FIRE!

Last Tuesday a fire broke out on the north side of town in a rural area with lots of trees called Black Forest.  In a very short time it grew out of control and required mass evacuations of people in the area.  Over the next couple days, thousands had to evacuate their homes as the fire continued to spread out of control.  Strong winds drove the flames through an area with plenty of fuel and a significant lack of water.  The picture above is from the fire.

One of the things I remember doing early on was looking at the weather forecast to see if there was any rain coming.  There was only a listing for a small chance of rain over the weekend and, at the time, that was still three days away.  I also started praying, the same kinds of prayers people all over town were praying.  Prayer for those that were having to evacuate or were in pre-evacuation areas including friends that lived in these areas.  Prayer that the firefighters would be able to get the fire under control.  Prayer for the safety of those fighting the fire, and those running from the fire.  And most of all for rain.

The Lord answers prayer my friends.  For 5 days now, starting last Friday we have had rain showers coming through town.  Definitely helping in gaining control over the fire.

Looking at the numbers being reported by the Sheriff’s Office just a little while ago, they are at 85% containment, over 14,000 acres burned, 502 houses have been listed as destroyed with several more damaged, and two people died while preparing to evacuate their home.  

The community response has been amazing.  Volunteers helping our at Red Cross Centers, donations to local food banks, people opening up their homes to take in those displaced by the fire, and others helping prepare food for the hundreds of firefighters trying to put the fire out. 

We were better prepared in some ways this year.  You see, we had a fire ravage our city a year ago.  A fire that started in the mountains west of town and after a couple days strong winds blew it down the mountain side into town, destroying almost 400 homes.  And last year the community response was amazing, reaching out to our fellow man to lend a hand.

This has me thinking.  Why does it take something like this to pull a community together?  Why don’t we do this every day?  Some people do live their lives like this, always there to help out when needed.  But how about the rest of us?  I know I am not always thinking about how I can help others but isn’t that what we are supposed to do?  Part of following Christ’s call and serving Him is to be the one that sets an example.

 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 "Let you light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 

Daily prayer, devotionals, and reading the bible are important to our walk with God but we also need to make sure we are rolling these things we learn into all we do.  Our spiritual walk is not just about spending time with God.  We need to let our spiritual walk spill out into all areas of our lives.  It all ties together. 

I will be asking God to help me keep my eyes off myself and to focus more on what I can do for others.  I will also be thanking Him for the rain and for the local officials, the National Guard, the local military commands, and the fire fighters that came to fight this fire and how well they all worked together to help our community.  Finally I will be praying for those whose lives have been turned upside down by this fire.  I would like to ask you to do the same.

God bless.

Righteousness

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness. (Eph. 6:14)

What is righteousness?  Nelsen’s Bible Dictionary says righteousness is “holy and upright living, in accordance with God’s standard. It refers to a state that conforms to an authoritative standard. Righteousness is a moral concept. God’s character is the definition and source of all righteousness. Therefore, the righteousness of human beings is defined in terms of God’s.”

We have a choice to make.  We can choose to be self-righteous, or we can accept the righteousness given to us by God when we accepted Christ.  To be self-righteous is to be confident in our own morals or virtues.  Romans 3:10 tells us, “There is none righteous, no, not one.”  And verse 23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  It looks like self-righteousness is a dead end, literally!

This leaves us with righteousness from God.  But, how do we get this?  “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Phil. 3:8-9)

By having faith in Christ we are covered in His righteousness.  When we accept Christ, God covers us in Christ’s righteousness.  In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul put it this way: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 

Why is righteousness important?  When Paul wanted to give an example to the people of his time as to why “holy and upright living, in accordance with God’s standard” was important, he used the breastplate of a Roman soldier.  The breastplate was important to the soldier because it protected his heart and vital organs, his core, when in combat.  Righteousness protects our heart, our core, from the attacks of Satan.

We can see that self-righteousness; that confidence in ourselves, our principles, or our deeds, would be like wearing paper armor.  It just isn’t going to provide any sort of protection and we will succumb to the attacks brought against us.

Wearing our righteousness protects and strengthens us.  We do not need to fear what man or the devil can do to us.  This gives us the assurance we need to step out boldly and do the work God has called us to do.

