I Am Not My Own

John 7:28 – “I am not here on my Own”

Do we think this way? Jesus’ mission was so defined as He went along that He understood at every moment that He was not “here on His own” but He was here on behalf of the Father. How significant it would be for God’s people to have this same attitude and understanding that we too, are not here on our own, but on Jesus’ behalf.

Rarely are we thinking in this manner though. Much of the time we’re thinking about our mission, our vision, our goals. Our hearts are not really open towards what Jesus’ is focused on. When God starts doing things in our lives to direct us in His plan, we get stressed and think the world is coming to an end — rather, the great things are just beginning. If only we could be focused as Jesus’ was — we are not here on our own.

It’s Just a Bowl of Soup!

Genesis 25:29-34
29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom). 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

What were you thinking, Esau? Could you have possibly been that hungry? Maybe he didn’t think he could take another step without suffering death, who knows? It was a pretty amazing price to pay to have one meal. Whatever the case, it was a crazy deal and Esau was foolish—it was just a bowl of soup!

The birthright in the Jewish culture was given to the firstborn son to be the main beneficiary of the father’s estate. The father would verbally assign his property over to his sons just before his passing. The firstborn (or the eldest) would receive twice the portion and would be the head of the family.

We know that Abraham had been extremely wealthy and this had been passed down to Isaac. So Esau would have been given a double portion and been head of the household when the time came to receive the birthright.  So he gave all of this up for a bowl of soup. That was clearly a lack of judgment, to put it mildly.

Sometimes we get to a point in life where we feel so hungry and restless that we are almost willing to settle for  anything to simply fill the hunger and desperate-ness we are feeling.  Like Esau, we are tempted to reach for things far less satisfying and far less significant than God’s best.

The unfortunate reality in this story is this, a bowl of soup lasts a few minutes, the birthright was forever. When we settle, we get something that will never truly satisfy. When we wait for God’s plan, we get something that will last and will truly fill our hunger for good. It’s better to go hungry and wait for the food that lasts, than to settle for the food that’s not from God.

Maybe you’re hungry, waiting for God to do something. Maybe you’ve been praying and hoping for a long time and it seems that God is just taking His sweet time. You’re growing restless and sad, and wondering if He will ever actually do what you’ve been hoping for Him to do. Don’t give up. Hunger is not bad. Don’t settle for soup. Especially when lifelong blessing awaits in God’s perfect timing.

Sometimes the most important part of our journey with God is the time of waiting. These are the times when we grow the most as we trust in Him and believe in Him to fulfill His promises. They may be challenging times, but these are the times down the road that we will look back upon and treasure as we reflect back and see the sustaining power of God’s hand in our lives. We are always going to be waiting for something. And with each step, God will be working to increase our faith. Remember, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

In the end, the birthright is not even the point. God’s glory is the point. Are we willing to compromise to please our own hunger or do we desire God’s glory above all things. Would you rather go hungry, maybe even starve for the sake of God’s glory, or would you rather deny God and only be temporarily satisfied? For apart from God it’s all no more than a bowl of soup.

MONEY – What Are You Working For? (Proverbs 23:1-5)

Proverbs 23:1-5 – When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.  Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.

There are several things I have discovered since coming out of full-time ministry and working in the corporate world that have been a little surprising to me. An important one being this, I didn’t realize how much I would like it. In fact, I was concerned if I would. Once I started to have some success at my job, I started to discover the delicacies and the deceptive food of the corporate world. And you should know that it is quite addictive. My competitive nature has seemed to fit right into  banking.

Once I tasted the benefits of success and the accolades, I was eager to have those again. In addition, people treat you different when you rank towards the top than when you don’t, especially the executives. The higher your scorecards, the more executives who know you and the better you are treated. We are one of the largest banks in the country, it’s a little exhilarating to be praised by high ranking folks and to be doing well at our bank—I have to confess.

I’m a branch manager and the first two quarters of this year our scores were incredible. It was the highest our branch had ever scored. At the midpoint of the year we were ranked number two in our area and number ten in the company, out of two thousand branches. I was pretty excited. Our branch was being talked about in meetings and people were calling me, congratulating me for our work and the example we were setting. Then the third quarter hit.

Everything changed. In a matter of just two weeks I lost my best salesman, we had to take on a problem employee which severely impacted the entire branch, and our deposits took a hit of 1.5 million dollars. That single hit practically destroyed our third quarter scoring possibilities in one instant. We went from being at the top to basically no chance of maintaining it in the third quarter. That quarter ended up being the hardest, most stressful quarter I’ve had sense being at the bank.

