My Stories

How did it happen? How did they not know who He was? Why could they not recognize it was Him? The people that were chosen to bring Him in, completely missed Him! After hundreds of years of miracles, defeating their enemies, giving them land, God finally sent their Messiah, and they rejected and killed Him. How frustrating this must have been. How disappointing. However, we all know that God has not forgotten His people. He has a plan. They are the chosen ones.

In Romans 9, Paul is having this conversation with the Jews in Rome. Starting in verse 30,(The Message) Paul says, ” All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as He straightened out their lives. And Israel,who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it?” Paul was using Old Testament scripture to show them how the Gentiles would accept the Christ they had rejected. The Gentiles embraced the salvation that Israel had read and talked about for hundreds of years. How could they have missed it?

Fast forward some 2000 years later, and I feel that these same verses can be applied to, not the Jews, but believers. I think that, in many ways, God is asking today, how did you miss Me? How did you not see that it was Me? He has given us salvation, miracles, victory over the enemy, and many blessings, and yet, like the Jewish people, we miss what He is really trying to do in our lives. When adversity comes our way in whatever form, relationships, finances, sickness, we cower down, get depressed, and start complaining by asking the WHY question…..”Why God, have you let this happen to me?” This question has always been the wrong question! The real question, that most are afraid to ask, is the WHAT question, “God, what are you trying to say to me in this situation?”

Listen to what Paul says in the last two verses of Romans 9 as he answers His on question, “How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their God projects that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into Him and went sprawling….Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can’t get around. But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me, you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.”

How did God’s chosen people miss Him? The same way His redeemed people miss Him today. When hard times, suffering, trials and tribulation come into our lives; begin to ask the “What” question. God, what are You trying to say to me, to teach me, to show me? If we persist in our stubbornness, like Israel, we will continue to stumble into the Stone. However, when we put aside our selfish desires, our personal God projects, our way of thinking how God should act, we will begin to see that He is right in front of us. This huge road block/stone, that is in our way, is actually God. We have to believe that we to are God’s chosen and redeemed people, and He has an awesome plan for our lives. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

So I ask the question, what’s in your way? Are you standing in front of a huge stone/roadblock? Are you asking the WHY question? Remember the words of Isaiah, ” If your looking for Me, you’ll find Me, on the way, not in the way.”

I really love the book of Genesis. Every Tuesday night I have a small group of men that meet with me at the shop. Our current study is this wonderful book of beginnings. One of the first things I taught was that, even though there may be only one interpretation for scripture, there may be many applications.

One application that we seem to be spending a lot of time on is this classic line from the serpent himself as he said to the Eve, “You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” You and I know the rest of the story. Eve ate, Adam ate, and in that moment they did gain a knowledge they did not have before, and the serpent…well, he accomplished what he would seek to accomplish in every descendant of this first family.

The question that everyone of us has to answer goes like this, “Do we want to be like God, or do we want to be with God? It is satan’s life long mission to convince us that we need to be like God ( the very thing that got him thrown out of heaven). The moment we choose this lie…we lose! What we lose is what we need the most, our oneness, our closeness, our fellowship with God.

This apple comes to us in many forms, and fashions. For me, it was the desire to know what’s coming next, to be in control, to perform, to get ahead, and to be in charge. For others it may be those things and more, the desire for success, a big home, new cars, wealth, etc. The list could go on, however, what’s important is to realize whatever our apple does, it is keeps us wrapped up in a fig leaf. We become posers, actors, pretenders, projecting ourselves as being someone that we’re not. On the outside we look great, but inside we are empty, lonely, afraid, and hoping that no one notices. Then once a week we all take time out of our busy schedule to meet….we go to church.

Back to the Real in the Beginning. Here comes my “most favorite part”, “when they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze the man and his wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. God called to the man: “Where are you?” (The Message, Gen. 3:8-9) God called to_____________. Put your name in the blank. God always comes looking. He was then, and still is today, the initiator of the relationship. We always do what they did…..hide. We hide, and Gods come with the question, “Where are you?

So…where are you? Still chasing the knowledge? What does your fig leaf look like? Listen…….what’s that sound?

My story, the spiritual one, began in 1968. At ten years old, I prayed to receive Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. For the next eleven years, I lived a normal religious life….going to church, obeying my parents, and staying out of trouble as much as possible. In October of 1979 I heard a man preach like never before. Leonard Ravenhill challenged me to not only believe, but to make Jesus the Lord of my life…give Him complete control. That night I made a decision to not only believe in Jesus, but to follow Him, obey Him, and become the man God wanted me to be. Three months later I was ask to become the youth minister at our church. I was deeply appreciative of the church’s confidence in me to lead their youth, but the timing was at best questionable. As a young follower of Christ, I was suddenly challenged with the near impossible task of learning how to grow in Christ personally, and helping others grow as well.

