I’m working on a series of posts based off of a song by Peter Gabriel. The title of the song is somewhere inside this post. Until I complete it I will continue to repost some of my previous writings.

This is from March 13, 2009:
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I’m in the midst of a project with the company I work for. It’s called a “Kaizen Event.” Kaizen = incremental changes for the better. So far, our meeting has transpired over five days. (With several more weeks to go). After a week of this my brain is fried! This event has really challenged my thinking about the processes that we were asked to evaluate and to bring about change.

During my drive time home each day I have debriefed the days discussions, this process, and my own life in the light of this process. Before going to bed each night I have been reading Erwin McManus’ book Wide Awake. I have been in Chapter 3, Adapt,all week long. The focus of this chapter has been on change or as McManus writes, “reinventing yourself” by the power of the Holy Spirit. See 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 12:1-2.

What is it about change that you like or dislike?

At work we are wanting to take something that is a good thing and make it better by walking through this process. As I look at my own life and evaluate it – I want to bring my good life to the foot of the Cross and give it to my Lord and say, “Jesus, bring about the incremental changes in my life for the better so that I may be pleasing in your eyes.” In this chapter McManus challenges,

“If you’re not living the life of your dreams, if you wake up with that little bit of sadness in the mornings because you know you’re underachieving, living a life of mediority, and chooosing average, it’s easy to blame everyone else for your condition. Especially when your condition is really good, but not the dream God has for you. You’re not called to settle for the good life; you are called to a life of greatness.” (Wide Awake, 67).

What is it that you must do to bring your life from good to great? Living the dream is to live a life of greatness. It’s a humbling invitation given by God to be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you can live, test, and approve what His perfect will is for your life.

Are you living the dream?

This is a repost from January 31, 2009
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Did you know that you can’t have an encounter with God and walk away the same? When you have an encounter with God your life is going to change. Moses spent 40 days on the mountain with God his face radiated with the glory of God. When you spend time with the LORD people are going to know it.

I called a friend a couple of weeks ago and when he heard my voice he said, “I must have made an impression on you back in college.” I asked, “Why are you saying that?” He replied, “Those you leave an impression on will always remember you.”

What sort of impression do you leave on others?

“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).

This morning I told the Lord I would love to just sit down with Him face to face and have a conversation with Him.  A conversation about the inner struggles I have that revolve around my hopes, dreams, and desires for life.  The next thought that raced into my mind was, “You are having that conversation now – faith to face.” 

I have had this ”faith to face” thought  all day.  Way too often I want to skip right on past faith and get down to the things in life that are certain.  Look at Jesus directly and hear him speak to me directly.  Skip right past the uncertainty in following Jesus and live in a confidence that I am pleasing Him.

Well, no sooner than I finished praying I picked up Oswald Chambers just to get smacked around one more time by OC.  When will I ever learn? (At least I know my prayer life is right on target with how God is speaking to me).

The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty… Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life— gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. (My Utmost for His Highest, April 29).

With the thoughts of Oswald Chambers lingering in my mind I took a chance and began reading some more of Erwin McManus’ book Wide Awake.  I’m still only able to read this book in small bites…  This is a book that is challenging me to the very core.  Today I finished the chapter “Create”. 

It’s significant that the master didn’t tell the servants what to do when he instructed them to do something with what he gave them.  When they multiplied it, he didn’t quiz them on how they did it.  He just said, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”  If you are maximizing your capacity, you’re on the way to living your life to the fullest.  To do this, you must not only take responsibility but also risk.  Why did the third servant bury his bag of gold?  He was afraid of his master; he feared he would lose his gold and then be punished.  (174-175).

If you are maximizing your capacity… 

I feel as though I’m not living life to the fullest!  Why? I’m not maximizing my capacity.   I desire to live life beyond the level I am living it right now.  I want to live in breathless expectation of seeing Jesus – yet, do I take time to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless… if I want to see Jesus I must look deeper into the face of humanity and see Him in those I serve.  Am I positioning myself to maximize my capacity?  Or have I positioned myself in a place where my life is so full of other stuff there’s no more room for anything else?

