Hero

My son’s birthday is October 19th. Part of his birthday celebration this year included an outing to place called Ridemakerz (which is basically “Build-A-Bear” but for cars and trucks), where the kids can design, trick-out and assemble cars and trucks. The kids had a blast and I think a few of the adults are considering coming back to “pimp” their own mini rides as well. We finished the day with dinner at a restaurant close to Ridemakerz. I was given the awesome responsibility of “entertaining” 7 pumped up 6 to 8 year old boys, while making sure that they didn’t draw too much attention to our table. I came up with a memory game. I asked the kids a series of questions and whoever was able to remember everyone’s answers, would be awarded a prize.

The game was a success. I asked a series of questions ranging from “What is your favorite food and why? To what is your favorite color?” I decided to step it up a notch by asking the kids, “Who is your favorite superhero or who is your hero and why?” The answers ranged from Superman to Capitan Underpants. One kid however stopped and thought for a moment or two and said with total confidence…My Dad is my hero. This was the last kid to answer the question. When I asked him why…He said because He is Strong and Buff.

After playing this game I thought about the fact that, whether or not I know it, I’m a hero in somebody’s eyes. My kids and even those who may be younger in the faith than I am, are looking to me to see how I will react to times of trouble, respond to evil and to uphold the standards of what is right and just. My life may be the catalyst that propels someone toward everlasting life or everlasting death. This is an immense responsibility. Even closer to home…my kids look up to me and pattern themselves after me, so their spiritual destinies are somewhat contingent upon how I conduct myself as their hero.

One of the kids said that Superman was his hero because he flew around and saved people. Another mentioned Spiderman, because he used his web-slinging skills to help others as well. There was a consistent theme that qualified people as being heroes. It wasn’t just the fact that they had superpowers (the “bad guys” had similar powers too). It was the fact that the heroes used there powers to help others in a responsible way. God has called us to be Heroes in this present generation. We should:

" You're here to defend the defenseless, to make sure that underdogs get a fair break; Your job is to stand up for the powerless, and prosecute all those who exploit them."." Ps 82:3-4

"Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart." Zech 7:9-10

"He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor." Prov 22:9

“Feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked.” Is 58:7, 10

People of this world and especially the children of this world are looking for purpose and to define who they are. First they look to the people around them. If we are those people, we should consider it our duty to have our “spiritual spidey” senses tuned in so that we can seize each opportunity to responsibly use our powers to point them in the direction of the source of our power and strength….the Ultimate HERO…..Jesus Christ.
It has been said…With great power comes great responsibility. What are you doing with your great power?

The world still needs Heroes.

Be Blessed,

B

Love Before Sight

Love at first sight. Believe it or leave it. Most if not all people experience this phenomenon at least once during their lifetime. You may or may not have experienced it with your spouse or current special friend (I’ll leave that one alone for fear of starting trouble)…nevertheless you have experienced it at some point. Well Tuesday night, I had the unexpected pleasure of witnessing “Love at first sight” play out when I “reluctantly” saw Beverley Hills Chihuahua with family and friends.

The main character named Chloe was a spoiled, pampered Chihuahua from Beverly Hills (of course) who ended up getting lost and eventually “puppy-napped” in Mexico. Early in the story a lowly Chihuahua named Papi (who was owned by a landscaper), fell in love at first sight with Chloe. She rejected him, but he didn’t let her rejection stop him in his relentless pursuit to have a relationship with her and to rescue her from danger.

I couldn’t help but think about how this story had some parallels to my life. God loved me before He even laid eyes on me and my life in its simplest form is a series of connected events whose common denominator is His relentless pursuit of me as manifested through His Love for me.

Before I decided to love Him. He chose to Love me
In spite of how I treat Him…He Loves me
He was willing to face death to save me
He sees beyond the “Outer Me” and loves me for the “Inner Me” (the real me)
I can be who I am in His presence

As a younger Christian I had book/head knowledge of God’s love. I knew about His love based on what I read in the Bible or what others said about His love. Now I know He loves me because I’m aware of His hand in my life. I live through His Love. I can see Him orchestrating opportunities to demonstrate His Love, His Faithfulness and His Commitment to me. I look for and I anticipate His Love. I have an awareness of God that has come from a personal relationship with Him.

