BY THE WAY...

Just realized I have not done anything with this blog in a few years... sorry. Live has been crazy and this totally fell off my radar. One day I hope to get back to it.

Thanks for stopping by!

How many ways to say I love you...

How about 1976 ways.

That is how many books you can browse on Amazon.com if you do a search on "Christian Marriage". Do a search for "Loving God" and you get 5290 books under "Christianity".

I was reading in the book of Colossians yesterday and I came across this:

"For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority." Colossians 2: 9-10

Again.. as I reflect on my trip to Peru. Their genuine faith and love for Jesus Christ was so attractive. They had a deep understanding that Jesus Christ paid the price for all of us so that we can be free from the judgement that will be coming and we will spend Eternity with Him, if we just put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. They get it! And believe it or not... they don't have a Northwestern Bookstore anywhere to be found! They have the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and brothers and sisters around them to build each other up in their faith.

Now, there are some really good books out there on Faith. But are we turning for guidance 1st? The verse above in Colossians tells us that we find EVERYTHING we need in Christ... assuming we have the "union" with Christ. We are complete! Granted we may not understand that completely... we have His Holy Spirit and His Word... the Bible... to reveal His will to us. And God has put us in community with other believers striving towards the same goal through the local church.

So next time you are looking for guidance and direction... crack open the best seller, written by the world's best author, also known for His work with "Creation" and "Life".

Speaking for myself... if I had a choice to read what other people are saying about God's Word or reading God's word. I think the choice is easy, especially when I would have to sift through 1000's of books when I could just open one.

May the Lord bless you today!

Stewardship – The art of ownership

One thing that is always on my mind as I reflect on my experience in Peru is regarding “stuff”. We have so much stuff! We have more than we ever need, yet we get tricked to believe we need more than we have. It is a vicious cycle! We try to save for the future but the ads in the newspapers & the commercials on TV tell us we need more… “You may already have the 60GB Video iPod, but you really should get the 61GB Video iPod”.

I loved it in Peru… it was so simple! Granted, most of the people in Peru live on or below the Poverty line, and many live under $1 a day. But it only seems bad when someone tells you it’s bad. Their culture has adapted. Their have learned to live, joyfully I might add, with what they have… or what many may say, what they don’t have.

I am challenged by that. God created us for a purpose, and while we discover or live out that purpose we are managers of stuff. I was an assistant manager at a local fast food joint several years back, and my performance was judged partially on how well I managed the inventory. The stuff. I was given responsibility over it, even though it wasn’t mine… but I had to manage it. Hmmm… I think there is a correlation here. What’s the difference in life?

As I look at my hands typing this Blog right now… I ask myself “did I make my hands?”, “did I give myself the ability to use them?” NO! Everything I have in my life was provided to me through some means that God originally facilitated. He is the creator and maker of ALL things. Our bodies which enable us to get around, our talents or gifts we were born with and develop which give us the means to have a job. He wants us to focus on what we have, not what we don’t have.

So I have to be a good Steward of my stuff. One day at the end of my life I will stand before the ultimate manager and He will want to know how I managed His stuff. I thank God (the manager) that he does not expect perfection! He does expect devotion.

One last thought… I think it is very funny that if you look at a dollar bill, of any increment. It gives us the best advice. “In God We Trust”, even the money is telling us not to trust in the money. When they established this nation, they knew about the tendency to trust in something that will always let you down. So take a lesson from the almighty dollar… put your trust in God.

VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY

The world has already heard about it, and the Media has made sure that you know how bad it is. But I wanted to ask everyone to pray. I am a part of The Rock church in Minneapolis and we have a sister church that meets on the VA Tech campus, please pray for the families and students. Also, please pray for the church that meets there, that it would be a refuge for those in need. The church is already reaching out to the campus to provide a place for rest and healing. Pray for VA Tech.

The Broken Frisbee

I have mentioned the kids of Peru many many times... I think because that was the most memorable part. There was something very different about them. My assessment is that this was from the culture they live in... which is very interdependent on the family. They do everything together, and they are an active part of the family. What I mean by that is, the kids help with the cooking, cleaning, chores and many of them even work and a very young age. (There are no child labor laws there). They contribute to the home and they seem to have a higher level of maturity & responsibly then what I am used to in kids.

