Wednesday Morning Devotional

The Lord is My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1

I remember memorizing psalm 23. I was just getting into Bible study about 12 or 13 years ago. I knew John 3:16 and I knew Genesis 1:1…that was pretty much it. I asked my mom if she had any Bible verses committed to memory. She rattled off some verses but then said “I know all of psalm 23. I learned it at Bible school when I was little.” She then began to quote psalm 23. I thought it was one of the coolest things I had ever heard. I immediately went to Psalm 23 in my Bible and read it over and over again. In about a week, I had committed it to my own memory.

It was years after I memorized Psalm 23 before I realized that to call the Lord “my Shepherd” was to call myself a sheep. I learned that sheep are possibly the dumbest animals in the world. I read of a shepherd in Canada that lost over 100 sheep when he went away and hired a substitute who didn’t watch after the flock like he would have himself. A sheep had wandered too close to the edge of a cliff and fell to its own death. Other sheep became curious as to what happened to the sheep, went to the edge of the cliff themselves, and fell to their own deaths. This happened to over 100 sheep before the substitute shepherd realized what was happening.

What a picture of my life…especially as a young Christian. I wanted to follow the Lord, I just didn’t want to deny myself and stay close to the Shepherd. I wanted to do the things that I wanted to do and wanted all the benefits of a person that followed the Lord with his whole heart. When you do that, or at least when I did, it made me quite miserable. I had too much of the world in me to be happy in God, and I had too much God in me to be happy in the world. I feel sometimes like I was that 120^th or whatever number sheep that was about to walk over the cliff. Fortunately, for me, the Good Shepherd made it just in time to keep me from walking over that cliff. He saved me. He loved me too much to let me destroy myself.

When I realized I was a half-way in Christian, I knew it was time to choose who I was going to serve. I could not continue to walk towards the cliff on Monday thorough Saturday, then walk toward the Shepherd on Sunday. It was after I went to a revival meeting on a Sunday through Thursday that it all truly began to turn around. I still feel God when I think of the song that the choir sang when I walked in the door. I‘ll never forget it:

Here I am

Here I am

I’m the one the Shepherd left His fold and found

There were ninety and nine

But He left the fold to find

One little lost lamb and here I am

I still have to thank the Lord for that moment. I have never in my life felt such great love. I knew He loved me and only wanted the best for me and my life. Why in the world was I continually rejecting Him? I went from being a rebellious believer to being a committed follower. All I could do was pray the prayer that would come 2 chapters later in Psalm 25: 4 – 7:

“Show me your ways, O Lord,

teach me your paths;

guide me in truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

Remember not the sins of my youth

and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me,

for you are good, O Lord.”

Man, He is awesome!

Later

Adam

Fasting

But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction — Job 36:15

I don’t think there is anything more unappealing than fasting. I also can’t think of anything that is more rewarding than to complete a fast. Several years ago I did my first fast. It was what is known today as a Daniel fast. It is derived from verse 2 of Daniel chapter 10. Tonya and I had had two miscarriages. When she was pregnant for the third time, I stumbled across Matthew 17:21: “this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” I needed something big from God…for Him to let this third child live. I had prayed, but that “and fasting” stood out to me big time. I just decided to go for it. I fasted and prayed for 21 days in January. In July, we had our first child…Caroline.

In Daniel chapter 10 verse 1, Daniel received a vision concerning a great war. I don’t know if you realize it or not, but we are in a great war. Satan and the forces of evil are after anyone and everyone that wants to consecrate themselves to the Lord. To activate those forces, one only needs to go after the Lord with all of his or her heart, soul, and mind. I could not even count the number of times that I have been told this story: “I really tried to live for the Lord, but it seems like all Hell broke loose in my life, and I just quit.” Welcome to the great war!

Once Daniel realized this, the Bible says that he “mourned for three weeks.” This is where I got the idea to fast for 21 days. In Daniel 10:3 he says “I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.” This is where I believe that you have to personalize your fast*. What is “choice food” for you? For me, it means no bread, no meat, no sweets, and only drink water. Basically, just eat fruits and vegetables. I don’t drink alcohol or use lotions anyway…so those are no problem.

I’m going to go ahead and warn you, for the majority of people the first few days are really difficult. The headache from caffeine withdrawal is just about ridiculous. It is flat out, self-induced suffering. I have known a few people that have used the period of fasting to break addictions of smoking or dipping. Many have told me that the withdrawals were almost unbearable.

