Welcome to Facebook

So I got set up with facebook last night and life has been a whirlwind ever since. I realize that it hasn't even been 12 hours since I hooked up with facebook but life has changed so dramatically in the last 12 hours that I have decided to share some of the things I love so much about facebook...

(These are in order of my appreciation)

#1- Giving ex-girlfriends a way to contact you in front of the entire world. This one is awesome...especially if you happen to be in ministry.

#2- Being able to nose my way through the lives of any person from my past that I have spent years trying to forget about.

#3- Having greater access to my aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents as they all happen to be on facebook.

#4- The pictures...need I say more?

#5- Actually, I will say more about #4...I appreciate the fact that every person under the sun has the desire to take risque pictures but honestly people, get over yourself.

#6- The status placed on your # of facebook friendships...also considered narcissism.

#7- Those who feel they have a boring life can live vicariously through those that love their lives via viewing every picture, every comment, every status update.

#8- It makes people who haven't been in touch for 40 years feel in relevant again.

#9- It gives companies the opportunity to leverage every relationship I have with a friend by using me to advertise products I would never endorse.

#10- Lastly, facebook gives me the opportunity to post messages on the wall of Pastor Robert is My Homeboy that he will NEVER read.

If you are wondering why I most likely will be deactivating my facebook account in 13 days look no further than #1 and #2. See you on facebook!

No Time Like the Present

Everyone has a past. Some have a boring, seemingly inconsequential past while others have a more wild, unrighteous past. I don't know how you feel about your past but for many it is a stumbling block.

Here's what the devil does with the past...he convinces you that what you used to be, you will always be. He convinces you that people know, that people will talk, that you are a hypocrite for even thinking about living a godly life. How stupid. And the really crazy thing about people who struggle to get over their past is that most of them are not doing what they used to do in the past...they've stopped. Those saying that they are still a slave to the sins of their past and use that as justification or just an explanation for continued sin are not struggling with their past...that is called a struggle in the present. Here's a brief history lesson...your past is what you used to do...your present is what you are doing. Revelatory, I know.

Here's who should walk without condemnation...those that have a PAST. Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, WHO DO NOT WALK ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, BUT ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT."

If you are struggling with certain sins in the present, there is no time like the present to make the present your past. Simply put...STOP IT. Stop feeding the flesh and start killing it. Romans 6:12 says it this way, "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts." The fastest way to convince the devil and yourself that you don't struggle with your past is to keep it in your past. Walk daily in freedom.

And for those that frown upon the mistakes of peoples' past, don't forget, we all need forgiveness. There is none righteous without Christ, not one. My most embarassing sins of the past remind me of what I am capable of when I choose not to walk with the Lord, when on my own.

It isn't just that everyone needs forgiveness...it's that I need forgiveness.

Let go of it. For good.

What Would You Do If You Didn't Do What You Do?

I love my job at the church, that is to say, I love being a pastor. There are some who hold it in entirely too high a regard. Not that I don't think it is a big deal, I do. In fact I see it as an honor that may not last forever. I may be in ministry for the rest of my life or God may call me to another profession tomorrow. I feel like I have had a pretty good handle on the blessing that it is to do what I get to do for a living. I won't argue, it is a blessing. But my perspective comes from knowing what others don't know. I didn't get this job...the Lord did.

I was twenty-one years old. I was an ignorant, cocky, insecure idiot. Yes, the church was the size of a life group when I got hired eight and a half years ago but still, I wasn't good enough to get this job even then. But the Lord knew that my being hired was not nearly as much about then as it was about now. How does an inexperienced student get a job like this? It can only be the Lord. It hasn't been easy. It hasn't always been fun. It has, though, been something God has used to mold me into the man I am today. Sure, I love the opportunities that I am afforded by being on Pastor Robert's staff but what I love more is who I have become. I could have ended up anywhere after college, ANYWHERE! But I ended up here. With a front row seat and a lot of undeserved favor I have had the opportunity to watch what God is doing through Gateway Church. I would not trade it.

Holly and I have a friend who lost his job and we were talking about him last night. She randomly asked me, "What would you do if you didn't work for the church?" I didn't even hesitate. I said, "I'd go work as an assistant pro at a nice golf course or a bellman (a job I previously held in college at the Arizona Biltmore and still view as the best job I have ever had besides this one) at a high-end resort. Yes I said a bellman. I know it would be a hit to my ego at first because all of the people around me would be whispering about how I went from ministry to "manual labor".

This job is a gift. I know it is. Especially after being a busboy, bellman, graveyard security guard in the worst part of Phoenix, weight room attendant, driving range ball-picker-upper, I understand what a gift this is.

If I had to stop doing what I do today I would be grateful for all I had gotten to do. Thank you Lord.

Point Taken

Read another article just now...http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483645,00.html

Honestly, I am overwhelmed. Angry. Confused. This trash seems to be happening more and more. I was sitting here thinking "the world is going to hell in a hand basket"...

And then the Lord says, "That's why you're here."

Point taken.

Sick To My Stomach

I hate the news...an article like this reminds me why...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483625,00.html

I don't beat around the bush when it comes to admitting that I am more sensitive than the "average" man. Yet, I have a strong sense of justice. When I read a story like this it is difficult for me not to put my daughter Rylie in the position of this little girl. It's horrific, appalling, sickening. I don't usually lean towards revenge but when it comes to little kids being hurt or taken advantage of by their own parents...I have a problem with that. It's odd what brings out the ugly stuff in yourself. I will say this though, it reminds me of my absolute reliance upon God...never a bad thing.

Grateful I have parents who never ever would have even thought about hurting me. Hope my children will feel the same way for the rest of their lives.

Never Leave You or Forsake You

Lots of thoughts rolling around in my mind about Hebrews 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Have we misinterpreted this verse? It seems like we have interpreted it to mean that we will never be without God. But haven't you ever felt "away from God" at some point in your life. How is that possible?

Here's my thought...just because God says he will never leave you or forsake you doesn't mean that you won't leave him or forsake him.

Holly can say to me that she will love me for the rest of her life but that does not mean I will automatically love her for the rest of mine (Just an example babe! Obviously, I love YOU more than life itself and will until my last breath).

For those braniac theologians that are already getting excited about putting me in my place, I am not presenting anything as theology, just wondering, "wrestling".

If God never leaves us or forsakes us, how is it that David can say to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28 "And Solomon, my son, learn to know this God intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever (v. 9-10)."

Is it possible that the times I have felt away from God, or that he isn't "at the table", or however you want to describe it, that He extended the invitation and I declined to attend? He didn't leave me but I left Him?

Thank you for committing to never leave me God. Help me to never leave you.