 

Music

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (Col 3:16)

I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the city is nestled up against a group of mountains commonly called the Front Range.  As I was out running early this morning I had a great view of the mountains as the sun was coming up behind me.  I had my iPod on shuffle and music from Last of the Mohicans started to play.  With the mountains before me and soul stirring playing I had a wonderful feeling of thankfulness for God in my life.  I love those special moments with God.

Do you enjoy listening to music?  Music has been around for a long time and has a multitude of uses.  We have music and songs for celebrations, entertainment, expressing our sorrows, and a variety of dedications.  Music can also help us create a romantic mood with our special someone, inspire us to keep going in times of trouble, and music can reach in and touch us at the very core of our soul.

The bible is full of examples of the use of music.  David was a musician in his own right, he wrote most of the Psalms and also developed a number of instruments. Have you ever noticed the notes in the Psalms concerning the type of instrument to be used with the Psalm?  David also played music to sooth King Saul when he was affected by a distressing spirit (1 Samuel 16:14-23).

There is so much great music out there that you can add to your worship experience.  Whether it is older hymns or more contemporary music, there is something out there that will touch your heart. Paul even encourages us to “speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Eph. 5:19)

By yourself or with a group of believers, using music as part of your worship is a great way to connect with God. 

Short Term, Long Term, and Eternal

He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men. Eccl. 3:11

About 15 months ago I started on a journey.  I started exercising at a higher level of intensity than I had been previously.  I also started making more significant changes to my diet, eating healthier and cutting out the processed foods.  I had two reasons for doing this, first, I was tired of being overweight and out of shape.  Second, I needed to start treating my body like the temple of the God it is (2 Cor. 6:16).  After just a few months I had lost some weight and was pleased with the short term results.  I also gained another reason to continue, training for the Spartan Race I mentioned a couple weeks ago.

A couple days ago I had my annual physical and was able to see more of the benefits of my efforts over this last year.  Improvements in the numbers related to the testing my doctor wanted done and the continued weight loss.  My doctor was very pleased and I was glad to see the results myself.  I could tell on the outside that things were changing; clothes fitting better, more energy, complements from friends and co-workers on what they could see.  The results of the testing showed me what was going on inside, showed me what I could not see. 

This has motivated me to keep doing what I have been doing and got me to thinking about the long term effects of continuing to lose more weight and getting into better shape.  This in turn has me thinking about life from a long term perspective.

Success coaches tell us we need a vision for our life and to set goals that will help us achieve that vision.  They say we need short, medium and long term goals.  So as we travel through life we go about setting these goals.  We achieve some of these goals, some we have to reset, and some we give up on for one reason or another.  But of greater importance is do we have a vision for our spiritual life? 

Scripture tells us we should.  Proverbs 29:18 tells us those without a vision will perish, and in Habakkuk 2:2 we are told to write the vision in tablets of stone.  That makes it pretty definite.  It looks like having a vision is important, especially in our walk with God.

But it goes beyond just setting goals for what we intend to accomplish while we are here on earth.  We need to have an eternal perspective.  Life is short but we should make the most of it because the things we accomplish here for God will be translated over to heaven and the roles and responsibilities we will have there, and we will be there a long, long time.  Like forever!

God have given each of us tasks to perform and He has equipped us to be able to accomplish these tasks.  As you approach the tasks God has laid out before you remember to keep an eternal perspective.  Jesus tells us the right perspective keeps our heart right. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 6:19-21)

Will we always see the results of our efforts?  No, some of these things we will not see.  Like some of the results of eating right and exercising were not revealed until certain tests were performed.  But we will see results.  As we are doing what God has laid out for us to do, and keeping an eternal perspective, fruit of our efforts will spill over from the unseen to the seen.  The good news is it will be even better than we can possibly imagine when we are standing before our God and we see the eternal fruit of following and serving Him.

Finding God by Standing Still

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Ps46:10

     Have you ever felt the need to just take a break from your day?  Not a long one, just a few minutes to re-orient yourself.  And not one of the, “It’s been a hectic day and I need a break” kind of breaks.  I’m talking about something you need to do and you can feel it at the very core of your being.  I took one of these breaks today and had a brief encounter with God.

