Trevor Michael Bailey

16 years ago, May 27th of 1996, my life and the lives of everyone in the Bailey family changed. My brother, Trevor Michael Bailey, went home to be with the Lord after a tragic accident late on Memorial Day. He was only 16 years old. Trevor was an incredible young man. He was in love with the Lord, loved his friends, loved football and was developing a love for the game of basketball. He was smart and was already developing strong leadership abilities. Trevor was also a typical 16-year-old working through typical 16-year-old issues and struggles. But at the end of every day, and I probably witness this more than anyone else, Trevor was just a normal human being and great friend. Trevor and I used to sit and talk at the end of every day. We would talk about life, family, football, and other young man topics. Trevor was a naturally curious person. Always wondering about life and God and people. His questions would always lead our conversations to fun and interesting places. Then he would break out is some sort of goofball mood and we would joke about anything we could think of. I’ll always remember our playful “put down” discussions. We’d playfully make fun of each other and make each other laugh. Trevor loved to laugh. When he and his friends got together that is all they did. It made me laugh just being around them. Even if I had no clue what it was that was making them all laugh. For all I know, I was the reason they were laughing. But I couldn’t help myself. He was infectious that way. Trevor loved the comic strip “Calvin and Hobbs”. He would always read them to me and there was one in particular that we would always crackup over. I used to say he chewed like a cow and so he cut one out that he found in the newspaper that showed one of the characters chewing like a cow. I still giggle to myself thinking of that. Trevor has now been gone for as long as he was alive. Actually, the official day that that occurs is not until November 2, 2012, 5 months and 6 days from now. But none-the-less, it is a strange day. I miss him dearly. He was with me during all of life’s hard times and we laughed all the way through them. My wife says I never cry. But if there is something that brings tears to my eyes it is the memory of my little brother. I’m not sure why he is gone but I am sure he is making Jesus and the angels laugh. There is probably some comic strip in the “Daily Heaven Times Newspaper” that has his attention and he is constantly showing them to Michael and Gabriel. When that is not happening he is probably beating Moses in a game of Chess (I’m not sure he ever lost at that game). Or he is shooting deep 3-pointers over Abraham in a game of basketball (that reminds me, darn kid was taller than me when he went home). I miss my brother as I know the rest of the Bailey family does. There are so many memories we didn’t get to have. So many conversations we never got to participate in. And I am pretty sure that he would have competed with me in who would have more children. That’s a number of nieces and nephews, grandchildren and cousins that the rest of the Bailey’s never got to meet. Not to mention a sister/daughter-in-law we never got to know. But we are not defeated in his passing so early. What Satan meant for harm God has turned into good. Satan comes to kill, steel and destroy but Jesus came to give us life and life to the full! We anticipate the day we will see him again. After giving Jesus a 300 year hug I will look for Trevor and give him a 300 year piggyback ride (inside joke – he knows what I am talking about). Until then I will wait and remember. I am also glad that God fixed that horrible Memorial Day when a life was lost. He changed my memory of Memorial Day by giving me a son. Joshua Gabriel Bailey was born on Memorial Day 2004, 8 years later. Though the date is different (Joshua was born on the 31st) the day was the same. God is great like that. He knows how to redeem everything. Trevor, if you can read blogs from Heaven, know that we miss you, we thank God that we had 16 years with you and we are looking forward to spending eternity with you. While you wait for us, eating with Jesus at the dinner table, do me a favor…chew with your mouth closed you goofball. Love you Bro!! Thank you Father for giving us Trevor even for the short time we had him! Love you Lord! Be glorified!

