I was looking at some photos from five years ago and stumbled across this photo of Josh.  It is him speaking at a Kids In Ministry Night at church.  He was the featured speaker.  It is hard to believe how much he has grown up.  I start to feel old knowing that he only has four more years of school left, but I am thankful for the young man that he is becoming.

I have noticed on many occasions that people who have been married a long time tend to look like one another.  I am not sure why that is but I sure feel sorry for Sonya when we get older:)

Sonya and I have been married almost 17 years and it is amazing how often we think alike.  There are times when I will be thinking something and she will say it.  Other times, we are trying to talk at the same time and I say exactly what she was going to say.  Because of our intimate relationship, we are beginning to be more like each other.  

These are good things, however, what if the one you are becoming like is not the right type of person?  Namely, someone who does not glorify God with their life.  The truth is, we become like those we spend most of our time with.  Good or bad!

Psalm 115 talks about the greatness of God and why we should serve Him and the Psalmist interjects a contrast.  He begins to compare our God with the lifeless idols Israel was making.  He describes the idols and then makes a statement, “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”  He is saying that we become like the things we worship.  If we worship the things of this world and build idols in our lives, we will be like them.  If we worship God and fill our lives with God things, we will be more like Him.

Who are you more like?  What idols might you have built up in your life that you need to remove?  Te truth is, the longer you run after other things, the more you will be like them and less like God.  I am challenged to look into my life and tear down idols.  I want to be like God not anything else.

One more quote from E.M. Bounds, “Too often we get faint-hearted and quit praying at the point where we ought to begin.  We let go at the very point we should hold on strongest.  Our prayers are weak because they are not impassioned by an unfailing and irresistible will.  God loves the importunate pleader, and sends him answers that would never have been granted but for the persistency that refuses to let go until the petition craved for is granted.”

Let’s push through in prayer!

Here is a thought provoking quote from E.M. Bounds, “Our people are not essentially a praying people.  That is evident by their lives.  Prayer and a holy life are one…If, by any chance, a prayer chamber should be established without a holy life, it would be a chamber without the presence of God in it.”

Yesterday, I went to Subway for lunch with my mentor.  We were enjoying a nice time together until I decided to look at the game piece on the side of my Subway cup.  Now, I do not usually suffer from an inferiority complex but a guy can only take so many hints.  When I  pulled the game piece off, it said in bold letters “NOT AN INSTANT WINNER”.  Subway was telling me I wasn’t a winner.  I have encouraged myself in the Lord many times.  I have relied on my position in Christ and now Subway tells me I am not a winner:( 

Now, I say these things jokingly but there happens to be someone who likes to tell us we are not winners.  Satan, our enemy.  He whispers in our ear, “You are not a winner.”  Sometimes he even uses the words, “You are a loser.”  He doesn’t always tell you personally but uses others to drag you down.  They may speak ill words of you that make you feel small and like you are not worth much.  The enemy seeks to bring down every believer and he often uses this very tactic. It leaves us wondering who we are in Christ and feeling as if we have nothing to offer to God.

The Bible emphatically states that we are winners.  We are more than conquerors through Christ.  We are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, blessed and not cursed.  We are to see ourselves giants and not grasshoppers (Numbers 13:33).  No weapon formed against us shall prosper.  We are victorious through the blood of Jesus.  Satan is the accuser of the brethren but Jesus has won the victory over the enemy. 

Do not listen to anyone who says you aren’t worth anything.  You are worth everything. God says so!

Wild Goose Chase is an inspiring book by Pastor Mark Batterson.  Mark pastors National Community Church, an innovative church in Washington D.C.  In his book Wild Goose Chase, he writes about how our pursuit of God’s will and purpose is often a wild goose chase.  In using this analogy, he references the Celtic Christian term for the Holy Spirit, An Geadh-Glas, which means the wild goose.  Batterson reveals, through Bible accounts, as well as stories from his own life, what the Wild Goose Chase looks like. 

