It's The Weirdest Things

Tonight, I was in Tulsa at the Renaissance Hotel (got a nice pen from there) to look at the "Holiday 2011 Nike tennis shoes". As always it's a nice get a way for the evening. Jeff, my Nike rep always brings us Pei Wei for dinner (Chinese food) and we get to see all the fun new stuff for the upcoming season.

As we were looking at the men's shoes, Jeff put out a pair of Nike Free running shoes on the table, and I was amazed. My heart flashed to an image of my youngest son Noah, and I thought of how much he would have loved this pair of shoes.

I was toast after I saw that shoe, from there on out I kept going back to that one shoe and the feelings of loss and remorse began to grow and grow. Finally, I could take no more and had to pack up my stuff, apologize for leaving early and headed off to get in my car and head home. The fact that the weather was cold and a slight drizzle was falling did nothing to help my mood.

As I drove down Highway 169, I put on some praise and worship music to try and remedy the feeling of melancholy that was trying to attach itself to me. As I sang along, I pictured Jesus receiving my praise, but immediately flashed to getting to see Noah and us hugging each other. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway so that I could compose myself and text my band of brothers.

Explaining myself quickly in a short text message to the guys, I asked for their prayers then pulled back onto the road heading home. I'd love to tell you that all ended well, and I went my merry way praising and worshiping the Lord. But the truth is, I'm still sad, not like I was earlier, due in part to the prayers of my friends, but I am bothered by this. It's just the weirdest thing, that a pair of shoes could bother me so. Well, get 'em up folks, let's go out and whip something for the Kingdom!

What's A Father To Do?

I am at this writing, the father of an 18 year old and 16 year old, so it is interesting times around the Felts household. One thing that I have been experiencing lately is the time in my kid's lives where I don't appear to be as needed as I used to be. I'm sure that it happens to every dad at some point in their lives, yet this is one of those things that I again, did not see coming.

When your kids are little, daddy is their world. I remember coming home from work one day for lunch, and Micah (maybe like 2 years old) was in his room laying on the floor playing with some of his toys. I was fixing to head back to the store, but decided to take a minute and play with him. So I laid down on the floor with him and just did what he was doing, for like 2 minutes. The smile on his face was huge as I left him playing, and I realized that it really doesn't take much to show your kids that you love them, just a little time.

My daughter (who turned 16 yesterday) used to come and sit in my lap for endless hours when she was little. She would climb right up onto my recliner and just get snuggled in beneath my arm. And we would talk or just sit there while she played. I would find myself looking forward to getting home so that we could spend a little time together.

Now, if I see either of my kids for more than 10 minutes at a time, I feel blessed. Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not complaining. They are both growing up, and they have begun to exhibit lives that are busy with friends, work and all the stuff that they are starting to experience. I just find myself not knowing what my part is anymore. It's like now, I'm just to be in the background of their lives instead of the main focus of their lives. And yes, that is a part of growing up I realize, but it is hard when you've been the center of their universe and then all of a sudden you're not any more. Maybe that's why they get married and produce grand babies, so we can help them again. (Not that I'm looking for that anytime soon!)

One of the things that has made this hard, is that I am hard-wired with the desire to help people, it's what I live to do. So my kids wanting to show me that they can do everything on their own almost makes me feel insignificant. Okay, so maybe I am whining a little here, I love my kids and want to help them and don't feel like I get to do that anymore. I've had to force myself to just be quiet and wait for them to come to me, and that is a hard thing for me to do, one that doesn't always happen, and usually ends up in a heated conversation, but I am trying.

I don't like this time in my life very well, I'll just be honest. But I do realize that it is a necessary thing in the development of my kids, and I want them to be the best at what God has for them to do and become, so I'll play my role and take a back seat to my desires and wait for them to seek me out. It won't be easy, but then the good things in this life never come easy do they?

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

Fallen Soldier

Next week will be the one year anniversary of my youngest son Noah's death. It is hard to believe that a year has already passed, where has all the time gone? I wanted to share a story that I wrote sometime last year about Noah, in the hope that you might learn from his story and that it never be repeated again. Suicide is a terrible thing, and something that I can honestly say that no one in my family ever expected.

My son Noah was a good boy. He was not perfect however, just as none of us are, and made a huge mistake that cost him his life. He did love God though with all his heart, was a true follower of Jesus Christ, and really did strive to live peaceably with his family, even though he pestered us all to no end.

Noah spent a lot of time at our church, he especially liked to show up on Fridays and pray with the church staff. He would spend two hours praying and it was during those times of prayer that the Lord called Noah to become a Children's Pastor. I remember the day he called me with the news, he was so excited, as was I. Finding what you are called to do in the Body of Christ should be the first priority in our Christian walk. It was just a few weeks later that he told our Children's Pastor that he had something for the kids in Children's Church. When Brother James asked him what it was, he replied, "A message the Lord has given me to teach the kids." Brother James told him to come prepared the next week with his message and he could preach to the kids, and he did. What an awesome thing that was.

Noah wen ton to help the Children's Pastor and Youth Pastor with whatever they needed. He served in every capacity of our church, and touched the lives of many of the people there. He was a soul winner and loved to minister to the kids in Children's Church and his fellow teenagers at his youth group The Depot. One time I was called upon to help counsel some of the teens that had come forward to make decisions for the Lord. Noah handed me a clip board and instructed me where to go. That made my heart proud, seeing him step up and do things that most adults are afraid to do.

Yet, this is where Noah's story takes a horrible turn for the worse. Scripture is very clear that we have an enemy, and in 1 Peter 5:8 - 9 it states, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

What you have to understand, is that in this life we are living, we have an enemy. He is called the devil, and according to John 10:10, Jesus said that he is out to kill, steal and destroy. If you do not realize that the devil is there, then when tragedy strikes, you will only have yourself or God to blame. And the devil would love nothing more than for you to start blaming God or yourself, all the while he stands in the background laughing at you as your world falls apart.

The devil found an opening in Noah's life and was able to get his focus off of God. It was subtle, and took quite a while, but because Noah didn't stay alert, in a moment where his emotions ran high, and he saw no other alternative, he took his own life.

The devil is a punk, and he has no authority over any of us, except what we give him. It was the devil who killed Noah, plain and simple. He did it through speaking thoughts to Noah's mind, and because his focus was off of God just a little, the lies of the devil made sense to him, and he followed through with the deed.

It is so important to me now to get the word out that we have an enemy, that he is trying to kill, steal and destroy from each and every one of us. And that we have got to resist him at every turn. Jesus has given us His blood, Word and Spirit. These weapons will destroy the works of the enemy, but if we don't realize he is even there, then how can we do that?

Our eyes need to stay fixed on God, we need to be about the Father's business each and every day. Look for opportunities to reach out tot he lost and hurting in this world, and tell them about Jesus. Please, please learn from Noah's mistake and don't become distracted by the enemy with other things. Keep your focus on God!

My family and I appreciate that you have signed up for The Noah Project, and we want you to please be bold for Jesus and tell everyone you meet about Jesus and the plan He has for their life. We need to take as much territory from the devil as possible. Lift up your eyes and see the harvest, the precious fruit of the Earth as God calls them. They need someone to tell them about Jesus...will it be you?

God bless each and every one of you. Fighting the fight until I see His face....Dave

The Monsters Within

I am a funny creature I've decided. I have been on a constant search for the better me for many years now, and I have been able to reach a level of success as a man, even finding that work that the Lord has for me. I think everyone wants people to think well of them, and to say good things about them. Yet there are some things that I just don't want to be heard said about me.

One of those things is that I was mean to my family, or scare them at times. The sorry fact is however, that I do that from time to time. I blow up at the littlest things, and say hurtful things. Oh, I'm always quick to repent, but I want to live out of the overflow of the Spirit's leading and not have to be falling to my knees asking forgiveness. I want to bless and not confess I guess. (Yes I am a poet and know it.)

That brings me to the title of this blog, "The Monsters Within". I don't really believe that I have monsters living inside of me, Scripture says that I am the temple of the Holy Spirit and I know that He resides there. Yet Scripture also admonishes that we should renew our minds daily. It is there that the monsters live so to speak, in our past. In all of those things that we have done before salvation, and even some afterwards. And yes I do believe that my past is under the Blood of Jesus, yet the memories and residual consequences of those actions remain, like a hawk hovering there ever ready to strike.

We all carry things from our past into our walk with the Lord, everyone. I am reminded about the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou" starring George Clooney. He and his two traveling companions Delmar and Pete (prisoners from the chain gang), happen upon a church baptismal service and they both run to the water to get baptized.

Pete: Well, I'll be, Delmar's been saved.

Delmar: Well, that's it, boys. I been redeemed. The preacher done washed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out. And heaven everlasting's my reward.

Everett: Delmar, what are you on about? We got bigger fish to fry.

Delmar: The preacher said all my sins is washed away, including that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo.

Everett: You said you was innocent of that.

Delmar: Well, I was lyin'. And the preacher said that that sin's been washed away, too. Neither God nor man's go nothin' on me now.

(Later when the three of them are driving down the road in a stolen car)

Pete: The preacher said it absolved us.

Everett: For Him, not for the law. I gave you credit for more brains than Delmar Pete.

Delmar: But witnesses seen us redeemed.

Everett: That's not the issue, Delmar. Even square with the Lord, Mississippi's hard nosed.

That's how it is with us too, we have things in our past that have made us who we are, and even though our sins have been absolved, we still bear the marks of those things in who we are. That is where the monsters are, those things that we still fight within ourselves. And these are different for every person; one may face anger, another may hide in fear and yet another may be always trying to please. Whatever the monster, we have to vanquish it, and that only comes through the Holy Spirit revealing it to us, and then showing us how to do that.

This is not to say that it will be an easy road, it's not I know from first hand experience. I agree with the Apostle Paul when he said, "The things I want to do, I do not, and the thing I do not want to do, I do." (Dave's paraphrase). There is hope, the more time we spend with the Father, asking Him to reveal our shortcomings to us, we will find success and the life that Jesus was talking about in John 10:10; life and life to the full.

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

Fig Trees & Christians

I heard a preacher yesterday make a comment about Jesus and the fig tree He cursed that got me to thinking. If you're not familiar with the story it is found in Mark 11:12-14, basically Jesus and His disciples are going to Jerusalem from Bethany and He got hungry. Okay, here's a little side note, Jesus got hungry because He was living on Earth as a man, and men get hungry. Sometimes people see Jesus only as God, and they miss the fact that He was here as a man to show us how to live as men (& women too).

What is interesting is that He assumes that there will be some figs to eat because He saw that the tree had leaves on it. The fruit on a fig tree shows up at the same time as the leaves apparently. But once there He finds that it is not quite the season for figs, as there are none there. He goes on to talk to the fig tree, and says, "No one will eat fruit from you ever again." Does anyone else find this interesting? I mean I talk to things when they don't go my way, and it appears that Jesus did too.

Now here is the interesting thing that I got yesterday. That fig tree can be representative of a Christian's life. Just as Jesus thought the fig tree would have fruit based on a casual observance of it, He too may think that we are bearing fruit based on what we say and how we look. The only problem is that a lot of times once you begin to listen to the Christian talk you realize that there is no fruit there.

Look at Matthew 7:18 - 20 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Jesus is talking about the fruit of the Christian life in this passage of Scripture; trees either bear good or bad fruit. And before you think I'm going to say we need to do more to make Jesus like us better, that is not where I'm going at all. We can do nothing to make Jesus like us any better than He does already, He loves us and we can't make Him love us any better by anything that we might or might not do.

There is a difference between being a believer in Christ and being a disciple of Christ. Bearing good fruit is a product of the life of a disciple, where bearing bad fruit is the life of someone who is just a believer in Christ. The sad state I think is that so many people think that believing in Jesus is the end all of the experience, and they have been duped by the enemy.

What are we allowing others to see in our lives? Are they seeing leaves with the hope and expectation of enjoying some of its fruit only to find, as Jesus did, that there is no substance there? When we walk the life of a Christian, it is not just on Sundays and Wednesdays, it is suppose to be every day. Walking, talking and fellowshipping with the Lord so much that the only fruit we bear is the good that can help and satisfy our fellow man.

I don't know about you, but I don't want Jesus to walk up to me expecting to find fruit and only see leaves there. Get 'em up folks, we've got a work to do and a devil to whip!

The Chain of Command

What is it exactly in man that makes him feel that he has to have the answers to everything? I was not in the military, so I don't know this from actual experience, but I have talked to enough soldiers and seen it displayed in the movies to know that there is this thing called the chain of command and it is a very regimented military thing.

The chain of command is simply this; "In a military context, the chain of command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed within a military unit and between different units. Orders are

transmitted down the chain of command, from a higher-ranked soldier, such as a commissioned officer, to lower-ranked personnel who either execute the orders personally or transmit it down the chain appropriate, until it is received by those expected to execute it."

If and when there is a break in the chain of command as in the person higher up the chain is taken out of the leadership role for whatever reason, then the next ranking person picks up that leadership role, and the command continues. So really this isn't that difficult for me to understand, and I'm sure it isn't hard for you either.

We've seen a situation in my church that is unlike anything that I've ever seen before. My Pastor has not been there for a period of time due to an illness, and in that time I have watched the leadership there pick up the slack and encouraged us as the church body to continue to march forward. And I am sure that those who have found themselves in this leadership role have not really desired or sought it out, but they have all risen to the occasion none the less, and have done so admirably in my opinion.

