Bats in the belfry?

Everyone has heard of bats in the belfry, but raccoons in the chimney?  C'mon!

About 6 weeks ago, my wife heard some noise in the chimney but we didn't make anything of it.  Then about a week ago, I heard some scratching on the roof outside of our laundry room.  A few days ago, one of my students and I heard something that sounded like a bird chirping.  Finally, we talked to our landlords and they came over to investigate.  They looked down the chimney and saw a big mommy raccoon.  

Yesterday, animal control came to the house to flush them out.  The "dead beat" mommy, bailed on her two babies and took off for the land behind our house leaving her two babies behind.  So the animal control guy STUCK HIS HAND in the chimney and pulled each one of them out.  It was INTENSE!

What's in a name?

John 14:13 says, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father."

A lot of people pray.  Jesus isn't simply stating that a pray that simply mentions His name will move him but prayer that is in accordance with all that the person who bears the name is.  It is prayer aimed at carrying forward the work Jesus did - prayer that he himself will answer.

To get the true gist of what Jesus is speaking about here, you have to go all the way back to Psalm 5:11: "But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them sing for joy.  Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you."

There is true power in the name of Jesus:

• His people can pray to him by calling on his name
• The name of the Lord protects
• The Lord saves by his name
• His saving acts testify that his name is near.
• The godly "trust" in his name
• Hope in his name
• "Sing praise" to his name
• "Rejoice" in his name
• Both the "love" and "fear" that belong alone to God are similarly directed toward his name

Has any name, in all of history, carried so much power, authority, and love?  Consider the true name and identity of the one who you pray to the next time you pray.

What is Potential?

Some see this...

And other's see this...

Have you ever seen an uncut diamond?  It looks like a little charcoal chip.  A little black turd is basically what it looks like.  Behind that layer, though, is a diamond.  It just hasn't been discovered yet.

We look at each other, we look at ourselves and it's not what God sees.  God sees the uncut diamond.  He sees the dimaond that hasn't been discovered yet.  He sees the junior in high school who has not yet discovered her giftedness.  He sees the freshamn who is on the verge of discovering how he's gifted.  God sees us differently than the world sees us.

This week, I challenge you to pray and ask God to show you the student in your ministry who has not yet discovered his or her giftedness.  Follow that up by asking God what you can do to help them discover it!

Book Review: Humility - True Greatness

I came across this book at the right time in my life and walk with the Lord.  So much has been going on in my life that I could take pride in and credit for.  This book is a great reminder of who it is that allows me to accomplish the things that I do and challenged me to continue in the path of humility.  There are a lot of practical tips that can be taken from this book and applied immediately.  I think the tip that I loved the most was how important sleep is to your overall life and in recognizing your own limitations.  Our lives NEED sleep!  Amen to that ;)

Make the time...

Tonight I talked to my students about the importance of simplifying your life.  I think the toughest part about preaching the message was that in taking an honest evaluation of my life, I felt a sense of guilt because my life is not one that you could look at and characterize as simple.  My life is...not so much complicated as it is busy.  I have allowed chaos to reign supreme in my life for way too long.

Often I tell people that my priorities are as follows:

1.) God

2.) Family

3.) Ministry

However, in taking an honest evaluation of my life and where I spend my time, it is VERY easy to see that my priorities are NOT what I say/want them to be.  Way too often, ministry leap frog's my family and takes the second place position...even sometimes the first place position.

Gone are those day for me, though.  It's time for me to put my time where my mouth is.  I want to be able to look at my life and see that my time make an honest reflection of what is most important to me.  Starting tonight...I'm making the time!