FOCUSING THE VIEW
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:21

Have you ever looked through a telescope before? My son got one for Christmas this past week and that night we were both anxious for the sun to go down so we could see the moon and stars. We had been practicing during the day, looking at trees far off, birds that managed to stop long enough for us to find, and whatever else looked distant. But as the sun finally set, we were getting a little discouraged. It was looking to be a cloudy night. We waited, and waited, and attempted, but still the sky was filled with clouds. After some time, though, we finally got our chance. The clouds were moving out and we saw our payday...the moon.
At first it looked like a big blurry blob, no different than someone shining a flashlght in your eye. But as we had learned during the day, we had to focus. We had to twist the knobs and line up the view to rid the blur. When we finally had it set, though, we were able to see the details clearly. It was a moment I will not forget, sharing time with my son and seeing the etched craters and shadows cast on the moon itself.
I have been praying the past week for what God is telling me concerning 2010, and the word I hear for myself is FOCUS. As I prayed and considered this word, I was reminded of my son's telescope. We used it to view things far off, bringing them close so we could focus on their detail. But as I stayed with God on this thought He began to show me that it is time I go deeper with Him, and focus on His detail. Over the past two years since my divorce began its process, I have been learning to cope again a single, and have tried to start up a relationship or two. However, as this year has begun to wind down, I have felt more and more that God wanted me to Himself. How can I focus on the moon if the knobs are not adjusted right? But then how can I focus on God if I am not adjusted to His settings.
In Matthew 6:21, Jesus tells us that our treasure is where our heart is. For so long I have been lonely and wanting, and honestly my heart has not been focused. My treasure has pivoted between a relationship with a lady and a relationship with God. When I am alone, I want company. When I have company, I forget about God. I hate that this has been true, but it is. So hearing the word FOCUS is right on target for me. It is time I focus on God and go deeper with Him. It is time I adjust my knobs in my relationship with God and see the awe and wonder in His detail. I know from experience that I will not be let down when I look at His awesomeness.
I cannot say that the word FOCUS is the word for you as well, but I can tell you that you will not be disappointed if you resolve to focus on God. Steven Curtis Chapman sings one of my all time favorite songs, Magnificent Obsession. I have always loved the tune. But as I was thinking about the song today, and reflecting on the words, it became more of my prayer than just a song. So I close this blog and this year with this, my prayer and perhaps yours.
This is everything I want
This is everything I need
I want this to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession

BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT...
"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

This past weekend for me was one of remembrance. The headlines spoke of the passing of Oral Roberts. Although I never met him or personally shook his hand, he made an impact on my life. For me, the greatest memories of my time at Oral Roberts University were the quiet times when I would lay on the cement sidewalk and look up at the Praying Hands. I know it sounds weird, but every time I was there, God spoke to me. Every verse God quickened to my memory while there was concerning faith. I would look at those hands and hear God speak, "This is what I can do through a man who has faith."
I can only be honest and tell you that I waver in my faith at times. In my spirit I know God can do anything, but when I am face to face with my giants I tend to forget. I wonder how I would react if I were a Bible character. Would I have the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to stand up to the king? When the sound was heard and the command to bow was given, would I be one who kept standing? And then faced with the furnace, would I have the belief that God would deliver me? I would like to think so. These three had no fear. They flat out told the king, "God will save us! But if for some reason He doesn't, we still won't bow." Can I make the same confession, or will I shrink back?
God is looking for people of faith. The Bible shows us what God can do when people of faith are found. Nations are built, giants fall down, fire is defied, lions become full, walls are rebuilt, people are healed, and true salvation is found.
I may not have the same challenge in my life as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but I do have my own gods that the world wants me to bow down to. The question is, will I? When the opportunity to cheat is present, will I cheat? When an offer is given by a woman for a night of 'fun', will I take it? If a lie will keep me out of trouble, will I tell it? Will I bow down to the gods that the world pushes in front of me, or will I, like these three, say, "I will obey God at all costs because He will save me. And if He doesn't, I will still do what is right."
God used Oral Roberts because he, like Noah, Abraham, Nehemiah, Daniel, and a host of others, feared God and obeyed. Was it hard? Probably. Was it worth it? You bet! God changes the world with those who have have the faith to obey Him. That's the person I want to be.

A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE!
"How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not save?"
Habakkuk 1:2

I've had a few days of vacation lately, and spent some great mornings with God. I would like to share with you one of the revelations God opened my eyes to this past week. As I have been reviewing this past year myself, I have been thinking about all the times I have cried out to God and wondered when He was going to answer. So when I read the book of Habakkuk and saw him asking the same question, I couldn't help but laugh a little. God answered Habakkuk, but maybe not the way he expected.