The Basic Principles of Having the Mind of Christ

This is my latest AllAboutGod.com article. It can be found at http://www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org/having-the-mind-of-christ-faq.htm

The basic principles on having the mind of Christ begin with the surrender of the heart. They also include loving Jesus with every ounce of being due to understanding the depth of Jesus’ love. Finally, having the mind of Christ requires faith, developing a mind set on the things of God through a working knowledge of scripture, and through an obedient and intimate connection with the Spirit of God.
Surrendering of the heart to Jesus requires relinquishing control over every area of life. Jesus said, in Luke 14:26 (NIV), that “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple.” Jesus was not advocating a lifestyle of hatred but simply teaching where priorities must lie. He was putting into perspective the life a believer must live. The believer must live for Him in everything they do, in every relationship they have, with every word they speak and with every breath they take.
Surrender is possible because of Jesus’ great love for His people. Jesus said in John 15:9 (NIV), “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” Though plainly spoken this is only the tip of the iceberg as it relates to His love. Considering his love fully requires deliberate reflection on the richness of His ministry. Jesus left Heaven to live a sinless human life, was rejected by His own creation, was put to a brutal death and was denied by His own disciples while feeling forsaken by the Father (Mark 15:34). Hebrews 12:3 (NIV) says, “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Capturing what it was Jesus did brings about a surrender and a love in the believers heart that fulfills the command found in Mark 12:30 (NIV), “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Knowing this great love and surrendering the heart develops within a believer a spiritual confidence that scripture calls faith. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Faith is what propels a person of God to go beyond themselves and to lean not on their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Faith opens the eyes and ears of a believer to the Fathers heart and to every promise He has given. Faith gives the believer the ability to do and not just believe for as James 2:17 (NIV) says, “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Scripture teaches that Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith in a believer’s life (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus develops faith in a believer as they grow and they grow by operating in obedience. To operate in obedience the believer must have a working knowledge of scripture, God’s word. A working knowledge of God’s word allows believers to know the will of God as it unites the Spirit of God with their own. Doing this helps weed out of the believers heart and mind the things of the world that have poisoned their spiritual life. Without these poisons, the believer can dive into their relationship with God in a highly intimate manner. They develop the ability to listen to the voice of God and to have regular conversation with Him, which only strengthens the hunger to know him more and to be more like Him.
The basic principles of having the Mind of Christ begin with surrender and end with intimacy. In between these two things is faith in and obedience to God’s will. The believer develops a working knowledge of God’s will through the reading of scripture and the walking out of faith in the actions of daily life. In the end, the believer simply falls in love with a God who is already in love with them and thus practices a lifestyle that strengthens their relationship with their savior and they begin to think and act more like Jesus.

2012 Denver Broncos Offseason

Ok, so most of you may look at this and say who cares. Nevertheless, that is ok as this blog is about Faith, Family and Sports; three areas of great importance and interest in my life. Therefore, occasionally I will spend some time writing about something that interests me in the sports world.
If you know me very well then you know that I love football and I grew up an avid Denver Broncos fan. If you follow the game then you also know that for the first time in a long while I had something to cheer for this year. With the emergence of Tim Tebow at QB and the additions of John Elway as the team President of Football Operations and new Head Coach John Fox the team took a turn for the better this year and made life in the Mile High city (and everywhere else Broncos fans reside) fun again.
This offseason I have high hopes again. I feel last year, when John Elway was brought back to the team, John Fox was hired and the team retained Brian Xanders as the General Manager the team was able to spear head a very successful offseason that not only helped make this season fun but they began building toward the future as well. Therefore, I expect nothing but the same this year, to keep building on what they did last year and to help this team take the strides for even more success.
In some ways, I think this may be the most exciting part of the year for football, when every team is working to build their rosters and update their systems. This is when, in my opinion, championships are won. Then, when the season begins, it is about everything coming together and players staying healthy as they play through the week-to-week grind of the actual football season. If it all comes together then the likelihood of a team hoisting the Lombardi Trophy increases.
For the Broncos to have a successful offseason this year the three headed team of Elway, Xanders and Fox need to continue working together in unity, seeing as close to eye-to-eye on decisions as possible. They need to sign their own key free agents and bring in at least two other free agents from other teams and then land three to five players in the draft that can make immediate impacts in 2012. If they do this then they will have a great chance at building on the success of this past year.
I would say that if Denver can repeat what they did this year, meaning win their division and win at least one playoff game, then they would be able to call the 2012 season a success. This year one could say that they overachieved, and they probably did. Therefore, to repeat what they did in 2011 would keep them moving forward. If they can overachieve again, well, it will all be icing on the cake.
Here are some key moves that I think would be good for the Broncos this offseason...
Resign Kicker Matt Prater, Tight End Daniel Fells and Defensive Tackles Brodrick Bunkley and Marcus Thomas. If they can resign Wide Receiver Eddie Royal that would be a bonus as he adds depth to the offense and special teams play making ability. There are others to retain, but realistically they will not be able to as there are always a few players every team must let go of in order to keep building for the future.
In the free agent pool, outside of their current roster, it will all depend on who will be available. However, I think bringing in a couple of good-character guys who are in the prime of their careers who are also known as leaders on and off the field would be greatly beneficial. If they add a Defensive linemen, a Cornerback or maybe even a Wide Receiver or Offensive linemen it would be good.
In the draft I think they should target the best available player in one of seven positions with each pick they get; Running Back, Wide Receiver, Offensive Line, Defensive Line, Linebacker, Cornerback and Safety.
As always, it will be fun watching it all unfold. Well, at least for me :).
I hope everyone has an incredible year. Be blessed and…
Go Broncos!!

