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L-Lightning Strikes When You Rain Dance
If unfamiliar with my model here, click here to understand the introductory blog entry that explains my novel and original concepts here.
L-A-Z-Y
L – Lightning
A – Assurance
Z – Zealousness
Y – Yearning Will
We realize as the church that the power of the Living God ignites our souls like a lightning bolt. Let the light of Christ shine through big, bold, and bright as thunder in the storms our self-will creates in the epic dreams we live.
Exodus 9:23-34 (NIV)
When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.
Job 37:1-10 (NLT)
“My heart pounds as I think of this.
It trembles within me.
Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice
as it rolls from his mouth.
It rolls across the heavens,
and his lightning flashes in every direction.
Then comes the roaring of the thunder—
the tremendous voice of his majesty.
He does not restrain it when he speaks.
God’s voice is glorious in the thunder.
We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.”
Psalm 18: 11-14 (NIV)
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
When lightning strikes into our hearts from the heavens, God shows up! When you call upon God’s voice through prayer, he brings the rain and the lightening down through passion the Spirit pours into our souls. When the time comes to fulfill his plan for your life, no earthly entity can impede the power of our Mighty God. For those who stand in the way with wrong-doing, I hope those opposed understand the consequences for road-blocking God’s children. Like Egypt with a brief snap of His figures, hail, thunder, and lightning destroyed an entire country. Like Thor in the movie, Avengers, we possess great resilience with the lightning of God’s calling. The world constantly brings you down to human terms with reminders of failures and discouragement, but deep down you must pull yourself up to realize your true potential in confidence that Christians come equipped with persistent and perseverant characteristics unlike anything most on the planet have ever witnessed.
I think we sometimes forget the source of our lightning. Lightning does not flow from your own efforts. It flows from the goodness that God brings when we call on his powerful name.
Call on the lightening of God’s strength in creation, and through your own hands, you will begin to complete, achieve, and attain what we once thought we were not capable of. You are capable than you might give yourself credit for. I often tell the Enemy in confidence, “By the power of Jesus, you have no idea what we are capable of!” The negative thoughts usually vanquish at that same moment. Lightning delivers light through our souls to drive out the disabling effect of complacency. We no longer become complacent. We strike where no common man has gone before.
Complacency Develops Into Dangerous Ground – Avoid L-A-Z-Y!
These thoughts loom in my mind as I lay in bed each morning wondering why I get up in the morning performing tasks that do not matter. I heard the warning of someone I highly respect recently that I and none of us in this stagnant economy can afford to become complacent. The employer of my friend fired him without good reason or due cause, and complacently he had no backup plan. In comfort he settled for where he stayed for several years. Potentially capable of so much more, survival mode to pay bills took over. I am guilty of calling it a day at 5:00 pm because I am tired, and my parents thrive on watching three hours of Dancing with the Stars each night. It becomes addictive as both Mom and Dad plead with me to spend quality time with them in a group couch potato session. I think the television develops into dangerous ground because it hypnotizes us into laziness. We get off at five, and life ends there until the next boring work day.
I become irritated and impatient with employers who take advantage of individuals disposing of them at convenience for the sake to cycle through another hired victim of a perpetual mess of hiring and firing.
Complacency plays a dangerous role in the lives of Christians as an instrument of our eternal enemy. The Devil thrives on apathy because when apathetic signs usually indicate that growth remains stagnant in our growth spiritually, emotionally, relationally, physically, and in every area of our infected lives. I do not know about you, but I am personally sick and tired of living in apathy and complacency finishing in second place. I feel like the last two years provide valuable insight into lessons learned through life; however I also feel that my potential has been limited partially on my own accord. I am not your usual typical individual who blames lame opportunities on an economy. I believe I am the best to be had, and I plan on living like that full steam ahead. I would challenge you to take the same mentality. Now is not the time to be lazy. Now is the time to charge the battle field.
