Spark2Flame

I was reading some wise words by A.W. Tozer that reminded me of something very important. Being a worshipper is not simply being a worker.

As he points out, The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to restore the lost soul to intimate fellowship with God through the washing of regeneration... Everything must flow out of a position of submission and love.

I know I used to get upset when I worked for our church full-time because people would say stuff about having a “real job.” Sadly enough, I took it to heart way too much and turned what I love (seeking God, leading, preaching, etc.) into a chore and hard work. Strangely enough, it took going back to a “secular” job to remove that and put it in perspective.

The truth is it doesn’t matter what you do, the best jobs don’t feel like jobs. For the majority of the time, there is joy and life, fulfillment that flows from being able to do something you love. You can’t get enough.

We miss the boat when we think God is just trying to get us to the place we can do something. We can get so goal-oriented that we read, worship, pray, serve, etc. for this reason alone. As Isaiah reminded us, His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not our ways. And I believe we can safely offer, His goals are not our goals, at least most of the time.

We often talk about relationship as God’s goal, but I don’t know that we always believe it. God’s preparing me for something huge, we think, and He may be, but what could be bigger than knowing the God of the universe and through obedience to Him, making Him known?

What about you? Have you turned the wonderful things God’s given you into a “Christian duty”? Whether that’s prayer, sharing your faith, worship expressions, or any ministry you’re a part of?

Just because someone or you are able to do something, doesn’t mean we need to do it. I'm not talking about helping or filling a real need for a season. I'm talking about trying to earn affection, recognition, find value, or anything else just by "doing" something.


As I mentioned, I turned my passion into a job because I was out to prove that I worked as hard as anybody. It's a trap—repeat—IT IS A TRAP!


We must be faithful where we are with what we have, growing in relationship and a deeper understanding of God’s heart.

Obedience is better than sacrifice. So if you find yourself identifying with what I’m saying today, get back to your first love. That’s right where He wants you to be.

I've been on an unintentional hiatus here on this blog, but I got this email and thought I would share it. It is quite fascinating and if you choose to participate, you will definitely be the cool kid in the class.

Here are the instructions:

This is hysterical. It is absolutely true. I guess there are some things that the brain just cannot handle. HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?

You have to try this please, it takes 2 seconds. I could not believe this! It is from an orthopedic surgeon... This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot,but, you can't. It's pre-programmed in your brain

1. Without anyone watching you (they will think you are GOOFY) and while sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your rightfoot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction.

I told you so!!! And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so. Send it to your friends to frustrate them, too. There's no point in feeling silly by yourself.

So how did you do?

Yesterday, I talked about failure as an option and I thought today it might be fun to consider some of these expressions that may need a rest (or the old yeller treatment).

If you can't let go of them, then maybe we can revamp a few of these that either don’t make sense, aren’t very accurate, or could use some spicing up.

We’re all probably tired of hearing these things after ten billion times (hyperbole is the best. thing. EVER!) so this is an important public services we’re performing—someone alert the Nobel Peace Prize people. They are gonna want in on this.

Of course, a good place to start would be “failure is not an option.” If we made this more relevant or accurate, we could say, “giving up is not an option.” I could get behind that one.

Here’s a list of a few others I thought about,

• Fake it ‘til you make it—what a strange thing this one is. Can I fake being a doctor and then one day wake up to find I’m a trained physician? Can I fake being a Christian (say right things, do right things) until one day *poof* I’m just like Jesus? I accept it’s a learning, growing process but I don’t want to fake it—that’s just bad advice.

• My suggestion to fix this would be, See it ‘til you be it. Hear me out! My grammatical inconsistencies notwithstanding, keeping your eyes focused on what you want and who you want to become will produce actions consistent with achieving that.

• If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it—this one just denies the need for advancement or improvement. Now, if you’re talking about the gospel message or truth, you can’t fix it (though you can distort it). What if innovators throughout the ages had said, “that idea is good enough why improve it?” We’d all still be walking everywhere and reading by candlelight and this blog wouldn’t exist (grab a paper bag if that thought causes you to hyperventilate).

• How do we spruce this one up? If it ain’t perfect, keep improving. Now, this one could lend to confusion too because I’m not talking about being perfectionistic about everything. Instead, I’m talking about life and the things we get to work with. If we don’t see any room for or possibility of improvement, we'll be stale and lifeless before we know it.
  

• Practice Makes Perfect—this doesn’t make much sense, but correcting it by saying, “perfect practice makes perfect” isn’t a lot of help either. How can I ever practice perfectly? If I call something practice whether it’s helpful or not, will it make me perfect? Highly illogical, Captain.

• Instead, maybe we could go with “Consistency makes better.” I realize that doesn’t have the same ring to it, but consistently working at something will make us better if not perfect. Maybe we should philosophize about this expression and say that people are yearning and looking for the perfect and that can only be found in God, not practice. Sure that will work.