The Joy of Family

Last night I stayed up way too late to watch "The Hurt Locker" - one of my new favorite war movies. If you are not familiar with the movie, it is about three soldiers who are tasked with disarming bombs that are found strategically placed so as to detonate and kill as many people, namely U.S. Soldiers, and destroy as much military equipment as possible. It is a highly intense movie. One word of warning, however, if you choose to watch it there is a lot of language, and of course, a lot of violence as well. So be careful.
Anyway, one of the main characters in the movie, who happens to be the leader of the team, is addicted to the life and death situations he and his team constantly face on the job. Every situation they find themselves in is unique and seems to draw out a new level of fear. Each of the characters has to deal with these circumstances differently and with their team leader always pushing the envelope and their day to go home slowly arriving they are faced with a gamut of difficult and gut wrenching emotions.
The movie can really help the casual American understand a bit more what our wonderful soldiers go through. Those men and women are truly amazing!
I say all this really to point to one part of the movie that gets to me more than any other.
At the end of the movie, the team leader who is addicted to risking his life is faced with reality back home when his tour of duty concludes. Suddenly, instead of figuring out how to disarm a bomb so that it does incinerate him and the others, he is faced with the difficult choices of choosing a box of cereal from the hundreds of assorted options at the grocery store. His fixation with death defying moments is replaced with cleaning out the gutters on a rainy day and preparing dinner with his wife in the kitchen. He then finds himself alone with his son who is somewhere between the ages of one and two years. In that moment, he realizes the difference between the innocence of a young child and the lack of innocence in adulthood. He suddenly begins to realize that life, at least his own, is not all that it seems to be when you are young and have not yet faced life’s ugliness. He basically speaks depression and meaninglessness over his child.
After that moment he chooses to forgo the monotony of daily life back home for another death defying tour back in Iraq. He leaves his wife and son simply to gratify a fleshly desire. Despite satisfying the need that his wife and son have for a husband and father he chooses instead to satisfy his need to have a continual adrenaline rush.
I hope that I have not ruined the movie for you if you haven't watched it. However, in watching that scene, I was struck by this man’s inability to connect with the joy of family and children. If I did not know any better I would have dismissed it as simply a scene from a movie. However, so many people in this world just do not seem to understand. It is not just war hardened soldiers but even every day men and women who are so focused on themselves and their desires that they find it impossible to see the incredible blessings of simply being at home with their loved ones.
There are certainly responsibilities that we all have to fulfill. We need to work and supply for our families. Our brave men and women need to be able to leave family in order to defend our nation and fight for freedom. However, when our responsibilities elsewhere have been fulfilled what do we then do with our time? Do we find other ways to satisfy our personal desires and impulses or are we able to stop, take a look at the faces at home and find their needs greater than our own?
I believe we have an enemy that wants to rob our focus and direct our hearts inward. I also believe that we have a Father who desires us to live outwardly, focused on fulfilling the needs of others. Though the inward desires are enticing, I believe that when we set them aside and satisfy the outward focus the Father wants us to have we will find greater fulfillment. When we can connect ourselves to the innocence of our children, and provide comfort to spouses and other loved ones, when we can set aside ourselves and spend time with those we care about then we will find greater joy and fulfillment deep within than living for our own fleshly desires can bring.
There is nothing greater to me than to come home to my wife and my boys. I love seeing their faces and spending time with them. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than being with them. When my work is done, there is no better way to spend my time than being with the ones God has graced my life with.
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. – Proverbs 18:22
Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. – Proverbs 17:6
Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set you minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. - Colossians 3:1-4

Almost 2012

It's almost 2012 and I haven’t posted on my blog since June 23rd and this will only be my third post for the entire year. Wow! I hope to jump on this a bit more in the coming year. I love to write and enjoy using this medium to express the things God is doing in my life along with providing a few opinions I might have on other subjects such as sports, my family, and other topics that cross my mind.

