Easy to get overwhelmed

What are you thankful for? It’s easy to get bogged down in life. We can get stressed, overwhelmed and on edge pretty quickly.

Today, after dropping off the kids at school, I started my day making a list of everything I needed to get done. After about five minutes of writing my list, I started to get overwhelmed. I had so much to do and there was no way I was going to finished everything today. My day just started and I was already disappointed with how my day was looking.

How do you start your day, is it calm, is it peaceful?

Listen to how Paul stared his letter to the Church of the Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians 1:2…

“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.”

Every letter Paul authored except for the letter to the Galatians, Paul starts with a similar opening, giving thanks. How often do we start our day giving thanks? What if instead of focusing on what needs to be done, we need to focus on giving thanks and seeing how that leads the way.

I think Paul was on to something with starting every letter with thankfulness. What if we made this a point of our life? What if we started out thanking others to start our day. What would our social media look like? What would our family look like? What would our workplace look like if we all started our day sharing what we were thankful for instead of what we have going on?

I have so much to be thankful for and I need to do a better job of showing that.

How about you?

Have a great day.

A real prayer at a church league softball game…BLASPHEMY

Church league sports can crack me up. I love the idea of them. Get together have some fun, play some sports and enjoy some Christian fellowship. For my experience, this is not the case the majority of the time. (My personal opinion) I have seen better sportsmanship in my Beer League Hockey Leagues then I ever have in a church league sporting event. Now before you start throwing stones at me, I believe the majority of people have great intentions with Church league sports, but the minority ruin the experience. Still the one saving grace is prayer. At the beginning there is usually prayer before the game starts. I love this aspect. Usually the prayer includes showing a Christ like attitude, good sportsmanship, keep us from getting hurt and other Christian standard prayer.

In the years of doing church league sports, the prayer doesn’t really vary a ton. The translation of the prayer: God we are about to treat each other really horrible, please give us grace when we cuss at the ref/ump for using their judgment that we disagree with. Please let Jesus shine through us because I am not going to be a nice person for the game Amen. So when a real matter came up to be prayed over, I didn’t think much of it.

Before one game about seven or so years ago, I was talking with Todd Hein. Todd is awesome and I really didn’t know much about him at the time. He was a great ump, funny and tried to make sure everyone had a good time. Todd made church league sports fun. I think Todd was umping the game that day and after the prayer as we went our separate ways to the dugout, I mention to Todd that one of my students was going to a significant medical procedure and to keep them in your prayers. Todd said great, why wait, let’s pray. It through me off a little bit, the game was about to start people were heading to the field. Todd didn’t care we stopped right there and prayed for my student. After that prayer he said he would be praying about it with the other teams/games the rest of the night. What a cool thing, I don’t even know if Todd remembers this, but I had a lot of respect for Todd since then (I had respect for him before but I had even more now). I believe in the power of prayer and Paul share about prayer in Colossians 4:2…

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Prayer is powerful to a Christian. A line about prayer I liked stated “Prayer is not a spiritual luxury but it is essential for growth.” As we live our lives, a Christians prayer is an important part of our lives not an afterthought. I have had to correct myself from my early walk in faith. I used to say the great line you will be in my prayers or I will pray for that. Sometimes I would remember sometimes I wouldn’t. Just like Todd showed how to stop at that moment and pray, I have changed to do this. When people ask for prayer whether in person or online, I will try to stop at that moment and pray. Rather then writing will pray, I will write just prayed.

Prayer is a conversation with God. There are times when I am quiet and just try to listen and other times I will vent at God about what’s going on in my life. If there is one person you can talk to about anything, it’s God.

Where are you with your prayer life? Is it essential or an afterthought? I thank people like Todd who reminded me about dropping everything to pray and I try to do this more and more. Even at a church league sports event we can stop and have meaningful prayer. How do you need to respond in regards to prayer? How can you improve your prayer life?

Have a great day.

Our whole country is going to crap?

