I can’t go forward with the day without saying, JESUS!  Go ahead take your moment and shout out his name.

Wow, praise God!  What a moment.  I’m sure Lori at the other end of the house is wondering, “What in the world is he shouting for!”    You are probably thinking this guy is off his rocker.

Alright, now that you have shouted your praises to Jesus I want you to tell him something.  You need to get quiet.  Turn off the TV, the music, etc.  Get quiet.  Once you speak to him you need to be able to hear what he has to say.  Are you quiet?

Tell Jesus, “I love you.”  Listen to hear what he has to say to you.

What did he say to you?

Pray with me,

Train me, God, to walk straight;
      then I’ll follow your true path.
   Put me together, one heart and mind;
      then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.
   From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord;
      I’ve never kept secret what you’re up to.
   You’ve always been great toward me—what love! (Psalm 86:11-13, The Message).

Ah yes!  The sweet sounds of 1984!  What a year that was…

But more than the sounds of Punk music at its finest was the passion expressed through the lyrics of the Altar Boys.  My life was tremendously impacted as a result. 

The title track, “When You’re A Rebel,” became my heartbeat.  I was a new follower of Jesus then.  Very passionate with my faith and trust in the man I now called Savior.  I recall the t-shirt I bought from one of the concerts I attended.  If I remember correctly, the t-shirt had black letters on the front that said “Rebel for Jesus”.  And in red letters in the background was Romans 12:1-2. 

Today, the non conforming part of me is still alive.  I think it is so easy for all of us to get caught up in the winds of the latest movements and develop our “new” traditions.  (whatever that may be at the time) There is an element to traditions that are good.  But if we aren’t careful we will lose our mission in the tradition.  Even the church planting movement of today in itself can get lost by trying to be the coolest in town and forget the mission. 

I’m excited about what God is doing today.  It seems like churches are planting left and right all over the place!  A new church plant has the best opportunity to reach those outside of Christianity than by any other means. 

As I watch the news, I can see that we are in some turbulent times.  I don’t know if we have really seen how bad it is.  I’m sick and tired of all the bailout bills that are running through Congress.  Hey, if we really need all of that then lets just stick to the need and lay off of all the pork! 

Sorry about that… back on task – The times we live in are difficult.  Those of us who follow Jesus need to do so more now than ever.  We need to pray and study more to build our faith.  We must take Jesus with us wherever we go.  We each have people around us who need the hope that he gives.  We have been baptized by Spirit and with fire…

…Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… stay in God’s Word.  Make it your life. 

Seek. Find. Live. Others will follow.

About seven years ago I was cooking some french fries on the stove.  I had let them thaw out before I put them in the boiling oil.  BIG mistake.  The moisture on the fries and the grease didn’t like each other and the next thing I knew everything was on fire. 

So, I quickly did something that was stupid!  (As if the first act wasn’t already stupid) I reached my right hand in and grabbed the pot by the handle and spilled the oil all over my hand.  Needless to say – I had 2nd degree burns across my hand and that ruined my Saturday and Sunday - as I was to speak for my pastor the next day.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done something and gotten burned in the process.  Sometimes it was my own fault and the others it was another persons action(s) that led to me being burned.  Either way the feelings are just about the same.  (Failure, humility, dis-trust, pain, giving up…)

What do you do once you have been burned?  Do you quit cooking french fries? 

I live with my scar as a reminder of the past.  The strange thing about this is I’m probably the only one that even knows the scar is there.  But I don’t let it stop me from cooking french fries. 

I learned from my experience.  I also risk getting burned again. 

Never stop taking risks.

How is God’s passion for your life revealed to the world?

You were not created to be normal.  God’s desire for you is not compliance and conformity.  You have been baptized by Spirit and fire.  Asleep within you is a barbarian, a savage to all who love the prim and proper.  You must go to the primal place and enter the presence of the Most High God, for there you will be changed by His presence.  Let Him unleash the untamed faith within you.  (Erwin McManus, The Barbarian Way, 82).

Romans 12:1-2,

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV).

In verse 1, we are told to offer our bodies as living sacrifices HOLYand pleasing to God.  Lately the words “holy” and “holiness” have been on my mind.  I wonder if we have lost what it means to be holy.  To be set a part… to be consecrated to God… To be different than the world… Have we come to a place where we are trying to be so “relevant” that we have traded in holiness for entertainment… conformity?

In verse 2, Paul says, “DO NOT CONFORM any longer to the pattern of this world…”

As I read through the Bible, I am seeing over and over again that those who led… those who were out front… did not conform.  They put their lives out there on the line – holy (dedicated to the service of God in a way that pleased Him).  It was those holy men and women that changed and transformed the world around them. 

How is it that you are changing the world around you?  How do you influence those around you?  You and I are created to make a difference.

