Loving Correction

Good morning! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend and that your week is off to a great start.

This past week has been a difficult week for me, because I have been through a time of “Divine” correction. There are times in our lives when God has to wake us up from our stupor so that He can move us away from the things that are a hindrance in our lives. For me, this correction from the Lord dealt with the issues of living in the fullness of God’s power.

It is so easy for us at times to get wrapped up in things that don’t matter. We become distracted to the point of indifference and ineffectiveness. God, however, has a greater plan for our lives, for our home and for our churches. God intends for us to live our lives with focused passion and in the fullness of His strength, relying not upon ourselves, but fully on Him.

I want to share with you the following verse about the correction of our Heavenly Father:

Revelation 3:19 (NLT)

I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference.

Even in the midst of God’s discipline, I find comfort in the fact that God disciplines me, because He loves me. I can remember a similar sentiment coming from my own dad as a kid. Of course at the time I didn’t believe him, but I look back and see that his discipline was most certainly out of love for me. My dad was interested in the type of person I would become, and so he disciplined me accordingly.

God is also interested in my personhood. He wants to see my life become a pure and blameless vessel through which His presence is seen. God wants my church to truly reflect the majesty of His Son, Jesus. In fact this verse is actually written to a church, God wanted them not to be complacent, mediocre or lukewarm….He wanted them focused.

The great thing about the Lord’s hand of correction is that it is followed by sweet and intimate fellowship. When we yield our will to His and turn from the errors of our ways, we experience a closeness that makes it all worthwhile. Look at the next verse:

Revelation 3:20 (NLT)

"Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.

You become like the people you spend time with. When there is intimacy with Jesus, your life becomes a reflection of His majesty. You begin to live in His power. Your life begins to change. You pray differently, relate differently, care differently and your life bears evidence of divine power at work.

This week allow God to examine the condition of your heart. If you are facing His loving correction, be thankful that He cares enough to discipline. Accept his loving discipline and look forward with expectancy to the intimate fellowship that follows.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Have You Ever Needed a Second Chance?

Good morning! I hope your weekend was restful and that you find yourself rejuvenated as you enter into this new week.

Today I want to challenge you with the thought of second chances. This past week I have had the opportunity to interact with several people who were going through a time of deep spiritual struggle over whether to give another person or group a “second chance.”

Think back with me if you will to the school playground that you played on as a kid. When I was young, I played rousing games of kickball, four square, tag and whatever else imaginative little minds could think of. I was not always the most coordinated kid and so there were times when I would ask for a “do over.” Did you ever ask for any “do overs?”

As I go through life, I still find that I don’t always have it together. There are many times that I fail not only myself, but others as well. I struggle with self doubt or I say an unkind word only to be filled with a suitcase full of regrets and overwhelming thoughts of how this all could have turned out so different. Fortunately for us, the forgiveness of Christ allows us to experience “do overs” on a regular basis. Here’s where I want us to focus in though. Even though we regularly experience the freedom of forgiveness that we receive in Jesus Christ, we are not always ready or willing to extend that to others.

Let me share with you a brief passage of scripture:

Philemon 1:15-16 (NLT)

Perhaps you could think of it this way: Onesimus ran away for a little while so you could have him back forever. [16] He is no longer just a slave; he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a slave and as a brother in the Lord.

The book of Philemon is a letter from Paul to his friend Philemon. Philemon had owned a slave named Onesimus who had run away. Now in the day and time of this letter the penalty for a slave who had run away could potentially be death. But during Onesimus’ time on the run, something amazing had happened. Onesimus had encountered the Apostle Paul and through their interaction, Onesimus had become a follower of Jesus. He was a changed man and because he was a changed man, Paul in the verses above asks for Philemon to give Onesimus a second chance.

Paul admonishes Philemon not to receive Onesimus back as a returned slave, but instead welcome him home as a Christian brother. When someone hurts us or fails us it is hard at times to offer those second chances. We say “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me,” and we take on the heart of a cynic. But we must remember we serve the God of transformed lives. Transforming us from sinful people into radiant reflections of His glory is His specialty.

This week God may be showing you that its time to give someone or even a group of people a second chance. Remember changed lives are the greatest testimony of the Lord’s handiwork. If you are able to see His transforming touch in your life, then trust that He can transform those lives around, that He can transform a bad situation and use it for His glory. Remember God is still in control.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

Got Synergy?

Good morning! Are you familiar with the word “synergy?” Synergy is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as “The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.” It is this idea of synergy that I would like to focus on this morning.

Over the weekend, we had a workday at our church where we undertook a long list of spring cleaning chores. Now we have had workdays before and have always been able to accomplish quite a bit of work, however; this time was different. We were joined by a group of 15 or so college students from South Carolina for the day. With the addition of this group of individuals our spring cleaning also became a spring cleanout and we were able to distribute 300 fliers to our community.

When a group of people work together, utilizing their individual strengths and gifts for the larger of good of the group amazing things can happen. The idea of “synergy” has floated around corporate circles for many years, but it shouldn’t be a new idea, because God created us to work in unison with others. Look at the following passage from 1 Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NLT)

Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.

God did not create cookie cutter people. Each of is uniquely individual with unique gifts, talents and abilities. On our own, we can accomplish some things, but we fall far short of accomplishing monumental things. However, when we are coupled with the uniqueness of others our effectiveness is not added to, but multiplied.

Think of an orchestra that was only made up of trumpets. That might be ok for a song or two, but it would be missing something. Now when the strings, percussion, woodwinds and other pieces of brass are added there is a beauty that the trumpet alone could never match. It is only when these separate instruments are played at their individual best in the context of a group that beautiful music is made.

Unfortunately, too many of us try to live like Lone Ranger Christians. How quickly we forget that even the Lone Ranger needed his trusty horse Silver and his faithful companion Tonto. The Christian life was never meant to be a life of isolation. God never intended for us to try to be the complete fulfillment of the body of Christ on our own. To be truly effective in the Christian life, we need the uniqueness of those God has placed around us.

This week take time to give thanks to God for the individuality of those around you. Recognize the way their presence makes you better and realize that when God asks you to accomplish “God-sized” tasks, He has already surrounded you with the people who will help make it possible.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

The Truth Hurts

Good morning! This morning I want to talk to you about allowing others to speak into your life. Today we live in a world where finding the truth can sometimes be a difficult proposition. From corporate scandals, to government spin everywhere we look the truth seems to be the last thing anyone cares about.

Unfortunately, many people live their lives in a similar fashion. We all know of people, maybe even you, who live their lives in denial. When we think of denial, we tend to think of someone struggling with alcohol or drugs, but what about the day to day things?

You may be in denial over the quality of your performance at work, you may be in denial about your spending habits or the amount of debt you carry, you may be in denial about the neglect of your walk with God.

When we get into these issues of personal denial, we begin to live in a self-created fantasy world. We convince ourselves that everything is ok, but we ignore the proverbial 900 pound gorilla sitting in the corner of the room.

One of the things that is most valuable to me is having people in my life who have permission to expose the truth. I have for many years maintained accountability relationships with other men. These men have permission to ask the hard questions about my marriage, my parenting, my personal walk with God and my ministry.

When they see me living a manufactured reality or ignoring the existence of problems, it is their role in my life to expose the truth.

Look at what Proverbs says:

Proverbs 27:6 (NLT)

Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

Unfortunately for us too many people are willing to sidestep delicate issues in our lives, because they don’t want to hurt our feelings. They will dance around the problems never forcing us to face reality.

A true friend, however, will not beat around the bush. They will speak the truth in love, because they care for you. Think of it this way….if your Doctor knew you had cancer, you would want him or her to be honest with you. Suppose now that your Doctor didn’t want to tell you the truth, because they didn’t want to hurt your feelings. They just told you that you had a virus or a bug or perhaps they just talked about the symptoms. In the end you would be upset that the truth had not come out.

This week I want to challenge you to find someone who can tell you the truth, good or bad about your life. Allow yourself to be examined on a regular basis. God will use these times to deal with the issues that hinder your service to Him.

My parents used to tell me at times: “The truth hurts.” It is in these times of brutal honesty that your character will be developed and the quality of God’s workmanship will shine through.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl