Well, I’ve taken a little break from blogging over the past few months, but thought maybe the new year would be a good time to “get back at it!”  What do YOU think?  As a matter of fact, I COULD make a resolution that I’m going to blog more in 2012.  On the other hand, I’m not real sure about that.

I guess Oscar Wilde said it best when he described a New Year’s Resolution as something that goes “in one year and out the other.”    In fact, statistics show that while roughly 40-45% of adults MAKE New Year’s resolutions, a staggering 97% FAIL to carry them out completely and most abandon ship totally, in as little as 6 months! 

However, I believe there IS hope for the resolution-breakers.  For the fact is, people who take the time to very CAREFULLY set goals and very DELIBERATELY make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain them than those who make last-minute, spur-of-the-moment promises to themselves.

If you plan to make any significant changes for the better during 2012, then let’s really THINK them over.  Let’s PRAY about them.  Let’s WEIGH them carefully against the challenges and odds that might militate against them.  Most importantly, let’s depend on GOD to HELP us day-by-day to DO & to BE .. ALL that HE wants of us and for us during the days of this new year.

I’m persuaded that God has a specific “will” for every single person.  Our job is simply to discern, then do, that will!

How interested or concerned are you about finding and fulfilling the will of God in your life?  There are more “ministry needs” than there have ever been before.  And yet, the fact is, there is probably a greater percentage of professing Christ-followers who are doing nothing or very close to it, about accomplishing those ministries.

I urge you TODAY .. to humbly ask God, “Lord, what is YOUR WILL for ME?”  I guarantee you that He will answer that prayer, if prayed humbly and sincerely from an obedient heart.

C’mon!  I CHALLENGE you!  I DARE you!  FIND God’s will for YOUR life .. then DO it!  You’ll never be the same, and you’ll be so glad you did!

Today, in my personal quiet time of devotion, it seemed that God “overwhelmed” me with a simple, yet profound, truth.  It had to do with “satisfaction” and “desire” and how (in-our-walk-with-Christ), the former should constantly be a foundation and catalyst for the latter.  In other words, the heart and foundation of any meaningful walk with Jesus must be complete SATISFACTION WITH GOD.  I must be fully “SATISFIED” in and with HIM!  And yet (in a mysterious way) that “satisfaction” must breed, in me, a constant DESIRE for MORE of God!

Per chance a weak illustration of this concept could be the great satisfaction one receives when filling himself with a brand-new, never-before-tried-dish, and yet discovering that that “satisfying” experience only generates in him a great “desire” to have that same dish served again at tomorrow evening’s dinner and maybe even the next day’s, as well!  The Psalmist admonishes, “O taste and see that the Lord is good!”  (Psalm 34:8).  That is an experience of “satisfaction.”  And yet that very Lord admonishes, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness!”  (Matt. 5:6).  That is an experience of “desire.”

It seemed God spoke to me so clearly saying, “This is the simple formula for a consistent life of knowing Me as you ought – ‘Satisfaction and Desire!’  In other words, you’re FULLY SATISFIED in Me because you want and need nothing and no one else.  And yet that glorious satisfaction generates a GROWING DESIRE to know Me better and closer and more, day-by-day!” 

My heart says, “YES, LORD .. YES!  YES!!”

• When I think about the THOUSANDS of PRAYERS ascending from Ground Zero and surrounding areas 10 years ago …
• When I think about the CHURCHES that were FILLED the Sunday after 9/11/01 …
• When I think about the PEOPLE who were CRYING OUT TO GOD immediately after that horrible tragedy …

I think, “Is it actually POSSIBLE … that there will be NO PRAYING … at the Ten-Year Remembrance Memorial this Sunday?      … REALLY??

As a preacher and a pastor, – because I care deeply about the people over whom God has placed me, as shepherd/leader – it’s very easy for me to bog down in the rut of preaching more about “what we should do for Christ” than “what Christ has done for us.’  Both are very important, but more than anything, the GOSPEL — [the PURE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ] — must be preached!  What Jesus has done for me in providing my salvation through His cross and shed blood, is the theme that will lift me up to do more for Him, and (even more importantly), will lift me up to BE the person He wants me to be.

It’s ALL about CHRIST!  It’s ALL about what HE has done for me.  We must constantly focus on the power & purity of the Gospel!  What I do for Jesus matters none, if I am not operating in the power of what HE has done for me.

