Get Up Off of Your Duff and DO Something!

Some call it an epiphany, I just call it waking up and smelling the coffee.

I got the message from God yesterday that I have been thinking too much of ME lately and not enough about Him and what I need to be doing for His Kingdom.

You see, I've been plagued with tension headaches for the past four weeks. They usually come in the late morning and little medication takes them away. It has been a cycle that has created an 'oh, woo is me' attitude that has placed my eyes on me instead of on God.

It is time that I change that. It is time that I lay these headaches at the cross and get back to God's business. Time is short and I have so much to do. OK, today I move forward and get off my duff!

I heard a great quote yesterday and it applies here. "We need to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death." (Mark Batterson Wild Goose Chase) As I sit here writing this morning, the sun is just about to rise above the horizon. My heart is beating and my lungs are breathing in and out, therefore God has given me purpose for today, He has a job for me to do.

What is your purpose of life? Is it to focus on yourself or to focus on others? Please take the time to reply and I would like to see your views.

We Are Only Promised Today

I had an eye opening experience yesterday in my little protected world here in the United States. I was eating at an Arby's during the lunch hour in West Palm Beach when only three blocks away, a shooter came out of the restroom at a Wendy's and randomly shot at the people eating lunch. As I went by the Wendy's minutes prior, I decided to not eat there because the last time I was there I had poor service.

Ok, ok I know that we all have our lives at risk daily. Multitudes die on the highways daily. Our law enforcement officers (I know several) put themselves on the line daily. My best friend from college is serving our Country in the war zone of the Middle East as I write. Certainly they experience these 'eye opening' brushes with the end of life almost on a daily basis... but I don't. I didn't... until yesterday.

It reminds me though that God has only promised us today. We in this Country plan for tomorrow in so many ways. We save money, we climb the corporate ladder, we set goals, we make reservations for vacations. As I look at other countries, other societies though, this is such a luxury. They only can look to today... finding enough food for their family today. Keeping themselves safe from the elements today. Fighting the battle of disease and ill health today.

This safe zone that I live in is a GIFT. How should I use this wonderful gift today? God has made it known that He doesn't want one... even one to perish by spending eternity in hell. Yet we all will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. God has also made it known that we cannot be good enough to earn a place in heaven. The Bible states that we all fall short of the glory of God.

In His love for us though, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ who put His life at risk and died on the cross for you and for me. He took our sins upon Himself because of His love for us.

You have today... you are not promised tomorrow. How will you spend today. Will you come to the point that you alone cannot be good enough for heaven and repent (turn away) from your worldly lifestyle and start to live for God by accepting His Son as your Savior? Or will you decide to wait until tomorrow or the next day.

We are only promised today...

Sign Posts - Are We Listening?

I read about Christ's crucifixion in two of the gospels this morning. It was hard to read and yet I am awestruck with the love that God has for us. Over and over and over again, He is saying 'here I am'. He is pleading with us to follow Him for eternity but with the love that only He can have, He allows us to make the decision.

The Bible is chock full of prophesy ... sign posts of things to come. Many, many, many of the prophesies of the old testament come true in the new testament. Many more have yet to pass but I am assured that they will indeed happen. The Bible is the Word of God... all of it and God cannot lie. Therefore it will happen.

Doing things 'Well'

"He has done everything well." This was said by the people of Decapolis when they were speaking about Jesus after seeing a miracle. Decapolis was considered a gentile and pagan city of cultures from ten regions. Yet, many of these people look at the heart of Jesus and see Him for who He truly is.

If I am to use Jesus as my model and since I take on the term 'Christian' (meaning Christ-like), am I doing everything 'well'? Do my actions model my heart or do they model what I want those around me to think?

This is a real struggle for me as I want to please those around me. I want to be steadfast for God and dedicated to Him but my flesh wants to please. If I'm around other Christ Followers there is no problem with this as those around me are the same as my heart.

The problem comes when I'm in the workplace where those, maybe even those I respect, do not have the same heart for Christ as I do. I want to please them with my knowledge of the subject at hand or working through a situation. The problem comes in that I must stand on my foundation in Jesus to work through things and they are using worldly wisdom.

I guess the end-result comes down to this... WHO do I want to please? My answer must always be Jesus... in EVERY situation. Easier said than done. I can only do this by dedicating today to follow Jesus in every instance and every situation. Tomorrow, I will do the same. Continually drawing closer to my agape love of Christ will draw me closer to my wife, my family, my friends and the lost around the world that are hurting and looking for answers.

I want to do things 'well' for God.

Focusing My Heart

I have been attending a conference for work that has placed me out-of-town and in a hotel for the past several days. My schedule (I'm a routine kind of guy) is all out of whack and other than getting up at 5:30 am, everything else is out of kilter. On top of that, I have not walked outside to breath fresh air since the time that I arrived which was 10:30 on Wednesday morning.

With my schedule being different, I also find my focus on my study time in the Bible and my dependence on Christ being different. That should not be the case and I know it. Why does that happen? I so want to be focused solely on Christ and in doing so I know that the world around me will fall into place.

I should not be looking for excuses though but should instead be looking for opportunities to do the things that I do better. My wife often comments about my routines and I know that I put too much emphasis on them. God doesn't call me to a routine life but to a challenging and exciting life. I need to look for the opportunities that He places before me and then TAKE them.

Am I preaching to myself? Sounds like it. Charlie, take this opportunity where God has placed you (me) and use it for His glory. Yes, it is different. OK, show Him how you will take that challenge and run with it.

OK, God. I think that I get the picture but I need your strength. Thanks for being there for me. I want to glorify You today.