The Next Chapter

I have pretty much always been a reader.  I like all sorts of books:  historical, science fiction, biographies, and so on.  The thing about reading a book is with each new chapter begins a new adventure.  So, what would you do if you where reading a book, ended a chapter, and flipped to the next page to find it was blank.  This is exactly how I feel right now.  Blank.

I have no idea what the next chapter of my life holds, and it has me wrapped up in two emotions:  fear and excitement.  Fear because I am a planner and like to have everything well planned out, but also excitement because blank page means a chance to do something new, something different.

The hardest part of beginning a new chapter is ending the current one.  I am having a really hard time of letting go.  I loved this chapter of my life so much, which makes beginning a new one so hard. 

In the beginning of the book of Joshua, Joshua is dealing with beginning a new chapter in his life.  He has followed the leadership of Moses for so many years that you could imagine that he was comfortable being in Moses' shadow,  he enjoyed being Moses' partner, and I am quite sure he played his role well under Moses leadership.  Then, an abrupt ending came.  The relationship was severed due to the death of Moses and Joshua is faced with his next chapter.  Joshua is struck with the same fears I believe that I have, fear and excitement.  Fear because of being forced into a new role, and excitement because of a new role.  In the midst of this God speaks:

^6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. ^7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ^8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ^9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Jos 1:6-9., NIV)

Three times God says, "Be strong and courageous", there must be a point in that.  God is the ultimate motivator and coach.  I can hear His voice in my head saying the same things to me.  "Be strong and Courageous".  God is writing a new chapter in my book of life and it all begins with being strong and courageous.  If I am going to be strong and courageous I must....

1. Stay on target (vs. 7, "do not turn from it to the right or the left").  Man made circumstances have a way of trying to get us sidetracked in life.  God has called us with a plan and a purpose.  God's plan was for Moses to lead the people to the promised land, but when Moses sinned the plan changed.  Joshua was now to be the one to lead.  Joshua had to make a choice.  He could let man made circumstances dictate His decision.  He could be angry, he could feel sorry for himself, or He could lead.  Joshua decides to stay on target.
2. Meditate on the Book (vs. 8).  My time has now been freed up to meditate on the Book.  In searching for answers to the questions I now have, I have spent time in God's love letter to me, the Bible.  Sometimes answers are hard to find, and sometimes we get frustrated because there is no immediate answers to our questions.  I have a lot of questions.  I am confused.  Joshua had questions, and quite sure he was confused as well.  God assured him that if he meditated on what God had written and was careful to adhere to it, then he would no only be OK, but would be successful.
3. Remember that God will be with me wherever I go (vs. 9).  It would seem Joshua would already know that.  Joshua saw God do some pretty amazing things.  It would seem if anyone would already know that, Joshua would.  God still reminded him of the fact.  I have seen God do some pretty amazing things, I have taught that God is everywhere we go, and I say it to myself often.  But yet, I need to be reminded of it to.

God states something else to Joshua too.  He tells him to not be terrified or discouraged (vs. 9).

Two big emotions that I can identify with as well.

Fear and discouragement can cripple us.  Fear and discouragement can stop us dead in our tracks.  Fear and discouragement can hinder us from beginning a new chapter.  Joshua absolutely was full of fear and discouragement as he was thrust into new leadership with the passing of Moses.  God knew this and reminded him several times to be "strong and courageous".

The next chapter of life is here, right in front of me and I am looking at a blank page.  God is beginning to write it.  I must be strong and courageous so that I am not terrified and discouraged.

Chris

Why don't we just cancel Christmas?

On November 20, NY Daily news reported that 45% of Americans wanted to “cancel Christmas”….

 

 

What if Christmas were cancelled?

No Christmas Songs or Carols

Silent Night, Joy to the World, O Holy Night, Away in a Manger, Hark the Herald Angels Sing - never inspired, never written, never sung. With no Christmas, the choirs are silenced, the carolers hushed, they are no more. More than that, they never were.

 

No Christmas Trees or Lights

Christmas Tree symbols like evergreen (eternal life in Jesus Christ), lights or candles (Jesus is the light of the world), boughs of holly with red berries and green leaves (Christ's shed blood at the cross and eternal life) and even the candy cane (the shepherd's crook speaks of Jesus as our Good Shepherd) all have a symbolism directly representing the Christian faith. The Christmas Tree actually originated in Christian Germany. It came from two Christian symbols found in homes at Christmastime. The first was a "paradise tree", an evergreen that was hung with apples which represented the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. The second symbol was a "Christmas pyramid." This was a triangular shelf holding Christmas figurines and decorated with a star. By about the 16th century these two symbols had been combined into the Christmas Tree.

 As a believer in Jesus Christ, if we decided to cancel "Christmas" or pretend it never happened we have some very serious consequences we would have to deal with:

1.       No Gift of Salvation

a.       ^16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn. 3:16) God gave us a gift, He gave it without expecting anything in return.  A gift we cannot earn, cannot buy, and cannot repay.  He gave it to us for one reason:  Simply because He loves you and I.

b.      ^8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ^9 not by works, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8,9) The merciful kindness of God is where He could see that you and I had a problem, and He wanted to fix it.  The gift is given to us because we can't do it on our own, and If we could all we would do is brag about it.

2.       No Immanuel

a.       ^14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Is. 7:14) “God with us” or “with us is God”.  That's Immanel.  Every other religion is us trying to get to a god.  God wanted to be with us.

b.      ^5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ^6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ^7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ^8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! (Phil. 2:5-8)

c.       ^12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ^13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ^14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ^15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. (1 Cor. 15:12-15)

3.       No Forgiveness of Sins (Matthew 1:21, 1 John 1:9)

a.       ^21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,  because he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt. 1:21)  Jesus whole purpose of the reason He came was revealed to Mary:  to save his people from their sins.

b.      ^8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ^9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ^10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:8-10) Here is our issue, we don't want to admit we need help.  We are stubborn.  We think we can do this on our own.  Let's face it, life is hard.  I need help, and you need help.  We need someone to eradicate us.

 

 

 

But Christmas Did happen, therefore It can’t be cancelled, Luke 2 cannot be denied, changed or ignored.  The majority of the 45% all said it was financial reasons they wanted to cancel Christmas.  More people go in debt November– end of December than any other time, so are we missing the point of Christmas? 

What is the point? 
What is the purpose?

Here is the point:  Three simple and yet profound words we use at Christmas that make the point.

a.       Hope - Defined: To cherish a desire with great anticipation (Websters).  Because Christmas DID happen you and I can have hope.  Hope that is found in the person of Jesus Christ.  Because of Him you and I can have desire and great anticipation.   “by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope (1 Ti 1:1)”

b.      Peace - Defined:  a state of tranquility or quiet: as, “calmness” (Websters).  Peace can only come through knowing that the creator of everything has us in the palm of His hands.  Therefore you and I can remain calm in the midst of trouble.   “79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. (Lk 1:79)”

c.       Joy - Defined:  a source or cause of delight (Websters).  Happiness is based upon circumstances, aka if your teams with your happy if they don't your not.  Joy is not based upon circumstances.  Joy is what gives us stability.  Joy is what makes us keep going in the midst of bad circumstances.  Our Joy is found in the Person of Christ, He completes us.   “^4 We write this to make our joy complete. (1Jn. 1:4)

 

The next time you and I get frustrated about this time of year and throw our hands up and proclaim "let's just cancel Christmas", remember why it ever began.

 

Love to you all, and Merry Christmas.

 

Chris.

Loneliness

Loneliness 

Isolation

Helplessness 

The life of a leper.

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:40-42 NIV)

Leprocy  was a death sentence, your body would rot and u will die.  At the very outset of a slight inclination of someone having leprosy they where immediately kicked out of their own home, abandoned by their loved ones, and having to depend on themselves.  Leprocy is a disease that still to this day there is no exact known reason as to how it is contracted (Wikipedia). 

So a leper has to lead this life of loneliness, isolation, and helplessness due to no fault of their own.

If the leper comes into the town for any reason they are to yell "unclean unclean", so people will run in the opposite direction.  Why? Because they don't want to be seen, associate, or contract.  Can you imagine how a leper feels if he has to go into his hometown and he sees the ones he loves, but instead of coming to his aid, finding out how he feels, or even acknowledge him they turn away and act as if they never knew him.  

Have you ever felt like the leper.  Lonely.  Isolated.  Helpless.  Scared.  Hopeless.

For this one leper the story doesn't end with those feelings.  He comes to Jesus.  Wait, he straight up walked to Jesus.  He fell at the feet of Jesus, and he asked to be healed.  We must pause to see Jesus reaction, he was indignant (better translated as full of compassion).  It's interesting to note here that it was not the ones closest to him that met the leper in his greatest time of need, it was Jesus.

