Let’s Waste Some Time

A few years ago John Maxwell wrote a fascinating book called, Today Matters.  In that book Maxwell noted that what we do with our time each day will determine our future.  I believe Maxwell is right.

According to Reuters News, Americans watch an average of nearly 35 hours of TV each week. That’s almost equal to a full-time job. In the average home, there are more television sets than people.

According to another survey by America Online and Survey.com, American workers are wasting 2 hours of every 8-hour workday, and that doesn’t include lunch or scheduled break time.

Specifically, this survey revealed 64 percent of employees visit non-work related websites every day at work. Of that group, 39 percent waste one hour or less each week, 29 percent waste 2 hours each week, 21 percent waste five hours per week, and 3 percent said they waste 10 hours or more each week.

The survey also revealed which websites employees visit most while they should be working. Any guesses? Facebook occupied 41 percent of those wasting time and 25 percent are shopping at Amazon while they should be working.

I suspect if you asked those watching 35 hours of TV or those wasting time surfing the Internet about their life plans, they would tell you that they always wanted to start their own business but just don’t have the time.  Or perhaps they just don’t understand why they can’t seem to get promoted at work.  I bet you would hear an endless stream of excuses for why these folks can’t seem to get ahead.

The answer is very simple and Maxwell is right.  Here’s the answer again in case you missed it…Today Matters.  How you spend your day each and every day will determine your future.  You will never get today back again to repeat.

So what will it be?  Watch TV or spend time with your family?  Surf the Internet or think of ways to be productive and help your company advance?  Check Facebook or read your bible?  You see, your day really is yours.  You get to decide how your day will unfold.  Choose wisely because today really does matter.

Are You Stuck In Winter?

Spring is one of my favorite times of year.  After the long months of winter, trees with no leaves, no flowers, and brown grass, I finally have the chance to see a different kind of beauty.  It seems like the mountains and fields have exploded with greenery and wild flowers.  Outside my window is a new family of birds in the nest…new life is everywhere.

As I think about new growth I can’t help but think about spiritual growth.  Are you experiencing a spiritual spring season or are you still stuck in winter?  Are you growing in your walk with Christ or are you stuck in the snow?

God often talks about new growth in nature and compares it to our spiritual growth.  Matthew 7:16 tell us this, You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. What is God telling us?  He is saying that people should be able to identify followers of Christ by the fruit we produce.  People should be able to see our spiritual fruit…our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. Our fruit should be evident to everyone as we go about our daily schedules. Remember, fruit grows continuously.  As followers of Christ we should always have our fruit growing, developing, and ultimately passed on to others.

So may I encourage you today to leave your spiritual winter behind?  It’s time to move into spring and allow God to create some new spiritual growth in your life.  Small, new spiritual growth can quickly turn to fully developed spiritual fruit.  Go ahead and take the first step today.  Welcome to spring!

Stuck Again?

This weekend I got my car stuck in the mud.  The more I tried to get the car out, the deeper it sank.  I tried the usual approaches but my car simply sank deeper and deeper.  I tried all sorts of things to get the car free. Of course the ideas were brilliant and creative but after trying each new idea the wheels on my car would only spin faster…still stuck in the mud and digging deeper.  Finally, I realized I couldn’t fix this on my own.  I tied a rope to my car and using a second car successfully pulled the car out of the mud.

As I was thinking about this I couldn’t help but think about our daily lives.  Have you recently found yourself stuck in the mud?  You didn’t expect it but suddenly something happened in your life that took away your control.  One moment you were happily driving along in life and the next moment you weren’t going anywhere.  The harder you tried to fix your problem the deeper you sank.  You have tried all sorts of good ideas, each time just certain that each idea would fix your problem.  However, with each different attempt to fix your life, your emotional wheels simply spun faster and you found yourself in the same position.  In fact, all your attempts to fix your life problems only dug you deeper in the mud.

It’s time to admit we can’t do everything on our own and to start relying on God.  Go ahead…tie your rope to Him and let him guide you through whatever situation you are facing.

I John 4:4 tells us, The Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.  We don’t need to live our lives struggling on our own.  Allow God to guide you through life.  God hasn’t promised a life without mud but He has promised that He will always be there with a rope to help pull you out of difficult situations and guide you throughout your toughest times.

Prayer…Really?

There are folks who constantly talk about the separation of church and State, and oppose prayer in our country.  There are those who maintain that the United States was not founded on Christian principles and was never intended to be a Christian nation.  Historian John Fea said this, The idea that the United States is a Christian nation has always been central to American identity. He said if the United States was not founded on the Christian religion than someone forgot to tell the American people.

 As you think about prayer and the history of our country, remember that many of our most popular United States presidents supported prayer and a Biblical worldview.

Abraham Lincoln said this, It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, and to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow.

 Ulysses S. Grant, said, Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts and practice them in your lives.

 Theodore Roosevelt had this to say about Biblical worldview and prayer:

Truth and righteousness are of no value to the world until they are embodied in a personality. And there is only one Source of Truth and Righteousness. Except as they flow from the Almighty God Himself, they do not exist.

Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the nation to join him in prayer on D-Day.

Dwight D. Eisenhower stopped for prayer during his 1953 presidential inauguration.

Ronald Reagan said this about prayer, We must also seek help from God…our Father and preserver… the morality and values such faith implies are deeply imbedded in our national character.

