Welcome to the Masquerade

I’ve been pondering that sentence ever since I first heard the new CD from Thousand Foot Krutch. TFK is a Christian rock band that recently came out with this CD. The cover shows a person’s face covered by a mask. The song with the same title talks about how we all have a fire for God, yet we live in this grand ball room called the world where many Christians find themselves hiding instead of stepping out for God. They encourage us all to take off our masks and show the world what lies underneath. These thoughts have haunted me since I first heard them.

Have you ever seen your life this way? Have you ever thought that you were mask-less at home and church, yet when you were faced with opposition in the outside world, instead of standing and fighting it off, you ran away to put your mask back on? Well, I have to tell you that is what many of us do on a day-to-day basis.

Each one of us has the power to fight off this opposition and yet we cower away. I’d like to encourage you this week to stop wearing your mask. In order to “Live the Call Together” each of us has to be willing to put that mask aside and use His word as our protection. We have to be willing to be there and be the fire that He wants us all to be.

Can you do this? Can you live up to this expectation and stop acting like every day is Halloween with that mask on? You can still go to the ball and dance, but stop hiding out amongst the rest of the crowd. It’s time to show the world who you really are and who you trust with your life.

Prank You Very Much

I recently heard about a group of kids who were prank-calling random people, and how frustrated those receiving the calls would get as they couldn’t understand what the caller was trying to tell them. Now don’t ask me to explain why, but it made me think about those who are lost and their encounters with God. Let me explain:

Let’s say that the prank callers are God, and the recipients are the lost. The lost people pick up the phone thinking they are going to hear from someone they know or at least can understand.However, what they hear is often like a foreign language to them. They can’t make out what is being told to them, they become frustrated, and eventually hang up. This is often the response we get from people we witness to. They just can’t grasp what is being told to them, and instead of trying harder to understand, they take the easy way out and deny Him all together.

So, what can we do to reach these people? Why not try to speak their language? That is what we are trying to do at NAC through outreaches like Food Bank, our sports ministries, Tag Clubs, and Apprentice House. We try to go to where these people are and try to get to know the language they speak. Then, we attempt to reach them through something that we have in common. Once that relationship is formed we can start to speak the same language. Does it always work? No.Does it eventually work? Maybe. Yet we MUST keep trying. If these people are never contacted, what good are we doing for Him?

We as Christians are called to reach into the world and get as many people to a relationship with God as we can. Think of yourself as that stupid crane game (I always lose at this) they have at arcades. The grasping hand is at the top of the machine (that would be you and me) and the prizes at the bottom of the machine are the lost. God is the one at the controls of the crane. He has us dipping into the world and trying to gain a prize that will be sent out of the machine to His kingdom. We don’t always grasp something, and sometimes it takes multiple attempts before we get the prize that we wanted. Yet, every effort gets you closer to gaining it eventually through more experience, etc. Also, some machines turn out more prizes than others. Yet, every machine that is working towards gaining prizes allows more and more prizes to be won through all of the combined efforts.

So, in summary we have to try time and time again to gain more people to His kingdom. We have to try over and over again to learn what will work in order to penetrate their world and get them to know Him. This is why I advocate all genres of Christian music and the artists that go “main stream” with their music. Music is yet another language that is spoken worldwide, and be it rap, rock, country, or anything else it’s yet another way that Christians are trying to speak a language that others in the world will understand and get them interested in God.

Are you willing to do what it takes in order go get the prizes that God covets? Allow him to take control of your efforts and you might find yourself speaking a different language and plucking up more and more prizes for His kingdom.

Get Over It - You're Not Perfect

You do know that you are a sinner, right? I mean, c'mon…. About 90% of you reading this have already sinned at least once today. Want me to prove it?

-Maybe you checked out that person of the opposite sex walking by you with that second glance.

-Maybe you lied to someone, even a little white lie. Maybe you even lied to yourself, such as speeding on the way to work is just fine because it’s only a couple MPH and they’ll never pull you over for that.

-Maybe you cursed today

-Maybe you were jealous of someone else as the drove by you in a better car, or had better clothing, or even what looks on the outside to be a better life.

-Maybe I could name about 30 other things, but I think that is enough to get us started, don’t you?

