Don't Panic

A few years ago, I was asked to be 1 of 2 speakers at a public school Baccalaureate address for the graduating seniors.  I was to be the 1^st speaker, they called me the “inspirational speaker” and a prominent politician was the “keynote speaker”. 

 In my world, that is quite an honor and I took it very seriously.  Not many career Corrections Officers are asked to be “inspirational speakers”.  To this day I am sure the hand of God forced someone to call my phone number because – exactly what “inspirational” information does a Sheriff’s jailer have to offer? 

 I spoke for about 20 minutes and began wrapping up my “motivational thoughts” when the moderator stepped up to the pulpit and whispered in my ear that the “keynote speaker” had the wrong time wrote down and was in Deer Park.  The master plan was for me to “wing it” for 30+ minutes until the “keynote speaker” arrived. 

 To this day I remember the panic driven thought zipping through my mind, “A priest, a rabbi, and a parrot go into a bar….” 

 This unexpected development far exceeded my preparation but the good Lord always has a plan – we just have to not panic and be sensitive to His nudging. 

 I remember turning back to the microphone and saying the first thing that came to my mind:

“I find it curious that a high school graduating class would consider a Sheriff’s jailer to be their motivational speaker.  Someday I hope to learn the thought process behind that decision.  I suspect you either need to rethink your career goals or your plans could possibly involve your name winding up on a booking photo in my jail.”

 I spent the next 30 minutes talking about decisions.  And how at my graduation, not one graduating senior stood up and announced plans to be booked into the county jail 12 times for “driving while intoxicated”.  Not one graduating senior stood up and announced that he would spend 20 years working in the county jail as a corrections officer. 

The good Lord then filled my mouth with words about the dangers of instant gratification "play now and pay later" decision making.  And the rich rewarding impact that a “pay now and play later” decision making process will offer. 

My point is this, the good Lord promised to give us words to say, and He did. “I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!” Luke 21:15.

 Your spiritual take-away from this blog is this:

“I believe God is more interested in your availability as in your ability.” 

Sometimes we rely too heavily on our natural abilities and fail to simply make ourselves available as the good Lord’s servant. 

They stumble because they do not obey God’s word,

and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people.
You are royal priests, a holy nation,
God’s very own possession.
As a result, you can show others the goodness of God,
for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:8-9

Tim Tebow

OK ~ I like football. See, confession is healthy and liberating. 
If you would like to confess....
sorry, but you will have to start your own blog. 

2 years ago, there was a young outspoken Christian quarterback
that played college football.  His first year in professional football,
he wound up in Denver, playing for the Broncos. 

If you don't like football, stick around, I actually have a point to
this illustration. 

To make this whole situation more interesting, the NFL players
went on strike and all the preseason training camps were cancelled. 
This put the new guys like Tim Tebow at a severe disadvantage.
But he shouldn't worry because 1st year guys never get to touch
the football anyway, right?

Through a comedy of errors, Tim Tebow winds up as starting
quarterback.  And through his outspoken testimony for Jesus Christ,
became the laughing stock of the sports commentators and was even
the brunt of a very mocking Saturday Night Live skit.

The interesting part is, even though Tim lacked a lot of the natural
talent that the NFL is accusomed to seeing, he is a natural leader.
The Denver Broncos had totally fallen apart and were a disgrace.
Until Tim Tebow stepped on the field. 

Suddenly Tim Tebow football jerseys were the hottest NFL
merchandise in the market and against everyone's expectations,
took the Broncos to the post season playoffs. 

Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway (general manager for the Broncos)
made statements to the press that he was personally going to train Tim
and prepare him for a long and distinguished career. 

From all appearances, the future of the Denver Broncos rested heavily
on the young shoulders of Tim Tebow. 

Then the Indianapolis Colts cut their old, broken down, injured,
quarterback and put him out to pasture.  The handwriting was on the wall,
the great old quarterback was in the sunset days of his career and he was done.

Until, John Elway and the Denver Broncos pointed Tim Tebow to the door
and hired the old injured quarterback to replace him.  So Tim is looking for
another team and the Broncos have an old quarterback with maybe a season
or two left in him. 

