Living Unfiltered for God

  From the time I was a young boy (when I first started playing competitive sports) I remember hearing the words, “You have to be in the right position!” Playing baseball, as a Shortstop, it was vital that I placed myself in the most advantageous position between second and third base. (Fortunately, this was before “the shift” became a thing!) It varied from batter to batter, how many outs there were, if there were runners on base, and so forth. To be the best shortstop that I could be, I had to pay attention to my physical location.             This continues today, as I’ve recently started playing tennis competitively with my daughter. If you watch Mixed-Doubles on TV, it may seem innocuous enough, but let me tell you – there is A LOT going on and to keep track of! Not the least of which is placing yourself in the proper position on the court. Michelle (possibly the world’s most patient daughter) is forever telling me to, “...

In these strange times in which we are living, “church” looks a lot different these days. As we’re told we cannot meet in groups larger than 10 – and even that is discouraged – we must find new ways to stay connected to our church and our friends. I am blessed in that our church, Christ Community Church in Cumming, GA, is being very creative and intentional about keeping us all connected. One of the things we’ve started doing is reading the Book of Acts together, as a church, albeit on our own. The connection is knowing that over the course of the next two weeks, we will all be reading the same couple of chapters every day. Along the way, we’ve been encouraged to share any insights and revelations that come about. This piece has been birthed out of that encouragement... In Acts Chapter 3 (part of yesterday’s reading) we come across the following situation… “Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to be...

Lately, I've started reading parts of the Bible with a little more intentionality.  It's so easy to see a verse somewhere and just take it at face value. Usually it's fine, but I've found that, as with so many other things, context is king. And what's interesting is that while, sometimes, reading what takes place before and after  the verse of interest actually changes the interpretation, more often, reading the context makes the point even stronger. And frequently, there is an entire other lesson (or two... or more!) living in and among the surrounding verses! For me, this is part of the reason reading scripture is so fascinating. This happened recently while looking at John 14:6 (NIV), " I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".  This is a very popular verse that many people can at least say that they have heard before, even if not able to quote it. As I read around it, though, it became like the proverb...

As we begin this Advent season, as the weeks and days draw us nearer to Christmas and the celebration of our Savior's birth, I think it's appropriate to look at one of the most obedient acts in history. You could argue that, outside of Jesus' life, Himself, no situation represented Living the Unfiltered for God life more than Jesus' mother Mary and His birth. The Bible doesn't explicitly say that she had a choice in the matter necessarily, but she did approach it with the heart of a servant. She asked one question, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" The Angel replied, referring to the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High, and she accepted it. “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled." ( Luke 1:26-38 ). No arguing, no questioning, no, "Um, Mr. Angel, this is kinda crazy, are you sure about this?" Just obedience. She trusted the Lord and what His messenger the Angel had told her. It's also interesting...