Finally, I’m following Pete Wilson’s blog and Twitter as he maximizes his capacity in India on a mission trip.  If you are not checking in on his updates (or now about Pete), I encourage you to check out what God is doing while he and his team are there.  I have a local pastor-friend who just returned from India as well.  Take a few moments to read how he has been maximizing his capacity.

How do you maximize your capacity?

…too many thoughts running through my head tonight (1:00 AM) to sleep.  While reading Wide Awake today there are several quotes I would like to bring to your attention:

• Talent you don’t use is talent you have abused.  To waste what God has put in you is a dishonor to God and a disservice to humanity.
• …your life is God’s gift to you and to the world.
• The choices you make today create the future you live tomorrow. (Erwin McManus, 172).

I don’t know about you but I’ve never been one to look at myself in such a way to think that I am a gift to the world.  But the truth is God created all of as a gift to each other.  Each one of us has a gift and/or a talent within us to give to others.  The unfortunate thing is that most of us don’t realize that until it’s too late.  Or we have made choices that dictate our future. 

When I think about it like that – I wonder how many people miss out on knowing about Jesus because too many of us have never realized the potential within. 

Some never have the opportunity to realize their true potential because their spirits have been crushed.

Parents, don’t come down too hard on your children or you’ll crush their spirits.  (Colossians 3:21, The Message).

This is a message to parents:  I know this has been said before, “Our children are the future.”  That statement is true.  But if as parents we do not nurture them and build them up in Christ we will lose the next generation of leaders.  Leadership begins with us (parents)!  Do you want to be a leader?  Then take the responsibility to raise your children to love the Lord with all their hearts.  Encourage the creativity within them!

Maybe you are doing the job God has called you to in raising your children.  I want to say… Great job!!  Keep it up and look around.  I bet one of your children has a friend whose Mom or Dad is crushing their child’s spirit.  We need to have the eyes to see who it is we can reach out to with real love – the love of Jesus Christ… these children need our love.

As parents, we need to pick our battles wisely with our children.  We have a responsibility to see that they live in an environment that gives them the tools to make wise choices so that their future is without limit.

Are you with me on this?

At Tapestry Church tonight we finished up Andy Stanley’s series entitled, “text:”  It’s been a great series on the importance of reading God’s Word – the Bible.  It was encouraging to hear it as I trek through the Bible this year. 

Tonight’s message really got me to thinking.  As Stanley talked, he shared a couple of verses that were illustrations to support things he does as he reads the Bible.  But the verses he read had a far different purpose at this time in my own life.  I had intended to stick around and help with the tear down but with my eyes still full of tears and my mind really at work I just left.

After watching Fireproof this weekend I have been feeling a bit beat up.  Not just about how much I need to grow as a husband and the past mistakes I have made as a husband…  In addition, the movie challenged me as a person – a follower of Jesus Christ.  I have had so many opportunities to really grow in Christ and don’t think I’ve really grown to the potential I could have over the years.  I know God is not the source of the condemnation that I feel.  Romans 8:1 is the first verse Stanley read that really ministered to me tonight.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, (NIV).

The missed opportunities I had for growth began while I was in college.  As I look back over my life, it seems as though I had been treating my walk with Christ as a weekend hobby.  I want to step it up now more than ever.  I want to launch out into the deep waters of his calling and His dream for my life.

A God-inspired dream isn’t just an opportunity; it is a calling.  Your dreams aren’t simply a source of inspiration but the stewardship of your life. If you choose to dream with your eyes open, you will eventually have to start creating.  Jesus warns us that we don’t want to be found empty handed.  We all have something to bring to the table.  (Erwin McManus, Wide Awake, 161).

I know I have much to bring to the table.  For me right now it’s finding the right table to bring it to.  There is a well of mistakes, hurts, disappointments, and sin that God has been so gracious to forgive and to heal.  I don’t want to waste what He has given.  

Are you being a good steward of your life? 

Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time each day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won’t be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation. (Matthew 24:45-47, The Message).

I’m in the midst of a project with the company I work for.  It’s called a “Kaizen Event.”  Kaizen = incremental changes for the better.  So far, our meeting has transpired over five days.  (With several more weeks to go).  After a week of this my brain is fried!  This event has really challenged my thinking about the processes that we were asked to evaluate and to bring about change. 

