Surprise Birthday Gift this December

For those of you who have ever heard my wife Cathleen talk about her father's gift giving during Christmas and other times.... you'll love this story :)

Basically the story goes, her father wasn't crazy about Christmas gift giving when he was a child because he grew up in a poor household that included 9 children.
As an adult with his own wife and children he began to love giving them gifts.... he couldn't wait to see the joy on the faces of those he gave to.

Cathleen shares that if you're sitting next to him while somebody else is opening a gift he got for them, he will nudge you and say, "Watch this... they're gonna love this..."
Here's a audio/video link of Cathleen giving more detail:
God Doesn't Give White Elephant Gifts

It happened to me tonight!
Cathleen's Birthday is Dec. 21st - Her parents got to town today (23rd) and it was time for Cathleen to open her birthday presents.
I was sitting next to Jim (Cathleen's father) as she began to unwrap his gift.... almost right on queue he leaned over to me and whispered, "She's gonna love this".

As she opened the gift (which it took a while because he also wrapped it, not well) she looked at amazement then took this long gasp....
Her amazement turned to a smile... then tears starting welling up in her eyes as she spoke in a shaky tearful tone, "Where did you find this?"
Her parents answered her.
What was it?

It was her father's handprint that he had made in school - Kindergarten to be exact, he was 6yrs old, it was 1952.

There was a time that Cathleen owned this handprint. She cherished it.
Until..... She accidentally threw it away about 15yrs ago....or so she thought.
It broke her heart to think she had done that. She was truly saddened after (the thought of) accidentally tossing this special family memory in the dumpster.

So when she opened that gift of her fathers handprint today from when he was a child, the one she thought she'd thrown away, now incased in a shadowbox, tears of joy began to flow.

It was a sweet, sweet scene. And the words that her father whispered to me right before she opened it couldn't be more true.....  "She's gonna love this".

"It's the Holidays GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Oh how we love the Holiday Season :)
It's a time excitement, laughter, anticipation & joy.... Christmas parties full of fun, family members visiting, big feasts, we sing along with Andy Williams....

"It's the most wonderful time of the year 

With the kids jingle belling

And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer" 

It's the most wonderful time (big finish) of the year"

You sang along too right?
It doesnt take long for us to forget all this wonderful stuff this time of the year...
Just hop in your car the before Thanksgiving or the day after Thanksgiving and you'll see.
There always seems to be more cars on the road doesnt there? With horns honking at each each other because the vehicle in front of them didnt move fast enough at the light changing green. The parking lots are packed, be it a grocery store or the mall. You're driving up and down aisles getting more and more agitated with every turn, with every parking spot that appears to be open only to find that its smaller car in that slot... uuugggghhhhhh.

When that spot comes open pray there isnt another car trying to get that same spot as you... watch out! Yelling, posturing inside your own vehicle for the space, "I was here first!"
Then inside the store. Jam packed with people and carts and baby strollers and young children seemingly with zero self control and the parents have given up at this point.
The check out lines grow and grow every second you continue to shop.... so the rush is on, "gotta get done, gotta get done" fast so we can come to an abrupt stop waiting in that line ourselves.
Then the person ahead of you in line has 162 items to buy... uuuggggghhh.
Then they start bickering about the price of one of those 162 items. "Price Check needed at the register" is called out over the loud speaker.... uuuugggghhhh!

What happened to the magic of the season? Why are we scoffing and rolling our eyes at other people this time of the year more than any other it seems? How come nobody is approaching me this 'hap happiest season of all' smiling and saying "Be of good cheer"?

We just get caught up in the craziness of the season, so we can sit down at the Thanksgiving feast or relax during the unwrapping session Christmas morning and all is well.
But getting there, getting to that moment can get pretty ugly during the most wonderful time of the year.

So how about this...
What if you and I purpose to be different this year.
What if we decide, right now not to get grumpy. Not to roll our eyes at others... choose not to get frustrated with everyone else and all that is happening in the scurry?

Choose to be different..... aaahhhhhh... the separator. To be different than those of the world.
Jesus said,  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34,35

Love others. This is the separator. So what if during those crazy, insane moments of the holiday season, if we didnt fall into the rhythm of everyone else but chose to love, be kind, allow the fruit of the Spirit to dominate in your life..... then people will know.
They will know somethings different. You are different from others.
What comes of that is up to God. That's His deal. He just tells us to love them.

So this holiday season, give up the parking spot, give up your place in line, ask how you can help the single parent with 3 kids running around and any other opportunities that could arise... take them!

Show them how you're different :)

"Be of good cheer"

The Halloween Hope - "Don't Turn Out the Lights!"

Since Halloween is only a week away I thought it was a good time share these thoughts from 2011.... we have an opportunity here folks.....

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This time of year is unlike any other in many respects. Every shopping center and grocery store is filled with all sorts of candy, costumes and colorful decorations. Halloween night children will parade up and down the streets disguised as their favorite characters chanting “Trick or Treat” and hold out plastic bags or molded plastic pumpkins in hopes of collecting vast amounts of candy. This will, of course, result in a stomach ache the next day and some may miss school. (watch this vid)

For Christians, Halloween is perhaps the most difficult holiday with which to deal. Its darker side is so disconcerting, yet it holds a bit of charm for us as we remember our own childhood experiences with the day. A myriad of questions surround Halloween. Should we participate? Accommodate? Or vigorously denounce Halloween?

When I first researched Halloween I discovered hundreds of web-sites with articles, sermons, or editorials condemning the observance of this holiday. In fact, many Christians have taken a very strong stance in opposition to Halloween on the grounds that it supports Satan-worship and pagan gods. This places many people, especially those with children, in an uncomfortable position. How should we, as Christians, respond to this holiday? Is it sinful and evil or just fun and games? Is it a problem or a potential opportunity? To answer such questions, it’s helpful to view Halloween from the perspective of history. So let’s begin with a…

• HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HALLOWEEN:

First, we ought to recognize that the American celebration of Halloween draws heavily from Scottish and Irish folk customs that can be directly traced to pre-Christian times and is indeed rooted in the ancient Celtic feast of Samhain (sah-ween). Although modern Halloweens can be viewed as nights of rollicking fun and eerie games, its pagan beginnings were not so innocent.

Originally, Halloween was a celebration of the Druids in honor of Samhain, whom they believed to be the Lord of the Dead, and whose festival fell on November 1st.

The Druids believed that on the eve of this festival, Samhain, the Lord of the Dead, called together the wicked souls that within the past 12 months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals. The veil, they believed, between the present world and the spirit world, or the world beyond, was pierced, releasing the dead to harass the living. 

Interestingly, they thought that the cat was sacred because they thought that cats, especially black cats, had once been human beings whose spirits were transferred into the cat as a punishment for their evil deeds—which makes you wonder why they were sacred :)

There was a prevailing belief among many nations that at death the souls of good people were taken by good spirits and carried to paradise, but the souls of wicked men were left to wander in the space between the earth and the moon, or consigned to inhabit animals. Typically, the Druids believed that on this one night of the year, the eve of the Samhain festival, the spirits of the dead returned to their original homes along with other ghosts and goblins.

