Perspective - Sunrise? or Sunset?

Many posts back I shared that two people had prophesied over me that change was coming, and it was going to be good.  I had my own candy-coated idea of what that meant - that there would be some new way for me to reach people in my current role, but God had his own idea.  Yesterday we announced that I would be stepping off the LifeChurch.tv team effective March 31.  I'm not sure what the next chapter will be, but God shared with me a lesson on perspective that I'd like to share with you.

Think about a picture of the sun on the horizon - a bright yellow ball hovering slightly above the earth.  Its rays are piercing the expanse of sky all around creating hues of radiant color.  Is the sun rising?  Is the sun setting?  We don't really know - all we see is beauty, power and radiance.  It's a matter of our perspective as to whether we see it as a sunrise or a sunset. Sunrise means the dawn of a new day.  Sunset means the day has come to an end. 

While I was thinking about the visual that God created for me in this mind picture, I began to think about the significance of the sun itself.  Because it gives us light during the day, we tend to "measure" things by its brightness, "it shines as bright as the sun" is an example.  I began searching through scripture to see what God said about the sun.  Of course, He created the sun when He said "Let there be light" in Genesis 1:3, but I wanted to find more on its significance.  I was stopped by two passages:

"The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory."  Isaiah 60:19

"There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." Revelation 22:5 

My perspective about the sun on the horizon totally changed.  It's not about the sun, or the horizon, it's about faith.  Faith that my God is my everlasting light, that He will be my glory, that it will not matter whether the sun is setting or whether it is rising - that God will give me the light necessary to shine no matter what the future brings.

Although the sun is setting on my ministry through LifeChurch.tv, it is rising on a new season of life.  And through it all, God will shine and the light will never go out.  I love a good sunrise, and I equally love a brilliant sunset, but I will now look at them through the lens of faith.

What about you?  Are you facing uncertainty?  If so, do not focus on your perspective but instead turn to God.  Allow Him to shine through you and He will give you all you need.  After all, He created the sun...

Lent - What?

Today is the first day of Lent.  Some of you have been practicing the tradition of lent all of your lives, some of you, like me, only recently learned what Lent was all about.  When I was growing up in the Baptist church, the only thing I knew about Lent was: (1) that my Catholic friends couldn't eat meat on Fridays so the school cafeteria prepared some awful looking (and smelling) fish, and (2) said Catholic friends had to give up something they enjoyed - like candy or soda pop.  I didn't understand, and frankly, I don't think many of my young friends understand what they were doing either.  It was tradition - something handed down to them from generation to generation - so they particiapted as well.

Lent is actually a period of 40 days (plus Sundays) prior to Easter where we observe the ministry of Jesus Christ, his death, and end on the celebration of his resurrection. 

Easter! No matter what your religious background, if you are a Christ-follower, Easter is the day you set aside to celebrate the foundation upon which we build our faith - the fulfillment of God's saving grace - "...while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

The purpose of today's blog isn't to tell you to fast something for the next 47 days, or to suggest you only eat fish on Fridays.  The purpose is to ask you to set aside some time between now and Easter to reflect on what God did for us by sending His son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to live, minister, die and be raised from the dead.  This isn't just a good story - it is the miracle that happened so that each of us has the opportunity to be saved from our sin and spend life eternal with the creator of the universe.

To help you, YouVersion has added a couple of Reading Plans for Lent.  My favorite is Lent for Everyone.  Grab your tea (or coffee, if you must), sit back and read how God redeemed us through His son Jesus Christ.  Enjoy!

We Serve a God!

Each Sunday, we pull all of the people who serve on the Host Team at LifeChurch.tv Owasso together for a team huddle.  This Sunday we talked about Excellence - one of the Core Values at LifeChurch.tv.  We shared with the team two things:

Excellence is when PASSION meets PRECISION.  When you are passionate, you will seek out precision.

We don't work for a CHURCH, we serve a GOD!

At LifeChurch.tv Owasso, we empty two tractor trailers and set up church in an elementary school every Saturday evening, then repack into the trailers every Sunday afternoon.  Sometimes we do this with 30 people, sometimes there are only 12 or 13 - but we get it done every single week.  And everyone involved is passionate and we do it with precision.  Why?  Because we serve a GOD!  Some days go smoothly, some not so much.  This past Sunday, we had a list of "issues" to overcome - but we did - and we were passionate and strived for precision.  Why?  Because we serve a GOD!  Our Servant Leaders face all of the same life challenges as everyone else (and some have more than their fair share of difficulties), but they show up every weekend with passion, serving with precision.  Why?  Because we serve a GOD!

And not just a god - THE GOD!

