Going without something for 30 days seems like a long time to go without something. Especially if it is something you enjoy or crave or “need”! On March 25th, we were sitting in our basement as a family watching America’s Funniest Home Video. Brayden, my eight year old son, says, “I think I want to give up video games for 30 days.” Mom and I look at each other with a puzzled look because 1. he loves video games 2. where did that statement come from? So I took the bait. “Why do you want to give up video games?” Brayden answered, “If I can give up video games, maybe you and I can read the Bible every morning before school.” This was an unintentional boot to the head! “Sure thing buddy. We can wake up at 6:30 read our Bibles and then go for a walk.” He was extremely excited and was not worried about the absence of video entertainment. His hockey and baseball skills would go on hiatus so we could read, pray and walk together.

As we went to bed, I had to find out where the motivation came from. Did he reveal a supernatural message from God is the sky? Did the fortune cookie from a recent Chinese dinner tell him to go this direction? None of the above. One of his friends gave up candy for Lent and refused a piece of candy at church and explained to Brayden why gave up candy. Brayden took it and ran with it. Now, being a “pastor” I could have used the moment to explain to him that we had already passed the beginning of Lent and Ash Wednesday had already come and gone. We could do it next year! But there was something genuine and authentic about his request, his intentions, the thoughtfulness of his pursuit. Tomorrow morning we would begin the journey.

As I lay in bed that night, thankful that a faithful friend shared his journey with Brayden, I began to think, what am I going to give up? Then I started rationalizing the things I couldn’t give up because I’m too connected to them or too dependent on them. Then I knew what it was…Dt Mt Dew and carbonated beverages. I love me some sweet nectar of the gods. I love the burning sensation of a cold Dt Mt Dew.I love the 44 oz Speedway fountain cup filled with my favorite beverage. But if Brayden can do without video games, surely I can do without DMD.

Less than one week later, I was ready to hit the pause button for the both us. We were driving to Florida to see papaw and he was going to need his 3D DS and I was going to need some DMD for the drive. Surely a pause was in order to get us through the 32 hours of driving. But the Holy Spirit, through the voice and reason of my wife, said this would be a great learning experience on sacrifice and commitment. (Easy for her to say, because she wasn’t going on the trip!) So we made the trip with our the DS and DMD. And while we were away, maintained our daily time together and enjoyed walking the local golf coarse.

At the end of our 30 days, Brayden didn’t miss his electronics and I didn’t miss my DMD. In fact, I still haven’t had one and don’t intend to either. But here is the key, it’s not that we did away with something. It is what we added that made all the difference in the world. It has been time well spent and we are enjoying the morning conversations and readings.

It’s not about doing without, but what needs to be added that makes the difference in our days. The reality is that we can’t do without Him, no matter how addicted we are to the stuff in our lives. Go ahead, give it a try. Try to miss something. I bet you won’t miss a thing.

     My eight year old son, Brayden, came home from a friends house a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I had $200 he could have.  I asked him what he needed such a high dollar amount for and he said, “I want a Kindle Fire.”  You see, his friend just received a Kindle Fire for Christmas and Brayden thought he needed one as well.  Never mind the fact that we literally had just arrived home from a weeks long vacation in California!  I proceeded to remind him that we just got back from vacation and that now was not a good time to be asking for a new gadget!

As I was reading through Mark 9 awhile back, there was an exchange with Jesus and His disciples regarding their inability to cast a demon from a local boy.  They had tried everyhing.  They had seen Jesus do some cool things.  Maybe even a few fisherman tricks they had seen over the years.  But when they couldn’t cast the demon out, they asked why, and His answer was very simple and yet perplexing, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” (Mark 9:29) Hello…wouldn’t that be the first thing they should have done?  Prayed about it, sought inside supernatural power, approach God about the task at hand?  Seems fairly obvious right?

However, they trusted instinct, experience, a recent conference, or recent book to get rid of this demon and guess what…they bypassed The Source that could have, would have brought glory to God.  I’m not saying that a book or conference or past experience doesn’t bring insight, understanding, or help.  But, God is the only Source that has the power and strength to break the strongholds we experience in our personal and corporate lives.