It’s easy to get stressed out and worried. I remember watching a movie in which the son comes down to the dinning room. He sees his dad at the table reading the newspaper.

He asks his dad how’s it going? The dad replies, “Son, do you know this whole country is going to crap?” This is an older movie but you could say the same thing can happen today.

The older I get the more I pay attention to politics, the world and how crazy it can be in certain situations and places. It’s easy to become worried and nervous about what’s going on in the world. Social Media can make this worse.

This is what Paul shares in Philippians 4:5-6…

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Let your gentleness be evident to all? Well, I failed at that one. While I feel like I am gentle, instances instantly pop in my head where I am not.

We are not alone in this, anxiety can plague us all and overtake us.

God reminds us to give it over to him. Easier said then done, what happens when we finally realize we can’t control everything in our life?

Life can consume us.

Give things over to God and see the difference that can make in your life.

What would happen if we were gentle and respectful to all, how would our community and social media look if this was the case?

Nobody said it would be easy, it can be a challenge.

Try to let your gentleness be evident to all, see what difference that can make.

Have a great day.

Not being alert cost me two car mirrors

I am dumbfounded about garage doors. The first house Hailee and I owned a lady flipped the house and put a beautiful garage door on the garage. It looked great but there was only one problem, the garage wasn’t long enough. It could fit our Geo Prism at the time but no chance of fitting out Grand Am. So we had a two and a half car garage that could only fit a half car. Not making that mistake again, but yet I make others.

Now checking garage doors is a staple of getting a house. Our second house had a one care garage and it was fine. We are more careful with checking the dimensions of the garage and did with our third house. We made sure our vehicles could fit in it, but it requires us to be careful. The doors is so tight that we have to carefully enter and exist out of our garage door. Twice I was not careful. The first time I cleared it in my first glance, but I was proven wrong. I caught about half the mirror, broke the surrounding plastic and cracked the glass in multiple spots. Not my finest moment, then last week I caught the thin corner ever so slightly and it broke again. This was not as bad as the first time, but I crack a corner of the plastic shell. Being alert cost me two mirrors and made me question why someone would make a general two and a half car garage with such a small window to get the vehicles in? Yet when it comes down to it, not be alert cost me two mirrors.

Being alert is a great trait and can cost greatly when we don’t use it. Every Friday I look forward to the lighter side of sports when I watch the Not Top 10 on Sportscenter. One of the shocking moments is when someone thinks they are done and prematurely celebrates a victory. I have seen this happened in multiple cycling events and a couple of long distance running events. Not being alert cost these people a victory like it cost me my mirror (Multiple times).

Ephesians 6:18-19

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

I firmly believe in the power of prayer. I have seen it work multiple times in my life and in the lives around me. Anything and everything can be prayed over, it’s giving our concerns over to God. Some people don’t believe in prayer because it’s on God’s timing instead of ours. We grow impatient when we pray and the results aren’t immediate or we get the wrong results. Some times God knows what is better for us then we do. Prayer is giving our worries, concerns and desires over to God and trusting he knows what’s best. Sometimes you might be praying the same prayer for months or years before things change.  God’s timing is not our timing.

We are told to be alert in prayer. One way this can be described is making an effort to learn what could be a potential future threat. At times my prayer life can be sporadic. If I see someone on social media asking for prayer, I come to the conclusion if I don’t pray right then, I will forget. So I stop what I am doing and say a prayer at that moment. My prayer life should be in overdrive right now and I need to get back up to that level. Things I need to pray about, what it’s like growing up with a teenage daughter and starting to look at her dating. I need to pray about my future and what God has in store for me. I need to pray for my life right now and how I can serve God and my family to the best of my abilities just to name a few.

What do you need to pray about or need to do to take that next step in prayer? As my anxiety can overtake me, I need to do a better job in going to God in prayer. Relying on my own abilities has cost me more then two mirrors, I need to be alert and remember to up my prayer game, how about you?

Have a great day.

