Availability

Good morning! I trust you had a very Merry Christmas and were blessed by your time with family and friends.

Each year in the days between Christmas and New Years, I take a prayer retreat. Some years I have been able to go deep in the woods to a secluded cabin, other years I stay close to home, but seclude myself. It is during these times that I reflect on the year past and listen for God’s direction for the year ahead.

One of the issues that surfaces often during these times is the issue of availability. It is so easy to become worried about my abilities and how God is going to use them, but what God is truly interested in is my availability. Take a look at this passage from Isaiah:

Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us?”

And I said, “Lord, I’ll go! Send me.”

More than God cares about my leadership skills, my speaking ability or my people skills He most cares about my willingness to go. Many of us say that “Wherever He leads I’ll go.”, but would we really? In one of the books I read on a past retreat the author mused that for every person who says they will go “wherever”, how many of them have their passports stamped and active? Do their actions really bear out their words?

There are many reasons that we unfortunately say “no” to God. God leads in a certain direction and we begin to withdraw our commitment. “I can’t afford it!” “I don’t know enough!” “I couldn’t leave my friends and family!” Do any of these sound familiar?

To follow where God leads requires complete surrender and a sold out commitment. In the story of Jesus’ birth, the shepherds were compelled to see Jesus. Nothing else mattered at that point. Are you in that same place, where following Jesus is the greatest passion in your life. I sometimes wonder what blessings I have missed out on by not going where I have been led.

This week I want to challenge you to be available. Are you willing to truly say, “Wherever He leads I’ll go?” Make yourself available to God and His purposes. Ask Him to invite you into the midst of His activity.

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

Carl

Don't Forget

Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Luke 2:8-11 (NASB)
8 And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people;
11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

This morning you may find yourself having trouble focusing on the work in front of you. For many of us, our minds have already drifted to our travel plans, incoming guests and the plans of the Christmas holiday. The busyness of last minute shopping, hosting and wrapping of gifts occupies our time. If we are not careful, it can even become a Christmas without Christ.

The message of Christmas is the greatest message the world has ever known. God sent Jesus, His one and only child, to offer himself as an atoning sacrifice for all men. Jesus was born to do that which you and I are incapable of, by bringing us into a right relationship with God. The sacrifice of the manger foreshadows the sacrifice of the cross, where Jesus would complete His atoning work for you and I.

This Christmas season take time to reflect on the One who stepped away from the glory of heaven to take upon himself human flesh. He wasn’t obligated to enter this scene, but He willingly chose to do it out of love for you. You’ve been given the greatest gift man has ever known, the gift of new life, clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

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

Carl

Examining Your Foundation

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

This past week I spent some time with a man who is both a friend and trusted advisor. He has taken a great interest in my work over the past 18 months, but has taken particular interest in the church planting ministry that I launched in November. As we were talking, he addressed with me his concern over my foundation. As I probed into his statement, he accurately assessed that I was beginning to rapidly put together a structure, but my foundation was not set. He further elaborated that I may even need to pull back the reigns on the ministry, because the monthly provisions for my family were not fully in place.

There was great wisdom in those words. A structure is only as good as the foundation it is built upon. The foundation determines to what degree and at what pace the structure can be erected. It also determines the longevity of what is built, and the types of adversity the structure can withstand.

This conversation has had me thinking about the following passage of Scripture:

Luke 6:47-49 (NASB)

47 "Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 "But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

The greatest detriment to the lives we are building is the poor foundation work, we all too often settle for. We may hear the words of God, but how often do we fail to implement those very things into our lives. We know we are cutting corners, but we don’t think anyone will ever notice the shortcuts. Unfortunately turmoil has a way of exposing our frailties, shortcuts and shortcomings. The places we chose to hear, but not obey become glaringly obvious as we watch the structures of our lives come crashing down on the shifting foundations upon which they were built.

Today, I encourage you to evaluate your foundation. Have you taken the time to dig deep and lay your foundation on the bedrock principles of God? If you have, the storms may be fierce, but they will not topple the things God has directed you to build. In the end the structure will stand, unmoved by the tempest, because the foundation never shifted.

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

Carl

Living a Life of Honor

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend and find yourself fully energized today.

One of the things my dad instilled in me growing up was the importance of a good name. I watched him over and over again make choices that were not always the easiest, but were the choices that were honorable. When opportunities were presented to compromise his principles, he always stood his ground on the convictions that were deep within him.

In one of our most memorable conversations before I left home my dad told me: “I may never leave you vast wealth, property or fortune, but I will leave you a good name.” Those words penetrated deep within me and have taken up residence. I have tried diligently to pass this same value of integrity on to my children.

Every day we are bombarded with opportunities to compromise our principles. People ask us to stretch the boundaries or turn the other way. At first glance it may seem harmless enough, but ultimately those compromises have a lingering effect on our character and reputation. The stench of compromise stays around long after the compromise has been made.

It is no wonder that God led the writer of Hebrews to pen these words:

HEBREWS 13:18 (NASB)
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.

One of the most valuable assets we have is our reputation. A reputation can open doors of opportunity or slam them just as quickly. A reputation may be the difference between advancement and resistance and our reputations move beyond us. Our spouses, children, co-workers, employers and even the God of our faith are labeled by our integrity or lack thereof. It is no wonder that the writer of this verse requested prayer over this issue of honorable conduct.

Today I encourage you to evaluate your own conduct. Would you be described as a man or woman who operates with honor and integrity? Perhaps you find yourself this morning being faced with an opportunity for compromise. Consider the cost, shore up your defenses and remember it is your reputation at stake. Ask God to direct your conduct that you may always be known as a person of honor.

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

Carl

Preparing for the Unseen

Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family.

The talk on the lips of the American public these days is the economy. I’ve been chuckling every weeknight during The Tonight Show as Jay Leno breaks into a short burst of one-liners that begin with “The economy’s getting bad I tell you…” The forecasts for the next 18-24 months do not look good for the American economy to say the least.

So the question becomes this, “what preparations have you been making with the resources God is making available to you?” This question got me reflecting upon the story of Joseph this morning. Joseph was sold into slavery, jailed under false accusation and generally mistreated, but Joseph never lost sight of God. Joseph’s faithful service to those who held him captive ultimately led to his rise to prominence in Egypt. It was through this rise to prominence that Joseph was able to provide for his people during 7 years of famine. Look at Joseph’s words as recorded in Genesis:

Genesis 45:5-7 (NASB)
5 “And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
6 “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
7 “And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.

Sometimes in life we get so self-absorbed with what is wrong in our own piece of the picture that we fail to step back and look at the bigger picture. Joseph heeded the warnings of famine and made adjustments in the land of Egypt that ended up being the provision for the inhabitants of the land when food was scarce. He got beyond the “wrongs” of the past and turned a negative into a positive.

So what has God been doing to prepare you and your family for the things that lie ahead? Perhaps it is time to step back and look at the greater picture. God may have allowed you to go through a job change you didn’t want, because your industry was getting ready to fold. He may have moved you to another part of the country, where the provisions of life are not as difficult to come by. He may have denied you the loan, so you wouldn’t be weighed down by a debt you couldn’t maintain. Of course the preparations are not all negative. Perhaps the bonus or raise you received was given so you could build a cash reserve if things get lean. Maybe that same windfall was given so you could provide more fully for those in need.

Whether the worst fears of the economic forecasters come to pass remains to be seen, but no matter what the outcomes may be, God is already putting the resources and people in place to see His people through the lean times. Today, I encourage you to evaluate the tools that God has given you for provision and care. Thank Him for already making the adjustments in your life that are needed to whether the storms of the future.

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

Carl