Jesus is Building his Army

The only way you wouldn't here that the church as we know it is imploding around us is if you were dead. All I hear everyday from other church leaders and by reading countless books is that in 10 years we won't have a church anymore...... I am actually getting sick of it. Do we really buy into the negative publicity of a fallen church? Do we believe that God lasted this long and is tuckered out and wants to tap? Do we fall into the trap of being depressed and being just one more butt in a seat. Or, do we believe that God is raising up a generation of young people that need to grab hold of the torch and carry into victory. Is God preparing an army to fight this negative controversy. For me, I am a very pessimistic individual. I believe the negative before the good. It is easy for me to jump on the worry band wagon and read all the books of fallen churches, and unchristian generations and believe the statistics about young adults dropping out of the church. But, I do not want to be the type of Pastor that becomes comfortable with mediocrity. I do not want to be the Pastor that gives up and settles for the status quo, and I sure as heck don't want to be the pastor that settles for a dying church that cant get past the culture and tradition that it has been stuck in. I believe we are BORED as Christians because the older generations don't give us any credit. We have been pushed aside as the LOST generation. When the boomer generation was young they were titled the LOST generation. When the Gen Xers were younger they were called the LOST generation. So, I guess we fall into the tradition of being LOST too. The Jesus I serve is on a mission for a movement. A fresh new move of his spirit to spread havoc among young adults today. He is on a mission to challenge our way of thinking and spark a fire inside our hearts to get off of our butts and get involved in His movement. God has not left the church, we have left God. We have dropped the power source and have made ourselves the key. We are not the key, the source, the savior. JESUS IS.......

God is building his army and I want to be one of his soldiers. He is tugging on souls and wants to fight against sin, against boredom, against mediocrity, and hypocrisy. He wants us to lead a generation of young adults to make history for their faith. He is calling us to be History makers. Who wants to run this journey? Who wants to get off their seats and praise? Who wants to be that light in their communities? then lets register and get our dog tags and kick some serious booty...... Hoorah!

Commitment

Why is it so hard to stay committed to something. New Years resolutions are the worst. We have all done it. We have all made promises to commit to the fitness regiment, the eating right. the not smoking weed for a year, the staying abstinent for as long as you can. Sometimes it reminds me of several "Seinfeld" episodes when they make a commitment and see who can stay committed the longest. The reasons why I laugh is because we all have commitment issues. Making promises to our spouses, or making promises to our kids. We all fall short of these things.

But what about our commitments to God. Do we struggle with it? Do we have a hard time keeping our promises to him? I will read my bible everyday, I will make sure I pray for someone this week, I will stay away from sin, etc. I have the hardest time keeping promises sometimes and I want to make sure I learn to keep more then forget. I want to make sure that I hold true to my commitment in Christ so that I do not give the enemy any chance to through me off track.

One Haitian pastor illustrated the need for total commitment to Christ with this parable:

A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000.00. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn't afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: he would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.
After several years. the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So first the owner went out, found a carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.

The Haitian pastor's conclusion: "If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation."

I want to commit myself to Jesus and do everything in my power to keep that commitment, no matter how hard it gets.

Youth Camp Love

Who can remember their first Summer camp experience? Who remembers the hiking, the biking, the rock climbing, the water sports and then from across the lake you noticed a person that you thought was the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? The next day begins trying to find the same activities that this person is doing so you can get just one glimpse of her as you try to act as if you are not noticing. At night when the service is about to take place you make sure you sit as close as you can without being completely obvious. During the worship set while others around have their eyes closed, you are the one searching to make sure your eyes might possibly connect. Day 3 comes along, and you have just enough courage to go up to her and tell her how much you like her. Day 4 you are holding hands and preparing for the 1st kiss. After the kiss comes, day 5 peeks its unwilling head through the camp just in time to swap numbers and to say goodbye for one last time. "I promise I will call you" " Maine is not that far away"

The final thing you see is the window rolling down and the wave of her hand slowly fading into the distance. As a single tear runs down your face never to see her again. You say to yourself. "I will always love and remember ?" crap what was her name again?

Having my own personal camp experiences with other girls from other churches, I sit back and watch in the last 10 years how many students that I have had to monitor, watch, and protect from these types of situations. The hardest thing for me to grasp is when the camp is all over, how much that student will not make it through another day without seeing the other persons face. "I Love him/her"

It is interesting how many of these relationships end at the last word said. "Goodbye" never to be seen from, or hear from again until the possible next years camp reunion where we have matured oh so much, that we are to cool for the other person.

As Amanda is away on her first summer camp alone with out me, I smile whenever she calls me because she is mentioning all the potential hook ups that are taking place at camp. I cant help but crack up at the fact that some of our students will be at this place by the end of their week. Because camps at times are so emotionally charged a person cant help but like the opposite sex, and be drawn to them in an emotional week long dating scene.

To those of you reading this, parents, young adults, and youth students, just remember what it was like when you went to camp. It is not going to be like the opening scenes of Forrest Gump, where you and the other person are going to be like pees and carrots. That way we can fall under this understanding that life moves on past camp to a wonderful future. So laugh when we need to laugh. These are some funny stories that help us tell our children when they get to be that age.

Imago Dei

Have you ever been I.D. before? Whether at the bars, the clubs or when the shinny lights scream your name cause you were speeding in your car? What was the outcome? Have you had your limit? Where you kicked to the curb? Was your ticket over $500.00? Having a valid I.D. is important in life..........If you are looking for a new I.D. because yours sucks, let me ask you one more question? Do you want an I.D. that will never expire, run out, or be declined? If so, we ask that you come and check out Imago Dei. The name Imago Dei (I.D.) in Latin means "Image of God." Being created in God's image gives us the opportunity to experience the way He relates, communicates, and shares His love with others. We can literally be the hands and feet of Jesus as we live to represent His story through our lives.

What is Imago Dei about?

We are all about Relationships!!!!!
Whether you're a single young adult, married, single again, with or without children - no matter where you have been and what you have done - We invite you to experience Imago Dei .

No Church Experience Required....... Come as you are and leave Connected!

What is the Imago Dei experience like?

Services that last about 90 minutes
The band is Loud
Freindly people will help you find your way around
A message that is relevant to your life
Fun kids programs

Come and Experience the launch of Imago Dei on Sunday, Sept. 13 2009 @ 6:30pm @ the Baxter Campus.

http://www.imagodeimovement.com/
http://twitter.com/Go2ImagoDei.com

15 key points

1. Make the time you have with relationships last in that moment, because you never know when it will be gone.

2. People come and go, so be as influential as you can with everyone you meet.

3. KILL people with KINDNESS.

4. Forgive and forget your past............ Don't let it haunt you, it will rob your future.

5. Be quick to forgive those that screw you over, because you need the same grace on the flip side.

6. Don't let tradition grip you. You miss out on the risk of adventure.

7. Don't stick in your man cave for to long. Nobody will come and visit.

8. Thank God you made it through another day

9. Sometimes you just need a little foghat

10. Never let your mom destroy your Stryper mixed tape

11. Never squish your children's dreams, even if they do not live up to your standards. 

12. Always make love to your wife. Because God told you too.......Thanks man, I will thank you in person with a fist bump and fireworks.

