywood propped up on about 4 bricks and a couple 2x4's. Super stable, right?
About the second time I went over the ramp at full speed I pulled up to lift the front wheel into the air and both of my hands slipped off the handlebars.
Needless to say, my bike went straight off the end of the ramp, front tire first. Not exactly the perfect type of take off. for about fifteen feet I did a wheely on my front tire.
To this day I do not understand why I did not crash. I'll have to ask my Angels some day how they pulled that one off. All I remember is thinking, "CRUD!" and my eyes watering like someone had just thrown a handful of sand in them. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground, on two tires, riding off to safety.
What do we do when we realize that what we thought was going to be is not what IS going to be?
How do we respond when we are confronted with a new truth? One that demolishes our traditions and requires a new response, new habits and a new attitude?
What do we do when we go to jump the ramp of life and all the sudden we've lost our grip and we have to accept that things will never be the same?
What I am referring to is a revelation of truth that has been there all along, but we are only now realizing. There is one of these moments in Matthew 28.
After Jesus lived his life, gave his life and defeated death with life, he appeared again to his followers. The next to last sentence that Matthew records from the mouth of Jesus is this, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and TEACHING THEM TO OBEY ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU...."
WAIT?!? WHAT!?! Teach them ALL you have commanded us?
I can almost see the disciples looking at each other like, "I HOPE you took good notes!"
They are now on one wheel, hoping to land safely. But what about us? Jesus' modern day disciples? How many of the commands that Jesus taught do we know and obey?
At family.life.church we are on a quest to learn and make a part of our everyday life, living the commands of Christ.
The best I can see so far, there are about 49 general commands that Jesus gave. And the only way to obey them is to know them. I believe that one day we will be tested on how well we did these commands. And if we are going to teach others to obey them, then we must be about obeying them ourselves.
Over the next several weeks, this blog will outline the commands that we are reviewing in our church. Our hope, is that by understanding what it is Christ wants to us to do, that we can take confidence in the truth we are following.
Not just assuming that the ramp is steady, that we have a firm grip, and that the bike will land perfectly, but KNOWING that we are pursuing TRUTH, abandoning assumption and doing everything in our power to get it right!
So jump on, let's discover this truth and let it transform our lives.
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