So, if my 8 year old son doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to asking for stuff or things, why in the world do we, as children of God,  hesitate to approach Him with our needs and desires?  Is it because we have access to so many resources and have a plethora of past experiences to rely on?  Have we replaced God with Google and Yahoo? If we really believe that God IS who He says He is, if we take Him at His Word, and the earth is His and everything in it and He can and will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory – why in the world would we not approach Him with a childlike faith and ask our Dad for what we want and/or need.

I often find myself more like the disciples than Brayden.  I rest on my experiences, giftedness, knowledge, preference, and timing rather than approaching God humbly yet confidently that He is going to hear me and answer me if I am seeking His will rather than my own agenda.  If I would just ask, just talk to Him about it, He is more than willing to reveal Himself in a way to me than I could ever ask or expect.

What in your life this week do you need to approach Him in childlike faith yet ask big things of Him.  Think small and pray BIG.

The USPS has calculated that they can make more money by slowing down the delivery process. That is right, they can make more more money by taking snail mail and turning it into a maple syrup tap in Vermont in the dead of winter mail. Knowing that it is going to take longer for a birthday card to arrive, go ahead and send me mine now, even though my birthday is in March. Funny how our governmental agencies calculate such things, no wonder we have so much debt!

But in God’s economy, less is more. We calculate that the more we are doing is a sign of our love to God and devotion to His church. But what if God is not impressed with our works? What if we were to step back and evaluate what we are doing and trust him more with those areas, people, and relationships? What if we trusted the power of the Spirit within us that raised Jesus from the dead rather than our ability, wording, or timing? What if we took John the Baptist’s words as literal when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I must become less to experience Him more. Trusting Him for open doors, words to say, opportunities to share, and all the results that followed would reveal His power in a supernatural way. It is time to live in God’s economy and to quit mailing it in.

It is impossible to list all the reasons why I am grateful and extremely thankful. The composer of Psalm 136 lays it out fairly simply as to what I should be thankful for. First, that God in His design and plan created me in His image for a specific purpose. As I embrace my significance, purpose, and meaning in life, I am grateful that He created and invited me to be a part of His story. Second, He provided the means of my salvation through the sacrificial giving of His Son. Not only did He graciously pave the way for me, but continues to provide daily assurance that will carry me into eternity. Third, the life that I have been given is way more than I deserve. My gratitude for my wife and boys and friends and church is not the foundation of my thankfulness, instead; my gratitude is to an all knowing, all powerful, always there God who holds the world in His hands and yet cares enough about me to give me gifts that I could never repay. So giving Him thanks, praise, and submitting to His all knowing, all powerful, ever present awesomeness will once again make tomorrow another day of thanksgiving.

Eight years ago today my favorite baseball player was born. He handles the bat well, mans first base like his life depends on it, and is a fierce competitor. I’ve seen him hit home runs and turn unassisted double plays. I’ve seen his joy of scoring the winning run and the agony of making the last out. However, I am way more impressed by who he is than what he’s done.

Brayden,
To witness your birth in the hospital was breath taking and left me speechless. To see you take your first breath and hear your first cry brought unspeakable joy to your mom and I. Watching you grow up has been eventful, enjoyable, and a blessing. I love your personality, your attention to detail, and your time conscience demeanor. I love breaking down baseball strategies and playing catch in the backyard. I am extremely proud of your academic success and your love for learning. Your dance moves make me laugh and leave me jealous! I love how you treat your friends and love your brother. The proof is found in how your friends want to be around you and your brother wants to be like you. Thank you for the respect that you show your mom and I and how you represent the family name well wherever you go.

I am extremely proud to be called your dad, however, the day that you also became my brother in Christ, is a day that I will cherish forever. Knowing that we get to hang out for a really, really, really long time brings a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. Happy Birthday Brayden. I am your biggest fan.

The Middle East uprising, or The Arab Spring, has caused major disruption throughout the world as common people have rallied together to unseat leaders, dictators, and governments. Even in the US we’ve seen pockets of protest with people unhappy with our economy and financial situation. Scores of common people wanting to see something extraordinary happen in their lifetime. The statusquo no longer a viable option.

