The Battle Is The Lord's

I was just doing my daily internet purusing, and the thought came to my mind, "The battle is the Lord's!" I don't really know why that entered my thoughts this morning, is it a warning, or just a random thought placed there by the Holy Spirit to get my mind moving in a certain direction? Let's find out.

My dear Lord Jesus, I come to You now asking for Your guidance, and direction. This thought of the battle belonging to You, is that some warning for me today? Is there a battle that I might take up that I need not to? (pause & wait) No David, it is not a warning, I just want you to think about how when battle does come, that it is not yours, it is Mine to take on. Oh, you may in fact have to stand and watch the chaos of it swirl around you, but the battle is mine. Your job is to speak My Word and stand your ground. I will do the fighting. Remember what the Word says, "The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is His Name." I am a warrior, and I will war for you.

Cool! I like that, "You may in fact have to stand and watch the chaos of it swirl around you, but the battle is mine." That may in fact be the hardest part to do, stand your ground. I know that in the past I have wanted to jump in there and help Jesus out when situations have arisen that weren't the greatest in my life. I usually had to go back and try and fix things that were messed up because I didn't let Jesus do what was important.

I guess that I needed to remember that, and now I will. Thank You Jesus for speaking to me this morning, you rock Dude! Let's get 'em up folks, and go out and whip something for the Kingdom today!

What Does Facing Your Fears Look Like?

Last weekend, fourteen men and I attended the Wild at Heart Expedtion in Colcord, Oklahoma. I believe each man got something from the Lord at this event, but there is one guy that I want to brag on just a little, because his story is one of perserverance through the face of adversity and fear.

Dewayne Fain had told me prior to his attending the Expedition that he believed that God had something for him there. He didn't know what it was, but he sensed that something huge was going to come out of him spending three and a half days with a motley group of guys seeking God.


On Friday, the camp grounds opened up their ropes course for the men to enjoy. Dewayne shared with me and several other men there that he was afraid of heights, and that he wanted to do some of the challenges and prove to himself that he could do it. So getting into his rigging, he prepared to face the first hurdle, the rock climbing wall.


With trembling hands Dewayne grabbed the first rock on the wall and pulled himself up. Looking for places to put his hands and his feet, he worked slowly to climb higher and higher. At about fifteen feet, he told us that he was going to have to come down, he could go no further. And working slowly, he came down without falling off of the wall. He was shaking, and told me and another guy that he was just about to have a panic attack up there and had to get down.

There were offers of encouragement from many men who were proud of Dewayne for making it as high as he had on the rock wall. Especially seeing as he was afraid of heights in the first place. It was the first hurdle in overcoming a fear and facing it down, like David facing down Goliath in the Old Testament. One of the men in our group encouraged Dewayne to go down the zipline with him, to which Dewayne said, "Tomorrow I'm going down that zipline!"

The next day as Dewayne and I talked early in the morning, he told me that he had had a dream the night before about him going down the zipline, and that he was going to do that for sure and conquer the fear of heights. Well the day went on, and at lunch when I asked him about it, he said something about he would do it if his shoes were dry, to which we all razzed him, so he left to go get his shoes on and go to the ropes course.

What transpired in the next hour and a half was like watching a great battle in history. Now we could not see what was going on in Dewayne's mind during this time that he was waiting to get his turn, but I can tell you from my own personal experiences of dealing with fears in my mind, that the biggest challenges came for him as he stood there listening to the lies of the enemy trying to keep him in bondage.

As his turn came, Dewayne was hooked onto the belay rope and he began his ascent to the zipline platform some forty-five feet in the air. To reach the platform, you must climb straight up a telephone pole, and there is little there to hold onto except for some metal rungs. At about twenty feet Dewayne's body began to shake violently, and he said, "Guys, I can't do this. I've got to come down." We encouraged him with shouts of, "You can do this!" but he began to climb down.

