Those that wait upon the Lord will not and cannot ever be ashamed.  He will come through.  He will act.  He will deliver.  He is trustworthy and He can be counted on to do that which He has promised.

Wait passionately for GOD, don’t leave the path. He’ll give you your place in the sun.  Psalm 37:34a (MSG)

We live in a world that esteems the quick comeback and the snarky remark.  We tend to prize great zingers and cutting putdowns and, yet, we are told in the verse above that, as Christians, we are to make an effort to have the “right response for everyone.”  Specifically, we are told to make sure that our conversations with others are “attractive” and filled with grace.

Something absolutely amazing happens when we start trying to speak to others in this way.  When we choose to speak with grace to or about others, instead of sarcasm, harsh criticism or judgment, God moves in our own hearts and starts to change us.  Not only does our speech start to become more attractive but we start to become more attractive people.

Just as people push beyond their own thoughts and own way of thinking by praying for, and working towards having, “the mind of Christ”, we can also push beyond our own words and ways of speech and ask Christ to give us His words for others.

Of course, this isn’t something that comes to us naturally at first.  It takes some effort to retrain ourselves in this regard but the benefits are potentially life-changing for ourselves and our hearers.

There are two ways to be unteachable.  The first is to be presented with some sort of teaching and to reject it or harden your heart towards it in some fashion.  The second is to avoid putting yourself in positions where you hear new teaching or are challenged at all.

If you’re going to be unteachable (which is not advisable) the first way is actually better.  It’s better because something might eventually connect with you or inspire you, either now or down the road.  You might reject something at first only to turn around and agree with it later.  At some point, it might just take root in you and start to bear fruit.

The second way, however, is very dangerous.  It’s a more subtle form of pride with disastrous results because you’re never actually exposed to anything to begin with.  On the surface this keeps everything nice and polite because you don’t seem to be rejecting anything but the truth is that it’s worse because you’re rejecting things before you’ve even heard them.  You’re unteachable from a distance.  You’re not just refusing the teaching.  You’re doing something far worse.  You’re refusing to hear.

Are you avoiding new ideas or new challenges that God wants to bring into your life?  Are you teachable?

Sarah laughed when the Lord told her that she would have a son.  She thought she was far too old to have a baby.  The Lord replied with a question, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

For the believer, that question is a familiar one.  God seems to ask it a lot to those that follow Him.

He not only asks this question but He answers it too.  In fact, He doesn’t even give Abraham time to respond.  He tells him that in a year she’ll have a son.

Never underestimate what God can do in year, or a month, or a day…or a night.

Never laugh when He that routinely does the impossible tells you He plans to do the incredible in your life.

No matter how late God may seem to you or how hopeless the situation may look, God can do anything and He can be counted on to do what He has promised to do.

It’s time once again for your favorite brain dump of the week! It’s the on and only Sunday Stuff. In this week’s Sunday Stuff, I talk about being a vegetarian, a rocking birthday party, my wife’s hand, Harley Santa, and a whole lot more. Check it out.

Pastor Steven Furtick shared his “pregame” ritual this week during his preaching marathon. I thought I would share with you guys what I pray every Sunday before I preach. It varies a little but it goes something like this…

I truly believe that tomorrow is going to be an unforgettable day at Fusion!  We’re going to be wrapping up the Road Trip series and it’s going to be crazy great.  We’ve been building up to this Sunday for six weeks and the payoff tomorrow is going to be astounding.  I just know that God is going to blow us all away.

I’m going to be talking about what to do when your back is up against the wall and I’m telling you right now that this message is for you!  It’s also for your friends.  Do whatever you’ve got to do to get them to come with you to Fusion tomorrow.  Seriously, call them right now and invite them.

Come ready for God to speak to you!

See you tomorrow!

I’ve been getting some questions about my twitter and facebook fast.  To me the basic idea behind any fast is to give up something so that you can focus that energy and time on the Lord.  Recently, I felt like the Lord asked me to stop reading facebook and twitter for a season and instead use that time to draw closer to Him.

So far, the fast has been going very well.  I’m spending as much time as I can through my day either in prayer or in the Word.  I’m digging it.

Of course, as you can see I’m still blogging.  I’m doing that largely because I have a desire to share this “journey” with anyone that is interested.  I just want to share what I’m hearing and learning so I post stuff here and it, in turn, gets automatically tweeted and posted to facebook so in a way I guess I’m still posting stuff all over the place.  This all allows me to share without getting sidetracked by what else is going on in the social media sphere.

The only problem I have is that people keep sending me questions via private messages on both twitter and facebook and I have to log in to respond to those but I try just to log in, respond and log out.  It’s not a big deal.

So, now you know the whole story.

Joy, real joy, lasting joy, doesn’t come from things.  Joy comes from relationships.

I get an enormous amount of joy from my wife and kids.  Sometimes I look at them and it feels as if my heart will exploded.  I don’t always feel that way though because, sadly, I can get easily distracted with the busyness of my life but, in those moments when I truly pause, survey and reflect on my life, I feel blessed beyond measure and great joy fills my heart.

In that same way, there is an almost indescribable joy that comes from walking in a relationship with the Lord.  You may not always be aware enough to sense it but it’s there just past your stress or worry or busyness.  It’s there is good times and in bad.  It’s there whether you’re up or down.  It’s there if you will just lay aside the cares of this world long enough to grasp it.

Not only is this joy always available to us but with it comes great strength.  There is a profound sense of stability, encouragement, and empowerment that comes when we staunchly lay claim to this joy that is rightfully ours.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

He’s with us every moment of every day.  We may not feel it but that doesn’t matter.  The truth is that He’s there and He cares.

Every time we face a difficult decision, an overwhelming task, a lonely temptation, or a weary moment, we should acknowledge His presence and draw on the strength, grace and mercy the readily flows from Him to those He loves.

We should also do the same on the easy days, lazy afternoons, and peaceful breaks; ignoring the temptation to only seek Him when we are bankrupt.

The idea is for Him to be with us always and for us to depend on and enjoy that fact, and Him, always.