In 2012, my desire is to build upon the interests God has placed in my life. I hope to first and foremost pursue God with everything in me. I hope to keep my life free of unnecessary complexity and to live as purposely as possible. I hope to connect with my family on a deeper level and to provide opportunities for us to do some things that we have not been able to do in recent years. I also hope to expand on the things God has allowed for me to do at work and to continue preparing for future ventures that might come my way.

For those who read my blog I hope you find it not only interesting but uplifting as well. As you move toward your 2012, I hope and pray that the Lord will reveal Himself to you in ways you have never seen before. I pray that your hopes, dreams, and desires are met with success and that you are able to accomplish everything that the Lord places on your heart.

Father, in your most Holy name I lift up my family, my team at work, my friends and the readers of this blog and ask that you bless them in 2012. I pray that what I write in this blog will come from your inspiration and that not only can I use this platform to do something I enjoy but that others can be blessed, encouraged and inspired by it.

Thank you Jesus for all that you have done and for all that you will do this next year. I love you and I desire more of you in my life. Thank you for the blessing of 2012 and the blessing of those who will share in the coming year with me; in person, in spirit and through the words in this blog. AMEN!

Love Your...

Love Your…
Stop! This is not what you think it is. You are thinking of the word Neighbor aren’t you? The word from Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31 and Luke 10:27. The word spoken of in Leviticus 19:18 and Romans 13:9. No, the word that follows is another word. One that your heart alone can allow there. It’s a word placed there by people or circumstances that have offended you, hurt you, frustrated you, angered you. It is a word that your enemy and this world wants you to tattoo across the foreheads of people and upon the circumstances that trip up your daily life so that you will hate them or desire revenge against them. So what am I saying? To love those that anger us, hurt us and frustrate us? Yes! That is what I am saying.

For 13 years now I have worked in a church with lots of people. What I have done in those 13 years is take care of the building that all these people use. Not sure if you realize this or not but people can be messy and some do not seem to care. People, especially in large groups, make messes and cop attitudes. They sing praises and then leave their half empty cup of coffee on the floor so that another can kick it over. They lift up their Savior and then bully other drivers as they leave the parking lot. They pray over those who need Christ in their life and then seemingly leave Him out of theirs as they leave the sanctuary.

I know this sounds critical of the church and all those who make it up. However, my intent is not to be critical of the church but to simply paint a piece of the picture that I have viewed for 13 years. In these same 13 years, I have also witnessed the beauty of the Bride of Christ. Beyond the messes and the masses are tons of wonderful things that I can mention in another blog entry. As beautiful as she is though there are times when she can look like we do when we wake up in the morning. She can have moments of messy hair and bad breath. She can have moments where she does not look so attractive. Yet, we are to love her because Jesus loves her. He loves His bride when she is walking down the stairs in all her stunning beauty and He loves her when she is stumbling into the bathroom with her eyes squinting through the first light of day after a long night of rest. He simply loves her and He is working in her to make her all the more beautiful. Therefore, we are to love her regardless of how she may look from one moment to the next.

There are two verses in John 13 that opened my eyes to this more than they ever have been. In verse 11 scripture says, “For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean” (NIV). In the very next verse, verse 12a, scripture says, “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place” (NIV). Maybe you have caught this before but for me it was the first time. Jesus washed all the disciples feet including the one he knew was going to betray him. Jesus knew what Judas was up to and what would come of his actions. Yet Jesus washed his feet. He loved the one who no doubt was hurting His heart.

