You can't dress up your heart...

Had an interesting conversation the other day. Someone was telling me that it was vitally important for us to wear "our Sunday best" when going to church. Not doing so dishonors God. My question to them was, "So do you wear your Sunday best all week everywhere you go? Do you not honor God Mon-Sat...Or do you dishonor God by wearing your uniform at work and pajamas at home? Their reply was a lot of stammering and justification...
The thing is this...we are to honor God in everything we do and at all times, wherever we are. We can put on the nicest Armani suit with Gucci shoes and have the most expensive haircut...topped of with silk boxers and monogrammed socks...but, God sees through all of that and can see the sin that stains our heart. The whole "our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment" (Isa 64:6)thing comes to mind...
God loves us unconditionally, regardless if we wear suits and ties or khakis and tee shirts...why don't we concern ourselves more with pleasing and loving Him rather than what fashion faux-pas others are making on Sunday mornings....
See you in church...I'll be the one wearing blue jeans and boots...

Connect or reject

I love my church. I really do. The only thing that I don't like is the fact that, try as I might, I cannot meet and speak to every single person that walks through the door...I simply can't get to know everyone that attends on Sunday...so far. I painstakingly attempt to shake hands with and speak to as many people as I possibly can each Sunday...and any other day that I am milling about my church home. I am as outgoing and as approachable as I can be in small ministry/small group settings intentionally, so as to better be able to draw close to others and connect with as many people as possible. But, the sad thing is that I, by myself just can't reach everyone...
The point is that we all should be the connecting points not only in our places of Sunday worship...but everywhere we go. The fact of the matter is that most people don't attend or stop attending God "places" and God "events" because they have no relationships with others that attend those places and events...they are not connected....and once they are disconnected it is easy to reject God things. We speak a lot about the church having back doors as large as the front door...but until we make a concentrated effort, church wide, to really connect with the people that enter in...the back door will continue to widen...the hurting will continue to hurt, the lost will remain lost...
We gotta get this thing right! Jesus was all about people and everywhere He went He connected with others...so, the question is are we being connection points or are we the reason that people are disconnecting? Be an outlit today...help someone plug into you first...then help them plug into the bigger picture...the picture of Christ...

Up in the sky...

I returned just yesterday morning from a 2 day solo retreat. It was amazing. Just me, in a log cabin...nature, and God. If I tried to write and explain the many God experiences I had there I would be writing all day...but, I will share this with you...
Yesterday morning I was compelled by God to see the sun rise. Now I have seen sunrise many times in the past but God said "Go" so...well, you know what I had to do...
Anyway, I stood in the middle of a big field and watched the sky turn a spectacular shade of orange...with clouds painting the horizon like big cotton balls...I noticed a single star, in the east, that was still visible. And all at once it was clear why God wanted me to see this sunrise. When I looked at that star I realized that God created the heavens and the earth...the entire universe and all that is in it. I realized just how incredibly easy it was for Him to create me...and how incredibly small I am in the grand scale of things. Then I realized that, small as I am, insignificant as I felt...God still knows the very number of hairs on my head. He took the time and created me...individually. He knows me intimately...I am "fearfully and wonderfully made". As I stood in the middle of that field...as the sky grew brighter...I wept...not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy. I was overcome by the knowledge that the same God that created such a beautiful beginning to the day also created me!
So the next time you feel down...or just need to put things in perspective...get up just a little earlier, watch the sunrise and rejoice in the fact that we all are created by the Master Sculptor...individually, perfectly, wondrously...

Into the oasis...

WHEW! It's been a long time! I have been absent (voluntarily) since Independence Day. How ironic that it was at that point that God chose to lead me into the wilderness for a season. But don't you know that every time God wants to move in an supernatural way in someones life, He takes them on a wilderness excursion? Moses, Joseph, Abraham, Elijah, John...Jesus...each of them had a wilderness experience before a great movement from God in their lives. I am so thankful to God that I am coming out of the wilderness...but even more thankful that He lead me there in the first place.
So the next time you find yourself in the wilderness...don't panic! God is just preparing you for something amazing...and that is something worth waiting for...