So, why do all this? There is no way I could list all the cool stuff He has done in me and through me through fasting. But, the coolest benefit is this…you receive a heightened sense of His Presence. You don’t just change your diet for 21 days, you change your habits. Instead of watching television, you read the Word. Instead of listening to secular radio, you listen to Christian radio. Instead of playing on the computer, you get your family together and discuss Bible stories and pray. Instead of talking on your cell phone, you pray. Instead of reading Twilight for the 8^th time, you read your Bible. All I can tell you is that the combination of the change in diet and the steady flow of the Word of God does something to you. It brings you closer to Him and you truly begin to fall in love with Him. When you are fasting, you are in a constant state of brokenness (well, after the headache and vomiting is over…usually in 1 to 3 days) Best of all, you have a constant awareness of how He is right there with you. There is nothing like it.

Maybe you need something big from God. Maybe prayer AND fasting is what you need to do. Maybe you just want a blessed year and “safe passage” for you and your family (see Ezra 8:21). Maybe you just want to fall more in love with the Savior who gave His life for you. I believe fasting is a key that can open these doors for you.

All who will, find 21 consecutive days in January and proclaim a fast. I suggest that you start on a Friday so that you can be miserable at home for the weekend. Let’s give God the first part of our year so that He may bless the rest of the year more than He ever has before. May He do a work in us like never before. May He use us to lead many to Him.

Yes, suffering stinks, but the Lord uses it to produce something wonderful. I can only imagine how He suffered for me. It was ONLY through His suffering that my salvation was even possible. He did it for me…I can do it for Him! “But those who suffer He delivers in their suffering; He speaks to them in their affliction.” — Job 36:15

Later

Adam

* The fast I am talking about here is a partial fast. A real deal fast is simply doing without food for a period of time…MUCH harder (especially for food junkies like myself!) If you have never done a fast before, you definitely want to start with a partial fast. For most people, especially teenagers, just drinking water for 21 days and ditching the soft drinks, energy drinks, coffee and tea would be pretty hardcore.

Staying in Love

Revelation 2:5 Nevertheless, I have this against you; you have forsaken your first love.

Read the first seven verses of Revelation chapter 2. Look at all the stuff they were doing for God. If you were looking for a church, the church at Ephesus seemed to be perfect. They appeared to have it going on and Jesus Himself praises them like crazy…until verse 5. He basically tells them “you are doing some great stuff…but you’re not in love with me.” He even goes on to tell them they USED to be in love with Him, but they are not anymore.

I wonder how Jesus would evaluate me right now. What would He say I’m doing right? What would be His “yet I have this against you” to me? “Adam, you read your Bible in the mornings. You go to church every Sunday. You help people out. You try to be a ‘good‘ person.” Before I read Revelation 2, I probably would have thought it would have been wonderful if He had told me that. Now…I simply want Him to tell me that He knows that I love Him.

John 14:15 has become one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It says “if you love me, you will obey what I command.” He tells us that if we are in love with Him, obedience is just second nature. Much like when a kid falls in love with a video game, that’s what they spend all their time doing. They don’t have to think about it. When a person falls in love, they don’t have to decide if they are going to spend hours and hours on the telephone talking to their new boyfriend or girlfriend. In the same way, Jesus wants us to fall in love with Him so much that we just can’t get our minds off of Him. He wants us to love Him so much that we can’t help but read the Word and pray simply because we just have to be around Him.

Unfortunately, falling in love is easy, but staying in love is hard. I would challenge that kid who is in love with his game to be in love with that game 30 years from now. After the new systems come out, and after technology gets better, he won’t be in love anymore with what he is now. I would challenge the boyfriend/girlfriend to stay in love…we all know how the majority of those relationships end. We even know that half of all the people who get married end up divorced. And these are people who stood before God and their family and friends and said they would remain in love until death separated them…what happens? Well, falling in love is easy…staying in love is hard.

Jesus does not want us to simply do stuff for Him…He wants our hearts. He wants us to realize how much He loves us, and He wants us to love Him back…not because we feel obligated and feel like we HAVE to, but because we WANT to. If you find yourself not as close to Him as you once were, He gives us the solution: “Consider how you have fallen. Repent, and do the things you did at first.” Remember what it was like to just be in His Presence. Never forget what it is like for the Holy Ghost to just give you goose bumps and make the hair on your arms stand up. How long has it been since you’ve had a touch from the Lord? If you can’t remember, repent, and do the things you used to do. Listen to the things you used to listen to. Visit the church you used to go to when the fire fell. Whatever it was, and wherever it was…go back to it. Re-ignite that fire!