One day towards the end of our trip, I was out in the street playing frisbee with a bunch of kids, this was like most other days in Peru. As we tossed the frisbee around and spoke in the common language of laughter... something happened!

It was a wild throw! It went off just to my left. I swung my foot up to kick the Frisbee so that I wouldn't have to chase it down the road. I swear everything was in slow motion.... as my hiking boot made contact with the neon green frisbee.... it happened!

The frisbee SHATTERED!!! It exploded in several pieces!

The 1st thing that ran through my mind is... CRAP! I just broke their frisbee and I don't think there is a store in the area to buy another one!

As I turned apologetically to the crowd of young witnesses, I expected to be met with expressions of disappointment and anger. Instead... I was amazed! They seemed to think it was pretty funny... even kinda cool.

They all ran over and picked up pieces of frisbee and tossed them around the street!

So I said I was sorry a million times and went off with our team to do some work that day. We returned in a few hours and again, I was amazed!

The kids greeted me in the street with the same frisbee that had been repaired with layers and layers of packaging tape! They didn't care that it wasn't perfect, they just wanted to play.

I have this bizarre outlook on life sometimes... I tend to see situations and look for a lesson to pull out. With this particular one, I learned a lot about their culture. They are very content. Not only these kids, but the people in general that we met.

Here is an exaggerated comparison of a Peru kid and an American kid...

Lessons from a broken frisbee...

Here is the funny twist to the story... About half way through the trip I had left my backpack in the church. Needless to say the next day it was gone! I was ok with it because there wasn't much in it.

So I return back to the states and I get an email from Miguel, whom we stayed with in Peru. He said he found my bag under some boxes in the church, and I needed to come back to get it (they really do want us back). I asked him to look in my bag and confirm what he found... MY FRISBEE WAS IN THERE! Before I had gone to Peru I bought a brand new frisbee. So I had him present the frisbee as a gift on my behalf to the kids. God is so funny the way he seems to work things out. I don't believe in coincidences... but there are Godoincidences!

Thanks for reading... check back for more!

Extreme Life Makover: Peru Edition

One of the proudest memories I have from the trip to Peru, is the work our team did. We were asked when we arrived if we were up to building a home. YES! So the church chose a deserving family, and we went to work! It took 2 days to complete. The homes in Lima are not like homes we have here. They are small and many are falling apart. This particular family's home was created out of a variety of wood and beams, there were also piles of rocks inside & outside there were used in different ways. There were no windows, just a crooked door to enter and a roof that covered part of the living area.

Here is a picture of the home BEFORE we started.

This was a common site in Peru, actually, this would be considered a nice home compared to some other homes in some other neighborhoods.




So our team started demo! There was not a lot to the home, so demo was not extremely difficult, and did not take too many people. So within hours the home was brought down and clean up was in process.

It was amazing to see the community come together! We were the 1st Mission group to visit the area, in fact we were the 1st American group to visit! So when the community heard us working on the home, they gathered around in disbelief! Many of them actually jumped in and helpedb clean, shovel and clear debris! There seemed to be a lot of unity and compassion among the people of Bocanegra.

After two days the old house was gone and the new home was complete, we even painted it!

Here is the final result....

Bus driver....
MOVE THAT BUS!!!








Quite a difference! The family was very happy to say the least!

A little about the family... the daughter Yessica is a Christian who attends the church we partnered with. Her brother, mom & dad do not, and are not Christians. So as our team worked, we also prayed for her families hearts. That they would see that we are not only delivering a new home, but also a message that God loves them. And even though the family didn't "DO" anything to deserve a new house, we gave them a free gift.... just like God... we don't deserve to be a part of such a beautiful place like Heaven.. but he gave us the free gift of Jesus Christ, through whom we are saved. A beautiful thing.

Yessica's mother was so impacted by our generosity and love, that she made the decision to accept this free gift. She has since became a part of this church and has gained the precious gift of salvation where she will spend eternity with her daughter Yessica. We still pray for her father and brother.

To make this story even sweeter, as we worked on this home we found out even more support money had been given and we had enough to rebuild a SECOND home! So we were able to bless another family and shoe them the love of an awesome God!

I love this illustration from another "missions trip" story that took place nearly 2000 years ago.
A few guys who had experienced the love of God and committed themselves to the work of Jesus were traveling around talking about this message of hope. After a while they had some people who were following them and who believed the message. These followers missed a crucial part and began to declare... "I am a follower of Paul" and "I am a follower of Apollos".

