Pride

In 2 Chronicles 26 Uzziah became the King of Judah.  As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.  I already talked about that a few posts back with one of the other Kings.  This seems to be a recurring theme in the Bible--well for that matter today.  In 2 Chronicles 26:18 there is a "BUT."  That is a but with one T, not two.  Uzziah followed God but then it says when he became powerful he got pride and that led to his downfall.

I would love to tell you how I don't have a prideful bone in my body but I'd be lying.  Pride was the downfall of Lucifer.  I wish I had the magic formula to keep pride out of my life.  It is a double edge sword. When one trusts in God and God delivers, people still give you praise even if you try to defect it.  Then when people don't notice what you think you have done, human nature leads us, or at least me at times, to want people to notice.  In my previous blog, I was in the top read lists almost every day.  That led to the desire to find more material to stay on top.  I'd love to say there was no pride in that but I'm sure there was some.

I have not posted a link to this blog.  As far as I know, I'm the only one who sees this.  That is fine with me.  I'm only writing because I sensed God telling me to write every day.  My prayer is that even if God gives me a platform at some point in the future, I remember that every good thing comes from God and I had nothing to do with it.  I feel like I'm in a holding pattern.  I have been in a leadership position from 1993 until this year.  2018 has been a tough year.   We've never had as many medical bills as we did this past year.  I took a severe pay cut.  I started two colleges at the same time.  When I went through the Freedom Small Group last Spring, God exposed a lot of ugly things in my life.  I'm thankful for people who loved me enough to point out areas I needed to get corrected.  I'm at a peaceful place with my emotions.  But, I'm restless.  I guess times like this humble us to where God wants us to be.

But not wholeheartedly

I was reading from 2 Chronicles 25 about the life of Amaziah.  So many times the Bible talked about how Kings followed God or they did evil.  Amaziah’s story is tragic to me.  It says in 2 Chronicles 25:2 that “he did right in the eyes of the Lord.”  That would be great except what followed the comma.  Then it said, “but not wholeheartedly.”  To me those are powerful 3 words.  It is one thing to follow Jesus, but you can’t really follow someone partially.  What about someone who is married, but not wholeheartedly?  What about someone who does a good job at work, but not wholeheartedly?

Amaziah’s reign started off well, but in the end he let pride and arrogance get the best of him.  Doing the right things may look good on the outside, but what about what is in our hearts?  Jesus dealt with some of the most religious and self-righteous people in his day.  The Pharisees sure knew the Scriptures and they knew how to look good.  They followed the rules.  But most were in it to do “right in the eyes of the Lord.”  Their hearts weren’t in what they were doing.  In Matthew 19 a man came up to Jesus and asked what did he need to do to get eternal life.  Jesus told him to keep the commandments.  The man said he had done all of that. However, Jesus told him to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor and then follow Jesus.  Matthew 19:22 says “the young man went away said because he had great wealth.”  He did right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.

I got to thinking about my own life.  Do I just follow the rules and check off my Christian boxes just so I can say I do right in the eyes of the Lord?  Or do I truly follow God wholeheartedly?  My prayer for 2019 is that I not only serve God, but I serve Him with all my heart.

As long as....

I loved Sweet Comfort Band as I was growing up.  They were a Contemporary Christian Band during the 70's and early 80's.  They had a song called "You Led Me To Believe."  The song is about a person who led the author of the song to Christ.  But at some point the person who left their faith.  The author of the song said that even though their friend fell away they were keeping the faith that they led them to.  I guess the song hits home because I've had a lot of friends who have turned their back on their calling and their relationship with God.

I was reading in 2 Chronicles 24 this morning and was struck by how Joash, the King of Judah followed God as long as Jehoiada, the priest was alive.  Jehoiada lived a life for God.  During his reign as priest the temple was repaired and the people worshiped God.  But as soon as Jehoiada died, Joash abandon everything he learned.  Eventually, he died a very painful death in his own bed.

When I was in seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, they told me at orientation that there were over 10,000 graduates of Southwestern seminary living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that we're not serving on a church staff or and a para-church organization.  Now I have no idea the circumstances behind all of those 10,000 people.  However, people go to seminary and Bible school to be a vocational minister or at least bi-vocational.  I was very fortunate to grow up in a family that is still serving God today. But I can't rest on somebody else's faith. My faith must be my own.

