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?

LEARNING TO TRUST
Be patient for the LORD and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
Psalm 37:34

Growing up I was not allowed to listen to music that wasn't Christian. Now of course I had a few tapes that mom didn't know about, but for the most part I obeyed the rules. So I grew up with my favorites, like Crumbacher, Steven Curtis Chapman, Kim Boyce, and David Meece. The thing I loved about David Meece's music, however, was that he took classic Bach and Chopin and mixed it with his own style and lyrics. He had his share of ballads too, and in these I found a source of strength and encouragment. One such song was Learning to Trust.
The chorus of this song reads:
-(That's why I'm) Learning to trust in you
-In everything I do
-Learning to trust in you
-Cause I know in my heart that your true
-I'm learning to trust in you
-But sometimes it's so hard to do
Why is it so hard to trust God? Look at the Fathers of the Faith. Abraham believed God would give him a nation and yet didn't have a child till he was 86 years old. And even then, this was not the chosen child. Isaac wasn't even born for another 14 years. Abraham had faith that God would keep His word. He learned to trust in God.
What about Joseph and his dreams? God gave him dreams when he was still young and yet family didn't even believe him. When he shared his dreams of grain bowing down, they called him crazy. Yet Joseph knew these dreams were from God. Thrown in prison for a crime he did not commit, he did not lose faith. He learned to trust in God. When the time was right, God elevated him from a prison to a place of authority.
Moses also learned to trust in God. In Exodus 3:10 God tells Moses that he has been chosen to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt and bring them to the land of milk and honey. Sure, Moses made the excuses but still went on this wild ride with God and had to trust in Him at every step. The promise was real, and the Promised Land was reached.
I was inspired this week by the word WAIT. I have looking up verses in the Bible that speak about waiting and patience, and found Psalm 37:34. Be patient for the Lord and keep his way. With Abraham, we see that Ishmael was born first, but was not God's decision. Abraham took matters into his own hands instead of waiting on God. I have made the mistake myself many times rushing into something that is not God's number one decision. Thank God for grace and forgiveness, but if I had been patient and trusted God, the mistake would not have been made.
He will exalt you to inherit the land. God has a reward for us, but cannot give it to us until the time is right, so we must be patient and obey. Joseph saw this firsthand. He didn't try to break out of jail, or try to squeeze into leadership. God promoted within the jail, and later outside of jail. God allowed Joseph to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. Can you imagine what Moses saw when he looked back and watched the Red Sea wash away the Egyptians chasing him? He trusted God and extended his staff over the water, and God came through. And it is no different for us. We too will see God's deliverance.
But the whole verse, the whole story, the whole lesson starts with a single word...WAIT. It is so hard to do, but the benefit is so rewarding. It is just like in pregnancy. A couple waits nine months for their child to be born, but the reward of that child is great. So it with us. God has a reward for us, and we want it so badly, but is the time right? Are we being asked to wait? And if we are, are we kicking and screaming about the wait, or are we trusting that the wait will be worth it all in the end? Only you can answer that. As for me, I have decided that I will learn to trust.

JUST SAY NO!
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
James 4:7

I can still remember all the mottoes and slogans that would fill the airwaves back in the 1980's. Yes, I am aware I am dating myself, but go back in time with me. It was around this time that S.A.D.D. and M.A.D.D. grew in popularity. The 'beef' was questioned. Pepsi was the choice of a new generation. And "Just say No" was the catch phrase used against violence, premarital sex, drugs, and other vices.
The phrase all started in 1982 when, then first lady, Nancy Reagan was asked by a schoolgirl what she should do when she was offered drugs. Reagan's response was, "Just say no." From there, a campaign was built, and a phrase that is still stuck in my head. In a way, though, this slogan was encouraged to us long before Nancy Reagan and her 'Just say No" campaigns.
In James 4:7 we are told to submit ourselves to God and just say no to the devil. It isn't always easy, though. Sin can be loads of fun. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that Moses chose to be mistreated with the slaves rather than continuing to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. We can all look at the things we have done and agree that many were probably fun. I had fun when I was in my years of pornography. I had fun getting away with telling lies. I had fun spending the money. But that fun was only temporary. When the 'moment' ended, I was faced with guilt, shame, and trying to figure out how I was going to pay a bill that I had just used my budgeted portion on.
In college, I remember our campus pastor, Bill Shuler, saying many times that we need to live "hindsight in a foresight position." What does that mean? It means we need to think of the end result before we engage. When I was in high school I dated a girl my senior year simply because I had heard she was semi-easy. Even though I wanted to have sexual relations with her, I didn't. Why? Because the whole time I kept thinking what would happen if she got pregnant? This was one of the few times I actually used the idea of the end to prevent the beginning. I wish I could say it has always been like that. But sin so easily tangles us. It is the carrot dangling in front of the rabbit.
Resist the devil and he will flee. How do we resist these temptations that seem so attractive, yet only end up as pythons straggling breath from us? The answer is submission to God. The Greek word for submit here is HUPOTASSO, which means to obey; to be a subject to God. Are we obeying God? James 4:8 fits behind this verse well when it says to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. When we are growing closer to God, we are more apt to obey Him from the start. Submission this way is easy. The closer I get to God, the more I want to be with God. His blessings far outweigh the temptations thrown at us. When I married, I was able to give myself to my wife as a virgin. The blessing and joy of that action even now, after 11 years and our divorce, is one of the highlights of my marriage. On my wedding night I felt no shame because she was my first.
I know that this entry has been focused mostly on sexual desires, but I can only write about the ways that I have been tempted. For you, temptation may be drugs, alcohol, gambling, telling lies. The list is endless, and the devil knows just what carrot to dangle over each of us. But the answer is still the same. RESIST THE DEVIL. Let's make it our goal to not give one more inch in our lives. Let's all begin to consider the end before we begin on a journey we may only regret later on.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Say_No