What do you do if you lose the fire of God that was once inside of you?

Go find it! Do whatever you have to do to get it back!

Later

Adam

Love Came Down

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. — Luke 2:11

As more and more Christmases come and go, I am amazed at the progression of what the holiday means to me. I will be celebrating my 37^th Christmas this year. When I was young, Christmas was all about the presents. My birthday was perfectly placed at June 24^th. Thus, the two dates were perfectly spaced apart so that I received pretty much all the stuff that I asked for every six months. Christmas was just another birthday, for ME, not for Christ the Lord.

As I hit my twenties, it was still mostly about the presents. My mom and dad always hooked me up with cool stuff. Between my parents and the rest of the family, I always racked up lots of stuff and lots of cash. However, I started to like going to church around this time. I liked the church being full of poinsettias that people bought in honor of loved ones that had gone on to be with the Lord. I liked hearing about God becoming a baby. I liked hearing that love came down at Christmas. The season began to take on a whole new meaning.

Looking back, I feel like I kept Jesus a baby for far too long. I mean, if He is just a baby, there is certainly no reason to think your life should change. You don’t really have to follow a baby. It is interesting that we are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. How do you fear a baby? The majority of the people that drive around our neighborhood at Christmas only see the Lord wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger…a baby. As long as I saw Him this way, I really had no motivation to live holy. I had no thought of actually changing my ways. Though I appreciated the story of Jesus, I could still live pretty much any way that I wanted. What was the little baby going to do to me? Maybe this is why Ricky Bobby only prays to “baby Jesus.”

Somewhere in my twenties, sin stopped being fun. The Bible says that there is pleasure in sin, but it only lasts for a season. I am so thankful that God allowed my season to start running out. Partying and sleeping around just started to lose its shininess. Just as Jesus began to grow up…I did too. Somehow, I started taking notice at Easter. It wasn’t about bunnies and baskets anymore, it was about the cross. I started listening to the preachers at church. I made the connection that the baby in the manger grew up to be the Savior on the cross. He came to live a sinless life, and die the brutal death of crucifixion on the cross. The only thing I couldn’t really figure out was…why?

Now that I am in my thirties, I am so thankful for my understanding of Jesus and just how awesome He Is. I understand Isaiah 53:5. “He was pierced for my transgression“…He was wounded outwardly for my outward sin. All of my foul mouthing, all of my sexual immorality, all of the sins that could be outwardly seen were covered by the outward wounds that my Lord took for me. “He was bruised for my iniquity“…iniquity is the sin that was in me when I was born. It was my inclination to cheat when I didn’t know the answer. It was my inclination to lie when it would get me out of trouble or make me look good. It was all of the sin that was inside of me that I didn’t want anybody to know about. Jesus was bruised, meaning that He bled inwardly for those types of inward sins. “By His stripes, I am healed.”

Thirty-six years of living seems like a long time…then again, it doesn’t. Twenty years of being a Christian seems like a long time…then again, it doesn’t. I do know this; because of Christ, I have peace in my heart. Caroline keeps asking me what I want for Christmas. I am going to have to come up with something to tell her. She is just like I was…all about the presents. I remember the time that I could easily rattle off about 20 things that I wanted. Now, I can honestly say that the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Then again, I want to spend time with Him 366 days next year (since it is a leap year). I want to be the best husband I can be to Tonya. I want to learn to love her more like Christ loves me. I want to be the best daddy that I can to Caroline and J’man. I want to do my job as unto the Lord and show as many students as I can what He is like and what it looks like to truly follow Him. I want to grow in the Lord for the rest of my days. I want His Hand to be with me…to keep me from evil. I want the purest heart possible. I want to look back at my 30’s when I’m in my 40’s and see that God has changed me even more into His likeness.

And to think…it wouldn’t even be possible if Love hadn’t come down at Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Adam

Embracing the Fire

Daniel 3

I have been thinking a lot lately about how lame my prayers are. Sometimes, especially when I am in front of people praying, my prayers seem to be Spirit led and Spirit-filled. They aren’t just me blabbing some repetitious prayer. When I am alone, they seem to be just lame. I realized recently that it somehow got ingrained in me to pray for “protection.” My mind wants to pray for it all the time. It is a default request. I don’t really think this is necessarily a bad thing, but the disciples in Acts chapter 4 prayed for BOLDNESS…not protection, even in the face of a severe beating that they called “flogging.”