Your spiritual take-away from this is simple:
"Are you building your life for the future or are you making decisions that
provide you with fun today but no depth or stability for the future?" 

Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath.
Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
 he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you."
Psalm 39:4-7

Marbles Theory Safeguards

Part 2:

I encourage you to build safeguards.

Each of us has to look in he mirror and find strengths that will keep out weaknesses in check.

Clint Eastwood played Dirty Harry in one of his early movies. One of his most famous lines he spoke was, "Every man must know his limitations".

My point is this, keep your finger on your pulse to insure your life is healthy and not running out of control.

If it gets out of control, it will rob you of peace, joy, and quality of life. You will find yourself settling and surviving.

So what are some safeguards that I keep close at hand?
And these are in no particular order so don't try to read into the priority of listing.

#1. My highly intelligent wife knows me better than I know myself. I cherish her insight, counsel, and warnings. So find someone that knows you intimately, that will be honest with you, and that you will heed their advice.

#2. Never ever miss a day of Bible reading and prayer. More on this later. Just remember, if you are too busy for God -- then you are too busy and are out of marbles.

#3. Watch for a lack of joy. When the phone rings and my shoulder slump because I am tired and have little to offer -- I am running out of marbles.

#4. When your feel like others are living full and happy lives while you are cursed to function in survival mode, you ran out of marbles long ago.

#5. When you feel you are expending your best marbles on other peoples priorities and feel frustrated that you only have dregs left for things you are passionate about.... You are out of marbles.

I could do this for hours but I wanted to give you a couple words of encouragement.

#1. Journal. Not journal that it is raining and you went to the store. Journal (write out something you are struggling with) because the process needed to move a thought from your brain to your keyboard -- strains off the toxic emotions that distort and embitter you. Writing it down is an important step in shining light on the problem

#2. Friends. If you surround yourself with negative toxic lazy people, they will steal your marbles. I find it interesting that they seldom if ever shoot their own marbles but they will ride your horse until it is exhausted and has nothing else to contribute.

#3. Pray. This is vital and I WILL write a whole blog on this one topic. Prayer does not prepare you for great things -- prayer is the great thing we must do. I believe our power flows through the Holy Spirit and prayer. When you get so busy that you have to start cutting back on your prayer time -- you are out of marbles and in a deficit.

#4. Bible. God wrote you a letter. This letter reveals who He is to us. WHY? Because Almighty God wants you to KNOW Him. 1 John 5:13, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
If you don't know God, then you haven't spent enough time reading His letter.

#5. Think. "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he..." Proverb 23:7 and Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Again, this is a topic worthy of its own blog. But the bottom line is, you can program mind to burn up all your best marbles worrying about things that may never happen. Or take the very best that God has given you for His service and push it down into the muck and waste it on nonessential drivel.

On that note I will leave you alone to process and I pray that God uses this to challenge and encourage you.

"Above all else, guard your heart,
   for everything you do flows from it."
Proverbs 4:23

What to do?

My grandfather used to tell me that the problem with picking up a rattlesnake.... is that there is just no good way of turning him loose. Why he insisted on picking them up, I have no idea, but he just couldn't help himself.

I remember hearing my grandmother scream when she found a freshly caught rattlesnake, neatly coiled up in a glass milk jar, cooling off in the kitchen freezer.
Which was highly amusing but that is for another blog.

So, last night as I was shutting down the house, I grabbed a very perfect hunk of Tamarack for the stove. I had no doubt that it would hold a fire all night, so I slid it into the firebox and immediately it began to burn.

Except.... it was about 3" longer than my firebox.

So I have this fine piece of wood blazing away and I honestly have no idea how to resolve my issue without burning my house down.

It was so obvious that things were precarious, that the dogs went and hid in Michele's office. When pugs abandon ship, it is time to rethink your situation.

Now it is time for your Spiritual thought for the evening, "What do you do what you don't know what to do?"

So how do you get started working with God so you can begin making right decisions and showing good judgment?

