5!!!!

Around 10 weeks ago I learned that I was going to be a dad for the 5th time. How amazing is that. I can't believe that over 10 years ago I walked out of the delivery room holding my very first child and now in just a few short months I will do this for the 5th (and yes probably the last) time.

We do not know yet what it will be but the easy guess at this point will be another boy. You know, being that we have already had four of them. (On a side note if I begin losing weight over the next few years it is because those boys aren’t little anymore and are successfully beating me to the dinner table on a consistent basis. I am going to have to go into training just to ward them off. It is my kitchen you know). Anyway, Mandy and I would be ecstatic if we are told a little girl is swimming around in there. Another boy would be great. We love raising boys and are truly blessed to have the four that we have. A 5th (wow!!) would be an even greater blessing. However, there is something different about the thought of having a girl.

Having a girl would be like having the a first baby all over again. That would just be sweet. Besides, girls are different. As time moves on in life a Mom and Dad handle their girls differently than they do their boys. There are some obvious reasons as to why but there are also many not so obvious reasons as well.

As the Dad of a new little girl I know I will turn into mush. My boys make me proud and as I see them become men I will sit back in a chair on my front porch, look at the sky, watch the sun go down and simply smile the proudest smile a man can muster. With a girl, as she becomes a woman I will do the same but with a tear or two rolling down my cheek (if you ask my wife she will tell you I do not cry but in this case I think I would have to). I cannot really explain it with words but there just seems to be something different about having a little girl - daddies little girl. Its not that girls are more special than boys. I wouldn't trade in one of my boys for a girl but if a girl could be added to them I'll take her with open arms, a huge smile and a heart beating faster than a humming bird flaps its wings. She'll have me rapped around her finger before they cut the cord.

Not sure how else to explain it but maybe you Dad's out there understand what I'm talking about. Dad, how did you feel? How do you feel today now that she is all grown up with her own little one calling her mommy? I hope to find out. If not, that’s ok because a 5th boy will bless me just the same. Come April we will know. :)

Having children is great. I love looking at my kids. Holding a new born again is going to be sweet. Boy or girl it is going to be fun. Mandy, have fun with this, your 5th time. I know you love this; you are so amazing. You are a great mom and wife. I don't know how you put up with me and our full quiver.

Fullness of God

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." Colossians 2:9 & 10 (NIV)

Recently my wife and I have had conversations regarding healing. At the same time our Pastor has been doing a sermon series on the supernatural (miracles, healing). Basically God has been messing up my head. I have always believed in miracles, believed they were for our day and that God can do anything he wants. However, much like many people in our society/culture I made a lot of excuses so as to protect myself from being discouraged or disappointed if healing or the supernatural did not take place in my life. Then, yesterday, I had a very good conversation with friends from work which led me to take a look at some scripture that the Lord brought to my memory.

The word/phrase that stuck out to me was "fullness" as in the "fullness of God". What is the fullness of God? Well, what is the fullness of anything? The fullness of something is simply everything that it is, carries, holds. The fullness of something is its character, personality, energy, power or simply everything that makes it what it is. So then, what makes God God? Well, that is probably not a question any person can answer as God is infinite. Our finite minds could never grasp everything that God is. However, we can make a run at it. He is all power, all grace, all love. He is the creator, the healer, the provider. He is the most powerful force in the universe. Deuteronomy 10:17 (NIV) says, "For the LORD your God is God of gods and LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes." No one can tempt God (James 1:13). No one can force God's hand (Isa. 14:27 & Isa. 43:13). God can do anything he likes. One way I like to describe God is the way Aslan is described in the Chronicles of Narnia movies; (paraphrased) He is dangerous but He is good. To me, that is God. He has all power at His fingertips which makes him the most dangerous force in all the universe. Yet He is good and uses His power for good.

So, let me now bring in another scripture. Romans 8:14-17 (NIV) says, "because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba Father'. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory."

If we are sons and daughters of God and we are co-heirs with and are given fullness in Christ then we as His children have access to all that God is. As children of the King we have access to all the riches and spoils of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is within us. It is not something we must ask or beg God for. He has already given it to us. All we have to do is learn to operate in it. Ephesians 4:11-3 (NIV) says, "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Italics addes) It is a process of growth and maturity to operate in it fully; but it is in us.

People of our culture love to make excuses and to talk themselves out of the truth written in scripture. It is easier to avoid the topic and risk of failure than it is to simply believe and walk in faith. We have access to the most powerful force in the universe. If we give Him our lives, live obediently and follow His ways we will be able to operate in Him in every situation and stand in the confidence of His Fatherhood over our lives in everything we do.

Its time to believe. Its time to stop making excuses and to start walking in the fullness of God. It is in us to do but it requires us to give in, to take a risk, to surrender our hearts our thoughts and our doubts and to share in His sufferings. It is not easy but if you get at the feet of God you will find the fullness of God in your hands and available to you.

Be blessed today and walk in His fullness!

What a Week!

This was an incredible week. At New Life Church we decided to do a prayer week to kick off the new year. We called it World Prayer Week in which we had two major prayer meetings each day; one in the early morning and one in the evening. Though I had desire to participate at some level I really didn't expect to attend a prayer meeting every day. In fact Sunday night, the night before World Prayer Week was set to kick off I still hadn't decided what I was going to do. I had thought about attending the first meeting at 6:30am Monday morning but, well you know, I love my sleep and had absolutely no desire to wake up early. However, God changed that. I felt His leading me to go. So I went.

The first meet was great. The meeting itself had nothing to do with it. It was good. Great praise and worship, incredible scripture reading and wonderfully led prayers. It was a typical good New Life Church prayer meeting. However, there was something to the idea of doing what God wanted you to do and then reaping the reward for it.

I knew coming into the week that I wanted to connect with God on a deep level, to gain some insight and wisdom regarding some decisions that needed to be made and to see and hear God in a very clear manner regarding His thoughts, desires and will for my life in general. From day one I felt His presence and was able to begin working through some thoughts, issues, concerns and questions.

It is now Thursday and there is one more day and three more meetings left before World Prayer Week concludes but I am now seriously thinking of continuing on my own. Though I am not a fan of waking up extra early there has been something special about getting up, driving peacefully to the World Prayer Center before the sun comes up, walking into a peaceful environment away from my normal distractions and just getting alone with my Father. This has been a great week as a result of doing just that. It wasn't so much about any answers I received or great insight that I gained regarding some of my requests. It had more to do with just being with Him. He loves spending time with His children. He loves speaking to us and edifying us. He loves connecting with us because He knows we are blessed as a result. I certainly have been all week.

Its strange really. I have always loved prayer and understood the reasons behind praying on a regular and consistent basis. I have even worked for the better part of the past 11 1/2 years in the World Prayer Center. However, this week brought a more clear understanding of the why and a longing to fulfil that why. I have refreshed my love for the Lord this week and have seen why it was God wanted me to get up early on Monday and come in. He knows I benefit from being with Him, from me sacrificing something I love in order to be with Him and from the connection I gain from putting myself in a place where He does not have to compete for my attention. I realized this week a bit more how much He loves me. He truly does. He is in love with me as He is with the rest of humanity. He is incredible. It is true, words cannot truly convey how incredible, how awesome and how utterly amazing He is. He is truly the Almighty.

Jesus, I love you! Thank you for loving me. Thank you for coming to me and working through my heart. Thank you for dragging me out of bed to share a conversation with You. Thank you for being the Almighty God, the Healer, the Provider, the Shelter, the Refuge, the courage and the Strength I need. You have built me up this week and I am looking forward to spending more time with you and growing in everything you want me to grow in. You are incredible. I love you! Amen!

I encourage anyone who ever reads this to listen to the wooing of the Lord and to get alone with Him. Read His word, pray, worship, sit in His presence meditating on His still small voice. Allow Him to connect with you. He never ceases to amaze and you will be blessed in doing so.