Terry Williams, one of our brothers that was going to zip down with Dewayne helped him to the ground then asked the worker if he could have a minute alone with Dewayne, and he began to speak to him. Now none of us could hear what Terry was saying, but after a couple of minutes, Dewayne shot up that pole like some kind of monkey. Men all around began to chant his name and hollar up shouts of support to him, it was really something awesome to see. Dewayne climbed that pole faster than anyone else I had seen do it on either day.

A few minutes later, Terry was beside him and they both zipped down to the ground, and before us stood a new and different man. A man who had faced down an enemy in an epic battle for his heart, and he walked away physically and mentally tired and exhausted, but he walked away leaving that fear behind him. What he knows now is that God is walking with him, and with his band of brothers cheering him on he can face any fear and defeat it. Way to go Dewayne, that's what facing your fears looks like!

What Are You Afraid Of?

I was reading a passage of Scripture this morning found in Acts. It's the story of the Apostle Paul's journey to Rome aboard a sailing ship that found itself in a two week storm. The words that jumped out at me today are found in Acts 27:35; "Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it."

What struck me by this was the thought that there was a time when I was eating in public that I would not pray over my food for fear of what the other people in the dining establishment would think. I don't know why, but the act of closing my eyes, bowing my head and giving thanks for the food I was about to eat just terrified me. Which really, if you know me, is interesting because I really don't care what anyone thinks about me.

Obviously it was a testing time in my life, because I have no fear of that now, and will be the first to call for prayer if we're in a big group. I remind my children when they sit down to eat at home, if I don't hear them pray, and I don't hesitate to close my eyes and thank my Lord for His provision. I remember going to my Great Grandparents house, my mother's people, when I was a young boy. It was Poppy's house, and hanging in the kitchen was this painting of an older woman with her Bible open and some bread and cheese on the table too. This picture represents to me, someone who is unashamed of who she is, and willingness to thank the Lord for His provision to her.

I think during that time, the Lord was testing me to see if I would in fact be willing to put myself aside, and let others watch me place myself in a position of thanksgiving to Him for the provision that He was giving me. At first, I wouldn't close my eyes or bow my head, but would say a quiet prayer of thanks hoping that no one would notice me. One thing that really makes me smile is when I see other families out to eat and they lead their little ones in giving thanks. One time, after I finished my meal, I walked right up to the dad and said, "Well done, teaching your children to pray in public like that."

Here's the thing, if Jesus was willing to be hung on a cross, beaten, naked and for all the world to see, how can I be embarrassed to bow my head, close my eyes and give thanks to the man who provides my every meal? Just a thought...get 'em up folks, let's go out and whip something for the Kingdom today!

When Two Or Three Are Gathered

I was struck with a thought today, one that I would like to pursue here in my blog. To follow this thought, let me ask you a question; how often do you act as if Jesus really is in the room with you when you gather with other believers

and pray?

The Bible tells us that when two or three are gathered together in Jesus name, He is there with us. (Matthew 18:19 - 20) But do we believe that, really believe? I submit that in my own life, there are times when I gather with fellow believers and have to

literally fight to stay in an attitude of prayer. I don't know why it is that I feel the urge to look at my fingernails, and try to expunge any dirt that might be there, or look around to see who is really praying and who is not. (Never mind the fact that I'm not praying.) If you and I sat down to talk, would you say that you fight the same urge?

What I find really interesting here, is that we are commanded to act as if the unseen realm is more real than the seen, yet I know for a fact that if Jesus showed up in the flesh during a prayer time at my church, I would not have any desire to clean my fingernails...no sir, I would be Johnny on the spot in the prayer department, putting on a good show for all around. What the heck is that all about?

You know even admitting this here in my blog, I almost feel as if I'm some sort of Christian poser, who probably needs to spend a lot of time on his knees repenting for that acknowledgement. But the truth is, we all do this from time to time in some form or another. Oh Jesus forgive us for our unbelief. It's easy to see the disciples in the Bible display their unbelief and say, "Oh those disciples, what a bunch of goof ups they were." Yet, we do the very things that are written about them in the Bible and don't think anything about us doing that. Ouch, yeah, I'm stepping on some toes now! (My own included.)