This is what Paul said to them: "After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building." (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)

This is our message, this is how we live... we do our part.. whatever that is, and let others do theirs. And step back and let God do His part.

We planted some seeds in Bocanegra, and now there are people watering them, and God is growing the seeds that are ready to grow.

And remember... after a seed is planted in the ground, before it can grow into what is designed to be, it must die. The seed dies before it grows. Hmmm.. there is a lesson there. Am I willing to die to my own desires to let God grow me into what He designed me to be? Or to let Him bring me on a journey to discover what that is?

American's 12 - Peruvian's 15

Well... as I reflect on all the stories of Peru, I still get amazed but what God did there!

I was very impacted by the way that they live. Obviously the economy has a lot to do with the poverty, but I was greatly impacted by the way they live. It is very common to see 2 or 3 generations of a family living in the same small house. Grandma, Grandpa all the way to the Grandkids, all living together.

We experienced this 1st hand. Most of our team stayed in Miguel's home, he is the brother of Pastor Arturo. It was a beautiful home, it was 2 level, although the 2nd level was partially roofed and was under construction. Out of the 15 on our team, 12 of us stayed in this home. Along with about 15 family members, a dog & a bird. That adds up to 27! That is a lot of people for 1 shower! We did have 2 toilets, which helped.

But the burden we could have put on that family as we brought all of our suitcases and stuff in with us. But they requested that we stay with them! And they served us. They sacrificed their comforts, gave up their bedrooms for us. They cooked & cleaned up after us... all with a gracious heart.

This picture doesn't do justice, but this is a crowd of folks in the living room on our host home:

If you are wondering.. that is Ben, from our team, on the computer.... yeah, that's right... they have highspeed! We found that even in the midst of poverty, you will find highspeed internet!

It was quite a lesson to learn about sacrifice and contentment. God bless them!

Dan (Part-time Peruvian)

Culture Shocked!

Wow... I find myself getting on a roll with Blogging... then I seem to slip away. It just proves I have ADHD!

So here is the story... I was blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of a mission trip to Lima Peru. I have never been out of the country before... so this was a very new experience!

I said at the beginning of the year that I wanted to take risks with my faith this year... this was the big step for that! God put it on my heart to stretch myself and do new things.... DONE AND DONE! Actually... not done, just the beginning.

So I plan on adding some posts about my trip. So check back... I promise I will add some new ones!

Here is the summary... late last year we formed a team of 15 folks from my church. We were led by the one and only Mr. Marc Holtey! He has been on several mission trips to Central America and is a great man of God, and a heckuva leader!

So over a span of like 3 or 4 months our team met... we got trained on the Culture and the basics of the trip. We prayed and prepared... that God would use us to do great things in Peru!

Lima is the capital of Peru and inhabits close to 10 million people! We stayed in a neighborhood called Bocanegra. Much of the residents of Peru live in poverty, according to a statistic from a few years ago, 49% of Peruvians live below the poverty line and 12.5% live under $1 a day.

The people of Bocanegra are fortunate, for the most part then have indoor plumbing and running water (although it is cold and restricted... water is turned off between 10pm and 7am each day). When the city was established the president at the time had given the residents of that area free land and free building materials. I wish I knew more about that. Elsewhere in Lima, many people lived in what is referred to as "shantytowns" because the people live in shacks, many of which are made of various materials, like wood, metal pieces, branches & cardboard.

During our trip we saw varying degree's of living situations, most of which made the poorest parts of the U.S. look well off. Depending on your perspective as an American, you could walk away saying, "wow... I am blessed to have what I have" or "I don't feel right about having what I have knowing others are living like this". I fell in the middle somewhere.. closer to the latter.


It was challenged to really make sure that I am a good steward of what I have. I live in a country that is built on the quest for more. The media and all of the marketing want to remind you that there is always something better out there... and YOU REALLY NEED IT! It's a lie... sorry to burst your bubble. We are called to live a modest life of contentment. Or I should say.. .I am called to do so. But the vicious cycle of materialism is destroying many Americans. "The borrower is a slave to the lender", those were wise words from a very wise book. I am sick of being a slave, the people of Peru that I met are free. They have very little in comparison to an American, but that is what they need. Their families are healthy and they are content. I want what they have.

