Mike Glenn

As Good as His Word

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

Something Mike Glenn said at Kairos tonight really hit home. He said that in an age where people’s word is no longer their bond, we can always trust God because He’s as good as His Word.

The Word in question is the Word made flesh. This Word is fully God and fully man. This Word is the very image of God in bodily form with every bit of the fullness of the deity dwelling there. In other words, if you want to see God, look at Jesus.

God is as good as every promise He’s ever fulfilled and every lost cause He’s rescued and every defeat He’s turned into victory. His promises yet to come are so sure, you can talk about them in the past tense.

I needed that reminder tonight. Today, I was tempted yet again to doubt the goodness and greatness of God. The Accuser whispered in my ear that God really wasn’t as good as His word and I needed to hedge my bet, so to speak, and have my own backup plan ready. That Accuser tells me lies about me, my family and friends and my God.

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story (to borrow a line from a Casting Crowns song). The Word made flesh is the living proof that God is ultimately trustworthy.

I will choose to listen to and believe this Voice. I will take Him at His Word.

Will you?

Sitting Still

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Today I had an epic fail. I was supposed to meet a friend for the 11 am service. I thought I had plenty of time to get one of those white chocolate mochas with a shot of hazelnut (which are fantastically good and you should try one some time). It turns out I did not.

By the time I got my awesome beverege, I was already ten minutes late and not at all in a reverential mood. More like impatient and frantic and stressed and mad at myself. By the time I got to the sanctuary, there was no way I was going to be able to find my friend, so I ended up sitting in the balcony.

But God reminded me of the sermon I had just heard about Mary and Martha. Martha was the one frantically scrambling to get everything just right and Mary was sitting silently at the feet of Jesus in the posture of a disciple. Martha had good intentions, but Mary did the better thing.

I took a moment to steady my thoughts and quiet my heart. I prayed for peace to replace the chaos and I took a few deep breaths. Then I was fine.

We often get so caught up in school, work, play, and doing things for God that we have precious little time for God. But if we want our desire to be more like Jesus to go from wishful thinking to reality, we must make time to sit at His feet and be silent.

I am the worst. When I try to be silent and still, my brain doesn’t want to cooperate. I will conjure up  whole conversations in my head, hear snatches of songs, and think of things I forgot to do or that I still need to do. In other words, my ADD kicks in with a vengeance.

But the more I come to sit at Jesus feet, the more I am learning to capture my anxious thoughts and give them to Him. The more I am learning to let everything else go and listen to the Voice that still says good things about me.

Come to Jesus all you who are at the breaking point of exhausting. Come, be still. He will give you much needed soul-rest even in the midst of a busy day. He will speak peace and healing over you. He will refresh your spirit and renew your mind.

So just come.

Forgiveness

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

Tonight, Mike Glenn talked about forgiveness at Kairos. He said forgiveness is releasing the other person from the expectation that they can fix the wrong and the hurt they caused you. He said forgiveness is when you are no longer defined by the pain and the hurt and the grudge, but by the love of Jesus.

He added that Jesus said to him once, “You can hold on to the hate for the person who hurt you or you can hold on to My love, but you cannot hold on to both.” When Jesus whispered, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing,” He was praying for those who hurt you. He was also praying for you.”

We are called to forgive. Jesus said the Father would forgive you as you forgave others. When you don’t give forgiveness, you can’t receive it and you stunt the work of the Spirit in your life. Every single one of us needs to forgive and be forgiven.

But what if the person you most need to forgive is yourself? What if the person you need to learn to live with is you? What if you’re scared to death that if someone else ever knew you like you knew yourself and knew all the dirty, petty, angry thoughts you keep hidden, they would walk out on you for good?

I have been way too hard on myself in the past and projected on to other people my own self-rejection. I thought that no one could ever really know me and still like me. But the love of Jesus broke through and changed me and changed how I saw myself. It transformed how I saw others, no longer through my own insecurities, but through the grace of God.

The key is to believe what God says about you. It’s to believe that God loves you and chose you and calls you BELOVED. The key is to receive God’s forgiveness. If God chose to forgive you of something you never in a million years could have paid for, then it’s time to forgive yourself.