Here is a brief summary of Habakkuk:
Habakkuk had seen an amount of violence and a lack of justice, so he cried out to the LORD. Basically, Habakkuk said, "God, don't you see what's happening? Why don't you do something?" God's response to Habakkuk was that he was ready to bring the Babylonians to conquer the known world, including swallowing up Judah. To say the least, Habakkuk is dumbfounded. God then makes it clear that He also plans to destroy Babylon for its violence and bloodshed, years later. Once Habakkuk understands God's full response, he writes a psalm about the LORD's terrible wrath. In that psalm, the prophet pledges to wait patiently for God's appointed time of salvation.

1:1-4 Habakkuk cries out for help. "...the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails...justice is perverted."
1:5-11 God responds, "Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." Then He shares that He is raising Babylonia, the ruthless, self-seeking, proud bunch. They are strong, sleek, stealth and ready to destroy.
1:12-2:1 God, you're doing WHAT? You hate violence. Why do you allow this? I will stand here and wait for the answer.
2:2-5 "For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end, and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." They will never be satisfied; they will always want more.
2:6-20 The LORD explains that the enemy will be opposed. They built the city on unjust gain and bloodshed. Finally, "You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and be exposed! The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory." Your idols are no match for God.
3:1-19 God's power is remembered, but also His ability to deliver. "You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot." God used the enemy's weapons against themselves. Though the crops have died out this season, I will rejoice in the LORD. Because of Him, I am able to go higher.

I am not sure about you, but how many times in my own prayer life do I hear God say He has something bigger for me than what I can fathom right now? I tell God my list of pains and happenings and question, "Don't you see what I am dealing with? When are all these problems going to disappear?" But I am reminded of something God spoke to me after my divorce - your pain will be your platform. How? Because in God's time He WILL DO things I cannot fathom. The enemy will be defeated and God's power will be seen. The enemy will be opposed and will be filled with shame. God's cup is coming around, and disgrace will be poured out on the enemy.
God is at work in you, just as he is in me. It may look like injustice is winning, but what is God doing that we cannot imagine? What looks like bad circumstance now will be blessing soon. The enemy will be defeated. Until then, just as after then, we will praise Him.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:18-19

The year 2009 is coming to an end. Not only a year, but a decade. When I think back over the last ten years, I see many blessings. I remember the days when my children entered the world. I remember my first day at my current job. I remember my wife and I buying our first house. But not all the memories of these past ten years have been grand. I also remember the miscarriage, the divorce, and learning that my dad has ALS. These moments define our past, but they also define our future.
Let me give you an example of what I mean. After the world was first created and God was pleased, He created Adam and Eve. Their job was simple - take care of the land. We do not know how long after Adam and Eve were created till the time the serpent came which caused the fall, but we know that they both shared in the fruit and as a result, were banished from the Garden of Eden.
God could have stopped here, admitted defeat, and gave up. But He didn't. Humanity continued. Years went by and in time Noah was born and eventually grew up. Because he feared God, God used him in the next part of the plan. Noah built the ark and his family and he were saved. Although God wiped out all but these eight people, he still did not lose, and did not admit defeat. The actions of Noah were built on the actions of Adam and Eve.
And so the story continues. God could have wiped out all the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, yet He spared Lot. God could have allowed the Philistine army to defeat the Israelites, yet he raised a man with a heart after His to defeat Goliath. God could have let the world go to hell for our sins and actions, yet He sent His Son to die for us. God could have left us in our sin, but instead He called us friends and showed His love (Jn 15:13). God never stopped, never admitted defeat, and never gave up.
I must admit that favorite Disney movie is Meet the Robinsons. This movie is a great example of what I am trying to say today. The young boy, so wanting to know his past, is taken into the future. In the future he finds that what he has always wanted, a family, he will soon have. But he also learns that his failures in science only make him better, as he learns to never give up. The theme of the movie is Keep Moving Forward, a slogan coined by Walt Disney himself.
Is it not true for us as well? In this passage from Isaiah, we are encouraged to not dwell on the past. Sure, we must learn from the past. We must take the lessons, both good and bad, and filter them to continue to make right choices in the future, but we must not dwell on them. We must move forward. God is doing a new thing. You and I do not know what all God plans to do for us in 2010, but can you not see that God is at work. By faith, God is at work, and we know from Jeremiah 29:11, that it is for our good. Things may look great for you now, but maybe for you they are not. Either way, God is making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
I encourage you with the few days left in this decade to recall the blessings that God has poured out on you. Thank him for these. But also remember the bummer moments, when the car broke down and you had no cash, when a family member died, or when you had to make an emergency trip to the ER. God was in all those times too, not testing you, but preparing the next step in the stairway you will you travel. He is doing a new thing right now...can you not see it?