OK... no that I got that out of the way! I am still processing what happened in Peru... I walked away from the trip changed... mostly with a new perspective, and a renewed sense of the Faith in which I proclaim. I have said this numerous times... but I traveled over 4000 miles to see confirmation that my God is so big!

Please keep checking back.. I will be posting the stories and the photo's.

I

What really "counts"

I am currently sitting at a coffeeshop doing some work. A family came in and I overheard the kid (about 8 years old) say as they waited in line for their order:

"Hey Dad, I know we don't have time, but I can count to 140."

I about rolled out of my chair and lost control. Maybe it's just me, I do have a bizarre sense of humor at times, and trust me, I can entertain myself just fine. But I thought that was HILARIOUS!

The cute part was... he sat down with his dad and actually counted! I found myself silently routing him on as he approached 89... then stalled for some support from Dad. Then after a dramatic pause with a very concentrated contorted facial expression... HE zipped PAST 90 and made it to 100! He was clearly tickled with his progress thus far and called it quits for the day. They then left. But they left me with an odd sense of joy from witnessing a very cool father & son interaction.

Reminded me of Jesus. They way he would allow himself to be interrupted by people, especially children, who especially in those days were not appreciated. But when anyone would approach Jesus with a question, he would stop and listen. He listens to those with Child-like Faith.

Like in Mark 10: 13-16: One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

I find myself hindering my prayer life because I think to myself: "Jesus, I know you don't have time, but I have a problem" I shoot myself in the foot, spiritually speaking, when I believe that. The Lord wants me to approach him... period. Anytime, anyplace, with any words, or any tone. I find comfort that I can come to God in anger. I can yell, I have even "exchanged words" with the Lord, if you know what I mean. You know what, he responded as a loving Father would. He comforts me. Gives me peace of mind.

Lord willing, one day I will have a son. And I will be excited for the day to come when he says: "Hey Dad, I know we don't have time, but I count to 140". And I will say, there's plenty of time!

Flying South

From March 10 - March 19 2007, The Rock church is sending a team to Lima Peru, I am blessed to be a part of that team. I mentioned "promptings" in my last post, this is a big one for me. Every year when the Mission trips are announced at The Rock, I have felt the pull to go, but have opted out. This year I am going! I am excited to trust God to bless our trip and also bless our support raising. This is a new realm for me.

In a nutshell, we are taking a team of 15 people to Lima, the capital of Peru. over the span of about 9 days we will do a variety of tasks, primarily we will be working with a local church made up of several deaf people. We will also be spending much time working with a large population of abandoned street children in the city. We are going to observe the needs that come up and do our best to meet them. I know we will be hanging out with the kids and coordinating sports activities (Soccer I am sure). But above all else, we will go with a servants attitude and make ourselves available.

We are the 1st group in our entire association (Great Commission Association of Churches) to send a team to Peru, it is basically an exploratory trip, which may set the stage for future trips. It is very exciting to be involved in something so new!

If you would be interested in supporting me, you can do so in 2 ways:
1) Pray for me and my team! Pray for our travels, our health and safely and above all that God would use us in the lives of others.

2) Financial support. I need to raise over $1600 to go (it was increased from the original amount due to the airline tickets). I need the 1st half of the money by 2/5/07 and the rest by 3/2/07. Our international missions are organized through Great Commission Latin America association.
*If you are interested in supporting me in one or both ways, please email me and let me know. I can provide you with more information.

Please check back, especially after March 19th, I plan on posting pictures and updates from our trip!

Promptings

Kita & I have claimed this verse for the year; 2 Thessalonians 1: 11-12 - So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. 12 Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

We returned from Faithwalkers, our big annual church conference this year with a freshness for our faith. Everytime I go to a church conference I always try to ask God to show me something new. He definitely did at Faithwalkers! The Lord used the teachings and the fellowship to remind me that my life is not my own, I am not on this earth to be a sponge and take take take hoping for a comfortable life. This I already knew, but it is easy to lose sight of in this country. So we drove home from Missouri on New Years eve in a bad snow/ice storm, so we had plenty of time to think. Kita & I declared that 2007 will be the year we stretch our faith.