In order to protect themselves or make themselves immune to the attacking dead spirits, people disguised themselves as goblins, and ghouls—from wince we derived the custom of wearing costumes for Halloween. They also attempted to ward off evil spirits by carving scary and grotesque faces on various gourds illuminated with candles (including pumpkins, of course). 

In order to pacify the evil spirits they offered a variety of treats—fruits, vegetables, and other types of food usually. If the dead were satisfied, it was believed they would leave you in peace. But if they were not satisfied—if you didn’t offer any treats or your offering wasn’t good enough—the ghosts would trick you by casting a spell on you and reeking havoc in your home. Thus the tradition of “trick or treat” was born.

Despite its sinister origins, however, I think we can learn a lot from how the early Christians responded to this Samhain festival. As Chrsitianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and Europe, many pagans and even Druids converted to Christianity, but they were still very superstitious. They didn’t have Bibles back then and most of them were illiterate anyway. So, without proper education, many of these new believers brought their old superstitions with them into the church—including their belief in ghosts and goblins.

In order to establish a rival celebration and to better educate new believers, the church designated November 1st as All Saints Day. Rather than fearing the onslaught of evil spirits who had been condemned during the course of the year, All Saints Day celebrated and honored all the saints, or martyrs, who had died that year. The mass held the evening prior to All Saints Day was called All Hallowmas. And October 31st itself became known as All Hallow E’en (Halloween). Literally then, the word Halloween means Holy Evening. Thus, All Hallows Eve was an attempt on the part of Christianity to overwhelm the tradition of ghouls with the truth of the gospel! So, with this historical perspective on Halloween in mind, let’s get a…

• BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HALLOWEEN:

Obviously, you can’t look up the word Halloween in a concordance and expect to find a Scripture reference to it, but there is one passage of Scripture that is very relevant to the subject.

“Accept into your group someone who is weak in faith, and do not argue about opinions. One person believes it is right to eat all kinds of food. But another, who is weak, believes it is right to eat only vegetables. The one who knows that it is right to eat any kind of food must not reject the one who eats only vegetables. And the person who eats only vegetables must not think that the one who eats all foods is wrong, because God has accepted that person. You cannot judge another person’s servant. The master decides if the servant is doing well or not. And the Lord’s servant will do well because the Lord helps him do well.

Some think that one day is more important than another, and others think that every day is the same. Let all be sure in their own mind. Those who think one day is more important than other days are doing that for the Lord. And those who eat all kinds of food are doing that for the Lord, and they give thanks to God. Others who refuse to eat some foods do that for the Lord, and they give thanks to God. We do not live or die for ourselves. If we live, we are living for the Lord, and if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:1-8 NCV)

The Apostle Paul addresses two specific issues here that are relevant to Halloween—meat that had been sacrificed to pagan gods and holidays.

First, there were many new Christians who, as I mentioned earlier, brought their old superstitious beliefs with them when they became Christians. Some, who had converted from paganism, even though they had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savoir, still believed in the gods of Roman and Greek mythology. Therefore, they refused to eat any meat that had been sacrificed to those gods because they saw it as a form of worshipping those old gods. Other Christians, who were more mature in their faith, realized that gods such as Zeus or Hermes or Athena didn’t even really exist—they’re just myths and fairy tales. Therefore, they had no problem eating meat because they knew those gods arent  even real.

Furthermore, some Christians wanted to celebrate special days or holidays, such as the Passover or other Jewish celebrations, while other Christians believed that every day was the same and there is no need to celebrate a holiday (or holy day) unless God specifically commanded us to do so.

To all of these Christians, Paul says, “warmly welcome each other into the church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified” (Romans 15:7 TLB).

Now, if we take these two examples and put them together, we get a clear Biblical perspective on the controversy over Halloween. Halloween is a holiday (holy day) that was once dedicated to a pagan god. Some people understand there is no such thing as ghosts or goblins and have no problem participating in the modern celebration. Others believe that Halloween’s dubious origins make it something in which Christians should not be involved. 

I believe Paul would tell us exactly what he told the Romans—if it bothers your conscience, then don’t participate; if, on the other hand, you can celebrate Halloween in a way that honors and glorifies God—like the early Christians did—then go for it! Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. 

Don’t forget that both Christmas and Easter have their origins in lascivious pagan festivals as well. That doesn’t, however, prevent Christians from captivating their children with tales about Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny. Halloween is no different. Just because it centers on themes of Halloween rather than furry woodland creatures and jolly fat men doesn’t put it in some other category—as long as we understand the difference between reality and fantasy and we communicate that difference to our children.

We are encouraged to use holidays such as Easter and Christmas as opportunities for outreach, and, personally, I would suggest the same thing for Halloween. So, understanding the historical and biblical perspective let me share a…

• PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HALLOWEEN:

In my opinion, the worst thing Christians can do on Halloween is turn off the lights, lock the door and pretend no one is home. Jesus said that his purpose in coming to earth was to “seek and save the lost.” That’s our mission too. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Let your lights shine before men in such a way that they will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16 NASB).

So let’s heed the words of our Lord and Savior and let our lights shine—both our spiritual lights and porch lights—on a day that is typically known for its darkness. How can we use Halloween as a way to glorify God?

1. Don’t turn out the lights and ignore it. Halloween won’t go away. So if you don’t support this holiday, determine to turn a negative into a positive.

2. If you’re staying home: buy some candy, answer the door and when you put candy in the children’s bags include some information about the church.

3. Instead of playing scary music, play Christian music really loud.

4. Buy a pumpkin and carve a cross in it, placing a candle inside to symbolize that Jesus is the light of the world.

5. PRAY! Pray for the safety of the children who will be out on that night, but more importantly pray that the Gospel will go out that night as well—and that through God’s word some lost soul might come to know Jesus. 

Here's what we do every year at our home. We set up a cookie decorating table out in our front yard. Just some sugar cookies, some icing and few sprinkles. Believe me... kids LOVE decorating cookies (and then eating them right away)

As a matter of fact parents have told us how much their children look forward to going to "Cookie Decorating House". That's special to us.

We also have a TV out front paying a Veggie Tales cartoon about 'what to do when I'm scared' or we have another cartoon video titled "Monsters & Me" starring Toby and how Jesus helps him when he's scared.

Kids love sitting in front of that TV watching the show. We love that it's displaying a great, God honoring message. This year instead of a TV we're gonna put up a Big Projector Screen and enlarge the show :)

Now here's the real story behind this....

Think about all the neighbors who live in your neighborhood that you've never had any contact with at all or maybe just a wave as you pass by in your car. Neighbors 10 houses down, four streets over, maybe on the complete opposite side of the neighborhood. 

We just don't get opportunities to develop relationships with any of them or even meet them all of them because there are so many.

But on Halloween they are all coming over to your house. They're showing up at your doorstep - you didnt even invite them. They just come.

So what are you going to do with this opportunity to be a light to your neighbor. How can you share the LOVE of Christ with all these people showing up at your house.

Do you see how great this is? 

Cathleen and I revel in the opportunity to begin discussions with so many parents of these children and the fact that they are decoration cookies and watching the cartoon gives us ample time to talk. And we have had some wonderful God discussions on Halloween night.

