Crash and Learn

Today I ran out the door and jumped into my car.  I was late to work and for some reason my allergies were acting up and I couldn’t stop blowing my nose.  I kept looking at the dashboard clock and started to play the late game.  You know the one, where you are like, “Okay if I catch this light, run to the door and some how this minute actually has 62 seconds in it instead of 60 I should make it.”  Well as I was blowing my nose and then looking at the clock, I forgot about the other thing I was supposed to be doing at the time and that was driving the car.  I looked up to see a white car in front of me at a complete stop.  I slammed on the brakes, and stopped just short of rear ending the innocent car ahead of me.  

I sat there thinking of how much my day would have changed if I had hit that car.  That one nanosecond of a difference would have changed my day and the person ahead of mine’s day.  I doubt if that person even knew that I was about to hit them.  I sat there and was still.  I said a prayer, thanking God for my safety.  

How easy it is to get caught up in the craziness of our lives and forgot about our true blessings.  How fast it all can change.  Thank you God for saving me from so many near crashes.   Let me always remember to look at the road ahead and follow your path, so I don’t have to crash and learn.

John 15 Vine

Scripture

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will even be more fruitful.”

John 15:1-2

Observation

This is one of my favorite verses in the bible.  I love the analogy of bearing fruit.  The idea that we can contribute to this world is overwhelming.  If we remain true to God and get watered with His word then we can actually bear fruit.  How cool is it that we can actually do something good in this crazy world.  The catch is we can’t do it alone.  We have to remain in him.  I also like the idea that even after we bear our first fruits, which can sometimes be hard in itself, we are to continue bearing more fruit.  As He prunes us and makes us better we will produce more and more fruit.

 

Application

I will be confident that I can bear fruit and make a difference in my life and in this world.  I will remember that I can’t do it alone.  I must remain in God and be constantly open to his pruning.  I also must remember that the pruning never ends.  Til I breathe my last breathe God will continue His work in me.  The only one to slow it down is myself.

 

Prayer

Lord, thank you for giving me the ability to bear fruit in my life, and for making me part of Your story.  Thank you for Your Word and Your Holy Spirit who will keep pruning me until my last breathe.  Give me the courage to bear my fruit in this chaotic world.  Give me the discipline and patience to allow you to continue your work in me.  Amen.

Velvet Elvis

A couple of days ago I finished reading Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell.  This book is awesome!!  I would suggest it to anybody whether you are a baby Christian or have been in the faith forever Christian. It contains a lot of great points.  One that stuck out to me was the idea of killing your super self.  The sort of superhero you have created that you feel like you need to live up to.  Too many times I know I have tried to live up to what other people perceive me as or what I think I have to do to be successful.  Instead I should strive to be the person God wants me to be.  The closer I get to living the life that Jesus lived the closer I can get to him.  I also learned that having questions can be a good thing.  It means you care enough to make sure you got it right and the crazy thing is sometimes it is so hard to know if you got it right.  That is why being a follower of Christ is a lifelong commitment, not a one time shot. 

John 14- Peace

Scripture

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 14:27

Observation

A sense of peace is a hard thing to find in our chaotic world.  It seems tough to just find a moment of silence. Even before I go to sleep I start thinking of the day I just went through and the day to come.  I have been fighting a cold the last couple of days and I have found how hard it has been to just relax.  There seems like there are always errands to run or plans you have made that you just can’t break because the world might end.  I have tried to lay down and relax but my mind keeps going to things I have to do for work or things I need to get done.  That is why I thank God for NyQuil.  I have taken a few doses this last couple of days and it has forced me to go to sleep and rest.  Something my body desperately needed.  The NyQuil was able to give me the temporary peace I needed.  Here is the thing though as soon as I woke up, all my troubles and worries came back.  So maybe this scripture is saying the true everlasting “NyQuil” if you will is God, who can give you true everlasting peace.  

Application

I will look to God for peace.  I know that the more I read his word and pray the less troubled and afraid I am.  I will be aware of self-medications, not just NyQuil (lol), but watching a movie when I am stressed, or having a beer when I am troubled.  Since these self-medications can go out of control if unchecked and only provide temporary false peace.  It is not to say that having NyQuil, a beer, or watching a movie is bad.  It is saying for what reason.  If you having the beer because you are troubled or sad, then you should turn to God first.  Why? Because God promises in this verse, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  

Prayer

God thank you for your peace that you offer us.  Thank you for giving us a true everlasting peace.  A peace that can’t be bought over the counter or found in any store.  It is a peace that reaches are innermost parts.  I will commit to turn to you when I am troubled and afraid and remember  your promises.  Thank you Lord for the peace you have given me, let me not forget.  Amen.

John 13

Scripture

“A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

Observation

Love one another.  This is so hard sometimes.  Especially when somebody has wronged you or talked behind your back.  Normally you don’t want to love that person you want to hurt them.  Or you think they don’t deserve my love for what they did.  Sometimes I have to ask myself, do I deserve God’s love?  Yet even though I don’t deserve his love he loved me and died for me.  

