What's The Plan? Pt 2

I apologize for the 2 week gap between part 1 and part 2...if you scroll down you can read the others for a refresher. Today we are going to discuss our Relationship With God.

We ask God to give us a complete understanding of what He wants to do in our lives. Then the way we will live will always honor and please the Lord. All the while, we will learn to know God better and better. Colossians 1:9-10

Have you ever lost touch with a really close friend? High School graduation singing "friends are friends forever" and have a big cry. I haven't seen most of my friends from school since that day.
Did you ever have somebody that you loved? You thought they were wonderful, then things went south. Mister Perfect turned into psycho guy...which led to restraining orders.

Have you ever known a married couple...they were so close. If anyone would make it, this couple would. Then one day, they split up. Makes you wonder if anyone would stay together.

Why do relationships go sour? Great relationships never happen by accident, and that includes our relationship with God.

Where there is no vision, the people perish... Proverbs 29:18

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:15-16

Hot: You Are Growing

...your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3

From God's perspective, it is like watching his children grow up. We are born (saved in this instance), start crawling, start saying a couple words, standing up, walking...each new thing is so pleasing. It is wonderful as a parent to see your baby always advancing and doing better.

Cold: You Do Not Know God Yet

...He who sent me is true. You do not know (God), but I know Him because I am from Him and He sent me. John 7:28-29

Some of you that are even reading this, you might know OF God, but you do not KNOW Him. There is nothing we can do to earn our way...it is only by the blood of Jesus.

Lukewarm: You Are Drifting

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1

My wife and I went on a weekend trip to a lake in Missouri. Hilarious weekend, let me tell you…I won’t tell you the entire trip, too long. This particular story is about us attempting to ride a jet ski. We are out on the lake, this was my first time on one. Liz decides she wants to drive. The people at the rental said you need to jump in the water to switch drivers. Also, if the jet ski goes upside down you have 15 seconds to get it back upright before it fills with water. You get where I am going with this. ;-)

Ok, we jump off and she tries to get back on. She can’t pull herself up onto it…so I am pushing her up from behind…still no luck. Finally, we decide that I will just get back on and help her up. I get up there in a few seconds and try to help her up. She is still having trouble and it pulls me off. We try again…this time I got her up…just as I got her up we flip off. When I gather myself and get the water out of my eyes…I see the jet ski upside down and it is drifting away. It was probably about 10 ft away from me. I have that lovely swim friendly life jacket on (haha!) and I’m trying to get there as fast as I can. You see, the rental lady also told us about the cost to replace one if it did sink. ;-) It is amazing how fast and such a little jump in the water can cause such a drift, without even realizing it. Now stop laughing at us…may God bless you and your family! On a side note…I still hear about how my wife lost her flip flops, and I didn’t save them. She also reminds me how on the first fall, she saved my flip flops and hat.

Many of us, if we were honest, would say that we have drifted from God. I used to be close to God…intimate and growing, now I have become lukewarm.

For those that have drifted...

You have forsaken your first love...Repent and do the things you did at first. Revelation 2:4-5

Essential Questions:

1.) What disciplines best help you experience God? There are certain disciplines that lead to certain results. Those of you that are extremely fit probably don't eat a gallon of ice cream in one evening. You probably eat right, exercise right, and sleep right. Your disciplines have led you to a healthy body. The same is true in your relationship with God. What disciplines best help you? Bible Study, Worship, Serving, Prayer, Fellowship, Missions, Fasting, Accountability, Etc. We are all unique...just like your children are different in ways, we all connect with Him in different ways.

2.) What barriers are hindering you from experiencing God? Just like there are disciplines to help us connect with God, there are barriers that seperate us from God. For example, in my marriage if I were deceitful and lied all the time...that would seperate the intimacy and trust that Liz and I have. If I told her that her hair looked bad and the food tasted bad, then I am just trying to commit suicide. There are things that seperate us from God.