I got home and on January 1st I cracked my Bible and came to 2 Thessalonians. The verse leaped out at me! I love how it says "May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do". I was thinking about that, our Body was designed by God to prompt us of its basic needs. My body let's me know when I am hungry, when I must sleep, when I have to sneeze, go to the bathroom, etc. I can ignore those promptings because I don't "feel" like doing them, but there will be a consequence. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord, I received the Holy Spirit, a free gift. Since that day in 2000, I have received several promptings. Most of which I ignored, out of fear, laziness, disbelief or selfishness. There has been a consequence. There are rewards and blessings from everything we do for our God, our King. I will never know what they were, but I can con focus on the days ahead. The beauty behind that verse is that it makes it clear we need God's power to accomplish the good things our faith prompts us to do. Thank God for that!

More soon.

Blessings!

BIG UPDATE!

WOW!! It has been a LONG time since my last post! I was all fired up about having a blog, but that faded quickly! I'll try to get into this more this year. This is a LONG post... so feel free to take frequent breaks!

My wife (Kita) and I reflected on 2006 and what lessons we could pull out. We agreed it was a year of great loss with greater gain. Those two things only seem to flow together within the Christian Faith. Over the year of 2006 my wife & I rode around on a roller coaster for while.
With Health, Finances, Business, Decisions, Relationships, Work etc. I look back at it and strongly believe that God was pruning us for a fruitful year this year.

Kita's Health
Last year Kita's health was up & down.. but mostly up. Which is a miracle! She was diagnosed a couple years back with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia. We have been forced down a path we didn't expect and we have had to adjust our lifestyles and recognize our limitations. Not an easy thing, especially when you are young! Kita has tried many different medications, most of which offered little benefit, rather great side effects. This last year she finally found a med that is working, the downside of any Arthritis drug is that it is extremely harmful to the body over time. But our goal as we work with our doctor is for Kita to work on her core health. With the help of a better healthier diet and natural supplements, she has been given the OK to work out! So now her body is stabilizing. As her body begins to get healthier and stronger, she can slowly reduce her meds, and eventually, with the help of our Great God and the approval of our Doctor, she can one day be MED FREE! So for now, it is one day at a time with a focus on consistency.

Ministry Change - Celebrate Recovery
I also had a big shift in ministry involvement over the last year. For the last 5 years I have been heavily involved in Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered recovery ministry focused on breaking the chains of the things that hold us back (Chemical addiction, codependency and relational issues, and other compulsive habits). my life has been dramatically impacted by the ministry and I have watched hundreds of others also be changed and freed of many struggles. After taking a look at my own life and circumstances, God made it very clear that I was over committed. That my #1 ministry to be involved with is my marriage. God makes it very clear in 1 Timothy 3:5 that if I am not managing my family, I have no business managing a ministry of my church. I knew my wife needed ALL of me. Our marriage is great and always has been, not perfect, but great. But I can't be the husband God called me to be if I am not able to meet my wife's needs. So I made to difficult decision to step down as the ministry leader of Celebrate Recovery. Which I faithfully did this month. And God has blessed me for it already. I have been operating in overdrive for YEARS!! So to have breathing room, is a new thing for me.

Ministry Opportunities - House Church
In addition to that change... last summer I was blessed to become part of a new strategy at my church! Myself and 7 other men have taken a huge step of faith to start House Churches in the metro area. 4 all together, 2 guys leading each one. I am down south in Eagan. This has been challenging and rewarding. The goal is to come together (about 30 adults) for an intimate time of worship and teaching. We meet in a basement on folding chairs and couches... automatic intimacy! We have unplugged worship where we sing to the Lord. Then we break bread and share the Lord's Supper together, followed by a message from myself or my co-leader Jason. We try to always make it very interactive, whether it be open discussions, small group discussions or prayer. It is possibly a small glimpse into the early church as described in the book of Acts. I love it! No fancy building, no elaborate set-up, no fancy speeches, just a group of people who love God and try to love each other.

