Lessons from the Night Sky

February 8, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , ,

Texas Stars

Recently, I was in Austin, Texas helping my daughter as she was working on some of the details for her upcoming  wedding.  Austin is a unique and wonderful place set right in the hill country of Texas.  I love to drive outside the city and get a fresh look and a reviving dose of God’s beautiful creation.  Last night we enjoyed a truly magnificent display of stars.  We just don’t see the stars like that in Dallas as the bright city lights drown out the ability to observe the night time splendor.   I was completely taken by the majesty of the star-filled sky.  Yes, it is true, the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas!

David’s declaration in Psalm 19 kept running through my head:

The heavens declare the glory of God;

The skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech ;

Night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language

Where their voice is not heard. 

Their voice goes out into all the earth,

Their words to the ends of the world.

No matter where we go, the night sky is always filled with bright and beautiful stars, but we can’t always see their splendor.  Sadly the city lights dim our view.  It makes me wonder, what distractions in my life dims my view of seeing the beautiful work God is doing? It’s easy to forget God’s great love for us and His good purpose for our lives.  Sometimes we don’t see the loving way He cares for us because we are blinded by our busyness or consumed with our agendas. 

Oh Lord, help us to see you more clearly.  Help us to recognize those things that distract us and dim our view of your kind and gracious love.  Strengthen our focus so we see your majesty and your ever present beauty in our lives.   

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God’s Presence and Work in our Lives

February 1, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged ,

This  past weekend I had the privilege of flying to Phoenix and speaking to the wonderful ladies at La Casa De Cristo church in Scottsdale.  It was a blessing to get to know the tremendous women in this community of believers, as I observed their servant’s hearts and joyful spirits working together in the bonds of Christ. Truly a picture of the body of Christ shining brightly!

As I prayed about the message to share with the women there, God put on my heart the transforming truth we find throughout the Bible that God is with us and will give us strength.  Even when we walk through dark valleys we do not need to be afraid for God is close beside us.  As a Good Shepherd, his rod and staff protect and comfort us. 

It may feel like God is far away when things go wrong and we become discouraged.  But these can be the very times when our faith grows as we trust God and pour out our hearts toward him even when we don’t understand.  I like what Sinclair Ferguson said, “Appearances can be deceptive. The fact that we cannot see what God is doing does not mean that he is doing nothing.”

One time when I was taking my mastiff to the vet, we met up with a beagle wearing a lamp shade.  It wasn’t a real lampshade of course, it was one of those silly plastic collars that dogs have to wear so they won’t scratch something on their head.  The beagle was miserable and I wasn’t sure how it was going to make it through the day, much less a week of wearing the lamp shade.   The owner said to me, “If only my dog knew this is here to help her and protect her.”  I thought to myself, how easy it is to doubt our master because we can’t understand why He is allowing something in our lives.  Like the beagle, we can either fight against what God is doing in our lives, or trust the love of the master even when we can’t understand the process. 

In the same way, I want to encourage you today, trust God’s care for you.  You may not be able to see all the reasons why, but you can trust a God who loves you and sees your situation.  He is with you. He has a good purpose and a kind intention for your life.

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Shaken but not Stirred

January 25, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

Last year a financial earthquake devastated many Americans bank accounts, and this year we watched in horror as a physical earthquake ravaged Haiti. Perhaps you have experienced a personal earthquake of your own where your world has been shaken.  It may have been a cancer diagnosis or an unexpected divorce or a wayward child.  Although we would love for our lives to fall into the category of calm, peaceful and safe, the reality is life circumstances are constantly shifting. We have no guarantee that our situation will remain rock solid.

Our world may be shaken, but God is not.  He is our rock and we can find rest and hope in Him.  He can give us the strength and wisdom we need to make it through the earthquakes of life.  Consider what the Psalmist proclaimed in Psalm 62:5-8:

 5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
       my hope comes from him.

 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
       he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God ;
       he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

 8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
       pour out your hearts to him,
       for God is our refuge.
      