Having a middle school kid

I feel as unprepared as ever today. My daughter will start her middle school life. It’s one of those where did time go moments? I am in awe of this moment. I have a middle school kid. Man, am I truly prepared for this? My beautiful daughter heading into sixth grade is so surreal to me. As ill prepared I feel, a lot of parents experience and make it through.

As I prepare for what the day brings I come across this in Ephesians 3:14-19…

For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

I absolutely love what Paul shares. Being rooted and established in love makes me think of my yard this past year. I love to try to have a nice lawn and put down a ton of seed. Some of the seed didn’t take and there are bare spots. The grass that grew was able to survive the heat and didn’t dry out. It’s roots stood firm. There is something special about having that relationship with Jesus knowing you stand firm with life. This happens not only in the current time but also in the future we understand how much the father loves us.

This prayer was exactly what I needed today as I prepare for the journey that is about to start. I hope this prayer strikes a cord with you. As many head back to school over the up and coming days/weeks please say a prayer for them. Pray for their teachers, schools and administrators.

Have a great day.

I hope all the bad things in life happen to you and nobody else but you

Ever noticed the people you are the closest too are the same ones you joke way too much with? My friend Jason has been the closest friend I have had for the longest amount of time, 17 years. Often in order to help us deal with stress and such we would say things to each other that would try to lighten the mood and level of stress. We would often tell each other to die when we ended a conversation. We would end conversations like the title to this blog. It isn’t true but basically would lighten the mood to let us know don’t take everything that happens as life or death.

Jason and I cared for each other and often I would pray for him and he would do the same for me we just never talked about it. This past week he was talking to me and said, “I was praying for what you were going through.” I knew we prayed for each other but we never really talked about it. We were close and sometimes missed the point of friendship. Prayer does matter in life and I truly believe that, yet prayer wasn’t always a huge priority.

I had a bad habit for a while. Years ago people would ask me to pray for them, and I would say it and often forget. We are people of the moment. I came into the realization that if I do not pray for things right then, I most likely won’t pray for them. As a result I changed the way I pray. When people ask for prayer on social media, rather than saying I will pray, I write just prayed because I will pray for it before writing a response. We all need help in life, prayer can change and mold us.

Even the greatest Christians in the Bible ask for prayer. Paul spends the end of chapter 15 in the book of Romans talking about prayer for him.

Romans 15:30-33…

^“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there,  so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. The God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

Paul did some amazing things in his life. He still was seeking prayer for problems in his life and what was happening with the contributions. People gave him to give to the church in Jerusalem would be received with open arms. He wanted to bring joy with and hoped they would feel refreshed.  I love verse 32-33 coming with joy, being refreshed and through the God of peace be with them all. I love it and what pray and God can do.

Everyone needs prayer and I am one of those people. We all know people in our lives that could use prayer. Who can you pray for today or what can you ask prayer for? While we do joke around a lot, Jason and I do pray for each other and care for each other. Prayer shows that you care and you are not afraid to admit there is a God who loves you and wants to be involved in your life. All you have to do is go to him.

Have a great day.

God meant for the Connecticut tragedy to happen

Bad things happen in the world. This doesn’t mean that it comes from God (I don’t think God meant for this to happen).  People at times have the worst things to say to hurting people, there was an article I read from Emily C. Heath Dealing with Grief: Five things NOT to say and five things to say in a Trauma involving children that does a great job with this.  She was a Chaplain in the emergency department of a children’s hospital with a level one trauma center.

 

This comes directly from her article, she can say it way better than I could

 

Here are five things NOT to say to grieving family and friends:

 

1.      "God just needed another angel." – Portraying God as someone who arbitrarily kills

kids to fill celestial openings is neither faithful to God, nor helpful to grieving parents.

 

2.      "Thank goodness you have other children," or, "You're young. You can have more kids."

Children are not interchangeable or replaceable. The loss of a child will always be a loss, no matter how many other children a parent has or will have.

