Let’s face it. We all watch TV. I’ll be honest, I’ve always loved television. It’s never been the center of my life or anything but I am not ashamed to say that I enjoy it. Especially since I got TIVO. Television is entertaining, educational, and a modern-day form of art when it’s done right. In fact, I’d say that the quality of television programs today is better than what the movie industry is putting out.

Filed under: Misc. | Post a comment

Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Four

Point to Ponder: There is more to life than just here and now.

Verse: “This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.” 1 John 2:17 (NLT)

Question: Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?

Eternal life gives us hope.  Hope that there’s something to look forward to after this life.

Sometimes I get wrapped up in the temporary things in life.  Sometimes I spend too much of my time and energy on things that are fading.  The stuff. Stuff could be the trivial problems of my day, posessions, or selfish desires.  I know it’s not about stuff, it’s about people.

God placed me (and all of us) here for a purpose.  Keeping my eyes on what’s eternal should be my mission. People are eternal creatures- at least their souls are. The legacy I leave for my family and future generations is eternal. How I treat people today has eternal consequences. My relationship with Jesus is eternal. These are the things that matter. My life should be about loving God with all that I am and loving others as I love myself. That’s eternal and that’s what matters.

My desire is to do things that matter.

Filed under: Purpose Driven Life | Post a comment

‘Road Trip Through the Bible’ is simply a list of questions marks, exclamation points, and periods after reading a passage of the Bible. My approach is to take the Bible at face value. I believe the Bible is the Word of God and is as relevant today as ever.

• Verse 2 says that large crowds followed him- Jesus cared about numbers.
• Those pesky Pharisees are at their tricks again. (verse 3).
• I love how Jesus answered the question about divorce with an answer about marriage. (verses 4-6). He began his response with what the standard is.
• The Pharisees replied, “Oh, yeah…well, Moses said…” (verse 7).
• Jesus goes back to what God’s original plan for marriage is. (verse_8 ).
• The exception to the rule- adultery. (verse 9).
• Observation- When Jesus came He challenged a lot of the old thinking. I find it interesting that in terms of marriage- He’s very old school. He actually goes all the way back to Genesis and reemphasizes the importance of marriage.
• Even the disciples questioned being married to one person for the rest of their lives. (verse 10).
• It takes maturity to be married. (verse 11).
• Marriage isn’t for everyone. (verse 12).
• Jesus encourages marriage (verse 12).
• I still dig Jesus turned a question about divorce and turned it into an answer about marriage.
• The kids were running up to Jesus but the disciples shooshed them. (verse 13). Reminds me of most churches.
• I want to be a kid (verse 14). Jesus loves kids!
• The BIG question- “What good thing must I do to get eternal life? (verse 16).
• The BIG answer from Jesus- “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good…” (verse 17).
• Being that everyone in this region knew the commandments, I got to think this was a “duh” statement for Jesus. (verse 18). He’s like, being good consists of not murdering, stealing, lying, being faithful to your spouse, honoring your parents and loving your neighbor as love yourself.”
• We discover that the guy who asked the question is a young man. (verse 20). Wonder if there’s any significance in that?
• The dude’s like, I’m already doing all the good stuff, what do I have left to prove? (verse 20).
• Jesus decides to stretch him further. (verse 21).
• It was clear the rich young ruler wasn’t quite ready for the challenge. (verse 22).
• What should we value more? (verses 23-24).
• The disciples are like, “who even has a chance to get to heaven then?”
• Jesus tells us that is the point. “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (verse 26). With God, even camels can fit through the eye of a needle.
• Peter asks the same question I’ve asked, “What about me.” (verse 27). Although, in this case, it’s a valid question.
• We are simply stewards, nothing is ours, even our families, our work- everything. It’s God’s. (verse 29).
• The law of reciprocity. (verse 29).
• Jesus blows away conventional thinking in verse 30. “But many who are first will be last, and the many who are last will be first.”

Filed under: Misc. | Post a comment

I’m very intrigued by the upcoming Rocky Balboa movie. I’m really hoping it’s more like the original Rocky than Rocky V. The story of Rocky is a classic underdog story and I think this next movie in the series will play to that since Sly Stallone’s like 60 years old. It’s pretty cool that Stallone is still in great shape and can play this character once again. I heard Sylvester Stallone say that Rocky Balboa is a parellel story to his own personal journey.

