"Direction, not intention, determines destination". Andy Stanley from "Principle of the Path"

"Direction, not intention, determines destination". Andy Stanley from "Principle of the Path".

Every path has an expected or predictable destination.Our destination is determined by our direction. The only way to change our destination is to change "paths". The person with the "purest" of intentions, can end up in the wrong destination if they are headed in the wrong direction. Examine where you are...Determine where you want to be and through the power of God, put yourself on the path that leads to that destination.

What Path are you on?

Be Blessed,
B

Why Settle?

What is “safe” and “familiar” is sometimes inferior and detrimental. I know that I’m not the only person that has been burned, by this idea. Whether it's that old pair of socks, slightly tattered pair of shoes, the old clunker that you drive that drains your wallet dry and eats away at your time due to the constant need for repairs, etc. More importantly it could be a relationship, a job, a hobby or a ministry/service that you are involved in, we all have “settled” in some area, or at some point in our lives.

We settled by sticking with “what we know” or what we were comfortable with, simply because it was what we were accustomed to. We defended our stance to anyone who would challenge us to try “the more up to date” or superior version of the product that we were using and sadly some if not all us have rationalized staying at a dead-end job, being in a relationship with a “loser” or remaining in a life situation and doing nothing to change it when our talents aren’t being recognized, utilized or appreciated.

Going with what is “safe” and “familiar” in some cases leads to complacency and “settling”. It can be crippling and can stunt personal growth. It can blind us even to the point where if God placed something 1,000,000 times better for us, in the long run, right in front of our faces, we would ignore it, because it was not “familiar” or “safe”

This was the case with the disciples of John the Baptist. John 3:23-30 reads:

²³ At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. ²⁴ (This was before John was thrown into prison.) ²⁵ A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew^[a] over ceremonial cleansing. ²⁶ So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”

²⁷ John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ ²⁹It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. ³⁰ He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

John’s disciples were so caught up in “what was safe” (we are following John) that they could not appreciate the might work that was taking place in the life of Jesus, nor that John himself was clear about who Jesus was and that John was only “preparing the way”. The “followers of John” were more concerned about what was “safe”, (we are followers of the “great baptistizer”) that they missed out on an opportunity to receive something much greater (to be a follower of the Messiah). I sense that they were disturbed that people were now beginning to follow “Someone” else and not the person that they used to. The world as they knew it was changing.

John was very clear. He was just the “opening act”, but the “Main Event” was beginning and it was time for the world to open their eyes and recognize what was taking place. The Messiah had come. It was time to stop “settling” for less and to move on to the BEST (pardon the Jesse Jackson type phrasing). John was a “good” leader and person to follow, but he made it clear that someone far greater then he was “in the house”, so no one should “settle for” being a follower of John, since the Messiah was at hand.

What are you settling for? God has great plans for your life, for your marriage, for your relationships, for your ministry, for your service and for your career. I urge you to seek God’s will for you in these areas. Ask Him to help you to remove the “blinders” and to open your eyes to the greatness that He has planned for you. What you have right now maybe a “good” life, but God has the “Best” in store for you if you are bold enough to step outside of what is “safe” and “comfortable” to explore (under God’s direction) what God’s plans are for your life. Exercise your faith by stepping out on it.

Don’t continue to let your state of “Good” prevent you from becoming “GREAT”.

Be Blessed,

B

WHERE IS THE PHONE???

Like most people, I have a few “pet peeves”. One of my pet peeves involves people in my household NOT returning things to their rightful place after they are done using them. Advances in technology are partially to blame for this annoyance.

Like most pre-80’s babies, I grew up in a home that had corded phones. When you were done using a corded phone, there really wasn’t too much that you could do with it besides hang it up in its place. BUT in steps the mass production of cordless phones in the 80’s (FYI-the 1st cordless phone was actually created in 1959 by an Afro-American, “Brother” or Black Man…which ever you prefer  named Dr. Raymond P. Phillips Sr.). Today, I have approximately 8 cordless phones in use at my house and a couple “leftovers” hanging around in boxes or storage bags (…Don’t ask)

It seems that without fail, when I really need to use a phone, it is never on a charger where it is supposed to be, so when I eventually find the phone, the battery is dead. Apart from the charger, the phone can operate on residual power for several days, but eventually it will lose its power.