Our church leadership has been very open with us as a congregation about what is happening, asking us to continue to pray for Pastor and encouraging us to step up our involvement as the body so we can continue to see the things God has put in Pastor's heart continue to come to pass. (And they are too glory to God!) What I think bothers me the most is how some people continue to believe that there are shady background games going on at the church regardless of what we are told. When I hear that kind of stuff being said, it doesn't seem to me to be following the chain of command but questioning the leadership which in turn causes distractions and confusion for those of us who are following the leadership.

I believe that great things are ahead for my church, Pastors and family there. We will see people come and people go, and that's okay. If I've learned anything in my forty-seven years, it's that people will do whatever they want to do. I just wish that if and when people made the decision to move on to whatever God has next for them, they would put the past behind them and move on towards the future like the Apostle Paul admonished us in Philippians 3:13.

We've got work to do folks, so get 'em up and let's go whip something for the Kingdom!

That Was Easy

Several years ago, the Staples company came up with an ad campaign that showed people in an office supply quandary pressing an "Easy" button which immediately would fix whatever their need was. My mother loves to shop at Staples, and one year for Christmas or their birthdays she purchased an "Easy" button for each of my kids. When you pressed the button, the announcer's voice from the television commercials said, "That was easy." And for several months we heard that a lot in the Felts household.

I was thinking about Christianity this morning, and a picture of the "Easy" button came to mind. This is not to say that I think Christianity is easy, because it's not some days. Walking in love towards people who are being idiots is not the easiest thing to accomplish in life. And for that matter trying not to be an idiot so people can walk in love with me isn't easy either. But I think some times that people think, "Well I'm a Christian now, the hard stuff is over and the life of ease has arrived." The really interesting thing is that this is not the life that Jesus talked about at all in Scripture.

I wonder what ever happened to those things spoken of in the Bible like that "take up your cross and follow Me" business, or"love your wife like Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her" stuff? You know the things that actually make you a disciple of Christ and not just someone who is on the outskirts. Being a disciple isn't easy, it is a challenging life to be sure, trying to walk like the Lord. Because that is what being a disciple of Christ is, becoming like Him.

We've almost made it too easy to become a Christian, you know in church it's like during the altar call, "Please bow your heads with no one looking around, would you like to be born again?" Whatever happened to that Scripture where Jesus in Matthew 10:32-33 NLT "Everyone who acknowledges Me publicly here on Earth, I will also acknowledge before My Father in Heaven. But everyone who denies Me here on Earth, I will also deny before My Father in Heaven."

Those are red letters too, so we ought to take heed when we read them. And that is what makes being a Christian sometimes hard in my opinion. It's seeing Jesus say something in the Word and then not only making a decision to do those things, but to do them with a good attitude and the best of your ability. And that takes time, diligence and dedication to the decision you've made. That is becoming a disciple and there is no "Easy" button for that.

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

And She's Off!

Today marks the first day of my daughter's first mission trip, and we in the Felts household are all excited. There is just nothing like going on a mission trip to really help you to realize your place in the world. Something happens when you are on a mission trip, where the conditions are right to really help you hear from God in a new and different way. Being away from home, out of your comfort zone and being called upon to step up to a whole different level of living have the makings of an incredible time.

She is traveling to New Mexico with futureVision Ministries to go with Higher Level Youth group from Carlsbad Word of Life and spend a week ministering to those who need to know about Jesus. Really if you could see inside of me, and actually see my spirit man, you would see him doing back flips because I'm so excited for her.

Another really cool thing, is that my baby girl will be having her birthday while she is on this trip. So not only will she have an incredible encounter with the living God in the next twelve days, meet many new people some of whom will undoubtedly become friends for life and minister the Good News of Jesus Christ to hundreds of hurting people, she will be celebrating one of the mile markers of the teenage years, her sixteenth birthday.

My prayer for her is that God would come for her in a huge way in the next two weeks, revealing both Himself and what He has for her life in a big way. So if you think about Sissy in the next two weeks, say a prayer for her, thanks.

Okay folks, she's not the only one getting out there, get 'em up...and let's go whip something for the Kingdom today!

Being A Knight Ain't Easy

In an attempt to get at what is going on in my heart today, I'm going to share a little bit of me and who I am with you. It is my hope that you will come to understand how none of us have it all together, or for that matter even really know what is going on all the time.

~ Sir David

I'm not one for feeling that I have to always have it together, or know what is going on. Some people that I've met over the years seem to have this inane way of acting like they have it all together, all the time. Can I tell you that that is really just a very pitiful existence. I say that, because truthfully we cannot have it all together all the time, and if we think we do then we are just fooling ourselves.

I endured a somewhat melancholy day yesterday, spending a good portion of my day alone. Now, being alone is not a bad thing, and I do enjoy it from time to time, yet for some reason it was a tougher day by myself than usual. For a while now, I've pondered my place in the story that God is telling and have found a little success in realizing where I'm at in it. But most of my days are still spent wondering what it is that God has for me in the bigger scheme of things. What I wouldn't do for a little bit more clarity each day.

