Even Oprah Knows

Can you finish the sentence?   It you want something done right, do it _____...that's right, "yourself."  So many of us buy into that philosophy.  Much of the time it works.  But after days, weeks, and even years of doing everything under your own strength, you just can't do it anymore.  

Believe it not, that's what God is waiting for.  The Bible challenges us to cast our cares on him.  I think most of us make the mistake of casting our cares only during a crisis.  Make no mistake, God is there during the crisis.  But I believe his true plan for our life is complete surrender.  Surrender is when we truly give up and let him lead...everything.

Even Oprah knows what it means to surrender.  It takes a few minutes to watch, but to hear her heart, is worth it.

Maybe it's time for you to sing a few lines of that old hymn.  

The Karate Kid

This is going to age me, but The Karate Kid was the first movie I ever watched using a VCR.  My friend Michael and I must have watched it 5 or 6 times in a row.  I'm not sure if we liked the movie that much or just the fact that we could watch it as much as we wanted to.  You can only image how excited I was to watch Karate Kid Part II.

I was flipping through the channels last night and noticed that Karate Kid Part II was on tv.  It was fun to bring back some old memories of the show.  But it reminded me how disappointed we tend to be with a sequel.  Almost everyone agrees that the first movie is the best.  You can't blame the movie makers for trying to make lots of money off of a good thing.  Why wouldn't they make part 2, 3, 4, and 5 if they could.

As I sat on my couch thinking about it, I realized that we often live our lives that way.  Rather than break the mold and try something new, we change a couple of things in our routine and hope it turns out to be something bigger and better.  In reality, we become less interested, unfulfilled, and perhaps frustrated with our circumstance.

The hunger in us to try something different is not an accident.  Even the Bible encourages us to start over:

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

So enjoy the books and movies with sequels and trilogies, but don't forget that a new opportunity is right around the corner if we are willing to take a chance.

Devotional With Simon Cowell...What???

I know, I need to explain the title right away.  I was watching something called Master Class With Simon Cowell.  It is a show created by Oprah that lets successful people talk about what has helped them succeed, but they also share their failures.  It is fascinating because you get to know the person behind the celebrity.

Here are a couple of highlights from Simon:

• Talk 10% of the time and listen 90% of the time
• Every single negative can lead to a positive

I don't know where Simon stands in his relationship with God, but it's amazing how much of what he has learned is in the Bible.  Let's break it down:

Talk 10% of the time and listen 90% of the time 

• Proverbs 18:13 ESV - If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.
• Proverbs 19:20 ESV  - Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

Every single negative can lead to a positive

• James 1:2-4 (NIV) - Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

We have more information available to us than ever before and it can all be incredibly resourceful.  We have books, videos, blogs, articles, twitter, Facebook, etc.  But don't overlook the original.  So many of us think of the Bible has a story book with verses we can highlight and memorize to help us through the dark times in our life.  It's too bad that we often forget that the Bible is our daily bread (Matthew 6:11).  It is a manual that never gets old with outdated information (Hebrews 4:12).

Next time you need some wisdom, don't forget to reach for the most important book on the shelf.  Chances are, a lot of what's mentioned in the other books was borrowed anyway.

Time

As parents we can spend much of our time thinking about cars, houses, schools, work, vacations, kids clubs, music lessons, church, and the list goes on and on.  You don't have to listen to shows like Focus On The Family for very long to realize that time is everything when it comes to family.  Perhaps you just rolled your eyes like so many of us do and decide to get back to doing what needs to be done.

Yesterday I saw a teaser for a show on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) called, Kidnapped By The Kids.  The premise is to have kids show up at their parent's workplace, and demand more time.  I'm not sure if the show is still around, but this trailer will help you understand it what it is about.

I know. People will do anything to be on tv, but I was humbled the other night while watching a kids's show with my son Aiden.  He is three.  As we were watching, he wanted to point something out at the exact same time as I received a text message on my phone.  Of course, my initial reaction was to look at my phone first to see if the message was important.  After reading the text I looked up and noticed Aiden looking directly at me.  He said, "Dad, are you watching?"  I know it is just a tv show, but I made the choice to look at a text message over time with my son.

I get it,  kids need to learn that sometimes we need to tend to important things.  But, it made me wonder, how often do I miss an opportunity with Aiden so I can look at my phone or check my email/Facebook?   This morning I was filling in for Tim & Todd on The All New Breakfast Club and played this song.  It is always a good remember to keep our priorities in order.

Happiness

I am a leech when it comes to twitter.  I basically use it to learn from everyone else.    I love it because each tweet is so short.  If I am interested in more, I can click on the links.