There is a confidence and a certain swagger that inherently accompanies the persona of one who knows that they are loved by another. I have a Godly Swagger that this world can’t shake because my confidence is based on the fact that the Creator of love…loves me. God is not bashful about the fact that He loves us. He openly loves us. Every breath…every heartbeat…every blink of the eye is evidence of His Love.

In a world filled with uncertainty, distrust, “two facedness” and “hateration” know that the One who First loved us…will always love us and He is always demonstrating just how crazy about us He is.

It is much deeper than love at first sight…call it…Love before sight.

Deep Rooted

How deep are your roots?

About two and half months ago my mother in law panted several flowers in two separate planting pots on the patio in my backyard. The flowers in both pots were growing beautifully and the blooms were bright and appeared to be very healthy (big ups to miracle grow). The flowers continued to grow taller and taller and they also multiplied as expected. About two weeks ago, I noticed that some of the flowers in one of the pots were beginning to wither. My first thought was that they were not getting enough water, so I began to increase the amount of the water and I repositioned the pot to make sure that the failing plants were receiving the appropriate amount of sunlight. To no avail… the flowers in that pot continued to wither.

After taking a closer look, I was able to determine the real issue...the problem was with the roots. The roots of the flowers that were withering were too shallow in the soil, so the weight of the flowers caused the flowers to lean forward and the weight was in fact pulling the roots from the soil as the flowers leaned forward. No amount of water or sunlight would be able to sustain those flowers. In order for them to grow and to survive, they needed deeper roots. Both sets of plants, while planted at the same time, while being positioned to receive the same nourishment (sun and water) and while appearing to grow at the same rate, were actually headed toward two different destinies. One was destined to grow and produce while the other was headed toward a premature death.

Witnessing this natural phenomenon caused me to reflect on its spiritual implications.

How deep are my spiritual roots?
Do I just appear to be growing superficially, but deep down my roots are not strong enough to allow me to withstand the Storms of life?
Are my roots deep/strong enough to allow me to bear the weight of God’s blessings or will their presence cause me to fall?

God is not going to allow me to face or have more than I can bear (meaning handle successfully as I depend on Him for strength and guidance). I believe that this truth relates to what I consider to be blessings and what I consider to be challenges. We can’t handle too much of either if we aren’t firmly grounded.

Many trees have systems of roots that span two to three times the diameter of their above ground “crown”. This means that if a tree spans 10 feet wide, it will probably have an underground system of roots that is 20 to 30 feet wide. Much of the trees ability to nourish and sustain itself is based on its intricate system of roots.

As Christians, we are to have a root system that allows us to be nourished and sustained by our relationship with the Father, by our dependence on His Word and through our relationships with other believers (fellow believers are simply known as other trees in the forest). Life will expose the strength of your root system when the storms come. It is easy to “look” the part when the “breezes” of life are passing through your leaves, but when the winds blow, will you be uprooted or will you stand.

God is glorified when His trees stand tall and grow (underground growth that is). He isn’t concerned as much about how you appear to be growing above ground, this is where a lot of us get caught up we want to look the part but not “change our hearts” (superficial VS Spiritual). Our focus needs to shift to what really matters. The storms are coming (many of us are going through them right now). Are you prepared?

How strong are your roots?

Arm the Alarm

This weekend my family and I visited Boscov's going out of business sale. We picked up several items (mostly games to add to our vast collection of family oriented games). We also allowed the kids to pick up 1 item a piece. My daughter picked out a board game about the whole mall/shopping experience and my son selected a laser based security system.

Both of the kids really seemed pleased with their selections, but I noticed that my son was obsessed with is new "spy gear". He opened it up almost immediately upon our arrival home and began to press me to assist him with setting it up. He wanted to make sure that his room, which held his most prized assets (toys, bank, football posters and of course his Nintendo DS) were adequately protected from the members of his loving family and any other unwanted guests that might try to “loot”. The next morning, we eventually set it up and as a test, I went into his room to test it after he went to sleep. I tripped the alarm but the sound of the alarm didn't even cause him to flinch.

