Created uniquely in God’s image

In the beginning God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God, He created them male and female.  Genesis 12:26

All men and women are created in God’s image! Whether black, brown, red or white, we are all created in His image.  And we are all created uniquely, designed for His purpose. No one is better than the other and we are loved equally by God. Just like children are different in every family, we all are different with unique skills and abilities and opportunities to do what we were created to do. 

In 1 Corinthians 12 we are reminded that in the body of Christ there are many parts, toes, hands and eyes etc. All are needed and valuable in God’s world and none are more significant than the other. 

Our sin comes when we start comparing ourselves to others. It is only natural to compare but when we measure our lives against others, we can sin in one of two ways. We can become prideful and feel superior like the righteous brother of the prodigal son, or we may become envious of others and feel cheated or a victim of unfairness.  

In Galatians 5:25-26 we read “Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.” The Message translation. 

I was perplexed at first when I was told by some of my black friends that we weren’t supposed to be “color blind”.  I had been told most of my life that to be “color blind” to all races was the goal.  Over time I began to understand their viewpoint.  The goal is not to ignore differences but to acknowledge and celebrate our uniqueness. 

Galatians 5:26 addresses this issue. We should realize there are differences in all of us and it is not a sin to recognize those differences. Differences are actually what make the world interesting. Ethnic differences extend way beyond the color of our skin, to cultural and values. I’ve been all over the world and enjoyed the unique cultures. One way to help you better understand this biblical truth is to take a mission trip to another country and work along side of the people in that country.  Get to know them and experience their culture first hand. It is especially refreshing to experience the different culture but discover how bonded you are by the same biblical values. 

Our struggle is how to live out of God’s reality that we are all created uniquely and different but no one more significant, while living in a world that constantly evaluates people and every action.  We live in a world that loves to compete, and compare, reward or shame. 

Perhaps the best way to fight our urge to compare is to not focus on our shortcomings, hardships and insecurities, but instead count our many blessings and focus on and be thankful for life itself and for what God has done for us individually.

Beyond our blessings of eternal life and a relationship with Jesus, we should also thank God every day for living in the greatest time in all of history, with the greatest opportunities, the most resources, food, tools, digital gadgets at our fingertips to make our lives safer, easier and more convenient.  We can travel all over the world quickly and relatively cheap, communicate with anyone anywhere at anytime. 

Yes, and if you live in the United States, no matter your race or financial status, consider yourself privileged! We have more opportunities and freedoms to be successful than any country in the history of the world. Even if you are in the lowest income bracket, consider yourself fortunate because you could have lived in Europe in the 14th century during the Black Death or Bubonic plagues or any other country or time in history.  

In Christ, we are created with unique gifts to do amazing things and because we live in America in the 21 century, we have all the opportunities and everything we need at our disposal to accomplish God’s unique calling given to each of us. Let us focus on how we can best use our gifts to love God and love others. 

The Greatest Gift

Ephesians 2:8-10

For it is grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s masterpiece, created to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

This past week I was preparing a sermon and I was trying to think of a way to illustrate God’s wonderful gifts we find in this incredible passage. In my office I glanced up and saw a nesting doll that I had bought for my wife during a trip to Russia. This is a hand painted figurine of Vince Young of the Texas Longhorns. And he comes apart and inside is another player, Jaamal Charles and in that doll is another player, etc.   I was shocked that I would find a Texas Longhorns doll in Russia!

It suddenly occurred to me that the nesting doll is a great illustration of God’s gifting as illustrated in the scripture passage. 

Eph. 2:8 tells of God’s greatest gift; salvation, a relationship with Jesus for eternity. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works,

There is so much to this relationship and when we open the gift of salvation, we find another gift, that of identity (For we are God’s masterpiece). 

When we understand that “it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me,” and live from that new identity, we soon discover the gift of purpose (created in Christ Jesus to do good works). I now know my purpose comes from God and why I was put on this earth. 

As I live from my purpose, I discover my calling, the way I fulfill my purpose (which God prepared in advance for us to do).

As I live out my calling, I discover my unique spiritual gifts that help me do what God has called me to do. 

Just like the nesting doll, within each gift is another gift. But we must open each gift and apply it in order to realize the next gift. 

So often we receive the gift of salvation and never exercise the faith to realize the riches in Christ that come with salvation. 

Many search for an identity other than Christ and live for self rather than from their created purpose and never discover their calling or utilize their spiritual gifts. 

Jesus said I have come to give you the abundant life and we can realize life to the fullest when we open each gift given to us. 

Who, Why and How 

Identity: Who we are

Purpose: Why we are here 

Calling: How we fulfill our purpose

Keys To The Abundant Life

I recently had the opportunity to teach a large singles class at Hill Country Bible Church for three weeks and the topic was the abundant life.  I explained how Jesus told us in John 10:10 that he had come to give us the abundant life, life to the fullest.  So we talked about what this life was here on earth and and what it wasn’t. We discussed whether or not we personally had experienced the abundant life and whether you could say that God had done more in your life than you could have asked or imagined (Eph. 3:20). Or, had you felt that life had never met your expectations.