The Battle isn't mine

I think if I was truthful I would have to admit that I like to be in control.  I'm a pretty capable person and can do a lot of things at once.  I think because I was given a lot of common sense and gifting I've done way too much on my own. That's not something good for a follower of Christ. Today I was reading in second Chronicles 20.  A prophet told Jehoshaphat a battle wasn't his but God's.  Jehoshaphat went out and set the example by praising God and worshiping Him.  In vs 22 it says as they began to sing in praise the Lord that ambushes.  I love how our pastor says when you're going through a difficult situation, praise your way out of it.  I love how it says as they began to praise the Lord that He set the ambushes. 

How often do I try to take control of my own situation? The battle isn't mine in the first place.  It's so hard to give up control but that is what God wants from me. About a month ago, I got a key stuck in the ignition of my car and couldn't get it out. I was about to watch the SEC championship football game but knew that I had to get the key out. So I called my mechanic and he was there and said come on.  I can't say I do this all the time, but I guess out of desperation I just put on worship music as I drove to my mechanic.  I didn't listen to the game on the radio. I worshiped the whole way there. I was expecting the worst. When I arrived, my mechanic was able to get the key out within one minute. Not only that but he didn't charge me anything.  Now I'm not trying to say that this was anything like the battle that Jehoshaphat was encountering.  But getting angry and worrying does no good. I just need to work my way out of my funk and remember that the battle is it mine, it is God's.

Cried out and the Lord helped

In 2 Chronicles 18 there are two contrasting personalities.  Ahab was the King of Israel and Jehoshaphat was the King of Judah.  Jehoshaphat sought God for the most part.  Probably the worst thing he did was marry off his daughter to the son of Ahab only to have an ally.  Ahab wanted Jehoshaphat to go to battle with & him Jehoshaphat agreed.  However, Jehoshaphat wanted to seek God first. He asked if there were any prophets in Israel?  Ahab said only Micaiah but he only said bad things about him.  Ahab brought all of his yes-men and they told him what he wanted to hear. When Micaiah came the other yes-men wanted him to agree with what they said.  But Michiah said he would only say what God told him to say. When Micaiah only told bad prophecies about Ahab, Ahab told Jehoshaphat I told you so.  Ahab had Michiah put in jail and said when I come back I will deal with him.  Micaiah said if you return back then I did not speak the words of God.  Ahab disguised himself as one of the regular soldiers while Jehoshaphat dressed as a King.  Ahab was killed.  Jehoshaphat cried out to God and the Lord helped him.

There is so much but I think I can learn from this passage. Number one I don't mean yes-men in my life. I need people that will tell me the truth. I may not always like the truth what is the Bible says the truth will set you free.  I think that it is a problem in our world today is that we only want to hear what we want to hear. The second thing that stood out to me that stood out to me is how Jehoshaphat did his best to seek God in everything.  When Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to go into battle Jehoshaphat said let us seek God first. The last thing I noticed was how Jehoshaphat cried out to God for help and didn't try to do things on his own. 

How often do I try to do things on my own only to have it fall apart in front of me? This past week I really attempted to ask God what to do and everything.  I've been trying to ask which direction to go on the road, what time to leave, what to read, what to listen to, what to watch, etc. I wonder if I truly seek God in everything and cry out to him how much different my life would be? It sure can't be any worse. That is not to say my life is bad. What I mean is I've tried to live my life my own way and I'm always crying out to God for help. I want to follow him first and see if I can avoid many stupid mistakes.

Seek God & Find Him

In 2 Chronicles 15, King Asa was told by Azariah that if they sought God, He was with him. The passage said Asa to have sought the Lord and he was found by him and the people.  So many times people say they can't find God or He never speaks to them.  Yet, He has spoken in His word.  I think that if we truly want to seek God we have to spend time studying His word.  However, God has spoken to me quite a few times over the last two years.  I haven't heard an audible voice, but God told me in a quiet whisper to go here or do this.   God isn't Waldo trying to hide from us.  He is right there, we just have to make the move to seek him.  I love what 2 Chronicles 15:17b says about Asa, "Asa's heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life." (NIV) My prayer is that can be said of me.

