What I've learned after 3.5 months on the road.

I have now been on the road for 3.5 months and man has it been an incredible trip. I have been able to experience so much of this country I mean really experience it. When you are on a vacation with a timeline it’s hard to really experience what you are seeing. Yes you can be in the moment yes you can enjoy it but you know you have a limited time so you can’t always soak in it. God has allowed me to soak in his creation. To hike and take my time doing it, to camp, meet and chat with others from the area, Watch the wildlife, get the feel of the region (Are the people happy or sad, rushed or casual, spiritual or not, what do they embrace belief wise? Why? What is important to them? It has been a great time. I thank God for giving it to me. I have traveled in the West, Midwest, South and Southwest. While I took off on this journey so I could get alone with God and hear from him about certain aspects of my life and future to experience him and get to know him better I think God had a different purpose in sending me. Yes I am getting some of the answers I was looking for but I’m getting them through God revealing his purpose of the trip. I gotta be honest I haven’t even said it yet but as I’m typing my eyes are beginning to fill with this strange moist discharge and I have a lump growing in my throat at the thought of what I’m about to say. I thoroughly believe that God has sent me on this trip for no other reason than to show me how much he truly LOVES ME! He knows me and knows how touched I would be through this experience. (Side note: I would not be saying this if an initial step of faith/trust in him had not been made) Never mind I misspoke slightly. I said “no other reason then to let me know he loves me.” He wanted to show me how much he loves all of us as well and how he is calling to us. You see I’ve noticed that in the area’s of this country that I personally have found the most beautiful the people living in those area’s aren’t as interested in God. Of course this is a general statement. there are Christ Followers everywhere. But you can’t argue that certain area’s of the country are more open to him than others. I have come to believe that in our search for God, fulfillment, contentment we are drawn to the area’s of creation that God expresses himself in a special way. You see he so loves us that he puts his stamp on creation and we are naturally drawn to him through that creation. Once we are able to embrace the beauty of his creation we are just a step away from recognizing the creator (Romans 1: 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead so they are without excuse) Unfortunately what seems to happen is we as people are drawn to his creation (Because it speaks of him) but we refuse to listen to him when he says “SEE how much I love you” We have bought a lie that says “No God could love me THAT much. I’m not worthy of it.” But the truth is HE DOES LOVE US THAT MUCH! He loves us so much that even when we do not embrace him he still gives us that gift to enjoy. But when we do embrace him he gives us so much more. He says “Larry I love you so much I want to give you a trip that will change your life. One on one time just you and I because I know that is what will speak to your soul and give you life abundantly” He loves you so much that he knows exactly what will spur you onto greatness. Not necessarily greatness in the worlds eyes but greatness all the same. He knows what will speak to your soul. He knows what will make you excited to wake up in the morning. He knows how you were created and what will make you operate the most efficiently. He wants to give you life, abundant life (John 10:10 The thief does not come except to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. Also read John 6: 53, 63 and 1 John 5:12) The thief kills and destroys by saying “You are not worthy of love, How could the creator of this world possibly love you” But God gave us Christ so we could recognize the lie. He so loved us that he died for us. He came to give us life and to give it abundantly.

Now if you are reading this odds are you’re are saying “I know this you’re preaching to the choir” But I need to push a little further and ask “DO YOU REALLY?” Ok, you’ve said a prayer and you know the verses. You have the head knowledge. But have you let the realization that God loves you soak deep down into your inner being? Does that love effect who you are? Let me put it another way. Most of us know what it’s like to be in love. We have experienced it to some degree. We missed them when they were gone. We have that tinge of excitement when going to see them after being separated for a time. We can’t imagine life without them. We are disappointed when we can’t see them. We are sad when we find they don’t quite trust us in a certain area. THIS IS HOW GOD FEELS ABOUT US!!! When you know someone feels this way about you don’t you listen to them a little closer? You trust them because you know they don’t want to hurt you. If they say “Trust me do this” You do! When it comes to God and he says “Trust me do this” How much do you hesitate? I’m going to step out on a limb here and say. “The more we hesitate the less we believe he loves us” It’s the only thing that makes sense. We know he is God. We know he is creator of the universe. We know he is in perfect control. So if we hesitate the only reason that makes sense in my mind is we don’t trust him and the only reason we wouldn’t trust him is because we don’t realize how much HE LOVES US. Take a minute to sit back and ask yourself “Do I truly realize just how much God loves me?” I don’t think any of us can ever fully embrace and understand those depths but we can understand more. After you’ve asked that turn to God and ask him to reveal to you just how much he loves you. He’ll do it I don’t know how. He speaks with each of us according to how he made us but he will. Ask again tomorrow and the next day and the next. Why not make it a part of our daily prayers “God reveal your love to me today”