I asked the singles to help me come up with a list of the characteristics of the abundant life we experience while we are living.  And through our discussions, these are the characteristics mentioned:

• Purpose and meaning
• Gifts of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control
• Receiving and giving Forgiveness
• A new perspective of living for God and not self
• Contentment
• Power to overcome sin
• Hope
• Healthy Relationships with others
• Grace-filled life
• Healing
• Generosity
• Security and freedom (Bible is our road map and the Holy Spirit our guide)

And a few things that the abundant life is not:

• Material things, prosperity
• Status and power
• The American dream
• Life free of trouble
• A perfect spouse. 

We also talked about obstacles that prevent us from experiencing the abundant life and decided the four most important were:

• Disconnection from the vine John 15
• Faulty Expectations
• Living outside the boundaries God established (Seven deadly sins)
• Living from fear instead of faith 

We discussed how sad it is that some Christians never realize the life God would have them live.  And yet many have experienced this life, whether for a moment in time or for long extended periods. And those times when we experience the full life are when we choose to die to self and walk through the doors of faith.  God gives us opportunities and choice. But to experience the abundant life we have to say yes to God often.  This usually takes risk and lots of faith and trust in Him. Those choices are not always the most logical ones and most of the time they require us to move from the security and safety of our comfort zone and to make changes in our lives.  When we live from the purpose he called us to live, with passion from the unique talents He has given us, to love and impact others, we can and will experience this abundant life!

Keys to experiencing more of the abundant life:

• Stay connected to the vine. Prayer and reading the Bible
• Stay within God’s boundaries 
• Dream God-size dreams that require risk and stepping out of your comfort and security zone
• Say yes to God often when He presents you with opportunities
• Choose people to join you on the journey who will encourage, direct and help you. You can’t do anything great by yourself! 

Who are you in 25 words or less?

Ask that question to someone today and see if they can answer.  I’d bet most people couldn’t do it in 25 words.  Can you? If you are a follower of Christ, you should be able to answer that question and the answer should include your purpose for living.

Baylor’s new head football coach, Matt Rhule was asked at a conference recently, “If you could have every one of your players wake up in the morning and think of one thing, what would it be?”  He answered. "I think the biggest thing that I want to talk to our players about all the time, if I can get them to think about, is ‘Who am I? And what’s my purpose?”

Knowing your purpose and living from it is a crucial element to experiencing the abundant life that Jesus said he came to give us.  But we often confuse our purpose with our passion. Coach Rhule explained it this way. “My purpose in life is not to be a football coach. That’s my passion. I love it. I would do this, but I would do this for free. My purpose in life is to minister to kids, that’s what God put me on this Earth to do, is to work with young people. My passion is to do it through football. And our kids sometimes think that their purpose is to play football. No – it’s their passion. What their purpose is, is to be wonderful fathers, and sons, and people to grow in their walk with the Lord.” 

Most people when asked “who are you?” answer by describing their job, what they do for a living and perhaps their marital status and family.  It’s interesting what defines us.  But the greatest thing that should truly define a person is the answer to the question, why am I here on this earth?  What is my purpose for being?

If you are on Facebook or LinkedIn, you have an area where you can describe yourself in your profile.  On Facebook you are allowed only to use 100 characters in the initial intro to describe yourself.  Here is a great place to state your purpose but it is difficult to get into 100 characters.
The point though is to describe yourself with a purpose statement and make it short enough where you can remember it, share it and live from it.

As a follower of Christ, my purpose comes from my relationship with Jesus.  My passion is how I live out that purpose.  When you get to serve in an area of passion, and fulfill your purpose through your passion, you will experience the abundant life Jesus said he came to give us.  Know your purpose and live it out through your passion!

Here are links to other blogs I posted about purpose and calling.
The Power of Purpose talks about how purpose determines our path in life
Find Your One Thing talks about God's purpose for the Jews during Moses' time
The Most Important Thing talks about what is really important in our lives

Abundant Life or Redundant Life, your choice

Joey on the left, Brandon in the middle and team Heart of Texas

Jesus said as recorded in John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

This verse came to my mind while reading the testimony of Joey Kelly.  Joey is my wife’s stepbrother’s son.  He posted his incredible story on Facebook recently to expound on a story alluded to on the NBC show Spartan: The Ultimate Team Challenge. Joey is competing with his adopted brother/cousin, Brandon, in the competition which is aired on Monday nights.  Joey’s sister Ally won the American Gladiator competition several years ago, and turned that into a successful business, Camp Gladiator. So this is a very athletic, physically fit family, made for a team competition like the Spartan team challenge.      

During their team’s introduction, the show makes a brief statement that Brandon lost his mother and brother in a fire when he was a teenager.  Well that wasn’t totally true and it's hardly the whole story. His mother and brother were killed by his father, John Brickley with a butcher knife and his father set the house on fire to cover up the crime, setting himself on fire in the process.  Joey, age12, at the time was there at the house, spending the night with his cousin Mikey when the attack occurred.  