Humility

It is always interesting to me to see how some leaders think they need to lord themselves over those they are leading.  But there is something about a humble person that attracts others and endears them to other people.  God loves humble people.  Jesus was humble and we celebrated his birth today.  He came not a conquering King but as a lowly child.  That is the ultimate humility.  Many times when I read the Bible, I see how God forgives and even changes his plans of punishment based on how people respond to him.  This morning as I read in 2 Chronicles 12, God turned his anger from Rehoboam because he humbled himself.  Earlier in the chapter, God decided not to destroy Jerusalem after the leaders humbled themselves.  I think what I take from this is that God wants me to be a humble servant, not a powerful jerky leader. 

Glory of the Lord Filled the Temple

Reading in 2 Chronicles 7 this morning I focused on the Glory of the Lord filling the Temple.  Since I've never been to a real temple I thought about what the New Testament says about our bodies.  1 Corinthians 6:19 says that we are temples.  Since the Holy Spirit lives in me, I can have the Glory of the Lord fill my temple.  That is kind of convicting when I think about the junk I allow in my temple.  My prayer is that the Glory of the Lord fills my temple every day.

Leadership by example

I finished my Bible Study in 1 Chronicles today.  I noticed a few things. David was told by God that he couldn't build the Temple because he had too much blood on his hands. I noticed that David was not bitter. In fact, he prepared Solomon to build the temple. He had all of the supplies that he needed & the plans. In chapter 29 David actually gave towards the Temple from his own wealth.  As King, he could've required everybody to do that, but David wanted to give out of his own well because as I mentioned yesterday it's not sacrifice, without sacrifice.  Then David challenge leaders to give of their own wealth.  In verse six, it says that they gave willingly. In verse nine, it says that the people rejoice when they saw their leaders giving willingly.

This shows leadership by example. As a leader we can dictate the people but if we're not willing to sacrifice ourselves and be an example why would people want to follow us?

Cost me nothing?

As I studied 1 Chronicles 21 I was struck by vs 18-ff.  David had sinned by taking a census just to boast about all that he had done. This was likely during the Bathsheba affair.  Up until that time, David won every battle.  But in chapter 20 it says that when kings usually go to battle David stayed back.  I believe David allowed pride to creep in. In fact, in 21 it says Satan was the one who incited of David to take a census.  Because of David's sin, 70,000 men lost their lives. When David realized to send he wanted to sacrifice to God. So he wanted to buy a threshing floor from Araunah.  Araunah wanted to give the land to David but in 1 Chronicles 21:24 David said:

But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” (NIV)

It got me to thinking about my own life.  How much do I really sacrifice.....I mean really sacrifice?  If we truly want to, God, it will cost us something. Jesus told us in Luke 9:23:

 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Taking up one's cross meant one thing to the disciples and those who were listening--Death.  We really don't suffer very much in the United States. We have our false sacrifices and persecutions.  But we live in our nice homes, drive nice cars, and complain about nothing to eat when we have more food than in our pantry then most of the world has for a year.  Very convicting.

Inquired of the Lord

I was doing my Bible Study in 1 Chronicles this morning and it hit me why David was called a man after God's own heart.  Now he had his own sins ie. women.  But the thing that struck me was how David inquired of the Lord on a consistent basis.  When he inquired from God, God answered. My prayer for me is that I truly seek God for everything.  What would it hurt to ask God what route I should take?  Maybe, I'll be spared an accident or cut off time.  Maybe it will be longer because God wants to teach me something.  I'm not sure, but I'm going to make it my goal to inquire for everything this week.

Protagonist

My daughter asked me to take the 16 Personalities test. I scored an ENFJ-A or Protagonist. It is amazing how accurate these inventories are. It says that I’m only 2% of the population.  I always knew I was different lol.

Did right in the eyes of the Lord

I’ve been doing my daily Bible Study in 2 Kings. It has been pretty depressing reading about King after King who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” However, in 2 Kings 22 it says that Josiah became King & “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” During his reign they found the Book of the law & when Josiah heard it he was moved and tore off his clothes. Josiah then began to remove all of the evil practices and idols that the previous Kings had led their people into. He also led the people into worshiping God. In chapter 23 it says there was no on like him or since.

I was struck by Josiah and his passion for God & his leadership. My prayer is that I can lead in such a way that it will be written about me that “he did right in the eyes of the Lord.”

Church Size

I think there is a place for every size church. One famous pastor said he couldn’t believe why anyone would attend a small church. Then he apologized. Of course he had never been a part of a small church. Most new churches start out small. Very few start with hundreds or more. We planted a church in 2001... the week of 9/11. That was the worst week to ever begin a church but that is a post for another time. We averaged in the 100’s while being 35 minutes from Northpoint in Alpharetta, GA. I enjoy speaking but I’d rather be part of a move of God than just having a place to speak.

