This morning as I was leaving my neighborhood I was confronted by about 1000 people running a marathon on the main artery in my neighborhood.  It literally took me 15 minutes to travel 1 mile and I was driving the opposite direction from where they were running.  As I drove that mile not only did I pass almost 1000 people but I also passed bunches of my neighbors out on the street watching, and cops who had blocked the roadway in certain places to facilitate the runners and for some reason I wondered why are they running…is this for real.  Then I passed one of those stations where the runners get water and as I passed I realized…’Oh man, this is an official race’.  Only at that moment did it cross my mind to call my wife and tell her about it and suggest she bring the kids out to watch.

What about two 8 ft tables with people handing out water made me realize this race is official: it was the cups the runners were handed.  The workers were handing out the green Gatorade cups.  Now…I have not watched any marathons, never watched the tour de France but I know all official long races give their participants something to drink in green Gatorade cups.

It made me wonder….What in our lives makes us know God is real and that He is official?

It does not matter what your answer is.  Whatever makes Him official for you and causes you to believe in Him is between you and Him.  But you should make an effort to know what it is.

Or maybe you are reading this and saying…’I don’t believe’.  Honestly…that OK…but I want to share something with you: ‘God believes in you’.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGTBFPte-MY

Several years ago I heard about Solid Rock Church in Ohio.  I did not learn of them because they were doing

Solid Rock Church, Touchdown Church, King of Kings

great in their community (I’m sure they are), rather I learned of them because they have a HUGE statue of Jesus that some people call the King of Kings or the Touchdown Jesus.  Sadly, a few days ago the statue was hit by lightening and burned to its metal core.  In teh video above and several youtube comments people are saying this is a clear sign that Jesus is about to come back.
What do you think?  Is the burning of a statue a sign of Jesus’ return or something else?

I grew up catholic and was never comfortable with the images of Jesus, something about the scripture/10 commandment that says…’have no graven images’.

I’d love your feedback and thoughts….

What was interesting to me is the Church’s website did not even mention the Touchdown Jesus/King of Kings being struck by lightening.

³¹Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ³²Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. – Ephesians  4:31 and 32

This weekend my friend talked about going to a landfill, it made me remember the time I went to a Landfill.  I was getting rid of my old carpet because I was placing down hardwood floors in our town home.  So I placed all of the old carpet in my Saturn and made my way to the PG County Landfill.  I gave them my driver’s license and they let me in. I was not able to go to the Landfill (darn), I had to drop the trash off at a bin.  I really wanted to see what the landfill looked liked.

Since, I did not get to see the landfill; I decided to look it up.  Here is there information I found:

A Landfill is a carefully built depression (hole) in the ground (or built on top of the ground, resembling a football stadium) into which wastes (trash) are put inside of it. The goal of all landfills is to avoid any hydraulic [water-related] connection between the wastes and the surrounding environment, particularly groundwater. Basically, a landfill is a bathtub in the ground; a double-lined landfill is one bathtub inside another. Landfills can leak two ways: out the bottom or over the top.  Dirt or gravel are usually placed over the top to limit runoff.

In all most landfills they place one or more layers of clay or a synthetic flexible membrane (or a combination of these) on the bottom of the landfill to prevent leaking. The liner effectively creates a bathtub in the ground. If the bottom liner fails, wastes will migrate directly into the environment. There are three types of liners: clay, plastic, and composite.  On the top of the landfill, they place a cover or cap.  It works as an umbrella to keep water out.  It will generally consist of several sloped layers: clay or membrane liner (to prevent rain from intruding), overlain by a very permeable layer of sandy or gravelly soil (to promote rain runoff), overlain by topsoil in which vegetation can root (to stabilize the underlying layers of the cover). If the cover (cap) is not maintained, rain will enter the landfill resulting in buildup of trash to the point where the bathtub overflows its sides and wastes enter the environment.  This is why a lot of people do not want landfills near their neighborhoods

I believe all of us are kinda like landfills.  We have trash (hurt, pain, anger, disappoints, etc…).  We try to provide barriers at the top and bottom to maintain and keep this trash inside and contained.  Despite our best efforts, we have leakage.  At times it can be through the bottom (past hurts, disappointments or wrongs) or through the top (explosions about recent hurts, disappointments or wrongs).  So, we need to be prepared on how to “deal” with life when our landfill leaks.  We know that it will.  I want you to think about your landfill.  Do you think that your landfill may be leaking from the top or the bottom?  What things do you do to limit the negative affects of your landfill leaking?  In real life, when a landfill leaks, it is a serious problem to all that live within a radius of the landfill.  Is your “landfill” affecting others for the positive or negative?