     I had been restless, sitting at my desk after finishing teaching a class and felt like I needed to disengage for a few minutes.  So with some worship music on my iPod, I grabbed my sunglasses and went outside behind the building where I knew I could be alone for a few minutes.  While there I just leaned against the building and opened my heart up to God.  I didn’t pray, I just let the music wash over me and waited.  In just that few minutes I felt cares and concerns melt away as I felt God’s presence.  Such a peaceful, welcome feeling, a private moment with my Lord and Savior. 

     Now I know why I was feeling restless.  God wanted me to stop what I was doing and spend a few minutes with Him.  The Spirit was calling my heart and I am so glad I responded.   Part of what makes this so amazing to me is that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe wanted to spend time with me.  Just because!  That’s more than amazing, that’s Awesome!

     The first part of Psalm 46:10 tells us, “Be still, and know I am God.”  A very simple command really.  Stop what you are doing.  Then take the time to acknowledge Him and who He is.  This is definitely something to do as part of your daily prayer/quiet time with God but it is more than just that.  Life is bombarding us with all manner of distractions, demands, and responsibilities but within all that we need to take the time to give credit where credit is due.  To God, the one who is actually in charge and actually in control.

     I have taken time to do this before, gone off somewhere to be alone, but not in such a spontaneous manner.  Having listened to the Spirit today makes me wonder how many times I have ignored His call and not responded.  I look forward to the next time He calls.

     But what about the second part of verse 10, the part you don’t hear as often, “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  God is telling us that eventually the entire world will acknowledge Him.  That makes this a promise of something we can look forward to.  When we look at verse 10 in its entirety we see that even as we are now acknowledging Him, we can rest assured that one day everyone will do the same.

     While we are waiting for that day to come, the next time you are feeling restless, take a break.  It may be God calling to your heart because he wants to share a special moment with you.  Open your heart to Him and enjoy what He shares with you.  You won’t regret it.

Finishing Strong

I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

Paul wrote this late in his life, telling Timothy that despite the struggles, he is finishing his race and he is finishing strong. Finishing strong, I like the sound of that. 

Paul had his share of challenges: multiple beatings, a stoning, shipwrecks and other perils he mentions in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. By any standards you want to use, just experiencing a couple of these things would be hard to handle but Paul experienced them all. When you look at Paul’s attitude toward all he had experienced, he refers to them as “light afflictions” and that they are temporary. He also tells us that the glory we will experience in the Lord outweighs the suffering we will experience in this life. (2 Cor. 4:17)

How was he able to look at it from this perspective? How did he hold up to all these things and not surrender to the weariness, pain, or to the devil’s attacks? The key is in his heart’s desire. Paul had a driving motivation to hear Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant” and to know in hearing this he had finished his race well. Paul accepted the path that was laid out before him and accepted it with his whole heart, come what may, because he knew it would bring glory to God. He did not look at it from the perspective of “what kind of trials do I have to experience today?” He looked at what he was trying to accomplish for God’s Kingdom. By looking at it that way it took on a different meaning for him.


I had the opportunity to finish a different kind of race yesterday. I ran in the Spartan Race Military Sprint on Ft Carson Army Base. An approximately 4.5 miles cross country run with 27 different physical challenges to perform along the way, some easier than expected and some harder, but I worked my way through. Aside from the sore muscles and the assorted cuts and scrapes on my arms and legs I acquired during the race, at the end of the race I received a T-shirt and a finishers medal, and like they say on their website, bragging rights. But the thing that meant more to me than any of that was being greeted by my brother at the finish line, getting a hug, and hearing him say “Good Job!” It has had me thinking about what it will be like when I reach the end of my life’s race and I am able to hear Jesus tell me “Well done good and faithful servant.”

In my devotional reading the other day the following question was posed: When you stand before Jesus there will be one thing He will want to know, “Did you do what I asked you to do, or did you get distracted and let the cares of life stop you from fulfilling your assignment?”  

We need to remember that the problems in life really are temporary and that they will pass. The thing that isn’t temporary is our obedience to God, there really isn’t anything more important than doing what God has called us to do. Keeping this in perspective will help us live a more balanced and committed life. So, even if we earn “bragging rights” for accomplishing something like the race I ran in yesterday, it really doesn’t mean anything. On the other hand, the things we do to advance God’s Kingdom by following His call in our lives, these are the things that mean something. These are the things that are eternal.  