How true is the word of God, “When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.” Such was certainly the case with me in the third quarter. God used it as a major reminder that He had not called me to the bank for success on a scorecard or for climbing a corporate latter. I needed to make sure I kept my mind and heart on mission and didn’t allow the addictive nature of the corporate delicacies to distract me from God’s intended purpose for having me there.

Why am I there? I’m there to glorify God and to proclaim His glory in everything I do. How do I do that? By simply being obedient and honoring Him in my job. Part of that is not allowing myself to be consumed by the things that the world is consumed by, the pursuit of wealth and success, power and position.

While God has me “at their table,” He wants my heart and mind focused steady on Him and about His glory. As I do this, I expect His favor to be upon me. This is why my scorecards were high in the beginning of the year. I’m thankful for the reminder in third quarter to keep my heart and mind “on mission”.

The things that this world craves will kill you. It will destroy your life. God knows this. It is suicidal to pursue them. That is what this verse is saying. God has given fair warning.

I’ll leave you with the words of Paul who said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish [dung], in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him….” (Philippians 3:8-9a)

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Having A Tender Heart Towards God

The Secret to High Pressure Situations – (Proverbs 17:27-28)

Proverbs 17:27-28 – “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

I have found that one of the most valuable things a person can do in high pressure situations is to follow this verse. This has especially been helpful in my work environment, although I’ve certainly not always been a perfect example of it. The difficult thing is that it is the opposite of what comes natural. When things are high pressure it is not natural for us to restrain our words or to have a cool spirit. High pressure usually equals many words and hot spirit, if we’re doing what comes naturally.

Why is that? When we describe something as a high pressure situation, we are describing the way we feel internally about an external situation. When we submit our emotions and our mind to the external situation, then we get the internal result–the high pressure. This is the way we are built to respond, without growing in wisdom, and in Christ.

Here is a secret, no matter what you’re feeling inside, most of the time you can keep quiet and the people involved will think you are wise. Even if you are thoroughly upset on the inside, keep quiet. In the long run it will work to your advantage. Only speak if you have to, and then speak only what is necessary. And be calm.

Secret number two: How does this become natural? This only becomes natural as you grow in your walk with Jesus. In most cases, we get upset in high pressure situations because we are trying to protect our own interests or we’re trying to defend ourselves. As we grow in Jesus we know that He is our Protector and our Defender. He is the One that gives us favor and blessing. We do not have to fight for it, nor do we have to protect it. It is important for us to defend truth, but He is our defender, not us. Therefore, we can have a cool spirit and restrain our words because our trust is in him to defend us and not in ourselves to defend us.

My Visit With Tim Today

I was able to visit Tim today for the first time in about 7 months. It didn’t start off very well. When I walked in to the first guard area they said my pants were to light of a color–a light khaki color, almost white. The color was to close to what the prisoners wear so they wouldn’t let me in. I had to drive to Wal-Mart and buy some darker pants. Fortunately there was a Wal-Mart about fifteen minutes away, so I wasn’t delayed to much.

The main moment that stands out was just before we left. I asked him if he was dealing with being in prison better this time than he did last time since this time he is a believer and last time he was not. He said it was just as bad. He feels just as depressed and just as much a failure. He said the best he’s ever felt was right after we met and we had gotten him into his trailer and all seemed to be going well, just before he got involved with the wrong crowd again and started using drugs again.

I asked Tim, “Do you trust me?” He said he did. I promised him that God could do a work in him such that he would be able to feel free and at peace even while he was in prison. He looks back at that past time as the best he’s ever felt and the best his life has been. I promised him that God could make him feel equally as good and satisfied even in his current state in prison. I didn’t promise it wouldn’t be hard in prison or that the conditions would miraculously become easy, nor that it would happen over night. Tim seemed to connect with this and wanted to believe God to do this in him. So we prayed together for God to begin a work in him to this end.

On several occasions, Tim has done things that were clearly acting in faith in God. Part of the reason he is in prison now is due to him turning himself in because of my name being on his bond. Although he was very tempted to run, he chose not to because he believed it would hurt me and my family. It was a $5000 signature bond–it would have hurt us, by the way. The morning of his hearing, he called and said he was leaving. I explained the situation and what impact it would have on me and if he wanted to honor God, the right thing to do was to go to the hearing. He hung up on me. He called back five minutes later and asked me to come pick him up.

