The Gift of a Day

Life in the desert, at first glance it is austere and dry and without life and hope. It is those times in life, the unforeseen the unexpected the unplanned, events all in the tenor of  a life that  happens. We wonder how did we get here and how will we get out. It is at this very point that the gift of  a day and one step at a time become the most relevant. We can't survey the future for we are exhausted in the how, while looking back reminds us of what was lost. What is left but the day.

The day is the  most basic increment given to us by God. We know the ill comfort of the trite phrase take one day at a time. But what we need to see is the wisdom, purpose and fatness of one day at a time in Him. The other basic increment is the step. The day and the step, every restoration every retro redemption of things past and each deep and powerful work is built on the foundation of these elements. God has given us the day and he will always provide revelation as to the next step even if it is resting and waiting. “ He makes us lie down in green pastures”.  If you are in the desert realize that it is pregnant with purpose, Hosea 2: 14,15 NIV.  It is in the gift of a day even if that day is in the desert  that He speaks tenderly to us, He re-establishes His provision and turns the valley of trouble into a door of hope. 

Remember Israel walked in a incredible display of power, received daily provisions and the shoes on their feet didn't even wear out and yet they focused on what they didn't have. Thankfulness in      the desert will always focus on the testimony of  what God has done for the purpose to say that he will do it again. It frees us to walk the day and fulfill the words of Jesus,  “Don't worry about tomorrow it will take care on itself. “

Keep It Simple

What I find so interesting these days is how elaborate presentations are when you attend weddings, showers, birthdays and other celebrations.   There is so much effort in making a “statement” and having themes to events.   I appreciate the time and effort it takes to create these environments.  

Not that a small group is not an event of some sort in your home…but it certainly is not ranked up there with those celebration parties, where it is about food and fun.  Not to say that a small group isn’t about fun.

This summer, I was challenged to think about what a small group IS.   I do not recall that any answer was given.  But the challenge was to think about the value of a small group versus any other gathering of people that someone might arrange in their home.   Why small groups?  Why have them?  Others have get-togethers and socialize and get to know one another, even serve one another and “feel the love.”  

Really I am not overflowing with too many answers here. But one thought has crept to the top of my list:  the concept of being “IN HIS NAME”.   The simplicity of “where 2 or 3 have gathered in My Name, there I am in their midst.”  So Jesus is a guaranteed guest.

So what happens when Jesus shows up?  Good question.  I am searching the gospels even more for the answer.   There is power, healing, fellowship, connection to God.   Life change.  Food. Cannot forget that!  Jesus was not just there with the scrolls laid before Him speaking the Word.   He was touching people and loving on them as well as teaching the Word.  

So do not be intimidated by what you might think it means to lead a group.  Follow in Jesus’ footsteps, keep it simple, keep it about His presence, invite Him to show up, He will and it doesn’t matter what snacks are on the table.   When hearts speak to hearts, the things of the world fall to the side and the Holy Spirit ministers to each believer mysteriously.   And all you did was run the vacuum!  

Now I know there is much more that you as a small group leader do than just run the cleaner, to love on each member.   I do not want to undermine that at all.  But the simplicity of devotion to Christ and each other is what comes through and is noticed the most.

Thanks small group leaders for all you do!

From the Place of Peace

The place of peace is the place of power.  In a world where will live by the rule of "what can go wrong will go wrong" and "what goes right you have to put your shoulder to and push".  We naturally learn the act of striving. Striving is the spiritually useless activity of anxious effort rooted in our own strength. It is not the place of power. 

We in Christ are invited into a special place. “ a green pasture” “ still waters” Psalm 23. It is the place of rest where we are made to lie down and our soul is refreshed. It is a place of peace. And here is the wonder of it all, something we are not used to. It is the place where God brings us things. “He prepares a table in the midst of our adversity”, what a beautiful and powerful picture of what God does when the storm is raging. The table is the place we sit at and rest while he brings us that which we need.  I submit to you it is the place of power. It is the sabbath day rest pictured in Hebrews, it is meant for the here and now. We will never change this world running anxiously along side it. 

James, was just put to death by Herod and Peter was in prison awaiting the same fate.  And here he was chained in the inner cell between two guards while several more stood watch. And what was he doing, “ he was sleeping”, say what!  I don't know about you but sleeping is something that I would find hard to do considering the pending circumstances. Then it occurred to me Peter was able to sleep in prison because he saw Jesus sleeping in the boat while the storm was raging. What an awesome picture of where we are invited to stay in God. Note the place of power,  the prison was shaken the chains fell off and when Peter got to the gate it opened by itself .