As much as I want to see the people of my church “PERFORM FOR” Christ, I recognize that far more important is that they “LIVE IN” Christ.  “What Would Jesus Do” must be a maxim-of-living that is always subservient to “What Has Jesus  Done!”  Thank you Lord, for these vital reminders to my heart, mind and soul.  Please help me to pass them on.

I’ve been thinking about HONESTY today.  HONESTLY, I HAVE!  That’s not just something I said to open a little blog subject.  It occurs to me how easily I COULD have written that opening statement WITHOUT its being totally true and honest.  For instance, maybe I had thought of the subject only a second or two before I wrote it down.  If that had been the case, then my opening statement wouldn’t really be true, would it?

Here’s another thought.  In the above paragraph, I used the phrases “TOTALLY true and honest” and “REALLY be true.”  What does THAT mean?  Isn’t something either TRUE – or it’s NOT?  What does “TOTALLY true” mean?  Does it mean that some things are only “PARTIALLY true?”  If that’s the case then is such “TRUE” at ALL in its whole? 

On and on … such questions and queries can go .. & .. go .. & .. GO!  In light of such, I don’t believe it is a good thing or pleases God, when we become so enslaved and bound to “Fears of UNtruths” that we can never make ANY statement or believe ANYTHING, for fear that there is some, little , unknown variation-of-which-we’re-not-aware, possibly or potentially involved in it!  [I've known a few people who had seemingly fallen into that snare, and it seemed, (rather than being truthful), they had sadly succeeded only in becoming chained to a bondage that did noone any real good!]

On the other hand, HONESTY is ESSENTIAL!  TRUTHFULNESS is VITAL!  Our world today is suffering from a real dearth of it.  HONESTLY!  People will deliberately “shade the truth” or even tell an “outright lie” without a second thought!  Such conduct seems to have no bounds in our day.  From the “top” – down, and from the “bottom” up … it is SO!  

Hey friend, today is a good day to HONESTLY inspect your HONESTY.  Better yet, let GOD honestly inspect it.  Open your heart to HIM and HIS peerless, perfect searchlighting truthmeter.  It’s easy to fall into the satanic habit of “Lying-To-OURSELVES” until we reach a point where we hardly even realize or remember that we ARE being dishonest. 

TODAY’S the DAY!  Honestly!!  Let’s DO it!  Let’s let GOD do it!  Happy Honesty!

Psalm 46 : 10a contains what may be one of the most important admonitions in all the Bible!  In that verse, God says, “Be STILL … and know that I am God!”

For many people, being STILL seems almost impossible.  They feel like they absolutely MUST be MOVING!  Just watch that 3-yr. old when you put him in a chair and tell him to, “Be STILL!”  To him, it seems like an IMPOSSIBILITY!  (By the way, dads/moms — for a normal 3 yr. old … it actually IS possible!!  It simply takes a bit of determined parental persuasion & persistence)!! 

Back to our main thought …   Being STILL before God is so important in the Christian life.  It provides us with an opportunity to allow God’s Word and God’s Spirit to truly SPEAK to our hearts.  It allows His truths to “marinate” in our souls.  It’s like the “soak cycle” on the washing machine.  It doesn’t make nearly as much noise and it doesn’t splash nearly as much water, but it’s JUST as important to effecting cleanness in our clothes, as the “agitate” cycle is!  The same may be said for our souls.  Many times real “depth” and true “cleanness” may be effected during the “soak” cycle in an even greater way than during the “noisy” and “big-splash” events of our spiritual lives and growth.

Let’s take the Lord’s admonition seriously.  Let’s “Be STILL .. and know that He is God!” 

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the cross of Christ as well as His resurrection.  Of course I have!  It’s the Passion Week of our Lord!  It’s Holy Week!  It’s that stretch from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday when all of Christendom rejoices in the sacrifice Christ made for all mankind as well as in His miraculous resurrection from the grave.

My mind has gone back even further, however.  It’s gone back to the Christmas story, as well.  The fact is, without Christmas, there would be no cross & no resurrection.  And yet without the cross and the crown (of resurrection and ascension), Christmas would have no eternal significance, either.  They are ALL inter-related. 