No matter what I’m going through in life, Daniel chapter 3 always teaches me something. Reading it once more, I read about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I still hate the fact that we only know them from their Babylonian names…I wish we knew them as Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, but that’s a different WMD. But the thing that grabbed my attention this time is that they embraced the fire. I always thought that they were scared. I pictured their hearts just beating out of their chests and this “standing” was really difficult for them to do. However, this time, I pictured them with complete confidence. Three guys that knew that God COULD protect them, but were completely okay if He did not…perfectly willing to embrace the fire.

I had to ask myself…do I have this kind of confidence? Could I really embrace FIRE? I don’t think anything used to terrify me more than being burned to death. That is until I read in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs about a dude named Thomas Hawkes that was facing being burned at the stake. His buddies were too terrified of the fire to admit they were Christians along with him. They asked him to give them a sign at some point while he was burning that he was totally “cool” and in his right mind. He told them he would clap for them if the pain was totally tolerable and he was still in his right mind. Just when everyone thought he was slumped over dead and absolutely consumed by the flames, he lifted what was left of his arms as if in honor to God, and hit them together 3 times. His friends were so filled with courage that they embraced the fire…they knew they could do it. The date was June 10^th, 1555.

What if you and I stopped praying for protection? What if we just believed that God had us in the palm of His hand and nothing would happen to us unless He willed it? What if we asked for this kind of boldness? What if we asked for this kind of fearlessness? I just typed about 3 boys that embraced fire almost three thousand years ago. I typed about a man that burned up over 400 years ago at a stake. People still talk about them today…amazing! Notice that I am not typing about any of the millions of people who simply prayed their whole lives for protection and for God to “keep them safe.” I am not even saying I am doing this yet…I’m still in the “skeerd” stages…and yes I’ll “say I’m skeerd.” But, I am realizing that I want my kids to see God with me in the fire…not God protecting me from the fire my whole life. I want the world to see Jesus standing with me in the fire and to be so amazed that they want Him too. This will not happen if I keep praying for protection, so I guess here goes…

Lord, help me to embrace the fire. I am asking for a new level of boldness. I know that no matter what, you will be with me. Help me to walk in complete and total victory for the rest of my days.

Later

Adam

Can we get Excited?

2 Kings 13:10-19

In this story there is a king that did evil in the eyes of the Lord. It also says that he continued in the sins of the previous kings. At some point this king realized that he was under attack and was going to be obliterated. So, he did what all of us do when we get in over our heads…”LORD JESUS, HELP ME!” The king went to an old and sick Elisha the prophet and sought God’s help. To what should have been his surprise, Elisha told him some good news: “God had given you the victory, you will completely destroy the Aramean army!”

You would think that after hearing news like that he would have been excited. However, Elisha asks him to take the “arrows of victory” and strike them on the ground. The king takes them and lamely strikes them 3 times. This infuriates Elisha! In today’s language he said “Dude…what is your problem? I told you that God was going to give you something YOU didn’t deserve. You should have gotten EXCITED! Now, you will only have partial victory.”

When I first read this I wanted to go off on the king for being such a moron. But, the more I think about it, I’m realizing that I’m the moron. Look at some of the things Jesus tells me:

He who has the Son has life… 1 John 5:12

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation! 2 Corinthians 5:17

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God — 2 Corinthians 5:21

There will be no more night, they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. — Revelation 22:5

The word of God flat out tells me…if you accept my Son and fall in love with Him, you will be victorious. I have the victory and I let sickness ruin my excitement? I have the victory and I let the circumstances of life determine my moods? I have the victory and KNOW that no weapon formed against me shall prosper, yet I allow those weapons to make me doubt. God has given me the victory yet I still let the devil stand against me when I have the power to place his neck under my size 13. I let life bring me down when I know there is a better day coming…one day I will be with the King…forever!

If you have asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you and come into your heart, even though you have done evil in His sight, He has given you the victory. He has given you the victory over sin, the victory over your enemies, and the victory over the grave.

Seriously, is that not worth getting excited about?

Later

Adam

My wife, Tonya, wrote this week’s WMD

The Ephraim Blessing

Sometimes you find a passage that just has to be shared. I recently finished reading Carol Kent’s book When I Lay My Isaac Down. It is powerful in so many ways, but this was one of the most outstanding revelations that I have read in a while…..

“In Genesis, Joseph is naming one of his sons: The second son he named Ephraim and said “it is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering”. In Hebrew Ephraim means “double fruit”. The Lord used the name Ephraim as a reminder that a person can be fruitful in suffering.

