Saturday, July 4, 2009
WELCOME HOME ED!
Friday, July 3, 2009
In Remembrance of an American Hero
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.
Monday, June 29, 2009
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).
Saturday, June 27, 2009
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.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
God is Great, God is Good!
Monday, June 22, 2009
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)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
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.
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,