 

3.      He/she was just on loan to you from God – The message is that God is so capricious that

God will break parents' hearts at will just because God can. It also communicates to parents and loved ones that they are not really entitled to their grief.

 

4.      God doesn't give you more than you can handle – Actually, some people do get a lot

more than any one person should ever have to handle. And it doesn't come from God. Don't trivialize someone's grief with a "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" mentality.

 

5.      We may not understand it, but this was God's will – Unless you are God, don't use this

line.

 

Here are five things to say:

1.      I don't believe God wanted this or willed it – A grieving friend or family member is likely

hearing that this is God's will from a number of other people. Affirm the idea that it may very well not be.

 

2.      It's okay to be angry, and I'm a safe person for you express that anger to if you need it –

Anger is an essential part of the grieving process, but many don't know where to talk about it because they are often silenced by others when they express their feelings. (For instance, they may be told they have no right to be angry at God.) By saying you are a safe person to share all feelings, including anger, with, you help the grieving person know where they can turn.

 

3.      It's not okay –                                                 It seems so obvious, but sometimes this

doesn't get said. Sometimes the pieces don't fit. Sometimes nothing works out right. And sometimes there is no way to fix it. Naming it can be helpful for some because it lets them know you won't sugarcoat their grief.

 

4.      I don't know why this happened –                 When trauma happens, the shock and

emotion comes first. But not long after comes our human need to try to explain "why?" The reality is that often we cannot. The grieving person will likely have heard a lot of theories about why a trauma occurred. Sometimes it's best not to add to the chorus, but to just acknowledge what you do not know.

 

5.      I can't imagine what you are going through, but I am here to support you in whatever way feels best –                                                     Even if you have faced a similar loss,

remember that each loss is different. Saying "I know how you're feeling" is often untrue. Instead, ask how the grieving person is feeling. And then ask what you can do to help. Then, do it and respect the boundaries around what they don't want help with at this point. You will be putting some control back into the hands of the grieving person, who often feels like they have lost so much of it.

 

If I could add one more, it would be the person that says, “You might wonder why would God allows this to happen….Well, God's not allowed in schools.” I just heard someone say this at a public event with about 100 people around them.  This is awful and bad theology.  We are still protected by free speech and have the right to be Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Hindu in a public school.

 

My heart aches for this school tragedy.  I am continuing to pray for this school and the families. 

 

Have a great day.

39 game losing streak

Losing is never fun.

There is not a person I know that loves to lose.

During high school, I dealt with losing a lot.

In between cross country and swimming (The two sports I played varsity in) my combined record was 8-91.

We won one cross country meet in four years.

Losing happens.

Our school was more known for our football losing streak.

We had about a 39 game losing streak.

We went almost four consecutive years of losing in football.

Going to a high school that had a history of losing, it could be hard to be motivated to do well.

We did.

If you are not motivated to do well, you won’t, plain and simple.

I remember asking one of the football players how can they still try when they are down at the half by 28 points or more.

This is what he told me…

“Our coach motivates us.  I am a smart guy and honestly know the likely hood of a comeback is slim to none.  At halftime, our head coach speaks and by the time he finishes talking, not only do we believe we are going to come back, but we are going to crush the team afterwards.”

Makes me think of speaking bold.

The definition of bold is…not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger.  Necessitating courage and daring.

There are people I look up to that speak bold and I hang on every word they say, they can lift me up.

Bold is one of the key words used when the disciples spoke in the book of Acts.

During one of their prayers they said this in Acts 4:29…

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”

This is what was written after they prayed in verse 31…

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Bold.

How often do we speak with boldness?

Now one of the problems with speaking with boldness, people can think they are speaking with boldness when in essence, they speak like a dictator.

Part of the problem with Christianity is to speak with boldness while moving people closer to God.

Do you speak with boldness?

Do you do this at…

Home

Work

In public

Among friends

Among enemies

It can be difficult to speak in boldness and from the heart.