When everyone else turned their back on him, Jesus faced him.  When everyone else would run the opposite direction, Jesus stayed.  When no one would listen to him, Jesus did. When he felt his loneliest, Jesus was there. In the hour of his greatest need, Jesus was there.  When no one one would associate with him, Jesus became his friend.  When he asked to be healed Jesus did.  When the leper needed someone to believe in him, Jesus did.

And when the rest had given up on him, Jesus didn't.

Sometimes we feel like a leper: lonely, isolated, helpless, scared, and hopeless.  

We must remember 

When everyone turns their backs on you, Jesus faces you

When they run Away, Jesus stays

When no one will listen, Jesus does

When you feel your loneliest, Jesus is there

When you are at the hour of greatest need, Jesus is there

When no one will associate with you, Jesus is your friend

When you need to be healed, Jesus will

When you need someone to believe in you, Jesus does

When everyone gives up on you, Jesus doesn't 

victory

Sunday I celebrated my spiritual birthday.  What is that you may ask?  on Sunday November 30, 1997, my life was forever changed.  On that day I asked Jesus to come into my life, I made Him my savior.

Some days, Some times, I lose site of that victory.  Some days, sometimes, things catch you or me off guard.  Some days some times things spin out of control.  It's these times, those days that we must remind ourselves, I have victory.  Some days are dark, dreary, and concerning.  Other days are beautiful, sunny, and encouraging.  Whether the days are dark, or the days are sunny the fact remains:  I have victory.

Not because of who we are, not because of some great and wonderful thing that we have done, but because His (God's) love goes far beyond what you and I could ever imagine.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)

I don't deserve the life I have right now, I don't deserve my family, I don't deserve my career, I don't deserve my friends, the fact of the matter is:  you don't either.  It is the gift of God.  That's powerful if you think about it.  Everything that we have, every person we know, and every breath we take is a gift from God.

It never ceases to amaze me when I read the Story of Jesus about what He was willing to do for me.  I wished every day I kept my eye on that but I don't.  Try as I may to keep that in the forefront of my pursuit of this life He gave me, we can all get distracted (squirrel)...

Sometimes we ask "Why me?", The response I usually get is, "why not".  Why shouldn't I have to deal with adversity, Jesus Did.  The gift, it came with a hefty price.  Jesus' life.  He knew the cost too, In Luke scripture tells that Jesus was so overcome with stress, grief, and anxiety that "He sweat drops of blood" (Luke 22:44).  I've been under unbelievable stress before, but never like that.  The gift.  He did that for me.

He suffered, died, and resurrected so I can LIVE.  That is what makes me victorious.  I may not always feel victorious, and you may not either.  The victory is not based upon you or me.  The victory is the gift of eternal life.

God, thank you for the victory...

expectations

I have been studying for the last couple of days about Moses.  When most people think of Moses they most always envision the character portraid by Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments".  A commanding strong individual.  However when you read the book of Exodus you will find this to not be.  You will find Moses as someone who did NOT want to lead.  Someone who had a ton of excuses when God shared with him that He would be the one to lead people out of slavery.  One part of the narrative is actually comical if you think about it.  As Moses and God are having this discourse and God is trying to convince Him to go back to Egypt, God instructs Moses to throw his staff upon the ground and when he does God transforms the staff into a snack.  Moses ran from it.  (Exodus 4:3).  I find humor in a man whom God is entrusting to lead a nation running from a snake....

Leading is not easy.  God had promised him all along the way that he would help him.  The issue was that Moses didn't "want" to.  God knew this was the man for the job though, he had been preparing him for many many years.

God expects a lot from his leaders. 

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (Jas 3:1., NIV)

We are judged differently, or God has higher expectations if you will.

I have often wondered, "what if I don't do what He asks?  What if I ignore?  what if I don't lead like I should"....

As harsh as it sounds in my reading this morning I found my answer:


^24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses^ and was about to kill him. (Ex 4:24., NIV).

I have the read the Old Testament in its entirety many times, but yet for some reason, I did not recall this verse.  Funny how that works sometimes. 

To fill in some blanks as to what is happening.  Moses has answered the call (finally) to go back to Egypt, he packs up his wife and children, and begins the journey back.  Then verse 24 happens they stop for the night, and God is like "if your going to lead there is still this one thing you haven't done".  Apparently, one of Moses' sons had yet to be circumcised (requirement of God for Hebrews); some think that it may have been his wife (Zipporah) had talked him out of it when the son was born but we really don't know.  All we do know is this:  God expects His leaders to be obedient, so much so that right here, right now God stops Moses from going any further and is going to take his life for lack of obedience.