13. Don't forget to pray for those who have influenced your life. 

14. Wake up at 3am in the morning to help someone in need........GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED.

15. Always be nice to redheads..........We have an in with the man upstairs. :0)

The Christian Club

The Christian Club. That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? A place where a bunch of Christians can get together and share about their faith in a safe environment. Schools, churches, college campuses and work places, wherever we can get a group of people together we can call it a club. 

Are these clubs open or closed? Is it designed for only Christians or can non believers come too. 

Example: 

I was asked to speak at a christian club at a high school in the desert valley. Before it started I sat outside and greeted people that were walking by and or coming into the club. As I was introducing myself to people I asked several students walking by if they were coming into the club. They went on to say, "I am not a christian" I thought to myself that OK this might be how one person feels but I am sure she doesn't speak for the majority. So, I asked a few more students. They gave me the same response. "I am not a christian"  At his point my heart was saddened. I asked some of the students who were in charge of christian club,  "is there anyone that stands outside and invites people in? They went on to say no, if they are not a christian they cant come in." I thought to myself this cant surely be happening. But, it was a reality for this specific club. 

As I reflected on how backwards from Christianity and may I add the bibles commands. I thought to myself that there are so many other clubs that are exclusive as this particular christian club. The church!

Growing up in the church for me was like being a part of a secluded club. A club that the password to get into this club was "Christian" If you were a christian you were welcomed into the club (the church) If you were not, like a lot of my friends, you just wouldn't show up. Being in a youth group of 30 students in a church the size of 3000 was fun for me, because I called myself a christian, but for those they may want to come check it out and possibly be a part of the group, you would need to use the secret password or else you would be lost and never come back.

Is this what God wanted to happen to his people? pardon my language but this pisses me off. 

As I was speaking to that christian club, I couldn't help but be royally mad and upset at how a group of professed Christians can sit in a disclosed room and swap christian stories about how they witnessed to someone that month and have someone pat them on the back and yet outside those shallow walls was a huge Harvest waiting to be picked for the harvester. Needless to say once I was done sharing about witnessing, I left and turned down all other speaking engagements at the particular club. 

When I look at myself in the mirror I have to tell myself that I am a Pharisee. I was and am at times everything that Jesus could not stand. If the name Christian is to be like Christ then why the heck would I exclude everyone that Christ would try to reach and go after.

I think that if the church in America is not careful we will become such a stuffy room filled with people who play the typical church game of "Who can hide their sin the best" and missed out on what God has asked us to do. "GO" He gave us a command with one word. "GO" 

I do not want to be a part of a christian club, and I am sure I speak for millions of others, I want to be a part of a movement of people who call themselves Christians, to go out and be Christians to ALL we come in contact with.

the 1980's church I grew up with is dying a fast paced death. I do not want to be another deadly statistic. I want to be a new statistic of authentic followers of Jesus striving to become a true meaning of what the word "Christian" started out to be. I want to be like Christ........So father, send me and I will go.........

Happy Mothers Day ( Free babysitting)

Why do we have mothers??? Is it just because they gave us life? Is it just because they are far better at sympathy then dads? Or is it because they can juggle a few different tasks at once? Or is it because they pray for their children??

I have 3 redheaded boys who are a bundle of energy. They love to laugh, play, fart and fight, and sometimes all at the same time.....They can tend to be a little crazy. So when it comes to watching them on a weekend, or even for an evening so that Amanda can go out and have a break. I sometimes get that feeling that starts in the back of your neck and then moves to your ears getting hot and that sudden headache that emerges. I ask myself the question, "Am I going to be ALONE in this endeavor?" 

I am not sure why it is that I feel this way. It may be because I sense that the volume level may increase, that maybe I am out numbered, or just maybe all things that can go wrong will happen  at one time.  

STORY

PART 1

It was a Christmas holiday last year, and Amanda wanted to go out with some of her family for a ladies night. I thought I would do the good husband thing and say "Sure baby, you go on out with the girls. Everything will be ok." She looked at me with the one eyebrow up and the little smirkish grin and said, "Are you sure?" I said go and have fun........Honestly how hard could it be, right?????

I started by feeding the boys my interpretation of spaghetti and then watching a manly movie together as men in the house. I do recall the movie was "Beauty and the Beast" then it was time for baths and story time. I placed my little son Jadon in the bathtub with his 1500 bath toys and then placed the other two boys in bed and began to tell them a story. As I was in the beginning stages of "Goldilocks and the three bears"  I heard a sound similar to a submarine coming up to the surface of the ocean. Or the kind of sound that when you are alone in the hot tub and you have to fart and the bubble reaches the surface.......Immediately after the noise, I hear Jadon yelling "Dad I POOPED". I am not sure if you have seen someone poop in the tub before with water in it, but it has infected all of the tub and toys. Before I got to the bathroom, Jadon tried to do what every man in this predicament would do, he tried to fix the situation. He got out of tub and tried to make that last little Hershey squirt to the toilet......Therefore he had a little watery trail leading from the tub to ALL OVER THE TOILET AND BEYOND......

Several phrases come to mind at this moment in time and it would sound pretty Ironic to state them. But, I had no idea what to do. Do I get newspaper? Do I drain the water and let it sit there till mom gets home? Do I try to do a man way of clean up and smear it around in circles? 

PART 2

As I was still trying to come up with a plan, I hear another noise coming from the room that I had left the cliff hanger of pourage being eaten by 3 bears, a sound that was similar to a fraternity party at around 3am. Lakai felt that the Spaghetti was not to his liking and felt the urge to bring it back up for everyone else to see. ALL OVER THE WHITE SHEETS!!!!

I now officially have to MAJOR issues going on. 

I finally placed two towels on the floor in the family room in front of the TV and told the oldest to watch the younger two while I attempted to resolve some of the problems. I went back to where the "Browns" went to the "Super Bowl" and picked up the 1500 pooped filled toys and threw them all away......I grabbed 3 full rolls of paper towel and gave it my all.  I then proceeded to the bathroom, and I strictly remember the "Comet" song and realized that was my weapon of choice, "Comet, it makes your mouth turn green, Comet it tastes like gasoline, Comet, it makes You Vomit......" So I began to strip the bed and pour the Comet cleaner all over the bed. 

After it was all said and done, I thought, "Why God, Why me" 

Do the woman out there sometimes feel the same way when us husbands are at work and these things happen?

I LOVE MOMS! 

What was Jesus' mom like?