Yesterday was a rough day in that I spent a good deal of time thinking of my kids, and how they are growing up so fast. My oldest will be graduating high school in a couple of months, and I was looking through pictures for my bride to use in our home school Co-op's yearbook. Of course there were pictures of all three kids, some from events I was a part of, and others that I was not.

There was one set of pictures of me, Cheryl and the kids taken in a park somewhere. It was probably somewhere around ten years ago, and we all looked very happy. That was the nice part of seeing the pictures, the smiles on all of our faces and the fact that we looked as if we were having a good time. The worst part of seeing those pictures, is that I have no memory of us doing that. It's as if I was there, but not really.

And that is what really sparked the sadness I felt yesterday. I felt like I was the "shadow dad", the guy that goes to work and makes money so that his family can live comfortably, but never really shares anything of who he is or the strength that God gave him to use for his family. It is as if there was a period in my life that I had checked out, not really been there for my family, and that makes me sad.

Now I know that if you were to talk to my bride and kids they would tell a different story, but I know the places in my heart where I didn't give myself fully to them, and that is a hard place for a man to walk. That is a lonely place, the one called the valley of the shadow of death, penned by King David in Scripture. And in case you think this is a pity party, it's not, it is reconciling the past and desperately learning from it so that I can teach others what not to do.

I think that if a man does not admit where he has missed it to himself, and to some degree how he has missed it, he will never fully become the man that God intends him to be. After all, how can you be that man if you are unwilling to look at past mistakes and try to grow from them? If you act as if you have never done anything wrong. We all sin and fall short of God's glory, to say otherwise is to be a liar. Do we live in that wrongness? Absolutely not, but we do have to admit to ourselves and our families that we did make a mistake, and do everything in our power to make it right.

I often wonder why it is that when I've made a mistake with my family, I will act as if nothing has happened, and try to move on as if everything is okay, without ever making amends with them? What is that in me that makes me think if we sweep it under the rug everything just becomes hunkie dory? I mean after a while don't you begin to see a giant hump in the middle of the carpet, and then you have to deal with it anyway? Wouldn't it be better to handle the situation, get it resolved and continue on? Yeah that makes sense now, but usually when I'm in it, things never seem that clear to me.

And it all falls back to that thinking that I have to have it together, I have to be the "go to" guy for everything, and make others think I've got all the answers. It's playing the poser, the guy I want everyone to see and like, not the true me. The true me; that guy feels unsure of himself, scared, and wonders on most days just what exactly is going on. That's who I am most days, and let me tell you it ain't easy. Yet I will face the day once again, and get out there, trusting God because that is what my Father wants me to do, trust Him.

Let's get 'em up folks, and go whip something for the Kingdom today!

What Does God Get Out Of This?

I was reading in my Bible this morning and I came across a phrase that jumped out at me. It probably didn't help that it was mentioned several times in just a few Scriptures in the book of Deuteronomy where I was reading either, but regardless of how or why it did jump out at me. The phrase was "...the Lord your God".

Moses was instructing the Children of Israel with the second giving of the law of God in the context of what I was reading this morning, when he used this phrase. What jumped out at me was the thought of how God is telling us here that He wants to be a personal God. He isn't Someone way off in Heaven that we occasionally talk to, you know just during the festivals and passover and stuff.

If you look back at Adam and Eve, (the blueprint for what God designed man & woman to be) what you will find is that God wanted someone that He could have a relationship with. He did not create Adam and Eve to be cringing servants, or puppets on a string, He created them so that He could have someone to enjoy and be friends with. He made man in His image because He wanted to have a family.

All throughout the Bible you see time and again God desiring relationships. It is at the core of Who He is. My Pastor says all the time that when everything is said and done, once everything has come to pass that God has set in motion, the thing that He gets out of it is you and me. We are at the heart of God, not what we do, or how much we accomplish, it's us. God wants us, plain and simple. Wow! I don't know about you, but that makes me pause and re-think my life.

Think about it for a minute, the God of the universe who created everything that we see wants to have a relationship with you, not a boss/employee or a master/servant relationship, but a friendship where the exchange of ideas is welcomed, where He shares His deepest and most intimate thoughts with you and hopes that you will do the same with Him. A relationship that He knows could be thrown away by us in the blink of an eye. Yet He is willing to give us the freedom to reject Him to prove just how much He actually loves us.

This is just astounding to me that God would love me that much, on a personal level. Where He is the Lord "MY" God. Wow, what an awesome thing. Get 'em up folks, let's go out and whip something for the Kingdom today!