I say that to explain that he has learned that God will honor him if he will act in faith. I challenged Tim today to ask God to help him have peace and joy while in prison, and I challenged him to believe that God can do this. I would appreciate your prayers for him.

The practical challenges Tim faces in prison are incredible. He can sleep only a couple of hours a night. His bunk is in a spot where people are walking around him and talking all night long, and he has a very hard time sleeping. Because of the gang situation, he tries to keep to himself and does not have many friends. He’s quite alone. He has headaches everyday, and his cancer having been in his sinuses and mouth have gotten to the point where he is very hard to understand when he speaks. So his interaction with others is challenged as well.

There is nothing easy for Tim. I imagine that few people I know have faced such difficulties in their lives as Tim, yet he is a beginner in the faith having to walk through incredible challenge. One day he will receive a great reward!

Update on Tim

I wanted to give a brief update on my friend Tim. He’s currently in the Bibb County Correctional Facility. We went through a time period where we weren’t able to speak much for about two months, only twice. He was becoming really depressed and irritable. I was allowing my busy life to keep me from talking on the phone with him like I should. He’s perked up a little now though since we’re back to talking once a week and since we sent a little money to him and he was able to have some ice cream (his favorite choice of desert).

On July 26th I’ll be able to go see him for the first time in many months. I miss seeing Tim. I would appreciate you praying for him. At the end of our call last night he asked me to pray for him, which was a first. When I was done he said that he’s been praying every night and then he told me what he prays, which includes prayers for me and my family that God would bless us. Then he said he even threw in another guys name in the prayer the other night – a guy he has a history of having a great dislike for. We both laughed. It was a very genuine moment and it blessed me. God is working in Tim’s life. I don’t know that I would be as he is if I was in prison, knowing I would probably die there, with no family, terminal cancer, and a headache every day. But God is showing Himself strong and faithful and Tim is growing. I’m blessed to be able to watch this.

Pursuing Prosperity and Riches or the Glory of God

1 Timothy 6:6-11 (ESV)
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

It is so easy to get caught up in the thinking of this world, to be after what the world is after, and to give ourselves to all that the world cares about. And most of the time, as believers, we don’t seem to realize that we are so much like the world in our cravings and soul desires. God has called us to be content—a contentment that can only be found in Him. Yet, most believers find themselves in a consistent state of wanting. I’m reminded of the 23rd Psalm where David says “I shall not want,” yet most believers are often wanting. It is fully possible to be content right where you are in Christ. You need nothing more than you have right now to be content—Jesus is enough.

I think much of what the prosperity gospel teaches is wrapped up in what this passage of scripture condemns. It pushes believers to strive for more and more of what the world has to offer rather than to strive to be content simply in Who God is and in relationship with Him.

What are the things that you want more than anything else in the world? What are the things you are working hard far?

I work at a bank. I know that many of the people who work in the field that I do have career on their mind and climbing up the latter utmost on their priorities. Success in banking can mean good pay (unless our current president has anything to say about it). Just a few promotions from my current position, and I could be sitting pretty nice salary-wise. How easy it could be to put the pursuit of climbing up the latter ahead of my true mission at the bank. God forbid that I put moving up at the bank high on my list of priorities and lose site of the fact that I’ve been called to the bank by God, for God, and for His glory. I’m there for Kingdom purposes, to bare Kingdom fruit, and I will never be truly satisfied pursuing any other goal other than God’s goals in my being there.

There are many lives and families today that are in utter collapse because of the pursuit of riches and power and position. The passage above says that this pursuit will plunge people into “ruin and destruction”.  Anytime our passion is anything other than what God’s passion is, namely, His glory, we are setting ourselves up for terrible disappointment and distress. This passage says we should pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness—that means to give effort and energy in this direction.  This is a far cry from what the world teaches us and it is a far cry from what the prosperity gospel teaches.  Can we really say that we are expending ourselves for these things? Am I working hard towards righteousness? Am I striving towards godliness and faith? Am I worn out at the end of the day from battling to be full of love and steadfast and gentle?  Probably, more often than not, I’m beat up and bruised because I’ve not been these things.

