Living Unfiltered for God

On this day before Easter – Holy Saturday – Christians all over the world are anxiously awaiting Sunday. Easter Sunday. The day that our Lord and Savior defeated death once and for all and walked out of the grave. Alleluia!             But on this day, we wait. We know what comes next, though. We’ve read the book! We know we just have to get to tomorrow for the celebration to begin. Those who witnessed Jesus’ death, though, did not know then what we know now. They watched Jesus be crucified on Friday and then didn’t know what was next. Many of them probably thought there was no next. Even though Jesus had said He would rise in three days, not one really understood what that meant. They had been waiting for centuries for the Messiah’s return and they thought Jesus was it. But now what?             And they began waiting again. Some near the tomb. Not thinking He would walk o...

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...

There’s an awful lot of talk these days about hygiene. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been told so many times to make sure I wash my hands (while singing “Happy Birthday”… Twice!) since I was in elementary school. And for good reason, I should say. This Coronavirus has a lot of people concerned, so it’s just prudent to use common sense when it comes to keeping your hands clean, not touching your face, and generally practicing good hygienic habits. And of course, these are things we should be doing all the time anyway, regardless of any newly introduced virus or even just good old-fashioned influenza. As a borderline germophobe, I think we could all do a better job at these things! Now, you’re starting to ask yourself, what does this possibly have to do with faith, or living unfiltered for God? Well, I’m glad you asked! Yesterday morning during my time in The Word, I came across a passage that I know I have read many times before. And as Scripture often does when you read it regu...

It was a beautiful day for New Years in our little town. So nice that my wife and I decided to go for a walk at our local park. (Sunny and mid-50’s… Winter in North Georgia isn’t terrible!) One of the things I love about our walks is our conversations. And this time of year, like many of you, I’m sure, we love to take some time to look back at the last year to remember where God moved and where we maybe could have done more (or less!) in different areas of our lives. Of course, it’s also fun to look ahead – to dream about what might be? It was during this part of the conversation that I asked this question… “What story do you want to be able to tell 365 days from now?” For the next half-mile, we talked about different scenarios and things that are important to us. Our daughters and grandchildren were part of that discussion. Also, our company and some things concerning our church. What resulted were some challenges to us. One, in particular, was my comment about finally finishing...

Recently, I’ve been watching a series of sermons from Pastor Miles McPherson ( Rock Church in San Diego ) about prophecy. One definition that keeps getting repeated is that prophecy is a word , that becomes a thing , that in turn gets transformed into God’s Glory. Maybe it’s because my wife and I have been talking about this a lot lately, but when I felt the Lord give me a word this morning – out of nowhere, by the way, (and isn’t that often the case?) – I knew I was supposed to share it in this manner. I’ve written in this space often ( here , here and here , for a few ) about the family camp we attend every summer. There have also been posts about the scripture stones that the youth receive on the last day of camp. This is always one of my personal highlights of our camp – to see which scriptures resonate with the kids. As part of this tradition, I ask one of them to choose a stone for me. I can’t begin to tell you (although I attempted to in a previous post ) how much these s...

I spent last week at one of my favorite places on the planet. It isn’t really the place itself that makes it so special (although it is beautiful), rather the people that I see there. And the God that I get to spend so much time with while I’m there. We were attending our annual CFO (Camp Farthest Out) family camp at Lake Yale, Florida. For my wife and I, this was our fourteenth consecutive year. Some folks have been going for more than 30 years, and about a quarter of the people attending this year were there for their first time. It’s always an incredible week of learning, worshiping, fellowshipping and soaking. Funny, we say we go there to rest but “rest” is not really what happens. In the Spirit, yes, but in the natural we are typically pretty busy!  Any of you who have read my words in this space before, know that I speak – and write – about this camp a lot. It’s at this camp where God first put it on my heart to begin writing and start this blog. You will be seeing me ...

Here we are... the final day of 2016. How is this possible? I would bet that each one of us has asked that question at least once in the last several days. If you're like me, and I would dare say like most people, you've also spent some time reflecting on the last 12 months. What did I accomplish? How did I respond to the challenges that I faced? Did I grow spiritually? Did I make positive memories? These are, in no particular order, just a few of the types of questions that I tend to ask myself each year at this time. It's a also a time to look ahead. I'm not one for making New Year's Resolutions per se, but I certainly do enjoy taking the time to set some goals and put together a plan for achieving them. (OK, maybe they are resolutions... maybe it's just semantics... but it works for me!) I want to share a couple of my goals for this coming year, particularly as the pertain to my faith and my quest to live "unfiltered for God." 1 - Actively...

Christmas is just about upon us! In fact , as I post this,  if you happen to be reading this in New Zealand it's already Christmas morning! As this will be my final Advent post, I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about something that will probably be a big part of your Christmas Day... giving and receiving. It's important to have our hearts in the right place when it comes to giving. As Paul tells us,  " Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. " ( 2 Cor 9:7 ) This verse is often used in churches when it comes time for offerings and pledges. At Christmas, though, I think it is appropriate to remind ourselves of this as we exchange presents. I remember as a child, we would take turns opening gifts. We would each open one present at a time. It was hard to stay focused when one of my sisters was opening something. I was more concerned with what my next gift ...

The Christmas season is typically one of joy and excitement. For many though, it can be a difficult season of pain and sorrow. For those who have lost loved ones in the previous 12 months and have to go through the holidays without them for the first time, this can be a very difficult time of year. We happen to have a number of friends, and some extended family, that are struggling to get through their first holiday season without their husband, father, wife, mother, child, etc. As a friend or family member of these folks we need to be sensitive to this in a number of ways. They may not be "feeling the Christmas spirit" the way we think they should, or even the way they have in the past. I think there are a couple of things we can do though, to walk with them through this stage of their grief. First, I think the following verses provide direction and hope for grieving folks who are trying to navigate the difficult waters that they now find themselves in: " L...

On this Easter morning, as we rejoice in celebration of our risen Savior, let's be grateful for the obedience that Jesus displayed to make this day a reality. It really was the ultimate act of obedience to God. Three times Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, three times asking God if there was another way, and hearing from our Father that there was not, three times said, "may Your will be done." ( Matthew 26:36-42 )  I've often wondered of the significance of the number three here. The number three typically represents divine completeness. It is used often in scripture. For example, Peter denied Christ three times (after the rooster crowed three times), and Jesus later reinstated Peter by asking him three times if he loved him. For me, an even closer parallel for the garden prayer is found in John's account of what took place right before Jesus was arrested. Jesus prayed three times - once for himself, once for his disciples, and a final time for all...