I am not against momentum or getting out of the boat, however there is one place our heart should never leave and it is the place of peace. It is that which will bring power and give hope to a tired and weary world ground down with the pursuit of empty temporal things. In Romans Paul ask this question,  “God who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Good question!  Where would you like to reside, green pastures and still waters will always be the place of power that will overcome the circumstances of life and give hope to those buffeted by the storm. We can change the world from the place of peace.

The fruit of trust in peace, take the time now, a green pasture and table prepared await!

A Good Listener

Wisdom comes to he who listens

Who doesn't like a good breakfast or lunch with a brother or sister, love exploring the treasures in a persons life or unearthing the gifts that are within? There is nothing like setting the prisoner free and removing thoughts that create captivity. And I always consider a meal eaten while listening a success, for if my plate is empty and my brothers is half full I have met my objective, to listen. However, a meal consumed is just the beginning of the benefit.

Talking birthed in the arena of listening will always have a greater impact. I used to get somewhat anxious when I was going into a situation and did not know the person or had no idea what to say. Yes I love depending on the Holy Spirit for the words to say  however, how much more should we depend on Him to have ears to listen. It has occurred to me that not knowing what to say may well be the best start to any conversation in helping and pastoring people. The need to listen and listening is the area where we hear the need, as well as the Holy Spirit. 

Seeking to listen and asking questions to understand continue to keep us in a place to hear the important and the relevant. Guiding in helping people process and understand the solutions to the challenges they face can always be best accomplished by asking questions and listening. Some people are looking for advice, more often they just want someone to listen and at other times they just process as they hear themselves speak. 

We will never have all the answers, nevertheless how often has the Father's presence in itself been the answer, simply to say its okay, your not alone. Seeking to have the heart of the Father is the first step in having the mind of the Father and expressing a wisdom not our own. However, it will always start with seeking to understand and listening. We all want the Holy Spirit to lead us, that is knowing what to say, but it is also knowing when to say nothing and just listen.

How can you better guide people by listening?

James 1:19  But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak 

Accessibility

Bayside is a church of approximately 5,000 people and the 10^th fastest growing church in the U.S.  So, what makes us so successful?  Is it the building, the strategy, the systems, the great music, etc.?  All those things are great and very much an asset to what we do here at Bayside, but there are three things that really stand out to me. 

1)    God.  I realize this is an extremely obvious one because without God none of this would be possible.  Let me explain a little further.  God births dreams and visions within us, his people.  Without the vision, there is no execution.  The Holy Spirit works in us so that we can do His work and follow the call He has placed on our lives.  The inspired Word of God is preached and is the basis for who we are and the leadership that is in place.

2)    Life-Giving.  You hear about life-giving a lot at Bayside because that’s what we’re all about.  Because death and life is in the power of the tongue and we are church who loves to give life.

3)    Accessibility.  I want to spend a little more time on this one.  One of the main reasons I believe that Bayside is so attractive is because of its accessibility.  From Pastor Randy and throughout the leadership, we believe in being accessible to people.  This is a value that we hold strongly to, because if we are a church who is seeking out lost and hurting people who don’t know Jesus Christ, then we need to be accessible to meet people right where they are.  Jesus was all about making himself accessible and available to people.  We should adopt that same mindset. 

I ask myself, where would I be without the people who made themselves accessible to me?  I know I wouldn’t be sitting at this seat, that’s for sure!

Ask yourself how can I be more accessible to those around me?  I challenge you to invite someone to your small group or to church this week.  Think back to your first experience with Bayside and how it changed your life.  

Mind programed for the Kingdom

We are from birth slowly programed to think temporal, finite and earthly. This is the result of the seed of sin which through Adam, permeated God's creation. How pervasive and complete was the effect of that event, how progressive the nature and the condition of a mind separated from God. It is in this context that the renewing of our mind takes on incredible significance. 

Hence, the challenge now is to completely revert that condition to think eternal, infinite and heavenly. I know that when we are born again there is an instantaneous and progressive result. We are made new, the work is complete. The challenge with the Holy Spirits help is to think differently about everything. Now to realize the pain we experience is rooted in our thinking, everything about the temporal, finite and earthly is external. It is the reality around us. It is however not the reality in us. 

