13 & Counting....

January 20 was my birthday and I turned 13!! On January 20, 2001 I was born again!  As I reflect on the last 13 years I thought it would be good to make a list, so here are 13 things (these are not in any particular order and this is not a comprehensive list, but rather some things I think will encourage and challenge your faith) I have learned since I put my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior:

13.  Jesus is the only perfect person.  Everyone else will, at some point, fail me, and I will fail them.  I must embrace failure and the mess that is relationships.  Hebrews 4:15


12.  I can't do it on my own.  Without Jesus, I am nothing.  With Jesus, however, I can do anything!
Phillipians 4:13

11.  Self-centeredness is the root of all grief.  When I think about me, whether good or bad, it always causes problems.  Staying focused on Jesus is the key.  James 3:16

10.  Words really do have the power of life and death.  I choose to speak life.  Proverbs 18:21

9.  Being forgetful is a good thing.  God has forgotten all of my sins, so if I want to follow his example I should not only forgive, but forget others sins against me.  Hebrews 8:12

8.  God wants relationship with me, not results.  Results will follow relationship.  Relationship comes from time in the Word, prayer, singing praise, being thankful, etc.  John 10:14-16

7.  Success is knowing God and doing what He tells me.  Success is not being the best at my particular occupation.  John 17:3-4

6.  I can know God's will and He wants me to know it.  Romans 12:2

5.  I can be friends with Christians with different beliefs than me.  Don't major on the minors.  Romans 14:19  1 Cor 13:2

4.  God wants me to be hopeful (having a confident expectation) about the future, and He wants me to prosper spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  Jeremiah 29:11  Jeremiah 33:6  Psalm 103:3

3.  Jesus was victorious over Satan in his resurrection and delegated to me authority over all of Satan's power in my life.  Luke 10:18-19

2.  People are not crazy just because they speak in tongues.  I grew up thinking that, but they aren't.  It's in the Bible.  Many of the things you will find in scripture, the world would say are crazy.  So I am fine with being crazy.  Mark 16:17  1 Cor 14:1-25

1.  It really is better to have the Holy Spirit than to have Jesus with me in the flesh.  Jesus said it himself, and when I finally realized the awesomeness of being filled with the Holy Spirit, my life was changed forever.  John 16:7

I know from experience that not everyone will agree with me on all of these.  These are revelations the Holy Spirit has given me as I read the Word, and things I have learned from failing miserably as I walked in my flesh.  If you disagree with me, we can still be friends (see #5).  My prayer for you is that as you study God's Word, He will give you wisdom and revelation to know Him better.  That He would flood your heart with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given you, that you are His holy possession.  I pray that you can understand the incredible greatness of God's power in you, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him on the throne at God's right hand!

Have a blessed day!

You Don't Have to Beg God

And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  9“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  11If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:5-10 NKJV


I grew up hearing this passage of scripture taught on often, but the teaching I heard was basically that if I would stay after God, begging and pleading, eventually He would answer me.  Really?  As a kid, I thought, well if I have to beg and plead, God must be too busy for me anyway.  It wasn't until I read this scripture as a spirit-filled believer that the truth was revealed to me.  Look at the first line in the first sentence out of Jesus' mouth, "Which of you shall have a friend"...... This part of the sentence is what reveals what Jesus is really saying here, but it's often overlooked.  Jesus is saying this, "Who has a friend that would act like this".... he is being sarcastic.  He is saying, nobody has a real friend that would act this way, but even if the person you were asking was not a real friend they would still give you what you asked for if you persisted.  This revelation finally made the rest of the parable make more sense, because later in the story Jesus says ask, seek, and knock and you will receive, find, and it will be opened.  I always wondered how Jesus could portray such a dis-intereseted God in the first part of this story, but then turn around and talk about how generous and loving God is.  It just didn't make sense.  Jesus is saying, "You dont have to beg God."  Your heavenly Father is loving, generous, and He wants to give you the Holy Spirit.  All you have to do is ask.  No begging required.