Do you want to lose your edge in this world?  If so - be a conformer!  If not – be holy.  It’s your choice.  It’s your influence… how do you want to influence the world God has given you?  Is it by your power?  Or by the power given to you by God?  If you have been baptized by Spirit and fire – you will not let anyone around you become “civilized” to the patterns of this world!  Don’t be a conformer and don’t let those you lead be conformers.

Seek. Find. Live. Others will follow.

How do you make it when life becomes overwhelming?  How do you hold on when everything around you is screaming at you, “Give up!”  When life gets to the point when it’s hard to understand why some things happen - Jesus says,

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,^[a] who^[b] have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, NIV).

The number 1 time slot for news at 5 P.M. E.S.T. is Glenn Beck on FoxNews.  He is number 3 of all Cable News shows.  Tonight he ended his show with Trace Adkins performing “Muddy Water”.  I’d not heard the song before.  I’m so glad I heard it tonight.  Click here to see the music video for the song. 

As followers of Jesus, we must totally give our worship to him.  He is more than worthy of the praise that we can give.  Our lifestyle of worship will lead us to the throne before him.  While there in his presence we will be brought face to face with the sinfulness of our lives and want to be changed.  Our response will be much like that of Isaiah.  Read Isaiah 6:1-8.

Our response must be, “I’ll go, send me!”  Who is around your life who needs to hear that Jesus loves them?  Will you go… who will you lead to the Muddy Water?

 6 Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

7 He touched my mouth with the coal and said,“Look. This coal has touched your lips.
Gone your guilt,
your sins wiped out.”

8 And then I heard the voice of the Master:“Whom shall I send?
Who will go for us?”
I spoke up,
“I’ll go.
Send me!” (Isasiah 6:7-8, The Message).

Listen to Isaiah’s confession about being a man of unclean lips.  His desire for a life change… to be someone used by God.  “Here am I. Send me!”  His quest for forgiveness was not to get out of something or a situation but rather  into something… to be used completely by the Father. 

Those quiet and peaceful days that follow “hearing” the Lord are wonderful.  But if we aren’t careful it will be easy to think, “Did he really say that?… Did he really mean for me to go there and say that?  If we aren’t careful we will fall into a trap of doubt.  Once we here the call of God obedience must be the response – without delay.  There should not be idle time to ponder the instructions.  When I buy something that needs to be put together, I don’t open it up read the instructions then go and sit around somewhere to think about it… No, I act on what I have read. 

My prayer is not just for the sending but for the finishing as well.  Too many times we don’t finish out the plans of the Lord the way He intended.  We don’t finish strong.  I want my life to be remembered in such a way that people will know I followed with faith and finished strong.

God, “Here am I. Send me!”

My daughter Jacqueline blows me away at what all she knows about computers.  She showed me a site at PicNik.com that is awesome for editing photos.  This is what she helped me do with my Focused Eye…

Do you have something from your past that you can’t seem to get victory over?  Maybe it’s a bad decision that was made you would like to “do-over”.  I think we all have something that we regret.  For some it easier to move on than others.  The rest end up living in despair over past decisions or failures.

I recently talked with someone who was having difficulty overcoming something from their past.  This thing was hindering current relationships.  There was a tremendous amount of despair over this past failure.  I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to let the past go.  I also know the freedom that comes when true forgiveness has taken place. 

Wherever you may find yourself in dealing with your past – God’s grace - given to us through the life of Jesus  – is more giving than we often-times want to accept or believe.  Hear the words of Oswald Chambers from My Utmost for His Highest.

But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, “Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing.” In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him. (February 18).

Here we are February 18, 2009!  What’s so special about today?  The answer:  It’s today!!  What could be more important than that?  Don’t take the day for granted.  It’s been given to us and it’s up to the both of us to make the most of this day.

For those of you who may have made a commitment at the beginning of the year to read the Bible through… How are you doing?  Are you up to date with whatever reading plan you decided on?  I would love to hear what God has been teaching you.  Please take a moment to let me know!

My commitment is to read through the Bible twice this year.  I decided to use YouVersion.com as my reading guide.  Presently, I am reading Numbers, Proverbs, and Ephesians.  While reading earlier today I read the following verses, 

Don’t grieve God.  Don’t break his heart.  His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself.  Don’t take such a gift for granted.  (The Message, Ephesians 4:30).

I wonder how much of my life has been spent taking His Holy Spirit for granted.  This verse is beautiful… “His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself.”

We are given his Holy Spirit as a gift.  Why?  To make us fit for Himself.

Are you fit?  His Holy Spirit dancing within us moving rhythmically in the most intimate part of our lives - all for Him.

Don’t take this day for granted… live it to the max and move and breathe with Him!