Application

I will constantly look for ways to love my neighbors.  I won’t consider who is deserving of it or what have they done for me lately.  I will love unconditionally.  

Prayer

Lord, give me strength to love my neighbor like you have loved me.  Let me not forget your love for all of us who have sinned against you.  Let me pour out my love so that through this they will know I am one of yours.  Let your glory and mercy be shown in my life.  Amen.

John 12

Scripture

“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.  But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;  for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.”

-John 12:43-43

Observation

These men had seen Jesus perform miracles and speak in person.  They had not read about it or been told about it by some church leader like we are in this age.  They had seen the Son of Man with their own eyes.  It says they even believed.  However they would not confess their faith because of fear.  They placed a higher importance on the praise of others than praise from God.

Application

I will not be afraid to talk about God and Church in front of coworkers and friends that are nonbelievers.  In the past when I had a bible study or some other church function and somebody would ask for me to go out with them I would tell them I had other plans, but would be vague.  It is not until recently that I have started to be specific.  This has given me a great opportunity to confess my faith to others.  Before I would say I am not going to say anything because they wouldn’t understand.  That was wrong though, because I should have said it for just that reason. We should talk to the ones that don’t understand or we perceive just don’t get it.  Because in the end just like us they need it.

Prayer

God, please help me to release the fear of confessing my faith.  Give me strength to seek your praise and not the praise of others.  You are such a great and awesome God that deserves our whole effort.  You have given me everything I have and will provide everything I ever will need.  Let me not fear what others will think but do what is right in your eyes.  Amen.

 

John 11- Jesus Wept

“Jesus wept.”

-John 11:35

I have gone through some hardships in my life.  There have been times when I felt all alone.  That nobody understood my hurt.  I remember when my wife and I suffered a miscarriage, my father wrote us a simple card that said when you cry Jesus cries.  It was interesting reading this verse and imagining Jesus in all his power and all his knowledge, weeping.  This is the most powerful being in the world and he was crying at the death of his friend. 

It blows my mind to think that somebody so powerful, so wonderful, so important would care about me and my hurt.  It is so wonderful to know that such an awesome God will actually weep when you are hurting.   Now I know that when I am sad, when I cry, I don’t cry alone.

Thank you God for caring about me and all those around me.

John 10- The Gate

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”

John 10:9

It is so easy sometimes to try to find another way to solve our problems.  Try to figure out a way to jump the gate or go around the fence.  We try things that we think will save us from our problems.  For example with me I know the ways to be a good steward of our money but it doesn’t mean I always follow what my knowledge says to do. I have been guilty of trying to find ways around it.  Like, I just charge this vacation because it will be good for us.  Or we really do need a new car, so lets get a shiny new one.  Over the years I have learned that I have been just chasing material happiness. 

My wife and I committed yesterday to truly practicing what we preach when it comes to our finances.  We have committed to following God’s word and doing everything to become debt-free.  We are also going to honor God with our tithe faithfully and consistently.   Before we would tithe here and there but not a routine basis for a lengthy amount of time.  We are also going to stop chasing wants and only concentrating on our needs.  We know now over the years that money or possessions will never save us, only God will. 

John 9

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

John 9:3

This verse hits home a lot to me.  I know that I have been able to get through things in my life with the hope that some how God will use it for good.  For example, being married for 8 years we have had more than our fair share of marital problems.  There isn’t many mistakes we haven’t made that people could learn from.  Even when it seemed to be the worst days of my life, I held on to the hope that somehow God would use our experiences for good.  People would be able to see that a marriage can bounce back from almost anything as long as you let God in.  Once you invite God in and let him do his work he can make the broken whole again.  That is something I want to always remember.  I just read this poem below, tonight on someone’s myspace page that really goes with this as well.  I thought it was great poem to share.  To give credit where credit is due, It was posted by somebody with the username Fot on myspace.

As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because He was my friend.

But then instead of leaving Him
In peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried,
“How could you be so slow”
“My child,” He said, “What could I do?

You never did let go.” 

Where have I been?

Well, so much for habits, huh?  I started this blog in order to keep up the habit of reading a chapter of John a day.   That did not work out, as you can see.  I went on a business trip and that kinda of threw everything off. I did read the bible since my last entry, but not on the daily basis that I had hoped for.  Well, I am proud to announce I am back on track now.  I have noticed how much fuller my life was when I was in God’s word daily.  I am ready to get that fullness back.

So here it goes, today I dusted off the week long dust from my bible and reopened it to the book of John.  The verse that stood out to me was John 8:11;

“”No one, sir,” she said.  ”Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  

What really is leaving your life of sin?  Does that mean making new friends?  Not watching certain movies or listening to certain songs?  Is your life full of opportunities to sin or opportunities to shine?  What is cool about this last question is the addition of two letters that changes sin from shine.  HE.  I know that HE is Jesus.