Here is a gentle woman who had all the same issues with children as other moms. This might come as a surprise to you all because the bible doesn't get into much detail on raising kids that vomit and poop........Jesus had all the same things happen to him as it did to us. Jesus had some HOLY poop. I am sure Jesus vommited when it came down to eating certain foods, I am sure Jesus woke up in the middle of the night with a cold and flu and needed his mom their by his side. I am sure that he even left some holy tracks in his underwear too. 

But, one thing is for sure. Jesus LOVED and NEEDED his mom. 

Who  loved Jesus when he was 12 and he didn't come home on time because he was at the temple talking scripture with men 2 to 3 times his age???     HIS MOM

Who loved Jesus so much that when he constructed something out of wood, that maybe wasn't the best, and he needed some encouragement?   HIS MOM

Who was there when Jesus was being rebuked by his own people?   HIS MOM

Who was there when Jesus was being beaten and and crucified?    HIS MOM

Who was at the tomb when Jesus died?  HIS MOM

Who was there for Jesus life?  HIS MOM

Moms, you do so much for your children that we can not even thank you for, we don't even have enough room on a thank you card to write all the wonderful things that you have done......But, you deserve ALL the credit for our lives. 

Amanda, I know that the Lord has blessed you with three wonderful young men, and that even though they may go through life with ups and downs, one thing remains.....YOU LOVE THEM AND THEY WILL ALWAYS KNOW THAT......

I love you baby and all that you do...........................It is an honor to be a part of your life in this next journey of sports, friends, school and possibly girlfriends. May God grant you the power of a praying mother.........

The "Orange Mocha Frappicino" ministry

 AWWWW! The sweet nectar of the God's "Frappicinos" I myself am a sucker for the Venti Carmel Frappicinos. Whenever I had to meet with staff or other people from the church, instead of meeting in my office, we would meet at my other office, "Starbucks" Whats funny is I would have 2 to 3 meetings at that office a day. Which left me with a predicament....... I couldn't just meet at Starbucks and not use up their tables and not buy anything. So I was left to purchasing 2 to 3 Fraps a day, for a solid 2 years.........As you can tell I felt like a "Shakira song" called "MY HIPS DONT LIE."   Towards the end of the first year I was huffing and puffing just lifting the straw to my mouth. Goodness knows that when it came time for the Sheriff Dept training I was done for. I strictly remember having the, "I have to stop this" convo with myself after my first defensive tactics class and immediately running to hug porcelain and blowing chunks. I also remember walking back into class with all my other deputies staring at me and asking me if I was alright. I then had to face the tough reality that I couldn't drink fraps anymore or at least cut back. Instead of telling the others in the class why I threw up I had to let them know that I had the flu. I had to keep my manhood. What would it be like if I told them that I Frap. Some of them chew tobacco, some of them smoke and others drink coffee and energy drinks. If I would have told them that I "Frap" I would have had to raise my pinky finger at the same time and have them laugh at me. 

But, although my weight increased, so did my spiritual life. I found myself having my prayer times in the middle of the Starbucks on Sunnyside and having wonderful encounters with all kinds of people. I have had the BEST conversations with believers and un-believers. For example, people sharing what it is about church that turns them off from Christianity. Why people have cheated on their spouses. Why some have went on to sell drugs to make a living. To having in-depth bible discussions. 

I truly believe Starbucks makes their money not because their coffee tastes the best, but the atmosphere it offers for community. Community is a big key in peoples lives. Some people would never enter into a conversation like that in a church. Because, some people would never walk into a church. People need a stage to communicate their heart and sometimes we need to get them in an atmosphere that is non-threatening and available for them to open up and share their feelings, hopes, and dreams. 

My coolest conversation was with one of the Baristas as we discussed church and passions in life. She went on to tell me that she grew up in a legalistic church and it has turned her off to all of what church has to offer. The more I came into Starbucks, the more in depth our church convo went on. I told her we had a great church......Needless to say she showed up to College that next weekend and made a commitment to the pastor that she was going to become involved in the ministry........God and Starbucks can heal lives....hahaha.  Do not quote me on that Starbucks bit....

I know Starbucks already makes a killing off their drinks, but one more thing I would like to ask those who read this and feel the same way I do, by using Starbucks as our offices.....TIP the baristas before you leave. Cause I know looking back that I have been so busy having a great time with others that I forget my drink on the table, or I laugh to hard, or I accidentally spill my frap on the ground. They need some love from us too. Tips show that you respect them......Oh, and it also says it in the bible to bless others.....BINGO

Co-Dependant girls of today

Most of you know the poster child of  the perfect Co-dependant girl of today........All I have to do is say a few words and she will come to your mind. "Umbrella" "Disturbia" and or "Chris Brown" 

Still nothing, OK how about. "Punched" "Kicked" or "Bitten"

I am talking about a talented and beautiful young lady named "Rhianna........ This young lady has had a great life so far. An amazing career filled with Platinum records and commercial adds with Covergirl and all the money a 21 year old needs to set her bank account for life. But, one thing remains, she seems to be a person that still doesn't have enough. A person that is still searching for something. What bugs me the most is that she has run into a person that has disrespected her as a young woman and now has opened the doors to a un-healthy co-dependant relationship. 

I have seen this time and time again with young ladies in our youth ministry. We have seen hundreds of girls come and go and have seen the statistics of co-dependency continue to rise. It has been a long time since I was in high school, but one thing I do remember is having to really work to get a girlfriend. Now, I know I am not the most attractive individual, but I have a cute side. No matter how much I had to work to get a girlfriend we have begun to see the times change. I was sitting and talking to one of my employees the other day about this very issue. I have noticed his cell phone just explode with text messages and phone calls all day long from dozens of girls wanting to see him again, or meet up at a party, or maybe have a little "Cuddle time." I sit there amazed at how many girls call him and how early they text him. They start at 4am and continue throughout the day. I asked him if it is easy for him to date girls. He went on to tell me that he doesn't even have to try or work. "THEY COME TO HIM" 

As I have reflected on what he told me I realized that we have some desperate times coming down the pike. Statistically speaking, 1 out of 3 girls under the age of 18 have been abused, such as, physical, emotional, and sexual. The main type of abuse with young ladies is physical. The sad part about this is, that once the physical happens, woman are 87% more likely to stay in their relationships. Now, we can speculate all we want at why those statistics are so high, but I will give you my personal opinion..........PARENTING!  Sorry to rat out the parents on this one, but, I to am a parent of young kids. Parents are not as involved as they used to be. With the economic crisis and trying to keep up with the Jones', parents are to busy trying to pay for all their toys and trips that they are over working themselves and not spending enough time with their children. One of the biggest things a girl needs is their relationship with their fathers. We have a lot of dead beat dads out there that do not care about what happens to their little girls. 