Broncos Dec. 20, 2009

Here is my take on the Broncos losing to the Raiders Sunday.

Denver is a good team. I truly believe that. At the beginning of the year I predicted them to finish anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7 while most others had them doing much worse. By no means do I think of them as a great team, a Super Bowl contender. They have a little ways to go before they get to that level; maybe next year. However, they are a good team. Yet, when the playoffs are on the line, you are playing a division rival that you happened to beat on the road by a large margin earlier in the season and you are playing at home YOU SHOULD NOT LOSE.

Generally I can look at a few missed plays, a poor player performance or simple mistakes that led to a loss but in this game I have to look solely at the coach, Josh McDaniels.

Coach McDaniels is a good coach and I believe he has a bright future. However, right now he is being out-coached by more seasoned professionals. He was good as a young Offensive Coordinator on a great football team with a very good and savvy Head Coach overseeing his work. But now, on his own as the head man he simply is getting beat by coaches far better and more experienced than he is. It probably was a good time to make a change when Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen fired Make Shannahan and hired McDaniels but in doing so he let go of a proven mature coach who knew how to correct mistakes and brought in a guy who will have to spend a few years learning what Shannahan already knew.

I hate to say it but McDaniels, at this point, is predictable. I am a J.V. High school Defensive Coordinator and I know what he is generally going to do in short yardage situations before he does it. If I can figure him out, and I admit I am nowhere near his level of expertise, then what can seasoned NFL Defensive Coordinators see? Shannahan was more creative and knew how to utilize every player on the field. He understood talent and how to use it. Sometimes I question if McDaniels does. I like McDaniels, I really do, but as a rookie Head Coach he is getting his tail whipped.

Here is a couple of thoughts. Why in the world is McDaniels so against putting Peyton Hillis in the game. I hope it is not to prove he is better than Shannahan or to prove some point to Hillis because it should never be about those sorts of things. It should be about winning games and if it is Hillis should find himself on the field far more than he is now. Why was a slow, past his prime running back, in Lamont Jordan, playing in front of what I would consider one of the best 3rd down, up field power running and blocking backs in the NFL? Nothing truly against Jordan but he is not where Peyton Hillis is right now and probably never has been. In my mind Peyton Hillis is a great football player waiting on his time to shine. Also, why in the world does McDaniels insist on running Knowshon Moreno up the middle in short yardage situations. He is not a short yardage back (another something Hillis should be doing). McDaniels does it every time and it never works. Knowshon never gets it. One side note, Knowshon is as a player what McDaniels is as a coach. He is good and has a great future ahead of him but he is not a feature back right now.

This team must grow up if they are to ever truly compete with the Chargers or the Colts or any number of other great NFL teams. They will need more than Brian Dawkins to wake them up; this and next year. It starts with the coach and then moves to the players. As a rookie coach he is simply not getting it done. As a Bronco fan I am a fan of Coach McDaniels now and thus I hope he learns quick. The Broncos can be scary good if he does but right now they are not. Losing to the Raiders this week put an exclamation mark on that point.

Come on Broncos, Coach McDaniels, lets go!

Consider Him

Recently in my scripture reading I came across two small words..."Consider him". Hebrews 12:2 & 3(NIV) says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (bold added). When I read those words I immediately began recalling all He has done in my life; especially since the beginning of this year. Since January (2009) He has dealt with three major issues in my life. First he dealt with my finances as my wife and I began to make some changes in the way we have done things in the past. With that then came faith. He began to open my eyes to the idea of truly trusting Him in all things and leaning upon the promises He has given. That then led into dealing with the various fears of my life. Today, as a result of what He has been doing I am beginning to see how big our God is, how wonderful His love is for us and how truly amazing He is in everything. It excites me to think of it, to consider Him and all that He does and has done.