Oklahoma's "Monumental" Crisis

So, just in case you have not heard yet, there is quite a controversy brewing here in my home state of Oklahoma.  I have lived in Oklahoma all of my life, and I think it's a great place to live and raise my family.  The recent uproar is over an attempt by a satanic church to get permission to erect a 7' tall statue of satan himself on a throne with a couple of kids hanging out on either side of him.  I didn't want the picture of the statue on my blog, but you can check it out here if you want to see it.  I am not surprised at all really.  I mean, we do live in a country with supposed freedom of religion, speech, rights to bear arms, and many other freedoms that people all over the world could only dream about.  The satanic church claims that since the Oklahoma State legislature allowed a monument of the Biblical Ten Commandments on the capitol grounds, that they should be allowed to have a their statue.  Well played satan, well played.  They actually have a decent argument if you take an unbiased look at it.  Something really bothers me about this whole thing, but its not the fact that this New York based satanic church is proposing a statue of satan.

I'm sure by now I have your attention.  You are probably thinking what kind of a pastor is this guy that he isn't bothered by a statue of satan.  Let me explain what does bother me before you decide I'm crazy.  Sound fair?  Good.  Here we go.  So, here is what really bothers me....The Ten Commandments were not God's original plan.  We got the Ten Commandments to show us that we cant keep them.  We got the Ten Commandments because we became self-righteous.  Did you know it is impossible to keep the law?  If we could keep even just the Ten Commandments, we wouldn't need Jesus and Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith.  The purpose of the Ten Commandments was not to give us a moral code to keep ourselves righteous by, it was to show us we are born sinners and the only way we can be made holy and righteous is by placing our faith in Jesus, the One who is Holy and Righteous.  The Ten Commandments are the Old Covenant, which leads to death.  If you are a born again Christian, you are under a New Covenant, raised to life by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! (see Galatians 3 for more contrast of the Old and New Covenants)

Now, I'm not saying that because we live under the New Covenant that we get to do whatever we want, or that the Ten Commandments and the Old Covenant are trash.  I'm just saying, if we feel that the best way to represent the Christian faith is to set up a monument of the Old Covenant, we may have no faith at all but in ourselves.  Jesus said to follow the law He gave- to love the Lord with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourself (Matthew 12:29-31).  Jesus said that all of the law and the prophets (the old covenant) hang on these 2 commands.  Then Jesus took the the Ten Commandments to a whole new level in Matthew 5 all hinging on love if you really look at it.  He said the law that says not to murder, is not enough...that we shouldn't even be angry at someone.  He said that to not commit adultery is not enough, but that we shouldn't even look lustfully at another person.  If we love people and see them as Jesus sees them we wouldn't be angry at them.  If we loved ourselves and saw ourselves as Jesus does, we would not submit to the lust of our flesh.  You see my friends, what we need to be reminded of is love, not law.  The law condemns, but Jesus gives life!  (Romans 8:1-3) (2 Cor 3:7-8)  Jesus is love.  If we are going to have a statue, why not one of Jesus??

If you want to know how to treat others, look at Jesus.  You want to know what it means to really be a "good" person, look at Jesus.  You want to live a life of integrity, look at Jesus.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He is the only one that is "good".   The Ten Commandments are not the key to your right standing with God.  Jesus didn't die a brutal death on the cross for us to continue to think all we have to do is follow a set of 10 rules.  That is self-righteousness and will lead you straight to hell my friends.   Jesus died a brutal death on the cross and rose from the grave so that we could have life and life abundantly through a relationship with him based on faith that He is God's son, lived a sinless life, died for all mankind, and rose from the grave!  He made a way for us to be made right with our Holy Creator, and if you are born again when God sees you He sees you clothed in the righteousness of Christ.  That is something that no Ten Commandments ever did for anyone.  No one has ever been able to or will be able to keep the law of the Old Covenant.  NO ONE EXCEPT FOR JESUS.  It is still critical for pointing people to Jesus and helping them see their need for a savior, but it does not make you a good person.  No one is good.  Without Jesus, we have all fallen short of God's glorious standard, but with Jesus we are holy and blameless!