This morning, I went to use the phone near the sink in my bathroom, only to find that the battery was dead. I was a little surprised to see this, because the phone was in the “right place” (on the charger), but then I realized that I stopped plugging the phone directly into to the wall outlet and began to plug into to my powered “shaving” mirror. Last week, I had to unplug the shaving mirror from the wall as the outlet was needed for another purpose, and I failed to plug the mirror back in. As a result the phone couldn’t recharge.

This observation forced me to stop in my tracks for a minute and to reflect on the question “Where I am “plugged in?”. I can say that without a doubt, that every point of “weakness” in my life was the result of me not being directly connected to God (who is my power source). I have at times connected to other “chargers” (my own strength, my own wisdom, the power of other people, my relationships, my marriage, my family, my “religiousness/spirituality” etc), only to find that they can only provide a “temporary spark” and not a sustaining current of power. I have also deceived myself and tried to make it in my own strength only to find that my “residual strength” could not keep me going or allow me to live a victorious life. Without power, I become inefficient, irritable and incapable of fulfilling my purpose.

John 5:15 says “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

In order to have power, to produce and to fulfill our purpose in life, we must have a direct connection to “The Vine”. Apart from a direct connection with God, we can do nothing of eternal value. We fool ourselves if we believe that we are the source of our strength.

On the way in to work, I noticed that, due to the severe storms this winter, most of the trees had branches that had broken off, but appeared to be connect to the tree, since they had not fallen to the ground. To the casual eye, they appeared to be intact, but in time those branches will wither and die, because they are no longer connected to the source of their strength and life.

What will time reveal about your connection to the Source of Life?

Maybe it’s time to “PUT THE PHONE BACK ON THE CHARGER”.

Be Blessed,
B

Two Drivers and Two cars

Two Drivers and Two cars

Last night, as my family and I were walking from our car to a restaurant to dine for the evening, my 9 year old son asked, “Dad, what is the lowest amount of money that you can pay for a car?” My mind went back to when I was about 13 or 14 years old and I remember that one of the local dealers advertised that on the coming Saturday they would be selling several cars for $25 and that the cars that were selling for $25 would be scattered around their lot and would be made available on a 1st come/1st served basis. I remember my dad and I reading and laughing at the fine print that most people overlooked. There were NO guarantees with the cars and the latest car was well over 15 years old…the cars weren’t even guaranteed to run long enough get you home, yet as the news cameras showed up to the scene on the Friday night before the “sale”, hundreds of people were camped out over night to get the “deal of a lifetime”.


I guess the image of those beat up cars was on my mind as I slept because after I had my devotions this morning, CARS WERE ON MY MIND. Two distinct images came to mind. One was of an eager, young, excited driver who was very animated, and focused. One hand on the wheel and the “metal was to the pedal”…He was flooring it; however, all was not well. He was driving one of those $25 “hoopties or buckets”…oil leaking, engine smoking, windshield foggy and cracked and the worst thing was that he was plowing through a busy expressway going the WRONG WAY. Even though he was going the wrong way, he was excited and committed to his journey. He put all those around him in danger as he selfishly traveled recklessly though traffic.


The other image in contrast was that of an older man, also on the expressway. This driver was a nervous wreck. Both hands on the wheel, constantly checking both side mirrors, his rear view mirror and his “blindspots”. His hands were shaking as he literally inched forward, barely giving the car enough gas to move forward. He was behind the wheel of a Saleen S7 Twin Turbo (which costs about $585k and is one of the fastest “street legal” cars. It is capable of going from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, top speed of about 225mph and totes 750 horsepower). He was going the right way but he too was a danger to those around him in traffic, as he chose not to use his “whip” to go the legal speed limit. With what he had, he could have easily left everyone in the dust, but he chose to take up the rear.


As I thought about these two different images, I began to reflect on my life. Sometimes in my relationship with God, my dedication to His plans and purpose for me, my relationship with my wife, my relationship with my children and in my dealing with others, I have been guilty of being like the man going “too slow” in my fast car. I have allowed my fears and selfishness to cause me to “inch” toward my dreams, to “inch” toward my purpose, to “inch” toward a deeper relationship with my wife and kids and to sadly “inch” toward a deeper understanding of and relationship with God.


He has given me more than I need to be abundantly successful in every aspect of my life as He put me on the right path. I’m convicted by the thought that at times I had more “gusto”, more determination, more focus when I was going the “wrong way” like the young eager man in the $25 car. Sadly that is the case for too many of the followers of Christ. When it comes to the things of God as compared to things of the world, we are less eager, have less focus and less determination. We carefully measure each step, and pursue God’s plans at a “snails pace”.