In comes the enemy. In my zealous quest for spiritual maturity, he deceived me into believing that my spiritual identity was found in the quest itself. Once this deception is in place the following sequence of events are sure to take place. I begin to seek life, purpose , and approval through “the ministry”. Instead of seeking identity and significance in Christ in order to minister, I began to minister in order to find identity and significance. Now the snowball has been formed and is screaming downhill getting bigger with each revolution headed for the inevitable crash.

The snowball has a distinct look….read the bible for sermons, preach for the approval of men, and pray to get God’s blessings on my efforts. Now the enemy is having fun. He began to mock and accuse me of my lack of zeal, commitment, prayer, and maturity. He literally drove me into despair, guilt, shame, and depression. I became spiritually and emotionally drained from all of this warfare. Then I got my second wind and gained enough intestinal fortitude to renew my efforts and try harder to acquire this evasive achievement called, “Godly Man”. More prayer, bible study, scripture memory, and ministry, in order that I not be found weak and carnal in my faith. I began to rely even more on my giftedness, personality, and competence. I would do what it takes to get close to God.

I believe this excerpt from The Sacred Romance by John Eldridge says it best….”So many of our contemporary churches operate on this system of guilt. When our people are crying out for communion and rest we ask them to teach another Sunday school class. When they falter under the load we admonish them with scriptures about serving others. As Jesus talked about thirst and rest He brought people to reality of their heart. It is impossible to live the Christian life working, striving and doing because our hearts and minds become enemies rather than allies. Neither are free…to serve or love! When we hear the phrase, trust totally in God, most of us sigh, hearing it as one more requirement we can’t live up to. But, what if we were to listen to our hearts, and hear it as a need to faint, a need to lay down our doings, and simply make our needs known to Christ and rest in Him?” (end of quote)

For me, the snowball finally did crash. I gave up. Not on God, but on that elusive quest for “super saint”. The enemy may have won a battle or two but by the grace of God I’m winning the war. Twelve years after the crash, I am putting the pieces back together. The pieces, however, are completely different than before. They look like this…acceptance, forgiveness, righteousness, holiness, and approval, all found in Jesus at the cross.

I am finally learning to live out of who Jesus says I am, rather than who I think, or others think I ought to be. The guilt, shame, and condemnation is diminishing, while a true love affair with Christ is developing. This is a journey of faith, and trust, that God is there and walking with me every step of the way.

Global Glimpses
This is the interview that Omar, our missions pastor, did with me concerning my involvement with Bangladesh.

\"Bangladesh\"
Here is the video of our trip to Bangladesh that took place in April. I think Brian did an excellent job putting it all together.

In my business, I get to meet a lot of people, and hear a lot of stories. I like stories. Especially the ones that I know the ending, because  I’ve heard it  before, or because  I’ve told it myself. I had one of those experiences last week. 

A new customer was looking at  my pictures at the shop and ask me how I knew this  particular person. After explaining how, their response was, yes I knew him from a  church we use to attend. As usual, I politely ask where they attend church now. Their reply was, “we don’t attend church any more, we got tired of doing everything that needed to be done, and nobody else wanting to help”. As I listened, they explained to me their involvement in teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, Wednesday night with the kids, working in the church office, and of course, trying to raise their own family.

It was at this point I began singing this song using my own verses while listening to theirs. The song of course, is about those who have experienced the oldest of all explanations for why they are no longer involved in church. This song has many different verses. It always entails a reason why one has become disillusioned with church. If you are honest, you probably have sang this song, and if not, you have certainly wrote  a verse or two.

Only by the grace of God can I share with you a new song that I am singing. It goes something like this… being active, involved, engaged, and committed to your local church does not, and never will take the place of your personal relationship, experience, and walk with God. Religious business is the oldest trick of the evil one. If he can get you busy doing things for God, then he can keep you from….being with God. Jesus had this same conversation with Martha about Mary (Luke 10:38-42)

Back to my new song. I love my church, am committed to it, and deeply involved in it. I love my Pastor, and the staff. They are some of the most genuine christian men and women I know. However, they all come second to the most important relationship in my life, that is, being with the one who gave me His life.

Are you singing that same old song? What does your verse sound like? Have you let religious business come between you and the one who said, “I have come that you might have life, and life more abundantly,” and who also said, ” take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”?

I am excited about sharing with you some of things God has taught me. Life is a wonderful journey, and I think that we need each others story to help us along the way. Hopefully, some of what I have learned, and what I am still learning will be both encouraging and challenging to your walk and faith.

I am so thankful for five of the greatest gifts any man could ever be given. The first being my beautiful wife Traci.  She has been and will always be, after Christ, my greatest source of strength,  encouragement, and support and, without her, I would not have the other four gifts. Those being Gabe, my firstborn, Ashley, my only princess, Matthew  and Isaac.

I feel extremely fortunate to have shared in all  experiences that God has brought my way. Through each of them, good and not so good, I have tried to hear and understand what God was saying, and teaching me. This, of course, is a trial and error process. Therefore, the greatest lessons I have learned is that God is kind, patient, and full of love and understanding.