During my drive time home each day I have debriefed the days discussions, this process, and my own life in the light of this process.  Before going to bed each night I have been reading Erwin McManus’ book Wide Awake.  I have been in Chapter 3,  Adapt,all week long.  The focus of this chapter has been on change or as McManus writes, “reinventing yourself” by the power of the Holy Spirit.  See 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 12:1-2.

What is it about change that you like or dislike? 

At work we are wanting to take something that is a good thing and make it better by walking through this process.    As I look at my own life and evaluate it - I want to bring my good life to the foot of the Cross and give it to my Lord and say, “Jesus, bring about the incremental changes in my life for the better so that I may be pleasing in your eyes.”  In this chapter McManus challenges,

If you’re not living the life of your dreams, if you wake up with that little bit of sadness in the mornings because you know you’re underachieving, living a life of mediority, and chooosing average, it’s easy to blame everyone else for your condition.  Especially when your condition is really good, but not the dream God has for you.  You’re not called to settle for the good life; you are called to a life of greatness. (Wide Awake, 67). 

What is it that you must do to bring your life from good to great?  Living the dream is to live a life of greatness.  It’s a humbling invitation given by God to be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you can live, test, and approve what His perfect will is for your life.

Are you living the dream?

I just began reading Wide Awake by Erwin McManus.  I’m not sure where to start commenting on this book.  I can say that it is hitting a nerve in my life that needs some attention.  I’m amazed at what I have read so far… amazed at how I need to be reading it.

A friend of mine told me several weeks ago that I didn’t need to delay any longer and to take the necessary risks to go after the dream I have for life.  This is the only way I’m going to reach the potential that is locked up inside of me.  He went on to tell me that there are those who are counting on me to take the necessary steps… especially my family. 

His words to me that day got my attention.  They have continued to encourage me.  As I have begun to read this book I keep hearing the conversation I had with my friend.  McManus states in Wide Awake

Living wide awake is about realizing that the world needs you to live up to your potential.  There are others whose lives and future depend on you stepping up and living big.  The better world you keep waiting for needs you to accept your life’s calling and responsibility, and then to create it.  The future needs you to dream God-sized dreams; these are the only kind God gets involved in.  And if the future needs anything, it is God working through people.  (Erwin McManus, The Awakening, 19).

Are you living God’s dream for your life?  What is keeping you from risking to launch out after your dream?  Who is waiting for you to step up and live big?  It may be your family or it could be someone you have never met.  Whoever it may be… they are waiting for both of us to live out our dreams.

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.

Did you know that you can’t have an encounter with God and walk away the same?  When you have an encounter with God your life is going to change.  Moses spent 40 days on the mountain with God his face radiated with the glory of God.  When you spend time with the LORD people are going to know it.

I called a friend a couple of weeks ago and when he heard my voice he said, “I must have made an impression on you back in college.”  I asked, “Why are you saying that?”  He replied, “Those you leave an impression on will always remember you.” 

What sort of impression do you leave on others?

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).

Seek. Find. Live. Others will follow.

Why is it that some of the best conversations happen at 30,000 ft.?  Some of the best conversations I have with strangers are on airplanes.

On the flight to San Antonio, I sat with someone who had just attended the inauguration.  The interesting thing about the conversation was something he said about being there.  He told me the best part of the event was hearing Rick Warren.

I sat there and was amazed by what he was saying.  He didn’t give me anything real specific about what Rick Warren said… he was just very impressed and that he was the best part.

My flight back I sat next to Ann.  She lives in Atlanta.  I was reading The Barbarian Wayby Erwin McManus.  (Yes there are going to be  a couple of more posts from this book).  This opened up a great conversation about purpose and seeking God. 

After I finished talking she asked me if I ever fasted.  She went on to tell me that she is reading a great book on fasting that is/was on the New York Times Best Seller list.  It’s called Fastingby Jentzen Franklin.  Some of the things she said to me reminded me of what Craig Groeschel had to say while at Catalyst.

To see Jentzen Franklin’s teaching on Fasting click here.

I wonder if the conversations are always so good at that altitude because so much prayer goes into each flight?