John 13:34 & 35 says, “’A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’” (NIV). We cannot simply love those who love us. We must love those who…

Jesus is wonderful and He makes each of us beautiful. When we look through His eyes we see what the messes and the masses seem to hide. We see through the stuff the enemy wants us to focus on and become bitter against and we begin to see the beauty of the one that Jesus loves.

This week and again next month my church, New Life Church in Colorado Springs Colorado, will be hosting thousands of young men and women of God and no doubt will the team I lead run into a few circumstances that will cause anger, frustration and maybe even bitterness. It just happens. Therefore, I have asked my team to consider this same idea. To wash the feet of every person that crosses his or her path. To love them as Jesus commanded. To do otherwise is to open the door for the seeds of the enemy. Our negative response to someone can turn them from Christ. Our positive, loving, foot washing response, however, can help others know that the beauty of the Bride of Christ is here and help open the way for the Holy Spirit to operate powerfully in their life.

Blog entry: www.damonbailey.blogspot.com

Food and Water

Recently Mandy and I along with our boys spent 5 days in Tulsa Oklahoma visiting my family. Each time I have made this trip, I have realized that food is a huge part of the visit. We are a large close-knit family and we love to eat (as I guess all large close-knit families do). My crew alone had seven mouths, or better yet, stomachs to feed. Then there was my two parents, my three brothers, my sister-in-law and a very cute 1 month old nephew. If you are counting, there were 14 mouths/stomachs to feed while we were in town. That is a lot of food.
When the feast was over we had to wash all that food down with something and throwing in all the playing we did out in the heat and humidity that Oklahoma so graciously provides and the gallons of liquid we had to consume really began to buildup. At the end of it all, it is easy to see that we are a very hungry and thirsty bunch.
However, there is one other thing that I have noticed on these trips. Not only are we hungry and thirsty in our bodies we are a spiritually hungry and thirsty group as well. Each of us is in love with Jesus. We are a blended family but our loving Savior has grafted us together just as he has the Gentile and Jewish families. Today we serve Him individually, in our separate households and as a whole family. We hunger and thirst together. It is a beautiful thing and we are all blessed for it.
The Gospel of John, in the fourth chapter, speaks of those who thirst and hunger after Him. Speaking to a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in Sychar Samaria Jesus says in verses 13 and 14, "'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life'". Later in the chapter in verse 34 Jesus says to his Disciples, "'My food...is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work'". Jesus goes on to speak of harvesting the fields that have been sown and reaping the benefits of the labor that has already been done.
When I look upon my family, I see a family longing for His living water, to do the will of Him who sent them and to finish His work. We are not a perfect family by any means. We have had to learn some hard lessons, but through them, we have all grown...grown thirsty and grown hungry. Today we are closer than ever and we are growing even faster. God has completed a lot in us and still has a lot to complete but we are willing to consume the food and drink He offers.
My imploration for those who read this is the same. Thirst for Jesus' living water. Hunger to do his will and to finish His work. As His children we have access to His Kingdom and all that it possesses. Eternal life is ours if we will take it. Yes, there is work to do. Yes, we must labor, we must toil. However, we do not do so as the world does. Our labor and our toil is a blessing. It is a blessing to Him as it is our obedience to His loving command. It is a blessing to those the work benefits for they are His children in need. It is a blessing to us as it is our worshipful connection to His heart.
Also in John 4 Jesus says in verses 23 and 24, "'Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth'". Jesus has brought life to each of us. His grace and His mercy has been extended to us in a most loving manner and it comes in the satisfaction of our great thirst and hunger. He satisfies as we worship in spirit. He quenches as we worship in truth. We offer our all to Him in deed and in rest. We lay down what the world says we own so that in truth rightful ownership is restored to Him who provides our every need.
If you thirst, if you hunger, do so no longer. Offer your worship in spirit and in truth. Obediently walk the path He has laid out for you. Seek Him. As has been true for my family there will be difficult lessons to learn along the way. In the end, however, your thirst will be satisfied with living water and your hunger will be satisfied through the fulfillment of His will and His work.
To my family I say, thank you for the wonderful visit and I look forward to many more memories as we walk our path to the Father in Spirit and Truth eating and drinking at His table together. Spiritually speaking...bottoms up and what’s for desert :). I love you!