Questions: On a scale of 1 (being the lowest) to 5 (being the highest), how would you describe your landfill (emotional stability), explain?  Which way does your landfill usually leak (from the top or bottom)? When your landfill leaks, does it affect the people around you, explain?

Well I’m glad you are still reading and the title did not make you turn away.  I know it sounds like an oxymoron…but let me explain.

I have a friend, Sandra(name was changed), and to be honest Sandra has had a hard life that has

what are we supposed to be praying for

caused her to develop multiple personalities.  Around me she seems like the sweetest most loving person.  But to others  she is cold, mean, and hard core (or tries to be).  Sandra’s life has taken her to some ugly places…places you usually only see in movies.  At a young age she got involved in sex, was a runaway and eventually was introduced to drugs.

Then one day…everything changed.  She got up and walked away from the sex and the drugs, went to church and back to school.  For 4 years she was doing well…Then one day…it all changed AGAIN.

Now Sandra has lost her job, is a habitual drug abuser again, prostituting herself with multiple men and women, has her drivers license revoked, lying to the authorities and has 13 charges again her (several of those criminal).  Her family has washed their hands of her because she has used and abused them.  In court a few days ago a judge said ‘I don’t understand why you are not locked away’.  Watching her life right now is like watching a plane crash.  No joke…I remember watching the planes crash into the Towers on Sept 11^th and remember feeling helpless as I watched…that’s what this is like.

I’ve tried to help, I’ve prayed, I’ve cried.  As her pastor I’ve counseled her with the Word.  At times I was loving, blunt, and everything in between.  I’ve taken the Horse to the water and said “with this water you will never thirst”.   She told me flat…I don’t want to drink.

Hearing that a judge said…’I don’t understand why you are not locked away yet’ rang like a bell to me.  Maybe all the prayers for her deliverance were going unanswered.  We all wanted to see her situation get better.  We never want IT to get worse…but sometimes IT has to get worse for God to reach them.

God says..’My ways are not your ways’.  And so maybe my prayer was wrong…its not a prayer of deliverance…but a prayer for HIS will to be done.  Even if His will lands her in jail, even if His will leaves her paralyzed, even if His will leaves her battered and bruised or even dead.

In our lives we need to pray for His will to be done.  That does not mean we can’t ask for our desires, but it does mean when we ask, we have to acknowledge that we only want what lines up with His will.

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.– Jeremiah 29:11

A couple of days ago, a friend of mine sent me this article.  I really thought it was profound.  Well here it is…

When you have plans and goals for your life, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. Michelangelo’s David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.” But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around… and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills… and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what happened.” And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss. But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.
We We all have dreams, goals, desires and aspirations.  We all have also had major and minor disappointments in our lives.  My question today is:  Are you enjoying Holland or complaining about not going to Italy?  If you are in “Holland”, why do you think you are there?

Let me go on record and say…I like the IPHONE a lot.  A couple years ago when I made the switch from a Palm device to a Windows Mobile device to a Blackberry (all on the Sprint network) the Iphone was still to young and unproven for me.  But now…with the 3Gs and new version right around the corner I’d have to say the Iphone is the most powerful phone on the market.

However…as I learned in High school wrestling…The most powerful does not always win.  I remember that 1 wrestling match I did in high school….I knew Iwas bad…I was a football player and strong nut I got my butt whipped by some small kid who had technique.

So..Enter the Sprint HTC EVO.  The world first 4G Phone.  Im not one who likes to be on the bleeding edge of consumer technology (corporate bleeding edge tech I love) but this phone boasts technique the Iphone is still dreaming about.  3 things caught my eye and are makiing me say “SORRY Iphone”:

1. The Sprint HTC Evo 4G internet connection vs 3G connections have been ‘favorably’ compared to going from 56k modem to ISDN.  I love speed.
2. Wireless hotspot for upto 8 computers simultaneously.  I dont think I will have the need for 8 computers to connect simultaneously anytime soon but its awesome to know that I can connect my laptop anytime i need to…and here is the best part.  I can talk on my HTC Evo and connect my Laptop.  Iphone cant do that.
3. This one is minor…I dont plan to use it…but its WAY cool to have.  Builtin web cam/video conference ability.