The next four blog entries will illustrate with my own personal struggles how together perhaps we can live intentional purpose-filled and driven lives. God never meant for believers to be second short of goals and dreams. I believe God asks us to work hard, real hard to achieve the dreams of our hearts. Faith without deeds is dead, and in this Biblical truth, resilience, persistence, and perseverance pays off because the ice eventually breaks with lightening as avalanches and ice bergs fall from the momentum you push forward. Eventually hard work or laziness catches up with each of us.
All inspirational speakers of my caliber thrive on acronyms such as the following. We love simple ways to remember simple lessons in life that matter to us and hopefully also to those who read our material. The following four concepts based on the word L-A-Z-Y demonstrate ways to prevent complacency from taking over your life. Each idea will be further illustrated with the four subsequent entries.
L-A-Z-Y
L – Lightning
A – Assurance
Z – Zealousness
Y – Yearning Will
L-Lightning
We realize as the church that the power of the Living God ignites our souls like a lightning bolt. Let the light shine through big, bold, and bright as thunder in the storms our will create.
A-Assurance
We remain confident as the church in the plan God has for our lives. We wait patiently assured that He works for the good of those who love Him.
Z-Zealousness
We live with zeal as the church unmatched to others in society for the stand that each of our dreams follow in the journey. Our zeal inspires those around us with contagious synergy.
Y-Yearning Will
We yearn as the church to become more than ourselves realizing that the impossible only grows into infinite real possibilities in relationship with Jesus, Spirit, and Father together as one. Our will to live and dream big can never be stopped in the everlasting energy God fuels our hearts and souls with.
These are four novel concepts that relationally will destroy the idea of complacency in your life that sometimes causes us to be lazy. Fight laziness realizing these four spiritual truths as I set out four days of blog entries that truly could change your life if you let my words touch you in a profound personal way.
As a writer, voice yourself without hesitation
“I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams.” -Madonna Ciccone-
American singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. She has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world’s top-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records.
“If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” -Noam Chomsky-
AvramNoam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years.Chomsky has been described as the “father of modern linguistics.”
“Young players need freedom of expression to develop as creative players… they should be encouraged to try skills without fear of failure.” -Arsene Wenger-
Arsène Wenger (born October 22, 1949) is a French football manager and former player. He is the manager of EnglishPremier League side Arsenal, a position which he has held since 1996.
(Biographical information taken from Wikipedia)
As a writer, voice yourself without hesitation
I finished the last chapter of my manuscript yesterday along with a checklist of several other things to get done on top a full eight hour shift with my day job as well. Sometimes I wonder how I complete all the items I seek to accomplish with each passing day.
Many who read my blog may not necessarily always approve of what I write, specifically entries like the last one where I question a modern day Pharisee’s character without question. I must admit at this time in my life I learn more from people I do not want to be like than people I do want to be like. I find it intriguing how our first inclinations lean towards remembering more of the bad over the good specifically with the actions of individual people.
The book I completed yesterday (with many days of editing to follow) questions the motives, ignorance, and fear of leaders, professionals, and some I once called friends. I illustrate instances in my own life with experiences between me and those people while given fictional names culprits become exposed.
I believe in life we must always be cautious in our dealings concerning other people. The consequences of one’s actions might come calling many years later with a published book. That is why I believe it is so important that we live honorably and courageously so that delayed truth never returns to jeopardize what we have in the present moment.
I essentially write about stories, places, people, and things I am familiar with. With a journalistic frame and approach in mind, I rarely edit my thoughts because I write to express a message as much as I write for myself. I enjoy it. And I write things as they are. I try my very best to present information and observations from everyday life including my interactions and relationships with others. The performance of my life plays on, and I write what happens with the people involved. When wrong-doing occurs, the paintings illustrated perhaps may shed a negative light on those written about.
But a journalist cannot sacrifice a story based on the feelings of someone. I write so I can relate with each person that faces similar circumstances. I write to connect with my readers in this approach. I write in hopes that I can encourage those who suffer as I have through my blog audience and the major book I seek to publish on a national level. Some of the characters will become tangles in the cross hairs and cross fires of my words and ways of expression.