Here’s the another cool thing about this movie- there are tools and resources along with the film at http://www.rockyresources.com. It’s clear they’re attempting to tap into the Christian market and I don’t think that’s such a bad idea. According to the rockyresources.com:

This site is designed to provide useful tools to learn about Rocky Balboa, the final round in the award-winning Rocky franchise, and utilize the film as a teaching, preaching or outreach opportunity. If you are a church, school, or small group leader, there are some excellent resources here that will help you “get in the ring” with Rocky.

Here’s a trailer for the movie. Here’s hoping the film lives up to its potential.

Filed under: Movies | Post a comment

Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Three

Point to Ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.

Verse: “You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (TEV)

Question: What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to be?

I can tell you that I do not want my life driven by guilt, anger, fear, materialism, or the need for approval.

I want my life to be driven by this- To love God with all my heart, soul, and mind. And love others as I love myself. I want my life to be driven by a authentic desire to see people maximize their potential. I get very excited when that happens. I believe their is no better way to love God than to love others. I don’t know how you could seperate it.

I hope that my friends a family see that in me. Shoot me an e-mail and let me know what you think.

Filed under: Purpose Driven Life | Post a comment

‘Road Trip Through the Bible’ is simply a list of questions marks, exclamation points, and periods after reading a passage of the Bible. My approach is to take the Bible at face value. I believe the Bible is the Word of God and is as relevant today as ever.

Passage Link: Matthew 18

• Keep it simple. (verse 3).
• Bad things will happen in life. (verse 7). But we should do our best to not be the reason they do.
• Just because one part of us isn’t great doesn’t mean that the rest of us can’t be. (verses 8-9).
• Jesus talked about sheep because that’s what everyone could relate to. (verses 12-14).
• God is happier about finding someone who is lost than the many who are found. (verses 12-14).
• When we have an issue with someone else, we should first deal with it person to person (verse 15).
• If that doesn’t work, we should get an unbiased third party (verse 16).
• If the issue remains, we should bring it to our community of believers. (verse 17)
• If all of that still doesn’t work? Verse 17 says to treat them as we would a pagan or tax collector? Love them even when they’re not lovable. Try to go back to the beginning and continue to work it out. Some interpret the words “treat them like a pagan or tax collector” to mean we should outcast them. Remember, Matthew was a tax collector and Jesus still included him in his group. We have to learn to forgive and move on.
• How we handle these situations matter here on Earth and to God in Heaven (verse 18).
• When two or more people get together in Jesus, He is there too. (verses 19-20). This is important to remember not only in conflict situations but in any situation.
• Peter asks what we all want to ask sometimes. How long should we keep trying to forgive and doing what Jesus described in verses 15-17. (verse 21).
• I believe that the Greek word seventy-times is gazillion. (verse 22). Okay, it’s not- but that’s what Jesus means isn’t it?
• Verses 23-35. We have to forgive the way God forgives us! Its funny how quickly the servant forgot about his pardon once he had to pardon someone else.

Filed under: Misc. | Post a comment

It’s about 5:30 a.m. yet it felt like the middle of the night as I raced down I-75 through Atlanta, GA on my way to the airport. I looked at the gas gauge and recalled the company policy was to fill up the gas tank on rental cars prior to their return. Being that I was on a business trip and had the time, I decided that I would exit off of the interstate in south Atlanta- not too far from the airport and fill ‘er up.

I pulled into a vacant convenience store parking lot up to a gas pump and saw “out of order” written on a piece of cardboard from a David’s Sunflower Seeds box. So I cranked the steering wheel and pulled around to an outer pump. Bad idea!

I got out of the car and looked at the controls as a man walked up to me from the side of the convenience store. He watched me pull out a credit card from my wallet to pay for the gas and he proceeded to inform me that I needed to put the card in the slot. Now this guy either thought I looked clueless or he was up to something. He didn’t look like an employee with his brown t-shirt and jeans. Actually, the scent of marijuana told me all I needed to know. I thanked him (hoped he go away) and proceeded to put my card in the machine so I could fill up the tank.

He then asked, “Yo man, do you have any money?” confirming the fact that he was indeed, not an employee. I don’t usually carry much cash when I travel and that’s exactly what I told him. Out of the blue he replied, “Praise Jesus” and gave me a brief story about how he was just released from prison and didn’t have any money to survive. Before I could respond, he put his hand in his pocket and said that if I didn’t give him money he was going to “cut me up.” At that moment, you’d think I’d be peeing my pants. But actually, I felt a great peace and that gave me confidence. Again I replied that I didn’t have any money- but that I noticed he said, “Praise Jesus” a moment ago, and I offered to pray for him. He took me up on my offer.