This book is perfect for those who desire to know God’s will and are willing to pursue his ultimate purpose for their lives.  There is a disclaimer, however, the road to God’s will is not always the easy way or the path we think it should be.  Our lives are intricately orchestrated by the Holy Spirit and He works in ways that are sometimes mysterious.  He leads us down different paths, often hard, to get us to our ultimate place of fulfillment.  Wild Goose Chase challenges believers to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Batterson helps those who have been on this chase, by chronicling his journey to plant a church in Washington D.C.  He shares that sometimes God leads us through failures (in his case a failed church plant in Chicago) to get us to our destiny.  In the chapter, Sometimes It Takes a Shipwreck, he writes, “When the dream of planting in Chicago died, I was willing to go wherever the Wild Goose wanted to take me.  And honestly, the farther away from Chicago the better!  But I am not sure I would have been open to moving to DC if the ship hadn’t sunk in Chicago.  I still have lots of questions about that church  plant.  Were we even called to plant the church in the first place?  Or did God plan the failure?  Was our timing off? Or was it my ineptitude that caused it to sink?  I have more questions than answers, but I came out of the experience with a new conviction: sometimes it takes a shipwreck to get us where God wants us to go.”

Mark Batterson has written what I believe is one of the most compelling books on the subject of pursuing God and His will.  He has an engaging style of writing that captivates the reader.  He is a well studied author who shares illustrations from his personal life, science and history to make a book that is an easy read.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to discover God’s will or who has been frustrated in that journey.  This is an excellent tool for small-group study or Sunday School. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Wild Goose Chase:

“The promptings of the Holy Spirit can sometimes seempointless, but rest assured, God is working His plan.  And if you chase the Wild Goose, He will take you places you never could have imagined going by paths you never knew existed.” pg. 2

“I don’t know a single Christ-follower who hasn’t got stressed out trying to figure out the will of God.  We want to solve the mystery of the will of God the way we solve a Sudoku or crossword puzzle.  But in my experience, intellectual analysis usually results in spiritual paralysis.” pg 2

“A part of us feels as if something is spiritually wrong with us when we experience circumstantial uncertainty.  But that is precisely what Jesus promised us when we are born of the Spirit and start following Him.  Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time.  And I know that is unsettling.  But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: adventure.” pg 2

“I’m not convinced that your date of death is the date carved on your tombstone. Most people die long before that.  We start dying when we have nothing worth living for.  And we do not really start living until we find something worth dyng for. Ironically, something worth dying for is what makes life worth living.” pg 16-17

You can find a copy of Wild Goose Chase at Christianbook.com.

We had a great Sunday yesterday!  Both our AM and PM services had strong atendance.  We have been fortunate to beat the “summer slump”.

Monday morning is the beginning of another week for the pastor.  6 days to get ready for the next Sunday.  Next Sunday, we will conclude our ROADSIGNS series by looking at the Yield Sign: yielding to the Holy Spirit. 

It is a somewhat busy week this week.  I have an assessment to do at the District Office today.  Wednesday is church and Thursday is our monthly board meeting.  I enjoy our board meetings (I know that sounds awkward).  We have a great group of guys to work with and we look forward to building the church together.

Hope you all have a great week!  This week, I will be posting a review for a book I have been reading, Wild Goose Chaseby Mark Batterson.  Check back tomorrow.

Josh and I went to Office Depot (our favorite store) and I went to the laptop department.  There was a teenager who had just left the computer aisle making some snide remark about the store not having Mac’s.  (By the way, I hope to one day graduate to a Macintosh) 

As I went to look at the inferior Windows laptops I  noticed the vandalism of this young man.  He had typed in on every Windows Laptop, “I love macs or Mac’s rule.”  I even saw one that said, “Not Windoze!!!”.  I got a kick out of it, even if I am a PC user.  Oh, how competition is always fierce.  It seems in almost ever area of life there are bitter rivalry’s.

In the life of the believer there is also a bitter rivalry.  Good vs. Evil.  God vs. Satan.  Love vs. Hate.  We must choose the better one.  Good…God…Love…