WELCOME HOME ED!

Isaiah 61:1 (NIV) "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom (emphasis added) for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..."

As we think of our liberties on this Independence Day, remember the sacrifice of the ones who freely give their lives as a high price to purchase them. And, as we proudly unfurl and fly the Stars and Bars on this July 4th, be mindful of that same flag that lovingly wraps the coffins of heroes returning home for the final time......FREE!

WELCOME HOME ED!

In Remembrance of an American Hero

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13

We all lost a very dear friend this week. Ed Kramer was a husband, a father, a firefighter, a soldier, a friend and a brother. Even more than all of these, Ed was an authentic hero. In a day that this word is often misappropriated and over used, our friend Ed brought it to reality by the manner in which he lived and ultimately by the manner in which he died. I say this because I believe the Word of God, and within that Word I especially believe what our Lord Jesus had to say to us. True acts of heroism are born from, not only a brave heart, but also from a heart filled with love, and Jesus reminds us that there is no more supreme act of love than when someone gives their life as a sacrifice for the good of others.

I am deeply grateful for the honor of having called Ed Kramer my friend. I am blessed for being able to remember the season spent in the path of an authentic hero. Now, he is in the loving embrace of the Greatest Hero of them all, and I am thankful for that.

Rocky Balboa Speech

Philippians 3:12-14
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I'm not the biggest Stallone fan, but this speech from his film "Rocky Balboa" is maybe the best thing he's ever done. I was inspired, and it is a great illustration for us to continue "pressing on" even when we don't think we can. Our Adversary will use life and every hard circumstance to defeat us, but in Christ we already have the victory! We just have to keep moving forward and upward, because we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

EGRs

Every since I have been involved in churches I have heard a phrase that is occasionally used regarding a certain type of person. It is E.G.R. or Extra Grace Required. These are the people who always seem to have more problems than anyone else, and they have a knack for making sure that you know that their problems are far worse than yours. You know..."Oh, you just don't even know! You think your husband is a jerk, you should have to live with mine. Why, just last week, he said....." They are the folks who, when you ask for prayer requests in a group, march out a list long enough to wear your pencil down to the nub. I actually fret over being perceived as an EGR, and go to great lengths to keep that from happening. Then, this week, after having received a call from a person who I'm sure many people would see in this way, I found my heart breaking for them, because it was obvious that they had nobody else to turn to, and it occured to me what a tremendous burden and load they were carrying around.

It caused me to wonder about my own prayer life and my relationship to God. How often do I bang on the door of God's throne room with things that He's already taken care of, but I was too carried away with worry to see that and understand it? What if God saw my worries and concerns and burdens and my constant prattling about them in the way that we see those we refer to as EGRs.

• What if God had a caller ID on His phone, and everytime I prayed He said, "Not him again! I'll call him back later."
• When God sees me coming does he duck into a nearby doorway or quickly strike up a conversation with someone else in order to avoid having to listen to me?
• What if God heard me praying about the things that are so painful and stressful to me and thought to Himself, "Get over it! Do you think you're the only one with problems?"
• I wonder how it would make me feel if God saw me as an EGR?

The fact of the matter is that in God's economy there is no such thing as "extra grace." There is no need for any "extra grace." That is why he assured Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV) So the next time I encounter one of "those" people that we refer to as an EGR, I pray that the Holy Spirit will remind me that they nor I need extra grace, we both need the Lord's Amazing Grace, and that is always more than enough.

God is Great, God is Good!

Question: If someone were to ask you, after some consideration to write down the one thing that you believe to be the greatest need in you life on an index card, what would you write down?

Another Question: If God were looking over your shoulder as you wrote down that one thing that is your greatest need, would He agree with you that that's what you need more than anything else in your life?

And Still Another Question: Is God greater than your greatest need?

And Finally, One Final Question: Do you believe that God understands your needs better than you do?