And that my friends is what it's all about.

What could you do to Advance the Kingdom of God on Halloween night?

Watch Pastor Joe Parks teach this message at Focus Church: The Halloween HOPE 

You Have Access to the Power to Overcome Addictions in Your Life.

Joe & Cathleen Parks

   I love talking about demolishing the things in our lives that hold us back. Things that
hold us back from our purposes, from having satisfying relationships, from living a life that’s fulfilling and impacting. The anchors that hold us down. Throughout demolish we will have the opportunity to cover a lot of different things but today I get to talk about one specific topic and that is addiction. As Joe and I looked over the demolition series together I think it was obvious to both of us that I needed to be the one to present the message on addictions. Honestly between the two of us I am the one who struggles more with addictive tendencies. I’ve struggled with cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and food.

So, how do we overcome the things in our lives that overcome us? There really is a process by which we can move toward success so let’s go through it...We’re gonna DEMOLISH addictions…
 (Joe) the first thing we do is we D - DON’T DELAY - START TODAY!
 For people in the midst of an addicting habit the start is one of the hardest parts, isn’t it? We will quit smoking at the end of the pack or this really stressful work week. Or peel ourselves away from facebook, or whatever, long enough to realize there is a real world on the other side of the computer just after you check these last few posts. How many of you know that computer addictions are huge, growing addictions that are not just affecting teens. People are finding that they just can’t walk away from all the internet has to offer in laughs or knowledge, or friendships, or gambling. And we’ll get off the computer when....... like stopping that internet porn habit after the wedding or when the kids get old enough that they might pick up on what you’re doing?
When it comes to us stopping the things in our lives we know we need to stop why is there always tomorrow, next week, next month? Have you noticed there are more people going on a diet tomorrow than today? We have a tendency to want to wait?
Let’s look at some Biblical insight on waiting to change. It comes from Eccl. 11:4
"If you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never get anything done!"
 Don’t wait until the end of the pack, the end of the cake, the end of whatever addictions weigh you down. If you wait until the perfect conditions the Bible says you’ll never get anywhere. The perfect conditions will never exist and besides the guise of waiting for them was just a stall so you could continue your little addiction anyway. That’s real right?

Underneath it all we want to drag it out just a little longer - just one more time. But at some point our addictions will bring death. They’ll kill us physically or they’ll kill our relationships or our bank accounts or our ability to not totally jack up what our life should be, what God has for us, because we just can’t walk away.
 Prov. 27:1 "Never boast about tomorrow. You don't know what will happen between now and then." - Guys let’s not put off until tomorrow what we can do today. Let’s start today - don’t delay. Every step in the right direction is a step closer to the goal.

 (Cathleen) E - EMBRACE MY OWN RESPONSIBILITY
This problem is as old as dirt. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden what did they do when God asked them what happened? Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent and neither one of them owned it.  Scripture says it more plainly in Proverbs 19:3
"Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame the Lord." 
People will always find away to blame someone else - or even God. We have to take a good honest look and determine what responsibilities we need to acknowledge. And I know it seems silly but then we need to embrace them. Because where we can be real about our responsibilities in our addictions and failures we can start taking real action to change them. Proverbs 1:7b say, “fools despise wisdom and instruction.” I don’t want to be a fool. Anyone here want to be a fool? :)

 (Joe) M - MONITOR MY LIFE
Lamentations 3:40 "Let us examine our ways and test them, and return to the Lord."
 Every now and then we just need to ask ourselves questions like "What are my weaknesses? How long have I had this problem? Where am I tempted most? What’s holding me back from change? We are examining our ways. Denying them won’t bring about positive change. In fact, denial prevents healing.
 Psalm 32:3-5 "My dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration until I finally admitted my sins and stopped trying to hide them. And God forgave me! All my guilt is gone!"
 Denial is just us being dishonest with ourselves. It’s a weird psychological self-lie.
But what did that scripture say - My dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration. See even when we are in denial we know the truth deep down and the conflict between what we know and what we choose to acknowledge tears at us. That’s why we have to monitor or examine ourselves, so that we can deal honestly with the things we act like aren’t there. If we deny them we can never lay them down. They just pile up. I don’t know about you but I like to take my kitchen trash out daily. If I don’t it starts to stink, it overflows, it’s just nasty.
Honest examination is taking the trash out.
And instead of placing at the curb we are placing it the cross. And let’s look again at that scripture. It said what? And God forgave me! All my guilt is gone!”
Wow. All gone. that’s good stuff.

 (C ) O - OVERRIDE MY OWN ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE
On a plane their are two types of flight that I’m aware of. Manual and auto-pilot right? Life can kinda work the same way. We can kinda tell God - yah know what buddy I got this one. I think I can handle this. Why do we do that? I read a little caption on a magazine cover this week that said, ‘If God is you co-pilot (has anyone ever seen that bumper sticker? - I have) Anyway, it said, ‘if God is your co-pilot, switch seats!’ For real! He's waiting to help.
You need a power greater than yourself to help you change. We can't change on our own power.
 Romans 6:12-13 "Don't let sin control your body any longer. Don't give in to its sinful desires but give yourself completely to God -- every part of you -- to be used for His good purposes."
 Every part of you - given over to God. You know what that brings - freedom. If you realize that it’s God’s responsibility to change you - not yours you’ll experience and amazing freedom. Does that mean you don’t have your part -no! But it means you are trusting Him to give you wisdom through His word, through the leading of His spirit, through the wise counsel of others to guide you through to wholeness. He really will do it. His part is the big part. What are some of your parts? Write those down....

L - LEAVE TEMPTATION
 Romans 13:14 "Don't give any chances for the flesh to have it's fling."
 Proverbs 4:26-27 "Plan carefully what you do. Avoid evil."
 FIRE ESCAPE PLAN
 Don’t go into a burning building
 Know your weaknesses
 Know your exits
 Work the plan
Ephesians 4:27 "Don't give the devil a foothold."
Okay, the next thing you need to do.......

 (J) I - INTENTIONALLY FOCUS ON SOMETHING BETTER/GODLY THINGS
Proverbs 4:23 "Be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts." (GN) thoughts, thoughts, thoughts - The Bible says that the spiritual battle for sin is fought in the mind. If you want to change your life, it starts right here. The moment you're tempted you turn your mind to something else. Bounce back. (explanation of Steve Arterburn's book, Every Mans Battle. See video for details)

 What do you focus on? Philippians 4:8 tells us....
"Fill your mind with things that are good and deserve praise; things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable."
This is the principle of replacement. If something else is not filling your thoughts then your thinker is an empty space just waiting to be filled with the next thought that comes along. Have you seen or heard the story of the TITANIC WINE BOTTLES?
They are sitting at the bottom of the ocean completely fine.... the glass didnt shatter under the enormous pressure of the sea, the enormous pressure of the outside, because inside it was full.
Are you filling yourself daily?