Now, I don’t want to just assume that if you are reading this you already know Christ and have embraced and accepted the love he is offering to you. If you don’t know him but you want too simply go to him right now and ask him to come into your life. Just let God know that you now realize how much he loves you and that you accept his gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Then ask him to reveal his love to you in a greater level. After you are done with that find someone that embraces life in Christ tell them what you did and ask them to help guide you through this thing called Christianity. If you don’t have anyone to go too ask me (Tell me either way I want to hear about it) I would be excited and honored to help point you toward a great relationship with our Creator, Savior, and Holy Spirit. GOD!!!

That was my two cents worth for the week. Next it’s lesson #2 from God to me. “GRACE” It’s just a word but the action behind it could quite possibly be the most powerful force in this universe.

As always Gang lets go out this week and live life “Upside Down!”

Love, Love, Love, Love. I love it.

This one may be a bit harder than normal to follow. I hope not but as I read it I lose myself once or twice. Sorry about that but I couldn't quite figure out what adjustments needed made.

Hello Friends,

I hope this finds everyone having a great day and looking forward to an excellent week. A few weeks back I talked briefly about how each time we read through scripture we can pick up something new that we had never thought about before. We can have favorite books of the bible or even verses for years and then one day read it again and have a new revelation jump out at us. This once again is something that happened to me a few weeks back. I had one small revelation that has in many ways forced me to try and change how I relate to others. Or should I say it’s given me a new lens to view others through. At first you wont see what the big deal is but stick with me and I think you’ll begin to track. Some may disagree, actually this time I kinda expect that to happen. That’s fine, I just ask that you consider it then feel free to tell me your disagreement.

A few years ago while reading through the Gospels I noticed that Jesus spent his ministry saying “Love your neighbor as you love yourself. This is recorded many different times throughout the gospels. (Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27) Then I noticed at the end of his time here he stepped it up a bit. In John 13: 34 Jesus says “ A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you. He repeats this in John 15: 12-13 and spells out how he has loved us. “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” I always looked at these verses and thought. “God is stepping it up. It is no longer good enough to love our neighbor as we love our self. Now we have to love our neighbor greater than we love ourselves.” Here we go, brace yourselves, wait for it, wait for it… I was wrong. There I said it. I was wrong. I was wrong because I didn’t continue reading. I was also wrong because I didn’t pay attention to the words (That usually does help a little). Before we continue on to the next verses lets look at what Jesus said in these. Chapter 13: 34 “A new commandment I give to you” STOP RIGHT THERE! That’s what I overlooked. He said a NEW command. Not “a replacement command” Not “a change to an old command” “A NEW COMMAND” But Larry, this command obviously trumps the other after all by following this one the other is followed as well. If we don’t read any further you’re right. But since we have to take it as a whole lets ad verse 35 of Chap 13 “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” He is telling his disciples to love EACH OTHER this way. He isn’t saying love everyone this way. Lets move on to Chapt 15 and ad verse 14 to the mix. “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this. Than to lay down his life for his friends YOU ARE MY FRIENDS IF YOU DO WHATEVER I COMMAND YOU.” Verse 14 qualifies “who” he is talking about “His Disciples”. In other words “his followers” or those of us that have accepted him as our Lord & Savior. He is calling us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ greater than we love ourselves. The rest we just love as we love ourselves. So Larry, why is this such a big deal? Why not just stick with “Love everyone greater than ourselves?” I’m not going to go so far as to say you can’t do that. But let me go ahead and tell you where this is exciting to me. First of all I’ll admit that I have a hard enough time loving as I love myself because I really like myself a lot. Growing up it was very natural for me to pursue the best for me. I suspect that’s the same for all of us. Now you really expect me to love others greater than me? Not likely, not very likely. It’s just not going to happen unless I have developed some sort of relationship with them. Say a “Brotherly relationship” Even then it’s not likely unless I have help (Thank you Holy Spirit!) So separating the groups into two categories makes it all a bit easier. But here is where it really excites me. When we love someone as we love ourselves we are getting their attention. Nobody else treats them that well why are we? This causes them to begin watching us. After watching for awhile they notice we are treating each other “even better”. After all we are treating each other better than ourselves. (Sound familiar? The church in Acts? Read how they lived one more time.) After watching this for awhile they come up to us and ask “How can I be a part of that?” Next thing you know we are welcoming a new brother into the family. Evangelism at its best! Now lets follow the process in reverse. How many of us have ever had a brother or sister that was stuck in sin? Never mind, stuck means trying too but can’t get out. How many of you have ever had to confront a brother for living in sin even though they knew it was wrong? Matt 18: 15-17 tells us what to do. We are to confront one on one, then two on one, then bring them to the church. If they still do not change we are to treat them like a heathen or a tax collector. If we are treating everyone the same and then told to treat them like a heathen or tax collector then we need to turn our backs on them. But with this realization Christ doesn’t tell us to turn our backs on them. He says to treat them as a heathen or a tax collector. Hmm, Christ healed many that didn’t believe in him, one of his disciples was a tax collector. This means we are to love our “Fallen Brother” as we love ourselves. We haven’t turned our backs on him. We can still love him just as much as we love ourselves but if he is used to living in community he is used to so much more and hopefully will desire to join once again. I like that answer to confrontation so much better than the alternative. I’ve tried the alternative and must be honest. It sucks for all involved.