Today I began following Andy Stanley and someone had tweeted a picture of a page from his book, Visioneering.  Here are a few lines from that page:

You don't know what God is up to behind the scenes in your life.  You don't know how close you are to a breakthrough.  It is no accident you are where you are.

God is using your circumstances to prepare you to accomplish his vision for your life.  You are not wasting your time.  You are not spinning your wheels.  You are not wandering in the wilderness.  If you are "seeking first" his kingdom where you are, then you are is where he has positioned you.

Honestly, those few lines are incredibly encouraging.  How many of us have heard that we need to happy all the time?  If we are not happy with our friends, jobs, churches, etc, we should move on and find happiness elsewhere.  In reality, happiness was never promised to us.  But God did promise us that He is in control.  Through all of life's peaks and valleys, He is walking with us and as Andy says, "God is using your circumstances to prepare you to accomplish his vision for your life."  

No matter where you are in life right now, know that nothing is a mistake.  God has it all in control.

Songs That Never Get Old

The last time you cleaned out the garage or some boxes in the closet you may have found some old albums, cassettes or cd's.  Just for old times sake you gave them a quick listen, and I do mean quick and said, "that sounds so old now."  After your kids take a few minutes to make fun of you for ever liking that music, you throw it back in the box only to find it again in another couple of years.

But every once in awhile, a song brings back such great memories that you know that you could never forget a song or album like that and could never throw it away.  Anything come to mind?  I will share few of mine which may help you get back on the road headed straight for memory lane.

First up for me, Music Machine.  As a pastor's kid, Bullfrogs and Butterflies was big and so was this.  There would not be too many church kids from my generation that would not know the words to this song.

Next up, Steve Camp - Shake Me To Wake Me.  I always remember this because it was the first cassette my parents banned from our house.  Mom and dad have since changed their rules on music, but at the time, most of the Christian Rock bands were banned from the church because of their style of music.  If my parents couldn't understand the lyrics, and if the drums and guitars were too loud, it did not belong in our home.  Ha ha...still makes me laugh!

Carman - Radically Saved.  After my parents saw the error of their ways and realized that it is the lyrics that matter and not the style, this was the first cassette they bought for us.  I know, this is not exactly wild and crazy, but it was a HUGE step for my parents.

As a teenager, my youth pastor, Greg Janz, made our youth group a great place to hang out.  He and his wife Monique went out of their way to make sure everybody felt welcome.  We played lots of goofy games, went on retreats, youth conventions, youth camps, and he always had Christian music playing loud when we walked in, like this...

After such a strange start to Christian music, it is kind of ironic that I end up at a Christian radio station. August 11 will make it 11 years for me at LIFE.  But I was a listening even before I arrived.  The first song I ever heard on LIFE was this one by Geoff Moore.

Even though I have been involved in Christian radio for over 10 years, it is still fun to know that songs still catch my attention today.  It might be a catchy melody, or convicting lyric, or maybe it is just the excitement of knowing that by playing this music on LIFE, someone else may become a fan for the very first time and be writing their own Christian blog on music history 10 years from now.  Here's hoping!

P.S.  Here is a new one you might like...

 

Grace

The other day I was thinking about grace.  As Christians we talk about it, sing about it, hear sermons about it, and think about it.

A few years ago I started to look at how we treat the sinful people of this world, including fellow Christians.  This explanation might sound strange to you, but I think some sins are the "cool" kind to confess.  Perhaps we have told some lies, didn't honour our parents, coveted our neighbors nice car and house, and got angry when we should have shown restraint.  My purpose is not to diminish the importance of confession and forgiveness, but I have noticed that not all sins are created equal among Christians.  The sins I mentioned above are what we might call "acceptable," because they are easy for most of us to process, accept an apology, and move on.  But what about sins that lead to failed marriages or criminal records?  If you walk into a room full of Christians (let's call it a church) to confess one of "those" sins, it would make us feel uncomfortable (I know, understatement of the year).  In fact, when those sins are discovered (because they are too embarrassing to confess publicly for fear of how we will be treated), we push the sinner away, instruct them to clean things up, and then come back when you have everything together.

Of course, there are many wonderful people and churches who do the complete opposite and welcome everyone with open arms.  They truly are trying to be like Jesus by saying, "come as you are."

I could make a list of Christians who have lost their families, friends, and jobs because of sin.  But I won't. Instead I want to present a story of a life that was transformed.  I think we have all lost our way at some point in our walk with God.  Some repercussions are more serious than others.  It doesn't get more serious than this:



The result is this song.

I know it isn't always easy to accept each other the way we are.  But I once saw a sign in front of a church that said, "This church does not have any perfect people.  The only different between you and us, is that we have accepted the grace God offers as a free gift."  I love that.  I think if more people knew that we mess up just as much as they did, they would be more interested in knowing more about the God we serve.