The Great Reduction
There are benefits to being a home-owner, no doubt about it! Last year Kita & I also came to a very big decision. We are going to sell our home, and actually almost everything in it. We have been in our home for 4 years. We have had many conversations about what to do... R-Fi, get a renter, sell & buy a new home etc. After weighing the options, we found it in our best interest to sell. For 2 big reasons:
1) Kita's health. The house was what we needed 4 years ago... health can change many things. A home suitable for Kita would be a one level home. Ours is 2 levels with a basement. most days that is fine, other days, Kita doesn't do well with stairs. Arthritis is a progressive disease, so we are young enough to where we can plan wisely.
2) Finances. With the high cost of medical along with all the other bills, a mortgage is a burden. It is not fun to live check to check and stress out ways the tax benefits, so we are choosing to get out from under our home before it crushes us.
So we will be selling in very soon, Lord willing, and then we will stay with friends for a few months, after which we may get an apartment for s very short time. But the goal is for use to save as much money as we can so we can get a home that is suitable for our needs.
And we are selling all of our stuff, because it will be easier to start fresh, we are very simple people and we live simple lives. Plus we don't have anything of great value anyway.

Dog Gone
Another HUGE decision we made was to give up our dog. Another long conversation! But we found that with our busyness, Kita's health and our moving situation that our Dog will not do well. So we found a great family with a bunch of kids and a lot of property to adopt her! We were able to bless a little girl with a dog for Christmas! We miss Brita, but we did the right thing, and the right thing is usually the most difficult thing.

Rewards
Lastly... I had been having a difficult time at work. My attitude was poor and Job morale was sunk after a workforce reduction took some close friends. So I had been praying for other opportunities and stressing out about my job. When I finally put my job on the alter of my faith and said "Lord, I work for you, help me be a good employee" I was rewarded! I ended up with a promotion and a new role that I had put my hat in for about 6 months prior! God works in mysterious ways... but reminds me who is in control... not me!

That was a mouthful! But, I am going to try to keep up so my posts are smaller!

May the Lord bless your new year!

Control-Z

I was reading the Word this morning and read this:

2 Timothy 3:1-5 - You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.

I had this thought... When Jesus came to teach people how to live for God, he basically did 2 things... 1st he would teach them, 2nd they would then pass it on... by the way they lived. That is putting it simply. But that is what we should do. So I thought about the church today, specifically about people's view about the church... which generally isn't good. In my opinion, the original intent of learning to Live for God, then passing it on has become complicated. I would imagine that for years after Jesus dies & rose again, this worked well. The Apostles literally spent their life passing on the Truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ, and Scripture. The church grew, people got saved and there was a reproduction of Christ followers. Maybe with this growth came more false teachers, but there also came many opinions of the New Testament teachings, many of the "leaders" had greedy motives. There were disagreements which lead to divisions of the church (which the New Testament clearly warned us to avoid!). Politics and Bureaucracy infiltrated the church culture. And it seems to be like yeast in bread... it can't be removed! The it seems the view of the "church" today has been scarred badly, and I believe that my church (The Rock), and many other New Testament Christ-Following churches like it, have an interesting mission on their hands... to teach as Jesus taught, and the early apostles taught, and pass it on to others. And try to UNDO (Control-Z) what has been done by so many who have claimed to be Christians.

I also read this verse, which is so right on regarding the world we live in today:

1 Timothy 4:3-5 - For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths.
But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at bringing others to Christ. Complete the ministry God has given you.

Hmmm... we have some work to do!
Stay True...

Committed to the Cause

I came across this excerpt from a sermon online... it made me think:

"Two veteran pilots from WW II met and began comparing notes of their experiences in the war. One was an American pilot, the other flew for the Japanese. They discussed the capabilities of their aircraft, the types of munitions, the friends lost in battle. At last the American proudly related that he flew 350 missions. The Japanese pilot lowered his head and quietly said that he had flown 50. 'Fifty?' replied the American. 'Fifty is good, you shouldn't be ashamed that you only flew fifty.' 'Thank you, thank you,' answered the Japanese pilot, bowing his head. 'But I Kamikaze pilot.'

The Japanese pilot was not committed to the cause in which he signed up for. For me... that is a good reminder for me to take a look at my life. Am I committed to the cause in which I "signed up for", or better yet... that I have been called out for. Called out from a life that was once hopeless and littered with pain. God has pulled me from the muck and given me a reason to live... a cause to be committed to. Oh there is still pain, but when you know where you are going, the roughest of roads can't defeat you.