So, now that you realize that you are more of a sinner than we seem to think that we are at times, what can you do about it? First off, stop lying to yourself that it doesn’t matter. It does matter. Secondly, stop telling yourself that since they aren’t big things like killing someone that it’s not that big of a deal. It is a big deal.

Sin is sin, no matter how big or small. The biggest problem with sin is that we often do it and don’t even see it as sinning. Yet, here we all are sinning every day. Yes, I included myself there,didn’t I? I’m no better than any of the rest of you – I’m not perfect. There has only been one perfect person on this Earth, Jesus.

Now that you fall short of being Jesus and are getting over your God complex, seeing your life for what it is, now what? I think now you need to start realizing when you actually do sin. That is half of the battle, knowing that you did it. It’s kind of like being an addict – you have to admit that you have a problem before you can take care of it. So, knowing that you sin and when you do it will allow you to find a way to stop doing it. Find a way to change and stop doing that sin.One by one you’ll eventually be able to get rid of at least the big ones.

Now, you’ll never get rid of them all, as we were made in the image of God – we weren’t made to BE God. You’ll always be a sinner in one way or another. Yet, if you are continually working to remove sin from your life you’ll not allow the devil to have a foothold in your life. Our goal as Christians should be to improve ourselves daily and work towards a closer relationship with He who forgives our sins – Jesus Christ. I pray that this week you’ll start to take a closer look at your life and start to take out the weeds from the garden called your life.

The Second Meal

I’m sure each and every one of you have made a meal in the past that has in which you have made a little bit too much food. Of course, you didn’t want to waste that food, so you put it in the fridge in order to have a second meal at some point later in the day or week. Yes, those seconds are called leftovers. We all have had leftovers at some point in our lives and I don’t know about you guys, but unless it’s something I really love, leftovers are not something I really want to be having. Those leftovers just never seem to taste the same reheated, and most of the time at least some of them get thrown away because we’re never going to finish them all before they go bad.

So, we’re all so against having leftovers, then why are we so quick to serve them to God? What do I mean, you ask. Well, how many of us put God off to the side while we work towards the many ambitions that we have of our own? You know, you have someone in your life who does not know about God, but today you can’t go talk with them about it because you have to get your hair cut, stop at the store, etc. Or, maybe you put off reading the Bible or doing your devotions until after the game is over on TV, or you mow the lawn first, etc. Did you even realize that when you did that, you put God second, and in the feast of your attention you now forced God to have the leftovers? The left over minutes of the day that you have left.

I’m guessing that if any of us had God over for dinner, the first things we’d do is look in the fridge for leftovers to warm up, right? No, you wouldn’t? Oh, so you’d be willing to cook Him a brand new meal and put all of your attention to making that meal just perfect for Him? Then why don’t we do that every day? Why do we not start our days focused on Him? Why don’t we prioritize reading the Bible and doing things for His kingdom first before all the other little things? Why do we let the world get in the way of God?

We talk a lot at church about prayer and being closer to God, but I don’t know if we always put it in such plain terms for people. If you truly want to be closer to God you’ll start making Him a priority and stop serving him what ever is leftover.

Get The Message

So, on Sunday I was the "elder of the day" at Norwalk Alliance Church. I expounded upon a message that I have felt God screaming at me to talk about during my time in front of the congregation. I feel so strongly about this right now that I am going to include a written version of this in today's blog....I hope you don't mind.

First off I'd like you to take out your cell phone. I'd like you to put that in your right hand, and get our your Bible and put that in your left hand. I want you to look at your hands right now, as we compare these two items.

Both the Bible and the cell phone both have messages for you. On the cell phone you have voice mail messages, text messages, and most even can get e-mail messages these days. Some people even have a Bible application on their cell. Now, I want you to look at your Bible. This book also has a message for you. It's a message of hope, peace, and your salvation. It's all about how you should live your lives, bringing others along the journey.

My question for you today is, why do we all spend so much time with the messages on the cell phone? Why is it that we'll drop everything else we're doing in order to check out the message that is on that cell phone, but we're not willing to do the same with the guidebook for each and every one of our lives? I've seen people check out their cell because it sounded or vibrated everywhere from a concert, a sporting event, a restroom, to even in church. Why do we continue to allow these distractions into our lives when we aren't so quick to answer His call? His message is just waiting to be read every day, and yet we aren't nearly as fast to check out the Bible as we are our cell phones.

