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You may agree with what I am about to say or you may not. That is your perogative…..but here goes. We live in a society that promotes materialism over relationships. People are always wanting more. We are never satisfied with the things that we have. We are always looking at what others have and what we have not. We even judge people by their possessions.

This mentality has even crept into the Body of Christ. Now before you start to slam me, let me finish. I believe with all my heart that God wants to see His people blessed. I believe that God does not want us bound by debt. I think that Christians should be the most responsible people when it comes to stewardship of money. (most are not)

What I don’t believe is that God intended that all Christian are to be wealthy. Jesus himself said ” the poor you will have with you always.” By some, that would imply that all poor people were not saved or have very little faith. Wealth does not equal happiness. Is wealth wrong? Absolutely not. Can wealth be used to further the Kingdom of God? Absolutely. Can wealth be used to help others in need? Another….ABSOLUTELY.

Social Psychologist even agree that wealth does not correlate with psychological well-being. In a word….rich people are not the happiest. Depression is at an all time high among youth and young adults. (Cross-National Collaborative Group, 1992) God never intended for materialism to replace relationships. Let’s face it….We are looking for happiness in something that cannot produce it. Look at this scripture:

Isaiah 55:2 ” Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and you labor for that which does not satisfy?”

I have even heard ministers say that “you must have wealth and stuff so that the sinners will see what you have and want it.” Hello…….is that not being covetous? Seems to me, that was one of the BIG 10 of “Thou shalt not do’s.” If I must have “stuff” in order for people to want the Jesus that they see in me then….I must not be allowing the right Jesus to be seen.

Too many people are spending their time and money going after things that does not produce happiness while neglecting the everyday things such as close relationships and a faith community.

The whole point to this is to be content with who you are and what you have. The happiest people that I have ever met have been those that are content with what they have. I am learning that if I am content with what God has provided me with now….then I am able to appreciate it more and am more grateful for it. When we can get to the place like some “old time” christians use to testify to…”if God does not give me anything else in this life….I would still serve Him.”

Do we have that kind of relationship with God to say that? Are we serving Him for who He is and not for what we can get?

Man! What a great day I had today spending it with my family. We were able to snag some Clemson football tickets and go see the Tigers whip Temple. Did I mention that we were sitting in the lower section on the Clemson side at the 30 yard line!? We had GREAT seats!!

This was also the first time that my sons have ever been to a Clemson game and they loved it. They were able to “rub the rock” before the game. (If you are not a Clemson fan then you will not understand what I just said).

The most memorable time that I had today was not watching the game with my boys but trying to explain the rules of football to my lovely wife Angela. It was kinda like the Abbott and Costello..”Who’s on First” routine…and I was Abbott. (whew!!) I still don’t think she understands the 1st and 10 first down rule. But hey…I didn’t marry her for her knowledge of football anyway.

We laughed and had a great time today and I was thinking how blessed I am to have a great family. I love to spend time with them and build memories that will last a life time. I know of too many people that have great families but are too busy doing “other” things that they think are more important. People are trying to “climb” the corporate ladder or build a bigger ministry and the ones that are suffering the most are the very ones that loves them the most.

Ask yourself….will it be worth it in the end with all of your accomplishments and success, to not have anyone around to share it with? What kind of memories will your children be able to share with their kids?

Go out today and start building a lifetime of memories that will never be forgotten.

Satan will use any tactic necessary to separate the family….even ministry. Don’t let your kids find another hero to look up to. All they are wanting is time. Not “stuff.” Just time.

If you succeed at everything in life that you pursue… and fail your family…are you still successful?

God Bless

I am an Indiana Jones fan. Hands down. I wish they had made more than they did…at least as many as Rocky!? YO Adrian!!!!!! (in my best Rocky voice). Anyway…back at the farm…I was watching the Indy and the Last Crusade the other night. (the one where he and his father was trying to find the cup of Christ) and God showed me something in that movie. Here goes…

Do you remember the scene where everyone was together just before the last step to finding the cup? The one where Indy’s father was shot by the Nazi guy? Indy had to go into the cave to find the cup to save his father. You with me so far? If not rent the movie…
The cave was rigged with death traps and you had to know the answer to the puzzle or…….you died.

Now remember, 2 other men had gone in before Indiana and well…..they died. They did not have the answer. The clues were:
1. The penitent man shall pass.
2. The Name of God.
3. Take a leap of Faith

These were the 3 clues that Indiana had, to be able to make it through without dying and in the end saving his father.

You may ask…what is so important about this? Well…take a look. This is a roadmap for christians to follow in this thing called life. Watch.

1. penitent means repentant. We must first and foremost come to God and acknowledge that we have sinned and ask for forgiveness. We must extinguish our pride and self reservation and humble ourselves to the God Jehovah. Understand?

2. We must know who God is. You cannot know God if you do not spend time with Him and have a relationship with Him. God is not some far away God that sits way up in outerspace and is unreachable. He created us to have a relationship with Him.

3. We must walk in faith knowing that God is in control of everything in our lives. Nothing is a surprise to him. If He says step, then we must know that there is going to be a bridge under our feet when they hit the ground.

Son….that will preach right there….I don’t care who you are.

This life is rigged with death traps that satan has placed in our paths. But I promise you that if you know the answer you will reach your reward.

God Bless

I was watching TV the other day and I saw a new commercial that Verizon has put out and how much network and support a Verizon customer had compared to the competition.

Two guys were meeting at a football game and the one guy lost his call and he looks at 4 other people with computers and antenna’s (his netwok) and say’s “you guys are killing me.”
His friend then comes walking up with his Verizon phone and behind him is an army of people. Guys repelling from helicopters, high tech equiptment, and anything that you can imagine.
He then looks at the 4 people behind his friend and ask “is that all you got?”

