LIVING ON THE EDGE

This blog site has been silent for a long time now because I have wanted it to be a source of encouragement and insight and not just a guy rambling on about stuff. There are too many of those sites out there so today I am trusting God to give me words for you to live by and that will encourage you and speak life into you so you can live life to it’s fullest. Something Jesus promised us when He came to this planet. (John 10:10)

Let me ask you a question. How would you complete this sentence? My number one goal in life is… What’s most important to you? What word or phrase would you use to complete this question?

Is it to be happy or to be a success in your career? Do you want to just have fun? Do you want to be comfortable in life? Is your number one goal just to retire or get married and raise a family? Is it to go on vacation this summer? How would you answer this question?

If you have never thought about it, you need to and you need to understand it because how you answer this question will determine your dominant life principle. We all have a one whether we know it or not.

Every time we need to make a decision, a choice, we access that database and decide what we will do based on our DLP. That thing that is most important to us.

For example if your DLP is to have fun in life and you get two different invitations that day, you tend to choose to do the one that will be the most fun for you because having fun is the most important thing to you.

It is very important we think this question through so we can understand what is our most important value and understand why we do what we do. What’s most important to you?

God has a lot to say about this subject and gives us His thoughts on the issue.

In 1 Corinthians 14:1a Living Bible translation, it says “Let love be your greatest aim.” Or let love be your most important value. Not your status, not success, not stuff, not power, not money. No. Our number one DLP should be LOVE.

When Jesus was asked what He thought the most important commandment was he said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind and all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. There are no commands more important than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) Jesus was very clear on what He deemed was most important in life.

Over the next several weeks I will be posting my thoughts about this subject and who knows, we may even discover that God loves us with an extravagant, unconditional love that we can experience daily.

What our families need, our churches need, our communities need, what America needs and what our world needs is not more sermons about love or more love songs or more “love doctors”. No. We need people who genuinely know and understand that… LOVE IS LIFE’S GREATEST AIM.

Over the past several weeks at Westchester Church we have been unpacking several bible passages concerning worship and what that looks like. I thought it would be helpful to give some guidelines that would allow us to get the most out of worship experience every Sunday. No matter where you attend church these will help you get more from the service every week. These are just my thoughts and I have practiced these and continue to do so even now as I prepare for the messages every week.

Look them over and then give it a shot. I understand it will take some getting used to but like every good habit it must be done at least five time before becomes a habit.

• Get up 30 minutes earlier than normal. Set your alarm and don’t hit the snooze button
• Turn a CD of Praise and worship. Make it loud enough to hear but not over powering.
• Read a passage from the bible you put on the nightstand the night before. Open it up ready to read first thing Sunday morning.
• Get the kids up, if they are still at home, and greet them with a smile on your face. Don’t be grumpy.
• Keep the music playing even after you leave for church. It will be there to welcome you home.
• While on the way to church, play a CD or radio of praise and worship. Keep the conversation focused on the Lord and avoid negative talk at ALL COST.
• Arrive 10 -15 minutes early-greet friends-Go to the restroom and get your coffee or drink.
• Enter the auditorium 5 minutes before the service begins with a heart of gratitude and expectation of meeting God. THIS IS CRUCIAL.
• Participate in the singing and take notes during the message. This will help you stay focused on God and what He is saying to you personally.
• Come prepared to give an offering. Write your check the night before, put in the envelope and put it in your bible-this will help you remember that God is always first in everything.
• At the end of the service greet those around you and then invite your pastor and his wife to go to lunch along with some other friends.

If you will follow this outline for a few weeks I believe you will see a huge difference in how you view God and He will become more real to you than you could have imagined.

God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Worship is a life style and not just a Sunday morning ritual. So start Saturday night turning your minds attention and your hearts affections toward Jesus Christ. This will revolutionize your Sunday morning worship experience.

When it comes to church leadership too many pastors and church leaders seem to look for the right formula or the next big movement or the next cool buzz word to come around so they can jump on the band wagon to kick start their church and getting it growing again or use it as a launching pad for a new work. All sounds good but it always seems to lack the “IT” factor.

What is “IT”? Is “IT” real? Is “IT” attainable? Is “IT” what we desire for our ministries? Or for that matter our own life.

I pastor a church that is on the decline. Much of which is my fault and lack of understanding “IT”. So I decided to find out what that “IT” is.

Over the past year I have done a lot of soul searching and personal evaluation of my life, my ministry and my future in “IT”. I have asked other pastors and church leaders what they think the “IT” is and I got a lot of great ideas and even some deep theological answers. I even asked my wife what she thought “IT” is. (Her answer was the best)

During this journey I rediscovered a passage of scripture that God used on me many years ago to transform my personal worship and my corporate leading. Many of you reading this already know this passage but when God led me to it again it just jumped all over me and helped me understand what “IT” is.
Read it and let it penetrate your very core.

Exodus 33:12-17 (NIV) Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

The “IT” factor is simple and yet very profound. Not every church has it and not every church leader has it. The “IT” factor is given by God for God and He alone decides who, the what, the when and the where. This does not however eliminate our responsibility to do whatever it takes for us USHER in the presence of God in our life and in our churches. Are we pleasing to HIM? Are we humble? Are we obeying what HE says in HIS word? All these help usher in the “IT” factor but it does not guarantee “IT”. God is sovereign. GOD IS IN CONTROL. NOT ME. NOT YOU.

So after a long and sometimes tumultuous journey I have decided to take the advise of a very wise leader and say to God “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

That’s “IT”.