There is definitely an abundance of pain and suffering going on in the world today, and we all have examples we can give of our own experiences, but how are we looking at the trials we are going through? Are we letting them distract us from the path that has been laid out before us? Or are we facing them head on, overcoming them in the power and strength of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? We are called to fight, not to just sit there and let life run us over.  Despite the struggles we face, if we keep our focus on God we can finish strong as well.

How Big is God?

 

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1

Have you ever just taken the time to lay back and look at the night sky?  

I grew up in a small town in Wyoming.  Even when you were in town you could see an amazing array of stars. I remember laying out in the yard looking at the night sky and enjoying all the stars. When you were able to get out of town the view was even more amazing.  

Where I live now in Colorado Springs the city lights are enough to block many of the stars you can see if you go to more isolated areas of Colorado. (Another reason I love living in Colorado.) If you are fortunate enough to not live near a major metropolitan area or have been able to get far enough away that the light doesn’t obstruct your view, you have been able to catch a glimpse of some of the splendor of God’s creation.  

In Genesis 15:5 God tells Abram to count the stars and this is how his descendants will be. This takes on a much bigger meaning when you look at a sky packed with stars. It truly is amazing.

But this is only looking at it in terms of what we can see with the naked eye. We are told in the book of Job to “Stop and consider God’s wonders” (37:14). Here are a few things we can’t readily see.

 The Cat's Eye Nebula

 The Eagle Nebula


 The Andromeda Galaxy

 The Sombrero Galaxy

These are just a few of the thousands of amazing images that have been taken by various telescopes. You can see there are definitely wonders to behold. This size of these objects is measured in light years and they range from several thousand to tens of millions of light years away (and there are others even further, much further).  Just trying to comprehend the size and the distances involved between us and these and other objects out there is staggering in and of itself.

God tells us that He put each of these objects where they are.   "I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself." (Is. 44:24) 

We all have problems in life. But do we take these problems to God and ask for His help? Sometimes, but not always. Especially if it is a bigger problem. When we do go to Him it is usually for the smaller things but not the bigger things. Or if we do go to God with it, we are soon taking it back to work on it ourselves. For some reason we feel the need to tackle these things ourselves. I know I have been guilty of this.  

I wrote a couple weeks ago about casting our burdens on God. God’s word doesn’t tell us to just toss Him the easy ones. Psalm 55:22 tells us to “Cast your burdens on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.” No qualifiers, just to cast our burdens on Him. Look again at the pictures above. God did all that, and more. Much, much more. I think we can agree after looking at the pictures that God is big. Really, REALLY BIG!

When life gives you troubles, take them to Him. All of them, big and small! There is nothing that can come your way that God cannot handle.

Following the Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me besides the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name sake. 

Yea though I walk through the valley

     of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the

     presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

The 23^rd Psalm.  Simple, elegant, packed full of wonderful promises for us to trust God in.  The 23^rd Psalm ranks up there as many people’s favorite passage in the bible.  I know it is one of mine.  But do we really take it to heart?  Do we trust in the promises here and believe in them?  Promises for provision, protection, rest.

A shepherd always leads from the front.  He doesn’t prod from behind, he leads the sheep and they follow him.  When we seek guidance from God we generally want to know the destination and then we want to set about heading off in that direction.  Funny thing, God doesn’t work that way.  God steps out front and calls us to follow Him.  We aren’t supposed to worry about the destination, we are supposed to trust the shepherd and follow Him.

Is it hard to follow Him?  Only as hard as we make it out to be.  It’s easy to follow Him when things are going well.  We are content to follow the path He leads us down.  Then something happens, loss of a job, sickness, a wayward child, an accident and then what do we do?  We take our eyes off Him and start trying to fix, cope, or find a solution to the problem.

And it doesn’t have to be anything serious.  We can be following Him but then we get impatient, want things to happen faster.  We want to know where we are going or what we are going to encounter along the way.

As I have been seeking Him I have found it can be easy to take the lead from Him.  I’m diligently seeking Him, heartfelt prayer, lots of good devotional time, studying His word and then something trips me up.  How did that happen? I was following Him.  Wasn’t I?  After a fashion, but I was slowly taking to lead.  Like a child that says, “I can do it myself!”  Relying on my own strength, not trusting in Him.  All those things I was doing are an important aspect of my continued growth but I lost focus.  It’s not about my becoming strong enough to do it; it’s about trusting in Him and His strength, His provision, His protection.  Trusting Him in everything.