You have a choice. You can choose pain and holding grudges or you can choose forgiveness and freedom and love. I think Anne Lamott said refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. You only hurt yourself. Forgiveness is freedom to love and be loved and mostly, to be wrapped up by the love of Jesus.

I choose forgiveness every time. Lord, grant me and all those reading this forgiving hearts and fill us up with your love so there’s no more room to carry the hurts anymore.

Amen.

Unwanted

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

I heard a beautiful story today in a sermon. The story was about 200 or so girls born in a village in India where boys are preferred. The fathers all named them “Unwanted,” because they were hoping for sons.

Later, these girls had a chance to get new birth certificates and choose their own new names. They chose names like “Wanted” and “Happy” and “Beautiful”.

In the same way, some of you have felt Unwanted at times. I know I have. I have a family who loves me and wants me, but some of you had parents that didn’t want you or gave you away or left you.  Maybe it was a husband or a wife. Maybe a son or a daughter. Maybe a close friend. They as much as told you that you were Unwanted.

Have you ever been at a party and felt left out and like you were not wanted there? Have you ever been in a large crowd and felt completely alone, like no one understood you or your circumstances? You thought to yourself that you might as well have been wearing a name tag that read Unwanted.

 Have you ever come to the conclusion in the dark watches of the night that the world would have been better off without you in it? That you are a worthless waste of space?

The good news of the gospel is that through the cross, God is calling the Unwanteds of the world and giving them a new birth certificate and a new name. Your new birthday is the day you said YES to Jesus and his forgiveness bought by blood.

Your new name is what God has chosen to call you. Wanted. Beautiful. Forgiven. Blessed. Son of the King. Daughter of the King. And, my very favorite of all, BELOVED.

When it felt like no one else wanted you, God did. He died to prove it. He still wants you to be a part of what He’s doing. He wants to take the broken and shattered pieces of your heart and your life and put them back together.

He wants to take your unholy mess of a life and transform it into something that shines and radiates the glory of Christ. He wants to take your scars and pain and make them testimonies. He wants to take you and make you a beautiful and glorious witness to the power of His love. He wants you.

If you say YES to Jesus, there’s no telling what He can do through you. You’ll never cease to be amazed at all God does in you and how He uses your hands and feet to bless those in your life. If He could turn the 1st century world upside down through 12 nobodies, imagine what He can do with you!

I can’t wait to see what that will be.

My One and Only Inspirational Sports Blog

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I normally don’t blog about sports. In fact, I never blog about sports. Famous last words. This blog is about sports. Go figure.

The St. Louis Cardinals are the world champions in baseball. Big deal, you say. What does that have to do with anything? Let me nerd out for a bit and give you some stats. The Cardinals were 10 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot on August 25. They barely made it on the last day of the regular season.

They reached the world series and were trailing the Texas Rangers in game 6. In fact, twice they were ONE strike away from elimination. I saw all kinds of facebook posts saying how the game was over. No chance for the Cardinals. But as with any sport, the game ain’t over ’til it’s over.

Here’s the point. Don’t ever give up. Even when it seems past hope, keep believing. Other people may count you out and quit on you, but God never has and never will. Some will stop believing that you are worth the effort of loving, but God never will.

You may be down to your last out, down to your very last strike. But if you’re still breathing, you’re not done yet. I heard this from a pastor and I’ve referenced it before, but what is impossible to us isn’t even remotely difficult for God.

It’s not too late to change. It’s not too late to start dreaming. It’s not too late to believe what God has dreamed for you. It’s never too late to give God control and let Him do what only He can do: make you who He always meant you to be.

Like I said before, no matter what others have said about you or what you’ve said about yourself, the only opinion that matters is God’s. No matter what names you’ve been given (or what names you’ve given yourself), the only name that counts is the name that God has given you. That name is still BELOVED.

Take heart, dear friends. Hope never dies and you’re never too lost or to broken or too late for God to save, redeem, and make beautiful. I needed that reminder tonight, and I hope you did, too.

Blessed

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

 I could some up my life right now in one word it would be . . . . chocolate. No, not really, although chocolate does take me to a happy place. My life could be summed up nicely by the word “blessed.”