We ignore the God’s power that works though us and the Greatness that He has called us to. Ephesians 3:19-20 (Amplified Bible) reads:

19[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—


God has given us a GREAT DESTINATION to press toward, a GREAT ROAD of life to travel upon to get there and a GREAT VEHICLE to ride in along the way. His plans for us are far superior to our most extreme dreams. All we need to do is to trust Him and to stop driving around like we are in a “hooptie” that is about to breakdown, and realize that we are behind the wheel of a custom made and finely tuned “sports car” that is road ready.


ZOOOOOOOOOM!!!! ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM


Be Blessed,
B

Enough of the cupidity!!!

A formerly rich but currently wise and lonely man declared “Beware the Ides of February”. It took him a lifetime to discover the truth that there is no amount money that you can spend on one day to prove that you love someone. Love is best demonstrated by priceless expressions each day. When all his money was spent, he found himself alone because he didn’t cultivate his relationships with intimacy. He was preoccupied with external exhibitions of “love”.

As the world gears up for Valentine’s Day…Love is in the air and, for most of the East Coast, SNOW and Ice are on the ground. People are hectic as they search for Chocolates and Candies of all sorts. Many gardens are bare as florists have plucked every flower that they had to meet the demand of men young and old to give the “ladies in their lives” bouquets. Cards in all shades of pink and red flood the department stores, the grocery stores, the pharmacies and even the gas stations (each card is hoping to be selected so that it won’t be humiliated on 2/15 by having its value reduced by 50-75%).Yes…Love is in the air…Or is it???

When I woke up this morning, I did two things. Spent some quite time with the Lord and checked the word of the day. The word of the day today…no shocker is cupidity. I thought to myself, what the heck is “cupidity”. I thought maybe it had something to do with people being crazy over love, “love drunk”, deeply in love with someone etc. To my surprise cupidity actually means “Eager or excessive desire, especially for wealth; greed”. It has nothing to do with any characteristic that I would associate with real love.

Reflecting on the definition of cupidity did however lead me to think about the way “love” is put in action in the world today. Many people who say that they are looking for love are really motivated by cupidity. They are looking for someone to meet some material need or they are looking to add to their arsenal of attributes (I got a man or I got a woman etc). They are not looking to share their lives in an unconditional way with another person in an effort to usher that person into the arms of God, by allowing them to get a glimpse of the way He feels about them. If we are honest, we have done many selfish things in the name of “love”. We have all done something “good” thinking we would get something in return.

This kind of “love” always leads to a state of discontent. Love is not “reaching out” to “take in” and to hoard (as it is with cupidity). True love is about reaching within and pouring out and giving of yourself to God and to others. Once you come to a point of accepting God’s Love and demonstrating His Love in your life, you can begin to truly experience what it means to be content.

In my devotions this morning, two scriptures that I reflected on are:

Hebrews 13:5 “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

Philippians 4:11 “Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be [a] content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.

I have learned that I can not find true contentment in my wife, my job, my material possessions or in any “human expression” of love that I may experience here on Earth. My true contentment is found in the assurance that God loves me and that He will never fail me or abandon me. I can only be fully satisfied in Him alone and I no longer have to search for the next “love high”, which will just leave me empty and searching like a fiend chasing the next fix.

As the world tries to express in one day what can only truly be conveyed over a lifetime, choose to find your contentment not in the truffles, the flowers, the edible arrangements, the jewelry, the romantic dinners, the cards etc. for those things are temporary. Find your contentment in the true and eternal Love that God has for you and allow His Love to be The Motivating Factor in all you do.

Make this 2/14 less about Cupid and more about real Love. Enough of the cupidity!!!

Be Blessed,

B

Get in the Game

The story is told of a talented musician who trained for hour upon hour each day to perfect his craft. This musician put his heart and soul unto his playing to the point that he became one with his instrument. While he had virtually perfected the execution of each note, he chose to keep his talent to himself and would not share his gift with the world. He could not explain why…he had just refused to share his gift.

After many years the musician became friends with another musician, who didn’t know that his friend was a musician until he happened to overhear his friend practicing one afternoon. After hearing his friend play the most beautiful musical solo that had ever heard, he inquired as to how his friend got be so good at his instrument and why he had never played for him. After hearing his explanation and after hearing his friend say that he has never played in front of nor did he ever intend to play for an audience, the man was floored. He simply asked this single question…”Why on Earth do you practice soooooo hard if you never intend to play or to share your gift with the rest of the world?”