This failed test made me think about the safeguards that I have guarding my most valuable assets...my mind, my heart and my soul. This caused me to reflect on David (in the Bible). David spoke many times about God being his source of protection. Is there a better security system than God? If you are relying on your own power and might to guard you than you will surely find yourself just like my sleeping son...caught off guard and at the mercy of unwanted “guests”

Satan and this world constantly attack our minds and our hearts and if we are not prepared and don't have the proper security measures in place we will fall and become spiritual casualties.

Take time today and everyday to arm your spiritual "ADT" alarm systems so that when the enemy tries to invade your home you can cause him to flee through the power of God. Moreover guarding your heart and mind, is like putting an ADT sign in your yard so that some enemies won't even attempt to attack you for they will see who is protecting your "home", and will realize that their attempts to invade are pointless. Arm your hearts and minds by spending quality time with the Father and by asking him to guard your "home" through His Spirit and the power of His Word.

You have the best security system and equipment known to mankind at your disposal, but it is useless unless you turn the alarm on.

Are you secure?...or as my wife asks me almost every night as soon as I find my comfy spot in the bed…”Did you set the alarm?” (I always wonder why she never seems to remember to ask that question before I lay down for the night)

Be Blessed,
B

Joy...and Pain

Last night my wife and I were watching a rerun of the TV show “Scrubs”. During this episode, a doctor repeatedly challenged the reality of the fact that God existed and that He was in control of all things. He asked that if God was in control…

*Why do good things happen to bad people?
*Why do the good suffer?
*Why do bad things happen to good people?
*Why are there diseases?

He repeatedly challenged a particular nurse who I assume was a Christian. She had a response to every challenge and repeatedly said that all things work together for the good. Just when the Doctor thought that he could not outwit the nurse, a young girl was brought into the hospital. She was about 10 years old and had been stabbed for no reason and was close to death. The doctor got a person to pose as the girl’s dad and brought the “dad” before the nurse and confronted her. At the sight of the girl the Doctor asked,” What good could God have intended with this situation? Was it His will that she get stabbed?….she did no wrong did she? What are you going to tell this girl’s father?” The nurse didn’t have an immediate response. Moments later a technician revealed that the little girl had a tumor the size of a golf ball growing in her chest and if she had not been stabbed, then the deadly tumor would have probably gone unnoticed until it was too late. The fact that she got attacked actually saved her life.

I was floored. How often do we doubt that God is in control, has a firm grip on the steering wheel and knows where He is going? In our short-term frame of mind, we focus on our temporary pain and ignore the future glory and eternal glory that is promised to those who are children of God. Sometimes pain is used to bring our attention to something that will ultimately cause death. Don’t ignore the pain that you are going through. Endure the pain and ask God what His plan for you is through the pain. His plans for you are much bigger than your pain. This is not an easy pill to swallow, but it is much easier than running around in circles trying to understand all the “Whys, Who’s, What’s, Where’s, When’s and How’s” that you have concerning what God is doing. God loves us and all does work together for the good of those who love Him and are called for His purpose.

I recently shared the following words with a friend of mine who was questioning God’s choices:

It is important to know that even when we don’t know what it going on, we can take comfort in the fact that we know the One who is ultimately in control. God never makes mistakes and His ways are high above our ways. We must be aware of the lessons He is trying to teach us through every situation both good and “bad” in order to begin to understand Him and life. If we knew everything and knew every answer there would be no need for faith. God seems to give the most difficult challenges to the strongest among us to serve as a testimony to us who are “weaker” so that when the strong turn to Him in faith, we can be inspired to do the same.

There are scores of people hurting these days, many of which are Christians. I think that it is vitally important that we as Christians “own our pain” and see it as an opportunity to grow closer to Christ and to be a witness to God’s Mercy and Love. We may not understand WHY, but we sure can point the world to the “WHO” WHEN they ask us HOW we made it through and how we have joy through our pain and sorrow.

Our pain is nothing when compared to God’s plan and His love for us.