That is why I mention at the beginning of this entry the importance we see in the freedom of expression. All major status symbols in the world of music, academics, sports, and any visible position stir controversy on some level with their words. I stand firmly for my faith in what I believe is right. I do not edit my words because sometimes the potency of a message loses its effects with diluted details. I am by heart an author. I do not always play nice. I write details as I see them in reality. While guilty of mentioning touchy subjects, the emotions stirred tend to be the emotions that most inspire. And in this country, I am free to express what I will in efforts to change the lives I speak to.
A Modern Day Pharisee – The Queen of Narnia – Lessons of Lecrae
I once knew an undergraduate friend named Ben who loved Jesus so much that he screamed his declaration “I LOVE JESUS” once like a siren in the middle of the Wal-Mart Superstore. It sounded as loud as the speaker megaphone over the entire store calling for shoppers with the latest supersaver deal of the hour. He later told me that God said he needed to scream his tribal chant across the supermarket. The ironic truth became apparent when he led someone to Christ in the middle of the checkout isle as both he and the woman cried tears of joy with her life-changing decision. I always respected Ben because his charismatic nature and character represented his true heart. Nothing fake in his relationship to Christ existed; he really loved Jesus that much in a powerful and loudly spoken profession.
I once knew another individual in college who quoted Scripture in front of others, attended Bible studies, attained a 4.0 GPA, and claimed she knew of my heart for God. This girl would later betray our friendship with divulging information that almost jeopardized my undergraduate academic career as words twisted truth in one side of a story. Thankfully when true colors revealed her personality no one accepted her words as fact, and God saved me in what could have been an atomic bombshell in my life.
I remembered this girl from college vividly this week when I met another person in the past few years who showed her true self. My more recent acquaintance sings hymns loudly in public places and then claims to be a “daughter of the one true highest God,” like the literary character Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, crowned her a daughter of Eve to become the next queen of Narnia. She feels the need to declare her spiritual beliefs loud and clear to those around her even sometimes laying her hands on people with prayers for everyone around her to be heard. I do not declare my salvation so boastfully because in silent confidence I know where God and I stand together in relationship. I firmly believe that a wise man feels no need to brag of the blessings God provides because in his heart he knows who the Great Provider is.
In addition to these outbursts of righteousness, many on a team share with the others that lack around us when blessings overflow for themselves; however she keeps all the overflow for herself and then marches around in pride to shout how great God is. She brags about how good He has been to her when she fails to forget that others hurt from storing up her own barns without helping those who starve around her. The ironic gesture hits home because one person tends to bless the Narnia queen with all her produce. So technically she is given to without giving to others in return.
I felt as if the scales removed from my eyes as a sassy attitude presented itself before others in the last year. There was a vindictive nature in her words to make sure she embarrassed others in front of leaders who happen to put her on the spot….kind of like you did this to me, so I will therefore do this to you. I have always felt a chip on the shoulders of this professed believer and even self-proclaimed minister in Christ.
Have you ever met someone who felt they constantly needed to prove themselves for no real reason other than just because? Please understand I have the gift of gab as much as anyone else, but I do not constantly go on and on about how great God is in my life without the consideration that others also need that provision. I think for those who feel they need the spiritual spotlight ALL the time that something of a past struggle haunts them. The past holds them back where all they can do is stretch their own self-announced accomplishments that may have no real merit. I like to think that God prefers the silent confident type with regards to faith rather than a declared daughter of the most High God. There is a time and place to stand firm versus when you must let go of the trivial things. If you take yourself and life too seriously, you might forget when the true divine moments of discovery truly are.