It is a miraculous story of how Joey avoided death but also overcame years of pain, heartache, and psychological affliction dealing with the nightmarish experience in which he witnessed his cousin stabbed to death and survived an attack. It beautifully illustrates Jesus' statement in John 10:10.

Joey decided to tell the whole story and he has written beautifully on Facebook about what actually happened and how his faith in Christ saved his life.  He writes in detail how his cousin Mikey died and how close he was to dying also.  Joey said he watched as the father stabbed Mikey and he couldn’t move.  He wanted to save Mikey but perhaps something held him back because he would have probably been killed also if he had tried to rescue Mikey.   

Joey wrote, I couldn’t and didn’t move even as John, the father, got up and slowly walked over to me. He slammed me against the wall and I vividly remember thinking “I’m about to die...this is how I’m gonna die.”

I closed my eyes and had my arms up in front of my chest like I was trying to curl up into a ball. This was ridiculously divine as John attempted to stab me in the chest, but accidentally stabbed me through my arm and the knife just barely scratched my chest right over my heart.

Not only was I thinking about how I was about to die, I remember a feeling of complete acceptance of that notion and I gave up even attempting to survive. A grown man had me pinned against the wall and had a knife in me. I just wanted to die quickly. He took the knife out and tried to stab me again. God intervened on my behalf. This is really hard for me to explain, but it’s true. I blinked...and I was gone. I was about 10 feet away from John. I remember opening my eyes and thinking “how did I get over here?”

I know it sounds crazy, but God pushed me out of the way or something...whatever it was, I know with everything in me that it was a miracle. There is absolutely no way I should be alive today.

He chased me downstairs and we went around the bottom floor for a while. It’s hard to judge time in that situation. I don’t know if that went on for 5 minutes or 30 minutes, but I do remember thinking I might bleed to death. I did a lot of begging for my life and he never said anything. He was determined to kill me.

However, I heard him go back upstairs and felt it was my chance to make a break for it. I escaped to the neighbors, told them what happened, and they called the police.

A few minutes later, the house went up in flames. John accidentally lit himself on fire too and was rolling around in the front yard.

In no time police and fire trucks were there, followed by my parents. That is the true, full story. Phyllis and Mikey were stabbed to death, and then burned. I’m also a victim of domestic violence and by God’s grace had my life saved.

Joey goes on to tell how he grew up in a Christian home and gave his life to Christ at the age of 7 but the tragedy pushed him away from God, not understanding why God would allow this to happen.

He writes in his story, In high school, I was also holding on to that bitterness towards God. Considering what I had been through, I felt that I had the right to act out...to go “crazy”...so I did just that.  My senior year especially, I chased anything and everything but God. Partying, girls, popularity, etc. I was living life for me and lost sight of my identity in Christ.

Those were the problems on the surface. Along the way I battled a slew of issues...depression, post-traumatic stress, survivor’s guilt, guilt that I didn’t try to save Mikey, and unforgiveness towards my uncle.  I chased all of those shallow things to distract me from dealing with all of those issues and to fill the void of not living for God.

At that point, the thief was winning the battle. Satan had stolen whatever abundant life Joey had, but the story didn’t end there. Satan would not be victorious over Joey or Brandon.  Joey's turning point was early on in his freshman year in college. 

I was attending Grace Bible Church and I can’t even remember the message, but it hit me like a ton of bricks that God had saved my life for a reason and that for the most part, I had been wasting my second chance by living for myself. God wanted me to live for him.

Joey sought Christian counseling, getting the help he needed to deal with all of the trauma, pain and guilt and turn his life around. He started putting his life and faith in Christ, trusting Him, walking with Him on a daily basis, and began to heal. He is now experiencing the true abundant life, fully alive, living for God and sharing his story so that others might choose the abundant life over the redundant life.  He explains it this way in his post. 

Chasing things outside of what God had for me was pretty much always fun in the moment, but always left me feeling empty and unsatisfied. In a weird way, I’m glad I experienced a lot of earthly pleasures, because now I know for sure that nothing compares to living for the Lord. Ever since turning my life around, I’ve never experienced so much joy and satisfaction.  Life is meant to be about loving and serving God and people. I have never looked back.

The apostle Paul wrote similar words in Philippians 3:8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.

Paul too contrasted life before Christ with that after his encounter with Christ, and like Joey, expresses that there is no comparison.  His other life, of self-righteousness, power and prestige was “dung” when compared to what he is now experiencing.  And Paul is writing from a prison cell!  

Many Christians today either take for granted the “riches in Christ” they have or just never access them.  As Paul says, they are unfathomable, deeper and far greater than we can imagine. Many of those riches can be quantified, and they include purpose, direction, identity, freedom, hope, wise counsel, love, forgiveness, security, comfort, spiritual gifts and the ability to love and forgive.  Joey received every one of these as he began to wade into that relationship with Jesus.  And the deeper he waded in, the more of the blessings he received.  