Timing Is Everything

Have you ever noticed in the Bible that God doesn't always show up when the characters in there wanted Him to, but that He always showed up. I am reminded of a conversation between Frodo and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings that kind of explains what I mean. Take a look.

Frodo: You're late.

Gandalf: A wizard is never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.

Now this is not to say that Gandalf is God, or that God is a wizard, but I think this conversation echoes the story lines in the Bible pretty well. God is never late, nor is He early. He always arrives precisely when He means to. Something that I think those in the Bible would agree can be a very disruptive thing for mortal man.

I mean come on you know that it is true that we like everything to be the way that we want it to be, and that includes how and when God shows up in our lives. If we are truly honest with ourselves it is much easier to live our lives knowing what the next day holds. But have we ever really known what the next day will hold, or even the next hour for that matter?

God always shows up, that is the truth that our hearts need to hold on to. Even when it looks bad all around, we can know that He has got us and watches our backs. He says in Scripture to look to the

hills from where our help comes from Psalm 121:1-3, this reminds me of another scene in the Lord of the Rings, you know when Gandalf and the Rohirrim came riding down the hill to King Theoden's aid at Helm's Deep.

When all hope was lost, and Theoden was sure that he and his people had lost all to the evil hordes of Orcs he looked up on the eastern hillside and saw Gandalf and the riders loyal to Rohan arrive bringing the help he so desperately needed, at just the right time. Again, this is just like God, He shows up when it is the perfect time, every time.

So listen, timing is everything, but it is not our timing, it's God's timing. Remember if things are looking rough all around you, God sees what is going on, and He is waiting for the perfect time to ride in and show up strong on your behalf. After all, His timing is everything.

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

Are You Making Agreements With The Enemy?

As Christians we are told in Scripture to "fight the good fight of faith". 1 Timothy 6:12 Obviously it is called the good fight because it is a fight that we win, if we choose to engage of course. During the course of the fight however there is a thing that I believe trips up many, many believers, myself included, and that is making agreements with the enemy.

I first heard this term "making agreements" at John Eldredge's Boot Camp in Colorado back in 2008, and truthfully the Holy Spirit used this to open my eyes to what was going on around me concerning fighting the fight of faith. I came to realize that there are times when things are not going so well, that phrases will pop up in my mind. Phrases that tend to be the absolute kind like; I "never" get to do this, he "always" says stuff like that, etc. are what the enemy uses to get you to agree with him.

As we hear those words in our minds, if we don't pull them down immediately and take them captive like the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, we will begin to believe those thoughts and then we run the risk of giving voice to them. And it is in giving voice to the thoughts of the enemy that we make an agreement with him and allow those thoughts to become a reality.

The Greek word for devil is "diabolos", you see the translation for diabolos is dia, which means to penetrate, and bolos which means to throw. The word devil is not his name, it's his job description and what he does is he will throw thoughts at you until they penetrate. When they penetrate is when you make an agreement with them.

Something like, you ask your husband to wash the car, he gets busy and doesn't get it done and the thought comes to your mind, "He never does what I ask him too!" It is at this moment that you have to take that thought captive, or what will happen is the devil will add to that thought more and more. Then you become sullen and distant, ignoring your husband and going about your business fuming. Before you know it, the two of you are fighting and ugly stuff is being said. Before you know it several days has gone by, and it will take days and days to repair what has happened. All because of an agreement made with the enemy.

Let's do this, when those types of thoughts try to rear their ugly heads just say, "Not on my watch!" Then whatever the situation, instead of making agreements with them, stop and pray for the other person. Pray God's best on them, ask Him to bless them in every area of their lives. I would venture to say that the enemy would probably leave you alone because he's trying to divide and conquer, not watch you and the other person get blessed.

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

Are You A Part Of The Solution?

The last several months my church family has been walking an interesting path to be sure. We've experienced much that I'm thinking many church families have not, and we are doing well. Now this has not really been a bad thing, not at all. Some times there are things that we must go through to learn what we are made of, and that is what I see happening right now in my church. Let me state here for the record too, that I do not believe that God has "caused" this to happen to us, but He is working it out wonderfully for all of those who have the ability to see it.

Remember the Scripture that states in Romans 8:28, "And we know

that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Did you see that? It says, "in" all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. I have heard Pastor say for years that God told him to go to Sand Springs and raise up a New Testament church and from there he would touch the world. And that He (God) would call faithful men and women alongside Pastor to help him.