I don’t remember the last time I’ve preached in a church. However, I do share my faith daily in the workplace & through outreaches at our church. It used to bother me not to preach, but I’m good just being part of a larger move of God. Yesterday, our church provided Christmas presents to families who couldn’t provide for themselves. We made the parents the heroes by not letting the children know we provided the gifts. Part of the process was having the parents hear a gospel presentation by one of our pastors. I had the privilege of praying with people who made decisions to follow Jesus. Our church has 19 campuses & we had over 800 documented decisions for Christ!

Now I would never say that a small church is bad.  There are places for all size churches. But there is something great about the momentum of large churches.  I’ve been part of both. The reality is healthy churches reach people for Christ. So the size of the church isn’t the end all. However, a large healthy church has resources that a smaller church doesn’t have.

Hearing God's voice

Last week I talked with an employee I serve. They were angry & hurt by a relationship gone bad.  Their significant other had stolen from them. They had every right to be angry. They told me they weren’t ready for God. I laughed and said, "you realize you called the chaplain?" But they said they just didn't want to hear about God because they were angry with Him. Truthfully, I'm gifted enough in Evangelism that I could have forced a decision.  It wouldn't have been real.  But, I know enough to get make people say things they may not mean. They asked me to call back this week.  I wrote down their name and put a reminder on my desk.

Today, I was praying and for the last year and a half, I've been spending extended times listening to God.  Some may think I'm crazy but the Holy Spirit told me to call this person. When I called today, their attitude had changed. They had already forgiven & gave me permission to talk with them about God. Obviously, the Holy Spirit has been at work. I know that because the Holy Spirit reminded me to call! So because I was given permission & listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit, there is a party in heaven!

Leadership?

I've been a leadership junkie since I was in Seminary.  I went to seminary in Ft. Worth, TX  in 1992 and my Evangelism Professor, Dr. Roy Fish introduced this pastor from San Diego named John Maxwell. When I graduated I began reading every book he wrote and joined his cassette club called the INJOY Life Club.  I still read his books and podcasts as well as other leadership people like Patrick Lencioni, Jim Collins, Andy Stanley, and Craig Groeschel.

Now I'm enrolled in 2 colleges.  My D.Min classes have been challenging and focus more on ministry.  My Highlands College classes have focused more on Leadership.  Of course, I'm loving this.  One of our instructors is also the Pastor to the Pastors at our church.  He said you can't lead unless you learn to lead yourself.  The ironic thing is that I dropped out of leadership at my FT job last year.  Sort of by choice and sort of not.  We had a leadership change at the top and the new leader had a different vision. Not saying his vision is wrong, just different.  I had been in a leadership position since 1992.  Now, in 2018 I'm no longer leading anyone.  Well, I guess as Pastor Steve Blair says, I'm leading myself.

It is rather frustrating to listen to leadership books, podcasts, and messages but have nowhere to use what I'm learning.  Maybe God has me in this season to lead me.  I don't know.  Anyway, it is kind of depressing.  I still get calls from the guys I used to lead but I'm no longer their boss.  I'm not sure why God would put the desire to grow and lead but not have anywhere to use what I've learned.  I guess I'll just keep pressing forward.

Partial Obedience = Disobedience

I've been in 2 Kings for my daily Bible Study.  Not exactly the most uplifting part of the Bible to read. I noticed that lots of the Kings did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  There were a few that did "right" in the eyes of the Lord, yet they didn't get rid of the high places.  The high places where people worshiped other Gods and idols. 

These Kings that did "right" in the eyes of the Lord did obey God....partially.  But, it got me to thinking that partial obedience is disobedience.  If we only do part of what our boss says, we aren't doing everything they asked.  God has given clear instructions for us in His Word, but I wonder how often I'm guilty of "partial obedience" which is just disobedience.

Revival

Growing up the word revival meant one thing, a week or longer meeting at a church.  But what is revival? A meeting or meeting God?