These character flaws give the church a bad rep and inevitably become the reasons people never desire to attend church. As humans we naturally tend to remember the one bad apple as opposed to all the good ones we have eaten. With a sour taste left in our mouth we never want to taste such bitterness again because it represents hypocrisy more than a love for Jesus or other people. This person represents a true modern day Pharisee where people must see how holy she is in the eyes of others. Her confidence comes from telling others not in praise how good God is but rather in the performance of how good I am in this religious pursuit for relationship. Her belief system does not circulate around the foundations of how I exist to serve but rather how I will be served by the overflow of materialistic belongings here on earth. Look at what I have. Look how I do things. And look at how successful I am. While her intentions might mean well, her heart remains cold in her challenge to show you.
Now you may not agree when I write entries of this sort essentially questioning the faith of a described person, however as a writer I record life as I see it in the good examples I see in Ben or the bad examples I see in the described person. I really feel no remorse setting up a fictional profile for a real person when the example serves to trigger thoughts in the readers of this blog when nothing in our relationships with God should resemble a Pharisee. We do not exist to show how good we are but rather how good He is.
I think this video illustrates through the lyrics of the Christian rap artist, Lecrae, what as believers we should really boast of –
“Boasting”
(feat. Anthony Evans)
[Chorus:]
If this life has anything to gain at all
I’ll count it loss if I can’t hear you, feel you, ’cause I need you.
Can’t walk this earth alone.
I recognize I’m not my own, so before I fall
I need to hear you, feel you, as I live to make my boast in you alone.
[Verse 1:]
With every breath I take, with every heart beat,
Sunrise and the moon lights in the dark street.
Every glance, every dance, every note of a song.
It’s all a gift undeserved that I shouldn’t have known.
Every day that I lie, every moment I covet
I’m deserving to die, I’m just earning your judgment.
I, without the cross there’s only condemnation.
If Jesus wasn’t executed there’s no celebration.
So in times that are good, in times that are bad
For any times that I’ve had it all I will be glad.
And I will boast in the cross. I’ll boast in my pains.
I will boast in the sunshine, boast in his reign.
What’s my life if it’s not praising you?
Another dollar in my bank account of vain pursuit.
I do not count my life as any value or precious at all.
Let me finish my race, let me answer my call.
[Chorus]
[Verse 2:]
Tomorrow’s never promised, but it is we swear.
Think we holding our own, just a fist full of air.
God has never been obligated to give us life.
If we fought for our rights, we’d be in hell tonight.
Mere sinners owed nothing but a fierce hand.
We never loved him, we pushed away his pierced hands.
I rejected his love, grace, kindness, and mercy.
Dying of thirst, yet, willing to die thirsty.
Eternally worthy, how could I live for less?
Patiently you turned my heart away from selfishness.
I volunteer for your sanctifying surgery.
I know the Spirit’s purging me of everything that’s hurting me.
Remove the veil from my darkened eyes.
So now every morning I open your word and see the Son rise.
I hope in nothin, boast in nothin, only in your suffering.
I live to show your glory, dying to tell your story.
[Chorus]
[Bridge:]
Glory was solely meant for you.
Doing what no one else could do.
With All I have to give, (With all I have to Give)
I’ll use my life, I’ll use my lips. (My Lips Yeaaah)
I’ll only glory in your Word. What gift to me I don’t deserve.
I’ll live in such a way that it reflects to you, my Praise.
[Chorus: with Descant]
Empower Me Please?
As individuals we prefer to be treated as adults. When given a task to accomplish, most capable persons no longer necessitate an overshadowing presence informing step by step how to accomplish tasks. We seek to succeed at our highest potential when given the room, independence, and confidence to confide in what we do. We do what we do well when trusted that we can. Most coaches in sports lead their support staff with final decisions but also allow assistants to make decisions in regards to designated and given responsibilities. For instance why would a football coach hire an offensive coordinator if later only to tell the new staff member how to perform for the job hired to do? That coach became hired because at some point the manager of the team believed he could within his own right produce results.
Morale looms when authorities stand over shoulders with demands that only certain goals complete themselves in certain ways when there often exists many ways to solve a presented problem. Solutions come in many forms especially when provided with the empowerment to self-interpret what best actions should be taken. I think so many forget this simple principle: those empowered likely become the most successful because self-confidence sustains itself when given room to develop and figure things out.