As I sit here on this couch, which makes me comfortable, type on this lap top which I can touch and see, I hear the sound of the fan and feel the comfort of the cool air on my skin.  And here is the eternal reality of all the things described: they have an expiration date.  Here is the battle ground, its in the meshing of these worlds that our faith is tried. It is faith that sifts through that which expires and that which lasts. It is also faith that brings down the reality of a eternal kingdom.

A typical conflict  of faith and earthly temporal thinking, can be seen in the excessive "how". Faith tells us that God will do awesome things of eternal value, the promises of God set us free, they are Biblical fact.  However, it is not what we know it is what we experience. So, in the midst of this thought there is no lack in heaven, we pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven appropriately instructed by our Lord. Faith sees God's will, the earthly mind says, "how". Now I am not saying we should not be specific and intentful in prayer. What I am saying is we should avoid the how. Thinking is overrated and if we rest in the yes, we shouldn't stress in the how. God's ways are infinite, there is no recipe for manna and he does not need a play book.  If I were asked to find water in a desert I would not strike a rock.  Now I ask, how much time do we spend in the how? When we can rest in the yes?

2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Numbers 23:19 NIV God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

What promise has God given you, that has been buried in the how?

The Increase

The increase is in our hands, no not of our hands but rather in them placed there by God according to His  pleasure. The only thing between the wonders of God and the release of his power is our thinking. Here I tread on an area of hunger searching myself to understand an apparent truth and to shake it from between my ears to experience it fully in my heart and hands. Let's take to heart Paul's prayer for the Ephesians,  “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 

This truth is related in the completed work of Christ. At salvation we are not invited to order off the menu ala carte nor do we go to God as we might go to Publix and pick off the shelf certain items.  The completeness of salvation is that all we need for the task at hand is completely given. Why?  Because we need it all to complete with passion the  purpose for which we are called. So why is this point important?  Simply this, we will never freely use that which we don't realize we have. See, an inheritance is something we do not have to work for.  It is given to us.  It gives us a head start to allow us to build on a foundation already laid. 

Jesus, in the Gospel of Mark tried to get his disciples to realize this when he looked at the crowd of people and said to them, “you give them something to eat.” Why after preaching the Gospel, casting out demons and healing the sick they still struggled to understand that the increase was in their hands,“ they asked are we to go and spend that much on bread”? Oh the distance between the heart and the head is both ever so short and ever so long. Jesus started with what the Father already provided as He broke the bread and the fish and gave it to his disciples, and as they distributed it, the increase was in their hands. Even now God wants us to realize, “the incomparable great power for us who believe”.

So what is the point?  Let us no longer wait for what we already have. God said to Gideon after he tested God and then God tested him, “go in the strength you have”.   Gideon was living in impoverished Israel, in the poorest clan and the least of which. Even the newest of Christians are completely endued with incredible power. All they need do is step out,  to go in the strength you have  is the show up strength, relying on the power of the Spirit in us. Peter got it, he said “ silver and gold have I none but such as I have I give unto you rise up and walk” Yes the first step in giving something away is to realize we have it. 

Now that I am done speaking to myself, I invite you to join me and step out in the power we have in Christ. Speak words of life, create life giving experiences and spiritually feed and heal the sick, the hurting and the lost.  

Let us remember when the disciples were straining at the oars and  Jesus was about to pass them by, they cried out. Jesus did not intend to get in the boat. Yes our Lord is always faithful and He hears when we cry out. But Mark 6 states “they did not understand about the loaves”. And what did they not understand was simply this, that the power they needed to calm the storm was in their hands. Our God  has not held back one thing but rather has provided all. 

Trust God, show up and step out, incredible things will happen ! 

Ask God in what ways you can step out. 

Forgiveness, My Testimony

On April 2, 2002 my life was changed forever.  I got a phone call from my dad, he was calling from the hospital with words I never thought I would hear.  My sister was in the ICU and my mother had died.  How could this have happened?! 

My 17 year old sister Stacy was in a coma fighting for her life.  Her head was fractured on every side and she had bleeding and swelling in her brain.  She had a broken arm and collarbone among other injuries.  The area of her brain affected was speech and memory.  Doctors anticipated that she would need a lengthy stay in a rehab hospital if she ever came to.  Stacy continued to sleep while we had my mother’s funeral.  One day her head swelled so badly she was hardly recognizable. 