We moved back to Alabama 10 years ago this month. Having been on staff at several churches since 1992 we mistakenly thought it would be easy to get plugged in at a church. But we floundered for 2 years attending several churches but never really getting plugged in. I take full responsibility for that. The last Sunday we attended at church in Alabaster my wife sensed that the pastor was going to resign. I looked at her and said how do you know that? But my wife has the gift of discernment and I have learned that God gives her special insights. At the end of the service the pastor did in fact resign.   My wife looked at me and said we need to find a permanent church now.

The next week we attended Church of the Highlands, a multi-site church that a friend had been trying to get me to attend for 2 years. I finally gave in reluctantly. Now, almost 7 years later we would never want to leave our church. Our pastor tells everyone to give them a year and do everything the church has to offer and if God hasn’t changed you then go somewhere else. Well, God has used our church to change our family, especially me. I get to use the Spiritual Gifts God has given me more as a church member than I did as a pastor on staff at a church.

So back to the topic of revival. We don’t have “Revival” meetings. We are in a revival. Today our pastor said last year we saw over 32,000 documented people who gave their lives to Christ. We aren’t into doing revivals, we are living in revival.

Rule of Five

I got the opportunity to attend the John Maxwell Live Conference at our church, Church of the Highlands.  I've been listening and reading from John Maxwell since 1992 when my Evangelism Professor, Dr. Roy Fish introduced our class to Dr. Maxwell's teachings.  I've seen him live at least 15-20 times and read most of his books.

Today, he spoke on a variety of subjects including the "Rule of Five."  I've heard him speak on the Rule of Five before and even shown the YouTube of it in my classes.  But for some reason, it resonated with me today.  I sat in my car for over an hour after the even to allow the traffic to die down.  While in the car, I wrote down the Five things that I want to do every day.  One of those was to begin writing again.  I had a blog for many years and it was well read.  But, I decided to delete it a few years back.  Then I started this one with no promise of how much or how often I would write.  I really could care less how many people read this.  Not that I'm opposed to people reading anything I write, but I'm just not driven by numbers. Now the I'm writing to collect my thoughts and maybe every once in a while have something meaningful to say.  Even if it is just to me. So, below are the five things that I'm committing to doing daily.

My Rule of Five: (GLEWS)

1.  Grow- I'm committed to continuing to grow by reading (or listening) to at least one book a month.  I will listen to podcasts, sermons, and other stretching opportunities daily.  I am enrolled in 2 colleges to grow.  I'm a student at Highlands College working on a Certificate of Ministry.  I'm also an Adjunct at Highlands College so I need to continue to learn so I can teach.  In addition, I'm enrolled in the D.Min Program at Luther Rice.  Growth is not an option for me.

2.  Listen- I'm A.D.D. so listening is something I'm really working on.  I need to listen to at least one person a day.  That means I need to ask them questions about their lives.  John Maxwell pointed out that I can learn something from everyone and I want to pursue that.

3.  Encourage- I want my life to be encouraging to others.  I have had my share of negative posts and talk in my life.  The last few years I've committed to posting positive and uplifting quotes on social media.  I want my life to be one that encourages others.  So, I will commit to encouraging at least one person a day.  I want to be a Barnabas to people I come in contact with.

4. Write- My previous blog was well read.  In fact, on one site it was consistently in the top 100.  I don't write to be in anyone's top anything.  I also wrote a book but it was not good enough to get a publisher.  I'm not sure if I have anything profound to add.  But I'm committing to writing here and/or in a journal every day.  I believe this will help me with my communication skills.

5.  Serve- I'm committing to serving others daily.  I'm already very active in my church and serve on a consistent basis.  Jesus was a servant leader and I commit to serving at least one person in a small or big way every day.  It could be in my family, a friend or a complete stranger.

So, there it is.  Let's see where this goes.

Moral Failures

The longer I live, the more nothing surprises me. This past year way too may people who have had spiritual influence on me have had or been accused of moral failures. Some I know personally. Others I only know through conferences, reading their books and listening to their podcasts. The most recent moral failure was by someone whom I interviewed with and almost went on staff at his church. 

In my younger days I probably would have condemned. But now every time I hear of another moral failure I just get sick. I hurt for the families. I hurt for those whom they failed with. I hurt for their churches. And in a way I don’t quite understand, I hurt.  I just hate to see families torn apart. Trust is broken. Ministries are damaged and sometimes over.

For the moment I’m heartbroken, disappointed & disillusioned. But I’m also hopeful because my trust isn’t in a human but in God. I am praying for all involved. I’m praying that families will be restored and God will be glorified.