Sunday after Sunday millions of people gather for the largest “practice” session in the world. In their church “homes” many are equipped with the skills and tools needed to “perform” their “perfected craft”. We greet one another in love…We give of our time…We give of our money…We give of our talents/gifts…We quote scriptures and testify of the goodness of God to other believers…etc, but when will the majority of the team go beyond practice field and actually share our craft with the rest of the world? Practice is great, but why do we continue to practice if we are not going to play?

Matthew 5:16 (The Message)
14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

God has called us to shine our lights and to not keep our gifts to ourselves or solely inside the house of God. We are to use our gifts to attract others to the God. What good is it to continue to only “preach to the choir” when the ones who need to hear the message of God’s Love and need to experience His unconditional love aren’t stepping foot through the doors of the church building?

I am by no means saying that we should not attend church, but what I am saying is that we should not be some comfortable in the church seats that we forget our purpose and our calling. Our ultimate call is to shine our lights in this dark world so that the lost will see the light, be drawn to it and to want to connect with the source of the light (God).

It is time for the children of God to stop being professional, perpetual “practicers” (Jesse Jackson word of the day) and to GET IN THE GAME!!!!

Be Blessed,
B

Areaway

Our home features a walkout basement with an areaway (about 15 feet below ground level) that leads to our backyard. Anyone that has an areaway, especially one that is not covered, knows that it is vitally important to examine the areaway and to keep it free from debris so that you can prevent your basement from flooding during times of heavy rain. Debris such as leaves, twigs, plastic bags etc. have a tendency to “ride the wind” and find a nice comfortable landing place on the drain cover that leads to the piping that is connected to the sump pump. If the drain is covered, the sump pump won’t turn on and pump the water out of the areaway and away from the basement. Performing routine maintenance (cleaning out the areaway) is the best way to have peace of mind during rain storms that could cause flooding.

We are going on our 5th year living in our home and have had 3 minor flooding incidents. The most recent “event” occurred early on a Sunday morning about 2 weeks ago. I typically don’t remember my nighttime dreams but the ones that I do seem to have some significance as it relates to a current event or they seem to be recurring dreams. My dream on Saturday night was one of those dreams. On Saturday night I had a vivid dream in which a storm carrying with it extraordinarily heavy rains and winds came through my neighborhood, but I was not home. When I arrive home after the storm, I found that my house along with other houses in the neighborhood, had sustained damage. I had this same dream at least twice that night.

When I woke up, around 7:30 or so, I told my wife about my dream. Shortly thereafter, the sky darkened and burst open and we received a powerful downpour. After about 2 minutes of rain, something told me to check the areaway. I really didn’t think too much about it because we had a lot of rain during the early part of the summer and had no trouble with the areaway. In fact I had not even had to clean it at all during this summer. As a result of my confidence in the sump pump and the past performance of the drain system, I didn’t check the areaway until about 5 mins. later.

THAT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE.

Once I made it down to the basement and opened the door, I found a catastrophe about to happen. The floor of the areaway was quickly filling with water as the rain continued to pour from the sky. I tried frantically to clear the drain and to remove the water with my shop vac, but there was no stopping it. The rain was falling too fast and I was too far behind the trouble to prevent the consequence (flooding). As the water slowly began to seep over the door stop and into the basement, I finally was able to control the water and to clear the drain, but not until a small section of the basement had received some water damage.

I could not help but think that if I had heeded to the warning signs, if I had continued with the preventative maintenance plan that I had in place or if I had moved with more urgency and not gotten comfortable with “past performance” then this misfortunate event would not have occurred.

Just as in the physical, there are spiritual, mental, and emotional areaways in our lives. By avoiding the signs of imminent danger and by not performing regular maintenance to clean out the debris, we may find ourselves fighting with all of our might, but to no avail to try to stop ourselves from falling into a raging sea of trouble without a lifejacket.

We often don’t pay attention to people, relationships, issues etc. until they demand or command our attention. We have all experienced the regret that accompanies failing to act or acting too late. We have all been “reactional” instead of proactive even when the potential danger was as clear as day. Our pride and sometimes our complacency have led to our demise and our loss.

I am reminded of these truths regarding two important “areaways” in life…my heart and mind:

My Heart…Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

My Mind…2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

The storms of life will come, and those who are prepared, will come through the storms intact. I can assure you however, that if you don’t prepare for life’s storms you are sure to be blown away. I urge you to examine your “areaways” and to clear the debris that has gathered, so that as the floodwaters begin to rise, your “flood prevention” defense systems will kick in and protect your home.

Are your areaways clear?

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
B