Exercising...

I preached Sunday about enjoying life, so... enjoy this!

What Is Success?

Let me give you some names and see if you know who they are? Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Taylor Hicks, David Cook, Kris Allen. Have you ever heard of them? If you are a die-hard American Idol fan, you know that these were some of the winners from the show. You've probably heard of Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Jordan Sparks - they won and have done pretty well for themselves. No one really knows yet how well Lee DeWyze - this year's winner - will do, but even though these winners are still making music, just because you win American Idol doesn't mean you will be a big star.

In fact, some of the ones who didn't win have done pretty well. Chris Daughtry has done really well and he finished 4th in his season. Adam Lambert, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, Elliott Yamin, Katherine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, David Archuleta, & Danny Gokey have all made a name for themselves in different circles. Some of you might have heard of Mandissa and Phil Stacy who have become well-known in Christian music. An argument could be made that some of these people who didn't win have become more successful than the ones who did win.

Let me ask you another question. I read about a man named Rings, a chain-smoking, ex-addict, ex- convict who lives out of his pickup truck, and when he receives his monthly check, he goes to the store, buys food, and takes it in coolers down to the beach to feed his fellow homeless people because of what Christ has done for him. He doesn't have a home. He doesn't have money, and when he gets money, he gives it away. Is he successful? Is he winning?

Right now, God, through Francis Chan, and many other people is rocking my world. I'm afraid that we as Christians have defined success no differently than the world - make lots of money, have security in your job or career, have a roof over your head, a steady paycheck, food on your table. That is success! Or is it?

How is success defined in your life? Do you have to win the way the world defines winning to be successful? Or through the power of Christ in you, could you be just as successful in the things that really matter even though it appears you're not winning?

Rejoice!

I have a tendency to see the glass half-empty. I don't know why I do that, but it seems easier to see what's wrong than it does to see what's right. It doesn't help that I have Obsessive Compulsive Perfectionism Disorder! When my wife does something for me, I forget to notice and be grateful, but if she does something I perceive to be wrong, I don't miss it! When my children fight, I give them a parental lecture, but when my daughter does something sweet for her brother, I remain silent. When things are slow are the church (attendance, offering, etc.) it is easy to get down, but when those things are up, I go about my day as if that is what is expected.

I think the problem is that I haven't learned to rejoice! Have you? Paul wrote in Philippians, "Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again, rejoice!" Rejoice when things are bad. Rejoice when things are great! Rejoice when you have money! Rejoice when you don't. Rejoice when you feel all alone. Rejoice when you are surrounded by family and friends. Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! You don't rejoice because of your circumstance, but you rejoice because the Lord has your circumstance under control!

Somebody fill the cup up the rest of the way, won't you? It's almost full!

God Wants Your Best

In Malachi 1:10, God says, "O that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you, nor will I accept an offering from you" (NASB).

Francis Chan says, "God wanted the temple gates shut. The weak sacrifices of the laid-back priests were an insult to Him. He was saying that no worship is better than apathetic worship. I wonder how many church doors God wants to shut today."

Mark Buchanan writes, "Physical sickness we usually defy. Soul sickness we often resign ourselves to."

Tim Kizziar said, "Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."

I've been saying that God wants your ALL, but he does let us keep some of it for ourselves, doesn't he? So, what does he want... He wants the BEST you have to offer. Your best resources; your best talents; your best time; your best emotions; your best effort; your best relationship! He wants your best, not half-hearted worship and service! I think I've got some work to do!!!!!

I Need To Pray More

I talk to God all the time! I talk to him when I wake up in the middle of the night. I talk to him when I'm driving. I talk to him as I prepare messages. I pray for my wife. I pray for my daughter, Lauren. I pray for my son, Nick. I pray for this wonderful church that I have an opportunity to serve. I pray for our preschool and academy. I pray for hurting people. I talk to God all the time, but I need to pray more!

I have recently become convicted that I need to pray more. It seems that I let the worries of life or the distractions that come my way keep me from the one thing that is important - my relationship with God and talking with him. I think about how to make my life, my marriage, my parenting, my ministry more effective, yet sometimes I need to just stop and pray and wait for God to answer. I need to pray more... do you?

Does God Have Your Heart?

Do you remember when you realized that you couldn't "make" your wife do what you wanted her to do? I'm told that most people realize this about year seven of the marriage and it takes them until year 10 to stop trying. I also remember the day when I realized that I couldn't "make" my wife or my kids choose Jesus... they had to choose him on their own. But I have spent many years still trying to make those choices for them. Now, I realize that I can have a positive influence on them, but when it comes to the choice to follow Jesus or not, it is all up to them!