I dont trust in the law, I trust in Jesus.  If we are going to have a statue to represent the Christian faith, put up a statue of Jesus blessing the children in Matthew 19.  If the satanic church wants a monument, let them have it.  Freedom is freedom even if we dont agree with everyone.  I promise you this, if they put up a monument of Satan next to a statue of Jesus, the monument of satan would not make it one single day without being destroyed.  Every time they rebuild and repair it, it will be destroyed.  See if the news will take that story viral.  The headline, "Statue of Jesus destroys statue of satan".... and most of the world will likely chalk it up to a hoax.  But for now, the hoax is on the Church.  Many have been taught that God wants them to follow a set of rules when what He really wants is a relationship with them.  If you have been unsuccessfully trying to follow the rules all your life and you want to have a relationship with Jesus then you must first realize you can't make yourself "right" or "good".  Jesus was the only one who could fulfill the law and He did, and because He did you can receive his righteousness through faith in Him alone.  If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that he was raised from the dead you will be saved (Romans 10:9).  Have a blessed day.  

What's in a Name?

Names are important. We use names for everything, and every name has a meaning.  I believe, because the Bible says so, that words have the power of life and death.  Therefore, since names are words, they are very powerful.  We name our children, our pets, our towns, our businesses, and even our cars.  I decided to change the name of my blog to reflect where I am at right now in my view of the world around me.  So often we wait and want and pray for the BIG thing that will make a big difference in our life.  The problem is that it's the small things that make the BIG difference.  Daily disciplines like reading the Bible, praying with your kids, telling your wife she is beautiful, going to the gym....these are the things that make life an experience worth being part of.  Ya, sure, winning a $650 million lottery could change your life, but the odds are that it wont happen.  A new house may be nice, but sooner than you think it will be a pile of rotting lumber.  That phone call you've been waiting for from that big company you want to work for may turn into a 24/7 job that you cannot escape.  So, I choose to focus on the small things that make a big difference.  Hence, the new name of my blog, "Small Things, Big Difference".  Our church is starting a new series with the same title that I know will bless you.  I will post the link when the message is online, so stay tuned for that.  Speaking of church, you should find one and start going.  If there is a LifeChurch.tv campus near you (click here to find out), I highly recommend checking it out.  If you live near Duncan, OK, I love my church- RawChurch.tv.  If neither of those options are available, go online and check out churches in your area.  You may find that being part of a local church ends up making a big difference in your life.  Don't waste your time waiting for that one big thing....its the small things that make a BIG difference.  Have a great 2014!

From Ordinary to Extraordinary!

I want to encourage you today that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, is a master of taking the ordinary and turning it into the extraordinary!  There are many examples of His handiwork in the Bible, but I want to share one specific example today.  The story of Ananias.  Now I am not talking about Ananias who was married to Sapphira whose story is in Acts chapter 5.  I am talking about Ananias from Damascus whose story begins in Acts chapter 9.  This Ananias is not very well known, even among those who attend church regularly and read their Bible consistently.  The only mention of this man is in Acts 5 and Acts 22.  He was not one of Jesus' original 12 disciples,  nor an apostle, nor a church leader from all accounts in scripture.  It appears he was just an ordinary guy; an Average Joe....but he was an Average Joe who loved Jesus and was filled with the Holy Spirit.  He was a disciple.

A disciple is one who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another.  Even though Ananias was not as famous as the 12 disciples, his role in God's plan was just as significant.  When you read the story of Ananias, you see that God called to him in a vision and told him that Saul (whose name was changed to Paul and took the Gospel to the Gentiles) was praying to God right now and to go to where Saul was and lay hands on him so he would receive his sight back.  WOW!  What a awesome opportunity for a disciple to get to be to be the deliverer of such a miracle of God!  Ananias was at first afraid because he had heard of Saul and the terrible persecution he had brought to the believers in Jerusalem, but God told Ananias He has chosen Saul to bring the the Gospel to the Gentiles.  So Ananias went, and he was the man who got to witness the miracle of Saul regaining his sight and his turning to Jesus!