That passage of Scripture also says that if two of us would agree about anything, it would be done for us. Jesus is waiting to show off on our behalf, all we have to do is believe that He will and that He is there with us, and we'd be amazed at what all would happen. I think one of the things that we will learn about once we meet Jesus face to face, is that He was around us a whole lot more than we ever gave Him credit for. He may be standing right there beside you as you read this, hoping that you will give Him a chance to show off, but you and I are too busy with our own little lives, living in our own little stories unwilling to stop and pay attention to the fact that He is right there trying to lead us.

So, what has this thought provoked in you? I know that for me, I will be paying a whole lot more attention to the idea that Jesus is with us when we gather in the future. Get 'em up folks, let's go out and whip something for the Kingdom today!

Wait! What Just Happened Here?

I am a man that has spent the better part of twenty-three years following Jesus. Some days are better than others, and if you looked in the Bible that I have carried for the last twenty-two plus years you would see that the passage of Scripture found in 1 John 1:9 has been used probably more than any other.

One of the things that I have to be found more true than false in all this time, is that people tend to usually think of Christianity as the religion of forgiveness. And yes, I used to subscribe to that notion as well. Christianity is so much more than just forgiveness, it started with a relationship, and it ends with a relationship, and there are so many relationships in between. Christianity is all about God rescuing the hearts of those whom He loves. (you and me)

I think if we would look at our relationship in the context of how God created us to be in the first place and lived that way, we would become so much more than we are now. Look back into the Garden of Eden, not at the fall of man, but look at the glory of man. There in the Garden, when God would walk and talk with Adam and Eve, and they had fellowship with one another. I think we are too eager to get to the fall of man, and start the blame process. I think if we would focus more on the glory of man, and not the fall we would do so much better in our walk with the Father. After all, He is not in Heaven waiting to smack us, He's waiting for us to enter into the conversation with Him that He has always wanted.

This morning as we loaded up the car to head out to school, my son blurted out that he hates Mondays because of school. I jumped on that like a chicken on a June bug, telling him to change his attitude. I ended that by saying, "I don't care what you think, if you want to say something stupid like that, then say it to yourself and don't let me hear it." As we drove along I was listening to a teaching on having a conversational intimacy with God by John Eldredge and some of the men at Ransomed Heart. It was during this time that God spoke to my heart. He said, "Would I ever talk to you that way?"

Now when I say He spoke to my heart, it wasn't an audible voice, it was just an understanding in my spirit. And it was not judgmental at all, but it did make me stop and think. I decided that I would have to talk to my son as soon as we arrived at the school, which I did. I told him that I had missed his heart, and that I was sorry for my actions. He didn't even bat an eye, but said, "It's all good dad, I forgive you."

I am amazed at how good my Heavenly Father is to me, to reprimand me, but do it in such a loving way that I can grow from it. I want so much to be able to offer that kind of grace to those around me, and the more that I push my wants and desires to the side, and look at the needs of others I see it happening more and more, and quicker and quicker. Hey wait a minute! I think I've seen some spiritual growth here...and I wasn't even looking for it.

Are You Part Of Something Bigger?

In the past couple of weeks, we in Oklahoma have been subjected to more snow in one short amount of time than I can ever remember. The city of Jay actually received twenty-five inches of the fluffy, white stuff in like twelve hours. If there were mountains in Oklahoma, you might have mistaken it for Colorado.

They have called it "the blizzard of 2011", and I for one am glad that we are suppose to see temps in the high 40's today. Mainly for selfish reasons, as I have been hiking up my forty-five degree angled 1/10 of a mile driveway now for close to two weeks. I did manage to walk the entire length last night without weezing, so I guess that's something.

On the day of the first major storm that dumped anywhere from twelve to twenty inches of snow, I was sitting in my house playing around on Facebook, when I stumbled upon a video that someone had uploaded to their account. In it, several people were running outside in their swim suits and making snow angels. (Afterwards I learned that they belonged to a church in the area that had challenged all of their members to do this.) One bald man about my age did it, and as I laughed watching him flail around in the snow, it hit me. I would challenge some of my friends to do the same thing.