This past Sunday, at Lifepoint Church, we heard another sermon in the One Prayer Series from Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. His sermon was as simple, and yet as profound as any I have ever heard based on the premise, "God Is _______." Pastor Furtick's completion of that sentence was beautifully illustrated by the beginning of a prayer that many of us learned while we were still children: "God is great, God is good..." I have been thinking alot about that since Sunday.

We think we know what our most pressing and essential needs are, and when we pray we, like little children ask him to fill our prayer orders according to our own perceived needs. But, do we really believe, not only that God is great enough to answer all our prayers, but that He is REALLY good enough to want to? Do we, rather, wonder sometimes why He seemingly withholds answering our prayers and meeting our immediate needs. I wonder if in both His greatness and in His goodness, God looks over our shoulder at our little index card need and says, "That is not what you need. I know you think that's what you need, but I know what you really need and I am already providing it."

He is great enough:

Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV) "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..."

He is good enough:

Philippians 4:19 (NKJV) "And my God shall [emphasis added] supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

He knows what we need:

Matthew 6:31-32 (NLT) “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs."

So, if God is great enough to provide for our needs and He is good enough to want to, what are we worried about?

Nate Larkin

My prayer is that if anyone can watch this video and not be cut to the heart, that God the Holy Spirit will make us all aware of our own frailty. This man is a human....he is a husband....he is a father....he is a believer....he is a minister. This man and thousands like him are the people God is calling me to minister to. Please pray for me....God help me to be a minister to those who minister. I CANNOT do this alone! The vision is too BIG! But our God is not too small. I (we) can do all things through Christ who gives me (us) strength. (Philippians 4:13)

Stealing Blogs from Perry Noble is Insane!

Okay, so I follow a blog by this guy who occasionally writes stuff and preaches stuff that make me crazy. His name is Perry Noble and he is the pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC.

It amazes me how often what he is blogging about is exactly, precisely the very thing that is, or has been recently on my heart and mind. His post from Wednesday of this week is no different, except that instead of writing something that drives me insane, he has written something that perfectly describes the manner in which I am being driven insane by a vision that God has presented me with and a ministry to which He is calling me to respond. My thanks to Pastor Noble for pointing out to me certain aspects of this communication from God that could drive me insane if I let them, and helping me to understand that they do not necessarily have to drive me into the nut house! At least not today....(Giggle...twitch...blink..blink...blink...twitch)

By the way....maybe something is about to drive you insane too. If so, I hope this blogpost that I lifted from Perry helps. If not, I'll meet you at the psych ward!

15 Things That Will Help Us Go Insane! June 17, 2009

Fifteen Things That Will Help Us Go Insane!

#1 – Get a fresh, life changing, hell emptying vision from God

#2 – Expect everyone to be excited about it, and to provide you will nothing but affirmation and support.

#3 – Let people who haven’t heard from the Lord begin to alter your vision because you are scared of them.

#4 – Try to continually defend the vision to everyone who attacks it.

#5 – Care about everything that anyone says…whether they know you are not.

#6 – Spend more time focusing on what negative people say rather than what God says.

#7 – Try to do what God has told you to do all by yourself!

#8 – Neglect correction from those who love Jesus, the church and you.

#9 – Don’t hold people accountable because you are afraid they may get mad if you call them out.

#10 – Hold people accountable for unspoken and unrealistic expectations.

#11 – Use your vision as a means to judge the vision God has given someone else…and if they aren’t doing it just like you then attack them so much that the Lord’s voice grows faint.

#12 – Become impatient with God’s timing and “help Him” by doing things that He doesn’t lead you to do.

#13 – Try to be “fair” to everyone you serve with.

#14 – When it gets tough…QUIT!

#15 – Spend all of your life saying that “one day” you are going to do what God has called you to do…just not right now because it isn’t convenient.

Bonus: Refuse to answer the question,

“What would I be willing to attempt for God if I knew I could not fail?”