Run Forest Run

In order for us to run the race that we are called to run we must make sure that we get rid of everything that hinders us and slows us down. What do all runners do before they run in a race? 99% of the time they are going to train for those races because they want to do a good job and they want to be in enough shape to do well.

I hope that most of you have see the movie Forest Gump...if you have, the title of those post makes sense! What was hindering Forest from running? The metal braces on his legs caused him to not be able to run. Forest could hardly even walk with those braces on his legs. Long story short, a bunch of mean kids were chasing after Forest one afternoon and as he was trying to get away he started running and the metal braces just broke right off of his legs!

Forest was so fed up that he make a conscious decision that he was going to try and just run. No matter what limitations there were, he was just going to go for it and the results were incredible!

I believe that we let things in our lives hinder us from running the race the we know we should be running. That's because we are so easily entangled by sin and distractions. Sin wraps us right up and sometimes limits us from being world conquerers.

If I asked you to sit and think about your life now, I bet each and every person who reads this could name some of the things that are holding them back...If I was a betting man I would also bet that deep down each and every one of you has a desire to change and just run the race like we know we should! We all have that desire to do it, there are just some things that hold us back...things that we can't seem to get rid of in our lives...

I am telling you that when you make that decision to go all in, it will be the best decision of your life. To be able to say to yourself that you are never going to let anything hold you back and you're just going to go for it is so powerful!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

In a time where we are so easily distracted and drawn to so many things that we shouldn't, I encouraged you to get rid of all those things that entangle you. If it's social media, stay off of it, if it's the music you listen to, don't listen to that music, if it's the people you spend time with, find other people to spend time with. We are incapable of running the race that was set before us when we are entangled by the things of this world.

If you're sitting here thinking that everyone else has it together but not yourself you are dead wrong! We ALL struggle with something.

Run forest run...

The taste is important

I know that there are many times where i'll talk about getting to experience God's goodness on a daily basis. Which is true. We get to experience that all of the time. I really want to emphasize something tonight as I write this post.

We have the ability to taste God's love....Now what does that mean? It means all sorts of things. 

I know that I don't do this as often. Sometimes it seems like we chase after the experience versus the taste. It's almost easier do that because it takes less effort to experience something vs. actually tasting it. Anybody can go into a nice resutrant just to experience it, but it takes effort and work to order something that you will get to taste. That sounds dramatic but I think it's a valid point. 

Way too often just seek the experience. When we seek the experience, we go after things that we expect to fill all of our needs. You know what...we never find those things either. 

When we taste his love, it makes us better people because we are no longer trying to meet the needs, fill the voids, or heal the hurts with things the world can offer. We have been healed and satisfied by the love of Jesus and no longer put a demand on people or things to give you something you were designed to only receive from him.

Most people, including myself don't think of God this way. I pray that you begin to see God like this and no longer see him as just a God of religion. He is a God of mercy, compassion, and grace-the God who is love. 

My challenge for you as we head into a new week is taste the love that God has to offer. 

Out of this world

I believe that we don't put enough significance on the idea that having faith in God is having faith in something that is out of this world. We all need to have faith that where we are at right now is not our forever home. This earth isn't going to be where we live eternally. It's not even close.

I know I am guilty of this all of the time but its a commonality to experience something super cool on earth and think we will get to experience things like that in heaven. As Christians who have put all their faith in Jesus we don't belong on this earth. We need to celebrate the magnificent power of Christ and the fact that what heaven will be like we can't even imagine...

I was having a conversation with my brother the other day and we were just talking about how there isn't really enough that is celebrated about our lives as Christians. Yeah, we aren't perfect, we sin, etc. But why do we get so down on ourselves all the time. Look at half the worships songs out there, there all about how broken we are...When we focus on how broken we are we forget the fact that we are saved and that a forever with God is on the horizon. We must always live with an out of this word mindset.

As I sit here and write this post I can say with all honesty that there isn't one place on this earth that I would want to spend eternity in. There is always something that is going to go wrong, a need that isn't met, crazy people, etc.

One of the places I think of though is Catalina Island off of the coast of California..that is one of my most favorite places I have ever been. Would I want to spend eternity there? Absolutely not. There would never be anything about that island that could fulfill me the way that God can and will in heaven. I don't care if it's 80 degrees and sunny all of the time. I don't care that it's an island off the coast of California. I don't care how good the food is. None of that will last forever...