This year celebrates our church's 30th year in Sand Springs, and I am happy to say that Cheryl and I have been there for 18 of those 30 years. We've served in many areas of Word of Life and have made countless friends and had many adventures there too. One thing that I have noticed is that even though we are experiencing something that I've never seen happen before in a church, we have not fallen, nor given up on the commission that God gave Pastor so many years ago. We are marching forward, despite all obstacles and seeing God move mightily! This is a testament to what a great job our Pastor has done in teaching us how to be "the church", and hooking up with the vision that God gave him so long ago. My Pastor is an awesome man and I am so very grateful that he has been there for me and my family.

I am an avid people watcher. I love to watch how people react to situations, mainly because I'm trying desperately to learn what not to do in my own life. Ha! People are funny, in that they respond in a variety of ways when the unusual happens. Some rise to the challenge of the moment, others crumble under the weight of it, and then there are those who just want to talk and inadvertently end up causing trouble. It's like that old saying I once heard; "There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wondered what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen."

So as I've watched the people at our church, I've seen all three of these types. Some have picked up the yoke that Pastor has carried for so many years and continued to do the work and have made things happen. Others in the church have been watching things happen and there are those who have just wondered what happened. Church family in order for us to continue to be successful in this time, we have to be people who make things happen. So, my question to you is this; are you part of the solution, or are you just wondering what is going on?

Come on Word of Life, let's get our fists up and go out and whip something for the Kingdom today!

My Day As A Super Hero

My mother came across this story that I wrote a few years back when I as applying for the Institute of Children's Literature writing school. It's an fun little story of my life when I was thirteen, but as I read it today the last paragraph jumped out at me. I have been a cautious man by nature, and I think I may have found the day that I made an agreement with the enemy about that very thing. Thank You Jesus for bringing this back to my remembrance so that I can break that agreement and move on towards becoming the man that You want me to be.

In the thirteenth year of my birth, I was as rambunctious as any other young man of the same age. This was a special time in my life, as I was changing physically, but not so much mentally. This new found awareness that it took more to hurt me than what I was accustomed too, coupled with the brain of an eight year old is a dangerous combination.

You must understand now, that my favorite playmates were the ones I visited in far away lands and in enchanting distant worlds of fantasy. Comic book heroes always intrigued me with their fantastical powers, and their sense of obligation to always do the right thing. And of course it was always at the right time.

Probably my favorite hero of those days was Spider-Man. I would swing through the buildings of Manhattan Island with him on a strand of webbing that would stick to anything. We would swing by a building, see something mysterious, and then stick to the wall like a real spider and watch until time to make our move. Then using our web shooters we would shoot a thin stream of webbing, swing down, and beat the bad guys afterwards swinging into the sunset, at least that’s how I saw it.

One day after a severe thunderstorm had blown through; I looked out my window to see that lightening had knocked an old tree down in our back yard. The tree had a fork in it and it was my good fortune that one fork lay two feet off the ground and the other twelve feet. Cautiously, I climbed up onto the top fork and thought this is like being Spider-Man. Now bear in mind, the eight year old mind and thirteen year old body. So positioning my fingers after the fashion Spider-Man would use when shooting his webbing towards a building, I pretended to shoot some webbing then jumped off the tree. I hit the ground, rolled and jumped up laughing.

Now not thinking of how rain soaked tree bark and rubber tennis shoes soles worn thin by countless hours of playing would interact, I embarked on my acting like Spider-Man for the second time. As I leaped, my feet slipped and I fell spread eagle towards the lower fork of the tree. It was at this time my eight year old brain transformed into that of thirteen because I knew how much pain my crotch was going to be in if I landed in this position. So with the agility of Spider-Man himself, I rolled to my right side. I hit the ground with a thud, right on my wrist fracturing it in two places.

As I screamed for my mother and cried because of the pain, I realized then that my one day as a super hero would be enough. From that day forward I have just read about super hero exploits, instead of acting them out.

Talking With God

You know as I've read through the Bible these past couple of years, there has always been one thought that has continued to come back to my mind. People in the stories in the Bible always seemed to be having conversations with God. I mean, they talked to Him and He talked back, giving them instruction, guidance and encouragement.

So now if the Bible is true (and I believe it to be so) then this must mean He will talk to us as well. Because the Bible states that God is no respecter of persons, Acts 10:34 So that tells me that if He talked to those in the Bible, then He will talk to me also.

There are a couple of camps when it comes to hearing God speak; the "Bible only" group, and the "God's Voice" only group. The Bible only group says that everything you need to hear from God is in the Bible. That if He is going to speak to you, it will be through the Bible and from nowhere else. The God's Voice group goes by the voice that they hear after praying to God.