This is why the apostles prayed for God to fill them with boldness.

He came through.

If you struggle to talk or get your point across pray for God to give you the words to say.

Boldness can help out everyone.

Speak bold.

One day our football losing streak ended, if they didn’t have a coach that believed it could happen, it never would have.

Speak bold.

Have a great day.

Falling off a bunk bed, how bad could it hurt?

Falling off the bunk bed = not fun.

Recently we have been  blessed to have two bunk beds given to us.

I know each of our kids have their own bed but I am an advocate of bunk beds.

My brother Zach and I had bunk beds since we were about five.

One of the negative aspects of bunk beds, when you fall off of them.

I remember this happening two or three times.

I remember waking up and flipping over to land on my back, it didn’t hurt and I just went back in bed and went to sleep.

It’s different being a parent of kids with bunk beds.

You worry about them falling off.

Both Connor and Nevaeh have bunk beds, but that isn’t what we worry about, it’s Ty.

Ty is a dare devil and isn’t really afraid of much.

He saw Nevaeh swim without a floating device so he wanted to do the same and tried.

He isn’t afraid of bunk beds, would climb up the ladder and be jump on the top bed.

This kid would be warned, but we knew it was only a matter of time.

A couple of weeks ago Ty fell off the bunk bed.

He was crying and sad.

I looked him over and he looked fine, I got him our kids ice pack and held him. 

A minute later he is out playing again.

It’s a miracle!

Just kidding.

It is funny how that kid could face a tough experience and be fine a minute later.

We are unfortunately filled with cases that aren’t this simple.

I know several people that have cancer and other problems that hurt.

I try every week to spend time and go over our prayer list in our Church and it’s full of hurt people.

It makes you sad that sometimes you can pray for that person but you can’t do more.

In biblical times this was even worse.

They didn’t have the doctors or health system we are blessed with today.

On top of it, a lot of people looked at it, if you were sick or in pain, you did something to tick God off and nobody would spent time with you.

In Acts chapter 3 was one of those times.

A man who was crippled from birth was picked up and dropped off in front of the temple gate called beautiful.

He would spend time begging from people.

Peter and John walked by this man.

They started to talk to him.

He thought they were going to give him money instead they said and you see the response in the next verse Acts 3:6-8…

“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.  He jumped to his feet and began to walk.”

People who knew this man would walk by and say, how is this man walking?

He praised God.

God performed many miracles in that day.

Jesus healed many people in his ministry, but there was so much more to Jesus then just healing people.

He taught them and he forgave them.

In a class I took my first year at Bible college the professor posed the question:

“Which was easier for Jesus, healing or forgiving?”

The answer…

Healing, forgiving people put him on the cross.

While Peter and John were able to heal the people in the name of Jesus, we don’t see this happen much today.

At least in our minds.

I have seen some amazing people that were given no chance to live and overcome all odds and get better.

I mostly see a different type of miracle.

A miracle in someone’s mind.

I have seen and experienced what Jesus has done for me and many other people.

I have seen when people have had a bitter heart towards someone else for years all of a sudden become close again.

People were abused, raped, hurt in almost every way you could imagine and were able to forgive those people and not that that traumatic event control them.

Jesus does miracles every day and sometimes because it’s not a miraculous healing in our mind it’s not that huge.

Jesus forgives people for the greatest mistakes they could make and those people can be knew again.

Hearing Ty fall of the bunk bed is scary, and we are glad he is alright.

That was something small.

God can help us work on the areas we fall short in.

Forgiveness and moving on in life.

Did Jesus die on the cross for your sins so you could have hatred and mean spirited feeling towards other people?

Or did he die on the cross to forgive you of your sins and allow you to forgive other people and show them grace?

Jesus can heal your hearts and allow you to move past those hurts that are slowing him down, but first you have to make the decision to believe in him and believe he died on the cross for all of your mistakes, shortcomings and sins.

Are you ready to move on from that bitterness?

Jesus can make that happen.