3.) What do you put ahead of God? Whatever it is, it is idolatry. Exodus 20:3 says "you shall have no other gods before me". I'm not going to church, I can't miss the big game. I'm not passing out flyers for church, I'm playing golf with a couple buddies that morning. Which leads into the next question...

4.) What are you going to do to change it? We should not squeeze God into a time slot...we should make time. Mrs. Smith needs some light bulbs changed...I'll do it. This new married couple doesn't have groceries...I'll buy them. They really want to adopt...I'll help. We should be the church and do whatever we can to share the love of Jesus. Would Jesus look at his watch or pull out the planner to see if it can be squeezed in there? No! He would serve the people and share the good news!

5.) My vision for my relationship with God is _____________.

6.) I do promise God that I will ____________.

"I do promise God that I will rise early every morning to have a few minutes-not less than 5-in private prayer. I hereby vow to read no less than four chapters in God's Word everyday. I will cultivate a spirit of self-denial and will yield myself a prisoner of love to the Redeemer of the world." William Booth (not the guy who shot Lincoln...haha!)

Sunday Adventure!

We got up real early Sunday morning for a Sunday adventure. Some very dear friends, Doug and Marnie...along with several friends, are starting a church in Owasso, OK. It is a city quickly growing and a whopping 70% are unchurched. You can read more about the church and their ministry here.

We left the house at 8am for Owasso, and we arrived about 10 minutes before service started. I have a lot of old friends that are helping start the church, including members of my old band. It was awesome to see them again...I had not seen them since our last performance in Wichita, KS a couple years ago. Jimmy, which played the keyboard and vocals in our band, is the Worship/Connections Minister for the church talked about me coming back up again, and playing the drums next time around. That sounds like so much fun because I haven't played at all the last couple years. It was so nice hanging out awhile with old friends.

After church, we headed to Tulsa to eat at one of our favorite restaurants...Cheddars! We love that place...good food at a great price! One of our friends gave us a nice present of $40 in Cheddar Bucks...it was awesome! I tried to eat expensive, which is pretty tough there...just to order something that I wouldn't normally and all. The food was so good! I hope Norman gets one soon...we hear a rumor that is the case.

After stuffing ourselves, we wanted to take Addy to the Oklahoma Aquarium. We had a good time. Here are some fun pics there...

Something To Think About:

I haven't quit the What's Your Plan series...I've just been slow about finishing it. I have notes on it and all...I just need to take the time to figure out what to say. We have had some illness circling around the house since Sunday night. We are starting to feel better...hopefully, that continues. That was just a little fyi, leading into something to think about...

This man and his wife go on vacation to multiple islands. At each island they have reserved just a basic economy-size rental car. At the first island, he is trying to get his reserved car. The clerk informs him that there was a mix up and there aren't any economy-size rental cars left. They will give him a convertible Mustang instead, at no extra charge.

This continues at each island and each rental car. Each rental is a free upgrade to a better car. They wound up driving the convertible Mustang, Lincoln Town Car, Jaguar, and a Mercedes all together.

Upon arriving back home, the wife told her husband how much fun the trip was. His reply was, "Yes, if only the rental car company hadn't messed up our reservations."

I think that is how we are in life. We focus on what has gone wrong, instead of realizing God's blessings behind it. That's something to think about.

Tithe Pie

When I was single, and even the first 6 months of marriage, I had never tithed. Every now and then I would give God some scraps...throw a $20 bill in the envelope. I would even throw a few bucks in the offering plate sometimes, you know friends around and all. I never did it as an act of worship or obedience to God. At the first of last year, to say that Liz and I were broke was a complete understatement. The house was about to be foreclosed and cars repossessed, we were definitely at the bottom of the barrel. We did this crazy thing....we gave money away. Really, we just returned to God what is already His. We tried it on our own, obviously that wasn't working. We took a HUGE step of faith and trusted that God would provide. Boy, did he ever. We have not been in the same boat since. We have been blessed beyond measure. We make it every month now...bills paid on time. It is amazing...PLEASE watch this video. It puts it all into perspective.