If your dreams are shattered and your world has been rocked in some way, I want to encourage you to pour out your heart to Him. Trust His providence, love and care.  James reminds us that God does not change like shifting shadows.  When life falls apart, we do not have to fall apart with it.  Our situation may be shaken, but we don’t have to stirred.  Even when you can’t see Him or feel Him, trust that He is there.  David said:

 4 Even when I walk
      through the darkest valley,
   I will not be afraid,
      for you are close beside me.
   Your rod and your staff
      protect and comfort me.

Do not despair.  Do not lose hope. God loves you and will care for you no matter what your earthquake looks like.  When my world is rocked, try to dwell on three important truths:

R – Remember you are not alone. God is with you. Also, recognize that there are others who have gone through similar trials and have made it through. Allow others to help and encourage you.

O – Opt out of despair.  Although it is easy to let your mind go from worry to anxiety to despair, don’t allow your mind to go in that direction.  Grieve yes, but keep your eyes on the hope that God can bring.  He is a redeeming God and can bring opportunity to any situation.

C & K – Compassion and Kindness.  As you work through your challenges, look for ways you can help others in similar struggles.  Reach out to others in compassion and kindness and as you do you will begin to experience the strength and joy that comes from lifting up others. 

Please continue to pray for the dear people of Haiti and the workers there.  Please pray about how you are to give.  I support www.Worldvision.org and their efforts for relief.

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Prayers of Compassion

January 18, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged ,

It’s been a difficult week.  One I’m sure we will never forget as people of Haiti experienced one of the worse natural disasters in history.

As we look back at the tragic events and the aftermath of the earthquake, I know your hearts have been moved along with mine to want to do what we can for the people there.  In watching the continual news coverage, I noticed that many of the workers asked everyone to pray for the relief efforts there.  Certainly at a time like this we recognize our desperate need for God’s mercy, wisdom and care.   

The apostle Paul’s words kept resonating in my mind, “Pray without ceasing.”  Let us all commit to continually pray for the people in this devastated country.  Pray for the relief workers, for their safety and their health.  Pray for more provisions to get through to the people.  Pray for the healing of the people and for the country.  Don’t stop praying.

At this point we may not be able to go over to help physically, but we can help through donations.  Even in this decision, I encourage you to pray for the ways you are to give to help meet the needs of the people of Haiti.  I have chosen to donate to World Vision.  You can go to www.worldvision.org to find out how they are serving in Haiti and also to find out how you can donate.  Prayerfully consider the ways God wants you to help.

Pray without ceasing.  Never stop praying.  Those words are a charge for us as we watch the relief efforts increase day by day.  Oh Lord, help these precious people of Haiti.  Give them peace and strength.  Help them to know you are their refuge.  Help the relief workers.  Give them wisdom and perseverance as they continue to be your hands and feet in this devastated country.

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Begin the New Year Bright!

January 11, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

We are more than a week into the new year and hopefully you are settling into a good routine for 2010. I do hope that you have set a few goals or resolutions for the coming year as you take positive steps forward in your personal life as well as your work life.

One area I want to encourage you to be deliberate about is spiritual growth. I want to challenge you to make a plan to read God’s word and begin to allow it to permeate your life. A systematic approach to reading the Bible works best for most people. If you haven’t discovered the One Year Bible, I would recommend it highly. It has daily readings marked out from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. You simply open to the current day’s date and it has it all laid out for you. I’ve gone through the Bible many times using this approach. Last year I decided to only read the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs, so I could really concentrate on these portions. This year I’m doing the Old Testament day by day. No matter what you have going on in life, when you take a little time to read God’s word each day it keeps you looking at things above.

Reading the Bible not only reveals who God is, but also reminds us of His sovereignty and power in every area of life. God told Joshua as he prepared to lead the Israelites:

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9

This week I had coffee with one of my friends, Sonja Samuels. She is working with Scripture Union, a ministry committed to helping people get to know the Bible more intimately. They offer wonderful, colorful materials starting with children’s guides all the way to adults. Their motto is “Helping people meet God every day.” If you want to know more about their excellent materials contact my friend Sonja at sonjas@scriptureunion.org

By the way, Sonja will be speaking at the Ready to Win conference in Grapevine on Jan 18. I’ll be the emcee and I hope you will join us for this fantastic event! Go to www.ThelmaWells.com to register. See you there!

