Hiding

image from http://www.mommybytes.com

Yesterday I was at the park on my daily power walk and passed a young mother with a little boy. He was about 5 or 6 years old and was lallygagging behind her like any little boy would on a beautiful day in the park. I noticed them from about 30 yards away and as I got closer she called to him to catch up, (I think she was trying to make sure he didn't get in my way) as she did she put her hand back as a visual aid to make her point. So what does he do? He pulls his shirt up over his face and halfheartedly starts running toward her like; if she can't see me maybe I don't have to catch up. I had to laugh.

Have you ever pulled your shirt over your face? Sure, we all have at one time or another, kids do it when playing around, soccer players do it when the ref makes a bad call, we hide. But what happens? We can't see very well. We can see shapes and outlines through the holes between the fibers but we really can't see anything with clarity. And sometimes that's what we do when God calls us. We partially hide ourselves with busyness, excuses, fear, etc...

What would happen today if we didn't hide? What would happen today if we truly looked for the visual aids that God is giving us when He calls? What would happen today if we pulled the shirt down so we could see His hand reaching out to us? What would happen today if we acted like men and not 5 year old boys?

What would happen today...?

Willing

I have a very close friend that is an incredible guy. He has been clean and sober for over 6 years. Alcohol and cocaine were his drugs of choice. Recovering from these addictions is not an easy task. He spent some time in treatment centers. He has worked extremely hard to trudge through the 12 steps of AA and other programs. He is always doing service work; He gives others rides to meetings, he works with people that want to get clean and sober, he's a Christ follower who serves with the prison outreach ministry at his church. He has a passion for helping people that don't know how to help themselves, and by doing so it helps him to stay sober and grow in his faith.

If you ask him, what was the key for him to get cleaned up, he would tell you that he had to be willing to do what ever it takes.

We had a conversation a few weeks ago about his smoking cigarettes. I asked him when he was going to quit and he said that he wasn't willing to give it up yet.

What would happen today if we were willing to do whatever it takes to make a change in our lives? What would happen today if we were willing help people who don't know how to help themselves? What would happen today if we were willing to give up our bad habits or additions? What would happen today if we were willing to believe that God is bigger than our problems?

What would happen today...?

Wisdom

I don't know how many times I've heard a man say;

"If I knew then, what I know now, things would be different".

What this implies is that there is an element of wisdom that comes with age. If I had the wisdom I have today back when I was younger, I wouldn't have made so many bad decisions and life would be much better today as a result.

But wisdom doesn't come from age it comes from experience, and the only way to gain that wisdom is through the trials and tribulations of life. I'm a firm believer of: I had to go through everything I had to go through to get to where I'm going. The decisions we made when we were younger (good and bad) are what have shaped us into who we are today. We can't go back and change the past, but we can change our future.

Back in our youth we looked at the world with wide eyed wonderment, enthusiasm, and unbridled passion. As the years have past and the reality of life has set in, we lose the ways of our youth.

What would happen today if instead of worrying about the past we looked to our future? What would happen today if we used the wisdom we've gained and combined it with the wonderment of our youth? What would happen today if we took back the enthusiasm life has taken away from us and used it to better the lives of those around us? What would happen today if we salvaged our unbridled passion and focused it into something that advances the Kingdom?

What would happen today...?

Strength

In the book Captivating John and Stasi Eldredge write:

Strength is what the world longs to experience from a man.
Now-isn't it obvious that we don't mean big muscles?
Of course. A man might like to work out at the gym, but if he is only physically strong, he is a hollow man. Are we satisfied as a woman with that kind of man? On the other hand, our man might prefer to read or play an instrument. Does that in any way diminish the strength of his soul? Not at all. The strength of a man is first a soulish strength-a strength of heart. And yes, as he lives it out, owns it, inhabits his strength, he does become more handsome. More attractive. As the fruit of an inner reality. (pg 130)

And I think he also becomes more dangerous to the enemy.

What would happen today if we cultivated our soulish strength? What would happen today if we lived it, owned it, inhabited it? What would happen today if we offered it to our woman and family, our church, our country, to mankind? What would happen today if we banded that inner strength together with other men to push back the darkness of the world?

What would happen today...?

Battle

photo from http://media.al.com/live/photo/ten-commandments-monumentjpg-f4d3696d089b911e_large.jpg

A couple of times a month I get together with some guys for coffee, usually on a Saturday morning. Our friendship has grown over the years and we support each other, bounce ideas around, and talk about world events, not unlike any other group of men.

I don't remember what we were talking about exactly but one of them said that he was tired of seeing so much time and effort being wasted on things that really don't expand the kingdom (paraphrased). What he said next sparked my interest. "Does it really matter if the 10 Commandments are in front of a court house or moved to the church down the street?"

I did a little research on this subject and found that this battle over separation of church and state is much larger than I thought. There are cases in several states across the the country, some of them have been ongoing for 7 to 10 years or more. The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled on some of these, which means that they have been through numerous lower court proceedings at a huge expense to tax payers.

Please understand that my friend is a Christ follower who deeply believes in our Judaio-Christian heritage, in which the 10 Commandments are the foundation. His point is this; are we fighting the right battle? This is a fight about who's rights are being infringed upon, not a fight to push back the darkness of this world.

What would happen today if we concentrated all that effort into mentoring and tutoring programs for kids that are falling behind in school? What would happen today if the court system was free of these cases so they could work on keeping criminals in prison, or even better yet, setting an innocent man free? What would happen today if these cases were gone which would free up tax dollars so our local, state, and federal governments didn't have to make budget cuts and lay off good workers? What would happen today if we tried to build relationships with the people who want the 10 Commandments moved instead of fighting against them?