Joey's cousin and adopted brother Brandon’s story is just as compelling.  Brandon was asleep at his dad’s apartment when all this occurred.  He was awakened early in the morning by the police and his uncle Neal to be told that his mother and brother had been killed and his father seriously burned in a fire.  Brandon seemed to make the transition to his new family (he was adopted after the tragedy by Joey's family), without the rebellion and depression. His faith and walk with Jesus was strong and helped him overcome the grief and pain.  Brandon served several years on the mission field and has shared his heart-rending story of overcoming tragedy and evil to many around the world to bring them to Christ.   

All of the blessings of an abundant life and more are available to all Christians. But the interesting thing is we cannot realize the abundant life by pursuing the blessings.  The only way we can realize this amazing life is if we pursue the Blessed One, Jesus.  

Actually, the relationship with Jesus is the greatest blessing.  As Max Lucado so eloquently wrote, the cache of faith is Christ! Fellowship with him…walking with him…pondering him. The heart-stopping realization that in Christ you are part of something endless, unstoppable, unfathomable! And that he, who can dig the Grand Canyon with his pinkie, thinks you’re worth his death on Roman cross!  Jesus Christ is the reward of Christianity!

It’s your choice, though.  Abundant life or a redundant life.  

Read Joey’s full Facebook story here. 

Joey and Brandon’s team, Heart of Texas, won their first challenge and will compete again Monday, July 10 at 9:00 pm on NBC.

This is what's missing for many Americans today!

A recent study showed that more Americans than ever before are suffering from depression, stress, and anxiety. It doesn't go into the reasons but I can surmise that it has a lot to do with hope...the absence of hope. It only goes to reason in today's crazy politicized, immoral, violent, and super charged society, where every ounce of bad news is made known almost instantaneously, that there is a very real sense of gloom and despair. Often when the future looks hopeless and you find yourself in a no way out situation, you can experience anxiety, stress and even depression.

My wife and I experienced that on a small scale during our recent vacation to Yellowstone.  We had flown to Denver, rented a car and drove to Yellowstone, spending time in Grand Teton National Park on the way up. It was a fantastic trip, but while we were in Yellowstone an unexpected storm dumped a large amount of snow throughout Wyoming and Colorado.  On our way back to Denver, we stayed overnight in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

We got up early the next day to drive the remaining 300 miles to Denver only to find that Interstate 80 was closed because of the huge amount of snowfall.  So we programmed our GPS to give us another route and we headed out on a state road south of Rock Springs that was the fastest course to Denver.

I had a half a tank of gas and had planned to get gas in Colorado, figuring it would be cheaper. But as we traveled away from Rock Springs and began to examine our route we realized that we were out in the middle of nowhere. There were no towns, not even farm or ranch houses, and there were few cars on the road, which was fairly clear except for some spotty ice.  We only had a map of Wyoming and a slim part of northern Colorado.  When we lost connection for our GPS, I really began to become anxious. The further we got from Rock Springs the more worried I became. I didn't want to turn back and waste all that time but the path ahead was very uncertain and I didn't know if we had enough gas to get to the next town and we couldn't even see another town.

When we hit the Colorado border the highway turned into a dirt road!  I'm thinking, they closed an interstate highway and I'm on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and there are storm clouds ahead! Now I had gone from anxious to near panic mode. I had lost most all hope because I didn't have any confidence in where I as going, no road map or clear path.

So even though we had driven for a full hour, we turned around and went back to Rock Springs to try another route. As we headed out of Rock Springs a sign declared, "road closed ahead, take alternative route," so we turned back again and sought some advice at the visitor center.  We were told there was a third route which required us to backtrack even further but it seemed to be open and the road was a state highway.

Off we went after filling the gas tank, and headed to Denver a third time. It took us a lot longer but the route was clear and the scenery was spectacular.  Having a full tank of gas and a confident path, knowing my destination made all the difference in the world. All the stress and anxiety was lifted and I could enjoy the trip and the incredible mountains and canyons of Utah and Colorado.

I was reminded of the verse in 1 Peter 3:15 which says "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 

Having hope, knowing the destination, and that no matter what we are going through, Jesus is with us and we will be victorious in the end makes all the difference in how we live our lives today. Without hope, it is difficult to have joy and peace.  With hope we can enjoy life even when we go through the storms of life.  It is this hope that is missing in so many of our citizens today.  Everyone needs the hope of Jesus Christ and the assurance that even death is not our final destination.

The power over worry and anxiety

Photo by John Hain Pixaby.com

During the early morning hours I often find myself thinking the most pessimistic thoughts. I’m not sure exactly why it is, but it's in the waking up period as I contemplate what I have to do that I seem to have the most anxiety. The self talk focuses on the negative and I have to fight the mental battle to stay positive. Once I'm up and going, I don't seem to have a problem.

One way I’ve discovered to overcome the early morning anxiety is to remember what my purpose is, what I was created by God to do.  I remind myself with a statement asking God to go with me and declaring my faith and trust in Him. Meditating on that statement and spending time in prayer helps me overcome my worry.

David Guinn recently posted what the men and women of the Bible might have said as they readied themselves to take on the day.  We can use these examples to help us with our personal declaration. When we start each day off on a positive note, it helps relieve our anxieties and makes our day much more productive.