Larry, lets assume you’re right. We don’t have a community that looks like this. You are absolutely correct. I have an incredible community, one I thank God for daily and we aren’t there yet either. But that is no excuse to not strive for it. The model is there and with a bit of work, focus, love, and the help of the Holy Spirit I believe we can get there. I believe we have the “love each other as we love ourselves” pretty good but that’s not enough. We will get there and you can too. I know you can. Why? Because God says so!

What do we do until then? Larry what about 1 Cor 5 how do you reconcile all this with that? I have my theories about the 1 Cor passage but can’t give any definite answers. (I just felt the need to put it here in an effort of full disclosure.) I don’t have all the answers (Shocking I know) But I can say this… (Actually I heard a pastor say it just this morning) When you don’t know how to respond. While you are trying to figure out “What do we do until then?” Whenever you are in doubt just remember. God is love so “ALWAYS LEAD WITH LOVE”

Alright gang it’s another week! Lets begin with love and as always live it “Upside Down!"

I was wro… wron… I was mistak.. mis… I didn’t have the whole picture.

Happy New Year everyone! It’s not only a New Year but a new generation as well. With the introduction of each New Year we are invited to look at our lives decide what we do and don’t like about them then make the appropriate changes. My new years resolution is to continue with the path God placed me on during the past year. I can honestly say that I am about as happy right now as I have been in years. Not that the past few years have been bad but in 2009 God finally put me in a corner where I had to decide If I was going to continue trusting in me and what I know or will I lay it down and truly trust him. Not wanting to bore you with all the details lets just say I consulted with some great friends and knew I didn’t really have a choice. It hasn’t always been easy but God has come through in such a way that I can’t imagine ever turning back. But I’ve been here before, I’ve taken that step and God came through then in a big way as well but for some reason after a couple years I decided to take hold of the reigns again. I held on tighter than ever. I knew I wasn’t as happy yet I kept working my brain trying to figure it all out. I tried to start businesses that were not me. I did some things professionally that I questioned how excited God would be about it. I partnered with others that I new where not above board ethically. While doing these things I justified it all by saying that it was a means to an end. They kept me free for ministry. I could come and go as I wanted this way I could go to the church whenever needed to work where they needed me. If a friend or family member needed anything I could go and help. But what happened? Before long I wasn’t involved in any ministry at the church and didn’t have a desire too be. Even though I was making more money than I had in the past I was deeper in debt and because of who I did business with others were beginning to question my integrity. In a few years I went from someone who enjoyed the ministry, was trustworthy, enjoyed working with others and controlled his budget to just the opposite. Now don’t get me wrong I didn’t grow into some low life backstabbing, overspending, heathen. I still loved God. If you looked at how I spent my money I really wasn’t wasteful, and I would never wrong or mislead anyone. It was all much more subtle than that. Few would say I was doing anything wrong. Lets take it one step further. I went from someone that enjoyed helping others to one that still did it but grew to resent them for it. I would see friends helping others and come back smiling. I would help someone with a smile and leave with a frown. I found it draining instead of energizing. WHAT WENT WRONG?

