Why is it anytime the Weather Man tells us the weather is going to be bad we start planning a day where we never get out of our pajama's, drink hot chocolate and busy ourselves sitting on a couch watching Scooby Doo and Chicken Little?
Why do we think a little ice on a road keeps us from accomplishing any work when we live in the age of technology where our email is on our phones, our computers are hooked remotely into our network and at any moment we can be connected to an entire department view web cam?
Why does ice in the morning that will melt in the afternoon prohibit us from brushing our teeth and showering? (is that just me???)
Why do we waste an entire day of work when we could be doing something productive?
I gotta go, my popcorn is ready, the movie is starting and I have to catch a nap before this ice melts.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
My Reward
I am currently reading the book of Genesis by crawling through a chapter a day. I have stumbled into the story of Abram (spoiler alert...he isn't Abraham just yet). So far he has left his home town, been through Egypt, entered into the promised land, rescued Lot and today, God, reaffirms His covenant with Him. Quite often while reading the Holy Spirit will supernaturally bold words for my heart to read. Today it happened when I saw these words:
"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward."
I love this because so much of Abram's story is wrapped in God's promise to make a great nation from him. However here God is telling Abram's reward isn't in the material or even the seen but in His proximity to his Heavenly Father.
Abram's and our reward is God and God alone. There is nothing sweeter or more fulfilling or more perfect. All the other stuff He bestows upon us is great and can make us happy but joy comes in experience the reward of God's presence.
It is silly when I think of the rewards I have accumulated in my life: trophies, certificates, pictures, medals, etc. Most all of them are in boxes collecting dusts. But the reward God is to me is much deeper and evident than all of those.
These are just some random thoughts. Now I am off to catch the ice cream truck.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward."
I love this because so much of Abram's story is wrapped in God's promise to make a great nation from him. However here God is telling Abram's reward isn't in the material or even the seen but in His proximity to his Heavenly Father.
Abram's and our reward is God and God alone. There is nothing sweeter or more fulfilling or more perfect. All the other stuff He bestows upon us is great and can make us happy but joy comes in experience the reward of God's presence.
It is silly when I think of the rewards I have accumulated in my life: trophies, certificates, pictures, medals, etc. Most all of them are in boxes collecting dusts. But the reward God is to me is much deeper and evident than all of those.
These are just some random thoughts. Now I am off to catch the ice cream truck.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
People Leader over People Pleaser
This is an interesting thought I find myself wrestling with over the past 24 hours. Most of my week is spent collecting thoughts and scriptures for the lesson I will end up teaching on Sunday. I am not sure how other pastor's do this but I find the longer I let God's Word rest in my heart the more it teaches me and in turn gives me insight in teaching others.
This week we will be looking at a topic that is a tough pill to swallow. As I read the passage that we will more than likely be crawling through I have had to expose a side of me that wishes to soften it up or make it more "acceptable" to people at large. The challenge I face is that there is a great reason why Jesus says the words that is recorded. When I choose to soften it up I am acting as a buffer saying things like "He didn't really mean all of you for all of Him, what He was actually saying is..."
This is a very dangerous place for a pastor to venture. Peter writes about a time that is coming with men will only hear what their itching ears want to hear. I am not so sure we don't live in that time.
This morning while reading chapter three of Colossians I was slapped with these words "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And 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." (v. 16-17)
I realize there is a tendency to be a people pleaser inside me and more than likely inside you. When we let our desire to be popular over ride our calling to reflect Christ we have taken the redemptive power of the Cross out of our story. Go back and find for me any time when Jesus tells us to only stand for Him when it is the popular thing to do.
I don't think you will find it.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
This week we will be looking at a topic that is a tough pill to swallow. As I read the passage that we will more than likely be crawling through I have had to expose a side of me that wishes to soften it up or make it more "acceptable" to people at large. The challenge I face is that there is a great reason why Jesus says the words that is recorded. When I choose to soften it up I am acting as a buffer saying things like "He didn't really mean all of you for all of Him, what He was actually saying is..."