● Moses would say, "Lord, if You don't go with us or before us, we are not going anywhere."

● Abraham would say, "The Lord will provide."

● Jacob would say, "I won't let go of You unless You bless me."

● Joshua would say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

● Samuel would say, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening."

● Nehemiah would say, "The joy of the Lord is my strength."

● David would say, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." and "This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it."

● Solomon would say, "Trust in the Lord, oh my soul, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path."

● Isaiah would say, "Arise and shine for my Glory has come." and "No weapon formed against me shall prosper."

● Jeremiah would say, "The Lord has plans to prosper me and not to harm or fail me."

● Jabez would say, "Oh, that you may bless me and enlarge my territory."

● Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would say, "We will not bow down to any image but will serve the Lord."

● Ezekiel would say, "Any dry bones in my life, live again."

Choose your daily statement of faith. Meditate on it! Speak it over your life every morning! What is your daily declaration? Mine would be, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!"

Learning from the Spurs Way

"We don't talk about MVP awards. We don't talk about any awards," Gregg Popovich said, when asked if Kawhi Leonard should be MVP. The buzz was all about Kawhi and his amazing late game heroics in the Spurs come-from-behind victory over the Houston Rockets. "We don't talk about championships. We just play the game. Everybody tries to do what they can to make the team better, and whatever records or awards or wins that come, that's the way it is," Coach Pop exclaimed to reporters.

The San Antonio Spurs do things differently in the NBA. While most of the teams pride themselves in having flashy players and promote their players as MVP candidates, the Spurs intentionally keep out of the limelight and focus on one thing: playing their best.  Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs soft spoken forward certainly has risen to become one of the top players in the league and a Most Valuable Player candidate this year.  But you won't hear coach Gregg Popovich promoting any Spur for MVP.

What is refreshing in this world that keeps detailed statistics of most everything and celebrates records of every sort, comparing individuals and teams, the Spurs don't care about any of it. They focus on each player doing their best for the good of the team. Their attitude is that we can't control all outcomes. The only real thing we can control is our effort. When we focus on effort and execution, then we can let go of our need to control the outcome.

I'm reminded of the scripture in Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. When we focus on doing our best for Jesus, we can always be content with the outcome even if we come in second. Sure we want to win but our world doesn't fall apart when we don't.

Our true measuring stick should be our own capacity to excel. There will be others who are naturally better and we will not win every contest or challenge in life. But if we do our best for God, we can always hold our heads high and be encouraged to press on.  The awards may or may not come on this earth, but far greater awaits us in heaven.

Keeping the main thing the main thing

One of the biggest problems we face in life is keeping focused on the most important thing.  Whether it's in our personal lives, business or church, the temptation to drift from your purpose is always a concern.  We see it in politics when candidates drift from the important issues and sports when players get distracted  and hurt their teams by getting unsportsmanlike penalties.  When we lose our focus, we seldom accomplish our goal.

One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 12:1-3 which speaks to the importance of maintaining focus "fixing our eyes on Jesus" and removing anything that distracts from that purpose, "throw off everything that hinders” or anything that keeps us from living the life God intended us to live. This is so important that there is a crowd of heroes of the faith cheering you on, to not be distracted and bound by the world's temptations and sin, to keep focused on the main thing.

For churches, keeping focused on the main thing is extremely difficult also. The 21st century church in America has drifted a long way from what the early church focused on which was to make disciples who make disciples. Now the church has become many things to all of us and the pastor's dilemma is that we get into so many well meaning activities that the main purpose gets put on the back burner for a season or sometimes gets neglected altogether.

I recently met with a staff member of a church who was hired to oversee several ministries of the church including missions. He was frustrated because there seemed to be no direction for any of the ministries. Many voices expressed a variety of opinions about what they should be doing and there was no limit on what "ministries" the church offered. The general rule was the more we provide, the more people we will reach.

Lost in all of the activities was the original purpose; to reproduce disciples. It's as if the church itself was ADHD. The staff, lay leaders and volunteers would jump from one emphasis to the next, juggling countless number of jobs but failing to do well the one thing that the church was created to do; multiply disciples.

When contemplating any ministry, shouldn't we begin by asking the question, will this help us accomplish our main purpose?  If so, then what is the best way we can do this to reproduce followers of Jesus?

Even in the ministry of missions, the purpose can get lost. We can do a lot of great things, supporting all kinds of beneficial missions from social support to missionaries on the field. We can send mission teams all over the world to work with all types of programs and churches. We can pat ourselves on the back, for all of our efforts but we often don't slow down enough to evaluate our missions, ministries and programs and whether they are accomplishing our goal of multiplying disciples.

When we view and filter ministry from that perspective, then a lot changes.  We don't do ministry because that's the way our denomination has always done it. We don't do ministry because so and so wants it. We don't do ministry because it puts butts in the seats. We do ministry to multiply disciples. Some ministries, even good things, may need to be tweaked or eliminated. Some long term, traditional acivities may need to be put on the shelf. This probably means some member’s pet ministry may have to be sacrificed.