Zipporah in verse 25, immediately takes a flint knife and does the deed.

^26 So the Lord let him alone. (Exodus 4:26)

So here is the thing:

Yes God expects a higher standard from His leaders; however we are privileged to see Him work more.

Moses still had his own personal issues after this, however boy did God work amazingly through Him.  The parting of the red sea, God providing manna, and water from the rock.

I know this blog may sound jumbled but I'm still working it out in me....

hope something helped or spoke to you...

Chris

small victories

So yesterday I decided I was going to continue to push forward on my quest to gain distance to my runs.  I didn't tell anyone but I had determined that I was going to add a mile to my run.  My last run was 5 miles, so I had the mindset I was going to hit 6.  Was a pretty afternoon, wasn't too hot, and there was a little breeze.  I set my pace and held it.  Mile 1 felt good, mile 2 just as good, mile 3 even better, mile 4 not too bad, mile 5 I felt good.... in fact I felt like Rocky Balboa, I felt like pumping my fist up in the air because I was going to do this.  The last mile felt like forever, and then finally in my ear I heard "6 miles....", I couldn't hold it in I did do the Rocky fist pump then.... I felt victorious!!

^10 “Who despises the day of small things? (Zechariah 4:10)

A small victory.  Many may read this above and think "ok whats the big deal".

If you think about it life is full of "small victories" more than "large victories"

•   you wake up for work on time
• all green lights down patton ave (lol)
• you finish your work load with a little time to spare
• your child reads with little to no help
• your child does well on a test
• your child does a chore without being asked
• you lose a pound or two
• you gain a mile to your run
• you shave 30 sec off a mile
• a young person's attitude completely changes towards you
• your child memorizes a bible verse
• your child volunteers to pray
• you overcome a fear of praying in public

don't despise or overlook the small victories, those are the ones that will keep you going.

your not always going to

• get the job you want
• see your fav team win
• make 100 on tests
• find a killer deal on a house or car
• win an all expense paid vacation
• finish in 1st place
• lead a person to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ

if you rely only on the larger victories you will find yourself being discouraged.

When victory or accomplishments happen celebrate them whether large or small.....

Have a great weekend, Chris

I'm done...

 

"I'm done.."

I would venture to say every runner has said that to themselves.

For a couple of weeks I have been trying to psyche myself up to building endurance on my run, or adding mileage.  I have been at 3 to 3.5 miles for a year and I felt like now was the time to add more.  A week ago I added almost a mile and did 4.4.  This week I was like ok, I am doing 5.  So Tuesday came and I was ready.  I have to admit I actually prayed this before I ran, "God please give me the strength to make 5, amen.".  I very intentionally slowed my pace.  I am normally an 11 min mile, I slowed it to 12.5 to 13.  Mile 1 went well, mile 2 got a cramp in my calf, mile 3 was ok, then started into mile 4 and my legs got mad at me and my brain started to tell me to just quit, it's not worth it....

"I'm done..." I thought to myself.

Then I started arguing with myself, "it's only half a mile more than you did last week", "you can do this" "no I can't" "yes you can" "I'm tired" "my legs hurt" "your still a mile from your car, you might as well jog"

I walked for a minute or two, then even though my legs where screaming, my head was pounding, and I felt exhausted I still picked up the jog and finished out 5 miles.  It wasn't pretty, but I finished.  why?  because the end justified the means, the pain was worth hitting the goal.

I related a lot of things in life to running now, but obviously if you read me enough you know that.

Life is a lot like running. 

We try so hard to live life the way God would want us to, and yet it seems the harder we try the harder life gets.  It seems the more we try to be good and do the right things the more complicated life becomes.  The more we try to say "no", the more we find ourselves saying "yes" to things we shouldn't.

Then we get to a point where we start telling ourselves "I can't be good anymore" "I'm tired of fighting temptation" "I'm exhausted"  that's it...

I'm done...

^9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Ga 6:9., NIV)

Your not alone, we all face the same battle, although most will never admit it.

You can't give up, you shouldn't give up, and you won't give up.  There is a harvest God is waiting to do in your life.  If you give up, there is no harvest.

Your not done....
God's not done...

Take a deep breath, refocus, and remember why you started.

I couldn't have said that any better myself...

Chris