Pray to him and see what can happen.

Have a great day.

Speaking in tongues

A line was forming at the checkout of a grocery store.

A couple of men were waiting behind another gentleman who had an obvious glow behind him.

The couple of men found out just like them he was Christian and started to talk about faith.

Soon this man asked the couple of guys, “So have you guys been able to speak in tongues yet?”

“No,” they replied.

He explains to them in more or less words, you haven’t lived till you have been able to speak in tongues.

As the man left and wished them well, they had a little laugh, one of them was a bible college president.  (this is a true story I heard, but I can’t come up with the exact details as it happened several years ago, so I am not giving any credits to it).

I have heard many thoughts, scripture and desires when it comes to speaking in tongues.

As I read through Acts chapter 2 verses 1-13, this is the main verse I am focusing on Acts 2:4-8…

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.  Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.  Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?  Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?”

Speaking in tongues is one of the ways the Church gets separated, I will explain what happened above and give conclusions and then my take on this.

In this scripture it mentions being filled with the Holy Spirit and then beginning to speak in tongues.

This is different from Acts 2:38, repent and be baptized each and every one of  you and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This is not meant just to be able to speak in tongues. 

This different scripture comes up in Acts 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 9:17 and 13:9, 52.

This is where the Holy Spirit can come up to you not only at the moment of baptism but in other ways.

The way it’s described in Acts 2:38 comes up again in 11:15-16; Romans 6:3; 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Colossians 2:12.

When looking at Acts 2:4-8, most bibles will have a footnote next to tongues and in the footnote it will say…or languages.

So where it says “they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues,” it could be read like this, “they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages.”

The original bible uses the word dialekto, this word translates to the word language.  This what gives way in 1 Corinthians 2, 10, 19 and 12-14.

This is where I struggle with speaking in tongues today.

In the bible they used moments like Acts 2:4-8 to speak to a huge crowd of people.

This would be like going to the crowd at the Olympics you start talking in English and people who are Russian, German, Spanish, Ethiopian, Swedish and Canadian can hear what you are saying in English and understanding every single word in their own language.

They asked each other how can we understand them we don’t speak their language yet we can understand them?

Speaking in tongues is used differently today.

Through my lifetime and before coming to my own faith, I attended several different churches (Catholic, Lutheran, Non-denominational, southern gospel, Baptist, Community Church amd Christian Church).

I have been to Churches that have believed in speaking in tongues and I have been in Churches that have believed in speaking in tongues and needing a translator.

I talked to a friend who believes in speaking in tongues but believes you need a translator.

He once walked into a service and found out they spoke in tongues, they  didn’t have a translator so he walked out.

In bible times they used this so crowds of people could understand what they were saying and the message they wanted to share about Jesus.

This is completely different then the speaking in tongues today.

Today speaking in tongues is done mostly in Sunday morning worship settings, sometimes with translators and sometimes without.

I struggle with this.

If speaking in tongues was done in public setting where anyone could hear the message, why do we subjugate it to a certain denomination of Church and just in a Church building?

I believe that the speaking in tongues in the bible is not the same speaking in tongues that we used today.

I have heard of one story with an exchange student that didn’t speak any English and she was able to recite perfect English through speaking in tongues.

That happened once and I have never heard of anything like that ever again.

This brings me to why people speak in tongues today….

1.      They get caught up in the worship and don’t know how to express themselves (In the 1800’s people would get so caught up in emotions in revivals people would scream nonsense and bark up trees).
2.      When they are caught up in worship this is what happens.
3.      They see someone else do it and feel like doing it themselves.
4.      They think it’s an act of prayer.
5.      Feel called to do it.
6.      I don’t know.

There is a lot I am not sure of, but I don’t believe the speaking in tongues in Churches today represents the biblical reasoning for speaking in tongues.

If we felt like God was giving us the ability to speak in tongues, why is it only done inside a Church?

Why isn’t in done in a public area instead of in a Church building?