These are difficult decisions and can be painful but Hebrews 12 conveys just how critical it is.  The whole spiritual world is rooting, cheering, encouraging you to not be distracted and keep your eye on, your focus on the main thing: Jesus.

More on keeping your focus click here

Faith in Christ gives athletes advantage in Olympics

There were a lot of amazing stories from the athletes in the Rio Olympics and many of those who won medals have used that platform to speak about their faith in Christ.  


David Bouda and Steele Johnson, after medaling in the synchronized diving competition, explained that their identity In Christ helped them stay grounded and unfazed by the pressures and demands of competing in the Olympics.  Watch the interview here.

Maya DiRado won two golds, a silver and bronze in her first and last Olympics, capping the final meet of her career with a stunning upset of triple gold-medalist Katinka Hosszu in the 200-meter backstroke. 

In an interview before the Olympics, Dorado explained how her faith in Christ helped her focus and stay grounded.  "Knowing that I’m a child of God and that his love for me is determined by nothing I can achieve or do on my own has given me a quiet confidence. I think that my faith has helped me chart my own course and pursue my goals when people around me may be going in different directions. Jesus’ love for me and all humanity is something that always helps me better love people around me when things get difficult. As for my swimming career, my faith has helped me remember that there are so many more important things in life worth doing. Swimming is a pretty selfish activity, and so I’ve always known that it can’t be my whole world."  Read interview here.

For the first time in history, the U.S. women swept the 100-meter hurdles event last night and won all three medals! When gold medalist Brianna Rollins was asked how she and her fellow athletes prepared for the race, she said "we formed a prayer circle this morning and we just let His presence come upon us. Watch interview after the race here.

The women's 4x400 team made up of Phyllis Francis, Courtney Okolo, Natasha Hastings and Allyson Felix won their race in Olympic record time. The four of them gathered in a circle at the end of each race, before they did any celebrating, and prayed.  

We heard from Michael Phelps how the faith of a mentor, Ray Lewis, and the book The Purpose Driven Life helped him recover from the depths of depression and reignited his passion to live. 

We also found out that Simone Biles, the greatest female gymnast in the world, learned her skills under the parenting of her adoptive Christian parents.  Ron and Nellie Biles credit their faith which compelled them to love unconditionally and to choose to adopt Simone and her sister and raise them with boundaries and Christian values.   

What I love about each story is that they don’t just make the common statement of thanks to God for winning, but share how their faith, in a tangible way, is responsible for where they are today. These are powerful examples of athletes who have excelled because of their faith in Christ, stories that have been witnessed by millions of people.   

Yes, life in Christ has its eternal rewards but it also gives us many advantages in the here and now.  When we exercise our faith, we can experience the abundant life that Jesus proclaimed He came to give us. Jesus wasn’t talking about gold medals, but a victorious life in the here and now connected to him with the ability to pursue your calling and overcome the adversity and challenges that keep you from realizing your purpose. 

The abundant life is not some mythical life but a tangible way of living by faith in a world that tries to chew you up and spit you out.  All of us, not just Olympic athletes, have the opportunity to live the abundant life Jesus came to give us if we only choose to live in Him.  

Here is a list of rewards that I have received as a result of my faith in Christ.  I wrote about them in a past blog.  

For Such A Time As This

If you were like me, you watched the men’s 4x100  freestyle relay on the edge of your seat screaming for the U.S. swimmers. With the win Michael Phelps now has 19 gold medals in his fifth Olympics. An unbelievable accomplishment may be an understatement.  And yet what may be even more incredible is his story, which he is telling freely, from the highs of winning gold medals to the depths of wanting to commit suicide and back again to a restored life of purpose.

After his second DUI, Phelps was at the lowest point of his life, ready to end it all. “He had no idea what to do with the rest of his life,” said his longtime coach, Bob Bowman. “It made me feel terrible. I remember one day I said: ‘Michael, you have all the money that anybody your age could ever want or need; you have a profound influence in the world; you have free time — and you’re the most miserable person I know. What’s up with that?’ ”

A lot of his story revolves around his strained relationship with his father who divorced and left the family when Michael was nine. But what Michael is telling but often overlooked is the catalyst for the change. 

Michael says that when he was at the bottom, Ray Lewis, a strong Christian and former NFL great, encouraged Michael to not give up and recommended the book, The Purpose Driven Life. The book gave Phelps new direction, new hope and a new purpose in life. The result is a new life, a reconciliation with his father and a story of redemption that he can tell to help others change their life.  If you haven't watched the full ESPN story, it is worth your time.  The Lewis part starts around the 7 minute mark.

Watch the story here.

I’m wondering where Phelps would be without that encouragement from Ray Lewis. I think about Esther and the words of Mordecai, “for such a time as this”. For Lewis, his act of obedience to help lift up Phelps in a time of great need was crucial.  

Where has God placed you in this moment? For whom can you be a catalyst for change? Don’t miss the opportunity to encourage someone today to live a life of purpose in Christ Jesus. It may be the difference between life and death. 

God's Flea Market Flip

One of the cable shows I enjoy is Flea Market Flip where two teams go head to head to see who can make the most money transforming unexpected diamonds in the rough they find in flea markets into higher dollar gems. 