Man, I started thinking about what satan has to offer vs what God has to offer.

Satan offers: undeniable pleasure for a season.
a do what feels good card
lies and deception
Eternity in hell

God offers: A son that was willing to die for my sins
A peace that passes all understanding
A promise of never leaving us when we are in trouble
A promise of never putting on us more than we can handle
A life of abundance
A life of power in the Holy Spirit
A father that will cradle us in the times of despair
Eternity with Him in Heaven

These are just a few that I came up with off the top of my head. I could list pages of promises from God but I think you get the picture.

If you are like the guy with only the 4 people…..

My question is…Is that all you got, when God is offering so much more?

Make the switch

I have often wondered why it is that people assume the worst in other people when things happen? Without going into details, I was accused today of something that I had no influence nor have any control over by someone that I thought knew me.

After talking with them, I started to retrace my steps to see if I was the cause or was I just an external factor that people perceived as being the reason for their attitude or behavior. In Sociol Psychology that is called the Attribution Theory.

Do we always tend to think towards the negative about someone if we hear that something has happened? Even a friend? We are so desperate to try to justify our actions and our beliefs that shifting the cause to someone else makes us feel better about our own selves. This a way many people deal with their own personal flaws that they are not able to confront.

The sad part about all of this is that I see this more in the church than I do anywhere else. Have we forgotten the good in people? Have we trained ourselves to automatically assume the worst?

Once you have a belief, it influences how you perceive all other relevant information. I’ll give you an example. If I think that a person has hostility against me, then I am going to interpret any kind of ambiguious action on their part as signifying hostility. No matter what they say or do, as long as I believe…….. then any action, is taken as hostile action.

That is why the bible tells us to guard our minds and “put on the helment of salvation.”

The mind is satans playground and if we are not careful, then he will turn it into an amusement park.

If you are wondering….I was not the reason for the situation.

We all have passions in our life that really explain to others who we are. Passions tell us where our focus is and what is most important to us. You can tell what someones passion is by looking at there checkbook and calender. Your passion is where you spend the most of your time and the most of your money.

Here are my five top passions.

1. Jesus Christ

I have a passion in serving and living my life after Him. After all these years of being a Christian, I am still in awe of the grace and mercy of God. Everyday I wake up wanting Him to reflect through me in anything I do and everywhere I go.

2. My wife Angela

I have the most beautiful, sexy, loving woman in the world. We have been married 17 years and I would not trade it for anything. She is good at everything she does and man do I mean everything(ummm well we will stop there).

3. My sons Bryce and Jared

God has blessed me with 2 of the most awesome sons in the universe. Bryce (13) is athletic and imaginative, and smart. Although he is starting the age in which “dad does not know anything” and I am told that will last until he is about 30. He is a son that could very well one day be President. I just hope he keeps the White House cleaner than he does his room.
Jared (9) is athletic and loves animals. He has a pet lizard and wants a snake..(that aint going to happen). He is at the age in which he is just……annoying. (Had to be honest).

4. My Ministry

Bottom line…I want to see people’s lives changed. I convey to people that your circumstances does not dictate who you are. I have a passion for ministry. These last few months, God has been redirecting our ministry and it has been an exciting time for us. (more on that in a later post)

5. The Great Outdoors

Give me a backpack and a tent over a Hilton any day. I love the outdoors. I love to just enjoy what God has created on this earth. There are some things that you just can’t experience sitting inside. (bug bites, scrapes, cuts, bee stings, ands posion oak)

What is your passion? Where is your time and energies spent? Are you being fulfilled? I am. Feel free to comment and add your top 5.

I was told a story today by a friend of mine. There 6 year old daughter was apparently having trouble with “wedgies.” They overheard their daughter begin to talk to God and tell Him that He did not care about her “wedgies” because if He did then she would not be having this problem. I about fell out of my seat laughing when they told me this.

After we left, I started to think about how serious this 6 year old was about her “problem” and how she wanted God to “dig” them out for her. This got me thinking about how we sometimes go to God with things that we just need to deal with ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong…God is a loving and all-knowing God that can handle any situation that we may come in contact with from the simpliest of things to the most complex, but sometime there are things that we cause ourselves, and then we run to God to straighten it out.

I am reminded of the scripture that says “you reap what you sow.” Sometimes we sow things that are maybe not Christ-like towards others and then when we start to reap that harvest, we run to Father God and ask for His intervention.

Make your choices wisely and you will not have to do much “digging.”

If you are a Star Wars fan like I am, you will understand the title of this post. There are a few memorable scenes in the Star Wars trilogy that are just unforgettable and this is one of them. Do you remember Luke’s expression when Darth Vader made that statement? It was one of shock and disbelief! Here the young Jedi was fighting the enemy of the evil Empire and unknowing to him….he was fighting against his own father.

Now let’s look at this from a spiritual perspective. I am afraid that there are people walking around today who try to stand up for what is right and “do good things” and not even realize that the very evil that they try to fight is there father. On judgment day there will be many people with the same expression that Luke had when they find out that Satan has been there “spiritual” father and not God the Father.

You may say…”that is a bold statement.” Let me tell you what the bible says. Jesus tells us that “no man can come to the Father but by Me.” Too many people think that “good works” or just being “morally good” will buy them a ticket to heaven. That is a lie! If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior and your sins have not been washed by the blood that Jesus shed on Calvary, then you do not have that assurance of eternal life with Christ.

God is a loving God and wants to be your Father….He will not force Himself, as much as He loves us, He still allows us to make that choice.

So……..”whose your daddy?”