Wrestling

Ever seen a good wrestling match? I mean one of those where the participants give everything they have to win. Having been a youth sponsor for quite awhile, I've seen several of these late at night in the guy's dorms. Those matches were they are completely drenched in sweat, using every last ounce of energy and strength to get the other guy to tap out. I know some people do not have a true appreciation for those matches but sometimes we need to wrestle with what it means to practically live out what Jesus has said our lives should look like. Not a stroll through the park, not a nice conversation at Starbucks, but a wrestling match. A sweating, no holds barred, give everything we've got experience. Had any of those recently? I am simply amazed at the people God places in my life. People who see things from a completely different perspective than me. Friends who challenge my thoughts and make my box a little bit bigger each time we talk. Conversations that end with "what are you going to do about it?" I want to wrestle with how these ideas live out in my life. An everyday, normal life that has great implications and potentially great impact if I can follow what Jesus has already modeled. What ideas do you need to wrestle with? Who is in your corner - challenging you and encouraging you to give everything you've got? Leave it all out there on the mat because we only get one shot at this moment in time.

Risking it or playing it safe?

It is easy for me to risk it when there is nothing to lose, but what about when there is more at stake? Do I settle (play it safe) when the next risk is the one that will create a breakthrough? If you follow football, this is what is called a "prevent" defense. Know what, it is usually boring and often can cost you the game. As a church, as a leader, individually - do we go into a "prevent" defense and quit trying to make a difference for the Kingdom. Risk it! Two great questions I read on a blog today:

• What risks am I wrestling with wanting to take...but have been afraid to vocalize?
• Am I afraid of failing or people viewing me as a failure?

Love the first question. I am learning that when I vocalize the things that I want to risk that is a lot more likely to happen. When I put it out there on the table for discussion then I instantly have other people who will challenge me to follow through. Sometimes taking the risk and saying it is the hardest part for me because then I know that I will have to risk actually doing it then. The other question says a lot about where my heart is. For me failure is not nearly as bad as missing the opportunity. If I fail, at least I tried moving forward. The only way to never fail is to never risk anything. Not much reward in that. If I am afraid the others will view me as a failure then I am looking in the wrong place to begin with. Much rather have others see me as a failure, than God watching me fail to act on His prompting in my heart. What risks are you wrestling with? Find someone to tell today.

Devastated

What is your intitial reaction when you hear the word devastated? For me, I think of the hurricanes that have recently hit Louisiana and Texas. The destruction of everything so much so that it has to be built all over again. Or another thought is when someone's life is totally turned upside down by the circumstances they face in their life. This past Sunday we sang a song by Watermark called "Captivate Us". There is line in the song that caught my attention that morning and kept running through my mind the rest of the day. The line that kept circling through my mind was "Devastate us with Your presence". Does my life reflect the devastation of God's presence? Has all of the clutter that fills my life been totally destroyed so that He can build from scratch what He wants in my heart? Am I willing to ask God to devastate me? How would our lives change if we held on to the things in our lives (relationships, work, possessions, etc.) loosely enough that if God turned our status quo upside down that we would thank Him for devastating us?

Short term memory loss

I watched an interesting movie last night with some friends. The basic idea running throughout the movie was how the main character could not remember anything in the short term. To remember something he would take pictures, write it down and for some things he would even tatoo it on his body. Got me thinking about how that is my story in remembering God. I see Him do amazing things in my life and around me and then in no time at all I have forgotten it. I am back running, trying to figure out what I am doing and where I am suppose to be going. My memory of the awe that God inspired yesterday is but a distant memory just out of my reach. Maybe I am the only one who has short-term memory loss regarding the incredible God I try to serve, but I doubt it. In Proverbs 7:3 he instructs us to write his words on our heart. Think he might have known that we would suffer with short-term memory problems? What should I tatoo in my heart to remember Him? Do you need to write something in your heart?

What difference does it make?

Here is a question that I read last night from Tim Stevens' book "Pop Goes the Church" that I have since been trying to decide how I would answer it. The basic question that he raised in his introduction was would the community be impacted if your church ceased to exist tomorrow? Does your local body of believers have an impact on the community? If not, have we become so inward focused and live in a Christian bubble that we forget to love others? Good question that we should continually be asking ourselves.