What fascinates me is the creativity of the teams, turning what is often old worn out or broken furniture into unique, useful pieces of art, all in one day.  As I was watching the show, it dawned on me that this is a great picture of how God works in our lives.

Think about how God searches for us, undervalued, hidden treasures, wanting to redeem and transform us into masterpieces for His Kingdom! Yes, he purchases each person with his blood, restores us and re-purposes us in such a way that we become much more valuable for His Kingdom! 

In my case, I was living for myself, my objective just to be happy.  When God redeemed me, He gave me a whole new purpose and reason to live. I began to serve God by ministering to others, using my unique gifts and talents. It took much longer than a day, but over time, God sanded off much of my pride and selfishness and gave me a whole new life in the ministry.

I've heard personal story after story of how God has taken a person off the scrap pile of life and restored them into a whole new life.  Drug addicts, ex cons, broken marriages,  people who were basically thrown away, being restored and "flipped" to new life and purpose for Christ. 

Comedian and game show host, Steve Harvey is an example.  He recently shared his story to a college audience about being homeless and living out of his car for three years before God re-purposed his life.  Read his story here.

Even more so than the teams on Flea Market Flip, God's creativity is incredible. But different than Flea Market Flip, God wishes to re-purpose every life, not to sell to someone else but so that He can use and cherish us for His great purposes!  2 Cor. 5:17 

How has God re-purposed your life?  

Is Your Story in God's Story?

God's story of the creation of the earth and His purpose for his children is being written as you read this. If you are a child of God, you are in the book God is writing and you have your own chapter. You are writing that chapter now, and the experiences you have gone through are in that chapter and they are there to prepare you for the rest of the book, yet to be written. 

Why is this important?  Because the story of your life and how God has reconciled you is unique and significant. People need to hear your story because it represents the power of Christ, of what He has done and what He will do in the future. 

You may have grown up with two Christian parents like me and you think your story of becoming a follower of Christ to be rather boring. But I would bet there are some significant events that shaped your faith that are unique to you.  From the victories to the trials and heartbreaks of life, each experience has probably had some kind of relationship to your faith. Even though my story does not include a spectacular conversion, I look back and see significant events that chronicle a relationship with Jesus.

For me, I grew up with a thorough understanding of God's law because I had Christian parents but I had no clue about God's grace. It wasn't until I was invited to church by a high school friend that I began to learn about the grace of God. It was at this small church in West Covina, California that I would accept God's grace, become involved in the church for the first time and develop a passion for ministry. I vividly remember exchanging my life for Christ on a mountain side during a weekend church retreat. These four years radically shaped my understanding of God's grace and my purpose for living. Over the years, through my many mission trips and involvement with all kinds of people in ministry, my understanding of God's grace and truth has grown. It's like discovering the universe.  The further you go and the more of it you discover, the deeper it gets. You realize that you have just scratched the surface. 

I remember telling my story to a man from Scotland I was sitting next to on an African Safari. He and his mother were on a vacation of a lifetime and this safari was the highlight. The context of my story was that this Scottish man had been trying out the Mormon religion for a couple of years. I used my story to explain the difference between Christianity and Mormonism. It was a surreal experience because we were on this incredible photo safari, seeing amazing animals but he was more interested in hearing about the grace and love of Jesus Christ. He prayed to receive Christ the following day and I baptized him in a small pool attached to our lodge.  You never know how and when God will use your story to impact someone's life for Christ. 

What is your story?  How often have you shared it with others? There is someone who would benefit from your experience. When given the opportunity, ask someone about their story.  Give them a prompting to share and then share yours also.  You will both be blessed. And if you are not a follower of Jesus yet, God wants to include you in His book of life. Let Him write your chapter by giving your life to Him today!

How Katrina dramatically changed a Texas church

10 years ago, Austin Christian Fellowship, a large congregation in an affluent area of west Austin, had big plans.  Their big vision was to raise enough money to build a 4,000 seat worship auditorium on a hill, the highest point in west Austin.  It would face Austin and the congregation would have a beautiful view of the hill country and the skyline of Austin, making it the premiere church of Austin, Texas. 

But a hurricane changed all of that. Hurricane Katrina came nowhere near Austin, but Austin felt the impact as hundreds of the New Orleans residents that were displaced from their homes by Katrina were bused into Austin. Most of those sent to Austin were housed in the Austin convention center, and churches all over Austin began to offer aid. AFC Pastor Will Davis, during a sermon this summer, told about how Austin Christian Fellowship responded and how it radically changed him and the church. 

ACF was one of several churches that worked with the city and state officials in a coordinated effort to provide basic essentials for those displaced by Katrina. But Will explained that he felt God telling him to become personally involved.  So he went to the convention center and found a displaced family from New Orleans and took them to dinner. The encounter moved Will to such an extent that ACF not only helped the family find housing but assisted 20 other families also.  The whole experience radically changed the pastor, the leadership and the congregation's mindset for missions and passion to serve. 