This is a very dangerous place for a pastor to venture. Peter writes about a time that is coming with men will only hear what their itching ears want to hear. I am not so sure we don't live in that time.
This morning while reading chapter three of Colossians I was slapped with these words "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And 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." (v. 16-17)
I realize there is a tendency to be a people pleaser inside me and more than likely inside you. When we let our desire to be popular over ride our calling to reflect Christ we have taken the redemptive power of the Cross out of our story. Go back and find for me any time when Jesus tells us to only stand for Him when it is the popular thing to do.
I don't think you will find it.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thoughts On Inauguration Day...
Today is a historic day across the board. A friend and I were discussing just last night how rare it is to know before hand when you are witnessing a historic event. Usually defining moments like this make themselves apparent in hind sight. As the Presidency transitions from President Bush to President-Elect Obama we are most certainly in the midst of change. Not just from a campaign perspective. Anytime there is a transition in leadership, change soon follows. How we embrace change will dramatically influence how we embrace our futures.
It is strange today, my thoughts are shifted to President Bush. Much has been made about the incoming President Obama and what he plans on doing. But, I wonder what is going on in the mind of the man who has been the leader of the home of the brave these past 8 years. Relief? Regret? Bitterness? Gratitude? Hope? Sleep?
Today, President George W. Bush passes the torch of his leadership stewardship to the next guy. One day President Obama will do the same. My prayer is that history will be much kinder to President Bush than we collectively have. In his presidency he has faced some incredibly overwhelming obstacles and situations. Things happened during his presidency where we had to write the manual on how to handle it. The world has shifted over the past 8 years and much of that was the fruits of a process that started well before he took his first oath of office.
There have been many moments over the past 8 years when President Bush was the butt of many jokes, his Bushism's are amusing to laugh about; people have lashed out in hate because of his decisions on war, economy and the such. What people forget is that so many times in leadership the only option afforded to you is making the best decision based on the information you have right in front of you.
Now, regardless of my views, the office of the President of the United States of America is the toughest job in the world. It's decisions are the heaviest around and because of that I believe any man (or woman) willing to step up into the shoes of that position should be treated with dignity and honor.
I am grateful to live in this country and for the men who have gone before me.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
It is strange today, my thoughts are shifted to President Bush. Much has been made about the incoming President Obama and what he plans on doing. But, I wonder what is going on in the mind of the man who has been the leader of the home of the brave these past 8 years. Relief? Regret? Bitterness? Gratitude? Hope? Sleep?
Today, President George W. Bush passes the torch of his leadership stewardship to the next guy. One day President Obama will do the same. My prayer is that history will be much kinder to President Bush than we collectively have. In his presidency he has faced some incredibly overwhelming obstacles and situations. Things happened during his presidency where we had to write the manual on how to handle it. The world has shifted over the past 8 years and much of that was the fruits of a process that started well before he took his first oath of office.
There have been many moments over the past 8 years when President Bush was the butt of many jokes, his Bushism's are amusing to laugh about; people have lashed out in hate because of his decisions on war, economy and the such. What people forget is that so many times in leadership the only option afforded to you is making the best decision based on the information you have right in front of you.
Now, regardless of my views, the office of the President of the United States of America is the toughest job in the world. It's decisions are the heaviest around and because of that I believe any man (or woman) willing to step up into the shoes of that position should be treated with dignity and honor.
I am grateful to live in this country and for the men who have gone before me.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Friday, January 16, 2009
A Friday Quote
I'm behind on my lesson preparation so you will have to jsut do today with a quote, enjoy:)
"But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."
---Francis Chann "Crazy Love"
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
"But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."
---Francis Chann "Crazy Love"
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Self-Denial
I am currently reading "Meditation of the Cross" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is a painful book that is blowing my mind. One of the chapters is entiteled "Discipleship and the Cross". It is an excerpt from his book "The Cost of Discipleship".