Out of the hundreds of girls we have seen come in and out of our ministry a large portion of them are starving for a father figure in their lives. The problem is that they find it through ANY male attention that they can find. If you thought the photos of Rhianna were bad, I could say that I have seen worse with some of our girls.  It breaks my heart when you have to call the Sheriff dept, or the Department of Human service to come and help the matter. Even after all those things some young ladies continue to run back to the culprit. 

I truly believe that girls become co-dependant because they honestly believe that it is as good as they are going to get......They have no idea that there are men out there that will cherish and care for them and that they would never let anything happen to them. 

My best friend has three daughters and I pray for him as their dad everyday that he remains invested in their lives. That he can show them love that they need and they will never have to search for a false sense of love.

Do not worry, I will write something in the future calling out the young man that are doing this, but for right now I want to speak to the ladies.

GIRLS: The good news is, you all want to feel love. That is a gift from God. The bad news is, not all guys out there want to show you the healthy version of it. If you have a relationship with your father that is good, please ask him to help keep you accountable on your choice and to protect you. I do not know about you, but having a father that is a little protective is less painful then being in a un-healthy relationship that will progressively get worse. To those of you ladies that have no support what so ever. Find a Pastor, or married couple that can help bring that covering over you as well. I do not know how many girls have asked me to check in on their boyfriends and see if they are legit. I have told several to run from their relationships and never look back.  I have also had the wonderful opportunity in performing the weddings on relationships that I knew the guy was a good guy....

I pray that the Lord will give you the strength to trust in him for the right direction, and that if you are lonely that the Lord will provide those relationships around you to protect you until its the right time......Guard yourself and do not allow yourself to fall into the co-dependant trap......And to Rhianna, I pray that you will no longer be a victim of co-dependency........Much love

"Let me in Coach"

"Let me in coach! Just give me a chance, I know there is a lot riding on it, but it is psychological." " I am going to execute a button hook pattern, supper slow mo"

That is my favorite seen from Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura......What a classic. 

I was hanging out with my oldest son after church playing football. I was trying to teach him the basics. Now, for those of you who know me I am originally from Canada so I should be teaching him about hockey, but for the 1st sunny day of the year I decided to use a little of my American side and teach him how to play football. It started with the basic catches of a football and by the end of the afternoon it turned into spin moves and sliding. It was a great reminder of the days when I grew up and my father played sports with me. After it was all said and done we both looked at each other and with one snort of our noses and one loogie from our throats we both spit on the grass and walked into the house like "MEN"

Amanda and I have been sitting back for the last year and trying to rest and get some prospective of life and church. We have been attending an amazing church called "Eastlake" It is all families in our age bracket with some amazing worship that I remember some my old school youth have the same caliber. As we have been attending now for the last little while we are reflecting on what it is like to be full time in ministry. Sometimes we take it for granted and do not realize how amazing it is when you are able to pour out your life for the lives of others. 

Although I have a wicked cool job with the Government I am still having the itch to get back into the game..... I want the coach to let me back in. I feel like it is the 4th quarter in Basketball or football. Or I am in sudden death overtime in the middle of Vancouver Canucks vs. Detroit. I have the opportunity in handing out the biggest upset of the year by stuffing a goal on Detroit's goalie and watching them all whine and cry because they finally lost a championship. 

The Lord has given me a lot of passion and zeal for the lost. A heart that burns for the Lords worship. A desire to build a bridge between the church and unbelievers. To create an atmosphere for people who are not normally welcomed in the church. Or as Eastlake would call it "Church for the rest of us" 

The Joy I saw in my oldest eyes when I told him that I would love to play football with him, is the same kind of look that I am giving my heavenly father on a day in day out basis. My father wants to play with me. He wants to use me for his works. He wants to give me an opportunity to play on his team in ministry. I love my boys and I am honored that they still want to play for me or on my team. I have the wonderful opportunity to be their soccer coach this year and I am jazzed to be a apart of their lives. 

Our God wants to be in our lives. He wants to be our coach, our encouragement, our cheerleader. He wants us all to "Get in the Game" and play for him. I want to play. Let me in Lord, give me another opportunity. 

I AM READY!

Can't take that Uhaul to heaven

This is a perfect picture for those of us that have heard the expression " you can't take a Uhaul to heaven" 

Sometimes I feel like this pour traveller. Although it seems he is headed for Boise Id. I too feel like I am about to lose control of my car and crash sometimes. I think all of the United States and beyond are struggling with the same issue at hand. 

Back when Amanda and I got married, we made NO MONEY......We were the kind of couple that were told we were to young to get married. I was told by many that i would not be able to support my wife and in the future kids as well. When Amanda and I fell in love and I proposed to her, I was working at a Petro Canada station (Gas Station)I think for the grand total of $6 an hour. All I knew is that I wanted to marry this sweet thing. We took our new found love and marriage to So Cal. I worked 2 jobs. I was a waiter and a construction worker and we felt like we were on cloud nine. We had all the food in the world that we needed. We had a car and an apt to rent and we just found a great church. But, never once did we feel poor. Even when I did our taxes that next year I realized that we should have been on ffod stamps with the amount of money I made that year.......We didnt have a lot to show for it, but we felt rich..........Later on in the years we began to make more money, but for some strange reason we felt poorer and poorer. We went to a church where people were riding the wave of the housing market. As housing prices tripled, so did their lifestyles. boats, cars, quads, jetskis etc. We even had one street in our neighborhood that competed with eachother. If one house bought a boat, all the other bought a boat. When one house built in a pool, all the other houses built in pools. The real "keeping up with the Jones" scenerio. 

Now I have a ton of friends who have lost their jobs, their toys and some have lost their families through this. Even Amanda and I have had to down size our life in order to ride the wave of life right now. As I sit back and reflect on the last 10 years of my marriage, I have often wondered what we did differently when we made a alot less money then what we are making now and yet we felt so rich. 

A wise friend once told us that even when you get a raise in your job, do not increase your way of life. Save that money and you will continue to be successful. What amazes me about this great family friend is that even though the stock market has crashed, which he had a lot of his millions in, he still is richer than many others that have suffered. When you look at this man you wouldnt even think that he is wealthy, because he lives within his means. He doesnt waist his time or money on all other things. He has stayed true to his original budget.

I want to thank you Lloyd for being a great sense of reality to Amanda and I. You told us once that you cant take a Uhaul to heaven. You have taught us to get back to the basics in life and stay true to our family and make that a priority and not all the other material things that we have sometime fallen a victim too. 

I am reminded about the scripture when the rich young ruler went to Jesus and asked him how he could have eternal life. Jesus replied sell everything you have and follow him. The young man, went away sad because he had such wealth.  Jesus told his disciples that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. He even went as far as to blow their minds with a picture of a camel trying to fit through the eye of a needle. 

Jesus was testing this young mans heart. He wanted to see how attached he was to his money. 