Meanwhile, the man who caused the crash was being prosecuted by the state for negligent homicide because of how it occurred.  I started to look for revenge against this man who had caused the terrible accident that had stolen so much from me.  I was hurt.  I was angry.  I was confused.

But then 10 days after the accident Stacy woke up!  The first thing she did was to try to call our mother on the hospital telephone.  My father and a trauma counselor told her that mom had died.  On mother’s day that year she watched the funeral we had videotaped for her.  The one ray of light in the midst of this tragedy was the miracle God was doing with Stacy. 

In the beginning, the doctors had given her a 75% chance of having some type of brain damage.  They also said she would likely have to learn to cope with a speech impediment.  But after only one day in the rehab hospital it was evident that her speech and mental capabilities were rapidly improving.  She was discharged. The doctors called her the Miracle Girl!  A month to the day after the accident Stacy was back in school and got a 99 and 100 on 2 pop quizzes! 

I began a 2 year journey that brought me to the point of forgiveness.  In the beginning of this process I couldn’t fathom forgiving the man who had killed my mother.  I would drive by his street and think of ways I could get back at him. 

“Forgive and you will be forgiven…”  Those words haunted me daily.  I just wasn’t ready, so I got involved in the court process.  I learned that I couldn’t find justice in the justice system.  Of course, what I was really looking for was revenge.  God showed me that my heart attitude had to be right and not accusatory.  After a long battle within myself, I decided to let God be the ultimate judge.  If you seek revenge in your heart it will only turn into bitterness and hate, and thwart the calling of God on your life and your relationship with Him and others. 

I realized I had to let it go!  I had to get rid of the blame and the hate. To live with a pure conscience was of greater value to me than trying to avenge my mother’s death.  So I chose to forgive him.  When I made the conscious decision to forgive, my heart started to soften.  I was still hurting but the anger and confusion began to fade. 

Even though the process of forgiveness had started, something was holding it back.  I felt like I had to tell this man that I forgave him.  I did not want to!  In fact, this was the last thing I ever wanted to do.  At one of the final court hearings we were in a room with him and I talked to him and his wife, I held his hand and told him “I forgive you.”  It was by far the hardest thing to do but from that point on, my heart was free!  I can’t begin to describe how wonderful it is to live with a free heart – free of anger, hurt, bitterness, revenge and hatred.

When I was asked to share this testimony of forgiveness I realized that I did not even remember his whole name!  You can be free!  Forgive!  Life is too short and God’s plan for you is too precious to keep bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart!

Restore Joy

Just recently I have entered into a new relationship and let me tell you, it’s absolutely amazing! I was thinking about that today and how “new love” is always so exciting and joyful. I began to think about our Christian walk with that parallel. You know how in the beginning when you first start running after God, it’s exciting and new. Then years pass and you’re still following God, but there’s not the same fervor or excitement that you had in the beginning. Do you ever feel like that? It’s not abnormal to feel that, but I do know that God does not want our relationship with Him or with others to be mundane and boring. It got me thinking about this verse that David wrote:

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
-Psalm 51:12

Sometimes we need to do just this, "restore to me the joy of Your salvation." Remember what it was like when your love for God was fresh and new. Draw upon that memory to restore the joy back into your relationship with God and others. Fall in love with Jesus all over again and walk in the love he has empowered you with.

Think of a few things you can do to restore joy in your relationship with God, others or life in general.

People Need and Encounter

People need an encounter.

Harassed and helpless, we owe people an encounter with God.  Jesus looked on the crowd and saw them as harassed and helpless. A world attaining and striving for the temporal, accomplishing much with no eternal value is sated with a blindness to its helplessness. For at the end of a day a man in his own strength may feel completely capable but is absolutely helpless to know God without an encounter.

God spoke of the people of Nineveh as not even being able to spiritually tell their right hand from their left. We are called to look beyond the shallow strength of worldly success and see the helpless masses and bring them not just a message but a message with power that affords the experience of an encounter with God, Hagar said “ I now see the one who see's me” 

We are the hands and feet of the kingdom moving forward, God doesn't  have a plan B. We are it, where we go the Kingdom goes. We are not waiting for heaven, the Kingdom of God is among us, no it is in us. Four words Jesus used to describe the crowds, harassed and helpless, ungrateful and wicked (NIV), all conditions overcome by God's love and a encounter with the Kingdom..... The Kingdom in us!