As a pastor, I hear something in people's voices so often.....it's a lack of confidence that God could and wants to use them in His plan.  I really think the fear comes from trusting in our own abilities.  If we look at our own abilities, I would agree that none of us are equipped to be used by God.  Not a single one of us.  Even the most famous men in the Bible were not qualified on their own.  The cool thing is that God does not call those who are already equipped, He equips those He calls!  Ananias did not have the ability to restore Saul's sight on his own.  This was the Holy Spirit of God working through him to restore Saul's sight.  If Ananias had trusted in his own abilities, he would never have gone to Saul, and he would have missed out on one of the greatest opportunities of his life as a disciple of Jesus.

How often do we miss out on opportunities of a lifetime because we are trusting in our own abilities rather than trusting God?  As you read The Word and your mind is renewed and transformed you will be able to more consistently see past your abilities and follow the voice of God no matter the odds against you.  You may feel ordinary, but God wants to use you for the EXTRAORDINARY!  What is He speaking to you about right now?  He has not given you a spirit of fear, but of POWER, LOVE, AND A SOUND MIND!  Go be a history maker for His Kingdom!  He wants you to be a part of His amazing miracles!

Flying Purple People Pleaser

Do you remember that song from long ago (showing my age here) about the one-eyed one horn flying purple people eater?  There really isn't anything that great about the song except that, as a kid, its fun to say one-eyed one horn flying purple people eater :-)  I found some awesome pics of these mythical creatures, but being as they have horns and eat people they all looked pretty demonic and I didn't think it necessary to post that kind of pic.  Just use your imagination!

Anyway, I was studying Galatians with my Ironmen lifegroup and when I came to Galatians 1:10,  I stopped to think....here is what the verse says:

Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God.  If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant. (NLT)

Most believers know, or at least have been taught, that to be a follower of Christ is to stand out from the world.  What I mean is, most people know believers are supposed to be different in some way than those who do not yet believe that Jesus is the risen savior.  But is it obvious to everyone that you serve Christ?  Paul says, "OBVIOUSLY, Im not trying to win the approval of people, but of God".

People pleasing, aka fear of man, used to be such a problem for me.  I was a flying purple people pleaser.  As an insurance agent, I thought I needed to please everyone.  If someone got mad at me, they might move their business elsewhere and I would lose that income and referral source.  To some extent, I did need to try my best to take care of my customers, but it was my motives that I needed to watch.  Pleasing the customer should not be my motive as a follower of Christ, but pleasing God should.  It just so happens that treating people with love, honor, and respect is pleasing to God.

When I became a pastor, I found it easy to slip into people pleasing mode because there is nothing worse than having people at your church mad at you.  I dreaded emails that had subjects like "some thoughts" or "concerns".  I knew right away what those emails contained, and right away fear would come over me!  Why was I afraid? Because I was worried about what they thought of me.  I wanted to please them, and I wanted to avoid conflict.  Paul's words resonate with me more now than ever.  I am not to please man, but to please God and it should be OBVIOUS.  That doesn't mean to treat people harshly.  That would not please God.  It does mean to stand on the truth of God's Word even if it offends someone.  You see, God's Word does not need to be defended.  It stands on its own, and it sharper than any two-edged sword and can take out any sort of flying purple people eaters!  May it be obvious in your life that you are a servant of Christ!

Which kind of wisdom do you have?