One of my new favorite worship songs is "How He Loves Us" written by John Mark McMillian. The words to the song grip me and entice me to dive into the deep waters of His love and personality. The chorus, though very simple in its wording, says it all, "Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He Loves". Think about it. The God of the universe, who made the stars and every living creature, the God who has everything and can do anything somehow for some reason loves us. To prove it He sacrificed His own Son so that we would not die and spend eternity separated from Him. To prove it He puts up with our inconsistent hearts day in and day out through grace and mercy. Oh yes, He will judge us and we will be held accountable for our lives but He loves us and gives us every opportunity to turn to Him, to be rescued, to dwell in His presence, to experience all that He is and has, to spend enternity with Him.

It takes time to consider Him. It is not something you can do quickly or nonchalantly. He is too massive, powerful, all encompassing to do so. God is great. He is amazing. But these are human words that cannot truly capture Him. To truly consider Him one must go beyond their words, their simple mortal expressions of who their mind says He is. One must take time, away from all distraction, to think upon Him, to meditate on His ways and His activity in their life. When done so it will put a smile on the face and a supernatural glow within the heart.

When we read His word and understand what it is telling us, all we can do is consider Him, His ways, His truths, His glory. Think. Search. Contemplate. He loves us! He died for us. Nothing can thwart His plans. No one is more powerful. What can come against Him? He provides. He protects. He saves. He heals. He disciplines for maturity sake. He loves us!

As I have considered Him a few verses have begun to stick out to me. Consider the truths within these verses and then search the scriptures for more. You will find so much that God wants to speak to you and you won't be able to contain yourself. You will automatically begin to consider Him.

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8 & 9(NIV)

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4(NIV)

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31b(NIV)

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8 35, 37 - 39.(NIV)

"Now 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," Ephesians 3:20(NIV)

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD...victory rests with the LORD." Proverbs 21: 30 & 32(NIV)

"'...Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" Hebrews 13:5 & 6(NIV)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us the very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." 2 Peter 1:3 & 4(NIV)

CONSIDER HIM!

Be blessed today.

Titus 2:11 & 12

Titus 2:11 & 12 (NIV)

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…"

I thought I would give a little insight on a section of scripture that has become one of my life pillars – Titus 2:11 & 12. This scripture first came to life for me a few years back as I fought through some of my most difficult struggles. Like all humans, I sin and have had to face my own personal demons. There are times in these battles we face when we become weary and begin to feel that victory will never come. As a result, shame and spiritual tyranny seem to rule the roost of our heart. We begin to feel as though God is mad at us and will never turn to us unless we first fix the problem. So many times I have found myself in this exact place.

I can recall moments of spiritual despair; feeling as though I would never be good enough to live for God the way I had hoped and imagined. However, God, through a series of Grace movements in my life began to reveal His loving kindness to me. The more I tried to deny the possibility of what He was doing the more He began to open my eyes and help me to “…grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…” (Eph. 3:18 & 19). When I got it my life began to change. This started as God revealed the truth of Titus 2:11 & 12 to me.

In one of those “low” moments of life, though I felt as though God could never love me I turned to His word and found this small book in the back of the New Testament. When I read the words of these two verses the truth leaped off the page, slapped me in the face a few times and woke me up to the greatness of our Lord and Savior's heart. Then, its truth began to play out in my life.

I realized that as long as I was in the midst of my struggles I would never deserve any real advancement in life. I didn’t deserve my family, my job, my healthy relationships or even my relationship with the King of Kings. However, though I didn’t deserve them (and really no human being does as we all sin and are poisoned by its effect in our lives – Romans 3:23) God continued to show up in my life. He never left me. He never took from me those lovely blessings that I didn’t deserve. In fact, not as a reward but as an act of great love and grace, He blessed them. In those blessings I saw it; it is His grace that teaches me to say no to my wicked and poisonous ways. I was humbled. My knees became weak and I was ready to cry (and if you ask my wife that does not happen often). Jesus loved me despite my wickedness and as a result I had every desire to clean up my act and live a life worthy of my calling. Those desires were there before, but now I had power behind them to actually find success.