The problem I have with the Bible only way of thinking is that the Bible doesn't give me an answer to everything that I will need to know. Let's take marriage for instance, we can see throughout Scripture that marriage is important to God, that much is true. But where in Scripture does it tell you "who" to marry? When I met my bride, I thought this girl is cute, and I like her. So how could I know to marry her or not? I mean I didn't turn to 1 John 3 and see it written that David should marry Cheryl.

Here's the thing, by reading in the Word I know that marriage is a good, God thing between a man and a woman. That's the big picture, but to narrow the focus down a little, I've got to dialogue with the Father. I have to talk to Him and ask, "Lord, is Cheryl the woman you have for me to marry?" Then I have to take the time and listen for Him to give me an answer. And this answer will show up in my spirit, not on paper in a book. Because that is where God speaks to us, in our spirits. Proverbs 20:27

There are so many voices in the world today that it is hard to know when God is speaking, or when it is our own desires raising their voice, or even for that matter the enemy giving voice to wrong thoughts and trying to foist those off on us as God speaking. If we are just listening to voices without the foundation of Scripture to know whether they are true or not, we will end up becoming flakey.

So many Christians these days (myself included) make "prayer speeches" to God. We talk and talk and talk then run off to face our day without really taking the time to get quiet and listen for Jesus to speak back to us. And we wonder why our lives aren't producing the fruit we would like to see. God is a gentlemen when it comes to our relationship with Him. What I mean by that, is that He will not push Himself on us. If we don't take the time to talk with Him and listen for Him to speak back, then He will let us just go our own way, never once forcing us to stop and listen to Him.

I by no means have this all figured out. I have to force myself to get still, be quiet and listen for His voice, and yes on more than one occassion I have fallen asleep doing so. I figure I'm in good company as the disciples did this too. Matthew 26:40-41 Here are some practical things that you can do to position yourself so that you will be able to hear God speak to you:

• Get alone somewhere where there will be no distractions. I prefer outside at a local park sitting in my truck.
• Turn off your cell phone.
• Take your Bible, a pen and some paper. (To write down anything He says to you.)
• Set aside some time for this, don't rush into it, I mean how often do you like to have a conversation with someone who is rushing through it?
• Start with simple things like, "Lord do you love me?" This question is a good one, because you know in Scripture that He does. It will be easier for you to start out with simple questions you know the answers to, then to ask Him things like, "Should I change jobs? Which college should I go to? or is this the person for me to marry?" Start with simple things, hear His voice on those and then gradually move up to the harder questions.
• Practice, practice, practice. As with anything, this will not happen immediately, you will have to take time and learn to hear Him. Don't be discouraged, keep after it.

I really do think that you will be able to hear God speak to you about every little detail of your life, but it is something that comes with diligence and time. You are just as important to the heart of the Father as any of those saints in the Bible, and He is just waiting for you to take the time to listen to Him. So, read your Bible so that you will know the foundational truths, and talk to God and give Him time to speak back to your heart...you'll be glad you did!

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

You Look Like A Knight, But Will You Bleed Like One?

I was reading a chapter from the book Wild at Heart written by John Eldredge, and a sentence jumped out at me. Let me quote from page 184; "I wanted to look like the knight, but I didn't want to bleed like one."

Man it was as if I was watching a 3D movie and those words jumped right off the page towards me. How often have I wanted to play the knight in shining armor for my bride? It is a core part of who I am. I am a knight of God's Kingdom, but do I in fact want to be bloodied like a knight?

I have never served in the military, even though I am so grateful to the men and women who serve our country and provide for me the freedoms that I have. There is a part of me that has often wondered if it came right down to it, would I be brave in the face of combat, or would I tuck tail and run? I want to believe that I would be valiant and stand my ground like a William Wallace, or a Maximus, calling men to rise to the occassion and vanquish the enemy. But would I really?

In thinking about being the knight in shining armor for my bride, do I want to just look the part or do I really want to play the part? I think a lot of men are willing to look the part, but only to reap the rewards of being a knight. But when it comes right to it they are unwilling to put their own desires and passions aside and get bloodied in the process. Because I will tell you, putting your own flesh down in service to your bride can be as difficult as facing down one hundred Orcs.

The Lord tells husbands how to serve their wives in Ephesians 5:25, and it would do us well to pay heed to these words. While we may not actually charge the fields with a sword in hand facing down our enemies, we will battle our own passions in just as bloody a conflict. If you don't think so, then try this; put all of your desires aside for one full week, only giving of yourself to your bride. See if you don't find a battle within unlike any you have ever faced. You will be amazed at what the enemy will unleash in your soul, and I would say that you will walk away from that week bloodied, but a better man.

So the question is, do you want to just look like a knight, or are you willing to bleed like one too? Get 'em up men, let's go whip something for the Kingdom!