If asked and possibly even appointed to complete a task, then allow a person the opportunity and chance to do so. It frustrates me when leaders fail to see the evident results in non-totalitarian ways. A person only respects you as much as you respect them.
And as all experience, different forms of communication develop different styles of leadership. Transition in change is not always beneficial because once individuals operate a certain way and thus become comfortable in doing so, a new style that looks good on paper creates more burdens than blessings. As the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.” For as long as I can remember, those I respect encouraged me to emulate those who mastered a given discipline area learning from those who do best. Pride sometimes absorbs that approach because humility requires an individual to realize we do not always know best or have all the answers. In other words, some would rather pretend to know it all rather than going to the people who actually do. Their own pride prevents such individuals from admitting they may not have all the answers.
Those who fail to empower fail to acknowledge this obvious truth. When empowerment evolves on its own merit successfully, most challenges solve themselves because trust and faith becomes exercised over the tediousness of mismanagement and misunderstanding of people. We all like to be treated as human beings. When leaders fail to mutually respect others, empowerment dies. And so does the will to follow those who should have empowered their followers from the very beginning.
Blown Away By God Again with Another CAFO Conference
I purchased a leather bracelet from the organization named Visiting Orphans with the following inscription on a small piece of copper attached to the leather: “Man Up 4 Orphans.”
That sums up the role of a father, a Heavenly Father who always “mans up” for his followers in the midst of a storm. We are called to do the same with the fatherless according to James 1:27 (Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widowsin their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.). While each believer in Christ touches upon a different vision for each person’s life, the Lord long-created a soft spot in my heart for children. I enjoy dancing with the flower girl on my knees at a wedding. I further enjoy spending time with those who live with disabilities, more specifically within the Deaf Community. And one day with the blessing of a lifelong significant other, I will be a father with four-strapping boys (two adopted of course)….you know as long as that special person agrees to all these wonderful plans and dreams.
I hope that all that live and die for Christ encompass a soft spot for children. Even while you may not be a parent, your heart moves for a child lacking the bare necessities of life often in suffrage. Witnessing a child who starves will forever change your life. The pictures of television commercials with malnourished children from all over the world pull our souls to the attention of the orphan.
This past year I committed my second year’s attendance to the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit which happened to occur at Rick Warren’s (author of The Purpose Driven Life) founded home church, Saddleback Church, in Irvine, California. The conference rises as a reunion for all who dream big in the subculture of orphan care for the fatherless. I remain standing in the stillness of silence blown away by story after story after story of God’s provision often in extreme circumstances beyond the American imagination. God works today with miracles as much as he did recorded in historical times of Bible narratives. Summit provides a painting of encouragement around the rock stars of Jesus’ heart who truly understand the meaning of walking ministry. Many claim to believe but never realize the truth of living for Christ beyond existence and survival to pay bills. “Justice and Mercy flow from the Gospel,” and with this theme of the conference, there is something refreshing about the flow of breath to be inspired again in God’s Name and to be rested again in His arms. While the information influx clearly overwhelms in lessons learned and statistics that orchestrated to solidify the cause, comfort can be found in sharing the common fight in the adversity pushed against us by the Enemy. You no longer stand alone. You stand rather together hand in hand. The conference reminds me of that solid truth and foundation in the love shared for the common pursuit to save the fatherless.
I mentioned to a friend that a common vision among many members in the Alliance is to see that all orphans have a home, the adopted, those in foster care, and any living in group homes or orphanages….a hope that these causes are no longer needed because every one of God’s children one day receives a home of love. I said, “168 million is not that much,” and this particular individual looked at me as if I am crazy. However what I believe those with vision lack is the faith that a Big God capably fulfills the dreams of those with Big Faith. Of course, if you believe it is impossible, it certainly is in the finite walls of a mind, but the passions of a Christian heart blow the minds of those whose hearts overflow with doubt more than the small faith of a mustard seed.