 You say you're going to get rid of a thought. But it will come right back unless you replace something else with it. The principle of replacement. The power of a positive thinking -- when you want to get rid of a bad thought, fill it with a good thought. You replace old thoughts with new ones. That's why Romans 12:2 says "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

 S - SEEK RESTORATION WITH OTHERS
Why is this important? Anything that is out of control in your life is hurting somebody else. When we have addictions we manipulate other people to fulfill those addictions. We end up causing grief to ourselves, grief to others and guilt to ourselves. You need to make those things right. Go to those people you've hurt and restore those relationships. Romans 12:18 "As far as your responsibility goes, live at peace with everyone."

 (C ) H - HELP MYSELF AND OTHERS
Eccl. 4:9-10 "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." 
That pretty much explains itself doesn’t it? Look at James 5:16
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed"
 The enemy loves a good secret. With your good secret he can heap on you guilt, shame, humiliation, self hatred, bitterness - oh it just keeps coming. He gets you all bound up. But when you share your struggles with others you open up the opportunity to hear someone else’s experience and often times we find we are learning from others successes and their failures.
 "“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.”  2 Corinthians 1:4 (NLT) 

Let’s review.............…
DON’T DELAY - START TODAY!
EMBRACE MY OWN RESPONSIBILITY
MONITOR MY LIFE
OVERRIDE MY OWNS WANTS AND DESIRES
LEAVE TEMPTATION
INVEST YOUR ATTENTION ON SOMETHING BETTER/GODLY THINGS
SEEK RESTORATION
HELP MYSELF AND OTHERS

You can DEMOLISH Addiction, you have access to that power.

Watch video of message here:
http://focuschurch.com/social.php?item=item:20131014021046A1795F

Entire DEMOLISH series here: http://focuschurch.com/social.php

Wanna live in the greatest place on Earth or stay right where you are?

  My family and I just embarked on a wonderful 2 week vacation in California. I mean it was fun and relaxing, adventurous and peaceful. Plus we visited a bunch of family (you can decide if that was fun or relaxing).
Without going into all we did and the main purpose of the trip which was dropping our 18yr old daughter off at her college.... I do want to tell you about our few days in Bakersfield, CA. Specifically the night we spent at my fathers house grillin a TriTip roast.
While there my wife picked up a magazine he had laying out titled, Bakersfield Life. More specifically the May 2013 issue and even more specifically the article titled, "Bakersfield against the World". (Link to issue, article begins on page 110)

Now let me preface what I'm about to write with the fact that I was born and grew up in the city of Bakersfield, so I know it well. I moved to Houston, Tx. when I was 26yrs old - I know the city as a child and an adult. So when I read this article I found it quite humorous.... I think you will too.
The article explains 10 reasons why Bakersfield is better than the rest of the World.
Here's a quick review:
1. Springtime - ok, I get this. Spring is nice in Bakersfield, but isnt Spring nice just about everywhere?
2. Parking - seriously you are in big trouble if you are promoting your city with 'Parking' as the 2nd rated reason why to live here.
3. Mexican Restaurants - well they do have mexican restaurants thats for sure. I would think if you're promoting the city you may want to speak to the wide variety of restaurants and styles of food rather than settling for one.... oh and FYI, the TexMex in Houston is 10 times better.
4. (are you ready for this) 99 cent stores - yep thats right, they are promoting the fact that they have a plethora of 99 cent stores to shop. I would think that would be more on the downside but maybe thats just me.
5. Central Location - this in my opinion is the absolute #1 reason why to live in Bakersfield - you are surrounded by a lot of great places and cities. My father in law says, "the greatest thing about Bakersfield is I can get there from here." How true it is. Its a short drive to the mountains or beach or an hour to Six Flags, an hour and half into Los Angeles and all that it has to offer, etc...
6. Snow - they actually never get any so the article says if you have an aversion to snow this is the place for you..... wow.
7. Tattoos - yep, you can get a tattoo in Bakersfield and in just about every other city in America.
8. National Cemetery - yeah thats nice.
9. (Oh how I love #9) No Intimidation of Mill Valley Bodies - the article says, "tired of those thin, snotty people? You'll feel right at home here. People have more meat on their bones."
It's hard not to laugh out loud I know. They are literally saying, This is a place for the overweight. Why be thin or health conscious at all? Have another burrito at one of our mexican restaurants.
10. Friendliness -  Isnt that nice? The funny part of the article is the picture here under #10 for friendliness is 3 thin girls walking with their backs turned to you.

So as good or bad as these 10 reasons are for living in Bakersfield I thought I'd add a couple of more to help them out.

11. Dense Fog - the fact that Bakersfield is in the San Joaquin Valley and barely above sea level give way to some nasty, dense fog. You cannot drive on the roads, schools postpone, even cancel due to it. The fog has been the culprit of many, many car accidents.
I don't know how they left this out of the article....
12. Smog - being hemmed in on three sides by the mountains not only creates nasty fog in the winter it allows terrible air all year long. Bonus all the oilfield work in the area creates diesel soot from the pumps. CNN places Bakersfield #1 in their Top Ten most polluted cities this year.

I could go on and on....

Obviously I'm having a good time poking fun at my hometown, but here's the point....
It really doesn't matter what city you live in, you can find a list of reasons as to why its not the best place in the world. You see the real question is, "Is this where God has placed you?" That my friends is all that matters.

You and I need to get to a certain place and that place is "contentment".

It was the Apostle Paul who wrote, "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.  For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)

So how about you? Are you constantly looking for something else...?
A new city, a new place to live, a new job, a new relationship, a new car, a new...whatever?
I once heard John Maxwell say, "If you're not content here, you won't be content there."
There's great truth in that statement. 

Know that God has a plan and His plan is for you to prosper. (Jeremiah 29:11)
It literally comes down to you and I accepting what "that plan" is and there, in that place we will be happy, we'll be content.
And that place folks, is a great place.

"Love the Lord Your God with ALL your Strength" - conclusion

  Well I'd like to say I'm clever enough to think to write this "ALLmost series of talks" conclusion in 2 parts like the final Harry Potter or Twilight movies but it was purely on accident....
In "Loving the Lord Your God with ALL your Strength" we began looking at Ephesians 3:14-21. In the 'introduction' we covered verses 14 & 15, today we conclude this thought and series.

Let’s keep going. Verse 16

16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

In "Loving the Lord with ALL your mind" we talked about the mind and we juxtaposed a little bit of neurology with a little bit of theology and I hope it helped you realize the importance of reading the Word of God. When you do, it recruits new nerve cells and it re-routes connections, and before you know it, in a physiological way, you begin to cultivate the mind of Christ.

So today let me go ‘SciFy Guy’ & juxtapose physics and theology for a moment. Remember w/ the mind, the battle is won or lost in the mind? And then this idea that every thing was once a thought. In a similar sense, try to wrap your mind around this if you can. At an atomic level, everything is 99.99% empty space. I am not a physicist nor the son of a physicist, but it is really an amazing thing, I don’t know if this is scientific or spiritual or what but the bottom line is this, when we look at something that appears to be solid, its not solid at all, because at an atomic level, what you have are these atoms that are really more empty space than anything else. When you break it down at that level, at a very microscopic level, the distance between the electron and nucleus and these little tiny atoms that make me up, that distance is as great as the distance from the sun to the earth. So, I know this sounds weird, but we are primarily empty space. 