I have been the lead pastor at Antioch for about 16 months, and I am reminded that just like my wife, daughter and son, I can't "make" anyone follow God! It is easy to think that through the right programs or the right message or the right convincing announcement, I could cause a deep desire to follow Jesus, but if God doesn't have your heart, these things will not affect you. Does God have your heart? You might attend our weekend celebration and you might not! You might give the way God wants you to give, but probably not! You might serve in ministry and you might not! You might share your faith with someone who doesn't know Jesus, but probably not! Does God have your heart?

I want you to know that I resign! I give up! I can't make people follow God! It's not my responsibility to make people follow God! But I will tell you one thing I can control... I WILL FOLLOW GOD! I WILL LET GOD HAVE MY HEART! Will you?

How's Your Prayer Life?

I love how God works. Inevitably, when I am reading a book, preparing a message, and studying for my Connection Group (small group), the topics seem to merge together. Right now, I studying to begin a new study with my group called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I am preparing a message from John 9:35-41 called "Open Your Heart". And I am reading a book called "The Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller. Here's a quote from Keller:

"Though [you] may be diligent in prayer, there is no wonder, awe, intimacy, or delight in [your] conversations with God. Think of three kinds of people - a business associate you don't really like, a friend you enjoy doing things with, and someone you are in love with, and who is in love with you. Your conversations with the business associate will be quite goal-oriented. You won't be interested in chitchat. With your friend you may open your heart about some of the problems you are having. But with your lover you will sense a strong impulse to speak about what you find beautiful about him or her."

What does your prayer life look like? This is a haunting question that deserves an honest answer! God doesn't want your empty words... he wants your heart!

Unreal Expectations

I woke up this morning with a very weird thought: "Can you imagine if you could only be accepted to a health club if you met the following criteria - you were completely healthy, with low body-fat, a muscular frame and no injuries or disease?" I immediately thought, "If you met this criteria, you don't need to join the health club!"

I have no idea why I was thinking about this. I don't know what my dream was. I did wake up thinking about my message for this coming Sunday, and as I was going over the Scripture in my mind (John 9:13-23) I thought about how the Jews and Pharisees had created a criteria to be accepted into the synagogue (the church). Have we done the same thing? Do we expect people to live up to unreal expectations of perfection in order for them to join our group, our church, even the Kingdom of God?

Let me state this plainly... if you meet the criteria of perfection, you don't need Jesus! In fact, the offense of the Gospel is that spiritually, you are unhealthy, injured by your past and diseased with the sin in your life. You need Jesus! I beg you, don't have unreal expectations for people to join our group or our church or the Kingdom. Let's love imperfect people into the Kingdom of God - I wouldn't be here if someone didn't do that for me.

Humility

Asking God to make me humble is kind of like praying for patience. It is a dangerous thing, but humility is the primary trait of a spiritual leader - and I believe any follower of Christ, so it is not surprising that it is difficult. It is definitely NOT the primary trait in our culture!

I love sports... just ask my wife and kids! I love to play them, I love to watch them, I listen to a radio show that talks about them. I can't seem to get enough of sports. One thing I have noticed is that humility does not reign supreme in athletics. When a player does something good, he beats his chest to call attention to himself. When a coach feels that the referee missed the call, he jumps up and down, yells, sometimes says bad words. Some even have been known to throw a chair! These are NOT acts of humility.

In Philippians 2, Paul tells us what the opposite of humility is. First, it is "selfish ambition" or greed. The drive to accomplish and accumulate for ourselves. It seems that we can never accomplish enough or we can never accumulate enough. I fall into this trap sometimes, but the questions that ring in my ear are, "How much will be enough?" and "Is God not enough for me?" Greed to accomplish or accumulate will derail your spiritual journey very quickly. Instead, we should "look not only to our own interests, but to the interests of others."

The second trait that stand in opposition to humility is "vain conceit" or pride. How easy it is to get caught up with self. We want to be noticed. We want to be liked. We want to be preferred above all others. We want to win. But Peter reminds us that "God opposed the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5). The only things that I have accomplished in my life that matter have been done through the power of the Holy Spirit, and I had little to do with them. If we are going to be humble, we have to "consider others better than ourselves."

Lastly, the desire to for "equality with God" or control deters us from the humble life God calls us to. We like to be in control - to be "God" of our own lives, don't we? I remember when my kids were little, and they would say to their friends, "You're not the boss of me." They didn't like to be told what to do because they wanted to control their own lives. Now at 18, I can see those same wheels turning in my daughter's life when she wants to control every aspect of her life because she is legally an adult. There is some truth to this - Now that she is an adult, I don't have to pay her car insurance, health insurance, and if she gets in trouble with the law, I'm not legally responsible. I'm more than happy to give her control of these areas of her life. But if you want to live in humility, you must surrender control first to God, and then to those you serve. If you are in a position of leadership, you must lead, but do it like Jesus did from a humble position of servanthood.

I don't expect to see humility displayed in sports anytime soon. It goes against its nature. But as followers of Jesus, we must clothe ourselves with humility. Who knows, maybe the world will take notice and turn to God. That would be better than any sporting event!