Another illustration of commitment is with the Chicken and the Pig:

"As they talked about the contributions there were going to be making soon on their farm, the Chicken said with a grin, "I feel like I can really make a difference here, the Farmer always needs eggs! Hey Pig, aren't you excited to help?", and with a heavy sigh the Pig glumly replied, "That is easy for you to say... you are just involved, but I am totally committed."

There is a difference about just being involved and committed. There is a price to pay with commitment... not like the Pig will pay, but I think you get the point. Commitment comes with sacrifice. The question is.. am I willing?

"As for me and my house, we will serve The Lord!" - Joshua 24:15

When Treadmills Attack - Next on Fox!

A co-worker sent out this link and I thought it was hilarious! I have never heard of the band, OKGO, but they are OK.. their video is great! The choreography must have been a little difficult... but it turned out well! I was trying to find a deeper meaning behind this video to Blog about... but I got nothing.

Open Mic @ God's Comedy Club

"Trusting a fool to convey a message is as foolish as cutting off one's feet and drinking poison!"

Proverbs 26:6

Call me twisted, but I laugh out loud everytime I read this Proverb! Which is usually on the 26th of the month... I try to read the "Proverb of the day"... 31 Proverbs in the Bible... usually 31 days in a month.. works out pretty good!

Anyway... I often think in vivid pictures... so to think of a person who would cut off their feet AND drink poison is outrageous!! One is bad enough.. but BOTH? Come on God! HE must be really trying to tell us something with this warning. I think about my own life... I often have opportunities to pass along a message... I think we all do. I need to make sure that I am not the fool to do so.. because if I didn't have feet, my socks would fit a little weird, and I would feel discouraged everytime I passed by Footlocker. And Flip-Flops... I guess they would really be Stump-Stumps.

I lost my point... oh yeah! I love how God will use the most obscure analogies & comparisons to grab our attention! It is so easy to glaze through the Bible.. if we read it. But every once in a while, God throws a zinger in there, that makes you really think!

I love my God! Because he uses broken offerings to get His message across!
Dan

Defect Replacement Program

Tonight was a very encouraging night for me. I have been really battling with discouragement lately. Thursday nights always seem to end very well. I was at the Celebrate Recovery meeting, and I was blessed with the opportunity to share a message on Forgiveness. Specifically 3 different area's of Forgiveness.

1) Accepting the Forgiveness from God, as demonstrated by Christ's work on the Cross. This is the 1st crucial part. And if we don't get this part, we are stuck. And if God didn't offer this forgiveness to us, heaven would be empty! Think about that... if there was not a sacrifice, if there was not blood shed for us by means of Jesus Christ, who paid the price for us.. we would be hopeless and doomed to live a life of nothingness. Praise the Lord!

2) Forgiving others... especially who have hurt us in some way. Another big one... but a tough one. I consider myself a very good resentment manager. I have a filing system in my head where I stash away all the little things people have said and done that have hurt me... I am constantly trying to throw out the files! It can be tough, when you think you have let something go you have against someone... then you run into them at church or at the store... and you get that knot in your gut, and you quickly pretend like you are occupied doing something, so you don't have to make eye contact with them.... that means you didn't let it go. You may have with one hand... but your other hand has white knuckles because you are holding on to it so tight! When we forgive others who have hurt us... we are then truly free. I can't afford to give someone free rent in my head.... it just makes me tired and bitter. We must forgive... even when it hurts.

3) We must forgive ourselves.... "wait a minute! I can accept what Christ did... and I can forgive others.. but you don't know all the bad things I have done!" Well Christ does... and he for them ALL. "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Would you trust a dentist with horrible, rotten teethe and nasty dragon breath to do a root canal on you? No! Then how can you forgive others if you haven't forgiven yourself? Start at home... look in the mirror. I think this is where I fell short for so long.. I didn't get it. I thought I forgave and forgot, but it was superficial... :surface grace". I hadn't worked out my own identity in Christ. Once I grasped His forgiveness towards me... and I was able to be glad for who I was and forgave myself as He did... THEN I was able to forgive others.

Jeremiah said it best: "You can't heal a wound by saying it is not there" 6:14. If you slammed your thump in your car door (again) and said to yourself "that didn't really happen... it isn't really turning blue" it wouldn't help you heal. So we must come to God with desperate abandonment... and let Him heal out hurts.