Here are four keys to point you in the right direction:

#1. Make the decision to let God be God

You'll never make progress in this area as long as you refuse to give up control.
It certainly isn't easy, and it certainly doesn't happen overnight it helped when I realized there was somebody a bit more qualified than me in charge of my life.

"We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer" Proverbs 16:1-4

#2. Study the Word of God

The only way you're going to get to know God and his character is to study his Word. It won't take long before you're able to judge situations and circumstances with a new view. Decisions are easier because you already know in advance the direction you want your life to take.

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" 2 Timothy 2:15

#3. Surround yourself with people who are further along in the journey

God puts people in our lives to encourage us when we are down, to teach us when we need guidance, to confront us when we are out of line, to.... well, provide what we need, when we need it. Then you can take comfort in knowing that one day your mistakes may serve to help someone else.

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" 1 Corinthians 11:1

"God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ" 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

#4. Never give up

Every day, make progress, get to know God a little better. Cut yourself some slack. Little by little as you gain wisdom from God's Word, you'll begin to see the results reflected in your decisions.

"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up" Hebrews 12:1-3

CLOSING THOUGHT:
I used to have a poster that said,

"Everyone needs good judgement
How do you get good judgement?
Experience
How do you get experience?
Bad judgement"

Lesson Learned

Adrenaline dump.

There just isn't any better way to describe the emotional roller coaster that hits when (drum roll please) you send an e-mail to the wrong address.

Not just any old e-mail, but an e-mail to a close friend that contains some snarky humor that is intended for "your eyes only".

In my defense, the e-mail had nothing inappropriate or vulgar that would get my picture plastered on the front page of the grocery store tabloids.

However, there are so many coincidences associated with this adventure, that it absolutely had to be a "God thing". So after my nerves calmed enough for me to resume typing, I realized that God wanted me to share this little adventure.

It has been said that the best way to learn something is not from learning from your own mistakes, but by learning from the mistakes of others.

"make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders." 1 Thessalonians 4:11

In light of God's Word, I scratched out a few rules to keep in mind when sending e-mails (or posting on FaceBook).

#1. Avoid Venting Your Frustration
  "Fools give full vent to their rage,
    but the wise bring calm in the end.
Proverbs 29:11
#2. Only Post What You Would Want God To Read
"Lord, the LORD Almighty,
    may those who hope in you
    not be disgraced because of me..."
Psalm 69:6
#3. Ask, "Will God Delight In This?"
"whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Colossians 3:17
#4. Would This Be Better Off Deleted?
  "A person’s wisdom yields patience;
    it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 19:11
#5. Does This E-Mail Encourage or Tear Down?"
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up according to
their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Ephesians 4:29
#6. Is This The Sin Of Gossip?
"For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret."
Ephesians 5:12
“A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much”
Proverbs 20:19

This Pastor's Perspective on.... DECISIONS

I received so many comments and questions about “decisions” that I felt led to offer a few more guidelines. 

The purpose for this BLOG is to do 2 things: (a) give you hope ~ God has a plan ~ He is never surprised or caught off guard; and (b) give you the tools you need to begin making decisions that God can approve of and bless ~ how often do we make selfish, shallow decisions, then blame God when they fail and turn out problematic for us. 

Making Decisions God Approves

#1.  Humility ~ Psalm 25:9

“He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them His way”

#2.  Holy Spirit ~ John 14:16

“He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  The world cannot receive Him, but you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you”

#3.  Faith ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take”

#4.  Wisdom ~ Proverbs 2:6-9

“For the Lord grants wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.  He is a shield to those who walk in integrity”

#5.  Fear God ~ Psalm 25:12-14

“Who are those who fear the Lord?  He will show them the path they should choose.  They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land.  The Lord is a friend to those who fear Him. He teaches them His covenant. 

#6.  Guidance  ~ John 16:13

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard.  He will tell you about the future”

#7.  Purpose ~ Philippians 2:13

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him”

#8.  Prayer ~ James 1:5-6

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God and He will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking.  But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone” 

#9.  Hope ~ Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.  “they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen.  IF you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me”

#10. Life Master ~ Proverbs 16:9  

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps”  (16:33) “we may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall”