The Stadium

Posted by Tim on Feb 7, 2012 in My Mind | 6 comments

I’ve grown up loving sports. One of my favorite things to do besides rooting for a team is to go to a new Stadium. A Stadium is built because there is a team for fans to root for. I have probably visited more than 100 stadiums in my lifetime and they  all have 1 thing in common, the biggest portion of the stadium is built for the fans. It seems like in America we have built churches that do the very same thing.

We all need to ask ourselves the Question, “Are you a Fan or Follower os Jesus”? The reason this question is so important is because of the words of Jesus. He says there will be many who claim to be His followers that He turns away.

#dontdroptheballin2012

Posted by Tim on Jan 2, 2012 in My Mind | 23 comments

The past fews days we have watched another year go by. Many of us stop each year and celebrate the New Year coming by watching the ball get dropped in NYC on New Years Eve. This year it made me stop and think about the future:

I grew up playing sports and one of the determining factors to victory was taking care of the “Ball”. If you’re playing football you have a great chance to win if you have possesion of the ball more than the other team. The goal is to keep the ball in your possesion until you get it in the Endzone, and then you kick it to the other team and try to get it back. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a coach say keep 2 hands on the ball. Yet in spite of all the coaching and all the practice we see athletes consistently “drop the ball”.

Well, we have been given possesion of the ball, (the Gospel of Christ) and we are called to be a light to this world .

Matt. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

As we let our light shine it adds weight (Glory) to who God is. As we move into 2012 let’s not dropped the ball when it comes to the opportunity to make an Eternal impact  in the lives of people this year. Shine your light and shine it bright. Fall in love with the Gospel and be influenced by it,  and you will be willing to do incredible things to make Jesus known – to make Him famous. You can never have enough light. Light gives direction and draws attention to it’s source. We are to live in such a way that we light the path and draw attention to Jesus. #dontdroptheballin2012

Movers & Shakers 2

Posted by Tim on Jul 31, 2011 in My Mind | 37 comments

Movers and shakers;
1) Don’t live by schemes, they’re driven by a dream.

Joseph grew up in a family that was driven by deception. When they wanted something they schemed and manipulated to get what they wanted, but Joseph broke that pattern and allowed God to forge the path to the dream He had planted in him to save the Children of Israel. It started with a Dream and it was that dream that was the driving force in Joseph’s life.

Genesis 37:5 One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6 “Listen to this dream,” he said. 7 “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!” 8 His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. 9 Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!” 10 This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” 11 But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie, Inception. It’s about dreams. Specifically  how a dream can be multi-layered. God doesn’t give a man multiple dreams, but they are multilayered. Joseph’s dream was just a continuation of the original dream that God had give Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, Israel. It would be through that nation that Jesus would come into this world and give His life for all mankind.  When God gives you a dream it is simply a continuation of His dream, another layer if you will. God imparts into you your part of His big picture dream to save this world from their sins. If your dream isn’t centered on the purposes of God it may be a good dream but it’s not a God dream.

Joseph had no idea how twisted and tortured the path would be to the fulfillment of that dream.. Just because we know the dream doesn’t mean we know the path.

All too often when that dream doesn’t come fast enough we inject our own plans into it.

Proverbs 16:1  says, We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.

Your best bet is to Write your plans in pencil. God doesn’t give you a map because if you knew everything that was coming you would check out. His dream is certain but his path is unpredictable. Joseph didn’t try to create his own path, he accepted the one God put him on.

I’ll never the forget the amazing wisdom of Forest Gumps mom, Life is like a Box of Chocolates you never know what you’re gonna get. When someone gives me a Box of Chocolates, I start poking holes in the bottom of each piece until I get the one I want. If we’re not careful our box (life) will be full of crushed chocolate until we get the one we want. We need to learn to trust God with the fulfillment of our dreams, after all they are His dreams placed in us. Trust in the fact that God has been to your future and He has it under control.

Joseph never lost sight of God’s dream for his life and as a result God used Him to his full potential. Trust God with the journey and get out of His way. Stop trying to make the path easier and let God be the guiding force of your life.