So why not us? Why does the church continue sit on its hands and watch as the world is getting what it wants. Why is the church not causing an uprising to give the world what it needs in the form of the Gospel? Reading through Ephesians 3, it is apparent that the church is the method of God to distribute the message of God. The mystery of the Gospel has been revealed to us and is the source of hope that we cling so tightly to, yet must be willing to let loose to stir an uprising experienced in the early church.

Paul says in Ephesians 3:20-21 that God is able to do more than we ask or even what we could think of asking. So why not ask for a supernatural uprising that could only be explained as the power of God. Why not tap into the power that raised Jesus from the dead to stir the dead dry bones of those we live near, work with, and hangout with? Why can’t this season of our lives be associated with a movement of God rather than passively watching the world around us celebrate a different form of captivity.

We are more than common people. We are children of the Living God. We are the chosen method to distribute God’s message. We are the bride of Christ. We are more than conquerors! The final outcome is not even in question. Rather than being on the offense, the church is playing defense while the world moves further and further way from the Truth, one Arab Spring at a time.

Today, may we be reminded of the depth, height, breadth, and length of the surpassing knowledge of the love of Christ that completes us, fills us, and moves us. May He be honored and glorified as the church distributes the message we’ve been entrusted with.

Things to think about in regards to God’s accessibility and our prayer life:

1. Jesus often retreated to desolate places to spend time with His Father. Why? Jesus could only say and do what He heard from the Father. So time with God was not optional but necessary. Is your prayer life rooted in necessity or availability? Luke 5:12-16

2. Our approach in prayer often reflects what we believe about God. Consider this quote from Paul Miller’s book, A Praying Life,” If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life.” A Praying Life

3. Result oriented prayer is fleeting, looking for one mountain top after another. Often throwing a pity party when you don’t get want you want. Need an example? You can see your reflection in the tantrum thrown by kids at Walmart when they don’t get the toy they want. Screaming, kicking, snot rockets. Not very becoming? Start praying seeking the benefits of your relationship with Him rather than stuff you want from Him.

4. With the proper perspective and approach – according to His will – ask, seek, knock away. He knows what you need and when you need it and He loves to answer, reveal, and open. Matthew 7:7-11

5. When you don’t have the words or the voice to ask, seek, knock; your heart will be interpreted by the Holy Spirit and delivered to God in a timely manner. Romans 8:26-27

6. Our confidence in approaching God is not based on our needs or even our ability to approach Him, but in who He is, what He’s already done, and what He is able to do. Cloaked in humility, we broadly approach our Father because He has made Himself available and accessible. So glad He hears me when I come to Him this way. 1 John 5:14-15

Today as I sit in one of my mobile offices, I’m able to do so because of the technology that was inspired by one of the most iconic innovators of all time. If you were going to create a Mount Rushmore for innovators, Steve Jobs would be there with Ford, Franklin, and Edison. While I’m typing on my iPad, others around me are talking on their iPhones or listening to their music on their iPods. And if you don’t currently possess one of those devices, maybe your iMac or MacBook at your home or office points to his genius. If you don’t own an Apple device, the device you do own and use is probably better off because it is trying to keep with Apple and its market share.

Jobs offers a litany of life lessons. You can watch Jobs’ commencement address to Stanford and get a lot of his life lessons from that speech. Whether he is talking about his family life, professional life, or his view on death, there are a lot of take aways. But if there is one thing the church could learn from Jobs, it would be this: he loved his company and believed in his product.

Jobs believed the products he created were game changers for everyone. In fact, the way Jobs presented his technology line, he made you feel that you had to have it, because life was not complete without it. He often mocked those who tried to imitate the Apple line because they were alway playing catch up. But when Jobs spoke about the new iPhone or iPad, you were sucked into believing that this was a life altering device that would enhance your life. You may even have an older version of said device, but Jobs would sell you on the new version and you found yourself standing in line to get it. (Although I didn’t have the first iPad, I did stand in line for 90 minutes to get the iPad 2.)

