He's roaring like a lion.

Fearing God is a lot like following a lion into battle.  You feel safe knowing that the lion is for you, but at the same time you know this lion could rip you to shreds at any moment.  Let us not forget that God is powerful, strong and set apart.  "Fearing God" doesn't just mean respecting or honoring Him.  Fearing God is the realization that an all powerful God could at any moment wipe us out, but because of His grace He chooses not too.

Let us tremble before the Lord who has the power to do away with us, but at the same time is full of mercy and compassion.

A wrong view of "fearing God" will make us believe that God is a wimp and not someone that we should really fear.

Yes, those who are in Christ need not fear for God's wrath no longer falls on them, but that doesn't mean they are exempt from God's discipline when they rebel in sin.  A right view of an all mighty, powerful God will keep us from grievous sin.  It will cause us to hate our sin all the more when we tremble before the God who is rich in mercy.

Do not make light of the fear of the Lord.  In doing so, you will make God out to be a wimp and surely, God is no wimp, but a strong, mighty lion, full of compassion and mercy.

"They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion.  When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west." - Hosea 11:10

7 reasons why you shouldn't be friends with your kids

7 reasons why its a terrible idea to be best friends with your child.

1.  They won't respect you

Kids whose parents are more concerned about being a friend than being a parent will soon find that their kids will not respect them.  
2.  They will have a hard time respecting others in authority over there
3.  They will become selfish and entitled
4.  You won't be able to speak truth in to their life
5.  You will be unable to discipline them
6.  They will like you for all the wrong reasons
7.  They will become your boss

Stillness

I often find myself diligently seeking God the most when I want an answer from Him.  Maybe you've been there too.  I wonder though, if sometimes God doesn't give us an answer, because He wants us to be still.  

Stillness.  

It's so rare in our world today.  We're so busy, our minds are always engaged, our cell phones are always right beside us, twitter beckons us to come and tweet something and our minds are always distracted.  

Maybe the answer to our question is just to be still.  It's to sit in His presence, trusting and knowing that He is God.  I think it's in the stillness where we truly find who were are in Christ.  It's in the stillness that we sense His peace, we experience His joy and we are able to be in true unhindered fellowship with our Father.  

In the stillness I recognize that Jesus Christ is more than enough for me.  I feel His heart being tethered to mine and his healing invading the deep hurts of my heart.  I realize that no matter what card I've been dealt in life I can hear God say in those sweet moments of stillness, "Be still and know that I am God"- Psalm 46:10

How did Jesus do ministry?

What does it really mean to be an influential leader in the church?  Are we really doing it like Jesus did?  Did Jesus base His success off of numbers or off of faithfulness to making disciples?  Was he a flashy guy with a big stage and lights or a humble man, faithful and obedient to know and love God?

In a culture where the modern day Pastor is called more to be a big, flashy personality then he is called to be faithful and obedient to loving God, serving his family, and making disciples I wonder if we can learn something from the life of Jesus. 

I love what Dick Staub says in his book, The Culturally Savvy Christian,

"It also occurred to me that as a world changer, Jesus was not very strategic. He arrived in a small, somewhat inconsequential country, spent three years with twelve uninfluential men and a broader gathering of unknown men and women, and oh, by the way, changed the world. I decided that either Jesus was doing something wrong or contemporary world changers were."

I'm done basing the success of my ministry off of numbers.  People always ask the proverbial question, how many kids did you have there? I want them to ask me instead, did the students meet with God? Were they impacted in a way that grew their faith, caused them to repent and make decisions to run from sin towards Christ? That to me is true success, not the numbers. Who cares how many were there if no one was moved by God.

I want to pour into the lives of a few, or more only if God would have it, taking the time to invest and disciple those who will go out and do the very same thing someday. 

Making disciples who then go and make disciples.  As a minister of the gospel that is what I'm called to do.  However, my first priority is to love God.  God can only pour out of me unto others what I've allowed Him to pour into my life.  Jesus Christ must be my greatest joy, my deepest treasure and my focal point.  I need not worry about numbers, but my call is to be faithful, for God's glory.  Amen!

Jesus....

Jesus Christ is a fountain of life, a rushing wind that stirs within our souls, brings light to our eyes and calm for the hurried heart.  

He makes all things new, repairs what what was once broken by sin and revives the heart once lost in despair.  

His hope is everlasting, his joy is a delight and his peace is un-surpassing.  He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He reigns for all eternity!  

Those who trust in Him will never be put to shame!

Pain....

The older I get the more pain I seem to experience in this life.  Whether it be a broken relationship, a betrayal, a loss or a disappointment, we all experience pain.

To be quite frank, pain stinks.

Sometimes its that gnawing feeling of hopelessness in your gut.  Other times it's that overwhelming sense of despair or depression that you just can't seem to shake.  It might come in waves, it might come when you least expect it or when your day was actually going pretty good, but there it is again, pain.

So, what do we do with pain?

Well, I suppose we could medicate it.  Lots of people try that method, masking our pain with alcohol, popularity, success, sex, or pills.  You name it.  Yet, pain still lingers.  It's still there in the mornings when we wake up, even though the night before for a brief moment it was sucked away in a sea of our own self-medication.