Dream so big that only God shows up in the work within you! 168 million is not impossible. In fact, it is very doable if the church works together. The lack of faith does not stir from the numbers; it stirs from quarrels within a body of believers who fail to work together.
CAFO is a call to action to believe, achieve, and reach for the impossible. I implore you to take a minute to imagine a world without the existence of any one orphan. Then with your own vision, imagine what the world would be like with the epiphany God puts on your heart.
When all the church marches forward to fulfill Kingdom-size challenges, then more than just the orphan will live. So much more will occur to push boundaries in a world where God’s Glory comes before politics.
Joy Inseparable from Suffering
I have been overwhelmed with the flow of blessings, divine words, and encouragement expressed to me through this past week’s Summit with The Christian Alliance for Orphans at Saddleback Church (Rick Warren) south of Los Angeles. I will follow up this blog entry with thoughts on the conference once a few more days have passed so that I can recollect all the good things he truly has done for me and the cause of the fatherless.
During the conference, all of the attendees participated in different breakouts, one of which included the wife of Rick Warren, Kay. She spoke on the choice of joy in our lives concerning her new book recently written on the concept in her own journey through marriage, church ministry, and clinical depression, with innate Biblical principles in place.
I experienced and realized a reminder of an amazing Biblical principle that joy and suffering are inseparable in our relationship and our journey to our eternal finish line. One principle cannot exist without the other, and one often precedes the other. Joy follows the experience of sorrow, and sorrow often follows the experience of joy. Our lives naturally include both valleys and mountains but inwardly the choice of joy can only be taken from us if we allow the outside forces in the storms around to steal these blessed thanksgivings from us. The Biblical author and my personal favorite, James, claim that we must consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds. When I first read that verse, I thought the author of the New Testament book might have scribed a mistyped error. Why would I rejoice in suffering? That sounds somewhat ridiculous just typing it, perhaps even more so to someone who rides the highs of life like those are the only good times.
For instance my nephew, Ayden, has experienced more tribulations in his short lifespan of two years than anyone else in our family for that mutual time frame. While sorrow prevailed on the many occasions our family did not know if Ayden would live to the very next day, as a miracle from God he survived multiple heart surgeries spending more time in the hospital his first year of life than in his own home. Now Ayden brings joy to our family every day he is still alive. And here we see that great joy follows great days of sorrow. While this example is a very simple one, we can all relate.
In the life of a follower for God, the two realities of both emotions with sorrow and joy move in our lives in a dualistic nature. One inversely embraces and supports the other, making joy all the more powerful when blessing bestows into our lives. Simply said, I would not know how meaningful joy is without the sorrow I also lived in my heart with both the good and bad times. I cannot separate one from the other. Both spiritual statutes work together for the good of God’s Glory!
“The pain passes, but the beauty remains.” – Pierre Auguste Renoir
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” – Psalms 30:5
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost
“For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
This is a good message given by Kay that might be similar to what I heard – great message!
Kay discusses her new book here!
Do you realize God? Some just do not have a clue! My friend suffers.
Definitions According to the World English Dictionary
| believe | |
| — vb (foll by in ) | |
|
1. |
( tr; may take a clause as object ) to accept (a statement,supposition, or opinion) as true: I believe God exists |
|
2 |
( tr ) to accept the statement or opinion of (a person) as true |
| realize or realise | |
| — vb | |
|
1. |
( when tr, may take a clause as object ) to become consciousor aware of (something) |
|
2. |
( tr, often passive ) to bring (a plan, ambition, etc) to fruition;make actual or concrete |
The difference in my own observation stands that when someone believes something it might just be through a statement or declaration of. To realize something means you become conscious of it as a presence in life through concrete experience with. You do not just believe in that something. You live it! You realize its existence rather than just stating a belief of it.
