Viva La Vida

Coldplay’s new CD is pretty good.  I’m not like a crazy fanatic or anything but I picked it up yesterday at lunch.

My favorite song is actually the lead track, Life in Technicolor.  It’s instrumental, rich in sound and it’s building, driving melody resonates within me.  This is the kind of music I like to listen to.  Words can simply mess up a song sometimes.

Other than that, I give the entire CD eight thumbs up out of ten.

“Knowing” and “Doing”

One of my most favorite quotes of all time…

“I’m educated far beyond my level of obedience.”

I don’t know who wrote it, but this statement was seared into me the moment I read it.  This statement is a different perspective of James 2:14-26.  I’ve read more books, more scripture, listened to more sermons, gone to more conferences than I have ever actually applied to real life.  I’ve realized that it’s so easy to have a “know” kind of faith but a completely different story when it comes to “doing”.  I’ve been a professed believer now for over 18 years and I’m sometimes ashamed at how little I’ve allowed God to use me over this time.  Think about it this way…if your not gonna use it, then why take the time to learn it? 

Obedience is something I understand more of these days.  The hard part is this…obedience requires action, a choice.  Obedience is probably the most difficult part of being a christian.  Obedience sometimes requires perseverance.  Obedience requires you to make choices that may not be in your best for your schedule or finances, but its a prerequisite to operating within God’s will.

Jesus, the pinnacle of obedience, is our example.  So ask yourself…

• Do I worship God like Jesus?
• Do I love others like Jesus?
• Do I serve like Jesus?
• Do I pray like Jesus?
• Do I resist temptation like Jesus?
• Am I humble like Jesus?

If you answer yes to all these, then totally disregard this post.  You must be Jesus!  If not, I encourage you to focus on obedience and think about these six questions as often as possible.  It’s sobering.  I’m afraid many of our churches and their believers are more about “knowing” and less about “doing” these days.

If you “know”, then go and “do”.

Let’s Go Paddle!

The Harpeth River west of Nashville, TN is one of the best to canoe and fish in our area.  We’re going this weekend and hope you can join us.

When and where:  Saturday, July 12, 2008 @ 9am - Tip A Canoe on Hwy 70 west of Nashville

What to bring:  Your lunch, sunscreen, shoes that can get wet, $20 (per canoe, split with a partner) to cover cost and tax.

Canoeing is one of my favorite hobbies of all time.  It ranks right up there with fishing, hiking, and camping. 

What are some hobbies you enjoy in the summer?

What Jacob Has Been Doing Lately…

Here’s a brief list of interesting and entertaining habits Jacob has been developing lately…

• Chasing Benji (our cat) down the hall as we prepare for bath time…naked of course.  (He doesn’t get that from me.)
• Putting the “atomic elbow” in my face or head region as he launches himself on top of me from the coffee table in the living room.  (A future WWE wrestling star?)
• Constantly and systematically having to be between Julie and I if we are hugging or sitting next to each other.
• Saying “stop it”.  (Again, not from me.)
• Always thanking Jesus for “choo choo” park before anything else in every prayer.  (Let’s me know where I rank.)
• Emphatically saying “AMEN!” after every prayer.  (Does this imply that he’s glad it’s over or do I really do that bad of a job?)
• Eating candy…specifically tootsie rolls and PEZ, which are coincidentally some of Julie’s favorites.  (Hmmmm…can you say influence?)
• A fairly consistent grumpy, morning attitude.  (Can’t blame him for that.)
• Making us laugh.  He’s quite the exhibitionist.
• Chasing the “alligator” around our front porch.  (For those of you older than 2 1/2, that’s a lizard.)

Which Is Easier?

Trying to effectively brush your crazy two year old son’s teeth when he’s hopped up on sugar and being tickled by his Momma?

OR….

Hit a hole in one left handed (if your right), blindfolded, standing one foot while your shoe is on fire?  Plus your not even on a golf course.

Think about it long and hard.  Don’t answer too hastily.  If you don’t have kids, then never mind the question.

(Just a mental snapshot of what happens at house each evening.)

Timing

I’m stressed.  I loose sleep when I’m stressed.  After having a difficult time trying to go to sleep last night, today I read this…

“…even at night his mind does not rest.  This too is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 2:23)

This is a timely reminder for me today to continue focusing on God for solutions to problems that I face and not just the problem itself.  Being stressed out doesn’t accomplish much.  I stress out because I don’t have the optimum solution to a problem or the task before me seems too difficult.