So the next time somebody says to you there’s a whole lot of empty space between your ears… you can respond with, “I know, at an atomic, microscopic level the gaps between the electrons and nucleus are enormous.” as they stare at you dumbfounded.

What’s the point in telling you this?

Quantum physicists have identified four forces. You know this from classes you’ve taken, electromagnetism, strong nuclear, weak nuclear and gravitation. But what’s really interesting is that there is a fifth force that really can’t quite be pinned down, this mysterious fifth force that eludes science. I would suggest that the fifth force is the Spirit of God. 

You have to go all the way back to Genesis and it says God breathed into the dust. It was the Spirit of God that animated those molecules. Job 34:14 & 15 says that if God were to withdraw his breath, his breath that He breathed to animate creation in Genesis, if He withdrew his breath, all mankind would return to dust. We would implode because it is that Spirit of God, that fifth force that sustains us and energizes us and animates us. 

In Acts 17:28, it says in Him we live and move and have our being. The Greek word for ‘move’ is where we get our word ‘kinetic’ as in kinetic energy. In other words, God is the one who animates and energizes us. So, part of the reason I want to bring that up is that, like, I’m reading this scripture in Ephesians and its so mysterious to me. “Strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” What? How does that work? I don’t understand that, but I know this – He is the One who spoke everything into existence and it is out of his omnipotence that we are even sustained on a physical level, but then beyond that, God wants to strengthen us and empower us. We are going to talk a little bit about how He does that.

Let me get painfully practical after getting so scientific. The word ‘strengthen’ in this passage is the same word that Jesus used in the Great Commandment, Love the Lord your God with all of your strength, and here in Ephesians it says I will strengthen you with power in your inner being. 

What does it mean to love God with all of our strength? 

Let me break it down. I think there is a parallel, in this respect, between the physical realm and the spiritual realm. How do you gain energy in the physical realm? I would suggest that you do it by expending energy. When you go work out, you are expending energy, nothing is more energizing than a good workout. The way you build up your body is you break it back down. That’s how you gain strength/muscle mass.

 the same is true spiritually. The danger is this, if we come to church just to get fed, then you are just going to get fat. And here’s where I feel like I’m your spiritual coach, because I have coaches that push me beyond the norm. This is where I feel like I want to push us a little bit, because I think some of us feel like to be a part of a church means that that is where you go to get fed, and that is part of it, but I want to be very clear, just showing up to a church service doesnt cut it. In order to "Love the Lord Your God with ALL your Strength" it takes effort. 

That takes lots of different forms. I tell you what, sometimes I think about the body of Christ, and I’m just overwhelmed by the collective potential that we have to make a difference. But that means each one of us stepping up, stepping in and doing it. So, there are lots of ways to do that and the bottom line is we must get plugged in and serve!

Listen folks, Get some sweat equity in the kingdom of God.

Let’s keep going.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Let me ask you a question, what is your relationship with God rooted in? For some folks, it is not rooted in love, which is described in this passage. It says rooted and established in love. I think for some of you, this is going to be a revelation that could totally change your relationship with God because, if you are honest, you would admit that your relationship with God is rooted in fear, and in legalism, and in knowledge, it is rooted in works, but listen, if your relationship with God is rooted in those things, then you are not going to experience spiritual growth in the way God intended it to happen. You’ve got make sure your relationship with God is rooted in love. Here’s some good news, God loves you unconditionally. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more or less. Why? Because He loves you perfectly, He loves you unconditionally. 

Where are you rooted in God’s love for you?

Last verse, 20

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Isn’t that one of the most exciting verses in the Bible? That’s exciting. You want to know what I love about following Christ, about living a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life? This, the best I can do is no longer the best I can do. The best I can do is the best God can do. He can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. How? According to his power that is at work within us. There is not a person here that would say, ‘I have fully exhausted my potential spiritually.’ I’m living at a level that you really wouldn’t believe. The things I do, my back is sore from patting it. 

 I need more in here (inside of me), I need more internal pressure from the Spirit of God filling me so that that is what’s coming out of me, and we want to do things that we can’t even ask or imagine. I just think this speaks to a deep, deep human longing. The way I thought about it this week, the longer I live, the more bored I am with things that I’m able to do in my own strength, the natural things, and the more I crave the supernatural. The more I want to see God move in my life in a way that there is no way I can take credit for that. I want to experience the miraculous, I want to experience the supernatural and that means the Spirit of God filling us and empowering us.

Now, spiritually speaking, I think what Paul is getting at here is that we need to keep pushing our boundaries. I think at some point, most of us just settle for where we are spiritually, for the level or knowledge or revelation that we have, for the level of experience or power that we have, and we become comfortable. This is where I am, this is my limit or boundary.  What I’m suggesting is that God wants to continue to expand our spiritual horizons so that He begins to do things that are beyond what we can even ask or imagine. I believe that, and I believe that for each one of us.

How does it happen? Let’s go full circle. How does this passage begin? Kneeling before the Lord. I don’t have a formula for you today, it’s not that there aren’t things you can do and ways to prepare for it, there are steps we see in this passage of scripture which I will review but what I would suggest is that God wants to do it in you more than you want Him to do it. One way that we love God is with all of our strength, and with all of his strength working in us. The whole end of this passage v.21, the whole goal is that God would be glorified. How is God glorified? One way is, When you do things that are beyond your ability. When you allow God to work in your life in a way that is wow! That’s how we glorify God. That’s how we grow in our love for God.

So what steps have we seen: humbling ourselves before the Lord, expanding spiritual energy and getting involved in ministry vs. Sitting at the table just getting fed, pushing our limits getting out of the comfort zone so many people find themselves in spiritually and love God with ALL your strength and watch what He does in and through you - it will amaze you and others and thats vs. 20 happening in real life.

I think of my friends Jason and Denise Cummins as great examples of this passage and all those things I just listed I have watched happened in their lives and they are literally on the cusp of ‘amazing’ - its really cool. 

Here's a link to their story: "Let Go of the Norm"

So, some folks have never flipped the switch. I really think it is that simple. Some of you have never flipped the switch and said, ‘God, empower me and fill me with your Spirit.’ Some of us have done it once or twice, then we stop doing it. Ephesians 5:18 says be filled with the Spirit. The verb tense is keep on being filled. If we keep on being filled with the Spirit of God, then is strength is at work within us and there is nothing that God can’t do in us and through us.

I want to pray for us and pray that God, as we humble ourselves, would do something in our inner being, some of you need strength from the Lord today, you need emotional strength, you need physical strength, you need spiritual strength. He wants to strengthen you in your inner being. Let’s ask Him for it. 

Will you do that with me?

watch or listen online: ALLmost 4 

"Love the Lord your God with ALL your Strength" - ALLmost series of talks

 2,000 years ago, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength.” We call it the Great Commandment and this series is really all about being great at the Great Commandment. It starts with the heart. When you give your heart to Christ, He gives his heart to you and your heart begins to break for the things that break the heart of God. Then you recapture that childlike wonder. We talked about that and we talked about the soul of love, in order for us to love God w/all our soul it cannot be empty…. and last week we talked about loving God with all of our minds, today were talking about strength. This is really the final frontier. This is where the rubber meets the road. If we miss this, we have not loved God the way that He wants us to. However today I’m just gonna give you guys a little teaser trying my best to draw you back next week for the conclusion of this message.

 Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

What a passage of Scripture, what a prayer! Can I say up front that when Paul is praying this, he is not just praying for the people that this letter was intended for, for the Church of Ephesus, he was praying for you, he was praying for Focus Church. I want to unpack this passage together, but today we’re just gonna look at verses 14 & 15

For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

 I had this thought: sometimes our shoulders ought to be sore in raising them in worship to the Lord. The reason I thinking that is because my shoulders are sore. We were singing about glory to God, and the Lord reigns, and when we sing those songs, the bible talks a lot about body posture, and as I lift my spirit to the Lord in worship, sometimes I want to lift my hands to the Lord so that my outer physical body represents what’s happening in here…. And that’s one definition of the ‘raising of hands in worship’

Maybe you’ve heard some of the others… raise hands in surrender to great and mighty God. Like raising hands if a gun is pointed at you “I surrender”, a form of submission. How about the little toddler child who wants to be held, “hold me, hold me” our girls, Alli said “Hold you, hold you” which meant she wanted to be held, Jess said “hold to me, hold to me” sometimes we raise our hands in worship as a form of saying, Daddy, Abba Father God hold me. It’s a sense of being held or longing to be embrace the One who loves you more anybody or anything ever can.

So raising our hands in worship can represent:

Outer expression of inward emotion

Form of surrender

Longing to embrace

I have a video to show you, some of you have seen it before, others havent but its a Focus favorite - A Beginners Guide to Interactive Worship.

Let me share a related thought, if you will, because it has to do with body posture and that’s what this passage is speaking of. Listen, sometimes our knees ought to be sore from humbling ourselves before the Lord. I think we need to look at this passage literally. For this reason, I kneel before the Lord. I want to suggest that this may be the most important posture in the entire Bible, because I’m absolutely convinced that if you stay humble, then there is nothing that God cannot do in you and through you. The Bible says that God opposes the proud. That is scary to me, I do not want God opposing me. Let me say this, even as a pastor who is trying to serve the Lord, if I’m doing it with pride, then here is the crazy thing, God will oppose the very thing He called me to do, because God doesn’t bless, He doesn’t grace or favor pride. But if you find a way to humble yourself and stay humble before the Lord, oh, I have never once knelt in prayer and gotten up and not felt better. And very specifically, what happens is this, a lot of anxiety is alleviated. It is lifted off of my shoulders, and when I get up after kneeling, there is a confidence, but it is not self-confidence, like I can do it, because I can’t do it, but there is a God confidence, that He is in control and that I’m back in alignment with who He is and what He wants to do and I’m doing this for the glory of God. When you are in that posture, it is a powerful position. If you want to move forward spiritually, you better get on your knees. I’m going to challenge right here, when was the last time you spent some time on your knees before the Lord?

So here is your homework, spend some time today & this upcoming week kneeling before the Lord and humbling yourself before Him again. And hear me folks, you will be strengthened.

entire video and/or audio of this message: ALLmost 4 - the introduction 

"Love the Lord Your God with ALL your Soul" - ALLmost series of talks

  “Unless you become like a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” 

What a profound statement. 

Just one 30,000 foot thought, in a sense, spiritual growth, the theological word is sanctification. Say "sanctification" out loud.  You feel more spiritual and smarter saying it. 

The idea of sanctification is that we are conformed to the image of Christ. But it is really interesting because there are two dimensions to it. We are conformed to the image of Christ. Don’t you want to love like Him and act like Him and talk like Him and pray like Him and dream like Him? You want everything about you to be like Him, and that’s what it means to follow Christ. But there is also this second dimension where you become like a little child. Jesus very intentionally put a child at the very center of everyone  and said, ‘Unless you become like a little child, you can’t even enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Well, what does that mean? 

It is an incredibly kaleidoscopic statement that means a lot of different things, but I think one dimension of it is this – I believe as you grow in a relationship with your Savior, with your Creator, what happens is this – you recapture this childlike sense of wonder. (we did a video piece about the recapturing the sense of our childlike wonder a few weeks ago at Focus Church) 

It is also like your soul, that if you aren’t careful, with the wrong circumstances and a lot of experience, before you know it, your soul can die. But when we come into a relationship with Christ, it comes back to life and then God begins to fill this soul with a childlike sense of wonder.

Who remembers the Life Savers candy commercial? (A young 5 or 6yr. old daughter sitting under a tree during the sunset and as the sun is setting Dad says, Going, Going, Gone.... then his daughter looks up at him and whispers, "Do it again Daddy")

Here’s my point. I think that it is so easy for us to loose the sense of wonder that we once had. It is so hard to put this into words, but I think for many of us, a relationship with God can almost be reduced in the wrong circumstances to this long list of do’s and don’ts and rules and rituals that become empty and meaningless. I mean, hey I grew up where, I kid you not, it was about what you didn’t drink, where you didn’t go, what you didn’t say, and how long your hair wasn’t. It was like your whole relationship with God was reduced to these external things, and I wonder how many of us are this spiritual looking shell on the outside but your soul is empty. Do you really love God with your soul, with ALL of your soul in a very deep place where God is the One who brings you to life and when his wonder begins to fill your soul, it’s like, I am in relationship with my Creator. And it creates this sense of wonder w/in us!

Look at this quote from Arthur Gordon, “This surely is the most valuable legacy we can pass on to the next generation, not money or houses or heirlooms, but a capacity for wonder.” 

I love this. I mean, hear me folks, He is the God of wonders, He is the One who created everything around us. Who do you think wants us to enjoy the setting sun more than anybody else? The One who made it. And He wants us to have a soul that has a capacity for wonder, and it makes me think if some of us have lost that and that’s what we need to get back.

Do you know what is the main source for us to capture this wonder?... God’s Word, the Bible

I can recall the wonder on my girls faces when they were young & we were doing our family fun nights aka devotions (quick sidebar: you want to do family devotions w/ your children you need to make them fun and exciting  - they can’t be like an adult devotional - one source we used was Heritage Builders: Family Night Tool Chest - we all had a blast)    Like, Wow, the Bible, awesome! Ya know?

I just think in every area of our life, do we not need to recapture this childlike approach to life, this childlike approach to God? 

Here is the heart of what I feel like the Lord really wants to say to us..... 

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

I’m reading that verse and I’m having a thought. I’m wondering how many people have never come to Christ because they don’t know that this is what He says. When they envision God, they envision someone very, very different. They don’t think that God is the One who is saying, ‘Come to Me, you who are weary and carry burdens and I will give you rest.’ That’s not their image of who God is and their souls suffer because of it. But this is a great promise! 