• Everything’s Bigger in Texas—this is just nonsensical and should be put to rest. I just want to say, “Yeah, tell that to the Grand Canyon” or “How big are your glaciers there in Texas?” I’m not meaning to offend any Texans, but saying this doesn’t up the intelligence quotient any. Plus, as a resident of Alaska, it is my duty to point out that we are the largest state, not Texas. Just because we’re always shoved in the little corner of the map, doesn’t mean that it’s accurate.

• How would I change it? Everything’s Texasier in Texas. Hey, you can’t argue with that one and it makes about the same amount of sense.

Okay, so I don't really know if I've improved anything (or made them worse), but I tried and hey, "consistency makes better" as they say.

Now it’s your turn! Give me a variation on one of these or supply your own over-used expression and you way to spice it up or fix its inaccuracies. Remember: see it ‘til you be it! Yeah, that could catch on…

I think that old saying, “failure is not an option,” is one of the craziest and furthest from reality. If I just say that over and over and proclaim it my motto, would it really never fail?

Nobody is going to go through a project, situation, relationship, ministry experience, parenting, or anything else without the taste of failure. We aren’t perfect and we delude ourselves if we say failure is not an option.

Failure is an option, and many times, though painful, it’s a darn good one. I know in my own life, I’ve held on to things that I didn’t need to anymore or tried things that it wasn’t time for, and failure should have happened about 3 miles back, but I press ahead running on fumes.

Sometimes we do things without the right motivation and understanding. Other times we follow a formula that may be good, but does not equal obedience to God. Dragging it out only runs me down and wears out everyone around me.

I’m not talking about the things that God has given us to do, those dreams He’s planted deep inside. Those are rooted in the eternal, the very nature of God. I’m also not talking about running out on spouses, children, or your church. Our methods and trying to make things happen are what need to die sometimes.

Failure can help us learn, grow, and flourish as we allow God to prune things back so we can bear more fruit. Failure can push us to God to find out what His word says, or it can push us to deeper relationships or research or any number of helpful things.

It’s all right to acknowledge a failure whether it has to do with our activity, spirituality, or morality. The more we cover it up or try to keep it going, the more we embrace pride. How? Because most of the time we do this because we are embarrassed or afraid of what people will think.

It’s sort of like that old movie, Weekend at Bernie’s. Two guys try to keep this dead guy moving around like he’s still alive, trying to fool everyone. You can only keep it up for so long. Odd side note: they made a Weekend at Bernie’s II, which came out almost 4 years later with a similarly goofy plot. That’s a tangible stench right there…

Failure is not the end. When we embrace the lessons of it, we always gain ground. Covering up or denying it will exhaust us. It’s not worth it!


Our Father is right there saying, "Let me show what I can do with that. You're going to be amazed when you see how I use that. Don't carry it any more. Death is only the prelude to resurrection."

You may have heard it before, but it bears repeating. Thomas Edison tried thousands of methods before he came up with his design for the light bulb that arguably changed the world. He said wisely, “I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

Infinitely wiser are these words from Hebrews 12: endure hardship as discipline; God is treating as sons. It goes to say that these difficulties produce "a harvest of peace and righteousness to those who are trained by it.”

Failure is an option and it’s hard, but ultimate victory has already been purchased and obtained. That's what we can gladly keep our eyes on. All we have to do is hold on to THE END (which consequently is one of God’s names I love).

Be encouraged and confident in all God has given you to do—whether that’s in marriage, family, business, music, church, or wherever—but don’t sweat the methods or the failures.


Embrace Him and embrace truth.

I'm excited to bring you a new message that I hope, will encourage and challenge you. I really believe as we participate with His will, we will see extraordinary things.

It's not a matter of the right vision. It's a matter of having His vision.

His purposes stand forever and no one can ever stop them, so listen and grab hold today.

I've set it up a little differently this time, but it's not too hard!

• To listen from your computer, click the title of this post.
• To download, right-click the title and choose "save target as"

I admitted in a post recently that I have a few OCD tendencies. I don’t like clutter and I’m one of those “a place for everything and everything in its place”-type of people. So when things are out of place, it tends to bother me and I immediately look for a way to right the “wrong.”

As I reflect on it today, a quote I used for “Insights and Relationships” hit me square in the face again. It says,

New insights come from new people and new environments — any circumstance in which the brain has a hard time predicting what will happen next. - Fast Company

In essence, when things are messed up or I, myself, am out of place, I have an opportunity for creativity. On the reverse, I also know I have the propensity to fear and worry.