What is being discussed is the role we play under the weight of the cross. More specifically Jesus words to His followers that we must deny ourselves and take up our crosses and follow Him (Mark 8:31-38). Without going into the entire chapter, we must realize that the suffering of the cross was a divinely necessary measure for us to experience the freedom that comes with Christ. As we find our freedom in the cross we must also lose our identity in it as well.
Bonhoeffer says this about self-denial: "Self denial means knowing only Christ, and no longer oneself. It means seeing only Christ, who goes ahead of us, and no longer the path that is too difficult for us. Again, self-denial is saying only: He goes ahead of us; hold fast to Him."
What if we denied ourselves in such a way that Jesus truly lived through us?
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
What is being discussed is the role we play under the weight of the cross. More specifically Jesus words to His followers that we must deny ourselves and take up our crosses and follow Him (Mark 8:31-38). Without going into the entire chapter, we must realize that the suffering of the cross was a divinely necessary measure for us to experience the freedom that comes with Christ. As we find our freedom in the cross we must also lose our identity in it as well.
Bonhoeffer says this about self-denial: "Self denial means knowing only Christ, and no longer oneself. It means seeing only Christ, who goes ahead of us, and no longer the path that is too difficult for us. Again, self-denial is saying only: He goes ahead of us; hold fast to Him."
What if we denied ourselves in such a way that Jesus truly lived through us?
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Words To Chew On...
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Marianne Williamson
-Marianne Williamson
Friday, January 9, 2009
Words To Chew On...
"The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes."
----- Marcel Proust
----- Marcel Proust
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Pastor's I Listen Too Weekly...
Through the miracle of the Internet, here is a list of the pastor's I tend to listen to on a weekly basis:
Matt Chandler --- The Village Church
(This guy is an incredible bible teacher who challenges to to pursue purity and holiness with wreckless abandon).
Steven Furtick --- Elevation Church
(Steven is a very passionate teacher who has a heart for helping people far from God find life in Christ).
Andy Stanley --- North Point Community Church
(A living legend of the faith. Andy is responsible for so much of the way I teach today).
Craig Groechel --- Life Church.tv
(Craig is intense and passionate about helping people meet Jesus).
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Matt Chandler --- The Village Church
(This guy is an incredible bible teacher who challenges to to pursue purity and holiness with wreckless abandon).
Steven Furtick --- Elevation Church
(Steven is a very passionate teacher who has a heart for helping people far from God find life in Christ).
Andy Stanley --- North Point Community Church
(A living legend of the faith. Andy is responsible for so much of the way I teach today).
Craig Groechel --- Life Church.tv
(Craig is intense and passionate about helping people meet Jesus).
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Jake's Experiment...
My good friend and ministry partner Jake Ledet has started a Merge Bible Study Blog. This is simply an online discussion format over a book of the Bible he has chosen. At this present moment, he has chosen to go through the book of Colossians. Each week he will post a little commentary on the chapter we are crawling through.
I am really excited about what God is going to share through him. You need to get in on the discussion.
If you would like to get in on the discussion email him at jake@mergecc.com or just click here to get to the page.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
I am really excited about what God is going to share through him. You need to get in on the discussion.
If you would like to get in on the discussion email him at jake@mergecc.com or just click here to get to the page.
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Your Heart
Mondays are my day of rest and because of this, yesterday Barak ditched school and we went to the movies. We saw the "The Tale of Desperaux" (I know you may think I am to cool to see a kid movie. You are probably right, but Barak didn't want to see 7 pounds after I explained the movie to him).
The movie really was a good one and it's message and symbolism I found made it all the better. There was one line narrated into the movie that I found really insightful:
"When your heart is broken, it can grow back crooked."
Don't you know this to be true. I wanted to list a few verses the Bible says about the heart. Enjoy:
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
The movie really was a good one and it's message and symbolism I found made it all the better. There was one line narrated into the movie that I found really insightful:
"When your heart is broken, it can grow back crooked."
Don't you know this to be true. I wanted to list a few verses the Bible says about the heart. Enjoy:
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Luke 10:27 (NIV)
27 He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Luke 12:34 (NIV)
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
Heart and Soul,
BAG
<><
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