Get rid of Cabin Fever!

Hebrews 13 (The Message)

 ^13-15So let's go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This "insider world" is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let's take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus' name.


It's a cold windy day here in Northern Indiana. But, really it's not that cold. The "Real Feel temperature" is 46 degrees F. In the early march we will be excited about 46 degrees. If I had the motivation I would get my cold weather riding gear on and hit the road. But, I am not that motivated to go outside today.  The number of riding days will be dwindling soon. So what did I do all day? I sat around inside, taking naps, and eating snacks. (I eat when I get bored!) I would much rather be outside where the action is.
For those of you who live in warm climates, you don't know about Cabin fever. With October here and winter just around the corner, Cabin fever is also on the horizon. Those of us who live North get cabin fever when we're tired of being inside. We can usually make it through November and December because of the Holidays. You can't sit inside if you are traveling to Grandmothers House or Parties or Shopping or ......well, you get the point!  But after the holidays and after we get tired of fighting the snow and sub-zero temperatures, Cabin Fever infects all of us.   We are not designed to sit at home. We are designed to be social people. We are designed to be around other people and spending time outside of our cozy homes. I love my wife, but after 32 years of marriage, our extended conversations are limited. I will go crazy if I don't have other people to socialize with. (Sorry Honey!)
A christians we are also designed to be social. We are not designed to sit around in eternal meditation with God. Meditation with God is great. But, the last commandment Jesus gave us was to go! It wasn't to sit around in isolation. We are not designed to isolate ourselves from others. We are designed to go into the world and witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Sometimes our motivation is not very high. Sometimes its a lot easier to just sit inside and not go out into to all the world. But, we need to find the strength and the desire to go out into the action. God can provide that strength, he can provide that passion. You don't have to do it on your own. Just listen to his calling and answer the call. Get rid of your Cabin Fever, go outside and get in the action!

Dear Lord, Help us to go out and spread your word in the communities we live. Help us to have the motivation. Give us the will and the strength to share with others. Help us to listen to your word. Help us to put those words into action. Amen!

God's Chisel

God doesn't Make Junk

This is a great video we saw at Church this morning.

I love the idea that God doesn't make junk

God Doesn't make Junk!

I get down!

Hebrews 12 (The Message)

 ^1-3Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

My faith is not perfect. I wish it was. Sometimes I am up and sometimes I get down. Usually I get down about earthly things and it drags my faith down with it. It's always money, relationships, or just plain when I don't get my way. It's these times when I lose sight of what it's all about and it's at those times that I need my faith the most. This happened last night. I am a super competitive person and when we lose a big game, I don't handle it very well. I want to win. I hate losing and I hate it when our teams don't play up to their potential and lose a game we should win. It's at that time I lose sight of what we are all about. Athletics are a great format for teaching kids. It teaches them to work hard, to set goals. to handle victory, to handle defeat, and to handle controversy. It teaches all of these life skills in a microcosm of sports. However, I ONLY enjoy learning to deal with victory. If I have to deal with this other stuff I get down. In reality, these set backs, defeats, or unattained goals are minor in the scheme of life. Better yet, they are major in the scheme of life because they always help us to prepare for our future. I will guarantee that we will all faces setbacks, losses, and controversy at some point in our future.

One of the best ways to get out of the dumps is to review Christ's story or the story of Paul, or the story of Steven.  Any number of "veterans" of the faith. You see, there is nothing that we are facing right now that can't be matched by these pioneers of the faith. There is nothing that we can go through that can even closely compare to death on a cross.  We need to keep sight on the finish. We need to stay grounded in the faith by continuously studying the word of God.  Remember you are running a race in the faith. Sometimes we get so down that we stop running altogether. The weight of this world drags us down so much that we can not take one more step. It's at that point we need to strip those worldly weights and start running again. We need to keep the eye on the finish line and we need to look forward to an exhilarating finish. A finish with God in Heaven for eternity.  In life we will face loss from cancer, death of family members or close friends, loss of a job, financial setbacks and more. We can not let these life's trials to get us down. We know someone who had defeated even death on a cross. We are victorious through him. Thank You Lord!

Heavenly Father, Help us to keep focused on the finish line. Help us to look to you for help in sustaining life through the many trials we face. We love you and ask your forgiveness through our lack of faith. Lord you are wonderful! Thank You! Amen!

Act!

Hebrews 11 (The Message)

 ^32-38I could go on and on, but I've run out of time. There are so many more— Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets....Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn't deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.

It is easy to sit back and complain about everything. You can complain about losing. You can complain about coaches. You can complain about playing time. You can complain about officiating. You can complain about the direction our country is going. You can complain about your job. You can complain about your life. As a matter of fact, people complain about all these things and more. 

Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel all decided to do something about it. They didn't just sit back and complain, they acted. The took their faith and put it in to action. They not only put their faith in action, they put their faith as the most important thing in their life. They sacrificed everything up to and including their lives. How much have you sacrificed? Where is your dedication?  Have you put your faith in action? I don't know to many people who have been confined to chains in a dungeon. I don't know too many people who have been tortured. I don't know too many people who have had to face lions, fire, or stoning.  Our society is more worried about complaining than taking action on our faith. Faith is not the center of our lives. Faith is on the fringe of our lives and we put everything else ahead of it. We complain about the craziest things. We have lost our focus on Faith. Take your faith, place it in the center of your life and ACT on that Faith!