Alot of us if we were asked to give it all away we would probably feel the same as that young man. It is easy to say we want to follow Jesus in all his ways, but we have to see what the price is before we fully agree. He has asked us to leave all things to follow him. He is not asking us to pan handle and live in boxes for the rest of our lives. He wants our HEARTS.....Its a test friends. I do not know about you, but I want to pass this test and the many more to come......

The Painful ToothAche

How many of you out there have ever experienced a toothache. What is the first thing you do when you begin to feel it? The first thought is "Oh God I have to go to the Dentist" The second thought is "Heck no! I am not going to the Dentist" In order to prolong your painful journey you find ways to minimize the pain. You take drastic steps to cover it up. You try not to eat on that one side of your mouth. You try to stay away from tough chewing foods such as, meats, breads, and licorice. If the pain is to bad you might cover it up with some baby ambisol and numb the pain. Anything to get out of going to the man with the electric drill. 

Whats amazing about the Dentist is they try to make it look like a cozy feel when you enter the "Chair." That they went all out at their expense to make your trip more enjoyable. They break out the reclining leather chair and they try to put on some ombiant music from such musical geniuses of Micheal Bolton and Kenny G. All in the name of making you feel more at ease. They place a towel over the table next to the chair, making you feel for only one second that maybe, just maybe there are no electrical tools under there. But, of course, we know better. There are tools under there! No amount of cheap, crappy music and leather chairs are going to make us not realize the pain that is about to take place. 

My wife has to go into the Oral surgeon tomorrow to have her wisdom teeth pulled out. The back tooth has decayed so bad that they have to cut the inside of her jaw to take the teeth out. For years, she has masked the pain as long as she could so that we did not have to spend the money necessary to fix it. Not to mention the little bit of fear that grips a person from ever having to walk down the narrow hallway to the dentist chair. I am truly sorry that my baby has to endure the pain that is about to take place. If I could take the pain for her, I would.

As I was sitting here trying to talk her into making this move. I had to think about life. What in life do we try to run from and mask the pain so that we do not have to deal with it? I starting thinking about all the messages I have done on this very topic. I was reminded of a young girl who was in our youth group a few years back, that had a little secret that she didn't want anyone else to know about. She spent many years hiding the painful memories of what had happened to her. She tried to hide it with never telling anyone about it, she ran to the arms of a teenager who was just using her wounding to his advantage to have sex with her on a week to week basis. He in no way loved her or respected her. But, she felt that he was the only one that would be able to comfort her in her time of searching for the answers for what had happened to her. This is where we came into her situation. 

She started showing up to youth night because she heard about our church and all the cool things that were happening and she wanted to check it out for herself. She began attending a small group of young ladies who all came from similar backgrounds. She became very close to her small group leader, so close that the issues in her heart were rising to the surface just enough to want to get all the pain out on the table. She has never told anyone about her "Pain" until one day she sat back after a youth night with tears in her eyes, We talked about Gods love that night. The kind of love that cares about you no matter what you have done, no matter what has been done to you, you are worthy in Gods eyes. As she sat there with un-ending tears she asked her leader if she could keep a secret. Like any well trained leader knows, this means the information that is about to transpire is a "BIGGY." The leader did what she knew to do and said that depending on the information that she was willing to share, she will have to report it to the proper people. The young lady excepted  and shared it ALL anyway. (Thank God)

She went on to say how she was raped constantly by her father for the last 3 years and that she feels so dirty that she doesn't care about her sex life anymore. It means nothing to her. She feels like "Used Goods" She went on to say that she has been sleeping with her boyfriend because that is the only way she gets some comfort. She sleeps over at friends houses, so that she doesn't have to go home and face the constant abuse from her home life. Her mom wont understand and or believe her. She needed to finally share her pain and heart with someone and she chose her leader to share it with. She didn't feel that God would except her for where she was at, nor would he forgive her for her sins. She has no idea about the power of God and his grace for her life. Needless to say that the church leadership had to handle this in the most sensitive and timely matter. We made sure we went through the proper channels to protect her, but bring down the man that was causing all this to happen.

Sometimes pain is so evident that all we want to do is run from it and not confront it. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane knowing that he was going to bare a painful death, ask God to take it away. Jesus, stood up and took the suffering for us, so that we would not have to suffer.  Just like this young lady, doing everything in her power to cover it up so that it doesn't affect her anymore. Just like my wives unbearable tooth that she needs to get taken out. The longer we wait, the more pain accumulates. Until we are so gripped by it that it robs us of our future's. 

God says, "cast all burdens onto me...."

That young lady made the right decision. She looked for help. Now she is  young women with a promising future. A women who has forgiven her father, who loves Jesus, who makes it a priority to help other young women who have gone through the same past. She is a survivor for Christ. 

Don't wait for the pain in your life to get to bad and to powerful that you have to take the dramatic way out. Confess your burdens unto the Lord and to someone you can trust and allow them to walk through this journey with you.

23 Cars + 14 Dogs = "Smelly Poop" not "Contentment"

I hate reading about people who think they have all their stuff together and then preach to you on  a Sunday that they have found the magic keys to faith and happiness. But, if you were to do a secret MTV cribs episode on them, would their house be in order? Would they feel embarrassed that you walked in on them un-announced while they are yelling at their kids, or if you secretly placed a camera on their dashboard while they are driving, would they yell at people on the way to church on a Sunday morning. 

The other day I was walking out of the bathroom and my 6 year old son Zane, said "Dad, turn on the fan, YOUR POOP STINKS" I laughed for a moment, and did everyone a favor and closed the door and turned on the fan. Later that night I sat down to do my devotions and I came to a passage of scripture on "Contentment" Unfortunately, sometimes we all have poop that stinks. Mine came to pass when I read, Philippians 4:10 Paul is writing a thank you letter to the Philippines for the gifts that they blessed him with. He go's on to say in verse 11-12 that he is quite content with living on barely anything. That he is happy with how much or how little he has. 

WHAT? wait a minute Paul! You have no idea what I (We) live in every day. I have 3 boys that need to eat food like  Frodo Bagans and his band of Hobbits that eat 1st and 2nd breakfasts and elevensees. My kids eat like horses. I need to provide! Could Paul really understand what we need on a day to day basis.

 I am not walking to work, I need a car! I am not living in a tent, I need a house!

 

As I was meditating on this passage, I thought of all the things in life, that I bought or adopted because I felt un-content in life. I started with my weakness with Dogs. Those who know me, know that I have a soft spot for dogs. I liked to cruise the local animal shelters and rescue the ones that were a few days from losing their lives. We kept some, but found them all a good home. I have been made fun of over the years and no I can make fun of myself. 