I've found that in my deepest times of pain, if I look towards a true healer then I can be made well.  In a strange way I become thankful for the pain, because it caused me to depend upon a source of wholeness and healing.  As I drink from rivers of life in the midst of despairing loss my heart is at peace.

Peace.

I want peace.

Jesus says, "come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest"- Matthew 11:28

Rest.

The opposite of struggling, and worried.  Rest for your wounded heart and wholeness for your soul so discouraged and hurting by the pain you've experienced.  Self-medication just doesn't seem to cut it.   Yet, Jesus says, to lay it down, all of our pain, struggles, worries, disappointments and shortcomings before His feet and He will bring rest.

Jesus came so that you might be set free.  Come to the healer today and be made well.  He has the power to make all things, even your wounded heart, brand new.

Stop rebelling, turn around, admit that you've been doing it all wrong and cry out to the healer, place all your sin and failures before Him and be set free.

"Jesus said, I came that they may have life and have it to the full"- John 10:10

"Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you shall be saved"- Romans 10:9

Wandering

Many of us wander through life with no real purpose or destination.  We are uncertain of where we’re headed.  We spend countless hours dreaming up a better life.  In the midst of our confusion we seek to find purpose in the dream that others made for us, because quite honestly, we aren’t really sure how to really live out our dreams, because it seems like when we do they never really fulfill us like we thought they would. 

So in order to fill that deep longing in our souls we pursue the American dream; success, money, a family, relationships, you name it, but if we could be quite honest we’re still just as depressed at the end of the day with all these things in our lives. 

Then maybe the answer is to seek whatever gives us the greatest pleasure, so we run after what makes us feel good and we immerse ourselves into sex, alcohol or we put ourselves in positions where due to our pride, we feel pretty great about ourselves, but in the long run that doesn’t work either. 

I used to wander. 

I longed to be loved and feel beautiful, so I chased after boys and thought if I had a cute boyfriend on my arm that I’d be happy, but I always did and I felt just as empty.  I thought if I were thin that meant I was beautiful, but no matter how thin I got I still felt ugly when I looked in the mirror. 

I hated my life.  I believed that I was worth less, that my life had no purpose and that I would never amount to anything.  I felt so ugly.  I hated the thought of another day.  I didn’t see the point in life.  I was wandering and everyone was telling me where I needed to go to find happiness, but that just wasn’t working. 

On the outside I looked like I had it all together pretty good.  I was successful at sports, I did well in school, and was on the fast track to going to Millikin University to play golf for the school and get a college degree. 

Yet, I was miserable, hopeless and depressed.  Maybe you can relate?

Ironically though, in my wandering, I was found.  I remember the day, July 30^th, 2002, 11 years ago.  I’d grown up in the church and I knew all about this Jesus guy who others had told me had died for my sins and was the Son of God.  Quite honestly, before that day I didn’t really get it.  I’d never come face to face with the reality that yes, I was a sinner, I had done wrong and before a Holy God it is only by His mercies that He has sent Jesus to die for me on my behalf, so that I could be set free from my sin and restored back into right relationship with God through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. 

I remember what I was wearing, Doc Marten shoes, American Eagle jeans and one of my favorite tops with blue and red stripes.  The fact that I remember what I was wearing speaks to the how powerful this moment was to me in my life considering I don’t remember what I ate for lunch yesterday. 

I was tired of wandering.  I was tired of the restless nights, crying myself to sleep, I was done with the feelings of despair and hopelessness.  My way of living life wasn’t working.  I was finished with me running the show.  Something drew me to this Jesus, something told me that in His hand that He held the keys to my freedom. 

I saw Him in my sister, she had joy, hope, purpose and peace.  I longed for those things and I came to realize she had all of these promises and more, because of Jesus. 

It became so clear to me that night as the Youth Pastor shared a message with all of us.  He said, we’re all dirty rags because of our sin and the only way we can enter into Heaven is to have a clean rag and the only person that can wash our rag clean is Jesus. 

For the first time it all made sense.  I had made a mess of my life and I needed forgiveness. I needed a healer. It was in that moment that I said,

“God, I’m so tired of living life on my own, please, wash this rag clean and help me start a new life through Jesus Christ”. 

Even as I type those words my eyes well with tears as I recall that moment.  In an instant everything changed.  I knew that my life would never be the same.  It was as if someone lifted a great burden off of my shoulders and for the first time I could walk in true freedom. 

I wasn’t a prisoner anymore to despair and sadness.  Something inside of me sprung to life.  It was Jesus.  He captured my heart, invaded my soul and put a new song in me. 

Jesus, oh what a wonderful name.  His love set me free, His peace became my hope and His joy became my crown. 

I had been made brand new.  I had become a new creation through Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:17)

Sure, life has still had its ups and downs.  I’ve experienced some very painful things in life these past 11 years as I’ve walked with Jesus and have experienced sadness, yet my life is anchored and founded upon a solid rock.  Even in the midst of great pain I know that my hope is found in something that cannot be shaken.  I place my hope in the person of Jesus Christ and I find that in my pain He brings healing. 

Are you wandering?  There is good news for you.  There is a healer and His name is Jesus!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free - Galations 5:1