This picture reminds me so much of my son who is 6.  His child-like faith amazes me at times.  Just the other day he was asking me some questions, and apparently one of my answers communicated some fear or frustration on my part.  He immediately spoke up and said, "Dad, why dont you just pray about it and trust God silly."  I was like SNAP!  I could not even remember what I said, but I could sense the same feeling of insecurity that my son could obviously sense as well.  My response was to try to fix it myself and use my knowledge or "wisdom", but his response was to trust God.  He is such an awesome young man and full of faith!

It got me thinking about Jesus' remarks about child-like faith.  In Luke chapter 10, Jesus has sent out his disciples to preach the Good News, heal the sick, cast out demons, etc.  They returned to him rejoicing that "even the demons obey us when we use your name Lord."  Jesus said "yes", and continues to explain the authority he has given his disciples.  Then he reminds them to not get a big ego about this authority and power, but rather rejoice that their names are written in heaven.

Then the best part comes at the end.  What Jesus has told them about their authority and power is awesome....to many it would have seemed outrageous!  Then Jesus was filled with joy from the Spirit of God and he prayed to God thanking Him that He has hidden these things from those who think they are wise, and only revealed them to those with child-like faith.  It pleased God to do it this way!

17When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

18“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!19Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

Jesus’ Prayer of Thanksgiving

21At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.

Lord we receive your Word like a child.  Thank you for loving us.  Thank you for your Spirit.  Thank you for your love and grace.  Amen.

One for the husbands...

I am a visual learner, so I usually like to have a picture to help communicate the main point of my posts.  Today, however, I am going to have to do my best with words only.  I looked and looked, but there is no picture I can find that would do this post justice.  You see, yesterday I was meditating on this verse: "This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for ones friends." John 15:12-13

What a powerful statement for those of us who have placed our faith in the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.  I have many people in my life that I call my friends, but yesterday only one of them was on my mind....my best friend- my wife, Jennifer Farris.  As I was meditating on this verse and how it related to my role as a husband, I realized that so often I fail at serving my wife.  I mean, as a husband, this should be my number 2 priority in life next to serving Jesus, but I find that often times I am more self-serving than anything.

As husbands, you and I have a huge responsibility to love and serve our wives, to train our children in The Way, to lead our families with gentleness and tenderness.  There is no example to follow except that of Jesus.  No one has sacrificed more, lived more self-less, and loved more than Him.  As I learn to receive His love more and more each day, I also learn more and more how to give this self-less love to my wife.  You see, you cant give what you dont have.  If I am not able to receive true self-less love from Christ, I have none to give to my wife.  It takes intentional time with Jesus to know and receive His love.  The simple word for that is "relationship".  A friend once told me that the best thermometer of your relationship with Jesus is your relationship with your wife....is your marriage cold, lukewarm, hot, or boiling???

What will be your story?

Moms and Dads, whether you realize it or not, you are writing a story for the world around you to read. Every day you add a page to this story that tells something about you, even the things you would like to be kept secret. Sure, you may be able to put on your poker face and fool most of the people in your life, but you are still telling the story and you may not even realize it. You are telling your story through your children. Your young children do not have a poker face. How we live, think, act, believe, respond, and choose will be directly reflected in the lives of our children. If we are harsh with our children, they will be harsh with others. If we are selfish parents, we will have selfish children. If we are irresponsible, we will have irresponsible children. In the same regard, if we are kind and gentle parents, we will have kind and gentle children. If we love others, our children will love others. If we are generous, our children will be generous.

 Some call this story we write our legacy. About a year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to reflect on what kind of legacy, or story, I was writing. I saw that it was one of perfectionism, harshness, selfishness, and results…and I didn’t like what I saw. It was not only affecting me, but the people I cared about the most. It was time for a change. As a husband and father I realized I must follow the example of Jesus if I was to leave a story worth reading. I must lead like He led. I must love like He loved. I wasn’t sure how to do this because I only had a surface level relationship with Him. My life had been decaying because I had not been feeding on the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" I started to consume His words and let them penetrate my heart. I started to see life being breathed back into my story. I saw that results were not what was important, rather it was relationships that mattered the most. You get to write your own story. What do you want your story to say?