I am so blessed. I have great family, great friends, and a great God who loves me so much more than I deserve. He loves me so much I can’t stay the same. I can’t receive all that love and not become a better person, one who looks more and more like Jesus every day.

I am blessed that I know how my story ends. I know that one day all the injustice and wrong in the world will be made right. I know that everything I’ve gone through that didn’t make sense will make perfect sense and I will see it as what drew me closer to Jesus.

You who read this blog are part of the blessing. You never do realize how much your texts or posts or notes or spoken words mean to me. Sometimes, God has spoken through you to me at just the right time with just the right words to keep me going. You’ve helped me make it through some days.

If I never had another dream come true, if I never had another desire fulfilled, and if I never had another visible expression of God’s goodness, I would still be blessed. If God told me that I had used up all my blessings and had none left, I would be good. I’ve had more than my share already.

I do think there’s more to come. The Psalms say to taste and see that God is good. I have tasted and seen and it is better than any buffet or feast. The love of Jesus is truly better than wine and that love keeps getting better with age.

I will forget this, so keep reminding me. When you forget, I will remind you. That’s what the community of faith is all about. My favorite definition of a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

Jesus knows my song and He’ll keep singing it over me night after night until I have learned all the words and can sing it for myself. I think my song starts off something like “All the way my Savior leads me, What have I to ask beside?”

Come and Find Rest

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

I never thought I’d actually say this (or type this), but this blog isn’t for everyone. If you’re content and peaceful and everything is falling into place for you, then you probably don’t need to read any further. If you have a game plan and are workin’ it, stop here.

If you’re harried and worried, this is your blog. If you’re weary and heavy-laden, if you’re overburdened and worked to the point of exhaustion, this is for you. If you wake up from sleep feeling more tired than when you went to bed and if you think you will have to live to be 300 to get every project, assignment and task done, do read further.

Jesus said, “Come to Me and find rest for your souls.” I’m fairly certain that doesn’t mean plopping down on the sofa to catch Monday Night Football (or if you’re me, a really good classic movie). It’s not about a 24-hour sleep-athon.

I like to think of rest this way. Bear with me. I being a complete book nerd like to re-read certain books. I read The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia every year. It’s like going on a free vacation to familiar places with familiar people (or hobbits).

It’s restful. I know how the story will end, but I can still get caught up in it. I can live vicariously through the characters and experience everything without the fear that it will all end badly. I’ve read the ending.

In life, we can live that way. The Book has been written and I know how it ends. I don’t have to worry that my life will turn out to be tragic and meaningless. God’s got a purpose for the world and for me. He’s written the greatest story ever told and invited me to be a part of it.

If you know that the ending is a happy one and that you’re on the winning side, that changes your perspective. If you know that God is for you and His plans for you are not to harm you, but to prosper you and give you a hope and a future, you can rest.

You can keep a quiet heart and a calm soul in the midst of business and chaos. You can face your failures, knowing that God can redeem the worst mistakes and make them the first part of your testimony. You can breathe easier knowing that God hasn’t forgotten you, but is forever with you, singing over you and rejoicing with you and rooting for you.

I pray you find rest. I pray the peace that passes understanding will guard your hearts and minds and you will know the embrace of your Abba and hear Him saying good things about you. Because He likes you, He loves you, and He’s crazy in love with you.

What’s Important

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

I’ve been thinking all day about my friend Nathan’s family, particularly his wife and 6-year old son. They said goodbye to him for the last time last night. It was also he and his wife’s 12th anniversary.

I also kept thinking about how I lost touch with him all those years ago and never really thought about him until he was almost gone. I rejoice that he is whole and happy and with Jesus, but I regret that I didn’t make the effort to reach out to him.

My lesson for today that I had to learn all over again is this: life is precious and fleeting and by no means guaranteed. Today is all you have. Cherish every moment of it and don’t ever take it for granted.

The same goes for the people in your life. Never let a day go by without letting the people in your life know how much they mean to you. Work is important, but if it gets in the way of the people you love and who love you, then you’ve lost the mission. To-do lists, schedules, and activities aren’t nearly as sacred as loving the people in your life while they’re in your life.