I’ll tell ya what went wrong that’s the easy part. Somewhere along the way I began depending on myself instead of God. Professionally I knew where I wanted to be so I set out to get there. Financially I new where I wanted to be so I set out to get there. Ministry wise I new where I wanted to be so I set out to get there. I knew God and others expected me to be a servant so I tried to become the servant. What went wrong is easy. The real question is how did I get there? I’m gong to answer that question with a verse. Philippians 4: 6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. The next verses go on to talk about the things we should meditate on and if we do The God of peace will be with us. I knew where I wanted to go in my life career wise, financially and ministry wise. Since I knew I guess I didn’t even think about asking God. But this verse (and others) says “In EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication” It doesn’t say “In the things you doubt” or “only when afraid” it says in “EVERYTHING” I quite going to God because “This is something I can handle” By the time things came up that I couldn’t handle I was out of practice so to be quite honest I didn’t even think about going to him. I grew to resent helping others for the same reason. I was already doing things on my own so there was no focus on God in the process. If I’m not looking to God then I can’t see his heart. If I can’t see his heart I wont enjoy the sacrifice. I have a friend that is a Christian but tends to think we as Christians ask God about too much. He uses French fries as an example. He’ll hold up two fries and say do you think God cares which one I eat first? Of course not! His point is “If we live our lives focused on God then our minds will automatically go in the direction God desires. I’ve heard sermons on this as well and I will say they are correct. But I will also say that I think they oversimplify it. I thought my life was focused on God. I was doing what I was doing to remain open for ministry. We need to guard against losing focus. Praying about everything is one way to do it. Lets go back to the French fries for a moment. If guarding our hearts and our minds means that we need to go to such an extreme in “Praying about everything” then God isn’t going to complain if you ask him which fry to eat first. I think he’ll probably say “Larry, I love you thanks for asking. French fries are bad for you so don’t eat any of them” (Joke, joke, I’m joking don’t get bent out of shape.) He’ll probably say “I don’t care eat them however you would like. Thank you for asking”. After awhile you’ll get to know his heart and some of the things he doesn’t care about. In the mean time three things will begin to happen. 1. You may find he does care about some things you assumed he didn’t. 2. You’ll get into the habit of going to him. 3. You’ll lose the habit of depending on yourself.

Back to my New Years resolution I need to ad a little to it. My New Years Resolution is to continue on the path God has placed me on by going to him daily and asking “God what do you have for me today? When I have a decision to make I will go to God and ask “God do you have an opinion in this matter? When presented with the opportunity to serve another I will go to God and ask “God help me to see your heart in this matter? I love where I am at and where I seem to be going and I don’t want to do anything to stop that progress. I hope and pray that you are in the same place. If not I pray this is the year that God draws you closer to him. WHAT IS YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTION?

It’s funny how God works. When I titled this and began writing it I had planned on going somewhere completely different. Began the introductory paragraph and knew we were going somewhere else but didn’t know where until the end. With that in mind I trust that there is at least one person reading this that needed to hear it. If it is you then please right now close your computer and go somewhere you can be alone. Go to God and ask him to do whatever he needs to draw you closer to him. Ask him to show you how to stop depending on your own understanding and start depending on him. Then just sit and listen. God will talk. He will make himself known. What he says to you may or may not make any sense. Don’t let that deter you from following. After all it doesn’t have to make sense to you you’re the one letting go. Ya never know once you do you may find yourself living “Upside Down” and loving it.

Now this is Unity

Hello once again everyone,

Do you know what never ceases to amaze me with the bible? The fact that each time I pick it up I get something new. I can read the same verse 20 different times and seemingly get something different each time. It’s not that I reinterpret the verse every time. It’s just that my life changes a little and the verse will speak to where I’m at now. Or my understanding of God grows slightly and I am able to glean more because of it. Take for example a verse that has been one of my favorites for close to fifteen years now. You would think if I had been thinking about it for fifteen years there would be nothing new to gain from it. Right? Wrong! This is what I want to chat about today. This hit me probably three weeks ago and I’ve been meditating on it ever sense. You may read it and think “Duh, where have you been?” If so just smile smugly and thank God that I’m finally getting there. Actually I hope that’s the case because it seems so blatant to me now that I can’t believe I’ve always missed it.

What I’m going to do is give you a list of verses and have you read them. See if you can guess where I am going. Then after you’ve read through I’ll tell you what I saw. Good? Good. Lets go.

John 10: 38 … Though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the father is in me and I in him.

John 13: 31-32 … Now the son of man is glorified and God is glorified in him, If God is glorified in him God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him immediately.

John 14: 10-11 Do you not believe that I am in the father and the father in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority but the father who dwells in me does the works. Believe me that I am in the father and the father in me, or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.

John 14: 20-21 At that day you will know that I am in my father and you in me and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them it is he who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

John 15: 4-8 Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it will be done for you. By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.

John 17: 21-23 That they may all be one as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be one in us, that the word may believe that you sent me. And the glory which you gave me I have given them that they may be one just as we are one. I in them and you in me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them as you have loved me.

John 17: 26 And I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.