1. "Spike" our 1st dog. Mini Doxie. Found him a home when we had our first boy

2. Pepper some mix breed Found him a good Home

3. Mini Pinsher Found him a good home

4. The White Dog   (Chewed my moms coffee table, it had to go) Found a good home though!

5. Yellow Lab "Tank"   The BEST DOG EVER! but found him a good home

6. Black Lab "Sadie"     The DUMBEST DOG EVER! 

7. Black Lab Found good home

8. Boxer Found good home

9. Beagle Found good home

10. dashound Found good home

11. Mix lab Found good home

12. Great Pyrennes "Sadie"         She died

13. Great Pyrennes   Found good Home

14. Cavalier King Charles "Alica Bell"      Found good Home

Cars:

1. 1980 Deisel Mercedes Crap! Nothin like pulling into Highschool in that Piece!

2. 1996 Mazda 626 Thanks mom for your car

3. 1986 Firebird Sexy! thats how I met my wife.

4. 1984 Honda Civic good car

5. 1986 BMW 528 PIMP! huge fix it bill though

6. 1995 Dodge Neon I tried making this car look cool, nothing worked

7. 1998 VW Golf transmission problem

8. 1999 Dodge 1500 needed to move the dogs around lol

9. 1967 Chevy pick up man, I loved fixing this car. 3 on the tree.....

10. 2001 Ford Windstar Hard to look cool in a mini van, YOUTH VAN

11. 2004 Jeep Liberty traded it in because I realized I had 3 boys 

12. 1986 Datsun Paid $100 for it. Gave it to a youth kid. Sorry Mike

13. 1996 Mazda 626 Sold it to a youth kid, Sorry Cody

14. 2001 Ford Expedition Smart buy, but I sold it anyway. I am stupid

15. 1996 Sea Ray Boat I know its not a car, but it sank in the river anyway

16. 1995 Jeep Wrangler LOVED THIS VEHICLE

17. 2000 Volvo S6 Sold it to my mother in law. hahaha. Sorry!

18. 1999 Audi A6 Sweet car but traded it for 

19. 2001 LIFTED Chevy Man I miss this truck

20. 1999 Volvo wagon Amanda hit a bump, bye bye Axel. Ouch to the Wallet

21. 1999 Land Rover DUMB

22. 2007 Tahoe Love it, but not attached

23. 1995 Honda Civic Hatchback not much to look at, but saved in the gas department

Phil 4:12 "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation." Vs. 19 " And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus."

What was Pauls Secret? "Contenment! 

When I am bored in my life, I always seem to look at what comforts me, Dogs and Cars. Why am I allowing myself to get bored. I think it is because I am not doing what God has called me to do. To go out and reach the lost! I am a Pastor with faults, and looking back on the dogs and vehicles, I am embarrassed to say it to "you" the public. But, I say this in hopes of two things. 

1. That you realized that pastors struggle as well, and 

2. maybe you feel bored in your walk  sometimes. 

Is it safe to say, that contentment can only be found when one is about his fathers buisness? 

It is time to be content in the Lord, but not content with sitting back and doing nothing about it. Paul travelled and he was blessed because he was of his fathers business. Paul went out to reach the lost. He was a person that lived in the blessings of the Lord, because he never had time to sit back and allow himself to become bored. How can we be bored when we do what we have been created to do. 

Lord forgive me for my stinky past and grant me the grace to not fall back into it. Help me to live in my calling and fulfill your purposes. 

The "Out of Business" Church

If you are living in a Trailer somewhere in the middle of Nebraska and still have the rabbit ears on your 8 inch tube t.v you bought at a garage sale, then you may not have noticed that we are living in a Financial crisis. You cant help hear about it on T.V, Internet, radio and most of all your IPhone.  In the midst of our Global Crisis, where does that leave the church. The progressive church leaders who are living in the "Here and now" culture would say that churches that don't get with the times and start relating to the culture of today will be shutting their church doors permanently. On the flip side, the Traditional 1950's culture church would say that if we do not get back to our heritage and repent for our future culture then we are doomed for disaster.  Being on multiple church staffs over the years you see these two sides duke it out behind the scenes for control. They haven't full on declared  war on each other, but you can definitely feel the tensions as they speak to their groups that understand their points of view. Romans 12 says, live in this world but do not conform to it. So in a sense, both of the culture sides raise some good points. Where have we gone wrong. We have Democrats and Republicans fighting this very day for control to fight for a better economy. We as a church are no different. I think people are a little fed up with it. At least I am. 

Where do I fall in this situation. I think that churches will close their doors the moment we let ourselves get distracted by our goal. What is our Goal? I have just finished reading "Confessions of a Reformission Rev" by Mark Driscoll. In this book it talks about Marks journey on trying to reach the greater Seattle area for Christ. He talks about his shortcomings and his victories, but he focuses on becoming a MISSIONAL CHURCH. You can walk into thousands of churches and somewhere on their walls you can read there mission statements, but their are few churches that if you asked someone who calls that church , their church, what their missions statement is, they would look at you with a blank stare and try to give some sense of an answer. "God has called us to win the lost" "To go out and make disciples" 

Why do we make it so hard? Why cant it be a little simpler? Is that even possible? 

In his book, Reformission, therefore, begins with a simple return to Jesus, who, by grace saves us and sends us into reformission.  Jesus has called us to 1. the gospel (Loving our Lord) 2. the culture (loving our neighbor) 3. the church (loving our Christian brothers and sisters) One of the causes of lack of reformission in the American church is that various Christian traditions are prone to faithfulness on only one or two of these counts. Consequently, when we fail to love the Lord, our culture, and our church simultaneously, reformission ceases, leaving one of three holes: The para church, liberalism, and fundamentalism.

Gospel + Culture - Church = Parachurch

Some people are so frustrated with the church that they bring the gospel into culture without it. 

Culture + Church - Gospel = Liberalism 

Some churches are so concerned with being culturally relevant that, though they are deeply involved in the culture, they neglect the gospel. 

Church + Gospel -Culture = Fundamentalism

Some churches are more into their church and its traditions, buildings, and politics than they are the gospel. Though they know the gospel theologically, they rarely take it out of their church.

Gospel + Culture + Church = Reformission

Reformission combines the best aspects of each of these types of Christianity : Living in the tension of being culturally liberal yet theologically conservative Christians and churches who are absolutely driven by the gospel of grace to love their Lord, their neighbors, and their fellow Christians.

In this economic crisis, I see the church growing in size, not shrinking. But we have to take a painful look at how we have been doing church, running church and playing church. Are we going to just be the fundamentalist church that rejects people who are struggling with sin, or are we going to be the Liberal christian that although we can relate to peoples sin, we might be belittling the scriptures in the process, or are we going to be the church that is able to run the race long term. Have a church that has multi cultured and has all the ages brackets with all backgrounds in it. We need to get back to the mission that God has called us to do. To love one another as Christ Loves us. 

I do not know about you but I want to remain in the business of winning souls for Jesus and not go out of business as the next big flavor comes our way. 