Why don’t I see this happen in a restaurant or a major sports event?

I have yet to go to a public place where multiple different languages were spoke and someone spoke in tongues on behalf of Jesus.

So when I look at how people speak in tongues today, I look at it as an expression done in a worship setting where you let yourself go, voice, mind and spirit.

The translating part I believe is garbage because the miracle of speaking in tongues was everyone could understand in their own language and did not need to be translated.

The miracle was in the ability to listen not to speak.

If you are thinking will I not associate with these people because they believe this, you are wrong.

Jesus said this is Mark 9:40…

“for whoever is not against us is for us.”

Speaking in tongues is not a deal breaker for me.

I have plenty of friends that believe in speaking in tongues and are minister’s at churches that do or go to church there.

That’s cool, the main thing is worshiping God with our lives.

I will not attend a church that believes in speaking in tongues personally but the gospel message is way more important than a churches view on speaking in tongues.

Our main goal is to reach people with the gospel message and that is why I work hand and hand with people of multiple denominations and we have been able to do some amazing things we would not have done without each other’s help.

There is much love I have for those that carry to name Christian and speaking in tongues is not a reason to disassociate with someone.

It’s the same way with Churches that don’t believe in instruments in the Church, that’s their thing, they like it that way.

I wouldn’t attend that Church but I am not going to hate those people for that reason.

Summing this entire thing up…

I don’t believe in speaking in tongues today represents the biblical way it was meant for.

I will still associate with people that believe in speaking in tongues (Mark 9:40).

Jesus loves all of us and the most important message is for us to share this and not argue about smaller things like instruments in church or speaking in tongues.

If you read to this point I appreciate that.

Have a great day.

I got your back

There is no offense like a good defense.

When thinking of sports I thought this was dumb.

I always thought if you attacked more and put up a lot of points, you would be doing well.

The older I get the more I value a good defense.

The 1995 Detroit Lions were a lock for the playoffs and it was because of their offense.

Their QB Scott Mitchell had a touchdown to interception ratio of 32-12.  Barry Sanders rushed for 1,500 yards and Herman Moore and Brett Perriman each had over 100 catches on the year.

The offense was unstoppable….until the playoffs.

The Lions lost to the Eagles 10-7.

They were such a good offense but could only manage 7 points?

Defense matters.

There is something about protection and knowing someone is there to stop bad stuff from happening.

In football a good defense can make a world of difference and protect a team.

It goes beyond that in life.

We all need good protection, someone to watch our back, protect us from something bad happening.

Jesus started out John chapter 17 (Jesus longest section of scripture on prayer) on prayer and he continues on in the next section.

Listen to this part of prayer, talks about the disciples…

“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”

They lived for Christ and as a result Christ lived for them.

In his prayer he asks for protection for them.

This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t face trials, temptations and tribulations, but that God would watch over them when bad stuff happens.

Who watches over you when bad stuff happens?

Do you try to handle it on your own?

Do you go to others for help?

Bad stuff happens in this world, this is why people have different types of insurance in case bad things do happen.

God has the ability to protect us in ways we don’t have in human ways.

I believe there have been multiple times in my life when something really bad should or could have happened and God is the only reason something worse didn’t happen.

How about you?

The Lions had a good offense but lacked the ability to protect the endzone more than the Eagles and lost.

Who protects and watches over you to make sure bad stuff doesn’t happen?

Imagine the different that can make.

Have a great day.

I don't need to go to church to be a good Christian

We can have our own ideas about faith that can be off.

Time and time again I come to points I realize this and I can look back on my life at times when I thought I was right on but ended up being way off.

Some mistakes I have made with faith….

