there

This past weekend, during our worship service at HRCC, I had the pleasure of delivering the message that begins a new series entitled, "Provision". If you were there, you may recall how I spoke about God instructing Elijah to go "there"; that place where God would meet his physical needs; that place where God could give him protection; that place to be alone with God; that place where the presence of God would be.......there.

I am still amazed at how Elijah must have felt when he was told to leave where he felt he was safe, comfortable, and secure. That had to be a very difficult choice to make; not in his original plans for his life; not what he thought God would want him to do; and, it was probably going to be an inconvenience for Elijah.

Do we ever feel like Elijah? We look at our life and we see where we are. Our basic needs are met. We are fed.... clothed.... have a place to stay..... comfortable.... we may be even doing what we think God wants us to be doing. Would we leave where we are if God said His provision was there; a place unfamiliar to us; a place where we might not fit in; a place that may expose us for who we really are; a place where God is our only source for any and every thing we will need; a place where God becomes the most important relationship we will ever have; a place where we feel His embrace each day; where He can comfort the sick, encourage the lonely, bring joy to the hurting, lift up the fallen, restore the marriage, defeat the grasp of addiction, and make us who He created us to be?

If we are not there, then we must still be here.....and according to Elijah....there is where God is...and where we need to be.

See you there.

elevator door

I was talking to a friend the other day and we got onto the topic of how Christians are to live their lives each day. I know most people understand that as a believer in Jesus Christ, we should be living a life that exemplifies who He is to us. We should live our lives in such a way so others will know that Jesus dwells in us. We are to be His hands and feet here on this earth; at the school we attend; on our job with co-workers; when we are with friends, or family. As a believer in Jesus Christ, our life is to be noticeable.

Anyway.....as we were discussing what this life should look like, he made a comment that caught me off guard. In our illustrations of how people might perceive their life as an example of Jesus, and all the ways they may think it should look; everything from tithing, to going on a mission trip to a foreign country.....he says that he wants to be the guy who holds the elevator door. The elevator door?!? How is that.......?

Then I saw what he meant. Too often we think a life that shows people we are a follower of Christ has to be something noteworthy, big, attention getting.....noticeable. I'm sure it can be, if our motives are right. But, to see the small gestures of kindness as being Christ-like....

Maybe we need to re-focus a little on what it means to live a life that shows we have Christ living in us. Maybe we've been looking too high on the "impressive" list. Maybe all people really need is for someone to hold the elevator door for them.

2-4-83

Twenty seven years ago I was blessed to see the birth of my son, Joshua....a beautiful baby boy, and now.....an amazing young man. I can rewind through my memory and see so many things that make up who Joshua is. Everything he is now, I have watched being developed as the days and years have slipped by.

There have been broken bones, school plays, Little League Baseball, Basketball, Wrestling, Track, Cross-Country, High School Graduation, College, MBA, Law School, and then there were the Church Christmas plays, Baptism, Caswell Youth Camps, Mission Trips. I have seen how all these events have been a part of making Joshua who he is, but more importantly....I have seen how God has shaped Joshua's life through all of this. Most people may not see God working in ordinary events of their life, but that is how these events become extra-ordinary.

Of all the things that I have witnessed in Joshua's life so far, I am most impressed when I hear people tell me what they think about Joshua. They may have been friends with Joshua growing up, or attended school with him, or maybe even competed with him or coached him, but they all have had good things to say about Joshua. And as a father......one of the best things you can hear about a child of yours......is not what others say about them.....it is how your child's life has impacted theirs.

That's when you know that their life is extra-ordinary........and God did that.

Happy Birthday Joshua. Your Mom and I love you and we thank God everyday for what He is doing in your life.