I asked him if it was cool to place my hand on him as I prayed and he agreed. So I strategically placed my hand on the arm in which had the hand- that had the knife- that he said was in his pocket. (Did you follow that?) I figured that if he made a move I would feel his muscle twitch and could defend myself if necessary. I prayed for him knowing that God would be in this situation. After the prayer, the man looked me right in the eyes and thanked me.

I looked over to my left and saw another man with an afro approaching us wearing the same clothes. He arrived along with a strong scent of weed and said, “Man, did you pray for him?” I said yes and that man gave me a huge bearhug and looked at my eyes with his stoned eyes and said, “You don’t even know him. I love you man. No really, I do.”

Sensing my opportunity to jet, I told the guys that I had to get going and got into my rental car as they quickly scampered away. I pulled out of the empty parking lot without even filling up my tank. I got back onto I-75 toward the airport when a huge rush of adrenaline overcame me. I literally had to shout out loud to get it out. Then I just kept saying, “Whoo…Thank you God…Thank you for protecting me!”

I began to process what had just happened and realized that God had my back and likely saved my life. Chances are, I was being setup for an ambush by these guys and God gave me peace and an escape. I don’t know if these guys were impacted by this- but I sure was (am). In this seemingly frightening moment, I experienced a calm that I can’t fully explain- a peace that passes understanding- and the love and protection of God.

I love how God uses bad things for good!

Filed under: Life | Post a comment

Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Two

Point to Ponder: I am no accident

Verse: “I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.” Isaiah 44:2 (CEV)

Question: Knowing that God uniquely created me, what areas of my personality, background, and physical appearances am I struggling to accept?

I think it is essential knowing that we were not created on accident but on purpose. I know that I was not planned by my parents. In fact, my parents were teenagers when they conceived me. Despite that, God always planned to have me live during this time is pretty sweet.

As I examine my personality, background, and physical appearance, I notice the things that I have a difficult time accepting are the ones that I know I can change. For instance, I’d like to get in better shape…well, there’s actually something I can do about that.

The things I can’t change, I feel great with. One of the things I used to dislike about my body was my nose- I felt it was too big. However, my smokin’-hot wife disagrees and says it fits my face and she finds me attractive. That kind of blew that issue out of the water. I’ve learned to accept that the tapestry of my life has made me who I am. In addition, knowing that God designed me gives me a ton of confidence. Now that…that’s cool.

Filed under: Purpose Driven Life | Post a comment

‘Road Trip Through the Bible’ is simply a list of questions marks, exclamation points, and periods after reading a passage of the Bible. My approach is to take the Bible at face value. I believe the Bible is the Word of God and is as relevant today as ever.

Passage Link: Matthew 17

• I wonder why Jesus chose these three guys to go up the mountain with Him? (verse 1).
• Wow! Seeing the Transfiguration in person had to be mind-blowing. (verses 2-3).
• Just in case there was any doubt. Moses and Elijah showed up. (verse 3).
• God’s voice from a cloud. (verse 5).
  I would be scared out of my mind too. (verse 6). Nothing like a good, healthy fear of God.
• Jesus the comforter. (verses 7-8).
• Jesus tells them to keep it on the down low until after He dies. (verse 9). I don’t know how they could contain themselves. When they got back with the group, you know the other guys wanted to know what happened. The look in Peter, James, and John’s eyes had to tell the others that something amazing happened.
• When I read these verses (10-13), it’s like a movie when a mystery is revealed. In this case, we learn that John the Baptist, that scruffy, locust-eating man was actually Elijah in the flesh. Yet another prophesy fulfilled. And now we know why so much was made of John the Baptist earlier in Matthew.
• Was Jesus annoyed with the disciples or am I missing something here? (verses 17-19). After all the disciples and other people had seen Jesus do, they still had to ask if Jesus would have mercy (verse 14) on a boy and heal him. Of course He did.
• If it was difficult for the disciples to have the faith of a little seed after seeing Jesus up close and in person, you know it’s gotta be tough for us. (verses 20-21). I certainly want the faith to move a mountain. How about you?
• Have you noticed Jesus is started to plant thoughts into everyone’s mind that His death is coming? (verse 22).
• This bums the disciples out (verse 23).
• Even Jesus paid taxes (verses 24-27).
• The fish with the coin in its mouth is yet another miracle. (verse 27).
• Jesus made sure there was enough money for both Peter and Jesus. (verse 27). A lesson for us?

Filed under: Misc. | Post a comment