Living Unfiltered for God

  Recently, I’ve found myself studying and reading a lot about wisdom. It hasn’t been an intentional thing, it just dawned on me this morning that much of what I’ve been consuming in terms of books and podcasts have had this underlying theme. I don’t believe this is a coincidence. (You can definitely place me in the camp of “ all things happen for a reason ”, so I generally don’t put a lot of stock in the “ it’s just a coincidence ” explanation.)           What struck me earlier today was something new. I will typically journal (for those unfamiliar, yes, that word can be used as a verb) about what I read during my early morning “quiet time.” Often, it will turn into a prayer of sorts, for myself or others. When I did so this morning, I gained a new understanding of the depth and importance of wisdom, as a concept. This is my attempt to put in into words and share with you what I learned.   Wisdom is a three-fold process of disc...

This is not going to be the typical type of piece that I share. It’s a little longer (please be patient and humor me, and read all the way through) and maybe a little more “preachy” (again, please be patient…)  I was inspired to write this toward the very end of our church service this morning. It has taken me a while to sort out what exactly is supposed to be conveyed in and by these words – I pray that I get it right. It is no surprise to anyone that our world is in a strange kind of place these days. I can honestly say that they are unlike any of my previous fifty-plus years on this earth. For most of the last four months, this has been deeply concerning to me. But recently (and even more-so in the moments as I type this), I have started to have a little bit of a different take… Maybe, just maybe, all that we have been experiencing is not really about “them” taking away “our” freedoms, or “those people” not doing what “they” should have done years ago or “us” finally getting...

While reading one of the Advent devotionals through the YouVersion Bible app this morning, I came across this commentary… Luke 2 says that when the angels told the shepherds the Good News about Jesus’ birth, they “hurried off” to find Him. Instead of waiting around and letting doubt creep in, they responded immediately. This took great faith! Certainly, they wanted to meet Jesus, but they also had earthly concerns. What would they do with their flock? Should they tell their families first? Were they dressed appropriately? Were simple shepherds really worthy of meeting the King of Kings? They didn’t let any of the questions we might have asked in the same situation keep them from quickly responding to God. I immediately thought, what a great example of living unfiltered for God! It is this kind of behavior that I have been trying to practice myself and encourage in this space for a while now. How amazing was it that these shepherds heeded the call, no questions asked? It makes ...

When was the last time you took a chance for God? What I mean is, when was the last time you did something that, in the natural, was probably a bad idea, (or you could at least convince yourself that it was), but you knew that, since God wanted you to do it, it would all work out okay? Let me back-up a short step… For you to do this you would have to hear from God in the first place. So, let’s start there. Do you hear His voice?   I’m not talking an audible voice (although it’s been known to happen), but more that “still small voice” that you sense in your spirit. That’s really what this whole blog is about – hearing his voice and acting on it – no filters, no ifs, ands, or buts, just do what He says! Now, back to my question – When was the last time? I would argue that if something hasn’t already popped into your head, then maybe you’re not taking enough “God chances” in your life. They don’t have to be big ones – like some biblical ones we’ll mention shortly – they ...

Last week, Barbara and I spent our 25th anniversary celebrating with a little much needed R&R and “just us” time in Charleston, SC. There were several times in the weeks leading up to our trip, however, where it seemed we might not make the trip. Looking back, I’m sure it was the enemy trying to keep us from some very important divine appointments. While not everything went the way we planned, we made some new friends and came home with some wonderful “God stories”. This is just one of them… One of our main objectives for our stay was to visit the Charleston City Market. When we had been to Charleston years ago, we only had a little bit of time there and so we were looking forward to taking our time while we perused all the booths and wares. We were specifically looking for gifts for several grandchildren’s birthdays, while also looking for a special anniversary gift to, and for, each other. About an hour into our shopping, I noticed Barbara striking up a conversation with th...

My wife and I recently completed a “40 Day Prayer Challenge” that we were participating in with some good friends of ours. There were numerous things that happened over that time – many that could be considered miracles – to and through, each and every one of us. There are probably a dozen stories that could be written about. Right now, though, I’d like to spend a couple of minutes sharing about a concept that was mentioned late in the study ( Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson), that we were using as a guide for the challenge. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to lo...

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 ...

“If you don’t have to fight any battles than you don’t have to learn to trust.” This is just one of the nuggets of wisdom that was injected directly into my soul the other day, when I listened to a message by Erwin McManus, the lead Pastor at Mosaic Church in Los Angeles. I was led there by a couple of posts I happened to see on social media about a "very important message" that McManus was going to preach this past Sunday. In the message, he told his church that he has been diagnosed with cancer. It is one of the most moving messages I have heard in a very long time. The title and theme of the talk was "Battle Ready". The guiding verses were from the beginning of Judges 3 . The idea McManus focused on was that God brings battles into our lives so that we learn to fight, because in fighting, we learn to trust Him more. The greater the battle, the greater the trust. Obviously, he used the commencing of his battle with cancer as his object lesson. “God wil...

Christmas Eve. Perhaps my favorite day of the year. The culmination of all of the busy preparations for the joyous arrival of Christmas, tomorrow. The excitement of what the morning will bring! As a child, I remember falling asleep on Christmas Eve with thoughts of what might be waiting under the tree. As an adult, I can't wait to watch our kids and grandchildren as they discover what awaits them! (And, of course, I still look forward to what might be awaiting me, as well!)  This morning as I was thinking about these things, sipping my coffee on our back porch before the sun came up, the song Silent Night was looping in my brain, providing the soundtrack for my thoughts. One line kept striking me - one that I've never given much more than a passing thought before, "Sleep in Heavenly Peace." In the context of the song, it's referring to the Baby Jesus, sleeping in heavenly peace, right after His Birth. It made me ask the question... What does it mean for us to ...