At the time of Katrina, Pastor Will explained, ACF was giving about 1% of its budget to missions, local or global. This encounter so changed the mindset of the staff, leadership and congregation that the "big vision" of building a giant auditorium now seemed very small. That goal of building a massive worship center was replaced by a vision of serving their community and planting churches. Instead of growing vertically, ACF would make its impact through missions and growing God's kingdom horizontally. Since the encounter with the refugees of hurricane Katrina, the church has increased its giving every year to where they now give over 50% of their annual budget to local and global missions. They are planting churches throughout the city and sending mission teams all over the world. 

Isn't it amazing how God uses many things, events, people, and even a hurricane, to change hearts, minds and attitudes? Whether you are a pastor, deacon or member, perhaps the greatest way to change yourself and your world is to take a step of faith and join God in what he is doing.  When you "go" incredible things happen.  Go here to watch Will's entire sermon as he shares the story of how Katrina changed him and the church.

How Do I Smell To Others?

I happened upon a new reality TV show the other night while channel surfing. I admit I gravitate to the competition reality shows the most and this was a competition to see who would be the next weather personality. Don't laugh, this one episode actually was pretty entertaining for me because one of the contestants was a young pastor.  I was curious to see how he performed and how others perceived him. 

 

It turned out that the young pastor was the central figure of the show as his over-the-top personality irritated all of the other contestants. The contestants were divided into two teams for a competition and this young pastor just took over the team acting as self appointed leader. It was as if he had taken an intense course in leadership the day before and he was going to use every leadership quote, inspirational charge and team building concept he learned all in one setting. But his manner was way too contrived and he ended up looking like some sort of a cartoon character.

I could understand his motive but the way he went about it was akin to what the apostle Paul described in 1 Corinthians 13:1, if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.  This is a great description of how the pastor sounded to his team members and sure enough when they lost the team competition, the pastor was chosen as one of two competing to see who was going to be sent home.

In an interesting twist, the pastor chose not to compete, actually volunteering to go home and sacrificing his opportunity so that the person he was competing against could keep his dream of becoming a weather personality alive. It was an admirable decision but left everyone scratching their heads. Because the pastor seemed to try so hard, it came across as contrived and insincere and he lost whatever he was trying to accomplish.

The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 2:15 that we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  Verse 17 says, Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.  

I've always thought that the most important self check is to take a sniff of our own aroma from time to time. Unfortunately, too often Christians' odor is more of a stench than the fragrance of Christ. How do you smell to other non-believers? Am I giving off a sweet aroma of sincerity and love or do I come across as a self-serving jerk, sounding like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal to others?  It's hard to know unless you ask your friends or fellow believers to give you a true assessment. You probably will never get a chance to see yourself on television and make that assessment yourself like this pastor.  

 

We may all be taken more seriously if we lived our lives with sincerity and love. 

The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Child

I attended a dynamic worship service this past Sunday at Austin Christian Fellowship where pastor Will Davis Jr. and his wife Susie talked about raising children. They shared some powerful words of instruction and encouragement to parents about raising children in today's culture and landed on what I believe is our greatest gift to children from 3 John 1:4 where John says "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth". 

So the great question to ask yourself is what would bring me the greatest joy in my children when they become adults?  Susie makes this significant statement, "If your goal for your children is to get into a good college, marry a wonderful spouse or a live happy life, this tells a lot about you as a parent."  As followers of Christ, shouldn't our greatest joy be to see our children walking in truth, loving God and serving Him and others. If that is true, shouldn't leaving a legacy of faith be our greatest gift to our children?

Will and Susie gave some great advice on how to leave a legacy of faith in a culture that so wants to take you and your children in a totally different direction?  They explained that the the key is to impress the word of God into your child by making the word of God the backdrop for everything you do.

An important first step is to establish a mission statement for your family. Then talk about it, memorize it, post it around the house, stencil it on your wall or stick it on the fridge so that you children will see it, know it and learn to live from it. This mission statement, should be about what is most important to you and your family. It should be a summary of what would bring you the most joy in your children, your end goal as a parent. So when your child acts up or wanders off, you can remind them that their actions do not match their purpose.    

Do you have a family mission statement? If so, I'd love for you to share it.  

If not, Here is an exercise that will help your family create a mission statement.

Powerful quotes from the message:

• Make the whole template of God's word your end goal.
• Our long term goal for our children, the end goal of parenting is to have a faith that carries them through life, not a fear that cripples them.
• You shouldn't be the one who pushes your children into the dark because you can't handle their darkness. 
• Leave a legacy of belief and faith, not a legacy of fear. 
• What leaks out to your children? When you leak, you want to leak the word of God. If it's not in you, it will not leak out. 
• If you focus only on helping your child to be culturally relevant, to give them the best that culture has to offer, you'll grow a child to be culturally relevant but biblically irrelevant.
• We parent from a worldly mindset. Because we pursue, worry about, and fight about worldly things. 
• Help your children love the right things by you loving the right things.  1 John 2:15-17
• Our children need to see us loving the things of God. When was the last time your children caught you, praying, loving God, serving others? 

Watch the ACF message here