·         I don’t need to go to Church to be a good Christian – I used to think the Church was full of hypocrites that actually drew people further from Christ then closer.  I thought I was a better Christian when I didn’t attend Church then when I did.  I despised to walk in a church door, see the fake smiles, the people that only cared about you showing up to their church on Sunday mornings.  I have since found out that everyone who attends church sins and will till the die we die.  Going to church isn’t about being perfect, it’s about recognizing the one who was perfect and trying to learn how to model him more in everyday life.  Being a Christian and not going to church is like walking with a broken leg, sure it’s possible but it’s not easy.  I tried to be a Christian and not go to Church, it doesn’t work well.

·         Bargaining with God – I used to be a person who would bargaining with God.  God if you did ______ for me then I promise I will spend an hour a day in prayer.  It’s God not a salesman,  it’s God’s will be done.

·         I don’t need to read the Old Testament (OT) because of the New Testament – I thought reading the Old Testament was pointless.  Everything God wanted to say got change when Jesus came so the Old Testament is pointless.  Man was I wrong.  Through schooling and through my personal study, I can honestly I was very wrong.  The OT has helped me through learning about who God is and what it was like to follow him.  Many people in the Old Testament were like us today, trying to live for God and not being perfect.  Some of the most known prophets struggled with sin and living for God at some point in their life.  I can honestly say I don’t know if I would still be a minister today without ready through the wisdom literature and Psalms.  They were put at a time I really struggled with my calling and was depressed.  There is a reason for the Old Testament, it took me a while to find it.

Why did I reflect on this?

For this reason…..

·         I thought you had to have your hands together, eyes closed and looking down when praying.

This is how Jesus prays in John 17:1…

“After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: Father, the time has come.  Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”

This scripture was right after a section of scripture in which God was telling about some sad news to the disciples that would be good news soon enough.

Jesus continues by switching into prayer.

I used that there was a certain way to pay.

When I was at Great Lakes Christian College, one of the professors mention something along the lines of: Where does it say in scripture you can’t have your eyes open in prayer to God?  I think that was created by a Sunday School teacher of young kids to keep their hands to themselves when praying.

It was simple but made sense.

I have since tried different methods in prayer.

Sometimes I look up when I pray, sometimes I have my eyes open and there is nothing wrong with this.

Most of the time I have my eyes closed because it helps me focus on the prayer still.

We can all have different ideas on what faith is about.

Sometimes we can be right on and sometimes we can be pretty off base.

What is faith to you?

Is there something you do but have no reason why you do it other than it’s the way I always practiced my faith?

What makes up your faith?

Could you be off base?

Have a great day.

The Temptations, more than a musical group

The Temptations were a great musical group, temptation is not so great.

As we try to move on in life and get better as people, sometimes it feels like were constantly tempted to do things we are not supposed to and do not want to do.

I usually try to watch what I eat, for the most part of the day, I will do great, but there is one meal that gets me and brings me down.

That one meal I will usually turn a great day into a bad health day in one meal.

Thus the reason I have trouble reaching my goal weight of being 175 and in good shape.

I am tempted to eat bad all day, and for the most part, I do great.

One meal I will eat bad and it ruins my progress.

Temptation is something we all have to deal with in life.

Jesus was no different.

After he was baptized at about the age of 30, he went into the desert and was tempted by the devil for 40 days.

Being tempted is a fact of life.

We are all tempted to do things we don’t want to do.

Jesus reminds us this in Luke 22:40 and again in verse 46…

“Pray so you will not fall into temptation.”

The second time he says, “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Notice how he said pray that you won’t fall into temptation instead of you won’t be tempted anymore.

Temptation is something we all have to deal with until the day we die.

We will be tempted to do things we won’t want to do.

Temptation is not the problem, falling into temptation is the problem.

It’s when we give into temptation when we let people down including ourselves.

How do you get those things out of your life that you don’t want to do?

Pray.

It’s not the end all, but without God in your life, you’re not going to get through anything that you struggle with.

Stay strong, realize that you can improve as a person.

Include God and other people to fight your battles and your struggles.

You can get over your problems, pray, get help from friends you can be completely honest with, and head in a positive direction.

There are many things we can’t conquer, but with the help of God and other people, nothing is impossible.

Have a great day.