1 John 2: 24 Therefore let that abide In you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the son and in the father.

1 John 4:12-17 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and testify that the father has sent the son as savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

There ya have it. Quite a bit to read but I wanted to make sure you had the full picture. Believe it or not I could have given you more but these are the clearest picture of what I want to point out. Have ya read them? Good. Have you thought about it? Read through one more time and think about what God is saying here. Go ahead, I’ll wait I need to grab my pizza anyway… Ok, ya got it. Here is what I see in these verses. First I see the obvious and what we are taught growing up. “The trinity, I in you and you in me.” God and Jesus in each other no big revelation there. Lets go back to John 17: 21-23 since that is the verse I’ve loved for so long. I’ve always read that verse as a call for unity. Which it is but lets read it closely. “As you are in me and I in you that (here it is) THEY MAY BE IN US” That’s what I’ve always missed. We always expect God to be in us after all Christ promised the Holy Spirit. But for us to be in them? Wow, that just blows me away. Now some of you may be saying “Wait a minute Larry these verses are not saying we are literally in him but that we need to abide in them. We need to focus on them.” That is why I gave so many verses. You are correct some of these verses are probably saying that. John 15: 4-8 could be read that way. But in it I am still a branch attached to the tree. You can most likely find other verses that support “Abide means leaning into him” I wont argue. But that doesn’t mean these verses aren’t clearly saying we are “In him”

Ok, I buy it. We are in God as God is in us. So how does that make my life any different? What am I suppose to take away from this? I’m not going to tell you. This week I give you a revelation and say spend some time thinking about it and leaning into God asking him. “That means you don’t know then. Right Larry?” You’re kind of right. I have my idea’s. I think I know what it is telling me but I can’t quite bring myself to say it out loud yet. Here is what I do know. It means I’m a much bigger part of Gods family than I ever dreamed of. I also know that there are verses in there that are the infamous “If you than I” (John 14: 20-21). We have to remember those and hold up our end of the bargain. Obviously it’s not a demand for perfection since we can’t accomplish that but it’s also much more than “I’ll follow when it’s convenient.”

My friends I’ve been meditating on this one for three weeks now and I still haven’t come near completely grasping its meaning and power. But I can say that my confidence in who I am in Christ has grown ten fold with this understanding. Not only is God in Christ and Christ in God and the Holy Spirit in that whole mix as well. But I am in God as God is in me. Chew on that for a minute and see if it doesn’t just blow you out of the water. (No pun intended)

What a way to go into the New year. Knowing that we are woven into the very being of Our God the creator of this universe. Have a great New Year and this year lets “Live it Upside Down”

Wandering in the wilderness. (wave your hands around and turn in a circle)

Hello friends, Do you remember what it felt like that first time you sat in the drivers seat of a car? The excitement, the anticipation, maybe a little bit of adrenaline. Some of you were incredibly nervous, some I assume were pretty calm. A few of you had paid close attention to your parents when they drove. You got behind the wheel and needed little instruction. Others didn’t pay attn or only noticed a part of what your parents were doing when they drove. You got behind the wheel and it seemed as if you couldn’t do anything right. All of us once we began driving saw the world from a whole new light. We noticed signs we had never seen before. We saw driveways as a place cars could come from instead of a space of cement we could ride our bikes on. The colors of a stop light actually began talking to us instead of just flashing. None of us could have taken a car that first time and driven across town or entered the freeway safely without our parents or instructor sitting beside us guiding the way. Most of us had to drive on empty roads a few days before we were allowed anywhere near any semblance of traffic. (Whether that was a paternal or financial instinct on the part of our parents is up for debate.) Time passes and finally we’ve learned and developed enough to drive solo. After a set time of training and testing the U.S. Department of Transportation finally said we could drive on our own. But they gave us limits. There are still certain types of vehicles we are not allowed to drive without further training and testing. We are not allowed to teach until we reach a certain age of accountability. It would seem crazy for us to just hand the keys to our car over to someone that has never driven. Actually it would be illegal and when they do get in an accident your insurance company will refuse to pay the claim.

What else in life do we need training in before we can do it on our own? Riding a bike, 12 years of school, vocational training, college, Go to court and a judge will strongly advice against defending yourself, shoot even our parents teach us to eat, how to safely cross the road, and protect us from strangers. We are guided along in almost every aspect of our life. Sometimes in a one to one basis, sometimes a large group setting, and others a small group. One thing is sure, one to one is always the best and brings about the quickest and more substantial growth.

If we recognize the importance of training just to operate normally in life why is it not emphasized in the church? In life we are born and have parents to feed, diaper and burp us. They teach us to walk and right from wrong. Then once we reach a certain age we go off to school but even then we bring home assignments that our parents help us with. We see our classmates doing things and we ask our parents about it when we get home. In church we are born and sent right off to College (If we’re lucky) More often it’s “Congrats welcome to the family here’s a book to read I’ll see you at church on Sunday… Oh and I recommend joining a home group as well.” The thinking is ludicrous where’s the logic? There is none. Even in College after four (or so) years of training we go through an internship. Maybe I’m wrong let’s check and see if the bible treats new believers the way we do. Take a minute to look for examples. I’ll wait…

Nope can’t find anything that fits our model. Let me know if you did. Here’s what I did find. In Deuteronomy I see Moses raising up Joshua, Go to Judges and it looks as if Joshua hadn’t mentored anyone. He died and those who served with him died and Israel began to falter. The entire book of Judges is a testament to what happens when “The Judge” doesn’t raise up a mentor. Judge alive Israel prospers, Judge dies Israel wanders. (move your hands about wildy and turn in a circle. That’s my tribute to my churches summer series.) Ok lets continue. Ruth has Naomi and gets written into the family line of God (Hmmm) Samuel had Eli (Look at Eli’s kids good sign that perhaps our parents should not be our “only” spiritual mentor) Elisha had Elijah and he got a double anointing. Lets move to the New Testament. Jesus took on 12 personally yet at one moment he sent out 70 (Luke 10: 1-12) Saul/Paul was picked up by Ananias, and spent “Time” with “the disciples” then had Barnabas, From there it kinda goes crazy and I haven’t studied enough to say who discipled who. Clearly Timothy had Paul. I could name some more but I think you get the point. Can I also say that this is the time the church was exploding even through immense persecution. I don’t believe that is a coincidence. Remember what happened after Joshua died and how Israel acted while between Judges.

If mentoring is so prominent in the bible and the effects are so obvious why are we not emphasizing its importance today? Why are we not mentoring? As far as I can see it’s one of three reasons or a combination. 1. We don’t fully recognize its need or importance. 2. We don’t think we have anything to offer. 3. We are too lazy.

If you do not yet recognize the importance let give you one more observation. Israel without Joshua or any of the other Judges lived according to their own understanding and the family fell apart. Today the church in our country has few mentors and it is hurting desperately seeking to have a voice and without its voice look at what is happening to our country. We have no mentor no one pointing us toward the things of God so we’re making it up. Doing what seems right. (“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25)

Ok, number one is out of the way. Lets attack number 2. Saul/Paul was preaching right away. Jesus Disciples were only with him for 3 years. Unless you were born yesterday there is always someone younger than you. But lets hit it for the cautious individual because I know a few of you just cringed a little bit. Mentoring doesn’t claim you know it all it just says you want to help guide. You know the importance of mentoring so you know that you need one as well. If you think you’re too young “find a mentor”. If you have a mentor then you’re not too young. Someone you are mentoring asks you a question and you don’t know the answer. You go to your mentor if he doesn’t know he goes to his. There! You’re not to young because you have back up. Number two is taken care of. Now the last excuse #3 I’m too lazy. GET OVER YOURSELF! Ok all of the excuses are taken care of. Now it’s time to go and find a “mentee”. Ask your pastor if he knows of anyone, maybe a kid in the church or a new believer. If he doesn’t know keep asking. Pray into it. God will lead you to the right person. If you need a mentor follow the same process. Is there someone you look up to? Ask them.

Shoot! I just realized it’s almost Christmas and I should have written about the season in some way and Gods gift to mankind. Ok, I’ll do it now. Gods gift to mankind (Jesus) did two things for us. He offered us salvation through his death on the cross and he MENTORED US!!! Why don’t you give a gift of yourself to someone this Christmas? Offer yourself as a mentor! Now it’s a Christmas message.

Merry Christmas everyone, Hey I have an idea lets do Christmas “UPSIDE DOWN”

No, I'm not over it yet!

If you read last weeks blog post you know that I was slightly upset by an encounter I had with another group of people that called themselves believers of Christ. I was upset on a number of levels. 1. I was upset by the natural reaction they had to us and the “Assumption” that we had bought a lie and needed witnessed too. 2. I was upset at the reaction of those I was with. “These guys were suffering from a spirit of Religion and they needed set free.” 3. I was upset at my reaction. “I have begun to move beyond that shallow thinking why can’t you?” Now let me ask you. Which of these reactions was the one that brought honor to God? .... I am going to assume you answered “None of the above” because I’m not sure any other answer can be justified. No, I’m not still kicking myself for my response and no I’m not mad at the others for the way they responded but I still have to say no I’m not over it yet. Yes, I’m over the frustration, yes I’m over the anger. But I’m not over the lesson that we should take home. I hope I never get over that. It is my goal to take the lessons learned from life’s observations & screw up’s and use them to grow. If not what good are they?

So what did I learn? What am I going to do with this information. 1. I’ve learned (or relearned) that there is a definite spirit of division in the church today. 2. I recognized that I am not above it. 3. It is important to fight against this spirit so it doesn’t over come us. So what are you going to do about it Larry? I’m glad you asked.

First: I am committing myself to never argue with a stranger about Christ. I am a firm believer that arguing doesn’t lead anyone to Christ. This doesn’t mean I wont discuss Christ and my belief or listen to others opinions but I will not let it move into an argument. Arguments only create ill will.

Second: I will do as we discussed the last couple weeks and “Test the spirits” This means that as I meet new people before we get into any discussion on religion I will ask them about their faith in Christ. If they are a believer in Jesus Christ and have accepted him as savior I will seek to find more common ground. Even if I recognize uncommon ground first I will skip that and continue to seek for common ground. No this does not mean that I will always ignore differences it only means that I want them to know that I recognize and respect them as a brother over our differences. If they are not a believer in Christ I will still seek to find common ground over attacking their unbelief. This way they know that I care for them either way and my desire to show them Christ comes from a caring for them not some religious fervor.

Any other steps will be determined according to the type of friendship that is developed. Do I expect to ever see them again? Are we working together daily, once a week, once a month?

If it is not a person I am meeting but an organization of some sort I will follow the same steps. I will not assume that a church follows Christ, I will not assume that a non-profit (even a religious one) follows Christ, I will not assume that someone I meet at church follows Christ. I will not assume because of their background or denomination that they do not follow Christ. No more assumptions and if I meet someone that is making assumptions I will be sure they realize that they are just that “Assumptions”

My friends we are in a war with a very cunning enemy. This enemy wants more than anything to divide our ranks. We cannot allow this to happen. We must put in the system “checks and balances” to ensure this does not happen. I have told you what mine are. As I progress in this life I may find a weakness in these checks and make a few adjustments. You can choose to follow these as well if you would like or you can come up with your own. But I challenge you to do it. Not only in this area but in other areas of your life as well. How do you check your growth in Christ? How do you know you are getting the best training possible? What about your fellow warriors brothers and sisters in Christ?

The good news is WE ARE ON THE WINNING TEAM! But there are still battles to be fought. Are you prepared to withstand the attack? Are you ready to go into battle? The enemy screwed up last week and revealed a weakness lets seal it and go out in one accord.

Have a great week Gang. As always lets “Live it Upside Down”

Sad or Mad? I think both!

This is not what I was planning on writing today and who knows maybe I shouldn’t since I haven’t had time to process yet. But it is what is on my mind and there is no way I would be able to recall my previous plans if I tried as this is so fresh and heavy on my heart. There is a spirit that is hiding itself in the church a very cunning and evil spirit that I think is causing more damage to Gods Kingdom here on Earth than perhaps any other and it reared its face today in a powerful way. Let me tell you it is UGLY! It is SLY! And it must be STOPPED! This thing is so sly that as soon as I tell you what it is you’re going to say “Oh I recognized that years ago” ME TOO! I’ve heard sermons about it. You would think It’s on the run because I’ve heard so many speak against it. Instead somehow it has dug it’s claws so deep into us that we don’t even recognize it anymore. I’m not even sure what to call it. It may be two spirits working in tandem I don’t know But we need to recognize its lies and stomp them the second they arrive. For now I’m going to give it two different names The spirit of “Division” and The Spirit of “Superiority”

Let me start by first saying there is just one church. That is GODS CHURCH! For those that may think I’m naming a specific denomination I’M NOT! If you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, Born of the virgin Mary, Crucified for our sins and raised from the dead three days later. If you believe that this Jesus is the ONLY way to God and have accepted his gift of salvation than you belong to “GODS CHURCH” Let me also throw in the Trinity Father, Son, Holy Spirit all wrapped in one. I don’t mean this as an after thought Just realized I shouldn’t assume that everyone thinks it’s a given. (Even though it is). For some reason it’s almost as if (Though no one will admit they believe this way) We have multiple religions that almost believe the same way. LIE, LIE, LIE, LIE!!! Did I say that enough? LIE! First let me say that I don’t believe God ever desired for us to be divided into multiple denominations. Show me an example from scripture I don’t think it’s possible. (That is the first sign that Satan is at work) I’ve heard it justified over the years by saying “I just have a different way I like to worship so I go here”, or “They just relate to God in a different way”. What a load of crap. Some now may choose a church for those reasons but that is not why we have so many different types of churches. Honestly I don’t know how all the different churches came to be. Each one has it’s own story and there-in lies the root of the problem. “I have an understanding of God that is different than the current churches so I’ll begin my own thing”. I’m beginning to dive into uncharted waters (As in I haven’t studied how each church came to be.) so I’ll stop there and move on.

No matter how each church came to be there seems to be an underlying lie that accompanied it. “I know something of God that you can’t grasp so I’m moving on” or “I know God better than you do so I’m moving on” (PLEASE AS WE MOVE ON REALIZE I AM NOT TALKING EVERY PERSON, EVERY CHURCH. IF THIS ISN’T YOU PRAISE GOD)

God has given each and everyone of us special giftings, talents, and understandings of who he is. I assume he has done that because there are many different types of people in the world and he wants his people to be able to relate to all of them so they might come to him. But what seems to have happened is 1. God moves in a new way 2. The church doesn’t know what to think of it 3. A new denomination is born wrapped around that experience. 4. An underlying I’m better than you vibe begins to grow in the new church. 5. The old church prays for the new church because this move can’t be from God it must be a lie.

Let me tell you what happened today that has me so upset. Since I’m on a road trip and don’t really have a home I participated as an outsider which is probably why I saw the beast with-in (So to speak). For those that don’t know I am currently visiting Bethel Church in Redding, CA (If you don’t know Bethel check it out God is doing some pretty cool stuff) I was out with a couple people from Bethel (On what is called a treasure Hunt) We began speaking with some guys from a local bible college (We were at the campus) They instantly knew where we were from and went into “Witnessing mode” (Now please don’t think I’m going to rag on them alone stick with me) It was clear that somewhere along the line they had a discussion about the beliefs of Bethel and why they were wrong and the (Bethel) congregation was buying a lie. Now I’ve heard this before so I’m not too terribly surprised. But what surprises me is the mode that EVERYONE kicked into. Both groups begin arguing their points. I would like to say discussing their positions so we could leave with a mutual understanding of the others position and leave agreeing to research in scripture what the other had to say and then prayerfully go to God for his guidance and wisdom. But that would imply that we were listening to each other. One of the people I was with I saw her stance change and her kick into “It’s on! mode” The guys were more laid back with a smirk on their faces like “This is going to be fun” I must admit I had that thought as well. I loves me a good debate it challenges me to think. Many of you could guess what the debate was about but that’s not the important part. I don’t even want you to assume you know where I stood because you’d probably be wrong (It isn’t that obvious) We get into the discussion and after awhile I begin to hear others repeating to me things I said clear at the beginning but it was as if was their thought or idea. That makes me take a step back and watch others a bit closer. I can see it in their eyes. Nobody is listening to the other instead they are listening for the opportunity to make their next point. The two viewpoints 1. They are suffering from a spirit of religion. 2. They have bought a lie. 1. I must set them free 2. I must not buy into the lie

Anyway we finish gather in a group like a nice “Christian Family” and pray one person from each side. Yep you guessed it the prayers are like closing arguments instead of prayers. (A whole different topic) We hop in the car and instantly “Can you believe this, how about that?, and what about that prayer oh my” all along I am picturing them doing the same thing at the school. It is so sad because we all have something to offer each other me to you and you to me. I’m not going to type it all out here but read 1 Corinthians 12 ALL OF IT. We all have differing gifts and they are to work together to make one body.

One of the people I was chatting with today. My heart so reaches out to him. I don’t know what happened in his life or in a friends life but I could see it in his eyes. “I can’t open up in this way I don’t want to be sold another lie” This is why I go back to last weeks blog topic but ad a new verse 1 Corinthians 12: 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the holy spirit. Don’t be so afraid of buying a lie that you accept the truth. On the flip side another person was so convinced that they were 100% correct that they wouldn’t have heard it if anyone did correctly reveal where they were wrong.

My friends we are the body of Christ and Satan wants desperately to keep us divided. We must fight against that division. We must take the time to recognize our differences not as lies or a failure to grow but as an opportunity to join together for one purpose. “To show the world the Love of God” and in so doing we might just might glean a little bit of light from each other as well. John 17: 20 – 21 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me,

Ok gang that was another long one. Hopefully it was direct enough to follow without too many wonderings. Have a great week and as always lets “Live it upside down”