I got a distraught message from a close friend of mine within the last few weeks that he suddenly without notice got fired. Our economy remains in shambles as employers downsize often destroying families in the process without remorse. Business exists to make money. I get that. I am not entirely convinced a company always downsizes because of profitable gains. I think on the other hand companies make poor decisions affecting lives because leaders lack the decision-making skills of a true man who fears God. With a healthy fear of God comes a mutual respect of those lives you lead, mentor, shape, change, and wage with a day’s labor. The realized faith of the Roman centurion in the book Matthew Chapter Eight expresses his acknowledgement of God’s power when he asks Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus asks, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion faithfully realized the power of God and simply asked for the Jesus to speak the healing into existence. There was no need for Jesus to go. His word would heal without hands laid upon the ill. Because the centurion led 200-1000 soldiers under his command, he realized that fearful respect for God brought far better results than his own abilities. While many in this centurion’s time would just let a servant die because servants are easily replaceable for the wealthy, this leader begged for his servant’s life. That humility is something my friend did not experience. No one stood up for him as the centurion took action for his servant. That is what our economy and society lacks: a realized leadership that advocates when the God-to-be-glorified moment comes. Instead in fear they cower as the rope is tightened.
While attending the Christian Alliance for Orphans One Night of Worship event in preconference activities the night before Summit, the speaker spoke how we all in reality have been adopted by God. While God loves those who serve him, I assert that he longs for family with sons and daughters of Christ more than slaves who legalistically walk through the motions of a supposed faith relationship.
There is a distinct difference between believe and realize. Every Bible-Belt-Southerner might believe in God, or so each person sometimes claims depending on the mood of the day. Only few actually realize God, live and breathe God walking one with Him in Spirit. A leader can profess words of inspiration and read all the John Maxwell books available, but the measure of his/her true abilities come down to one observation: whether he/she loves others as himself/herself. If leaders fails to realize God, knowing that God adopted each of us not because He had to but rather because he wanted to (Remember God is love!), then a lack of God becomes apparent in decisions rendered. Followers are treated as dispensable because those above know no other way. Perhaps that authoritative figure believes in God, but even demons believe in God and shudder (James Chapter 2). That does not mean you realize God. And that certainly does not mean you love others as yourself.
A dart hit my heart today as I prayed for my friend, his family, and the entity that treats people as disposable commodities. I mean it really pierced me to the point of righteous anger. I am so tired of good people treated as if they quantify into nothing. While the finger always points to the person who supposedly failed for wrong-doing with task and rules given, those who point the finger necessitate a self-evaluation because problems no longer lie in those disposed of. The problems lie in the fingers who lead in the process of disposing away of good people.
We gather with the Christian Alliance for Orphans every May because children of God are uniquely created. That includes you. That includes me. That includes everyone. And those who fail to realize that all of us are adopted as children will continue to live in the shadows of a God they might believe in but that they fail to realize. Only in realization of God’s adoption plan that He never needed children will leaders come to treat others as they themselves would like to be treated. Then people like my friend will never be treated as disposable. They will be treated as a child of God because those above them finally also realize that he/she is a child of God in a heavenly name and family.
Only in the realization of God as our father will our economy, society, and faith-communities awaken. Until then poor decisions will continue as people hurt and orphans have no home.
I write, speak, photograph, serve the humanities, volunteer, and advocate for the orphan to challenge others with these thoughts to realize God. Please pray in your life how you could realize God with more than just believing a notion of a supreme being. God is not a Noah’s Ark story that makes a good coloring book. God is a realized living relationship that waits with eager anticipation and love to be had by you in your life!
I think the guys who made this video do not just believe in God – they realize him in full faith!
Blessed Today and Be Glad in It
Last night I attended dinner to eat an unusual first cuisine for me in the form of Korean tofu with some new friends in Los Angles, California, Surprisingly I really enjoyed the tastiness of the new meal; perhaps even more enjoyable was the company I was in. I laughed so hard at times last night I felt like I might pee in my pants. I met a new acquaintance named Caleub who said he happened to be Laotian, and the first question out of my mouth included: “Is Caleub your American-self-given name?” “No I am from Texas and full-blooded American. My parents are from Laos,” Caleub said. I paused for a minute and then followed up “So are you Japanese or Chinese? So which is it? Caleub immediately understood that the joke was from the crazy cartoon, King of the Hill, which is based out of Arlen, Texas. Hank Hill’s neighbor in the show, Kahn, is Laotian.