So even though the Iphone and ALL its APPS are a more powerful phone with more capability…it lacks a couple key things I really need right now…SPEED and a wireless hotspot while Im on the phone.  The winner: Sprint HTC Evo.

IPhone users you are welcome to try and  convince me why I’m making a bad decision.

Here are a few More pics:

Picture Quality

I had a moment yesterday that just flawed me…left me speechless.   Our Sunday conversation was about Why I can’t Honor my parents and everyone was sharing some real raw emotion about hurts and disappointments.  Some of the stories were unbelievable but that’s not what flawed me. In the middle of a gut wrentching story being told by an 18 year old that I had known for ten years but had not seen in almost a year he said…’I am a Christian NOW…I got saved a couple weeks ago.’

2 years ago this kid was a Buddhist…I invited him to church…he came for a while and I was convinced he was there because it was across the street from his work and we had free donuts. But we loved him…and then one day he stopped coming and I could never seem to catch up with him.  Then yesterday he shows up and said ‘I am a Christian NOW’.  WOW….

In 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul said I planted, Apollos watered but God makes it grow.  I was flawed by the majesty of God in those 5 little words…’I am a Christian NOW’.  At that moment…God smacked me and said I always make things grow and my word never returns void.

Don’t be discouraged…Love like Jesus…God will bring the increase.

Long before I got married, before I was a pastor or a minister, maybe even before I was a Follower of Christ a guy said to me:

Men NEVER win arguements with their wives!!!

His rationale was simple, If you argue with your wife and you somehow prove that you are right…later that night you will loose.  And if you were wrong in the first place…later that night you will loose.

So…being married to a psychologist and a marriage counselor I always figured I had no chance at winning any argument.  In fact, early in our marriage when we had any type of conflict my wife just put me on her ‘couch’ and began a counseling session.

But…we are BOTH pastors and we both studied and asked…God how do you want us to resolve conflict in our marriage.  Surprisingly….God’s answer was ‘Man can never win an argument’.  Jesus said in order to be His follower we must Die to ourselves and pick up our cross daily (Luke 9:23).  Here is what He is saying as far as conflict goes: when we have conflict with our spouse we are to put down our selfishness, put down our desire, put down our egos, put down our will and PICK UP His desire.

Jesus says neither man nor woman can win an argument, neither of us can triumph in conflict.  He says when you have conflict turn to me.

Let me not sugar coat this and make it seem easy…Its not.  In fact I often fail at it.  But what I can tell you is when in conflict if I step away and say ‘ok GOD…what do you want here’, He opens my eyes to resolutions and truths I never imagined.

Next time you have conflict with your spouse, pause for a moment and give God a try.  Dont ask Him to make them see it your way. Rather ask Him to make you see it HIS way.

Solomon was considered to be the wisest man of the Bible’s Old Testament.  He was a guy who was thought to have everything:

1. Money
2. Power
3. Respect
4. Women

On top of all that he was also an author.  In one of the books of the Bible that Solomon wrote he gives us a lesson and starts that lesson with these 3words…’Above All Else’.  I don’t know about you but if the wisest man of the Bible says ‘above all else’ Im going to listen because I figure what comes next is the most important thing out there.  So…here is what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:23:

Above all else, guard your heart because it is the wellspring of life.

When I first read that I felt cheated.  After years of mulling and reading I started to understand what Solomon was saying.  He was warning us that everything we put into our hearts eventually comes out and defines who we are.  Jesus years later summed it up this way in Luke 6:45 – For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.  That one stung.

How many times have we said words and then I did not mean it?  How many times have we said things at inappropriate times?  How many times have we thought thoughts we could erase?  How often has your tongue gotten you into trouble?

People like to think that us pastors are perfect and always say and do the right things…Maybe your pastor is perfect but I know I’m a flawed human being.  And Solomon and Jesus are saying to us the hurts, pain, hard feelings, jealousy, anger, guilt, shame, greed, lust, deceitfulness, and anything else that we hide in our hearts will eventually overflow and come out of our mouths.

Solomon tells us to guard our hearts…he means dont hide things in your heart.  He says this because he knows that when we get frustrated and blurt out something hurtful to someone else that we really mean it because its whats in our heart.

So whats in your heart?

Have you like me hidden things in your heart that you need to clear out.  Feel free to share or hit the Contact page and email me directly if you’d like help working through some things.

For the Audio of this sermon check it out on Itunes