The truth is that true prosperity comes from an all out, wholehearted pursuit of Jesus—valuing Him and His glory above all things. It’s not in pursuing prosperity or riches that brings prosperity and riches, rather, it is in pursuing Jesus and the things that are dear to Him that bring us the greatest joy and blessing.

God, help me pursue You, Your glory, right thinking, and all that would be pleasing and honoring to You with all my heart and all that I am.

Tucker Beam – The Glory of God

I never had the privilege of meeting Tucker Beam. Yet, over the past few weeks I have witnessed one of the most amazing demonstrations of God’s hand on an individual that I have ever seen. After being a part of his funeral today, witnessing around 700 people celebrating his life, and more than 40 people choosing to follow Jesus, I’m so thankful for the work that God has done through Tucker’s short life. One can’t help but be amazed by the evidence of God’s glory surrounding a single life.

Sunday morning was one of the hardest experiences I have ever had. I had already been asked to fill in for Randy, our pastor, who was planning to be on vacation at Disney World. As God’s timing is always different than ours, Tucker went home to be with the Lord early Sunday morning, and I was on to preach for our church family that morning. Never have I been so nervous or had such a heavy heart. To compound the issue, it had been over two years since I had preached in a public setting such as this. Although I sensed God’s hand upon the service and me as I spoke, my emotions were at their highest. My prayer is that God was honored and Tucker and his family were honored by the message which was heavy on my heart and I believe truly a word from God for our church family.

I would say that there has been no other event in my life where I have witnessed the glory of God in greater measure than I have surrounding the life of Tucker Beam. How God has blessed The Church at Ross Station because of what Tucker and his family have gone through has been amazing. Many lives will be transformed by the Gospel of Christ all because of the Glory of God demonstrated through his seemingly short life.

One thing Randy mentioned in the funeral message today that stood out to me was that Tucker and his parents were just “ordinary” people. And they are. They are ordinary people…who love God, and have placed their hope and trust in Him. In this, glorious things happen. God loves to use ordinary and do extra-ordinary.

My heart hurts for Jason and Courtney Beam, but I am also joyful at the great gift they have been given and the favor God has given them in entrusting Tucker to their care these nine years. My heart hurts for Lily that she won’t get to know her big brother personally on this earth. But I am greatful that all she will learn of him will inspire her and lead her to higher heights that she might never have known otherwise. 

Thank you, Lord, for Your glory demonstrated through the life of a little boy named Tucker. 

Betrayal – (John 13:18-30)

John 13:18b – “He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.”

Betrayal is the only truth that sticks. – Arthur Miller

Betrayal Hurts

It is a painful thing to be betrayed, and the pain is equally proportional to the depth of the relationship or the level of vulnerability. The more close you are, the more hurt you will be should the relationship end in betrayal. The more vulnerable you are, the more you’ve laid out in the open or the more you’ve laid on the line, and therefore, the greater the hurt from the betrayal. If a stranger speaks against you, not such a big deal. If someone you don’t know ignores you, it won’t keep you up at night. If the drive-thru person at McDonald’s is rude, you’ll get over it. But if it is someone who’s eaten your food, someone you have sweated for, rejoiced with, and mourned with; their betrayal will bring pain. If the betrayal is going to cost you something, like your job, or your place to live, or something valuable or dear to you, it’s going to hurt. The greater the relationship and vulnerability, the greater that pain is going to be.

In regard to Judas, Jesus’ level of vulnerability was great, and the closeness of the relationship was great.

1. Jesus had stepped down from his eternal, glorified position to take on the form of a man.
2. He took on the nature of a servant.
3. He was obedient unto death.
4. He had “shared His bread”
5. He had shared three years of His life.
6. He had given Judas position-as treasurer, and as a disciple.
7. He had washed Judas’ feet.
8. He loved Judas.

Some of the thoughts that may have been going through Jesus’ mind:

• “You ate my bread. How could you then turn around and betray me?”
• “I washed your feet, and then you walked out and turned against me.”
• “I made you the treasurer, and you stole from me.”
• “I’ve come to give my life on your behalf, and the value you place on me is 30 pieces of silver.”

Hurt By The Church

Have you ever been hurt by the church or someone in the church?There are people all over, many folks that I have met personally, who have been through some horrible things within the church. Some of these were betrayed by individuals within the church, others were betrayed by a group within the church, and some by the whole church. Having been on the receiving end myself on several occasions, I can tell you that there has been nothing more painful in my life, and I would have to believe the same is true with others who have been through similar circumstances.