I heard a pastor say that only two things are eternal: God’s Word and God’s people. That’s so very true. Five years from now, you won’t remember what grade you got on a paper or what you did at work or how many checks you had on your list of things to get done. You will remember those people that touched your life and encouraged you when you desparately needed it. You will carry their love inside you even after they’re gone.

Call someone and let them know you’re thinking about them. Text someone and let them know what they mean to you. Say, “I love you,” and don’t just assume the person knows. Go out of your way and deliberately stop your business to reach out to someone. Your words and smiles and hugs and kindness could be what helps that person survive through that day. You could be Jesus reaching out and loving that person and beginning the healing process.

Nathan, for what it’s worth, I was blessed to have you for a friend and to know you. I love you, brother, and I will miss you every day. See you on the other side.

Grace Moments

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Today, I took my lunch at 11:30. I almost always take my lunch at noon, but for whatever reason, I took my lunch today at 11:30. I got a call from a friend of mine who had free tickets to see Casting Crowns at the Bridgestone Arena and wanted to know if I wanted to go. I was thinking in my head “Is Bill Gates rich? Does the Pope wear funny hats? Heck yeah!”

So I ended up at Bridgestone Arena in the club seat section, witnessing one of the best Christian concerts I have ever been to. It was a very good night. I may feel like a zombie, but I am one content and satisfied zombie.

Mark Hall, the lead singer for Casting Crowns, said something that grabbed my attention. He said that God sees your future as a memory. He’s already in it. He’s on the other side of it.

He talked about life as a kind of parade that we’re stuck in, watching the floats go by and waiting for the candy at the end. Some of the floats make no sense to us and we sometimes wonder if the parade will ever end. God sits above the parade and sees the whole thing from beginning to end.

Some parts of our lives make no sense to us. The pain seems senseless, the tragedy seems pointless, and nothing ever seems to get better. The good news of the gospel is that we have a God who is on the other side of the pain. Not only that, He’s with you in the midst of pain. He was there when you received the wound.

The beautiful part about Jesus being outside of time, as one pastor said, is that He can go back to the point in time where that person wounded you and heal you so that you’re no longer bleeding into the present.

And yes, if you look, you can find moments of unexpected grace even in the pain. Moments where you catch a glimpse of the glory that’s on the other side waiting for you. Moments that give you hope to get through.

Jesus has got a strong-arm grip on you and He’s not about to let you go. Nothing, not the pain, not the storm, not even you, can separate you from God’s love. That’s worth celebrating. That’s grace.

The Valley of Achor

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Just for the record, this entire blog was “borrowed” from Mike Glenn’s sermon tonight at Kairos. It was amazing, or as a friend of mine would put it, “stupid good.”

There’s a verse in Hosea that I’ve overlooked until now. It talks about God turning the Valley of Achor into a door of hope. I guess I never really thought much about it and never took the time to dig into the deeper meaning. Until tonight.

The Valley of Achor was after the battle of Jericho when Aikan and a couple of others took spoils from the battle in direct violation of God’s command to take nothing but destroy everything. Not Israel’s finest moment. The result was the earth opening up and swallowing them whole (I’ve wished for that to happen to me after a couple of embarrasing and awkward moments, but it never has).

The Valley of Achor can be your moment of shame. It’s that moment when you were like Esau and sold your birthright for a moment of pleasure. It’s that moment you’ve played in your head a million times, each time wishing you could take it back or choose a different path. It’s the worst moment of your life, the one that haunts you.

God’s promise is that He can take even that moment and bring hope out of it. As Mike Glenn said tonight, “God is so good He can take the worst moment of your life and make it the first sentence of your testimony.”

The Valley of Achor is where you stand up before the world and say (in the tradition of AA), “Hi, my name is _______ and I was a ____________. That was before Jesus found me. Now I am royalty, a son (or daughter) of the King. I am the Beloved with the signature of God imprinted on me.”

There’s no one too far gone for God to save. There’s nothing too bad that God can’t bring good out of and use for His glory. There’s no night too dark, no shame too deep, no hope too lost that the love of Jesus can’t transform into something beautiful and glorious. Even you. Even me.

Thank you, God, that your business is loving the unloveable until they are lovely again.