When we start to make Him a priority in our lives, maybe then we'll start to see a change in our focus. Maybe then we'll allow God to work more and more in our lives. I'm not saying that the messages on the phone aren't important, but I am saying that they need to be prioritized correctly. When we get that under control and allow God into our lives more and more, then we'll feel His presence more and more each and every day.

I Want A Second Try!

I don’t know about you guys, but man I’ve really messed things up in my life. I mean, I’ve done some really stupid things that I’d really like to go back and correct. You know, kind of like getting a mulligan while golfing. That is right, I want another try,God… Do you think he’d give me one?

Everyone once in awhile I look back at my life and think about all the stupid things I’ve done. I’m sure everyone has similar stories like when I was jealous of another guy for talking to a girl I liked and hit him at a football game. Oh, and there was the time I was sucker punched on the playground because of a really stupid argument with another guy in junior high. And then there was the flowers I sent a girl and didn’t put my name on them….how stupid is that? Yes, those are only a few of the stupid things I’ve done, and yet every here and there they come back into my head for some reason. I wouldn’t mind a do-over on most of those.

Then I start to think about that a little more. What good would a do-over do me? If I got a second try at any of those what would I be like now? You see, for each of us, every one of those blunders we’ve made, as well as the positive experiences, have helped shape who we are today. We go through the good and the bad of the earlier parts of our lives in order to prepare ourselves for who we are today. God had us in those situations then in order to allow us to have experienced things that we may not have any other way.

Try thinking of that the next time you are in a hard spot in your life. Maybe you will see your experience in a different light. Maybe you’ll be able to get out of a situation because you got through something similar in your past. Then again, maybe He’s building up for something that will happen later on instead.

So, although it sounds great to look back at our past and think about all the things differently, in retrospect that may not be the wise thing to do. Those experiences made us who we are. It’s easy to be a “Monday Morning Quarterback” and know what should have been done differently. But, God made us who we all are today because of the things we have gone through in the past. If it’s not to help us, it may be to help someone else. Maybe you can help your kids out with something they are going through because you have gone through it as well. Maybe the person you mentor needs help with something, and you just happen to have lots of experience in that area. Whatever the reason, God crafted every part of our lives, including every good and bad experience. You have trust Him and not ask for a do-over, but instead embrace who you are and what He has made you to be. When you do that, His kingdom will be even stronger because you now are even more accepting of who you are and your role in His world!

Are you willing to get hit?

I was recently asked by someone how to not focus on the bad things in a person’s life.

Now, after some quick consideration, I came up with this idea – one that I thought might benefit others.

Think of yourself as standing in the middle of a long road. There isn’t much on that road that keeps you from seeing into the distance. A bad thing in your life is an incoming car. That car is coming straight at you, at a speed that really doesn’t matter at this moment. Now, you think that you can distract yourself from that bad thing (car) and so you put up some sort of barrier – we’ll go with a brick wall – between you and the car (bad thing) in order to keep it from getting to you. The problem is, you are only fooling yourself. That little brick wall isn’t going to keep that car from getting to you. It’s only a temporary barrier with no support structure and when that car hits it, well the car will just get through it and get to you. All you did was fool yourself that you could actually keep away from that bad thing in your life.

Now, instead let's look at that car coming at you again on that same road. This time you see that car coming and decide to trust God. Now, trusting in God doesn’t mean you stand there waiting for the car (bad thing) to hit you! Instead, you change your focus from the car that is coming your way to the fire hydrant on the side of the road directly to your side. You take a step of faith and step towards the object that God placed there for you instead. And, now because you stepped towards the item that God had you change your focus towards, you barely even notice when the car goes whizzing past you on the road.

Now, that probably dog-pee-stained fire hydrant isn’t really a hydrant. It’s something good that God has placed in your life. It may be a ministry that you are a part of, a loved one, or possibly Him in another form such as a good Christian book, song, or even the Bible. He placed that there in your life because he knew that if you walked towards it that your life would be spared from the bad things in it - and that your ultimate goal of focusing on Him would be achieved.

Wouldn’t you like to change your focus and stop looking at the bad things that can mess up your life? Wouldn’t you rather have more of Him in your life instead? If so, stop focusing on the things that aren’t any good in your life. Change your focus to the things that He has given you to make your life better. When you change your perspective and focus on the good things, you may not even notice the bad things in your life any more – and you’ll have more of Him in your life instead.