What would happen today...?

Coach

Image from http://hoopshall.com

Last week one of the legends of modern day sports died, John Wooden. Coach Wooden is most know for leading his team to a record 10 NCAA Men's National Basketball Championships, 7 of those were consecutive. These records and many others will most likely never be broken, but there is something about the Coach that is even more important than this; the way he taught his players. He took an interest in them, he fathered them, encouraged them, loved them.

I watched an interview on the news of a man that had played for Coach at South Bend Central High School during the depression. With tears in his eyes he said that Coach Wooden was his friend. He talked about the time Coach invited the team to his house for Christmas dinner and gave them presents because he knew the families could not afford a nice dinner and presents.

In an interview several years after his retirement Coach was asked about how his teams were so successful, he stated: "I never talked about winning."

What would happen today if we took an interest in each other? What would happen today if we fathered each other? What would happen today if we encouraged each other? What would happen today if we loved each other? What would happen today if we made "winning" secondary?

What would happen today...?

Heart

I saw this report on the news the other day and think that is fitting for our discussion.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Most of us will never know the agony of losing a limb while serving our country at war. But we all have other scars and loses; divorce, drugs and alcohol, porn, loss of job, bankruptcy, infidelity, death of a child.

In the video the reporter asks Sergeant Major Makey what is the hardest thing about losing his legs. His response: "Knowing that my unit is still there without me." So when his unit returned from Afghanistan he was there waiting for them.

What would happen today if we as Christian men banded to together like these brave men? What would happen to day if we put the well being of others before ourselves? What would happen today if we fed off of each other to help heal our brokenness? What would happen today if we helped people realize that the hardest thing for Jesus is that they are still out there without Him but he is waiting for their return?

What would happen today...?

Bridge

On several occasions I've been given a small pocket size booklet called "The Bridge to Life". It's only about 16 pages long and has simple drawings that make it very easy to understand. It shows a man standing on a bridge that has the middle section removed so he can not cross over to the other side. There is a caption just above his head that says "world", on the other side the caption says "God". There are Bible verses and statements that explain how man has been separated from God. As you turn the pages and read on, a cross has been laid to take the place of the section that had been removed with a caption that says "Jesus". The symbolism here is very evident, the only way to God is through Jesus. The man decides to cross over, then he takes action, he crosses over to God. The last couple of pages are an invitation to ask the Lord to come into your life, and to forgive your sins. Do so, and your sins will be forgiven and you will be given eternal life.

What would happen today if we asked Jesus to come into our lives daily? What would happen today if we brought our families, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances to the bridge? What would happen today if they decided cross over to God through Jesus? What would happen today if they took action and asked Him to come into their lives?

What would happen today...?

Overflow

In the book Outflow Steve Sjogren & Dave Ping write:

Go ahead and imagine your life is a fountain...Everyone who has a relationship with Jesus is given power, wisdom, and insight when God sends His Spirit to them as a counselor and guide. The central column of the fountain is the Holy Spirit in your life. Just as the central column fills the fountain, so, too the Holy Spirit wants to fill every one of your relationships with God's love, joy, and wonder. The first bowl catches and distributes the power of the Spirit is your relationship with God... Once you have a relationship with God, the first and most natural place his Spirit will overflow is going to be your home. So the second bowl of the fountain is your relationship with family and friends... The third tier of the fountain represents how the Spirit flows into your relationship with community- especially the people with whom you have little or no natural connection... The last and largest bowl the Spirit wants to fill with love and life is your relationship with the world.

What would happen today if we as Christ followers asked the Holy Spirit into our lives and let Him fill our bowl with His love, joy, and wonder? What would happen today if we let that love, joy, and wonder shine through us onto our families and friends? What would happen today if that loved flowed through the people closest to us into the people around them? What would happen today if that love, joy and wonder flooded over the world?

What would happen today...?

Narrow

Dam across the St. Joseph River in downtown Mishawaka IN.

Fish Ladder at the Mishawaka Dam (far side of picture above)

Every year the Indiana Department of Natural Resources releases 275,000 Skamania Steelhead Trout into the the St. Joseph River just a few miles upstream from the Mishawaka dam. These little guys follow the river out to Lake Michigan where they live and grow to maturity for 3 to 4 years (some never make it to the lake). When they return they have grown from 6-7" fingerlings to 24-36" monsters weighing from 9- 12lbs but can get up to 20lbs.

The amazing thing about these steelhead is that they grow up in Lake Michigan which covers 22,300 sq miles, yet God has given them the ability to return to the same tributary that they came from to spawn. So when the urge hits them they migrate the 63 miles back up the river to spawn.

The Indiana and Michigan DNRs have built 4 fish ladders at the dams that cross this stretch of the river to help the fish return up stream. The one at Mishawaka is the last one (most of the fish never make it back this far). They return in early spring and late fall and have a summer run also. It is awesome to stand at the dam and watch these magnificent fish leap out of the current and try to jump over the dam. They try and try but the dam is to high and the current to swift, they get washed back down every time. After a while they get tired, and rest in the calm water near the river's edge, then they try again.

None of them ever make it over the dam, which is over 300 feet wide and 28 feet thick. But a few of them do make it to the other side. While they are resting in the calm they find the narrow 4 foot wide opening of the fish ladder. The ladder is a series of steps up and around to the top of the dam. They have found the way.

What would happen today if we used the ability God gave us to return to our place of origin, Him? What would happen today if instead of trying to get over the dam time and time again and not making it, we rested in the calm and found the narrow gate? What would happen today if we found the way and took the steps to follow?

What would happen today...?