I'm Back!

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted. I have been laid up with a bad ankle and no access to the web until now.

March 4
Hurry. Deadlines. Rush hour. Deadlines. Appointments. Deadlines. Our lives, every day, run on a schedule. From sun up to sun down, our schedules are packed with the proverbial phrase, “places to go…people to see.” In fact, right now, I received a call from my wife telling me she was on her way to pick me up (it felt like an hour, not three hours since she dropped me off). The thing most people need is space. Space is that entity that makes it possible to run life’s race with grace.
The first thing we need to do to create space is to stop. A man was pulled over for running through a stop sign. When the policeman came up to this man’s window, he said, “Officer, I slowed down and looked both ways.” The officer replied that slowing down wasn’t good enough, he needed to stop. This banter continued for a few minutes until the officer had enough. He told the man to get out of the car. When the man exited the car, the policeman began to beat the man with his night stick. The police officer then asked the man, “Sir, would you like me to slow down or stop?” We have to learn to stop and not just slow down. There is a difference.
Second, we must learn to concentrate. Concentration is discovering what our gifts are and what they are not. We have to wise up and do what we are good at more often. Beethoven never cleaned his house. When it got too dirty, he just moved. I’m not saying that we have to go that far, but we need to learn to access our gifts and allow those things that we don’t do well to be picked up by those that do them well. Remember, sometimes we can do too much for God that we fail to fulfill the desires of God.
And third, we need to exercise energy renewing activities. The difference between space and stress is your limit compared to your load. When your limit is at the same level as your load then you have the chance for frustration. It is therefore, important that we do things that increase our limits. This is important because a lot of times it is too difficult, if not impossible, to change the amount of your load.
A young boy was standing next to his father’s recliner. The father was relaxed and entrenched in the daily paper while the young boy was slapping his hand against the inside of his ball glove. Finally, after the boy realized that his father was not getting the clue, he said, “Play with me or trade me.”
Sometimes our situations are more draining than energizing so we need to learn in those situations to say, “Play me or trade me.” But never forget, there are times when it is okay, if not better, to spend some time on the bench.

March 5

Read Mark 16:20

The phrase in this passage that stands off of the page is, “…the Lord working with them…” This phrase is not only powerful, but it is the key to apostolic ministry and harvest.
A man once said, “Instead of asking God to bless what we are doing, why don’t we just do what God is blessing?” It is a question of incomparable depth. The first thing that comes to mind is that God may not be blessing what I would like to do, so am I willing to forsake my desires for His? If I am willing to follow Him, the question then is, where do I go?
How many times have we scheduled our day timers with our personal agendas and plans with a weak afterthought about whether or not God has placed His stamp of approval upon it?
It is common practice for engineers or draftsmen who do not have the proper credentials to make drawings and then seek the signature of a certified engineer. In this simple analogy is wrapped the struggle of our every day lives. I have seen all too often a church, a group or an individual frantically looking for a program that we think is the best. We then ask, and sometimes beg, God to bless it rather than seek Him until we find out what He is already doing and blessing so that He can work through us.
God wants to work with us. Before this can happen, we must know what His will is and have the faith to obey it. We need to seek God until we know what He wants to do, where he wants to do it and when. Then, we just need to show up at the right place at the right time.

March 6

Read Psalm 69:13

I hope you enjoy this poem:

I knelt to pray, but not for long,
I had too much to do.
Must hurry off and get to work,
For bills would soon be overdue.
And so I said a hurried prayer,
Jumped up from off my knees;
My Christian duty now was done,
My soul could be at ease.

All through the day I had no time
To speak a word of cheer,
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They’d laugh at me I’d feared.
No time, no time, too much to do;
That was my constant cry;
No time to give to those in need,
At last ‘twas time to die.

And when before the Lord I came,
I stood with downcast eyes,
Within His hands He held a book,
It was the Book of Life.
God looked into his book and said,
“Your name I cannot find,
I once was going to write it down,
But never found the time.
How has your time been spent? I have often heard it stated that the most important time of life is the dash between the beginning and end of your life.

March 7

Read James 4:35-36

Hanging from a winding and crooked tree the apple glistens in the sunlight. Rich hues of red and amber magnifies the apple’s glory, yet, deep in the core of its soul its heart begins to soften. He is dying. Painted on smiles, brilliant splashes of color hanging from a winding and crooked trees.
We live in a world that attempts to cover all of the scars and pain that life has given. Painted on faces with painted on smiles drive to high dollar shopping districts to purchase the latest fashion trends. They work for Fortune 500 companies and drive expensive cars. You can also find the middle and lower class that run factories and bakeries. You know the printer down the block and the teacher around the corner.
I am talking about your neighbor. You do have them, don’t you? They are all around you. Have you looked out your back door lately? Has the church (you and I) been so consumed in chasing the American dream that we have failed to notice the apple getting soft?
We are in the harvest. We have been planted in the midst of the greatest field of all time; the field of souls. We need to make a difference in our families and friends. They hang there just like the apple, brilliant and wonderful, yet, deep down in their hearts, they are crying for a Savior.