As I drove a friend home after the meeting, we had a good conversation about forgiveness. God gave me this "A-ha" moment. When we come to Christ, and we accept what He did for us, we are saved.. by His grace and our faith. He will then reveal to us... through his Word and his servants who teach us His Word... the area's of our life we must let go of. Our defects that need to be thrown in the fire. Lust, dishonesty, anger.. the list goes on. But... here is the epiphany! God will replace the defect in our character, with a good character trait! So, anger & bitterness are replaced by forgiveness! But we can swap... we can slip back into bitterness again... but try to be angry and forgive someone at the same time.... it aint possible! It would be funny to see... but it is God's Defect Replacement program. But we must ALLOW HIM to point the things out... then like on garbage day... we must bring the crap to the curb of our life... where God will pick it up and it will be recycled.

So as you chug along in this life... and God reveals an area that is getting in the way of your relationship with Him... ask God to replace it.

Trudging the road to a happy destiny... Dan

Roman Graduation

I was reminded as I was talking with a friend the other day, he was have a rough day to say the least. And the Lord reminded me of encouragement I received from my good buddy Brad several years back. I have always loved the book of Romans. I think it is because of the level that Paul is writing from, he is so raw and real in that book of the Bible. I have always clung to Romans 7, versus 14-21. Paul is writing about our sinful nature, and how we do really try to do what is right, but we always seem to do what is wrong. That sums up most of my existence.

As I was sharing this with Brad, he challenged my thinking. He made the point about how we can tend to park ourselves on things in the Bible, and we don't read on to see where the passages are going. God had a plan when he used the lives of the writers of the Word.

So here was the point... I was embracing Romans 7 as a life verse, which is great, however... that chapter is Paul's writing about living in the flesh... the muck, what life is and will continue to be like when we let sin dictate our days... we easily give in to what feels good, the next thing that comes our way.

Well... my friend told me that I should decide whether I wanted to embrace Romans 7 or Romans 8. I needed to graduate to Romans 8... and make that my life verse... because it truly speaks about life as we live in the spirit of Christ. And claim victory in the Cross. Like I have said, I will continue to fall short as long as I live on this dirty rock called earth... but I can fight, and I can take courage in my King. We who know Jesus Christ have already won! (This is a great message on that topic by the way... we have victory!) So the freedom comes in a life described in Romans chapter 8. Go here to see both chapters, read them and see which one you choose to embrace.

The BIG point I want to make is that we... I... must remember that God is still speaking today, and he uses His Word, the Bible. So as we... I... read, we should ask God to reveal the whole story... "what do you want to teach me Lord", "how does this relate to my life". And my new favorite prayer... "Lord, surprise me today".

Still chilling in the crucible,
Dan

Tested By Fire

I find it interesting that in several places in the Word, it will compare the learning we must do to the way that Metal is purified by fire. Here are just a few:

• Proverbs 17:3 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart.
• Proverbs 27:21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.
• 1 Peter 1:7 These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

I love that last verse in 1 Peter, I think that lays it out. Of course there have been cultural changes since this was written... back in the days of Solomon, I am sure Gold was much more "precious" than it is today. But either way, it is a precious metal, that many people would LOVE to have on their body. It can symbolize royalty & someone of high importance. But it is clear that The Lord teaches us lessons through our trials.

I am becoming fascinated by the process of purifying Gold. They take a chunk of Gold that they have found in the earth, and put it in a Crucible (a really freakin' hot pot!). They can add in Lead, which, coupled with the heat, strip away much of the Gold's impurities. The impurities then rise to the top of the Crucible and form what is called "crud", the Goldsmith then skims the surface removing the "crud". This continues and more crud is removed until you have a pure piece of Gold that is now ready to be used to make precious jewels.

Now the thing that really interests me, is that in order for the Gold to become pure, you add a lesser metal... lead. This acts as the object that strips away the impurities, along with the heat. Now, look at your life. As I look at mine I now see that God has allowed people, places and things to come in my life to act as lead that will strip away some of my impurities. And He turns up the heat of my circumstances for sure! My tendency is to want to JUMP out of the crucible, but I will be extending whatever pain is in my life until I wait patiently on the Lord, and try to pull a lesson out of what I am going through.

I know that God is NOT done with me yet, and I have a LOT more crud to be skimmed off... just ask my wife!

Will you stay in the crucible? If so, I will probably see you there.