These guys all worked as engineers, and they totally understood my corny sense humor and actually laughed at all my jokes. Perhaps they were just being nice, or maybe it was even my “thick southern draw” that made me even more entertaining.
After tofu, we went to see karaoke where I jammed out and hit the key notes of Jason Aldean’s famous song, “She’s Country,” perhaps another sign that clearly I am not originally from California, my own choice as a song. I rocked out and hit every not keynote perfectly. In case ya’ll did not know, my hidden talent includes singing like any famous singer but probably better. Kidding here!
I think we must remember that joy comes from simple evenings with new friends, karaoke, and trying tofu for the first time. As Americans we often indulge in such moments without realizing that not many have jobs where they can easily afford these pleasures. It is another blessing from God. While you may not be where you want to be in life at this present moment, I would encourage you to ask, “Where am I compared to so many others?”
I am spending a week in California to attend the Christian Alliance for Orphans conference. Many may not even able to make the trip due to the expense. The conference starts tomorrow, and even today I plan on making an epic one day driving tour across the national parks of southern California. It is indeed a great day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Perhaps today with a wake up call to breathe this moment you will feel the same with a fresh morning and a fresh start. See and seek life as a gift. Then perhaps God will bless you even more because of new found gratefulness found in your heart.
A Summit Is Arising – Finish the Race Set Before You! God Will Have You!
It is 12:30 am, and I need to wake at 3:00 am to make a flight at 6:00 am for California. Again I will function off a few hours of sleep napping on the journey to California where I will be hanging out with Jedd Medefind, Steven Curtis Chapman, Francis Chan, Rick Warren, and Greg Buzek to name just a few at the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) annual Summit celebrated at Saddleback Church in Irvine, California this year this Wednesday through Friday.
While in graduate school, the Passion Conferences became an every year praise tradition to remember God’s Name among those of the college age. We exist for His Name. That is a message that Louie Giglio lives by and constantly speaks on. How can I forget the vision, joy, and explosiveness of the Passion movement among students around the world?
I found a similar just as powerful cause when invited last spring to join an internship program through CAFO in preparation for Summit through event planning and design work. I then advanced forward with another challenge as the Alabama State Coordinator for Orphan Sunday during the first weekend nationally in November. I find extreme gratification in advocating through the fatherless with all of those who join together in this union. We are a subculture of Christ for the children of God with a mission to save!
As I have grown old reaching almost 30 with gray hair now on my head, CAFO transformed into my present day Passion conference. While I would not mind joining college students at a Passion conference in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, I might be a little old now, or perhaps I am never too old ; )
This week I reached for a goal to finish a manuscript of my first major piece of literature before leaving for California in just five hours. God placed the message of my book on my heart for the past two years. There was no more reason for procrastination. Sometimes you must just make a decision to finish a face even if to the point of exhaustion. I feel exhausted not sleeping much at all this past week, but I also rest in another way through the satisfaction that I finished the first marathon leg in this major goal to be a writer.
I will sleep this morning on the plane like a baby because I did not sleep much this week but better yet also because I finished the book. Please realize the journey continues with editing and book proposals. It may be two more years before a contract signs; however for the mean time God has me as an up-and-coming advocate and author. I finished the race this week and move forward to now join those who celebrate with me as together we save children in the cause for the fatherless.
Anything you do be good at it! Find something that burns in your heart that keeps you awake at night. Then finish whatever it is before you. Then rest knowing you finished the work God would have you do for Him. Step by step, little bit by little bit, finish the race one hour and day at a time. Realize God will have you in this pursuit to finish you dream as you chase after Him.
Celebrate with CAFO by checking out their website. Please pray for Summit 2012 so that the fatherless will truly live through our call to act!