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Welcoming in 2010

January 4, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

Happy New Year!  As we look forward to a fresh start in 2010 let’s determine to take positive steps forward in personal growth.  Please don’t forge ahead on your own. Ask the Lord to guide you as you pursue His leadership in your life.  Reach out toward potential new friendships and strengthen you r current relationships.

As I told you before, I often take time during the holidays to reflect on the blessings I am thankful for in the past year, and I deliberately consider what I can do differently in the new year.  It’s always good to take some time to do a personal assessment and work toward improvement and growth.  For me personally, I write out goals and action steps for myself professionally, mentally, physically, spiritually and even socially. I even think of an overriding area which I need to work on for the whole year.

This year I am working on discipline in several areas.  I recognize I need to be more disciplined in getting up right when the alarm goes off in the early morning hours.  I need to be more disciplined in eating less and eating healthy foods.  I also need to be more disciplined in the area of returning phone calls and emails.  Most importantly I want to be disciplined in pursuing Christ and knowing Him more deeply and intimately.

God’s word always gives me strength and encouragement in this direction as I read Paul’s words about pursuing Christ in his own life.  In Philippians 3:12 – 14,  Paul says:

“ I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

I like how Paul talks about forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.   The new year is a good time to do that.  We need to forget things in the past such as past mistakes, sins or hurts.  We need to drop those reoccurring negative thoughts rather than continue to replay them in our minds.  We also need to be careful of resting on our past successes or accomplishments and becoming comfortable or complacent in where we are.  Paul said he strained toward what was ahead.  He pressed on toward knowing Christ and becoming more like Him. Think of an athlete who leans forward into the finish line.  In the same way me we lean in toward Christ.

May I encourage you as this new year unfolds to press on toward passionately pursing Christ.  Just as Paul strained toward what is ahead in becoming more Christlike, we can do the same.  It’s an active pursuit.  This December I bought a pair of Snoozies.  They are soft comfy slippers to wear around the house.  They are good if I am doing nothing all day, but if I am going for a walk or going anywhere – the Snoozies won’t work.  I need my running shoes. 

Spiritually speaking, don’t wear your Snoozies and rest in your walk with Christ. Put on your running shoes and actively pursue a deeper relationship with Him.  He welcomes you into his loving embrace.  Actively pursuit Christ by reading His Word and doing what is says.  Spend time with Him in prayer seeking His help and guidance.  Consider going the extra mile and memorize a passage from the Bible.   I know it will be an exciting journey and a great year as you actively pursue Him.

I hope you are off to a great 2010.  Are you ready to win in 2010?  Consider joining me at the Ready to Win Conference with Thelma Wells on Monday, Jan 18 in Grapevine.  For more info go to ThelmaWells.com.

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Looking Forward

December 28, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

Don’t you just love the week between Christmas and New Years? I do!  The pressure of the gifts, the cards, the wrapping and the parties is over and now we can relax for a short while and think about how we may do things differently in the coming year.  It is a good time to reflect on what worked and didn’t work from the past year and consider what to do differently in 2010.

Here are three questions to ask yourself as you take some time to relax this week:

What were some of the highlights of the past year which are worth repeating?

What are some changes I need to make in my life from last year to this year?

What is one new achievement I would like to accomplish in 2010?

Prayerfully ask the Lord to lead you as you walk through the doors leaving 2009 behind and as you step into the possibilities that await you in 2010.  Seek His power to strengthen you on your journey and follow His path as He lovingly guides you.  This week take some time to read and reflect on II Peter 1:3-7.  Think about each phrase and ponder what it means to you personally. Consider memorizing it for the coming year. And yes, Happy New Year to you my friend. May it be a year filled with a deeper love for God and for the people He places in your life. 