 

I came across a slightly different translation of the 23^rd Psalm.  Take a look:

Da Boss above, He take care me,

  Jalike da sheep farma take care his sheeps.

  He goin give me everything I need. 

He let me lie down wea da sweet an soft grass stay.

  He lead me by da water wea I can rest.

He give me new kine life.

  He lead me in da road dat stay right,

  Cuz I His guy.

This is from the Pidgin Bible translated in Hawaii.  I love the simplicity of what is stated here.  He is going to take care of me, give me everything I need, take me to the grass and water, give me a new kind of life, and lead me in what is right.  And why does he do all this?  Cuz I His guy.  It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

 

Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd and we are likened to the sheep under His care. (John 10)  As our shepherd, Jesus is promising to take care of us and meet our every need.  We need to stop getting caught up in everything and thinking we have to deal with it ourselves.  We need to trust in his promises. 

So where do I find myself now?  Seeking Him, gaining a better understanding of what it means to trust in Him.  Learning how to recognize and catch myself when I start trying to take the lead and relying on my strength rather than His.  Learning to accept His promises and not to question why. 

 The why is actually really simple.  Why does He promise me all these things?

 Cuz I His guy.  And so are you!

Enjoying God's Creation

It was cloudy and cool today, mostly overcast after a couple cold and slightly snowy April days.  As I left work today and was headed to my car I was able to see the Spanish Peaks standing out in stark contrast to the grey sky.  The picture above is the Spanish peaks in southern Colorado (taken from much closer than where I was in Pueblo).  They don't normally stand out so clearly so it was a pleasant surprise.  I felt my spirit lift as I enjoyed the sight.  Honestly it was like God said, "Here you go.  Look what I did just for you." 

I love the mountains, it is one of the reasons I live in Colorado.  Since the mountains are always there I can go for days at a time without really "seeing" them but there are times the light hits them just right and, Wow!  I just have to pause and thank God for the beautiful mountains and that I get to be witness to His handy work.

Life can definitely be chaotic and we can miss it if we don't stop and look around from time to time.  When I look at the wonders of His creation I have to stop and think about if we have these amazingly beautiful mountain vistas to enjoy now, how much better is it going to be in heaven?

Stop and take a breath from time to time.  Take a look around.  Enjoy what God shows you.

Dancing With God

I’m sure most of you have seen the poem called “Footprints” where the guy has a dream he is walking with the Lord.  He notices the footprints and finds out that during the hardest times of his life God was carrying him. A very inspiring and reassuring poem.

Have you ever seen the other Footprints poem?  I came across this several years ago and I don’t know who wrote it but it has just as powerful a message as the original.  I wanted to share it here.

 

FOOTPRINTS...A New Version

          Imagine one night you have a dream that you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together.  For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace.  But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns.  For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently.  You and Jesus are walking as true friends!

          This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps.  Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one.  This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change.  The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger.  Eventually they disappear altogether.  There is only one set of footprints they have become one.

          This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints are back. This time it seems even worse!  Zigzags all over the place.  Stops.  Starts.  Gashes in the sand.  A variable mess of prints.  You are amazed and shocked.  Your dream ends.  Now you pray:  "Lord, I understand the first scene with zigzags and fits was a new Christian; I was just learning.  But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You,"

          “That is correct."

          "And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps; followed You very closely."

          "Very good. You have understood everything so far."

          " ... When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I as becoming like You in every way."

          "Precisely."

          "So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first."  There is a pause as the Lord answers with a smile in his voice.

          "You didn't know?…
                         …That was when we danced."

Wouldn’t that be amazing?  To have a relationship with God that is so close, so intimate that you now dance with God in your daily walk.  I feel God tug at my heart every time I read this and as I continue to grow in my walk with Him I find that I am looking forward to the day that we dance.

God wants so much for us, Jeremiah told us this, that God has plans for us (Jer. 29:11-13).  And Paul tells us that it is going to be “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20).  These are fantastic promises, we need to accept them.

Stop resisting! Answer the call He has put on your heart.  Seek and follow Him.  Look forward to the day that you can dance with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.