What would happen to the church, yes even the local church you attend, if we loved being a Christ follower and really believed in the love, grace, and mercy of our God? Why doesn’t our love and affection for the Creator cause that many people to stand in line for hours to get into our churches to see all that He has done and will do for them. (Please don’t insert your excuses here, most of the church isn’t in love with Jesus as much as it is in love with all things Mac or technology.) Jesus isn’t the latest religious hero on the scene – He’s the only Hero on the scene that can transform life from the inside out! It is not about what has He done for me lately or a Jesus 2.0. He is as current today and as much of a necessity today as He was the day He died on the cross, as the day He rose from the dead, and the day He ascended to be with His Father. He’s greater than any device that is at your fingertips right now to text, listen to music, or reading this post. The world isn’t buying what we are selling because we don’t live like we really believe in it. If those whose lives have been changed and transformed don’t appear to be excited or in love with Him, the world wants no part of it. Is this why the church is always seeming to play second fiddle to the cultural competition to remain relevant? Unfortunately, too many in the church believe in the power of Apple and its ability to change lives rather than the power that overcame the curse of the first apple. What do you believe in more, the technology in your hands or the Spirit that gave you life? Worship the Creator,not the created.

You should stop what you are doing right now and do a happy dance that Jesus is not fair!  If Jesus was fair, we would have to create our own form of salvation that wouldn’t meet the requirements of a Holy God.  Justification would be about our motives, actions, and attitudes rather than our sin debt being paid for. (We do a fairly good job of justifying most things.)  In the end, no one would win because we would all be playing by different rules and the final score would be 0-0.  If Jesus was fair, we would have to clean ourselves up before approaching Him because there is nothing good in any of us.  INSTEAD, Jesus has an abundance of grace and takes us just like we are so that we can live just as He is – in unity and in a relationship with God the Father. He does away with the prior clean up.  He does away with rules and regulations.  He provides the means and He is the end.  Even when we didn’t and don’t deserve it, He provides it.  You can’t earn it, purchase it, or barter for it.  It’s His gift to us and He pours it out on us abundantly.  Talk about an investment!  Now, what do you do with that kind of grace?

Well, some of us will do the happy dance because that grace is poured out on us.  We are forgiven, free, and His.  But what about lavishing that grace on others?  What about inviting others to the dance party?  Wouldn’t it be great to dance in the streets of those in your neighborhood because they tasted of the grace that you’ve shared.  What if after dinner tonight your family danced to the rhythm of grace because one more saint was added to the Kingdom while sharing a plate of steamed broccoli. (Maybe you can add an additional dance if your family actually eats steamed broccoli.)

Proverbs 11:24 says, “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer, another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”  Don’t hoard the grace that has been so lavishly poured on you.  Give it away, give it away, give it away, now.  Sorry had to say it, now that rhythm and song is stuck in your head – stop reading and go dance.

Assumptions cause us to embrace false realities.  Assuming something is the easy way out.  It takes little effort and allows the author of the assumption to construct their own view of reality. Without personal investigation, our assumptions fuel inaccuracies and cause distances in relationships, churches, and eternity. Assumptions about Jesus in the NT were common place too.

• Herod the King assumed the presence of Jesus would be a threat to his personal kingdom.  He then had every male child two years old and younger killed to fuel is assumption and protect his kingdom. (Matthew 2:1-18)
• The devil assumed Jesus would bow to the pressure of temptation and offered what he could not deliver. (Luke 4:1-13)
• The people of Israel assumed Jesus was going to rule on the throne like King David.  (John 6:1-15)
• Martha assumed Jesus would rebuke the learning Mary in favor of her busy hands. (Luke 10:38-42)
• The religious leaders assumed Jesus was talking about the physical temple. (John 2:13-22)

Assumptions paralyze us from faithfully following and obeying God.  We assume that He is satisfied with the status quo like we are. We assume the people in and around our lives don’t want to hear the Gospel.  We assume that someone else will get around to sowing the seed of the Gospel in our communities and neighborhoods. We assume our churches will grow and flourish because, well, it’s a church.

However, Truth drives away assumptions.  Jesus is the Son of God, declared so by His Father. (Matthew 3:17)  Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life that leads to the Father. (John 14:6) Therefore, anything that Jesus says and does is for the sole purpose of pointing to the Father.  The only way to know these things, is to investigate the sayings, teachings, and actions of Jesus to pattern our life around who He is rather than what we assume Him to be.

You know the old saying about what happens when we assume.  The reality is, it is far more costly than making a fool of yourself to assume you know Him and His way.  Eternity is a high price to pay for an assumption.