II Peter 1:3-7

 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Stop for a Moment

December 21, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , ,

This  past week we received the sad news that my father-in-law passed away.  Funeral services were this weekend in Memphis .  It was a sad time, and yet the family certainly felt lifted up through the prayers and support of friends.  His death just before Christmas serves as a reminder of the brevity of life.  We are mortal.  We are also fleshly , and everyone of us needs a savior.

At Christmas we focus on the baby Jesus, but let’s also center our focus on the fact that Jesus came to this earth as a gift to mankind.  We are poor and needy, maybe not physically or financially, but we are all poor and needy spiritually. Because of our debt of sin, God lovingly sent a savior to the world.  Yes, our debt was paid by Christ’s blood on the cross, and He lovingly invites us to believe in Him and be saved. 

Let’s take some time to stop, take a deep breath and reflect on what is really important during this season.  Thank the Lord for sending his Son to this world as payment for our sin.  Death not only reminds us of our need for a savior, but it also reminds us of how important it is to actively love the people around us.  We do not know how much longer we have on this earth.  Loving God and loving others should be on the top of our list of things to give at Christmas and all year through. 

I’m reminded of I Corinthians 13:

“ 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

The passage goes on to describe a Christlike love:

“4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”

So let’s generously give the gift of love! May we reflect His love as we offer our gifts to others this Christmas.

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Christmas Joy

December 14, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

JOY, JOY, JOY!  We see the word everywhere during this season.  I’m especially in tune with the word JOY because one of my daughter’s name is Joy.  And yes, everytime I see something with the word Joy on it I’m tempted to get it.  We have JOY pillows, JOY hand towels, JOY Christmas ornaments, and even JOY cookie cutters!  It’s ironic that although this season is supposed to be the season of JOY, so few people seem to experience it.  Between family issues, past hurts, anger, unforgiveness, busyness and a bit of self-centeredness, JOY seems to be a rare commodity. 

 Of all things, this week we celebrate the Advent week of Joy.  As Christians, we can find our joy in the Lord and in the fact that He sent Jesus to this world as a gift to pay the penalty for our sin.  There is lasting and true joy IN THE LORD.  As we turn our faces toward Him and consider His lovingkindness and goodness toward us there is a great joy that no one can take from us.  Now there may be some things that are clouding your joy that you need to consider in your life. This is the time to give the gift of forgiveness.  This is the time to cast your cares and worries on the God who loves you.  This is the time to get rid of the sin which robs you of your joy.  Find your joy in the Lord this Christmas season.

 There is great joy in serving others as well. One tradition I started just recently is going downtown to help out with Operation Care.  This is a giant Christmas party for the homeless in downtown Dallas.  It is an incredibly beautiful gift of love to the people in our community.  Hundreds of volunteers help literally thousands of homeless people, some of whom are bused in from surrounding cities.  If you live in the Dallas area consider helping out on Saturday, Dec 19 at the Dallas Convention Center.  Go to www.operationcaredallas.org to sign up as a volunteer and for more information. 

 Joy to the World the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her King! May we proclaim His love as we experience a joy that no one can take from us.  I hope you have a wonderful week of enjoying family and more importantly drawing close to Christ.

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Desperate for Love

December 7, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

This past Sunday we celebrated the second week of Advent and reflected upon the theme of Love.  God’s love was demonstrated to the world through the gift of Jesus Christ.  God loves us because He is Good, not because we are.  Let us take time this week to thank the Lord for His dear love for us and to consider the power of His perfect love in our lives.

 Deep within every individual is a need to be truly and sincerely loved. Our hearts long for the satisfaction of true love.  We tend to search for love in a variety of places, trying to satisfy the longing in our hearts through temporary pleasures which only bring temporary satisfaction. 

Only God’s love can satisfy our hunger.  He alone loves completely.  He is gracious, compassionate and full of mercy.  He knows us better than anyone can know us, and loves us with reckless abandon.  We can’t say that about a person or a thing or a pleasure.  This week let us focus on the One True Love, the Lover of our Souls.  And let us consider the love He demonstrated to us through sending His son Jesus to die on the cross on our behalf. 

I want to encourage you to spend some time this week contemplating Ephesians 3:16 – 21:

16”I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

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