I was at a family barbeque not long ago... we had gone up to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and the town was packed with people. While tending to the grill, I was also watching our 7 year old Ethan out of the corner of my eye while the rest of our group went down to the lake. With well over 100 children playing on the jungle gym and the surrounding equipment, I lost sight of him in the crowd. I was about to panic because I didn’t want to ruin the steaks and sausages by leaving them unattended but I also couldn’t risk my son being kidnapped or wandering off! I was about to pull the feast off of the grill when I remembered that I can use my senses. You know, my “supernatural parental senses.” I immediately remembered the color of his shoes and of his shirt. As I looked into the collage of colors swirling in front of me, I saw his color combination moving within the mix. Then I listened for his voice within the loudness of a multitude of voices and I heard him excitedly talking to another kid as they played. I spent the rest of the next 30 minutes calmly watching him and listening to him from a distance even though I rarely actually saw him fully.
Sometimes we get so BUSY! And we feel guilty for our busy-ness because we have all heard (and preached) 100+ sermons on how we should not be so busy and spend more time with family and with God. I believe that. But what if our busy-ness is with family and with God? I have often thought that I need to take time out of my schedule for God and have come to realize that this is totally crazy. I need to include God in my life, every moment of every day. God doesn’t want us to visit him like we visit Grandpa, but He wants to live with us in the moment!
As Joy and I are busy settling in to our new life and ministry in Manila, in the craziness of it all, we know what our God looks like and we know His voice. We don’t want to lose sight or sound of Him at all as we get cooking’!
How about you??? I don’t have too many monks in my readership that I know of. Most of you are busy family people or busy career, ministry or school people. Let me encourage you that you don’t have to live in a Monastery to spend every second with Him. Go for it today and always! Live in His presence and let Him live in every one of your moments!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Lord Has Spoken... Your Mail Has Arrived
Our son Devin wanted to get his USA Drivers License while in Chicago this summer. One of the requirements is to show a letter delivered to our address in his name. I had sent for an information packet in his name a few weeks earlier in order to have a letter ready to go. When the letter arrived, we placed it safely where Devin and I both knew where it was.
The day arrived when it was time to head to the office and Devin couldn’t find the letter. We searched all of the possible places in the house and it simply was not there. Somebody must have thrown it away! This was disheartening to Devin because it would delay his getting the license another 3 days or more. The look on his face was like he was being crushed.
Then I caught a glimpse of Devin’s name on a different letter in a completely different kind of envelope from the original. We could use it! He rarely gets mail at this address but something unexpected had come! The color came back to his face, we grabbed it and we went!
Minutes later in the car, the Lord began to speak to me through this experience. According to His Word, I have consistently known that He has ALWAYS provided before I need something. Using the example I just shared, you could say that the Mail Has Already Arrived! The problem is not whether or not God has provided, because He HAS. The problem is that often times it is in different packaging then what I expect and so I hurriedly sort through the stacks without reading the labels, making assumptions.
Even though the answer or the resource that I need is within reach, it requires a search on my part. I don’t know about you, but my natural inclination is that I dislike searching for things. I dislike searching almost as much as waiting, especially at a government office or bank!
Many people don’t find the direction, purpose or fulfillment available to them from the Lord simply because they aren’t looking for it or it doesn’t look the way they thought it would. For we Pentecostals, we want things to prophetically or miraculously pop up at just the right time. Although that does happen from time to time, scriptures in the Bible show us that the greatest people of God in the history of the world, though they were people who had ears perked to hear from God, diligently searched for His timely Word in Due Season to inject into their messages.
1 Peter 1 (NIV)
9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Peter explains that not only did the prophets “search”, but that even angels would long to join the search. We have the privilege to join the great search! The search which reveals God’s plan for our lives individually and for this generation. The mailman has already come, the letter has arrived, now we just need to find The Word for this season!
Let me put it one more way... The answer that you are seeking has already been spoken. It is in written in God’s Word! If that doesn’t motivate us to get into the Word everyday, what else will?
The day arrived when it was time to head to the office and Devin couldn’t find the letter. We searched all of the possible places in the house and it simply was not there. Somebody must have thrown it away! This was disheartening to Devin because it would delay his getting the license another 3 days or more. The look on his face was like he was being crushed.
Then I caught a glimpse of Devin’s name on a different letter in a completely different kind of envelope from the original. We could use it! He rarely gets mail at this address but something unexpected had come! The color came back to his face, we grabbed it and we went!
Minutes later in the car, the Lord began to speak to me through this experience. According to His Word, I have consistently known that He has ALWAYS provided before I need something. Using the example I just shared, you could say that the Mail Has Already Arrived! The problem is not whether or not God has provided, because He HAS. The problem is that often times it is in different packaging then what I expect and so I hurriedly sort through the stacks without reading the labels, making assumptions.
Even though the answer or the resource that I need is within reach, it requires a search on my part. I don’t know about you, but my natural inclination is that I dislike searching for things. I dislike searching almost as much as waiting, especially at a government office or bank!
Many people don’t find the direction, purpose or fulfillment available to them from the Lord simply because they aren’t looking for it or it doesn’t look the way they thought it would. For we Pentecostals, we want things to prophetically or miraculously pop up at just the right time. Although that does happen from time to time, scriptures in the Bible show us that the greatest people of God in the history of the world, though they were people who had ears perked to hear from God, diligently searched for His timely Word in Due Season to inject into their messages.
1 Peter 1 (NIV)
9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Peter explains that not only did the prophets “search”, but that even angels would long to join the search. We have the privilege to join the great search! The search which reveals God’s plan for our lives individually and for this generation. The mailman has already come, the letter has arrived, now we just need to find The Word for this season!
Let me put it one more way... The answer that you are seeking has already been spoken. It is in written in God’s Word! If that doesn’t motivate us to get into the Word everyday, what else will?
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