Harmful Planning For A Prosporous Furture

Jer. 29:11 

"For I know the Plans I have for you says, the Lord. Plans not to harm you, but to prosper you, and give you a hope and a future."

I hope by the title of this blog that you are not seriously planning on harming  your future and that's why you are reading this. One thing you must know about me, is that I learn from my mistakes. Sometimes, I feel like I have all the answers and other times with God's help and my hot wife to bring me back down to earth, I find out that I am a weak individual with a lot of struggles. 

Prayer is a hard thing to get. We all have mis-conceived notions on how to pray and why to pray. After bible school and 10 years of ministry as a Pastor, one would think that I know how to pray. One would argue that I have a degree in prayer. Some would say by looking into my life that I have a wonderful prayer life because I am blessed beyond compare. I have a great wife and 3 wonderful young boys that bring life to any room that they go into. 

The truth is, that I have a sucky prayer life. I feel like I am a redheaded step child getting a beat down in a Kmart shopping center with my prayers. I can pray until the cows come home for other people. I can believe the best for people through my prayers and rejoice when the Lord answers their prayers. I will be the first person to pray over the phone with you when you are struggling, I can even pray with my kids at bed time that the Lord will protect their every thought. But, when it comes down to praying anything personal for me, I go blank. I have such a misconception of prayer for me personally it has taken 29 years to actually see that I cant believe that God would have the best in store for ME personally. Maybe some of you reading this can relate. 

I bought my wife a valentines gift. She wanted a book by Stormie Omartian called " The Power of Praying Together" She told me she would love to read it with me so that in return it would bring us closer in a intimate setting with the Lord through our prayers. I thought nothing of it and I bought the book and we started reading it together. I am not one for self-help books. I try to stay away from the books, where I need to get cozy in a set of nice flannel Sponge Bob pajamas and put the kettle on for some nice herbal tea and run myself a nice bubble bath and curl up to read a nice book for a better you. But, because I love my wife and the Lord I sat down and read the first few chapters. We came to the Chapter of "What is Prayer" I sighed and told her to skip the chapter because I already know what prayer is. She said to come down off my pastor horse and see what she has to say. I am a very A.D.D person, so I sat back as she started reading and I am looking around, and twiddling my thumbs, and my knee is bouncing a mile a minute until she hit one part of the chapter that talks about "What makes prayer hard Sometimes" I stopped the shaking and actually sat up and with attentive ears I paid attention. 

After all this time in life studying scripture, and meditating on scripture and praying throughout my day I doubt the fact that God can answer MY PRAYERS. I believe God has the best for others but when it comes down to me personally, I feel like he is Santa Claus that just flew over my house and went next door to the good kids and gave them gifts. That God has other people to listen to then me. I dug a little deeper into my heart and I believe the Spirit of God pulled out the fact that I fear God will not answer my prayers. How can I prosper like the scripture says, if I cant even believe that God wants me to prosper. 

This blog is for all the people who doubt the power of prayer. I am talking to EVERYONE here. We have all been in a place in our lives where we have doubted Gods very power to get things done through the power of prayer. Billy Graham, Wayne Grudem, Dallas Willard, Mark Driscoll, we have all doubted at one point.  But, the one thing we need to do in this process is drop to our knees and repent for doubting Gods divine Power. 

After I read that chapter with my wife I went into my room and started to repent for the last 29 years of doubt for my own life. This is what prayer is, and what prayer is not.

1. Prayer is Communicating with God:  God wants to reach out and touch us, but first we need to reach up and touch him. We live in a day and age where crappy stuff happens and we need to give all things to the Lord. He asks us in scripture to, "Cast ALL things unto Him" Relationships, business, work, finances, health, emotions, children. We need God for the Hope that he brings in all things

2. Prayer is Praising and Worshiping God for who he is: This takes the focus off of ourselves and places it on Him. He not only helps us through our tough stuff, but he has rescued us from a future of Hell. We are ALL sinners destined for a penalty and he rescued us. Man, that is something to be thankful for. I want to Worship my God. 

3. Prayer is telling God that we Adore Him and Love Him: 

4. Prayer is telling God we need Him: I think it is safe to say that we all want to be desired and needed. That is what makes us tick. God is not an insecure God that needs kudos all the time to make his self esteem go up. We need him to save us, forgive us, heal us, deliver us, fill us, restore us, redeem us, free us , guide us, protect us, lift us above our limitations, and move us into the plans and purposes He has for us. 

5. Prayer is making our requests known to God: It is sharing with him all that is on our hearts. Have you ever heard a teenager on the phone. They talk and talk and talk and talk with a lot of "I know" and " For sure" " like" and all the others things you can think off. We need to talk. We were created to speak. God wants to listen. There is nothing better then a great listener. Sometimes we have things on our minds that we need to just get off of our chests. Making our requests is a way to do that. God instructs us to ask for our "Daily Bread" 

What makes prayer hard??

1. I am not sure how to pray! This is one of the top comments I get on prayer. People think of "Meet the Faukers"  movie. Where Ben Stiller has never prayed  and he was asked to say Grace for the dinner. "Oh Holy of Hosts, day by day by day by day" It is a great and funny depiction of how people feel their first time. There is no school on prayer. No one can teach you how to pray word by word. When we ask the Lord into our lives he has placed his Holy Spirit inside of us, The Holy Spirit enables us to open and mouths and say whats on our hearts. Its like having a convo at Starbucks with your best friend. You just start talking and the Holy Spirit takes care of the rest. 

2. I find prayer difficult because I do not do it well! If you have some insecurities with prayer, the best thing to do is keep praying. You cant master something you never do. Its says in the word to "pray without seasing" Never stop. 

3. I find praying difficult because down deep I doubt whether prayer really works! Just like you, I am in the same boat. Doubt does not come from God. We need to trust that God has our best interests at heart, not to mention, his timing is ultimately better then ours. 

4. I am not good enough for him to answer my prayers! 

Now this is the most REAL statement on prayer. I love these people the most and 9 times out of 10 they CAN PRAY.....They understand the true meaning of why we need Jesus in the first place. WE AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH.........We all sin, we have all fall short of the Glory of God, that is why Jesus dies such a painful and gruesome death. For the very purpose of us to draw to him in prayer in adoration of his amazing love for you and for me. We do not deserve his love, but man he has given it to us. God will answer your prayers in his way and timing. 

It is harmful to plan for our future with doubt in our hearts. God wants us to pray. He longs for a relationship. He wants to give you and me a prosperous future because we are in his family. Lets leave all our preconceived versions of prayer at the door and just come humbly before him and lift ALL things to him. 

God has big plans, lets find out what they are.

Myself, Waynes World, and Plane rides!

The Question I receive all the time from people is, 

"Why does bad things happen to Good People?"