In Gen. 48, Joseph brings his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim to his father Jacob so he can bless them before he dies. Joseph carefully positions his sons beside Jacob so that the first born, Manasseh will be blessed above the second born son, Ephraim. But something surprising happens: Jacob crossed his arms and deliberately puts his right hand on the younger boy’s head. Why did Jacob go against tradition and bless Ephraim above Manasseh? The blessing was: “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.” (So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.)

Why would “fruitful in suffering” be the lead blessing and not Manasseh, which means, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my Father’s household?”

Maybe it’s because getting over a painful past is a wonderful accomplishment, but producing fruit through a painful past is a miraculous event. Being fruitful in suffering, being an Ephraim” brings glory to God–who alone can give the grace-filled capacity to face the unthinkable and be fruitful in the unimaginable.”

In this book, she tells her story of losing a dream for her son, her “Isaac”. We all have our own “Isaac’s” in our lives. For some, it is our children, for others, it is their career or ministry, and still for some, it their own personal dreams for the future. What would your response be if today God asked you to lay your Isaac down? We will all face suffering at some times in our lives. Some seem to face it a lot more than others. What is important is how you respond to your suffering. Whether that suffering takes the form of death of a loved one, divorce, loss of job, remaining single, infertility, depression, the list goes on, how will you respond?

I have often had people comment to me that they don’t know how I did it when my parents died within 18 months of each other when I was “so“ young. Honestly, I didn’t do it, God did! I had a choice….to let it define who I was and live a life of grief and feeling abandoned, or I could ask God to help me face life with my new set of circumstances and go from there. It comes down to this….are you willing to trust God to walk with you through this dark hour and teach you things you would never learned otherwise, or are you going to push through the loss of whatever it may be and question why would God allow this to happen to me and let grief rule your life? I have watched people make these choices. What I see happen is that when you choose to allow God to open your eyes and see Him in the new light of being your Comforter, your relationship with Him will never be the same. For me, I had never had need of Him as a Comforter, but in those years of grief, that is what He became to me. I had the opportunity to see Him, learn Him, love Him in a completely different way, and it has made the ultimate difference in my life. I went from viewing God as my judge to knowing Him as my Abba, my Daddy. Now, my desire is that people be able to experience that, but the catch is…..in experiencing that kind of intimate closeness, you have to lay down your “Isaac” and that is not a pleasant experience. If you choose to question God and to some extent blame Him for the bad stuff in your life, you will live a life without joy and peace.

I prayed for years that God would show me why he allowed me to go through the losses that I did. I wanted to know that He had led me through for a reason, and that is starting to be revealed to me. I have several close friends that have lost their fathers recently. During these times, I am learning how to be a comfort to them during their grief. I sat with a friend today whose Dad was buried yesterday, and she said “you know how sometimes you just don’t want to have to talk?” and I thought to myself, yep, know exactly what you mean.

“God allows us the privilege to be fruitful in suffering. As much as I have hated the process, I know that I am more in love with Jesus than before. I know He loves me more than I love my “Isaac”. Instead of giving advice to people who are in difficult circumstances, I listen. I cry more often–not just for myself but for the deep needs of others.” ~Carol Kent

Go in peace,

Tonya

Thanks

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  — 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So, here I am at St. Francis Women’s Hospital in Greenville, SC.  I realize tomorrow is Wednesday, and I have probably 20 WMD’s on my computer at home ready to go…but, they are at home…not here.  I can either write and say “sorry, no WMD today,” or I can write one as my wife crashes again after another dose of morphine.  I asked the Lord what He wanted me to write about.  I opened my Bible and read this verse.  It almost seems impossible to do those 3 things, I mean ALWAYS having joy?  Praying CONTINUALLY?  Giving thanks in ALL circumstances?  They are impossible until you read the last 3 words…in Christ Jesus.

Today, my wife had surgery.  I have been with her during a few surgeries now…along with a couple of babies being delivered.  Every time, I was worried to death.  In fact, I have learned that MINOR surgery is when surgery is being done on other people and their families.  MAJOR surgery is when surgery is being done on me or someone in my family.  Every time I have had a high level of freaking out and worrying.  I mean, what if I lost her?  What if she never woke up?  What would I do if I lost my best friend?  What would I do if Caroline and J’man lost their mommy?  It has happened to LOTS of people and their family, so honestly, who am I for it NOT to happen to me?  I am great at freaking out, and great at making it look to everybody else like I’m not.  Fortunately, for me, today was different.

I have been totally relaxed today.  I have been joyful, had an almost constant communication with the Lord, and given Him lots and lots of thanks…which is exactly what I want to do today.