Be Blessed,
B

It's a Bird...It's a Plane

Over the last week or so, I’ve began to take late night swims. These swims are times when I can relax and reflect on the events of the day, but more importantly on what God may have to say to me. Saturday night was one of these nights. I got into the pool around 12 midnight after a long day working in the yard and completing various tasks. I started this welcomed downtime as I usually do, by swimming a couple of laps and then just floating on my back. I usually just close my eyes a drift, but for some reason, something told me to look up (I think it was the fact that I had been listening to Dave Hollister’s new gospel album and one of the songs was entitled “Look UP”). Anyway…

I nonchalantly looked up into the cloud filled sky and immediately my attention was drawn to what appeared to be a face hovering above me in the sky. At first I brushed it off. I stopped floating, stood still in the water, rubbed my eyes and then looked to the sky again. Sure enough because of the clouds in the sky only two stars could be seen and these stars appeared to be the eyes that were part of a face. I was immediately struck with a reverential fear as I dropped to my knees and began to give glory to God. While I know that this was not the face of God (don’t be alarmed…I don’t worship clouds or stars), I knew that this experience was being orchestrated by the Great Composer (God…himself). All I could think about was how awesome God is and how even though He is the Master of the Universe, He takes time to keep an eye on little old me.

Encountering the reality of God is a humbling experience. When you realize how awesome He is in relation to how finite we you are, the natural response is to drop to your knees and to praise Him. Does God really have to do anything else to warrant your praise? Open your eyes and embrace His presence all around you. The evidence of His existence is all around us. Man is truly without excuse, when it comes to acknowledging God.

I urge you to ask God to open your eyes so that you can experience and witness how awesome He is. I guarantee you that in almost all cases, He is not going reveal Himself in a dramatic or miraculous way. I believe that He will touch your eyes so that you can see the reality of Him working in various aspects of your life. It is not that He isn’t there, or wasn’t there all the time…it is just that you didn’t recognize Him.

It’s time to “Look Up”

Be Blessed,
B

When God Speaks...Do you Listen?

Have you ever read through a devotional or listen to a message/sermon and said to yourself, “I’m not sure how this relates to me?” The topic of the message in your mind seemingly doesn’t even remotely touch on your personal struggles, situations or challenges. As a result you kind of “tune out” and don’t give the message or the reading your full attention. Little did you know, that the truths that you were exposed to in that instance would soon come back to “visit” you. In the last 24 hours I had this very thing happen to me.

While passing time yesterday, I picked up a devotional that I use from time to time that is based on the book of Proverbs. Yesterday’s reading was based on Proverbs 10:19 which reads, “The more talk, the less truth; the wise measure their words.” It focused on the principle that fools try to cover up their foolishness by talking too much and the wise choose their words with care. It is often those with little to say who are assumed to be wise. Too often when we are trying to appear wise, we get carried away with our words, we embellish the truth and we take our conversations to points of “no return”. We are thinking “Why did I say that?...Why did I open my mouth?...What was I thinking when I started talking?…Why didn’t I just shut my big mouth?”

I read this devotional and thought; this must be for somebody else, because I really don’t run my mouth. I’m typically reserved. Boy was I mistaken. I think that I ran my mouth and talked to more people this morning at work that I’ve talked to in the last 3 months. Things finally settled down about 1 hour ago and I was gently reminded of my devotional reading on yesterday. I felt like a BIG SAP.

What I thought was for somebody else, was exactly what I needed to hear as it was preparation for the next day that I would face. I felt like Peter after he had denied Christ. God was trying to speak to me, but I refused to listen to His words and didn’t see them as relevant to my life. Don’t be like me. If God is taking time to “minister” to you, take heed to what He is saying through His word and through His Messengers. The very thing that you don’t think you need to hear is probably the exact thing that you should pay attention to. Don’t deceive yourself.

God often places warning signs in our lives. Don’t ignore them, you may not see their relevance to you at the moment, but pray and ask God to speak to you through the “signs” revealed in the messages that you receive and to seal the truths in your heart so that when you are faced with the opportunity to apply the truths, your will remember what God spoke to you so that you can make the Godly choice and/or respond in a Godly way.

God is speaking…are you listening?

Be Blessed,
B