We always ask the question in the "Why" format. As if we have nothing to play in this situation. We leave it up to the higher power to determine our destiny and also a person to blame when things go wrong. One of my favorite movies of all time is Waynes World, two hair metal hippies are driving around in their 1978 Pinto with flames down the side, singing Bohemian Rhapsody head banging and looking for things to do (felt like my life in Jr. High). The seen that stood out to me was when Wayne's "World" was spiraling out of control. He just got in a fight with his best friend Garth, just lost his TV gig through the Video arcade chain and found himself alone without his woman. He cried out to God in a final desperation "Why God, Why?" as it flowed through the dreams of Casandra ending up with the sleezy producer in Hawaii, laying on the beach together as Wayne watched from behind a tree. Although this is one of the funniest movie clips, it shows us that everyone in the world, no matter what we have done in the process asks the question Why? 

About 5 years ago, I was traveling on a plane to speak at a youth retreat and as I was munching down on stale cardboard peanuts and drinking a fizzed out coke, I was asked by the lady next to me where I was going?  I sometimes struggle with sharing about the fact that I am a Pastor, partially because the responses I get wherever I go. They range with complete hatred, to a wonderful smile and may,  "God bless you" to follow. I told the lady anyway that I was a Pastor on my way to speak at a youth retreat. She said, "Oh, so you are one of those people huh?" I followed with a sigh and said, "What do you mean by that?" She went on to describe in great detail that she was raised in a church background and when her and her husband starting having kids her daughter became sick and later found out that she had a rare strain of Cancer. As tears began to wall up in her eyes she continued to say that she had her Pastor come up to the hospital bed and pray that the Lord will heal her. Then the Pastor went on to say that God "Told" him that she would be healed by the end of the week. As the week came to a close she saw her daughters eyes begin to close as she said her final goodbyes. After her daughter passed away she became very angry at the church and at God. She told me she asked God "Why?" a hundred thousand times and after she heard nothing, she finally gave up hope in the Lord and said that God was not real. She said to me, can you tell me why? Can you give me the answers to the questions that we have had for several years? As all the memories of growing up in a super spiritual church where people began to try to heal others through their own ways instead of God, I started twitching, because yet again I found myself talking with someone who is hurt by another collegue in my profession.   I sat there trying to think up all the scriptures that I could use to help change her mind , all I felt the Lord tell me to do is ask her more about her daughter. So I began to ask what was it about her daughter that she loved? A plane ride that was to last 3 hours felt like five minutes, she talked and talked and talked and talked. I was not bored once. I listened to her share the joy she had with her daughter and how much she missed her laughter and smile. I told her at the end, that I would love to answer her questions, but I felt that now wasn't the time. I asked her for her email address and then wrote her a few days later.  I wanted to make sure that I prayed through my answers, I didn't want to sound harsh, nor did I want to take away the smile she had as she shared about her daughters life story. I began to study more about this topic, because things JUST HAPPEN and I wanted to not belittle her daughters death in any way. These are the words I shared; 

Why do bad things happen to good people? That is one of the difficult questions in all of theology. God is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, etc. Why should we human beings  (not eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent) expect to be able to fully understand God's ways? The book of Job deals with this issue. Although all pastors and Christians have over played this gut wrenching story, we can learn a lot about it. God had allowed Satan to do whatever he wanted to Job except kill him. What was Jobs reaction? "Though he slay ME yet will I hope in Him" (Job 13:15) "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised" (Job 1:21) Job didn't understand WHY God had allowed the things He did, but he knew that God was good and therefore continued to trust in Him. Ultimately, that should be our reaction as well. God is good, just, loving, and merciful. Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God's goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path Straight" (Prov. 3:5-6) I have no idea why a Pastor would say that he heard from God that God would heal your daughter, especially when you put your trust in this man. I have said many things in the name of the Lord and had them not come to flourish. These are mistakes from human lips. We are human, we all make mistakes and even though this Pastor made a huge one, you cannot trust in him along. You need to trust in GOD. Now, I know this is easier said than done. But, God has the ultimate plan. Now, in this next part, in no way do I mean to belittle your daughters death, but I must share about ALL of us, whether we go to church or not, whether we pray or whether we don't.

Perhaps a better question to ask is, "Why do good things happen to bad people?" God is Holy (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8). Human beings are sinful (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Do you want to know how God views humanity? "As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:10-18.) Every human being on this planet deserves to be thrown into hell at this very moment. Every second we spend alive is only by the grace of God. Even the most terrible misery we could experience on this planet is merciful compared to what we deserve, eternal hell.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Roman 5:8). Despite the evil, wicked, sinful nature of the people of this world, God still loved us. He loved us enough to die to take the penalty for our sins. (Romans 6:23). All we have to do is believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Romans 10:9) in order to be forgiven and receive a home in heaven (Rom. 8:1) What we deserve-hell. What we are given-eternal life in heaven if we just believe and follow after his purposes. It has been said, this world is the only hell believers will ever experience, and this world is the only heaven unbelievers will ever experience. The next time we ask the question, "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good People?" maybe instead we should be asking, "Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?"

We have ALL fallen short. I even sit here writing this letter, not deserving what I have been given by God, and his son Jesus that died for me. How many times have I rejected God? How many times have I been rude to someone? How many times have I had deceit in my heart? I even sat there on the plane with you, with sin in my heart. I am not one that deserves that life I have. I do not deserve my marriage, I do not deserve my job, I do not deserve to even share the word of God with others. It is through Jesus death and by his grace that I am here. Your daughter was a great joy to you in the midst of her life with us. You did not deserve her laughter, her joy and her smile, but the Lord granted you a life with her that was incredible. Jesus wanted you to see through your daughters life a life worth living for. Do not throw it all away because she has now left you. Not to mention she is in a place with no pain. A place where no bills have to be paid, where mortgages are past due, where people cut her off while she is driving. She has shown you the joy in life. I truly believe when we met on the plane that this is the word you needed to hear to get back on track. God is not through with you, nor has he forsaken you. He desires a long lasting relationship of not Why? but how? How can I live to serve you? How can I worship you? How can I sacrifice my life for you? When you allow your heart to go in that direction, you will be miles along. 

May God grant you the peace you need to survive and the life you need to flourish. God is your savior and Redeemer. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

Sincerely, 

The dude you met on the plane.

That letter is a hard letter to write. You never know how the person will respond. I sat back and wept for her loss as I could only think about losing what was dear to me, my wife. What emotions would I feel if the Lord felt it fit that she be with him instead of with me. I am sure I would have felt as angry with the church and with God as she was. I guess I will never know until I am in her shoes, but I hope that I will be able to feel all the emotions of death, in order to rejoice in what God has done for me. He has taken a no good red headed, angry, attitude, liar, deceiver, and tattooed man and has granted me life through his death. 

Thank you God for loving me and others when we least deserve it...........You are our SAVIOR!