This week we stop our activities and celebrate the national day of prayer. If you hear folks say prayer is not a part of our country or even that our country has not been founded on Biblical principles, remind them to check their history.  Even remind them what historian John Fea said…that if the United States was not founded on the Christian religion than someone forgot to tell the American people.  

 If our country was not founded on Christian principles and prayer is not an important element of those principles, I think they also forgot to tell our presidents.

A Special Thank You

While following the events in Boston and West, Texas this week, I realized again that there are folks in this world that we need to simply thank for what they do.  As I watched the events of the week unfold from the safety of my home, I recognized that there are folks who are actually involved in the tragedies.  Folks working long hours to keep us safe.  As I watched firefighters, emergency medical workers, and police officers lose their lives this week I was thankful for those who are willing to give their lives for me.

When I think of our public safety workers I am reminded of John 15:13.  Here we read, There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.  I think of twenty-six year old police officer Sean Collier who was shot and killed in Boston this week. I think of fifty-two year old firefighter Kenny David, (father of three) who died fighting the fire in West, Texas this week.  At least ten of the dead in this explosion in Texas were first responders.

Our public safety folks knew when they pinned on their badge that one day they might need to give their life to save another.  Yet, that has never stopped them from doing their job when any of us call.  When most people would run away from a bad situation these folks are running toward it. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.

This week when you see a police officer don’t first check your speedometer.  Instead, take a moment and pray for them.  When you see firefighters or emergency medical workers pray for them.  If you have an opportunity to talk with our public safety folks take a minute and thank them for what they do.  Their jobs are not easy…working at all hours and in all weather, working on holidays, family birthdays and anniversaries and frequently dealing with folks who aren’t always in the happiest frame of mind.

But when we need them they always come, putting their lives at risk and their talents to work.  Police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical professionals….thank you for making a difference in our lives!

Check It Off The List

I was recently talking with a friend who asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks.  He said this: “When was the last time you went to church and really expected to meet with God?”  Sure…most of us regularly attend church but do we actually prepare for church?

I know for many families our weekly list of tasks includes attending church on Sunday.  At 10:30 AM we know we must be sitting in our seat at church.  We have hurried to get our children dressed, get breakfast, keep our family moving out the door and get seated but have we forgotten the most important part?  Have we even thought about preparing our hearts all week for what God is going to do in that Sunday church service?

When is the last time we got together with our families on Thursday night and talked about what we hoped God would do in our Sunday service?  When is the last time we actually took time to prepare our hearts for an encounter with God at church?  You see, this question from my friend made me wonder if we really expect God to do anything at all in church.  This question made me realize that sometimes all of us expect the pastor to be prepared and the musical worship team to be prepared but we just sit and expect others to take care of our worship. Our encounter with God has become the responsibility of someone else.

So as the weekend approaches may I ask you to spend time in prayer preparing for what God has in store for you this Sunday?  Will you take some time with your family and ask them what they are hoping God will do for them at church this week?  Will you spend time praying for your pastor and the church service asking God to meet with the congregation in a miraculous way?

Don’t let church become another item on your to do list and simply check it off when the service ends.  Become engaged in worship and prepare yourself and your family for what God has in store for you.  What a shame it would be to miss what God has for us because we simply viewed our worship experience as another check off item on our list of tasks for the week.  Make each worship service a time of awe as you have the joy and privilege of worshipping our remarkable God with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Speak Up and Take Action!

April 9^th marks 68 years since the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Bonhoeffer was a pastor and trained theologian.  He was a brilliant man who graduated with his doctorate from the University of Berlin when he was twenty-one.

Bonhoeffer was born at a time when he found himself caught in the middle of Nazi Germany.  He was vocal against the teachings and policies of Hitler.  In fact, two days after Hitler was installed as Chancellor, Bonhoeffer delivered a radio address where he attacked Hitler’s policies and warned the German people that Hitler wasn’t a leader but was actually an anti-leader.  Bonhoeffer was cut off the air in mid sentence.

In1935, Bonhoeffer established an underground seminary for the anti-Nazi church. He secretly trained pastors throughout Germany and continued to be vocal against Nazi policies on the treatment of the Jews and those being persecuted.  Eventually the Nazis became so aggravated with Bonhoffer that they would no longer permit Bonhoeffer to publish any of his writings.

In 1943, just months after his wedding engagement, Bonhoeffer was arrested (and charged with conspiring to rescue Jews) and eventually moved to the Buchenwald concentration camp.  As he was being led away by the SS, he said, “This is the end – for me the beginning of life.”  Two weeks before U.S. soldiers liberated his camp, Bonhoeffer was hung.

A German medical officer who witnessed the hanging said, “I saw pastor Bonhoeffer kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God.  I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer.  At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed.  His death ensued after a few seconds.  In the almost fifty years I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

We can learn much from the life of Bonhoeffer.  He was not afraid to follow Biblical teachings and take action on his beliefs.  In fact, Bonhoeffer once said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

So today I will challenge you.  When you hear worldviews that aren’t Biblical are you speaking up?  When you see people who need to know about Christ are you telling them?  When the Bible commands you to do something, don’t be afraid to speak and don’t be afraid to act.  God’s Kingdom needs you.  God needs all of us to be actively doing His will.  God is not looking for silent Christians.

Remember what Bonhoeffer said, “Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. “ Don’t let God find you in silence.