On Dec. 28, 2008, I was officially set in as Lead Pastor of our church here in Juneau. It was a blessed time and we are praying for big things as our entire church works our butts off to relaunch so that we can more effectively reach and impact our community. There is a resurrection taking place and it is exciting. We are doing something worthwhile and eternal.

In this endeavor, I can honestly say though that sometimes I feel very out of place. I wonder if I have what it takes to lead. I wonder if it will all come together. I wonder this and wonder that. Basically, it’s fear and uncertainty.

I am not a naturally confident person. I’m pretty unassuming and don’t like to draw attention to myself. If I sing, write, preach, or anything else public—the majority of times, it will be with a purpose or not at all. I love to sing, but for someone to just blurt out, “hey, sing us something,” I usually freeze up.

I thought maybe some background would help you understand that I'm not one of those "born" leaders.

You may be in a similar situation where you don’t know if you’re cut out for what you’re doing or what God has called you to do. Good news is, neither did Moses. It has always fascinated me that Moses protested to God so much that he was the wrong man that God told him Aaron would speak for him. Then when he gets to Egypt, Aaron’s there but Moses does the talking anyway!

What you and I have to realize is that God knows what he’s doing. King David was not the people’s choice or even the prophet Samuel’s choice, but God knew what He was doing. Moses was a guy with a speech impediment who rocked the known world to its core by obeying God. Scripture tells us Jesus was not a man we would be naturally drawn to.

Just to let you know, I am choosing faith today. I don’t have to deny that I’m out of place or unable because God already knows that (much better than me) and He still chose me. How humbling is that!

I can pray, press through, and embrace a new creativity that comes from walking on the margins and skirting the edges.

God has never been as interested in ability as He has in our character. Trusting God will lead to some unpredictable places, which by default are ripe with possibilities and creative potential. In the parable of the talents, the success was not measured, the faithfulness was (Matthew 25).

The one who did nothing was not condemned for lack of ability, but for not using what was given to him.

The Church for years has been declared dead or dying by so many researchers and/or detractors. The truth remains, however, that Jesus will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

The Church should be the most creative, most innovative place, for people to experiment, try, and take risks in their pursuit of God and reaching out.

Why? Because we are truly out of place. We are in a world that is not our home and we long for an eternity with our Father. Most will settle though to copy cultural or societal trends instead of getting creative and making new trends and stirring up the status quo.

It’s not about feeling comfortable. It’s not about all the ducks being in a row with the stars aligned and a fortune cookie that says, “go for your dreams.” It always comes back to trusting God.

If He led you here, He’ll be faithful to carry you through. Are you ready to get creative in your church, your job, your family?

This is sort of a companion to the post I wrote on my other blog, Connecting to Impact. It may be helpful to read that first then come back here. Like God told young Jeremiah after his vision, “you have seen correctly.” I believe He wants us to see correctly.

As I am writing this, I’m listening to my MP3 player and I song I wrote and recorded (with just me and the piano) came on. It’s just like God to bring it up at just the right moment!

The point of the song is this: I thought the flood would overwhelm me, but it didn’t, and now I see what it was all about. The chorus says this,

Beautiful hard times, Wonderful difficulties
All the theories I knew about You,
Lord, you proved that they were true
And now I see what I was meant to see,
Beautiful You

The bridge says,

No, the pain didn’t win,
I have learned how to worship
And the hurt didn’t win,
I have learned how to pray
Oh, the fear didn’t win,
I have learned how to trust my God

This was something God spoke to my wife and I when we moved to Alaska—the theories that we knew about God, He was going to prove them to us. Sounded great! How could that be anything but exciting!

Well, the truth—we couldn’t handle the truth. It was painful to stand up foster children. We went through hell as we adopted two of them. The pressure of ministry and living outside my own comfort zone is frustrating, exciting, disappointing, and fulfilling all at the same time. I could go on and on.

In the midst of difficulties, past and present, I have to say that I believe God is faithful. I believe God will provide. I believe God will take care of my family even when I can’t for whatever reason. I believe it, because He’s proved it.

To prove it though, we have had to walk through tough times and hardships that tested our faith, abilities, resolve, strength, etc. just like everyone else who follows Jesus.

Discipline is not a dirty word in God’s house. We may not like it, but it’s not simply punishment or God being vindictive. He’s treating us as sons as it says in Hebrews 12.

In this chapter, there is a verse that I find one of the most frightening in all the Bible. Verse 11 says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

That means we can go through hell and hardship and never see the fruit. We have to be trained by it. We waste our suffering too many times. We don’t value it and go through it as discipline that produces fruit.

We get out of it and away from it like we wanted and never see what it was all about. We get back to external comfort and security, but miss the opportunity to see God as He really is, with our faces unveiled.

Here’s the truth: the devil can do his worst, but it will never overcome God’s best.

Are you ready for a mindset change? Are you ready to be trained by whatever God allows into your life?