March 8

Today is my dad’s birthday. It got me to thinking about him. He has a unique story. He grew up in the house that I was able to grow up in, and that my sister now owns. His parents made sure that he was active in all areas of the church. My father received the Holy Ghost at a young age, and God placed a call on his life that was put on delay by the actions of my father. You see, I can proudly say, for those of you that do not know, my father is a United States Olympian. Growing up in Minnesota, the thing to do in the winter is to skate. A large percentage of the kids desire to play hockey at all levels. My dad possessed the talent to play at all levels.
When I was born, he was playing for the University of Minnesota hockey team. This team was always one of the best in the nation (still is!). When I was 1 year old, he was the captain of the WCHA champion Minnesota team, just losing in the national championship game. When I was 2-3 years old, he played for the United States as a 1972 Olympian, winning the silver medal in Sapporo, Japan. When I was 4-5 years old, he played professionally for the Minnesota Fighting Saints (either you’re a Saint or you ain’t!) in our hometown of St. Paul, MN. Any kid growing up in Minnesota would love to be able to brag about a pedigree of their father like I did (the silver medal always won the show and tell times in school). However, as I look back over the last thirty years, the highlight for me is the fact that he gave me the opportunity to find God. He quit playing hockey to answer that call that came years before, and by doing so, set me on the path to where I am today. I probably would not be doing what I am doing today if he would not have taken that step. (Unless grandma Cele got a hold of me) Today, he has three children and 8 grandchildren living for God. Today, I say thank you dad, and because of your choices, I can raise my son in the ways of the Lord.

March 9

Read Psalm 34

The Psalmist states in verse 3, “O, magnify the Lord with me…” I’ve often wondered how I, in my greatest state could possibly ever truly magnify the Lord. The word “magnify” means to “increase the apparent size of…” How can you and I make God appear larger than He already is?
Near my home is a church that has a board upon which they change phrases or sayings on a regular basis. Most of these saying are off the wall, in my humble opinion, but every once in a while, something on that sign stirs my mind.
A few years back, this is exactly what happened. I saw the sign as I drove to work, and it said, “Is your life shedding light or casting shadows?” This phrase sent my mind into a whirlwind, thinking of all the times that my life actually decreased the Lord that lives inside of me instead of magnifying Him.
In order to have shadows, something has to be hindering the light. Even as I write this devotion, I can see the shadow of my fingers upon the keyboard. There is nothing like a shadow on a hot summer day because it offers a place to rest and get out of the heat. However, if it is a cool, or cold, day those same shadows can cause it to be even cooler. You just search everywhere trying to find the warmth of the sun.
In a world that is full of darkness and cold hearts, shadows are the last thing that people need. It is our responsibility not to add to those shadows, but carry the true light into those dark places. Our responsibility is to shed light in this dark world.
This takes me back to the concept of magnification. When I was a boy, I remember taking a magnifying glass and using the magnification of the sun, I would burn up paper (and other things!!). Holding that glass made the power of the sun that much stronger.
The same effect can take place when you and I join hands and unite our minds and spirits. When this unification takes place we become the magnifying glass, and we enlarge the perception of the Lord in our community. We magnify the SON, the true Light when we work together and slowly the darkness of this world dissipates and the true Light begins to warm the hearts of those caught in the shadows. So, will you magnify the Lord with me?

March 10

If you have a dream (and there is a good chance you do, for God is very liberal at handing those out), then you can be assured that your dream is very durable. Ask Joseph. A dream can be thrown into a pit, sold as a slave and forgotten in prison, but it will survive.
In fact, it is not unusual for a dream’s future to look bleak, and that’s the thing that often confuses people. For you see, dreams are like seeds…they must be planted…watered…and cultivated before they bloom.
Now planting a dream is not something you have to work at. There are plenty of circumstances that will conspire to bury it for you; envying brothers ready to throw dirt, plenty of pits that act as receptacles for dreams, plenty of Ishmaelites to make sure the dreams stay buried.
Oh, yes, your dream must be watered – with tears. Tears of fathers who thought the dream had died, or your own tears, because you thought that you had died with the dream. They’re singing the mourning song now for your dream – quite buried, stripped of its original colors and shredded beyond recognition. Time has made allies with a scheming Potiphar’s wife and a jealous husband to keep your dream buried for a long time.
In the prison times of your life, it is important to remember one thing; dreams don’t die. That is, your dream won’t die if you cultivate it with your prayers, nourish it with your faith, don’t let it go and don’t trade it in for another model.
This season of waiting can try even the most patient of dreamers. In this forgotten soil, however, it is God who will breathe renewed life into your dream. When it begins to sprout, there are not enough prison bars in all of Egypt to hold it captive. First, the miracle of life, and then strength, and then abundance.
When your dream brings forth fruit, the graineries of Egypt will overflow, a nation will be saved and the world will be fed by your dream. Who needs your dreams? Dreams are for confused Pharoah’s and worried butlers. Dreams are for hungry brothers and grieving fathers. There is a Benjamin out there, who wants to see you, so don’t let your dreams die in prison. There is a father who thought the dream was already dead, only to see it resurrect before his eyes. When your dream comes to pass, remember that it was not for you alone that this dream was given. A dream outlives the dreamer. It is never tucked away neatly in a trophy case or set on a mantle, but the bones of this dream will be carried into future generations. It will follow clouds, pass through the sea, defeat Egyptians and rout Amalekites. No, the bones of this dream will not be left in Egypt – for there are three million people to take it into the Promised Land.
And that is why you must clutch tightly to your dream; there are millions watching you.