With that said, there are two strikes against me at this point in my life-

1. I’m conditioned by the business world.  In my career, I have been very independent when it comes to working and problem solving.  However, I am constantly trying to transform my way of thinking to be more dependent on God.  Don’t be fooled, this is still a struggle for me.
2. I’m horribly stubborn.  I don’t like to ask for help on anything.  This is a pride issue that has diminished much but is still have my moments.  Just ask my wife. 

I’m trying to overcome both.  I’m constantly trying to transform my thinking to where my knee-jerk reaction will always be one of “God, help” instead of “God, I’ll be with you in just a minute because I’m working on something here”.  The last thing I want to do is allow stress and worry to dictate my actions.  That’s God’s role.  Too much self-reliance leaves Him little room to operate.

God, thank you for the timely presentation of your Word to me today.  It was not by chance.  I pray that the wisdom that I continue to gain would be completely yours and that all of my actions would unmistakably point in your direction.

Do You Ever Feel Like This?

Lonely.  Do you ever just have a day where you feel lonely or down?  It’s like a funk that you can’t shake and you have no clue where it came from. 

Yesterday was one of those days for me.  I’m happily married, have a wonderful child, great friends, and enjoy the company of my coworkers at a great job.  So how is it that I can justify having days like that.

Anyone else have a clue about this?

Cookout

Having the connect group gang over for a cookout tonight.  I’ll try to post pictures later.

Burgers, dogs, potato salad, beans, chips, good weather, and great friends…who could ask for anything more!

I’M HUNGRY!!!

Orange Again

Okay.  Since the UT Women’s Basketball team became the clear winner last night, we’re changing the blog header back to orange for a while.  I would have to say that their victory was pretty impressive for a NCAA championship game.  Congratulations to the whole team!

By the way, Pat Summit is plain good.  She’s worth her weight in chili-cheese fries!

God Is An Engineer

We always give God creative, descriptive titles like the “Great Physician”, the “Great Creator”, the “Great Teacher”, the “Great Provider”, etc. Today, I want to add to that list.

God is the Great Engineer.

Okay, for those of you who know me, I am schooled in the sciences of mechanical engineering. God wired me to be me and with that I simply love being an engineer.

Now I know some of you are asking yourselves “but you’re a pastor, don’t you want to work full time in the ministry?” Yes. The answer to that question is yes, but like I said the realm of physical science just ‘pops my cork’. So now that is out of the way, let me show you one simple way of how God brings those two worlds of mine together.

On Friday, a bunch of my coworkers and I were talking about cars, gas prices, new technology for transportation, new forms of energy, etc. As we were talking about energy, we started discussing the more detailed aspects of energy (i.e. potential, kenetic, and perpetual motion, etc.) At that point God revealed some crazy stuff to me. Follow me here…

Energy is defined as the ability to do work. Potential Energy is defined as stored energy in a system. If you hold a ball in your hand at waist level, that ball has potential energy. Why? Simply because gravity is pulling downward, but your hand is holding it from falling. There is potential energy stored in the ball. Now, on the same token, hold the ball above your head. The potential energy has now increased. It has the ability to do more when elevated.

Now let’s insert the spiritual connection. You are now the ball. The closer we get to God (upward), the more potential you have. By increasing your potential I’m saying that you will begin to better know your Creator as father and friend, you will love others more like Jesus did, and you will be living life more of the way God intented. That is your potential! Literally speaking, the sky is the limit!

Cool!!! So what’s the catch?

Yes, there is a catch. In order to store up potential energy in a system, work has to be put into that system to create potential energy. Work is defined as force multiplied by distance. Your arm lifting that ball above your head is called work. We have to work at growing closer to God. It requires time, effort, and discipline. We need to pray, study, and fellowship together with God. We have to work to build up the ‘potential energy’ in our God ‘relationship system’.

I’m not done yet.

So you’ve done the work to store up potential energy in your God ‘relationship system’. Now what? At this point, you are in a place to convert your potential energy into kenetic energy. Kenetic energy is defined as anything in motion. Potential energy makes kenetic energy possible. Therefore, the more potential energy you have, the greater kenetic energy you will have when released. Your kenetic energy will be the impact you have on God’s Kingdom. You can input a lot of work into increasing your level of potential energy, but in the end, God wants you to use it. He wants you to release it. He wants you to be a force for Him.

Conclusion.

You’ve got to work to build up your potential energy with God. Then you can release your potential energy to become kenetic energy of God. Then your kenetic energy will be the impact for God! - Jonathan Ellis

I have learned that God is very consistent in all that He has created. Should we be surprised that the One who invented physical science could be described with it? I think it’s pretty cool, but I’m kind of a nerd (technically speaking). What do you think?