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Football is a religion in the South, where I grew up. Every boy I knew dreamed of becoming a star quarterback. When my relatives gathered for meals, the conversation usually revolved around whether Auburn would beat Alabama that year. I felt like sliding under my chair during those moments. I was not a football player—and there was no chance of me becoming one. I didn't have big enough biceps to throw a 50-yard pass, and I didn't have the frame to tackle a 200-pound guy. I felt like a wimp. I assumed that when God handed out physical talents, I was stuck at the back of the line.
Many years ago when I was somewhat young in the Lord I had an encounter. (You know, young and hungry believers will hear a lot of different sermons, especially about the love of God. They are hungry and they are seeking!) In my experience / vision, I was walking with the Lord and I was feeling and having a real love fest with Him. We came to a fork in the road and He started going one way and I was going another. I was wanting and expecting Him to go with me! We had been having such a glorious love time! He looked and said to me, "I love you to no end, but I have to go this way." I had to make a decision real quick and decided I wanted Him and chose to go His way. It was pure Love!
"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end ... the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this" (Isa. 9:7). There is a boldness that is greatly needed among the people of God as our culture continues to self-destruct. We know that truth must be shared, and the kingdom of God proclaimed. And yet the critics and trolls are ever-present, ready to pounce when we begin to challenge the status quo. Though we want to see change and long for victory, we are hesitant to step in the ring and add our voice to the fight. Not only do we fear the enemy's counterpunches, but we wonder if our own friends will cry foul and condemn our speech.
Has God given you a message, but you're not sure how to get it out to the world? The good news is that you live in an exciting time when there is so much opportunity to share the message God has given you in a variety of ways. Here are three ways to get your message out there—starting today!
Divine strategies for success are created from the dream fibers of moral excellence, character, integrity, and love. God gave Jacob the ability to gain wealth through a dream. Jacob worked for Laban for many years, and Laban was a controlling and manipulative master. The time came for Jacob to move on and begin to provide for a family of his own. In a dream, God showed Jacob that he was to ask Laban for all of the newborn speckled, streaked, and gray-spotted lambs and rams. Jacob was owed payment that he'd so tirelessly worked for over the years.
"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1 Peter 5:10 KJV) It's perhaps the most widely misunderstood theme within all of life and a theme that seems all too often forgotten about, suffering. I'm so pleased to announce to the world the release of my newest book, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger; now available worldwide – with members of my monthly book club receiving the very first, signed copies, as always. Suffering isn't popular. It isn't easy. Let's face it, no one wants to hurt.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Job 13:15 There is a trust that goes deeper than exercising faith for specific things. It is a trust that cannot be shaken, even when the circumstances of our lives seem to go against the promises found in the Word of God (the Bible). It is a trust that remains intact even when things we have prayed for, confessed and exercised faith for seem to remain elusive, stubbornly refusing to manifest in our lives. So how can a believer know if he/she possesses this deeper trust?
1 Kings 19:1-8 (HCSB) Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don't make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!" 3 Then Elijah became afraid[a] and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-Sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, 4 but he went on a day's journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, "I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I'm no better than my fathers." 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.
While on vacation, I was privileged to hear an astronaut share his experiences living on a space station and walking in outer space. He shared that all the training he went through for the launching of the spacecraft was nothing like the real thing when the launch pad button was pushed. He said, "The shaking was far more than what I had trained for." As the spacecraft climbed higher, there were stages when parts of it were discharged, accompanied by an explosion that would thrust them higher. Finally, they landed on the space station where they would live for several months. From his new home, he would often "space walk" to work on the outside of the station. The only thing that connected him to the space station was a long rope called a tether. While looking down upon the earth, he said there were moments when he wondered, "Did I attach that tether right to my waist? Did I really connect that thing right? If I didn't and it would come loose, I would drift off into oblivion."
For those who grew up in the Church, are there specific visuals from scripture that sank in the deepest? One of the most vivid for me is when Jesus talked about the small gate and narrow road. It wasn't until the last few years that I started to understand it differently. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) Then: Most people will go to Hell. Very few people will go to Heaven. The majority of all humans to ever live will be separated from God for eternity.
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