I am so thankful for doctors and modern technology.  Tonya has been in pretty bad pain ever since my little man was born.  I have prayed to the Lord and asked Him often to heal her.  I honestly believe that today, through doctors, nurses, and modern technology, He has done just that!

I am thankful for an awesome sister-in-law.  Being an only child, I never had a brother or sister.  However, today, my sis-in-law came down, sat with me, and all we did was trade awesome stories about what the Lord has done in our lives and just how awesome He is.  The hour and a half of surgery flew by.  Instead of being filled with worry, I was filled with even more of His Spirit.

I am thankful for an awesome set of parents.  My mom and dad are doing all of our parent duties for our two wonderful kids while we are here.  Believe me…it’s not an easy job!  But, they are doing their best and adjusting their schedules and routines just to make our two kids as comfortable and in their normal routine as possible.

I guess with Thanksgiving coming up, what could I possibly be more thankful for than the Lord, Jesus Christ.  I can’t believe He saved a 16 year old teenager at Stamp Creek Landing in Salem, South Carolina.  He allowed that teenager to ignore Him, take Him for granted, never read His Word, use Him, and become self-righteous even though he had absolutely NO reason to be that way.  But, He also forgave him when he came to his senses and realized all that.  He has allowed him to grow in Him and fills him up with new righteousness and new mercy every single day.   Where in the world would I be without Him?  I don’t even want to think about it.  Whatever happens…He really does have it all in control, and for that Lord…

Thanks

Later

Adam

John 12:24 Unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But, if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Luke 9:23 Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

I have been thinking a lot lately about these two verses of scripture. I remember when I first got saved. I was made aware of a place called Hell. I heard John 3:16. God made a way for me to not go to Hell through His Son, Jesus. Just believe in Him and everything is cool. So, I said a prayer, believed in Him, and thought everything was cool.

Now, 20 years later, I’m trying to figure out when I died. When I died, Jesus became number one on my list of priorities. He went above my family. He went above my finances. He went above my hobbies. I’m trying to figure out when that happened.

Looking back, I think it happened in stages. Stage one of me dying involved leaving “bar band” guitar playing. My whole high school life I wanted to be a famous rock guitarist. Even though I knew that was my dream, I knew it wasn’t God’s dream for me. I knew I could not honor Him in that atmosphere. Given all the temptations that life brings…I’d give in to them all. Though it was grudgingly, I’ll never forget giving up what I wanted to focus on college and getting my education. Dying was no fun at all, but it did begin to sprout a tree that would eventually bear fruit. New life began to spring up because I had finally allowed my seed to die.

Stage two of dying came a couple of years into my marriage. I was starting to get really good at golf. I shot a few rounds in the 60’s, and could often shoot around par. Somehow, golf started taking God’s place. I wouldn’t have told you that, but golf was always on my mind. Today, God is on my mind ALL the time. I look for opportunities in the most ridiculous ways to honor Him. Unfortunately back then, I was looking for ways to honor me…especially if it could be done on the golf course. I distinctly remember a time when I told God that I was sorry for putting a game in His rightful place. Another selfish part of me died that day. I didn’t like it at the time…but I’m sure grateful for it now. Here sits a guy that used to wait for frozen greens to thaw so I could hit a white ball…it would be very hard to convince me to do that today.

There are tons and tons of examples that have come to my mind. I guess the point is…dying is no fun. We all want to do what we want to do! Who wants to die to themselves? But, that is precisely the invitation that Jesus offers. He says “give up your life and the things you want to do, and place your life in my hands and do the things I want you to do.” Have you completely surrendered your life to Him?

If the answer is no, have you really “received” Him? Name one thing that it has cost you to follow Him. Has it cost you friends? Has it cost you a boyfriend or girlfriend? Has it cost you the “party” life? Has it cost you a vocabulary of foul words? Has it cost you the right to be “right” and forgive those you really don’t want to forgive? Has it cost you any money? Has it cost you any “things” that this life has to offer?

I don’t know. I just know that these verses were said by the same Jesus that said John 3:16. About 5 times you can find that Jesus says “believe in me.” About 20 times He says “follow me.” Which do you think is more important? I realize it all begins with believing. But, it sounds to me like it is 4 times more important to start following after you claim belief. Even though dying stinks, those seeds that die in the ground begin to grow. They begin to grow and produce something wonderful. Something that could only be produced if God Himself grew it. You start to figure it out pretty quick…

Dying to yourself is actually pretty cool!

Later

Adam