So why do we continue to identify places, people, or things to put our faith in when they won't last? We have a mindset sometimes that we belong here...When we begin to shift that mindset, it will be one of the most fulfilling feelings you will ever feel. It's actually more of a longing rather than fulfillment. I long for the day that I get to spend eternity in a place that was promised for me.

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were looking for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16)

There is so much to impact in that scripture...

One of the things I want to point out is that we never know if Christ is going to return before we die or not. It could happen in 5 minutes, or 2000 years. We must envision the things that we were promised from a distance and recognize that we aren't meant for this earth. We are meant for what we envision through God's promise...that is an eternal life mindset.

Another thing is that we need to know that there is a country (a whole new land) that is promised for us someday. That land and life is going to be greater than we could ever imagine. It's so far out of the world...

My challenge to you is to live with that mindset. We are blessed to live on this earth right now, and God has put a lot of things in it for our enjoyment but it's not going to last forever. We can never expect to get everything out of this world that we want to. This world is not going to fulfill us but having an eternal life/out of this world mindset will do just that.

The world isn't enough

I struggle really hard when I go 2-3 days without engaging myself in the word. I won't let myself go longer than 2 days because longer than that I really can't handle it.

I titled this post 'the world isn't enough' because I was really feeling that way this afternoon. We had our annual planning meeting in Battle Creek, MI last night and this morning and we were at the Firecracker Casino. It was my first casino experience...Nearly everything that the world had to offer I was exposed to last night and this morning. 

It's not like everyone was going super crazy because that definitely wasn't the case but we were all just around alcohol and gambling. Which is something that people often look to for fulfillment. It was a super fun time as well! I am not writing this post saying that we should never ever drink or gamble anything...I am writing this post to tell you that this world will never be enough...(by the way...I put in $10 and won $31 and went straight to bed)

I laughed harder last night than I have in a very long time. Our office sat around a table last night after the dinner and we had some drinks and just laughed so hard most of the evening. It was so fun to be out of the work space and in a fun location to just hang out and not talk just about work related things. 

It was by far the most fun I had with our Mishawaka office so far. I honestly love every single person that I work with! Every person is so fun to be around and truly cares about you. 

I almost forgot to mention...we had tremendous food both last night and this morning. 

Everything that I just got done describing sounds like it would be pretty fulfilling right? It was to a point..but not even close to being enough. I left today realizing how true it is that fulfillment only comes from God. 

That is what I want all of your to know and understand. I can't imagine a life without God at the center. I went 2 days without engaging myself in the word and I felt like something was totally missing. I knew exactly what it was. My goal for you is to get to the point where you are so engaged in the word on a daily basis that the moment you go without it you know what you are missing. 

Honestly you would think after a little midweek work trip that I would be feeling great but that just isn't the case because I was missing my Jesus time and everything in my life is centered around my relationship with Christ. My prayer...my hope...my everything for you is that your relationships with Christ began to take shape like that...where the moment you know that you are missing something, it's time spent in the word. 

I am telling you with all my heart that if you are trying to find fulfillment from this world, it simply won't ever happen. Only the Holy Spirit will make you feel like you have everything that you will ever need...and that is because that is what the Holy Spirit is and what God provides. 

Drowning in the details

Have you ever gotten so caught up in something that you are totally unaware of what is going on around you? 

I think of the couple months that I spent studying for my test...I was drowning in the details. Every part of me what locked in and focused on one goal and that was passing my test. Because of that I missed out on a lot of the things that were going on around me. There were way too many times that I would turn down an hour break to see my friends, or not workout, not go to church, and even sometimes lose sleep. 

In order for me to pass my test that is what I needed to do but I also didn't do good with the balance that I needed...

We all need balance...

Another example I think of is my work on a daily basis. If I got worried about one little thing that went wrong I would miss out on tons of time that I could be using to schedule more meetings. One of my colleagues gave me that advice today. I was a little anxious about a case going through underwriting and I had spent about 45 minutes this morning reading emails, on the phone, and trying to get this figured out. It turned out that this wasn't really my problem to worry about because I have an awesome team of people around me who are willing to help me, back me up, and be there for me when I need them most. I can't stress how important it is to surround yourself with good people. (that will be a topic for another day)

In the midst of the jumbled mess my colleague just told me to not waste my time on something that I don't have to worry about and that really got me thinking...how much time do we spend worrying about things that we don't have to worry about it? We drown in the details on almost an everyday basis.

Check out this verse that I just read tonight...

"Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now." (Hebrews 9:5)

I was blown away by this verse when I first read it. When Paul most likely wrote this book the beginning of that verse made it sound like he was about to explain the cherubim in great detail! But he intentionally said that we don't need to discuss those things in great detail right now. Paul was so drawn and inspired by what he was writing about that if he would've wasted time and described everything in great detail the main point might have been missed. 

It's crazy to me how relatable that is to our daily lives! We get so involved in things that we don't really need to be involved in and we forget about our purpose and why we are here. We become way less productive in our daily lives when we drown in the detail. My encouragement for you all tonight is to not drown in the things that you don't really have to drown in. We all have control over where our focus should be and that means we should try our best to focus on what is most important and what will get us where we truly want to go. 

The under appreciated Holy Spirit

I am going to be the first to say that I under appreciate the Holy Spirit. I’ve felt the Holy Spirit ever since I gave my life to Christ but I guess I haven’t really had the best understanding until today. It’s a tough thing to explain, I have an understanding of the Holy Spirit but that understanding and appreciation didn’t click until this morning.

I used to think that our desire to do good just came from our hearts and us naturally wanting to be good people. I felt like anytime I had a desire to read my bible it was only because in my heart I felt like it was the right thing to do and in my mind I really did want to learn as much as I possibly good.

I love people and strive for that connection to build relationships and just be there for someone. I believe that encouragement is a gift that God has given me but I used to think that is just how I am. I love it and that fuels me and makes me who I am but I didn’t understand that the Holy Spirit is always doing that work.

Every time I read my bible, journal, and write a blog post, I feel what I write in my heart. It affects me every time. It’s what I expect to feel. I read and write and that feeling that comes with it will just come.

All of these things that I am talking about are the work of the Holy Spirit. All of those desires that I feel to love others, do good, read, write, encourage, etc. I don’t feel that way because it’s just going to happen. The Holy Spirit is so freaking awesome because that is where all these feelings come from. It’s not me. It’s not me having a good heart or wanting to do good. It’s the Holy Spirit equipping me to do all of those things.

I have that car, the Holy Spirit is just giving me the keys and controlling the pedals, turn signals, lights, mirrors, etc. It’s really a cool way to think about it!

“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord. 
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” (Hebrews 8:10)

It’s up to us to change our hearts in order to let the Holy Spirit in. That’s the first thing that we have to do. Changing our hearts is like giving the Holy Spirit complete control of the car. In other words, it’s giving the Holy Spirit control of our bodies.

If we don’t change our hearts, following God’s rules will be unpleasant and difficult. We will rebel against being told how to live.  The Holy Spirit, however, gives us new desires, helping us want to obey God. With new hearts, we find that serving God is our greatest joy.

My one thing for you is to truly appreciate, admire, and be thankful for the Holy Spirit. Once we give our lives to Jesus the Holy Spirit has complete control. It really gives me chills just thinking about the power of the Holy Spirit as I write this post. I have 0 ability to write like this without the Holy Spirit. Every time I proof read I think to myself there is no way that I just wrote this... I also have 0 ability to do any sort of good, love others, or even love Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our first allegiance

In my opinion, allegiance is one of the most powerful words out there. When I hear that word I think of loyalty, authority, and power.

Our first allegiance should always be to God.

“Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:22-24)

We must have allegiance to God because Jesus lives forever. He has a permanent priesthood. Meaning he is able to save completely.

I am not sure how many hundreds of thousands of priests there have been to walk this earth, but none have been permanent other than Jesus.  Our loyalty should always be to Jesus. No matter what advice we are given by anyone...which is difficult. There are a lot of smart people out there who give really good advice and get paid really well to do those things.

Sometimes we listen to people of this world and trust them more than we trust Jesus because we are able to physically talk to them and get answers back right away...I know that might seem like it's way easier but those people aren't going to be around forever. You aren't going to get to spend eternity with them...eternity is going to be spent with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It's kinda funny because my job is to be one too those people who really help and give advice to others. But my allegiance will always be to Jesus first. Everything that I do I intend it to be God honoring because I know that those values and the principles in the Bible are what will last forever.

The one thing I want you to take from this post is that our first allegiance should always be to God. God lasts forever and because of God we are completely saved. Only God can save you...nobody else has the power to do that. God equips us to help but we don't have that power to do so. We didn't give our lives on the cross so that we can be saved, your consolers didn't do that, neither did your advisors...so why do we trust them and give them more allegiance than Christ? I hope after reading this you give first allegiance to Christ and only Christ.