Flashlights

Have you ever used a flashlight outside at night?  The only thing you can see is in the beam of the light.  Everything else is dark, mysterious, or maybe even dangerous.  You have to sweep the light back and forth to keep from stumbling over rocks or logs.  It can be a little scary.  Especially while you are moving up a mountain to go hiking or hunting.  

How much easier would it be to flip on a light switch and make the same trek when the sun is up and you can see everything.  All of the obstacles in your way you can easily walk around or see the edge of the cliff and move accordingly.  It is amazing what you can do when you can see in the light.  

This life is in a world full of darkness.  Jesus is the light.  We can see the world through His light, but sometimes it still looks like we are using a flashlight.  He allows us to see what He wants us to see.  Mostly only a few steps at a time.  This builds up our trust in Him.  If He were to let us see everything that we were/are going to go through, we probably would not do it.  I know that I would have stopped in my tracks and said, "Nope, that way is too hard, I'm going this way".  While He is giving us pieces at a time we are building faith and strength.  And while we may slowly be reaching the end goal, there is an end goal.  We are not just floundering in the depths for no reason.  

My wife and I have adopted two children and we have a biological daughter.  I can tell you that the road of "normal" parenthood is not easy and when you throw in kids that you do not know, that bring in their own problems and generational curses, life gets really interesting.  All of the help that we have given them and the time that we invest in all of them, all of the love we share for them and the pointing them to Jesus is just the beam of light.  It is up to God and them to make their own path.  

Most days I want to be able to see where God is leading us.  That way I can get there quicker by bypassing some of the pitfalls and detours.  But those are what help us grow.  And grow we do.  Slow and painful growth is still growth.  

How do we grow in faith, how do we raise our children, how do we eat an elephant...slowly but surely, one piece at a time.  We use flashlights, not light switches.    

Trying Something New

This is a video of a creek I found out at a foster/adoptive dads' retreat in Colorado that I attended a few weeks ago.  One of the main concepts that I learned was that we need a group of individuals, a band of brothers if you will, who are in the trenches with us.  No matter what the trench is, whether financial, spiritual, parental or anything else.  It is wonderful to understand and know that we are not alone.  It lifts the weight off of our shoulders that we placed on ourselves.  It gives us a breath of fresh air to understand that we are going through the same thing.  

In sharing these burdens, we can not only find help, but we can help others.  We can take part of that weight by either being a mentor for them, or mentored by them.  

The number of dads at the retreat really surprised me and the level of sharing of experiences and situations allowed me to understand that I am not alone.  We are not alone.  Just knowing that empowers me to continue to breathe easier.  I can better understand some of the behaviors at home and I can come up with better ideas on what to do.  

Brothers, we need fellow men beside us to help us in these trenches.  Brothers, strangers, friends or whoever, we need to be able to call on them in our own time of need.  We need to be willing to ask for help and to go when someone asks us.  And to go and help in a non condescending, know-it-all kind of way, but with compassion and love.  

Before this trip I thought I was alone.  Yes my wife was with me but I felt that I needed to the the stoic wall that never swayed too far left or right.  I learned that doing that was making matters worse.  While I was on this trip I found a group of men that I can confide in, gain wisdom from and fight this fight with.  And they felt the same way that I did.  I was able to ask questions about their journey and they were able to give some perspective to mine.  I can call or message and just see how they are doing with their families. It is wonderful to know that we are not alone.  We cannot do this alone.  

God has really been placing on my heart to create a ministry to support foster and adoptive dads.  Because we need help and we need to know that we are not alone.  My wife and I really want to minister together and I think that this is the way.  So prayers please as we jump down into the trenches, to help others along their way.  

Stay tuned. 

Who is He to you?

If we want to know God more deeply and grow closer to Him, we have to learn who He is.  And I think that we not only need to know who He is, but who is He to you?  That is a personal question that I cannot answer for you, but I can tell you a little about who He is to me.  I was raised in a church my whole life, but it was not until I was about 21 years old that I started to have a relationship with Him.  In doing so, I have found deeper ways to know Him more.  

He is my God, my Savior and my redeemer.  He has blessed us through trials and hardships.  He has given me direction and guidance.  He supplies us with His armor to withstand the lies of satan.  This is something that we are teaching our kids right now.  

He is my rock, my fortress and my strong tower.  The one who allows me to lay beside still waters and rest.  He is my all in all and His mercies are new every morning.  I thank the Lord for this because it allows us to start the day fresh.  My sins from yesterday do not have to be repeated.      

He is my good father and wants what is best for me.  He cannot be explained or totally understood.  He is all-knowing, all-seeing, everywhere, at every time.   He is sovereign, the beginning and the end. 

To me He is my friend.  The one who I can turn to and be helped with my problems or sins.  The one who uplifts and sustains me and never lets me down.  He is closer to me than my wife and children.  And like David said in Psalm 27:4, I cannot wait to "dwell in His house all the days of my life."

John 14:6, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way the truth and the light.  No one comes to the father except though me.'"  

So how do you get to know Him and see how He can change your life?  Make time to spend time in His word.  Ask your pastor questions.  Invite an older member of you church over an talk with them.  Either one would possibly want to be a mentor.  YouTube videos from Dr. Tony Evans, Billy Graham or others are great to watch.  A bible commentary can also help you learn new things and dig deeper into His word.  

If you cannot do them all, please start somewhere.  

Why?

Yesterday driving home I asked myself two questions.  Why do I write these and what do I expect to happen with them?

The why is hard to explain.  Well, no, not really.  The why is God.  God has placed it on my heart to write these posts.  When He lays something on my heart, I cannot sleep until I get at least a few words on a page or in the notes section of my phone so I don't forget it.  Okay, but why?  Why does God want me to write them?  I feel that God wants me to write them for His glory.  

I do not play politics.  I am not a "yes man", nor am I a man who stays quiet when something needs to be addressed.  Sometimes I rub people the wrong way.  Some people don't like me.  And that is fine.  But when I see something that needs to change, I speak up.  That is who I am.  That is how God made me.  I feel that men (myself included) need to be better.  I feel that men need to be better for themselves, for their wives and children.  I feel that men need to be better for God.  That is why I write these.  That is why I want to get these into the hands of as many men as I can, so that we will be better.  And through God be the increase, to Him be the Glory.  

I do not write well.  I mean if you have read any other of my posts you know that.  I have my wife look at these before I post them.  She is the one that helps with editing and polishing it up a little.  And I thank her for that.  But God is the one that uses my fingers to say what He wants me to say.  He wants us to be more than we are.  He wants us to climb mountains, to show our children that it can be done.  He wants us to learn how to pray better and, to be overcomers, and giant slayers.  He wants us to be a different breed and to be set apart in this world.  I want to turn the world on its ear with you, for Him.  

The other question of what I expect to happen with them?  Everything.  God can use these for His glory and through Him all things are possible.  I have no idea where He is going to take them.  If no one reads them, I would still write them.  If one person gets the tiniest seed planted because of them, praise God.  If one man becomes a better husband or father then it is all worth it.  

I am a country boy from central Arkansas.  Other than to my wife and children, immediate family and a few friends, I am a nobody.  If God can use me, He can use anyone. 

Pray it boldly

We all know that prayer is an important part of our lives.  However, most of us do not pray like we should.  Our prayers have become watered down, hurried statements for what we want, myself included.  We have turned them into half-hearted, desperate words that we expect to be answered right away.

What happened to our prayers?  Prayers like Elijah praying for the drought and it happens or for rain and it rains.  Look at his prayer in 1 Kings 18:36-39.  36 "And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the profit came near and said, 'Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel, let it be know this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have I have done all of these things at Your word.  Hear me, o Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Your are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.  Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.  Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces;  and they said 'The Lord, He is God!  The Lord, He is God!'"

These prayers are not "Well, you know Lord, maybe if you could..."  These are fierce prayers.  These are emphatic statements saying "This is God and I am His servant, this will happen".  But guess what?  There is a God and I am His servant.  We that believe in Him and on Him and through Him are His servants.  If you want something or need something claim it in prayer.  Pray for your family and spouses.  Pray for your children and their friends.  Pray for your finances and pastors and do it boldly.

Praying for your children is one of the best things that you can do for them.  I love what Mark Batterson writes in his book "Praying Circles Around Your Children".  He states, "Prayer is not about our agenda for God at all; in fact, it is about God's agenda for us".  How do we know how our children will turn out?  We pray for them.  We speak life over them.  We boldly tell satan that he cannot have them, that they belong to God and are for His glory.

Want to know how one persons prayer can change the world?  Let me reintroduce you to a mother that is often overlooked in the bible, Hannah.  Hannah was not a mother yet when she prayed to have a child.  But she was praying so hard outside the temple in 1 Samuel 1:14 that Eli the priest thought she was drunk.  Hannah soon had a son and she named him Samuel.  Samuel became the prophet that anointed David as king.  Through David's lineage comes Jesus.  One persons prayer.  A mother's prayer.

I have a new found passion for prayer.  I believe that through prayer our needs are met.  Even in the conversations that God and I have I can feel how close He is.  I have found that the more we pray and listen to His voice, the easier it gets to hear Him.  And when it is easy to hear Him, it is easy to act on what He wants us to do.  On Sunday, I had the impression to talk to a lady during church but I do not get a chance.  Then out in the parking lot, my wife and her strike up a conversation.  In the car later before we pull out of the parking lot, I tell my wife that I had the feeling that we should talk with her and she said that she had the same impression.

I fully believe that our prayer life is a mussel and the more we exercise it, the stronger it gets.     

Pray boldly   

Use the bellows

Breathe fresh life to the flame.

If you remember from the last couple of posts, there are three things fire needs to burn.  Fuel, oxygen and a heat source.   Do you know what a bellows is?  It is a tool that is used to blow on a fire.  It allows fresh air to be pumped to the flames, allowing them to burn brighter and hotter for either heating metal or to allow fuel you just added to catch quickly. Some people will bend down and use their mouth to blow on a fire to get it going, but folks with a beard (like me) might singe a few hairs and opt for using the bellows.  

So what does this have to do with furthering Gods' Kingdom?  Just like a physical fire needs new air to allow it to burn brighter and hotter, our spiritual lives need the same.  This new air or new life can come from inside sources and we have touched on that a little last time.  But what are some outside influences that strengthen your love for God?

I personally feel recharged looking at His creations in nature.  Seeing all that He has made and shows to us.  Mountains, rivers, forests and wildlife are all here for our enjoyment.  All of them declare that He is God.  He made all of it for us to look at and to reflect on Him.  I love to ponder His ways while sitting still hunting or on a mountain trail with the family.  

Looking up at the stars on a clear night and seeing all that He has done in the heavens shows a portion of what God is capable of doing.  Yes, doing that can make you feel lonely, but try this next time.  While you are looking up think about how no one else on earth has the same vision of what you are seeing.  Even if you have someone right beside you, they are not seeing the same thing at the same time as you.  Only you and God have the same perspective and that is really cool worship experience.  

Worship service is a good one.  Letting the music and vocals flow over you and reaching into your soul to bolster you up and breathe life back into you.  Hands raised or not, being around others doing the same thing, worshiping God with an open heart strengthens us and encourages us to go on.  

Even while having coffee with a friend a word of encouragement can also have a wonderful effect on your personal outlook.  See what it says in 1 Samuel 23:16, "And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God".  A wonderful example of iron sharpening iron.   In Acts 23, Barnabas encourages the church at Antioch.  23:16, "And when he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all of their hearts."  Never underestimate a kind word.  

These breaths of fresh air can allow us to burn brighter and hotter for God.  Helping us to become a lamp for others.  As such we cannot hide our light.  We need to let it shine, so we can help people.  Matthew 5:15 says, "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."  Do you see how that works?  We take encouragement from other people and outside influences and we give encouragement to the ones around us.  

Getting and giving encouragement not only feels good, but it gives blessings to the ones that we receive it from and whom we give it to.  Fanning the flame in us so we can go out and fan the flame in others.  Be the bellows, the encouragement that allow others need to go out and live a life for God.  

Burn bright so we can help others burn bright.

Coax the Flame

For when the spark does not fade...

There are three things needed for a fire to burn.  A heat source, fuel, and oxygen.  

Building a fire is sometimes an exercise in patience.  Once you have the spark on the tinder, it takes just a breath to bring it to life or to extinguish it.  That is a metaphor for life right there.       

Sharing the gospel is kinda like building a fire.  There must be a source of heat from somewhere.  That can be a spark from hitting two rocks together, striking a match, the sun and a magnifying glass, or another fire.  With the gospel, that source of spark is you.  It is me.  It comes from inside you.  It comes from the Holy Spirit that cries out to be shared and it will not be denied.  Jesus said in Luke 19:40, "I tell you", Jesus said, "if they keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out".  

Next, you have to have the fuel.  We have to want to be used as a light for this world.  There are multiple ways to do this.  You can share with one person at a time.  Maybe you can spread the Word by throwing out Facebook posts.  That is great.  Someone is going to read them.  Perhaps you have a captive audience at work where you get to share the gospel at lunch.  I have the ones that read this.  No matter who your audience is, if we do not open our mouths the Word will not be spread and someone will miss out on blessings.    

Last of the three is oxygen.  This allows the fire to keep going.  If there is no air, the fire goes out.  This is when you share the gospel with people and they listen.  They hear you and they want to know more.  That is an amazing feeling.  It makes you want to go and reach more people.  You are literally on fire for Jesus.  But the opposite happens also.  People do not want to hear what you are saying and sometimes outright reject the message.  That can take the air out of you very fast.  

So what are some of the struggles when sharing the gospel with others?  It may be that the fuel is damp and does not catch right away.  In those times gentle patience is required when no sign of catching is visible, so as to not put out the spark.  

Sometimes it is like a dry leaf that ignites very quickly, but then dies out just as fast.

What is needed though is where our fire catches quickly but burns slowly.  Which is easy to say, hard to find, and harder to do.  And more often than not we meet people who have willful ignorance of Christ and no desire to change their lives.  We can also meet people who accept Christ, change their lives and join everything the church has to offer.  Then like a dry leaf they burn out just as quickly and leave.  

Once in a great while though, there will be a few who start off slow, burn hot and long, and ignite others along the way.  These are the ones that this world needs.  Which type are you?
I want to be the one that starts slow and ignites others.  But I have difficulties as well.    

My difficulties with talking to people is literally talking to people.  I have difficulty with going deeper than surface level and opening up to have meaningful conversations.  I love the Lord and I want to be able to have the ability to create lasting relationships with the ones that I share Him with.  Even in these posts, I can tell when I re-read them that I could go so much deeper than what is there.  Talking about personal experiences, struggles and how God has helped me/us overcome them will help not only me, but also someone who might be going through some of the same things.

That being said, I am going to try and get out of my comfort zone.  I want to share deeper messages with you and communicate what God has placed on my heart better.  Let's get to work.  

Strike a spark
Coax the flame

Hard to believe that building a fire can help further God's Kingdom.