Maybe some of you today are so weary, you are relationally worn out, you’ve given a relationship everything that you think you’ve got and it’s not what you want it to be and you don’t know where to go. Some of you are so burdened relationally that someone has done something that you can’t control but you are experiencing some of the consequences of it. Some of you are emotionally weary. You have no grace left for other people, there is no joy left in your relationship with God, there is no peace in your heart and you are just about out of patience. Listen, all of us have been in that place where emotionally we are weary and burdened. And I think spiritually, some of us are so weighed down by our guilt and the reason why we are still weary and burdened is because we try to do the exact opposite of what this passage teaches us. We try to get our act together, we try to even do more, we try harder and harder, then we get more weary and more burdened and we never really truly accept this simple invitation, come to Me, come to Me, weary, burdened, and I will give you rest.

I want to get practical for a couple minutes. I want to talk about two sides to the equations. Some of you have a very empty soul and I think it’s important to realize that some of that is not a mystery, some of that is under our control. There are some things that we can do to guard our soul, to protect our soul, to make sure that our soul is being replenished and refilled. 

So, you are reading this your soul feels empty, what can you do? There are some things that you can do. 

Our part: Worship, worship begins to flood your heart with the presence of God. Confession begins to empty some of those things that clutter your spirit, emptying the trash, if you will. 

You can Serve others and it will begin to replenish your soul. 

Find ways to serve others. You can do it within the church, you can do it out at non profit organization, at the Pregnancy Help center, and so forth… find ways to serve.

What can you do to begin to fill that soul? Here’s the second half of the equation. There are some things that only God can do for you. This is where it gets so good, I love this, in Hebrews 3 and 4  it talks about entering the rest of the Lord, this passage says you will find rest for your soul, (thats your homework this week, read those chapters Heb. 3&4) 

some of us are so weary and so burdened because we are trying to do it ourselves. What I want you to know is that religion is about what you can do for God, but Christianity is about what God has done for you, in the person of Jesus Christ who paid a price you could not pay, He paid a debt you could not pay, paid a debt He did not owe.

So God’s part: is about you allowing Him to do for you want you can’t do for yourself. 

Have you ever done that little thing where someone is standing behind you, it’s almost like a faith exercise where someone is standing behind you and you have to freefall backwards? 

A Trust Fall.

 It’s so hard to do isn’t it? It’s so hard to just totally fall into another persons arms and let go, but I think that’s part of what it means to rest in the Lord. It means I’m not going to try to do it, I can’t do it, but I’m going to rest in the atoning sacrifice that Jesus Christ made at Calvary. 

Take a deep breath and let it back out.

I’ve told you before that that’s my definition of the sovereignty of God. In his heart, a man plans his course but God orders his footsteps. It’s the sovereignty of God, take a deep breath and relax. God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go. Amen. Take another deep breath, let it back out. It’s also a pretty good definition for the grace of God, isn’t it? I can’t do it, I don’t deserve it, but He has done it for me.

Come to Me, all who are weary & burdened and I will give you rest for your souls. 

We do our part & you better believe God will do His part.

And when we get there… we can Love God with ALL our soul.

'Trust Fall' video:

Watch or Listen to "ALLmost" part 2:

God has created a path......

God is always working behind the scenes. He is working on our behalf even when we cant see anything happening; even when we cant feel anything; and even when it looks the darkest.

God had a path when the Israelites thought there was no way....

God has a path for you, even if it appears there is no way.....

read Psalm 77

pursuitALL

What if every believer pursued Gods mission for their lives with ALL they have.... wonder what that would look like.....

#‎impact

"Loving God with ALL your Heart" - ALLmost series of talks

   Bill Frist, a thoracic surgeon. had performed about 150 heart transplants. In an address at the National Prayer Breakfast he talked about the miracle of heart transplant. He spoke about this moment when a new heart had been grafted into a new body, and all the surgical team could do once the grafts had taken place, all they could do was wait in hope that it would begin to beat. Then he stopped talking in medical terms and started talking more in spiritual terms about this moment when a new heart would beat in a new body. He called it a mystery.

Folks, So it is with you and I. When we give our heart to Christ, Christ gives his heart to us. In a sense, there is a transplant that happens.

In the book “A Man After His Own Heart” by Charles Siebert he referred to these medical heart transplant donors as, I love this, as the tribe of the transplanted. Isn’t that cool? The tribe of the transplanted. I would suggest that if we are following Christ, we are a part of the tribe of the transplanted, and that’s exactly what Ezekiel Chapter 36 talks about, verses 25-27 to be exact.

What an amazing promise! I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you and I’ll take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. Isn’t that what you and I need? What we need is for God, not just to give us a face lift, not just to put a band-aid on something, but my hunch is that what most of us need is for God to do a deep work within our hearts. 

Let’s look at these verses.... 

25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols.

We are half way through this year, and I think it is an opportunity to look back & evaluate these past 6 mos. Maybe some habits you shouldn't have, or with some things that have crept into your life, maybe routines or just wasteful things, things that are permissible but not beneficial, or maybe things that have pulled you away from a relationship with God. Is there something in your life that needs to be purified? 

 Now, you have to do the hard work of purifying yourself and you can’t, only Christ can do it for you, but it is by His sacrifice on the cross that you can be clean and set free. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness, and the moment you do that, I’ll tell you exactly what will happen, the father of lies, the one who seeks to bring condemnation into your life, will try to remind you of everything you’ve done wrong this past year, but that is not the heart of your heavenly Father, who is all about giving us a new start over and over, his mercies are new every morning. I believe that if you will purify yourself before the Lord, He can do some amazing things in your life. But let me put it this way, I’m not just talking about ‘Lord forgive me for everything I’ve ever done wrong,’ that’s weak. I don’t let my kids get by with that. 

(lil johnny tell your sister you’re sorry, [moan] johnny… [moan sorry] sorry for what? [idk] johnny… what are you sorry about?) 

I don’t let my kids get by with that. Parents, do you let your kids get by with that? No, tell me what you are sorry about, because unless you understand it, then you are going to go back and do the exact same thing over again.  It is so easy for us to go through the routines and get in our habits and do our things, I’m just saying, if we don’t redeem the opportunity of evaluating our lives to do some deep cleaning in our hearts, then we are missing an opportunity for God to enlarge our potential for his kingdom’s sake.

Is there something in your life that God needs to purify? 

Then we continue, the end of verse 25

and you will no longer worship idols.

There again, it’s like, we want to skip to the next verse. I don’t have any idols! Are you kidding me? We immediately think of ancient people bowing down to little statues. Those silly, foolish ancient people, pagans, bowed down to wood carvings. Are you serious? As we go to the mall this summer and buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t even like. We are just sophisticated idolaters. That’s what we are. We wouldn’t bow down to a statue of Aphrodite, but when we are at the gym, checking ourselves out in the mirror, you know what I’m saying. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Take care of your temple but how many of you know that that thing can become an idol in your life? Or… you may be more like me, who’s allowed food and atrophy to become an idol. I’ve had to many trips to Whataburger & allowed the lack of physical maintenance & desire for food to rule my life.

See, here’s what’s so tricky, you think of idol and you think of something bad, but it’s not always, it can be something good. Nine times out of ten, an idol in your life is something good but that something good has become something bad because instead of seeing it as a means to an end, it has become an end in itself. So everything from money to sex to family to your job, any of those things can become idols in our lives if they displace God as being primary in our lives.

Matthew 6:33: Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added upon you.