I brought my family around me and had them watch the video, and we all had a big laugh, but it got kind of quiet when I told them that I was going to do it too, and challenge some of my buddies to do the same. After a few minutes of convincing them, I sent a challenge out to five of the men that I go to church with to don their swim trunks and video themselves making a snow angel, then I went and put my trunks on.

As I went out into my garage, it was snowing furiously and it was brutally cold. I had both my son and daughter video tape it so that I was sure to get this on the first take and not have to do it again. Well, I ran out and jumped into the snow and rolled over, making an incredibly fast snow angel, to see my craziness click here, then ran back into the house and straight into the waiting shower.

After showering, we uploaded my video and within an hour the hilarity ensued. As we watched Facebook, more and more videos began popping up. People we knew, and people that we didn't know but who were friends of friends begin to take the challenge, some of which I never would have believed were jumping in the snow, laughing, screaming and crying out in shock at the cold. On the next day one of my friends posted a video on YouTube of many of the people taking the challenge and put it to music. You can see that one here.

I think that the most interesting thing that I learned during this time is that people love to be a part of something bigger than themselves. It seemed as if, once the ball got rolling that more and more people wanted to do this crazy stunt, not so much because they wanted to go get in the snow in their swim suits, but because they wanted to be a part of something that was going on that they could say they had been a part of.

If all we ever do is live in the smaller story of our own lives, we never really grow outside of that selfish, one sided type of life. Being a part of something so much bigger gives our lives meaning, and a sense that we matter in a bigger way. I wish the Body of Christ could figure this out and start to live this way. Jesus said to go and make disciples, but a lot of times the biggest concern we have is that we get to sit in the same place we've always sat during church. Oh, and don't let anyone sit in "your" seat or there will be hell to pay.

So let me ask you, are you part of something bigger than yourself? If you answer yes, then good for you, keep after it. If no, then start looking for a way to become a part, even if you have to start it. I will say, that I challenged five men from my church to do this crazy thing, four of which accepted and put their videos on Facebook, but at last count there were well over 100 videos of people doing this thing. Many of these people don't even know each other, but if you put them all into a room together, the laughter and joy you would find there would be pretty amazing.

Get 'em up folks, let's go out and whip something for the Kingdom today!

I Hate Valentine's Day

This is what I heard John Eldredge say last year about this time when some friends of ours went with me and my bride to hear John and Stasi Eldredge on their latest book tour for the book Love & War. There were polite chuckles from the men as we heard him say that, not uproarious laughter, just polite chuckles, none of us really wanted our wives to think that we agreed with him after all.

I have to say that I do agree with him on this one though, and my reasons are the same. It seems that Valentine's Day is a day for men to perform well in the area of how we love our brides. We men are performance based creatures that's to be sure, but with this holiday it seems that we have to not only perform well, but we have to do it bigger and better than each previous year. I've gotta tell you the pressure to come through on this is huge.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the ladies are to blame, they're not. They too, I believe have expectations that they are trying to live up to as well. If anyone is to blame, let's put the blame on the greeting card industry. After all, aren't they the ones who are pushing all those sappy colored cards, and cheap chocolates on us?

Valentine's Day is a day that we are suppose to express how much we love our spouse. One day! I mean, one lousy day to tell her how much they mean to us? Come on, shouldn't love be an every day thing? I'm pretty sure that we are commanded by Jesus to love (John 13:34), but not just one day a year.

If you have read this far, then you probably think that I am a guy, like most who just doesn't understand what it means to be romantic. Well that's not true at all, I'm actually a hopeless romantic. I love the idea of romance, and do enjoy a good chick flick too! Most guys are so busy trying to make their place in this world, that a lot of times they just miss their gal's heart completely. Now I'm not saying that I never miss my bride's heart, I do, but I am working to be more aware of it every day.

I heard about a couple going through marriage counseling once, and the wife poured out her heart to the counselor for almost an hour, while the husband just sat there. Once she had finished, he looked at the counselor and said, "I don't understand where all this is coming from?" To which she cried out, "Don't you love me?" His reply summed up the problem, "Of course I love you, I married you didn't I? I go to work every day for you don't I?"

