Reason to Celebrate

Good morning! I hope your weekend was restful and that you are hitting the ground running today.

Today my son Collin is celebrating his 10^th birthday. A milestone has been attained. Collin is now a double digit boy. As part of this milestone celebration Collin will be opening gifts and enjoying treats given to him by friends and family who love him dearly.

Celebrations are wonderful aren’t they? People love to come together to celebrate achievements and milestones. Birthdays, victories, retirement and new babies are just some of the reasons we break out the balloons, food and wrapping paper.

The Bible speaks of a great celebration as well:

Matthew 25:23 (NLT)

The master said, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!'

For the follower of Jesus the anticipation of this celebration outshines all the rest. This celebration begins at the end of this journey we call life. On this day our Lord will consider all that we have done with the life He has given us. Our faithfulness to His call will result in a celebration of eternal proportions.

Today you may be in need of a celebration. Remember this:

John 3:16 (NLT)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Now that’s cause to celebrate!!!

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

Carl

Time Alone

We live in a day and age where constant activity is the norm. Even when we
take days off, we still work ourselves ragged. For people like me who lean to
the workaholic side of the scale, we even give up what should be our sleeping hours for a few more hours of productivity.

Unfortunately, we allow ourselves to get so busy that we lose sight of what is
most important. As a pastor, I find that there are times when I get so busy
doing “God’s work” that I neglect my relationship with God. I have at times
found myself so busy doing ministry that I didn’t take time to be still and
listen to God’s voice. I’ve seen other times when I’ve loaded my schedule
with meetings and ministry activities, but didn’t build in time for God’s word.

So how did Jesus do it? When the crowds were pressing in and everyone wanted
his attention, how did he keep first things first? Here is a great example:

Mark 1:35 (NLT)

The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray.

Jesus knew the demands that would be placed upon him, so he planned accordingly.

Instead of grabbing a few extra minutes of sleep, Jesus instead arose early
and headed out to a secluded place. Jesus knew that he could not focus on
intimacy with God, if he was being bombarded by demands and distractions. So
Jesus went to a place in which he could slow down and focus his full attention on God. There were no other conversations to manage, no unplanned visitors,
no urgent phone calls…only quality time seeking the heart of His Father.

This week, I encourage you to steal away for some quality time with your
Heavenly Father. Find a place of seclusion and quiet. Go expectantly,
seeking an intimate encounter with him and prepare to be refreshed.

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

Carl

Choosing Your Reputation

Good morning! I hope your weekend was restful and that you are fully refreshed this morning.

Today I want to talk to you about something that every one of us has. For some of us this thing is wonderful and a real pleasure to have. For others of us this thing is not so good and at times becomes a real burden to bear. So what is this thing I’m referring to…it’s your reputation.

Like it or not we all have a reputation that has been carved out by our actions over the years, both good and bad. Good neighbor, kind-hearted, generous, liar, cheat and thief. These labels all vary in their positive or negative tone, but they are all labels given to people each day.

The thing about reputations is that they stick. Once a reputation is given it tends to remain. If the reputation is negative it can be nearly impossible to get rid of. Because of the lasting nature of reputations, the Bible gives us some great advice:

Proverbs 22:1 (NLT)

Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold.

When you boil it all down to the purest form, a reputation is really a commentary or judgment on a person’s character. The reputation determines to what degree a person is trusted, allowed to lead or even invited into a close relationship.

My dad once told me that the greatest gift he could give me was “a good name.” Those words have stuck with me throughout the years. My successes, wealth and physical abilities will come and go with time, but my reputation will remain. In fact, my reputation may outlive me, so this truly becomes an issue of the type of legacy I will leave.

So how does one “choose a good reputation?” Every day we are given choices in life. These are choices of values and integrity. Each time you choose integrity over compromise, you are choosing a good reputation. By the same token, every time you choose compromise or underhanded tactics you are also developing a reputation. It has been said that those who refuse to take stands are simply choosing to fall for everything. Don’t let this be said of you.

This week you will be given opportunities to carve out a reputation. Seize those moments and carve out a reputation that honors you and your foundation of faith.

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

Carl

Rained Out

Good morning! I hope your weekend was restful and your week is off to a running start.

This past weekend our church held a car show to build bridges to our local community and to raise support for our upcoming mission trip to India. Our first car show in June had been a big success with nearly 50 cars on display and a large community turnout. Based on the feedback we had gotten from the June event and the buzz around town with the upcoming show, I had very high hopes for the turnout this past weekend.

Before I go any further, let me explain one thing about serious car enthusiasts. If even one cloud is in the sky, the car enthusiast is not going to bring his beloved automobile out of the garage.

Well wouldn’t you know it? This past week hurricane Lorenzo hit the Gulf coast of Mexico and the Texas coast got deluged with rain. The highly anticipated car show had now become a not so highly anticipated car “wash.” Our expectations of 75+ cars ended up being 14 cars (some of us are rain or shine type people).

Life is like this sometimes isn’t it? We have high hopes and aspirations, but the end result falls short of our expectations. There is a verse in scripture that has always been a source of strength and a reminder of God’s faithfulness in times like these:

Romans 8:28 (NLT)

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

As I reflect back on this weekend I come away seeing something other than failure and disappointment. I see deeper victories that will have longer lasting results.

I saw bonds being strengthened within our church family. I was so amazed by the number and variety of people within our church family who gave of themselves to help with this effort. Some brought food, others cooked barbeque, others prepared plates, others passed out posters and others helped park cars. The sounds of shared laughter and the shared memories of being drenched at the car show will long outlive any possible memories of beautiful cars.

Additionally, we as a church family got to spend more quality time with those who did bring their cars out. It was a time to build relationships and connect with others outside of our church family.

This week you may be dealing with a dream that has not been realized or a plan that has fallen short of the intended goal. If this describes you, then take heart. Spend some time zooming out and looking at the bigger picture. What were the lessons learned? What were the relationships forged? What was the new skill set you acquired? Remember, God is not going to let those experiences go to waste.

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

Carl