It doesn’t say to seek God second or third or fourth or tenth, seek God first. The reason why many of us struggle spiritually, I am so convinced, I don’t know if I have the words to frame it but it is very interesting that the first of the 10 commandment is have no other Gods before me. It’s a commandment against idolatry. The first commandment is where it’s at, because if you break that one, you break all of them, but if you can keep that one, then you can keep the other ones. It really comes back to, is there an idol in your life? That’s what I’m trying to say. Is there an idol in your life and are you courageous enough to look in the mirror and ask God that question.

How do I know if it is an idol? Maybe it is a good thing that is a little out of control. Listen, it takes tremendous discernment. I’m not saying it is easy, but let me help you a little bit. Here are a few idol questions:

Number one, are you willing to give it up? If you’re not willing to give it up, maybe it is something that has a hold on your life.

Number two, what do you think about when you don’t have anything to think about? If you are like, I don’t know what my idol is, what do you daydream about? What do you fixate on? Is it possible that that thing can be taken to an extent where it begins to consume you more than your relationship with God?

Number three, what do you put your money into? Or too much money? Your spending habits are idolatry clues, because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. I’m not trying to find the idol in every closet. All of us struggle with things that could be idolatrous, so I don’t want all of us walking out totally discouraged. But listen, I need to ask a hard question, is there an idol in our life?

Number four, does the thing draw you closer to God or push you further away? Be honest. Is it something that helps your relationship with God or something that hurts your relationship?

Number five, is it something you control or something that controls you? An idol is often an addiction. It is something that displaces God and you don’t control it, it controls you. It has become a master in your life.

Those are tough questions that we don’t ask all the time but this is a time where we need to ask those questions. Have you given something else the title to your heart? Then you need to give it back to God. 

Last piece of scripture:

26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

Let’s close with this. I pray this for my kids all the time. I pray that God would give them a soft heart. It is so easy for the heart to become hardened to the sin in our life; it is so easy for our hearts to become hardened to the things of God. Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God? It is so easy for us to have a callused heart because it is so hard to have a vulnerable heart that you put out there. But my prayer for us is that we would have a soft heart towards God. It says, God says, “I will put my Spirit in you.” I want to end with this promise. Can I tell you what you need the 2^nd half of this year? Here it is, you don’t need more money, you don’t need more opportunity, you don’t need a relationship; what you really need is more of the Spirit of God filling you, that’s what you really need. If you are going to produce the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control, then you need the Spirit of God in you. It is the Spirit of God that gives us a new heart.

I want to promise you this and I want to invite you to this. If you give your heart to Christ, Christ will give his heart to you. The tribe of the transplanted. I have no idea where many of you are at in your spiritual journey, but I want to talk to two specific kinds of people...  Number one, I think there are many people who have been seeking and searching and thinking and praying and wondering and asking and dialoguing for a long time about what it means to follow Christ and what is this thing called Christianity all about. It is all about loving God heart, soul, mind and strength. It is not all these religious trappings, it is about a love relationship with the Creator who sent his Son to die on the cross for you. If you give your heart to Him, He will make you into a different person. He will begin to change you from the inside out. He will begin to shape a new heart within you. That’s what we need! We need for God to give us His heart.

Then, I wonder for some of us, in you’re in this place where, oh man, if you had any idea how hard my heart has become, like, I hear your words but they don’t even touch my heart because my heart is so callused that the word of God hasn’t penetrated my heart in years. And for some, it is just fear of opening themselves up. For some, it is a level of brokenness and it’s so hard for you to think about becoming vulnerable again. I don’t know what it is for you, but I wonder if for some of us, we need to give our heart to Christ again.

When you give your heart to Christ, He give His heart to you and your heart begins to break for the things that break the heart of God. 

Welcome to the Tribe of the Transplanted.

Watch or listen to "ALLmost" part 1, Loving God with ALL your Heart:

http://focuschurch.com/social.php?item=item:201306231106518C00ED

Are you giving God your ALL or your most? - ALLmost series of talks

Its so easy for us, especially in our western culture to not "give it our all" or "go all out" from time to time, wouldn't you agree? I mean sometimes it makes sense right?
There are certainly times in life when you do not need to "go all out" or "give it everything you've got", I mean sometimes that mentality can be downright ludicrous.
You know what I'm talking about... like the 38yr old guy who dresses up in his Jedi outfit for the premiere of the latest Star Wars movie (be on guard summer 2015) maybe a little overkill huh?
Or the guy in the gym who is scream/grunting (loudly) through every...single... rep.
So sure there are times when we can pull back.
There are also times when we do pull back & not give it all that is required and it hurts us.
You probably have plenty of personal examples of that.... not paying a bill on time, forgetting that its past due and hello disconnection.
Waiting til the last minute to attend the "Defensive Driving" class that will allow your ticket to be dismissed and end up paying full ticket price and insurance increase.
Not studying for a test and barely getting by with a "passable" grade instead of a good grade.
It seems that we do both. We can Over Do It and we can certainly Under Do It.
A big problem for us is when we get comfortable with "just getting by".

The big question here is.... how do you approach your relationship with Jesus Christ?
Do you give it "everything you've got" or do you have the "just getting by" attitude?
It's really a hard question to ask ourselves isn't it? It's tough to look in the mirror and ask the hard questions....

So here it is... Are you giving God your ALL or your most?
Are you giving God ALL of you, I mean everything you've got?
"There's no doubt about it my life is centered in Jesus Christ and my priorities, time, energy & resources reflect that."
Or......
Are you giving God most? And hey, most is pretty good right?
"I'm doing pretty good when you compare me to the guy next door, he never goes to church and cusses all the time. Heck I'm doing great compared to that guy. And I love the Lord, I really do. I want to read my bible more and live by God's standards but I'm not perfect you know."

ALL or most?

2,000 years ago, Jesus was asked an interesting question. A scribe said, “Which of all the commandments is most important?” It was kind of a trick question. Honestly, I don’t think he thought he was going to get an answer, but Jesus, as only Jesus can do, answered in a way that is so profound. How many of you know that we have a tendency to complicate this thing called Christianity? We complicate it, but Jesus had a way of simplifying it. He could say so much in so few words. What Jesus said was this, “The greatest commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.” (Mark 12:30) That’s it. What He did was take hundreds of laws that had been accumulated and thousands of years of tradition and history and He said here it is, in one sentence, love God, heart, soul, mind and strength.
Here’s another question for you – if Jesus said that’s most important, doesn’t it naturally, logically follow that we ought to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to understand exactly what that means and obeying it. What does it mean to love God heart, soul, mind and strength? By the way, it is not enough to love God in just one of those ways, you’ve got to love Him in all those ways, like love to the fourth power. These are the four dimensions, this is the great commandment, Love God heart, soul, mind and strength.

I believe if we honestly pursue the Great Commandment, study it, understand it, apply it to life it will become much easier... or maybe the right phrase would be "it would become natural" to give God ALL of us.

So for the next few posts I'm going to pursue just that. An ALLmost series of talks.
I'd love to hear your feedback, your struggles, your triumphs, questions or whatever suits you through this series of talks so please join in the discussion.

Til next time, go ask the hard question...................