This may seem funny, and the first time I heard it I actually laughed, but the sad thing is that this really is how so many men see it. I told you I loved you when I married you, that should have been enough. And you know for him it probably is, but guys, for her it isn't. Women are relational, that means they need relationships. Men need them too, but for so long we've been told that we need to be loners, that what our relationships look like usually involve grunting and punching each other in the arm while laughing.

One of my favorite scenes in any movie I've ever watched, is from the movie Enchanted. It's a story about a girl who is waiting for her prince to arrive. Through the story, a prince shows up and takes her to his castle to marry her, but as in most fairy tales, the wicked step mother causes her to be sent from the cartooned fairy tale to the real life New York city. She is helped by a kind stranger and in this clip she is asking him how his fiance' knows that he loves her. Click the picture to see the musical number in the park.

Guys, she will only know we love her if we show her, daily. You don't have to be a Don Juan or super rich to do this either, it's really simple. Write her a note and tell her how you feel about her (stay away from physical aspects here too). Learn what her favorite color, flower and movie is. Then surprise her with something from that list (on a day other than Valentine's Day). The key here guys is to get to know her, you show someone how much you love them, by how much you know them. If she loves Pepsi, but you bring home Coke because you like it better than Pepsi, you are not showing love for your bride. (Thanks Joe McGee)

This isn't rocket science people, think back to when you were dating and try and remember what it was about your spouse that drew you to them. Go back and do some of those things you used to do when you were dating. Hey, here's a novel idea, why don't you go on a date again? You know let her know you are taking her out the day before (give her the opportunity to get prepared for it) and then get a sitter if you need to and get out there and enjoy each others company and rekindle those old feelings for each other.

I do hate Valentine's Day, but I so love my bride and she's worth any effort that I put in to showing her that. So get 'em up folks, let's go whip something for the Kingdom!

My Heart, The Past & The Future

For the last little while I have sensed in my heart the need to try and connect more with my kids. Maybe it's because they are getting older and moving more towards leaving the nest, or maybe it's because of Noah, and once again my heart has been getting hammered by the enemy over the what ifs and the could have beens.

There feels like an emotional roller coaster inside my heart. I'm not talking about the little kiddie kind you see at the fair either, it's one filled with multiple loop-de-loops and hair pin turns. And just when I think the ride is about over, I'll hear a tone and inflection in the voice of either Micah or April, or see something that reminds me of Noah, and bam here we go again.

Of course as soon as that happens, the enemy is all over it spewing his personal best about how inedpt I am as a father, and that my kids really don't want to be around me because I'm no fun, and all I do is make their lives miserable. The good thing is that I know his attacks, and how he operates. He wants me to live in the past, something that God in His Word tells me not to do. Look at this passage of Scripture.

Philippians 3:12-14 "12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. "

The enemy wants us looking back, and not ahead because he knows that if he can get us looking backwards he has us. I'm reminded of Rafiki talking to Simba in the Lion King movie. He hits Simba on the head, and he yelps and says, "Hey what did you do that for?" Rafiki tells him that it doesn't matter it's in the past. Simba says, "Yeah, but it still hurts." "Yes, Simba the past can still hurt, but what is important is that you learn from it." Then he swings his stick again and this time Simba ducks, takes the stick and throws it away.

And that is just what we have to do, forget the past but learn from it, and then move on towards the future and all the good stuff that God has for us there. So get 'em up folks, let's go out there and whip something for the Kingdom today!

A Cold Heart, Are You Helping Or Hindering It?

As I was driving in to work today, I noticed that the road crews had laid down a mixture of salt and sand on the freshly plowed roads. This week we in Oklahoma have seen one of the worst winter storms in the history of our state. With temperatures below zero (actual temp, not with wind chill factored in) and anywhere from 12 to 20 inches of snow dumped on us in less than 24 hours, it has been crazy.

As I was thinking about the salt helping to melt the ice and snow on the roads, the Holy Spirit quickened a Scripture to my heart. It's found in Matthew 5:13-14, which says, "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden."

What do salt and sunlight do when working together? They cause the ice to melt faster than it normally would on its own. That's when it hit me! One of the meanings of this passage of Scripture and what Jesus could have meant when He said it is that when we combine being salt and light, we cause the frozen heart of the unbeliever to melt.

What is one of the main complaints that people who are not Christians have? There are so many hypocrites in churches why would I want to be a part of that? So let me ask you, (and myself too) what are you doing to help melt the hearts of unbelievers? When you are at a restaurant and the wait staff doesn't get your order just right, how do you handle that? As salt and light, or more like sandpaper just making your presence known in as abrasive a manner as possible?

What if instead of getting all bent out of shape when the person in front of you in the 20 items or less checkout line has 22 items, you offer to pay for their groceries and then tell them that Jesus loves them and just wanted to make Himself real to them? Or what about when you're driving down the road and get cut off in traffic? Instead of yelling and acting the fool (raise your hand if you've ever done that, mine is raised) you just prayed for that person. Especially if you are sporting some type of Christian imagery on your bumper or back glass.

This goes beyond the "What Would Jesus Do?", it is what would you do if you actually acted like you were salt and shined the "Sonlight" on those around you like Jesus said? Do you suppose that we could melt the hearts of those hurting and dying souls out there, and maybe, just maybe lead them to Christ instead of driving them away? It's just a thought...get 'em up folks, and let's go whip something for the Kingdom!

What Did You Leave Behind In Your Childhood?

This morning a friend of mine shared a Volkswagen commercial with me. Click here to view it. In the commercial a little boy dressed in a Darth Vader costume walks around the house trying to move things with his force power, to no avail.

His dad arrives home from somewhere driving his new VW and the little boy runs out to try and start the car using the force, and unbeknown to him his dad starts the car remotely, startling the little guy into thinking that he did it.

I have watched this video numerous times and the expression on the little Darth Vader's face (even though hidden by the mask) is amazing. You really feel his astonishment at what he's accomplished. I have laughed so hard that my family thinks I might be just a little bit crazy. (Truthfully I wonder that at times too!)

As I've thought about this today, it made me wonder what things in my childhood did I think I could do, that as I grew older I laid aside due in part to "maturity". In the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium I love the line in the opening of the story, let me share it with you. Eric is narrating at this point and here is what he says.

"Molly Mahoney was the manager of the Emporium, Mr. Magorium's apprentice, and my only friend. In the mornings, Mahoney would play her piano, attempting to finish her very first concerto, but she never could find the right notes. When she was younger, everyone thought she was a musical genius, a brilliant pianist, and she believed them. But now, as she became a grown-up, she wasn't so sure. I don't know why grown-ups don't believe what they did when they were kids. I mean, aren't they supposed to be smarter?"

So I'm thinking at this point this morning that there may be more to this little Darth Vader VW commercial. What things did I want to do or be as a child? And why did I lay them down? We all had hopes and dreams as children, some wanted to be a fireman, others wanted to be a ballerina and who didn't play pretend that they would end up famous one day?

I think if we'd all be honest with ourselves we'd have to say that at one point in time we wanted to be or do something other than what we are doing now. I mean how many of us when we were younger thought, I can't wait til I grow up and become an adult and start working in a job I hate, paying bills and just trying to get ahead in life? I know I sure didn't.

I think what happens a lot of the time is that we through peer pressure, challenges we faced as children and just plain fear as we grow into adulthood lay those things down because they seem childish and we don't want anyone to think of us as childish. But Jesus actually said that unless we become like a little child we could not enter the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 18:1 - 3)

How about you? Have you become like a little child? What is it that a little child is like? Full of wonder, adventure and excitement at the silliest of things. Are you like that, or are you too busy being the mature grown-up that doesn't have time for silly things? I don't know about you, but I want to change that in my life, and I think I did that this week when I dove into a snowdrift in nothing but my bathing suit and made a snow angel. Click here to see that, and here to see my friends doing it too!

Get 'em up friends, let's go out and whip something for the Kingdom of God today!