As I’ve been pondering these great events, ONE PRIMARY THEME has continued to come to my mind.  One steady thread of fact and beauty runs through ALL these great occasions.  That theme & thread is the HUMILITY of our Lord.  Whether we bow at the side of His straw-filled cradle, worship at the foot of His blood-stained cross, rejoice at the emptiness of His garden-side tomb, or wonder in amazement at His now-empty clouds of ascension — we’re reminded again and again how truly HUMBLE Jesus, our Lord & Savior, always was.

Philippians 2 tells us the story in such vivid detail.  “…Christ Jesus, Who being in the form of God did not consider His equality with God something to be grasped tightly or clung to, but made Himself of NO REPUTATION and took upon Himself the FORM OF A SERVANT (slave), and was made in the LIKENESS OF MEN.  And being found in fashion AS A MAN, He HUMBLED Himself and BECAME OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH - even the death of the cross…” ( v v. 6 – 8 )

It’s no wonder we humans are admonished just before that explanation ( in v v. 3 – 5 ) to, “Do nothing through STRIFE or PRIDE, but in HUMBLENESS OF SPIRIT, esteem OTHERS BETTER than yourself.  Don’t be SELFISH, but always be GIVING to OTHERS.  Let this DISPOSITION (attitude, spirit, mind-set) which was IN CHRIST JESUS .. also be in YOU!”

There are many lessons to be learned from the cradle, the cross, and the crown of Christ.  None, however, is any more important than His sterling example of endless HUMILITY!  It’s the “thread that runs so true!”  Let’s emulate it and exemplify Him — every day!

How ready are you to share your Christian testimony and witness for Jesus .. to others?

Recently, I read the following news post:  The Arizona Senate has approved HB 2565 that would protect the rights of college students to practice their sincerely held religious beliefs.  The bill previously passed in the House.  A spokesperson from the legal counsel at the Center for Arizona Policy said, “Students who have a strong moral or religious belief about an issue shouldn’t get kicked out of their program or be denied their degree or given bad grades simply because of their religious beliefs.”  [CitizenLink.com]

When I read that post, I immediately had 3 reactions:

1) – Gratitude for the action of the AZ state legislature;  2) – Sadness that a legislative body in our country would even need to TAKE such action;  3) Self-Searching about my own personal readiness, desire, and/or willingness to share my Christian testimony or witness for my Lord in ALL areas and to ALL people … whether the law permitted it or not.

“I will speak of the testimonies of the Lord before kings, and will not be ashamed!”  (Psalm 119 : 46)

I found myself sitting at my desk, saying the words over and over:  “It’s Crazy!  It’s CRAZY!”  I had started saying this phrase involuntarily, without thinking — then suddenly realized that’s what I was doing.  It was fairly early in the morning and I’d been having my personal quiet time of devotion with God.  I had just finished reading a fairly short section of scripture and was so impressed and overwhelmed with the powerful truths in just those FEW, SHORT VERSES that I immediately began to think about people – (including myself at various intervals in my past) who KNOW how wonderful and life-changing God’s Word is, yet seldom seem to find the time or exercise the discipline to faithfully read and study it.

That’s why those two words were involuntarily coming out of my mouth.

And frankly, it IS“crazy!”  After thinking about what I was saying for a few moments, I looked up the word.  The dictionary man listed as some of his definitions of the word “crazy” — Unsound, Absurd, Impractical, Foolish and Insane — and that’s exactly what I was thinking!  Some people simply do not know the great power and value of the written Word of God.  But ohh, so many DO know!  And yet day after day slips by in their lives and they never pick up that precious book and open its pages to allow that amazing wisdom and mighty truth to pierce and penetrate their souls.  “The Word of God is living and powerful: sharper than the sharpest dagger, piercing and cutting swiftly and deeply into our innermost thoughts and desires, with all their parts – exposing us for what we really are!”  (Hebrews 4:12).

Can you imagine being crippled with pain and having a little bottled antidote for that agony lying on your living room coffee table?  If you would simply pick up that bottle, remove its cap, pour the medicine into a spoon, insert that spoon into your mouth, and swallow — {and do the same again the next day, and the next} — your pain would totally disappear!  But no — you allow the cure to simply sit there.  It decorates your table.  It aids visitors to your home with their awareness that you know about things like pain cures.  It’s even there and available if someone else would like to take a dose.  But it does YOU no good, simply because you do not regularly avail yourself of it.

It’s crazy, my friend!  It’s CRAZY!