CHALLENGING HUSBANDS EVERY WHERE
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
Ephesians 5:25

I wrote a letter to a friend today, which isn't a strange thing, but it was one that I wish would have been written to me years ago. See, more and more these days I hear about couples having marriage problems and being caught at that pivotal point where they weigh staying verses divorcing. I have learned not to judge, especially since I also had that decision to make. God hates divorce (Mal 2:16), but what if we looked our marriage with new eyes. Let me explain what I mean by sharing some of the lessons I've learned in the past two years.
I married in August of 1998 to a lady I met 2 years before while I was in college. She was part of a missionary group passing through town. We were fond of each other and after hitting it off well, I asked for her address. For the next 22 months we wrote back and forth and got to know each other more in our letters. On Thanksgiving of 1997 I took the Greyhound from Oklahoma to Montana to see her, and in our second face to face conversation, I proposed to her. She accepted, but the me I appeared to be in my letters was not the me I was in person.
After graduating in May 1998, I moved to Montana to enjoy the last 3 months of our engagement and being able to see her on a daily basis. It was then that she began to see me for who I truely was. In my letters I described myself as a Man of God, a wise person, a guy who could play the guitar well, sing better, and wanted to share God with all nations. The truth of who I was, though, was a guy addicted to porn, not fully devoted to her, no money, no real dreams, too much debt from student loans, and far from God. That is the man she married. I learned how to lie well, act well, and say the right things. But when I was alone I was a wreck and looking for my next fix. This constant Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine caught up with me and was the reason for many fights during those summer months. At one point she had considered not getting married to me because in her heart she felt it was not right. Pushed by me and my promise to change, as well as other friends I had convinced, we did marry.
As you can imagine, since our marriage was set on the right foundation, the marriage soon sank. On Aug 29, 2000 I was called into my boss' office and was fired because of viewing porn on the boss' computer. I went home that day to my wife and told a lie about false accusations, but the truth is I knew I had been caught. Two days later she moved out. I lost it all, my wife, job, miscarried child, friends. I lived on ramen noodles and beans since I had little money. I went looking for jobs daily, any type job. When I wasn't working I was fighting between trying to be right and better myself, and indulging my lust. I went to counseling, met with friends, and did anything I could to take the pain away. Finally I decided I needed real help and enrolled myself into Pure Life Ministries in Kentucky, where they counsel sexual addictions. I began to see my problems and their affect. I saw how my choices affected my wife, how they made her feel demeaned and worthless. I saw that my pain was the issue, and my drug of choice was porn. Although I was becoming a different man and finally growing up, I think the change was made too late. Years later the marriage would end in divorce.
Rejection, anger, frustration, loss, guilt, condemnation, loss of appetite, suicide...these are just a few of the feelings I had. No pain was worse than knowing that I had become a negative statistic. I had been slapped in the face by my own actions and the affect that they would have. And now, now that the paper work is done and I have been able to adjust to the divorced dad statistic, now I finally realize the pain of what I did years ago. I didn't think I was hurting anyone, but I hurt everyone with my porn. I hurt my wife...she never trusted me again. I hurt my children...because I broke up the family and stripped them of security. I hurt myself...I still deal with the waves of pain that come. But I also hurt God...who gave me all the blessings I had in life. My wounds were not from physical punches, but from choices. They hurt just the same. Damage to the body can heal, but damage to the heart takes longer, and in many cases does not heal. Unfortunately it turns to bitterness.
But here is the hope, the Great Romance. Because God loved us, and we had chosen to walk away, He sent His Son. He showed us the ultimate picture of love by making a sacrifice of His Son for us. You see Ephesians 5 talks about just this. The church is God's bride. God did all He could to show us His love. It is up to us to respond. For me, I have seen His love and want to love Him back. God is a gentleman and will not force us to love Him. It is a choice, and I have chosen to love Him. But is it not the same in marriage? Sure it is. I cannot make anyone love me, just as you cannot make your spouse love you. It must be something they choose. But our actions, words, thoughts, behaviors affect their decision. If our wives sees us husbands in love with Jesus, not a trick but really in love, then our wives see our heart. And when you are in love with Jesus, you begin to take on His character. Soon what the wife sees in the husband is really God in him coming outward. She then in turn will have no problem loving you, trusting you, wanting to be with you. But it all starts with the man.
Does God treat you, husband, the way you treat her? For me, the answer was no. God did not treat me with anger, judgment, or condescending words, yet I treated my wife this way. I wondered why she didn't love me early in our marriage, but it was because I was not reflecting Jesus. The wife's love for for husband will not exist until we as men reflect God. I learned this too late, and my wife's heart was already too wounded and bitterness had settled in. But you, husband, still have a chance. Divorce is not official with your marriage; it is just a word that you threaten each other with. But while there is still hope, while you still have the chance...Love God, reflect God, let her see God in you. God hates divorce. Take it from one who knows.