And then ... we get to see God work - 13 people gave their lives to Christ this Sunday, 20 people baptized last week, with over 700 baptized throughout all of the LifeChurch.tv campuses.  A grandmother was united with her grandchildren this past week.  A lady praying for financial help not only kept her job after 19 people were let go by her employer, but also received additional hours at work.  A father is granted his request for protection for his son when he visits his abusive mother, and the son's desire to be at church every time possible is bringing his father closer to God.  A family with special needs children is now able to go to church because servant leaders have stepped up to help her family - and now, they get to have a "date night" every Sunday evening because someone is willing to watch their children for free.  A couple driving by the church stopped and asked one of our Parkers what was going on - after finding out, they said they had been looking for a church and will be back. 

Marriages are being restored, family relationships strengthened, people are being healed.  People are praying for one another like I've never seen before. Children and adults alike are hearing about the saving grace of Jesus Christ - and they are responding.  You can feel the "agape" love when you walk through the doors.

We are passionate.  We are precise.  We don't work for a Church - we serve a GOD - THE GOD!

Mornings and Nonsense

I am not a fan of getting up early.  I prefer sleeping the way God intended - until the sun comes up.  I believe that the enemy actually created the alarm clock, and we were eager to adopt the evil little thing so that we could "get more hours in the day."  Now if I could only convince the rest of the civilized world of my point of view.

When I have to get up earlier than usual, it messes with me in so many ways.  Besides being tired, it changes my routine.  My Bible reading time isn't quite the same, and definitely my blogging suffers.

So here's my blog - it's just a bunch of nonsense about mornings...Because I had to get up early this morning.

Lessons from Laser Tag

Our team works hard, and sometimes we get to play hard.  Yesterday we played laser tag together.  Now, I already knew this would be a challenge for me (I was a laser tag virgin before yesterday).  I've recently learned how to shoot a handgun at a target and did fairly well.  I also recently learned how to shoot a shotgun at a moving target - and let's just say I need more practice.  Since in laser tag, people move around, I had flashbacks of clay disks flying through the air and landing untouched by my shotgun shells.

I had every reason to be concerned - the first round, I was last, but my score did break 100.  The second round we paired up and thankfully I picked the best teammate; however, once again, my score was the worst - and this time, it was only 29.  Wow - if that doesn't make you feel like a loser!  Luckily for me, my teammate carried us and we WON!

Here's what I learned yesterday:

• Never trust a little kid with a laser gun - they like following you around just so they can see the pretty lights go out every time they shoot you.
• LifeChurch.tv staff members are, by their very nature, competitive.  Which means you can't trust them either.  They like to hide in high places and seek you out.  I think some of them were military trained. 
• Rules?  What rules?  Cover your laser pack with anything you can to keep from getting shot.
• I am a jack of all trades but master of none - I can play, but there's no chance that I'll be mastering laser tag in this lifetime.
• Scripture is true - I'm running out of time this morning, so I'll look up the scripture reference and post it later - but there's scripture about the least being first.  I had the worst score, but because I teamed up with the best player, we won first place.  This is true in life as well - team up with the best - Jesus Christ, and you will always win the race.

Corner of the Roof

Sometimes scripture just cracks me up.  Example:

"Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife."  Proverbs 21:9

I don't know about you, but this automatically gives me a visual of a guy crouched in a fetal position on a high-pitched roof, rocking back and forth.

And another one:

"Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife." Proverbs 21:19

Visual here - guy walking through a dessert, clothes ripped and torn, lips parched, and head-to-toe sunburned.  Not as funny, unless you are twisted like me and visualize a guy who's definitely not the "survivor" type and who didn't pack any water, sack lunch, lip balm or sunscreen when he escaped the house.

Scripture can have humor...but after we smile, we need to consider God's meaning.  First and foremost - I don't believe God is directing anyone to hide on the roof or wander the desert because their spouse is argumentative.  Just the shear nature of having a relationship with another person is going to lead to quarrels - we're human and we all have opinions.  Sometimes those opinions differ, and an argument may ensue. 

What I believe scripture is telling us is simple - dont' argue for the sake of arguing.  While each of us has an opinion, we need to consider that our opinion is no more important (or even right) than another person's.  We must put others first...which includes our spouse.  How can there be any satisfaction out of a relationship full of constant quarreling and nagging?  Being right all of the time may bring some level of satisfaction, but it will eventually bring something else - loneliness (and likely ulcers)!

So, if you see your husband (or wife) dragging the ladder out of the garage to the roof after an argument, you may want to reconsider your position.  Instead of plotting how to hide the ladder after he's on the roof giving him no escape plan, make the decision to hold your tongue, think about your spouse's opinions, and swallow your pride.  Before engaging in a fight in the future...think of how much more satisfying it is to have a peaceful house. 

And as an added bonus, the neighbors will stop calling the police about the crazy guy sleeping on the roof.