Today I am free and live with joy. I’m still a sinner. I do not struggle as I did but I am not without fault. I still need Jesus. However, His grace has given me the ability to live in freedom; not bound by the grip of shame or bondage. I fall, but I now know I can get up and still approach the Throne of Grace with freedom and confidence through faith (Eph. 3:12). He is not mad at me; ready to leave me and forsake me. He wants to build me and mature me. He wants to clean me of my unrighteousness. So, when I fall, instead of thinking I cannot approach Him I realize that that is the time when I must. For in His grace I will find strength to overcome and to live a self-controlled, upright and godly life.

God will discipline us (Heb. 12) and sometimes we do need to be corrected. However, even this is done out of grace. God is not like us. His anger is justified and His judgments are pure. Yet, His heart is not to throw us on the trash heap when we fail, but to rescue us and redeem us. So He gives us His grace. When we grasp it, it will change us. It will humble us and we will lose our desire to revel in sin but instead say NO to its draw and walk in His righteousness and life.

Be blessed today and walk in His great love and grace!

Keeping It Simple

I am a big advocate of keeping life and the activities of life as simple as possible. Productivity is at its greatest when simplicity lends a hand. There are places and circumstances in our life where there is no way around complexity. Our world just doesn't allow for complex problems, rules or agendas to be avoided. However, our approach to them can always be as simple as possible.

To me, when we keep it simple in our heart and in our heads, God is then given room to do what He does best; and that is, well, everything. People tend to think that they have to do it all; they think they have to conquer the world. But that is simply not true. God is the one to do the heavy lifting, the actual life changing activity, the overarching, backbreaking, stress causing work that we always try to do on our own.

Now, I will admit, I am not perfect with this idea. Many, many times do I have to remind myself, or receive the reminder from God, that I need to back off and keep it simple. I do not have to tackle the entire problem or accomplish the entire goal in one fell swoop. It's not my job nor is it my assignment to "do it all". My job is to do the little things, to stay obedient, to maintain faith and pursue God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. He, then, will respond with the strength I lack (and beyond), the effort I'm missing, the wisdom I always seem to be without, the productivity I can't seem to reach and the portion of the assignment meant for His hands only.

Recently, I was thinking about how to attain a fairly "small" issue - WORLD WIDE REVIVAL. I was challenged by a Pastor and friend of mine to help figure out how to motivate our church congregation to dig in and pray more passionately. That is when the idea of keeping it simple really took shape in my mind. Many times we had discussed keeping it simple, however, when the challenge came during this one particular discussion the words, "It all starts here first" came to mind. The idea of WORLD WIDE REVIVAL seemed way overarching and impossible. There is no way we can achieve that without causing a little stress in our lives. However, the idea doesn't seem so luminous when we consider that God can do something huge with our simplistic obedience. All we really need to do is paint the picture of possibility and help people understand that through simple obedience, faith and prayer world wide revival could start here first.

Joshua collapsed the walls of Jericho through simple obedience as he led Israel on a march that culminated with a loud shout and a bunch of crumbling walls (Joshua 6). When King David killed Goliath he did it with a simple sling and a stone (1 Sam 17:50). Jesus' disciples and the apostles of the early church were simple everyday men. They were not special by any stretch of the world's imagination. Yet God changed the world through their obedience and simplicity. They loved the Lord, did what He commanded, loved people and prayed with faith.

If the church can understand the power of simplicity and begin to realize that no one individual or church has to carry the entire load I am confident, then, that more people would be willing to exert the effort to pray in faith and obedience. As a result God will respond in our city which will then become a light for the rest of the nation, which will become the salt of the earth; sparking world wide revival and a global outbreak of Jesus focused worship. If it can work with WORLD WIDE REVIVAL then I am certain it can work in our daily challenges, issues, problems and agendas.

So I encourage you to keep it simple and trust the Lord to take care of the rest. Remember, His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt. 11:30).

Blessings in the name of the Lord Jesus!